The Demon King's Shadow
“The six-month festival commemorating the subjugation of the Demon King ends today. From this day forward, we designate this week every year as a festival to honor the great achievements of the Hero Arandal and his companions—Lito, Cornelia, and Elihart!”
“Wooooooo!”
The Imperial Capital, Giganteus, was packed with tens of thousands of citizens. Everyone cheered fervently at Emperor Ronan’s speech. Once the grand finale of the long, six-month-long festival concluded successfully, Elihart returned to the temple and began to pack her belongings in silence.
‘There is something related to Nightstream in the Taron Principality.’
When Elihart first discovered the word Nightstream branded onto her back, she had screamed. She had thought it was a curse. But as time passed and she calmed down, she began to believe it was a divine revelation—a sign pointing her toward something, not a curse at all. She was desperate to leave, but the festival celebrating the peace they had reclaimed had kept her tethered. Now, she was finally free. Her hands moved busily as she packed.
“I heard you’re leaving on a pilgrimage?”
The Hero Arandal stood in the open doorway. Outside, the priestesses who would accompany Elihart were also bustling about, packing their bags.
“Yes, I am leaving.”
“Are you still drowning in sorrow?”
Arandal closed the door and stepped inside. Instinctively, Elihart felt a sense of repulsion toward him. She pretended to reach for items further away, putting more distance between them.
“Why go back over the path we walked for ten years? Aren’t you tired of it?”
“I want to check on the people who helped us to see if they are doing well.”
“Even the destroyed Demon King’s castle?”
“Yes, that will likely be my final destination.”
Arandal crossed his arms and leaned his back against the wall. His gaze drifted to one corner of the room. There sat a large chest containing sacred armaments. A gaudy helmet and armor set made of Ruin Stone, named Bane; a sword made of Ruin Stone, Crescent; a bow made of Ruin Stone, Sunset Tracker; dual daggers made of Ruin Stone, Widowmaker and Throat-Slitter; and two rings and bracelets, also of Ruin Stone. Each possessed rare, unique abilities. They were all mementos of Nightstream, entrusted to the temple.
Arandal’s brow furrowed slightly. He didn’t want to be reminded of the person who had left.
“Why are you taking those?”
“Taking what?”
“The things Nightstream used.”
“I’m taking them on the pilgrimage with me.”
“They’re just objects.”
“I know. But Nightstream’s touch and will remain on them. He was the one who tried to save the world with us.”
“Elihart.”
Arandal uncrossed his arms and let out a long sigh. “Now is not the time to look back on our adventure. It is the time for politics.”
Elihart’s hands, busy packing, froze. Arandal stepped closer and gently massaged her shoulders.
“I won’t stop you from going on a pilgrimage. Instead, when you return, declare that you will become the next candidate for Pope. I need you.”
His hand, which had been kneading her shoulder, softly brushed down her cheek. “Things are going well with the Second Princess, Lucrezia. We will likely marry soon. But she is only the Second Princess. To compete for the throne against the First Princess, I need you to become the Pope.”
“I cannot do that.” Elihart pulled away hurriedly. “I can’t.”
“I know your sorrow. To overcome it, you must become the Pope. Support me, and in ten or twenty years, make me Emperor. Then, I will have the powerful authority to clear Nightstream’s name and avenge his grievances.”
“Y-you have the courage to do that even now…!”
“Not now. We must wait for the right time. His Majesty the Emperor is strong.” Arandal was firm. “Do you want to lose everything? Do you want to be ignored again, hearing people call you the daughter of a traitor?”
“……!”
Elihart clutched her chest and closed her eyes. “…Please leave.”
“I-I’m sorry. I went too far.” Arandal retreated toward the door obediently. “Have a safe trip, and think carefully about what I said. I’ll be going now.”
She heard the door click shut. Left alone in the room, Elihart took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She swallowed hard.
‘Arandal has changed. He is not the brave man he was when the Demon King existed…’
Her mind was filled only with the desire to leave as soon as possible. The Saintess’s hands moved even more frantically as she packed. At dawn the next day, she set out on a long journey, clinging to the hope that she might discover something related to Nightstream.
‘Is she really the Demon King? Is it even possible that he’s alive? Is it the real Demon King?’
Given how the bite mark on my neck throbbed painfully in front of this woman named Kara, there was definitely something going on. She was either someone related to the Demon King or the Demon King himself. For now, I set aside the guess that she was the Demon King. I had seen him die with my own eyes back then.
‘There’s no way he could have come back to life…’
Therefore, the hypothesis that she was a subordinate of the Demon King carried more weight. A subordinate of the Demon King who had come for revenge. Then, the next question was how strong she was. Currently, without any equipment, it was a struggle for me to even face a high-ranking demon. The companions by my side weren’t at a level to help, and our numbers were insufficient. That was why…
“It’s a shame to part ways like this, so would you like to grab a bite to eat before you go?”
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
“Sure.”
It was a random suggestion, but to my surprise, she nodded, and at the same time, the throbbing in my neck vanished in an instant.
‘What is this?’
