Chapter 6

Surrounded by the barrier around the hermitage, which blocks the intrusion of those with malicious intent, an alarm would be sent to Sieg and Feli if anyone tried to force their way in.

Koni, who brought the old woman, had no ill intentions.

The alarm went off because, coincidentally, when he arrived, someone else with malicious intent was approaching the hermitage.

Considering the possibility that Koni was the target, Feli was assigned as a bodyguard.

But the main reason was,

(I want to deal with these people myself.)

After crossing the barrier and walking for a while, they found the others waiting calmly.

"I didn't expect you to come alone. Did you really think we would back down so easily?"

Standing in front of them was not a human.

Its face was human-like, but its skin was dark and covered in scales. Majestic horns grew from the sides of its head, and bat-like wings were visible on its back. A long tail swayed back and forth.

There were also two-legged large lizards and a giant with a pig's face, and the one who circled behind Sieg resembled the one standing in front.

"I don't have many acquaintances among the demons... but I don't have any close enough to visit my home. Besides, it doesn't seem like you're here to make friends."

"Shut up. Who would forgive you for killing Lord Demon King alongside the Hero? The disgrace we have suffered cannot be cleansed even if we carve you to pieces here."

"You didn't attack immediately. Could it be that you were hired by humans to kidnap me?"

The demons were stirred. It seemed he hit the nail on the head.

"Is your employer the Empire? Or perhaps the Eastern Strabarl... I hear they're going through a lot of changes right now."

The Demon Kingdom has not yet fallen, but its power has significantly declined, and demons are increasingly approaching human nations.

Some human nations are trying to use their power to surpass the Terium Holy Kingdom, the dominant force.

The reputation of the Supreme Sage Mathis Lutius had fallen in the Holy Kingdom, but in other countries, there was no definitive proof of his guilt, and some still sought to obtain his power.

At the very least, if he were as great as he was praised to be, his rehabilitation in the Holy Kingdom would be a problem.

Sieg reached for his collar.

"But unfortunately, I'm wearing this collar. If I leave here, I'll be sent to the executioner's block again."

The "Watcher's Collar" was made using ancient magical technology and incorporated a communication spell that was believed to be lost.

If removed, it would immediately notify the Holy Capital, and he would not escape the death penalty.

It also detected significant movements or the use of large-scale magic, so he could neither leave the village freely nor fight.

However—

"Who cares? You won't be returning to this place anyway. I'll destroy this collar right now."

"No need for that."

His fingertips glowed as they touched the collar. A small click sounded,

"What!?"

The collar that bound him was released.

The ancient collar, made to notify the Holy Capital immediately if removed, could be prevented from sending a notification if a communication-blocking spell was in place.

The people in the Holy Capital had not anticipated this. Even if they had, they had no way to counter it.

Sieg had removed this collar many times before.

Sometimes to practice magic, sometimes to gather information in the Holy Capital, and sometimes to set up a massive protective barrier around the village.

Once he put it back on, he could continue his life as if nothing had happened.

"Hahahaha! So, you were afraid of us and decided to submit—!?"

Without any preparatory movements, Sieg vanished. More accurately, he instantly approached the laughing demon, placed his palm in front of its face, and blocked its vision.

The next moment,

*Boom!*

"Kya—"

The demon's head was blown off.

He didn't use a spell; he just released magic from his palm.

"Too weak. Too slow. Pathetic. I can understand underestimating me, but if you're going to send demons to the Holy Kingdom, at least send better ones."

Sieg sighed deeply, disappointed, and dropped his shoulders.

*Clang!*

Two powerful demons attacked from the sides. Sieg narrowly dodged the war axes coming from above and the side, and with just his thumb and pinky on each hand, he deflected both weapons almost simultaneously.

"What!?"

"Wha!?"

Their shocked voices were partly due to his easy defense, but also because of what happened next.

Black flames rose from the fingertips that touched the war axes, quickly enveloping them in black flames.

"Dark magic!? Impossible! A mere human can't use—"

"I can. And if I mix it with light, here you go."

The black flames spread from the war axes to the demons holding them. Despite dropping their weapons, the flames did not spread to the grass.

"Ugh!"

"It's hot!"

The black flames burned only the demons and their weapons, leaving no trace.

"Unbelievable... Combining light and dark, which are opposing elements, in the same spell..."

"‘Doubt the conventional wisdom. That's where technology advances.’ It's a quote from a friend."

Sieg approached the last demon.

"You're the only one left. I'll get the information about your employer."

After extracting the information from the demon through torture,

"Disappointing. Really... It's not much different from a walk."

Sieg sighed.

The two corpses were enveloped in black flames.

"Master, I have brought Koni and the others."

Feli landed beside Sieg.

The black flames quietly burned the corpses and then disappeared, leaving only the grass on the ground, erasing all traces of the demons.

"Were they the ones foolish enough to try to kill Master?"

"No, they seemed to be here to recruit me. But it's the first time they've been sent from the Kingdom of Strabarl."

"Does this mean Master's reputation is recovering internationally?"

"Maybe. I think it's more because the countries are becoming more relaxed."

The war with the demons had officially ended, and the countries were focusing on reconstruction. To strengthen their own nations, they had started to weaken others relatively.

"Well, if the assassins don't return, they'll be more cautious. They won't try anything for a while."

"But eventually, like the Empire, they might send them regularly."

"They really don't give up, do they? But I'll endure it while I'm in the borderlands. It'll be over soon."

He had several plans in place.

If any of them succeeded, even if it didn't clear his name, he would be called back to the Holy Capital.

"I want to settle this by autumn."

It was early summer. In about three months, Sieg intended to return.