The Beginning of Vengeance
The Divine Archer of the Hero's party had slain a demon. If one were to describe Serin, she possessed talent on the level of a prodigy. It was indeed vastly superior to that of an average person, but it wasn't in the realm of true genius reserved only for the rare few who were born blessed.
"I'll take responsibility...! Please let me go with you!" The only person who had believed in her from beginning to end was the Hero, Leon. When he was selected as the Hero and his journey to the imperial palace was decided almost against his will, he had asked for her opinion and insisted until the very end that she must come with him. Whenever she felt depressed about the gap in talent, he would always appear and offer his shoulder. Even when she felt terror toward the demons, ran away, and hid, he would defeat the enemy in front of her eyes and reach out his hand. All of it had been the Hero, Leon.
What... is that sound?
She had definitely been spending a sweet night with Vincent...?
She pushed the blanket aside, sat up, stretched, and turned her head toward Vincent lying beside her. It sounded like something had happened outside. She couldn't just stay still—not when she was known as the Divine Archer.
...She should hurry up and run.
"Vincent, wake up. There's something outside—"
And it didn't take long for her to let out a horrified gasp. A crimson bloodstain had soaked through the blanket covering Vincent.
"Kyaaaaah—!!"
"—?! Serin, what is it... Aaaagh—!!!"
The stain was right between his legs. As if to prove what she had seen wasn't a mistake, Vincent clutched the spot the moment he woke up, veins bulging in his neck as he screamed.
"Ugh...! Gk...!"
"Wh-what...! Vincent, are you okay? No, no...!"
When she pulled the blanket away, the wound was so crushed it was barely recognizable. Who could have done this? And how had they slipped past her senses? She had always been confident in her hearing, at least...?
"Demons—!! It's demons—!!"
The shout pierced her ears just as someone leaped over the windowsill. The sound of buildings collapsing, people fleeing—and the all-too-familiar noise of a human body being torn apart.
"What...?"
Even so, what she couldn't understand was that this was the capital of the Revanhart Empire. Troops were concentrated here, and the mages of the Magic Tower had set up a barrier. How could demons possibly get inside?
"Vincent, snap out of it...! Please...!"
If demons had truly invaded, she couldn't afford to stand here. She grabbed the shoulders of Vincent, who was still writhing in agony, and shook him.
"Ugh...!"
The pain seemed far worse than Vincent could bear. He foamed at the mouth, eyes rolling back. It didn't look like a reaction caused merely by the destruction below his waist. His whole body trembled violently as if every bone had been shattered.
Damn it. I need to run. There's no time for this...!
Gulp.
"Vincent... please come to your senses, Vincent..."
"Demons—!! Aaaargh—!!"
The rising sunlight slipped through the window and illuminated the unconscious Vincent. If demons had really invaded, they would surely be smashing buildings and hunting people down.
...Should she run alone?
No. No. I'm still the Divine Archer...!
She snatched up the bow she had tossed into the corner—Tyrant—and headed outside. Dust crumbled unpleasantly between her hand and the bow, revealing how long it had gone unused.
She didn't need arrows. Tyrant created them directly from the mana and wind in the air the moment she drew the string.
With light steps, she vaulted over the windowsill and climbed onto the roof. The scene her sharp hearing had already detected now lay bare before her eyes.
Demons. Without a doubt, they were demons.
It's fine...! At least it's a low-rank one. I don't know how a low-rank demon got in here, but...!
A grotesque creature with the head of a cow, the body of a chicken, and the lower half of a snake. Wielding ominous demonic energy with both arms that resembled an orc's, it was slaughtering people around the central fountain.
It was the first day of the festival. Fortunately, it was still dawn, so not many people were out, but the demon was smashing buildings indiscriminately and killing anyone it found.
Something's off about it...
Even demons didn't usually move like this. High-ranking ones might be intelligent, but low-ranking demons rarely engaged in such straightforward massacres. They usually toyed with humans, enjoying their suffering in a more playful manner. Yet this demon's rampage was the complete opposite. It was tearing people apart as if it were on a time limit.
Why?
No clear answer came to mind. She had never been the type to use her head anyway.
"Hoo..."
Her hands were shaking. Could she even hit it? It was embarrassing to admit, but she had barely touched a bow in the last six months. The merciful savior, the benevolent Leon, had allowed her to leave the front lines and rest from battle.
