“W-What do you mean I’m not a demon!?”
The high-ranking priest, Lucius, trembles as he points at my face.
“Your face looks so pale! The skin around your eyes is dark and seems to be rotting…!”
“I’ve always had a pale complexion. This dark under-eye area is just from a lack of sleep. Being a Dark Healer is quite a busy job, you know.”
Lucius is left speechless and tries to distance himself from me.
“Even as a high-ranking priest, without your holy arts, you’re just an old man.”
I won’t let that happen.
I snatched the source of Lucius’s holy power—the “Holy Book”—from his hands.
“Ah!?”
“I’ll be borrowing this.”
“N-No, give it back! You insolent brat!”
“I’m afraid that’s not negotiable, Lucius. Even someone as ignorant of the clergy as I am knows that if you’ve lived in this kingdom for over twenty-five years, you would pour your ‘holy power’ into the Holy Book to use holy arts.”
I held it high, out of the old man’s reach.
He hopped around, desperately trying to retrieve the Holy Book.
“G-Give it back! You should be ashamed for helping those barbaric and wicked demons!”
“Oh no, they’re very rational, and they even showed concern for my well-being when it mattered.”
“Huff… huff… They are the enemies of humanity!”
“Say, priest, I apologize for the naive question, but doesn’t the Holy Book say to ‘love your enemies’?”
“Grr… You young whippersnapper, don’t twist my words!”
Suddenly, I was shoved in the chest by Lucius, sending me crashing to the ground.
“Ow.”
That really hurt.
I rubbed my backside.
I think I might have a bruise now.
“By the way, am I a bit too weak? I can’t believe I was knocked down by an old man…”
“Give it back, you brat! Return that Holy Book!”
Lucius lunged at me, attempting to grab the Holy Book from my hands.
However,
—Shu-to-to-to!
Three hard wings flew in from behind and pierced deep into Lucius’s head at their sharp base.
He rolled his eyes, and then collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
Relieved, I turned around.
“Phew, you saved me. Forte.”
In my line of sight, the two demons, Gigi and Forte, who had fully regained their composure, were running towards me.
“Thanks to you, Kiwi, for taking the Holy Book; we’re able to move again.”
The colors of the ground and walls had returned to normal, with none of the golden hue that had been present during the sacred barrier.
It seems my actions to target the Holy Book were the right choice.
“Then it’s mutual help.”
“Yeah, it feels like we’re just accumulating debts here.”
Gigi responded to Forte’s words with a “totally right.”
Gigi reached out his hand, and I took it to help me up.
Looking down, I saw Lucius lying face down, and he still hadn’t completely passed out; his fingertips were faintly twitching.
“Sorry, but I can’t heal people.”
Because I’m a Dark Healer.
We hurriedly made our way toward the back entrance of the west building again.
＊ ＊ ＊
“—Hmph, you’re late.”
When we reached the back entrance, Agito was already there.
“Uh, um… Agito-dono, did you give up on subduing the facility halfway through?”
“There’s no way that’s true.”
Agito opened the back door, revealing several kingdom soldiers groaning in pain, writhing along the side of a narrow path that seemed to lead to a staff-only corridor.
“I’ve made sure that every visible kingdom soldier is incapacitated.”
“…That’s quite impressive.”
Gigi and Forte had said it wouldn’t take five minutes, but it seemed even that was an underestimate. So this is the true strength of one of the most formidable figures in the Demon Kingdom.
“Then let’s hurry and escape before the Hero Squad arrives.”
“…Agito-dono, is the Hero Squad an opponent even the current, fully-prepared Agito would struggle against?”
At my curious question, Agito pondered for a moment before answering.
“In two minutes after the battle begins, either I or the hero will likely die.”
I see, that’s quite unsettling.
“Let’s depart quickly.”
“Yeah, the sooner the better.”
Agito spread his wings and then grabbed my body.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
Agito looked directly at me with his crimson eyes.
“Kiwi, I will take you to the Demon Kingdom, but… there are likely those among its inhabitants who won’t take kindly to you. Depending on the circumstances, you may encounter dangerous situations.”
“I understand.”
I nodded deeply.
I am human, and I’ve even been an assistant to torture. I never thought I would be accepted without any issues.
…But somehow, I’ll manage. I’ve been able to proceed according to plan up until today.
Even after going to the Demon Kingdom, I will survive by demonstrating my usefulness—
“—Well, we will protect you with all our might.”
“Eh?”
Agito and the others exchanged glances and nodded at each other.
They will… protect me?
While I’m grateful, I can’t help but wonder why they would go so far for me…
“Now, let’s fly.”
“Whoa!?”
Before I could ask, Agito lifted me up and flapped his large demon wings, soaring high into the air.
Following suit, Gigi and Forte also took to the skies.
“It seems the reinforcements from the kingdom haven’t arrived yet. They’re probably concentrating their troops toward Elden… which is frustrating, but for now, it seems like escaping will be easier.”
Agito snorted and began to glide northward.
“Now, let’s return. To our Demon Kingdom.”
I looked back.
The view of the town at the northernmost tip of the kingdom was shrinking quickly until it eventually disappeared.
