Published at 18th of January 2020 10:51 pm

Volume 5, Chapter 2: The Young Man Sets Out

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

The hands he reached out with, trying to embrace her, found nothing but empty space. His eyes shot wide open in response to the impossible occurrence.

All of a sudden, that platinum-haired girl who should have been there had disappeared. She was gone, leaving behind not even a single strand of hair— like she had never even been there.

She had disappeared from this moment, from the very world itself.

He baselessly thought that if he had just been a bit quicker and had managed to grab her, he would have been able to hold her here. All the while, he also went over the facts, remaining strangely calm.

Such a phenomenon should have been impossible, even with magic. And even on the off chance that it was some sort of magic he'd never heard of, Dale didn't sense the presence of anyone else here. This being the result of some outside magic was just too slim.

Dale scrutinized each possibility that came to mind one by one and then denied them. The thing that bothered him above all else was the way that Latina seemed to know this was coming.

"...Demon lords," Dale muttered while unconsciously clenching his jaw.

Even with the many types of divine protection out there, which were fragments of the power of the gods, he couldn't imagine such a thing being possible. In that case, it was only possible for beings outside the races of man—beings that wielded even greater power.

Latina had said that demon lords were like lower-ranking gods.

Miraculous power of that sort may have been impossible for mere men, but it was a different matter when it came to gods.

And Latina had said something else: the only ones able to harm demon lords were either other demon lords, their compatriots also similar to lower- ranking gods, or their antitheses—heroes, the beings able to overturn the destiny that protected them. In other words, now that Latina had become a demon lord, the number of beings who could harm her were limited.

With the power of a hero, it wouldn't be possible to erase a demon lord without even knowing where they were. Dale knew that fact better than anyone. A hero's divine protection and powers were most definitely nowhere near that omnipotent. If they were, then Dale never would have needed to so desperately polish his skills and keep on slaughtering demons, even as it ate away at his own heart.

In that case, it only could have been a demon lord who had harmed Latina.

The gods of the seven colors didn't interact with the world directly. Latina had also stated that.

He didn't know the reason; the method was a mystery to him, too. But Dale was at least able to use that reasoning to deduce who the culprit could be.

"Latina..." The whisper that escaped from his lips dispersed into the darkness of the night lit only by the faint light of the stars.

Though it was late at night, Dale didn't feel a need to sleep, as his thoughts raced in the dark attic room. That was a change that he'd sensed vaguely since becoming a demon.

While he was able to keep on sleeping and eating like he had been up until now, it was no longer truly necessary in order to keep living. He did, of course, still require some. But compared to when he was a human, he required so much less that it wasn't even comparable. Both his body and mind had been strengthened in becoming a demon.

There was still time until morning. His thoughts looped over and over and were solely about that girl who was so precious to him.

His thoughts moved around and around. What should I do? What should I be doing? He didn't even know what had happened.

Even if he knew the culprit was a demon lord, he didn't know which one it was or what reason they'd had for doing this.

He didn't believe he could take on the demon lords on his own. The part of his mind that was still being logical led him to that conclusion. He knew

that because he'd spent so much time swinging his sword under contract to the nation of Laband.

There were several demon lords, and they maintained a strange balance among themselves, holding each other in check. If the Demon Lords of Calamity took hold of an opportunity to take action, that would be a huge disaster for many nations.

A single girl had disappeared. Just accepting it would be the simplest, most peaceful solution. But Dale's logic presented him with one choice: the decision that would make the fewest number of people unhappy.

At that moment, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Normally, he would never pick it up. It was a single notebook with thick, cloth binding: her diary, which she'd occasionally hold to her chest with a smile.

He opened it up half-unconsciously. As if searching for traces of her now that she was gone, he was drawn towards this object.

Written in her small, easy-to-read, methodical letters, he found silly, trifling details of their everyday life. The length and style varied by day, and occasionally the dates skipped ahead. It was all "silly" and casual, but her world was full of a calm and gentle light.

Dale found parts that were written about him. So this was what he looked like from her point of view... She paid attention to things that were that trivial? That was what she thought?

Before he realized it, he'd grabbed the next volume, and the one after that. As the dates rolled backwards, he started to see a roughness to her letters, and it was like this girl he had watched grow up before his very eyes was getting smaller again.

His hands stopped when he reached the part about her "name." The role name granted by his grandmother was proof that one had become an adult in his clan. He recalled that he had never heard the name that she was given; she had just given an embarrassed smile and said, "I'll tell you when I'm an adult, alright?"

"Muto..."

That wasn't a "rare" name at all in Tislow. In fact, you could say the village was almost overflowing with it. Most women, who protected their family and home, had that name.

However, that was also the most exalted name in Tislow. After all, Tislow valued the clan above all else. It could be said that those with the name

"Muto" protected the clan itself, and its next generation, too.

Since Latina wanted to stay by his side, and Dale held the role of "Reki," which involved going outside the clan, the name of "Muto" held further meaning: it was his grandmother's blessing and said that she could choose her own place to belong.

Even if Latina couldn't return to the place where she was born, she could create a new "clan" in some new place. That was a wish directed to her and her alone.

The letters grew blurry.

There was no way that he could just give up. She was the place where he belonged. The place that he returned to. He couldn't possibly ever replace her, and he never would. She was the only one for him.

The time she'd spent with him till now was written out in this diary. And he'd spent that same time alongside her, thinking of her all the while. She was precious to him, and he adored her. He couldn't cast her aside so easily.

There was no way he could just accept that she'd disappeared.

It was then that he realized.

He recalled his own thoughts up until now. Unconsciously, he thought

that she had disappeared. He'd been certain. He started to ponder why he had been sure of that.

He hadn't once thought that she had been killed. What had occurred was an impossible phenomenon. Under these circumstances, it wouldn't be strange for anything to happen, so he should have considered that she had been killed, but he'd excluded it from the very start.

He looked at his left hand and concentrated his mana there. Characters appeared on the back of it. It was a clear link to her, his "master." Proof that he was her retainer and was receiving her influence. Therefore, it was also proof that she still existed somewhere.

"There's still hope..." He felt grateful from the depths of his heart that he'd become her retainer. He still had something to cling to. As long as this proof existed, she was still out there somewhere.

"If she's been stolen from me... then I just need to steal her back," Dale whispered as the rays of the sun shone down upon Kreuz, signaling the arrival of morning.

Rita walked down the stairs and called out to Dale, "What's with that getup?"

Dale had on his black, magical beast-leather coat that he had for traveling.

It was his usual appearance, but Rita hadn't heard anything about him heading out for work so early.

It was rare for Rita herself to head down to the first floor at this hour. It was still too early for Theo and Emma to wake up, so she'd left them in their room to use this chance to let her hair down a little.

"Oh, Rita."

Hearing Dale's voice as he uttered that short response, a chill ran down Rita's spine. She'd never heard him use such a cold tone before.

