Mackayla could feel the vibration of her own vocal chords.

She shouted out desperately, trying to warn those who had been captured of the horrible nature of this demon.

Yet no sound came out. It was not by physical or magical power that her voice had been turned off, but by some other force which contradicted reality itself.

Her voice produced the waves which would normally be registered as sound, yet the very laws of physics didn't seem to apply to her voice anymore.

Mackayla didn't even understand herself why she was doing such a thing, yet she continued to shout out, attempting to warn the people around her not to buy into the offer of the demon.

When the woman had approached her after she shouted out the first time, she felt as if her life was over.

Her heart dropped and she had gone limp in fear, knowing that she was doomed to whatever torment the demon was about to put her through.

Yet instead, she was silenced.

Why?

Was it because the demon did not want to kill her in front of these people, who she offered a deal to?

Did she want her own proposal to seem more appealing to them?

Would killing here scare them into rejection, and as such the demon had considered that, instead silencing her?

For that reason, this demon became a hundred times more terrifying in the heart of Mackayla.

She was intelligent.

Larios was a man who Mackayla could never forgive.

She looked around at the women and children who had been captured, and witnessed the abuse which they had been put through.

This, combined with the slaughter in the surrounding town, was more than enough to make Mackayla want to cry out in despair.

Larios was an obvious evil, who did things that were so blatantly evil which she could never forgive them.

Her very fingers had been sliced off by that man, and her legs had been mutilated by his men, yet she felt no pain.

For the woman before her was far more terrifying.

She was intelligent.

Crafty.

Sneaky.

Unlike Larios, who resorted to vulgar abuse and cruel slaughter, this woman toyed with the emotions of the prisoners, offering to revive their very family and friends in exchange for everything.

For this reason, Mackayla shouted, but no words came out.

She wanted more than anything to warn these people of the evil which the demon represented, and just how terrible she was.

Even compared to the Indeterminant, who sat by as this slaughter was happening, without lifting a finger.

"I..... I'll take your deal."

One woman, looking to the side with shame and bitterness, whispered this quietly.

Not a single person here could trust this demon, who appeared out of nowhere and made this offer to them.

They did not want to agree, so they were reluctant.

But even so, they had no other choice.

Their lives were already as good as over the moment Larios had invaded, therefore even if they knew that the one before them was the Queen of Demons, they were able to reluctantly bring themselves to agree.

"I..... can you truly raise my husband from the dead? And my child! Where is my child?"

The woman shuddered as she spoke, truly horrified at the situation.

"Do you think I would tell a lie? I may be a demon, but I would never make a deal that I would back out on. Of course, there's no way for you to know that. So for proof, I'll show you."

Closing her eyes, the half angelic and half demonic woman disappeared and reappeared with a man in her hands.

He had a stab wound to his chest, and the body was limp.

His eyes were lifeless.

The woman who spoke out just now reeled back in horror, falling back into the hands of the others in the cell, fading in and out of consciousness.

"H-hey...."

"Get a hold of yourself!"

The women around her spoke out as the woman breathed heavily, unable to support herself.

"You just asked, did you not? Quit being so emotional. It's annoying."

The demon placed her hand on the man, and closed her eyes with a grin.

[Set Condition: Unwounded]

The wound on the man's chest closed, and all who watched were taken aback in horror.

'The corpse....'

'Was healed.....'

'Oh my goodness.....'

'The Determined.....'

'The Queen of Demons.....'

'Can she actually do it?'

The people stared with wide eyes as they began to speculate.

They were filled with hope, yet it was a terrible hope.

What if she could actually do it?

What if this demonic woman could actually revive the man?

Just what would that mean?

Why would the Queen of Demons hold the ability to resurrect a person?

Why would the literal epitome of destruction hold the very opposite of that within her hands?

There was only one answer.

If the Queen of Demons held the power of resurrection within her hands, she was a being whose magnitude far spanned what anyone had conceived her to be.

She would be a being who had the power to do good, yet still chose to do evil, slaying and enslaving all who came before her.

