With the words “That’s enough,” Demon Lord Kesar stopped Mari in her tracks.
His words were like water dousing roaring flames, forcing Mari to regain a sliver of composure.
At the same time, they pulled her from the brink of her emotional rampage and made her start to think again.
What did he mean by “enough”?
Surely, it wasn’t simply about the success of the mission.
The meaning of “enough” here likely referred to trust.
One of the objectives of this operation was to demonstrate to the demons that Mari was a trustworthy ally, no longer standing with humanity.
To prove that she was no longer human in any meaningful sense of the word.
In that regard, Mari’s actions—executing the operation flawlessly from start to finish and personally massacring countless humans—had indeed provided sufficient “proof.”
And yet.
Kesar’s reaction to her success wasn’t what she expected.
His face was rigid, his expression grim.
Even now, his hand trembled faintly.
Noticing this, Mari couldn’t shake her lingering doubts.
After a moment of hesitation, she spoke cautiously.
“Why… are you stopping me? Aren’t they your enemies? Wouldn’t it benefit you to kill even one more of them—”
She stopped mid-sentence.
Kesar’s hand reached out, wiping her face near her eyes.
It was cold, but there was also an unexpected gentleness in his touch.
And there, on his hand.
Her tears, mixed with blood.
“Ah…”
It hit her belatedly.
What she looked like at this very moment.
Mari finally realized the state she had been in as she massacred those soldiers.
Her lips had twisted into a grotesque smile, and her eyes had shed tears of blood.
The monstrous form she had unconsciously accepted—the very image of a being she had once feared to become.
The moment this realization hit, an overwhelming wave of exhaustion washed over her.
Her strength left her body entirely, and she collapsed to the ground, her knees giving way beneath her.
At that moment.
“Are you alright?”
The voice came from the one who supported her now-weakened body.
Kesar.
His firm hands steadied her trembling frame, preventing her from falling further.
Was it because of her mentally shattered state?
Whatever the reason, his action brought Mari an overwhelming sense of security.
A feeling she hadn’t experienced in what seemed like an eternity.
Relief.
“Th-thank you…”
The words left her lips in a trembling voice, barely audible.
Kesar gently helped her to sit down and, in a calm tone, said:
“Rest for now. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“…Alright.”
With those words, Kesar turned and began walking toward the remaining soldiers.
Mari watched his back as he walked away, unable to take her eyes off him.
Her chest, which she had thought was empty—hollow beyond repair—suddenly felt as though something was beginning to fill it.
Sitting with a much calmer expression than before, Mari appeared far more composed.
Seeing her in this state, I felt a wave of relief wash over me, letting out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
“That was close… I didn’t expect her to go that far just to keep up the act.”
Mari’s brutal massacre of the humans had shocked me deeply.
Sometimes, people must do things they don’t want to for a greater cause.
Sacrifices for the greater good are a recurring theme in history.
Her slaughter wasn’t senseless—it was her way of gaining our trust, shedding literal tears of blood as she carried out something that visibly tore her apart.
Watching her endure such suffering for a goal made me feel unbearable anguish.
Even if her actions worked to our advantage and aligned with future strategies, seeing her in such a broken state was something I couldn’t ignore.
“At least she seems calmer now… but I’ll need to be more cautious going forward.”
I didn’t want to see her suffer any longer.
At the same time, I knew I had to stay vigilant for the inevitable betrayal she might unleash in the future.
As my thoughts grew complicated, my gaze turned to the humans.
“Wh-what’s going on?”
“D-Did the Demon Lord… spare us?”
The soldiers were dumbfounded, unable to process the situation.
It was no surprise—their returning hero had begun massacring them, only to be stopped by the Demon Lord himself.
From their perspective, it must have felt like betrayal layered upon betrayal.
And yet—
“AAARGHH!!”
“W-what? I thought we were being spared!”
It was only natural.
Once again, I delivered a decisive blow to the humans—literally and figuratively.
Logically, there was no reason for me, the Demon Lord, to let them live and leave this place alive.
Stopping earlier was purely for Mari-sensei’s mental state.
As always, I simply did what needed to be done, giving my all in my “work” as a professional.
“Gaaahh!!”
“R-run awa—GAAHH!!”
The black magic radiating from my body tore through the Imperial soldiers, cutting them down one by one.
To an outsider, it might have seemed cruel, but honestly, I was taking it easy on them.
With the harbor now under my control, they had no escape.
If I spared them, they’d just be taken prisoner and suffer prolonged torment before dying anyway.
Compared to that, this was a merciful end.
In a short amount of time, every Imperial soldier in sight had been wiped out.
That’s when.
“! Demon Lord, over there!”
“Hm?”
