Izayoi finds himself in a rather unpleasant situation, surrounded by five women in a dark alley, day or night. One might typically imagine the gender roles reversed in such a scenario, a trivial thought that crossed his mind, but he chooses not to dwell on it.
Reassessing the situation, three women stand before him and two behind. They are blocking his way, attempting to corner him, but their actions are essentially futile.
Izayoi has the ability to form footholds in the air using magic, allowing him to leap into the sky. Thus, he can simply escape upwards, making their blockade neither bothersome nor harmful.
If they genuinely wished to restrain Izayoi, they would need to control not only all horizontal directions but also the airspace above. Expecting such thoroughness from mere adventurers, however, seems unreasonable.
In any case, Izayoi is not in a crisis. There is no need to panic. With a composed demeanor, he speaks without hesitation.
"It was Lilith who asked to accompany me, not the other way around. If you wish to separate us, talk to her directly."
These women must have witnessed yesterday's exchange at the tavern. Despite that, they still confront Izayoi, either unable to comprehend the conversation or lacking the courage to address Lilith directly. Likely, it's a bit of both.
More importantly, do they even know Lilith personally? Probing this might make them self-destruct.
A hint of a smile escapes from under the robe in response to Izayoi’s poised reply.
"Do you intend to oppose me, a noble, with your commoner status?"
The women, perhaps running out of options, play the power card. But this won’t make Izayoi yield. Rather, he retorts, likely aggravating them further.
"A noble? Why would a noble be doing something as barbaric and dangerous as adventuring?"
"That’s…."
"Oh, I see. You must be a third or fourth daughter, unable to participate in the inheritance disputes, seeking some base form of heroism."
Izayoi’s remarks, though speculative and uninformed about human nobility, seem not entirely off the mark. The hostility from the five women intensifies, their hands inching towards their swords.
"To insult nobility, you are brave. We might just have to behead you right here."
With threatening words, they ready their swords. Izayoi watches, seemingly uninvolved, while setting a small trap.
"By the way, Lilith asked me yesterday whether I was a noble or a knight."
At his words, the five freeze. Izayoi continues with a faint smile.
"Lilith said I had well-mannered actions and speech, indicating education. Honestly, being perceived that way surprised me."
However, Lilith was wrong. Still, Izayoi was genuinely amazed at her insight. Every word from him is truthful, yet words can be tricky, causing misunderstandings. Now, the five mistakenly think Izayoi holds a noble or equivalent status.
Izayoi merely spoke the truth, but intentionally concealed facts leave the women confused. He suppresses a smile as he watches their reactions, their initial vigor evaporating.
Fearing repercussions against a fellow noble, they hesitate. If Izayoi holds a higher rank, the situation worsens for them. Such are the practical considerations of humans.
Izayoi sighs and walks away. The women can’t recklessly act now, not when dealing with a presumed noble. They hadn’t anticipated this.
In hindsight, Izayoi might have been naïve, underestimating the fanaticism of such people, despite having experienced it himself.
"That woman, her name was Yuka, wasn’t it?"
At the unexpected mention, he stops reflexively. The leading woman smirks.
"You see? Oppose us and who knows what might happen to that woman—"
"Silence, you lowlife!"
With a bang, he rushes forward, seizing the woman by her slender neck. She gasps.
"So, you’re saying something interesting. What will you do with Yuka? Speak."
His face is expressionless, yet his eyes blaze with anger. Strangled and glared at, the woman can’t utter a sound.
"What? Speak clearly."
As Izayoi loosens his grip slightly, she gasps for air, yelling,
"Do it!"
On her command, the other women, previously frozen, draw their swords and attack.
Izayoi throws the choked woman towards one from the right and dives into the bosom of another swinging her sword from the left. Dodging the blade, he strikes her solar plexus.
One down.
