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Chapter 10
Luiza wore the same lousy clothes as before while waiting for the group to arrive. She was seated on her throne in the reception room, her facial expression distorted in agony. Right now, it was just Kyle who came to see her. The rest were on standby.
“So you’ve come…At this rate, no matter the truth, you will have to be treated like the people who killed Thunder-Breath. I’m willing to get you out of this situation…for a price.” Luiza sighed.
“You’re telling us to work with you, yeah? I had planned on agreeing, but what happened?”
“Three-Arms made his decision…and vowed to take revenge for Thunder-Breath.”
“Take…revenge…?”
“‘Thunder-Breath is a friend in war I’ve fought side-by-side with. I have no objections to leaving the punishment to Demon Lord-sama, but I need to take personal revenge,’ is what he said.”
The demon with black wings was the one who initiated the ‘Great Invasion,’ but the demon who destroyed Kyle’s hometown was Thee-Arms. Hearing he would take revenge made Kyle feel awkward.
“Of course, this is just a pretense on his end because he wants to fight you. Whatever he may say, he’s got his sights on you. I guess he just can’t hold himself back any longer.” Luiza groaned because of the headache.
“Three-Arms…wants to fight. So we have to fight…him, huh?” Kyle repeated these words to himself and remained calm on the outside, but his mind was like a stormy sea.
All he could see in his eyes was the memory of Lieze dying in his arms, the frustration and pain of being powerless, and the fury towards himself that caused this rematch. Emotions difficult to suppress started to dwell inside of Kyle.
“However, as I have summoned you here, I cannot let him fight you…You need to leave today, I can create an opening.”
She was telling them to run away while they could.
“It isn’t the most favorable situation to let you go, but it cannot be helped. As long as you don’t ever get involved with us demons again, I can resolve this.”
This was probably the greatest offer Luiza could give them, considering her position.
“Wait a second, so the information about Targ…”
“Give up on it. Even if I were to capture and drag him here, it would take days. And you can have the Dragon King’s skin back.” Luiza said, but Kyle couldn’t accept this.
They risked this much to get here and gather information, so all that would be for nothing at this rate. In order to stop the [Great Invasion] and the demon with black wings, Kyle couldn’t step back here. More than anything, just avoiding demons altogether from now on wasn’t an option. It was his goal to prevent the [Great Invasion], so he couldn’t just ignore the demons’ actions.
“That would be meaningless. We came all the way to demon territory to learn more about him, I can’t go back empty-handed.”
“…Then there are only two ways out of this. First, you find the true culprit. With enough proof, of course.”
“……”
Kyle thought about it, but he naturally had no proof like that. However, there was one thing that didn’t sit right with him.
“Then, let me ask one thing. Or rather, confirm. Did you kill Thunder-Breath?”
“What…You bastard!”
Yuriga fumed up in anger at such an accusation, but Luiza was as calm as always.
“Why would you think that? And why would I even kill Thunder-Breath in the first place?”
“I’m going by the process of elimination, and it can only be you.”
Kyle thought that Luiza was the one most suspicious out of the group. Paired with her desire for Seran’s sword and the fact that Seran spotted her leaving the castle the night Thunder-Breath died, it made most sense that she was behind it.
“Aren’t you people the same, then? Yuriga said you are strong, so you should be able to do it…” Luiza showed an expression like she realized something. “I see…You think I did it in order to obtain the Holy Sword.”
Luiza’s tone suddenly changed, emitting clear hostility as she glared at Kyle.
“………Huh?”
Kyle panicked, realizing that his assumption may have been off.
Crap, she’s serious. Damn those two…
Kyle blamed others for this failure, sending Seran and Ghrud undeserved anger. Kyle prepared himself to apologize instantly when Luiza’s fury suddenly grew weaker.
“…You’re not entirely wrong, though.” She let out a faint snicker. “It’s true that I was using Thunder-Breath’s death for my own benefit. All to get the sword. That’s why I tried to save you folks…but thanks to Three-Arms, that was now ruined.”
“Then the one who killed Thunder-Breath was…”
“If it wasn’t you people, then it must have been Three-Arms or Flame-Eye, right? Then again, with no proof or witness, none of that really matters.”
The danger of being ambushed in the dark of night rises equally to your rank amongst the demons, which is why it’s your own responsibility to protect yourself, and those who can’t deserve to die.
“As for my other method…This one’s just as simple. The way to prove innocence amongst demonfolk.”
“Luiza-sama, that is…!”
Yuriga seemingly tried to stop Luiza, but she still continued.
“It’s magnificently simple. You just have to win.”
Whenever personal grudges or other in-fighting happens among the demons, they would resolve everything with a classic fight. Fate would side with the righteous, thus the winner would be declared the right one. The rules are just as simple. Either you admit defeat, someone present decides the fight to be over, or one of the participants dies. And since demons are absolutely in love when it comes to fighting, this method remained present since ancient days.
