“Demon King!”
“Demon King!”
“Demon King, please stop!!”
“Shut up.”
Via rolled her eyes at the weapon in her hand. Desolate Fire was still chattering away nonstop.
“Demon King, I am a legendary weapon! How could you possibly make me do something like this?”
“Do what?”
“I can unleash eternal black flames that would burn angels from the heavens and creatures from the abyss alike—every living thing in existence would be reduced to ash by my flames! Yet you… you…”
Desolate Fire protested in outrage:
“Why are you using me to roast fish?!”
“Enough. Behave yourself and control the flames. Don’t make them too strong, or if the fish gets burned I’ll make sure you regret it,” Via warned.
“Waaah… waaah…”
Desolate Fire sounded utterly wronged, but under the Demon King’s orders it obediently adjusted the black flames licking along its blade and helped Via roast the fish.
“You could just have one of your subordinates do this! Doesn’t your royal court have plenty of talented people? Roasting fish… A legendary weapon never imagined it would fall so low one day. Demon King, what exactly are you doing?”
“My royal court… well.”
Via flipped the fish skewered on the stick. Oil sputtered and sizzled, releasing a mouthwatering aroma.
She had no idea how to answer Desolate Fire’s question.
Eighteen years had passed. The royal court had long since disbanded. After she and the Silver Sword Princess had killed each other, she had reincarnated as a human…
Because revealing her identity carried too much risk, she was now fleeing the human world and heading for the Desolate Fallen Continent…
She couldn’t possibly say any of that!
“What about your maids? Where are Melu and Kurei? Those two are far too negligent! Demon King, you should dock their pay and bonuses for this!”
Desolate Fire wanted to fly out of Via’s hand and see what the surrounding demonkin were up to.
“They’re not here. This is the human world—the Saint Luo Empire,” Via answered directly.
Desolate Fire grew even more confused. “Weren’t you the one who hated humans the most? And what’s with your current appearance? Demon King, what are you doing in the human world?”
“Um…”
Via really didn’t know how to explain.
If she told the truth, any former subordinate who saw her like this would attack without hesitation.
She could use this chance to test things out.
“I’m… studying humans.”
“Huh? Studying humans?”
“Yes. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle,” Via forced herself to continue. “I need to understand every aspect of humanity and uncover their weaknesses so I can conquer them more effectively.”
“Then this appearance of yours is…?”
“Mm. To blend into the human world, I transformed myself this way,” Via paused. “It’s a special… potion that lets me take on human form.”
“Don’t tell me you died and reincarnated as a human? Even if you wanted to disguise yourself, why turn into an adorable girl? And with pink hair, no less?”
“I didn’t want to either!”
“Hahahaha, hahahahaha, hahahahahaha!!!”
Desolate Fire burst into a string of wild laughter.
“Just imagining the once-mighty Demon King who ruled the Desolate Fallen Continent now as a girl… Demon King, forgive me! I know this is disrespectful, but I really can’t hold it in! Please let me laugh for a moment!!”
Via’s cheeks flushed bright red like ripe apples.
“Shut up, shut up! No laughing!!”
She swung Desolate Fire furiously, smashing it against the ground again and again.
“Demon King, are you angry? Hahahaha, sorry, but you just look like you’re throwing a tantrum!” Desolate Fire laughed even harder.
Via lost her temper. She glanced around.
The carriage was parked beside a river. She was currently resting in the wilderness, using the fish she had caught for lunch.
Just then, she spotted a pile of wild-animal droppings in the woods by the riverbank.
She ran over, raised Desolate Fire, and prepared to thrust it straight in.
Desolate Fire immediately stopped laughing and let out a shriek.
“Aaah!! Demon King, I was wrong! I was wrong! Please stop!”
“Still laughing?”
“I won’t! I won’t laugh anymore! Spare me, please!”
Desolate Fire’s pleas even trembled.
“I swear I will never tease you about this again!”
“Hmph. That’s more like it.”
Via put Desolate Fire away and walked back to the river to continue roasting the fish.
“Demon King, you seem much weaker than before?” Desolate Fire asked, puzzled.
“Regaining my previous strength will still take some time.”
Via was quite worried about her own power growth.
There were problems everywhere.
From Desolate Fire’s attitude alone, she could already guess how the other demonkin would react once they learned about her current situation.
Plenty of them would probably want to kill her. After all, many had only submitted back then because they were awed by her strength.
“Still, Demon King, even though you’ve become as weak as a minnow and turned into an adorable girl, I will continue to serve as your weapon!”
“I’m so moved, Desolate Fire.”
“You sound way too insincere! At least try to be genuine. You could praise me a little—like, ‘Desolate Fire is the best!’”
“Desolate Fire is the best.”
Via recited the words with zero emotion.
Although she found Desolate Fire rather annoying, she had no choice. This was a weapon she would need to use frequently in the future.
If she didn’t keep the real situation hidden, Desolate Fire might accidentally expose her.
“Meow meow!”
A soaking-wet little yellow cat trotted over with a fish in her mouth, dropped it in front of Via, and shook the water from her fur.
“Little Ha, you’re so capable,” Via said with a smile.
“Demon King, is this your familiar?” Desolate Fire asked, curious.
“Hm? Wait, this looks like an ordinary cat. Why would the Demon King choose an animal that’s weaker than a minnow as a familiar?”
“Ha! Ha! Ha!”
The moment Little Ha heard Desolate Fire’s voice, she immediately hissed at the sword.
To a legendary weapon, however, the gesture posed zero threat.
“Alright, alright, you two stop fighting.”
Via stroked Little Ha’s back. Only after being soothed did the little cat calm down.
“Desolate Fire, this is Little Ha. She’s a stray cat I picked up. I got bored on the road, so I brought her along.”
“A pet, huh…”
Desolate Fire hesitated for a moment but kept the thought to itself.
The old Ville would never have spared a single glance at such a weak creature.