Ash had always wanted to raise a child properly. It had honestly never crossed his mind to guide a child in any strange direction, so he naturally tried to discipline them as strictly as possible.
The result was... at least most of the time, Sophia was fairly obedient.
As for Sophia's odd traits, one thing was certain: her hatred of elves was definitely Ariel's influence, while her battle-loving personality absolutely came from Shiro.
After all, he himself had always been gentle and kind... well, maybe not that gentle and kind, but he wasn't particularly passionate about fighting, nor did he hold much hatred toward the elves.
But while he was worrying about how to correct Sophia's personality and behavior, she suddenly started charging ahead on her own.
He could only put her education aside for the time being and deal with it after they got back. Taking a quick step forward, he grabbed the back of her collar and forcibly pulled her back.
"Hold on! Stop letting Ariel turn you into such a strange person. You're a girl, aren't you? Try acting a little more ladylike!"
"Why is it me again?"
The moment Ariel heard that, she became unhappy and pointed at herself.
"Are you saying I'm strange?"
"Aren't you? We only just got here. Look at your spiders, they're all getting restless. That's obviously because of your influence. Honestly..."
Looking at the little girl standing in front of him with blood all over her face, he couldn't help letting out a long sigh.
"If you want to show there's nothing wrong with you, at least clean yourself up first. Just look at yourself right now. You're terrifying."
Before Ariel could respond, Shiro quietly took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the blood from Ariel's face. Her movements were soft and careful, and there was a trace of concern in her eyes.
"Calm down. Take it slowly."
Even Shiro, who was usually so reserved, had said so. Only then did Ariel realize she'd gotten a little too excited.
After thanking Shiro, she took several deep breaths, doing her best to calm herself down. Finally, she patted her cheeks, put on her usual smile again, raised one small hand, and energetically shouted,
"Alright! Let's do that over! Everyone, let's become heroes who save the world together!"
"Ooooh!"
The moment Sophia heard that, she immediately became excited. She enthusiastically drew her sword, held it high over her head, and cheered along.
However...
"..."
"..."
Neither Ash nor Shiro could bring themselves to do something that energetic.
The two exchanged a glance, silently stepped over Potimas's corpse, and walked into the elf village on their own.
"Hey, why are you two so cold? Wait for me! And why are you the ones walking off first after lecturing me?"
Ariel naturally lowered her raised hand, hurried after them, and continued complaining the whole way.
That left Sophia standing there alone with her sword raised, frozen in place.
'Huh? What? What's going on? Why is everyone avoiding me? Shouldn't everyone be cheering first at a time like this? And why did the Demon Lord just leave? What about me? What am I supposed to do?'
Sophia stood there with her mouth slightly open, unable to escape the awkward feeling that she'd been the only one left out.
Sophia stood there awkwardly, unsure what to do.
Ash eventually noticed she hadn't followed them. Looking back, he saw how lost, and strangely pitiful, she looked. Shaking his head with a laugh, he called out, "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and come over."
"You..."
"??"
"What kind of expression is that?nYou all did this on purpose, didn't you? You teamed up just to bully me? You're bullying me on purpose? Is it because I'm a vampire, so I'm easy to bully? Or because I'm the youngest! The weakest? I... mmph?"
His confused expression instantly set Sophia off like a lit firecracker.
She launched into a rapid stream of complaints so fast that no one had any chance to interrupt.
But before she'd even finished, Ash skillfully cut his finger and stuck it into her mouth.
For who knew how many times, delicious food conquered her, and she instinctively sucked on his finger.
Even then, she continued mumbling something incomprehensible through a mouthful of finger, clinging to Ash's hand while glaring at him resentfully, venting all her dissatisfaction through her eyes.
Watching Sophia like this, Ash couldn't help wondering.
She was outstanding in every way, strength, appearance, even her figure.
So how had her personality ended up like this?
She ignored anything she wasn't interested in, but once she'd decided someone was trustworthy, she'd cling to them nonstop. She was especially afraid of being left behind, hated loneliness, and got picked on easily...
Kind of... hopeless in a way.
'I'd really like to see the faces of the parents who raised her.'
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he suddenly realized...
'Ah, wait.'
'The people who'd raised her since childhood... aren't they both standing right here?'
"You're really... adorable, Sophia."
Seeing her look so defeated, Ariel burst into laughter and stood on tiptoe to pat her head.
Well, that made sense.
With Ariel and Shiro influencing her, it wasn't surprising Sophia had become someone who got picked on so easily.
After all, those two girls were actually pretty easy to "bully" themselves.
Thinking that, Ash couldn't help wondering how he should tease them after the war was over.
"Hey!"
While Ash looked at the three girls with a warm smile, Ariel suddenly raised a hand, curled a finger, and flicked him on the forehead.
BANG!
With a loud crash, his body flew away instantly.
He smashed through countless trees before crashing into a cliff, blasting it apart before finally coming to a stop.
