Ch.83The Demon King and Lilith (9)

The Devil King and Lilith (9)

The two looked so hostile toward each other that it was hard to believe they were comrades.

Millia naturally raised her staff while Eirene drew her morning star. And despite the explosive situation, Lug still wouldn’t remove his hand.

It seemed like a situation that could only end with someone’s death.

Just as the hero party was about to meet its end in the most absurd way possible.

“Oops! Did I come too early?”

BOOM!

With a thunderous noise, a monster with a massive body dropped down.

“Seems like you were enjoying yourselves, and I’m interrupting… Oh, wait? What’s going on here anyway?”

Extra, who had initially felt pleased about barging in on what he thought was a romantic scene, cautiously closed his mouth upon sensing the strange atmosphere.

‘What the hell…’

He truly had no idea.

***

The atmosphere was hellish.

Especially for Lilith, who had been pretending to sleep while watching the entire scene.

‘These vixens…!’

Despite her firm resolve, she couldn’t tolerate these humans seducing Lug. While Lug’s guilt was still just speculation, the hero party itself was already practically criminal.

Suspicion was suspicion.

Vixens were vixens.

Lilith secretly gritted her teeth at the sight of the hero party coming between her and Lug.

Of course, strictly speaking, she was the one who had come between them.

But naturally, when I do it, it’s romance; when others do it, it’s adultery.

Lilith was simply following this principle faithfully.

‘Captain Lug… why haven’t you removed your hand from her chest yet? No, it must be that damned woman who’s grabbing his wrist and won’t let go.’

Unlike the other hero party members, Lilith had absolute trust in Lug. It was a one-sided delusion that only she could maintain, having never seen or experienced his true form.

‘Humans are truly filthy and ugly. Always ruled by their lust.’

Lilith was having thoughts she would likely regret later.

She squirmed inside the tent, debating whether to move now to save Lug from the lustful hero party or wait a bit longer.

And there was one person watching Lilith.

‘Ah.’

The hero, Esmeralda, was in anguish.

‘Aah!’

There was chaos outside the tent and chaos right beside her.

The only one not causing trouble was Tina, who was sleeping soundly on the other side, unaware of what was happening.

Naturally, Esmeralda couldn’t help but sense this unsettling atmosphere. Since she hadn’t been sleeping deeply and had been monitoring the two demon clan members, it was only natural that she noticed the change in atmosphere outside.

‘It’s my fault.’

Esmeralda blamed herself.

She shouldn’t have sent Lug away because she felt uncomfortable with him sitting next to her, staring blankly.

If she hadn’t done that, Eirene and Millia wouldn’t be glaring at each other like they wanted to kill each other.

If she hadn’t done that, Lug, who had been behaving somewhat normally today, wouldn’t have reverted to his lustful, unpleasant self.

If she hadn’t done that, she wouldn’t have had to read the confused mental state of the demon executive next to her, who was swinging between trusting and doubting Lug like someone with bipolar disorder.

‘Everything… everything is my fault…!’

Esmeralda wailed internally.

Of course, outwardly she had to pretend to be asleep, breathing evenly.

She looked like a commander who had to maintain composure after witnessing her comrades being massacred due to her own choices.

BOOM!

Had they resorted to violence? Esmeralda secretly swallowed hard at the heavy vibration sound coming from beyond the tent.

This was now beyond salvaging.

“Wh-what?! What’s happening?!”

To make matters worse, Tina, who had been sleeping soundly, woke up from the noise.

“Are we under attack?!”

Tina still couldn’t grasp the situation.

“We’re under attack!”

“A dragon has appeared.”

Actually, Tina had assessed the situation correctly.

“What?! Really?!”

As dawn broke, General Extra and Indra had indeed launched an attack.

Esmeralda immediately got up at the simultaneous cries of Millia and Eirene from outside.

They had been about to fight each other, but now a dragon had appeared to stop them—Esmeralda was secretly relieved.

“These cowards!”

“Esmeralda? Are you smiling right now, or is it just my imagination?”

“Of course not, Tina! I’m outraged by these cowardly dragons!”

She welcomed the current situation because she feared the division among her allies more than a dragon attack.

However…

[Name: Indra]

[Race: Dragon] [Title: Ancient Dragon, Thunder God, Indra]

[Estimated Level: 1402]

“Uh…”

That was before she confirmed what kind of being the attacking dragon was.

Esmeralda was speechless at the sight of this ancient dragon she had never seen before.

And that wasn’t all.

[Name: Extra]

[Race: Dragon-Demon] [Title: Pioneer]

[Estimated Level: 489]

There was also an unidentified being riding on top of the ancient dragon.

Esmeralda could tell just from the “Dragon-Demon” race that he was no ordinary being.

His name seemed familiar, but she was sure it was just her imagination.

