The ship cleaved fiercely through the waves.
Swoooosh─
At the stern of the ship, violent torrents of water were surging upward.
Having lost its pilot, the ship was burning the overcharged mana as fuel, madly increasing its speed with every passing moment.
The ship’s identity was none other than the pride and prestige of the Harunsdel family. The Encounter.
And standing atop its massive frame, spanning a full 200 meters in width, was a single figure less than two meters tall.
Alone on the vast deck.
The contrast in scale made the figure appear small.
Yet the people there could not take their eyes off that presence.
The being standing on the deck was, quite literally, dominating the space.
Like an exceptional stage actor.
“…Why do you stand with your back turned to them?”
As the people’s eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, they discerned the figure’s identity.
“…A d-demon?”
“Th-that’s a horn…! A demon, it’s a demon!”
However, the reaction to Drei’s words was not yet particularly intense.
Perhaps the surrounding noise had made it hard to hear clearly.
For now, they had only confirmed this side’s outward appearance.
“…….”
She looked flustered. She had clearly heard the word “kin”.
Her lips parted several times as if trying to speak.
Watching that, I took a step forward.
My right hand, transformed into an elongated sword, carved a scar into the deck.
Swoooosh─
The ship continued forward. We were on a lake.
It would reach land soon.
Roughly five minutes.
I put strength into my legs.
“Have you forgotten how to speak? My kin.”
My altered vocal cords produced a grinding growl. A metallic sound, as if my throat had been completely burned away.
“An─swer─me!! Why do you pretend to be human?!”
The cry rang out sharply, reverberating.
No matter how fierce the rush of water was, the dissonant roar could not be drowned out.
I could feel the audience’s breath catch from here.
“…Nonsense!”
The moment I sensed it, Drei lunged at me. The spray that had leapt onto the deck made the floor slick, but there was no hesitation in her movements.
Water exploded outward as if a blast had gone off.
“Vio─lence─! Yes! Yes! That’s how a demon should be!!”
It felt like my vocal cords were tearing apart. But I ignored it.
The next instant—
—A kick?
I blocked the incoming strike.
Boooom!!!
An unbelievable roar, considering it was merely a sword and a human foot colliding.
From the force transmitted into the execution blade in my right hand, I gauged her capability.
Overpowering her outright won’t be possible. No choice, then.
I bit down hard on the pill I had prepared.
For an instant, it felt as though the world had slowed.
……My traits resonated with my combat stance.
◆ [Total Magical Structure Analysis] activated.
◆ Special Magical Tool “Leviathan” has entered standby mode!
◆ Blood flow within the body is accelerating.
◆ Warning! You have ingested the special hazardous drug “Mirage Oasis”!!
◆ Warning! You have ingested the special hazardous drug “Final Whisper”!!
Demonization time: 10 minutes. On top of that, I spared no expense in deploying the drugs.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that, as I am now, I surpass even an academy professor.
……Second strike. It’s coming!
The world accelerated once more, and what entered my sight was my opponent entrusting her body to rotational force as she swiftly aimed a second blow.
However, this time I could feel her mana surging violently against my skin. Thanks to the effect of Mirage Oasis, I was temporarily able to handle mana.
Then I can respond.
I reached out and tightly seized her ankle.
“Ugh…!”
And just like that, I slammed her into the cabin.
Baaaang!
“Weak. That’s what happens when you pretend to be human.”
At that moment, from the other side, spiderweb-like cracks suddenly spread across the deck.
Almost simultaneously, the instant I guarded against a sudden swing, I was pushed all the way back.
She had exploded off her planted foot and charged in.
“─That’s it!!”
I glanced toward the upper levels of the ship, where an exclamation had sounded. A demon’s vision easily pierced heights spanning dozens of meters.
Up high, Menemen Harunsdel was clenching his fist.
It seems he hasn’t even considered the possibility of losing.
Merely my appearance in the form of a demon should already be a massive blow.
Is he planning to feign ignorance and claim everyone simply saw wrong in the darkness?
Or else…
Does he think he can just discard the shadow guard?
The thought did not last long.
Piercing through the thickly rising dust…
Drei was charging soundlessly with black flames erupting from both her feet.
She had reached the stage of manifesting the form of mana.
But that was all.
Baaaang──!!
What rang out from the powerful kick was a sharp metallic clang.
◆ Special Magical Tool “Leviathan” rejects external intrusion!
“…What…?!”
Drei’s eyes widened as if she couldn’t believe her rebounding foot.
“Perfect position.”
Thud—!!!
I kicked her square in the face. A clean soccer kick.
Ray flew back again and crashed into the far side.
“Weak. You’re not even human, yet you rely on something like a mana core?”
“Ugh… ngh….”
This time, I extended my right hand.
Advancing threateningly, I looked upward once more.
Menemen wore an expression like he had bitten into a bug.
And beside him, Irina Harunsdel.
For some reason, emotions flowed from her trembling light-brown eyes.
—Confusion, concern, and a faint sense of accomplishment.
Because of that, I realized.
The drug I gave her to throw… it must have properly hit Drei.
If so, there isn’t much time left.
I looked toward the shattered cabin level.
Now then. What kind of demon are you, Drei?
“Ggh….”
A strange groan came from within the wreckage.
***
In the darkness, Drei thought.
It hurts. It hurts. Why does it hurt so much?
“—Rise. My kin. Stop pretending to be human!”
Her ears throbbed painfully.
Had she endured for too long? It felt as though her eardrums would tear apart.
Her entire body felt as if it had been scorched by fire.
