episode_0051

A corridor inside the Demon King’s Castle, Kutranux.

The Lord of Deception, Javiel, and the Lord of Blood, Bloodstain, were having a conversation.

“How does it feel to taste it yourself, Bloodstain? Even without heroes, humans are not to be underestimated,” Javiel said, looking at Bloodstain.

It was shortly after Javiel’s failed assassination attempt on the hero.

Upon hearing the news of the hero being critically injured, Bloodstain took the opportunity to lead the demons and attack the human kingdom.

However, the demon army led by Bloodstain failed to break through the defense line of humans stationed in the Horn Canyon and was forced to retreat.

Bloodstain was slightly taken aback by the power of the human woman who had stood in his way.

Even among the demons, he, who was at the top in terms of combat power, couldn’t believe he had been defeated by just one human.

Most of the demons he brought with him were almost wiped out while facing that woman.

In that situation, even if he managed to break through the Horn Canyon alone, it would be difficult to turn the kingdom into chaos and find and kill the hero.

So, he had no choice but to retreat.

For Bloodstain, who had experience destroying a human village single-handedly, it was a blow to his pride.

“If you had succeeded in killing the hero properly, this wouldn’t have happened,” Javiel remarked.

“Hmph, coming from someone who hasn’t even seen the hero’s face, that’s not something you should say,” Bloodstain retorted, his breath like an angry bull.

“Krrr… I’m worried about the Demon King. Lady Bersella is too soft-hearted and fearful. Is it even possible to just choose heroes and kill them without destroying the human kingdom?” Bloodstain expressed his concerns.

“Don’t worry. Lady Bersella is still young. Her weak nature will be corrected as the Demon King’s soul awakens. In fact, the power of the Demon King’s soul is steadily growing stronger. Haven’t you noticed that demons influenced by the Demon King’s soul are awakening all over?” Javiel reassured him.

“Hmph, even so, if we give the hero time, we will once again lose the Demon King,” Bloodstain grumbled.

As Bloodstain snorted, Javiel chuckled.

Although he had failed in the hero’s assassination, he had spent a long time in the human world.

And because of that, he had information that he could use.

“Well, what do you think? This hero seems a bit strange. Do you know what the humans on the streets call that hero? They call him ‘Trash Hero.’ Chosen as a hero, but doing nothing and causing trouble for the surrounding humans at the Central Church,” Javiel shared.

“A weak Demon King called a Trash Hero. The world is going crazy,” Bloodstain commented.

“It’s been a long time since the gods left this world. Like an old toy breaking down, this world may be falling apart,” Javiel mused.

“I see it as an opportunity. The Demon King, who has always been defeated by heroes, now has a chance to claim victory for the first time,” Javiel concluded.

***

Following Shari, I walked endlessly through the land of the Demon Realm.

Circling around the Demon King’s Castle, Kutranux, I cautiously moved, avoiding other demons and monsters as much as possible.

But it wasn’t as dangerous as I had imagined.

Just because it was the Demon Realm, I had imagined terrifying monsters lurking around, and demons like Bloodstain ready to pounce on me at any moment, with flames erupting from the ground and lightning striking from the sky in a hellish environment.

Of course, the environment and land of the humans were very different.

But it was not as scary and dreadful as I had imagined.

“The environment of the Demon Realm has been greatly influenced by the power of the Demon King’s soul left by the fallen K’bat.

Originally, the western part of the continent was a barren land where not a single blade of grass grew, but the flora and fauna here have been nourished by the power of magic for a long time.

As a result, grass and trees that can grow even on barren land have emerged, creating the current environment,” Shari explained.

The power of magic is truly amazing.

The fact that such a forest and field can be created even in such barren land.

Then, are the purple plants growing here all strengthened by magic to have strong self-sustaining power?

I can’t help but think that they are somewhat similar to adventurers who steadily enhance their physical strength through magic conversion.

Shari, who was leading the way, stopped on top of the hill and pointed down below with her small finger.

“Have we arrived?”

I nodded.

Looking in the direction Shari pointed, there was indeed a fairly large city.

Perhaps because I had already seen the mushroom village of the Karia tribe, the visual was not particularly shocking.

The architectural style was a bit different, but it was a great city where beings like humans built houses and paved roads normally.

“A pureblood demon… a city where races like Shari gather….”

I quietly observed Shari flying in front of me.

There were very small bat-like wings attached to her back, and small horns protruding from her head.

Honestly, in terms of appearance, the lizardman, a different race I had seen in the guild, was much more repulsive than the lizardman.

Even though the lizardman was living as an adventurer in Kube, the demons were…

“Human?! How did a human get here?”

As soon as we arrived at the entrance, the gatekeeper stood guard and blocked my way.