That was Dale's work self, which he never showed at the Dancing Ocelot, a place where he could be himself. At work, he killed his emotions and exerted pressure on his surroundings. This was not the Dale that she knew.

"Latina has disappeared." "Wha...?"

She wasn't even able to press him about just what he was saying.

Considering his current state, not even someone as strong-willed as Rita could properly speak up to him.

"I'll definitely get her back."

Rita didn't understand what was going on. But she already sensed that it wasn't some sort of joke. His expression and tone of voice remained steady, but it was abundantly clear that he was absolutely furious.

Without Rita having any idea it was happening, something that couldn't be undone had occurred. That alone, she understood.

And so, Rita tried her best to act brave and spoke up. "In that case, come on back, along with Latina. We'll be waiting for you."

Without replying, Dale slipped out the rear exit. He looked down and spoke to the animal sprawled out by his feet. "Vint, are you coming?"

Vint shook his snout a few times in response, then lay back on the ground.

"Wait for Latina. Hold down fort."

"...I see." After giving that short response, Dale didn't turn back around.

The second she could no longer see Dale's back, the strength drained from Rita's legs and she collapsed, like all the tension in her had suddenly snapped. However, at the last second, her husband's strong arms caught and supported her.

"Kenneth..." "Yeah."

"What... What's happening? What happened to Latina?" "I don't know, either."

Kenneth held her tight. As a warrior, he had a stronger heart and body than Rita. In the face of unease and panic, Kenneth instead chose to continue advancing forward.

"And that's why we've got to start with figuring things out. We need to know what Dale's trying to do, right?" "Kenneth..."

"There's not a whole lot we can do. But it's not like we can't do anything."

The only thing Kenneth and Rita understood was that the disappearance of the platinum-haired girl had signaled the end of these peaceful, happy days.

†

On the east of the continent, keep heading farther east to the land right before the ocean dotted with island nations, and you will find a tower. It wasn't a key point in terms of transportation, nor was it a military base. Nobody knew why there was a need to build such a grand structure there. Even with most of it hidden by trees, when standing at the far-off entrance to the forest, you could still see the tip of the massive, majestic structure piercing the heavens, which was more than enough to instill fear in those living in the surrounding areas.

The tower was made of dull, grey-brown stone, and its outer appearance was, frankly, plain.

According to the hearsay spread by those curious folks who had come close to the tower, the area surrounding it was surprisingly open, and armed soldiers were always coming out of the entrance and upper floors to patrol. approach the tower, and they no longer snuck into the woods and risked that danger.

The tower had existed unchanged since even the elders of the nearby village were children, and no one really knew what it truly was. However, there was one thing that they did know as an obvious fact: the one who lived there was a demon lord. That is to say, the Fifth Demon Lord, also known as the Demon Lord of the Tower.

Underneath the cloudless sky, the grey-brown tower cast a long, dark shadow across the land. It had only become clear a few moments ago that that sight, which had remained unchanged for a long, unbroken chain of days, had become something clearly out of the norm. And yet, that everyday sight already felt like something in the distant past.

In just a few moments, it was like the world had been flipped on its head.

The color of the sky and the shadow on the land were the same, but everything looked almost unfamiliar to her eyes.

She had no idea what was happening.

She'd spent her many years devoted to the pursuit of knowledge. That tenacity and desire so strong it could be called greed had been precisely the key she'd needed to grab hold of what was effectively an eternity.

Demon lords didn't whither away or die. Normally, a demon lord was only ever destroyed by their opposing presence, a hero. They were protected from everyone by their fate to be and continue to be a demon lord. It was precisely the ability to overturn that fate that made heroes their antithesis.

That's what it meant to be a low-ranking god. Not only did demon lords not grow old, they transcended the concept of "lifespan" in general. In order to know all things, even a lifetime of one of her own original race—famed for being long-lived—wasn't even close to enough. For the sake of her own pursuit of knowledge, she had happily taken hold of the power of a demon lord offered to her.

She was now desperately climbing the stairs, which ran along the walls of the tower that was her castle, spiraling up and up; her legs felt like they'd become tangled all the while. Normally, she wouldn't hurry (since she had an eternity, there was no need to), so she never ran up the stairs like this, breathing heavily. On either side of the stairs were shelves jammed full of an overwhelming mass of books. Not even glancing at the collection she'd gathered over the long years, she focused on naught but climbing upward..

Why is this happening? she thought in a corner of her oxygen-deprived mind.

For a long time, her day-to-day life had been peaceful. So much time had passed that she had stopped keeping track, but when the seven demon lords had all appeared in the world, that everyday life started to come apart at the seams.

She sensed the mana flowing out of her. To be precise, though, it wasn't mana. It was the power to be determined a demon lord and exist as one. She felt it flowing out bit by bit, like water through a small hole in the bottom of a water jug.

When she realized what was happening, she was gripped by fear. Once all of that power had seeped out of her, she'd likely no longer be able to keep existing as a demon lord. That was just like a lifespan, wasn't it?

She hadn't been able to accept it, that even though she had become a demon lord in order to escape the limits of time for the sake of her desire, she was once more bound by it. And so, she had searched for the cause. She was the demon lord who gathered information. There was no way that there was knowledge outside of her grasp. With that mindset, she had sifted through the vast torrent of knowledge in order to find the information she sought.

And at last, she found it. Information on the Eighth Demon Lord: the master of a throne which only appeared when all of the natural demon lords had arisen in the world.

The gods of the seven colors governed the balance of the world; as such, they didn't want the demon lords' power to grow too strong. When their foil—heroes—weren't enough to whittle away at that power, a new control mechanism, the Eighth Demon Lord, was employed.

The Eighth Demon Lord stole away the power to exist as demon lords.

Rather than by taking action, this being limited the lives of demon lords solely by existing. While she was the same type of being as the other demon lords and unable to be labeled as anything else, she was undoubtedly something different. That was the demon lord that existed outside of the

The demon lord of the tower couldn't allow the Eighth Demon Lord to exist.

And so, though they would normally never all meet at once, she had summoned all the natural demon lords to their thrones. Normally, the demon lords' objectives would never overlap, but if they shared a common enemy who did them harm, that should change. Before that could happen, they would need to eliminate this Eighth Demon Lord whom the gods had prepared to get rid of them.

Her legs felt unbelievably heavy. She couldn't tell if that was simply the physical burden placed on her body or if there was a psychological effect also in play. She slowed down her climb so she could catch her breath. However, she couldn't stop moving. The thought of doing so was just too frightening, so she couldn't.

Were my retainers... able to fulfill their duty?

She thought on her retainers that served as her guards down below.

Remembering the calamity that assailed her just moments ago caused her whole body to tremble again.

What... was that...?

The dread gripped her. To her, there was nothing more frightening than the unknown.

"Eep...!" She had cried out only for it to get caught in her throat; between her gasps for air, she heard footsteps resounding from far down below.

