Chapter 4: The Would-be-Bridal Divas

“Ah, it’s already morning?”

Al stared blankly at the ceiling, warm sunlight streaming through his newly-repaired window and confirming the start of a new day. Waking up, if it could even be called that, was rough. After yesterday’s events, he had walked back to the castle alone, grabbed some breakfast, and buried himself under his blankets. But even though he’d gone to bed early, he couldn’t get any sleep. His mind just kept spinning in circles. He worried about financing the new citizens’ housing, Jamka’s parting words, and countless other things. But the main thing that kept him awake all night were his final moments with Sharon.

“Whatever, she just wants to kill me. I’m glad she’s finally leaving! I mean, what’s up with her anyway!? She barges into my castle uninvited, a month before she was supposed to get here, then leaves at a drop of a hat! She’s totally crazy!”

Al repeated the same things over and over again, until he finally lapsed into silence. He’d stare at the ceiling for a while before breaking back into expletives. This perpetual cycle of curses and blank stares repeated until the sun was finally up beyond the horizon.

“Hahh... let’s go for a walk.”

Giving up on sleep, he struggled out of bed. The dignity a king should have was gone from his face; instead, he looked as weary as a bartender after three straight shifts. He quickly fixed his wrinkled clothes and left the slumbering castle.

“I guess I’ll go this way today.”

Al started walking on the paved road that led through the residential area and in the opposite direction from yesterday’s troubles. The chilly morning air cleared his head, taking his mind off his worries. Coming out for a morning stroll had been a success. All he wanted to do now was keep on walking through the flat, residential streets, not thinking about a thing. He knew that if he started thinking, he’d be straight back to square one.

“Hm? What’s that smoke?”

In the middle of his absent-minded walk he spotted smoke rising out of a chimney. The house it was attached to stood out from the surrounding buildings.

“Oh, a bakery. I didn’t know there was one here.”

The city was developing too fast for Al to keep up.

“Perfect, I can get some breakfast and conduct an inspection at the same time.”

The inspection was an excuse. He was simply enticed by the sweet scent of the freshly made bread. After checking his pockets for money, he entered the bakery.

“Welcome!”

The owner’s cheerful tone and the sweet, roasty aroma created a welcoming atmosphere. And yet, he realized something wasn’t quite right. Empty spaces stood out along the narrow bakery’s shelves. What’s more, Al and the baker were the only people in the store.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Are you not open yet?”

He asked the owner, ready to give up on his breakfast.

“Feel free to get whatever’s already prepared. I’ll get the new batch out if you can wait five mi—”

The burly owner’s words got stuck in his throat when he realized that his first customer of the day was none other than the King of Althos.

Well, I’d be surprised too if the king waltzed into my shop first thing in the morning.

He warmly waved towards the owner, trying to convey that he was just there as a typical customer. There was no need for formalities. Nevertheless, the owner remained dumbfounded as Al started looking through the variety of breads on offer.

“I’ll take these.”

After a few minutes of browsing he picked out three warm, golden-brown buns and took them to the counter.

“Um... Would you like anything else?”

The owner’s previously cheerful attitude was gone. He now seemed restless, or possibly even frightened, depending on one’s point of view.

“No thanks.”

Al curiously tilted his head, wondering if he looked that voracious.

Three buns are a reasonable breakfast. Though it certainly wouldn’t be enough if I had Sharon with me.

He shook his head as yesterday’s events once again clouded his mind.

“So, how much?” he asked bluntly, agitated at having remembered the one thing he was trying to forget about.

“Eep!”

Al didn’t think his tone had been harsh enough to warrant that kind of reaction. The owner was acting like he was about to be robbed.

“U-Um... Feel free to take them for free,” he stuttered, cowering in fear.

“I could never do that. I may be king, but that doesn’t excuse me from paying!”

“Eep! O-Okay!”

The baker trembled in panic upon hearing Al’s determined answer.

“Don’t worry, I don’t bite. I’ll just leave the money here, okay?”

Al left more than enough silver coins on the counter, then walked out of the shop feeling dejected by the owner's frightened reaction to him.

“...This is weird.”

Al had carried on minding his own business, strolling through the streets as he indulged in his breakfast. But almost everyone he passed by had a similar reaction to the baker. He tried striking up a conversation with some of them, but they’d always avert their gaze and shuffle along.

“What’s going on!?”

He finished his last piece of bread and was starting to consider pinning someone down to get to the heart of the matter. An unexpected voice startled him before he could do it, however.

“Al!”

“Whoa! Oh it’s you, Feena. Why are you here? And why are you whispering into my ear!?”

“Because it’s romantic.”

“That’s a weird way to express your affection!”

Unable to find a proper response, he bashfully scratched his ear.

“Al, we’re going back to the castle.”

Her method of greeting him had been questionable, but her purpose—picking him up—was clear.

“Ah, right. I’ll go back soon.”

He wanted to know why she’d come to get him, but he was more interested in finding out just why everyone in town was avoiding him.

“No. We’re going back now.”

Feena shook her head and forcefully grabbed Al’s arms.

“Ahh! Your hand is so stiff... I might get pregnant!”

He furrowed his brow, wondering what kind of misconceptions could be floating in Feena’s head. Maybe she’d found out about yesterday’s events. However, he’d been able to pick up on her slight changes in expression lately. One look at her dead-serious gaze was enough to tell him he was off the mark. He didn’t have to wait long to find out what the fuss was about.

“Al... There have been rumors going round that you’re the Demon King’s vessel. We need to head back. You stick out like a sore thumb here.”

“What!?”

Al had kept his exclamation of surprise relatively quiet, but it was enough to make all the distant onlookers scatter. This proved that Feena was telling the truth.

He mulled over the situation for a little before agreeing to Feena’s proposal.

“I see. Let’s go back to the castle for now.”

“Yes, let’s.”

Al tailed Feena closely.

Damn it. When it rains, it pours, huh?

Bad luck was befalling him at every turn. His head was spinning by the time he finally returned to the castle.

“What the hell is going on!?”

Upon reaching his office, he immediately vented his anger on his brand new desk.

“Oh my. Calm down, Al.”

Cecilia and Lilicia were waiting for the pair’s return. Cecilia wore a weary expression, while Lilicia tried to stay as calm as possible. Of course, Sharon and Jamka were nowhere to be seen.

“According to various sources, a couple of travelers began spreading this rumor a few days ago.”

Lilicia explained their findings. While foreign intelligence gathering was Brusch’s speciality, Lilicia was second-to-none when it came to national affairs. Idle chats with the citizens were important sources of information.

“Who in the world—”

The picture of a certain crimson-haired girl floated before his eyes.

“No, she would never...”

He quietly, but firmly, declined his previous thought. Sharon wouldn’t have resorted to such underhanded tactics. Lilicia, who may or may not have been aware of Al’s conflicted feelings, continued her explanation in a monotone voice.

“We haven’t been able to confirm this yet, but according to witness reports, one of the travellers had a thick northern accent.”

“The northern Empire, huh? So, where are they now?”

That piece of information soothed his feelings.

“They moved out of their lodging last night and left the country.”

“They got the word out and ran, huh?”

He crossed his arms and thought for a second.

“Jamka! Send reinforcements to Brusch at once!”

He reflexively called someone who was no longer with them.

“Tch.”

He felt weak and pathetic. In the last few days, one of his best friends had betrayed him, his (possible) future bride had grown to hate him, and now the Empire had leaked one of his most closely guarded secrets to the entire country.

“So um... y’know! Jamka must’ve had his own reasons, and now the people are just confused!”

Cecilia uncharacteristically fumbled her words in her attempt to soothe Al.

“I agree. Jamka is just... shrewder than you, Al. We still have time to... figure out his reasons.”
Feena selected her words carefully. Both of the girls were desperate to stop Al shouldering the blame for this.

“You’re right. I got a bit worked up. Sorry, Cecilia. And thank you, Feena.”

“Now now, don’t worry about it. It’s fine.”

Cecilia flashed a bashful smile at him.

“It’s okay. It's a wife's job to correct her foolish... I mean, her dear husband's mistakes.”

“If you want me to become known as a foolish king, then you shouldn’t have helped me at all.”

“Ah!”

“Didn’t you realize that before?”

“No, um... of course I knew that! This is part of my plan!”

Her awkward mishap brought a smile to Al’s face. It wasn’t every day he got to see Feena flustered. This finally helped him calm down a bit.

“All right. We’ll set up a search party at once. Lilicia! Get as much information as you can get about the direction these ‘travelers’ headed in. You have one hour. We’re sending the search party out as soon as we’ve got a hold on their location.”

“Certainly. I’ll get to it at once.”

Lilicia proudly left the room.

“Cecilia, Feena... I have something to talk to you about.”

The two girls curiously tilted their heads at Al’s clouded expression.

That’s right. I can’t turn to anyone else with this.

He looked them in the eyes, gulped down the golf ball that was stuck in his throat, and prepared to tell his tale of failure.

“My, my. So if I have this right, you had a bit of a fight with Sharon, and now she’s going home?”

Al confessed yesterday’s events to Cecilia and Feena.

“Don’t worry. Sharon is a simpleton... I’m sure she already forgot.”

“Err, well sure, she can be kind of slow, but calling her a simpleton is a bit much, don’t you think?”

“Well, if the pest... I mean, Sharon is leaving then we’ll have to throw a grand farewell party!”

