"Are you the one responsible for demonifying the plants in the forest—and Jāld as well?
Then could you tell me why you've made a move against No Name?
Or… are you one of the so-called Demon Lords?"
The figure standing atop the rooftop, bathed in pale moonlight, was a golden-haired girl clad in a long skirt and a red leather jacket.
Her features were exquisitely delicate—skin as flawless as porcelain, beauty so refined she looked like a living doll. Yet her expression was utterly blank, devoid of emotion, radiating a clear keep your distance aura.
At the sudden appearance of Yūto, Leticia showed the faintest trace of surprise. But remembering her purpose for coming here, she quickly raised a crimson spear in her small hand.
"Allow me to gauge your strength," she said flatly. "As you've guessed… I am indeed one of the former Demon Lords."
Her voice carried no rise or fall in tone. With that, she hurled the black-and-red spear straight at Yūto.
The blood-red weapon, once clasped in her slender fingers, swelled explosively the instant it left her grip. In the blink of an eye, it tore through the air, arriving directly before Yūto.
Seeing the spear nearly upon him, Yūto judged its force in an instant. It wasn't strong enough to warrant dodging.
He extended his right hand.
Barehanded, he caught the blood spear mid-flight.
A terrifying grip strength exploded outward. With a thunderous blast, the spear—so imposing only moments before—was crushed in his hand!
The instant it detonated, the ground beneath Yūto caved into a concave crater, sand and dust erupting into the air in a violent surge.
At the same time, Leticia—who had been on the rooftop only moments ago—spread a pair of black-and-red wings from her back. She shot through the cloud of dust at incredible speed, diving downward and thrusting another spear toward Yūto.
Clang—!
The oncoming spear struck against the blade of a divinely blessed katana. The shockwave from their clash blew away every grain of sand in the vicinity.
And for the first time, they saw each other's faces at close range.
Crimson eyes. Impeccably refined features.
There was no denying it—this girl named Leticia was an extraordinary beauty.
But what Yūto really wanted to complain about was this:
Whether it was Shiroyasha or Leticia, why were all these former Demon Lords adorable lolis?
Was "loli Demon Lord" some kind of default setting in Little Garden? Did becoming a Demon Lord require possessing the loli attribute?
While his mind wandered into utterly unhelpful territory regarding Little Garden's Demon Lord standards, his hands never paused.
After blocking Leticia's thrust, Yūto flexed his arm and effortlessly knocked her back into the air once more.
Feeling the force transmitted through his blade, Yūto looked up at Leticia as she hovered above—and his expression showed faint dissatisfaction.
"You say you're a former Demon Lord. But I don't see power to match the title.
I once faced another former Demon Lord—the White Night Demon Lord. The pressure from her was overwhelming.
Yet you, who claim the same title, don't give me that feeling at all. In fact, you're not even on par with my current companions.
Are you deliberately suppressing your strength? Or… is this truly all you've got?"
At his words, a flicker of displeasure surfaced on Leticia's otherwise blank face.
But as she calmly processed the information hidden within his statement, shock overtook her.
No one living in Little Garden could be unaware of who the "White Night Demon Lord" was.
And from what he had said, this man had either directly or indirectly clashed with her—and survived?
Even among former Demon Lords, Leticia understood clearly that their strengths varied enormously.
Not to mention that she had lost her Divinity. What remained was only the power of a "pure-blood vampire," leaving her with less than a tenth of her former might.
Even at her peak—Divinity intact—she would have been utterly outmatched by Shiroyasha. They were existences on completely different dimensions.
Yet the man before her had faced such a being and lived.
That alone proved his strength was anything but ordinary.
And during their brief exchange just now, she had already confirmed it. He wasn't boasting. He had met her full-powered attacks head-on—without even bothering to evade—and dismantled them effortlessly.
The realization left her both astonished… and faintly helpless.
Leticia's true identity was, in fact, a member of No Name.
After No Name was attacked by a Demon Lord and fell into ruin, she lost a Gift Game and was seized by another community—reduced even to slavery.
The only reason she could stand here now was because she had offered up her Divinity in exchange for temporary freedom, allowing her to visit the Outer Gates and see the community she had long worried over.
When she discovered that today's No Name had declined to the point where Black Rabbit alone was holding everything together—where the once-strongest community in the East District had fallen so low that even small fry like Jāld could toy with them—her anger had burned fiercely.
Later, when she learned that several new members had joined No Name, she felt both joy… and concern.
So she came alone to Fores Garo.
She eliminated every member of the community—except Jāld.
Then, using the power of a pure-blood vampire, she demonified him.
Her actions were never meant to destroy No Name.
On the contrary—she loved No Name deeply.
This was her test.
She wanted to measure the strength of these new members.
If they were capable of protecting No Name, then even if she were sold beyond the boundaries of Little Garden, she could finally rest easy.
After observing them, she was fairly satisfied with Asuka and Yō. Though still somewhat immature, both possessed tremendous potential.
What she hadn't expected… was that Yūto—also one of her intended test subjects—would not only track her down within Fores Garo, but also display strength that so thoroughly suppressed her.
Her purpose had been to test them.
Asuka and Yō had already proven themselves worthy.
But this new companion standing before her—
If she wanted to gauge the full extent of his power…
In her current state, it seemed utterly impossible.