The Fake Saintess and the Elf Warrior

She wanted to say that that wasn't actually the case.

Because she didn't want Mayla to cause too much of a stir, and didn't want her to be targeted by that scheming organization or become the center of attention, she deliberately sent her to this place where no matter how much Mayla caused trouble, it wouldn't attract anyone's attention... Naka really wanted to say her true thoughts like this. However, she remained silent.

Perhaps in this lifetime, I will forever be seen as your enemy, your foe. But that no longer matters to me... These thoughts echoed in Naka's mind as she felt a sorrow and pain that only she could comprehend. Then, she put on the fake demon mask.

"...Since you won't listen no matter what I say, I have no choice but to resort to this tactic."

From the very beginning, Naka never expected Mayra's forgiveness. Regardless of how Mayra viewed herself, Naka's only wish was for Mayra to be happy and start a new life without worries.

Yes, just as Mayera said. There was no need for her to remain by their side; she was just an obstacle. So, a plan took shape in Naka's mind.

Since Mayra believes she's lying, and if she firmly believes she still wants to take her back... then let her believe that. It doesn't matter if her true feelings aren't conveyed.

"That's right, I'm here to arrest you, Mayera. Since you won't listen to reason, I'll have to teach you a lesson... But you're too old to drink, haha..."

As she spoke, Naka assumed a fighting stance. Even months ago, during her battle against Tatia, she hadn't adopted any fighting posture, but now she was making a provocative gesture towards her daughter, beckoning her with four fingers.

"If you can't defeat me, then I'll have to take you back... So bring it on, my foolish daughter. I'll make you understand that you can never escape my grasp."

The Demon King was an utterly wicked being from the very beginning, an enemy who had to be defeated. This was not only Mayera's perception, but also an objective fact. Therefore, Naka had no intention of changing it.

As long as the "result" is correct, the means are completely unimportant.

All you need to do is play the role of "a failed demon king who attempted to kidnap his daughter, but was discovered by the heroes like Tatia, who thwarted his plot and had to give up the idea in frustration."

"Last time, I had to postpone bringing you back because of an urgent matter that came from inside the city... but that won't happen this time."

So, the Demon King slowly released fragments of her boundless magic. She opened her hands, burning with black flames, and uttered lies to her daughter, who was already drenched in sweat.

"Prepare yourself, Mayera. This time, you're not getting away."

Author's Note: I've been incredibly busy lately. I simply haven't had time to update. I'm really sorry for the long delay.

Mother vs. Daughter (Part 2)

On the border between the human kingdom and the former elven kingdom, a group of people were slowly advancing. They were orderly and uniform.

The leader was a man clad in armor, with a huge collar around his neck, horns extending from the sides of his head, and pointed ears... all of which proved that this person was no human, but rather humanity's enemy: a monster.

Therefore, the life forms following behind him could not possibly be human.

The demons, baring their fangs and gleaming with ferocity, stared intently at the horizon where the human kingdom lay. There lay the border of the human realm, their next destination.

It was also the perfect place for them to unleash their wildness and lust, and begin their long-suppressed killing spree.

A brigade of the Demon King's army had quietly approached a small fortress guarded by lazy, complacent human soldiers. The soldier on the watchtower stared at the ground, yawning incessantly. If his comrades hadn't already fallen asleep, and if he hadn't been responsible for keeping an eye on his superiors who came to patrol, he probably would have collapsed onto the ground long ago.

The conflict between the two countries was temporarily suspended for some unknown reasons, allowing the tense nerves of some people to begin to relax.

But none of them could have predicted that this was merely the silence before the Demon King's army decided to launch a new offensive...

.....

"After midnight, our assassins will first kill the soldiers on the beacon towers to prevent humanity from sending out distress signals! Then, when red smoke rises from the southeast, it will be the signal to attack! At that time, unleash our instincts and roars! Smash their walls with all our might! Destroy their iron gates! Exterminate every single human in this fortress! Quench our thirst with their blood, and fill our stomachs with their flesh!!"

"roar!!!!"

The leading general shouted to his men. The breach of the temporary truce, igniting a new round of war, was now their responsibility. Every monster's morale soared, and in an instant, the sounds of battle shook the heavens.

"Everything is for His Majesty the Demon King!"

"For His Majesty the Demon King!"

These two sentences were repeated several times at the end...

........

"Today I can finally start killing and eating human flesh again...hehehe...I've been waiting for this for so long..."

As preparations for the battle, the monsters began to prepare their weapons, sharpening their swords and spears. One monster, imagining the scene to come, drooled excitedly as it dripped onto its short sword.

