Hidden Watchers
Grahn’s movements were cautious as he brought various pieces of equipment to Dain. It wasn’t the gear itself he worried about—it was the fear that Dain might shatter at any moment.
He had forged a gladius weighted to draw out every ounce of Dain’s strength, and a tower shield made from the finest steel: sturdy, broad, yet light enough not to hinder movement. This was Grahn’s secret masterpiece.
Dain took up his stance and swung the blade. It had weight, but nothing compared to a longsword. The short blade felt far faster and lighter. When he planted the shield in the ground and braced behind it, he felt a reassuring stability that required no need to deflect incoming blows.
“Thank you.”
Grahn studied Dain’s face and frowned. There wasn’t a trace of gratitude in it. He picked up the bucket of water he’d set aside and splashed it straight into Dain’s face.
Dain blinked in shock, water dripping from his chin, and stared at Grahn.
“Snap out of it, you idiot. You’re still young—don’t walk around like you’ve already seen the end of the world. Sheesh.”
“…”
“I don’t even want to ask what happened, but as long as you’re alive, you’ll get another chance to change things! You plan on facing the Demon King with a face like that?”
“Ah…”
Grahn tossed him a gleaming helmet from the shelf. It covered the entire head but left the front vision wide and clear.
“It’ll help. Whether you’re fighting enemies or hiding that miserable expression—take it.”
“…Thank you.”
“Heading out right away?”
“Yes. Once Ceres and Zarco wake up.”
“Oh, there they come now.”
Beneath the sun that had already crested the ridge, Zarco approached with a confident stride, fully armed as if his injuries had never existed. Maybe it was just Dain’s imagination, but Zarco’s armor no longer looked oversized. The frail, scrawny frame had vanished; Zarco looked like a stranger.
And then Dain saw Ceres behind him. The moment their eyes met, she quickly turned her head away. The pain that struck Dain’s heart was so sharp it felt like it might split in two.
Hoping that someday this agony would become bearable, Dain turned away and slipped on the new helmet.
They set out for Darmes Mountain right after the meal. It was fortunate that one soldier had volunteered to act as both guide and escort. Naturally, Dain took the lead with him, sharing the watch.
He didn’t have the confidence to speak with Ceres or Zarco.
“Sir Hero.”
“Ah, yes?”
“I was truly moved watching you fight in front of the cathedral. You were incredible!”
“No… thank you.”
“Please speak comfortably! I’m twenty years old!”
“We’re the same age? I’m twenty-one, so drop the formalities. I’m Dain.”
“N-no, I couldn’t!”
The soldier snapped to attention in surprise, and his loose helmet slipped slightly. Only then did his youthful, boyish face become visible.
“It’s fine. Speak casually. I’d prefer it too.”
“Ah… then… Brother?”
“Haha, what’s your name?”
“I’m Yujin. Brother.”
Seeing Yujin’s awkward smile, the corners of Dain’s mouth—motionless all day—finally lifted. It felt like fresh air had entered his chest.
As Yujin asked about sword techniques and training methods, saying he wanted to become like Dain, Dain answered with a smile. For that time, at least, he could stop thinking about the Hero and the Saintess.
“As expected, a good teacher makes all the difference. Back in my hometown, there was no one who knew how to fight.”
“We’re from the Hero’s Village, so everyone was learning something.”
“Hmm. I see…”
Yujin nodded to himself, deep in thought, then glanced back.
“By the way… are those two dating?”
“…Huh?”
“They’re oddly close, and their touches seem so natural… Look, even now the Hero has his arm around the Saintess’s shoulders.”
Dain barely held back the urge to turn around. Unaware of Dain’s frozen state, Yujin continued.
“Or maybe he’s supporting her? The Saintess’s steps look a little unsteady.”
His head turned on reflex. Ceres had her head lowered, clutching her loosened knees. A flash of pain crossed her face; she took a deep breath and started walking again, but soon bit her lip and grabbed Zarco’s arm once more.