Well, it’s a natural reaction.

The gatekeeper was also, of course, a demon.

With large bat wings on his back and a horn protruding from the center of his forehead.

I immediately tried to initiate a conversation with Shari in front of me.

But the gatekeeper didn’t give me a chance and rushed towards me.

“Hey… wait!”

“It’s a human! A human has invaded Ainblad!”

“No, wait!”

“Die!”

The gatekeeper approached me, drew his sword, and swung it towards me.

Caught off guard by the surprise attack, I quickly dodged backward without drawing my sword and avoided the attack.

However, the gatekeeper didn’t stop there. Since I didn’t draw my sword, he aimed his empty palm towards me and created a small fireball with magic, sending it flying towards me.

“Ahh! Are you a mage?!”

I narrowly avoided the flaming fireball flying towards me at a tremendous speed.

The fireball that narrowly missed me exploded as it hit the ground.

“What?! A human? How dare you come here!”

“Kill the human!”

Upon hearing the gatekeeper’s shout, some more demons rushed out from inside.

There were even demons flying down from the sky.

The Karia tribe at least listened to reason, so why are they so hostile now?!

Shari! Do something!

Amidst the chaotic attacks, I looked to see what Shari was doing.

Shari seemed just as bewildered.

Flying in a zigzag pattern between me and the gatekeeper demon, she frantically waved her hands.

“Hey! Can’t you see that flying kid over there? Hey!”

“Kill the human!”

“Hey! Listen to me about that flying kid!”

“Die, human!”

It was truly a futile exchange.

Whether they couldn’t see Shari, pretended not to see her, or just wanted to kill the human first, I couldn’t tell.

Roar!

Suddenly, a thunderous sound rang out, and when I looked up, a demon flying from the sky was casting magic towards me.

I continued to move to the side to avoid the attacks, but I abruptly stopped moving due to a sinister aura.

Crash!

Just then, a bolt of lightning struck right in front of me.

If I had taken one more step, I would have been hit by the lightning.

A chill ran down my spine.

With no time to catch my breath, the gatekeeper drew his sword and rushed towards me again.

Other demons were also attacking me from all directions with magic and weapons.

“Please! Let’s talk! Please! Agh!”

Unable to dodge all the attacks flying from all directions, I reluctantly drew my sword and parried the attacks.

I couldn’t just defeat them in front of Shari watching.

Is running away my only option?

However, it seemed too late to escape.

No matter how fast I tried to run away, the flying creatures were on the other side.

The demons were gathering more inside the city.

Lightning struck from the sky, fireballs flew, swords, spears, and arrows were flying.

I felt incredibly proud of myself for desperately dodging all these attacks.

Wait, where is Shari?

Suddenly, Shari was nowhere to be seen.

Even though Shari had shown herself, the attacks kept coming.

But she wouldn’t just abandon me and disappear.

“Human intruder, you’re persistent!”

“Did you come here alone? I will never let you go!”

“Everyone be careful! That one, doesn’t seem like an ordinary human! He might be a hero!”

The demons attacking me were making assumptions as they pleased.

Now, there was no turning back.

Shari was gone somewhere, and to protect my life, I had no choice but to fight back.

“Enough!”

Clang!

I filled my sword with magic and forcefully blocked the gatekeeper’s sword that was rushing towards me.

The gatekeeper’s sword, which he missed, flew through the air.

I had not retaliated until now, but when I finally did, the gatekeeper was taken aback.

There was an opening.

If I plunged into it and stabbed the sword into his neck, I could surely finish him off.

But I had a premonition that if I killed him like that, it would truly be irreversible.

What good would it do to kill all the demons here and meet Shari’s mother?

I would just become a ruthless human invader.

“Ugh… What should I do…!”

As I hesitated, the gatekeeper who had dropped his sword retreated, moving out of the range of my attack.

It was the moment when the demons’ attacks were about to focus on me again.

“Stop the fight!”

A young woman’s loud voice overwhelmed the movements of the demons.

Looking towards the direction of the voice, a female demon with large wings extended one hand forward.

And next to that female demon, Shari was flying around.

The female demon who appeared with Shari approached me slowly with a seductive gait.

With each step she took, a blueish magical smoke rose up.

She felt different from the other demons around her.

With horns like a mountain goat on both sides of her head and long flowing hair, she was also very beautiful.

It seemed that Shari had disappeared to bring this woman here.

“This human did not come to harm us.”

As she came closer, I realized she was a very tall woman.

She was even taller than me by a head.

“I am the Queen of Ainblad, Rudmila. Follow me, human.”

After briefly speaking to me, she turned around and started walking.

Of all the encounters I’ve had in my life, this was the most severe one.

I followed Rudmila, attracting the attention of the surrounding demons.