The End of the Truce: Paradise Painted in Repeldown
“To think a paradise like this could exist in this world!”
“How could such a heaven even be real?!”
A heaven for humans, a heaven for demons. For them, it was a place they had no desire to visit—a paradise utterly devoid of death.
“...Seeing how we can ravage this land too, it means this isn't Liannen Kingdom territory anymore.”
Freya lifted her head weakly.
“They handed the land over to the Empire and hid it from us. But they left us that 1cm sliver of territory.”
She was bound limb by limb in Sisilia's wind. Blood trickled down her pale skin. The winds restraining her were anything but gentle.
“Under the second treaty, we're explicitly named as the Demon King's army... which means, per the contract, we can't invade Liannen Kingdom territory.”
Cough. Freya spat blood.
In truth, even without the wind chains binding her, escape was impossible by now.
“That meaningless 1cm gap—we can't cross it.”
Freya, a high-ranking demon from the demon realm—one of the three great demons and commander of the First Legion—looked like a rare item in Sisilia's eyes. Time, space, light, and darkness. S-rank abilities by Sisilia's standards.
The problem was, as Beatrice demonstrated, those four powers were tricky to wield effectively. None were straightforwardly intuitive.
What a shame. If I could tame her properly, she'd make a great guidebook for newbies. And her character design's right up my alley.
But she couldn't let a time demon live. Weak demons like Fern could be tamed easily enough—but a Demon King-level one like this? Impossible. Leaving her be would spell trouble when it came time to kill the Demon King later. Bosses with instant-death and resurrection patterns were the top culprits behind newbie wipeouts.
As the fair and righteous guardian of newbies, Sisilia had a duty to obliterate this demon here and now.
“Correct.”
“...”
“Good job guessing right. Here's your reward. Tell me what you want.”
Freya stared at the ground for a moment, then looked up.
“Kill me without pain. I hate hurting.”
Sisilia quietly shook her head.
“I said tell me, not that I'd grant it.”
“...You're awful.”
“Anything else?”
“If I say what I want, you'll just do the opposite.”
“Why do you think that?”
Freya smiled bitterly.
“It's a trick demons have used on humans for ages.”
Sisilia stroked Freya's hair and flashed a bright smile.
“Correct—.”
It was strange. Even in this moment of her execution, Freya felt an odd tremor in her chest.
She liked Sisilia. A peculiar human. The more she saw, the less she understood. She wanted to know Sisilia, to hold her.
But it was a fleeting dream. Freya would die here. She could feel her personal timeline reaching its final instant with every fiber of her being. Any resistance would be futile.
“Ravish me.”
“That wish, I will grant.”
A terrifying mana surged from Sisilia's sword. It would morph into wind and shred Freya's body to pieces.
Freya squeezed her eyes shut.
Slash—!
A chilling sensation passed.
“...!”
The wind bindings around Freya unraveled.
Hiss.
Hot pain erupted from her back. Fumbling with her hands, Freya realized her two wings had been severed and writhed in agony.
Sisilia stepped on Freya's neck with an expressionless face, positioning it perfectly for the cut. And just as she moved to pulverize her without hesitation—
Something odd caught Sisilia's eye.
Something she absolutely shouldn't have seen.
The ground was wet.
Sisilia's eyes widened. She grabbed Freya by the hair and yanked her head up. Tears streamed from Freya's contorted face.
“...First time I've seen a crying demon.”
Demons had no emotions. They craved what they lacked, forming contracts with humans to feed on them like stock. A demon crying was as impossible as a human never feeling hunger.
“Fascinating.”
Sisilia's face lit up like she'd found a fun new toy.
Freya, her face smeared with tears and dirt, stared at Sisilia. She wore a strange smile.
Freya's heart pounded wildly. Not from love this time—
What am I hoping for right now?
It was anticipation. Excitement.
**
The soldiers of Repeldown hunted demons relentlessly, without a moment's rest.
“Huff, huff—hey, about this...”
At first, the thrill of slaying demons for free had them overjoyed. But that joy didn't last.
“When the hell does it end...?”
There were simply too many demons. A full 100,000 of them. And while they couldn't attack humans, they could flee at will.
Sisilia blocked the front, the barrier the rear—but Repeldown's fortress was vast. The demons, forced into a deadly game of hide-and-seek, were growing stronger in real time.
“This sucks.”
On the flip side, the Liannen Kingdom soldiers were exhausted to their limits. The Windsor Knights were no exception.
“Beatrice, mind if I ask something?”
