Published at 18th of January 2020 10:52 pm

Volume 5, Chapter 4: The Platinum-haired Maiden Awakens

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Was it some sort of distortion in the overwhelming power that had been crushing her that caused it to come apart?

She opened her eyes.

Why...? she thought, but her head was still foggy. Her thinking was so muddled that she didn't even know why that question was coming to mind.

Her eyelids were terribly heavy. Like when she was dead-tired, she wasn't even able to move.

But, I can't... I can't... give up...

Within her dim thoughts, the one thing that clearly remained was that fact: she must never give up. While her consciousness felt like it was going to fade away, she desperately held onto that single thought.

I have to get up...

Over the course of a long, long stretch of time, she opened her eyes. The monochrome world before her looked like something out of a dream.

"Dale..." she muttered from atop the small throne in the center of this space where only demon lords could exist.

Where am I...?

Thanks to her head not working right, coupled with the otherworldly scenery, she simply wasn't capable of grasping her present circumstances. Feeling like her eyelids were about to shut again, she forced open her eyes with all her might and tried to remember just what had happened.

"Where's... Dale...?"

As that name flowed forth again without her even thinking about it, her mind cleared up just a bit. It was the name of someone precious to her. The one she loved more than anyone else and wanted to protect no matter what it took.

Why... am I...?

With that stimulating her thoughts, pieces of who she was began to surface.

She recalled the name that precious person had called her. The name indicated who she was, and by pulling at that thread bit by bit, Latina recalled what had happened to her.

She should have been sealed away by the demon lords who were part of the natural order. It was a sealing spell carried out by the combined will of all the demon lords, herself included. The result was incredibly powerful, so she thought she'd never wake again.

Why was she conscious right now?

Why...?

While she thought that, her hazy vision stopped on a single throne. It had a dead tree twined around it, and she had seen it before losing consciousness. That tree had completely split apart. It was awful enough to send a chill down her spine, a truly painful sight.

W-What...?

As her body still couldn't move properly, she started to move frustratingly slowly. With that, Latina finally was able to check the other thrones.

That hadn't been the only throne in such a terrible state. The thick books piled in the neighboring throne were torn apart, their pages scattered, and part of some of the covers looked to be burnt. The massive blade on the throne next to that one was cut apart midway through, showing a clean cross-section of its interior. Seeing its hilt fallen atop the throne for some reason caused her to tremble.

What has happened...?

Latina had no idea how long she'd been unconscious. However, she was certain that something out of the ordinary had occurred.

"Dale..." she muttered. She felt uneasy, realizing he was likely the answer. She didn't know anyone other than him who would do such a thing, and she couldn't think of anyone more capable of doing so, either.

What should I do...?

She tried to think it through, but her mind just wasn't working. Her brain was coated in several layers of haze like when in a dream, so she wasn't even able to manage a proper, logical train of thought.

What should I do, what should I do...?

While in the midst of confusion, Latina looked over the thrones as if to quell the question in her heart. She "knew" that the thrones in ruin were the fourth, fifth, and sixth. Next to them, the flag with an ominous dragon upon it at the seventh throne flew imposingly, even though there was no wind in this place.

Continuing along, there was the first throne. Latina's gaze stopped on it.

The symbol of that "king" was a royal scepter. The long, straight scepter hadn't changed at all since she'd lost consciousness. There wasn't a single scratch on it, nor did it seem to have bent in the slightest.

"Chrysos..."

After confirming that king's well-being, she breathed a sigh of relief. But then, Latina once more fell back into confusion.

What should I do...? Dale... Chrysos...

She didn't want the two of them to fight. Dale was undoubtedly the person Latina loved most, but Chrysos was also precious to her. And their positions were just too different that Latina couldn't possibly compare them on the same scale, anyway.

What should I do...? I have to protect them... I have to protect them... she repeated in her mind over and over, her thoughts spinning in circles.

Dale may hurt Chrysos for her sake. If nothing else, she couldn't let that happen.

They were both people that Latina wanted to protect. With her hazy mind, she desperately thought that she didn't want them fight.

"I need... to get out of here..."