A normal person's head would probably have exploded from that forehead flick.
Ash, however, had exceptionally tough skin.
With dried leaves stuck all over his head, he casually climbed out of the rubble as if nothing had happened, brushing dust off himself while grumbling,
"I didn't even do anything. Why'd you hit me for that?"
"I just couldn't help wanting to eliminate the public enemy of all girls."
"Who?"
"Stop pretending. Who else could it be but you? Besides..."
Ariel sighed helplessly, "Why are you still thinking about bullying people at a time like this?"
"Can you really not read minds?"
"It's just a maiden's intuition."
"Maiden, huh."
"Do you have a problem with that?"
Seeing him hesitate, Ariel immediately became unhappy. Without realizing it, she tightened her grip on his hand, making Ash quickly put on a serious face.
"I'm joking, I'm joking. Let's stop the joke here."
"I'm seriously angry."
Ariel was clearly unhappy after her age had been touched upon.
Sophia, who had just been teased herself, hurriedly chimed in, "I am too!"
"Alright, alright. I admit I was wrong. I'll apologize, okay?"
'After this war, what should I eat that's filling and delicious? Though... a lot of people won't be eating dinner tonight. That's kind of sad.'
As though completely detached from everything around her, Shiro gazed toward the distant edge of the elf village, where battle cries filled the air. As always, her thoughts were quite different from everyone else's.
So while the other two continued criticizing Ash, seemingly intending to make him reflect on everything he'd done before the war ended, Shiro suddenly looked at the three of them and quietly said, "Let's all do our best, make it back alive... then have dinner together."
"No, no, no. At a time like this, shouldn't you say something more inspiring?"
Still dealing with the two girls, Ash stared at her in disbelief.
"Exactly! That isn't cool at all. How can you use food as..."
Sophia started complaining too, puffing her cheeks as she muttered nonstop.
Ariel, however, didn't complain.
Instead, with an innocent smile, she lightly traced a finger across Ash's neck and grinned mischievously.
"Then after the war's over, we'll let you drink as much of Ash's blood as you want."
"My motivation's back immediately!"
She hadn't even had any blood yet, but Sophia was already fired up as though she'd been injected with adrenaline.
"Shouldn't my opinion matter?"
Ash looked at them helplessly, feeling more and more like Tang Monk's flesh.
"Just make a little sacrifice~ Besides, you're basically used to it by now, right?"
Ariel smiled at him as though it were perfectly natural.
Ash couldn't help laughing bitterly.
"Is that really something you get used to?"
He wanted to complain a little more, but by then, the armies in the distance had already begun clashing according to the plan.
Battle cries and the clash of weapons mixed together as the battlefield descended into chaos.
Seeing that, Ariel stopped teasing Ash.
Smiling, she grabbed his hand and headed deeper into the elf village.
Ash had no choice but to swallow the rest of his complaints and follow after her, deciding he'd have to have a proper talk with them once they got back.
Meanwhile, Ariel could think only about what kind of expressions the elves would make when they saw them.
Just imagining their cries made her so impatient that she unconsciously quickened her pace, wishing she could rush in front of them immediately.
———
Before the barrier had been removed, the allied forces had already been fully prepared.
Everyone throughout the army had received clear orders.
The moment the barrier came down, they were to charge into the elf village with everything they had and slaughter every elf without leaving a single one alive.
So the instant the seemingly indestructible barrier shattered like glass and disappeared, every branch of the army moved like a perfectly wound war machine, launching a fierce assault according to plan.
The infantry advanced in orderly, determined ranks, pouring toward the elf village like a raging tide.
The cavalry galloped forward, kicking up clouds of dust.
Swinging their blades and taking advantage of their horses' momentum, they were the first to tear through the elves' defensive line.
The aerial units, riding every kind of monster, swept overhead in overwhelming numbers, launching wave after wave of magical bombardment from above.
As for the defending elves, they were hopelessly outnumbered.
Knowing they had no chance in a direct confrontation against the tide of allied troops, almost all of them hid among the towering trees.
Using their familiarity with the forest and their agility, they relied on enchanted volleys of arrows to wage a guerrilla war.
But although arrows rained down endlessly, the prepared allied army raised enchanted shields, forming solid shield walls that slowly advanced shoulder to shoulder.
Behind them, the archers seized every opportunity to return fire toward the trees where the elves were hiding.
For a time, arrows filled the sky in both directions, weaving together into dense nets that pierced the trees one after another, riddling them with holes.
Magic from both sides continuously sent clouds of dust and debris into the air.
The cavalry also stopped charging recklessly after the initial assault.
Instead, they split into small groups, circling around in an attempt to surround the elves leaping between the trees from every direction.
The already overwhelming difference in numbers became more and more obvious as time passed.
By the time night fell, the elves' disadvantage had become unmistakable.
Although they fought desperately and battle cries echoed throughout the elf village, the allied forces steadily pushed forward, constantly shrinking the elves' space to maneuver.
