Volume 8, Chapter 20: Demon Lord, Part 3
As the allied human forces pulled back their defensive lines in withdrawal to reorganize, their confusion subsided and the battle lines grew calm again.
Despite the disaster, the human casualties were minimal.
Still, that didn’t mean that they could sleep relieved.
Was that [Black Saint]‘s presence really that of the true [Demon Lord]?
From the eyewitnesses, they could feel the fear of something that fundamentally couldn’t coexist with them deep in their “souls”, whereas the various militaries were threatened by the sporadic attacks and pinned down in the battlefield without being able to retreat fully to their own countries.
They couldn’t forget about the forces of Darkness, too.
That was the original enemy for which all of these soldiers had been gathered to fight. As it was right now, with that enemy called [Demons] in front of them taking up their attention, the allied forces were worried that the Forces of Darkness would attack them from the flank.
But it seems that the Demon forces attacked the occupying forces of Darkness as well.
It seemed like it was something of a siege situation at the capital at the moment, and as the new information trickled into the camp, the upper echelons of every country breathed easy for a moment.
But, unbeknownst to them, a ma.s.sive army of what could be called reinforcements for the forces of darkness was approaching at an alarming speed.
However, the Demons did not fail to notice them.
Coming from the land of the forces of Darkness to the place where the humans lived required them to pa.s.s through a labyrinthine cave system, but although they were nocturnal and had night vision, they were actually unable to see in pitch blackness unlike the Demons.
a.s.saulted under the cover of darkness, half of the attacking forces of darkness were destroyed in the blink of an eye, and then scattered towards the human nations as if they had been guided there.
They numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Although they numbered less than the sum total of the human nations’ armies, the individual prowess of the soldiers of darkness was higher, and as soon as they regrouped, they would have been a sizable threat to the human states.
Tribalism was the greatest enemy of a nation, and this was a terrible enemy that they had been fighting for thousands of years.
It would have been the same for them as well, and so it shouldn’t have been unusual for the hastily organized defensive lines to be tense when the battle started.
Still, the one that they had to be the most vigilant of and deal with right now had to be the [Demon Lord] and her troops.’
At present, the Demon forces had been attacking only sporadically, and so the stalemate had been maintained. But the instant the Demon Army launched an all-out offensive, with both of them unable to move easily, there was a real fear that they would be annihilated without being able to put up a resistance.
So. What could they do?
The commanders of each country gathered to hold a meeting, but since all of the larger nations were self-serving their interests over the general good, n.o.body would give them an affirmative answer, whilst all of the smaller countries tried to push responsibility to the greater nations, insisting on their duty as superpowers as they all tried to protect their own national strengths.
And hence, they could never come to a point. At the same time, the spy inserted into the Allied Operations Command to speak with Sefira, who herself was trying to make contact with the forces of darkness, and brought information that the Forces of Darkness’ leaders were willing to meet with them.
Some of them were wary of this early development, but ascertaining that it was the best course available, and that even in the worst case it would buy them time to deal with the [Demon Lord], they prepared an amba.s.sador immediately.
But still, there was a problem.
The forces of darkness had specified the meeting location to be in the midst of their defensive lines, and only with a small number of people.
It would have been best if they would have met over in the general headquarters, but since there had been a long history of betrayal, there was no chance that they would agree to it.
At the start of the talks, the senior officials of every country were trying to get a seat at the table so that they could dictate rights, but the physical power of the Dark Elves and the beastmen were so great that there was a real possibility that they would be overwhelmed and forced into concessions.
And so, the upper echelons of every nation vested their hopes in the three [Heroes] and entrusted them with the future of humanity.
“…… It’s boring.”
In a tent that had been set aside for her, Sefira bit her nails in frustration.
This mysterious [Demon Lord] that was a completely unknowable variable had appeared all of a sudden.
She too had felt that primal terror in her soul, but at the same time it represented a chance. If the [Heroes] that she guided defeated the [Demon Lord], the power and influence of the heroes would increase, and Sefira’s plan would advance one step further.
Creating a world of her own ideals. For that very purpose, Sefira had turned herself into a woman, guided various people, showing them the paths to walk so that the [Heroes] would eventually become true Heroes.
What irked her was the presence of something that came in from outside of her calculations.
One of them was the girl they called the [Golden Saint]. Although other individuals were occasionally summoned from other places than Terra, there had never been any such person like her, who wielded such influence and yet did not seek anything in return.
She thought that she could have been left to her own devices, but then the girl vanished out of the reach of Sefira’s designs, and the next time she was seen again, she had been devoured and turned into this [Demon Lord].
What happened during those few weeks?
She didn’t understand. And so it wasn’t of immediate interest.
She cared not for these “irregularities” that might have disrupted her plans.
The truce between the forces of darkness and the forces of light had been brokered by a spy that had been sent in to help Sefira, and, in a sense, it was similar to what she had been hoping for, but it was only to be temporary.
Humanity had not yet matured enough to build a fair and equitable world.
And this was why Humanity needed Sefira’s plan.
If they would settle for such a half-baked peace like this, then they would not grow into the [True Heroes] that would guide all of humanity.
“…… could I use it?”
There was a movement in the general soldiers and militiamen.
It had begun with the soldiers who had witnessed the tears of the [Black Saint], and was backed by some of the hero-cla.s.s warriors, an [attempt to save the Saint from the clutches of the Demon Lord] had been started.
At their center were a few younglings.