“Cecilia, that’s rude!”
Feena reacted nonchalantly, while Cecilia was thrilled upon hearing the news. He already regretted telling them the story.

“Now now, I was twenty percent joking when I called her a pest.”

“Then what about the other eighty percent!?”

He couldn’t discern how serious she was from her usual bright expression and steely blue eyes.

“A farewell party would be a good chance to make up with her. And since she’ll be leaving soon... I’ll do what a good wife should and look the other way if you decide to have a temporary affair.”

“Is that how it works?”

“Yes.”

Feena nodded. She’d come a long way since the first time they met, what with how she’d sent that worm to a fiery grave. Originally, Al had thought that her interpersonal skills were on par with or a bit below his, but now he was reflecting on his initial judgement.

“It’s fine, I can make you forget that you’ve ever seen her with one of my potions after the party is over.”

But Feena’s next rude comment tore down her image in Al’s head.

“I take it back!” he retorted, pushing his fingers against his temple in frustration.

“Anyway, let’s throw a big farewell party so we can avoid sparking an international conflict with Freiya over this.”

Due to his inability to come up with a better plan and the impending trouble that could result from this incident, he finally gave in to the girls’ proposal.

Rumors about the king’s secret swept through the country, with Jamka and Brusch still nowhere to be found. Yet despite the despairing situation they found themselves in, Cecilia and Feena managed to pull off a magnificent farewell party. It all kicked off a few hours before the carriage to Freiya was due to arrive.

“We don’t have that much time, so let’s begin!”

Al announced the beginning of the party in the dining hall with a forced cheerful tone, but the guests couldn’t have been less excited. A hostile atmosphere fell on the room. Everyone, save a handful of guests, looked at him with doubt. By now the whole country had heard the rumors.

“Now everybody, let’s raise our glasses for an everlasting friendship with Freiya’s Diva, Sharon! Cheers!”

Cecilia made an attempt at dispelling the awkward atmosphere.

“Cheers!”

“Cheers.”

Feena raised her glass and quietly cheered. Al let out a discreet sigh as he looked at Sharon on his right. Feena tried to ignore the awkward atmosphere between the two and turned to Cecilia.

I wonder what they’re talking about.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t give in to his curiosity. He had more pressing matters to attend to.

“Wow, this looks so delicious!”

He tried to grab Sharon’s attention and carefully peeked to his side, but his obvious attempt fell on deaf ears. Sharon continued to eat silently.

“What’s up with that bored face?”
After a few seconds, which felt like an eternity, Sharon stopped eating and asked a question. Still shaken by yesterday’s events, she awkwardly avoided looking him in the eyes.

“Nothing.”
His long-awaited exchange ended with just that. He cursed his inability to come up with more to say.

“Seriously? You should be thrilled that your would-be assassin is finally leaving.”

“There’s nothing to be happy about.”

“Huh!?”

His honest response caught Sharon off-guard.

“Just think about it! Jamka tried to kill me, and we’re on the brink of war with the Empire. What could I be happy about?”

“I see, of course... I’m not even...” she murmured with a sad, lonely tone.

“And... it’s depressing to think about how quiet it’s going to be around here...”

He whispered his true feelings.

“Phew! That was great!”

Finishing her second plate, she flashed a delighted smile.

I guess she didn’t hear me. Looks like she’s back to her usual self anyway.

“What’s up with that lifeless face? Or is this just your standard expression?”

Al was conflicted about the current status quo. It seemed like nothing had changed between the two, though her remarks were ruder than usual.

“You’re ruthless to the very end, huh?”

He decided to try answering back at her like he usually would.

“I’m not ruthless! You look like a dead fish.”

She looked at him with a smug expression.

“I have to admit, I’ll miss your weird face a little bit when I get home. Thank you for honoring me with your deadpan eyes one last time.”

“Hey, I’m right here, you know? Geez, I’d like to see what goes through your head sometimes!”

“I’ll slash you up if you try to pry into a maiden’s dearest secrets!”

“Of course you would. That’s all you do!”

“Huh, what was that?”

She brushed her hair away, once again flashing that smug smile, then focused on the new dish in front of her. However, Al didn’t have the time to feel relieved at them making up. He still had one last important thing to take care of.

“Um...”

After a few minutes he finally steeled his heart. Sharon stopped eating and turned towards him. He hoped that she would find his fumbled words endearing.

“Ahem. Well... You know, I’d like to apologize for what I did. I went too far. It’s only been a few days, but you h-helbed, I mean, helped me out a lot, so... Thank you.”

He’d thought about his apology all day yesterday, but he couldn’t even get through half of it. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if she got the message. He even fumbled his words. Despite all that, he could tell she’d understood how he felt. He sighed as he took a small, gorgeous box out of his pocket. Sharon was instantly captivated by it.

“Huh? I-Is this for me?”

Her eyes popped wide open. It was obvious that she was caught off-guard, but she recovered quickly.

“Ah, well, I’ll consider thinking about treasuring it.”

“Make up your mind already!”
She accepted it with a brimming smile.

“Oh, um, I’m... I mean, d-do you think it’ll snow today?”

She tried to draw the attention away from herself, but she couldn’t hide the grin spreading across her face.

“It’s not a big deal. You can throw it away if you don’t like it.”

Sharon’s beaming smile left Al flustered. He awkwardly turned away and chomped down on his lunch. But in his haste he didn’t chew properly and ended up choking violently.

“What are you doing!? Geez, come here!”

Despite her exaggerated exasperation, her warm smile didn’t waver as she started hitting Al’s back. It was painful, but he didn’t have the luxury of raising a complaint.

“Th-Thanks.”

It took him a moment to recover from just how lame he’d been.

“I-I’ll open it!”

Sharon’s smile turned tense, clasping the box in her trembling hands.

“Sure, go ahead. It’s all yours.”

Calm down, Sharon... Don’t set your expectations so high! You’re making me nervous!

Al awkwardly peeped at her from the corner of his eye.

She carefully opened the box.

“Wooow!”

The neatly wrapped box was hiding a silver hair ornament. It was simple in design: three feathers that connected into a small gem at their base. This gem was made from a special ore, one said to have a tiny amount of magic enclosed within it. It was often claimed they were lucky charms that could make the owner’s wishes come true.

“Oh, wow...”

Sharon closely examined the ornament with an undeniable joy.

“Just so you know, it’s not that cheap knock-off from the stall the other day!”

Al said it proudly with his back turned. He wasn’t lying; he had spent three hours the previous day going through the goods of the country’s best craftsman before he finally settled on it. Of course, that merchant was aware of the rumors surrounding Al, but Al’s determination broke him in the end.

“Perhaps it’s not as high quality as Freiyan silver, but it’s coated with protective magic, so it won’t get damaged if you drop it or something.”

He chose this piece while considering Sharon’s strong, firm personality.

“Huh, that’s a surprisingly thoughtful present, coming from you.”

“Yeah, I was torn between this and a beef roast.”

“That would have been just as great!”

Sharon joked back as she put the ornament into her hair.

“How does it look?” she asked, blushing slightly and fidgeting in her seat.

Al stared at her, impressed at his ability to pick out a good present, along with just how much it suited her. When he realized what he was doing he suddenly went bright red and barely managed to stammer out a simple compliment.

“It, err... looks good on you.”

“Hehehe. Thank you!”

This was the first time since Sharon had arrived that Al had seen her as a normal girl. They spent the next few hours engaged in their normal conversations, throwing playful insults back and forth. Though the thought that this could be the last time he saw Sharon saddened him, he knew from experience that he couldn’t get everything he wanted in life. Then, at last, it was time to say goodbye.

Guards came to signal that the Freiyan carriage had arrived. A number of soldiers clad in bright red armor arrived with the carriage.

“Time for me to go, then.”

She wore the same red dress she had arrived in, but the smile on her face made her seem all the more gentle. The silver ornament Al had given her glistened in her crimson hair. Her eyes seemed to be cloudy, but Al couldn’t tell if it was just the way they were reflecting the sunlight. He himself was doing all he could to keep his emotions in check.

“It was fun having you here, despite how short it was. Especially our date... Make sure you come back and hang out again! Just leave the assassination attempts out of it.”

“Okay...”

Sharon clenched a hand against her chest, hoping that, as unlikely as she thought it was, she'd be able to see Al again. She clamped her eyes shut and nodded in response, etching his parting words into her heart.

“Bye...”

Sharon was unable to find the correct words, the correct gestures to say goodbye. Her hand sort of fluttered in front of her chest as she tried to wave, and then she climbed into the carriage.

“Ah...”

Goodbye felt too sad, and see you later didn’t feel right. Al found himself unable to think of anything else to say and ended up watching her leave in silence.

“King Al!”

Not long after the carriage vanished into the distance, Lilicia called out to him.

“What is it?”

He tried his best to look as indifferent as possible, despite the storm raging in his heart. Sensing Al’s inner struggle, Lilicia hesitantly spoke up.

“We’ve caught the perpetrator who spread the rumors throughout the city.”

“What, really!?”

Naturally Al could not remain composed. He didn’t imagine that a spy from the emperor would be captured so quickly.

“None of this has been corroborated yet, but...”

Lilicia quickly summarized the information they’d obtained.

“Brusch has been captured by Labona!?”

Jamka’s thoughts toward the slaves aside, this explained why he’d tried to assassinate Al.

“Oh my. So it’s possible that they were using Brusch as a hostage to force Jamka to do what he did.”