He thought it would feel amazing to use it to sever human heads and rip open their bellies.

"Yes, this is not only so we can fight to our hearts' content, but also to help His Majesty the Demon King unify the world!"

Another monster beside it echoed its sentiment. It seemed they were thinking the same thing.

"Oh, right..."

As the monster pondered this, it began to consider another question.

"...Why does His Majesty the Demon King want to conquer the world?"

"...God knows. Maybe they want to experience the thrill of killing, just like us?"

"Then why has His Majesty never personally gone to the battlefield even once?"

"...Perhaps it's to seize more resources?"

"Since the current Demon King ascended the throne, the country's situation has improved significantly, and resources are not so scarce anymore... Is there some resource that can only be obtained by waging war?"

"So, who knows... Maybe it's to find something? After all, now that the whole world is in His Majesty's possession, there won't be any obstacles to him going anywhere in the world to find anything..."

"Looking for something? What is it? Whether it's money, beautiful women, or bloodshed... Your Majesty has it all now, doesn't he? Unless..."

If there's nothing in the world that the Demon King can't obtain, then perhaps...

Thinking of this, the two demons looked up at the starry sky above.

"...No way? Even the Demon King couldn't obtain the stars..."

"No, that's not necessarily true..."

"What?"

"I heard from a fire puppet demon that one day, His Majesty the Demon King suddenly descended from the sky and landed in a volcano... The armor His Majesty wore when he emerged from the lava radiated an intense heat that even fire demons couldn't withstand; the heat would instantly vaporize rocks... The demon in charge of that area asked His Majesty why he was there. And guess what His Majesty said?"

"....What?"

"His Majesty said he just went to the sun... because he wanted to know what that giant fireball that hangs in the sky and illuminates the world really is. So he went for a walk inside the sun..."

"What!? Go...go to that sun...inside?"

"Yes! After all, that's the biggest star we can see... But His Majesty said that besides being about a million times hotter than our world, there's nothing else worth mentioning there. He searched inside the sun for a long time but found no signs of life or anything of value, only endless explosions... He also said that each explosion was powerful enough to wipe out the entire human kingdom. Furthermore, he said that our world isn't actually a flat plane, but a rotating, super-giant sphere! And there are several such spheres, all orbiting the sun!"

"...Really? We live on a spinning ball? I don't feel it at all?"

"Anyway, that's what His Majesty said! Because he couldn't find anything of value in the end, he just kicked his leg a little and came back from the sun. Even the largest star didn't have what he wanted, so what in this world could possibly catch his eye and be worth all this trouble?"

"...God knows."

"No, even Heaven probably doesn't know..."

"Hey you over there! What are you all chatting about! Get ready!"

"Ah...yes!"

The two monsters only ended their seemingly mythical, yet ultimately meaningless, conversation when they were discovered by a centurion during a moment of leisure…

"ha!"

In a hellish alternate dimension, Mayera swung her claws fiercely at the girl with the same face as herself. Five sharp magical blades flew towards her.

"call"

However, it was completely dispersed and disappeared by the girl's slightest breath.

The girl hovered in the air. From the start of the battle, she hadn't moved a muscle. With just a couple of casual movements, she completely neutralized Mayera's all-out attacks.

Even so, Mayella still had no intention of giving up.

"You won't even put your feet on the ground to fight on the same level as me, but instead look down at me... You still despise me as much as ever, Mother! All the blood flowing here is a tragedy you created!"

"..."

It wasn't to flaunt her superiority, nor to escape her sins. She simply chose to levitate because she didn't want the clothes Mayra had bought for her to be stained with blood... Of course, Naka couldn't tell Mayra this reason. Leaving aside how shameful it would be for a Demon King to say such a thing, more importantly, even if she did, Mayra wouldn't believe her.

So she remained silent.

Seeing that her mother didn't even respond to her wishes, Mayera smiled helplessly. She also wished that today's happiness was actually real, that she was being unreasonable, and that her mother genuinely wanted to change her mind and rebuild their mother-daughter relationship. But her mother's attitude completely shattered any remaining hope in her heart.

Perhaps the problem could have been solved simply by both sides calming down and having a good talk on a small boat on the lake, and frankly expressing their true feelings, but it ultimately escalated to an irreparable point.

"Did you notice, Mother..."

Mayera patted her chest, pointing to her body, which was only covered by her own magical armor and nothing else.

"I have nothing left of what you gave me. Neither those jewels that only weigh on my heart and dazzle me, nor that insincere dress, nor the title of the Demon King's daughter... I need none of it. I will not accept anything you have given me... not even my name or my life!"

