Isolde Cluel, a genius of the Water God Style who achieved the title of Water King just after turning 15, never expected to set foot on the Demon Continent in her lifetime. Because she was a follower of the Millis faith, and a devout one at that. To them, the Demon Race were evil, cruel beings deserving to be wiped from this world. The Millis Faith was a religion established after the legend of Saint Millis - a hero who fought for humanity in the war against the cruel, warlike demon race.
Of course, there were still evil Demons. Like the time Isolde first set foot in Wind Port a few months ago, a Demon belonging to some slimy-skinned race tried to scam her. However, even though she only knew a little Demon God Tongue at the time, she understood the person's intent through 'reading' and avoided it.
Conversely, there were still kind and benevolent Demons. Like just yesterday in a small town she passed through, a Demon child shared a skewer of monster turtle meat with her when she's hungry without a proper dinner. Thinking about it now still made her smile.
Ultimately, whether Demon or Human, there are always good-for-nothings, but there are also extremely kind and lovely people.
So after two years since leaving her master, Isolde suddenly felt lucky that she had started this journey and had been able to broaden her horizons significantly about the vast world out there.
However, sometimes having one's eyes 'opened' too much isn't good either. One of those things was the reason Isolde was sitting alone at the inn's dining table so early in the morning. Not only that, she let out a truly heavy sigh. And the reason for that appeared not long after.
"Ah, good morning Isolde! You're up early again today? Oh, where's the innkeeper?" A blonde elf girl waved to the young Water King. Her smile is bright like the morning sun.
Isolde looked at the elf. She was a beautiful woman from face to figure. If one had to say, even the Water King here—a girl—had to be surprised by this beauty. Her name was Elinalise Dragonroad, Isolde's companion on her journey. And it wasn't just beauty that surprised the girl of the Cluel family.
"The innkeeper asked me to look after this place. She had some business-"
Isolde was about to finish her sentence when she had to stop upon seeing behind Elinalise four demon men of four different races. The common point was probably that they were all young, healthy, and leaving the inn room with the happiest faces in the world. But that very scene made Isolde frown. Especially one of them, a guy even winked at her.
Ew... Isolde tried not to direct her contemptuous look at that person but seemingly failed. And strangely, that made the vulgar demon even more delighted. He even blew a kiss which made the girl feel even more uneasy.
After those men left, Isolde turned back to the elf girl who had sat down next to her at some point.
"The reason I'm up early just left." Isolde rubbed her forehead with a sigh.
"Ah!" Elinalise feigned shyness, covering her face and smiling. "Sorry, those friends suddenly got excited. So I just had to go along with it. I completely forgot our rooms are right next to each other."
That was one of the reasons that made Isolde sigh: The elf girl she was traveling with was a nymphomaniac, an exceptional type, surpassing all rankings, beyond all standards. It seemed wherever she went, she slept with the men of that place. Like having to try the 'local specialty'. Occasionally Elinalise even paid to sleep with men. Sometimes not just with one person, maybe even up to four or five people or something.
Like the group of four just now, all four of them had spent the night in Elinalise's room, together. And they had played until late at night, together. Near dawn, they started again, TOGETHER!
That was why Isolde woke up early. She had to go make a glass of hot milk to drink to calm down so she could now shake her head gently without going mad.
"It's okay. I already knew it would happen, so I went to bed earlier last night. It's been two weeks since we found a town so it's not your fault."
Isolde knew Elinalise wasn't like this for no reason. The elf girl carrying that estoc and shield bore a strange curse. To summarize, she had to sleep with men to live. Weird, right? Isolde had doubted this immediately when she first heard it.
But indeed, there was a time Elinalise couldn't find any men, and she fell into a state of weakness looking like she was about to die; even Roxy's healing magic didn't help. Yet, just give her a random man, and about then minutes later she would return healthy as if nothing had happened.
So Isolde once again had her eyes opened to what could happen in this world. And since then, she stopped judging Elinalise for good. But of course, as a friend, Isolde still wants the best for her friend.
"But I still think you should have a husband and stay faithful with him instead."
"I don't think I can find anyone like that." Elinalise shrugged as she shook her head. "No men would accept my curse."
"Don't worry, you will find someone who loves you unconditionally and will stay faithful to you until his last breath. Everyone deserves to have someone like that in their life, right?"
"Ahhhh!!! My Isolde really is the cutest! I think I've found that 'someone' right here! Will you be with me forever?" Elinalise immediately hugged the Water King, rubbing her face on the young girl's freshly washed silky hair.
"I don't like girls. Besides, I don't think I could help with your condition."
"When I need it, I can just find a random man to do it."
"But doesn't it miss the point of having a faithful husband so you won't have to find anyone else?"
"Aww but I like you so much. Whenever you change your mind, let's come to me alright?" Then Elinalise took up, her eyes stopped at a person who just walked down from the stair. "Unlike that old dwarf who kept banging on my room wall all last night!"
