The Fake Saintess and the Elf Warrior

"How do I get to that town of Vado you mentioned?"

"...ha?"

You said you would show me the way.

She had expected Tatiana to give her a long lecture, but instead, she was met with this completely unexpected question. Mayera couldn't help but utter a strange sound of doubt. But Tatiana's serious expression told her she wasn't joking. Mayera, who could have simply broken free and left, ultimately kept her promise to this temporary travel companion who had only accompanied her for less than a day.

"...Take the left road, and after walking for a while, you'll reach a fork in the road. Take the left road again. Then you'll arrive."

"Really?"

"This is what those three thieves told me before they died. I'm just relaying the truth. Believe it or not."

Having fulfilled her duty to provide the final information, Mayera forcefully shook off Tatia's hand and left.

Watching her departing figure, Tatsia didn't chase after her. She simply sat down on the ground, utterly exhausted. The events of that short day seemed like a dream. Coming and going in such a fleeting moment.

Mayera had mentioned that her destination was also Vado Town. If she set off now, it would seem like she was deliberately chasing after her, which would be very awkward for both of them. Tatia had no choice but to wait until Mayera was far away, to avoid setting off at the same time.

During this time, she thought about many, many things. The feeling of Mayera pressing down on her back still lingered, and the faint scent of Mayera's perfume still lingered on her body. Tatia sniffed her clothes. They still possessed a sweet fragrance she had never smelled before.

Judging by appearance alone, Mayera is indeed a very cute girl. Her smile also has an incredible power, gradually warming Tatia's already cold heart. But in the end, it was all just her acting. Perhaps seeing through someone else's lies is something to be thankful for. But Tatia still couldn't help feeling somewhat disappointed.

"Is doing this... really a good idea?"

The Demon King's daughter is an extremely dangerous being. Not only her abilities, but also her ruthless desire to exploit humans for her own ends is truly befitting of her status. Such a person should never be made a teammate or travel with. One never knows when she might decisively betray them, leaving them with an unexplained and tragic end.

But even if she leaves him, it doesn't mean his plan has completely failed. Mayera could easily use her beauty and sweet talk to deceive others in the same way.

Because Tatsia is a woman. More importantly, she still longs for Naka. Even though Mayera's resemblance to Naka makes Tatsia somewhat attracted, she can never replace Naka in her heart. Therefore, Tatsia didn't fall for her trap. Tatsia then thought about it. If it were someone else, especially a man, in this situation, the outcome might be completely different.

Moreover, before she finds someone willing to risk her life for her, she might kill again at the slightest provocation. Perhaps letting Mayera escape would indirectly lead to the death of some man, or even more. Tatia suddenly felt a pang of regret. Although she didn't know how to deal with Mayera, letting her go like this might not be the best course of action.

But keeping her by her side also posed a huge threat to Tatia herself. What should she do? This dilemma was far too difficult for Tatia, a girl of only fourteen years old.

Looking back in the direction Mayella had gone, she was nowhere to be seen. Only a few scattered people were still on their way, doing business, or traveling.

"Forget it, she's already gone anyway, there's no point in thinking about it anymore..."

Human abilities are ultimately limited. Even a Demon Lord at Level ∞ cannot confine a child who wants to run away from home to a room. Many things in this world do not go as one wishes. If someone were to die at Mayera's hands, Tatia could at most express regret. She understood that it was not her responsibility. Therefore, she didn't need to rack her brains over things she couldn't change.

She stood up and took a deep breath of fresh air, wanting to face the future with a renewed spirit. There were many things waiting for her to do, and many people she wanted to meet waiting to be found. She didn't have time to be held back by such things. Only doing what she had already planned to do was what she should be thinking about.

Tatia picked up her luggage and headed towards the main road.

Find your former self

The Demon King's Castle seems to have received some uninvited guests today.

Rumors, leaked from somewhere, say that the Demon King hasn't appeared in the Demon King's Castle recently. Perhaps he's ill, perhaps he's dead, or perhaps he's away on business. In any case, after hearing this news, more adventurers who previously dared not challenge the Demon King's Castle have started to do so.

