While descending the stairs, Via continued conversing with Kurei, using the demon maid to learn about the current general situation in the Desolate Fallen Continent.
She had already made plans: once the time was right, she would send Kurei away and quickly withdraw from the Demon King’s Castle ruins herself.
After all, the Demon King Armament had been in continuous operation. Having been left unused for so long without energy replenishment, it couldn’t be sustained much longer.
Once the armament deactivated and Kurei saw her current self, everything would be over.
However, what she hadn’t expected was that other humans would invade the Demon King’s Castle ruins and run into her.
She had even encountered Sophie.
“Why is Sophie here?”
Beneath the Demon King mask, Via’s eyes widened.
She watched Sophie standing among the holy knights, gazing at her from afar.
“Lord Demon King, I’ll deal with these rats right away! Death Hunt!”
Kurei raised her giant hammer and slammed its metal handle against the ground. The tremendous force cracked the floor.
She unleashed Abyssal Force. Countless threads spread through the cracks, extending in all directions and wrapping around the feet of every human.
“W-What is this?!”
“Why can’t I shake it off?!”
“Damn demon, what are you trying to do?!”
The holy knights struggled.
Many raised their weapons, releasing holy power that clung to the blades as they struck at the threads of Death Hunt.
However, threads born from Transcendent-tier Abyssal Force were not something these holy knights could break.
“The holy power of holy knights is still so disgusting—it’s like biting into a peach and finding half a worm inside!”
Kurei’s expression turned extremely unpleasant.
After all, holy power and Abyssal Force were mutually countering forces.
As a demon, she instinctively loathed this aura.
The twin-tailed maid glared at the holy knights. Her presence suddenly intensified, and crushing pressure transmitted through the threads of Death Hunt to everyone present.
“Don’t move!!”
“Ugh…”
The holy knight captain had only just climbed back up when his waist was forcibly bent again. His head lowered bit by bit, on the verge of touching the ground in a kneeling bow to the demon maid.
The other holy knights weren’t faring much better. Beads of sweat the size of beans dripped from their foreheads, sliding down their cheeks to the floor. Their bodies trembled, and their breathing grew erratic.
The erosion of Abyssal Force even caused some holy knights to see hallucinations, as if they had fallen into a bottomless abyss, their minds being corrupted.
“No… no…!”
The holy knight captain let out an angry roar.
He endured the crushing pressure, slowly raising his head bit by bit. Even though signs of abyssal corruption had appeared on his face, he still gritted his teeth and continuously urged the holy power within his body.
“Lord God, please bear witness to my devout faith! I would rather die in battle than ever submit to demons! Holy light, please grant me strength!”
Miraculously, he stood up. Golden particles surged, resisting the erosion of Abyssal Force.
“God this, god that—you’re too noisy!”
Kurei lifted her foot and kicked the holy knight captain in the chest. This strike completely shattered his armor and dispersed the holy light he had just gathered.
Boom!
The holy knight captain flew backward, crashing through a pillar before collapsing on the ground.
Without the protection of his armor, the brutal impact fractured his bones. He lay there, still unable to move.
The holy knights, who had just been inspired by him, fell into despair upon seeing this.
They couldn’t win.
A Transcendent-tier demon was simply not something they could handle.
“Miss Sophie… hurry and escape… don’t… don’t stay here…” the holy knight captain said in a weak voice. “You are… Lady Sylvia’s daughter… you cannot… die here…”
“Sylvia?”
Hearing this name, Kurei showed slight surprise.
Of course she remembered Sylvia—the saintess from the human world who, during the war between humans and demons seventeen years ago, had caused no small amount of trouble for the demon side.
The maid’s gaze shifted, landing on the red-haired girl.
“You do resemble her a bit. You’re Sylvia’s daughter, aren’t you?”
“I…”
Sophie seemed to have fallen into confusion, her reactions extremely slow.
“Perfect. I’ll deal with you right here—to prevent you from growing up and becoming a threat to Lord Demon King!”
Kurei waved her hand. The scattered threads converged, wrapping around Sophie alone.
She easily bound Sophie’s limbs, suspending her in mid-air. At the same time, she dragged her heavy weapon, scraping sparks across the ground as she walked forward step by step, preparing to execute her.
“Ugh…”
The red-haired girl showed a pained expression. She grasped at the threads of Death Hunt, trying to resist.
But the Transcendent-tier Abyssal Force rendered all her struggles futile.
Her consciousness grew hazy. She could no longer clearly see the scene before her—the figure of the Demon King became blurred.
Sophie was going to die.
This thought arose in Via’s mind.
The holy knights couldn’t defeat Kurei at all. In this situation, once Kurei harbored killing intent, Sophie had only one path—death.
She stared wide-eyed, watching Sophie’s face twist in pain, standing motionless.
If she thought about it rationally, even if Sophie died, it wouldn’t have much impact on her, right?
On the contrary, Sophie’s existence was already a problem for her.
In the future, when she stepped back onto the path of the Demon King, fewer obstacles would be better.
Like last time, when Sophie visited her, she had nearly discovered the magic workshop set up in her dorm.
Such unexpected situations might happen again in the future.
There was even the risk of her identity being exposed.
Therefore, it would be best if this troublesome Sophie disappeared from the world.
Moreover…
She was the King of Demons. It was humans who had killed her.
There was no need to feel any unnecessary emotions toward humans.
She could just stand here, do nothing, and simply watch as Kurei killed Sophie.
That should be the decision a Demon King would make.
“Die—”
Just as Kurei was about to swing her giant hammer and crush Sophie into mincemeat, she discovered her wrist had been grabbed.
She turned her head, looking at the Demon King with incomprehension.
“Lord Demon King, what are you doing?”
“…”
Via gripped Kurei’s wrist without a word.
“Lord Demon King, please release me. Sylvia’s descendant absolutely cannot be allowed to live in this world.”
“…Stop.”
“Lord Demon King, what did you say?” Kurei thought she had misheard.
“Stop!”
The Demon King tightened her grip on Kurei’s wrist, issuing an unmistakably clear command with an almost angry attitude.
“You cannot kill her!”