From the steady rhythm of the footsteps she heard, she could tell that the person certainly didn't seem to be walking with any haste. But as the presence drew closer moment by moment, her fear shifted into outright panic.

She didn't even want to imagine the fate of her retainers, who were by no means few in number.

She was a demon lord, but her skills were specialized for gathering information. Her own combat abilities were virtually nonexistent. In exchange, she chose those who specialized in fighting to be her retainers. It would be difficult if a combat-focused demon lord like the Second or Seventh came personally, but her retainers wouldn't fall short of the demons of other demon lords.

The lower floors of the tower were also equipped to serve as a fortress for defensive battle. It wouldn't fall, even if an army charged it.

It never should have fallen.

What is that?

She attempted to derive a possibility from her vast knowledge, but she couldn't. It was impossible. Such a being shouldn't exist.

She knew that it was foolish to deny her own knowledge, but in her heart that was every bit as out of order as her breathing, she had wanted that to be the case.

Her legs were like sticks and were losing all feeling, but she didn't have time to attend to them as she finally arrived—almost tumbled—into the highest floor of the tower.

Hardly anyone had ever come this high up. This desolate space had a few pieces of furniture about it that showed no sign of having been used. It was only because she had a servant in charge of cleaning that the air wasn't currently filled with dust.

"Huff, huff..."

She held back the urge to curl up in the middle of the empty space and desperately tried to rein in her disordered breathing. It was difficult to even comprehend how cornered she felt.

She didn't do anything pointless, like try to bar the door. Even if she stacked up obstacles in front of it, they'd surely be blown away in an instant with magic. There was no point in wasting effort doing something that wouldn't even serve to buy time.

"Oh you who rule over the darkness, who protect the calm, tranquil shadows, by my name accompany me and become the power to strike down my enemy."

She piled up her words and built up her mana as much as time would allow. This was as much resistance she could muster. If the intruder had been wounded by her retainers, then there should be a possibility that she could take him down. Even though she wasn't skilled at battle, if she knew where the enemy would be coming from, she should be able to land an attack without screwing up.

"Take the power that bonds the celestial bodies and..."

"...Eek!" She gasped.

She couldn't understand what had happened. In the blink of an eye, a

cold, shining blade had been thrust up against her throat.

It was on purpose...

She realized too late. The reason the pursuer had let his footsteps reverberate so loudly and so clearly hadn't solely been to intimidate her. He had done it so she couldn't tell precisely how far away he was. Unlike her own body, this man had a strong build that could be seen just from looking at him, so he should have been able to easily overtake her on the stairs. To her foe, it would be simple to judge where she'd ultimately stop, and then by just picking up his pace for an instant, he could easily take her off guard.

She only realized it now after everything was done: it had all been pointless.

Her secure, peaceful everyday life of just a few moments before had been overturned like it was a mere fleeting house of cards, leaving her gulping before the blade of a single intruder.

Her brain was darting about desperately. The tip of the blade grazed up against her throat, but the intruder didn't thrust it forward any farther. It seemed his goal wasn't to kill her immediately and that he had business with her, the demon lord who ruled this tower.

Having determined that, she regained her composure a bit and observed the intruder before her.

He was a male human garbed in a black leather coat. She didn't sense any wavering emotions in his black eyes, which simply had a terribly silent, cold glint to them.

If he's a human, then...

She thought about what would meet the proper qualifications. As part of a race other than the devils, from which demon lords were born, he met the qualifications to become a hero. It wasn't possible for anyone but the counterpoint of a demon lord like herself to point a blade at her.

She then thought on why she had ended up in this predicament. She knew that because the humans feared demon lords, they let groundless rumors about them spread. She had no recollection of doing harm to any nations of humankind. But perhaps she was being confused with the other demon lords—those of calamity. She should make it clear that even though she was a demon lord, she wasn't an enemy to all of mankind.

But before that, she needed to find a way out of this predicament.

She spoke up in Eastern Regional, the language of humans that was primarily employed in the lands around this tower.

"What is it, that you want?"

"...Eastern Regional, huh?" the man quietly muttered in words that sounded similar to those that she had used, and he pulled back his blade just a bit. Now she no longer needed to worry about her throat being slit just by talking. However, it seemed the man had no intention of removing his blade. Even now, his cold gaze clearly stated that he could easily take her life if she did anything that even slightly went against his will.

Looking closely, she saw that his blade was stained with blood and fat. It was hard to see on the black coat, but looking at the size of the puddle of blood forming from the drops that fell from it, she assumed he must have been coated in quite a bit of it. Although her sense of smell had been paralyzed by the extreme tension crushing her, she was still gripped by the stench of blood to go along with this sight.

Any anger and hatred she felt in regards to the fate of her retainers were overwhelmed by the powerful fear gripping her.

Nothing but a hero or another demon lord could harm a demon lord.

This was her first time since becoming a demon lord that she had felt an overwhelming fear for her life. The fear she felt toward the Eighth Demon Lord didn't even come close to this. The difference between the anxiety about a potential end that would come at some unknown point and death itself thrust directly in front of her very eyes was incomparable.

Right now, her top priority was figuring out how to survive this. In order to do so, she needed to somehow persuade this hero in front of her. She'd have no problem offering him anything and everything he asked for. And as the demon lord who governed knowledge, the main thing she could offer was information. As her thoughts rushed about, she had already eliminated the possibility of surviving by striking down the hero in front of her.

No matter how much they may have been called their antithesis, it wasn't as though heroes could defeat demon lords unconditionally. The power of heroes ultimately just allowed them to negate the fate that protected demon lords. After that, it came down to a pure battle between their abilities.

The Fifth Demon Lord was plenty aware that she lacked the skills needed to defeat this man before her now. This monster had not only defeated her retainers, who were more suited to combat than she, and broken past the defenses of her tower, but he had made it through all of that unharmed.

There was no way she could oppose him.

If she died, then her wish to gather knowledge would all amount to nothing. It hurt to have lost her retainers, but she could gradually rebuild.

"I am, the Fifth Demon Lord... Human hero, what do you want?"

The man remained silent and brought his left arm up to his mouth. He didn't move his gaze or the point of his sword off of her even an inch as he used his mouth to remove the fasteners on the metal gauntlet covering his arm.

She held her breath, not understanding why he was doing this, as the man continued, removing the glove on his left hand.

"...Eek!"

Seeing the back of the man's hand, the Fifth Demon Lord gulped.

It was proof of something she had previously considered only to write off as impossible.

"Impossible... That, that can't..."

There was no way that a hero could become a demon lord's retainer. The true nature of a hero was determined by the gods. When this man went against his nature of opposing the demon lords, he should have lost the divine protection the gods had given him. This was simply impossible.

Then, a possibility came to her mind.

This person had overwhelmed her own retainers, who had been granted great power as demons. That couldn't be accomplished so easily, no matter how many battles he had seen or how much of a combat genius he may have been. Therefore, she had to think of this as the act of a demon who had been granted even more power than her own retainers.

