Although I had been gathering information about the Demon King’s army recently, I didn’t want to encounter them in this situation.
I held onto my staggering body’s center and stood in front of him.
Why did a member of the Demon King’s army come all the way here?
An exchange of red gazes occurred.
“Are you the monster who killed Seir?”
The demon asked.
“……”
I nodded my head since I had no intention of denying it.
Should I read his memories using magical energy?
No, I don’t have the strength for that right now.
I just wanted to drink blood right away.
Let’s send him away quickly and have a meal.
If I endure any longer, the same thing as last year will repeat itself.
This time, I asked tremblingly because my mind wasn’t fully intact yet.
“…… W-What brings you here?”
“It’s truly a strange thing. To think that Seir was defeated by such a small wench.”
“Are you saying we should fight?”
I can send him to his friend’s side right away.
The strongest being on the continent was Sertia.
It’s just that she couldn’t fight because she was cursed, but I can say with certainty that she was the strongest.
Including all living beings, whether human or demon.
It was something I learned after clashing with her once.
But since I killed Sertia, actually, no matter who came now, it wasn’t very scary.
A Demon King’s army executive.
An alba, I think.
“Ah… I misspoke. I apologize.”
When I glared at him while slightly revealing magical energy, the demon apologized.
My constitution makes it easy to hide the magical energy in my body, so unless I show it first, he might not know.
Now that I’ve shown him that I’m stronger than him, I believe he won’t recklessly attack.
And,
“……”
I sent him a glance, meaning to answer the question I asked.
He slowly opened his mouth.
“If you were there too, you’ll remember what happened last time.”
“Releasing monsters into the academy?”
“Why did you help the humans back then? If only you hadn’t interfered, the Empire would have crumbled. No, if you had helped us instead, we could have even killed our greatest nemesis, Sertia.”
“……”
“Have you fallen into the delusion that you’re human after mingling with them? While killing the few members of the Demon King’s army? What makes you different from us?”
Perhaps the information that Sertia died hasn’t reached them yet.
Then there’s no need to tell them.
I decided to focus on the essence of the question.
Maybe deep inside, I wanted to mingle with the humans around me without even knowing it myself.
At least I didn’t deny that.
But I’ve never deluded myself into thinking I’m human.
Because I realize it before I can even delude myself.
The emptiness inside me that had been constant since that day had never been filled.
And what makes me different from them?
Hmm.
“……”
I don’t know about that.
It wasn’t a conclusion I could reach in my dizzy state of mind.
Just like demons, I kill people, have magical energy instead of mana in my body, and can’t feel human emotions.
There are so many things in common, so what’s different?
I don’t know.
I just remained silent because I didn’t know.
“In the end, you can’t answer either, can you? There’s no reason for us to be enemies. I didn’t come here to fight you. If you’re not stupid, I believe you can understand that much.”
“Don’t lie.”
“What?”
“You thought of killing me until I showed you my magical energy. Did I look that easy to you?”
No matter how out of my mind I am, I’m not dull enough to not sense that much bloodlust in this distance.
“Clearly state your purpose. I have no intention of prolonging this conversation.”
It’s impossible to lie in front of me.
I’ll cut him down immediately if I see any attempt to buy time with unnecessary words.
I had enough strength to do that, and above all, I was in a hurry right now.
My fangs itched, wanting to bite into something quickly.
I was hungry, and my throat was too dry.
I hoped he wouldn’t test my patience.
If it became too hard to endure, I might kill the demon in front of my eyes and eat the human he was holding.
“It would be best for you to understand who is superior and speak……”
He should have understood by now.
The demon hesitated for a moment and then spoke.
Since he knew lying wouldn’t work on me, what he said this time would be the truth.
“…… At first, I came to retrieve the Demon King’s fragments. I tried to take back what we had scattered in the academy. But the fragments were nowhere to be seen. As if someone had taken them out beforehand.”
The demon spoke while looking at me.
It was a gaze that seemed to suspect me.