Al nodded at Cecilia’s relieved expression, but his own face remained stiff.

He wanted to send out a rescue team immediately.

“I think it’s a trap.”

Feena listened quietly to Lilicia’s report and drew her own conclusion.

“I agree. The fact that we were able to catch a spy so easily, and that he was so cooperative, is an obvious giveaway. They want to lure me to Labona.”

Al spat out the words, offended by the Empire’s gall.

“But we have to go,” Feena added shortly after.

Al silently nodded. If they didn’t act swiftly and with great care, then they’d be putting the lives of both Brusch and Jamka in danger.

“Lilicia, tell Dante to assemble the troops at once. Leave only as many soldiers as absolutely necessary to guard the castle and prepare to depart for Labona. We’ll head there to save Brusch, and... and maybe Jamka too.”

Al’s face twisted as he called for his vice commander and ordered an attack on Labona.

I have to give it to them; they forced my hand. We could deal with Jamka and the rumors, but now they’re paralyzing our country and setting a trap we just can’t avoid.

“They’re overestimating us here.”

He groaned. Their plan seemed way too elaborate for a small country, even with three Divas.

“Either way, we just have to do what we can.”

He spared a regretful glance for Sharon’s long-gone carriage before turning back to face Cecilia and Feena.

“Cecilia, Feena. I have something to ask you.”

“Well, well. You know I’d do anything for you!”

“A good wife follows her husband anywhere he goes.”

They reassured him with their gentle smiles (though Feena’s was barely visible).

“Um... King Al.”

Hearing an unexpected voice, he turned around and found Lilicia behind him.

“Lilicia, what are you doing here? I told you to go and get Dante...”

His words trailed off. He felt like something was off about her, though she looked no different than normal. Before he could voice his concerns, he found himself fascinated, even attracted by her smile.

“King Al. What would you say if I told you there was a way to get out of this predicament?”

Her usual meek and obedient tone was replaced with a more aggressive, challenging one.

“Let’s hear it.”

After a few moments of silence, he agreed to listen.

I would even make a pact with the devil to protect this country.

“Understood. Then...”

She began speaking with an expression that made her look like she’d waited a thousand lifetimes to share this secret. Al didn’t even have the time to mope about Sharon’s departure as he listened to Lilicia’s story. It reminded him of how she used to read fairytales to him long ago.

“This is...”

Al frowned. The long-forgotten stone pathway to the basement was damp, dark, and caked in mold. The humid air that hit them was like a warning sign, desperately trying to keep every living thing out. They took a lantern to illuminate the long and narrow pathway, which seemed to go on endlessly.

We could use the power of the slumbering Demon King.

Lilicia’s shocking proposal hadn’t left Al’s mind. She led him into a passageway, one that only the royalty of Althos should have known about. Both Cecilia and Feena had of course wanted to join them, but Lilicia firmly declined their request, leaving only her and Al to walk the hellish path.

“King Al, are you familiar with the legend of the Demon King?”

She suddenly turned to Al with a question.

“Of course. After his defeat, he was sealed here, and our royal family was tasked with keeping an eye on him.”

“Hehe. Close, but not exactly.”

Al had answered proudly, puffing his chest out. But Lilicia now looked at him like he was a fool.

“Then tell me, what’s the truth!?”
He was getting more and more irritated.

“Hmm... You want to know the truth?”

Lilicia smiled slyly, not rising to Al’s irritation.

“Who are you!?”

Al grabbed his sword from his waist and threatened Lilicia.

“Aha! Don’t make such a scary face! You can’t even scratch me with that stick!”

Her devious laughter reverberated through the long corridors. The sly smile she had perfected just to belittle others was about to drive Al crazy, but right before he lost his cool...

“We’re here~♪”

“This is...”

Al’s rage was blown away by the shock of what stood before him: a door big enough for a giant, made of a material he’d never seen before. It was adorned by two massive scythes, far larger than even Death himself would use, crossing over each other. Or at least, that’s what Al assumed it should look like, for only one scythe was currently on the door.

He began to wonder where the other scythe could be, but promptly decided to save that thought for later.

His intuition was screaming at him. Beyond that door laid the Demon King. It should have been sealed tight, but Al could feel an ominous magical energy leaking through. His senses were being driven out of order. He couldn’t tell if he was hot or cold, but sweat was pouring from his forehead. The only thing he was sure of was that he was shaking before that imposing door.

“King Al, come, this way! Come on, you’re so slow!”

Lilicia nonchalantly walked up to the door, sparing no concern for Al’s current state. Her cheerful voice struck a stark contrast with his state of mind.

“Come here and produce the sign of the vessel!”

She invited him closer to the door.

“The sign of the vessel?”

A red light went off in Al’s head. Now was not the time to worry about that, or even think about worrying about it.

“Lilicia. Just who in the world are you!?”

Her devious laughter once again echoed around them.

“I’m Lilicia, a succubus and a loyal servant of the Demon King. I’ve been cooperating with the country’s leaders for hundreds of years in order to find a suitable vessel for the Demon King.”

And just like that, she revealed her true identity.

“Huh!? You’re a... succubus!?”

He’d always found it weird how her appearance hadn’t changed significantly in the time he’d known her. She’d been the head maid at least since the Witch King’s reign. Perhaps his unique situation had stopped him from ever wondering too much about it.

“I have worked alongside the rulers of this country for generations to try and revive the Demon King. But when the vessel was finally born, your father halted the project.”

She rambled on without even trying to hide her anger.

“Even I couldn’t compare to his powers, so I had to work as a maid and look after the family. But that ends today!”

She flashed a relieved smile.

“So, King Al. Would you be so kind as to borrow the power of the Demon King and quickly chase away the Empire? Then you can entrust your body to him and allow him to take over the continent... no, take over this entire world!”
Lilicia revealed her true intentions without even batting an eyelid.

Althos was working on reviving the Demon King until my father’s reign!?

Lilicia grinned at Al, who had his fingers pressed against his temples, the confusion proving all too much for him.

“For some reason the Demon King can only use half of his power now. But that’s still half the power he had against the Valkyrie. Now that the Valkyrie’s power is split into seven parts, the Divas stand no chance against him.”

Her strategy was to lure him in with immeasurable power.

“That also means he only puts half the pressure on the host. I believe you would have a good command over his powers.”

I’d have the Demon King’s power coursing through my veins...

He was tempted by her bewitching smile and alluring words.

“So, come here and unlock the seal!”

The strength to protect everyone is right in front of me...

He slowly staggered towards Lilicia, as if he was possessed.

“Come, my King!”

Luring him to the depths of hell, she urged him to accept the cursed power.

But suddenly, he stepped back from the door.

“Huh? What’s wrong? Why did you stop!?”

“Lilicia. Do you think the girls who served the Demon King were happy when he was defeated?”

Ignoring Lilicia’s outburst of anger, Al calmly asked a question.

“What!? You start acting all serious just to ask something so insignificant!? Of course they weren’t happy! They respected him, adored him! Anyway, there’s no time for this now, come here!”

The years Lilicia had spent as Al’s maid made her feel obliged to answer his question. But she quickly realized her current position and puffed her cheeks.

“Yeah, exactly. That’s terrible.”

He walked even further away from the door and turned to Lilicia.

“So, I made my decision. I will win against the Empire using my own power.”

He declared it with a firm, dignified tone.

“Do you even realize what you’re doing!? That’s impossible!”
“You don’t know until you try. I wouldn’t want to see the despair in my friends’ eyes when they learned I allowed the Demon King into my body.”

Al’s determination allowed him to smile calmly. The image of a certain someone, the person you’d most likely expect, was currently floating in his mind.

“Thank you for your generous offer, Lilicia. However, I’ll do things on my own. I don’t need the Demon King’s power. I’ll prove it to you.”

He stopped shaking. At some point he’d stopped being afraid of the magical energy seeping through the door. He’d stopped sweating and was back in control of himself.

Have I gotten used to that ominous energy?

Lilicia let out a heavy sigh and shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, I guess that’s it then. As a loyal servant to the Demon King I can’t resort to violence against the one who would be the vessel.”

Lilicia, now in a far more subdued mood, easily took the huge scythe out of its enclave in the door.

“Huh!? What magic is this!?”

The scythe started to glow before his eyes. It was only now he noticed that both the handle and blade were solid black, radiating an ominous dark-red light.

“King Al. I would you at least like you to take this scythe with you, if you please. Think of it as a charm.”

“The scythe sealing the Demon King? How can that be a charm!? If anything it’s cursed!”

However, the one offering it to him was none other than Lilicia, the maid who had looked after him ever since he was born.

“Don’t worry. Taking this will not curse you.”

Reassured by her words, he timidly took the scythe from her. It felt like a typical scythe as it weighed down in his hands.

“I guess I can take it, but I don’t plan on using it.”

He murmured to himself and attached the scythe to his back.

“Thank you, my King. I can’t leave the Demon King’s side, but I will be praying for your success in your battles to come.”

Lilicia returned to her usual self and respectfully bowed to Al.

Please don’t pray to the Demon King for my safety.

“Thank you Lilicia. I’ll be going now.”

He rushed up on the stairs.

“I guess this is fine. We’ve at least cleared stage one.”

The bewitching smile returned to Lilicia’s face as she watched Al leave.

---

---

---

It was the morning after Al had seen Sharon off and learned the truth about Lilicia. They’d spent the entire night preparing for this, and Al had forced his two-thousand-odd troops to march without sleep, until they reached a position only several miles outside of the independent merchant city of Labona.

