Her eyes were the same pretty blue as her hair, so alluring that anyone who stared too long into them might become lost!
“I thought you sounded androgynous... You’re a woman! I’m sorry I hit you!” Wataru apologized, meaning every word! As a proud Japanese male, he would never have struck a woman if he had known!
Aria was curious, however. “Wait, you’re obviously human... Why are you helping the Demon Lord as one of his Four Masters?”
Résistance answered with a stoic expression: “I once challenged the Demon Lord to a duel. He defeated me without much effort... I thought he was going to kill me, but he demanded that I serve him as a fighter. That is why I’ve sworn my loyalty to the Demon Lord.”
Once again, it made little sense that a loyal knight would have the name Résistance! I fear that this knight did not look too far into the meaning of the word when she decided to call herself that!!
“The Demon Lord... let a human live...?” Aria asked, dumbfounded! With her parents kidnapped by the Demon Lord, who could blame her for doubting the validity of Résistance’s backstory!?
“The Demon Lord aims to exterminate weaker species. That’s why he wants to bring humanity to extinction. On the other hand, he has a place for people like me, with a certain caliber of strength in combat.”
“I see! Then, Résistance... Do you agree with him!? With the Demon Lord!?!?!?” Wataru demanded, glaring at the knight!
She slowly shook her head! “Not exactly... But now that I owe him a life debt, he is undoubtedly my master. As a knight, my master’s ideology shouldn’t concern me.”
“Huh, okay... I don’t really get it, but whatever!! We’re off to the Demon Lord’s castle!! See ya!!!”
Wataru turned to head deeper into the forest, but Résistance reached for his arm!
“Wait!”
“S-Stop it! A young woman like you shouldn’t go around touching men!”
Wataru the virgin ripped his arm away at the speed of sound! He had been unaware of Résistance’s gender until only a few moments ago, but now that he knew she was a she, not an androgynous, faceless, enemy, he wasn’t comfortable being touched by her!
“I must ask a favor of you, Wataru. Allow me to join you on your quest.” Wataru, Aria, and all our Dear Readers gasped in astonishment at hearing this!
“Wh-What!?”
“Does that mean you’re betraying the Demon Lord to be on our side!?” Aria asked.
“Not quite. I’m not betraying the Demon Lord, per se—just making myself neutral,” Résistance answered, brushing out her beautiful blue hair with an air of utter neutrality!
“Don’t try to muddy the water with semantics! Wataru, we can’t trust her! It’s dangerous!” Aria frantically protested! But she had a point!
“...Why do you want to come along in the first place!?”
“Because I’m interested in what lies ahead of you, Wataru. Maybe you can defeat the Demon Lord, when I couldn’t. I want to see how your story ends.”
“Huh, you want to see what my journey holds, huh!? All right!! Then we’re good! Come along!!!”
Wataru accepted Résistance’s group application with astonishing speed! Aria was dumbfounded!
“Wataru! Wh-Wh-Wh-What are you thinking!?”
Aria still considered Résistance an enemy, as Aria’s parents had been kidnapped by the Demon Lord while Résistance had chosen to serve him even though she was human! Who could have blamed Aria for being taken aback by the knight’s wanting to join their party!?
“Calm down, Aria! What could possibly go wrong!?” Wataru, ever the true epitome of masculinity, remained endlessly positive, and, dare I say it, naïve.
“As I’ve said, I will be neutral from here on out. I won’t get in your way, and I won’t aid you in your battles. I’ll just be watching. That won’t be a problem then, will it?” Résistance added, hoping to dampen the fires of Aria’s rage!
“F-Fine, then...” Aria reluctantly accepted the newcomer, too!
And so Résistance joined Wataru and Aria! One of the Four Masters down, three to go! Can Wataru defeat them all and make it to the Demon Lord!? Stay tuned to find out!!!
In the center of the badlands stood a giant castle that towered into the sky. It was an impressive European-style castle built from white and black bricks, reaching nearly 50 meters at its highest points. It had no glitz or glamor about it, yet it still seemed to radiate a foreboding aura. The steel gates were sealed tight, making it plain for all to see that entry would not be easy.
The top floor of that castle was the residence of the Demon Lord Deus, the most powerful being in the world, feared by all. He looked surprisingly young, seeming to be about thirty years of age. With his chiseled Latino features and white long hair that reached his shoulders, he was unmistakably attractive. He wore a long, white coat with an easy, breezy beauty, making him the perfect foil for Wataru, who wore his black school uniform with a burning passion. Deus was six foot one with slender legs, but the most noteworthy feature of the Demon Lord... was the color of his skin. While his other features were the same as any human, his skin was a vibrant purple. Like a Gray Alien, his appearance was unsettling in a way that placed him firmly in the Uncanny Valley. To top it off, his eyes were the red hue of a roaring flame, and exuded a peculiar aura of both mystery and intelligence.
These were the typical physical characteristics of all Demons, who were stronger than humans and had purple skin. Most had red or blue eyes, and their hair was white without exception. Some Demons had horns on their head, but Deus did not.
“My Demon Lord! Th-There’s trouble afoot!”
“Hm? What’s going on...? Nom nom...” Deus was eating his pudding à la mode from a cup and relaxing on his throne when one of his messengers, a blue slime, came rushing into the room, its body jiggling along the way.
“Résistance, one of the Four Masters, has been defeated by a human!” the slime reported with a shriek.
Deus calmly raised an eyebrow. “What...? Résistance, defeated...? Nom nom...”
“Yes, My Demon Lord! What’s worse, Résistance has joined the humans!”
“Oh... Nom...” Despite this shocking news report, Deus continued to calmly enjoy his pudding à la mode. “How disloyal of her... Résistance has switched sides... Munch... Nom nom... Perhaps it was a mistake to recruit that one as one of the Four Masters, after all... Gulp...” Résistance was a human, after all. Perhaps it was only natural that she would rejoin the humans so easily. “...So, who defeated Résistance?” Deus asked, having finished his treat.
The slime wobbled impressively for a moment before answering, “He called himself Wataru Ito!”
Deus’s expression froze for a moment. After a deep breath, he spoke in a decidedly collected tone. “Hm. ‘Wataru Ito’... A strange name. Not one I’ve heard on the Wind Continent...” Which should come as no surprise to you, Dear Readers, since Wataru wasn’t of this world to begin with.
“Yes, My Demon Lord! I have never heard of such a name, either!”
“In any case, that human sounds intriguing. Just like me, he’s... Hm, no matter. It would be interesting to see what he’s capable of...”
With that, Deus crossed his slender legs and reached for a second cup of pudding à la mode. The slime jiggled even harder than before and reprimanded its master: “M-My Demon Lord! Forgive me, but perhaps that is one pudding too many. Didn’t your doctor instruct you to limit yourself to one sweet treat per day...?”
“Shut up!! I want pudding!!!”
“Ahh!!”
The scream echoed through the room. Deus, the tyrannical Demon Lord on a quest to bring humanity to extinction... had, from his unbalanced diet, fallen ill to a horrible disease known as... diabetes.
To be continued in the next chapter, “Wataru VS the Second of the Four Masters! The Dramatic Rap Battle!!!”
*Sources:
[2] A Deep Dive Uncovering the Origins of the Legendary Attack, Gatling Knuckles — Isekai Tensei Publishing
[3] Hot-blooded Karate Encyclopedia — Isekai Tensei Publishing