They might not have wanted to be in the center of things, but after being summoned from Terra, they had been sheltered by the Saint, and taught how to live in this world. They’d headed out into battle to help her, and seeing their enthusiasm, the soldiery began to warm to them.
“Excuse me, but could I have a minute?”
Sefira called out to the little girl that was treating the soldiers in the barracks.
“…wha- me?”
She seemed to be a water magician, and was using water magic instead of holy magic to clean, disinfect and dress wounds. The soldiers loved her dearly for her delicate skills.
“Yes, you. Miss…… Mizuki?”
“……Ah, yes, you’re the one Yuru-chan was talking to, from the Allied Forces…”
“Yes, I am Sefira.”
“Ah, I’m Mizuki”
The two bowed to each other in turn like the salarymen of a certain country.
Sefira took a closer look the girl named Mizuki.
A girl who was timid but had a dignified look. However, in her eyes, she could see something that glowed. Checking her skills with [Greater Appraisal], Sefira could tell that even though it hadn’t been a year since she had been summoned to this world, already she had few skills, but a remarkably high proficiency in them, like a “specialist type”.
It might have been her nature, too. It seems that Sail had thought that she had no potential as a [Hero], but in Sefira’s view, there was a certain “hero-cla.s.s” nature about her.
The other three otherworlders had also been trained, but it seemed that this girl Mizuki was head and shoulders beyond them.
“U, uh…… what can I do for you?”
“Ah, yes. …… did you treat all of these people alone? Won’t your MP be in trouble?”
“ah, it’s alright, there’s the doctors too, so I’m not alone. Besides, Yuru-chan has given me plenty of lessons in using my magic efficiently.”
Mizuki, as if remembering her special spartan-like training, began pouring with cold sweat.
“Really? I’m sorry about that girl……”
“It’s alright! Yuru-chan can’t possibly lose! We’ll definitely manage to help her!”
Mizuki’s eyes suddenly changed in expression as she declared her intention to save the Saint, and all of the soldiers around her were looking at her with gentle eyes.
“Is that so…… I see”
Sefira smiled gently, and gazed long at Mizuki, convinced that she could be used.
Leading people onto the right path – that was one of the qualities of a true [Hero].
It was also one of the things that not one of the heroes had.
“What would you do…… if I told you there was a way to save Lady Yurushia?”
“eh!?”
“Here we go.”
Sefira drew Mizuki out of the barracks with those surprising words.
“Uh, umm, what do you mean by that?”
“To save Lady Yurushia as you are now would be difficult…… no, it would be difficult even if you had the other three Heroes.”
“B-but”
“But! You have hidden power. Given that you were raised by the Saint Lady Yurushia, you can definitely do it.”
“I-is that true?”
Mizuki, staring at Sefira’s eyes and listening to her voice, began to believe in her unsubstantiated words.
Sefira’s words sounded right. Sefira’s words were believable.
“B-but…”
“It’s alright. If you gain more skills, soon you will become stronger.”
As Mizuki expressed her lingering doubts, Sefira smiled gently at her again.
(…… it doesn’t show in the appraisal. I wonder if she’s been blessed by some strange spirits.)
Heroes received the blessings of the spirits of light and became Heroes by receiving the t.i.tle of [Hero].
For example, Kyoji was blessed by the great spirit of water, but it did not show in the appraisal, either.
“Now, come with me. I’ll make sure that you get all the right skills.
“……I……”
“Excuse me for cutting in.”
“?!”
Sefira jumped back a few meters, surprised at the sudden voice when she hadn’t noticed the presence of anything there.
“Ah, you are…”
“…ah, Noa-kun.”
Mizuki, who had been staring blankly for an instant, noticed Yurushia’s pretty boy butler and chirped out.
“Ah, yes, Yuru-chan is still…,”
“Yes, we’re also doing our best, so please be patient.”
“Yes……”
“………”
As she was suddenly interrupted, and Mizuki began to chat with Noa, Sefira gritted her molars.
He was one of the Saint’s attendants and servants and was probably a direct combatant.
Sefira thought that some of Yurushia’s power as a [Saint] was related to the strengths of these attendants. That’s why she wanted to pull them away from Yurushia.
These followers merited caution. But that was because there were four of them.
With four attendants that were probably hero-cla.s.s in strength, Yurushia had the power of a Hero as a Saint.
But now, there was only one of them. And Sefira’s ability was more effective in men than in women.
“Noa-sama, could you listen to my wish?”
“Yes, what is it?”
As Sefira smiled at him, Noa smiled back.
Soft, tender brunette hair. Although he was still a teenager, he had a cold beauty that dazzled just by looking at someone else.
Even Sefira who had lost all carnal interest in humans had her head clouded, and as she shook herself free of that haze…… she glimpsed for an instant a [Darkness] that boiled in the back of Noa’s eyes like jet-black magma, and she tore her eyes away from his.
“……n…o, Not… it can’t be”
“Is that so? I understand that you want to help Mizuki, but Milady has an educational policy in place for her, so would you please hold off for a moment?”
“………”
Noa left, leaving Mizuki and Sefira with a chilling, creepy smile that caused Sefira to erupt with cold sweat herself.
Author’s Notes:
The main character isn’t present, so it’s back to serious.
Noa is not like the other three. Whenever Noa gets a turn it gets difficult for everyone else because Noa is peerless when he gets the chance to shine.
Next time, the heroes move.