In Kraven Village, the sky was heavy with dark, churning clouds. Alira stood by the window, a single hand pressed against the cool glass. Outside, a violent storm was tearing through the landscape; torrential rain poured down, rushing into the cracked stone drainage lanes while howling winds forced the trees into a wild, chaotic dance. Thunder boomed at regular intervals, fracturing the dark sky with brilliant flashes of lightning.
"Hey, elf. What are you doing?"
Valkira walked up beside her. Alira turned away from the window with a soft sigh. "It's nothing. I was just wondering how Zacken is doing in the capital."
"I see." Valkira looked out at the rain, her expression softening. "Well, I'm a little worried too. He's smart enough to solve almost any problem, but at the end of the day, he's physically weak. If his plans don't work out exactly as intended, there's very little he can do to defend himself."
Behind them, Verixa overheard the conversation. She was casually holding a massive, meat-heavy chicken bone and spoke up right after taking a large bite.
"Hey! Don't worry about him so much—you guys are taking him way too lightly," Verixa said, grinning sharply. "Even if he's physically weak, what if he single-handedly solves our entire kingdom's issue? Besides, elf, didn't he manage to find a solution for the Heartwood Tree? Even the wisest elves couldn't match him in that area." She took another bite and added, "Also, he was summoned by a demon queen herself, so there's no way he'll be caught that easily."
Alira and Valkira exchanged a glance, a wave of relief washing over them as a shared smile crossed their faces.
"Yes, he will manage somehow," they said in unison.
Outside the Capital Walls (Present)
"I see a traitor among humans, I guess," the blond knight said.
He stared right through my disguise, leaving me completely paralyzed with shock. How did he find out who I am so easily?
"Huh? A human?" Diana echoed, her voice laced with confusion. She looked down at me, then raised her eyes to glare fiercely at the man in white armor. "Hey! Human! Are you out of your mind? Can't you see he's a demon, not from your pathetic race?!"
Dusting herself off, she stepped in front of me, putting herself between me and the knight as she dropped into a low fighting stance.
"Ooh. It seems like this goblin girl doesn't know about your little disguise either," the knight mused. He raised a single hand and casually snapped his fingers.
Instantly, the disguise magic set by Tez began to unravel.
The Plaza of Karven (Flashback)
"You are going to disguise yourself as a demon?" Alira had asked, her brow furrowed in confusion at the absurd idea.
"Well, yes, that's my plan," I had replied, pacing around the plaza. "But the issue is, even if I paint myself or add fake horns, the real problem lies in my mana signature. From what I've seen so far, people use their own mana to cast magic. But as you've all pointed out, I have none, right?" I stopped and looked at Valkira, who nodded in confirmation.
"Yes. It is certain that we cannot see any mana within you," Valkira said. "Even the ordinary humans we've met contain at least a little bit."
"Then this is a major problem," I muttered, closing my eyes and placing a hand on my chin, thinking hard.
"Hey, Human!" Siriel called out, gently tugging at the edge of my clothes.
"Huh? What is it? Do you have an idea?" I asked.
"Well, if you just need a disguise, maybe Tez can help?" she suggested.
Liriel quickly nodded in agreement. "Yes! You may not know this, but he is a demon who specializes in deception magic."
"Wha—what are you saying, Siriel, Liriel?!" Tez stammered, his hands waving in a panicked, nervous flurry. "I was just curious about it and learned a few things! That doesn't mean I'm a specialist in the field!"
"That's great!" I clapped my hands together and walked right up to him, trying to build up his confidence. "Please, Tez. I know you're scared, but we really need your help. Don't worry—even if it fails, no one will blame you. I will take full responsibility."
Tez looked into my eyes. Seeing the sheer determination reflecting back at him, he finally swallowed his fear and agreed. He extended his hands and cast his magic. It wasn't a physical transformation; instead, he wove an intricate illusion that forced the eyes of anyone looking at me to perceive a demon. It perfectly projected a set of horns, a tail, and altered skin, while simultaneously casting a mana illusion that made me radiate the exact energy signature of a low-level demon.
"So, how do I look? Is there any actual change?" I asked, highly skeptical that it would actually work.
The girls' eyes widened in absolute shock. Their stunned expressions said it all—the magic cast by Tez had created a flawless illusion.
Outside the Capital Walls (Present)
Diana gasped, utterly shocked as the illusion dissolved and I reverted back to my true human form. But she forced herself to remain calm; the overwhelming threat standing right in front of us was far too massive to worry about a lie.
"It seems you still intend to go back to where you belong," the knight said coldly.
With a casual flick of his wrist, he tossed an object onto the ground between us. It bounced and rolled into the dirt. I stared at it, confused, but beside me, Diana's eyes widened to the size of saucers. Her body began to tremble violently as a raw, uncontrollable fury took hold of her. Unable to contain her rage for even another second, she lunged forward.
I looked closer at the dirt and the horrific realization hit me. It was the royal garland. The very one the Goblin King always wore.
He had killed him.
"You bastard!!!!" Diana roared.
