Chapter 33: Hero – 4

Right after giving up on being human, Mari thought.

From now on, she would truly live as a demon.

It wasn’t just for revenge.

Humans are instinctively drawn to those who treat them well.

In that sense, Mari had, at some point, developed more affection for the demons who had shown her pure kindness than she had for humans.

There was Poltuga, who remained her friend.

Teriya, who occasionally visited when bored.

And.

From the very beginning.

Kesar, who still cherished her just the same.

Unlike the humans who only tried to use her and ultimately stabbed her in the back, the warmth of these beings.

Made Mari choose to become a demon not just physically, but mentally as well.

Then, how should she act now that she had completely become a demon?

Naturally, she needed to decisively eliminate the humans who were her “enemies.”

Until recently, there had been conflicts in her heart about this.

Even with elven blood mixed in, she couldn’t deny the fact that she herself was human.

However.

Now that she had become a Demon Lord.

Mari was completely liberated from these mental constraints.

The kindred she needed to protect were demons, not humans.

Those before her eyes were merely invaders who had come to harm her kind.

Keeping this fact in mind.

Mari slowly raised her hand and cast her magic.

There wasn’t even a moment’s hesitation.

No contemplation was felt.

In this moment, there was only one emotion.

A deep, intense anticipation.

Mari, who already possessed tremendous power as the Great Witch.

Now, after accepting the power of a Demon Lord, her strength had grown even greater than before.

And now.

This immense power of hers began to pour down upon those filthy beings before her eyes.

The massive lake located in front of Bellin Castle.

The human army had set up camp beside the water that gathered in one place due to the basin’s characteristics.

What would happen if tremendous rainfall was unleashed on the side of this basin in such a situation?

The answer was now unfolding as reality before Mari’s eyes.

“Farewell. To hell with you.”

“Tch. That hero is still dawdling…”

Witch Judah wore an expression filled with dissatisfaction.

In this situation before battle, she was displeased with Hero Irushil’s behavior in many ways.

Though she seemed somewhat motivated at first.

The hero had been showing an increasingly discontented attitude as time passed.

She had even inexplicably advised General Barus to retreat recently.

Even now, with battle approaching imminently, seeing her sitting by the lake with a gloomy expression.

Was causing Judah to feel unnecessary irritation.

It wasn’t just simple frustration.

Her master whom she had personally finished off recently.

Mari.

Hero Irushil had been so close to her that they could have been considered mother and daughter.

As such, the hero had been going around stirring things up, saying they needed to investigate Mari’s death.

Such behavior naturally made Judah, the perpetrator, feel uncomfortable.

In this situation, the hero’s interference with the expedition to obtain her aspired position of Magic Tower Master was causing Judah even more intense irritation.

‘Damn it… Of all people, that woman had to be the hero… Can’t do anything about it…’

Hero Irushil was their strongest military asset and essentially irreplaceable.

Unlike Mari, her elimination would never be tolerated by the Emperor or the Order.

The fact that she could potentially hold a blade to her neck depending on the situation was causing various discomforts.

‘Well, that’ll all be over in a few days anyway. Once I become the Magic Tower Master, keeping the hero in check should be plenty possible.’

As Judah tried to calm her uneasy feelings and focus on the upcoming battle…

“Huh?”

A sudden cold sensation.

This caused Judah, who had been lost in thought, to look down at her feet.

“What… What is this… Water?”

The cold water that had already risen to her ankles.

Seeing it flowing as if she were standing in the middle of a stream, Judah’s face automatically wrinkled.

“Did someone spill bath water or something? What in the…”

Judah hurriedly stepped out of the tent while harboring questions and irritation.

However.

The next moment, her face froze solid.

-RUMBLE!!!

“W-What… What is that…”

Seeing the massive wave approaching with a thunderous roar, Judah was gripped by a paralyzing terror.

A massive flood reminiscent of a tsunami.

The dark red muddy water.

And the numerous weapons and soldiers caught in it.

Instilled a primal fear in those who witnessed it.

And this was no different for Judah, who possessed outstanding abilities as a witch.

Though she could normally have easily escaped using flight magic, her body, frozen for a moment, had consumed the time needed to escape.

“Ah! This… This isn’t the time to…”

Judah belatedly realized this and hurriedly tried to cast magic.

However.

“KYAAAAAAAH!!!”

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

“Huff! Huff!”

“H-Help… gurgle!!!”

The flood that had swallowed countless Imperial soldiers in an instant.

For the Imperial Army that had been taking their final rest before tomorrow’s attack, this was truly a bolt from the blue.

The water itself was terrifying, but even more serious were the allied soldiers and weapons carried along with the flood.

Becoming heavy weapons themselves, they caused even greater damage as they struck their allies.

“Kuh… huk… urgh…”

“A… Augh…”

The Imperial soldiers struggled to their feet where the flood had passed.

In a situation where at least thousands were injured and some had already died, they struggled to raise their wounded bodies.

However…

“W-What is that now?”

“Damn it all! Of all times!!”

The next moment, a sight began to appear before the Imperial Army’s eyes.

It was thousands of demons charging toward them.

The demon army forces advancing with heavy armament.

At their head was a being whose infamy was already widely known.

Demon Lord Kesar.

“Attack! Don’t let a single one live!”

“Yes, Demon Lord!”

A one-sided massacre began with Kesar’s order.

The Imperial Army, with their formation completely crushed.

And severely wounded, were killed one-sidedly without being able to offer proper resistance.

Even those who were physically capable of fighting were helplessly slaughtered, unable to recover from the shock of being swept up in the flood.

And so, the Imperial Army, which until just recently had maintained high morale and seemed ready to march on the castle at any moment, was butchered in an instant like scarecrows.

“This… This can’t… This can’t be…”

“How… How could this…”

Even renowned generals including Barus could only watch blankly as their forces crumbled.

However…

Amidst the Imperial forces being so miserably destroyed.

There was just one person maintaining their composure.

“URRRGH!!!”

“Kuhurk! S-Strong…”

A being mercilessly slaughtering the approaching demons in return.

Holding a shining holy sword in one hand.

A female warrior with golden light flashing in her eyes.

Hero Irushil.

She was slowly approaching the center of the demons who were ravaging her allies, carrying out one-sided slaughter with a cold expression.

Cutting down everything in sight as she advanced, Irushil.

She had a single goal.

The enemy leader, Demon Lord Kesar.

Thinking she could turn this situation around somewhat if she could take him down.

Irushil was advancing straight toward him as he continued slaughtering humans.

That’s when…

“Stop.”

A voice halting Irushil.

The voice, seemingly altered by magic and strangely familiar.

Made Irushil turn her head in that direction.

Standing there was a female demon.

Wearing a black mask.

With red hair and horns growing from her forehead, she emanated an obviously extraordinary aura of power.

“I see… So you must be that newly appointed Demon Lord I’ve heard about.”

With those words, Irushil began emanating mana with a cold voice.

Seeing the golden rippling energy, the one known as Mother… the Demon Lord maintained her silence and began emanating black mana.

The pitch-black mana enveloping her staff.

Seeing this technique used by magic users in close combat, Irushil spoke with an icy voice.

“I’m grateful you’ve appeared directly. I was planning to kill you along with Kesar anyway.”

“…Give it a try.”

With those final words, the two figures vanished in an instant.

Then, in less than a second.

Their weapons clashed with a sharp sound.