The Sky of Terror
Hero William took out a cigarette and stuck it between his lips.
Liris raised a flame at her fingertip and held it out to him.
“You’re truly confident, then?”
“You’re asking because of Juin Marcus? That idiot was only useful as far as the Demon Continent. This is the Demon King’s Castle. Magi overflows here. This is where my Holy Sword shows its true worth.”
Barbarian Princess Bella rested her axe on her shoulder.
“Even so, something feels off. I only joined at the end, but you all have been together for ten years. It was Juin Marcus who chose you as the Hero.”
“That idiot didn’t choose me. I chose myself. Only three people ever lifted the Holy Sword from the rock on the altar. And among them, the strongest was me.”
Saintess Helena shook her head.
“That’s not true. In pure strength, that little brat was far above you. If she had fought properly, you might have lost.”
William hastily clamped a hand over her mouth.
“Shut up! I warned you that what we did to the brat stays secret until we die!”
“What’s the point of arguing now? What matters is that, just as Juin Marcus said, we can’t use our power.”
“Just stick behind me and follow. I’ll show you the true power of the Holy Sword.”
“Your legs are shaking, though? I told you to take it easy.”
“Quiet. You lot came running for it yourselves.”
Watching them, Liris and Bella shouted at the same time.
“When did we ever!”
“We only did it because you threatened us!”
William exhaled a stream of smoke and stared up at the Demon King’s Castle.
“It’s all over now. Once I kill the Demon King, the entire world falls into my hands. Then you’ll become empresses, one after another.”
Helena cried out.
“The castle gate is opening!”
Black smoke poured from the Demon King’s Castle.
Through the smoke, dozens of magi knights emerged, spear blades flashing.
“Shall we begin.”
William gripped the Holy Sword with both hands and strode forward.
At the tip of the Holy Sword, golden sword aura fluttered like a banner.
Barbarian Bella narrowed her eyes and glared at the blade.
“As expected of a Holy Knight. Coming to the Demon King’s Castle made the Holy Sword even stronger.”
Mage Liris nodded as well.
“It should be easier than the beasts of the Demon Continent that charge with raw power. The Holy Sword feeds on Magi.”
Saintess Helena gazed anxiously toward the Magic Tower.
“The magi knights aren’t the problem. The real one is over there. If we don’t kill the Demon King, everything ends.”
Magi crawled up from the earth.
An ominous energy seized every heart and dragged it toward the abyss.
Helena spread both hands to draw out Holy Power, but nothing came.
“I can’t use my power. From this moment, it is the Hero’s fight alone.”
Bella and Liris sank to the ground and stared at William.
“Everything rests on that Holy Sword.”
William swung the Holy Sword and carved through the magi knights. Dozens of heads and torsos rolled across the earth.
In the Demon Continent he had been a being who could not even exert his strength.
Yet as a Hero, it seemed he could finally display his true skill once he reached the Demon King’s Castle.
Helena swallowed hard and traced the sign of the cross over her chest.
May the Goddess’s blessing be with the hero.
Please… save us.
At the same moment, black clouds spat lightning.
With booming thunder, a whirlwind of Magi rose into a towering pillar.
Within the flashing column, the Demon King revealed himself.
The Saintess, the Mage, and the Barbarian warrior flattened themselves against the ground and stared ahead.
Beyond the shabby shoulders of the Hero gripping the Holy Sword, the Demon King stood.
It was a vast terror—
and a despair beyond all words.
“It’s beautiful.”
Demon King’s daughter Satin parted her lips and gazed across the territory.
Golden wheat fields stretched as far as the eye could see.
“My lord! You’ve returned!”
Farmers who spotted me waved in delight.
“We’re so glad you came back safely. Did you thrash the Demon King?”
“Of course he did! Who do you think our lord is!”
“We already prepared a festival, waiting for the victory report!”
Satin seized my arm and drew close.
“Sir Marcus?”
I smiled and whispered quietly.
“I already told you. I’m carrying out a secret and important mission.”
“Ah, right. Sir Marcus is disguising his identity.”
I pressed my lips right against her ear.
“At this moment the princess is a slave. A demon I picked up from the Demon Continent. Conduct yourself accordingly.”
“Don’t worry. I can do it.”
“Step away. Where does a lowly thing dare cling?”
“Ah? Ah! Forgive me, Sir Marcus—”
I inclined my head toward her once more.
“Call me Master.”
She swallowed hard and looked up at me.
“Yes, Master.”
A carriage approached from the distance.
It was Chief Butler Percival.
“My lord, please board the carriage at once.”
The chief butler was quick-witted.
Had word come from the Imperial family, they would have opened a portal.
