Chapter 21: Humanity's Foolishness
Author: Geraint
After Riko finished washing her face with her friends at the river, they walked back together while having fun conversations. Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth. She was taken away in an instant, leaving her friends frightened, thinking a monster had snatched her. Horrified, they rushed back to the camp.
Meanwhile, Riko was cornered as the one in front of her slammed his hand against the boulder by her back. She turned pale, realizing it was Seir who had taken her. His expression was very serious, his crimson eyes glowing as though he were staring into her soul. The intimidation made her tremble, and the trauma from her middle school days began to resurface.
Seir noticed her silence and trembling. Knowing her past, he decided to take it easy with her.
"One Nishimiya special ramen, please!" he broke the silence by ordering.
Riko blinked twice, her anxiousness disappearing in an instant. She realized he was just pranking her.
"You... idiot!" she grabbed his collar and shook him. "What is wrong with you? You scared me just now!"
"You and Kaho-san have been tense around me recently. This morning, you both suddenly avoided me and ran away. What did I do to deserve that? Aren't we friends?"
Seir sounded sulky.
"Pfffft!" Riko chuckled, then burst out laughing. "You were worried about that? Hahaha!"
"Not funny, Riko."
He looked a little annoyed.
"Well, I don't know about Kaho-senpai. She has her own reasons. As for me, even I don't understand myself. We've known each other like best friends, but for some reason, I feel like I'm still far away from knowing the real you. I realized it after being summoned here. It makes me feel kind of... unpleasant." Riko said in a sad tone.
"Seeing you upset makes me feel guilty somehow. It's not like I want to hide things from you, but this world has left me with nothing but bad memories. As you already witnessed, this is an eerie and dark world. I don't want you to be infected by my gloominess because I prefer the cheerful and energetic Riko... except the gossip part."
"Hey! I don't gossip that much. Yeah, I'm talkative, but I'm not into talking bad about people behind their backs! That's the worst thing I could do, given my past." Riko pouted.
"Yeah, I know." Seir smiled.
Riko sighed.
"Why did you bring me here in the first place? I nearly had a heart attack because of you. You could've just talked to me at camp."
"What do you think about me being the Demon King?" Seir asked.
"Oh, that? Nothing really. You already had titles back in our home world, like 'Demon King of the Playground' or 'Demon King of the Streets,' feared by the delinquents in our town." Riko tried not to laugh.
"Ugh! What's with those weird titles? They sound cringey." Seir felt a little embarrassed.
"Hehe. I never thought you were actually a real Demon King. And you just kidnapped me and brought me here just to talk? Yeah, that's exactly what a Demon King would do. Very evil indeed." Riko giggled.
"If I told you it was tradition—how we male demons look for a partner. We kidnap the girls we like by force and make them our bride. If the girl doesn't like it, she just resists and fights off the male demon until he leaves her alone," Seir explained.
"Wait! Is that real? Does that mean you..." Riko blushed.
"Yeah, I love your ramen. That's why I'm a frequent customer at your diner."
Riko was disappointed by his answer.
"You dummy! What about me? You don't see me as a girl? You only like my menu?" she shouted angrily.
Seir grabbed both of her wrists to stop her from hitting him.
"Hey! Say something, Seir-kun—" Riko was interrupted by a sudden kiss on her lips.
Her eyes widened.
"Hmph!"
She was so shocked that she froze as Seir backed away, a mischievous grin on his face.
"Say no more, Riko. That's already given."
"Uh..."
Her whole face turned beet red, unable to speak.
After they returned to camp, Riko was covering her face in embarrassment while Ayaka tried to cheer her up.
"Uuuuuu~ What is wrong with him, suddenly getting assertive with me?"
"It's okay, Riko-san. We'll make Seir-kun explain later."
In front of them, Kaho stomped her foot on the ground in frustration, her whole face red as a tomato.
Finally, Seir returned, half-naked after bathing at the waterfalls.
"Hm?"
When Kaho saw him, she pointed and glared.
"You shameless pervert! How dare you run away from me after stealing my lips like that!"
He stopped at the tent's entrance, turning his head toward her with a smug grin.
"Stealing? I just claimed what's already mine."
"What?! You—!"
Kaho picked up her bamboo sword and swung it through the air, releasing her frustration, while he dodged easily and ran away.
"Stop running away!"
Her heart was beating wildly out of control.
"Damn it!" she felt like he was making fun of her.
Yuuka, watching the whole time, frowned.
"Onii-sama, you dummy," she muttered.
Naamah suddenly descended from above, holding her magic staff, looking hurried.
"Seir-sama!"
Seir stopped Kaho by grabbing her bamboo sword and turned toward Naamah.
"How was it? Did they agree?"
"Yes! Marah did the negotiation and they accepted the conditions."
Naamah looked enthusiastic delivering the news.
Seir sighed in relief.
"Finally. After the long wait, we can leave here."
