Arnold and Lucri were walking the same path they took during the afternoon. The two were vigilant since nighttime was the time many other monsters came out into the open.

Since Arnold was spreading his killing intent, there was no way they would recklessly attack from the back.

'This world keeps surprising me more and more.'

First it was the fact that his personal maid and future lover was an overpowered monster, then Olivia who already managed to tame Neguard unknowingly… Now there was a demonic monster from the world of the demons. He wouldn't be surprised if a player suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey, Lucri." Arnold spoke as the two were walking deep into the forest. There weren't any sounds of any living thing besides the occasional crickets or the wind blowing the bushes.

"Yes?"

"How about we go to the capital after we're done with our quests?" He wanted to go since he had a feeling that Liumiala had already managed to find something out about this noble. That was how Serz was after all. The bigger the prey, the faster they work.

'We still have to do those other quests that we took after this subjugation.'

"So soon? I thought we would wait for a while first? But I'd like that actually since I want to spend this money on equipment already. The city might have a lot of stores but I never find the things I'm looking for. There's a new magic robe on the market that makes it possible for anyone to fly in the air."

'Huh? Was there such a thing in the game as well?'

He only knew of the spell called [Flight] that allowed you to levitate. But he had never heard that items could give you that.

"Magic tools are usually expensive. Are you willing to pay that much just for clothes?"

"Ah…"

Lucri frowned as if he had only just thought about the price.

"Let's see how much money the guild give us for this new monster discovery first." Arnold said that because he knew that the guild was going to give them a lot of money, even more than the dragon raid.

"Are demons really that dangerous? I've only heard about them in fairytales."

"Well, I hadn't come into contact with many before so I'm not sure how dangerous they really are."

'I don't want to ruin his innocence with the nature of demons.'

Any normal person would end up like the victims of demons if they saw what demons were capable of. Arnold wouldn't be surprised if demons ate people alive as if someone feasting on peanuts: one bite at a time.

"As long as you have those magic sheets ready then we should be able to win."

"Ah, I regret only buying three. I already wasted the first one."

"It's not a waste. At least we managed to secure a specimen."

He was referring to that corpse of the Imp Lucri killed.

"That spell you used earlier was divine magic, right?"

"Ah, yes. I heard that divine magic is effective against those with demonic natures."

"I-I see."

'Wouldn't I count as a person with demonic nature? This kid could probably kill me too if I'm not careful.'

No wonder him and Luke were bad matches in a fight. One was literally powered by divinity while the other was similar to the demon lords of the underworld.

Perhaps that was why the two were fated to become enemies anyway.

'Well, I don't need to go back to the castle anymore once I find that guy in the capital.'

That guy referred to the man from the Rynals family. He was currently scheduled to attend a banquet in the Imperial Palace.

Arnold could easily get into the banquet and have a nice chat with the man.

'That guy won't be easy to catch since he isn't as dumb as Flora.'

In order to ensnare a shark like him, compared to a fish like Flora, Arnold had to play his cards right. Blackmailing or forcing him into submission would be the dumbest idea ever since it could bite him in the behind later.

That guy could get revenge one way or another and could pose as an obstacle in the future. There was always the option of killing him, but he wanted to avoid going down that route. Finding another person with the same intellect and abilities would take a lot of time which he didn't have.

"Does sir Nova hear that?"

