Holy crap.
This is impossible.
The moment Virtus saw the monster, he instinctively knew.
Its sheer size was one thing, but the dark energy radiating from it was overwhelming. It was on an entirely different level from any monster Virtus had encountered before. Cold sweat trickled down his back as he hesitated and took a step back.
“You had so much fun beating up our Yuriel, didn’t you? Isn’t that right?”
Shekina, who commanded the monster, was angrier than ever.
She had known that Yuriel wouldn’t be able to defeat Virtus. She was aware that Yuriel would end up getting beaten. But Shekina had stayed back because Yuriel still didn’t know that they were ‘demons.’ So Shekina had been watching for the right moment to summon the monster.
– As long as I live well and those around me are safe, that’s all that matters!
At least, until she heard that load of nonsense.
In her past life, Shekina had heard similar words countless times.
It doesn’t matter if you get hurt. It doesn’t concern me. As long as I’m fine, that’s all that matters. Having endured such selfishness before, Shekina couldn’t tolerate someone like Virtus wearing priestly robes and spewing the same garbage.
So she ordered Dehan to knock Yuriel unconscious and stepped forward herself.
That bastard, I’ll kill him. That was her intent.
“Now, you make me feel good too. I’ve been really looking forward to this.”
“Y-You…”
Virtus was at a loss.
If he fought here, he’d undoubtedly die. But if he ran? If he ran, Lucifer would kill him.
Either way, death was certain.
What should he do? How could he survive this?
As Virtus’s mind raced, an earth-shattering explosion erupted right above his head.
The force of the blast was so immense it sent chills down his spine. This was Lucifer’s power. And there was something else—it was definitely dark energy…!
“Damn it! Virtus! Protect us! Distract them!”
Gabriel’s voice roared in his ears.
Hurriedly looking toward the source of the sound, he saw Lucifer plummeting with his face crushed, and Gabriel reaching out a hand toward him. Behind them, the Demon King was also in pursuit. However, it seemed the Demon King was just barely going to miss catching them.
‘I… I…’
If Virtus did as Gabriel commanded and took on the role of distracting the enemies, he would undoubtedly be caught. Gabriel and Lucifer would escape safely.
‘That’s the last thing I want.’
Flash!
Virtus summoned all his strength and activated his magic.
Teleportation.
And Summoning.
Using teleportation, he reached Lucifer.
Using summoning, he replaced himself with Gabriel.
In other words, Virtus swapped places with Gabriel.
“…Virtus?”
Gabriel, now suddenly on the ground, stared blankly at Virtus, who was flying off while carrying Lucifer in the distance.
“That damn bastard…!”
It dawned on Gabriel that he had been tricked. He immediately tried to take off, but it was impossible. A monster had pinned his spine to the ground.
“Argh!”
Struggling under the monster’s weight, Gabriel writhed, but Shekina showed no mercy.
“Wow. So you’d even sell out your allies. Guess you’ll end up selling your soul later, huh?”
Shekina slowly approached Gabriel, who was restrained by the monster, and spoke.
“Well, this works out fine. You probably know more useful information than that guy.”
Virtus was obviously just a discardable pawn, so Shekina found this situation even better.
“Hi there!”
Shekina waved cheerfully at Gabriel, smiling brightly. Grinding his teeth in frustration, Gabriel shouted,
“I have nothing to tell you bastards! Just kill me!”
“Aw, how could I? I’m way too pure to do something so cruel.”
Shekina let out a humming sound and shook her head.
“I wasn’t planning to make you talk anyway.”
“…What?”
“Don’t talk. Don’t say anything. From now on, not a single word, okay? Got it?”
“What nonsense are you…”
“I’ll make you beg to be allowed to speak.”
“……….”
“So don’t talk. Just keep your mouth shut.”
Wait.
Didn’t you just claim to be pure?
Gabriel tightly shut his eyes, as if envisioning the cruel fate awaiting him.
***
“Tch.”
Lucart clicked his tongue and swept back his hair as he stepped onto the ground.
He had been so close to capturing Lucifer this time, only to lose him again.
Had he been at his full power, he wouldn’t have just let Lucifer escape—he would’ve wiped out every single one of them on the spot.
Feeling his slipping strength, as elusive as sand in his hand, Lucart let out a quiet sigh.
“Oh, boss! You’re here?”
Shekina approached Lucart.
“Are you hurt anywhere? Come on, let me check. Turn around.”
Shekina fussed over Lucart, circling around him to inspect for injuries. Lucart grabbed the back of Shekina’s neck, lifted her up, and locked eyes with her.
“I lost Lucifer.”
Shekina tilted her head.
“Yep. I already knew that.”
Lucart hesitated for a moment. Wait, she knew, and yet she said nothing? Lucart’s gaze wavered.
“Stuff like that happens sometimes. But you totally wrecked him, didn’t you? You made sure he won’t be able to use that body again, right?”
“That’s true.”
“Then it’s fine! Now, are you hurt anywhere?”
Whether or not they lost the enemy doesn’t matter; the safety of his body is what’s more important…
This was a completely foreign feeling to Lucart.
No one had ever worried about him before. The Demon King was supposed to overcome everything and endure everything alone.
But this tiny child worried about him regardless of the outcome.
This simple fact brought him an unexpected sense of joy.
“…Here.”
After setting Shekina down, Lucart extended his right hand.
“I’m hurt.”
There was a small red scratch on his right index finger. Shekina blinked at the faint injury.
“This is a scratch, not really an injury, though.”
“It hurts.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Is that all?”
Well, yes, that’s all—what more was he expecting?
Shekina wanted to brush it off as nothing but stopped herself, feeling that Lucart might be disappointed if she didn’t meet his expectations.
“Um… fine, then.”
Shekina gently blew a small puff of air on Lucart’s wound.
Lucart’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Wow, you actually did it.”
He moved his lips slightly before smiling softly.
“Feels like it’s healed now.”
“……….”
This is weird.
Shekina shuddered, feeling goosebumps all over.
“Anyway, what about that guy?”
Lucart pointed toward Yuriel. Dehan was by his side.
“He’s unconscious. He’s hurt, but it’s nothing critical. Once we return to the castle, I’ll heal him.”
“And the one you captured?”
“I knocked him out. Planning to hand him over to Uncle later.”
“Well done.”
“Of course, I’m amazing.”
“And the merfolk?”
“They’ll probably come out now.”
As if on cue, there was rustling in the bushes, and one by one, the merfolk began to emerge.
“Umm… that is…”
Their faces looked different from before.
Was it because Shekina’s group had driven away the Pope?
No.
“Demons…”
It was because they were demons.
Demons, who were natural enemies of the merfolk.
Shekina clicked her tongue. She had tried her best to keep it hidden, but now that the truth was out…
‘I’ll have to ask for black spinels as compensation.’
After taking in the situation, Shekina turned to the leader of the merfolk, Micro.
“Yep, we’re demons. So what?”
“…Sigh.”
Micro, who had been wearing an awkward expression, soon took a deep breath and approached Shekina and Lucart.
Knowing the deep hatred the merfolk had for demons, Shekina warily watched Micro, worried he might try to harm Lucart.
But then…
“……..!”
Something happened that shocked everyone.
