Outside the Prison of Demon King Castle Aisaridu, behind a tavern, the sound of metal striking hard cement echoed from underground.
The pavement loosened, and spiderweb cracks spread outward from a single point.
In the next moment, a sword blade pierced through the cement.
A small, dirt-smudged head poked out from a narrow hole, pushing up the surface.
It was the Hero, HualÃ!
“Huff huff~!”
Gasping for fresh air and coughing violently, Hualà finally managed to say the words she’d always wanted to say, but never had the chance—
“You know, some birds are destined never to be caged. Every feather shines with the light of freedom!”
“Sidella! You can’t keep me locked up!”
Hualà shouted with dramatic flair.
Penina crawled out of the tunnel a moment later, staring blankly at HualÃ.
Sunlight slanted down, gilding each strand of the girl’s fluttering hair in brilliant gold—it was truly beautiful.
Her lips moved.
She unconsciously repeated HualÃ’s words.
Penina was certain that idiot Hualà couldn’t come up with such profound lines; maybe she’d read it in a book somewhere and memorized it.
Her heart stirred faintly, and she pressed Hualà about which book it was from.
But Hualà brushed her off.
“Haha, I forgot! Anyway, it’s more important to run right now! Sidella will catch up any moment!”
Since she didn’t get an answer, Penina gave up and followed HualÃ’s escape.
***
Weaving through the devastated Demon King Castle, the two nearly dropped their jaws.
Were the collapsed buildings and clouds of black smoke really the Demon Castle they’d seen before?
What on earth had happened in byd city while they were underground?
At that moment, Penina suddenly realized she could summon the magic stored in her body again.
Before any prisoner entered the Demon King Castle Prison, a Magic Mark was carved onto their arm to restrict their internal magic.
As a captured Saintess, she was no exception.
But logically, the restricting Magic Mark on prisoners shouldn’t fully deactivate until they’d gotten far away from the Prison.
Yet now, it was already undone.
As for the Magic Mark on Hual۪̉s arm?
Useless—how could a weakling Hero even have a restriction Magic Mark?
If you insisted, did the one on her lower abdomen count?
All the Magic Mark Seals meant to restrain Hual۪̉s power had been imprinted onto the Saint Sword.
Now, as the seal on the Saint Sword’s power faded, it regained its true strength—no longer just a hammer for bashing or a shovel for digging—and shone once more with a blinding light.
“HualÃ? Is it really so touching you need to cry?”
Seeing Hualà wiping her eyes, Penina wore a strange expression.
Had prison made her this dumb?
“No, the light just stings my eyes…”
The two had no idea what had happened at Sidella’s Succession Ceremony, but the chaos was undeniably giving them more chances to escape Demon King Castle.
They could have fled then and there, but by chance, they ran into a Dog-head Man warden patrolling under Lilith Kofara’s orders, clearing out frenzied monsters from the royal city with his team.
As a famous inmate, the Dog-head Man recognized the sneaky Hualà in an instant and cried out in surprise: “Human Race Hero HualÃ? Why are you here?!”
“Crap! We’ve been spotted! Penina, run!”
HualÒs heart leapt as she grabbed Penina’s hand to bolt.
But the Dog-head Man was quick, latching onto her leg and collapsing in tears.
“Hero HualÃ! Lady Lilith is struggling in battle—please, save Demon King Castle Aisaridu!”
Both of them froze.
Come on, have some respect!
We’re in the middle of a serious prison break!
“Are you talking to me?”
Hualà pointed to her own nose in confusion.
“There shouldn’t be any other Human Race Heroes named ‘HualÃ.'”
Penina said, kneeling down slowly to ask how the royal city had become so devastated so quickly.
“What happened before this? Can you tell us?”
“It was Carli Marquis, Rama Marquis, and Sardin Marquis—those three traitors attacked during Her Majesty the Demon Queen’s Succession Ceremony…”
The Dog-head Man recounted the terrifying assault on the royal plaza, leaving both girls stunned.
So it was internal strife among the Demon Race.
What did that have to do with them?
They were Human Race, okay?
Human Race!
“Hmph! Serves Sidella right for suffering a little. Doesn’t she love bullying people with her strength? I’m not helping her!”
Hualà huffed, crossing her arms.
Let that wicked Sidella keep picking on her—she deserved it!
The rift between Human Race Hero Hualà and Demon Queen Sidella was well-known, and the Dog-head Man knew it would be hard to convince her for such a reason.
But as a Prison warden, he’d seen how Dragonkin Warden Lilith Kofara looked after HualÃ.
“But Lady Lilith is in mortal danger too!”
That four-headed demon hound wasn’t just any monster—it was a powerful Hellspawn known as ‘Sanoma’!
Even the mighty Lilith Kofara could lose her life if she let her guard down.
“Th-that doesn’t matter! Isn’t Lilith a member of the Red Dragon Clan? She’s a mighty dragon!”
Hual۪̉s resolve wavered a little.
“No!”
At that moment, Penina, silent until now, spoke firmly.
“HualÃ, you have to return to the Human Race with me!”
Penina never forgot that her journey into Demon territory wasn’t for a prison break game.
She carried a heavy mission—to bring Hualà back to the Light Cathedral!
Now, with success in sight, how could she let Hualà return to the Demon Queen Sidella’s domain?
“Saintess…”
The Dog-head Man knocked his head on the ground in front of Penina several times.
“Please, I beg you!”
“Eh?”
Hualà blinked and turned to Penina, then shouted in shock.
“Crap! Penina, you’re a Saintess?!”
No wonder her name sounded familiar.
So she was the Human Race Saintess!
She never imagined Penina was so deep.
Wait!
If you’re a Saintess, why did you poke me in the tunnel?!
Hualà gave Penina a disdainful look and slowly raised her middle finger.
“Penina, you’re shameless—a Fallen Saintess!”
Penina: “……”
Penina shook her head to clear the mess from her mind, then grew serious.
She locked arms with Hualà and dragged her away from the royal plaza.
“Anyway, HualÃ, you have to come back to the Human Race with me!”
“Hero! Please, save Lady Lilith!”
The Dog-head Man clung desperately to Hual۪̉s foot.
Hual۪̉s face twisted in horror.
“Ah, damn it! Let go! My hand’s about to be torn off!”
As the struggle grew fiercer, with neither side willing to let go, a massive shadow swept overhead.
With a thunderous ‘boom,’ it crashed down nearby, sending up clouds of dust.
As the floating ashes settled, the outline of a broken dragon claw, several meters long, became clear.
The air fell silent.
“D-don’t look at me! My hand’s almost broken, but it’s not that one!”
“Who the hell asked you?!”
Penina smashed her fist down on Hual۪̉s head.
“Stop with the hell jokes, you idiot HualÃ!”
Hualà clutched her swelling head, on the verge of tears.
“Ugh~”