When she awoke, the young girl was nestled between gaps in the rubble, her body covered in various wounds, a picture of complete devastation. She understood clearly how she ended up in such a predicament—her town had been attacked by a horde of monsters. Though young, she had bravely fought with a sword in hand to protect her young mistress, whom she served as a knight...
"Miss..."
Her muddled thoughts cleared with the pain, and the girl began searching for her mistress. Pushing through the agony, she crawled out from the debris.
What met her eyes as she emerged was a vision of hell itself. Flames were everywhere, buildings were reduced to mountains of rubble, and the chorus of despair and lamentation from the survivors, whether fortunate or unfortunate, echoed throughout. The girl stood dumbfounded at the sight of her town, trampled and utterly changed, with a red puddle forming at her feet.
Glancing down at the liquid infiltrating her shoes, the girl’s eyes widened in shock—it was a pool of blood. In it lay a petite girl, dressed in modestly decorated clothes indicative of a noble’s daughter. She was the mistress the knightly girl served.
"Miss!"
With a scream, she gently lifted her mistress. There was still warmth, and faint breathing. The mistress was still alive.
"Miss! Please wake up, Miss!"
Desperately calling out and checking her mistress’s injuries, despair filled the girl. Unseen as she lay on her back were three deep lines, as if gouged by sharp claws. The wounds were severe, and she had lost too much blood. There was no time to waste; immediate and proper treatment was crucial, or her mistress would die.
In the chaos of the collapsing town and continuous emergence of the injured, the girl knew finding a doctor was impossible. Furthermore, there was no guarantee that a doctor was among the survivors. There was no time to search for one in another town, as her mistress’s condition worsened by the moment.
Understanding she had no means to save her mistress, the intelligent young girl bowed her head in despair.
A bloodied hand gently caressed her cheek.
"Lilith... Are you okay?"
"Miss!? You're conscious!"
"Yes... Somehow."
"Miss..."
Despite standing on the brink of death, her mistress smiled as usual, leaving Lilith unsure of how to respond.
"If I hadn’t been careless back then, this wouldn’t have happened..."
"It’s not like that. Lilith... you did protect me."
Her mistress stroked Lilith’s head as if consoling a child.
"You did well, Lilith. So, don’t blame yourself."
"Miss... But..."
"Promise me this..."
Her mistress said with a slight narrowing of her eyes to the still-protesting Lilith.
"Live for both of us and become strong enough to protect."
From Lilith’s arms, her mistress surveyed the ruins of what once was a town. Reflected in her eyes were the survivors.
"Become strong so this never happens again. Promise?"
"But my only master is you..."
"Since I will be gone, find a new master. You’ll surely find someone better than me."
"That’s not..."
Tears filled Lilith’s eyes as she tried to deny it, feeling helpless to save her dying mistress.
"See, don’t cry. You’ll ruin your beautiful face."
Gently wiping away a tear, her mistress smiled bravely. Fighting the intense pain and the encroaching coldness of her body, she maintained her smile to ensure Lilith wouldn’t be lost, wouldn’t walk a painful path of vengeance, until the very end.
So...
"...Lilith."
In a voice no longer vibrant but feeble as a mosquito’s hum, she called the young knight’s name.
"I’m sorry..."
What the apology was for, Lilith couldn’t fathom. But with those words, her mistress closed her eyes for the last time.
The lifeless hand hit the pool of blood. The pulse of life that had been there was completely gone.
"Miss...? No... Ah... Ahhhh...!"
In the town reduced to rubble, the young knight’s wail echoed.
▼
The story goes back a bit in time.
At sunrise, when the sun peeked from the eastern sky, the soldiers on watch at the observation tower of the protective wall around Terumus were yawning, anticipating the end of their shift. Due to recent tensions from the boundary forest, the soldiers were exhausted and on edge.
It was at the brink of their shift change when they noticed something amiss.
"What’s that? There..."
Far beyond the boundary forest, above the demon continent, mysterious black dots appeared and quickly multiplied.
"Is that..."
As they squinted to get a better look—
"It’s... Dragons!?"
Though hard to see from a distance, the black dots filling the sky above the demon continent were a swarm of dragons.
To be precise, it was a massive army of dragons and flying monsters—giant bees, dragonflies, and winged birds, among other flying creatures. The monstrous horde is approaching Terumus in large numbers. Faced with this reality, a soldier's complexion turns past pale to ashen as he half-screams his way to report to the soldier's station.
Also, adventurers who had gone to investigate up to the very edge of the demon continent brought the fact that a large number of monsters were invading in formation to the Adventurer's Guild almost simultaneously.
⬩
A heavy atmosphere dominates the room.