“I object to this! It’ll still end with them fighting!”
Yuriga objected to Luiza’s proposal.
“A fight needs a proper judge, and they can decide over who wins the fight. The only one who can stand their ground against Three-Arms is me, too.”
As it’s regarded as a battle to the death, Luiza could jump between them and stop at the worst possible moment.
“Do you truly believe you can hold your ground…against Three-Arms when he’s in the middle of a fight?!”
Luiza blinked once and looked at her attendant.
“Have you taken such a liking to these humans?” Luiza showed clear shock in her voice, as she had never seen her own subordinate Yuriga objecting to her.
“Ah, no…”
Yuriga acted as if she had regained her senses and grew quiet in an instant.
“Well, I agree. I’m curious to see how far they could make it…and if they’re the same or different.”
Both Kyle and Yuriga couldn’t pick up that last part she whispered.
“However, that is the only method to make worth of the skin you gave me, as well as to obtain information about Targ.” Luiza spoke to Kyle, who had been silent the moment this idea was brought up. “Oh, I see you’ve already made up your mind to fight him, huh?”
However, before Kyle was given a chance to speak, Luiza gave her own conclusion.
“You may try to hide it, but I can see how much your soul is quivering. You’re aching to fight Three-Arms, aren’t you?”
“……”
Kyle wanted to deny that statement, but he couldn’t. Kyle was also aware that he had lost against Three-Arms before.
“That being said, I need to warn you. Three-Arms…is stronger than me.”
“…What?”
Luiza blurted it out like a remark not to be taken seriously, but Kyle was shaken.
“He’s…stronger than the current Demon Lord?”
“Yes, undoubtedly. If raw strength was the winning criteria, he’d be the strongest demon of the current demonfolk.” Luiza spoke with no hesitation. “However, he still can’t beat me.” She spoke as if she was giving Kyle a riddle. “You should know that raw strength doesn’t always determine victory, no?”
Kyle couldn’t argue against that. He had fought opponents much stronger than him and still came out victorious.
“So, will you accept this battle against Three-Arms, or not?”
Kyle looked up at the ceiling and made up his mind. It was a fight he could avoid now, and he might end up regretting having taken this fight, but he couldn’t stop himself.
“I’m in.”
Later that day, when the sun had set, Kyle and his group followed the instructions from Yuriga and headed to the north of the castle. Waiting there was an artificially created small island acting like a fighting arena. It couldn’t hope to compare with the arena in Luos, but it offered more than enough space.
“A fighting arena, huh…Did you really need a small island like this?” Urza asked, filled with doubt as she looked at the fighting arena.
“…Us demons definitely do. Fighting is like a daily occurrence, after all.” Yuriga responded with a sour expression.
“You seem to be in a bad mood, what’s up?” Lieze walked up to Yuriga and asked her, but no response came.
“It’s no problem. We just have to win, that’s it.”
“A battle, huh…And this decides on who’s in the right…Perfect for demonfolk, I gotta say.” Seran nonchalantly commented, which had Minagi sigh.
“Even during the days of the Galgan Kingdom, before they rose to become an Empire, they had duels on the regular. However, they kept things a lot more organized than this…”
“There are countless other countries that use duels as a way of trial. In that sense, the history of humanfolk and demonfolk aren’t too different.” Angela spoke of human history with a reminiscent tone, and Shildonia joined in, too.
“You folks don’t understand the gravity of this situation!”
Unable to bear the nonchalant conversation happening, Yuriga screamed at the top of her lungs.
“I know how strong you are! And you’d have good chances against Flame-Eye, but Three-Arms is an entirely different monster!”
Seeing how serious Yuriga was, the group all put their heads together.
“…We won’t know unless we try fighting him, right?”
Kyle spoke with a rational tone that had Yuriga realize no further comment would have any impact, so she shook her head and guided them inside the arena.
The sun began to set, as their surroundings became engulfed in darkness, the magic items lighting up the night. The circular arena was built from stone, with a large plaza in the center. Around it was a stage for the audience offering at least a thousand seats and more. However, as it was just Luiza, Yuriga, as well as the two dragons, it looked a lot more depressing.
“So you’ve come…I’m looking forward to this dance, haven’t enjoyed one in a while.”
Three-Arms stood in the center of the arena, howling as if he had been waiting for their arrival this entire time. Next to him, he had a giant lance stabbed into the ground—And he wasn’t alone.
“…You’re gonna fight us, too?”
“Yes, I will.”
Kyle asked Flame-Eye, who glanced at Luiza and then smiled back at him.