As his thoughts were halted, Arnold suddenly heard something a few meters ahead of them.

~~~!

"I do. Is that… a woman's groan?"

"Yeah. And its getting closer." Arnold gestured for Lucri to duck.

Before coming into the forest, Arnold had ordered Lucri to cast [Stealth] on the two of them so there shouldn't be any creature capable of hearing them until the spell wore off.

Knowing this, Arnold bravely walked forth while Lucri stayed behind to snipe anything that might jump out of the bush.

The sound got closer, along with the sound of a woman's groan.

"…." Arnold found a woman crawling on the ground. Her legs were broken and she could only drag herself using her one arm.

What made him speechless wasn't the fact that her legs were mangled up or that her eyes were missing.

No, what made him speechless was the fact that he recognized this woman.

She had a familiar face and brown hair that resembled a certain someone.

Norn's sister, Teresa.

"Uuuuu…..uuuu…" The woman seemed to have sensed movement since she was trembling uncontrollably. Her teeth clattered audibly.

She covered her head while tears of blood streamed down her face.

'She's safe…' Arnold clenched his fist and ground his teeth. 'It doesn't look like she was raped or anything. That's a relief.'

Giving birth to a demon-baby was the worst pain a woman could ever experience. It was a one-time thing since they would die from blood loss anyway if they didn't receive medical attention.

Arnold pondered on how to approach her without scaring her. He could speak in a soothing voice but he was much too pissed to even speak coherent words.

Thus….

"….?" The woman's crying stopped as he stroked her brown hair gently.

She lifted up her head. He could see two empty eye sockets which made his blood boil even more. Her fingernails were ripped off from what he could see and surgical scars were on her left hip under her ribs.

'They probably took a kidney… Those fuckers…'

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"….A…person…? Not…demon?" Her voice sounded hoarse and lifeless.

"…Yes. I am not a demon. I am an adventurer."

Her body relaxed and her trembling stopped.

He was about to ask her if she was okay but stayed silent. She managed to escape that horrifying experience with her mind intact, for now at least. The nightmares will most likely break her mind if she was weak-willed.

The woman cried again but this time there was a relieved smile on her face. She touched him all around as if she couldn't believe that she was safe.

'Just one day was enough to cause all this…'

Arnold picked the woman up, hugged her close to his chest, and returned back.

◇

"Sir Nova!" Lucri noticed the woman in Arnold's arms and hurriedly ran over.

"Lay a blanket on the ground and put her on top of it. While at it, cast a barrier around the two of you." Arnold wasted no time in ordering Lucri.

"Huh? Are you going back?"

"….."

I have to, he thought as he nodded.

"…Okay. Please be safe. I trust sir Nova."

A smile emerged on Lucri's face. Arnold smiled back.

"W-Wait…! D-Don't go!" The woman grabbed Arnold's coat with a horrified expression on her face. Her body trembled as violently as it did when he found her, "T-Those….things will—"

He put his finger on her lips and then put his hand on her cheek.

"I'll be back and save your friends as well. Those monsters have never faced the strongest swordsman on this continent before."

The woman was silent. She bit her lip and lowered her head. The grip on Arnold's coat lessened.

"I want you to try and heal her, Lucri. Though we can't do anything about her eyes at this moment, the least we can do is save her life."

"Got it. Good thing I bought a potion from the Temple."

"Then I'll be going." He stood up from his kneeling position and unsheathed his sword.

The woman kept facing the direction he was walking to until he was nowhere in sight.

◇◇◇

There was a little boy who wanted to become a hero like the ones he saw in the fairytale books in their house.

He would read the books over and over again, never getting tired of it.

[Promethius, the first hero and the savior of this world.]

The boy had lost count over how many times he had begged the hero to come save him from their demise. The horror they had to witness was something he would probably never forget.

The cave was damp and smelled like the sewers. Except for a few natural magic crystals producing ambient light, the cave was darker in some areas than others. The boy didn't need to see everyone's faces to know what expressions they were making.

That was because he had the same expression.

An expression of fear.

"Sister…are we going to die…?" The boy asked the only one he could rely on right now.

That being said…

"I-I don't k-know…Probably? Who…would care to save a bunch of villagers anyway… Hic… I want to go home… I want to see my mama…"

The older sister was in a worse state than her younger brother.

The boy looked around and could see multiple shadows of people who were kidnapped just like the two of them. The boy stood up in search of a way to escape so he could get help.

'They don't seem to be coming back…'

The monsters that resembled goblins had suddenly vanished through that purple portal deep inside the cave. The monsters would occasionally return to take one person with them after taking them to the separate room inside the cave.

The boy went to that room to see what the monsters were doing with the people they took after bringing them here.

Then he saw it.

"!!!"

The sound of a blade striking hard bone echoed in the room filled with the stench of blood and guts.

The boy hurriedly put his hand on his mouth when he saw that there was one more monster left.

"Is… Is that a human…?" He saw someone's leg being cut with a giant machete. Blood spurted on the creature's face but it only licked the blood off with its disgustingly long tongue.

"No good…for breed… Then…make food…for us..."

The monster said those words over and over as it kept swinging down the machete, striking the bone of the limb.

'Is… Is that where that person's remains are…?' The boy looked at the hole that was dug up next to the creature's slaughter table. It threw away the intestines into that hole.

The boy slowly stepped back as he kept hearing the monster mutter.

'So if…we aren't female they kill us for food?'

Monsters didn't have the ability to tell what human was female or male by smell alone. That was why they were brought to this room to test that.

The ones who were female…well, they were taken to the demon underworld to serve as breeding machines.

The boy had only seen a few being taken but others had been killed either right in front of them or in this room. He knew that because a scream would go silent after the sound of flesh being slashed rang out.