The image from last night surfaced—the blood that had flowed between Ceres’s thighs as she was connected to Zarco. He couldn’t remember where he’d heard it, but he recalled someone saying the pain after losing one’s virginity could linger for a long time.
All strength drained from Dain’s body as he involuntarily recalled every scene he had witnessed the night before.
His eyes met Ceres’s. She gave an awkward but smiling greeting with her gaze. Dain made an expression that was neither a greeting nor a smile, then quickly looked away. Yujin was watching him with a puzzled face.
Dust rose in the distance ahead. The heavy sound of running footsteps grew closer. Dain lowered his shield and visor; Yujin hurriedly raised his spear. Soon, the shapes of people running toward them became visible.
“Uwaaaaah!”
They were refugees. Behind the fleeing group, Commander Gardan’s unit was guarding the rear while countless monsters chased after them. The unit that had numbered over five hundred was now reduced to less than half in just one day.
“Zarco! Ceres!”
Dain looked back at those he needed to protect. Ceres gripped her staff with a tense expression, while Zarco drew his sword with a relaxed smile. Dain unconsciously bit his lip, but soon turned his head and charged forward with his shield raised.
There were no demons among the monsters. The presence of the outstanding warrior Dain became the signal for the retreating soldiers escorting the refugees to counterattack.
With Ceres’s wide-area attacks, Dain’s sword, and Zarco’s skills—which had somehow improved dramatically overnight—the battle quickly turned into a complete extermination.
When Dain drove his gladius into the final orc, Gardan approached him on the now-quiet battlefield.
“Dain, you came.”
“Commander Gardan. Are you alright? What happened?”
“The demons… Ah, where is the Hero? I don’t see him.”
Gardan cut himself off and looked around. When Zarco and Ceres approached, Gardan rushed straight to the Hero.
“Hero! You’ve arrived!”
Watching Gardan grasp the Hero’s arm with a joyful expression sent a chill through Dain’s body. He removed his helmet, hid his complicated feelings, and walked over.
Gardan immediately explained the situation. They had joined the refugees at Darmes Mountain at dawn, but the monsters and demons were too much to handle, so they had been forced to retreat while escorting the civilians.
“Where is that demon? We didn’t see it.”
“While we were still fighting on Darmes Mountain, the moment the sun rose, its movements suddenly stopped. Its body gradually stiffened until it turned completely into a statue.”
“A statue?”
“Yes. It looked just like a gargoyle.”
A demon that turned to stone in sunlight. Dain pondered for a moment before speaking.
“If it’s still a statue on Darmes Mountain right now, wouldn’t it be best to go there immediately and destroy it?”
“That would be ideal, but…”
Gardan gestured toward his troops and the refugees.
“Everyone has been marching through the night and fighting. They’re in no condition to fight anymore. Besides, we can’t leave the refugees unprotected. Even if the Hero set out now, it would already be night by the time we reached Darmes Mountain.”
It was a reasonable point. Gardan’s soldiers, who had maintained such strict discipline, now looked like they could barely stand.
“Then we can’t send the refugees back to Hargon either,” Zarco said.
“Is camping possible?”
“Ah, yes. We originally planned to hold out at Darmes Mountain, so we have the supplies ready.”
“Then let’s set up camp nearby for now. After resting, we’ll detach a few soldiers to escort the refugees to Hargon. We’ll depart at night or dawn so we arrive at Darmes during daylight.”
“The Hero’s words are wise. We’ll do exactly that. Let’s prepare camp immediately.”
The soldiers moved quickly, pouring their last reserves of strength into pitching tents and pavilions, then collapsed almost instantly. They barely managed to finish their meals before falling asleep even while the sun was still high. Loud snores echoed everywhere, but not a single soldier woke.
Ceres tried to approach Dain. Since the demon might attack again that very night, Dain had said he would patrol the perimeter with the soldier named Yujin. He needed him.
