The day after the sage had visited, the princess woke up early at dawn and, along with the saintess and a few cardinals, observed the sage’s castle from afar before returning.
What she saw there was the most shocking sight she had ever witnessed.
Monsters stationed outside the castle, cultivating land for human use.
And among those monsters, humans.
Some of them were farmers teaching the monsters how to cultivate.
Others were children playing among them.
No matter how much she looked, she couldn’t get used to it.
Monsters learning how to farm?
Monsters playing with children?
If she were to describe what she saw, how many people in the world would actually believe her?
Probably almost none.
It was an event so unbelievable that it seemed impossible in this world.
For monsters, their demonic energy was something as natural as breathing.
The fact that they were suppressing their energy was akin to living without using one lung.
It was essentially denying their own nature—all for the sake of humans.
The princess sat all day with her chin resting on her hand, deep in thought.
The saintess, Lumienne, offered her advice.
“Perhaps… he really is someone worth believing in.”
“You truly think that, Saintess?”
“Isn’t that what you’re thinking as well, Princess?”
The saintess asked with a curious expression.
“I may be able to trust the sage, but I cannot trust the monsters.”
“That… is true.”
Having followed the princess through countless battlefields, the saintess couldn’t refute her words.
Aside from the monsters stationed at the sage’s castle, the ones she had encountered were ruthless beings who slaughtered humans without hesitation.
In truth, it wasn’t that the princess couldn’t trust them—she simply didn’t want to.
To her, monsters were nothing more than a means to restore both her own honor and the honor of the imperial family, which had been tarnished due to her former fiancé.
Eliminating monsters that suppressed their demonic energy was an easy task—she could simply order the soldiers to overwhelm them with numbers.
And so, she coveted those monsters.
It was an opportunity too good to pass up, a chance to achieve a great victory without suffering any losses.
“I’ve made my decision. First, we will march on the sage’s castle.”
“What? But,”
“Monsters are still monsters. We cannot move forward while leaving them at our rear. If they ever break free from the sage’s control and attack us from behind, will you take responsibility for that, Saintess?”
“You make a valid point. But can you guarantee victory, Princess?”
“…!”
“Our church’s healing abilities cannot match the sage’s divine power.”
If we go against him, the casualties will be immense, and it will take an unthinkable amount of time to fully heal the wounded.
“That would cause a severe setback in our primary goal of subjugating the demon race.”
The princess, whose focus had been narrowed by the idea of eliminating monsters, hadn’t considered that factor.
Until now, they hadn’t worried about casualties because the church’s healing magic was powerful enough.
But in her impatience to secure results, she had failed to recognize that this situation was an exception.
“I overlooked that… Then, how about we attempt a negotiation?”
“Negotiation?”
“We will demand that he hand over the monsters. If the sage truly stands on the side of humanity, he won’t try to protect them.”
“And if he refuses?”
“…Then we have no choice. If that happens, we cannot consider him an ally.”
Eventually, we will have to fight him, and no matter the sacrifices, we must bring him down.
“We must settle this matter here and now.”
The saintess, who had been trying to dissuade the princess, found herself unable to argue further.
The relationship between humans and monsters was too deeply fractured for her to accept the sage’s stance.
Even she harbored resentment toward the demon race, having witnessed the countless soldiers they had slaughtered.
And most importantly, she hesitated to point out the harsh truth—that the princess was in an inferior position.
The proud princess, who had never faced an opponent stronger than herself, might react poorly if she were told this outright.
In the end, the saintess could not stop the princess’s march.
***
Standing atop the castle walls, the sage gazed down at the approaching army of tens of thousands with a somber expression.
Of course, his mask concealed his face, making it impossible for anyone to see his true feelings.
“Sage! I have something to discuss with you!”
The princess, leading the army from the front on her white horse, called out.
The sage’s calm voice echoed from the castle walls.
“Are you here just to talk? Or are you here to talk and fight?”
“If you accept my request, there will be no battle.”
“What is your request?”
“Hand over the monsters. If you surrender them to me, I will not attack your castle.”
The sage did not answer immediately.
But before he could respond, a young girl’s voice suddenly cried out.
“No! Don’t kill Tartakan!”
All eyes turned toward the girl.
“Tartakan isn’t bad! As long as he’s not hungry, he won’t do bad things! Isn’t that right, Tartakan?!”
“Grurrr… This place is dangerous. Hurry inside the castle.”
To the soldiers on the castle walls, it was a familiar sight.
But the princess’s troops could not comprehend what they were seeing.
“They said he manipulates monsters with some kind of sorcery.”
“That girl must have been brainwashed, no doubt about it.”
“Otherwise, how could a monster act like that?”
“More importantly, how is it suppressing its demonic energy? It’s unbelievable.”
The soldiers had all fought monsters on the battlefield alongside the princess, witnessing firsthand how they mercilessly slaughtered humans.
To them, such a scene was inconceivable.
