When she talked with Alex about the intel she gathered at the pub in the autonomous zone...like Alex had said, it seemed like she was having fun. There was no doubt Claire herself would deny it, but it was impossible to believe she truly wanted to wipe out humanity.
Claire couldn’t express her true feelings and had to juggle watching the expressions of others while changing her own to match. This very much reminded Layla of her days as a pet in the dragon caves. It was like being slowly, gently strangled with a ribbon of silk. Little by little, the pressure intensified until you could no longer breathe. Though, at least in Layla’s case, that luxury of breathing had still been granted to her, so she had been a bit better off.
On that note, the fact Layla could look back on her past and say that life was better than anyone else’s was evidence of just how happy she was now. The brilliant light of the blessings she had in her current everyday life with Alex completely cast out the shadows of her dark past.
But...Claire had no such thing. The light was so close, but she didn’t even know it.
“Honestly, it would be safest to just let her be.”
One time while returning from Evaloti to the Demon King’s castle, exhaustion had lulled Alex to sleep, allowing Layla and Ante to converse freely over Konectus.
“The information that could be gained from making an ally out of Claire pales in comparison to the risk exposing ourselves requires. That’s just how it is. But, even so...”
The best solution would be to destroy Claire outright.
“As he is now...I can hardly suggest that...”
If Alex were the kind of person who could cut off his friends so easily, Ante never would have made a pact with him in the first place. He was the kind of person to act heartlessly, ignoring the pain those choices rained down on him, yet endlessly search for that better answer. Once he had teased out all the possibilities, once he had exhausted every option, once he knew there was no other choice—then and only then would he abandon them.
“I’ve already let so many people die. Hundreds,” Alex had said once. “But that’s no excuse to let anyone else die.”
His eyes had shone with an indomitable will. If he could save even a single life, he would accept the pain of dying a thousand times without hesitation. That was the kind of person he was. That was the Alex that Layla loved.
Layla took a deep breath. If at all possible, she didn’t want him to suffer. She wanted him to find peace. But it wasn’t in his nature to live happily by turning a blind eye to those suffering beneath him. That was one of the best parts about him. Though the sight of Alex running himself ragged as he sought to save others broke her heart, it also ignited an even stronger love for him in her.
And Layla figured Ante shared that sentiment. That’s what she understood from speaking with the devil. Regardless of her posturing, regardless of how much she played up the role of the corrupting devil god, Ante really did like Alex. She really did care about him.
But due to Alex’s desire for power, Ante had dragged him down the path of corruption. She continued to give him power, continued to affirm his suffering. Because that was what Alex himself wanted.
“Agh...!” Not seeing the results he hoped for, Alex scratched his head angrily, messily scrawling in his notebook.
At the end of the road, after all this suffering, would he find the salvation he longed for? Or...
Layla gave another small sigh, trying to expel the muddy feelings inside her. Light magic mixed with her breath, sparkling in the air in front of her. Thanks to receiving her father’s memories, Layla had learned how to fly and how to use the traditional light magic of her ancestors. She could even wield their iconic breath, though apparently being able to do so in human form was unexpected. Even her father hadn’t known anyone who accomplished that feat.
But what difference did that make? When it came to Necromancy, Layla was useless. Her compatibility with Necromancy was as bad as it got. Someone possessing light magic so tremendously strong would eradicate a soul completely.
Suddenly, Layla felt a clap on her shoulder.
“Don’t think yourself into a corner.” The wild-faced beauty Barbara, in the flesh, smiled down at her.
“Everyone has things they can or can’t do. Even as undead, all we can do is swing our swords and hope for the best,” Hessel followed up, his body sporting a narrower face than usual.
“I guess you’re right. Thank you.” Layla smiled awkwardly. She was thankful for their consideration...but Layla had no intention of letting up as she racked her brain for Alex’s sake.
Just a few days prior, Barbara and Hessel had finally acquired Anthromorphy.
After numerous failures, the key ingredient was found at last—having a body belonging to another race. Anthromorphy was a magic that transformed one’s physical body into a human body, so the bodies Barbara and Hessel were possessing needed to be nonhuman for it to work.
“In other words, the ideal situation is one akin to Alex’s.”
It had been Ante who cracked the code. Alex was able to transform into a human because he now had the body of a demon. People who were already human (likely) couldn’t learn Anthromorphy, so she had suggested they try giving them bodies of another race.
However, as a demon prince, acquiring those necessary materials (in other words, dead bodies) was an exceptionally challenging task. Not only would it be problematic if Enma or any of the other factions learned of what he was doing, but the bodies had to be quite well-preserved and intact enough to drink dragon blood.
In the end, he had acquired the body of a beastfolk woman who had succumbed to illness on her way to the autonomous zone, and a forest elf man who had died in the night elf prison. This was all done under the pretense of turning their bodies into ornaments. Layla had assumed that Alex could get any number of bodies he wished from the night elf prison without any problems. So she had been confused as to why it had been an issue at all until learning that apparently the night elf religious practices made Necromancy absolutely forbidden.
“So Necromancy is a bridge too far for the cruel and sadistic night elves. I can’t tell if that is a good thing or a bad thing...”
Night elves were already vicious enough as it was. If they added being necromancers on top of that, they’d be dangerous beyond belief. In the end, their refusal to work with Necromancy was both a blessing and a curse.
At any rate, Barbara ended up in the body of a beastfolk, and Hessel in the body of a forest elf. Once they drank Layla’s blood, they were capable of using Anthromorphy. As a result of the bodies they were using, Barbara had gained a wild, untamed look while Hessel had taken on somewhat more handsome features.
But unfortunately, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
“Okay, let’s give it a go!” Hessel declared.