Having heard the situation from Lilith once again in a different room, Yuka is sitting on the bed with a stern expression. Izayoi, leaning against a random wall, lets out a small sigh, as if he had expected this situation.
Responding to Izayoi's sigh, Yuka shoots him a sharp look and says, "So this is why the monsters disappeared from the Boundary Forest," her eyes seemingly asking, "You knew, didn't you?"
Izayoi avoids eye contact and just lets his gaze wander on the floor. Instead, Lilith, sitting on the bed across from Yuka, responds, "Seems so. But who would've thought that the monsters would form an army and attack... just like ten years ago."
"Ten years ago... what do you mean?"
Catching Lilith's trailing words, Yuka looks at Izayoi again. The subject of her gaze appears slightly puzzled.
"It seems you know about it, Yuuka-kun."
"Well, because I've actually seen it."
"I see. Then, would you mind indulging me in a story from my past?"
As Lilith speaks, her expression lacks its usual vigor; it's somewhat fleeting, filled with uncontainable emotions.
Whether it's sadness, anger, or something else, it doesn’t go unnoticed by Yuka and Izayoi.
"It was ten years ago. A large horde of monsters descended on the town I lived in. The exact number is unclear, but it was well over a thousand. The town stood no chance against such violence and was quickly overrun."
As she reminisces, Lilith gazes at the ceiling with distant eyes. Yuka, having seen the damage with her own eyes, looks at Lilith with a pained expression.
"The damage to the town was severe. Only a handful survived, just a few dozen people. Most of the survivors had lost family or friends and were in despair."
Pausing here, Lilith gives a self-mocking smile.
"As you can probably tell, I am one of those few survivors. I lost everything—home, family—and yet here I am, a former knight, still shamelessly alive."
"Lilith..."
Yuka calls her name involuntarily. The Lilith in front of her is not the usual noble-like figure.
Watching her, Izayoi feels conflicted. After all, he is the Demon Lord. He doesn’t know how Lilith feels, but objectively speaking, he is the mastermind behind the attackers. The idea of his true identity being discovered gives him a headache. Yuka's earlier look might have been hinting at this.
"Well, let’s leave my old story at that."
Clapping her hands to clear the gloomy atmosphere, Lilith puts on her usual dignified expression.
"The real issue is now. Honestly, the scale of this attack is incomparable to ten years ago. If we’re not careful, they might penetrate as far as the royal capital, not just Terumus."
"Then, Terumus is..."
"Even with Terumus's strong defenses, the number is just too different. Plus, there are reports of many airborne monsters, so those strong walls won’t mean much. Honestly, Terumus is in a tight spot."
"No way..."
Facing the harsh reality, Yuka's expression darkens.
She must have grown attached to the town she has been living in. But Lilith must feel the same, perhaps even stronger. Perhaps that’s why her tone is more flat than usual.
"The lord of Terumus is wise. He realized there's no future for this town and immediately issued an evacuation order. So, the town is in chaos now. The south gate is crowded with evacuating residents."
Listening to the noises from outside, it’s evident that there is significant panic.
"Well, that’s the residents’ story. Now, for the adventurers."
With that, Lilith turns her eyes to Yuka and Izayoi leaning against the wall.
"Just a while ago, the Adventurer's Guild issued a mandatory request. The request is to buy time for the residents to escape the town... For adventurers of rank D and above. Those below will be assigned to escort the residents."
"Buying time against that number!? That’s impossible!"
"True. Honestly, I don’t expect anyone to come back alive. But someone has to do it."
"But still..."
Whether she’s resolved or not, there’s no hesitation in Lilith’s expression. Yuka tries to find words to say but falls silent.
"So, what will you two do?"
"What do you mean by what will we do?"
"Your rank is E. So, you’re not subject to the mandatory request. But your abilities are more than sufficient. The Guild staff said you can choose between buying time and escorting, it’s up to you. I came to tell you that. And then I encountered this uproar."
Lilith adds a light joke to lighten the mood, but Yuka, not flustered, looks seriously at Lilith.
"It’s obvious. We will also buy time—"
"—Sorry, but we'll help with the escort. Lilith."
Izayoi, who had been silent, interrupts Yuka’s words and responds. Taken aback, Yuka blinks her eyes, and Lilith lets out a faint smile. "Ha, haa!? What are you saying?"
"You're a guard, aren’t you. Understood, I'll pass that on to the guild."
"Wait, Lilith!?"
Yuka raises her voice in astonishment as Lilith unilaterally tries to end the conversation. However, Lilith, unconcerned, leaves the room as if to say the conversation is over.
As she passes by Izayoi, she leaves the words, "Please take care of Yuka-kun."
Izayoi sighs quietly at those words and holds his head in his hands, looking at Yuka, who seems ready to run after Lilith at any moment.