She knew better than anyone that she was burning her life force in this battle. She was trading her lifespan for immense power. But even so, she had no regrets.

"Now, all I want is freedom... not the freedom you gave me, but the freedom I snatched from you with my own hands! Even if it's just freedom of the soul, I'll give it my all!"

Even death is forbidden... Mayera wants to lift this restriction. To exchange physical death for spiritual liberation... Even if it's just that, this girl can be content.

She wanted to die. She wanted to die freely, according to her own will.

Because she knew that she could never defeat her mother or the Demon King.

"......well"

Faced with the situation that had driven her daughter to such a point, Naka could only sigh.

To defy her, her daughter went to such lengths. What terrible sins had she committed to be viewed this way by her daughter? What grave crimes had she committed to deserve such hatred from her daughter?

However, she did not deny her daughter's attitude, nor did she deny her daughter's words.

"That's right, Mayera. I misspoke earlier... Your freedom isn't something I bestow upon you. It's something you must grasp yourself. After being confined and imprisoned for so long, the things that have been weighing on your heart must be incredibly heavy and constantly swelling. That's good. If you don't let those things out properly, if you don't give them a good workout, you'll burn yourself out..."

Although she couldn't stand by and watch her daughter die, fulfilling her daughter's wishes as much as possible was what she, as a mother who had realized her mistakes, should do.

Knowing this, it's self-evident what I should do.

"Buzz"

With a soft thud, Naka's body was enveloped in a thin layer of magical protection to ensure her clothes wouldn't be soiled by the blood on the ground. Under these conditions, her body slowly descended to the ground, standing on the same plane as her daughter.

"Mayera, you'll be fourteen soon...right...?"

Just as Mayera was surprised by Naka's behavior, Naka made an even more unexpected remark.

When she met Tatia, she had already turned thirteen. More than half a year has passed since then, and thinking about it carefully, she is indeed approaching her fourteenth birthday.

"...So what if it is?"

It's better not to mention it. The more it's brought up, the more intense Mayella's anger becomes.

Because every year on her birthday, only her grandfather, Farn, would come to celebrate. Naka, the mother, had never once shown up at her daughter's birthday parties. Now, how could she possibly bring it up?

"call out...."

Naka let out a long sigh. Mayera seemed to realize that something had changed. Changes, though unseen, were indeed occurring in Naka.

For example, the fact that the pressure that was almost suffocating her had disappeared.

"What... what did you do?"

Faced with her daughter's questioning, Naka simply twisted her neck slightly.

"If I were to get serious, your little head would detach from your body before you even realize I'm making a move. Mayera, your immortality has no effect on me. Killing you would be incredibly easy. But wouldn't that be utterly boring?"

".......What?"

"Therefore, I have adjusted all my abilities, including magic, stamina, and strength, to the level I had when I was fourteen years old."

As she spoke these unbelievable words, Naka cracked her knuckles. She was no longer the Demon Lord with infinite power, but merely a slightly stronger monster warrior.

"I've lived for over a thousand years, but when I was your age, I had already experienced countless battles and brushed with death several times... Mayera. Since you want to gain your freedom with your own hands, then try it. If you can defeat me when I was fourteen, I will release you and grant you your freedom forever."

"Are you... are you looking down on me?! I've said it before, I don't want your charity..."

"This isn't charity. If you can prove you're stronger than me at the same age, it means you have greater potential than me. Surpassing me is only a matter of time. That would mean my defeat. I firmly believe I am absolutely invincible. Even at the same age, there is absolutely no one stronger than me in this world. If you can refute this assumption of mine, then I have lost. I am absolutely willing to accept defeat. At that time, you can go wherever you want, be with whomever you want, and I will absolutely not interfere again. But in return..."

At this point, Mayera sensed a sudden chill and murderous intent flash across Nakana's previously slightly kind eyes.

"...If you can't even defeat me when I was 990 years ago, then you've utterly failed. It means you can never escape from me, let alone surpass me. At that point, I'll take you back. What punishment awaits you will be up to me... Are you willing to accept it?"

This is neither a one-sided gift nor a one-sided suicide. Rather, it is an equal contest based on a certain degree of fairness and rules. Only a result decided in this way can be the most just outcome.

At least that's what Naka thinks.

Mayella was somewhat surprised that her mother would make such a condition.

But she quickly understood. She also realized...

"Hehe, hehehehehehehe..."

Perhaps her mother was absolutely confident, regarding her like a toy. That's why she had the confidence to make such a demand. But for Mayra, this was a golden opportunity.