The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

EP9. ■■

Grandis was going about her business as usual, like babysitting the kids, doing research, and so on.

However, she had to admit that her mind had become hazy these days. It had been like that since she had seen the records of the past recorded on the fragments of the Holy Sword.

I remember the expressions she had made in the past. I remember the emotions she had felt in the past. They were all things that the current her did not know.

Ainzel, who saw inside his own heart that he didn’t even know about, was so nervous that he couldn’t come to his senses.

She shook her head vigorously and continued her research. But no matter how hard she tried, things didn’t go as planned.

As Grandis clutched her forehead, one of her subordinates suddenly came in and said.

“There is someone who would like to see Grandis.”

Hearing that, Grandis answered.

“…Okay, I don’t know who you are, but okay. Let them in. Should we go to the reception room?”

In this situation, I thought it would be better to meet someone else and talk to them rather than continue my research. That’s how much Ainzel was on my mind all day. After a while, she walked to the reception room.

In the reception room sat a thin, but muscular male demon who looked somewhat nervous or paranoid.

“what?”

Grandis asked the demon. The demon glanced at Grandis, slightly surprised.

“What are you talking about?”

Grandis frowned and said to the demon who asked her that.

“What the heck? Why are you here?”

“Hmm, I came here to ask for your help. I came to see you because you seem to be the strongest demon here.”

“Help? Why all of a sudden?”

The demon looked at Grandis with a slightly puzzled look as he spoke.

“Before that, I have something to ask you. Are you the Demon King of this place?”

Grandis felt dumbfounded. Why on earth were they looking for the Demon King now? It had already been almost a year since the Demon King died. Even though ten years for the Demons were equivalent to one year for humans, wouldn’t it be normal to hear rumors of the Demon King’s death after a year or so? Especially for the Demons.

She said with a look of incredulity.

“What kind of nonsense are you talking about? It’s been over a year since the Demon King died. Haven’t you ever heard of the Demon King’s death? If you’re a demon, that wouldn’t be possible.”

The demon frowned and said.

“The Demon King of this place is dead? … What on earth does that mean? Are you saying that there was a being in Middle-earth who could stop the Demon King?”

“What on earth are you talking about? The one who killed the Demon King was a hero, right?”

The demon said with a shocked expression.

“A warrior…? Are you saying that it really existed? I thought it was just a system created by the gods in the past and left to its own devices.”

“So, what on earth are you talking about? When the Demon King appears, it’s natural for a hero to appear and fight the Demon King.”

“Hmm, so the demon lords here were killed by the hero? All of them? If that’s true… it’s truly pathetic. One of the beings who could be called the pinnacle of the demon race was defeated by a human who received help from a system created by the gods.”

Grandis frowned. It was hard to understand why he suddenly appeared and asked questions that everyone would know. He even talked nonsense about things that only he knew. Even if he lived in a place that was completely isolated from the outside world, it was impossible for him to be so ignorant of the ways of the world.

“Oh, right. Why on earth would you ask me something that everyone should know? Where on earth did you live that you don’t know something like this?”

The demon who heard that made an expression as if he didn’t understand, as if he was doubting what he had heard.

“Are you saying you don’t know where I came from?”

Grandis felt that there was something strange about the demon who spoke like that.

“…? Of course. How would I know where you came from?”

As he said that, the demon suddenly got up from his seat. The table fell over in the aftermath.

“You don’t know where I came from!? What on earth did the Dark Priests do? The Lord of Magic must have contacted you!”

Hearing that, Grandis said with a blank expression.

“What is a dark priest?”

When the demon heard those words, he seemed to be extremely shocked and angry, and his hands trembled, his face distorted, and he sat down in his seat. It was as if he had heard a story that made him lose his strength.

“What the heck… What the heck is going on… Ha, ha… So that’s why you treated me like this without even knowing who I was… .”

Grandis looked at the demon saying that with pity. At this point, he almost thought he was crazy.

“…I see. You have forgotten many things. So… I ask you, the strongest of the remaining demons in this Middle-Earth. Will you cooperate?”

“cooperation?”

The demon said with a serious expression.

“Killing the humans and handing this Middle-Earth over to the Mashin’s bosom. So to speak… you could say it’s waging a war of conquest.”

“…What? It’s only been a year since the war ended. And yet… You want to start another war? The scars that the demon tribes of the world suffered because of that fucking demon king haven’t even fully healed yet!”

“Even if we are going to war, you and your men don’t necessarily have to be at the forefront. I promise. I only ask for your cooperation.”

Grandis said with a distorted face.

“Don’t make me laugh. I have no intention of getting involved in that damn war again.”

Just one curiosity had already caused her so much backlash. She couldn’t let that happen again, she thought.

“…Don’t you have any intention of giving this middle world to the Lord?”

“Oh. No. So just get out.”

The demon gripped the armrest of the chair tightly. The armrest broke in an instant.

“…How pathetic.”

“what?”

When Grandis asked again, the demon spoke with a distorted face.

“I said it was pathetic. Your ‘Clan of Wrath’, who had the honor of being the vanguard in the conquest of Middle-earth, and yet the Demon King was defeated by a mere human… You have lost your traditions, have forgotten where your homeland was, and live without even the slightest intention of waging war… Does that make sense?”

Grandis began to feel astonished in an instant. The black magic power emitted by the demon in front of him was shockingly similar to that of the Demon King.

“No, no… yeah, you guys are trash.”

The demons clapped their palms together.

At the same time, a huge explosion began to occur.

“You have the honor of being the first to come to Middle-earth from your hometown, the Demon World! How dare you disappoint the Demon God in this way!”

The black magic emanating from the demon’s body made even Grandis feel that he could never defeat it.

What the hell is that? Where on earth did that come from? The black magic of the demon tribe before my eyes… was on the same level as the Demon King.

“I will let Laplace judge this ‘Demon King of Arrogance’!”

The demon tribe… no, the demon king shouted in an angry voice.

At the same time, the castle where Grandis was was beginning to be destroyed. The defensive spell she had personally injected with all her might was useless. An incomprehensible power. It was emanating from the demon before her eyes.

She somehow analyzed the black magic technique used by the demon tribe in front of her. However, the technique was completely incomprehensible. As if… the development process of black magic was different from the beginning, the black magic used by the demon lord in front of her was completely different from what she knew. In every aspect of black magic, including the basics of the technique, logic, etc.

“What the hell is going on? Why on earth has even black magic become so corrupted that it can be used by lower-level humans! What on earth have the Wrath Clan done!”

Clan of Wrath? What on earth was the man in front of her talking about? Grandis couldn’t quite understand the words the Demon King was spitting out. However… her territory was destroyed. Once again, she had been robbed of what was hers by the one who called himself the Demon King. She felt something inside her head being shattered.

Grandis distorted her face and fired dark magic.

And the Demon King, without even looking at Grandis’ black magic, avoided it with just a light movement of his body.

“No matter how much you attack… it means nothing to me. I’ve already read how you’ll attack.”

With those words, the Demon King easily dodged or destroyed all of Grandis’ attacks.

Only then did Grandis become convinced that she could not win. And that if things continued this way, she would definitely be defeated and die.

It can’t be. She looked around. The things she had loved were gone, not even a trace. And the one who had created that scene was the man in front of her. But she couldn’t die without even getting revenge.

She barely managed to escape by teleporting.

A few days later, a report was received in the empire that ‘Grandis’ territory had disappeared without a trace.’