The trees the elves had relied on for cover disappeared one after another under the allied attacks at an astonishing pace, leaving them with fewer and fewer places to hide and forcing them to retreat continuously.
However, at the height of the fierce battle... deep beneath the elf village lay a place completely out of place in this magical world, as though it belonged to another era altogether.
The entire place was filled with a distinctly futuristic atmosphere.
There were no ordinary monitors, nor any tangled webs of wiring.
Instead, everything sat within pure darkness.
Scattered throughout that darkness were countless strangely shaped control consoles with sleek mechanical designs, each emitting a faint green glow.
Images from every corner of the elf village floated directly in midair as though by magic, clearly displaying every detail and every development on the battlefield.
Many elves sat nervously before the consoles, staring at the floating images.
Sweat covered their foreheads as they watched the rapidly changing battlefield while continuously using magic to issue all kinds of orders to the frontline troops fighting desperately.
Even though they effectively possessed a god's-eye view of the battlefield and could clearly see everything happening, they were still powerless against the allied forces that had completely surrounded them and attacked in endless waves.
The signs of defeat became more obvious with every passing moment.
If the entire elven race hadn't been Potimas's slaves, firmly under his control, they would probably have fled long ago in the face of such an overwhelming gap in strength instead of remaining here to continue this nearly hopeless resistance.
Inside the command room, however, although the atmosphere was somewhat tense, there wasn't the sense of urgency one would expect from a nation facing extinction.
The lead operator frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, then carefully turned around.
Looking nervously at Potimas seated behind him, he quietly asked, "Lord Potimas, should we..."
"Deploy every Gloria onto the battlefield."
With his arms folded, Potimas expressionlessly watched his subordinates being slaughtered by the allied army and calmly gave the order.
"All... all of them?"
The operator was shocked.
"Of course. Since they've finally run out of patience and attacked, we should naturally prepare an appropriate welcome for them. There's no need to hold anything back anymore."
Potimas never took his eyes off the vast allied army displayed on the screen, nor the mountain-like spider monsters.
A cold light flashed through his eyes.
After answering in a frigid tone, the corners of his mouth slowly rose into a smile.
Narrowing his eyes proudly, he murmured to himself, "Those incompetent fools who can only watch their spiritual support slowly decay, yet can do nothing about it, actually believe they can defeat me..."
"It's time to teach them through death just how vast the gap between them and me truly is."
———
According to the original plan, the allied army served merely as an appetizer in this battle.
Their main purpose was to launch a feigned assault and draw the elves' attention, creating favorable conditions for the true objective that would follow.
The possible new Hero was most likely hiding among the reincarnators.
Of course... in their eyes, those reincarnators were ultimately insignificant figures who couldn't possibly affect the overall situation.
Thus, while the main battlefield had already become a living hell filled with battle cries and screams, Ash's group quietly slipped away from the main force and infiltrated deeper into the elf village.
Even Sophia, who had been eager to slaughter elves, seemed to have reached an understanding with Ariel.
She voluntarily took the lead alongside her, clearing the way for Ash and Shiro.
Although the two strode proudly side by side, acting almost like sisters, they really did look adorable at first glance.
Like two innocent children with just a hint of mischief, they naturally brought a smile to anyone watching them.
But when one looked at what they were actually doing, it was the complete opposite of that adorable appearance.
The moment they found an elf, they mercilessly tore them apart with brute force.
The bloody scene was difficult to watch.
Listening to the two girls slaughter every elf they encountered while laughing with obvious delight, Ash could still appreciate their unique "heroic appearance" at first.
But before long, their laughter became so unsettling that he no longer wanted to watch the two girls enjoying the killing so thoroughly.
He couldn't help feeling somewhat depressed.
Originally, the plan had been for Sophia and the eleven spider girls with stats over ten thousand to protect the defenseless Shiro.
But now it had become him protecting Shiro, while the eleven girls guarded the surrounding area.
Not that he particularly minded protecting Shiro.
Still, watching girls mercilessly massacre elves made him keep shaking his head.
"This really isn't good for children's education."
"I'm an adult."
Shiro quietly objected.
"But not to me. For me you'll always be shiro."
"Even though you kissed me? And while everything was chaotic... touched me?"
Perhaps remembering yesterday, the girl's pale cheeks flushed red.
She unconsciously covered her chest and quietly took a step back.
Her honest words struck like a finishing blow, leaving him speechless.
"Uh... well..."
"What?"
Shiro stared straight at him.
Clearing his throat, Ash put on the air of a respectable teacher and patiently explained,
"You probably don't know this... but sometimes the definition changes!"
"Liar."
"Alright. It's all my fault. You are an adult..."
Faced with the girl's dissatisfied gaze, he covered his face and lowered his head in surrender.
But Shiro still wasn't satisfied, "What else?"
"What else? Uh... I'm a beast?"
"Mm."
"You actually wanted me to say that. I thought I still had at least a little bottom line."