“As you can see, and as I said yesterday, the monsters of this castle are no different from our family.”
“What?”
“What did he just say?”
“Is this guy insane?”
“Pfft, hahaha! What a fitting name—Sage? More like a madman!”
Believing his words to be utter nonsense, the soldiers broke into jeers and laughter, mocking him.
The princess did not miss the way her soldiers’ emotions were boiling over.
She took advantage of the hatred they harbored toward the monsters.
“Did you all hear that?! I will no longer negotiate with that madman! As long as he protects those monsters, he is no longer our ally!!!”
“Uwoooooh!!”
“Yaaaaah!!”
“That’s right!!!”
In an instant, the soldiers’ morale soared to the heavens.
Their deep-seated resentment toward the demon race fueled their fervor, and the princess merely knew how to exploit it well.
The saintess closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh.
She had prayed that such a scene would never unfold.
But before she could stop the princess, clouded by her emotions, it had already happened.
“All troops, charge!!! Bring me the heads of all the monsters!!! Those who protect them shall be considered our enemies!!!”
The moment the princess gave the command, cavalry and infantry alike surged forward.
The sage let out a deep sigh internally, his heart heavy with disappointment.
When had Violeta become so obstinate, so unwilling to listen to reason?
When had she become someone who so easily spoke such cruel words?
“Lord of the castle, open the gates and send them out.”
“Yes, sir.”
At the sage’s command, relayed through the castle lord, the gates began to open.
The princess furrowed her brow in confusion.
‘They’re opening the gates at the very start of the battle?’
It was an act that defied common sense.
But then, from inside the gates, soldiers clad in familiar armor and wielding recognizable weapons began to emerge.
The soldiers charging forward halted in their tracks the moment they saw them.
“Huh?”
“Wait, what?”
“Hold on, hold on.”
“Whoa, whoa. Whoa. Whoa.”
At first, it seemed like only a few hundred were coming out, but the procession continued endlessly.
“Aren’t they…?”
“They’re our allies…!”
“But we thought they were annihilated…”
That’s right.
The soldiers emerging from the castle were those who had belonged to the vanguard army, which had been decimated in the sage’s Black Flame Sea just days ago.
And their numbers were nearly ten thousand.
“Stop!!”
“Stop! We are allies!”
“We are on the same side!!”
“Do not attack!!”
The soldiers who had come out of the gates, passing through the monsters’ encampment, shouted desperately to their former comrades.
“The sage is a merciful man!”
“He would never harm us!”
“This is a misunderstanding! These monsters do not harm humans!!”
Seeing their comrades—whom they had believed to be dead—not only alive but also defending the very man they had mocked as a madman, threw the princess’s army into complete disarray.
The princess ground her teeth in frustration.
‘What a cunning man…!! How infuriating…!!’
She bit her lip hard and clenched her fists tightly.
The sage called out to her, his voice firm yet calm.
“I will say it once more—I do not wish to fight. If I harmed your soldiers before, it was only because I failed to control my strength.”
Please forgive me for that.
In return, I have personally treated them over the past few days.
So, please, let go of your anger and withdraw.
“I beg of you, Princess. I do not wish for innocent people in these lands to lose their lives in a meaningless war.”
Burdened with guilt for the innocent soldiers he had inadvertently harmed while fighting Darkin, the sage had taken full responsibility.
Using the Phoenix’s Eye, he had personally searched for the scattered and injured soldiers, bringing them back one by one and healing them.
Having witnessed the sage’s actions firsthand as they received his treatment, the vanguard soldiers had been deeply moved by his kindness.
Not only had he healed them, but he had also provided them with food and shelter within the castle, protecting them from the cold.
It was impossible for them not to hold a good impression of him.
However, the princess, blinded by her desire to claim the heads of the monsters, had no intention of stopping.
“This is an order!! Charge!! Charge forward!!”
The princess’s command rang out once more.
But this time, the soldiers hesitated.
With their former comrades simultaneously shouting for them to stop, those in the middle found themselves paralyzed, unable to move.
“Uh… um…”
“I mean, this is a bit…”
“They’re monsters, but… I can’t fight my own comrades…”
“What do we do in a situation like this, Lieutenant?”
“I… I don’t know either…”
The battlefield that had been on the verge of exploding into violence instead fell into chaos.
The soldiers hesitated, unable to act.
Their comrades tried to stop them from fighting.
The monsters, who had been bracing for impact, lowered their guard and watched the scene unfold.
And watching from a distant ridge near the border were other figures.
“Grurrr!! Grurr!! Over there! Those are the traitors!!”
“Kihyaaa?! So it was true?! If you were lying, I was going to tear you to shreds! Too bad! Kyahahahahaha!!”
“Over there! That one is the leader of the traitors!! Grrr!! That cunning, deceitful…!!”
Leading tens of thousands of troops from the Demon King’s army was the Third Elite Corps Commander, Luciphra, alongside her guide, the monster Krevkan.