Tsuyokute New Saga (LN)

Looking over to where the voice came from, a single female demon appeared from the back of the room. Her burning eye, paired with the sheep-shaped horns, stood out the most. A faint smile decorated her expression, resembling a snake having spotted her prey.

“You’re…Flame-Eye, right?”

“Oh, you remembered me? Lucky me.”

She was one of the strongest demons in all of the demon army, only granting honors to those who had earned her respect. At the same time, she was also known to speak against Luiza’s orders.

“Why are you here?”

Seran moved in position, reaching a distance where he could attack Flame-Eye at any moment. Having fought her directly, both Lieze and Urza also took fighting positions.

“You don’t have to be so scared. I don’t have any intention of doing anything.”

She must have guessed their intent, as she raised her hands and showed that she wouldn’t do anything.

“Anyway, it’s been a while…What was it, Lieze and Urza, right?”

Granted, she didn’t sound very convincing, but she still called their names.

“I’m a bit surprised you actually remembered them,” said Yuriga.

So far, Flame-Eye has always been hostile toward humans.

“Even I have to remember the names of those who defeated me.”

Hearing that, the other demons, including Creet, were shocked.

“They…defeated you?”

“That’s right. That woman might just be a ball of energy, but these two humans actually defeated me, so I’m sure you can put your trust in them, right?”

Yuriga wanted to complain at that description, but it helped her out quite a lot that Flame-Eye was on their side.

“As for that human male…As for Seran, I don’t think I need to tell you about him, right?”

Seran wanted to know what exactly that meant, but when his name popped up, the atmosphere in the room changed instantly. A different sensation of tension and shock filled the air. Seran looked over at Creet, wondering what all of this was about, but the demon instantly took one step back.

“Flame-Eye…sama, does that mean that the rumors are true?” Creet suddenly showed much more respect, as he asked.

“Yes, absolutely. He’s Seran…The man who beat Three-Arms,” Flame-Eye declared without hesitation, as faint cheers filled the air.

Amongst the demons, Three-Arms was regarded as a hero during the war against humanfolk 300 years ago. Hearing about his defeat sent tremors through their rows.

“Oh, that?” Seran showed an innocent expression.

After all, it wasn’t something he could massively brag about. In the end, he fought by Kyle’s side, and they had help from Lieze and Shildonia all the same. Even Luiza called it a coward’s way of fighting, so he didn’t exactly feel too proud about that victory.

“No need to be so surprised. Three-Arms was incredibly well-known amongst our race, which makes you something akin to a celebrity. But don’t worry, not in a bad way.”

Just as Flame-Eye stated, the demons present didn’t seem to resent him at all, although they weren’t completely happy about it, either.

“Yeah, that reaction is definitely unexpected.”

Seran figured that they would resent him, considering he had killed their hero, but the demons in front of him seemed to feel respect more than anything.

“He was…special to us, after all. And so, the person who defeated him must be the hero of humanfolk, undoubtedly.” Yuriga said with an oddly distant gaze.

“That said, he looks different from what we were told. Apparently, he was supposed to possess beauty like a human female…”

“And I was told that just the sight of him would make any child cry for three straight days.”

“Something about him always looking for his next prey, his body drenched in the blood of his victims…”

“Hey now, you’re making me sound like some archvillain.”

Some things even Seran couldn’t ignore.

“What did you expect? Luiza-sama tried to get your popularity to grow, so she spread all sorts of rumors.”

And since Yuriga didn’t stop her, she now averted her eyes to look away from her guilt. It seemed like Luiza’s affection for Seran had ended up a bit twisted.

“F-Fine, whatever…What I’m more concerned about is why you are here,” asked Seran as he looked at Flame-Eye.

To his knowledge, she and Luiza didn’t exactly see eye-to-eye. Not only that, she and Seran even fought before.

“Oh, great question. Actually, I had sworn my loyalty to Luiza. And guess who was the one that found out about her current location?”