But such power couldn't exist alongside that of a hero. That's why she had denied the possibility and been left confused, unable to comprehend this being.

But then, she realized it. There was a single being that was a demon lord, but also did not stand in opposition to heroes.

The blood drained from her face. That fact most certainly didn't tilt the situation in her favor.

"A-A retainer... of the, Eighth Demon Lord...?" "Why do you think that?"

She sensed a cold will rejecting her behind his voice, not even allowing her the leeway to question anything. And so, she only forced out an answer to the question asked of her. That was likely the man's objective. Answering only to the questions the man asked her would keep her alive a little longer.

"Because, the only one, who could make a hero into a retainer, is the

Eighth Demon Lord."

"...What is the Eighth Demon Lord?"

Even if she had questions about the man's query, she replied, her voice shaking. How was it possible that this man was a retainer, yet knew nothing about his own master?

"The Eighth Demon Lord, is the master of a throne created by the gods to chip away at the power of the demon lords... To limit the lives of the demon lords, who were promised eternity... A being to devour demon lords."

The man's expression relaxed a little when he heard her answer. It had shifted into something that could be called a smile, but she felt like her body temperature dropped a few degrees.

And then, the man opened his mouth once more. "...Was it you who stole away my master?" "Eek...!"

This attack wasn't based on a misunderstanding or mistake. This was a legitimate case of revenge.

At that moment, she realized that it was impossible to persuade this man.

They had sealed away the Eighth Demon Lord, and it should have been impossible for her to affect the outside world. In that case, this retainer of the Eighth Demon Lord wasn't acting because he was being controlled by his master. He was acting based on his own, independent judgment. Not knowing where that loyalty came from, there was no way she could possibly undermine it.

"It wasn't just me...!" she found herself crying out. "The Eighth Demon Lord was sealed under the consensus of the demon lords...! I didn't do it alone! She wasn't sealed by my power alone!"

She desperately piled up excuses, trying to shift responsibility away from herself. She didn't care if she was directing this man's hatred towards the others. She just wanted to escape from this terrifying being before her now.

"What... What are you...?! How many retainers did the Eighth Demon

Lord make...?!"

"...Relax. I'm my master's one and only retainer."

There was a bit of a teasing tone to the man's voice, but she didn't realize that. Instead, what the man said sent her falling into absolute despair once she understood.

"What...?"

Just how much of a monster had the Eighth Demon Lord made? She simply couldn't understand what the Eighth Demon Lord had been thinking. She seemed to obediently accept her own destruction, yet had prepared a retainer like this. It just didn't make any sense.

Demon lords were limited in the amount of power they had to create retainers. They couldn't create an infinite number of demons. Once that power was used up, it took an extraordinary amount of time for it to recover. Even if they were demon lords, there was a great risk to treating their own demons as mere disposable tools. Granting a retainer more power would create a stronger demon, but in turn the possible number of retainers decreased. And if one created a great number of demons, the abilities of each one would be minute.

Naturally, it wasn't necessary to grant each and every retainer the same amount of power. The means of distribution varied based on the idiosyncrasies of each demon lord.

All of that power to create retainers had been used on one single person.

In that case, everything made sense. That her own retainers who excelled in combat had been overwhelmed and that this man had overpowered a demon lord like herself with such pressure...

"Ah... ah..."

They'd been mistaken. All of them had been mistaken.

If they valued their lives, they shouldn't have sought to eliminate the Eighth Demon Lord. They should have kept their distance from her, never interacted.

Their natural enemy wasn't the Eighth Demon Lord. It was this man.

The terror boiling up inside her caused her to move reflexively. She ran to the window sill; she'd even forgotten about the drawn blade. Even as a demon lord, she lacked wings, so this window so high up in the sky wouldn't serve as an escape route. Compared to the terrifying being before her eyes, though, it seemed far more friendly.

Her gaze was drawn to a dull silver glint.

She knew she needed to flee, but her body betrayed her and stiffened, unable to move. By the time she realized she'd been swallowed up by the pressure this man was giving off, the blade he was swinging looked unreal to her.

While staring for what felt like an interminably long moment at the shine of the blade the man in the black coat brought down upon her, the Fifth Demon Lord thought on the greatest mistake of her long life, and then everything came to an end.

Exiting the tower, he felt a cool breeze on his cheeks. Back in his own country it was summer, but the seasons were different in this land, and it was still heading into spring.

The shadow cast by the grey-brown tower had shifted just a bit since when he had entered it. Normally, there would be nothing but that shadow about the tower, but now there were numerous corpses scattered about.

Not knitting his brows at all in response to the stench of blood carried on the wind, the man stopped at the tower's entrance.

He saw there was a massive grey beast amongst the scenery. The beast was methodically pointing the tip of his nose towards the piled-up corpses, checking whether one was dead, but he then noticed the man and looked his way.

"How did it go?" The beast fluently spoke the language of man.

"It was just as we expected after all," the man briefly replied to the beast's question. "It was the demon lords who stole Latina away... All of the demon lords are our enemies."

In response to what Dale said, the massive leader of the pack of soaring wolves made a short sound in his throat. You wouldn't expect it amongst such gruesome scenery, but it was something like a chuckle, and caused Dale to raise an eyebrow in suspicion.

"That is fine, is it not?" Vint's father, who allowed himself to be called Hagel, said to Dale in a low voice. "Our hated enemy is now clear to us."

"...That's true."

Hagel approached Dale's side, spread out his wings, and stretched his body. "So the demon lords are our foes, are they? It shall be amusing, having an enemy worthy of a battle risking our lives."

"You'll join me...?" Dale's expression had hardly shifted up until now, but sure enough, he looked surprised.

Hagel once again made a sound like a chuckle in his throat. "I have entrusted my pack to the next generation. It will be amusing to test my power without any obligations for once in this life of mine."

He was a friend of Dale's grandmother. It was possible that he intended to watch over Dale in her place.

Dale considered such things but thought it would be uncouth to say so, so he simply voiced his gratitude. "...You have my thanks."

They tossed the scattered corpses into the first floor of the tower. The lowest floor had even more butchered bodies than the surrounding crushed rubble, making it look like a picture of hell. However as the one who had made all this happen, Dale's expression didn't shift in the least.

Dale left the tower, and then by his request, Hagel unleashed fire magic upon it. Adding wind magic on top, Hagel also sent fresh oxygen into the tower. In an instant, the structure was wrapped in a swirl of flames and became a red, shining pillar.

The massive library surely contained books so rare that one could say their loss was to the detriment of the world as a whole. However, that was none of his concern. He couldn't see a need to restrain his urge to burn it to the ground.

It wasn't justice. This was all for the sake of his own feelings.

"I'll definitely get you back..."

Even though he knew she wasn't there, Dale still whispered those words as he stared at the flames from the burning tower reaching up towards the heavens.

