Battling Demons

Some time later, they finally made it out of the forest. By now, Berus was sure that no one would have ever found Phorok and Iuria if not for them falling out of the sky. The forest was far too big for any sane person to travel through, especially if they didn’t have a bike like Mikkah did.

But now that they were out of the forest, they saw little villages for the first time in forever. Most of them were tiny, a collection of a handful of houses, with barely enough people to sustain their little communities. Of course, with their entrance, most of them were suspicious, but Berus was surprised to see just how many people believed them as soon as the spoke of the elf, the holy knight and the prophecy. And when Iuria showed her royal symbol, even the last sceptic would be swayed.

Good thing we’re not conmen, Berus thought. They really are too trusting.

Unfortunately, they still hadn’t found a way for him to pretend to eat food, so he usually had to either sneak the portion he was offered to Mikkah, or refuse it outright.

It was nice. The people here were kind, even though they were suffering. Many of them had their children taken away to the castle, and hadn’t seen them for a long time. Maybe that was something that made them trust so easily as well. If there was a spark of hope in the darkness, why not grasp it? They didn’t have much to lose.

With that kind of feeling they were traveling to the next village. Here, the shadow of the castle already loomed over the quaint little houses, and the villagers looked at them with blank eyes.

“Something is wrong,” Iuria said. “Why are they so… sad?”

But before they could enter, two demons stopped them.

“Halt! Who are you?” The bigger one yelled at them through its black, spiky helmet.

“Begone, demon!” Mikkah was already deep in her role. “I am the ancient elven priestess, and together with the princess of this land and my holy knight we will end your reign of terror!”

It was a good speech, Berus had to admit. She had perfected it during their travels, and they had finally gotten their stories straight. He summoned his sword, and tried to make himself as big as possible.

“Heh. An elf?” The smaller demon laughed out loud. “As if! There are no demons, and the king doesn’t have a daughter. What a bunch of imposters you are. And for that alone, you will die.“

The two demons attacked them without further warning. Still, Berus managed to block both their attacks with ease, while Mikkah and Iuria jumped to the ground. Immediately, Iuria went over to one of the villagers, while Mikkah readied her elven blast.

“You have nothing to gain here. Just die!” The smaller demon screeched at Berus.

“Wrong. You two are the ones that will die.”

Berus fought them with ease, but there was an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Why were the demons so aggressive? Why did they want to dominate the humans? What happened in this world to make it so different from the game he knew and loved?

Well, those were the first demons that he had encountered that seemed willing to talk. So he tried to ask questions.

“Have you ever talked to Vrixus?” he asked.

“Don’t speak of the Demon King so casually,” the bigger demon hissed. “How do you even know of him?”

“I’m a holy knight,” he answered easily. “That’s kind of my job.”

It wasn’t. But the demons didn’t have to know it.

“A holy knight, huh? Then why is your lower body so horse-shaped?” The smaller demon giggled.

“Get them, Berus,” Ki-Rai cheered him on.

“Again,” Berus said, and swung at them. “Have you talked with Vrixus before? What is he like?”

“You’re an idiot. Of course we haven’t talked to the Demon King himself! But if you continue to talk about him like that, I’m sure he will drag you down to Nyx’s abyss sooner than later.”

The two demons got better at coordinating their attacks, by not swinging at him at the same time, but slightly delayed. Berus shook his head, and activated his skill stone’s sword skill, [Twin Crescent Slash]. The smaller demon had no chance. Limp, he fell to the ground, and didn’t move any more.

“How dare you,” his comrade growled. “You will pay for that! The king will hear about this!”

“Not if there is no one to report it,” Berus answered.

“Lucine’s justice: Elven Blast!” With her bold declaration, Mikkah’s energy beam hit the demon right in the head, and only barely missed Berus. The demon fell down.

“We did it!” She cheered, but quickly regained her elegant posture. “Ahem. I mean, of course we won. We are here on our mission to save humanity from the demons, after all.”

And with a bright smile, she turned around to the villagers, who all had gathered around them.

“Don’t be afraid anymore,” she said. “I have awoken from my long slumber to aid humanity and deliver Lucine’s justice! The demons will not bother you any more.”

“Are you a real elven princess?” A small girl asked her.

Mikkah knelt down next to her. “I’m a priestess, not a princess. The princess is the nice lady there. She is going to bring peace back to this land.”

“Really?”

Mikkah’s expression softened even more. “Really. I promise you that. So don’t despair, alright? Lucine’s light shines within you. Don’t forget that.”

She ruffled the girl’s hair, and got up again.

“Thank you, o Holy Knight. Your power is as impressive as ever.”
“It is my pleasure, Priestess,” he answered her.

Once more he was quite happy about the fact he didn’t have any expression at all on his face, for on the inside he was dying from cringe. It felt like they were performing a play, and he was not feeling his role. It was better to be called a Holy Knight than a Demon King, at least. And the people did look less terrified now.

For the night, they were allowed to stay in the village. But even as they sat down in the village elder’s home, the shadow of the castle loomed over them.

“What happened?” Iuria finally dared to ask. “I haven’t seen my father in a long time, so… I need to know what happened.”
“We don’t know either, child,” the village elder croaked. She was tending to the soup over her fire.

No one here had magical tools. The few mana crystals that were in the houses lit their lamps, but the kitchen still used fire instead of a crystal. Other houses were brighter, so it was probably a preference of the elder. Still, the village seemed quite poor. Berus couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.

“But they have grown harsher in their demands,” the old woman continued. “They want more and more of our crops, and take away our promising teens to their ‘school’. Not one of them returned. We don’t know what happened to them, and we’re afraid. Afraid of asking questions, afraid of leaving our homes. You killed those two demons, alright. But what if others come? What will happen then?”

“I will talk to my father. I promise you that. This will stop,” Iuria said, her voice clear and determined.

“And we’re here to get rid of the demons that have infested our… this shard,” Mikkah added to that. “Soon enough, there won’t be any demons left here to bother you.”
The old woman chuckled, and put the soup bowls in front of them. “I am glad to hear that. I will tell the others in the village. We will nurture that hope, and hold you to your promises.”

“Good. We won’t disappoint you.”

“Of course not.” The woman’s eyes glinted with deep knowledge. “You are the heroes of prophecy, after all.”

Mikkah gave her a slow nod. “By Lucine, that we are.”

The next morning, they got back on their travels. The village waved them goodbye, and as they returned to their everyday life, there was a spark again in their eyes.

“We’re doing good work,” Mikkah said.
“We do.”

Even Berus couldn’t help but feel proud of what they accomplished.