Chapter 36: Chapter 36

Jin’s POV
   On the next day, every single news outlet had a field trip. After all, their topic involved the infamous UCI. For once, they’re spending hours and hours rattling on someone other than Jin. While eating his dinner with Nyri, he watches the news anchors going ham on live television.

   “I knew that Frenchman was up to no good!”

   “Exactly! Helping mankind, my foot! He’s an absolute psycho!”

   “The police should lock him up right now!”

   Naturally, certain groups are dubious to the evidences since they were provided by both Jin and Maebara, two of the sources which were deemed pretty untrustworthy. Their authenticity were testified by the police, but that’s still not reassuring enough to some of them.

   Even so, a vast majority of the public are demanding answers from the PM. After all, he’s the reason UCI could be established in the first place.

   “I know all of you have been anxious for answers. The truth is, the strings of incidents have nothing to do with Director Jacques Bouchard. It was the sole responsibility of Tanifuji Taro, one of his Branch Chief.” he said in a press conference another day later.

   “The voice recorder that Silver Wolf has presented contradicts your statement, sir.” a reporter brings out.

   “Former Branch Chief Tanifuji has been identified as mentally unstable. As such, everything he said should not be taken seriously.”

   “But, there wasn’t any record of that!” the reporter protests.

   “The fact was so well-hidden that only a few people knew of it. Even I myself was excluded from being informed of this fact.”

   Jin is starting to think that Bouchard is grabbing hold of the PM’s weakness or something. He can’t find any other reason for the Prime Minister of a country to shield an obvious criminal despite the mountain of evidence.

   “So, is that it? Jacques Bouchard will be let off without even getting a slap on the wrist?”

   Oh, it’s Maebara’s voice. For once, Jin is glad that the irritating journalist is here.

   “As I have said, all the supposed evidence which portrays him as the mastermind behind the incident was nothing but made-up. As such, there is no reason for him to be punished by law.” the PM replies.

   Well that’s a bummer. In other words, in order for Bouchard to be judged, he must be caught doing something so atrocious that even the PM can’t back him up.

   “Are you seriously saying that? He’s a goddamn criminal, for crying out loud!”

   “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend to.”

   “Hey, we’re not done yet! Come back here!”

   And the PM left the podium on a hurry. As Jin told Shannon, that man is a complete wuss.

   Speaking of the CIA agent, Jin has told her about Tanifuji’s demise.

   “Our vengeance is partially complete then.” she said after the news was delivered.

   “Does that mean you won’t rest until Bouchard has paid for what he has done?”

   “Naturally.”

   “Just promise me to be really careful, please. I don’t want to fight more modified humans if I can help it.”

   “Rest assured, neither myself nor my colleagues will act recklessly.”

   In the end, the press conference was ended abruptly since the PM couldn’t take any more heat from the press, or more specifically, from Maebara.

   Strangely enough, Bouchard himself has been real quiet. According to Sergeant Wakaba, Bouchard was the one who caught Jin on camera when he was fighting the hellhounds. In other words, Bouchard can use the footage to blackmail Jin, or expose his identity to the whole world as an act of retaliation for getting one of his subordinate killed. But nope. Nothing. Jin could think of two reasons for this. One, Tanifuji’s death didn’t bother him in the slightest. Two, the man is waiting for the right chance to strike back at him. Both reasons really worry Jin.

   Just as Jin was about to pick up a piece of breaded shrimp with his chopsticks, he sensed sixteen unfamiliar demonic presences nearby along with one familiar one.

   “That’s a lot of demons in one spot.” Nyri observes.

   “No kidding. They’re probably up to no good.”

   “So you’re going?”

   “Definitely.”

   Before Jin leaves, he made sure to finish all his share of the breaded shrimps. The last time he left some food on the table to pick up a phone call, Nyri gobbled everything up for him. He doesn’t want the same thing happen again.

Estyshana’s POV
   Dinnertime is as usual for the Wakaba family and Esty the unannounced intruder. They’re once again having apple pie as dessert, and yet Esty has zero appetite.