"Those are some real nasty thoughts about someone who is about to heal a person. But if you all do not find my deal to be to your liking, then I suppose that is fine."

Placing her hand on the head of the man, the woman slid it across his face, and his eyes were opened.

The man looked up, and standing before him, he saw a woman.

The left half of her face was demonic, and the right angelic.

Both, beautiful beyond measure.

And both, terrible beyond measure.

"W-"

"Shh. I don't want to hear anything from you."

Grabbing the man by his hair, the woman lifted him up so that he was hanging from her grasp.

Pressing his face to the jail cell, she smiled as the woman who was on the brink of fainting sat up, looking forward with teary eyes.

"D-darling? Darling!? Are.... are you alive!??! Are you alive!?!??!?!"

The woman crawled forward on her knees, however the man then disappeared.

"That was your demo. If you would like to see more, you need to purchase the full version."

The woman in the cell was holding out her hand, but now the man within it had disappeared.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

He was taken from her sight, leaving her alone.

She had been shown a slight glimpse of light, only for it to be taken from her in an instant.

"W-wait!!!! I.... I'll do it!!! I'll take your deal!!!!"

"Me too!!!"

"Me as well!!!"

One by one, the women who had been captured began to shout out.

"I want to see my father again!!!"

"I want to go back with mother!!!"

The children too who had been ensnared shouted out, begging the demon.

They wanted nothing more than for things to go back to the way they were before.

On seeing the power which the being before them held, most of the adults were terrified, yet even that terror was overcome with longing.

They did not care about what boundaries they were crossing or what horrible things would come of them as a result of this pact.

The Queen of Demons?

The very being who represented chaos and destruction within this world?

The legendary figure who would either rule the world or be defeated by the heroes?

None of that mattered.

Right now, for those present, none of that mattered.

They wanted.

They desired.

They longed.

And so, they gave in.

"Please!!! I accept your deal!!!"

"Revive everyone and put things back to the way they were!!!!"

With a horrible grin, the demonic tar which had overcome the left side of the woman retracted, and her form became angelic once more. Her halo became whole, her horn and fang retracted, and her left wing became feathered and white once more.

Her dress returned to that of a pure white gown, and she smiled with a truly gorgeous expression.

"Is that so? Are you sure about that though? After all.... once you agree, there will be no taking anything back."

"We will take your deal!!!!"

"Just keep your word!!!"

The people were now begging, and the woman nodded.

"I see. I understand. Then..... I will collect your souls in the future. Ah.... and as for you...."

The angelic woman walked over to Mackayla with light steps, not even producing a sound as she floated along the floor.

"I will let you live with a curse."

Mackayla shrunk back as the woman placed her demonic hand onto her head.

Once more she felt as if death had grazed her, yet the woman merely smiled.

"You are a good person, but you are very misguided as to who you should be fighting against. Therefore..... I have cursed you. You will look over the people of this village. You will protect them. You will stay here as their defender. If you betray this role I am giving you and run off on your own, or if you speak even a single word of my appearance here, then you will die automatically before you are able to speak."

[If orders are disobeyed, then status=dead]

[Set condition: Unwounded]

The angel then snapped her finger and the doors of the jail cells opened, unlocked.

In that instant, the legs and fingers of Mackayla regrew, and she looked down at them in confusion.

"Goodbye, my slaves. Never forget that I will come later to retrieve my payment. Do not disappoint me."

In that instant, the angel disappeared from the sight of all, and the goblin who was kneeling at the entrance to the hall disappeared as well.

They were gone.

"W....what...."

Mackayla spoke out, almost surprised to hear her own voice.

She stood up only to fall again.

Her limbs could not handle the terror which she was under.

"What..... was she?"

It was silent for a moment, however soon all the people began to rush out of their cells.

"My husband...."

"My son...."

"I have to find him...."

Mackayla merely watched as the people flooded out, headed out of the dungeon and to the town.

She was unable to move, still in shock from the existence of such a figure.

Grabbing her own arm, she began to laugh.

"Heh... hah... so... it truly is useless?"

The halls quickly cleared, and Mackayla was left alone.

On her face was a bitter smile and her eyes filled with madness.

