The Second Hero (11)
Ria hesitated for a moment, then asked me about the Demon King.
Hmm... the Demon King, huh...
It made sense that she'd be curious. Information about the Hero's party was something you could piece together from newspapers and the like. But the Demon King was a different story entirely. You wouldn't find a scrap of real information about her in any paper. The Empire made sure of that. From their perspective, there was simply no reason to go around spreading stories about the demons.
So of course a perfectly ordinary girl like Ria would be dying to know. And the chance to hear it straight from the Hero himself? That wasn't the kind of opportunity that came around every day.
"She's strong."
"Wow... strong. And?"
"That's it."
"...? Excuse me?"
Honestly, though, I didn't have much else to say about the Demon King.
I told Ria what I knew, and the eager look on her face went flat as a week-old soda. She stared at me like, Well, of course the Demon King is strong—is that really all you've got? Clearly not the answer she'd been hoping for. I knew that. But—
"There's nothing special about her besides how strong she is."
That really was everything I had. As someone who'd actually met the Demon King, that was the only impression that stuck. Nothing else came to mind. We'd spent the entire day beating the hell out of each other the moment we met, after all.
"But she was seriously strong. Strong enough that even I had to admit it. Anything other than 'strong' just feels like an insult, you know?"
And I genuinely believed that was the best word to describe her. Standing in front of the Demon King's power, things like her beautiful appearance or any other traits were nothing more than footnotes. I'd never once in my life thought of anyone as strong—and meeting her had been a genuine shock. That a being that powerful could exist in this world... encountering the Demon King had felt like being shown an entirely new world.
"Hmm. I don't fully understand, but if even you say she's strong, she must be incredible. I mean, you lost to her and everything..."
Ria had been disappointed by how simple my answer was at first, but watching me speak seriously about the Demon King, she nodded along—as if she didn't quite get it, but got it a little.
"What?"
I'd lost to the Demon King?
Something in Ria's words made the leash on my temper slip.
"What are you talking about? I'm way stronger. We just haven't settled it yet!!!"
Yes, the Demon King was strong. No one in their right mind would call her weak. I, the former Hero, was the first to admit that. But that didn't mean she was stronger than me. Our fight simply hadn't been decided yet. That was no grounds for saying I was weaker than her.
In more ways than one, Ria's comment had stomped all over my pride.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd get so angry... I just read in the newspaper that you'd been defeated..."
The moment I snapped, Ria apologized at once—sorry for misunderstanding.
"...No. I got too worked up. Sorry."
Looking at her, I reined myself in. What the hell was I even doing...?
Ria had only said that because of the newspapers the Empire put out. We'd fought to a draw, and those bastards had gone and printed that I'd lost to the Demon King.
Damn Empire.
I wasn't angry at Ria. I was angry at the Empire, pure and simple. That whole affair had left me with more than a few scars.
We apologized to each other and made up.
Haa... Come to think of it, I did say we'd settle the score.
Driving the carriage again, on the road toward the Artes Kingdom, the memory of the Demon King surfaced unbidden.
The first time we met, she and I had fought for days on end without sleep. Even then, we couldn't decide a winner, and we'd had no choice but to put the match off for later. I'd promised to come back to the Demon King's Castle—and then we'd parted ways.
Not like I can go fight the Demon King again now.
After that, I'd been stripped of my title as Hero. And if I wasn't the Hero anymore, there was no reason I'd ever run into the Demon King again. It hadn't been my intention, but I'd ended up breaking my promise to her.
Should I at least go tell her I couldn't keep it...? The thought crossed my mind, but—
Eh... she probably doesn't care that much anyway.
Yeah. No need. A promise with the Demon King? What promise. There was no reason to put that much weight on it. She probably didn't take my word that seriously either. Better to just pretend it never happened and go on living my own life.
So this is the inside of the Demon King's Castle?
After sending his party members away, Herald pushed open the castle gates. He steeled himself not to flinch no matter what came charging out—even if countless demons poured their attacks down on him.
As it turned out, he needn't have bothered. The gates swung open, and not a single demon came forward to greet him or strike him down.
Herald found the silence strange for a moment, but on second thought it wasn't all that surprising. The previous Hero, Lee Hansu, had supposedly wiped out nearly every demon there was. Of course there would be no one left inside the castle to receive him.
The Demon King is that way...
Everyone except the Demon King, that is. Lee Hansu had failed to bring her down. No matter how empty and desolate the castle looked, its master was still very much alive. The indescribable, bone-chilling aura seeping through the halls proved it. Could a single presence really feel this terrifying? The Demon King might be an even more dreadful being than he'd imagined.
Even so, Herald walked slowly toward the source of that demonic energy. He was the Hero now. He had come here to defeat the Demon King. Steadying his resolve as a Hero, he pressed forward, step by deliberate step.
I can win this.
Truth be told, even Herald was not without fear. The Demon King—sovereign of all demons, the strongest foe a Hero was meant to face. A veteran of decades of knighthood and countless battles, and still his nerves were taut. Having no party members at his side only made it worse. The Demon King was supposed to be taken down by a Hero and their party together. Going without them was a serious disadvantage.
But Herald forced courage into himself all the same. Hadn't Lee Hansu fought the Demon King to a near standstill? By that measure, the Demon King's strength was roughly on par with Lee Hansu's. And Herald was confident he was stronger than Lee Hansu. He'd beaten the man once before, after all.
Granted, a fair amount of time had passed since then, and neither of them was quite the same as they'd been—but it was grounds enough. Grounds to believe he could bring the Demon King down.
Besides, among the Heroes of ages past, there had been those who defeated the Demon King alone, without a party. Whether he measured up to legends like that, he couldn't say. But it meant it wasn't impossible. He was entitled to a little optimism.
I won't let my guard down. Not for a second.
That said, he would never grow careless. A battle-hardened veteran knew exactly how poisonous overconfidence could be in a fight. How many skilled knights had fallen into that trap and lost their lives? Herald would not give the Demon King so much as an inch. From the very first exchange, he would go all out and cut her down without leaving a single opening.
Calmly laying out his strategy, Herald kept walking toward the Demon King's presence. Slowly, steadily... until at last he stood face to face with her.
"Hm...?"
Confronted with the Demon King, Herald could only gape.
What in the world was this?
Had he been stunned by how terrifying she looked? No. If that had been it, he wouldn't be this flustered. Before him stood a horned demon radiating a ferocious aura—almost certainly the Demon King herself. There was nothing especially remarkable about her appearance, save that she was a female demon.
But the Demon King was doing something he had never once imagined.
"What is this...? Food?"
A full banquet had been laid out, and the Demon King sat waiting in her seat—as though she had been expecting a guest.
"Demon King. What is the meaning of all this?"
Why on earth would she prepare something like this? Hero and Demon King were sworn enemies. And she was throwing a feast for her enemy? He had never heard of such a thing in his life. For a fleeting moment he wondered if they had met before—but no. Herald had never encountered the Demon King, never so much as spoken to her. No matter how he turned it over, her behavior made no sense. He had no choice but to ask.
"We would rather put the question to thee."
But the Demon King was just as baffled. She looked at Herald as though she couldn't make sense of the situation either, and turned the question back on him.
"We prepared a grand welcome for the Hero—yet who art thou?"
Where, she wanted to know, was Lee Hansu?