†

After leaving Kreuz, Dale first headed to his home village. Rather than using the highway route he'd once traveled with Latina, he forced his way over the rugged mountain range. Though it wasn't impossible to traverse when using earth magic to confirm his heading, it was a rough land without any trails, so plunging forward there alone and unaided would normally be tantamount to suicide.

However, Dale had confidence that he could manage it because of the power Latina had granted him as a retainer.

He had more in his reserves than ever before in terms of stamina, strength, and mana. Now that he could get by with minimal sleep and sustenance, it should be possible to travel even a rough, rugged path without resting. On top of that, he was able to travel as lightly as possible.

He wouldn't do anything that had no chance of succeeding. Because he wasn't acting recklessly, he was able to make the best possible decisions.

After arriving on foot in just a few days when the normal route would have taken weeks, Dale quietly announced his visit to his family. His parents were surprised to see him show up so suddenly and without any advance notice, but more than that, the dark expression devoid of emotion on Dale's face told them that something was wrong. Dale was grateful that they ushered him into the house without any serious questioning.

Because of how Dale looked, his mother excused herself, and Dale spoke with his father and grandmother in the latter's room.

Without even taking off his traveling gear, Dale plainly laid out the circumstances..

"Latina disappeared," he stated frankly. He still didn't know the details of what had happened, so he didn't try to hide anything. "Latina said that she had met the qualifications... and she became a demon lord. I confirmed that with my divine protection. Latina is a demon lord now."

Though almost nothing ever shook his grandmother, even she couldn't help but look a little surprised at what Dale was telling them.

"But... at the same time, Latina is still herself. Nothing has changed... she's still my precious Latina," Dale said, his words dripping with strong and palpable emotion.

His grandmother and father exchanged a brief glance.

His tone held a lamentation over having his beloved suddenly stolen away, so pained that it was as if he were spitting up blood. It seemed even Dale himself hadn't realized the amount of emotion in his voice, and that made it clear just how important the person he'd lost was to him.

"I still don't know exactly what happened. The one thing I'm certain of is that the demon lords were involved. So I'm going to go see for myself."

His father Randolph looked like he wanted to say something, but his grandmother Wendelgard looked no different than usual, simply smoking away on her pipe.

Suddenly, Wendelgard pointed the tip of her pipe at her grandson and asked, "So, what do you want from us?"

"It's my duty to face off against demon lords. But I can't gather the information I want on my own. I want you to lend me Tislow's power."

"I see..."

Those of Tislow held great respect for the clan, and they felt a strong unity with those who shared the same ancestors. There were those who left the clan but still served it by shouldering the role of "Reki," and there were also "Tislow" settlements in other nations who shared common ancestors.

This formed a massive intelligence network entirely separate from the temples of Akhdar.

Dale was fully aware of the fact that the people of his village were exceptional warriors and magic users. However, he had no desire to make them into the vanguard for his confrontation with the demon lords. But since he'd decided to take on the demon lords scattered throughout the world, the presence or absence of a clan of supporters with their own unique information network made a huge difference.

His grandmother's assistance was also indispensable in coordinating his contract with Duke Eldstedt. Even if Dale couldn't earn his grandmother's aid or approval, his intentions wouldn't change, but he still chose to make it his top priority to report to his clan.

Wendelgard gave Dale a wide grin.

"Do whatever you think is right," she said in a quiet voice, like it was nothing at all. "You don't have to worry about anything. You can just leave all the troublesome stuff to me."

Randolph looked to have complex feelings over his mother's reaction, but then seemed to make up his mind. "That girl is already a member of our clan. We won't let you regret reaching out to us."

Because they were family, Dale could tell from the way that she brought her pipe down with a clonk that his grandmother wasn't exactly pleased.

"You may be up against demon lords, but that doesn't matter," she said with a daring smile, making Dale feel like he'd been given a push on the back.

Randolph had remained silent up until now, but when he saw Dale stand up without even laying a hand on his teacup, he asked, "Are you heading out already?" He sounded anxious.

"...There's someone I want to meet with first. I'll come back here after that."

"I see. We'll have to figure out how to get in contact with you, too. Make sure you make it back." "Okay."

Watching Dale walk out of the room, Randolph breathed out a sigh like he was letting out all the pain in his heart. "That girl... really did have a huge effect on him... on letting him live as himself."

"Don't waste time hemming and hawing about such nonsense. We've got a lot to get done." Wendelgard let out a long puff of smoke and shot a glare at her son. "He still hasn't given up. He wouldn't even think twice about breaking every bone in his body to bring that girl back."

Though he didn't match up to the sheer unshakable presence of his mother, who had been called a legend when she was younger, Randolph sat up just a little straighter.

"And I can't let myself go dying before I see that girl become a bride, either."

And when that time came, Wendelgard's grandson would surely be beside her, looking like his usual self.

Their enemies, the demon lords, would surely pay a great cost for having stolen away that meager happiness from them. With an intense light in her eyes, Wendelgard gazed at an invisible foe.

After he left the manor, Dale pushed on into the mountains, following an animal trail he had walked together with Latina many times. He felt like if he looked back, he'd see her young self there with her pigtails swaying from side to side. But he never turned around; he kept facing ahead.

Following his memory, he continued farther into the forest when he reached a slightly open space in the tree line. Past that, there was a settlement. It would be hard to call it a village, but it was clearly a place where a group of intelligent beings lived.

The growls that erupted around Dale made the creatures' wariness readily apparent. Knowing he mustn't take his sword in hand or show any hostility, Dale kept his stance relaxed as he looked at the beasts surrounding him. He simply took the animosity they were giving off, remaining silent and emitting no fighting spirit in exchange but ready to defeat them all if push came to shove.

This was a soaring-wolf settlement.

There were no buildings. It was established at the base of a beautiful, large tree that drew the eye, even in this abundant forest that was rich with Quirmizi's blessing. The massive tree's thick branches and leaves extended towards the heavens, and the soaring wolves made their homes here and there atop those branches. The thick green leaves served as roofs, blocking the strong sunlight and sheltering them from wind and rain.

From among the numerous soaring wolves growling at the intruder in order to protect their homes, one with jet-black fur stepped forward. It possessed a slender physique for a grown soaring wolf, giving Dale the impression that he may be looking at a female.

The black wolf cast her gaze about her surroundings, and the other soaring wolves around her, all larger than she, quit howling and made way for her.

She walked up to Dale's side, twitched her nose a bit, and then gave a satisfied-looking nod.

"Man, words, poor. Me, words, working?" "...Yeah."

The voice from the black wolf had a high-pitched tone to it, resembling that of a woman.

"Me, child's, smell."

"...Vint's, you mean."

It seemed this female wolf was Vint's mother. She had apparently smelled the scent of her cub on Dale and in turn subdued the surrounding soaring wolves.

Her eyes, a deeper reddish-brown than Vint's, stared straight at Dale. "Sorry for all the trouble my child has caused you." Those words came out unusually naturally. "Business?"