Latina moved her body, so heavy it didn't even feel like her own, and

looked up at the sky from atop her throne.

"I need to stop Dale... I have to do something..."

Up until now, Latina had hardly had any understanding of the power and abilities she possessed as a demon lord. She hadn't desired the great powers of a demon lord, just the ability to create her own retainer. And when Dale granted her wish, she had already accomplished all of her goals in becoming one. She didn't have any interest in her other abilities and didn't think she needed them. She'd thought she could just learn about them over a long stretch of time, half-neglecting them. In actuality, things had moved so fast and she'd gotten wrapped up in her present circumstances, so she didn't even have the time to learn about it, but Latina was aware of that fact.

She brought the power within her under her control and started using an ability she could freely manipulate. Latina started screening out and refining her mana as a demon lord, which was separate from the mana she naturally possessed. She exercised extremely precise, delicate control as she did this over and over.

It wasn't as if she thought about it and then did it. Rather, Latina was able to carry it out intuitively, even with her mind in such a haze. Mana control was her greatest specialty, after all.

Latina separated out the majority of her power as a demon lord, yielding most of her power to the seal on the Eighth Demon Lord and letting her own self rise to the surface.

Her eyes wouldn't open; they felt heavy. Her body and eyelids were so heavy that she couldn't even budge them. She was having a hard time breathing. She gasped and gasped, but she simply couldn't get enough air.

There was something she needed to do. That idea alone is what kept her conscious, even though she felt like she was sinking away.

"Dale... Chrysos..."

She needed to go to them. That was what she thought, but her body wouldn't listen to her.

The back of her unmoving eyelids gradually grew warmer. She felt a pressure behind her eyes, and as she wondered why she wasn't able to do anything, the tears started flowing.

Latina had no idea how long that went on.

Feeling something wipe away her tears, Latina opened up her eyes just a sliver. She felt the soft grey fur on her cheek and the sun shining on her.

"Vint...?"

"Woof," he responded in his familiar voice, which made Latina break out in tears once again. Vint licked her tears, wiping them away.

"Vint... Dale... where is Dale?" "Dale not here."

"Why...? When... is he... coming back...?"

"Dunno. Hasn't come back. Everyone says don't know."

With Vint's reply, her thoughts started turning round and around again. She didn't know how she could stop Dale when she didn't even know where he was. She had no idea whatsoever as to what she should do.

What should I do...? Why, Dale...? What should I be doing...?

Right now, even Latina's sense of where she was at the moment was fuzzy. Her mind was utterly overwhelmed, filled with unease and the need to do something, alongside the spiral of questions. What Latina managed to wring out from that chaos was the name of the other person precious to her. "Chrysos..."

"Woof?"

"Vint... please, take to me to Chrysos... to Vassilios..." "Woof."

"To Vassilios..." Latina repeated, burying her face in Vint's fur.

Immediately afterwards, her muddied mind gave up on thinking entirely. If she didn't know where Dale was, then her only other option was to head towards Chrysos, whose whereabouts she knew. It took everything

Latina's muddled mind had to reach that conclusion.

If any of the adults downstairs had heard what she'd said, they surely would have presented her with a more appropriate solution. If she were in a more proper state of mind, the idea of asking someone for help would have come to her, which is what she should have done.

"Woof."

"Vi, I know. The country big sis was born in is over that way."

However, the only ones who heard her were this faithful pup and the black-haired child.

After Latina disappeared, Vint had remained in the Dancing Ocelot the entire time. While caring for Theo, he carefully watched over this shop that was his territory every day. If something were to happen to Theo, whom Latina doted upon, while she was away, she'd definitely be sad, and he also didn't want her thinking he was just a fluffy pup who couldn't even serve as a guard dog.

As always, Vint was playing with Theo, who at five years old was at the peak of mischievousness, in the backyard of the Ocelot. Lately, the number of rowdy, ill-behaved adult humans around had grown, which he found somehow irritating. Still, Latina wasn't around, so there was no helping that, or so Vint thought.