“Your suggestion was quite delicious…But in the end, I’m still a demon. After everything I’ve said, I’m not willing to accept the suggestion of someone who I think is weaker than me. So I’m here to confirm your strength…But don’t worry, I won’t kill you…at least.” She said and showed a confident smirk.
“This marks the beginning of the duel between Flame-Eye and Three-Arms with the humanfolk group. Decide on your match-ups now.” Luiza declared.
“So, what’s our plan? Demonfolk and humanfolk are different from birth, so I don’t mind if you come at me with whatever method or tactic that you’d like.” Three-Arms declared, not speaking out of confidence, but sheer excitement.
As a duel like this holds no particular rules, it is fine to fight one versus many.
“Hey now, will you leave some for me, please?” Flame-Eye seemed just as confident.
“All right…Lieze, Urza, Minagi, and Princess Angela will take care of Flame-Eye. We’ll take care of the other beast…And Shildonia, you know what to do.” Seran glanced at Luiza.
She was supposed to be the judge of this fight, but as she was still a demon deep down, she couldn’t be fully trusted either.
“Very well.” Shildonia understood what Seran was playing at, and nodded.
“But, why this match-up? Three-Arms is stronger, right?” Lieze threw in a valid question, which had Urza and Angela show a confused reaction.
“You’d just pull us down, plain and simple. If you guys fought Three-Arms, you’d be killed instantly. And fighting while protecting you guys sounds too tough.” Seran pointed out without a moment’s hesitation.
Leaving aside his skill with the sword, Seran was also an absolute realist, so he would only give his objective opinion. That made Three-Arms happy, as he grinned with excitement.
“This is better than I thought…Flame-Eye, you step back.”
“Huh?! What’s that supposed to mean…!”
Flame-Eye complained at Three-Arms’ declaration, but she immediately swallowed her words.
“You fight elsewhere. That’ll allow me to go all-out…Of course, I won’t hear any complaints if you get wrapped up in this.” Three-Arms glared at Flame-Eye with such intensity you could hear cracks in the air, which was alone to make Flame-Eye take a step backward.
“O-Okay. We’ll do that…”
She obeyed Three-Arms’ order and turned her back towards him.
“Wait, where are you going, Flame-Eye.”
“Rest assured, Demon Lord-sama, we’re simply letting Three-Arms have his fun. I don’t mind admitting my defeat here and now, as my only wish is to confirm their skill.” She explained to Luiza and kept on walking.
It’s as if she wanted to escape from this place as quickly as possible.
“…Very well. Yuriga, please watch over them in my stead.”
“Understood, I’ll be excusing myself then, for a moment…There’s a nearby lakeshore offering enough space, let us head there.”
Lieze and the others cautiously followed Flame-Eye as she stomped away.
“Kyle…do your best.”
“Don’t lose, all right.”
Lieze and Urza whispered next to Kyle, who silently nodded.
“You better be working hard out here,” Shildonia commented as she made her way toward Luiza.
“So I’ll be fighting you two?” Three-Arms spoke happily as he observed Kyle and Seran.
“Yeah…wait, what?”
“Seran, let me fight this on my own.”
Right as Seran stepped forward, Kyle pushed him aside.
“Huh?! The hell are you saying?!” Seran grabbed Kyle’s shoulder and forcefully made him turn around. “…! Stop messing around! You’re gonna fight all on your own?!”
Seeing Kyle’s expression, Seran exploded with genuine anger.
“I’m the one who accepted this duel. I know you guys didn’t complain, but I’m the one being selfish here. I have to fight this on my own.”
Kyle accepted a fight they may have very well been able to escape from. Hence, he felt regret at that and lowered his head.
“Bit late to come at me with that! The second we decided to enter the demonfolk’s territory, we knew that we weren’t up against some third-rate enemies!”
“It’s not just that…I know what I’m doing is selfish, but…I have to defeat him all on my own! If not…I won’t ever be able to move forward.”
“Like I give a crap about any of that!” Seran grabbed Kyle by the collar.
“I’m serious. Please, go to the others.”
“Kyle…” Seran seemed oddly defeated, as he looked into Kyle’s eyes.
“If you still intend to get in my way…Then I’ll have to fight you first.”
“…Do what you want, then.” Seran cursed at Kyle who reached for his sword and left the arena.
“Sorry to make you wait.”
“Just you, then? It’s a bit of a shame, but I accept it. It seemed like you were having a bit of a fight there, but you okay? You wouldn’t wanna die while having any regrets.”
“I’ll apologize later…After I have defeated you.”
“Brimming with energy, that’s what I love to see. Then let’s get this started.” Three-Arms reached for his spear and pointed it at Kyle.
Kyle pulled his sword, ready to slash at Three-Arms.
“This time…I’m going to win.”
CClaw Translations 