Head-Patting Kill?
1227 Words
The wings that reached through the bars were much smaller than those of their owner’s father, and the mana they contained seemed to be of lower quality—but after all, it was still mana of the Crimson Dragon. If absorbed and stored in either the First Wing Pillar (Core) or the Third Wing Pillar (Ranged Attack), Ira would have the capital to break out of a semi-planar prison and carve a path from the depths of the Demon King’s Castle to other nations.
It would take him some time to figure out what the little dragon-demon king named Satanleaf was thinking, but before that, without any hesitation he placed his hand on her wing.
How to put it… Ira was by no means the typical light-novel protagonist. If he were to define himself, he’d rather be the hero of a Western fantasy epic—he despised indecision and performing meaningless actions.
When food is brought to your lips, you naturally take a bite… at least a bite’s worth.
“Relax. Don’t resist.”
At Ira’s command, Satanleaf didn’t resist in the slightest. She allowed the crimson mana to drain instantly from her wing, flowing up along Ira’s right arm until it settled onto his back.
“Hmph… haha… hahaha…”
Unable to contain his laughter, Ira withdrew his hand, chuckling as he watched Satanleaf’s expression—as if saying, “Eh? It’s over. It didn’t hurt?” He continued, “I just can’t figure out what goes on in today’s kids’ minds.”
But almost immediately after his words, Ira realized something…
“Ah, interesting—you’re neither foolish nor naive.”
Ira said this, feeling the power surging through his body as he stood calmly within the prison. “Because you know, I won’t get tangled up with demons any longer… Because I no longer belong to the empire.”
Earlier, every word Satanleaf had spoken to him had been a test—probing his thoughts, gauging his attitude toward the empire, and determining the extent of any hatred he might harbor against demons. This decision of hers was a gamble—a bet that the empire, having abandoned Ira, might incur further trouble once he regained his strength, thereby giving the demons a little more room to breathe.
“What’s wrong? Why that expression?”
Ira said casually, now feeling safe and in a position to chat. “As I suspected, you really don’t understand the role of a Chancellor at all… It must be hard for you to stick it out for so long.”
“As for the so-called Chancellor,” he explained, “once you seize the core mana of a demon, you can, in the eyes of the World Tree, assume the demon’s form to draw ample mana for battle. Although we usually kill the demons, that doesn’t mean we always have to.”
Satanleaf, however, wasn’t interested in hearing more about Chancellors from him…
It made her seem rather adorable in her foolishness, especially when a top Chancellor was so kindly divulging information.
All along, the demon side had never managed to capture a single Chancellor under Ira’s flawless strategic planning—well, not even once…
Ah, no, maybe Ira was the first.
“What are your plans from here?”
When Satanleaf asked, Ira narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “Just as you’d expect—I'll give the empire’s nobles a good time… a really big time.”
In other words, Ira was very angry now—the kind of anger that cares little for the scheming between demons and humans, nor for whether Satanleaf intended to use his hand to weaken human power.
“I might head over to the elves. If I worry about losses on my side, I’ll just have the demons along the way stand aside…
First Wing Pillar · Crimson Dragon · Wing Expansion!”
With those words, the Rune Conduit on his neck instantly activated the mana stored along his spine. A burst of scorching crimson energy erupted from his arm, melting away the shackles forged from the Anti-Magic Stone.
“Mmm…”
Since the mana had been borrowed from the World Tree in Satanleaf’s name, while she lived the World Tree would demand that Satanleaf return that portion of power. The sensation of having one’s magic force extracted was nothing short of unpleasant.
“I no longer have ‘my people’—do what you do best on your way,” he said.
For the sorrowful Satanleaf, whose eyes betrayed a touch of sadness, Ira could well guess what “my people” meant—it probably meant that most of her followers had already defected.
“Your subordinates… No, even the old subordinates from your father’s time did not continue to remain loyal to you once you succeeded him—you were betrayed, just as the empire betrayed me.”
Ira spoke as if it were nothing, and Satanleaf silently nodded, confirming his suspicion. He gently twisted his neck and continued, “You might not believe it, but I don’t really enjoy killing demons…”
Even though, over his lifetime, Ira had slain countless demons, that didn’t prevent him from saying such words. After all, liking something and having it as one’s duty are not the same.
Before him stood Satanleaf—the Demon King—who amazed Ira. Although most of his own subordinates had chosen rebellion, she still risked everything with that daring gamble. Perhaps she didn’t fully understand Chancellors, but she surely knew that she might very well die.
Even if that were the case, was it worth letting the demon race endure just a little longer?
Even if it meant standing with humans…
No—standing on the side of the empire, Ira couldn’t help but admire Satanleaf’s resolve.
Of course, that was just one possibility in Ira’s mind. In truth, Satanleaf’s true intentions might be along the lines of, “No one listens to me anyway!” or “The demons are going to be G-ed up! Let’s disgust the empire!” or even “Ah! Let’s just give up!”—something like that.
“You go—kill whoever you want along the way.”
Satanleaf said as she waved open the prison door. Although she knew it was pointless, since Ira now possessed the power to easily break out of this semi-planar cell.
“Although I’m saying this now and you might regret it later…”
Ira stepped out of the cell’s iron-barred door, standing in front of Satanleaf. He extended his hand toward her and said, “For certain reasons, the empire isn’t planning to advance deeper into your territory… The ensuing war will turn passive, even cease.”
Facing Ira’s outstretched hand, Satanleaf closed her eyes gently, unsure of his intentions…
After a brief moment of ruffling of her trembling eyelashes, Satanleaf opened her eyes in astonishment as she looked at Ira earnestly patting her head. He was ruffling her silky, jet-black hair into a disheveled mess…
Though it felt warm, Satanleaf still couldn’t quite piece together all that had transpired.
“You’re interesting…and very cute…
Kids really are adorable when they’re young; once they grow up, they develop their own ideas—it leaves one at a loss as to what to do,” sighed Ira.
- Writer