Labona was founded by the merchant Zaham, known as the God of Trading, and his sympathizers with help from Subdera. It had developed rapidly over the last century and was now known as a place where one could find anything and everything. Of course, they heavily invested in their defenses as well. A giant stone wall surrounded the city to ward off the bandits, and their military force rivaled that of Althos. Labona had been attacked on several occasions by its neighboring countries. Yet they’d always held their own against their attackers, and punished them by ceasing all trade with the offending nation. This unique, powerful strategy had allowed Labona to remain independent until now.

But that strategy hadn’t worked when the Empire invaded. They’d taken over in a single day, leaving Labona without any chance of retaliation. As a proof of the Empire’s occupation, the usually busy steel gate was closed shut, and the walls were filled with Imperial soldiers.

“My my, so it was a trap after all.”
Cecilia was smiling as calmly as ever. A vanguard of about five thousand soldiers, and a few dozen abominations, were waiting for their arrival.

Al’s army was only two thousand men strong, both disheartened and doubtful of Al due to the rumors. They were outnumbered and morale was low. Even though a potentially hopeless battle might erupt at any minute, Cecilia seemed to be enjoying herself. She was mindlessly humming and trying to discreetly loosen her dress.

“Cecilia. Even if we were to use Heavenly Surge, you don’t need to take your dress off.”

“Oh bother, you’re right. What a shame.”

It was almost admirable that she was able to joke around in this tense situation. Unfortunately, Al wasn’t in the mood.

“And we’re not using Heavenly Surge unless we have no other choice. I’ll prove that I can win without using some weird powers!”
Strangely, none of them had asked about what happened in the basement, and he wasn’t planning on spilling the beans himself anytime soon. He didn’t want to make the situation even more complicated.

“Al...”

He was pulled back to reality by his sister’s concerned voice.

“What’s the problem Cecili—”

He turned around to see Cecilia’s face inches away from him.

“Al.”

She gently caressed her dear brother’s cheeks.

“Al, relax a bit. You’re the king and the commander of your army. If you allow your nerves to show it will affect your men too.”

She whispered into his ear. Her cold, steel blue eyes pierced into his heart.

Yeah, that’s right. Their numbers are meaningless in front of Cecilia’s power.

Al calmed himself down and steeled his resolve. He met Cecilia’s gaze with a wry smile.

“Cecilia. I want to save Jamka and Brusch as soon as possible.”

He placed a hand on her waist as he stated his aims.

“Your love for your friends is commendable, but you’re here today to lead your soldiers to victory. Your haste will only serve to panic them. Lesfina and I are here with you. So relax, and stand proudly in front of your troops!”

Her calm advice resounded through Al’s heart.

“Thank you, Cecilia. And sorry—”

She quickly interrupted Al.

“Al, this is no time for making apologies.”

His cheeks flushed.

“Thank you, Cecilia.”

A loud explosion interrupted them right after their exchange. The pounding of hooves shook the ground as the roars of soldiers cut through the air.

“Crap! It’s starting!”

He turned his head towards the source of the loud bang.

“Aww, we were just getting into it,” Cecilia said, sounding disappointed. Nevertheless, she grabbed her khakkhara and prepared for battle.

“Cecilia, Feena, I’m counting on you. Let’s do this according to the plan.”

“Okay!”

“Of course.”

They turned their horses towards the abominations, kicking them into action at the exact same time.

“Cecilia, Diva of Althos, moving out!”

“Feena, Diva of Subdera... moving out!”

The two Divas plunged their way toward the enemy forces.

“I have to get ready, too.”

Al watched them go before directing his force to the front of his army. The soldiers were clearly not in a favorable mood for battle, but now was not the time to cower. He steeled his heart and shouted with all his might.

“Brave soldiers of Althos! The time has come! Show them your strength!”

There was no doubt in his voice. He shouted lines Jamka had once prepared for him at the top of his lungs to inspire his soldiers.

But their reactions were lackluster.

“The enemy outnumbers us two to one! But we have a trump card! Do you know what that is!?”

Dead silence. No one uttered a word.

Damn, they aren’t reacting at all.

Al disregarded the cold drops of sweat running down his forehead and answered his own question.

“Our unity! Our trust in our comrades!”

Even Al’s impassioned pleas weren’t enough to move them. He knew that to win a battle, you needed to be the strongest army, and you needed food, supplies, and terrain advantage to support them. But they didn’t have any of it. Which meant they’d have to rely on superior strategy and unity among the soldiers. He was trying to rouse his men to meet those conditions, but it wasn’t working.

“Come on, you bastards! This is not the first time we have faced impossible odds!”

“There’s no way we can win against those monsters.”

He caught a faint whisper from the crowd.

“Y-Yeah! I won’t face those abominations!”

“If you want to fight so much do it yourself! Just use the Demon King’s power!”

One after the other, they started voicing their complaints. The organized troops transformed into a disorganized mob in mere seconds.

“Silence! We can break through their defenses and—”

He ran out of time. He could see an abomination closing in from the corner of his eyes.

“Al, I’m sorry. They got behind us.”

Panic was evident even in Feena’s usually flat voice. A few abominations had torn away from the group and were now heading their way. She put up a good fight, but they were too numerous for even a Diva to hold back alone. Al wanted to move the troops in to support her...

“Shit! They’re coming this way!”

But their hearts were flooded with fear.

“Remain calm! Stay in formation! If they penetrate our defenses—”

Al was interrupted by countless fireballs flying towards them from behind the abominations.

“R-Run!”

Overtaken by fear, the Althos army started to break rank and flee.

“Stop! Don’t show them your backs!”
Al didn’t think his magic was strong enough to do anything in this situation, but, unable to bring himself to give up, he raised his hand toward the incoming flames. Ominous black magic shot from his palm, engulfing and seemingly swallowing the airborne fireballs.

“Huh!? What!? That was me!?”

He stared at his left hand with wide open eyes.

Did the Demon King’s power grow within me during my time in the basement?

He couldn’t think of anything else.

I still shouldn’t use this if I can help it.

In the midst of Al’s confusion he glared over at the scythe on his back. Obviously, the scythe didn’t return his stare, but he once again reminded himself not to use it.

“Don’t you dare try and hurt my people!”

He drew his sword and swung it towards the abominations. It shattered clean in two, as if he’d just struck a boulder.

“Ugh, you’re a tough one!”

He forced a smile as the abomination opposite him raised a heavy arm. His sword had already been rendered useless, and he didn’t have the time to get out his spare. But a dark-red sheen was tempting him through a corner of his eye.

“Damn, I already have to break my vow.”

He faced the monster’s thick arm, slipped the scythe off his back and went in for the attack. The scythe cut through its arm like a warm knife going through butter. The ground rumbled as it crashed down next to his horse like a tree being felled.

“Urghhh!”

Amidst the monster’s anguished cries, Al spun the scythe around, cut its leg, and finished his attack off with a kick. The abomination fell to the ground.

“Damn, turns out this was a lucky charm after all!”

He stared at the scythe in awe. His face was covered with cold sweat, not because he barely managed to cheat death, but because of the sheer destructive power of his weapon.

“Ahhh! More spells incoming!”

As he sat there, astonished by his newfound strength, the soldiers behind him screamed of an incoming attack. He shook off the power lust he was feeling and turned around just in time to see his soldiers fleeing in panic from the hell about to rain down on them. More fireballs, far too many to count, were flying through the sky toward them.

“To the right! Run to the right!”

He tried to lead his soldiers to safety, but they were too panicked to listen.

“Tch. Everyone, get down! Now!”

He once again thrust his left hand forward, but was interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Ice ball.”

A massive ice ball came flying from outside his field of vision, erasing, repelling, and engulfing the fireballs in its path.

“Al, are you okay?”

Feena rode up to Al, keeping the abominations away from them with a variety of spells. He couldn’t see Cecilia anywhere, so it seemed like she had stuck to the plan.

“Y-Yeah. Thank you, Feena.”

Al was clearly relieved, but Feena’s expression remained tense.

“Don’t let your guard down. We’re not done yet.”

She turned her horse towards another abomination and promptly cast another spell.

“Lightning.”

A bolt of electricity crackled down from the sky, and one of the three abominations running towards them collapsed.

“Urgahhh!”

It let out a horrible scream.

“Don’t worry, it’s not dead... I think.”

While hitting her next prey with another lightning strike, she proudly looked at Al. Yet this abomination refused to stay down, shrugging off the spell and resuming its charge toward the two.

“Ugh, just how tough are these things!?”

Al spun his incredibly sharp scythe around and bashed the abomination with its handle. His attack stopped the monster in its tracks.

“Ice block!”

Feena followed up with a spell, freezing the abomination’s feet to the ground and rendering it immobile.

“This ice is really durable. It shouldn’t break anytime soon.”

She spoke with pride. But just preventing one monster didn’t stop the horde.

What should we do?

He was desperately trying to come up with ways to stop the enemy troops, but anything they could do would require an immense amount of preparation.

“If we could line the enemy up and prepare the spell...”

Al’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he drew close to Feena.

“Feena, do you remember the ice wall you erected in my room?”

“I would never forget a single moment I spent with you. And yes, that’s one of my favorite spells.”

“Great. Then could you erect a wall behind me? Make it as long as you can.”

Feena gave him a thumbs up.

