Chapter 18: The Tyrant Demon
Author: Geraint
In the underground hidden passage, a tall man wearing a white hooded cloak walked along a long, dim corridor illuminated by torches set into the granite-brick walls. Only the sound of water droplets and his footsteps could be heard, echoing along his path until he stopped at the end, where a spiral staircase descended into the darkness. He picked up a lamp from the table and used it to illuminate the steps as he continued downward.
Upon reaching the lowest level, he covered his nose with his wrist after catching a foul smell in the air. Lighting his way, he saw a huge door ahead. He went to it and pushed it open.
Inside was a wide room filled with the noises of groaning children locked in prison cells. Their limbs were bound with ropes and chains, and their eyes and mouths were gagged with cloth.
In the middle of the room was a magic circle drawn with the blood of human sacrifices. Several children sat in the center, crying helplessly. Surrounding the circle were several men in red hooded cloaks, their armored boots visible, revealing they were part of the military. They prayed together, chanting unknown archaic words with daggers in their hands.
The man in the white cloak pulled back his hood, revealing his bald head and aged face. He was the Pope of the Holy Kingdom of Celestria, looking deeply irritated after hearing news that the Hero of Prophecy had gone missing—and that, shortly after, the Cathedral had been attacked by unknown undead during his absence.
"How was it? Have you found her?" he asked impatiently.
"Not yet, Your Holiness," the old man with the long white beard under his hood replied, keeping his focus.
The Pope's temper flared.
"How many days has it been?! I already brought everything you needed for this ritual! I took the children of slaves! I kidnapped children from the streets! Even all the summoned people from another world! I already brought them here to be sacrificed! It's been so long, yet still no progress! What the hell are you people doing?!"
"Please be patient, Your Holiness. We found that the link was cut from the Hero of Prophecy. Somebody must have tampered with our mind control spell."
The Pope was shocked—unable to believe anyone could dispel the divine manipulation of their goddess.
"Huh? How is that possible? No one is more powerful than our Goddess—"
"UGH!"
Suddenly, the old man groaned and stopped praying.
"Hey! What is going on?" the Pope demanded, looking confused.
The old man clutched his neck, unable to breathe.
"Uuuuuuugh~"
Everyone looked around in confusion until a sinister shadow in human form appeared in the middle of the room, red eyes glowing. He sat on a demonic throne, a white silhouette of a little girl with glowing blonde hair sleeping peacefully on his lap.
"Finally... it took me so long to locate you."
The shadow's voice echoed through the room.
"It's a demon!"
The cloaked soldiers drew their blades.
"You dare to touch her with your filthy hands... and try to manipulate her mind. I heard all the horrible things you've done to her."
The old man who had been choking collapsed lifelessly to the floor. Seeing this, the Pope prepared a divine spell against the shadow, but he knew it was futile—this was only a projection, the real body far away.
"You wicked beings will never win against the power of our Goddess! Begone, demon—"
The shadow smiled, made a small motion with his finger, and suddenly the dead old man sprouted spider-like legs from his back, cutting the Pope short.
"Huh?"
The Pope froze in shock.
"This is..." he stammered, watching the corpse stand. The body enlarged and twisted into a grotesque, bulky form. The clothes tore away, revealing distorted human faces groaning in agony. Its massive right hand morphed into a huge spiked claw, capable of ripping someone to pieces.
"You!"
"Fuyumi is sleeping right now, so I'll cut this short—Know your place, you filthy insects."
The mutant undead lunged for the Pope, but the cloaked soldiers attacked it, keeping it occupied while the Pope grabbed the fallen lamp and fled in terror.
"Hold it down!"
"AARGH!"
The shadow faded with an evil smile, vanishing together with the white silhouette of the child and the demonic throne, while the mutant undead slaughtered the soldiers.
"HELP ME!"
"AAAHH!"
The Pope panicked as screams echoed behind him until he reached the hallway.
"He's here... That demon child! He's still alive!"
He stumbled, then pushed himself up.
"I have to tell everyone... The Scarlet Prince is back!"
Looking behind him, he saw the mutant undead charging toward him—followed by the soldiers, now mutated undead themselves.
"WAAAH!"
Meanwhile...
Seir sat on a white plastic chair Lilith had prepared for him. His little sister, Fuyumi, slept soundly on his lap.
"Why did you bring this chair here, Lilith?"
"Was it uncomfortable, Seir-sama?" Lilith tilted her head.
"Nah... it's just that this plastic chair is more evil than the Demon King's throne."
Lilith frowned.
"Seir-sama, stop thinking about such pointless things. I'll dispose of it properly once we return to Earth."
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It's been a week, and we're still camping in the same place, making everyone already bored and missing their home. I was preparing the ingredients for lunch with Shiina and Lilith, slicing the boar meat and dipping it in a barbecue sauce for grilling. Kaho was chopping wood while treating it like training, and Riko was making charcoal using large cans with lids, heating them with fire.
"Hm?"
I felt like I was forgetting something—and someone was missing from my group, helping with the preparations.
"Is something wrong, Seir-kun?" Shiina noticed my reaction and asked.
