Demon King Sabnack (4)
Yushin, standing motionless in the reception room, gazed at the dragon armor and felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him. He had worn this armor when he slew the Tyranny Demon King. It bore countless scars from battle, yet it retained its unchanging form thanks to one of its enchanted abilities: regeneration. The gold dragon armor had forged the man known as the Diablo Slayer of the Holy Empire—the finest piece of equipment imaginable.
"Um, excuse me..."
Ileina Tres Liberia entered the reception room where Yushin stood. Her flowing silver hair, sky-blue eyes clear as the heavens, skin white as freshly milked cream, and delicate features made her breathtaking. But deep worry clouded her face. Even so, she was an exquisitely beautiful girl, though guilt twisted her expression as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
"Those subordinates of yours who got hurt back then... are they okay? If they're still recovering, I can have the priests take full charge of their treatment."
"They're all fine. Foolishly so."
"That's a relief. I was worried there might have been innocent casualties."
"It wasn't your orders—it was those dark elves acting on their own. I'm not telling you to keep shouldering the blame. Sure, you failed to rein in your subordinates properly, so that's on you. But I'm not apologizing for what happened back then. Not to you, anyway. Maybe to Ardena."
Yushin felt some responsibility for the incident himself. He had gotten a bit violent in front of Ileina and Ardena. When he heard his men had been ambushed by dark elves, he overreacted.
"I-I'm sorry! I want to apologize!!"
Ileina shouted loudly, her voice echoing with raw emotion. Her silver hair whipped as she bowed sharply at a perfect ninety degrees—a apology that discarded all pretense and pride. The leader of the Liberia Elf Kingdom was bowing her head personally. Her pale cheeks flushed red to her ears. Her lips trembled as if on the verge of sobs, tears already welling in her eyes. One poke, and they would come flooding out.
"Hurting your subordinates was basically my fault! So it's my responsibility... Let me make it up to you."
The hardline dark elves acted on their own because they didn't trust me. The responsibility lies with me. I won't dodge it or shift it to someone else. All the blame, all the punishment—I deserve it.
Ileina cried out as if baring her soul right there. Hearing her heartfelt apology, Yushin let out a deep sigh before speaking.
"How do you plan to make it up?"
"Just say the word. W-whatever command you give, I'll obey meekly... I'll do anything! I can bow my head over and over, even kneel! If that's what you want, I'll do it! P-please... save the Elf Kingdom! I-I know it's shameless to ask. But... without you, there's no one to stop Sabnack... P-please!"
Yushin replied immediately.
"How old are you? You look young."
Caught off guard by the question, Ileina trembled, head still bowed, before answering.
"Nineteen..."
"Younger than Alonne."
"...Alonne?"
"Don't talk like some kid taking on the world's weight, saying you'll do anything because it's your responsibility. To be precise, it's not your fault. If we're assigning blame, it's on the fools who put a nineteen-year-old girl in a position she couldn't handle. If you want to apologize, go do it to my men outside. They're idiots, so a proper apology should do the trick."
"Got it. I'll apologize."
"We'll talk compensation after Sabnack's dealt with. Looks like we need to hurry."
With that, Yushin began donning the armor. But it was too cumbersome to put on alone, so he called in the elf knightesses from outside for help. He strapped on the breastplate and layered the protective pieces. It was so heavy that sweat beaded on the knightesses' faces. He wondered if he could really fight on the battlefield like this. Elves, limited by mana circulation, always fought in light attire, so human armor struck them as peculiar.
"Hic, sob..."
Before donning his helmet, Yushin turned toward the sound of the girl's sobs. Sure enough, the silver-haired maiden was wiping tears streaming down her cheeks with both hands, bawling her eyes out. It was a childish sight utterly unlike the composed high priestess who had seemed almost brazenly resolute until now. This innocent, childlike vulnerability must be the real Ileina. At nineteen, she had become a leader bearing the weight of the Liberia Elf Kingdom.
"Sniff, hic... Waaah!!"
Tears and snot poured out like a burst faucet. It was bad enough to call the water company. Torrents of tears like a downpour, clear mucus dripping from her philtrum, bloodshot eyes—it evoked the image of a woman dumped and evicted by her boyfriend. Yushin wanted to offer a handkerchief out of pity, but in full armor, he couldn't reach one easily.
"Th-thank... thank you...! Thank you, Yushin...! Waaah!!"
"Did I make you cry?"
"N-nooo! This is just... because I'm grateful... sniff!"
