Red mist and mana fill the air.

Bodies fill every inch of my vision, monster and man alike.

The monster leading the horde lets out a guttural roar.

“Report!” A soldier comes rushing in, a messenger by the look of the uniform.

Wind mages are often stationed in battlefields for their ability to send messages far and wide.

His uniform is covered in soot and mud as he quakes in the presence of the beast before us.

He steels himself as he shouts at us, using his wind magic to deliver the message from a safe distance.

“The city is under attack from demons! The Oracle fought off one, but the commanders and nobility sustained heavy casualties. The demon was unable to be killed by conventional means and blew itself up. It is suspected to still be alive.”

The zone surrounding the beast slows down as the message reaches those in combat.

The news that their Oracle was unable to defeat a single demon is terrible news.

Morale plummets and the number of casualties increases.

Just as the mood is reaching an all time low, a laugh spreads across the sea of corpses.

“Hahahahahaha! It looks like things went off without a hitch!”

Everyone looks up with pure dread as the moon rabbit bellows.

“It spoke?! T-That means it’s a d-demon!!!”

Experienced adventurers and soldiers they may be, if The Oracle could not kill one, then death is all the more likely for them.

Everyone is in a panic.

Whispers spread through the crowd under the screams of the monsters.

Fear.

Overwhelming fear.

Such emotions begin to take over, and people are falling to their knees.

Then a single shout brings back hope.

“Wait, The Hero is here!”

Light returns to everyone’s eyes as they look over at me.

The whispers turn to cheers and shouts.

Soon everyone is calling out to The Hero.

“Yeah, she can save us!”

“Please Hero, there must be something you can do.”

“The Hero will save us!”

Idiots, did they forget where they were?

We are on a battlefield, and we are facing a demon.

“Ah… So The Hero is here.”

The blood stained demon bears its teeth in a sloppy and vicious grin.

Everyone’s blood runs cold at those words.

The demon is now staring straight at me.

“My Lord has been rather interested in seeing what happens when your head is removed.”

I move to respond, but someone beats me to it.

An adventurer, Class 3 by the looks of it.

She had survived the battle well up until now, slaughtering many beasts.

However, she let her emotions lead her to a stupid decision.

She shouted at the demon.

“How dare you speak to the Hero-AAAAHHHHH!!!”

Her words are cut off by her own screams.

She falls to the ground and is quickly torn apart by the nearby beasts.

“Do not interrupt me worm, the adults are talking here.”

Thick muscled arms and a tall humanoid body with drooping ears that somehow just make it look all the more terrifying.

The demon turns to me once again.

It looks down on me as if I am nothing.

“Now, where were we? Ah, yes. Your death.”

This time, a quiet voice reaches my ears.

“As if The Hero would die to something as evil as you.”

Sera’s words come across as a whisper, but to those with enhanced senses her words are as clear as day.

“Evil? Hahahahah!”

Waves of mind magic spread out, blades falter and magic fails.

Sera collapses to her knees under the strain of the demon’s magic, only alive thanks to the charm she is wearing.

“You fools don’t even know why we are here, do you? Fine. I shall deliver a message that you may give to your leaders. If you or your leaders can manage to survive that is.”

I glare up at the demon.

Dude needs to hold back a little more, he could have killed Sera.

It would be a waste for her to die now.

That, and I really don’t want to have to interview for a new party member…

“What message?”

My words come out as a growl as I speak through my gritted teeth.

The demon smirks as it kills off several more people.

“The Demon Lord has returned due to the sins of you mortals. Let it be known, my lord only desires one thing: To cleanse the mortal scum that infests this world.”

I ready my spear, the blood stained wood glowing in the night.

“Humanity is united, they will never let that happen!”

Overwhelming pressure spreads out as it grins once more, a look filled with hate.

“That won't be enough.”

Boom!

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

It charges me, dust and flesh exploding behind it.

Light flashes.

The demon turns and howls.

Sticking out of its shoulder is a spear of holy light.

A torrent of black smoke rises up from the wound and disperses.

The possessed moon rabbit screams in agony.

For a few moments, its movements start to slow.

The adventurers and soldiers around us pile on the damage after seeing it truly hurt for the first time.

I create another spear of holy light and charge in while my golems restrain the beast by the ankles.

Blades of stone rising from the earth beneath us in the form of large bear traps chomping down.

It roars.

And even more die.

I jam my spear into its forehead.

The battlefield glows as the black smoke is purged from this world.

With one last scream, the demon dies.

Screams of joy spread through the crowd as everyone pushes to finish off the monster horde.

I ignore all the people coming up to me to give thanks or praise.

I look out over the demon’s corpse and speak a silent prayer in my head.

Thank you for your service. I’m sorry.

I created many demons over the last three months, and I named none of them.

I can’t get attached.

To me, the nameless are pawns.

They know this too, and are more than happy to serve me.

It hurts…

…

I look up at the sky, doing my best to ignore the white and blue window floating in my vision.

A depressed chuckle escapes my lips.

“Way to kick a girl when she’s down.”

Go fuck yourself, universe.

