Feeding mana into a human would turn them into a devil-touched. What of the reverse, then? What would the result be of draining mana out of a demon?
I focused my power into my fingertips, transforming my own hand, my arm, into that of a lion. I’d heard tell that in distant lands, lions were revered as kings among beasts—worshipped, even.
Casting my gaze around, I saw the demons locked in battle with my divine soldiers. They were fighting well despite being a force comprising countless subspecies intermingled—a testament to the skill of the general who had united them under his banner. But that ended now.
“Make your atonement to our Lord in the hereafter.”
Marvel in the sharpness of your own claws, and die.
I had meant every word of it, and I’d intended to slice off his head then and there. But...
“I killed you, did I not?”
A slender sword blocked my strike.
“What business does the Hero have defending a demon?” I asked.
“Hero or not... That’s what I’m doing!”
The girl was visibly exhausted, but she knocked back my arm with all her might, and she advanced further to slash at me again and again. There was no weight to her blows...but her speed alone was unmatched.
“How are you alive? What are you doing here?”
She’d been thoroughly shaken last night. What had changed in her?
Behind her, I saw the defective product run to the Golden Lion’s side.
Did she do something? Did she steal the Witch’s power in the Holy City?
“Saved, were you? By the assassin with your life in her sights?”
“Shut up!”
The Hero’s sword swung at me—that cursed blade that severed our Lord’s head.
The curse must be broken, here and now.
“Your feelings are nothing but foolishness, and your resolve as well. You lack even the will to defend our world.”
She growled back at me as she struck.
The defective product was attempting to heal the Golden Lion, but I had already collected all the aether in the area to fuel my divine soldiers. Demons’ regenerative abilities relied on their vast reserves of mana. No matter what the girl did now, she’d have no hope of getting the old lion back on his feet. Meanwhile, the divine soldiers continued their offensive undaunted, and the tides of battle remained unshakably in their favor. And thus, I focused my efforts on the Hero.
“You killed our Lord, yet now you defend a demon? Where are your principles?” I demanded. “I am a human just like you. I was sold into slavery, I was debased as a devil-touched, and I wielded my power for the sake of survival—just as you did. What difference is there between us?”
I gradually narrowed my awareness to the Hero alone. She was a mere girl, and yet she was also the assassin who had made her way unaided to our Lord and delivered a killing blow. And the man who had trained her was none other than that vile champion. My hatred was outweighed only by my caution. I was more than prepared.
“What are you, then, if not the Hero? Just a bloodthirsty murderer?”
I parried her sword and kicked at her stomach. She was light—astoundingly so. And far weaker, far frailer, than she appeared. It was almost shocking how fragile a daughter of man could be—how easily broken.
“Have you no answer? You live your life upon the battlefield, you brandish your sword, and yet you can say nothing of what justice you serve? Then you truly are—”
“Shut up!”
Despite the injuries covering her body, the girl stood back up, her sword in one hand. She spat out blood as she faced me. Her condition was visibly dire.
“Whatever Alicia wants to protect, that’s what I’m protecting!”
She was trembling as she spoke. It was clear that with just one more solid blow, she would never rise again. Her voice, her will, all of her, was nothing but a candle in the wind.
“Foolish...”
The white-haired failure was staring at us. Her scarlet-tinged eyes were the same shade as his—and whether she realized it or not, they were utterly bewitching.
“It must be quite pleasant to avert your gaze from reality, cling to blind faith, and speak in dreams and platitudes. But if that is all you have, then you can protect nothing. You can save nothing...”
Just as I spoke, a war horn rang out in the distance. The mercenaries and the demons all turned at once to the direction of the call, beyond the fortress walls.
Reinforcements, or attackers?
I posed myself the question for a fraction of an instant, but my long-honed battle instincts told me exactly which side the incoming forces belonged to.
A brief stillness spread across the chaotic battlefield... Then, the divine soldiers tore it asunder. Neither the demons nor the mercenaries could turn their attention away from the rampaging monsters. The end was near. Demon or human, I would let none leave this place alive.
“Hero Elcyon, slayer of the Demon Lord,” I said, gazing into her eyes with feigned calm. “If you say you will protect them, then go ahead and do so. If you can, that is...”
With a frenzied cry, the incoming forces poured into the plaza. They had come to settle their grudges and repay the humiliation they had suffered. A vaguely familiar former royal knight captain let out a pained shout of alarm as he took in the sight.
“Devil-touched!”