However, they made two mistakes. First, they overestimated their strength. Even without the Demon King himself, they were ultimately defeated by the demon generals guarding the various checkpoints. Some adventurers, even those who managed to break through several checkpoints and reach the Demon King's castle, were no match for the generals who had earned Naka's favor. Second, they hadn't anticipated that the Demon King, who had been away for so long, would coincidentally return to the Demon King's castle in the last couple of days.

Most of the adventurers perished in the battle at the hands of the monsters, their flesh and blood becoming their food. Only one adventurer team, who had reached the gates of the Demon King's castle and lost to the defending general, did not die on the spot. Instead, they were bound and taken to the Demon King's court, to Naka's presence.

Naka was quite surprised to hear that adventurers had arrived. Aside from the Frost Squad nearly twenty-one years ago, she hadn't encountered any adventurers challenging her. On a whim, she decided not to wear her armor and instead received the general who had brought the adventurers there in her original form. After thanking him for his hard work, she ordered him to return to his post. Among the demon lords, only Fane, the adventurers who were tightly bound but refused to kneel, and herself, the demon lord, remained.

Naka watched the leading hero with great interest. He was a young man. He had an upright and righteous air about him. Naka asked him a question.

"What? So you're the one who dared to trespass into my Demon King's Castle? And even killed one of my generals? You have some nerve!"

The Demon King, who had only ever existed in legends and whose true face even the hero Frost had never glimpsed, suddenly appeared before the adventurers. Moreover, the Demon King was a girl who looked exactly like a human girl. This caused the adventurers to show expressions of astonishment. But the hero quickly regained his composure and uttered the lines he had already prepared.

"Demon King! You are tyrannical and cruel. Not content with destroying the Elf Kingdom, you have now extended your claws to us humans. What's wrong with us humans planning to kill you in self-defense?!"

"You're quite the smooth talker. Hmm, not bad. I want to wipe out all of you humans, unify this world, and bring everything under heaven into my grasp... So you're probably already prepared for how I'll treat you foolish humans who dare to defy me, aren't you?"

"Of course! Now that we are defeated, you may kill or torture us as you please! We humans only have decapitations, not kneelings!"

"Oh, you have backbone... huh?"

After observing the hero, Naka then scanned the other members. She was quite familiar with the warrior beside the hero.

"Who are you...."

Although he couldn't recall the name, the warrior in this squad was the same one who had teamed up with Naka for the preliminary assessment at the Adventurer's School in Sunflower Town. He also recognized Naka, his mouth agape in astonishment, almost dislocating his jaw. He couldn't utter a single word.

"You...you..."

"What do you mean, 'I'? You haven't mistaken me for someone else. I recognize you too. I never expected you to come here to die right after graduation, wasting all your hard work over the past six months."

"Please, please spare my life!"

This warrior wasn't prepared to die a heroic death like a true hero. Already trembling with fear, upon seeing that the Demon King was an old classmate he'd met once before, he didn't even bother to consider why the Demon King had enrolled in his school in the first place. He immediately knelt and begged for mercy.

"Demon King! Please, for the sake of our past as classmates, spare me! I will never dare to offend you again! And I will absolutely never reveal your identity!"

"Hey! What nonsense are you spouting?"

The hero was shocked that his teammate would be so incompetent. And there seemed to be some very important information hidden in his words.

"call out"

But just as he was about to ask, a dark purple light pierced the warrior's forehead. A large amount of blood and brain matter flowed from the small hole, and the warrior's body slumped to the ground, forever losing the strength to stand again.

"I don't want to reminisce right now. Besides, I hate guys who are overly familiar with each other."

Naka blew on her index finger, which was still emitting black smoke. She looked at the adventurers, who were stunned by the sudden turn of events. This time, she focused her gaze on the archer in the group. A dark purple light flashed on her finger once more.

"You're next, aren't you?"

"No! Demon King, kill me if you must, don't harm my companions!"