“I’m surprised. You seem like the type of person to immediately run after the new Demon Lord’s tail.”

She didn’t seem like a loyal person. And when Seran pointed this out with no hesitation, Flame-Eye showed an expected reaction.

“Of course I did. But they didn’t even acknowledge me,” she said with a deflated tone, probably as she remembered the events.

She originally had been part of the pro-war faction with Three-Arms and Thunder-Breath, but after both of them got killed, she leaned more toward Luiza’s plans. So now, she obviously tried to suck up to the new Demon Lord, but she wasn’t even allowed to meet him.

“Basically, she went too far. She betrayed her allies too much. So naturally, the new Demon Lord wouldn’t take her in, and she’s now forced to side with Luiza-sama,” Yuriga explained in a harsh tone, but Flame-Eye didn’t deny it.

“Well, that’s how it is. At the very least, Luiza-sama appreciates me. And although this is a bet, I’m willing to take it.”

Yuriga narrowed her eyes at that comment, but she couldn’t choose her allies.

“Anyway, I doubt you’ll be able to trust me, but that’s fine by me. We’re working together to get out of this mess. And if you had to point fingers, wouldn’t she have her own problems?” Flame-Eye pointed at Irumera, who had been watching the situation unfold up to this point.

“That’s a dragon, right? What is she doing here?”

Creet and the others were whispering amongst themselves. They wondered how they could put their faith in her. Irumera herself simply wishes to confront Juvars and find out what he is thinking, but she has no intention of directly getting involved in the affairs of the demons. That said, her identity as a dragon could beckon trouble. Hence, Yuriga and Irumera decided to keep her identity a secret. But of course, when Flame-Eye saw through the disguise, she couldn’t hide her surprise.

“…Fine, I’ll let it slide.”

As Yuriga struggled for a response, Flame-Eye herself cut off the conversation. She decided to see past it and earn herself a favor for later.

“There’s something I’d like to ask. Where is Ju—No, where is that dragon who helped the Demon Lord? Do you know?”

Irumera must have caught on to Flame-Eye’s gaze and finally decided to participate in the conversation.

“At least according to the rumors I heard, they saw an elderly human mix in with the group belonging to the new Demon Lord. That said, since demons don’t know about the dragons’ ability to shapeshift, they probably didn’t know better.”

“I see…” There, Irumera went quiet.

“Anyway, if we’re going to save Luiza-sama, we should do it soon. That black-winged…No, the new Demon Lord—” Flame-Eye continued with a stiff expression. “Once they have taken full control of the army, they plan on starting an all-out attack against humanfolk.”

“That’s…”

Urza fell silent, and Lieze looked as pale as ash. An all-out attack—this must be the Great Invasion that Kyle was speaking of. Since Lieze and the others didn’t experience it themselves, they could only imagine the hellish scenery.

“And so, every demon who had issues with the direction Luiza-sama took the demonfolk, they now serve the new demon lord. Plus, they saw that dragon at their side, too. It’s quite a lot of them, actually.”

“A lot? So not all of them?” Urza raised a doubt.

She had assumed that any demon would want war with humanfolk, and that all the demons immediately opted to serve the new Demon Lord. Since her ancestors were alive when the demons attacked last, she only heard the stories. And for that reason, this sounded off to her.

“Through Luiza-sama’s efforts, more and more demons have opened up to the idea of peace with humanfolk. Of course, they are still a clear minority.” Yuriga spoke with pride about her master’s efforts.

It was a surprise that her plan “because she had nothing else to do” was actually beginning to show results. The best example for that were the demons present right now. Granted, they had a lot to think about Seran and the others, but they at least weren’t hostile and willing to accept their help to save Luiza. They even didn’t mind being called by their names, which in itself was a result of Luiza’s work over the past 300 years.

“…So we do need her,” Seran muttered in a quiet voice.