Without watching her fall, he focuses on the two attacking from behind. One thrusts her sword, and the other, despite the narrow alley, begins to cast a spell. With a small click of his tongue, Izayoi dodged a thrusting strike with just a movement of his neck, kicked back with considerable force, and knocked into a woman who was about to use magic.
—Two, three people.
Two people fell to the ground with a dull sound. Probably a bone was broken, but Izayoi showed no concern. Instead, he just glared at them as if to say they should be grateful they were still alive.
"...Well."
Not even ten seconds into the combat, three people were incapacitated, an unbelievable reality given that the opponent was unarmed. Only two remained: the woman who had spoken about Yukari, and the woman who had collided with her.
"Let me ask again. What are you going to do with Yukari?"
With intimidation in his voice, he inquired. One woman collapsed, and the other fainted from the pressure.
"Hi...”
With a pathetic voice, the woman who had collapsed tried to crawl away without paying any attention to her comrades. However, Izayoi wasn’t about to let her go. He casually approached her, drew his sword, and held it to the nape of her neck from behind.
"Come on, speak. Well?"
"Hi… Please… forgive me…"
The woman, unable to scream due to Izayoi's overpowering presence, could only beg for mercy. But Izayoi wasn’t listening.
With a disdainful look at her exposed back, he quietly raised his sword. And without any mercy, he swung it down—
—stopping just a hair’s breadth from the woman’s nape.
He wasn’t sure why he stopped. A calm part of his mind told him that it wasn’t necessary to go that far. Frozen, sword still poised, he did not go on to decapitate the woman.
The old him wouldn’t have hesitated. No, the old him wouldn’t have lost his composure so easily.
—Calm down. Be cool.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he was about to sheathe his sword when,
"—Izayoi!"
A sudden voice made him tense. He awkwardly shifted his gaze from the woman at his feet to see Yukari, her shoulders heaving. It could be good or bad timing. For the women, it was probably good. For Izayoi, maybe the worst timing.
They had just clashed over the value of life. Encountering such a scene right after was beyond awkward. He thought he might seriously be disliked or alienated.
When he was thinking this somewhat detachedly, Yukari had already approached him.
"...For now, let’s leave this place."
Saying so, Yukari took Izayoi’s hand and started walking towards the street. Izayoi sheathed his sword, glanced at the women once, and let himself be led away.
▼
"How did you know where I was?"
Walking beside Yukari under the completely dark sky, he asked. Yukari had let go of his hand after realizing the stares from the surroundings, and now they were walking through the city of Telmus, neither close nor far from each other.
"I heard a noise, and more than that, your presence was reaching even the street. Thanks to that, some people were pale."
"...I see."
Izayoi re-acknowledged his extraordinary nature, not expecting his presence to reach the street even through buildings.
"Really… What did those people say to make you so angry?"
"That is…"
Being asked, Izayoi was at a loss for words. He couldn’t honestly say that he got angry because they talked about Yukari. He forcibly changed the subject.
"Didn’t you think I attacked them?"
"What? Do you like bullying the weak?"
"No, but…"
Whether to feel pity for the women who were naturally perceived as weak was a judgment call.
"I know you’re not the type to wield power without reason. I trust you that much."
Surprised by such straightforward words, he looked at her to see Yukari blushing slightly, looking away. It was a rare, honest statement from her.
"Besides, you seem impotent, so there’s no possibility in that direction."
Izayoi’s mood plummeted with this utterly displeasing trust. He felt lifted up only to be let down, not that he was that uplifted to begin with.
As he was drooping his shoulders, Yukari suddenly stopped walking. He stopped two steps later and looked back at her.
"What’s wrong?"
"Well, that…"
Yukari hesitated for a moment, then opened her eyes as if she’d made up her mind.
"Izayoi. I’m sorry about earlier. I wasn’t considering your feelings…"
Yukari bowed her head. In response, Izayoi lightly said it was nothing.
"It’s fine, I was also at fault. So lift your head."
