The Demon King cherishes the Four Heavenly Kings.
In the original story, it wasn’t explicitly mentioned how much she cared for other demons, but when it came to the Four Heavenly Kings, it was different.
The Priest of Despair, the Blade Empress, the Death Knight, and the Commander—these four were always precious to the Demon King.
There’s a story where, upon realizing that the Priest of Despair had lost their life in battle, the enraged Demon King wiped out the entire imperial army.
Beyond that, throughout the original story, the Demon King constantly listened to the Four Heavenly Kings and always stayed by their side in everything she did.
And yet, now, two of those cherished figures are standing right in front of me…
This is no ordinary problem.
If all the Demon King’s officers were gathered, it would be a different matter, but taking down just these two isn’t impossible.
However, killing them is a problem in itself.
Would Victoria be able to endure the death of another one of her cherished subordinates for a second time?
“What are you thinking so deeply about, you piece of trash?”
Darkan, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, appeared and spoke.
“Are you desperately trying to think of a way to survive? No matter how hard you try with that empty brain of yours, there’s no escape. The moment you met me, your fate was sealed—only death awaits you.”
“Come on, let’s not talk like that. We could end this fight and make peace, couldn’t we?”
“That’s the kind of delusional nonsense only trash like you would say. Can’t you hear the screams of those you’ve killed? You won’t be the only one to survive.”
Darkan took a step toward me.
Just then, another member of the Four Heavenly Kings, Lucrezia, stopped him.
“Stop.”
“Are you trying to interfere with my fight, Lucrezia?”
“This one is my plaything. You arrived later than I did, so go somewhere else and spout your nonsense.”
“Whether I came late or not doesn’t matter. I’m stronger than you, so why should I care? Step aside, you blade-wielding wench.”
“What did you just say? You dumb tin can.”
“Dumb tin can…? Are you trying to insult my brilliant mind?”
The two of them started growling at each other, each insisting on being the one to fight me.
If I just stand here and watch, will they end up fighting each other? Probably not.
Instead of waiting, I might as well stir things up myself.
“Aren’t you two on the same side? Why are you fighting like this? You’re both equally stupid, so don’t act like you’re any different. Dumb tin can, blade-wielding wench.”
“Wh—”
“What?”
“There’s no reason for me to fight one-on-one against incompetent fools like you. Just come at me together. I’ll send you both to the afterlife at the same time.”
“What’s wrong? Does your pride as the Four Heavenly Kings not allow you to gang up on one person? Don’t worry. After all, you’re nothing more than the pathetic lackeys of a worthless Demon King. What honor do you even have to protect?”
They don’t seem to realize yet that Victoria is actually the Demon King.
There’s a chance that one of them might target Victoria instead…
If that happens, it could trigger her emotions unnecessarily.
It’s better if I just take on both of them myself.
I openly provoked them.
Victoria, standing beside me, flinched.
If even she reacted like that, I can only imagine how furious those two must be.
However, my provocation seemed to be too effective—rather than boiling with rage, the two of them regained their composure.
“You dare insult the Demon King…?”
“No matter what, you must die.”
The two, who had been arguing over who would get to fight me, suddenly united against me.
Swish!
Lucrezia’s blades shot toward me.
Thousands of blades filled my vision, tearing apart both humans and demons alike with nothing but their sheer presence.
I moved lightly, dodging while observing their movements.
But then—
Instead of attacking me, Darkan suddenly turned toward Victoria.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going?”
“I don’t know what you’re relying on, but first, I’ll kill your companion. As for you, I’ll slowly torture you at the end, so just wait.”
He answered my question.
Tch, it’s turning out like this.
“Where are you looking, kid?”
As I briefly took my eyes off the situation, Lucrezia launched an attack.
Now, should I quickly kill her and then take care of Darkan?
If I unleash all my power here, I could wipe them out in an instant, but… that would obliterate the imperial army too.
It’ll take some time. I just have to hope that Victoria doesn’t change her mind in the meantime.
“Hey, blade-wielding woman, let’s not drag this out. Let’s finish this as quickly as possible. I have something I’m concerned about.”
“Did you just call me a blade-wielding woman again? I won’t kill you quickly. I’ll carve up your body piece by piece. In the name of the strongest swordswoman of the Demon King’s army, Lucrezia…”
“Fine, just hurry up and come at me, old woman.”
“Old woman?! You little—”
Lucrezia came at me with full force.
Meanwhile, Darkan and Victoria faced each other relatively quietly.
Victoria stared at him without saying a word, and Darkan, unaware of her true identity, pointed his sword at her.
“I don’t have any grudge against you. The only reason you’re dying is because you were with that foolish man. If you want to blame someone, blame him.”
“You seem to have nothing left to say before you die. I see, you’re just another coward. Let me send you off to a peaceful place quickly.”
Swish!
Darkan lunged forward, swinging his sword.
As Victoria crouched to dodge, the path of the sword tore through both humans and demons alike.
“Not bad for trash. But how long can you keep running away?”
“Come at me. Swing your weapon, and realize how powerless you are as you meet death at my hands.”
Darkan continued to unleash attacks while Victoria dodged, showing no sign of countering.