If Kyle had been here, he probably would have had a similar reaction. Seran considered this whole rescue mission to be close to impossible. Of course, he did want to save her, but not to the point he was willing to make sacrifices. At least not until now. However, he now had found a reason to save her no matter the cost. Luiza was necessary for the betterment of the world.

“That said, it is odd they aren’t killing the Demon…Excuse me, Luiza-sama. Of course, killing her is close to impossible, but I see no reason why they would even bother to keep her alive.”

“They probably have a reason for it.”

Having heard the circumstances from Kyle, Seran had an idea as to what that could be, but it wasn’t anything he could just stay here.

“So, what do you think? Can we save Luiza with the forces we have here?” Seran didn’t even bother beating around the bush, jumping straight into the question everybody had.

“Well…I don’t think there are too many demons hiding in the castle, and I know my way around it. However…” Yuriga stopped her words for a moment.

Their goal was not to defeat them, but to simply take back Luiza. It wasn’t impossible considering their numbers, but it most definitely won’t be easy.

“We’re lacking manpower still…but we’re also out of time, huh?”

Time absolutely sided with the black-winged demon. Eventually, the forces of the demonfolk would take his side.

“I don’t really understand much about demons, but there must be many still on the fence, right? Can’t you find more allies through recruiting them?” Lieze’s question made Yuriga think.

She didn’t seem to have any ideas.

“There is one person. Considering their abilities, they should be able to help us, and their hideout is on the way to the castle, too. How convenient.” Flame-Eye seemed to have an idea, at least.

“You can’t mean…”

“I absolutely am. Poison-Needle could be useful.” Flame-Eye showed a profound smile, but Yuriga was bewildered.

“Would it be problematic if they tagged along or something? Who is that Poison-Needle anyway?”

Witnessing Yuriga’s reaction, even Seran felt hesitant to ask what this was about.

“Well…They have earned themselves great honor through their deeds, but they are a bit…difficult to deal with. Even Luiza-sama gave up on them.”

“They went against her orders?”

Yuriga showed another complicated reaction, shaking her head.

“How do I say this…I guess you could argue they were given a relatively free reign…”

“They’re just a pain to deal with. Listless, and always tired of everything.”

Yuriga tried to choose her words carefully, but Flame-Eye didn’t have the time for that.

“That said, that shows their skill and strength are the real deal,” Yuriga added.

“I see. That sounds interesting.”

“Well, strength is debatable…But you definitely don’t want to make them your enemy,” Flame-Eye commented, and Yuriga agreed in silence. “Anyway, if I tag along, they’ll at least listen. We’ve been through some stuff.”

“Right…Then let’s go meet Poison-Needle. Once they join us, we head directly for the castle and save Luiza. As for anything on the way, we have to respond then…Sound good?”

Seran just decided most of this on a whim, but nobody had any complaints. Flame-Eye and Yuriga were overwhelmed by this, and Creet with his demons agreed.

“I just have one question…How come this place is safe?”

“What do you mean?” Yuriga struggled to understand Seran’s question.

“I mean, this place is important to Luiza, right? I sure you wouldn’t let this place be as-is.”

This village received a lot of Luiza’s attention, so leaving it be could come back to haunt them later on. Any decent ruler would level this area. At the very least, humans would probably burn it down at the least. Yet, Luiza still seemed confused, and so was Flame-Eye.

“I see. So we just think differently to such a level…Well, I’d be using this as bait. Wait for us to gather then attack to finish us off at once,” said Seran.

Yet, the demons looked like they’d never even consider that. Humanfolk would instantly think of that, but it would also be too obvious and unusable.

“I don’t think any demon would do that…”

“You humans have some scary ideas…”

The demons commented with their own thoughts when Seran’s expression changed drastically.

“…Well, I guess some of y’all can come up with these sorts of ideas.”

Seran mumbled to himself with a stern look as he walked outside the house.