They could do nothing but accept their fate.

No hero will save them.

The boy suddenly heard multiple footsteps coming down the hallway to his right. He also saw shadows along with multiple fire torchers.

'They're back!'

He ran back to the group who was sitting near the entrance. Although it was near the entrance, no one had dared to go out. That was because there was a monster that was supposed to be outside.

One of the women had escaped before so the monster went to search for her only to be attacked by orcs. The woman used that chance to escape somewhere into the forest. However, the previous guard seemed to have run off somewhere so they gave the role to another monster.

The boy had managed to learn that from the conversations of the monsters. Although they spoke human language, their speech was incoherent unless you listened carefully.

"A-Are they coming?" The boy's sister asked after he returned.

He nodded. She hurriedly told him to stay behind her back so that they didn't take him. Although that was prolonging his death since there weren't a lot of people left.

The last male the monsters found in the group was savagely beaten to death right in front of them.

Thus, this boy was the only male left with the others being girls and older women.

The sounds of footsteps got closer as the villagers were trembling in fear.

Then they appeared. A dozen monsters with ugly faces stared down at the group. It was without a doubt the leader of these imps. It was a much larger breed and it was even uglier. The leader was the only one who had clothes on which differentiated him from the rest.

"…You." The biggest of the monsters pointed at a little girl who was trying to make herself look small and not be noticed.

"Eek!" One of the monsters grabbed the little girl who shrieked. She looked towards the others for help only to be ignored.

"N-No! No!!"

The girl's tears streamed down uncontrollably as she tried to escape the monster's grip as it dragged her away.

A heavy thud suddenly made the monsters look towards the entrance.

The villagers did the same.

'Someone…is coming?' The boy noticed a shadow heading towards where they were.

The shadow's eyes were glowing in an ominous red light.

"Did…find…girl?" The leader asked, thinking that the shadow that approached them was one of their own.

However, what appeared wasn't the one that was assigned to guard the entrance.

"A-A person?"

Clank—Clank—

A handsome young man with whitish silver hair and deep red eyes stood there. There was a strange white mark under his left eye and a single horn grew out of the right side of his head.

"Who!" The leader took out its weapon. The others did the same.

The young man took one look at the people that were crouching in fear before he opened up his hand.

Black flames flared and before they knew it a blood-red sword with a demon eye appeared in his hand.

"A-Aura of the supreme lords and King!" one of the other imps shouted as it retreated, having lost the will to fight.

The leader gnashed his ugly teeth and punched that imp which made it fly right into the cave wall.

The leader roared which reverberated throughout the entire cave. Before the villagers could understand what was happening, the cave rumbled as if hundreds of footsteps were coming down.

The leader smiled which only made him uglier when his tribe appeared to assist him. He pointed his crude weapon at the man.

The hundreds of monsters charged at the man.

The villagers were silent when the man swung his sword that left behind a red glow.

He was so powerful.

"W-Wow…"

His sword, illuminating the cave with its fiery red flames cut apart all the monsters that rushed at him.

Demon after demon was slashed as they kept rushing him. He was swinging his sword with zero effort, not even moving the slightest from that spot he was in.

He was anything but heroic. In fact, he resembled a demon more than he did the hero from the boy's fairytale book.

His eyes were cold and his smile was chilling like the coldest winter night. It was like he enjoyed seeing the monsters—who were weaker than him—offer feeble resistance.

Did the goddess send this man when the boy wished for a hero? Was the man really a human?

All sorts of questions emerged in the boy's mind as he watched the one-sided slaughter in a daze.

"H-Hey, who is that…? Have any of you heard of someone like him before?" the boy's sister looked at the others.

"N-No. This is my first time seeing him as well…" One of the young women answered as her eyes couldn't leave the sight of the man slashing those monsters in half.

"He's so powerful…Did the duke perhaps send him?"

"I've never heard of a knight that powerful in the duke's private army though…"

All of them were dumbfounded and relief washed over them since a hero arrived that could save them.

But…was he a hero?

Not at all.

"Giiii!" The last of the rushing imps collapsed after its upper half was separated from its lower half.

The man's face was covered in the blood of the demons. It made him look even scarier. His smile was chilling.

He began walking towards them.

"!!! S-Stay! Away!" The leader threw one of his henchmen towards the man.

"Giii!" The man grabbed the imp and crushed his skull with one hand.

"Giiiiiiiiigigiii!" The leader ran off after throwing the others aside.

Before they could follow their leader, the man moved at incredible speeds and burned them all with his black aura.

He made his sword disappear and spoke for the first time.

"—[Flame Gauntlets]!" He punched the air which caused a blue flame to shoot out and engulf the entire hallway where the leader escaped to.

The villagers heard one final scream before the monster was killed.

All of them were wiped out by one man.

Nay, a demon.

The man gazed at the women and children. His eyes were powerful and held authority to dominate others. They felt no fear in their hearts even though he was much more powerful than those monsters.

But his words would hold undeniable might which they would never be able to refuse.

He took out a handkerchief and began wiping his face. The demon horn on his head began fading and the mark on his eye was no more.

"Are all of you alright?"

He asked in a deep voice. Everyone nodded as tears streamed down their faces. They ran towards the man and each of them gave him hugs of gratitude of being alive and well.

**

The little boy, Nait wished to be a hero like Promethius.

However, he had seen a demon today who saved him and his people. That demon wasn't a dazzling knight who rode a white dragon and had the power of the gods by his side.

He was a demon and he killed his enemies ruthlessly.

The boy looked up at the silver-haired man who was carrying him.

His conscious faded from over-exhaustion after his adrenaline went away. A smile was on his face.