"Ugh, ......, what's that smell?

　The moment they entered the village.
　Raluca and Cain turned their heads away at the smell of blood.

　Several houses had been destroyed, and there were puddles of blood everywhere.
　There was no doubt that something had happened while they were out there.
　And it was no ordinary thing.

　An invader--there was no doubt about it.

"Sister Larca, ...... do you think your mother will be all right?
...... Don't ask me that.
But from the looks of it...
"Don't say that!

　I'm not sure what to say.
　The truth is that Larkka herself knows.
　Perhaps their mother is already .......

　But Lalka would never accept it.
　She was afraid that if she accepted it, she would lose her mind.

"...... Hey, sister Larca.
What?
Oh, that's .......

　Then Cain pointed to.
　It's not their house, but the square in front of it.
　There, he saw a scene that made him doubt his own eyes.

"Oh, no. ...... No!　No, no, no, no!

　There was a pile of dead bodies.
　Adults who would normally be working on weapons.
　Children who were supposed to be playing in the square.
　And my mother.

　I don't want to believe it.
　But the scene in front of me is as real as it gets.
　For a moment, it felt as if sound had disappeared from this world.

　Cain was saying something next to me, but I couldn't hear it well either.
　Time passed as I just stared at the corpse in a daze.
　What brought Larca back to reality...
　What brought her back to reality was an unfamiliar voice.

"Oh?　There are still survivors?

　Hearing that voice, Larka snaps back to consciousness.
　A voice that made her instincts feel threatened.
　Before they could confirm it, the owner of the voice emerged from the shadows of the pile of corpses.

You did this!　You bastard!

　The owner of the voice has a rather distinctive appearance.
　A dragon man?
　But his appearance was very different from theirs.

　Instead of looking human like us, he looked more like a dragon.
　Their horns and tails were much larger.
　A subspecies of dragon man, perhaps.

"...... Oh dear. You're the last of your kind, aren't you? You'll be the last of your kind, won't you?
Answer the question!　Are you the one who killed them?
Yeah, I did. What's wrong with that?

　The dragon man smiled at Cain's shouting voice. The dragon man(?) smiles like he can afford to.
　It looks as if it's satisfied to see Cain angry.

　He only sees killing as entertainment.
　Why should we be targeted by someone like that?
　He was a man of unreason.

"Why did you do this?　What do you have against us?
It's not that I have anything against you, it's just that Master Galeus ordered it.
"Master Galeus, ......?

　Lalka's question was answered by a name she had never heard before.
　Who the hell is Galeus?
　The fact that he has this man at his side suggests that he is a man of considerable power.

　However, this does not solve the question.
　On the contrary, the anger of the two of them grew and grew.

"Lord Galeus is the strongest Demon Lord in history. They're unlucky to be spotted by him.
"Demon Lord?　Why should we be targeted by him?
You're right, Sister Larca!　What do you guys want?
I don't want to be talked to all at once. I'm such an idiot.

　A single sigh.
　Then he slowly opens his mouth.

"I'm Dara's, the leader of the Southern Demon Lord Army. And I'm here to finish you off. I'm not going to say anything else.



　Daraz--that's what the man in front of me calls himself.
　And sure enough, he said he was a senior member of the Southern Demon King's Army.

　I've never heard of the Demon Lord's Army of the South, but it's clear that he's no ordinary person.
　I have many more questions, but Dara's not going to answer them.

"How dare you ...... kill everyone in our village!
Just think of it as a natural disaster.
Don't be silly!

　Cain's anger knew no bounds.
　Cain's anger was unstoppable, something that even Larca, who was always nearby, had never seen before.
　If there was another trigger, Cain would surely launch an attack.

　If that happened, even Larca would be unable to stop him.
　Daraz was many times stronger than they were.
　If they simply attacked, they would inevitably face the same fate as the dragons in front of them.

　They had to get through this somehow.
　Fortunately, Dara's had already taken a good look at them.
　What to do.
　In the face of mortal danger, Larca's head was spinning frantically.

"Is that all you have in your will?　Then I'll kill you already.
"Kuh!　I want to--
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

　And...
　Just as Cain is about to make his emotional move...
　One of his comrades jumps out from the pile of corpses with a weapon.

　He had been pretending to be dead for a long time, waiting for the right moment to attack.
　He is just in Dalaz's blind spot, perfect timing for a surprise attack.
　This attack is sure to hit.

　He knew this intuitively as soon as his companion jumped out.
　The presence of this companion was unexpected even for Dalaz, and he showed a surprised expression.

"Ouch. That hurts.
What?
I'm not sure what to say.

　...... Daraz slashes the body of his companion with the sword he carries on his hip.
　The blood of his companions sprinkles the scene.
　For a moment, time seemed to stop.

　The bodies of his companions, now half the height of his own, piled up on top of the pile of corpses that had been there.
　With such beautiful swordplay, the grotesquerie was no longer felt.
　Raluca watched the scene with a sense of wonder - and without taking her eyes off it.

"Oh no. ......

　His friends' attack must have hit perfectly.
　Their attacks should have hit perfectly, and they should have done it with the amazing weapons they had crafted.
　And yet, Darras didn't seem to have taken any damage at all.

　Why on earth...
　The reason for this was told proudly by Dalaz himself.

"Sorry, my scales are like a dragon's. You can't slay me if you're lazy.

　Dalaz looks at the shoulder where the attack hit.
　It's still as clean as if nothing had happened.
　As if to ridicule Raluca and the others, there is not even a scratch on it.

　These scales are probably the reason why Daraz is not wearing any armor.
　Indeed, if his body is covered with such strong scales, it makes sense that he would not need to wear armor from the start.
　In fact, wearing armor might even be a disadvantage, since it would reduce his speed.

You piece of shit. ......!　What do you think you're doing with your life? ......!
"It's the law of the jungle. Don't complain about the weak.
I'll never forgive you!
Cain!

　Finally.
　Cain's anger seemed to have reached its limit, and without even a weapon, he struck at Dalaz.
　Daraz looks on in disgust at his too slow movement.
　He then pointed the sword he had just killed the dragon man with at Cain.

　From Daraz's point of view, Cain was now in a desperate state of attack and had many openings.
　In other words - it's too easy a target.
　Not only Daraz, but also Raluca understood this well.

"Cain!　Look out!
"Hey, sis!

　Lalka grabbed Cain by the shoulders and pulled him towards her.
　But...
　But instead, the momentum of the tug pushed her body in front of Dalaz.
　There's no turning back now.

　He follows the current.
　Larka's body was pierced by Daraz's sword.
　The last thing we saw was Cain's face, which could not hide his upset at Larca's actions.
　Larka didn't know why she had done this to herself.

　The moment she realized that Cain was going to be killed if she didn't do something, her body moved of its own accord.
　Pain, suffering, sorrow.
　Pain, suffering, sorrow... there are many feelings in Larca, but regret is the only one that does not exist.


　A few seconds later.

　Larka's life was cut short by .......