‘If I had seen him before, I wouldn’t have forgotten.’

Unfortunately, Esmeralda seemed to have confidence in her memory.

In her defense, she didn’t have the luxury of remembering the names of opponents she had already killed.

Extra made a grand entrance and pointed his spear at the hero party, who were still confused.

Now was their weakest moment, while they were still disoriented.

He had to seize this opportunity.

“Did La•Pa send you, mister? What, did you think we were weak and needed some training, so you’re pulling this stunt?”

“…Uh, no?”

Extra was taken aback by Tina’s surprisingly accurate guess and denied it.

The impact was so severe that he couldn’t even take advantage of the overwhelming position he had secured through his surprise attack.

“Ahem! I am a demon from Abaddon in the demon realm, known as… Extra. As you can see, I’ve tamed this dragon!”

Extra’s chosen alias was “Extra.”

It’s truly harsh to expect a demon to come up with a proper name on the spot.

Having not prepared an alias in advance, Extra said the first word that came to mind, which seemed to reflect his identity.

“Isn’t it the other way around? That dragon looks much stronger than you.”

“Then let me prove I’m his master. Indra, tell them who your master is.”

“…It is Master Extra.”

Indra was cooperative.

Too cooperative, which was frightening.

For an ancient dragon, who should have considerable confidence, to bow to a demon far inferior to himself solely on La•Pa’s orders.

Extra was grateful for Indra’s cooperation but began to worry about what would happen after this mission was over.

“Ahem! As you know, I, from Abaddon, have no particular grievance against humans.”

“No, we don’t know. Where is that place? Lug, do you know?”

“I don’t know either.”

Esmeralda naturally directed her question to Lug, who naturally answered. Fortunately, no one noticed anything strange about this.

“…Abaddon is a group of outlaws who oppose the current Demon King system… Wait, why am I explaining this?”

Extra caught himself explaining about Abaddon to the hero party and, coming to his senses, pointed his spear at Lilith, who was just crawling out of the tent.

“Hand over that demon. Then I’ll let the rest of you go.”

Extra provided a clear solution to the problem Esmeralda had been pondering: “How to reveal Lilith’s identity.”

Esmeralda momentarily considered how to respond.

Should she act surprised that Lilith was a demon and reject her?

Or should she deal with the immediate threat first?

Considering that the opponent wanted Lilith, simply handing her over might resolve the situation peacefully.

That would be the rational answer.

But…

“I refuse.”

She was a hero who had chosen the path of justice.

She didn’t want innocent victims.

It was a natural answer for her, as she had never intended to kill Lilith, only to drive her away.

If Lilith had actually caused direct harm to her, it might be different, but she didn’t want to be harsh to someone who was just repeatedly bowing her head to rescue Lug.

This was Esmeralda’s unilateral decision.

She didn’t know how the other hero party members would feel, but she had always dealt with such matters decisively.

“…Always like this. Now that it’s been said, we can’t pretend we didn’t hear it.”

Eirene, who had always found the hero’s stubbornness frustrating and preferred to smash demons’ heads on sight, sighed.

“Yeah.”

Millia turned the tip of her staff toward Indra and Extra, as if she was used to this by now.

“Huh? Demon? What? What are you talking about? Anyway, we just need to stop that guy, right?”

Tina had no idea what was going on, but she decided to respect Esmeralda’s judgment.

The hero party, though usually thinking only of themselves, showed unity in times like these.

Esmeralda felt an unprecedented sense of reassurance, unlike her usual worry about the ticking time bomb that was her party.

“Lilith.”

And Lug stepped in front of Lilith, who had been standing dazed, not knowing what to do in this sudden situation.

Although Lug was the weakest person present, this was how he had always lived.

He looked at the person before him.

Whether the opponent was strong or weak didn’t matter to him. He simply moved as his heart directed.

“Lug…?”

Lilith murmured, looking at Lug’s back as if it made no sense. Indeed, it made no sense.

Lug shouldn’t be doing this. Hadn’t he been holding up well until now?

But if he shielded her now, he too might fall under suspicion.

The situation was different from the heroes who had pretended not to know while actually knowing.

She had appeared from the beginning as Lug’s associate, and Lug had confirmed it, so if Lug were to be held accountable later, she would be the root cause.

Yet Lug chose to stand in front of Lilith to protect her, rather than distancing himself and making excuses.

“Will you be alright?”

Lilith asked.

Not as his supposed fiancée, but as an officer of the Demon King’s Strategic Planning Department.

She was asking about the current situation that could put Lug in danger too.

Of course, without a precise explanation, Lug couldn’t understand that.

He was not someone who could grasp everything from just a few words.

So Lug honestly expressed what he felt at that moment.

“I have no reason not to be.”

No matter what happened afterward.

He would not regret this choice.