“I’d make the longest wall in history for you!”

“Then please make an ice wall between my troops and the enemy soldiers!”

“Got it.”

She must have realized Al’s intent, as she started preparing the spell without questioning him.

“Ice wall.”
Al’s orders might have been for her to create a wall on the battlefield, but Feena’s ice blockade ran to the very ends of the plains. With this, his soldiers were safe, but the two of them were stuck in the middle of the enemy lines.

“Is this enough?”

She asked with a warm smile.

“I’m sorry about this, Feena. I understand if you have to flee when things get dangerous. But please, just stick with me for long enough to allow my soldiers to escape!”

“Al. I’m your wife. I’ll be by your side until I turn you into my puppet. I won’t leave you. That’s what being married means.”

He was taken aback by the affectionate declaration. He’d already gotten used to being called a puppet, but was still wondering why she was so head over heels for him. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the time to get lost in his thoughts or to return Feena’s affection.

“I’m sor— No, thank you, Feena.”

He said it with a grateful smile.

“Ehe~♪”

The corners of her mouth curled up into a slight but kind smile. Then she turned towards the enemy troops and drew countless magic circles, completely covering their vicinity.

“I’m Feena, the wife of this puppet. It’s time to get serious!”

To Al, it looked like chained, demonic beasts were awaiting her command to pour out from the magic circles.

“Charge!”

The beasts leapt free from their chains and rushed toward their enemies. Creatures of fire, ice, and electricity burnt, froze, and shocked the abominations that stood in their way.

“This should do it for now.”

“Thank you, Feena. Now, it’s the puppet’s turn to do some work.”

He hopped off of his horse and nimbly retrieved his satchel from it.

“These are a prototype of our latest invention, a tube filled with black powder. It’s called a firecracker.”

He proudly held one such firecracker in front of Feena.

“A firecracker?”

She tilted her head curiously. The bamboo pipe was the size of a drinking cup. A long, wooden pole stretched through the middle of it and there was a small string attached to its side. His satchel was filled to brim with these firecrackers.

“It would be easier if I just showed you. Please, cover me.”

He stuck one firecracker after the other into the ground. As requested of her, Feena was warding him from the incoming spells and arrows.

“Good, we’re done. Feena, help me light the fuses.”

While calling out to her, he started lighting the strings of the dozen or so firecrackers one by one.

“Okay.”

After deflecting one last lightning ball, she got to lighting the firecrackers as well.

Pew-pew!

The firecrackers popped as they danced through the air towards the enemy.

“Ah!”

Feena stopped, surprised by the sounds.

“Don’t worry, we’re fine here! Just keep firing them!”

“I read that the ideal wife believes in and abides by her husband’s words.”

She looked at Al, muttered that under her breath, then returned to work. After a few seconds in the air, the firecrackers dropped down to the ground behind the abominations, right on the enemy soldiers.

Bam-bam! Pop-pop!

Small explosions reverberated through the battlefield.

“Wha—!? What’s going on!?”
Soldiers in the Imperial Headquarters, a place they’d thought to be safe, started to panic as they heard explosions close by.

“Wind!”

Al cast a basic wind spell.

“Watch and tremble under the power told of in the rumors you spread!”

A moment later, a gentle breeze passed across the battlefield.

“Hey, can you hear me?”

The surprised shrieks of the soldiers could be heard from a distance. After confirming that they could hear him, he decided to put on a bit of an act.

“Listen to me, Imperial dogs! I am Alnoa, but you can call me the Demon King! I’ll show you what it means to experience true terror through the use of my dark magic!”

It was like a puppet show. If someone tried to pull this on a random day in the middle of the city square, they’d be laughed at, or they’d be taken to the church. But even if the Imperial backline was lulled into a sense of safety, this was still a battlefield. After getting bombarded by previously unseen weaponry, they were now hearing voices from the Demon King. It was more than enough to plunge their troops into chaos.

“No way! The Demon King’s back!?”

“Why is a Diva cooperating with the Demon King!?”

Just as he planned, the Imperial soldiers began to panic.

“Calm down! Don’t be fooled! Those are just firecrackers, they don’t have any destructive power! The general provided us with abominations to fight by our side! We have nothing to fear! Not even the Demon King himself!”

The mayhem was blown away in an instant by a familiar voice, one which came from beside the man who appeared to be in charge.

“Jamka...”

Al would recognize that voice anywhere. His best friend, whom he had fought alongside countless times, was now standing on the other side of the battlefield, clad in the enemy’s armor.

“Destroy the firecrackers with magic! Target the King of Althos directly with your arrows! Stop him from pulling any more of these stupid tricks on us!”

Al’s wind magic caused him to hear things he never wanted to.

“Jamka... Huh!?”

Next to Jamka, Al could spy the commander holding a fist-sized blue crystal. He seemed to be issuing orders while swinging it to the left and right.

Is that—

He didn’t have time to finish his thought, as a storm of iron arrows blacked out the sky, heading their way.

“Feena, get down!”

He stood in front of Feena to protect her and started mincing away at the arrows raining down on them with his scythe.

“Damn, there are too many!”

There were at least twice the number of arrows as before.

A fragmented arrow was heading straight towards Feena, who was defenseless as she amassed energy for her next spell.

“Feena! Look ou— Arghh!”

He tried to cover her with his left hand, and the arrow pierced right through it.

“Al!”

Crimson flames burst from Feena, burning the rest of the arrows to dust.

“Don’t worry. This is just a scra— Hah!? It’s already healed!?”

Al pulled the arrow out of his hand, gritting his teeth from the pain. But his open wound closed up before his eyes, with the spattered blood left as the only remainder of his injury.

Is this the power of the Demon King? What’s happened to my body!?

“Heavy infantry, charge!”

His thoughts were interrupted. The Empire wouldn’t let them have a moment of rest. The heavily armored Imperial soldiers promptly organized into formation in front of Al. With Jamka’s help, they could read his every move.

If that crystal is really what I think it is—namely, that it’s controlling the abominations—then I think I see a way out. I’ll break the crystal and take the enemy general hostage!

Al’s lips curved into a cynical smile, fully aware of how reckless his strategy was. The enemy soldiers held huge shields, making it look like an iron wall was charging toward him.

“Get out of my way!”

Al dramatically stepped in front of the soldiers and swung down his scythe, aiming to hook it around one of the shields and tear it away.

“Huh!?”

To his surprise, the scythe cut through it like paper.

“What’s up with this thing!? This is absurd!”

Taken aback by his own attack, he lost his balance. The soldiers couldn’t let this chance slip.

“Spearmen!”

They had anticipated him breaking through their defenses, and so the lancers were right behind the heavy infantry to support them. A flurry of stabs flew towards Al from the small opening he’d created.

“Thanks, I didn’t expect such a warm welcome!”

He spun the scythe around and chopped the spearheads off with ease.

“Gahh!”

But a single spear managed to slip by, striking him in the shoulder.

“Gah... I won’t be stopped by this!”

He grabbed onto the spear, hit its owner with the handle of the scythe, and forcefully pulled the tip out of himself.

“Look out!”

A massive ice ball came flying at the same time as those words. It knocked away a soldier who was trying to attack Al from behind.

Thanks.

He shot a quick glance at Feena while spinning his scythe. He refused to hit humans with anything but the handle of it, but they all collapsed regardless, like their very life force had been drained from them.

We can pull this off!

Al felt hopeful as he continued to push his way forward. But suddenly the armor-clad soldiers parted. His vision was filled with dozens more new spearmen.

“Waarghh!!”

They growled and thrust their spears towards him.

“Stop reading my mind!”

He cursed Jamka and warded off the incoming attacks with his scythe.

“Gahh!”

He was fatally outnumbered. He couldn’t keep up with the flurry of spears coming his way. One spear after another pierced through him.

“Al!”

Feena cast a lightning attack, knocking Al and the surrounding soldiers back with its concussive force. The spell shattered the spears riddling Al's body.

“Gahhh! Even if my injuries heal instantly, it still hurts like hell!”

He jumped up in agonizing pain, tore the remaining spearheads out of his body, and spit the blood out of his mouth.

“Chaaarge!”

A moment later, the heavy infantry charged at him. Al felt like he’d been hit by a carriage as he flew through the air.

“Guhh!”

He once again managed to avoid fatal injury by chanting a protection spell in the nick of time, but found himself tumbling all the way to the base of the ice wall.

“Al! Are you okay?”

Feena mowed down the surrounding abominations with a powerful lightning bolt and rushed over to Al. She was on the brink of collapsing from fatigue.

“I’m fine, but are you okay, Feena!?”

After his injuries fully healed, he sat up. His entire body was covered with his own blood. Of course, neither of them were truly fine, but Feena said...

“I can still go on.”

Seeing that bravery made Al understand he couldn’t show any weakness. He pumped himself up and leapt to his feet.

“You’re losing too much blood. You won’t last long like this.”

“I’m fine. And their numbers are—”

“What’s that sound!?”

The ground shook beneath their feet as a fierce battle cry reached their ears. Curiously, it came from the other side of the ice wall.

“What’s— No way!”

The Imperial soldiers are slaughtering my people on the other side!?

He clenched his teeth and grabbed his scythe. But then the giant ice wall started collapsing right before his eyes.

“Wh-What’s going on!?”

Suddenly, a hole big enough for two people to fit through opened before the bewildered Al. He could see a silhouette behind the remaining cloud of ice particles.

