— — — — — —
"Torhu, don't get that worked up. It's late at night. If you shout like that, you might disturb the neighbors." Kazuma walked over and patted Tohru's head.
"B-But that thing invaded my territory without even greeting me. And it flew right over my head. I'm super angry. Super upset!"
Tohru deflated back to her normal self, cheeks puffed out as she glared at Kazuma.
"Then just knock it out of the sky. That dragon up there and the guy riding it are the last ones from the 34 Pillar Division."
Kazuma looked up at the massive Bahamut circling overhead and the wild warrior, Jabberwock, standing on its back. He finally got a little serious.
Natural energy surged through his body. In the next second, he threw a punch into the sky.
The punch itself hit nothing… but the force behind it was monstrous.
The natural energy burst outward in a blinding wave. Night turned into day for a heartbeat. There was no sound, but the shock was overwhelming.
Before anyone could react, the gigantic Bahamut in the sky, along with Jabberwock standing on it, was simply… gone. Not even ashes left.
"That's it? And they thought they could challenge me? They're not even worth the trouble." Kazuma looked up at the empty sky with a dismissive grin.
"Mhm. I love it. You were so cool."
Tohru stared at him with sparkling eyes, convinced he'd done it just to defend her honor. She rushed forward, hugged him tight, nuzzled into his chest, and her tail wagged like crazy.
"Kazuma… Kanna is hungry."
Kanna walked over and tugged the corner of Kazuma's clothes, looking up with big adorable eyes.
"Are you seriously human? This kind of magic power… even demons can't do that."
Hilda's suspicion toward Kazuma only grew. His magic presence was overwhelming to the point of frightening.
"All right, all of you calm down. We're not done yet."
"We dealt with the underlings, but that brat called En is still running around. Let's take care of him next."
"Once that's done, then we can eat and rest."
---
Meanwhile, inside an arcade not far away—
"Wow... What… what a crazy firework!"
Prince En held an ice cream cone as he watched the massive burst of natural energy in the distance. It actually made his breathing hitch for a moment.
But as soon as the wave dissipated, the pressure faded.
"Prince…"
His three demon maids —Satura, Izabella, and Yolda— exchanged looks, then shuffled aside to whisper.
"That was an attack, right?"
"And the one who got hit in the sky… that was Lord Jabberwock! He got erased!"
"I felt like I was gonna die just watching it."
"Someone strong enough to pull that off… and someone we're in conflict with… that has to be the young master's contractor!"
"We… we're under attack!"
All three maids suddenly panicked. They had assumed this trip to the human world would be easy.
Clearly they underestimated the young master's foster parent. The man seemed terrifying.
"But this doesn't make sense. We just arrived in the human world. How would the young master know we were here? Maybe… one of our people is a traitor."
Izabella and Satura both slowly turned toward Yolda. Among the three, Yolda had the highest chance of leaking information.
"Why are you staring at me like that? You think I'd betray Master En and secretly report to Hilda?"
"Sure, we're sisters, but she's the one I hate the most!"
Yolda flared up instantly. She and her older sister Hilda were family in name only; their relationship was terrible.
"Yolda, it's not that we want to suspect you. But only a handful of people knew Master En was coming to the human world."
"The 34 Pillar wouldn't leak it. If they had, they wouldn't have been ambushed."
"Besides them, the only ones who knew were us and the Great Demon Lord's attendants. His Majesty would never reveal it."
"That means the only possible leaks are the three of us. And out of all of us, only you have any connection with the young master's side."
"I want to trust you. But until we get Master En somewhere safe, I have to restrain you."
Izabella took out her Devil's Grimoire, making it clear she was accusing Yolda.
"I…"
Yolda looked completely wronged, but she had no way to defend herself. Only a few people knew the truth, and statistically, she really was the most suspicious.
She couldn't exactly shove the blame onto the Great Demon Lord. She couldn't say He leaked the news, right?
"Yolda, something huge must've happened to the 34 Pillar Division. If even their leader, Lord Jabberwock, is dead…"
"Then the entire Division is probably gone. The enemy's next move will be to hunt down Master En."
"With how things look, the young master's contractor is strong, terrifying, and utterly ruthless. If he finds Master En first, it'll be catastrophic. So… I'm sorry."
Satura drew her weapon.
