Rest (2)
Every woman probably shares the same wish: that the man she loves would set everything aside and come rushing to her first.
Allen bared her thorns. Like an angry hedgehog bristling with sharp spines, she shot Yushin a glare.
Smells like those long ears. He'd clearly come back after checking on that long-eared elf's condition.
It was only natural for Allen to sulk at Yushin like that. She pulled a sullen face, acting just like a wronged wife.
"I got hurt too! But you treasure those long ears more, huh? Enough to shove your little sister who's been with you for years to the back burner!"
"Uh, sorry…."
But you'll heal right up anyway. Yushin muttered to himself as he eyed Allen, who looked perfectly fine despite taking a fatal blow from Sabnack.
Still, he'd been inconsiderate. It was undeniable that Allen had suffered even graver wounds than Ardena.
So, to make amends, Yushin promised her.
"Once the fight's over, let's hit that steak joint in Maherith. Alonne told me you went there together. I'll treat to make up for it."
"Fine, I'll forgive you this once."
Yushin reached out and ruffled Allen's hair. She broke into a beaming smile. A quick pat on the head, and her anger melted away. The pouty, grumpy expression vanished without a trace.
Allen loved it when Yushin stroked her blue locks with such affection.
"Grrr."
Allen grabbed Yushin's hand and pulled it to her cheek. He felt her hot body heat. It was a warmth he hadn't sensed while they'd been apart.
She'd abandoned her homeland to follow him to the elf kingdom, but she'd never once regretted it. Wherever he was, that's where she'd go. It didn't matter if her actions put the Rocksfield family in danger. All that mattered was being with him—feeling that hot body heat of his. That was the one thing she desperately craved.
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"For backing me up."
He'd unilaterally declared their breakup. It had been an unforgivable thing to do—to the disciple who'd followed him like a little sister all this time.
Yushin had carried that guilt toward Allen ever since. He'd dragged her to the elf kingdom, a place where she had no ties, and where humans were treated as a slave class.
"I'm fine. Wherever you are is where I belong. So don't apologize. Just stay by my side forever. That's all I need to be happy."
"Thanks."
"Yeah."
Yushin spread his arms for a hug. But instead of leaping into his embrace as she'd seemed ready to do, Allen flushed beet red and shyly turned her head away.
Despite her rough, hot-blooded personality, she was still the lady of one of the kingdom's premier noble houses. She was terribly clumsy when it came to the emotion called love, or the act of romance itself. If anything, she was worse than Ardena—never better.
"Gonna go check on the disciples. Wanna come?"
"Sure."
Allen got along well with Alonne. They weren't officially friends or anything. But Allen, who harbored deep resentment toward elves, was the only one she'd open up to like that.
What on earth do they have in common? Yushin wondered, but decided it was a good thing and gave a positive nod to Allen's warming up to Alonne.
"Master!"
"Teacher."
Alonne and Leticia were in the central garden of the palace. Yushin found the two high elf girls by the fountain at the heart of the lush green space, brimming with verdant foliage.
The soothing scent of grass calmed the mind. Fresh green plants overflowed with life. And sunlight sparkled through the leaves whenever the breeze blew.
The two high elves, immersed in nature, looked just like fairies from a picture book—radiating mystical allure and sacred beauty.
"You okay?"
"I was fine from the start."
"You fought a Demon King! As expected of Master!"
Alonne gazed up at Yushin with eyes full of admiration and joy, sparkling like stars. It was as if she'd come face-to-face with the messiah straight out of scripture.
"I pitched in too, y'know."
"Allen's amazing too! One of the Kingdom's Seven Swords, after all!"
Allen's nose practically pierced the sky at Alonne's praise.
It's not some shared interest…. Their mental ages are just on the same level, huh. Watching them chat, Yushin suddenly thought.
"Ah."
Leticia let out a short gasp as her eyes met Yushin's. Is she hiding something? Her face flushed softly, like a maiden on her wedding day, before she spoke to him.
"I heard. You clashed fiercely with the Raging Flames Demon King. You must be exhausted, Teacher."
"It was touch and go."
"I believed you'd win."
"That's some random confidence. Must be from seeing that memory, right?"
Leticia nodded gravely at Yushin's words.
She had seen it. Through the memory vessel left by the dark elves.
With her own two eyes, she'd witnessed Yushin's back as he marched toward the Demon King's castle, armed with lightning-infused sword and armor.
It had only been a virtual world conjured from memories, but what her eyes beheld was the reality that had truly unfolded.
"When you felled the Demon King… it must have been a whirlwind of emotions. Life isn't some innocent fairy tale, after all."
"Yeah, you're right."
Yushin nodded at Leticia's words, reminiscing about the past with a wry smile.