"Yawn! Because you were noisy, I banged back. You were in the wrong and you're shifting the blame?"
It was a man of the dwarf race; he was about the height of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old child but had a mature face, if not to say looking a bit old, and a long thick golden-brown beard. Isolde thought to herself that Atur at this time would probably be as tall as him.
That man's name was Talhand. More formally, he was also known as Talhand of the Harsh, Large Mountain Summit. The reason for such a long name was due to dwarf tradition. Culture stuff.
Ah, by the way, he was a mage. A bit strange for a person wearing full armor like Isolde to be a mage, right? As Talhand explained, he wasn't very agile due to his short and slow legs. So he used thick armor as a layer of protection for himself, so he could use magic even when fighting on the front lines.
Another eye-opening thing. Until now Isolde only knew mages as people hiding behind swordsmen and chanting spells. Or especially a few magic swordsmen like Atur were different. But meeting Talhand and seeing how he fought truly made the silky blue-haired girl admire him.
"Don't you know the more you focus, the sooner you finish, Talhand?" Elinalise pouted. "The more you're disturbed, the more you just have to listen."
"Stop it. If I did nothing, you would have disturbed others until morning. Anyway, I don't want to argue with you this early." Talhand raised his hand to yawn then walked straight to the table where Isolde was sitting, sat down opposite the girl. And from out of nowhere, he took out a tankard of beer and drained it in a blink. "Nothing better than beer in the morning."
"Drunkard." Elinalise crossed her arms. "All you know is just looking at young boys' butts and drinking."
"Hmph! You dare say that yourself!?"
"Come on." Isolde had to speak up. "It's early morning. There are still many people sleeping in the inn. Roxy had to go ask around many places last night so she needs to sleep some more."
Why do I see this scene every day?
How long has it been since the blue-haired girl met these two? Ah, maybe over a year ago. At that time she reunited with Roxy for a while and was moving to the southernmost port of the Central Continent belonging to the King Dragon Kingdom.
At that time Elinalise and Talhand were also like now, bickering about whether to go to the Begaritt continent or the Demon Continent. Initially, both Roxy and Isolde intended not to get involved with the strange and noisy people. But upon knowing they aimed to find people lost due to the mana calamity in Fittoa, they join in the talk.
At this time she learned the two were formerly S-rank adventurers belonging to a legendary party named Fangs of the Black Wolf. Both Isolde and Roxy knew that party. Because it was a quite famous party, they were originally a combination of strange people having one or two weird problems. They suddenly climbed straight to S-rank in a few short years then disbanded quickly right after that. Isolde originally didn't care much about adventurer stories, but in letters exchanged with Atur, she knew that was the party of Ghislaine - the Black Wolf Sword King.
Meanwhile, Roxy just realized her disciple - Rudeus was the son of two members of that legendary party without noticing.
Talking about the Demon Mage girl, Roxy was also a famous adventurer. This petite Migurd friend was a famous A-rank adventurer, and even a King-tier Water mage; not many people in the world achieved that accomplishment.
Bards in every tavern sang songs about that petite mage. About her journey from the Demon Continent, how she joined the Ranoa Magic Academy to conquering a 25-floor labyrinth by herself. Although not specifically named, just looking anyone would recognize exactly the girl in the song. Because few people had blue hair, with a petite figure along with a mage hat and an oversized magic staff like this.
No wonder wherever she went everyone recognized Roxy.
Perhaps only Isolde was the most normal girl in this party. Being a disciple of a Water God to her was inherently a noble thing but she didn't want to mention it. Especially when she worried she would damage the honor of the person she called both grandmother and master. So to others, they only saw her as a knight full of armor always covering her face that they could pick up anywhere in this world.
Ah, it's just in terms of reputation only. As for strength, it was different. Because just knowing the Cluel girl was a Water King, surely everyone would immediately understand how strong she was. Especially Elinalise and Talhand, they were mildly shocked knowing a young girl just of age achieved such great power. Perhaps because Ghislaine - a Sword King was once a teammate so they understood? Isolde guessed so. She was also quite confident in her swordsmanship, but being placed on par with a famous Sword King was truly beyond her expectations.
Someday, I will spar with the Black Wolf Sword King too. Maybe I will learn a lot. Isolde also set such a goal.
And so suddenly a party of four people was formed. They went together to the Millis Continent with the goal being the Demon Continent - Roxy's home continent to find the lost people. They didn't stop by big cities or rest too long in one place, going to Talhand and Elinalise's hometowns wasn't on the schedule either because those two seemed to dislike those places. They were also lucky to cross the Great Forest before its rainy season occurred.
On the way they also encountered quite a few problems. But with the experience of three adventurers and the strength of a Water King, it seemed nothing could trouble them. So in just a few short months since the party was formed at East Port, they crossed the sea and reached Wind Port on the Demon Continent.