Yushin recalled a woman wailing like this because of him. It was middle school. When he confessed to the girl he'd crushed on since elementary, she cried just like that. And the next day, his first love transferred schools.
"Tissues! Tissues!"
The knightesses shouted. Sticky snot from Ileina's nose mixed with tears and splattered on the floor.
While the twelve warrior captains struggled against Demon King Sabnack, the elf priests under the high priestess activated their ritual. A magic circle erupted in radiant light from the ground where Sabnack stood. The anti-demon ritual not only bound the demon king's movements but threatened even her Rampage Flame authority.
"Hahaha!"
Sabnack burst into laughter. Surrounded by elf warrior captains and suppressed by the priests' anti-demon ritual—every power sealed—she showed no surprise. If anything, she had anticipated the trap even before charging the elves. In other words, she had knowingly walked into the noose at the heart of the elf forces.
"What kind of demon king fears traps and ambushes? Have you ever seen one who battles multitudes cower from them? I knew you had something planned before I even left my throne."
Crimson fireballs rained from the sky once more, targeting the priests. They engulfed the priests entirely. A hail of sharp arrows followed, but Sabnack swept them aside with broad swings of her scrap-iron sword. The warrior captains charged, but none could match her. Bariteon and Ardena lasted a few exchanges; the lesser captains knelt before her one-sided onslaught.
"Run out of strength? Use every trick and scheme. Burn your mana and life force. Stake your fate, your very lives. Without the resolve of a duel to the death, you'll never claim a demon king's head!"
The crimson flames scorching the surroundings surged higher, fueled by the demon king's belligerent nature. Sabnack declared: If they wished to fell her, they must wager everything.
At her cry, Ardena rose, tending her wounds. Her shoulder throbbed—not from Sabnack, but from Yushin. The barely healed wound had reopened.
"Sabnack!"
Ignoring the pain wracking her body, Ardena gripped her sword. She would never release the hilt. That meant she hadn't given up. How could she? Her people's sworn enemy stood before her—the demon king threatening the elves' survival. As a guardian knight of the Elf Kingdom, she vowed to hold on until her last breath.
"Challenging me despite your deep wounds? Impressive. I salute the courage of standing before a demon king with a battered body, Ardena."
Sabnack lowered her scrap-iron sword. Ardena clutched her hilt with both hands, took a deep breath, compressed the mana cloaking her body, and charged with all her might. Near-infinite energy burst from her sword and armor. She cleaved through the red flames, striking at Sabnack. The demon king parried, engaging in fierce combat.
"Ngh!"
A line of blood appeared on Ardena's pale cheek. Yet she pressed closer, landing a blow on Sabnack.
"Fast. I can feel the harsh training you've endured in your strikes."
Sabnack raised her hilt, deflecting Ardena's sword. The blade traced an arc. The scrap-iron sword slashed diagonally, carving deep into the White Lily Scale. The critically damaged artifact shattered into fragments. Blood gushed from Ardena's body.
"But that's as far as you go. You can't kill me."
Sabnack moved, brushing her nape. Ardena's sword had grazed her. A little deeper, and it might have severed her head. But even then... Sabnack wouldn't die. She was immortal, blessed by the demon god—untouchable by this world's creations.
"Despite centuries to grow stronger... you're the only knight to land a proper blow on me, Ardena Valencia? No, you too."
She addressed Bariteon charging with his spear of sharp frost. He aimed for her back, but even fending off Ardena, Sabnack watched her flanks and spotted the ambush early. She tilted her head, dodging the Eternal Snow blade, then smashed his solar plexus with her hilt and slammed him to the ground by his collar.
Boom!!
A harsh roar echoed as Bariteon's body crumpled.
"If I let you live, you'll try to kill me someday. Bearing the pain and rage of lost homeland and nation forever... So watch with open eyes as your home and country fall."
Sabnack had spared potential future threats out of mercy, giving them time to become vengeful ghosts plotting her demise. She craved battle with stronger foes born of agony. Arrogant and venomous. Perhaps that cruelty earned her the demon god's favor. She pursued strength and reveled in revenge, her twisted values utterly alien.
"It seems it's begun. Hell will unfold in your capital."
Sabnack grinned brightly. In the north, where Maherith—the Elf Kingdom's capital—lay, a massive forced-teleportation magic circle appeared. At last, the evil dragons of Cordoba and Salamanca stirred. Hell was about to descend on the Elf Kingdom. Sabnack savored the elves' coming screams and wails with a sinister smile.