"They even spared us some wagons. Hehehe," Naamah added.
"That's great. We're running out of gasoline anyway," Seir said.
"Huh? What's going on? We've been waiting here for something all along?" Kaho looked very confused.
"Let me explain." Naamah replied. "You see, more than 4 years ago, Seir-sama and we, the Disaster Witches, attacked the Demon King's Castle. Two years after his defeat, the Demon King went missing and the eldest prince ascended the throne. Many were dissatisfied with his leadership, causing chaos in the Demon Realm and splitting the forces into different factions. Each faction has its own Demon Lord candidate, and they are at each other's throats."
Kaho and the girls were surprised.
"Remember, this is the Demon Realm. Moving through someone's territory is dangerous. Fortunately, Marah has big influence since she was once a demon general."
"By the way, what are they asking in exchange?" Seir asked.
"To stop the approaching group of heroes coming from the empire. Hannya and Hecate already went to deal with them."
"Oh, I want to go and watch." Seir was intrigued.
"Seir-sama, it's better if you stay here—Wah!"
Before Naamah noticed, Seir was already levitating, surprising the girls that he could fly.
"Hey! Come back here!"
"Don't worry, I'll be back by noon! Once the wagons arrive, tell everyone to get ready for departure!"
Seir chuckled and flew off quickly.
"Huh?"
He sensed something on his back and looked behind.
"Eh?"
Fuyumi was holding onto him, crying, her eyes and hair glowing blonde—her hero form.
"Fuyumi, when did you...?" He slowed down and took her into his arms. "Did you just wake up? Well, we were noisy. Sorry, Fuyumi."
He wiped the snot from her nose.
"How about we watch together? The fierce battle between heroes and demons."
"Yes!" Fuyumi looked excited.
"Okay, we don't want to be late. Let's go!"
The two flew off quickly.
-----
At the front line, Hannya and Hecate clashed with the group of heroes and the army from the Empire.
"Ready!"
A group of soldiers armed with firearms pointed toward them.
"Tch!"
Hannya clicked her tongue as they both hid behind a rock while the soldiers shot at them.
Bang!
"Those things are annoying! They hurt like hell! I can't regenerate my wounds with their bullets stuck in my body," Hannya said in a frustrated tone.
"The heroes are just waiting to finish us off if we get weakened," Hecate added irritably.
"Also, their bullets have holy attributes. Perfect for killing demons," Hannya muttered.
Hecate stepped out and expanded her wings, blocking the bullets with her tough feathers enhanced by magic. When the soldiers reloaded their firearms, she seized the chance to soar above them and swung her scythe, unleashing a whirlwind slash.
"Hurricane Slash!"
The soldiers were sliced to pieces.
Sensing danger, she immediately turned to her side and saw a large fireball flying toward her. She quickly cut it in half with her scythe.
"Oh my. That was close."
Below her stood a mature woman in a purple mage dress holding a magic rod, backed up by a young lady in a white priestess robe carrying a golden staff.
Meanwhile, Hannya was locked in combat with two knights: one was a blonde man wielding a glowing sword, and the other a bulky man with a heavy shield who blocked all of her attacks.
"Be careful, Hannya! There are more of them hiding!" Hecate warned while blocking several fireballs with her scythe.
"I know!"
Hannya responded, dodging the blonde knight's sword slashes.
Suddenly, a spearman emerged from behind and thrust his spear.
"Ugh!" Hannya twisted her body, trying to avoid the strike, but was grazed.
"Damn it!"
The spearman looked disappointed after missing, then immediately retreated.
"Hey, where are you going?"
She tried to chase him, but her path was blocked by the bulky man with the shield and the blonde swordsman.
"You can't go after him as long as we're here," the blonde swordsman declared.
"Stay here with us," the shield-bearer added.
"Man... heroes with no Sacred Relics are really boring. At least bring someone who possesses one," Hannya said mockingly.
"We are here to retrieve all those God Relics. You demons will pay!"
The blonde swordsman rushed forward, swinging his blade, but Hannya easily dodged. He frowned, raising a gauntleted hand. A red gemstone gleamed in its palm.
Hannya's eyes widened as a torrent of flames burst forth.
"Take this! Fire Tornado!"
She crossed her arms, blocking the scorching flames.
"How's that, demon?!"
Hannya's body was slightly burned, and she panted.
"Aren't those spirit stones from the Elven Kingdom? How did you guys get them?" she asked seriously.
"What can you do? The Elven Kingdom has already fallen to the Empire. All we had to do was harvest them," the blonde swordsman said with a conceited grin.
"Harvest? You do know those spirit stones can only be found inside an elf's body, in their heart. Don't tell me... you humans really did something inhumane," Hannya frowned.
"You filthy creatures wouldn't understand the Emperor's ambition! Those spirit stones will be put to good use instead of being hidden by those hermit elves who never bothered to help in the war against demons. With these spirit stones, even those without magical talent can wield powerful spells without using mana. The time for the Zendaria Empire to rise to glory is now!"