Her killing intent had also disappeared. Had she secretly wanted to travel with me? ‘Why?’ Was she planning to pretend to travel with us and then launch a surprise attack? Regardless, I had calmed her down. I had bought myself time. All that remained was to gauge the extent of her power. If she was an ordinary demon, I would expose her identity and kill her immediately, but if she was a demon with power far beyond my own… I would have no choice but to watch helplessly.
“Everyone, let’s go get something to eat.”
Elenore and Berzena looked at me with confusion in their eyes. They were wondering why I was tagging along with a woman I didn’t even know.
“She’s from the same hometown as me, so I’m looking out for her. No complaints, let’s go.”
We moved, and Kara followed us obediently. Our party was in danger. I racked my brain while heading to a modest street stall run by merchants in front of the city gate.
‘Judging by the connection to the bite mark on my neck, she’s no ordinary person. She can’t be the real Demon King. She can’t be…’
When we reached the street stall, a sudden thought made me anxious.
“You guys go ahead and sit down to eat! I’ll be right back, I need to use the restroom!”
A demon detector. It was a ‘magic paper’ that helped infer the rank and strength of a demon. They were commonly sold in magic shops. If you placed a strand of a demon’s hair or a piece of their body on the paper, it would automatically write out the demon’s approximate power level by comparing it to famous demons of the past. I quickly bought one from the magic goods merchants loitering in front of the gate.
When I returned to the stall, they had already ordered and were eating.
“Come and eat. It’s herring soup.”
“Elenore said she doesn’t eat meat, so she ordered something else! Just Nightstream and I will have the herring soup together!”
“Kara, why aren’t you eating?”
As I sat down next to Kara, I stealthily cut a single strand of her hair with a razor blade. The hair fell to the floor.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“Who knows?”
She offered a smile that held some hidden meaning. It was a wicked grin, as if to say, You’re my prey. Damn it, it gave me goosebumps. For now, let’s just eat. I naturally picked up the hair from the floor, tucked it into my pocket, and picked up my spoon.
“Alright, let’s fill our bellies for the work ahead.”
“What are we going to do now?” Berzena asked innocently. Conscious of Kara sitting next to me, I brought up a topic that was in my original plans but one I hadn’t intended to act on immediately.
“We’re short on people, so should we look for a mage?”
“A mage?”
“Certainly… it would be better to have a permanent mage if we want to keep producing the tokens.”
As Elenore, Berzena, and I were talking, Kara suddenly reached out toward us and held out her palm. Whoosh! Flames flared up on her palm.
“Magic like this?”
“Oh, Kara! You’re amazing!” Berzena said, fascinated and delighted. My expression stiffened.
‘What is she thinking? Is she asking to join our party?’
Berzena kept talking to her with innocent eyes. “Are you a mage, Kara?”
Kara chuckled and replied, “You could think of it that way.”
“That’s great! Do you want to travel with us?”
“If you want me to.”
…What is with that woman? She’s confusing me. What does she hope to gain by joining our party?
After the meal, I made an excuse about asking for directions and hurriedly placed Kara’s hair on the demon detector. BOOM! The paper used for the measurement couldn’t handle the magic power contained in the hair and exploded on the spot. I was dumbfounded.
‘This… this means she’s not just a high-ranking demon, but a top-tier one…’
“Nightstream! Look at this! There’s no magic Kara can’t do! She even knows high-level magic!”
In a forest a little ways from the city gate, a massive flaming meteor was falling from the clear sky. It was something Kara had summoned.
“Stop it right now!”
I ran like a madman and barely managed to stop it. In the end, half-resigned, I accepted Kara into our party. I had tried to chase her away one more time before that, but then the bite mark on my neck throbbed again, and killing intent wafted off her. Whenever I hurriedly told her to travel with us, the pain would disappear like a lie, and she would become docile again.
‘What does she want?’
One thing was certain: I must never tell Kara to leave. As long as I didn’t say that, she had no killing intent and was just a woman with a decent personality. I had no choice but to make her a member of our party. And so, I shifted my stance and began to act as if I cherished her openly.
“I’ll drop the formalities. Don’t leave my side from now on. I’ll make sure to protect you.”
My words were smooth, but in reality, I was just soothing her so she wouldn’t go on a rampage. If she revealed her true identity, it would mean total destruction for everyone.
‘I don’t have the confidence to win right now…’
For now, I had to buy time and come up with a countermeasure. In any case, if I felt killing intent from her, I would be able to sense it in advance. It was much better to keep her close where I could see what she was doing than to keep her at a distance.
“You’re going to protect this body? Do you like me?” she asks, as if intrigued. So, to appease her, I had no choice but to answer confidently.
“Yeah. I’m crazy about you. It was love at first sight.”
“Haha, hahahahaha!” Kara clutched her stomach and burst into hysterical laughter. For some reason, goosebumps broke out on my arms. It seemed she found it cringey too. Thinking it was an opportunity, I followed up with another strike.
“A woman like you, I’m not letting go. Stay by my side forever.”
I was a thief, an expert in disguise, and a master of acting.