The outside air brushing against her skin felt like scalding steam.
“Ggh… uuu….”
A sound that could only be called grotesque spilled from her mouth.
Drei looked upward. A hot liquid streamed from her eyes.
From afar, someone was shouting at her as she lay embedded deep inside the cabin.
Surely it was dark all around, yet the light that reached her stabbed at her pupils as if burning them.
…Her body was strange.
“Aaagh….”
She could see the humans panicking.
Her vision was unclear, yet she knew.
Her voice would not come out properly. A metallic rasp spread through her vocal cords.
“…Young… mas… ter.”
Every one of her senses screamed.
Why?
Just from that much impact? Merely because she had been slammed into a wall a few times?
It was strange.
The uniform she wore as a guard had long since been reduced to rags. The skin reinforced by the monstrification technique had peeled away.
Her ribs were crushed. Her knees shattered; pain clung to her wrists. Blood streamed down from her head.
Existence itself was pain.
It felt as though the entire world was rejecting her.
Discomfort.
She slowly crawled out from the collapsed wreckage.
And then, the sight that entered her blurred vision appeared like footage filled with static.
Gazes.
The gazes of humans.
Shock, fear, disgust.
Eyes mixed with all those things.
“…Young master….”
But it didn’t matter.
She only searched for her master.
“…Your… com… mand….”
And then, at that very moment—
“…What nonsense are you spouting!! How could that thing possibly be my subordinate!!!”
A familiar voice shouted those words.
“…Young… mas… ter?”
As if possessed, she touched her own face.
“…Th… is?”
A dreadful metallic rasp spilled from her throat.
Even without looking into a mirror, Dre could tell her face was a complete mess.
No…beyond a mess, it was rather—
“…Why?”
A monster.
A red light poured from her entire body.
The magical crest of the monstrification technique engraved upon her flesh flickered wildly, crushed and distorted.
Her legs were demonizing first. No…this was something beyond mere demonization.
“Ah… ah…?”
And in the next instant—
Baaaaang───!!!!
A deafening roar.
And the ship lurched violently.
At last, having reached the edge of the lake, the Encounter failed to stop and slammed straight into the docks.
Hooook.
The heated temperature of the land rushed against her skin.
At the same time, a sound resumed.
As her opponent stomped the deck, mana began to flow through the vessel.
Pat—pat—pat—pat—pat!
It was the sound of the blackout ending.
Colorful lights returned to the ship, along with classical music.
Beneath the orange glow of the banquet lights—
“What are you all doing! Kill those demons at once!!!”
She saw her master pointing at her.
And shortly after.
Having grasped the situation, Drei lowered her head.
Under the blinding light, her demonized self.
Another demon calling her kin.
From the perspective of a Harunsdel heir, there was no choice but to dispose of her.
…If that is your command.
She would simply accept disposal.
It was then.
“What remarkable loyalty. Truly moving.”
The demon whispered.
“But what should we do? I don’t intend to let it end that easily.”
The demon, now close enough to touch, lowered himself to meet her eye level.
Only then did she look at his face.
Black sclera, red pupils.
A gaunt, pale visage and long horns. Truly a demon out of legend.
“…I am not your kin… If you’re going to kill me, then do it.”
“Oh my. That’s unfortunate. I knew from the start you weren’t my kin.”
In an instant, half of his face transformed into that of a human.
“How could I kill you… my senior? Wouldn’t you agree?”
“…You…!!!!”
It was the face of the aide who had joined not long ago.
Butler Adel…or Deran.
The man who used such aliases.
“Shh. Don’t shout. Don’t even think about revealing who I am.”
A blade was pressed toward her.
“Answer just a few questions, and I’ll erase the demon factor within you… and all traces of the monstrification technique.”
“…….”
“Now, now. There’s no time to hesitate. The Imperial Army will be storming in soon, you know?”
“…I told you. If you’re going to kill me, then kill me.”
“Haha. If you’re no longer a demon, Menemen would use you again. Wouldn’t he? He might even treat you as a hero. The aide who protected Harunsdel from a demon. Doesn’t that tempt you?”
“…….”
It was, quite literally, a demon’s whisper.
– Ah, the demons are together!
– We have to kill them!!
“Drei. Subject Zero of the demonization experiment. Your original name was Diane, wasn’t it?”
“…….”
He held out a small dagger.
“Now then. After you answer the questions, you stab me with this. Drei. I’ll disappear just like that, and you’ll become the hero who nearly turned into a demon but, after a desperate struggle, defeated one. Of course—.”
The demon tapped at her chest.
“I’ll take the demon that’s inside you with me. How about it?”
“..….”
There is no human who desires nothing.
As for her, the only thing she desired was recognition from her master.
The craving to be valued. The pleasure that bloomed from being needed.
She had lived her entire life that way, and so she was a person capable of no other emotion.
That was the inner truth of the mid-boss from the game “Shadow Guard Drei”.
“There’s no time, Drei.”
The venom drained from her eyes.
“…What do you want?”
We’re here.
A smile formed inwardly.
“The location where those insolent humans are conducting demonization experiments. And basic personal details about the researchers.”
“That… If you give me a moment….”
“You’ve memorized it, haven’t you? Senior. You said memorizing such things is basic competence.”
I spoke while brushing back her disheveled black hair with the blade in my right hand.
“Answer.”
“…I will. I’ll answer… so remove it….”
***
“And one more thing before you stab me.”
“…I’m listening.”
“Does the Magic Tower know about the demonization experiments?”
“…….”
“Answer.”
At the coercive question, Drei’s head moved ever so slightly.
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