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A night in the woods was terrifying on its own.The jet-black world resembled a deep sea where no light shone through. The ground beneath one’s feet was unsteady, and the sounds of wild animals could be heard in the distance.

The rustling and occasional whispering of the leaves on the trees seemed as if demons were mocking those who walked there. The shadows on the rock face and the black silhouettes of the large tree trunks could be mistaken for monsters, and it was too much for a girl of her age to walk there.

Although she was on the verge of tears, Wisteria took one step and then another. It was a miracle that her cowering legs were even moving. The tip of her sword, which she gripped as if in prayer, trembled greatly, reflecting her fear as if it were a mirror.

“There!”

She must have walked for about an hour. Wisteria’s heart jumped loudly when she found the shrine she had been looking for.

As she reached her destination, she felt both relief and despair. Conflicting emotions mixed in her small chest and a feeling of nausea consumed her body. But she did not vomit. Nor did she cry. She had already drained all her emotions on the way there.

Wisteria entered the shrine with admirable courage. The entrance was narrow and too dark. The light-storing moss, called Hikarigoke, grew all around, keeping her vision clear, but it was still dark and continued to make her uneasy.

Wisteria took the fruit she had picked along the way to her mouth as a form of last supper, but she was too nervous and afraid to eat.

(Ugh… It really is scary… What should I do…)

Here, at last, a shadow of regret loomed over her courage, but then something happened.

“Ahh. I’m so hungry. Maybe I’ll go grab a bite.”

From the back of the shrine, she heard an innocent voice like a child’s.

(It’s Lord Kuro!)

The voice that echoes from the inside was none other than the Demon Lord’s voice. A tingling shiver ran from Wisteria’s toes to the top of her head. There was no time. What finally pushed her forward was neither courage nor recklessness. It was something different.

“Faith and pride…!”

Wisteria leaped from behind a rock, sword in hand. She managed to scold her trembling legs and finally pulled herself up from her leaden state.

“Give back, Rowdon!”

Wisteria howled.

At the back of the shrine, the Demon Lord lay on what looked like an altar. A candlestick lit by a blue flame shone a light on Rowdon’s sleeping face as he was stuffed in a large transparent vase.

The Demon Lord found this visit quite surprising. He cowered his shoulders and made a human-like gesture as he leaned over his jet-black body to raise it.

“You, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here to take Rowdon back!”
“Didn’t the adults try to stop you?”
“I made this choice on my own! I’m a woman who’ll one day be a knight! I cannot lie to my faith and pride!”
“I see… Though I’ll advise you to stop here. If not, you’ll die.”
“I’ve made my peace! So I will not run!”

Wisteria stubbornly refused to budge. The Demon Lord somehow seemed frustrated seeing the girl in this way.

“If you go back now, I’ll make this a special service and won’t kill you.”
“I’ve already decided! I’m betting my pride as a knight!”
“But you’re not a knight.”
“Like I give a damn about that! I’m still going to do it!”

There was no stopping Wisteria now. A woman who had made up her mind was unbelievably strong. Just as Wisteria was about to start running, swinging her sword—

“Wisteria!” Orthus appeared, blocking her path.

“Big bro?! What are ya doing here?!”
“You fool! I should be asking you that! You shouldn’t treat your life this poorly!”
“But, but Rowdon is…”

Orthus bit his lip at Wisteria’s sad, wistful cry. He wished that he’d met Wisteria before she got to the Demon Lord, but it was too late now. Things were already in motion.

When the Demon Lord recognized Orthus, his eyes narrowed, and he regained his usual tone.

“You’re alive. That’s great.”
“You b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲…”
“Listen here, you should keep a better hold on children’s reins. If not, I’ll have to educate them myself.”

When the Demon Lord said this, his body began to transform.

His childlike form quickly grew in size, and robust scales appeared gradually, raising up his body. With frighteningly large teeth, the Demon Lord soon transformed into a huge, jet-black dragon.

The Demon Lord, now a dragon so large that the tall Orthus had to look up at him, spilled blue flames from the corners of his mouth as if to ridicule the ants at his feet.

“Is this your true form, Demon Lord?”
“That’s right. This child’s debt will now have to be paid by the adults.”
“Fine by me.”

Orthus was smiling and teasing, but he was at his wit’s end. He had been stripped of his gear by the villagers because he’d promised them he wouldn’t fight. There were no fairy tales in which the hero won against the Demon Lord without any equipment.

“Wis! Run! I’ll distract him!”
“Co… Cowar…”
“What?!”

Orthus looked over and saw Wisteria slumped down with a pale face. The vigor she’d had just now was nowhere to be found.

Orthus frowned. He looped around the Demon Lord to try and distract him from Wisteria.