Even though the public order in Kreuz was degrading alongside the worsening state of the world, the couple who ran the Ocelot, Kenneth and

Rita, didn't feel the need to worry about their son playing with Vint. Even though the soaring wolf was still young, he was a mythical beast. His fangs and claws were plenty sufficient weapons for dealing with people, and he was able to use magic on top of that. Thugs at the level of novice adventurers wouldn't even be able to lay a hand on him. This dangerous beast would play-bite at their son and carry him around, but that wasn't enough to make the Ocelot's owners worried. What people could grow accustomed to truly was frightening.

While he was doing so, Vint suddenly picked up on Latina's smell. The scent was coming from Latina's room in the attic. He was surprised that it suddenly appeared, but he didn't think on the reason why. To a pup who moved at his own pace like Vint, more than the reason why, it was the fact that Latina was there that mattered.

Vint running off and leaving him behind left Theo in a bad mood. And so, he rushed after Vint to complain about suddenly being ditched. When he finally caught up to Vint, though, he realized that the missing Latina was there. To Theo, Latina was his beloved older sister. He wanted to hug her tight and ask her where she'd gone, but he saw that she didn't look well, and he restrained himself. As Emma's older brother, he'd learned to manage that much.

Theo thought he should help grant his beloved older sister's wish. She looked so pained as she made her request, tears streaming from her eyes. She was always so kind to him, and he wanted to return the favor. While he was young, Theo's sense of responsibility was strong, and he gave a firm nod.

"Vi, what should I do?"

"Woof," Vint replied, then approached the window Theo had pointed to. Realizing that, Theo opened up the attic window. Vint stuck his face out, and his nose twitched. His snout pointed toward the forest in the south, and his eyes narrowed as he thought about something.

"Vi?"

After a short while, Vint gave a satisfied nod. "Got it. There." "Vi, are you gonna carry Sis on your back?"

"Woof."

Vint got down low, and Theo placed the now-limp Latina on his back. It was a big task for someone as young as Theo, but he somehow managed it.

After thinking for a bit, he headed over into the storage space of the attic and returned with some cloth he had pulled out. It would be a serious issue if Latina were to fall off. Mimicking what his mother did when she had Emma on her back, Theo tied Latina to Vint's body. After having somehow managing to do it well, Theo looked satisfied with his work.

"Vi, can you get out through the window?" "Nope."

"I see."

Theo stopped and thought for a moment. If he wanted to help her, he couldn't let his parents find out. After all, they'd done stuff like filling in the extra-large pitfall he'd made with Vint and throwing away all the nice pebbles he'd collected. Adults just didn't understand anything.

"Vi, I'll go take a look downstairs." "Woof."

"If it's clear, I'll wave you on," Theo said, then descended the stairs, being careful not to make a sound. Before heading all the way down, he glanced all around the kitchen his father was always in at the bottom of the stairs.

Seeing that it was alright, he silently waved his hands at Vint in a big motion. Having had his physical abilities honed by playing with a mythical beast day after day, the five-year-old successfully acted as a scout and gathered information.

After safely reaching the backyard, Vint spread his wings wide. With a loud, clear sound, he put more power into flapping his wings than usual. Without Latina's magical support, it was a difficult task to take off into the sky with a person on his back, but it wasn't impossible.

Combining his Wind mana with the mana that gave his race that ability to fly through the heavens, he took off into the sky. Vint was plenty skilled when it came to flying, so though he swayed pretty heavily at the start, he soon found his balance.

There was quite a bit of distance before they reached their destination, but he could take as many breaks as needed, so he should be able to manage. Or at least, that's what the pup thought, living up to his carefree reputation as he flapped his wings toward their destination.

"Take care!"

After circling around above Theo, who was waving his hands vigorously, Vint took off towards the south. The boy kept waving his hands until Vint was completely out of sight.

It was then that Kenneth, who had finished cleaning and had returned to the kitchen, noticed his son.

"What's up, Theo?" "I saw Vi off."

"Vint...? Where was he heading off to?"

His son had a satisfied look on his face, like he'd managed to accomplish something, but unsurprisingly, Kenneth didn't realize why.

And that's how, despite being unconscious, the platinum-haired girl that the adults had been so desperately searching for departed on a trip to Vassilios with the help of a single pup and child.

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