…

The monsters have been wiped out and my party is rushing through the streets of the city.

Buildings are aflame, people are screaming, it’s pure chaos.

I did this.

Those words are all that fill my head since we entered the city gates.

My hands start to shake as I come to a stop.

I feel myself losing it before long tan arms wrap around me from behind.

“I am here for you, remember that.”

Alice, she is far too kind to me.

She is sassy and sarcastic to the max, but the love I feel in her words helps quell my tremors.

I know what she is really saying.

We made this decision together, we share the burden.

You are just doing what is necessary.

“Thanks.”

The others, all seeing my actions, chime in with their own supportive words.

Idiots.

They all believe that seeing the destruction is what has shaken and angered me.

I wonder what they would think if they knew I was the one responsible.

“Fuuu.”

I breathe deeply and shake off my thoughts.

“We need to find The Oracle, quickly!”

Annoyingly, we were unable to teleport directly to her due to the emergency barrier around the city.

We had no choice but to run from the south gates through the entire city.

As we resume our charge, we pass by a certain area.

I feel myself grimace and suppress a grin at the same time.

The slave market district.

Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and even some sentient monsters.

All for sale, these beings, these people sat collared in cages just yesterday.

I had been watching the whole city through the eyes of my hidden soldiers.

Now, the cages are empty.

Blood covers the pavement and a mass of corpses fill the plaza.

I am really doing my best not to grin at the sight.

Looks like my demons managed to get them all out safely.

So many corpses, but not a single one wearing a collar.

…

A short while later we eventually made it to the safepoint the guard led us to.

The building is short and unassuming.

The white concrete walls of the two story building look ordinary but are heavily enchanted for discretion.

“Lady Oracle!”

I shout out, seeing her bruised and dusty figure standing around a table in the center of the main room.

“Hero! Thank the gods you are here.”

She places a hand to her chest with obvious relief.

“We heard what happened, do you know where the other demons are?”

This will serve as a great opportunity to learn the extent of her abilities.

She shakes her head.

“I am unable to detect them, The Demon Lord must have prepared countermeasures.”

I have done some testing, but for some reason that I still don’t understand, my demons are weirdly immune to scrying and other forms of detection.

“Shit.”

My swearing echoes in the building.

I look over my team before moving closer to the table.

“Lady Oracle, we encountered a demon in the battle ourselves, it had a message for you and all the world leaders.”

A grim look takes hold of The Oracle’s face.

“A message? Tell me.”

I take a seat and motion for her to sit down as well.

Her face turns from depression to anger as I explain the message.

“What kind of nonsense is that? Our sins? They just want to eradicate humanity!”

She is livid at being told this is humanity’s fault.

The remaining nobles and guards all look just as upset.

I am preparing to lead the conversation according to my plans when Sera steps in.

“Lady Oracle, may I have permission to speak?”

Sera’s intrusion actually calms down The Oracle a bit, ironically.

“Miss Veras, we are at war, there is no need to stand on decorum.”

The Oracle looks on wryly at the girl's awkwardness.

Sera straightens her back, but I can see her swaying.

She must be exhausted.

“Ah, of course! My apologies. Then, Lady Oracle, the words the demons spoke concerned me… It said that it was hunting mortals and not just humans. Is it possible that the elves and dwarves have been attacked in the same manner?”

Sera has a good point, and is where I was planning on leading things, but this is far too soon.

“They might have, but I don’t see how that matters. Deaths of those things are meaningless.”

Suddenly I can feel the tension rise from behind me. My group obviously not happy with her words and doing their best to not let it show on their faces.

Sera, however, just looks depressed at The Oracle’s words.

“I am worried because the demon said that humanity being united would not be enough to stop them! I could tell it was laughing at our division. I believe that if we want to stand a chance against this threat, we need to work together with the elves and dwarves!”

Sera’s passion was unexpected.

I wanted to do things in a more subtle way and never expected her to forcibly accelerate things to this degree…

The main reason for that is-

“How foolish, lesser species like that will be of no help.”

-The Oracle is blinded by her disgusting beliefs.

Sera, to everyone’s surprise, does not give up.

“No! You are the one who is wrong! You have seen what the demons can do today, have you not?! So many are dead and you still act as though this war can be won by humanity alone.”

I truly agree with every word Sera is shouting, it was all part of my plan after all.

Sadly, a bleeding heart won’t convince anyone here.

“Insolence!”

Several of the remaining guards swiftly surround Sera and point their weapons at her.

Before things can get out of hand, I quickly move and stand in front of Sera.

I glare at the guards.

“Do you intend to kill her just because she spoke up?”

I move my glare to The Oracle.

“She may be a citizen of your country, but more than that she is a member of my party. Perhaps I should defend a different city next time.”

Mana starts to leak from The Oracle, her silver hair fluttering from the currents.

“You dare-”

“My apologies, we meant no offense.”

Finally, the King of the nation stands up and puts a stop to things.

He places a single hand on the shoulder of The Oracle.

“We have all been through a lot today so tensions are high. Perhaps we should table this discussion for later.”

Hmm, interesting. It seems the reports might be true.