"I… I understand."
Yolda slowly raised her hands in surrender. At this point, even if she had a hundred mouths, she couldn't explain this away. Giving up quietly was the best outcome she could hope for.
Right then, Kazuma and the others arrived, emerging from the shadows.
"Huh? Hilda? Wait, no, you're Yolda. You two sisters look way too alike, that's on you."
The moment Kazuma stepped out from the darkness, he saw Yolda. The sisters truly looked almost identical. Aside from different expressions shaped by their personalities—and their outfits and accessories—switch their clothes and no one could tell them apart.
"So Yolda really did betray us!"
Izabella instantly jumped to the conclusion. Yolda must have revealed their location and used teleportation magic to send these people here. Otherwise, how could they have found them so quickly?
"No, I—I don't even know this person, I didn't leak anything! Hilda, tell them! Please!"
Yolda panicked. The misunderstanding only grew worse. She looked desperately to Hilda, hoping her sister would explain. She really hadn't leaked anything.
"Oh, nice work, Yolda. You never disappoint me, your big sister."
Hilda took one look and instantly understood the situation. She hugged Yolda and, loud enough for everyone to hear, said, "Once the young master becomes the Demon Lord, we'll be his closest aides. Our family will rise with him."
"You—Hilda, you damn idiot! I didn't—"
"Yolda! My dear sister, you've worked so hard."
Hilda clamped a hand over Yolda's mouth. To everyone else, it looked like affectionate sisterly playfulness.
"Yolda, we trusted you. You actually betrayed us… betrayed Master En… Just wait, we'll get our revenge someday!"
Izabella grabbed En's hand, tossed out a Demon Book, and transformed it into a car. She started the engine, dragging En and Satura along. Fighting was impossible. If Jabberwock had fallen, what chance did a few demon maids have? Escape was the only option.
"Stop. Did I say you could leave?"
Kazuma released his natural energy. The magical car instantly reverted to its original paper form.
"I—I can't move!"
Izabella and Satura collapsed under the crushing pressure. With the last of their strength they shouted, "Master, run now!"
"Izabella… Satura… what's going on…"
"W-who are you? Don't come closer, I—I'll cry!"
En backed away as Kazuma approached him step by step. For the first time since he was born, he felt killing intent. He felt fear. Tears welled instantly. And just like baby Beel, whenever he cried, his magic burst out uncontrollably—only his was fire.
"Crying won't make anyone pity you. It won't save you. It only makes people look down on you."
"Beel, don't you dare grow up into this kind of useless brat. Even if you're going to die, stand and fight."
"Did you hear me—wait. Where's Beel?!"
Kazuma turned around, ready to lecture the kid, only to find the spot behind him empty.
"Huh?!"
Hilda realized at the same time. She'd been so focused on Kazuma she had completely forgotten about her baby master.
"Um… Kanna kind of saw it happen." Kanna raised her hand. "When you punched that dragon in the sky earlier, the shockwave knocked Beel off your back. He rolled a couple times and… kept rolling."
"...."
Kazuma sighed. A shadow soldier slipped into the darkness to retrieve the kid. "I let my guard down. Got too into beating people up. Good thing the kid's a demon. A normal child would've died."
Yolda seized that tiny window of distraction. She burned through all her remaining magic and activated teleportation, sending En back to the demon world.
"Master, once you're home, you'll be safe!"
Even with Hilda covering her mouth and pinning her down, Yolda forced out every last drop of power to get En away.
"Mm."
Kazuma threw a punch, natural energy concentrated into a single point so dense it shattered the space where the portal had formed, leaving a hole in reality.
But he was still one second too late. En was already gone.
"He… broke space! Is His Highness going to be okay?!"
Yolda stared at the fractured space in shock. When a teleportation's spatial stability is destroyed mid-transfer… anything could happen. Even she couldn't predict it. En might die somewhere between worlds.
Kazuma walked calmly toward Yolda, ignoring her trembling.
"Hilda. Let her go."
Hilda hesitated, then released her sister.
Yolda stared up at Kazuma. His human shape twisted before her eyes, shifting into something wreathed in crimson. Not a man. A demon. No… something worse.
Her body lost all strength. Her mind emptied. The only thought left was the overwhelming certainty that she was going to die.
.
.
.