   “Is everything okay, Esty?” Chifuyu asks when she saw Esty’s gloomy face.

   “I’m fine. No need to worry.” Esty says as not to worry her.

   “You should finish eating your apple pie before it gets cold.”

   “I don’t think I’m in the mood for apple pie right now.”

   Everyone at the table gasps loudly, even Chinatsu who’s composed most of the time.

   “Oh my, this is serious! Please tell us Esty-chan, you’re surely bothered by something!” Mama Kana asks in a really worried tone.

   “You can talk to us about anything.” Uncle Shun adds.

   “Even money.” even Chinatsu chips in.

   “Thanks, all of you. But I’m really fine.”

   Esty gets up from her seat.

   “Is it okay if I leave the house and go out for a walk?” she asks.

   “I don’t mind, but you’ll have to take your anti-crime goods with you.” Maka Kana insists.

   “Of course I will.”

   The so-called anti-crime goods involve a tube called a pepper spray and an oval object called the crime prevention buzzer. Esty is more than confident to take down any humans with her bare hands, well, except a certain annoying Hero. Even so, she did as she was told since she doesn’t feels like arguing.

   “Remember, don’t stay outside for too long. It’s been very dangerous out there lately.” Chinatsu tells her before she heads out.

   Esty sighs. “Jeez, I thought there’s only two mothers in this family. It’s actually three?”

   “The second one better not be me, Esty.” Chifuyu growls.

   After Esty leaves the house, she stands still for a few minutes to think of a destination. She decides to go to a park near the house. It should be devoid of humans in this time of the night.

   Sigh, what is she doing? It’s been almost two months since she left Ifezan in order to kill the Hero. Now, not only is she is nowhere near killing him, she realized that she’s in love with him. It’s bad enough that he’s a human, it got worse when he’s the very human who murdered her dear father.

   What is she to do? Why does it have to be him? She’s too weak to end his life, nor can they ever be together. She’s utterly lost. The Wakaba family was being nice as usual, but there’s no way Esty can tell them the truth. Not after mingling with them by using lies.

   And then they appeared. All sixteen of them. They were so stealthy Esty failed to notice them until they’re right in front of her. All of them get down on their left foot.

   “We have finally found you, Your Highness.” the demon at the front says to her.

   “Who are you lot?” she asks.

   “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ekunneth. I am the leader of the Thoxigon Clan. Those behind me are leader of their own clans as well.”

   The Thoxigon Clan. This is bad. Esty has heard her late father talk about it multiple times. Both that clan and the Von Mantus Clan were allies after her father became the Demon Lord, but they used to be fierce rivals. And Esty has vaguely heard of Ekunneth the Neck Chomper. She reckons that all the other Clan leaders present here are no pushovers either.

   “What do the esteemed clan leaders of the Demon World want with the daughter of the fallen Demon Lord?”

   “As you already know, your father, Volrik Von Mantus has been slain by the human Hero. The entire Demon World is in turmoil ever since. It’s time to appoint a new Demon Lord.”

   “I take it that all of you have decided that the one who takes my head will be granted the title?” Esty asks drily.

   Ekunneth shows her a smile devoid of any warmth.

   “Your Highness is much more intelligent than we thought.”

   She sniffs. “I am merely well-versed in our customs. All of you have your left foot on the ground, do you not? That is a gesture made by those with the full intention of rebelling and seeks to overthrow the current crown.”

   “This will make things quick then. Please do not harbor any grudge, Your Highness. This is nothing personal.”

   All of them get up at the same time and direct their killing intent towards Esty. She feels a bead of sweat trickling down from the right side of her face. She could tells that their individual strength are at least on par with the Four Demon Marquis. There’s no way Esty can fight and win against all of them.

   “A moment if I may, Ekunneth.” a second demon speaks up all of a sudden.

   “What is it, Vozrach?”

   “I would like to offer Her Highness a proposition.”

   “...Very well. Just make it quick.”

   “I shall.”

   The demon called Vozrach shows Esty his overly bright smile.