“What are you doing here!?”

A violent lightning strike zapped an abomination behind Al’s back.

“You saved our lives, so we’re going to put them to good use!”

Juju, who’d become a citizen just the other day, stood behind the gaping hole fully clad in armor, with a sharp sword in her hand.

I’m sure I didn’t bring them along!

Citizens of Althos flooded through the breach as Al struggled to get a hold of what was going on.

“It’s time to repay Lesfina for our freedom! Let’s go, you bastards!”

“YEAAAH!”

“Wh-What?”

Al was still lost for words as Juju and the rest of the reinforcements charged toward the Imperial forces. The ground trembled beneath their fierce battle cry. A shabby man stood between Al and the enemy, wearing an awkward expression.

“Y’know, Juju was furious. She shouted at us for running away while the man who freed us was risking his life to keep us safe.”

The girl next to him chimed in.

“Althos is the only country that ever treated us like humans, even if it is ruled by the Demon King. Juju said that we'd lose everything if we abandoned it now. That we could run if we wanted to become slaves again, but if not, then we must protect our country with our own hands. We were ashamed by our cowardice and turned back.”

As a proof of their determination, the soldiers formed a protective circle around Al and Feena.

“Just to be clear, I made the outside of the ice wall weak to attacks. My magic would never be broken that easily. I just wanted to clear that up.”

She was upholding her pride as a Diva.

“You expected them to come back?”

Al curiously tilted his head.

“It was a gamble, but... I had a feeling they’d realize that you’re fighting for them.”

Tch, it’s like she knows my people better than me.

He smiled wryly.

“Commander! We’re waiting for your order!”

Their eyes were free of the confusion and terror they’d felt earlier. All of them were focused on Al, eagerly awaiting his word.

“Geez, you have a lot of nerve, coming back after running away on me.”

He wanted to put on a tough act, but his mouth curled up into a smile.

“You’re going to be making up for all that time you were sitting out!”

He stood up and shouted, to raise not only the soldiers’ spirits, but his own spirit as well.

“Prepare the counterattack! Use all the firecrackers we have! Target the enemy headquarters and the cavalry!”

“Yes sir!”

They quickly stuck the firecrackers into the ground and fired them off, moving at a far swifter pace than they had ever done in training. Hundreds of firecrackers rained down on the enemy headquarters and the cavalry surrounding it, exploding as they landed. Jamka might have revealed that firecrackers weren’t dangerous, but Al wasn’t aiming to harm anyone directly.

“You can explain what’s going on to humans, but animals are a different matter. Right, Jamka?”

The firecrackers spooked the horses, just as Al had hoped. They began rampaging around the area. Of course, the horses rode by Jamka and the enemy commander were no exception. The chaos going on back at the enemy headquarters spread quickly to the front lines.

“What’s going on back there!? Where’s the messenger already!?”
The chain of command was in disarray. Al ran his gaze over the mayhem, and realized that the enemy commander didn’t have his blue crystal at hand. He had probably dropped it as his horse went wild. Just as Al had theorized, the abominations froze in place for a second before going berserk. They attacked everything in their sight, be it friend or foe.

“Begin the counterattack! Run past their infantry and abominations! Our aim is their headquarters!”

“Yes, sir!”

The soldiers of Althos cried out in unison and began their charge.

“What’s going on!?”

The commander of the southern regiment of the Imperial Army, Dans Dala, seated on an extravagantly ornamented horse, couldn’t believe his eyes. Victory had been assured until a few moments prior.

“Why...”

Dala stared at his empty right hand, before catching a sparkle out of the corner of his eye. The crystal he’d been holding lay in pieces beneath his horse. It had all happened because of one simple slip-up. His horse started bounding around, out of control. Dala had fallen off in one quick moment. He couldn’t hold onto the crystal during his fall. His horse trampled the crystal, shattering it instantly. The abominations, who were previously not enemies nor allies, went berserk, and panic spread through the human soldiers. To top it all off, the Althos soldiers were now aiming at the commander with their spells. He had completely lost control over the situation.

“Commander. Let’s fall back to Labona,” Jamka proposed, bringing his horse alongside Dala. He imagined there was no way to win this battle now, save for the fact that there was still one trump card remaining. Dala rummaged through his pockets desperately, looking for the one other thing the High Commander had given him when he was ordered to take Althos.

“Found it.”

“Commander?”

Jamka got closer to the commander, not understanding why he wasn’t moving. Jamka was skilled with both sword and sorcery, making him much more useful to the commander than the other slaves.

“Jamka, come closer. I’ll give you your last order. It’s a top secret mission. We can’t let anyone else hear it.”

Dala spoke, staring at the ground to hide his menacing smile.

“Yes, Commander?”
He felt that something was off, but disobeying orders was not an option. He came alongside the commander, so close he could touch him.

“This is your...”

Dala pulled something out of his pocket. It was a crystal with a small, twinkling crimson flame in the middle.

“Final mission!”

He slammed the crimson crystal into Jamka’s chest.

“I call upon the two ancient powers! The Saint and the Demon, bestow your strength on your foolish servant!”

Right after the commander finished his chant, Jamka began writhing in pain.

“Gahh— Why are you...”

Dala smiled, looking at Jamka wriggling on the ground.

“Gahh! What’s thi— Ahhhhh!”

“If those skin-and-bones slaves on the brink of death became that powerful, imagine how strong you will be once you turn into an abomination! You’ll be unstoppable! Now go, smear those Althos bastards into the ground!”

Dala’s voice sounded so distant. Jamka writhed on the ground, barely able to see Dala riding back to Labona.

“Just a few more...”

Al bashed the handle of his scythe against an enemy soldier who’d been brave enough to fight until the end.

“I’m finished.”

Feena rushed over to Al so fast she almost collided with him.

There she goes, sneaking up behind me again. Though I couldn’t have done this without her, so I’ll let it slide.

Feena then dashed into the middle of an enemy group, breaking her camouflage magic and making them panic. She nailed the commanding officer with a spell, sending him flying and rendering him unconscious.

The entire Imperial Army was now in disarray, their carefully planned formation in tatters.

“Now we just have to take care of the commander and take back Labona! Cecilia should already be—”

He was interrupted by a sudden burst of magical energy.

“What’s that!?”

They both looked towards the source of this incredible power.

“Wha—!?”

They were rendered speechless. A giant, over ten-feet-tall wolf-like creature had appeared right where Jamka and the enemy commander had been.

“Is that an abomination!?”

“It’s like the wolf from the legends... the God Devourer...”

Now that Feena mentioned it, Al could see the resemblance to Fenrir, a god who had taken the guise of a wolf and eaten other gods.

“Could that be... Jamka?”

He once talked with Jamka about his life before falling into the hands of slavers. He’d been royalty in a small country that stood under a flag emblazoned with the image of Fenrir.

“We have to fight.”

Feena looked at Al, her eyes filled with determination.

“Yeah, let’s do it. We’ll knock that beast out and bring Jamka back with us!”
He grabbed his scythe. They exchanged a glance, then charged toward the beast.

“Graaah!”

Fenrir charged toward them as well, its hefty limbs working in pairs. The claws at the end of each leg were each as large as a human arm. It raised one of its forelegs...

“Ahhh!”

Al gathered all of his strength and swug his scythe towards the monster. But it simply bounced off.

“What!? How thick is that fur!?”
The monstrous wolf shook its front leg in frustration as if trying to swat away a fly. Feena, Al, and a large chunk of the ground were blown backwards from the resulting shockwave.

“Aghh!”

“Ahh!”

They both collapsed on the ground.

“Are you okay, Fee—”

Al reached to the ground to push himself up, but he couldn’t go through with his plan. To his surprise, his head landed right in between two comfortable, albeit a bit small, pillows, before sliding off to Feena’s lap.

An awkward silence fell between the two, but Fenrir wasn’t going to let them talk it out. The wolf opened his mouth so wide it looked like he could swallow them whole. He seemed to be sucking in a massive amount of air, but Al didn’t have time to wonder what was going to happen. He just knew he had to move.

“Feena! Look out!”

Al sprang into action, pushing Feena away before leaping to the side himself.

“Graaaah!”

Not even a moment later, Fenrir unleashed a stream of flames from his mouth.

“Guhh!”

Al was too slow. His ankle got caught up in the attack and burned to crisp under the thousand-degree flames.

“Al!”

Completely covered in soot, Feena tried to rush up to Al.

“Don’t!”
But Al’s sharp, restrained voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Don’t screw with us! Do you think we’d just stand here waiting for home to be destroyed!?”

Juju and a few other soldiers charged at the beast, unfaltering in the face of its impossible strength.

Al pulled himself up and shouted from the top of his lungs.

“Don’t! Feena, do something! Stop them!”

“But—”

“A good wife trusts her puppet, right!? So listen to me, Feena!”
He didn’t have the luxury of carefully choosing his words, but fortunately Feena listened to him regardless, trapping the incoming backup into an ice cage.

“Thank you.”

His ankle had started regenerating, but it looked like it was going to take a while. Al couldn’t stand up in the state he was in, and his consciousness was beginning to dim.

This is bad.

“Al...”

Despite being on the verge of passing out, he could still make out a distant voice. To his surprise it was not Fenrir’s roar, but a familiar tone.

Ah, is this the part when my life flashes before my eyes?

He smiled wryly upon realizing who the voice belonged to.

“Al...”

