The struggle of the previous night, regardless of victory or defeat, was halted by the formidable entity known as Tashian Pheloi.
Had she harbored ill intent, both might have died on the spot, but Tashian, in fact, did not harm them further and even healed their bodies.
Not out of rcy, but purely to prevent him from noticing the commotion.
‘I have no business interfering in his love affairs, but make sure you don’t harm him by fighting amongst yourselves. If you disrupt his work, I won’t stand idly by either.’
Indeed, she, like herself, did not offer direct help but also wished for the continuation of Woo Hyo-sung’s personal journey.
Her purpose would serve as a deterrent against the demon unable to control her frenzy, ensuring at this mont her wariness towards her dissipated, accompanied by such certainty.
“…What is that?”
“It’s the new armor Hyo-sung has acquired.”
The upper part of the armor landed with a thud in front of rilyn, who was drinking tea at the table.
Airi, who was caressing its surface, asked rilyn, who was showing imdiate interest.
“You’re a demon, so you should feel it, right? What material is this armor made of?”
“…Let check for a mont.”
While it might seem macabre to use the sa species as material, rilyn likely wouldn’t take issue with it.
After all, demons lived for their own desires.
As most of them prioritized themselves, there was a lack of kinship among them.
Sniff, sniff.
And unable to go against such a desire, she would start by slling it once she knew it was his armor.
Realizing the issue belatedly, Airi quickly grabbed rilyn’s hem to stop her.
“…Stop slling it.”
“No, just a little more…”
“What do you an, ‘a little more’?! I haven’t slled it either… No, that’s not the point! Get off it right now!”
Even for a savage demon, she was a high-ranking officer of the Demon King’s army, yet why did she seem to lack any dignity?
As she struggled to pull rilyn away, rilyn, having finished slling, propped her chin and began to rummage through her mories.
“This… it’s a pureblood demon from my mory.”
“…Pureblood?”
“As you know, the Demon King’s army has been plundering each world across various dinsions. Given their aggressive nature and high mortality rate, how would they fill the vacancies?”
They ford relationships with the different species captured during the plundering process and had their offspring join the army.
Although devoid of love or greater purpose, the numbers were maintained across countless dinsions, presumably because they replenished their ranks in each dinsion.
“In short, the Demon King’s army is a group made up of various mixed breeds.”
“Yes, those who are pureblood demons without a mix of other races’ blood are primarily from the ‘First World’ where the Demon King’s army was established. But with most of them gone, the remaining purebloods, including myself and the Demon King, could be counted on one hand.”
This essentially ant that almost all the original mbers had perished in the current era.
Even the Demon King no longer held affection for the army, and two of the most powerful pureblood Four Kings had died… The remaining two left the army for their own purposes, reducing the number of purebloods even more.
“Do you rember all the pureblood demons?”
“I may not know now, but I was serious about the Demon King’s army activities in the beginning, so I rember all the notable purebloods.”
Being such rare beings, they stood out more in mory.
rilyn’s eyes, gazing at the armor, began to half-close, as if imrsed in nostalgia.
“The one who beca the material for this armor was a leader in the initial Demon King’s army, but even after earning the right to beco one of the Four Kings, he refused the position.”
“He gave up being one of the Four Kings?”
“At first, he was annoyed by everything except fighting, but at so point, even fighting beca a hassle, and he was content being just an ordinary soldier.”
The growing pity in her gaze was probably due to sympathy or a sense of kinship.
Though demons lacked kinship, she faintly sensed that the Demon of Sloth had walked a path similar to her own.
“Understandable. To see the strong figure you idolized lose their motivation must have been disheartening.”
Perhaps he foresaw the fate of a demon loyal to their desires surviving to the end, recognizing the state of the Demon King even before she did.
How trivial must she have appeared in his eyes, still unable to let go and seeking ways to revert the Demon King?
No, perhaps even that was too botherso for him.
His desire for sloth once ant excluding everything but his purpose, but once that purpose was lost, even his motivation for growth must have waned.
“I’m a bit jealous. He foresaw the future of the Demon King’s army before , and yet he ended up having a closer relationship with Hyo-sung than either I or Airi.”
“…Even when you speak, it’s always…”
A mont of annoyance at her characteristically frivolous joke.
But just as she thought that might be her way of deflecting a path she could have taken, rilyn soon turned a serious look towards Airi.
“So, what would you like to do with this armor?”
“I thought you might know more about your own kind than Tashian.”
No matter how adept a dragon, the lord of all creatures, was at handling materials, demons were beings from another dinsion.
The dragon’s understanding of materials from outside this world was limited, so her understanding of equipnt made from demon materials might be higher.
“The point is to awaken the potential this armor possesses.”
“Yes, this armor is necessary to protect Hyo-sung’s life right now.”
Whatever the case, both Tashian and she wished for him to beco stronger than he currently was.
And that transformation should be gradual, building upon what already existed.
The future must be rooted in the past, and a rightful future couldn’t be grasped by uprooting those roots.
“…Is it possible?”
However, this purpose did not resonate with her, who had despaired over the calamity that had befallen this world.
She had considered refusing, but the look on rilyn’s face as she gazed at the armor was one of relief.
“Well, I’m not sure if it will work, but I’ll do my best.”
A very cheerful acceptance.
Wondering if there was an ulterior motive, Airi looked at rilyn, who nonchalantly continued.
“Don’t be too wary. As you know, demons live for their desires, and I wish my love to last as long as possible.”
As she said, the only clear thing about her unpredictable nature was her love for him.
That this love was important enough to risk her own life was proven in yesterday’s battle.
“Yes, desires are endless, after all…”
But such obsession with their desires inevitably leads demons to short-lived existences.
Even if their desires were fulfilled, it was the sa.
Once a desire is achieved, a greater one will erge, and if this repeats, eventually, even living becos a pain.
“If I only obsess over achieving that, eventually, I might end up like the Demon King.”
“…Even if such desire leads to your own ruin, will you continue to pursue Hyo-sung?”
“Of course.”
Even though indulging in such desires might lead to ruin.
The demons, true to their nature, gladly embrace the desires they’d newly awakened to in this world.
“Because I’ve left everything behind, only thinking of being with him.”
Airi Haven.
Even though she shared the sa passion, she t soone who, unlike her, could protect him rationally and coldly.
If such a rival could curb her madness, she would never beco like her lord.
“So, Airi, if you choose to accept , rember just one thing.”
The demon, believing in prolonging her happiness even in this way, smiled, imagining the mont that would co from maintaining that belief.
Whatever might co afterward.
“Hyo-sung’s first might be you, but the last will be .”
Feeling that she now had the right to dream.
“Hyo-sung! Have you been well? Don’t tell you’ve forgotten after not seeing for two years!?”
“…Brother Ja-seong?”
Shovel Knight, Nam Ja-seong.
One of the few heroes who had shown kindness when I first arrived in this world.
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