"Yeah. If you could hear me out, I'd be grateful." "Understood, come."

The black wolf turned around and started walking, leading Dale. The other soaring wolves opened a path for her, taking care not to get in her way. From their reaction, Dale figured that as the leader's mate, she held a high rank in the pack.

The black wolf led Dale to the base of the large tree and then kept on walking. The open space was surrounded in a semi-circle by the thick roots that supported the tree, with a single beam of light coming down into it. The soft undergrowth thrived in this place, making something like a comfortable natural carpet there, which Dale recalled making the young girl smile.

The leader of the settlement, a grey soaring wolf, was there. Seeing Dale, he gave a small dissatisfied groan. "By our agreement, you men are not to meddle with this land of ours. We were supposed to have such a covenant of non-aggression."

"I acknowledge that I'm at fault. I'm acting on my own, as an individual.

The clan has no intention of revoking their pledge."

Looking like he had no interest in Dale's reply, the soaring wolf gave a single wag of his tail. By his side, the black wolf lay down, settling into a relaxed posture.

"Well then, what business do you have?" "...Latina was stolen away."

With that, the wolf's ears shot straight up.

"Latina met the qualifications and became a demon lord. The number of enemies who can harm her are limited. So the ones who stole her away are likely her fellow demon lords."

"That child..." From the tone of the low voice the wolf wrung out, Dale once again realized that Latina really was loved by a great many people.

"I still don't know precisely what happened. But even if it takes me running around the entire world, I intend to figure it out," Dale said, his gaze fixed on the wolf leader. "To figure out what happened to Latina and get her back... I'd like you to lend me your power. To loan me the wings needed to soar through the skies."

It was impossible to use the flying dragons, which were regulated by the country, for personal business. Dale had immediately thought of gaining the assistance of the soaring wolves when he made the decision to circle the world in search of Latina; their ability to travel through the skies made them highly mobile.

Latina had once ridden Vint to travel from Kreuz to the capital, Ausblick.

Dale realized he lacked her level of magic control, so he couldn't use the exact same method she had. But if he used an adult soaring wolf, that was a different story.

He knew it was a difficult request. But since he lacked the ability to use Center magic, he couldn't employ magical beasts. The only option open to him was the soaring wolves of this land, who had a deep bond with Latina.

"If I were to refuse, what would you do?"

"I'd still see it through, no matter how long it took," Dale said without hesitation. The wolf wagged his tail in response; it reminded Dale of Vint.

Watching and waiting at his side, the black wolf rubbed her head up against the pack leader's neck. That action was similar to what Vint did when he wanted Latina to dote on him. He let loose a troubled sound in the depths of his throat as the black wolf stared at him.

"It, fine," she said briefly. "Is it truly alright?" "Fine."

With her repeated response, he lifted his face. "I wish for a little time. You shall not regret waiting."

"...Got it. I'll come again."

With that, Dale once more took to the animal path to return to Tislow. A few days later, Dale stood prepared to head off on his journey, Vint's father Hagel by his side. Dale frankly hadn't expected that the pack leader himself would be the one to accompany him.

Hagel had transferred his duties as leader of the pack to his second-in- command, and now he took on the task of acting as Dale's wings. Nobody else would accompany Dale on this foolish journey except him, Granny Wen's old friend and one with a deep connection with Latina.

Unlike Vint, Hagel possessed a tough, large frame, so even with Dale on his back, he showed no sign of being burdened. He spread out his wings and took off into the skies at a steady speed.

There was no saddle on Hagel's back, like a flying dragon would have, and it was hard to call the ride a pleasant experience for Dale. Compared to a flying dragon, soaring wolves flew more by "running" through the skies, and it was even more jostling than on a horse.

However, being particularly skilled even amongst mythical beasts, Hagel used Wind magic to protect Dale even while running through the sky. Dale was thus able to proceed to his destination without being exposed to the strong wind pressure that would normally accompany moving at such high speeds.

Dale had been able to cross over several countries to reach the tower of the Fifth Demon Lord so easily and quickly because he'd had Hagel's support.

†

After defeating the Fifth Demon Lord, Hagel and Dale headed to an unbelievably vast prairie, where a dry wind blew. The smell of the green grass differed from that of any land Dale knew.

Light green speckled with amber spread all the way to the horizon. The mountain range ahead was so far off it looked hazy, and instead of being a lush green like the one surrounding his home village, it was the color of exposed bedrock.

If that girl whose grey eyes would sparkle at every little thing were at his side, what sort of face would she make upon seeing this scenery for the first time? Pushing the thought from his mind, Dale clenched his left hand into a tight fist, causing his gauntlet to make a small metallic sound. After standing still for a short while, Dale recalled his objective and started walking.

On this prairie devoid of any shelter, a group could be seen moving slowly along in the distance. Dale moved quietly towards them. Aside from the blowing wind, all that could be heard was the sound of one man and a single beast stepping on grass.

"You will not be launching a surprise attack, like with the Fifth Demon

Lord?" Hagel asked, looking confused.

They had seen the group Dale was approaching even from the sky. If he had launched a preemptive magic strike from the air, he would have been able to cause significant damage before their battle even started. But Dale had chosen to take the time to purposefully land a distance away and then approach them.

Hagel couldn't understand the reason behind Dale's actions.

"There's no logic behind it... It's just, he's someone I think is worthy of respect."

As he approached the mass that was the shadow of the group, he became able to distinguish the individuals: a jumble of old and young, male and female. They wore unique clothing—tanned magical beast-leather vests, and wide sashes wrapped around their waists. They clearly had a culture that differed greatly from that of Laband.

They didn't have the air of travelers about them. Rather, it was more like a whole village itself was moving. Their livestock and the carts carrying everything they needed to live moved steadily alongside them.

Getting closer to the group, Dale's sense of distance actually grew more muddied.

Everyone in the group possessed a massive frame. They were tall enough that you needed to look up at them, and their bodies were equally as broad.

As he was accompanied by such a large beast, they seemed to have noticed Dale walking towards them. The group stopped and cast suspicious gazes at the hero, who was blocking the way they were heading.

The man walking at the head of the group stepped forward. He had the largest body and most impressive horns.

As he stood before the man, Dale called out, "...The Sixth Demon Lord, right?"

As Dale possessed the ability to identify demon lords, he didn't need to actually confirm that fact. The man he had addressed, however, looked amused.

"What business does a human have in a place like this?"

Hearing that the words the demon lord used were in Western Continental, Dale decided to keep talking in his mother tongue, too.

Dale was able to hold some degree of conversation in Eastern Regional, which he had used when confronting the Fifth Demon Lord. Thanks to his education, he could also understand the bare minimum of the minor language of the south.

Dale removed the gauntlet on his left arm and showed the man before him the back of his hand.

"...Smaragdi," the Sixth Demon Lord quietly whispered. He corrected his posture. He placed no blame on Dale, who slipped his glove back on and reattached his gauntlet.