   “Greetings, Your Highness. My name is Vozrach. I am the leader of the Algalaan Clan.” he introduces himself with a voice coated with pure honey.

   “You spoke of a proposition.” Esty reminds him.

   “Ah, yes. I am willing to give you a chance to get out of this predicament that you’re in right now.”

   “Which is?”

   “A marriage proposal. If you agreed to be my 193rd wife, I shall convince them to spare you. In return, you will be my love slave for life.”

   “...You have 192 wives?”

   “Indeed I do. My beauty and charisma are so unparalleled that females come to me in flocks. But not to worry, I-”

   “I’m afraid that I have to refuse.” she rejects in an instant.

   “Even at the cost of your life?”

   “I would rather die than serve a scumbag like you.”

   “...I see. That’s a shame.”

   Esty takes a deep breath. Well, this is it, she guess. She’ll die without avenging her father. She so should have eaten those apple pies. Speaking of which, she wonders whether the Wakaba family will miss her. Will he? Not that it matters-

   A human who wears metal armor lands in front of her. It’s the back she had been quite used to seeing. On his hand is a familiar doubled-bladed sword with transparent blades.

   “What are you doing here?” she asks him in a soft voice.

   “I was out for a walk.” the Hero replies.

   That got a chuckle out of her.

   “That’s one terrible lie.”

   “Well, you got me.”

   Esty feels relieved the moment she saw him, and then she got mad at herself for being relieved. The Clan leaders, on the other hand, are completely terror-struck at the mere sight of the human. All of them have lost the composure they had an instant ago.

   “Is, is that him?”

   “Yes. There’s no mistaking the armor and the sword.”

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   “What are you doing here?” Ekunneth asks the Hero with a terrified voice.

   “Oh, weren’t you informed? This is the world I came from.”

   “It is?”

   “Yup, and you guys are intruding.”

   “Wait! We are only here for her! We have no intention of fighting you!”

   “And why do you want her?”

   “So that we have a chance of becoming the new Demon Lord!”

   “So it’s about that. Well, all of you should give up. You don’t stand a chance. At all.”

   Lots of angry gasps.

   “What? How dare you say that! On what basis did you reach that conclusion?”

   “For starters, all of you are scared of me.”

   More angry gasps. And a few looks of guilt.

   “What nonsense. We are not scared of a puny human.” Ekunneth insists.

   “This is coming from a group who think it’s fine to gang up on a lone demon?”

   All of them got tongue-tied all of a sudden.

   “If you think so little of us, why don’t you come at us?” Ekunneth challenges.

   “You know what, I think I will.”

   “...Huh?”

   The Hero raises his sword and points one of its tip skywards.

   “Wait-”

   He didn’t wait, and all the demons got obliterated with Naga Bolt, a Level 8 Spell. not even dusts remains. All except that demon who called himself Vozrach.

   “I have survived!” he exclaims happily.

   “No, you have not.” the Hero contradicts.

   Before Vozrach could even react, the Hero dashes towards him and sliced the narcissistic demon to literal ribbons. The Hero made sure to take care of the remains by burning them thoroughly.

   “Well, I’m leaving.” he tells Esty as his sword disappears.

   “Wait!” she quickly tells him before he could even move one step.

   “...What do you want?”

   “Um, can you take off your armor?”

   He turns around to look at her.

   “Are you planning to violate me?” he asks.

   Esty’s face became hot. It’s probably as red as her hair right now.

   “Of course not! Get your mind out of the gutter and just do it!”

   He did as he was told. Esty opens up her arms and hugs him tightly. Good lord, he’s so warm. She wants to hug him forever…

   “Are you sure you’re really not going to push me down?” he asks again.

   “Yes I’m sure. Now hug me back before I get mad.” she growls.

   He hugs her back and puts his left hand on her head.

   “Are you hurt?”

   She shakes her head.

   “You must have been scared, huh?”

   She nods.

   “I’m sorry for taking this long to come over.”

   “It’s fine. It was my problem, anyway.”

   She knows that she’s not supposed to act intimate with him, but she wants to be honest with her feeling for just a little while. Thankfully, the Hero is kind enough to play along. And then, she realizes something.