“Haha, didn’t think that the last thing I’d see would be my assassin’s face. Guess I’m a masochist.”

Al muttered, seeing vague strands of crimson hair fluttering in the wind and the outline of a familiar hair ornament.

“Al!”

“Hey, it’s like she’s standing right in front of me. I really must be...”

Her eyes, burning with confidence, shared the color of her hair.

Those eyes... That sword...

“Ah! Wait! Sharon!?”

He ignored the pulsing pain in his head and looked up. Sharon stood before him, wearing the same dress she’d had on when she left, though now it was far dirtier. Her giant sword looked just as much at odds with her feminine frame as it always did.

She’d clearly rushed there, but her silver hair ornament stood proudly in her disarranged hair.

“You’re really here!”

Sharon pouted down at him from atop her horse.

Sharon had only found about the Empire’s attack by chance.

“We’re nearly at the border...”

Her journey since leaving Althos had consisted of repeated sighs and staring at the floor of the carriage.

“Ahh well. I failed my mission, but I finally get to go home...”
She raised her head and repeated the line she’d said so many times before in a flat, emotionless tone. And then silence wrapped around her once again. All Sharon could hear was the clacking of hooves as the horses pulled the carriage. She was heading down the same road and in the same vehicle as when she first came to Althos. But this journey felt so much sadder. And deep down, she knew the reason why.

“Life in that castle was so hectic...”

Sure, half of it was my fault, but... I’m going to miss it all.

She stared out of the window thinking of the delightful days she’d spent in Althos. She didn’t want to return to Freiya, but since she wasn’t strong enough to disobey her stepfather, she had no choice in the matter. She had to return to being their puppet.

“Al is amazing...”

She recalled his face. He might have been clumsy, but nothing would stop him from chasing his dreams. Even if people grew to hate him, even if his friends left him, he would keep pushing on.

“I hope I can go back soon...”

She knew that wish was unlikely to come true. After all, Divas didn’t only possess immeasurable strength in battle, they also rose the morale of any army just by being present. What’s more, Sharon was a former slave, though that wasn’t known to many. She was the symbol of Freiya, and her stepfather wasn’t going to let her run off to some foreign land just so she could enjoy herself. She’d been following her stepfather’s orders every step of the way, from the first fight against Al to every assassination attempt after. No matter how much she begged, he would never let her have her way.

“Huh?”

Sharon tilted her head curiously, her train of thought interrupted by the sudden swaying of the carriage as it picked up speed.

“We’re under attack, Lady Sharon! This is going to be a bumpy ride, so please hold on tight!” her vassel cried out in a panicked tone.

“He’s here!? Took him long enough!!”

In stark contrast to her vassel, Sharon looked delighted as she peered out of the window. But that would be short lived.

“Huh!? What’s the Empire doing here!?”
A battalion of Imperial soldiers fully clad in armor were closing in on them from behind.

“We’ll hold them off here, my lady! Please proceed to Freiya without us!”

“Enough.”

The Freiyan soldier spoke proudly from beneath his brilliant red helmet, but Sharon rejected his offer.

“Huh?”

He couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. The voice clearly belonged to the princess he’d pledged his loyalty to. Yet she wasn’t the girl he knew. Her voice was distraught, like she’d been dragged through the depths of hell.

“I’ve had enough... Enough of this uncertainty! I... I have to...”

Disregarding her soldiers’ confusion, she grabbed her sword and kicked open the door.

“I have to do this!”

Sharon burst out of the carriage, launching herself into the air toward the incoming soldiers. She swung her massive sword, still sheathed, into one of the men, knocking him clean off his horse.

At least I didn’t kill him, she thought to herself as she watched the soldier tumble to the ground. Hopefully.

“What’re you doing!?”

The Imperial soldiers quickly regained their composure, getting back into formation and drawing in toward Sharon.

“You’ve caught me at a bad time. So you better get out of my way if you know what’s good for you.”

She landed on the riderless horse, still in her dignified dress, and instantly mowed down a soldier who was about to land a strike on her.

“What the hell, wasn’t this meant to be some noble’s cart!?”

The Imperial soldiers stopped their horses and looked at her in awe of her overwhelming strength. Without a care for the fidgeting soldiers, Sharon shouted.

“Who do you think you are, toying with my feelings like this is all some kind of game? I’ll have you know that the punishment for that is death!”

“No, wait, we didn’t do anythi—!”

They were interrupted by the palpable bloodlust in her gaze.

“Eeep!”

It was all too much for the soldiers, who couldn’t stop themselves from shrieking. This frightened the horse Sharon had taken over, which began running back to the rest of its group, seeking shelter from the incoming storm.

“Waarghh!”

The Imperial horses had been trained never to stop no matter the situation, but even they froze in terror when faced with Sharon’s fierce battle cry. Both man and horse alike were convinced they’d be slain by the crimson demon charging toward them.

“Ah!”

Her hair ornament fell out of her hair. She immediately pulled the reins and caught it mid-air.

“Oh yeah, I did kinda just put this on earlier.”

Looking at her gift calmed her down for a second. The soldiers looked at her in awe. Just a moment ago they were waiting for death’s sweet release from the crushing pressure of Sharon’s bloodlust. But now they could only see a gorgeous girl with a smile of an angel in front of them.

“I have to keep this safe.”

She completely ignored her dumbfounded enemies.

“Do-Don’t screw with us! A little girl like—”

One of the soldiers managed to escape Sharon’s enticing, innocent smile.

“Silence!”

Sharon casually swung her sword without looking up. The enemy soldier was blown away by her strike, spinning three times in the air, then five more times on the ground.

“So, why are you lot even here? This is Althos’ territory.”

The remaining soldiers watched their comrade’s journey through the air and across the ground... Then they quickly switched their gaze from their buddy lying cold on the ground to Sharon.

“We’re sorry! We’ll tell you everything. Please, spare us!”

They indeed told her everything: their invasion of Labona, the rumors about Al, the army of abominations, and even the trap they’d set for the King of Althos.

“I see. So he hid all that from me until I left, did he!?”

In truth, that information had only reached Al after Sharon had departed, but she couldn’t have known.

“I have to go back!”

She had no justifiable reason to return to Althos, nor did she have one for going against her stepfather’s orders. The gears in her head spun desperately in search for an answer. You could practically see smoke coming out of the top of her head, until she finally found a solution.

“I’ve got it! Someone has to investigate the rumors about the Demon King, so I’ll do it!”

She didn’t technically have permission to do so, but she knew it was a good enough excuse.

“And if he’s actually the Demon King, then I might be able to use him to achieve my dreams...”

Sharon convinced herself, unable to be honest and say she just wanted to help him.

“Also, I’ve got some things to say to him! How dare he not come after me!”
The soldiers, having lost all will to fight, now tried to sneakily retreat while Sharon was preoccupied with her own thoughts.

“Oh right. And you lot can leave your horses behind. I’ve got somewhere I need to be right now.”

They got off of their horses without even meeting her gaze, then ran for their lives on foot.

Sharon remained on the first horse she’d commandeered and set about rounding up the others, when...

“Princess?”

One of her valets called out to her.

“Tell my stepfather that I’ll be returning to Althos to uncover the king’s secret. I’ll be back in two to three days.”

She kicked the side of the horse and left without saying anything else.

“You better not die until I get there, you heartless bastard!”

As Sharon spoke those words, she felt herself smiling and her heart pounding. Was the excitement in her breast because this was the first time she’d disobeyed her stepfather? Because it was the first time she was acting of her own free will? Or was it because of the person she was going to see? Only she knew the answer to that question.

It wasn’t what one would call a happy reunion, but Sharon’s relieved smile remained firm, even if she did feel somewhat embarrassed.

“What are you lying down for!? And what the heck is that thing!? I mean, I go away for a few hours, and this is what I come back to?”

She shot a menacing gaze at Fenrir as she got off her horse. She looked away from Al in embarrassment, took off her gloves, and reached out to him.

“Come on, get up! You’re my target and (possible) future husband! It’d make me look bad if you lost to this puppy!”

“You think I care about your pride!?”

He reached up for Sharon with a wry smile. She grabbed his arm and firmly, but kindly, pulled him up.

“Seriously... You’re always putting yourself in harm’s way, aren’t you?”

Those weren’t Sharon’s usual fighting words. Sharon’s honesty hit Al hard.

“Don’t worry, I’ll do something about this.”

She raised her head, her eyes filled with determination.

Wait, you don’t mean—

Al’s thoughts were cut off by Sharon placing one hand on his cheek and using the other to guide his.

“You’re taking responsibility for this, for the record.”

She pushed his hand against her chest.

“Mmm!”

His hand was engulfed by a slightly different springiness than when this had happened with his sister.

This is weird. Heavenly Surge isn’t meant to work through clothes...

“Haah!”

But Al could feel the magic being drawn out of him and spotted his scythe gleaming wickedly in his hand.

“Is this the cause?”

Sharon brought her face closer and closer to his, until he could see nothing but her brimming smile and powerful gaze.

“Make me go wild.”

Their lips met. Sharons words resounded through his mind, like there was a direct link between the two of them, and he could feel a massive surge of magic leave him.

The glow of his scythe strengthened, and Al found at least twice the magic energy he’d just lost flooding back into his body.

Is this the true power of Heavenly Surge?

An influx of thick and dense magical energy coursed through him. He’d never felt so powerful before.

“Wha— This is... much stronger... Wow... Ahh! Nahhh!”