The brave warrior resolutely charged towards the archer, attempting to shield his friend from a fatal blow.

"call out"

"Thump"

However, a ray of light grazed past him. The archer who fell, his forehead pierced like the warrior's, wasn't the one Naka was looking at. It was the mage beside him. Naka said, feigning apology...

"Oh, I'm sorry, I've changed my mind at the last minute."

His beloved companions died one after another before his eyes, and the bond he had been willing to give his life to protect them was treated as a plaything by the Demon King. The hero was filled with grief and rage. He spoke in a tone that was neither a roar nor a sob.

"Demon King! Stop! This operation was my idea! It has nothing to do with them! They are just pitiful people who were deceived by a short-sighted fool like me! Even if you don't let them go back, it doesn't matter! Don't kill them! Please!"

As he spoke, he, who had vowed never to kneel, suddenly knelt on the ground with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly to Naka. The surviving saintess and archer were also in tears, unable to bear to see their companion in such a state.

Seeing his sincerity, Naka pondered for a moment and then offered a suggestion.

"Since you put it that way, I won't make things difficult for you any further. How about this? If you can withstand my next attack, I'll set you free. What do you say?"

"Okay! Let's go!"

Upon hearing this, the brave man stood up without hesitation, facing Naka with his head held high.

He wasn't confident he could survive a single blow from the Level ∞ Demon King. But sacrificing his own life was his duty to save his comrades.

The saintess and the archers called his name, urging him not to do this. But he ignored his companions' words, only confirming with Naka...

"Demon King, can you keep your promise?"

"Yes, of course. I've always been known for my integrity. As long as you don't hide or dodge, I won't kill them."

"Okay! I believe you! Come on!"

Even facing imminent disaster, the hero showed no fear. He had already made up his mind. Naka wasted no more time, gathering magic power in her hands.

This time, however, her magic wasn't concentrated at her fingertips; instead, she created a small black magic ball in her palm. Naka suddenly raised her hand and threw it at the hero. As agreed, the hero caught the attack without moving.

"Gurgle...!"

The black sphere of light rapidly expanded, enveloping the hero's entire body. The hero cried out in pain. But he did not die immediately. Only, excruciating pain emanated from every corner of his body.

"Your courage is commendable, brave warrior. So I've decided not to kill you. But..."

As Naka spoke meaningfully, the hero's body began to change. His hands and feet transformed into beast claws covered in long black fur, his black pupils turned blood red, and his teeth grew continuously, eventually becoming the fangs of a wild beast. The ropes binding him snapped as his body swelled. The hero, who was originally about 1.8 meters tall, had vanished. In his place stood a monster with a gaping, bloodthirsty maw.

"...So this is the only way you can live your life?"

Naka smiled as she watched the hero, transformed into a monster by her magic. She also watched the saintess and hero, stunned by the hero's transformation, rendered unable to move or speak.

However, at that moment, the hero, now a monster, noticed his two companions. He slowly approached. As his companions called out his name in confusion, he suddenly raised his claws and mercilessly swung them down at the two comrades he had risked his life to save.

In an instant, blood splattered everywhere. Blood, bone, and flesh were spilled onto the floor between the demon kings.

"Hahaha, hahahahahahahahahaha! Hero! I didn't break my promise! I intended to spare your companions' lives, but you killed them yourself! You can't blame me for that! However, if you had broken your promise and dodged that attack, things wouldn't have turned out like this... Hahahahahahahaha!"

Tears of blood flowed, yet ultimately unable to resist his own magic, consumed by murderous intent, the hero's act of killing the companion he wanted to protect with his own hands made Naka burst into laughter. For the Demon King, nothing was more entertaining than having adventurers destroy what they wanted to protect and their beliefs with their own hands.

Noticing her laughter born of the sorrow and despair of others, the hero, now a demon, turned and aimed his blood-stained claws at the hateful demon king.

"Hmm? It seems that since you just became a monster, your consciousness hasn't been completely controlled by my magic yet. You still retain a tiny bit of your own self?"

"roar!"