They stayed there for two months searching for information about Paul's families and Atur but got nowhere. What they knew was the story of an adventurer party named Dead End consisting of three people. A leader was a mage seemingly a halfling, an agile sharpshooter archer, and a warrior using a trident. They were very strong people, achieved A-rank adventurer status in just a short year and continuously completed difficult quests without much trouble.
Hearing it seemed like dangerous people. Especially when they used the name of a dangerous character also nicknamed 'Dead End' as their party name.
"That is an extremely dangerous Superd who eats children!" Roxy said so.
Isolde shuddered upon hearing that. She knew the Superd, those were extremely notorious warriors from the Laplace War over four hundred years ago. They were extremely powerful and bloodthirsty demons. On the battlefield, they disregarded friend or foe and just rushed in to kill like madmen. Because of that, everyone feared those with green hair and the red gem in the middle of their forehead.
So imagine, Dead End, the one dubbed the most dangerous of the Superds, how terrifying could he be?
I wonder how strong that person is? Should I ask for a spar too? Yet that question popped into Isolde's head.
In the end, Roxy did meet members of that Dead End party once. Or rather, only two of them. It was a tall man with pale skin, bald head, and a long scar on his face, the other was a blonde girl quite typical of Asura people. However, as soon as Roxy saw that man, she was terrified and ran away.
When Isolde found out, she also tried to look for them, but unfortunately, that party had probably boarded a ship to the Millis continent by then.
"I don't think Rudeus would go with such a scary person." Hearing Roxy say that, Isolde didn't comment further.
And so they left Wind Port, continuing their journey north to find traces of the displaced people. After a few months passed, they heard an extremely shocking story.
"There's a new Demon King in Vasile. His name is Demon Dragon King Lan Atur! He's so strong he kidnapped Lan Fuzzie and defeated an army of a thousand in just one night!"
"Is that the Demon Dragon King who has the Great Demon King Lan Xin as a subordinate?"
"Oh, so that story is true?"
"Yeah! I heard that guy looks like a child. His hair was hard as platinum which can stab a dragon to death, with the golden eyes of a dragon, extremely fierce! You will piss yourself when you look straight into his eyes! He even conquered an S-rank labyrinth alone!"
Yes, Isolde heard an incredibly absurd story about someone with an appearance 'quite similar' and a name 'slightly similar' to her friend.
But a Demon Dragon King? And having a Great Demon King as a subordinate? What the heck happened?
And although she didn't believe that was Atur—the weirdo who made her chew rice and spit it out years ago—who had become so mighty. But to be sure, she decided to go to Vasile to find out.
That was why they were at a town on the edge of this Vasile region, preparing to continue the journey to Lan Xin's castle to request an audience with the Demon Dragon King in the story. And as always, everyone had their own way of seeking information. Isolde asked shopkeepers, Roxy asked at the Adventurer's Guild, Talhand looked for info in taverns, and Elinalise was in bed.
"By the way." Elinalise walked up next to Isolde, winking. "Last night, some guys asked me to introduce them to you. What do you think? There's a handsome one who is very 'stamina-filled'."
"No." Isolde answered immediately. "I don't think I suit them."
"Eh? Not suit?" Elinalise grinned mischievously. "Then what's your type? Young boys? Old men? What kind of physique do you like?"
"I think at least they must have reached Advanced Water God Style or something similar. And must be good-looking." Isolde answered seriously. She intended to say handsome but chose a different word to be more subtle. "I don't want to wake up and see a face that makes me sigh."
"Eh?" The elf girl was stunned for a moment. "I thought you'd have some difficult taste? Why is it so simple? If so, it's easy to find—"
"And must be faithful."
"Then that's difficult."
Actually, finding someone with each individual trait Isolde listed wasn't hard. There was no shortage of Advanced swordsmen they met on the road. Sometimes in the Adventurer's Guild, meeting people at B-rank and up happened. Good-looking wasn't hard to find either; Isolde had met many people she considered her type. She even did get her heart captured by a B-rank adventure back in Zanto Port, but she has to end her fantasy after seeing the guy come out of Elinalise's bedroom. Faithful wasn't impossible; many men had rejected Elinalise even when she was willing to pay to sleep with them.
But combining all three? That didn't seem easy.
Imagining someone both skilled in swordsmanship and handsome, they would likely be a lady-killer. Someone skilled in swordsmanship and faithful had a high chance of being ugly. And handsome and faithful was rare; if they existed, they were likely already married, not easily available to be picked up.
Saying that, Isolde had no intention of looking for a life partner, at least not now. Her goal was still to become stronger, train her swordsmanship on this journey, and potentially have a rematch with Atur. Either way, she was confident that someone beautiful, strong, talented in many things, knowing how to cook, know how to makeup, and speak well like her would sooner or later have a suitable person come find her on their own.