It seemed she had no intention of attacking.
She just stared into the air with a sad expression, as if reminiscing about the time spent with them long ago.
Darkan raised his voice.
“All you’re doing is running away. Now I see you’re nothing special. Fighting trash like you is the greatest shame of my life.”
“I can guess your life. You probably lived as a useless, passive little thing, just waiting for others to do things for you. But here, no one will replace you.”
Is he trying to provoke her, to create an opening?
From Darkan’s perspective, he was probably just babbling, but when he mentioned those words, Victoria’s furrowed brow twitched slightly, showing a crack in her stoic expression.
“Trash. People like you certainly have no friends, no family. The people around you must be laughing at you behind your back.”
“Enough.”
“It seems like you don’t want to accept it, but this is the truth. You’ll always be alone, and the only ones who’ll be around you are people just as worthless as you. Just like in that filthy pit of…”
“I told you to stop, didn’t I?”
Bang!
Darkan, who had been talking, was suddenly slammed into the ground.
Victoria grabbed Darkan’s head and slammed it deep into the ground, speaking.
“I don’t mind if you disrespect me, but I won’t tolerate you insulting my friend.”
“Friendship, huh? That’s laughable.”
Darkan casually got up from the ground.
“That was a pretty good move. You took advantage of my moment of carelessness and delivered a decisive blow. But unfortunately, such an attack won’t leave a scratch on me.”
“Have you given up? Stay true to your trashy nature… Ugh?!”
Boom!
Victoria landed an uppercut on Darkan’s jaw.
Despite his massive size, Darkan was sent flying into the air from the powerful punch, and Victoria followed suit, leaping after him.
Bam! Bam!
She relentlessly pounded him with blows all over his body.
“Ugh, you’re trying to hurt me with this weak attack… Aaaah?!”
“Ugh… Ugh… I admit you’re fast, but speed alone won’t be enough to defeat me… Aaah!!”
Darkan, unable to properly resist, was pummeled.
The difference in strength was overwhelming.
The Demon King toyed with Darkan as if he were a small child, and Darkan had no chance to unleash his full power.
“I admit it. I’ll acknowledge you. Let’s have a fair fight on the ground!”
“Enough!”
“No! This bastard is on nearly the same level as the Demon King…! Hey, Lucrezia! Get over here and help me!”
Realizing the situation, Darkan called for help.
However, Lucrezia was in no condition to assist him.
She was being relentlessly beaten by me.
Her blades were shattered, blood flowed from her nose, and her once-smooth hair was now a tangled mess.
“Aaahh!”
“Do you feel the difference in strength?”
“Dammit! This is a demon…! I never imagined there could be someone so powerful in the human world. This is completely unexpected! We need to retreat!”
Lucrezia created a wall with her blades and pulled Darkan back as they fled.
If we wanted to, Victoria and I could easily follow and finish them off, but we didn’t.
At that moment, Belad, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, who had been fighting with Kalian, also joined them.
From his appearance, it seemed Kalian had been gaining the upper hand.
Kalian followed them from a distance.
The Four Heavenly Kings were left stunned, staring at us.
“This is insane… There are three individuals as strong as the Demon King? We need to regroup. We can’t win this fight.”
“Where are you going?”
“Get lost, you monsters! We’re retreating for now, but remember, this was just a reconnaissance. What you’ve seen today is less than 10% of the Demon King’s power!”
They hastily pulled back their army and fled toward the demon side’s barricades.
If we wanted, we could have killed them all right then, but it seemed Victoria wanted to end things here.
I had also adjusted my power while facing the Four Heavenly Kings, being mindful of Victoria’s feelings.
Kalian also seemed to be uninterested in continuing the slaughter, as he didn’t pursue the retreating demon army.
“Chase them!”
But the imperial army, brimming with confidence from our victory, pursued the fleeing demons.
Were they trying to finish it off once and for all?
The imperial army, energized by our victory, marched toward the demon’s walls, and the demons, using their defenses, tried desperately to avoid being caught.
The imperial army, determined not to let them escape, chased after them at full speed.
Is this really the best course of action? The fight was already over with our victory.
Too easily, almost to the point of being satisfying.
If we go further, it might be possible to seize the demon’s walls and gain a strategic advantage, but can we really do that?
Alcatrez is behind this.
He wouldn’t let an event like this end so easily.
There’s something he’s hiding.
Perhaps the demons’ retreat is part of the plan.
But no matter how I think about it, the die has already been cast.
It would be difficult to stop the imperial army charging ahead, and there’s no justification to do so.
Eventually, the imperial army continued to chase the demons until they stepped beyond their outer walls.
At that point, the imperial army stopped advancing.
Thankfully, the General seemed to calm down and realized that stopping here was the best course of action.
There was no telling what kind of traps could be set up further, and using the demon-built walls as a base might be the most advantageous decision.
The soldiers, seeing the retreating demon army, cheered in triumph.
Not only had we won the battle, but we’d also captured a key stronghold, lifting morale to new heights.
“Eh… what is that?”
However, the cheers didn’t last long.
I, Kalian, and everyone present turned our attention to a bizarre sight beyond the walls.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.