Dain didn’t know what had happened yesterday, but he tried to forget it through the ordinary conversations he always shared with Yujin. For Ceres, it was both a wish and a determination that her promise with Dain was still intact.
She crossed the campsite where refugees and soldiers slept, but Dain was nowhere to be seen. Where could he be? If he was on watch, he might be a little higher up the slope.
As Ceres looked around, someone suddenly grabbed her hand tightly.
“Ceres.”
A familiar voice. But not the one she had hoped for. She stared at the long, dark hand gripping hers, then slowly lifted her gaze.
“Want to come with me for a bit?”
Zarco jerked his chin toward the nearby forest. The sun was setting behind the hill’s woods, a short distance from the campsite.
While Ceres was momentarily captivated by the mountain scenery—its leaves glowing red in the last light of dusk—Zarco pushed her against a tree and crushed his lips against hers.
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
She tried to push him away, but Zarco didn’t budge. His once-scrawny body now radiated thickness and power.
The Hero’s tongue roughly swept through her mouth before withdrawing. A long strand of saliva—whose it was, she couldn’t tell—stretched between them before snapping.
“S-stop it.”
When Ceres turned her head and wiped her mouth, the Hero grabbed her hand again and guided it to his already-exposed, rock-hard member.
“What…!”
“It’s Authority, Ceres.”
She tried to pull her forcibly gripped hand away, but Zarco’s grip wouldn’t allow it. At first she thought the throbbing hardness was merely from arousal. But even though her senses weren’t yet drowned in pleasure, she could feel the pulsing Authority traveling up through her palm.
It spun like a top spinning perfectly in place. The violent rotation of Authority swirling through Zarco’s body felt strangely stable. Yet the sheer scale of power inside it was incomparably greater than before.
“This is…”
“Sex was the answer. For healing or reinforcement—sex is what we need to do.”
“…”
“Hurry. I can feel the reinforcement effect fading. There’s a chance the demon could attack again tonight. Do I really need to explain and persuade you about this, Ceres?”
“No—”
Ceres knew her words weren’t a rebuttal but stubbornness, yet Zarco didn’t even give her that moment. In an instant, he shoved her underwear aside and slipped his hand between her folds.
And those fingers—cruelly, yet so softly and slickly—pushed inside her.
“Ugh!”
Her hips jerked forward on reflex. Her thighs, which had clenched tightly at the tremor in his hand, slowly began to tremble and spread obscenely apart.
Looking down, she saw his fingers sliding in and out of her. Against her will, long strands of arousal dripped downward.
Zarco no longer needed words.
“…Ugh, ugh!”
He spun Ceres toward the tree and pulled her hips back, exposing her pale buttocks. Grabbing and spreading them, he pressed his glans against her slit. Her passage—already reshaped to the contours of Zarco’s member—greedily swallowed him in.
Ceres covered her mouth and tried to swallow her moans as much as possible. In the darkening forest, only the wet sounds of flesh slapping flesh echoed.
But as the pace grew faster and faster, her lips began to part intermittently.
“Ugh… ugh…!”
Ceres tried not to lose her mind like she had yesterday. Today, for some reason, she found it hard to look at Dain. Hero, Saintess, Demon King—those heavy titles still weighed on her heart, but what mattered most to her was Dain. To remain herself, she desperately needed Dain.
With every wet slap, pleasure pierced her brain. She tried to suppress it by thinking of Dain.
Yet Zarco’s strengthened hips showed no sign of stopping. She bit her lip, fighting against her eyes that threatened to roll back.
Whether from conquest or the sight of that expression, Zarco’s member swelled even larger.
A faint smirk lifted the corner of Zarco’s mouth. In his vision, slightly behind a distant tree, he spotted two soldiers secretly watching them.
They were the same soldiers who had seen Ceres’s breasts during the fight against Marus. Their eyes were wide, mouths half-open, unable to look away for even a second as they stared at Ceres’s ass bouncing on his cock.
A sharp smile formed on Zarco’s face.