Sharon started to convulse and moan in his arms.

---

---

---

She tried to resist the magic and pleasure streaming around her body, but in the end she had to yield to it. Her back arched and she cried out as she reached the climax of pleasure and despair.

“Mmm, ngh! I-I’ve been sullied, but... I feel stronger!”

Al didn’t have the luxury of worrying about her, as he was also drowning in pleasure. He was barely able to keep himself from fainting.

“Aaahh!”

“Noooo!”

The two of them writhed as waves of magic (and pleasure) swallowed them whole.

“Grahhh!”

A moment later, both of them were engulfed in Fenrir’s merciless flames.

“Al! Sharon!”

Feena cried out in despair as the flames engulfed Althos’ last bastion of hope. She stood up and bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.

“You monster. We could have—”

Wanting to at least get in one last punch, Feena began gathering magical energy. She was waiting for Fenrir to stop its attack. But then—

“Huh? How are you two—”

Feena had expected to see no more than two piles of ash when the flames faded. But that wasn’t the reality that faced her. Both of them stood there unharmed after the sea of flames let up. They even seemed to be in a better shape than before.

“Al, what’s going on? Is this the power of Heavenly Surge?”

Even Sharon, who’d experienced the events firsthand, was dumbfounded.

“How am I supposed to know!?”

Al had no idea about what had transpired either. The only thing he knew was that an aura of black and red magical energy was surrounding them.

“Ah! My sword!”

Sharon hastily unsheathed her sword, which was now shining mysteriously. Its old, rustic look was gone. It had been reforged and was now blacker than the darkest night. New, crimson words ran down the length of the blade.

“Dáinsleif...”

Her sword’s name.

“Let’s go, Magic Sword Dáinsleif!”

It felt like a name she’d always known, like she was reuniting with a friend who’d been away for a while. But that wasn’t the only change. Al had received a gift from the Heavenly Surge too. A cloak, just as dark as Sharon’s blade, was wrapped around his shoulders. The blade of his scythe was glistening scarlet, like it had already tasted enemy blood. A name floated through his mind. The Great Scythe Mistilteinn.

“Now even I can’t deny I’m the Demon King.”

He laughed cynically at his own look.

“At least no one will complain when I assassinate you now.”

Sharon didn’t hold back on her words at a time like this. Al flashed her a wry smile.

“Now, let’s finish this!”

They both burst into action without even looking each other in the eyes. They should have been exhausted, but they were fully restored in both strength and magic.

“We don’t know how long this will last! Finish this quickly!”

“Got it! I’ll kill it in one strike!”

“No, don’t kill him!”

Al still had his wry smile, and Sharon was still brimming with confidence. But naturally, Fenrir wasn’t waiting for them to finish their chat. Its instincts must have told him that taking on the two of them at once would be dangerous, so he hopped back. Then, in the next moment, it swung down a huge paw right at Al. Everything was the same as the first attack, right down to how Al swung his scythe.

“Cut straight through, Mistilteinn!”

“Gragh!”

But this time Mistilteinn sliced straight through the beast’s thick fur, severing the leg from its base.

“Crap, I didn’t expect to cut the whole thing off! Jamka, are you okay!?”

Fenrir’s foreleg shook the ground as it fell. As Al looked at it, the image of Jamka missing his right arm floated through his mind.

“Don’t worry, we can take your arm back with us and have Cecilia do something about it!” he said, fully aware that it would be a next-to-impossible task, even for his sister.

“You need to focus!”

Sharon screamed at Al as she ran her magic blade through Fenrir.

“Got it! Let’s focus on getting Jamka back!”

“Watch out!”

Fenrir jumped back, staring at them with resentment in its eyes. Then it started to inhale.

“Is it going to breath fire again!?”

Al and Sharon took up defensive stances, as Fenrir took in another deep breath.

“Ice ball. Fireball.”

“Grahh!”

But Feena was faster than the monster. She quickly dispatched two spells. An ice ball smashed into Fenrir’s mouth, followed up by a fireball exploding before its eyes.

“I’ll cover you, Al.”

She remained expressionless and gave him a thumbs up.

“Thanks, Feena. Sharon, I’ll finish this.”

“Don’t be so full of yourself!”

Al kicked off the ground, flying toward the monster. Fenrir had reared up on its hind legs, its remaining front leg flailing around in front of it. By chance, it was headed straight for Al. But he paid it no mind and simply raised his scythe.

“This is the end for you!”

A crimson shadow slipped between Al and Fenrir.

“Slice him up, Dáinsleif!”

Sharon sliced through the leg heading toward Al like it was butter. By the time Fenrir was able to open its eyes, all it could see was Al holding Mistilteinn aloft.

“Jamka! I understand your feelings! I know you’re worried about the slaves! But believe me when I say I won’t stop until everyone under my domain is happy! I will fulfill my dream! So please, Jamka, come back to us! I’ll listen to your objections! So cut this out and return to me, you bastard!”

Al screamed out, taking careful aim and bringing his scythe straight down on Fenrir’s left shoulder.

“Graaaaggghhh!”

Mistilteinn ran straight down Fenrir’s shoulder and across its chest, leaving one deep, red line in its wake.

Fenrir’s ear splitting roar confirmed the destruction of the crystal controlling it. It collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Then it began turning back into the man they knew. As Jamka transformed back it became apparent that, unfortunately, both of his arms were missing. Cold sweat droplets ran down their cheeks as they stared at Jamka collapsed on the ground.

I’ll have Cecilia take care of your arms later.

“Now we just have to liberate Labona!”

“Uhm, about that...”

Sharon rested Dáinsleif on her shoulders, as she lightly dropped her comment. But the problem was that Al and Feena were covered in wounds. Furthermore, the Heavenly Surge could run out at any moment.

“Hm?”

Sharon looked between Al and Feena, before tilting her head curiously.

“Isn’t someone missing?”

“Oh my. You’re back already, Sharon?”

No sooner had Sharon said that than the missing Diva rolled up in a carriage, straight out of Labona. No one questioned why Dala was crucified on the top of the carriage, stripped down to his underwear.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I only stripped their commander and crucified him on the top of my carriage to destroy the enemy’s morale! It has nothing to do with my personal interests!”
Cecilia pouted, apparently annoyed that no one was commenting on it. They knew that half of it was just a joke, but they didn’t have the energy to comment on it.

“Cecilia! I’m glad you’re safe!”

“Yes, luckily I managed to carry out the mission without any major injuries.”

Knowing that Al was easily disposed to worrying, she didn’t say anything else. She brought the carriage to a stop in front of the group, at which point a small, frizzy haired shadow jumped out from behind her. It was Brusch, who leapt right into Al’s arms.

“King Al! I was scared! I was so scared!!”

“I know. You did well, Brusch.”

Al fell on his butt as Brusch crashed into him. But he ignored the pain and pet the small girl on the head.

“Oh, Al! I did my best too! You will pet your hard-working sister’s head too, right? Right!?”

Cecilia hopped off the carriage and rushed straight over to Al, as if the enemy commander wasn’t even there. Al had instructed her before the battle to use the confusion of the conflict to invade Labona on her own. Her mission was to liberate the city and save Brusch.

“I tied up the enemy forces in the city. All of the captives are safe. The enemy probably planned to turn all of them into abominations.”

She kneeled down next to Al and lowered her head with a brimming smile. Al lifted his hand to reward her for her hardships with a pat on the head. But he never reached his sister’s head.

“Huh?”

He was more exhausted than he realized. Unable to support himself any longer, he collapsed flat on the ground.

“Oh my. You hate the idea of petting your older sister that much?”

Cecilia pouted again, but behind her, Sharon collapsed to her knees.

“Huh? What’s this? I can’t move...”

“It’s probably the after-effect of using Heavenly Surge. I can’t move at all, either.”

Al said this while staring up at the vast sky, unable to even turn his head.

“Jamka! What are you doing here!? W-Wait, why is he missing both of his arms!?”

It was only after Brusch got off Al that she noticed her brother.

I’m sorry, Brusch.

He apologized silently and averted his gaze, unable to bear watching.

“Well now, you all seem exhausted. I’ll take care of Jamka’s injuries myself. Everyone else can just rest for a while, then we’ll think about what to do next. And don’t worry, Al! I’ll give you a comfy lap pillow!”

She had a cheeky smile as she proposed her brilliant idea. Al wanted to object, but he wasn’t in a state to reject his sister’s kindness.

“Thank you, Cecilia. I hope you don’t mind if I take... a little... nap.”

Unable to raise an argument, he promptly fell asleep.

“Heavenly Surge. Combining the power of the Divas and the Demon King. I expected a lot from it, but it was a huge letdown.”

“I agree. It wasn’t worth taking this detour to see it after finishing our business in Eshantel, Gil.”

Two shadows were lurking on the walls of Labona. Gil, a young man clad in silver armor, and Eleanor, a young girl who wore a dress resembling a maid uniform.

“People so inexperienced would be no match for us, dear brother.”

Her words were confident but her actions shy as she shuffled closer to Gil, staring at the ground.

“Yeah. I feel like Eshantel’s Diva alone gave us more trouble than they ever could.”

Gil kept his eyes fixed on Al.

“I hope you’ll improve your skills before we cross paths, Alnoa,” he murmured under his breath before gracefully standing up.

“We’re done here. Let’s go.”

“Yes, dear brother!”

Eleanor smiled sweetly as the two of them vanished without a trace.