With a sharp, explosive burst of speed, she dashed forward and threw a heavy punch directly at his face. The knight merely tilted his head slightly, dodging it with terrifying ease. Driven by pure hatred, Diana launched a relentless barrage of strikes, but the knight moved like a ghost, effortlessly evading every single attack with swift, fluid motions.
Spotting a glaring opening in her stance, the knight abruptly drove the heavy pommel of his sword handle straight into her gut.
The breath exploded from Diana's lungs, and she collapsed to her knees, clutching her stomach. The knight calmly raised his blade, preparing to bring it down to end her life.
Acting on pure survival instinct, I threw my weight forward and tackled him squarely in the torso. But it did absolutely nothing. He stood tall and unmoving, completely unfazed by the impact of my collision.
"Run! I will try to hold him!" I screamed at her.
Diana hesitated for a fraction of a second, but seeing the desperation in my eyes, she nodded. She scrambled to her feet and tried to sprint toward the cover of the nearby forest.
The knight immediately drove a brutal knee directly into my stomach. The pain blinded me, dropping me instantly to the dirt. He raised his hand, preparing to unleash the same devastating white energy wave to cut Diana down before she could reach the trees.
Summoning the absolute last of my strength, I lunged forward again, wrapping my arms around his weapon arm. The sudden weight pulled his aim off course; the blinding white slash missed Diana entirely, sailing into the distance and cleanly severing a massive row of trees in the forest.
Despite his attack missing, the knight remained completely calm. He turned his head downward and delivered a brutal punch square to my face, sending me skidding backward across the dirt.
"I don't understand why you are doing this, but one thing is clear now," he said, watching me coldly as I desperately crawled backward to put some distance between us. He observed my movements, his eyes narrowing in recollection. "You are the boy who led the Queen's escape in the demon city, aren't you?"
My blood ran cold. This is bad! Now that he knows exactly who I am, he's going to end me right here, right now! What do I do?! Think, Zacken, think!
The knight's calm demeanor finally cracked, transforming into a dark, simmering anger. He closed the gap between us with slow, deliberate steps, his hand wrapping around his hilt as he slowly unsheathed his sword.
"So, you are the one who killed my commander... and my people," he growled, his voice dropping to a menacing whisper. "My hands have been itching for revenge since that day, and here we finally meet."
He stepped up over me. I tried to scramble away, but the sheer pressure of his killer aura pinned me to the ground, leaving my limbs entirely paralyzed. I couldn't even stand.
I'm going to die... I'm dead... I'm dead...
"Then goodbye, traitor."
He swung his blade downward in a lethal arc. My eyes widened in panic as the steel rushed toward my neck. Expecting the end, I tightly shut my eyes.
"By bound and breath, by blood and bone, I draw the line that stands as stone. Let nothing pass that means me harm— Hold fast the wall, hold firm the charm!"
A resounding CLANG echoed through the night. The lethal downward strike was violently deflected away by a shimmering barrier of solid light that had suddenly materialized over me.
I snapped my eyes open and turned toward the source of the incantation. Standing a few yards away was Rosella.
"Rosella-sama...?" The knight's eyes widened in utter shock, his sword arm vibrating from the recoil. "But why?!"
Before he could recover his stance, Rosella immediately began chanting a second spell, her hands weaving through the air.
"Rise from nothing, choke the sight— Blind the world in ashen night!"
An explosion of endless, pitch-black smoke erupted from her position, rapidly expanding into a dense, blinding mist that swallowed the entire battlefield. Through the thick darkness, Rosella's voice echoed urgently in my ears:
"Run!"
Without wasting a single second to think, I bolted. I didn't run toward the forest where Diana had gone—if I followed her, I would only bring the knight right to her. Instead, I ran in the exact opposite direction. I sprinted blindly through the dense fog, cutting zig-zag patterns through thick bushes and brambles to confuse anyone attempting to track my footsteps.
Back at the gate, the knight unleashed a powerful swing of his sword, creating a gust of wind that instantly cleared the remaining mist. He turned his gaze toward Rosella, whose expression was deeply troubled but defiant.
"So, we have one more traitor among us," he said coldly.
Rosella met his gaze, a small, reckless smirk forming on her face despite the sheer danger of her situation. "I'm sorry, Captain Charles. But that person is not going to die here today."
Charles sighed, looking at her with a mix of pity and stern authority. "I can only hope that you were manipulated, Rosella-sama. That person is not a demon, and he merely used you to gather information. The moment your usefulness ended, he left you behind without a single thought as to what would happen to you."
"I guess... you might be right," Rosella murmured.
A brief flash of memory crossed her mind—moments where Zacken had risked everything to save her life over and over again. A gentle, genuine smile touched her lips.
But it lasted only a second. In the blink of an eye, Captain Charles vanished from where he stood. Before Rosella could even react, he materialized directly in front of her and buried a brutal punch straight into her abdomen.
The force of the blow knocked the consciousness right out of her, and she collapsed limply onto the ground.
Leaving Rosella's unconscious body where it lay, Captain Charles turned his gaze toward the exact direction I had fled. Silently, he began walking into the dark, following my trail.