The Demon King’s General Appears

“Evelyn, do something, won’t you?!” I shouted, hiding behind Nymeris.

“Me?? No, no, no, not a chance!” Evelyn shot back—while also hiding behind Nymeris.

…
Yes. We were both using an elf as a magical shield. Do I regret it? Nope.

“Thieves… return it…” the shadow growled, stepping toward us like some bitter ghost with way too much free time.

“Aren’t you supposed to be a goddess? Shouldn’t you, I don’t know, purify ghosts or something?” I snapped at Evelyn, channeling righteous indignation (fake, obviously).

“Ahhh? And aren’t you supposed to be a hero with a legendary sword? Why don’t you defend your companions?!” she shot back, eyes blazing with “move your ass or I’ll set it on fire.”

…
Touché.

Right! The sword!

“U-um… guys…” Nymeris clutched her staff, trembling. The shadow was already looming over us.

I pulled out my sword.
The blade ignited in mystical flames with a mighty roar.

UOOHHH! This looks amazing! I’m unstoppable!

…My legs were shaking. 

Okay, maybe not as unstoppable as I wanted.

Still—two gorgeous girls were watching me. I had an image to protect, even if it was entirely imaginary.

Clenching my teeth, I stepped forward.

And charged.

“AHHHHHHHHH! TAKE THIS!!!”

I swung my sword furiously…

Like I was swatting flies.
With “style.”

Ridiculous? Yes. Brave? …Sort of. Could you do better in this situation? Yeah, didn’t think so.

…
…
…

I slashed right through the shadow.

Literally.

The flaming blade passed clean through it like smoke.

The shadow stopped.
Turned.
Stared at me.

With a face that said:
“What the hell are you doing, you idiot?”

…
That’s when I realized.

At what point did I think swinging a sword at a ghost was a good idea…?

After that spectacular failure, I only had one option left.

Surrender.

Yup.

I literally dropped to the floor, bowed so low my forehead kissed the cold stone, and declared:

“Oh great terrifying shadow! Accept my most humble apologies… and forgive the insolence of my companion.”

…
Yes, I blamed Evelyn. What did you expect, me to blame myself?

Obviously, the shadow ignored me.

It just repeated its cursed mantra, deeper this time:
“Return them… return them…”

“Maybe you should give it the panties, Sir Ren…” Nymeris suggested with pure innocence.

…
Silence.

The shadow…
Nodded.

…
WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT NODDED?!

So the sacred panties were the key all along?! Are we really resolving an ancient curse with divine underwear?!

With utmost reverence, I pulled them from my pocket.
Like offering up a holy relic.
Like surrendering a sacred treasure to some forgotten god.

Both hands extended, I presented them.

The shadow took them.

And in that moment…

FWOOOM!

A blinding light filled the chamber.
I shut my eyes instinctively. The air vibrated. Stone trembled. Mana roared.

And when I opened them again—

I saw her silhouette.

A woman.
Tall. Lithe.
Athletically built, forged in battle.
Skin pale as marble.
Long, silver hair flowing down her back like a cascading river of light.
Two braided strands framed her severe yet divine face.

Her eyes—icy blue.
The kind that freeze your libido in an instant… or shoot it into overdrive. No middle ground.

She wore armor of silver and blue, runic engravings shimmering faintly across its plates.
Over her shoulders billowed a white cape, regal and heroic.
Her open helm, crowned with metallic wings, revealed a flawless face—like something sculpted by the gods themselves.

Beautiful. Imposing. Untouchable.

And in her hands, a radiant spear hummed with ancient power.

A Valkyrie.
A real, honest-to-god Valkyrie.

…
…
Am I feeling respect… or inappropriate thoughts?

“…Yeah, that second one’s definitely me.”

“Thank you… for returning my treasure.”

Her voice was soft. Enchanting.
The kind that makes you think of both goddesses… and sin.

“I am Aishan. A former heroine of Khaelym… I fought the Demon King centuries ago.”

The Valkyrie—now with a name—introduced herself with solemn grace, like she’d just walked straight out of a legend… or an epic fantasy artbook for adults.

Evelyn and Nymeris crept closer.

I was still kneeling like a devout worshipper… or an idiot who couldn’t decide whether to beg forgiveness or her phone number.

“So… you’re not going to kill us?” Evelyn asked, reaching out to touch her.

Her finger passed right through.

Aishan was a spirit. A ghost.
Just… a much less terrifying, much sexier one now.

“No. I never meant to hurt you,” Aishan said with a gentle smile. “I only wanted to reclaim what was mine.”

She blushed slightly.

…
A legendary spirit, blushing over panties. This world never runs out of surprises.

“Why are those panties so important, Lady Aishan?” Nymeris asked in pure curiosity.

The Valkyrie gazed off at the “horizon” (aka a very inspiring stone wall) and replied:

“They were blessed by the Almighty Goddess who granted me the strength to defeat the Demon King.”