"Nothing, really. It's just that... have you seen the princess around? I haven't seen her much these past several days. She used to hang out here with us," I responded, then Riko spoke to me.
"Oh, you mean Princess Irina? She was with me this morning, and she actually slept in the same tent with me and Kaho-senpai. She seems to be doing fine, and I don't think there's anything wrong with her, but..."
She stopped mid-sentence and showed an uncomfortable expression.
"Riko!" Kaho suddenly stopped chopping wood and frowned at her.
"Are you going to believe what the princess told you? She herself said those are only rumors she heard about him."
"I know, but still..."
"Those are baseless rumors! There's no way he would be like that!"
Noticing quickly that something was going on, I put down the knife and took off my apron, turning to both Riko and Kaho, who seemed to be having a quarrel.
"What's going on over there? Tell me."
"It's nothing, Yuu-kun! Riko is just—hey!" Kaho answered, but Riko frowned as she suddenly moved closer, wanting to confront me with something.
"Seir-kun!"
"What is it, Riko?"
"I heard from the princess that you are a terrifying demon and that you massacred a lot of humans in the past! They say you are the most evil demon and a tyrant. Is that really true?"
"Huh?"
The same question again—one that made me feel vexed.
"I can feel that you've been hiding something from me—Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"
I pinched her cheek.
"Let me go, Seir-kun! It hurts!"
"Do you doubt me?" I sighed.
"I want to believe in you, but everyone is getting stressed out lately. We've only heard terrible things ever since other people from another group returned. They told us about the horrifying monster that killed those guys who held them captive. Those who saw it became traumatized and unable to sleep properly at night. They fear that monster will return to kill them too," Riko explained, then turned anxious, looking straight at me.
"The princess told me that you are the only demon capable of creating those monsters. I want to hear the truth from you, Seir-kun. Are you the one who created and sent that monster to attack them?"
Hearing that, I scratched the back of my head, thinking carefully about how to answer her.
I sighed, with no choice but to be honest with her.
"Yeah, it's true."
Hearing my answer, she gave me a shocked and horrified look.
"The rumors you heard about me from the princess are true. I'm also the one who created that monster and sent it to attack those horrible guys from the other group who were committing abuse," I continued.
She was speechless—and so was Kaho.
I was about to tap Riko's shoulder, but she quickly backed away from me.
"That's..."
Seeing a tear fall from her eyes, I smiled.
"But I can promise you one thing... I never once harmed an innocent. I don't care if they call me evil, mass murderer, or tyrant—they can call me whatever they want. But if they try to hurt you and others who are important to me, those rumors will become real. All I want right now is to bring you all to a safe place so we can find a way to bring everyone home to Japan," I said sincerely.
Riko slightly blushed, her eyes widening.
"This world has been torn by an unending war between Humanity and Demonkind for many years. It's kill or be killed. I've had to kill my enemies in order to survive since childhood, and I grew up with it. I know killing is wrong, but there's no other way—naive thinking like that will cost you your life. I just want you to at least understand that. I don't want you or the others to get involved in the conflicts of this world, and I'm trying my best to keep everyone safe, even if it means exposing my own identity, which could result in me never being able to live in Japan again."
"Okay! Okay! I understand now! You're too close! Someone might get jealous!"
Before I realized it, I was already leaning too close to her, which made her red.
"Oh, sorry about that." I immediately backed away so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable.
"Umm... well, Seir-kun, there's another rumor about you."
I got annoyed again.
"Huh? What is it this time, Riko? Don't you have something better to do than gossip with other people? Didn't you learn your lesson from those rumors about you back in middle school? You got yourself in trouble, and your family ended up—"
"WAAAH! Seir-kun, stop it! I'm sorry! I was wrong! I won't do it again!"
She suddenly grabbed and hugged me around the waist, crying and pleading.
"So you're saying... those bad rumors about you being a tyrant and mass murderer are real," Kaho said, walking toward me and frowning.
"Being called a tyrant is just a title given to me by humans who feared me and my power. I don't even have a nation to rule to deserve that title. Me? A mass murderer? Think about it from another point of view. Imagine several nations sending entire armies to kill you, and you end up wiping them all out. Do you still think I'm a mass murderer? How is that fair?"
"WHAT?!!"
Riko and Kaho were shocked and turned pale.
"Yuu-kun, just what are you?" Kaho asked.
"No way! Seir-kun! Don't tell me you're some kind of powerful demon to be able to do that!" Riko followed.
"Umm... Seir-kun," Shiina approached me from behind. "I'm done preparing the vegetables."
She did a great job cutting the vegetables to the right size for barbecue.
"Alright. We'll put them on skewers later," I responded.
She didn't react much to our whole conversation and continued working with Lilith on the preparations. Riko and Kaho noticed this and immediately went to ask her.
"Ayaka-san, do you know what he is?" Riko questioned.
"You're aware of his true identity, right?" Kaho followed.
Both of them were desperate.
"Umm... yeah. I know everything," she shyly answered.
"Really?"
Riko grabbed her hand excitedly while Kaho looked intrigued.
"Please tell us."
"Sure, but before that..."
Suddenly, there was a chilling aura around Shiina that made them both pale and shiver.
