Forest Outside Andromalius’s Domain- Helen

“What do you suggest we do in order to infiltrate the castle?” I asked him immediately the moment we separated from the army.

“Hmmmm, if we march to the castle with our appearance, we’ll be killed before we can even enter,” he responded rather casually, “I say, we disguise ourselves as demons.”

I glared at him, “besides yourself, I do not see how any one of us will be able to accomplish that.”

“It would be impossible if we don’t have any magic,” he said, clapping his hands, “but, since we do, specifically me, we might as well use it, right? Everyone, try your best not to freak out.”

While it was preposterous to hide the fact that we were humans, he extended his hand out and a magic circle appeared underneath us. It immediately engulfed us in a layer of translucent of darkness before becoming transparent.  

I wanted to draw my sword and ask him what he had done, but before I could, someone screamed out.

“My lady!” Chloe practically screamed in fright, “what happened to you?!”

When I turned to look at Chloe, I found that a beautiful demoness had taken Chloe’s place.

The demon that possessed Chloe’s voice had black, feathery wings sprouting out from her waist with a heart-shape tail swinging back and forth between her legs. Her armor was replaced with rather mundane clothing that normal townspeople would wear.

The first thought that ran through my head was if demons had infiltrated the group. No matter how strange it might be, it was a thought that I couldn’t brush off. My right hand slowly reached down my waist towards the hilt of my sword.

Before I drew my sword, I realized that everyone had taken the appearance of a demon. The knights that were accompanying us muttered in shock as they turned to look at each other. Some even went as far as drawing their weapons.

After a moment of consideration what had happened, I retracted my hand from my sword.

“Chloe… is that you?” I asked, looking at the bewitching demoness.

Chloe nodded her head, “it’s me, my lady?”

“Why… why have you become a demoness?” I ask, completely startled the change.

She frowned and replied, “my lady, I wish to ask you the same question.”

When I looked at myself, I didn’t see any change at all made to my body. Yet, everyone around me had changed.

“…”

There was one person that could have caused such pandemonium in such a short moment.

The others must have realized it too as their stares all turned towards a certain individual.

After considering everything, I immediately looked at Mikhail.

The handsome, devious half-breed was replaced by a beauty. Her silky, black hair reached down towards her waist, and with the bewitching color of the starless night sky, it fluttered with the wind. For a second, I felt that my heart had fallen out of place as I felt an undeniable attraction toward him.

“Don’t look at me like that,” his voice, whilst changed to resemble that of a female, said embarrassed.

I wanted to knock him out with the flat of my sword but my reasoning told me not to.

I frowned, “what did you do to us?”

“I am an incubus,” he replied, curtsying rather politely in front of all of us, “illusion is my forte. I had casted a glamour spell in order to hide your real appearance. While your appearance hasn’t changed, everyone will perceive you in an altered appearance. Unless you are seen through magic perception eyes, it would be impossible to be discovered.”

The more I observed him, the stranger he grew to be. At first, I had thought that he would simply be a cannon fodder, but strangely enough, he was more of a mixed bag of tricks.

“I feel like you are scorning me,” he said, noticing the change in my eyes almost immediately, “I did tell everyone not to panic too much.”

I drew my sword and swung down at him.

A sharp glint appeared in his star lite, crimson eyes for a second as his hands shot up, catching my blade between his palms.

“Ha ha!” He exclaimed proudly, “I have finally caught it! You know, Helen, if you keep using the same scare tactic, I will eventually be able to read you like an open bo-”

Looking at him, I couldn’t stand the smirk on his face.

I immediately kicked him in the knee swiftly with enough strength to cause him to fall onto the ground, and just as I lowered my sword onto him, he raised his arms into the air, “I surrender, please do not hurt me.”

I sighed.

What was I thinking believing in a demon who could not be any more relaxed? 

*****

As we approached the walls of the city that surrounded the demon lord’s castle, Mikhail said, “let me do the talking everyone.”

While I saw doubt within some of my knights’ eyes, they all became silent as the gates came to view.

The imposing outer walls of the city was at least thirty meters high and had countless magic towers installed. These giant towers each had a large magic crystal floating at the top underneath the roof. Not only that, there were even magic cannons and archers mounted on the wall, ready for an attack if it ever came.

It seems like they knew that we were coming and had fort up. Their victory condition was undoubtedly to wait for us to exhaust our strength whilst protected by their towers and call help from another demon lord.

Looking at the sheer scale of their defense, I knew that a siege would be impossible. We had neither the time or strength to penetrate through their walls, and not enough supply to last.  Naturally, Mikhail had predicted that and suggested to infiltrate them, cause a disturbance with the army, and while we have them disorientated, we would assassinate the demon lord.

