“That bitch! I’ll kill her myself!” Prati roared, grabbing her spear and attempting to storm out of the room.
“Wait, wait, wait! Mother! Calm down!”
I tried my best to stop her. Honestly, I couldn’t care less whether or not she killed Nefradia, but it would be a huge pain in the butt if she did it while I was still here. If Prati wanted to go through with it, I needed her to wait at least until I was out of the kingdom.
So as one might have expected, exile was considered to be effectively capital punishment in the demonic kingdom. Since the founding of the demonic kingdom, a dozen or so people had received that punishment. Among them, not a single one had returned alive. So from Prati’s perspective, while the king’s emergency orders had her confined in the infirmary, Nefradia had tricked me into choosing to have myself executed. It was no wonder she was furious.
“It’s okay, mother,” I spoke calmly, trying to keep her grounded. “I’ll come back. Safe and sound.”
“Humans may be weak, but they aren’t so weak that you can survive alone in their territory without any help!” Naturally, her temper was unswayed by my optimism.
During my yearlong exile, I would have no rights or authority within the kingdom. I would be forbidden from entering its territory, and would receive no aid from the kingdom. But once the year was up and I was still alive, my crime would be forgiven. This ordeal was something the demons originally cooked up back when they lived in the sacred ground, where they would be allowed to return to the tribe if they survived on their own in the wild for a full year. Though the vast majority of them hadn’t made it as they were either killed by rival tribes or froze to death over the winter.
Unlike in the days in the sacred ground, exile now meant surviving in the territory of the Alliance. Let’s look at it from a hero’s perspective. What would I do if a demon with no backing from the demonic kingdom wandered into the Alliance’s territory? The answer was obvious, right? I’d hunt them down.
No help from the demonic kingdom also meant they couldn’t use dragons to get around. The dragons offered their services to the demons as they were bound by contract to the Demon King himself. But a demon that had lost their rights within the kingdom would naturally lose their right to that service as well. The forests on the edge of the demonic kingdom would be chock-full of forest elf patrols. It wasn’t like they were spies like the night elves, so there was no way a lone demon could cover their tracks. And even if a night elf spy was able to sneak past the patrols unnoticed, there was no way they could live in the forest undetected.
Now take that scenario and throw in a demon who doesn’t know a lick about acting covertly. What would happen?
“They’d be discovered instantly...” Ante answered.
Oh, they wouldn’t just be discovered. Dog and wolf beastfolk hunters would immediately be on their trail. Once the beastfolk got a whiff of their scent, the elite heroes, priests, and Swordmasters would be deployed. That demon would be hounded to the ends of the earth, not given a moment to catch their breath, let alone sleep or eat. If nothing else, sheer exhaustion would do them in.
Even if someone like Aiogias or Rubifya were to be exiled, they could last maybe a day or two tops. Not even the Demon King could survive without rest. Their magic and energy would eventually be exhausted, and they’d come up empty-handed finding somewhere safe to lie their head. So the moment they started to doze off, an arrow would claim their head. Some of those who had been exiled had just decided it was too cowardly to try and sneak around and live in hiding, and so had challenged the Alliance’s army head-on.
No doubt Prati was afraid I would meet the same fate, but for a good number of reasons, I would be an exception.
“Please calm down. I’m not going to be alone.”
It wasn’t like I was being dumped out into the wilderness buck naked. Thanks to a slight show of the Demon King’s mercy, I had a month before the punishment would be carried out—longer than was usually afforded to exiles. My status would only be stripped once the exile began, so I had a full month to take anything I’d need out of the kingdom and make preparations. And unlike other demons...
“Layla will be with me, so I’ll have no trouble moving around the Alliance.”
“Yes, I will be accompanying him!” Layla declared, pumping her fists energetically. Being a “gift” from Oruphen, Layla was technically my property.
“And we both can use Anthromorphy,” I said, shifting into my human form. Oh wow. In this weakened state, it’s clear as day that Prati’s magic is incredible. Doubly so since she’s all angry.
Anthromorphy would be a huge boon. Any demon would stand out with their blue skin, horns, and tremendous magic. But with this, I could pass myself off as an ordinary human.
“Still, you are lacking when it comes to knowledge of human society. Blending in will be impossible...”
I mean, I’m actually a human on the inside. It’ll probably be a whole lot easier than pretending to be a demon...
“Once their suspicion is raised even slightly, the Holy Church will find you, and then it’ll all be over!”
“I am aware. I’ve heard all about it from Virossa.” I nodded.
Plus, I had firsthand experience from my days as a hero, back when I did service away from the front lines, spending basically all of my time hunting down denizens of the dark. I would patrol the cities, guard the gates, pull aside anyone even remotely suspicious and give them a once-over using holy magic. Any night elf in disguise would be immediately exposed.
“I plan to avoid any major cities. I’ll be traveling around with Layla, sticking to rural areas and wilderness. Though it’s unfortunate I won’t be able to make use of the night elf information network.”
So I said, but I had every intention of diving headfirst into the biggest cities I could find. My number one priority would be to root out the night elf spies. Before my exile began, I would get as much information on them as I could from Virossa. Strongholds within Alliance cities, puppet corporations operating within the Alliance, corrupt members of the Holy Church taking bribes... Even if it meant fighting my own people, I’d destroy them all!
“Virossa... Yes, if Virossa is with you...” Prati started to think.
Yeah...I supposed she would hope that he would accompany me. He had once been a night elf spy but now worked as my private guard. If he really wanted to, he had every right to join me. The same went for all the other hunters and spies serving under me. Whether it was in the spirit of the punishment or not, the choice to leave the demonic kingdom was up to them.
“Layla!” Prati turned to her, a sudden resolve taking to her face.
“Y-Yes?” Layla jumped.
Uh-oh. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
“Give me some of your blood. I shall learn Anthromorphy and join you!”
Absolutely not!!!
“Mother...I appreciate the thought, but...” I put on a meek expression. Please, buzz off. You would be a huge pain in the ass!
“As a dragon, Layla isn’t fully grown yet. Considering the amount of supplies we need to bring, she can only carry so many people with her. Even bringing Virossa with us is going to be pushing it.”
The more people we brought, the fewer supplies we could carry. And even if Virossa was with us, Prati knew nothing about how to live as a human. She would be just another thing weighing us down, both metaphorically and literally.
Prati growled in frustration. She was intelligent enough to realize that coming with us wasn’t a good idea. So while she gritted her teeth, while veins popped on her forehead, while she trembled with anger...
“Zilbagias...!”
Just as I thought she was about to collapse, she instead wrapped her arms around me in a hug, tears pouring from her face.
Ugh. I’m still in human form. She’s actually crushing me...!
“A year...? Surviving in this pathetic form for a full year? Please. Please make it back safely. I can’t bear the thought of losing you! If you need anything, anything at all, just say the word and I’ll get it for you! So please... Please...!”
Prati started weeping openly. That was right, Prati. Seeing her lose control like this was a first for me. I was thoroughly stunned.