"What..... are we supposed to do against THAT?"

Mackayla stood up, wobbling back and forth as if she were drunk, before leaning on a wall.

"Hah..... heh.... hah..... Hughhhh....."

She placed her head into her elbow as she leaned on a wall, and she cried.

"Ugh...sniff....."

She cried.

And she cried.

Not a person was left in the halls, and Mackayla continued to cry to herself.

Too much had happened today for her to even comprehend. Her mind was far beyond the point of overwhelmed.

"Even Kyle..... wouldn't be able to do anything... even the Indeterminant... probably wouldn't be able to do anything...."

Shivering, Mackayla wiped her tears with her arm.

"Not..... not against that woman."

----

Oscar and Risa quickly headed to the town of Vena to check on Darius and confirm the status of the soldiers.

'Troy went over to Repan, so this is the perfect opportunity..... I was going to show up after Larios had taken all the women captive and show Risa just how heroic I can be.... but I think this is even better. If I can somehow wrap things around and make it seem like Troy supported or even took part in the actions of Larios..... then that will be one less rival to worry about.'

Oscar and Risa quickly came upon the village of Vena, to see that a battle had occurred.

Likely, it had happened while they were fighting Kyle.

The bodies of many knights and legionnaires spanned the land just outside the village, which had clearly been used for the battle.

"It would seem that things have come to an end here, and those on our side took the victory, but at a great cost."

Oscar made this statement and the girl beside him nodded as both viewed the scene of war.

Risa didn't make any sort of sarcastic comment, as the scene was nothing to take lightly.

Even if the men of the Kingdom were the enemy, fighting underneath the hero who had lost his mind in his own madness, they were merely the victims of such a man.

"If only I had done more..... these people would not have had to die like this."

Risa looked to see Oscar holding his head in a pained expression as if he truly believed this was his own doing.

"Don't be so harsh on yourself. Because we came here as quickly as we did..... some deaths were avoided."

Risa offered words of consolation, but she understood well that such words would not ease the pains of the man who bore this burden.

Or so she believed, yet on the inside, Oscar was laughing.

'HAHAHA!! This is great! They're all killing each other off, and almost 7000 men have been erased from this world! Now I just have to repeat this process..... until there are no men left.'

"Let us check in with the Legion Commander. Then we should head over to see how the other group fares."

"I don't particularly want to check on that other group, but I guess we have to....", Risa said with a sigh.

"I understand. That man was certainly a bit strange, and I myself don't even trust him. I cannot imagine the distrust someone like you would have for him."

Risa merely looked down while holding in a comment.

"Let's go."

The two walked off, heading towards the center of the encampment.

After passing a number of soldiers who were preparing themselves to head off once more, they made it to the central tent.

Entering without restraint, Oscar called out.

"Legion Commander Darius. We were successful in taking down Kyle Ruthobold. We've already witnessed the extent of the damage here, but I would like to hear the report from your mouth. What is your status?"

The man who was sitting in a chair stood up immediately, thumping his fist to his chest in obedience.

"Indeterminant, our losses total to around 4000. The enemies have been reduced to nothing. We are weakened, yet we are prepared to move out at any moment on your order. We still have the rest of this campaign to fight, after all. However, with your assistance and that of the two heroes fighting under you, there should be no issues at all for the rest of this campaign."

Oscar nodded.

"I see..... I agree. Even if the hero is now gone, the Kingdom will likely now boil down into chaos if we don't do anything. We have killed their ruler, as mad as he was, and so it is also our duty to restore the order. Then, I order you to march on the Capital with your men. I will relay these same orders to the men of the 4th legion, and we will invade in full force. By the end of the day, the Kingdom will come under the control of the Empire."

"Is that so? In just this day..... I see..... with your assistance and that of the heroes, I suppose such a thing is possible. No.... only because you three are present."

Darius nodded, preparing to set out.

"Then, I should not hold you back, Indeterminant. Please do as you've said."

"I will."

As such, the three left, and Oscar and Risa made their way out of the encampment, heading in a direction diverging from Darius.