"Pfffft~ Hahahaha!" Hannya laughed hard. "What a great idea. As expected from a foolish empire. You people never fail to amaze me with your stupidity. Your Emperor is quite the fool."
She had just called them dumb three times.
"What did you say?!" the blonde swordsman glared.
"The Elven Kingdom has deep ties with the Sea Goddess since ancient times. Now that they're gone, this will only speed up humanity's annihilation. The Sea Goddess now has a reason to wage war against your race. It might not directly affect the Empire, but what about the nations that rely on seaport trading? Deep-sea monsters that have remained dormant for centuries will start attacking fishing ships, and humanity will lose one of its main food sources."
The blonde swordsman was surprised, but he refused to believe her.
"Why would I listen to a mere demon? There's no way that's true. You demons are full of lies!" He readied his sword again.
"Me? Lying? What if I told you the Sea Goddess is one of us? She is one of the Disaster Witches—the Witch of Charity: Lamia, the Sea Serpent Leviathan, who loves to disguise herself as a merfolk."
"I don't know who you're talking about, and I couldn't care less!"
He swung his sword, imbuing it with light magic, and tried to slash her.
Hannya sighed, easily avoiding all his attacks.
The blonde swordsman completely lost his cool, slashing desperately, while the shield-bearer stood still, doing nothing, as Hannya never counterattacked.
"What's wrong? Is this all you've got?" Hannya mocked.
"I'm not finished yet!" he retorted.
A female archer with brown hair tied in a ponytail appeared, aiming her arrow.
"Piercing Shot!"
Hannya grinned, grabbed the blonde swordsman by the collar, and used him as a shield.
"Wha—"
The archer's eyes widened as her arrow pierced her ally's chest.
"Ugh~"
The blonde swordsman spat blood, a hole in his chest, before Hannya dropped him to the ground and watched him slowly die.
"That's one down. Who's next?"
Hecate descended, holding the spearman's severed head.
"I'm done here."
"Haha! As expected from Hecate. All your attacks are lethal," Hannya laughed, placing her hands behind her head.
"I collected some good human flesh for Seir."
Before the bulky man noticed, all his allies were already dead. The female archer's severed head rolled in front of him.
"Since when...?"
"Hecate, did you do that?" Hannya asked.
"No, not me," Hecate shook her head.
"Well, there's only one person who could have," Hannya muttered.
Lilith emerged from the shadows, holding long bloodstained daggers.
"You guys took your time."
"Hehe. No wonder we defeated them so easily. Three Disaster Witches is already overkill," Hannya giggled. "But still... there's one hero left."
The three of them turned to the bulky man, who was already trembling in terror.
Hannya cracked her fist.
"Let's beat him to death—"
Suddenly, an overwhelming divine aura filled the air, making them all quiver.
"You guys are done already? Seems like we arrived late."
Lilith quickly hid her daggers in her dimensional storage when Seir arrived, carrying Fuyumi in his arms.
"Seir-sama!"
"Woof! Woof!" Hannya barked playfully.
"Moooo~" Hecate mooed.
The two crouched on all fours, acting like animals.
"What are you two doing?" Lilith asked, embarrassed.
They noticed all the corpses and bloodstains around them had vanished as if nothing had happened.
"Oh, look, Fuyumi! There's still one brave hero left!"
Seir pointed at the bulky man with the large shield.
"Yay!" Fuyumi cheered.
"Hey, you! Tell me your name, brave hero," Seir demanded.
"I-It's..."
The bulky man trembled.
"...It's Wilton," he finally said.
"Alright, Brave Hero Wilton. Defeat these three evil witches in front of you," Seir ordered.
The man froze, dropping his shield.
"I can't... win."
Either way, he was going to die. Gathering his courage, he looked directly at Seir. Strangely, he couldn't sense any demonic aura from him, yet the three Disaster Witches who had wiped out his squad so easily treated Seir with the respect of a noble demon. They bowed their heads. Following his instincts, he tried not to offend them further.
Seir looked disappointed, while Fuyumi grew bored.
"That's it? You're giving up already? No resolve? No resilience? You dare to call yourself a hero?"
"We're not heroes. We're just mercenaries hired by the Zendaria Empire to help their army. The Emperor just wanted us to pose as heroes. We'll get good pay," Wilton admitted.
"Lilith."
Lilith immediately appeared at Seir's side, and he handed Fuyumi to her.
"Sorry, Fuyumi, but your big brother has something important to do. Go back with your big sister Lilith first, and I'll follow soon, okay?"
Seir held her small hand and kissed it.
Fuyumi pouted, but Lilith carried her away, and they disappeared in an instant.
"Now then."
Seir jumped down and stood before the bulky man, who was still shaking.
"If you want me to spare your life, bring me to your leader. That's all you have to do."
(To be continued.)