"Having standards is good. But being too picky will only make you suffer, Isolde." Elinalise rubbed her chin. "Just like yesterday when you sat thinking about what to eat, and in the end, the kitchen only had dried meat left."
"D-Dried meat isn't bad…"
"Stop lying to yourself. You barely ate any of it."
It was true. Isolde had always been picky. She loved perfection, because she's a perfectionist herself after all. Only the best would do. So she always had to spend a lot of time thinking about options, only to end up with the leftovers.
Her journey traveling all this time had made her suffer countless times, yet she couldn't learn from experience.
"In short, sometimes try opening your heart." Elinalise concluded. "If you don't like them, you can dump them. If you stay passive forever, you might end up single until old age."
"But I'm only 17."
"Some people got their second wives at 17." Elinalise rested her chin on her palm. And as Isolde frowns, the elf continues. "Listen, Isolde. Ten years later, you'll be 27, twenty years later 37. When you get old, it's much more difficult. I've seen many young, beautiful girls like you end up sleeping alone their whole lives because they were picky."
"Don't keep trying to tempt Isolde into becoming like you, Elinalise." Talhand chimed in as he finished his fourth tankard. "Millis followers aren't easy like you."
"What? I have my own standards too, you know." Elinalise tossed her head. "If it's old men, I don't want them. I only like cute young boys. Only occasionally when I'm desperate do I change things up."
"Come on, let's talk about something else." Isolde gave a forced smile. "Let's discuss the next plan. Like, I heard meeting a Demon King isn't easy. So we need to discuss a way to get an audience with them, right?"
Even if there was a high probability the Demon Dragon King named Lan Atur in the story was truly Atur. But if not, at least there should be a way to avoid being labeled rude; Isolde thought so. But she wasn't familiar with the tastes of Demon Kings; they weren't Asuran nobles.
"About that, Roxy discussed it with me last night." Talhand rubbed his beard. "Just gift them fine alcohol."
"Alcohol?" Isolde suddenly felt a bit uneasy.
"This right here." Talhand took a bottle out of his bag and placed it on the table. "It's Holy Water Saint Wine I bought back in Zanto Port. I tasted this type once, guaranteed top-rank!"
Isolde froze before the thing in front of her. Saint Millis has mercy... Not this again!? Her eyes, usually full of sharpness, suddenly went strangely empty as she saw that bottle of wine.
"Will it be effective?" Elinalise put a finger to her lips and stared at the wine bottle. "It's my first time seeing this kind."
"It's natural you haven't seen it, as it's a new kind of wine. Pity it was produced in Fittoa, and since that place is gone now, this is one of the last bottles. I had to spend quite a bit of money to get it." Talhand immediately stroked the wine bottle in his hand, his face clearly showing pride. "Besides, I heard about the incident in Gawl town a few weeks ago; the Immortal Demon King Atoferatofe visited that Demon Dragon King's place and they had a drinking contest. If that's true, they must like good wine."
That was a correct assessment. Like gifting good swords to swordsmen. Gifting alcohol to drunkards is exactly what they need. However, the type of alcohol Talhand intended to gift was something Isolde felt a bit uncomfortable with. It brought back memories she wanted to bury deep.
If that Demon Dragon King is really Atur, I'll smash this bottle over his head-
Before Isolde could finish her train of thought, suddenly the window next to their table shattered. And from the outside, a figure flew straight in, landing extremely stylishly as if having practiced a lot, to the surprise of all three.
It was a woman wearing black armor, with silvery-white hair and a horn in the middle of her forehead. On her back was a pair of bat wings. "I smell good wine!" And she had an extremely loud voice too. "Mu wa ha ha ha! Hand it over to me now!"
Who is this? Immediately Isolde placed her hand on her sword hilt. Talhand and Elinalise also immediately grabbed their weapons.
Before they could react, a panicked cry rang out. "Lady Atofe!" This time the inn door burst open; it was a man with the hoarse voice of old age. He immediately walked straight to the woman. "Please don't suddenly barge in and disturb others just because you smell wine like that! As a Demon King, you could ask us to check! Also, don't jump into people's houses through the window!"
"Don't you know a hero doesn't need to follow rules? Especially when chasing what they have longed for."
"What does that have to do with anything! Your father was one of the Five Great Demon Kings! How pained he would be to see you behaving like this! And your husband too, what would Lord Rybak think?"
"Shut up!" The woman who appeared to be a Demon King shouted. She swung a blow so fast no one could see, right into the middle of the man's face. And with a single hit, he was knocked out of another window. "Don't make me lose face in front of others!"
What just-? So strong! Is this person really a Demon King?