As Risa and Oscar walked through the encampment, they came upon what was a temporary hospital.

Many men who had been wounded were gathered, all laid in cloth beds and being treated by other soldiers.

Many were groaning in pain, and others were unconscious, their wounds were so bad.

"They..... are all suffering."

Risa looked on the scene with sad eyes.

Noticing the opportunity, Oscar stood forward.

"Worry not. I'll help them."

[/heal [Insert datafile: 2nd legion. Condition: Living] ]

During his time in the Empire, Oscar had managed to get ahold of the data on all the soldiers of the two legions, implementing their names into a set of file folders for command use.

As such, Oscar was able to perform this action.

Holding out a hand, Oscar smiled lightly, giving Risa a kind expression.

The wounds of the men closed and the bleeding stopped.

"Huh?"

"What...."

"It doesn't hurt anymore...."

"My leg!! It's back!!! HAHAHA!!!!"

The men became filled with energy, jumping up and excited to be alive.

"Come on."

Oscar grabbed the hand of Risa, and the two rushed off.

"H-hey! Aren't you going to stick around and talk to the people you just healed?"

"There is no need for such a thing. After all, a true hero doesn't ask for compensation."

Risa looked upon Oscar as he made this statement.

She sensed a kind determination within him, far different from the self which she had seen of him before.

'I..... can I trust him?'

Risa was unsure, but she knew one thing.

Even if she didn't trust him, she would rather put her life into his hands than anyone else in this world.

However, it was in this place, as the two were so immensely focused on the scene of suffering, and the healing thereafter, that they had missed something.

A computerized voice which had spoken into the minds of all.

A notice, which told of the death of yet another hero.

----

'Nailed it. Look at that dumb face of hers. Though she's kinda cute. Hahaha! She thinks I just healed them out of the kindness of my heart. Newsflash, woman. Kindness doesn't exist. Now watch and learn. I'm about to become the savior of a whole bunch of women. I can imagine it already.... we discover the women, I become angry with Larios..... should I kill him in front of her? What would she think if I did that? Would she be mad? No, she wouldn't. She would be impressed. She would agree that he was scum who needed to be killed, and she would fall even deeper in love with me at seeing my..... 'burning desire for justice'.'

Oscar held back a snicker.

'What a laugh. Justice. The only justice here is me alone. It sure is nice to be a hero!! Haha! All I do is treat people nice and heal a few here and there, and everyone is right at my beck and call, aren't they? Imagine everyone when I defeat that queen of evil..... though should I really defeat her? I'd rather she become another one of my lapdogs. Well, first things first. I gotto get rid of all the men, and in a way that won't make any of the women hate me.'

With demented goals, a twisted facade of justice, and the usage of evil for his own bolstering, Oscar was anything but heroic.

He was perhaps, the worst possible form of evil.

Evil which not a single person recognized as evil.

Evil which the crowds would scream and shout his praises as if he were doing something right.

Evil which was so engrained into the minds of the people as good, that even calling him evil would be a sin.

And this evil would spread.

Oscar would spread his evil to the world, and they would all fall into his trap without even realizing that they were the ones who supported the very actions which he had been performing.

Yet Oscar was not the only evil within the world, for there was one woman who held hatred for this man so great that it surpassed dimensions.

This one woman, who had come into existence out of her own immense and suppressed hatred for this man, was the only person in the universe who held the power to stop him.

And so, the battle of evils had begun.

The Queen of Demons, who enslaved, tortured, and overtook any who stepped in her path.

And the Savior of Humanity, who stepped on others in such a way that he appeared to be saving them from their own wretchedness, while in reality he was the one who sewed that very wickedness.

Yet their battle had only just begun.

Without even knowing of her appearance, Oscar arrived at the village of Repan to witness a scene far outside of his expectations.

A scene so gory and brutal that his jaw would drop, and he would be left speechless.

The four came upon a field of bodies and blood covering acres of land.

More than 10,000 men had died.

The city had been burned to ashes.

Oscar could not hold back his own surprise, allowing his true voice to escape in vulgar manner.

"What..... the hell happened here?"