Chapter 66: The Heroine Simona

“As you can see, I already belong to the Demon King, my lord~”

“Ga… briella…?”

Holy Queen Simona stared in astonishment at the scene unfolding before her eyes, disbelief quickly turning into despair.

She had even imagined a future where Gabriella regained her memories and returned to help humanity escape the threat of the demons.

The two of them had grown up together since childhood.

Fifteen years ago, they attended the same small town school.

Though Gabriella had never intended to form any unnecessary friendship with her and deftly avoided every olive branch Simona offered,

Gabriella had still shielded her at every turn.

Simona remembered it clearly. 

During their days studying at the magic academy, she had been isolated and despised by many students; even teachers and classmates monopolized learning resources. 

Yet Gabriella stepped in without hesitation, driving away those annoying pests and securing the best possible study environment for her.

Mindless monsters from the forest once attacked the town.

At that time, the town had no strong garrison. 

The front line was pushed all the way to the academy in an instant; humanity was beaten back again and again.

At the critical moment, Gabriella stood forward and, as a mere student, defeated the elite forces of the Demon King’s army.

It was then that Simona realized Gabriella was a genius far beyond the reach of ordinary people.

A few years later, they both joined the knight order.

The Seventh Knight Order she belonged to was harmonious; the knights got along well with one another; far from the current deplorable state where the upper echelons pointed swords at each other’s throats. 

It was here that Simona gradually built her own network of connections and honed her swordsmanship.

A few more years passed, and the subjugation war against the demons began.

By then, Gabriella had already been bestowed the title “Silver-White Sword Empress.”

She became the vanguard in the crusade against the Demon King, only to be betrayed by the duke who controlled military authority.

And the naïve Simona, even when crisis struck, still foolishly believed Gabriella was safe.

She had been completely unaware of the duke’s hatred toward the Silver-White Sword Empress.  

She believed the duke’s lies, agreed to withdraw troops, and even after the battle ended, still clung to the hope that Gabriella would take off her armor, return home, and live with her in their familiar little town once more.

After all, once the Demon King was defeated, the knight orders would lose their reason to exist, and the world would finally enter an era of peace… right?

Yet what she received in the end was the news of Gabriella’s death.

Thinking back on it now, her hands trembled slightly.  

Even seeing Gabriella controlled by the Demon King, reduced to this fallen state, kneeling in darkness, a part of her actually felt relieved.

But she still could not accept it.

Brainwashed, controlled, transformed by the Demon King; soon she would become a true demon.

Would that still truly be Gabriella?  

Even if it was the same soul, the same personality; would she really be happy?

“Gabriella…”

She clenched her fists, looked toward Gabriella, and golden light flashing in her eyes.

“Demon King, what exactly do you plan to do to Gabriella?”

Yet Isabella remained utterly unmoved, as though she hadn’t even noticed Simona’s fury.

Gabriella took in the entire scene, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.

Simona had originally been the game’s heroine; meant to be the childhood-friend-type character.

Yet Gabriella had never once considered forming any sort of relationship with her.

Therefore…

Poor Simona.  

Except for the times she was in danger and Gabriella saved her, she was otherwise left completely “free-range” with zero “interaction.”

As a result, their relationship remained that of ordinary friends.

Simona had desperately admired her and wanted to follow her, yet in the end she was kept completely in the dark by the duke’s lies.

She was powerful, extraordinarily gifted, yet somewhat blind.

The moment Gabriella heard Simona would personally lead the army, she came up with a rather splendid plan.

As the saying goes: to catch bandits, first catch their king~

The Holy Queen was the highest authority among all human nations under the Church’s control; at present, also the strongest human alive.

The human army was stationed at the fortress, while the Demon King’s army had long ago taken position on the hills north of the Black Stone Mountains.

All for the sake of that so-called Evil Tree that had yet to fully mature; there wasn’t even the slightest sign of it awakening yet.

Then stopping this war would be very simple~

There had been a few minor interruptions along the way, but Tina and Elsa were more than happy to assist her.

As expected of my little sister and the disciple I raised myself.

Yet Gabriella was a little worried; would they end up falling too deeply into the act?

Everything that had just happened; pretending to be defeated, pretending to have fallen.

That was Gabriella’s plan.

To make the Holy Queen understand that fighting was meaningless.

The Grand Commander of the knight orders, the Ice Saint, and the Silver-White Sword Empress; all of them now stood on the side of the demons.

So was there still any need to keep fighting?

“Lord Demon King, how should we deal with this poor little human~?”

Gabriella reached out and gently stroked Isabella’s shoulder, gazing at her with affectionate, submissive, and slightly dazed eyes; exactly like a pampered wife enchanted by love.

“My wife.”

Gabriella took Isabella’s other hand, matching her movements, caressing her waist and back.  

A warm feeling welled up from the bottom of her heart.

So happy~

Why does being touched by Isabella feel so wonderful?

But then the idiot Demon King seemed to suddenly understand something; she cupped Gabriella’s head and lightly kissed her.

“Nn…”

Compared to their usual mutual claiming and yielding, this kiss was far more aggressive; far more purposeful.

It was as though Isabella wanted to explore every inch of Gabriella’s body; as though her obsession with possessing her completely had taken physical form upon Gabriella’s delicate frame.

Dark magic accompanied by faint [Shadow] forced Gabriella to tremble lightly, followed immediately by a restless, scorching heat.

A mouth-watering [Gift] traveled along the pattern, shadow power pouring into the heart-shaped mark.

Warmth flowed from her lower abdomen to her chest, then to her neck, and finally reached Gabriella’s mind, as if it would soon occupy every single one of her cells.

Her eyes fluttered half-closed.  

The contamination of dark magic actually drew a soft moan from her lips.

“Ahhnn……”

Something feels… off?

Isabella, you idiot.

If you just wanted Simona to yield, there’s no need to go this far, right?

And kissing like this in front of an old friend is; well; just a little embarrassing, okay…

“Demon King, I will withdraw my troops.”

Having witnessed the kiss between the two, Simona finally compromised.

Yet her eyes only grew more resolute.

“But I will not hand Gabriella over to you. The condition for my withdrawal is that you release those who originally belonged to humanity!”

“And if I refuse?”

Isabella’s eyes burned with the same aggression.  

Even Gabriella was now looking at Simona with a mocking gaze.

As if to say she had no intention of breaking free from the Demon King’s embrace; that she would obediently fall into the abyss of desire.

Holy Queen Simona’s hands could not help but tremble.

Unexpectedly, she did not back down any further.

“Demon King, do you really think you can steal Gabriella’s heart? That version of her will forever be incomplete; she will never truly be yours!”  

Simona declared, “If she ever awakens, she will never forgive you!”

And at that moment, Gabriella clearly felt it; Isabella wavered.

The arms wrapped around Gabriella loosened slightly.

No.

This won’t do, Lord Demon King.

You need to be a little more aggressive~