Isolde shuddered slightly; she took a step back, having entered the defensive stance of the Water God Style without realizing it. Even though the Water King herself knew the opponent showed no killing intent or intention to attack, with that speed, if she let her guard down, it would likely be the end of her.
"Hmph!" Atofe turned to look at Talhand, or rather the wine bottle on Talhand's table, then immediately snatched it, raising it with both hands like a trophy. "He he he he! Ha ha ha ha! I finally found the type of wine those guys always talk about. It really is Holy Water Saint Wine! It's mine! Mine, ha ha ha!"
"What is happening, Isolde?" Elinalise was the one to speak up.
"Ah." Isolde, the only one who knew the Demon God Tongue, answered in doubt. "It seems that lady is a Demon King."
"Demon King!?" Both Elinalise and Talhand exclaimed in unison.
"How can it be that we just wanted to meet one and one appears like this?" Elinalise stared at Atofe and whispered. "It looks like she likes your wine bottle, Talhand."
"If a Demon King wants it, I wouldn't dare demand it back." Talhand sighed. "Isolde, can you tell her that I am more than willing to give it to her?"
But isn't that yours, Talhand...
Isolde was indeed a bit annoyed with what was happening. Although that bottle was a bit of an eyesore to her, Talhand had spent a significant amount of money on it. Now, just because someone suddenly fell from the sky and demanded it like it was theirs was truly unfair.
Yes, Isolde was the type of person ready to stand up against anyone if they dared touch her friends, even against a Demon King if needed. But luckily, Talhand had no intention of demanding it back, so Isolde respected his decision.
So the Water King took a step forward, facing the Demon King in front of her but not getting too close. She immediately knelt on one knee according to human noble etiquette. Seeing this, Talhand and Elinalise immediately did the same.
"Oh mighty Immortal Demon King. Your aura surprised us to the point of being overwhelmed, so we did not pay our respects sooner. Please forgive us for that." Her voice sounded elegant, but also very formal. Isolde's action was like something out of a fairy tale book. "As for that wine bottle. It was originally an item of my companion. But seeing that you cherish it so much, he would like to offer it to you as a gift."
"Ha ha ha!" The Demon King laughed loudly again. "Did you hear that, Moore? This girl called my aura overwhelming!"
Actually, those were just flowery words Isolde said to make a good impression. But judging by the Demon King's reaction, it was clearly more than successful.
"Alright! Let me introduce myself to you all, I am the Immortal Demon King Atoferatofe Rybak!" At some point, Atofe had drawn her massive sword, stabbed it into the floor, and declared eloquently. "You have performed a very good deed by handing me this bottle of fine wine!"
Hearing this, Isolde bowed her head slightly lower to continue listening. But for about five minutes, nothing happened.
The Water King glanced up slightly; Atofe was still frozen in the exact same pose as five minutes ago.
"What should I say next, Moore?"
"You should reward them."
"Yeah, right, reward." Atofe nodded. "Those who know their place should be heavily rewarded. Alright, I will allow you to join my personal guard!"
Isolde swore she just heard something wrong. "Excuse me?"
"You look quite potential. Especially you there." Atofe pointed at Isolde. "I see you are quite strong. If taught further by me, you are guaranteed to become many times stronger than now. What do you think? Sounds exciting, right?"
"I think we have a slight misunderstanding, Lady Demon King." Isolde straightened her back, hand still placed respectfully on her chest. "We have business to attend to, so we cannot join your personal guard."
"Whatever business can wait! Every ten years you will have two years off; do whatever business then!"
Isolde kept her friendly smile. "Please truly forgive us, but I cannot accept this honor, Lady Demon King."
"Why the hell not? You will have the best armor, be trained by me relentlessly. What is there to complain about?" Atofe raised an eyebrow. "Although after you sign the contract and become my servants, you won't be able to oppose me for the rest of your lives. But that's no problem, you can't oppose me anyway? He he he he!"
For the rest of my life...? Isolde increasingly felt this 'reward' was not worth accepting at all.
"I am truly impressed by your words. Even so, we still have work to do. The people of Fittoa who were displaced need help immediately. If we wait another ten years, I fear—"
"Shut up!" Suddenly Atofe roared, her voice so loud it would deafen a normal person standing nearby. "Now speaking straight! Will you become my guards or not!"
"Apologies, but I cannot." Isolde sensed killing intent; she had to find a reasonable excuse. "I think I do not have enough strength or necessary ability to stand in your ranks."
"Nonsense! I only need to look to know who is strong and who is weak! You must be around King rank, am I right? Don't think I can't see it!" Atofe pointed at Isolde. Suddenly, the Demon King paused, as if realizing something, then roared again. "So that's it! I get it! You intend to trick me, right!? You think I'm stupid so you tried to trick me, right?"
Not only that, the Immortal Demon King had drawn her massive sword at some point. Preparing to rush in, Moore and a few other guards appeared to block her.