“Over here, you lizard b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲!”
“So you’ve decided to go with provocation. Fine, I’ll play along.”

The Demon Lord smirked and ran after him, trying to crush Orthus underfoot. Orthus ran through the earth at an astonishing speed, but the cave was narrow. There were only so many places to run.

“Damn… Wis! Get the hell out of here! Quick!”
“M-My… waist… my legs.. they…”
“Wis!”

Wisteria was completely paralyzed with fear.

(This is bad… If this goes on, both of us will…)

The thoughts that entered Orthus’ mind slowed him down. The giant, in turn, did not miss the opportunity to slam its foot down.

“AAAAAARGH!” Orthus threw away the option of dodging and took the hit head-on.

“Big bro!” Wisteria’s plaintive cries filled the cave.

Not only was he big, but the Demon Lord boasted overwhelming power. The fact that Orthus was enduring the attacks was a feat in itself, but when it came to a simple power comparison, the odds were against him.

The Demon Lord scoffed at Orthus, who managed to endure while being trampled into the ground.

“You shouldn’t oppose me. After all, I’m the strongest! Knights are nothing but weak creatures!”

Orthus was reminded that the Demon Lord was strong. Frighteningly so. This Demon Lord was probably one of the strongest Demon Lords he had faced.

Besides, Demon Lords themselves were originally special, hence their power. But this also caused a question to arise for Orthus.

(Why does he live in a shrine?)

What the Demon Lord had said just now made no sense to Orthus. The Demon Lord was neither weak nor cowardly. He controlled the village, did whatever he wanted, and had the extraordinary strength to back it up.

But this only posed the question of why he only fed once every five years despite having all of that. Despite being a Demon, which were known to be driven only by their hunger.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” Orthus gathered all his strength and threw the Demon Lord’s legs away.

“Oh?”

Orthus took the opportunity when the Demon Lord’s foot lifted just slightly to make his escape. His muscles were filled with lactic acid, shaking and trembling.

Orthus tried to keep his distance, but the Demon Lord’s tail struck his body, sending him flying. He plunged into the rock face and came to a halt, forming a fissure.

“Damn it… What should I do…” Despite everything, Orthus stood up with a bright smile. He was tough, but he had no way to attack.

The Demon Lord made a strange expression as he saw Orthus stand up.

“Are you really human?”
“That’s golden coming from a Demon.”
“Then how about this!”

Orthus sensed the intense heat rising in the back of the Demon Lord’s throat.

“That’s definitely not good.”
“Die!”

As the words left the Demon Lord’s mouth, a huge mass of blue flames flew at Orthus. Orthus crawled around the Demon Lord’s feet like a flea, attempting to escape, but the blue flames drowned the whole shrine.

The intense heat melted the ground beneath, leaving Orthus with no footing. As the ground melted, it revealed that the shrine was hollow underneath.

“What the…”

A feeling of weightlessness overcame Orthus’ body. The unstable ground gave way, and Orthus, losing his footing, began to fall into the abyss.

“Wisteria! RUN!”

His cries echoed emptily as he plunged into the depths.

◇◇◇

His body rapidly grew cold as Orthus realized he had landed in a waterfall basin formed within the cave, sparing him from crashing onto solid bedrock. He found himself deep within the dim depths of the basin.

(I haven’t felt this way in a while.)

What he recalled was the sensation from the other day when he’d been caught in the river flood. Just like then, a similar feeling of his body nearly melting away washed over him.

(I wonder if Wis is safe. I should hurry back.)

The moment he thought that, he found that something was strange.

(Why?)

Orthus definitely felt something was off. He couldn’t figure out why Wisteria was still alive. By the time he’d caught up with her, the Demon Lord was talking with her.

This, in turn, should’ve been nothing but a hassle for the Demon Lord when he could’ve easily wiped Wisteria’s existence with a flick of its finger.

(Then why?)

Orthus couldn’t help but feel there was something off with the Demon Lord’s behavior. Every five years he’d take one of the villager’s boys. Other than that, he never left the shrine, nor went out of his way to do anything else.

He was powerful enough to kill Gold Rank Adventurers, and even though Orthus was unarmed, the Demon Lord was able to stand his ground against him.

(Then why didn’t he kill Wisteria? No… That’s wrong… What if he couldn’t kill her?)

As this conviction took place in Orthus’ heart, something manifested itself. Surrounded by golden light and adorned with intricate rose designs, it appeared exactly as Orthus had wished.

The Sacred Sword Elyutinias. Orthus gripped it tightly and felt warmth spread through him. His deep-blue eyes shone like jewels.

Slowly, Seletina rose to the surface from the depths of the waterfall basin.