Milin froze for a moment. She had seen Magus before—her Uncle Laide and Aunt Kui Yin were both Magus.
However, she was certain that the person before her was neither of them.
She quickly deduced his identity from the pitch-black shadow stretching across the ground.
“Are you… the Shadow Demon Lord?”
“Who I am is of no consequence, dear Hero’s Daughter.”
The humanoid—the Shadow Demon Lord—patted her shoulder and said to her, “You want to save your mother and everyone else you hold dear, right? It’s simple—just have a life-and-death battle with our Lady Luc. If you can kill her, I will release everyone here.”
“…You won’t keep your promise.”
“I will. For us of the Demon Race, the weight of a promise surpasses everything. Look.”
A red hexagram surfaced on the humanoid’s hand.
He continued to explain to Milin, “I promised a certain someone that I and my servants would not personally harm anyone in the Duke’s Household. If I were to violate that agreement, I would drop dead on the spot.”
“But this woman… she clearly beat Brother Bert into that state!”
She looked at Luc with resentment, but Luc met her gaze without flinching.
“That’s why I said it, right? ‘I’ and my ‘servants’ would not ‘personally’ harm anyone in the Duke’s Household. I merely restricted their movements. As for Lady Luc, she is the King’s daughter; how could she be considered my subordinate? If you lose to her and are killed… I can’t guarantee what she might do to those you love.”
‘This is nothing but sophistry…!’
Milin’s teeth ground together in rage.
She knew that the red hexagram was indeed the most solemn Soul Oath of the Demon Race, but because of that, the oath followed its terms strictly—there wouldn’t be a single word of discrepancy.
“Fine. Since you say you won’t cheat… then I’ll fight her. You want me to kill her, right?”
At this moment, Milin had no other choice.
Aside from doing as he suggested, she couldn’t think of any other way to save everyone from the hands of this monster.
The “Demon Dragon Duke” Laide and the “Blood Demon Duke” Kui Yin—born in the peaceful era after the war, she had never seen her uncle and aunt who held the positions of Magus display their power.
In Milin’s memory, Uncle Laide was just a giant dragon who would carry her on his back as he flew through the sky, while Aunt Kui Yin was a fashionable noble lady who loved shopping and was addicted to tea.
For a time, she thought that being a so-called Magus was just that.
She also knew that the other Magus were the mortal enemies of that person and her kind uncle and aunt… but she had never imagined that their power was so incredibly vast.
When she had attacked the Shadow Demon Lord earlier, she felt as if she were trying to shake a mountain with her fists.
“Correct. Just as Lady Luc said, this is a ‘slaughter’ between Humans and the Demon Race. Though you, having been raised in a greenhouse, might not be used to it.”
“Don’t look down on me. I’m not so cowardly that I can’t bring myself to kill an enemy who hurt my friend and acts all high and mighty by borrowing someone else’s prestige.”
Milin responded to the Magus’s contempt in a cold tone.
Even though the difference in strength was vast, she still stood tall and looked directly at the two people before her.
“I was born in a peaceful era… but before I became a Lady of the palace, I was a child raised in a village. I have personally skinned wild boars that broke into our fields and crushed pests that ravaged our crops. In my eyes, you are no different from those things.”
“You…!”
Milin’s words finally caused Luc, standing beside the Magus, to lose her calm expression. She glanced at the Magus… as if telling him she could wait no longer.
“Hahaha, that’s wonderful.”
The Shadow Demon Lord clapped his hands lightly for the girl’s determination and courage.
He gestured for the impatient Luc to stand on one side of the Martial Arts Arena, then suddenly grabbed Milin’s arm and announced in a voice that rang through the entire Grand Festival venue:
“Greetings, humans. I’m sure you must be terrified and confused, right? Don’t worry. In the face of the Demon Race, this reaction is only normal. If an ant didn’t fear an elephant, what would this world become?”
“Let go of me…!”
Milin tried to wrench her hand away.
However, the Magus’s wrist was like an indestructible shackle firmly locked onto her arm; no matter how hard she struggled, she could not get free.
The Shadow Demon Lord ignored her struggle. His voice carried a certain sense of elation, gradually becoming more and more high-pitched.
“There is nothing more hypocritical than the peace you are currently maintaining. Look… how fragile are you when the Hero is gone, and the Sword Saint and Sage are absent? We can easily blow up your Mansion in the city center, and we can walk into your Grand Festival venue in front of everyone to neutralize all of you, treating the new weapons you take pride in as if they were nothing.”
No one answered him. Everyone was seized by his shadow… including the soldiers in the Guard, the mages with Magic Power adaptability, and even the Sage’s Clones driven by Magic Stones.
People could neither speak nor move, but various emotions flowed from their forced-open eyes.
Mostly fear, followed by anger, resentment, hatred, and sadness… This made him realize that his speech was very effective.
Thus, he poured even more full and passionate emotion into his voice:
“So, what makes you think you have won? What makes you think that you—so weak, humble, and incompetent—can live in peace with us? Think about it; we possess this level of power! We were the rulers; we ruled you for over a hundred years! this short sixteen years of peace will collapse at a single touch!”
From the content of his speech, Milin quickly realized his intention—he was inciting conflict.
He wanted to equate these terrorists launching an attack with the peace-loving Demon Race who were willing to obey the laws of the Human Realm and live together with humans!
“Shut up! Everyone, don’t believe his nonsense… They are the villains who launched the attack, the scoundrels! They are different from our Demon Race neighbors who live with us in peace in the city!”
She shouted anxiously.
However, her cries, while she was held captive, did not reassure the public. Instead, the emotions in their eyes became even more terrified and angry.
“Lovely Princess, you don’t understand, do you? Establishing trust might take a long time… but to destroy it, a single moment of wavering and doubt is enough.”
His hollow face leaned close to Milin, and she felt as if his whisper was drilling into her brain.
Then, she saw the Magus clap his hands.
“…I can talk?”
“Where is Her Royal Highness? Save us…!”
“God-damned Demon Race bastards! Get out of our homeland!”
“Stay away from our Princess! Let her go!”
“May the Lord protect us… May the Great Saint protect us… As expected, the Holy See’s way was correct. These devils should never have been allowed on our land in the first place.”
“It’s all King Nolan’s fault! He let these monsters in! And the Duchess… she’s far too lenient toward the Demon Race!”
“It’s not like that… everyone…!”
Milin wanted to correct their words… but the cries, prayers, and curses of the masses had twisted into a chaotic tide, and even her shouts infused with Magic Power were drowned out by them.
“Alright, everyone, please be quiet.”
The Magus raised a finger, and the scene returned to silence. He raised Milin’s hand high.
“Do not be afraid, humans. Don’t you still have hope? Look at this brave girl; she is the Hero’s Daughter, she is your Princess.”
Like a Master of Ceremonies introducing a contestant, he held Milin’s hand and forced her to walk around the venue with him—he showed the girl’s pale face to everyone present.
“If there is anyone left who can turn the tide in this desperate situation, it can only be her. This time, you don’t have to rely on outsiders summoned from another world… She will become your new Hero! To protect you, she will bet her life to fight the Demon King’s daughter who has come for revenge… just as her father did all those years ago!”
His voice was more excited than ever… and the shadow covering the entire Grand Festival venue began to boil because of it.
They surged up like a tide, forming a dome that covered the entire venue and blotted out the sun.
“So, shall we begin? My Princess. This is the battle destined for you and the Hero—may the beautiful Moon guide you.”
He leaned in to embrace Milin, whispering those words into her ear.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.