The monster leaped up and thrust its claws toward Naka's head.

"call"

But facing a monster several times larger than herself, Naka simply blew a breath. The monster's body was sent flying backward, crashing into the wall between the demon kings and falling to the ground.

"Fan"

"Yes"

At Naka's command, Fane pulled out a device. With a simple press of a button, a massive cage descended from the sky, trapping the monster inside. No matter how the monster struggled or attacked, it could not escape.

"This guy will be handed over to whichever general is in charge of training him. Once his memories and sense of self as a hero have completely disappeared, send him to the front lines to fight his 'former' comrades to his heart's content."

"Understood. So, which general should we hand him over to?"

"It's up to you. Also, have someone clean up the floor later. This human flesh and blood will make my beautiful floor tiles stink."

"Your subordinate obeys."

As Naka rose from her throne to leave, Fan called her back.

"Your Majesty, please forgive my indiscretion."

"explain"

"Recently, you seem to have shaken off your previous confusion and hesitation, and have become more like a demon king. I am very pleased with this. But Kalena... are you really not forcing yourself?"

"....What's the meaning?"

"What are you so anxious about, Karenla? Even without using this method, you could easily kill them. This monster that the hero has transformed into won't pose any significant threat to our army. If you're forcing yourself to become like this, as your adoptive father, I don't really approve. Karenla, I just want you to be your true self."

"My true self?"

Naka snorted a cold laugh through her nose.

"What is the true self? I don't really understand either, Father. Does it mean that the me who cried and couldn't sleep because of those few humans the other day is the real me?"

"...You'll have to find the answer to that question yourself, Karenla."

"There's no time left, Father."

Naka clenched her fists tightly. Today's performance was indeed, as Farn had said, not what Naka intended. But she had no other choice.

"The matter of Yag, and that organization that modifies monsters, has already given me enough headaches. And then that brat Mayera has to cause me trouble... I originally planned to rest for a month before setting off, but now I don't have that luxury. To prevent myself from becoming that 'humane' person again and affecting my normal judgment, I must quickly revert to my original self, back to the ruthless state I would be to kill Jasmine and Tatia without hesitation if I encountered them again... Otherwise, our plan will not succeed, Father."

"..."

Since returning to the human world, Naka has been trying to do extremely cruel things every day, attempting to drive all the emotions that could be called "kindness" out of her mind.

She now understood the good intentions behind Fane's dispatch of assassins to kill Tatia: staying by her and Jasmine's side would only make her weaker. If this reluctance to act, this desire to care for others, continued to fester, even the Demon King at Level ∞ felt the impending danger. Just as Fros said before his death: this gentleness might ultimately be his downfall.

Naka doesn't want to die. There are still things only she can do, great deeds waiting for her to accomplish. So, she wants to become even more ruthless. To become the "Demon Queen" she once was. Just like when she ordered the extermination of all the elves.

Today, Naka could kill these adventurers with a hedonistic attitude and a toy-like approach. Watching the hero, now a monster, kill his companions, Naka let out a long-lost, heartfelt laugh. She could once again savor human sorrow and despair. Therefore, she believed the time was ripe.

"Fan, I am now giving you my instructions."

"Your subordinate is all ears."

Naka and Fane's relationship was restored to that of ruler and subject. Naka waved her small hand, sending it towards the distance of the Demon King's castle.

"Starting tomorrow, I will once again disguise myself as a human and march towards the capital. I will reclaim my dragon, the Fang of Agh. During my absence, you will temporarily assume the power of the Demon King. Manage all affairs within and outside the city properly, both internally and externally; do not neglect any matters. No matter how small, do not conceal anything from me; report everything truthfully and promptly. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"good..."

Naka gently patted her face, trying to cheer herself up. She looked out the window in one direction. At the end of that path lay the capital of the human kingdom, Naka's next destination.

This time, she learned from her initial experience on Earth. She was confident that she would never again be swayed by human emotions, developing feelings for a target she should have killed. The sole objective of this operation was to achieve her goal in the most efficient way possible, eliminating all obstacles.