Some days she claimed she wasn't feeling well. Other days she said she'd had a nightmare. Leon was the kind saint who would forgive her no matter what excuse she gave each day.
...Which was why she, along with Airen and Tei, had gradually distanced herself from the front lines.
No. I can hit it. I'm the Divine Archer. The Divine Archer of the Hero's party.
She shook her head, casting away the distracting thoughts. She knew her talent was lacking. The title of Divine Archer had been granted simply because she belonged to the Hero's party. It was more than she deserved, honestly. Still... still, this was the moment she had always dreamed of stepping up. She could do it.
"Huuup—"
She held her breath and drew Tyrant's string. A swirling storm coalesced into the shape of an arrow, its tip sharpening to a deadly point.
Bang—!!
"...! The Divine Archer! It's the Divine Archer!"
"It's the Hero's party!"
The arrow shot forward, leaving a white trail. People who recognized the flashing line cheered in relief.
Yes. This was the kind of thing she could do.
The arrow flew and...
"■■■■—?"
Grazed the demon's ear and missed completely.
"...! Ugh!"
It was fine. She could just shoot again. She could fire as many as she needed. Rapid fire was her specialty.
Bang—!Baaang—!Bangbangbang—!
Without hesitation, she drew and released the string repeatedly. White arrows sliced through the air toward the demon.
Yet not a single one struck its body properly.
"...What?"
Her breathing grew ragged. Firing Tyrant consumed a fair amount of stamina. She hadn't hit it even once? Even after six months of rest, she was still the Divine Archer of the Hero's party.
The demon smirked at the arrows that had missed, then fixed its gaze on her. The moment those red eyes met hers, the demons she had faced on the front lines flashed through her mind, making her stomach churn.
Ah, aah—
"This can't be..."
"■■■■—!!"
It was laughing. The demon was definitely laughing. Now close enough to touch, it cracked its fingers with a loud pop and stared at her. Then—
"...?"
Shuk—
It raised its own claws and drove them straight through its heart.
"Huh...?"
Suicide? From a demon, of all things?
The demon's corpse fell to the ground, and a red light flashed across the entire capital. A vicious demonic energy filled the air as if a massive magic circle had been carved into the earth.
—Soon after, a hand burst out from the demon's corpse.
"—■ Enter■!"
What emerged after tearing through the low-rank demon's torso was...
A mid-rank demon. A horrifying creature that walked on two legs with a body made of wood and hundreds of eyes covering its form.
"...!"
She immediately turned and ran. She couldn't win. There was no way she could defeat it.
"...! Lady Divine Archer!!"
"Aaaargh—!!!"
The people who had stopped fleeing at the sight of Tyrant were now impaled by wooden branches. Not only that, the surrounding houses collapsed from the ground up, and blood flowed from the crushed corpses beneath them.
A calamity. A calamity had appeared here.
"Save me—"
She...
Threw Tyrant aside and ran. Away from the capital.
—And someone brushed past her as she fled.
More! Kill more! For the Demon King!
The demons summoned through the ring of blood had one primal command filling their minds: secure more sacrifices for the Demon King and offer themselves to reactivate the ring.
The low-rank demon that had gone first had fulfilled the order admirably and returned to darkness. The mid-rank demon, Seliant, vowed to gather enough blood to summon even a noble demon, surpassing the high ranks.
It extended roots into the building foundations, collapsing them all, and stretched branches toward fleeing humans to pierce their hearts. One, two—twenty—forty-four. It could feel the sacrifices piling up at a rapid pace.
The woman with the bow who had seemed the most dangerous nearby had fled in a pathetic manner the moment the demons began their full assault. Seliant mocked her as it continued the slaughter.
This stage feels like it was prepared just for me—
Slice—
"—?"
One of the branches it had extended to pierce a small human's leg was brutally severed. The speed was so fast that even Seliant's senses couldn't fully register what had cut it.
"■Human?"
It soon learned the identity of the one responsible.
The Hero. The name that had spread throughout the entire demon world. Leon was stroking a child's head after cutting the branch.
To Seliant, it looked like nothing but arrogance and recklessness. No matter how strong he was, how could he turn his back on a mid-rank demon like itself?
Seliant immediately wove countless branches into a spear and thrust it toward the Hero.
Leon had continued soothing the child until the branches drew near. He simply turned his head slightly and looked at Seliant.