   “You caused a major ruckus just now. Are you sure it’s fine?” she asks him.

   “Sure is. I cast Silent Bubble before I landed. ”

   Silent Bubble, the spell that allows its caster and everything inside the bubble absolute privacy. Of course he cast it. He’s always cautious, after all.

   She taps his back gently after a while, indicating that she wants to stop the hug. He lets go of her immediately.

   “Get me something to drink.” she demands.

   “Of course, Your Highness.”

   He comes back with a can of melon soda and a can of lemonade. He passes her the lemonade and opens up the can of melon soda. And there he goes again. She didn’t specify the drink she wants, and yet he still manages to get exactly the one she wants. This is so irritating yet sweet. She takes the can and empties the content in one gulp.

   “I don’t know what to do anymore.” she whispers.

   “Are you talking about us or the state of the Demon World right now?”

   “...About the Demon World, of course.”

   “Right, of course you are.”

   “I realized that I’m being selfish by enjoying my life here while everyone else is suffering without someone to guide them.”

   “Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that how you demons have survived all this while?”

   “What?”

   “It always has been survival of the fittest among your kind, wasn’t it? The weak dies, and the strong lives. What I’m trying to say is who cares that you’re enjoying yourself while the demons back at Ifezan are suffering? If you want to be the next Demon Lord, just pop out of nowhere and beat up everyone who stands in your way. End of story.”

   Esty realizes that he’s right. Demon Lords, or rather demons in general, are meant to be strong and selfish. Strength is everything for them. Those who’re weak serves the strong, and the strong rules over the weak with an iron fist. It’s a simple yet efficient system that the demons has been relying on for millennials.

   “Of course, that’s the problem now, isn’t it? Since you’re still weak and all.”

   “Thank you. Thank you so much for dampening my spirit.” she says sarcastically.

   “You’re welcome. No need to feel bad, though. You’ll become stronger eventually. A couple of hundreds of years are all you need.”

   “But you’ll be long dead by then!” she protests.

   He shrugs like it’s not his problem, which to be fair it isn’t.

   “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you this.” Esty says.

   “Yeah?”

   “You could have used Naga Bolt to annihilate all the demons in one go. Why did you took the trouble of sparing one just to kill him yourself?”

   “Oh, that.”

   His face turns irritable all of a sudden.

   “I’ve been listening to your conversations by using Clairvoyance Mirror while I was flying here. That demon had the nerve to propose to you. For that, he deserves a special sort of pain to him dealt by me personally.”

   “Hold on. Are you saying that you were jealous?”

   “...Yes.”

   Esty feels her mouth curving upwards, and she had to cover her grin up with her hand.

   “Wait till the humans hear about this!” she laughs.

   “Bah, it’s not like they have a high opinion on me anyway.”

   “I wonder why?”

   He actually cares enough to be jealous. No words could describe Esty’s happiness right now. Not that she’s going to tell him that.

   “Anyway, you got something else that you want to get out of your system? I really need to go back now.”

   Esty puffs up her cheeks.

   “Are you going back to that dragon of yours?” she demands.

   “I was eating dinner when I got interrupted.” he explains.

   “Oh. That’s fine, then.”

   He shakes his head.

   “Wait till the demon hears about this.” he mutters.

   “Hey, don’t copy my line!”

   “Why don’t you make me, then?”

   “Grr, you’re so going to get it one of these days…”

   Even though Esty is mad on the outside, she’s quite happy on the inside. She misses the banter with the Hero, and it’s nice to fight him verbally just like the old days.

   “Well, I’m leaving for real now.” he tells her as he undoes Silent Bubble.

   “Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

   Esty watches him leave while holding back the urge to give him a kiss on the cheek. Soon after, Esty leaves the park and heads back to the Wakaba household. Mama Kana sighs in relieve as she sees Esty’s expression.

   “Oh, you look so much better now, Esty-chan! The walk must have done wonders to you.”

   Esty smiles at her. “It sure has, Mama Kana.”

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