Who'd have thought he'd be sharing the tale of slaying Agares with his third disciple? The Santander heiress had an insatiable curiosity. That must've driven her to tamper with the dark elves' memory vessel.
It was cheeky of her to secretly pilfer his subordinates' memories, but since the subordinates themselves laughed it off with "It's fine if it's Lady Leticia," Yushin let it slide.
"This time, I won't repeat the same mistake. I learned back then that glory won at the cost of my men's lives is a hollow victory."
"Yes, I believe in you."
Yushin nodded at Leticia's smiling response.
Exterminate the Raging Flames Demon King. That single thought had consumed him ever since joining the front lines where the elf kingdom clashed with the Demon King Army.
He wasn't fighting for Liberia Elf Kingdom. It was for his elf disciples. And for the woman whose gaze had started drawing him in before he knew it.
In the next battle, he'd sever Sabnack's lifeline for good.
* * *
Back at her main base, Sabnack spent most of her time in the hastily completed barracks.
A deathly silence hung in the air. The demons whispered amid the eerie stillness.
She's honing her power to finish off the Demon King Slayer. Maybe drawing out some hidden inner strength through meditation.
The demons on guard around the barracks brimmed with anticipation, convinced that in the next battle, she'd slay the Demon King Slayer and turn the Libria Peninsula into a sea of blood with elf corpses.
"The Demon King must have some secret weapon."
"I peeked when delivering her meal—her fingers were loaded with rings."
"She muttered something about that scrap sword going berserk? Said she might lose control in madness and bloodlust, slaughtering even our own allies…. Thought it was just a crude hunk of iron, but turns out it's a demon sword after all."
The snippets the demons had eavesdropped on were actually lines from the script Sabnack was writing.
When facing the Demon King Slayer, she'd spouted them to showcase her majesty as the king despised by all creation—a mere act.
Her scrap sword held only the power of indestructibility, nothing like Yushin's Lightning Sword Karus with its special abilities. No risk of madness or bloodlust.
It was just playful banter to intimidate the Demon King Slayer and assert her demonic authority.
"I am your sworn nemesis, the mortal foe and adversary of all life—the Demon King! Shatter the Demon King's blade. Trample the Demon King's corpse. Glory and legend shall shine upon thee! Demon King Slayer who felled Agares, test thy slaughtering strike against my immortality!"
The red-haired woman paced the barracks with light, buoyant steps, like an actress on a ballroom stage. She hummed her lines.
Each time, excitement lit up Sabnack's face. Her heart raced. Euphoria tinged her pale cheeks, and fierce resolve gleamed in her moist eyes.
This war would decide the fate of the elf kingdom and Demon King Army—no room for retreat.
And Sabnack had awaited such a clash all this time.
"Fix this part, tweak that…."
After hunching over her desk for ages, Sabnack finally held the finished draft.
"Done!"
She fluttered the pages with a radiant smile. At last, it was complete. Lines that would make her fateful duel with the Demon King Slayer shine even brighter.
The pathetic Demon King, driven from her lands by elves, defeats the slayer of Agares! Word would spread across the continent.
That alone would restore her fame and shattered pride lost centuries ago. The other Demon Kings who'd mocked her would never dare again after this victory.
Reclaim the Libria Peninsula, and I'll fulfill the Beast King's demands. Borrowing funds and troops from that southern continent tyrant was a gamble, but victory is at hand. Even that miser won't threaten me anymore.
The Beast King. Ruler of the southern continent. Recalling that monster's visage, Sabnack shuddered in rage.
After her defeat at the hands of El Seed and the elves, Sabnack had retreated to the southern continent, body riddled with wounds. There, she'd honed herself for centuries, biding her time for revenge.
Having lost most of her forces in the war with the elves, she'd borrowed funds and troops from the Beast King to attempt a comeback.
"I will never flee."
Sabnack clenched her fists, face twisting as she swore it. She wouldn't repeat the disgraceful blunder of that rout.
Her humiliating loss to the elves stemmed from that absurd monster, El Seed. The iron-blooded elf knight who'd unleashed relentless assaults despite failing to sever her immortality.
Sabnack still couldn't forget how mercilessly El Seed had carved her up.
"Beast King, and Tuma. Watch from the sidelines as bystanders. See how I, who paid the vow and price, rise again."
Rampage Flame never extinguishes. Even if it flickers perilously, it will blaze anew.
She would reclaim the lands stolen by elves and reassert the might of the six Demon Kings across the continent.
Victory was within reach. No more hesitation, no more retreat.
Everything was ready. Preparations for battle, preparations for triumph.
Only one thing remained: Crush the Demon King Slayer honorably and set the Libria Peninsula ablaze in crimson flames.