…
Wait. Don’t tell me…

“Cynthia?” I asked, a prophetic chill crawling up my spine.

Aishan’s eyes widened.
“You know the Goddess Cynthia?”

“Well… let’s just say yes.”

…
Silence.

Beside me, Evelyn scowled. Hard.

That “Did you just call my sister almighty in front of me?” aura cut straight through me.

Careful, Ren. Careful.

“What is your name, adventurer who has met Cynthia?” Aishan asked, bowing her head slightly.

“Kurosawa. Ren Kurosawa,” I said, with zero epicness, zero charisma, zero dignity.

“I see… Kurosawa Ren.”
Aishan nodded slowly.
“Then tell me… what were your intentions with my undergarments?”

…
…
REN. DO NOT TELL THE TRUTH.

Say what she wants to hear. Noble. Heroic. Pure. Not horny.

“Well, you see…”

“A powerful mage in Norwenthia told us the demons seek your relic, Lady Aishan,” Nymeris cut in, voice pure as ever.

…
Saved by the elf! MVP support of the year!

“I see…” Aishan lowered her gaze, saddened.
“The demons are rising again… I thought I had done my duty. And now… I realize I failed…”

…
No, you didn’t fail. You were amazing.

It’s just… Cynthia’s younger sister decided to throw me into this world with cheat drinks and restart a global war.

Didn’t say that out loud, of course.

Didn’t want a pissed-off Valkyrie spirit hunting me across Khaelym with a holy spear.

“Will you… be able to stop the Demon King?” Aishan asked, eyes full of hope and worry.

“Doubt it.” I answered flatly.

“I see…”

…
For the record, I’ve got nothing against the Demon King, okay?

I just want to live peacefully, eat well, and have an elf pet my hair while I nap. Is that so much to ask?

“Then… take this.”

Aishan raised her hand.
“Carry my sacred treasure… and use it wisely.”

“…Really?” Nymeris blinked in surprise.

“Yes. In my current state, I can’t protect it… not even from useless fools like you.”

…
Ouch.

“If stronger demons came, they would seize it… who knows what they’d do with it…” she added, worried.

She handed back the sacred panties…

And then—

Her spirit flowed right into them.

Yep.
You heard me.

FWOOSH.

Like someone just used an erotic ghost vacuum.

After that spiritually confusing scene, the three of us just stared at each other, no clue what had just happened.

And we headed for the dungeon exit.

“Well… that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Evelyn said with her usual devil-may-care tone.

“Yeah. Aside from the death traps, humiliating falls, and vengeful spirit that almost killed me with sheer terror… not bad at all.”

Outside, something important hit me.

Wait a sec—

“Evelyn…”

“What?”

“That bikini you made me buy…”

“Oh, right. I left it at the guild.”

…
…
“Fantastic. Six hundred sixty-nine argens down the drain.”

“Relax, Ren~” she purred, her voice laced with +18 infernal temptation. “I can always wear it later… if that’s what you want.”

…
If Aishan’s spirit didn’t kill me…
…that mental image of Evelyn in a bikini probably will.

Nymeris mercifully interrupted again.

“Um… guys? Who’s that over there?” she asked, pointing ahead into the clearing.

I turned.

…

A knight.

But not just any knight.

A full-blown Demon Knight.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

He looked like the final boss of a triple-A video game with an infernal budget.

Every step he took scorched the earth.

And then he spoke.

“Kneel before the great and fearsome Khar’Zarath, General of the Infernal Hordes of our glorious King!”

His voice thundered across the forest.
Epic. Overbearing.
The kind of tone that screamed: “I’m here to ruin your day with style.”

He towered over us.
Superiority.
Dominance.
Fire—literally.

What did I do?
The only logical thing, obviously.

I dropped to my knees.

“Oh mighty Khar’Zarath, have mercy on poor lost adventurers who wandered here by mistake…” I said, channeling my best groveling-vassal impression, maxing out my loser-level persuasion skill.

Evelyn and Nymeris looked at me instantly.

Not a word.

Their eyes said it all:
Coward.

And they were right.

But hey…
Better a living coward than a dead hero!

…

Khar’Zarath stopped before us.

His body radiated searing heat.
A titan forged in the heart of a volcano.

His armor was dark, charred, veined with rivers of molten lava glowing like living fire.
Each plate of his armor pulsed with fury.
Fiery spikes jutted from his shoulders, defying heaven itself.

And his sword—

Colossal. Insane.
A crimson blade carved with runes of destruction, vibrating with such grotesque power it could probably split mountains…

And probably split my underwear from sheer terror.

His eyes, hidden beneath a horned helm ablaze with fire, didn’t just stare.

They consumed.

…

And so, ass on the ground, dignity in shreds, one thing was clear to me:

This… isn’t over.