Chapter 4

In the great hall of Gorma Castle, just before the decisive battle, the masked demon Isuma told a story about Veltor.

The demons, it was said, were originally human. They were the Reston nomadic tribe, who lived in the south of Airesta, and were driven further south into the Great Jungle by Airesta's expansion.

The Southern Great Jungle was a green hell, still feared as a realm of death, teeming with ferocious monsters, venomous insects, and plagues.

The young leader of the Reston tribe at the time was the future Demon King Gales. While wandering the green hell, delirious with fever, Gales encountered an unknown god in the depths of the jungle.

A god of a civilization different from the current human civilization and the ancient alchemical civilization.

The god demanded Gales' wife and children's hearts in exchange for protecting the Reston tribe. Gales, shedding tears of blood for the sake of the Reston tribe, killed his family. Satisfied, the god granted the Reston tribe immense magical power and the ability to control beasts.

That was the beginning of the Demon King and the demons.

Born from tragedy, Demon King Gales was mad from the start. He was driven mad by his hatred for himself for killing his family for the Reston tribe, for the humans and Airesta who created the situation that forced him to do so, and for the Reston tribe.

He was a being born from a sorrow that could not be endured.

Gales, therefore, dominated even his fellow demons with power and fear. He ruled the demons as a tool for revenge against the humans, including Airesta, and built a powerful but cursed empire. He continued to offer not only the blood of humans but also the blood of his fellow demons as sacrifices to the god.

Isuma, who continued to try to dissuade the mad Gales, was nearly killed and fled from the Demon Army. He came to Veltor to stop Gales.

Persuasion was impossible. Even if the humans were destroyed, Gales' madness would not stop. It would not cease until the entire world was offered to the god or Gales himself was destroyed. Therefore, Isuma wished to stop Gales with his own hands, as a fellow Reston, not as a human hero. He wanted to end the nightmare that covered the world. Of course, it was not an easy wish.

Asura of Airesta, who was described as the root cause of the problem, outright denied Isuma's account of history and was also negative about the peace talks with the demons after Gales' defeat.

Tasha was also a realist and believed that reconciliation between humans and demons was difficult, and that preventing massacres, plunder, and violence was the best they could do.

Prince Maysin said he understood the sentiment and would speak to the king of Airesta about reconciliation, but his eyes were cold.

Veltor, who was troubled, wrote a letter to Balad for advice, but it did not reach Gorma Castle in time for the decisive battle.

On the eve of the battle, Maysin proposed marriage to Veltor, and Veltor refused.

"I'm sorry."

She could not think of any other response.

Veltor did not understand politics.

She only knew how to fight and make money. It was impossible for her to become Maysin's wife and join the royal family of Airesta.

"I see."

Maysin smiled, but his true feelings were not visible.

"What will you do after this battle?"

"I'll go back to Balad."

After defeating the Demon King, she planned to retire and work for a chartered company. Balad might come up with a good solution for the future of humans and demons.

"I'm disappointed."

Maysin said calmly.

"I'm sorry."

Veltor apologized again, but Maysin only said, "No."

Veltor only understood the meaning of Maysin's proposal the next day, right after defeating Demon King Gales.

○

○

○

○

○

In the throne room of Gorma Castle.

The final confrontation with Demon King Gales.

Gales, having lost control of the power granted by the god, had transformed into a monstrous black sea urchin-like creature, covered in distorted pyramidal organs. He was no longer rational, just a mass of bottomless hatred and madness, spreading black miasma that corroded the world.

In the midst of the terrifying vortex of power that cursed and drove mad everything it touched, Veltor stood alone.

The other four were hidden behind the barrier of holy spirit magic cast by Tasha. They would not be affected by the miasma, but they could not provide support. Veltor was protected by the white flame-like force field called 'Holy Flame' that covered her entire body, generated from the magic circuit of the sword Weiss Rexima when infused with magic power. The Holy Flame burned away all evil, such as poison and curses.

Infusing more magic power into the magic circuit, Veltor covered the blade of Weiss Rexima with Holy Flame.

She held the long, thick blade horizontally and drew it back.

Dragon Knight Sword Technique, Shadow Slash.

The basic form of the dragon knight sword technique taught to Veltor by the dragon knight Lavanas, who was killed by the advisor Degis. She inhaled through her nose, exhaled through her mouth, and stepped forward to strike. In one breath, she discarded all unnecessary tension and hesitation, and released a swift, mindless slash.

The foundation of the technique, but difficult to master due to its simplicity.

She inhaled through her nose, held it, and exhaled quietly through the gap in her lips. She exhaled the tension and stepped forward.

Resisting the thick pressure of the miasma, she swung the blade enveloped in Holy Flame. She cut through the heavy darkness born from bottomless hatred and aimed for the core of the transformed Gales.

In one breath, she severed it.

There was no death cry, only silence.

The storm of malevolent waves calmed, and the black miasma dissipated.

After the darkness left, nothing remained.

"It seems to be over."

Tasha said, removing the barrier. Not everyone was unharmed. Isuma had been severely wounded by Gales, with a deep cut on his abdomen that had not yet stopped bleeding.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes."

Under the mask, Isuma said calmly.

"… I'm sorry."

In the end, she had been the one to defeat Gales.

Isuma's wish was to stop Gales with his own hands.

"No, this is for the best. Thank you."

"Let's talk later."

While speaking in her usual tone, Tasha began to cast a healing spell on Isuma's wounded abdomen.

A thin blade pierced her back.

Maysin's rapier.

Maysin had stabbed Tasha.

Huh?

A sharp pain ran down the hero's neck.

Her body went limp.

What?

Her legs could not support her.

Her hands could not move.

Her heart stopped.

"Maysin! Asura!"

Isuma shouted.

The situation was incomprehensible, but it seemed Asura, who was behind them, had done something.

She could not move her eyes.

Her vision was blurry.

"… What are you doing … What did you do to Veltor!"

Tasha's pained voice was heard.

"This is the final act of the Demon King's defeat."

Maysin responded calmly.

"A hero is a blade to remove the Demon King, a disease. Once the operation is complete, the blade must be sheathed in the state. A blade that moves on its own and does not fit in the sheath cannot exist."

"… Don't be a coward!"

Tasha roared, spitting blood from her mouth.

"You've always depended on her, and now you want her to disappear just because the Demon King is dead? Do you know how shameless you are?"

"I gave her a chance. I proposed to the hero. If she became my wife, the hero could become a new authority in Airesta. Welcoming the hero who defeated the Demon King into the royal family would strengthen Airesta's position as a hegemonic nation. I gave her the chance. But the hero refused to live as my wife. She refused to be sheathed in me. Therefore, the hero must die here. You two must die here as well. You fought bravely in the battle against the Demon King and died here."

Veltor, unable to move, regretted her decision.

Once the threat of the Demon King was gone, the hero was no longer needed.

To the old power holders, the hero was just a new authority, a rising force that threatened them. If she did not want to become a ruler, she should have disappeared.

Balad and Tasha had advised her as much. She had forgotten this at a crucial moment. After defeating the Demon King, she should have been wary of Maysin, the prince of Airesta, and Asura, the spy of Airesta. She had not realized the meaning of Maysin's proposal and foolishly said she would return to Balad. If she had deflected it skillfully, she would not have been attacked in a weakened state after the battle.

But she realized it too late.

As the hero grew cold, she could do nothing.