Slice— Slice-slice-slice-slice—!!!
With that alone, every branch Seliant had thrust forward was mercilessly cut apart.
Heart Sword...? That's impossible!
As the demon had guessed, it was not the supreme technique known as Heart Sword. Even though he had reached Sword Master, he had not yet attained that level of mastery. Therefore, it was a mere trick.
A trick that skillfully combined the use of aura and holy power. And with nothing more than such a simple trick, he could slice apart the branches of a mere mid-rank demon as much as he wanted.
Leon patted the child's back, told it to run, then finally turned his body to face Seliant properly.
A shiver ran through it. Even though its body was made of wood, Seliant felt goosebumps. The look in his eyes, the expression on his face—it was the face of a vicious demon that could not be found anywhere in the demon world. The killing intent he radiated was so thick that the surrounding air felt twice as heavy.
"You were such a pathetic bastard."
"—?"
"You shouldn't have been wandering around outside for five years."
Seliant couldn't understand what Leon was saying. It only sensed that the Hero was muttering with an incredibly bitter heart.
Leon gripped his sword and slightly lowered his stance. Brilliant golden aura gathered on the blade and flickered.
"Hero—!!!"
Let there be light.
The demon's remains turned to ash and scattered through the air. Beneath them lay the tragic remnants of people who had died horribly. How many had died? What kind of pain had they endured? He couldn't even begin to guess.
"L-Leon..."
A hand tapped his shoulder, and a familiar voice called his name. A voice he had heard for over twenty years. A voice that had once been dear but now filled him only with disgust.
"Serin."
"I-I was just—"
His hand moved before he could think. It was closer to instinct. Like swatting at a fly that suddenly buzzed toward your face. It was simply a natural reaction to something so repulsive entering his sight.
Slap—
Her head snapped brutally to the side from the blow.
"I saw everything."
"...!"
To be honest—at first, he had agonized over how to get revenge for the betrayal. But the fact that he had once loved and been manipulated by a bug now writhing at the bottom like this was so disgusting he could hardly stand it.
"N-no, it's a misunderstanding! I can explain everything. It's all a—"
"Shut that mouth of yours."
He reached out and grabbed Serin by the jaw. When he lifted her up, she struggled and weakly pounded her fists against his arm. Ah—she was throwing a tantrum. She still clung to the baseless belief that he would forgive her, which was why she acted like this.
Behind her, he could see countless collapsed houses and a lake of blood that had pooled from the crushed corpses.
"Ha..."
Crunch—
He released her jaw and drove his fist into her abdomen with his other hand.
"Guh...!"
She curled up on the ground, clutching her stomach and trembling. Only now did she seem to fully grasp the situation. She looked at him with the eyes of someone staring at a monster—no, at a demon.
"They're all idiots. Every last one of them."
Including himself.
"Hngh...!!!"
He severed her left arm. She didn't look like she had any intention of using a bow anymore anyway. What use did a deserter from the front lines have for her left arm? Come to think of it, it looked ridiculous still attached, so he cut it off cleanly and neatly.
"Ugh... ugh...!!"
He turned away from the terrified woman. It would be ridiculous to waste any more attention on her.
Grind.
He naturally clenched his teeth.
"Looks like a cleanup is in order."
Despite an incident like this, not a single soldier had shown up yet. This was the heart of the mighty Revanhart Empire's capital. There was only one reason this could happen.
The nobles who had been entrusted with managing the festival by the emperor were pulling strings. The imperial family, having already lost its power, had been stripped of all authority over troop deployment and the capital's security.
He had realized this quite some time ago, but back then he had lacked both justification and strength to strike back properly.
But now, I can't let it slide anymore.
Tei, pray that those nobles have long lives. I have no intention of leaving you alone when you didn't even show up here.
"...I'd feel bad asking for help again."
Setting aside a Mature Sword Master on Kellyban's level, even two regular Sword Masters attacking at once would be difficult to handle. After all, the Hero's power only doubled in strength when facing demons.
So to clean up the nobles, he would need a little external help. In this rotten world, the person who still understood righteousness and could tell right from wrong was the Grand Duke of the east in the Revanhart Empire. Duke Carbandia. The great noble said to carry the blood of dragons.
And...
"Welcome, Leon. Have you finally come to seriously discuss a marriage contract with my daughter?"
The man who desperately wanted to marry his daughter to him.