"Well then, what does the servant of a demon lord want with me?" "I want to avenge my master," Dale responded quietly.

The Sixth Demon Lord stared at him, the smile now wiped from his face. "Why did you come and face me in such a foolishly open manner, retainer of the Eighth Demon Lord?"

"Out of respect for you, the leader of a clan."

Dale couldn't deny the animosity or hatred he felt towards the demon lords. However, he was also aware that that was solely based on his own egotistical feelings. He knew that things would be easier if he could remain emotional and act based on that. But because he couldn't change his way of doing things, Dale had faced such writhing agony that he felt he would lose himself.

Thanks to the information network of his home village, Dale had learned of the precise whereabouts of the Sixth Demon Lord, who was also known as the King of the Giants. Dale had also learned that this demon lord was a virtuous leader of his clan.

This clan, with their giant bodies, were a minority amongst devils. Fitting to their appearance, they possessed particularly great physical strength, and the devils were a tough race to start with. That was a key reason that they were able to live in this harsh environment, which was unsuitable to farming and made settling down difficult. But more than that, they were able to live peacefully in this vast, unsparing land because of the protection the Sixth Demon Lord granted to his clan as retainers. By becoming a demon like Dale was now, they gained abilities that exceeded that of their original race. This allowed them to live even in this wasteland where food was scarce without starving.

The Sixth Demon Lord was a good leader who led his people down the proper path. Considering that, Dale's actions could bring about nothing but calamity for the Sixth Demon Lord's clan. It would only be natural for them to detest him. In fact, it wouldn't be strange for his actions to make him an enemy of the entire clan.

And so, Dale had abided by a certain point of pride inside him. Because the Sixth Demon Lord was a leader of a clan, Dale sympathized with him, and out of respect for his clan, he had chosen to face the demon lord head-on.

He had chosen that path because he had learned that this demon lord was a proud warrior who never strayed in the way he lived.

The Sixth Demon Lord quietly looked at Dale, who had openly declared war. Raising one hand, he restrained his people, who were making a ruckus while laying hands on their sheathed weapons as they faced the man who had displayed clear animosity towards their king.

"Silence."

The animosity itself didn't disappear, but with that single word the Sixth Demon Lord had brought the situation under control. There was a definite charisma to him as he did so, and he had the air of a king about him.

"Is your desire to take my head?"

"That depends: Do you recall stealing away my master?"

"I am indeed a target of your revenge," the demon lord replied, not showing any agitation. In turn, Dale drew his sword and pointed the tip at him.

"Well then, allow me to clear away my grudge on behalf of my master, as the retainer of the Eighth Demon Lord." "Very well. I accept your challenge."

With this clear declaration of combat from their king, his people simply watched on as the demon lord moved away from them alongside Dale. His clan was fully aware that to interfere with this fight would only serve to dishonor their proud king as both a warrior and a leader.

Rather than getting worked up before the battle, Dale quietly observed the situation. The earth and grass his boots treaded upon felt parched. It wasn't bad footing, but he needed to keep in mind the possibility of a dust cloud getting kicked up. Just as he'd expected, the Sixth Demon Lord was meeting him in a one-on-one duel. If push came to shove, someone may try to interrupt, but Hagel was keeping a quiet eye on the demon lord's people. The soaring wolf was skilled enough that the odds of a surprise attack were low.

Dale had a habit of holding his sword lowered just a bit. That posture allowed him to carefully observe his opponent and figure out how to deal with them. The Sixth Demon Lord was equipped with an unrefined, curved sword. Craftsmen like those in Tislow would see it as something essentially worthless, unable to be called a blade. However, the massive hunk of metal shaped into the form of a sword wasn't made for cutting, but for smashing and destroying.

There were no niceties before the duel, such as giving their names once more.

The curved blade drew an arc through the air. The second he realized it was coming, Dale moved a half-step to the side. Hearing the sound of it slicing through the air right beside him, Dale realized the Sixth Demon Lord was using this favored weapon of his to put his massive frame to maximum effect for a powerful blow.

Dale's gaze remained fixed, and he fended off the sword that came flying at him, taking advantage of the time it took the demon lord to get back in position. A dull metallic sound rang out once, then again. Dale's deflected blade soon started swinging again, and Dale unleashed a continuous attack.

When the demon lord blocked all of them with his curved blade, Dale realized his opponent possessed not only herculean strength, but also speed and skill to go along with it. At the same time, the demon lord realized that Dale was still taking a wait-and-see approach. Over the course of several clashes, they gauged one another's ability and then separated for a moment.

With Hagel and the Sixth Demon Lord's followers watching over them, the two once again closed the gap at the same time. This time it wasn't Dale, but the demon lord who took the offensive.

Rather than using his sword, Dale used the gauntlet on his left arm to block the curved blade descending towards him. Rather than his own blade, which would lose in terms of strength, he put all of his trust in the piece of armor that was the culmination of all the refined techniques of his home village.

"Guh!" The weight of the demon lord's blow caused Dale to let out a brief gasp. His former self never would have been able to withstand that powerful strike, but now that his body had been strengthened as a demon, he was able to firmly and flexibly receive it.

As long as he had the power she had given him, he could fight back. He was confident of that.

Meanwhile, the demon lord was openly surprised to have his blow blocked. As his muscles stiffened in the midst of this momentary clash, a ferocious smile crossed the demon lord's face without even he himself realizing it. Be they men or demons, there had never before been anyone who could survive his full force. Ever since he became a demon lord, he'd never fought with his full strength. If he let this chance slip by, he had no idea when he'd get another.

Amongst his fellow demon lords, the second and seventh possessed enough combat ability to compete with him. However, their goals and outlooks on life differed, and they didn't possess a warrior's dignity like the Sixth Demon Lord. They paid no heed to living like a warrior and wouldn't hesitate to use his bond with his clan as a means to bring about his destruction. He had no desire to clash blades with such beings.

And so, this battle with the retainer of the Eighth Demon Lord made his heart leap with joy.

Even when battling his master's enemy, this man was courteous and respected the demon lord's pride as a warrior. He was the retainer of a noble lord who stood firmly facing things head-on and protected those she needed to from the demon lords who were part of the natural order—or more specifically, the Demon Lords of Calamity.

The Sixth Demon Lord had no intention of letting himself be killed. He needed to continue leading his people. But for now, he had completely forgotten that duty and was focused solely on swinging his sword.

Dale's gaze caught the blade swung by the demon lord, and he dodged.

There was no damage, not so much as a dent on the bit of armor that his village had prepared for him to protect himself as he went into the outside world. But when receiving this destructive of a blow, Dale needed to brace his entire body for the impact, and because of that, he wasn't able to employ the fighting style that was his specialty. There was no reason to fight according to his opponent's strengths, though.