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“Greetings,” he immediately said, with a seductive tone.

Knowing that fact that behind the appearance of a goddess was none other than the demon that she had talked to, her body shuddered in disgust.

“State where you come from and your intention,” the guard said, forcing himself to act serious when his eyes were following down Mikhail’s body.

“We come from Valefor’s domain, from the main city, Hibiscus, in order to find business here.”

“Hibiscus, that is a long way away,” the guard muttered, “what sort of business are you seeking here?”

“Of course, it the joy of pleasing those that seeks affection,” Mikhail responded seductively, folding his arms under his chest in order to lift them up higher for the guards to see, “there is not enough customers in Hibiscus so we figured that we would come to the magnificent Andromalius’s domain.”

One of the guards had an aura of mana that flowed from his eyes.

“Are you pleased with what you see?” Mikhail said, blowing the guard a kiss.

He smiled wryly, “Please excuse me, I have a wife. Well, they’re not using any sort of magic.”

The leader of the guards nodded and glanced over at Mikhail.

“You have come to the right place,” the guard said, reaching out to grope the beauty in front of him.

Mikhail sidestepped and smiled teasingly, “If I give myself to you all so simply, it would not be fun at all, and the people behind us will not be pleased. If you wish for my service, you must seek me out. I will be waiting for you.”

“We’ll find you tonight, so reserve some time for us,” the other guards said, smiling perversely at the thought of ravaging the beauty in front of them.

Mikhail winked and, after receiving a pass through, along with the others, he walked towards the nearest alley.

“That was disgusting,” I couldn’t help but admit.

Mikhail, who still had the appearance of a beautiful goddess, was barfing with one hand on the wall and with his head hung down.

No ordinary person with even an ounce of self-respect would have done what he did, yet he did it in order to cover our identity.

The others clapped their hands together and prayed that his sacrifice would not be in vain.

“How did you deceive his eyes?” I asked, remembering having been observed by the magic perception eyes.

“I told you, I am an incubus,” he said, between vomiting.

He raised his hand and gave me a thumbs up, “illusions are my forte.”

Even though I should feel amazed, seeing how pathetic he looked, I couldn’t feel anything but pity.

*****

Once he regained his composure, even though he looked a bit pale and dejected, we began walking down the streets toward the castle that stands at the center of the city.

As we passed through the streets, Mikhail began buying snacks and food from practically every vendor that we passed through.

Using his charming look, he was able to get most of them for free.

“You know, I think this is pretty convenient,” he said, taking a bite from the meat skewer that he had received from a nearby vendor, “oh, this is good, you should try some of this.”

“Mikhail, this is not the time to enjoy yourself,” I responded, glaring at him.

At first, I thought he was simply refilling his stomach with the content that he had lost a few minutes ago, but with a stern expression, he refuted.

He sighed, “this is the perfect time to be acting this way. You will look suspicious if you keep being so serious. Blend in, enjoy yourselves. It will help us more if you can relax.”

Once I thought about what he said, it made some sense.  

There were twenty-five of us, including him, which was no little number. With this many of us walking down the street, albeit a distanced from each other, we still looked rather out of place.

Helpless, I took the skewer he had offered and took a bite.

It was really delicious, and while I wanted to comment on how tasty it was, I noticed his annoying victory smile.

“Blend in and we will be less likely to get caught,” he scolded me when given the opportunity.

While I wanted to strike back, I found that it was impossible.

Instead of saying anything, I pouted and continued eating in silence.

Chloe, who was walking by my side, was offered one from Mikhail.

Even though she initially wanted to reject him, I had insisted, forcing her to reluctantly take it.  

After feeling my pocket, I found the coins that he had given to every member of our group.

At first, I had thought that it was in case the situation calls for it, and that we would have to pay the toll to enter, but with his performance, it was not necessary.

The others, taking advice from Mikhail, began trying out some of the food and purchased some souvenirs whilst still on target. There were some who were more hesitant and did not buy anything, but they still couldn’t help but look around, absorbing the view.

Any city that is directly controlled by a demon lord would always be prospering. This was mainly because their territory is an object of comparison amongst demon lords, so many demon lords made it a duty to make their capital as beautiful as it can be to show off their wealth and power.

“Until we infiltrate the castle, do not give the signal,” Mikhail warned quickly before darting off to another sweets shop.

Grinding my temple with my hand, I followed behind him.

Within my pocket was a magic crystal that, once shattered, would give the message to the commanders to attack.

Right now, we could do whatever we want before the battle starts.