Mari’s urgent voice called out to me. I turned my gaze in the direction she was pointing.
“…Tch.”
I clicked my tongue in irritation.
In the dark waters of the sea, a white-sailed ship could be seen in the distance, steadily disappearing into the horizon.
It wasn’t hard to figure out what that meant.
“So, he fled… That bastard Iskal.”
I had anticipated this possibility to some extent. In the original story, Iskal was one of those who managed to escape alive.
Still, for a general to abandon all of his men and run like this?
Even knowing his nature from the source material, seeing his cowardly behavior in person left me feeling quietly disgusted.
And then.
“Kesar-sama!”
From behind me, my subordinates rushed over, their numbers swelling as they gathered.
Their arrival marked the end of this battle, and I slowly turned my head to face them.
“Well done, everyone. This war is our victory!”
“Uwoooaahhh!!!”
“All hail Kesar-sama!”
My subordinates roared with cheers, celebrating our triumph.
In the grand scheme of things, this was just a small victory, a step toward the larger conflict still ahead.
But a victory, no matter how small, was still a victory.
What made it even more satisfying was achieving one of the most important goals I had been pursuing: keeping Mari-sensei alive.
Feeling a small sense of relief, I allowed a faint smile to form on my lips.
“Alright, alright! Drink up, everyone!”
“Kyah~! This wine tastes especially good tonight!”
“Here, this is fish and chips hand-made by none other than Britanna herself. Don’t leave a single bite!”
The battle had ended, and a raucous feast followed.
The demons were celebrating their victory with a lively banquet in the now half-ruined harbor.
In the center of the plaza, they had lit a massive bonfire, surrounding it with food, drink, singing, and dancing.
It was a scene unlike the banquets of humans, which were often rigid, formal affairs where people of differing statuses were segregated.
Here, however, the atmosphere was entirely different. High-ranking demons, such as the demon generals, mingled freely with lower-ranking demons.
Some of the generals even brought out their own dishes they had cooked, while among the lower-ranked demons, a few were so caught up in the mood that they danced and sang with abandon.
Amidst this festive chaos, one figure stood out.
A demon general, one of the key contributors to this war effort.
Pol, as they were known, sat in a corner, exuding a slightly gloomy aura, drinking alone despite the lively atmosphere.
Sigh… I hate this… this kind of atmosphere…
Poltuga, who had always disliked loud, festive gatherings, sat in her corner, sulking.
This wasn’t just because of her introverted nature; it was primarily because such chaotic environments often led to all sorts of trouble—more than usual.
For example.
“Come on, Poltuga-sama, stop sitting there all by yourself and have a drink—ah!”
—Splash!
A subordinate carrying a cup of wine tripped over their own feet, sending the drink flying… straight onto Poltuga’s chest.
“S-sorry! I’m so sorry!”
“…It’s fine. Something like this… happens all the time.”
Poltuga replied gloomily, wiping her soaked chest with a cloth.
Her tone made it clear this wasn’t a rare occurrence.
The subordinate, flustered, apologized profusely before awkwardly retreating, leaving her to herself once again.
“…Unlucky as always…”
Since childhood, Poltuga had been burdened with what some called a “curse of misfortune.”
Whether or not the curse truly existed, her life had been undeniably riddled with bad luck.
Things that could go wrong always did.
And even the rare good things seemed to twist themselves into misfortune.
Still, through sheer talent and relentless effort, Poltuga had clawed her way up to the rank of demon general.
Kesar, with his strategic genius, had even managed to turn her misfortune into an asset, placing her in situations where her unluckiness could ironically benefit their plans.
But regardless of these successes, her streak of bad luck continued uninterrupted, and nights like tonight were no exception.
Big or small, bad luck seemed to follow her everywhere.
Even those who approached her with genuine goodwill often ended up in awkward situations, just like her clumsy subordinate earlier.
As a result, even at social gatherings like this banquet, Poltuga found herself drinking alone, stuck in a corner, dodging figurative (and literal) stray bullets of misfortune.
While lamenting her ever-present bad luck, it happened again.
“Alright, everyone! Now we’ll open this bottle of Kalai Mountain wine, aged for ten years—kyaaa!”
Whoosh!
The unmistakable sound of a cork popping filled the air.
And where did the cork, shot like a missile, head?
Straight toward Poltuga.
Despite her constant vigilance, the cork flew at such a ridiculous speed that there was no chance to react.
Her pupils dilated as she realized the impending disaster.
But then.
—Thwack!
“…Huh?”
“Are you alright?”
Someone had caught the cork mid-air before it could hit her.
As Poltuga turned to look at the person who had intervened, her eyes widened in genuine surprise.
“This… human? Why…?”