Chapter 13: The Sword of Justice, The Sword of Truth

A day after the incident at the church, I, Leonix, returned to the inn. I lay on the bed, thinking about what would happen if my power went out of control.

"That was too close. If I wasn't good at controlling this power, this city would have become a crater," I muttered. "I have to try some more magic."

The next morning, I went to a secluded place outside the city. My eyes glowed red, and I activated my Creation magic.

"CREATION: Spirit," I said.

Instantly, a maid with brown hair, a dragon's horn, and golden eyes, Luciana, appeared before me. She was one of my servants from my old world who had died, and now I had successfully brought her back to life.

"Welcome back, Luciana," I said, my tone like a Master.

"It is an honor that you have brought me back to life. This soul and body will forever belong to my Great Lord, Demon King Leonix," Luciana said, bowing her head with great respect.

"Stop that, Luciana. Stop the Demon King title. In this world, I am disguised as a hero," I explained what had happened and how I had arrived in this world.

"I see, my Lord. That's fine, it's a truly brilliant plan to attack from behind."

"It's not like that. I don't plan to be hostile to humans anymore. I want to change."

"I have a task for you. But first, hide your dragon horn with the illusion magic I'll give you."

Luciana used the illusion magic, and her horns disappeared. I knew it would be dangerous if normal humans saw them.

"I will accept any task, my Lord Leonix."

"Your task is to go north, to the territory of the Demon King Oberon. I want you to spy on them."

"Is that all, my Lord?"

"I also want you to find a strengthening magic stone like the one I found yesterday after finishing off that giant Orc."

Luciana understood. With teleportation magic, she disappeared.

"Alright, now as promised, today I'll meet the two of them at the adventurer's guild," I muttered, getting ready.

When I arrived at the Guild, Seraphine and Layla were already waiting for me.

"Seraphine, Layla, good morning," I greeted them politely.

"Oh, Leon, good morning!" they replied in unison.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Well, Leon. Layla and I plan to form an adventurer's party to take on missions. You need money too, right?"

I fell silent, remembering the ballooning inn bill. I agreed. "Alright, count me in."

"Thank you, Leon! With this, Layla and I have officially formed a party!" Seraphine exclaimed happily.

"But, Seraphine, the problem is we're still short of three members. To form an official party, we must have six people," Layla said.

Instantly, Seraphine's face froze. "No... my dream party..."

In the midst of our panic, Sera, the guild master, appeared. "Oh, Leon, Seraphine, and Layla. I heard you want to form a party, right?"

"Oh, Guild Master. Yes, we plan to. The problem is we're short of members," I said.

"Then why don't you open a party recruitment? Someone will surely want to join," the Guild Master suggested.

"That's a great idea, Guild Master!" Layla exclaimed.

The three of us immediately created a recruitment notice and spread it all over the city.

Meanwhile, the mysterious girl with long black hair, golden eyes, and silver armor, wearing a hood, continued to follow us. She picked up one of the recruitment notices, read it, then burned it with just one grip. Golden flames flared in her hand, burning the paper into ash that was carried away by the wind, leaving a trace of heat in the air.

As the three of us were talking, the woman appeared and walked closer.

"You over there, you better stay away from him," the mysterious woman said, pointing at me.

"Who? Seraphine, Layla, do you know her?" I asked.

"No, I don't know who she is," Seraphine replied, as did Layla.

"The one I mean is you, Leonix," the woman lowered her hood. I was so surprised when I saw her face.

"Leon, is she an acquaintance of yours? Could she be your girlfriend?" Layla asked, with a slight mocking tone. Seraphine, who was jealous, immediately stepped forward emotionally. "You over there! You don't know who you're pointing that sword at, do you? He is the Hero of the Elyzaria kingdom!"

"A hero? Don't joke, little lady," the woman replied, a thin smirk appearing on her face. "He is Demon King Leonix from my old world. You call him a hero?"

Seraphine was very annoyed at being called "little lady." She was about to retort, but Layla held her hand, trying to calm her down.

"That's enough, Shion! If you want to fight, don't do it in this city because it will cause many casualties," I said.

"Hooh? You've got some nerve saying that. What do you care about casualties, huh?" Shion replied with an emotional tone.

Without further ado, Shion attacked me. I immediately used teleportation magic, bringing myself, Seraphine, and Layla, far from the city, to a secluded valley.

"So that's how it is... With your cunning tactic, you brought us all far from the city. You're quite cunning, Demon King," Shion said, following us.

"Yare-Yare... it seems I can't just stand by. I have to face her. You two, go far away because this is my business with the Hero from my world," I said.

Seraphine looked at me with worried eyes. "A Hero from your world? Could she be the one you were talking about?"

"Yes, you're right, Seraphine. Now, move away!"

In the middle of the valley, the wind blew strongly. Seraphine and Layla, who had moved away, hid behind rocks, peeking anxiously. They could only see two figures standing face to face, holding their respective holy swords.

The great battle between the Demon King and the Hero was about to begin, and the two girls knew their world would never be the same again.