Beatrice tilted her head at Rihaton. They'd been同期 since apprentice knight days.
“...Why's the gap this wide?”
But the difference in their states was obvious. Beatrice still gleamed with her Light Blessing, while Rihaton's face was ashen. His mana was depleted.
“It's that bad...?”
“That bad. You're still shining.”
“Well—I'm Light Blessing. Rihaton's Earth Blessing, so maybe it's unavoidable?”
“...You've gotten funnier while I wasn't looking. It's Earth Blessing, damn it, Beatrice.”
Beatrice scratched her nose bridge sheepishly.
“You fought Lust alone. Drinks on me when we get back.”
“...You're starting to sound like the vice-captain.”
As Beatrice reeled in shock, Rihaton turned from her to gaze at the walls.
At the 1cm territory border, Liliana stood sweating coldly. No one approached her radius. One of Lust's Authorities: get too close, and an urge to embrace her surged. It was hallucinatory in its potency—impossible to resist.
Rihaton had nearly fallen to it himself, but Beatrice had arrived just in time.
If Beatrice hadn't shown up... what would've become of me?
Rihaton imagined mingling with Lust. She probably couldn't kill due to restrictions, but turning him into a vegetable? Likely.
“Oh, that.”
Following his gaze to Liliana, Beatrice said casually.
“Sisilia will have to handle her. We can't touch it.”
“Even you, a woman, affected by that Authority?”
“...Women feel lust too. I can resist a bit. I'd pick Sisilia over that demon any day.”
“Beatrice?”
As Rihaton's eyes narrowed, Beatrice's golden hair bristled. She dropped her rare languid expression and looked behind her.
“Something's coming.”
Rihaton couldn't comprehend Beatrice like this. His senses detected nothing.
But Liliana's face brightened—that much he saw.
“What...?”
“Guess that's it for here.”
“S-Sisilia!”
Sisilia brushed aside rubble and walked over steadily. Beatrice rushed up, pale-faced.
“You felt it too? Just now—”
“Beatrice.”
Sisilia stood on tiptoe and patted her head.
“You've grown. Good girl.”
She smiled warmly.
“But you've got a long way to go before Pikachu, so keep at it.”
“Huh?”
Leaving Beatrice baffled as ever, Sisilia walked on, asking,
“How much cleared?”
“...About sixty percent. Still around 40,000 left.”
“Good work. Go rest now.”
“Y-Yes? Huh?”
“Prepare to withdraw.”
Beatrice didn't question further and dashed off with Rihaton to relay orders.
Sisilia's steps halted before Liliana. Watching her crumple to the ground, soaking it, Sisilia blinked.
She eyed the air briefly, then waved dismissively. A gust blew, and the life-threatening Authority vanished.
“You're a demon, huh.”
“H-Hiiik.”
Not the Sin of Lust Authority. This is—
Liliana's innate Authority. A racial trait, really.
“Succubus. Thought you were a vampire.”
Noticing Liliana eyeing her wrist and swallowing hard, Sisilia got it.
“...Guess one of your ancestors was a necrophiliac.”
Sisilia grimaced. Demon world ethics were beyond comprehension. Mating undead and demons? Unthinkable.
“Don't demons have basic morals? Demon King.”
Liliana's eyes lit up, peering past Sisilia with hope.
“Sisilia Windsor.”
A deep male voice rumbled, and the air shifted. Shadows blanketed Repeldown, forcing night upon them. Every flame extinguished—like it harbored the sacred fire it once couldn't quench.
Sisilia turned.
Demon King Cain Baltarion faced her, expression blank. He spoke slowly.
“The hero party... not here yet?”
Sisilia's ballooning confidence deflated with a pop. She smiled awkwardly, averting her eyes vaguely.
“Need more time.”
Cain, staring intently, replied languidly.
“I see.”
The Demon King walked toward Sisilia. Her silver-blue eyes fixed on him.
How's he breaking the contract?
Pure curiosity. She'd expected him before total annihilation of his army. With an irregular like Sisilia on the human side able to warp contracts—the demons had their king.
As Sisilia pondered Cain's method, he brushed past her, curtly saying,
“Then I'll wait.”
Cain stood before the 1cm barrier.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward and declared flatly,
“The truce... is over.”
Crash—!
Like shattering glass, the barrier crumbled.
Sisilia clutched her silver hair, gazing at Cain's retreating back through misty eyes.
What the hell is he? That hero-obsessed psycho.
Sisilia upped Cain's difficulty rating once more. For the first time, she wondered if newbies could even take him down.