As Izayoi said so, Yukari slowly raised her face. Her eyes, filled with strong will, were fixed on Izayoi.
"I think what you said at the inn wasn’t wrong. In this world, it might even be the right thing."
But, Yukari continued.
"Still, I don’t want to change."
Izayoi quietly listened to Yukari’s determined declaration.
"I know it’s a naive and selfish thought. I understand that caring for the enemy’s life in battle is more than just a disadvantage. But still, I don’t want to accept taking lives."
With her right fist clenched, Yukari passionately expressed her feelings, then extended her clenched fist towards Izayoi. "---So, I'll become so strong that I can blow away any disadvantage or hardship!"
Yuka declared this, chest puffed out with pride, seemingly forgetting that she was in the middle of the road and surrounded by people.
The surrounding gazes gathered on Yuka’s proclamation. In the midst of this, Izayoi was struggling with all his might not to squat down on the spot, holding his head in dismay.
This is strange. Why does she resort to such a simplistic and muscular theory?
Seeing Yuka’s confident expression, Izayoi felt a headache coming on, and a hand tapped his shoulder.
"So, you'll help me too. Specifically, with magic. As for swordsmanship... you're too out of the ordinary, so I'll learn from Miss Lilith."
Yuka went on with the conversation, regardless of Izayoi’s consent, causing him to hold his head again in despair.
Probably, if asked, Lilith might agree to teach to some extent. She might even happily wish to test her skills.
Izayoi gazed off into the distance with melancholy, foreseeing that things would become busier and more troublesome.
"Thanks in advance, Izayoi!"
"… Understood."
Unable to dismiss Yuka’s beaming smile, Izayoi agreed, mixing in a sense of amazement. Yuka, feeling instantly relieved, started walking lightly.
"… Thank you."
As they passed by each other, Yuka muttered these words, and Izayoi, still unable to be straightforward, followed her with a wry smile.
▽
Somewhere on the Demon Clan’s continent. In the darkness, eight shadows were gathered around a round table.
Each of the eight shadows around the round table had a form similar to humans but with distinct features like horns and ominous wings, setting them apart from ordinary humans.
---They were demons.
Despite being nearly eradicated due to repeated invasions by heroes, they had survived till now. These eight, and a few more who weren’t present, totaling about a dozen including Izayoi, were the last true survivors of the Demon Clan.
Approximately half of those survivors were gathered in one place.
"Finally, the time has come."
One murmured, and the others nodded solemnly in agreement.
"… Aren’t they going to act?"
"Hmph, they are powerless cowards. No matter how many of them there are, they’re just a burden."
At the resentful words, one spat out disgustedly. The others were about to chime in when a man slowly raised his hand to stop them.
The man who stopped them was the most ancient and one of the most powerful demons among them.
With strong black wings on his back and black scales scattered throughout his body, if humans from Izayoi and Yuka’s world saw him, they would unanimously call him a Dragon-man. However, he was a true demon.
He—Ruvius Dragnil, was the only individual among the eight who had been living since before Izayoi was summoned as the Demon King. His age was over six hundred, an existence even Izayoi couldn’t compete with in terms of accumulated experience.
No one there could confront him directly, and the others fell silent, albeit with some dissatisfaction.
As the room fell into silence, Ruvius began to speak in a solemn tone.
"Much time has passed since the summoning of the Demon King and the heroes. Many of our brethren have perished, and we have been forced to drink the bitter cup. But that ends now."
Ruvius slowly stood up with a calm and composed movement, and the others quietly followed suit.
"The time of lying low is over. The Demon King has fallen, and humans are enjoying their temporary peace. Now is the time for revenge. The time for the resurgence of the Demon Clan. Let’s show those frail and insignificant humans what we are made of!"
Hatred, anger, madness. With various emotions in their eyes, voices rose in response to Ruvius’ words.
"Glory to us demons!"
"Glory!"
Echoing proud voices into the endless darkness, the eight shadows disappeared.