I had no reason to deny it, so I nodded.
“You’re right, I took them.”
“I knew it. I came to receive the fragments from you. At first, I was thinking of killing you and taking them, but that became impossible.”
“……”
“If you have them, return them. They are necessary for the birth of a new King. If I can just receive those, I will leave.”
The birth of a new King.
Is the Demon King’s army’s goal to create a new Demon King with the fragments of the previous Demon King?
It felt like the pieces of information I knew fit together like a puzzle.
What he said just now was quite helpful.
But it seemed like there was no need for further conversation.
Judging from how he spoke, he wasn’t a high-ranking existence in the current Demon King’s army.
He probably didn’t have much information either.
Rather, I might know more than him.
So, I decided not to engage in conversation any further.
I told him bluntly.
“I can’t give you the fragments.”
And.
I waved my hand at the Demon King’s army member who had served his purpose.
“Sleep well.”
Even if he asked me to return the Demon King’s fragments, I couldn’t spit out what I had already eaten.
Above all, he was a demon who had already tried to kill me once.
I also didn’t like that he had invaded my territory, the back alleys.
So I immediately drew my red sword and killed him.
A considerable amount of blood flowed in the back alleys today.
***
Today’s meal was a bit long.
I ate the humans here that the Demon King’s army had killed.
The number was quite large.
I wondered why they were here and why they were killed.
Did something happen again while I was away?
It doesn’t matter.
Since this place isn’t within the patrol range of the knights, it’s easy for criminal groups to gather.
I ate them one by one.
‘…… Although their freshness had dropped a bit.’
Still, it felt good to fill my stomach after a long time.
My heart, which was always calm and quiet, only beat fast when I drank blood.
Having regained my usual condition, I thought while looking at the dead Demon King’s army member.
‘Is the Demon King’s army’s goal to give birth to a new Demon King?’
The current Demon King’s army has lost its leader and is considerably weakened.
They must have been preparing for quite a long time to create a new leader.
And,
‘In my memories, Iria was with the Demon King’s army.’
If my guess is correct, the Demon King’s army tried to make Iria the Demon King in the past.
Because she had the most suitable body for it.
Above all, in my memories, they were feeding Iria something presumed to be a fragment of the Demon King.
Somehow, I ended up in that body instead.
‘The demon I saw earlier didn’t recognize me.’
The demons who were there should have recognized me.
The fact that he didn’t know me meant he wasn’t in a very high position within the Demon King’s army.
He didn’t have much information even when I scanned his memories after regaining my senses.
It seemed like I would have to meet a few high-ranking individuals within the Demon King’s army to solve the mystery regarding Iria’s body.
The Demon King’s army.
“……”
In the end, are they the main culprits?
I recalled what the Demon King’s army member had said a little while ago.
If I encounter them again next time, will they be my enemies?
Or will they really be a group with no reason to be hostile, as he said?
I don’t know for now.
Today’s contemplation was deep as well.
***
I came to the academy as usual.
In a much healthier state than yesterday.
I wasn’t hungry, dizzy, or hallucinating.
Just because my physical condition had improved, the world I saw seemed different from yesterday.
It was a slightly complicated feeling.
It felt refreshing to be free from hunger, but it also felt like I was acknowledging that I really couldn’t survive without human blood.
It felt like I was realizing that I couldn’t escape the life of a back alley murderer after all.
So, I was walking in a slightly depressed mood.
As I passed through the corridor, I saw faces that had become familiar by now.
Ariel, Sera, and Clana.
I didn’t know because I went home early yesterday, but the three seemed to have become quite close while I was away.
My efforts so far weren’t entirely in vain, and the development in the original story was normalizing.
I approached them while watching that scene with my eyes.
It was to greet them as usual.
And,
“Gasp! T-The root of all evil!”
“Iria! What have you been teaching Clana all this time?!”
“It’s the root of all evil! She came to torment me again!”
“……”
I had forgotten that Clana still held a grudge against me.