"Oh earth, by my name I order you, strike my enemy. (Stone spear)"

Even as Dale recited this spell, the speed at which he swung his blade didn't slow. He intuitively realized that the concentration needed to refine his mana placed a much lighter burden on him than it used to. His accuracy didn't decrease even with consecutive swings of his blade.

Seeing that was the case, he also started casting spells one after another, too. He stuck with the same chant because it could be used near instantly, allowing him to pelt his foe with it repeatedly. His mouth kept on chanting, with him hardly even thinking about it.

It was an attack that combined continuous spells with swings of his blade.

The Sixth Demon Lord swept almost all of this aside with his curved sword. It was a feat only capable of a warrior who was beyond merely first- rate.

Dale's power as a hero eliminated the protection demon lords inherently had, and that was proof that everything the demon lord was doing was because of his own abilities.

Dale had a sort of respect for this king as a warrior, both in terms of skill and lifestyle. He was a great enough man to make him think, If only it weren't for the irreconcilable fact that he stole her away.

The shadows of the two fighters stretched long over the parched land.

The sun was high in the sky when their battle had started, but it was already starting to set. That light of the sun just before dusk dyed the prairie that stretched out as far as the eye could see scarlet.

Even though several hours had passed in this duel to the death, Dale felt no fatigue in the arm gripping his blade. Even though his legs kept dodging blows—any of which could have led to a fatal wound—there was no dull heaviness about them. Even without relying on healing magic, he was still able to keep on fighting. As time passed, he only felt more and more strongly just how great of a power she had given him.

In comparison, the Sixth Demon Lord's movements had lost the vigor they had at the start of the battle. As time passed, the weight of his favored weapon which let him make the most of his massive strength had become more and more of a burden. Impatience would lead to a chink in his armor.

The demon lord was well aware that trying to rush a conclusion would be a foolish plan. But since he didn't see any signs of fatigue in his opponent, he also sensed that taking too much longer would hand his foe the victory.

He couldn't delay things any longer. Even so, the demon lord didn't have even the slightest intention of retreating; he adjusted his grip on the blade that served as his partner, in order to come out of this battle victorious. He looked for the chance to unleash the greatest possible blow left in him upon the man standing before him and staring at him with a sharp gaze.

Then, the Sixth Demon Lord gave a firm step forward, intending to settle things, and after an exchange that lasted a mere instant, the end to this long battle came terribly quickly.

Having collapsed to the ground, the Sixth Demon Lord looked up at the man who had cut him down. On his back, he felt the parched earth sucking up the blood flowing out of his body.

He prayed that his people wouldn't make a move because they'd been stirred up by the sight of his collapse. If they were dealing with this man, they'd surely face great losses. Perhaps guessing at his desire for that not to occur, one youth stepped forward to restrain the crowd. Seeing the boy—his own grandson—like that, the demon lord thought the youth could lead their people even after his death.

"The winner has the right to take the horns of the loser," the demon lord said, but Dale simply shook his head.

"All I need is your life... I have no use for your pride."

"...I see." The demon lord looked up at the light-purple sky spreading out behind Dale. It was beautiful. Those heavens had been there since before he had become a demon lord, and they had remained there ever since.

He was dying under that sky, protecting his people, as a warrior. That wasn't so bad, he thought.

"You have my gratitude, honorable retainer of the Eighth Demon Lord."

It was a mercy to a defeated warrior to sever their neck with a single blow. The demon lord quietly closed his eyes, and an ever-so-faint smile passed his face when he thought of how fortunate he was, having been granted the chance to end his life in a fight against such a splendid opponent.

That final thought was cut off by Dale's descending sword. His blade, clad in a red darker than even the remaining light from the setting sun, made a small metallic sound.

Looking down at his sword, Dale muttered, "I'm not 'honorable,' or anything of the sort..."

However, he hadn't openly denied those words, because he knew he was currently fighting under her name. He didn't give a damn about his own honor. However, he wouldn't forgive anyone who looked down on her, even himself.

Looking around, he found Hagel's silent, golden eyes staring at him. The clan of the slain king wailed with anger and hatred and above all else, sadness. From the lamentation that rippled outward, Dale saw that the Sixth Demon Lord had been truly loved.

Dale was prepared for them to strike at him, seeking revenge for their king. In the midst of that powderkeg of a situation, a single young man stepped forward. The youth, who somehow resembled the Sixth Demon Lord, approached the man who should be his hated enemy and bowed with a gentle expression on his face.

"Will you let us have our lord's remains?"

"Like I already said, all I wanted was to avenge my master."

The youth maintained his decorum throughout the exchange. Dale, meanwhile, couldn't help but look a little puzzled thanks to the attitude of this young man, as it would be only natural for the boy to despise him.

Perhaps realizing this, the youth continued talking.

"We show respect to strong warriors. Death in battle is an honor. Those are our customs. Failing to follow them would taint our king's honor." It wasn't as if he was calm inside, but thanks to his dignity and unshakeable faith in his own king, the youth didn't allow his logical exterior to crumble. "As you respected our lord's honor, we must show you the same to the best of our ability."

They most definitely hadn't forgiven him. If they ever met again, they'd point their blades at Dale as a hated enemy. Even knowing he was an enemy strong enough to defeat a demon lord and that they'd have no chance of winning, they wouldn't retreat.

But for now and now alone, they showed respect for Dale as a single, strong warrior, just like he had done for their king.

"...I pray that we never meet again."

Dale left them with those final words because he didn't wish to partake in a battle with this clan, with their proud yet awkward way of life.

Even when Dale turned his back to them, accompanied by Hagel, they didn't show even a hint of launching a surprise attack. It made Dale realize just how noble their earnest way of living was.

The clan of the Sixth Demon Lord melded into a single mass, then soon disappeared into the twilight.

When they were gone, Hagel finally stopped walking and spread out his wings. "I believe I understand the meaning behind your words, when you said that he had your respect," he said to Dale, who was by his side.

Hagel had waited until there was enough distance between them to spread his wings because in the instant he took off into the skies, he was defenseless. If it were just Hagel alone that wouldn't be the case, but with Dale riding on his back, the evasive actions he could take were limited.

Hagel had kept a vigilant eye on the Sixth Demon Lord's clan the entire time, likely even more so than Dale.

"It's not like I didn't have any resentment... But if I lost sight of myself... she'd definitely never forgive me."

"I see." Hagel didn't ask to whom those words referred.

"To get Latina back, I'll kill all the demon lords," Dale whispered, then hopped on Hagel's back. The remaining light coming over the far off horizon had become a single line of red, looking like it was about to disappear as he looked up into the sky.

Even if he was able to kill all of the demon lords, he couldn't say for certain that that would bring her back. In reality, he had realized that fact. The ones who had sealed her were the demon lords, though, so he clung to the possibility that implied. He'd destroy all of the chains that bound her. He believed that he'd get her back, without fail. If he couldn't, then he'd surely lose himself.

Amidst the sound of the wind and the strong beating of Hagel's wings,

Dale gripped his left hand tightly.

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