For a moment, Ayla thought there was something wrong with her ears—or maybe her brain.
One of the two was definitely malfunctioning.
Or perhaps, there was a third possibility: Zero herself was the one with the problem.
“Zero, aren’t you being a bit too extreme?”
The Pink-haired Thunder Girl said.
The moment the words left her mouth, they sounded oddly familiar.
The assassin girl before her replied with an equally familiar phrase.
“You’re just being too conservative, Ayla.”
Love is the most intense game.
All possible and impossible means should be used.
Ayla was silent for a while.
“Are you going to say you actually didn’t want this, too?”
“No, I want it.”
Zero said calmly.
“All this time, I’ve always attacked under the direct cover of my companions.”
Ayla bared her teeth in discomfort as she listened.
Wasn’t that exactly what happened in the forest? Now you’re doing it on the bed too?
“You, I—you, I think you should seriously reconsider.”
“Alright, I’ll head back first, but there’s no need to reconsider. This is what I want.”
Zero walked to the door and held the doorknob.
“Ayla, get some rest.”
“……………”
Ayla had originally thought Zero was using a psychological tactic of ‘wanting to open the window but lifting the roof first.’
She didn’t expect Zero to be serious.
She lay back on the bed, covering her face with both hands.
The Demon King let out a series of strange ‘guu guii’ sounds.
Now, the once-evil plan had basically succeeded, but what was the cost?
She once believed it could be accomplished through charisma, but in the end, it was actually achieved with her body?
Was she really a hook-seller after all?
Ayla started to miss Celes.
She felt that maybe only Celes in the Hero’s Party wouldn’t do anything to her body.
The Sword Saint Maiden, cold and aloof like a flower on a high peak—even if she suppressed herself, the most she’d do is hug for a while, so it was surely fine.
After all, just a few nights ago, they’d shared a room and nothing happened.
“Ah-choo!”
“Little Celes, you must be catching a cold. Wear more clothes and come warm up by the fire!”
***
A few days later, the two Demon Tribe Armies reached their stronghold and began contact and arrangements with the local garrison.
Celes also took these days to prove her body was still fine—no sign of a cold.
In addition, she welcomed two companions who arrived on Dragon Hawks: the mage Vina and Saintess Leah.
“Ayla said we should split into two groups.”
Leah explained the reasoning behind splitting the forces.
Celes nodded, finding it logical and free of issues.
As for the Priests’ Group she led, the Northern Church Branch covering several nearby cities was already recruiting, and would catch up later.
Besides that, they brought the most important news—
“The time to march is set for tomorrow morning. Both groups move out together and meet at Bright Cross Star City.”
“Understood.”
With war approaching, the girls were tense, and some topics were set aside for now.
Ayla, on the other hand, felt quite at ease.
She had already made peace with it over the past two days.
Whether a hook or not, it had been sold.
A sin once committed could not be erased, but victory and defeat are the eternal law.
As long as the goal was achieved, everything was worth it.
No sacrifice was too great to bear!
“Sky Knight Onee-chan,”
Nearby, a young Elf who looked about two hundred years old asked,
“Will you ride a Dragon Hawk and behead the enemy commander for us like last time, bringing us victory?”
Ayla smiled gently.
“Silly child, the enemy commander is already dead. The rest are just small fry. Watch me wipe them all out directly.”
“Also, Onee-chan is eighteen this year.”
With that, she hopped onto her Dragon Hawk and waved a small hand at Zero.
“Let’s go! Straight into the enemy’s heartland!”
The tactics on the western front were simple.
The Elven Elite and Demon Tribe Army, totaling over three thousand, set out from the northern forest border and marched north.
Though not a large force, their combat power was high.
Even a squad of precious Dragonhawk Riders had joined.
“Kill! Kill! Kill!”
Led by the Four-Armed General, the army surged forward like a storm, nearly unstoppable.
Their Elf allies struggled to keep pace.
As Ayla had predicted, the Blood Demon Tribe, recently defeated, was in chaos.
Its leadership was vying for power after the Bloodslaughter King’s death.
Among ordinary clansfolk, many young and strong had perished, leaving production and daily life in turmoil.
Seeing the allied army approach, they offered almost no resistance.
The Demon Tribe Army had clear objectives, and the Elves disliked senseless killing.
So the allies passed through villages without stopping, only occupying a few strategically important points before continuing their northward campaign.
After advancing through much of the tribe’s territory, the Blood Demon Tribe’s leaders finally recovered enough to set aside disputes and organize a counterattack.
Ayla circled in the sky on her Dragon Hawk for a while, finally spotting enemy troop concentrations ahead.
She slapped her thigh in excitement.
“They’re assembling! Let’s charge!”
Zero silently glanced at her own thigh, where she’d just been slapped, said nothing, but made a mental note.
The Dragon Hawk let out a piercing cry in the sky, immediately drawing the Blood Demon soldiers’ attention.
Before they could summon their archers, Ayla dove down atop her mount and landed in an open field nearby.
A lone cavalrywoman separated from her army looked like an easy target!
When Ayla and Zero assassinated the Bloodslaughter King, they had conveniently eliminated all witnesses.
So no one knew what these two adorable human girls were capable of.
They simply saw that the enemy were few and their own side many, and rushed forward without hesitation.
“Roar!”
The foremost Blood Demon soldier was already worked up, eyes bloodshot.
Their bloodline wasn’t pure enough to ignite their whole bodies and form a blood mist—their limit was blood-red eyes.
For enemies of this level, Ayla didn’t even spare a glance.
She dismounted her Dragon Hawk and casually picked a spot to thrust the Necromantic Sword into the ground.
“Zero, watch the perimeter for me.”
Then she began chanting a dark and ominous incantation—
“Hear my name, heed my command. Resurrection of the Dead. Eternal Pain!”
Minor Undead Plague!
A chill rose from the earth, making the leading Blood Demon soldiers freeze in their tracks—only to be knocked over by frenzied comrades behind.
“What are you standing around for?”
“Move! Don’t block the way!”
Those who fell tried to scramble up, but their hands pressed into the ground—and wouldn’t come free.
Countless white bones burst from the earth, clutching at their limbs.
“What is this hellish thing? Let go of me… ahhhhhh!!”
The screams finally caught the attention of the front ranks.
They turned and witnessed the most horrifying sight of their lives.
The dead were returning from the earth.