After Shekina and her companions had left.
Remaining behind in the Demon King’s Castle, Lucart stared out the window. The furrow of his brows, his tightly closed lips, and his twitching cheek made it easy to guess his emotions. He was irritated.
Lucart wanted to join Shekina and her group.
The first reason was because he was worried they might end up in danger again, like before.
The second reason… was that he felt uneasy whenever Shekina wasn’t nearby.
‘Why?’
Lucart questioned himself.
The first reason made sense. But the second… he couldn’t quite justify. Feeling uneasy just because Shekina wasn’t around?
‘……….’
Perhaps, it was because her mature demeanor had left such a deep impression on him.
The way she hid her feelings, endured silently, and pushed herself desperately to accomplish something—those images kept replaying in his mind.
He feared that she might just vanish one day.
“Hah.”
Lucart twisted his lips into a bitter smirk.
“To think I’d come to worry so much about someone who’s merely a homunculus.”
Even to himself, it felt laughable.
But he didn’t feel pathetic.
In fact, this was akin to shattering the notion that demons only ever felt greed.
At any rate, Lucart was considering whether he should have someone tail Shekina’s group. Just in case.
That’s how he was trying to rationalize things to himself—when it happened.
“So this is where you were.”
A voice seasoned with age tickled Lucart’ ear. He didn’t turn around, merely answered curtly.
“I told you. No one is allowed here but me.”
And then, a short remark.
“Nord.”
The First Elder, Nord Daimon, approached Lucart with a low chuckle.
“I, too, respect Your Majesty’s time, but this matter truly couldn’t wait. I hope you understand.”
Lucart was annoyed at the interruption of his solitude, but if Nord had come all this way, it must’ve been serious.
With a heavy sigh, Lucart asked.
“What is it?”
Standing just a step behind him, Nord stroked his beard with a bitter smile.
“I suppose… I’ve gotten old.”
“What?”
“Old enough to lose my sense of judgment. I kept turning a blind eye, thinking it was best not to stir things up—even when things had gotten this bad.”
“…..…”
What is he talking about?
Only then did Lucart finally turn to look at Nord.
Nord—who always wore a gentle smile and had the eyes of a wise man—
“The Elders have attacked Shekina’s group.”
—now wore an expression of fury he had never shown before.
He held out his staff toward Lucart, almost as if offering it in apology, and murmured.
“I can no longer protect them.”
***
“Yuriel! Calm down! Please, calm down!”
“Get a hold of yourself.”
“Did you get hit in the head during the attack or something? What’s wrong with you? Have you lost your mind?”
Shekina, Dehan, and Arthur each tried to stop Yuriel in turn.
Yuriel, who looked like he might bolt out the door at any moment, barely managed to hold himself back, biting down hard on his lower lip.
“N-no… But… they said they’re targeting D-Dehan’s body…”
“It sounds even weirder when you say it like that.”
Shekina scratched the back of her head and tugged on Yuriel’s sleeve.
“I already told you. We knew, and we’re being careful. As long as Dehan doesn’t lose control of his mind, everything will be fine.”
With those words, she tried to calm Yuriel and turned her gaze toward Dehan.
“Right, Dehan? You’ve got a strong mind, don’t you?”
“…I will make sure I don’t become a burden.”
Dehan answered with a determined expression, like he had steeled himself for something.
That, in turn, made Shekina slightly uneasy.
If he’s that tense, things that should go well might not.
Well… he’ll probably manage somehow.
If Lucifer actually succeeded in taking over Dehan’s body, even the System would be cornered, right?
In that case, the System would probably intervene… Hopefully?
“W-why would someone like Lucifer… go after Dehan…?”
“No, wait, what exactly does it mean that he’s a… a vessel?”
Now that she thought about it, Shekina realized she’d never really explained everything properly to them.
They’d all just picked things up on their own, based on hints.
Shekina let out a hum and then crossed her arms, facing Yuriel directly.
“You knew the Pope had something else inside him, right?”
“Y-yes.”
“That ‘something’ was Lucifer. Basically, an evil god, if you want to put it simply.”
“A-an evil god…”
Yuriel’s eyes darted around, overwhelmed.
“But why would someone like that target Dehan…?”
Shekina knew she couldn’t state things too definitively. Otherwise, they’d hit her with, “And just how exactly do you know all that?”
So she played it safe.
“It’s just my theory, but…”
Shekina spoke in a thoughtful, speculative tone
“I think they raised Dehan at the temple from a young age while gathering all sorts of data. Then they shaped his body to be the perfect match for Lucifer.”
“C-can something like that… even be possible…?”
“If the world worked by common sense, Lucifer wouldn’t have shown up in the first place. Same goes for demons.”
“……”
Yuriel clasped his hands under his chin in thought. Faced with clearly irrational realities, he seemed to accept the situation, as if he had no choice but to believe it.
Shekina then averted her gaze from Yuriel and muttered as if to herself.
“There are rumors kids with blond hair and blue eyes have been disappearing in the capital. Be careful, Dehan. We don’t know what might happen there next.”
“T-then I should go—!”
“If you go, you’ll die.”
Shekina interrupted coldly.
“You probably didn’t see it earlier, but Lucifer wasn’t alone.”
“Was that guy—Virtus—there too?”
Arthur, who had been quietly observing the conversation, stepped forward and asked.
“If it were just him, I wouldn’t be this concerned.”
Shekina shrugged.
She recalled the battle that had taken place atop the cliff just a while ago.
There had been sixteen demons, as Dehan had mentioned, Lucifer himself, and his right-hand man, Virtus.
But that wasn’t all.
Behind Lucifer had stood… an entire line of monsters.
Shekina let out a long sigh.
“Looks like they finally succeeded in creating chimeras.”
“Damn…”
Arthur furrowed his brows.
Chimeras were abominations—unnatural creatures made by fusing existing beings into something that should not exist.
Mindless, unthinking, relentless in their attacks regardless of injury—dangerous foes.
That made them difficult opponents. Especially for such a small group as theirs.
“Still, as long as we have the merfolks with us, they won’t have the perfect setup.”
Shekina said, trying to sound hopeful.
Arthur responded with a bitter smile and a nod.
“Let’s hope you’re right.”
As she watched Arthur’s grim smile, Shekina suddenly clapped her hands.
“Anyway, we need to head to the capital and make Yuriel the new Pope. Got it?”
“Y-yes…”
“But the carriage is wrecked, and there probably isn’t a village nearby.”
“There’s a way around that.”
Shekina scratched her cheek as she looked around at each of them—Dehan with a determined face, Arthur looking worried, and Yuriel still on the verge of bolting.
She inhaled deeply.
“You just have to get over your inner discomfort.”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Shekina drew a summoning circle in midair, and immediately, a thick wave of oppressive dark energy poured out.
And then—
[Screeeech!]
[Skrree?]
Two monsters emerged from the portal.
Black, wet, oozing with an unpleasant scent—vile creatures.
“…..…”
Shekina climbed onto one of the creatures and spoke briefly to the others, who were still stunned.
“Hey. Get on.”