"Umm... Ayaka-san?" Riko immediately let go of her hand.
Kaho was surprised by Shiina's strange behavior as she smiled at them—but the vibe was different.
"If Seir-kun is unable to return with us to Earth because of you two, Yuuka-sama and I will never forgive you for the rest of our lives, even if we are friends," she spoke in a cold tone.
This was the first time they saw the timid and shy Shiina becoming cold and scary—it reminded me of her mother, Himiko.
"Calm down, Shiina."
I pinched her cheek.
"Ah! Seir-kun, it hurts!"
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At the camp, as people gathered for their meal, we laid out a spread of fancy-looking dishes on the long table and let everyone take what they wanted—as long as they didn't shove each other. They lined up patiently, waiting their turn.
"Don't rush! There's plenty for everyone, so be patient!" Riko shouted from the end of the line, keeping things under control.
Kaho guarded the table while the others and I replenished the food. Lilith and Shiina went back and forth with the other girls, while I cooked several dishes at once. Yuuka, her hair tied in a ponytail and soot smudged on her cheeks, tossed fresh wood into the fire beside me.
"Is this enough, Onii-sama?"
"Yeah. Take a break for now."
I handed her my towel, and she wiped her face.
I noticed some people throwing unpleasant glances my way, but they quickly looked away when I met their eyes. With a sigh, I turned back—only to see Yuuka sniffing my towel.
"...Onii-sama's smell."
I pinched her cheek.
"Ouch, ouch! That hurts!"
"That's disgusting, Yuuka."
"What's wrong with liking your scent? It's not that bad." She kept sniffing.
Both she and Shiina had been acting strange ever since we came to this world.
"Aren't you worried your reputation's going down the drain? People aren't happy with your behavior lately. At least do it in private."
Yuuka pouted.
"Huh? Why should I? I'm not a closet pervert like Ayaka."
"What?!" Ayaka yelped behind me, shocked by the sudden betrayal.
Yuuka crossed her arms. "Besides, it's exhausting pretending to be someone I'm not. Now that we're together every day, I don't care about keeping up appearances. It's stressful. I just want to be lovey-dovey with you, Onii-sama."
"Are you sure? You might regret it. You could lose everything," I warned.
"Maybe. But I'll still have you." She looked at me seriously. "Mom gave up her first love and went back overseas to inherit her family's company. She had no choice but to marry my dad, her arranged partner. At first, things were fine. But ten years later, the company started struggling. Money went missing—turns out Dad had blown it all at casinos. Then we found out he was cheating and already had a kid with his mistress. The divorce cost a fortune, the company went bankrupt, and Mom and I moved to Japan. After losing everything, she fell into depression and got sick. She regretted everything... until she met her first love again—your adoptive father, the doctor treating her. She fell for him again and pursued what she lost in the past. You know the rest."
After telling her story, she jabbed a finger at me.
"Do you get it now? I'm prepared to lose everything, as long as you're by my side, Onii-sama!"
"'Pursue him'? More like she stalked him, don't you think?" I muttered.
"That doesn't matter! What matters is—I love you more than anything!"
Her confession weighed heavily on me.
"That's... a lot. Please leave something for yourself. Now I'm even more worried."
"Hey, you two! We need more food here!" Kaho's voice cut in. The table was running out again.
"Coming!"
I plated the meat and handed it to Shiina.
"Yuuka, keep moving."
"Alright, Onii-sama," she replied, blushing.
After everyone ate, it was our turn. We sat around the table with the leftovers. Fuyumi perched on my lap as I fed her.
On my right, Yuuka fidgeted before speaking.
"Onii-sama... I poured my heart out to you, but you barely reacted."
"That's because it was obvious. I'm not some dense manga protagonist who goes hundreds of chapters without progress," I said, continuing to feed Fuyumi.
"Say ah~."
"Ah~."
"Heh." I chuckled and patted Fuyumi's head. "Good girl."
On my left, Shiina stared at her plate, looking gloomy.
"Shiina, something wrong?" I asked.
She blinked, snapping out of her daze.
"Oh! N-no, Seir-kun, I'm fine!" She forced a smile.
"Really? Your face says otherwise."
"No, really... I'm fine." She still denied it.
"Umm... Seir-san?" a girl with short dark-blue hair and matching eyes raised her hand. I remembered she was one of the girls who had escaped with Kanna and later saved by Hannya and the others.
"Hm? What is it?"
I braced myself, thinking she'd ask about relationships.
"How long are we staying here? It's been over a week, but we haven't moved."
I blinked, caught off guard.
"Oh, sorry. Something else was on my mind. You're asking about how long we'll stay, right?"
"Yes..."
Maybe I was just overthinking—no one seemed concerned about anything else.
"We were supposed to head north into Naamah's territory, but right now there's a clash between beastmen and Zendaria Empire soldiers. If we move now, we'll get caught in the crossfire. The demon fortress has already fallen to humans, and they're pushing their defence line further."
She tensed up at the news.
"Don't worry. I've already sent friends ahead to clear a safe path. If things get worse... I'll handle it myself." I gave her a confident smile.
(To be continued.)