"Calm down, Lady Atofe! What if you harm innocent people!?"
"Get out of the way!"
Although Moore tried his best to intervene, with just a swing of the sword, the entire black-armored guard squad, including Moore, was blown away. Immediately after, she rushed straight at Isolde's group like a meteor.
"What's going on!? I heard screaming!"
Roxy, the mage with the appearance of a young girl, hadn't even changed out of her pajamas yet. But she managed to grab her wizard hat and oversized staff to rush downstairs, then tripped over her own feet on the stairs and face-planted onto the floor.
Normally that would be a quite funny scene, but in this situation, Isolde could only draw her sword and focus completely on the battle before her eyes.
Two swords clashed creating an ear-piercing 'clang'. Sparks flew from the impact point like a brilliant firework at dawn.
"Oh ho." Atofe smirked. "I knew you were strong!"
Isolde paid no mind to Atofe's comment and immediately shouted. "Everyone run! I will buy time!"
Then another slash with speed even faster than before. Although her eyes couldn't see it, Isolde easily parried it one more time. But that wasn't all; a surprise punch appeared from nowhere, hitting the Water King straight in the stomach, knocking her into the wall behind.
"Urgh…" She felt like all the air in her lungs was pushed out. Not only that, Atofe's punch hit her liver precisely, making the Cluel girl's entire body feel paralyzed. Despite being dizzy and in pain, the girl quickly steadied her stance, trying to raise her sword, preparing for another fatal attack even though the situation was impossible.
Clang*
Then a shield blocked that blow. Elinalise's magic item successfully absorbed most of the force from the fatal blow and created necessary space. The elf quickly swung the sword in her right hand, stabbing straight into the armor gap at the shoulder. It was a hit, but for some reason, it only managed to graze the target's skin.
"What—"
"Ha ha ha! Your Battle Aura is still too weak!" Atofe laughed delightedly and swung her sword at Elinalise.
The first slash hit the elf's shield. Although it absorbed most of the force, the Demon King's power this time truly sprained Elinalise's wrist.
And the second blow from Atofe was swung; if it hit, there would certainly be blood.
"Majestic blade of ice, I summon thee to strike my enemy down! Icicle Edge!"
A saw-blade of ice cut straight into Atofe's sword arm. Although the attack didn't completely sever the attacker's arm, it helped Elinalise keep a safe distance immediately.
"Thanks, Roxy!" Elinalise said.
"No problem!" The Migurd mage replied curtly and continued chanting.
But that wasn't enough to trouble the Immortal Demon King. She immediately tossed her sword to her left hand and rushed at the retreating Elinalise, preparing to launch another attack.
That was exactly when the Water King regained her composure.
Isolde quickly appeared right between Atofe and her teammate. But instead of putting her sword out to block, her blade swung in the direction of the opponent's attack with absurd similarity.
As a warrior with many thousands of years of combat experience, Atofe immediately understood what was happening. But strangely, the Demon King became extremely delighted.
"He he he he! Is it a Secret Art of the Water God Style!? Very well! Try using it on me!"
Isolde was slightly confused by this reaction. But she quickly concluded it was a trick of the North God Style and ignored it. Her blade touched Atofe's attack, leaded, absorbed the attack's force, and swung her slash back at the attacker.
"Inevitable Counter!"
Slash*
And this time it didn't just leave a scratch; half of the Immortal Demon King's body was sliced in two like a tomato. Fresh blood began to spray out like a deadly fountain.
Not only that, Talhand had successfully cast his spell by this time. "Earth Pillar!"
A block of stone had appeared right above Atofe's head at some point and fell straight down on her, burying the Demon King underneath. When the dust cleared, they no longer saw any sign of the one who just attacked them.
We won? Isolde couldn't believe they had just defeated a Demon King. But it seemed things weren't over yet. The Water King still gripped the sword in her hand tightly, turning her blue eyes toward Atofe's guards with caution.
"Oh my god, they actually did it."
"This isn't good now."
"Unbelievable."
There were seven of them remaining in total, standing around where the battle just broke out, whispering anxiously to each other. Isolde and her teammates were certain they wouldn't let everyone leave easily after beating their master into such a state.
However, none of the four intended to surrender.
"We absolutely have no intention of harming anyone," Isolde spoke up, trying to defuse the situation. "But things turned out this way because your master attacked first; we didn't intend for this. Now that she is dead, you don't necessarily have to risk your lives. Let's overlook this and go home."
But contrary to Isolde's concerns, Moore—the guard Atofe had punched earlier—showed no hostile actions. On the contrary, he appeared suspiciously friendly as he walked over to explain slowly.
"Our master belongs to the immortal demon clan, so she won't die. She will recover quickly."
"Oh." Roxy and Isolde both exclaimed in surprise.
Ah right, she did introduce herself as the Immortal Demon King. The Water King thought to herself, then turned around, intending to ask her teammates' opinion, but Moore spoke first.