Had they reached the capital first, the victory report would already have spread. The entire empire would have been overflowing with joy. Returning this quietly, with an expression that was far from bright…
Of course he had already guessed the situation.
Percival quietly regarded Satin.
His face held curiosity, yet he waited for me to speak first.
“I picked up a demon child on the way.”
“Is that so.”
“I’ll use her as a bedroom slave. Manage her personally, Chief Butler.”
Strength tightened Percival’s white eyebrows.
“A bedroom… slave, my lord?”
A natural reaction.
There were no slaves in my territory to begin with.
I had destroyed every slave certificate and accepted them all as free residents of the land.
Other lords checked me for it, but that was none of my concern.
The greater shock, of course, was the bedroom slave part.
More than twenty marriage proposals sat piled on my desk.
Noblewomen had begged for a single meeting, yet I had never once given them a glance. I had abolished the right of the first night—common practice in other territories—long ago.
For someone like me to bring home a bedroom slave… how astonishing it must seem.
And not even a human, but a demon girl.
“She is a child who will serve as an attendant in my bedroom. Manage her carefully so she is never exposed outside.”
“Ah…. Understood, my lord.”
Not an ordinary demon, but a child who carried the Demon King’s blood. If even a trace of Magi leaked, the problem would become grave. I would only feel at ease keeping her at my side day and night.
Calling her a bedroom slave would also preserve security.
This was the honor of Count Marcus, renowned as holier and purer than even the High Priest. For the loyal Percival, an enormous burden had just appeared.
“I shall thoroughly seal the servants’ mouths. But… how did the expedition fare?”
“Prepare the second plan.”
“Ahh….”
A sigh escaped Percival’s lips.
“As expected, the subjugation of the Demon King’s Castle—”
“Quiet. I will speak of it separately later.”
“Understood, my lord.”
“Have you secured the safety of all the retainers?”
“Of course.”
The twelve retainers who had served since the previous generation.
Even before we left for the subjugation, their families had begun to go into hiding. Regardless of the outcome, a bloodstorm was destined to sweep the empire.
If the Demon King died, then as he died.
If the subjugation failed, then in that manner as well.
Power always schemed in the face of change; every possibility had to be prepared for.
“Knight Commander Duncan has also directed the training without sparing himself.”
The knights of House Marcus.
The order known as Duncan’s Lion Pack had completed its preparations as well.
When the carriage halted, Head Maid Marcelle bowed at the waist.
“My lord, you have returned. Please bathe first. The meal will be ready shortly.”
Percival stepped forward.
“From today this child will attend the lord. Teach her well.”
“…Yes?”
“She is the bedroom slave the lord brought home. Give her special care.”
“…Ah!”
Head Maid Marcelle stared at Satin with an expression of pure disbelief.
“The lord’s bedroom slave. Understood.”
Satin, who had been reading the air carefully, drew a steadying breath and bowed her head.
“Satin Azazel Beelzebub. I greet you.”
Marcelle’s eyes went round.
“Satin Azazel…. Beelzebub?”
Oh no.
There was no one alive who did not know that the Demon King’s surname was Beelzebub. The name was so unique that no other demon of the same name existed.
I calmly patted Satin’s shoulder.
“Every demon is a child of the Demon King. But attaching the Demon King’s surname to one’s name is unacceptable. Like a proper slave, state only your name.”
Satin covered her mouth with her hand and bowed again.
“I was wrong. This lowly one forgot her place. I am Satin. Please teach me well, Head Maid.”
Marcelle smiled and drew Satin by the arm.
“Come along. We need to change those clothes first. Your speech is so refined. As expected, our lord would never bring just anyone.”
Chief Butler Percival spoke while watching Satin and Marcelle disappear into the mansion.
“She certainly does not seem an ordinary demon. No wonder the Head Maid was startled. Where did you find her, that she wears such clothes?”
The long train of the dress trailed behind Satin as she climbed the stairs.
I should have changed her clothes first.
No.
There was no way to hide the bearing of one raised in a palace. It was not something that could be feigned.
“The Demon King’s Castle.”
“Did you just say the Demon King’s Castle?”
Percival’s eyes gleamed.
The old man’s wisdom was already racing to assemble the pieces.
“So there was a reason you deliberately took her as a bedroom slave.”
“She is a useful child. Protect her person thoroughly and keep every rumor under control.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
The lord who had never once glanced at the daughters of noble houses had brought a demon girl home as a bedroom slave. It would have been stranger if word did not spread.
Yet there was no other choice.
Letting her live among the servants would have been far more dangerous.
I sat in the office chair and looked out the window.
Golden sunset settled along the mountain ridges.
By now the result should be out.
How had it gone,
for that trash Hero party?