"Before we discuss anything else. On behalf of our lady, I would like to ask again, are you sure you don't want to be her personal guard?"
Isolde normally wouldn't speak for others, but she knew the other three teammates would have the same answer as her. "No."
"Then I think you should leave soon," Moore said sincerely. "When the lady wakes up, she will definitely won't let it slide."
"Then why don't you capture us?" Isolde asked suspiciously.
"Because we only act when ordered," Moore explained. "So when our lady demands it, we will definitely use all our strength to capture you. Therefore, the best thing to do is run far away, don't let her catch up."
Isolde frowned slightly, her gaze shifting down to the rock crushing Atofe. "What happens when she catches up to us?"
The Cluel girl hoped it wasn't a hunt to the death.
"Our master is very interested in strong people like you," Moore answered Isolde. "So she will challenge you, especially you, again. And if you lose, you will be forced to sign a contract with her to become a guard for the rest of your life. And you don't have that much chance to win neither since she will regenerate and fight you until you are exhausted."
That sounded like a reasonable tactic for a race capable of immortality. Isolde had been told by her grandmother about countless strange opponents, but she had never faced an immortal before. Although she didn't mind fighting a long continuous battle, betting her entire future on it wasn't worth it.
Isolde suddenly felt a bit regretful for thinking human nobles were weird; now she knew how excessive a Demon King could be. Of course, she and her teammates could continue to confront the Demon King; they succeeded once, even if it was just a temporary incapacitation, surely there would be a second time. But next time there might be additional opponents, those guards. And she didn't know how long she could keep fighting when her liver had just been cracked. This injury would be easily healed by Roxy, but there seemed to be no time for that.
"Then thank you for your explanations, I appreciate it." Isolde bowed to thank Moore and turned to her three confused teammates. "Let's go, quickly. I'll explain on the way."
All four of them immediately fled the inn. Talhand, as always, jumped onto Elinalise's back to run faster. Meanwhile the elf girl didn't forget to throw back a few gold coins to compensate for the damage they caused.
"What just happened?" When they had run a fair distance. Only then Roxy asks a series of questions. She was still in her pajamas and trying to keep her hat from the wind blowing against them. "Who was that earlier? Why did she attack us? And why is there an immortal demon?"
"She is the Immortal Demon King Atoferatofe. And she wants to reward us for gifting wine by making us her subordinates."
"Immortal Demon King!?" Roxy was shocked again. "And what does being a subordinate mean?"
Isolde sighed. "She said it's a reward to become stronger. She will train us into powerful warriors as subordinates."
"Well that doesn't sound too bad," Elinalise commented. "Isn't becoming strong your goal, Isolde?"
It was indeed true, but there was one reason Isolde definitely could not accept. "Her contract lasts until death."
"Oh, that's really bad then." Elinalise nodded. "You don't even have a husband yet; being taken away forever like that is too cruel."
Although that wasn't what Isolde was worried about, she had to admit that the contract was excessive. If it only lasted one year, she might have reconsidered.
"This is my fault." Talhand rubbed his beard and sighed. "If I knew this, I wouldn't have gifted her the wine."
"Don't worry, Talhand." Elinalise, though rare, spoke up to comfort her dwarven teammate. "If you didn't give in. She would have taken it anyway."
Anyone who had seen Atofe's temperament would know they couldn't escape regardless of what they said or did. Since even someone good at communication like Isolde standing up to talk had no effect.
"But where should we run to?" Elinalise asked.
"Follow me!" Roxy raises her hand. "I know an alley in this town that can lead outside that few people know about."
However, they hadn't run for long when a frantic shout echoed from afar.
"Catch them!"
…
The chase lasted for two hours. The group of four adventurers had escaped the town, they had made it outside, but not long after, Atofe caught up.
Now they were surrounded again.
Thus, the situation became much more difficult, no longer just four against one. Now they were facing an Immortal Demon King along with her seven powerful subordinates.
And this time, they were completely overwhelmed. Both Talhand and Roxy's magic were easily dispelled by Moore. Elinalise's mobile attacks and defenses were quickly blocked by Atofe's guards.
In that situation, the Immortal Demon King stepped in front of everyone, drew her sword, and pointed it at Isolde. "Mu wa ha ha ha! I am the Immortal Demon King Atoferatofe Rybak! If you defeat me, I will declare you a hero! But if you lose, you will be my subordinate until the day you die!"
That was a direct declaration of war, straight at the young Water King—the one the Demon King felt most interested in.
And this time, with the clear difference in power, Isolde couldn't keep up with the Demon King's speed and terrifying adaptability. Every slash, every punch from Atofe made the Water King struggle to defend. Until now, she had never encountered such a difficult battle unless facing her master.
"Hah…"
But surrender was never a word in the genius girl's dictionary. Even though blood was flowing from her mouth, and a piece of armor on her body had shattered. Her blue eyes still shone bright like stars. She continuously observed, sensed, and learned every sword stroke of the opponent. Just by Atofe using a move once, whether she blocked it or not, Isolde would find a solution for it. So that when that exact move appeared again, she could neutralize it.
Even though this lesson was being paid for in blood, this was exactly the battle she wanted to experience at least once in her life.
"It's been a hundred years since I met someone like you!" Even Atofe had to voice her praise.
"Probably because they saw that you are both unintelligent and unreasonably excessive, so they didn't bother looking for you."
"What!? You dare call me stupid!!!"
Of course, it wouldn't be Water God Style without sarcastic remarks. This was a hard-earned experience the Water King learned to perfect her skills. It sounded like a slightly rude action, but thanks to those provocations, Isolde could more easily grasp Atofe's attacks.
But that still wasn't enough to balance the battle.
Atofe indeed started attacking wildly and became easier to predict, but her strength and endurance still far exceeded the Cluel girl. With every collision, Isolde's strength decreased a bit. While every time her hand was cut off or her neck stabbed through, Atofe remained calm, even becoming stronger and more terrifying.
And after resisting for nearly an hour, she finally collapsed.
"Hah…" The Water King took heavy breaths; one of her lungs was crushed. Blood stained her tattered armor. She had reached her limit.
"Wa ha ha ha!" Atofe laughed loudly. "Finally, you have to submit to me! You still lack a few decades of training to stand on equal footing with me! Alright! Bring out the contract and a suit of armor from the luggage. I'll let this brat join my imperial guard! Straight into a position in the Ultimate Four!"
Indeed, Isolde knew she couldn't win from the start. What she was doing was just trying to stall and draw the Demon King's attention to herself. So even if they lost, at least the other three would be safe.
So she succeeded.
But naturally, the Water King wasn't happy at all.
Because she was about to lose one of the most important thing in her life—freedom.
This reminded her of fairy tales. About free-spirited heroes fighting for justice and finally marrying the princess. However, there were still parts where the hero had to go through the most perilous situations.
Like Saint Millis himself, he was heavily wounded by the enemy and even near death. Finally, thanks to the love of his partner, the gods responded.
Isolde wanted a love like that. She wanted someone ready to do everything for her, to love her completely.
But why was she suddenly thinking about marriage?
Perhaps due to the conversation with Elinalise earlier. And maybe she started regretting that she might become a strong, lonely swordswoman with no companions, just as the elf said. In ten years, she would be 27, which was considered old for humans. What would years of crazy training under a Demon King turn her into?
Then if during those two years off she still didn't find a partner, the next time she was free would be near forty. At that point, it was no different from guaranteeing the 'single for life' scenario Elinalise mentioned.
After all, she was just a young woman who had been an adult for two years. She still wanted a normal happy family.
Yet fate pushed her to this situation. Truly excessive.
Thinking of that, she just wanted to stand up and keep fighting.
But her body had reached its limit. She knew if there was anything supernatural helping her stand up, prolonging this fight would only leave her with permanent injuries.
But she didn't want her ending to be like this.
Please… Saint Millis, give me a miracle.
Like many people pushed to the most difficult situations, she began to pray.
Isolde is a devout follower of Millis. She already remembered every dogma of her faith when she was just 8. Never be greedy, never ask for a selfish wish. She has always followed that teaching for years now. If she wanted something, she would work for it, not ask for it. And when she prays, she only wishes for the better of others like her friends and family.
This is the first time she asked something for herself. An ask for help.
Any help, please… I don't want to waste my life like this!
She looks at the sky as she prays. It was a clear blue sky, as beautiful as her silky hair. And as if the gods had heard her plight, a screaming voice rang out from the sky.
"Wait! No no no!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
A figure fell from above. A teenage boy with silvery-white hair.
"Why did you drop me, Lord Lan Xin!!! Ack!!!"
But instead of landing like a hero, the boy smashed his face straight into the ground, blocking the way between Isolde and Atofe.
Wait. What just happened? Is he dead?
"Hold on! Lady Atofe!" But he didn't die; the boy sprang straight up as if his neck had never been broken, his face not stained with blood from the fall. "You cannot take this person to be your guard!"
"What! What do you mean?" Atofe growled. "It's been a long time since I found someone so interesting. Don't think about robbing me! Speak your reason quickly or taste my blade!"
"Um…" The boy hesitated for a moment.
Isolde could see that he had the answer but couldn't say it for some reason.
Who is this? His voice sounded familiar. The girl wondered.
"Speak quickly, you damn dragon! What is your reason!?"
"Because she is my fiancée!"
And suddenly, everyone fell silent.
Especially Isolde. Suddenly she was saved, by someone claiming to be her fiancé.
"Huh?"