The western half of the continent has been under demon control for the last three centuries. In all that time, they haven’t launched any invasions, so most human nations have grown complacent. Ordinary people wouldn’t even recognize a demon if one stood in front of them.
But Kyle would. Every detail of their appearance is burned into his memory.
The demon opens her hand, sharp claws gleaming, and lunges at him. She intends to erase all witnesses.
To her shock, Kyle doesn’t dodge — he sacrifices his arm, letting her claws dig in and pin themselves. Then, while she’s stuck, he slams his other fist into her gut with a burst of light magic.
The demon staggers back, gasping, clearly not expecting resistance — let alone from a human this skilled.
Kyle grins. “I could do this all day.”
That’s a lie. He doesn’t have his armor, he’s running low on mana, and his offensive abilities are limited to his fists because he left Sildonia at home. But the demon doesn’t know that. She weighs her chances, decides it’s not worth the risk, and dives out a window into the city.
Later investigation reveals the truth: Alzard wasn’t her only victim. Nearly half the officials in the Empire’s embassy were slaughtered. Strangely, there were no screams, no sounds of struggle. It’s as though the demon walked through the halls unseen, erasing lives in silence.
Meanwhile, back at Gou’s home, Sildonia is helping him with his golem research. With her firsthand knowledge of ancient tech, progress has skyrocketed. What would have taken him a month, he accomplished in a single day.
He’s amazed, but she insists he’s just as impressive for learning so much so quickly.
Later, during a break in the dining room, Gou apologizes for making Lise handle all the cooking. She brushes it off — she’s used to looking after Kyle and Theron anyway.
But speaking of Kyle… Gou realizes they haven’t seen him all day. Lise asks if anyone knows where he went. Zai explains that he’s at lunch with one of the Empire’s officials, which is precisely why the rest of them stayed behind — none of them like stuffy, formal events.
Theron groans in disappointment. The main reason they came today was to ask Gazas about the sword he mentioned yesterday, but he’s been gone all day.
So he turns to Gou instead. Does he know anything?
After thinking it over, Gou recalls his father was likely referring to the Holy Sword Ran. Forged in Karan 2,000 years ago by a dwarf hailed as the greatest smith of his age, it was said to be wielded by the hero Randolph when he slew the Demon King. A blade of legend.
Even better, Gou is fairly certain the sword is still in the city. His father once claimed to have seen it himself.
That makes Theron’s eyes light up. When he asks where it might be, Gou guesses it’s probably in the possession of Governor Baxel.
Theron immediately starts scheming how to “borrow” it. But before he can outline a plan, he glances out the window — and freezes.
In a rare serious tone, he asks Gou if anyone wants him dead.
Aside from the investors he bailed on, Gou can’t think of anyone.
That’s when Theron explains: the house is surrounded. The men outside are radiating killing intent. They’re not here for conversation.
He grabs his sword. “I’ll handle most of them. But if anyone slips past, you’d better be ready.”
Gou, not much of a fighter, asks how he can help.
Before Theron can answer, Sildonia pulls him toward the back. “Come with me. Hiding is the best help you can give.”
Outside, the attackers finish surrounding the house and prepare to force their way in.
But before they can move—Theron casually kicks the front door off its hinges. The heavy wooden slab smashes into one of them, sending him flying across the yard.
“Oops,” Theron says cheerfully, brushing dust from his shoulder. He turns to the one attacker left standing and points.
“You. Congratulations. You get to be the one we torture for answers. So don’t worry—you’re only getting knocked out for now. As for the rest of you…” He flashes a grin. “Hope you made funeral arrangements.”
He lunges forward, cutting through the attackers like a whirlwind.
Meanwhile, two men sneak in through the back entrance—only to find Lise and Urza waiting.
Urza quickly notices the faint green sheen on their blades. “Poison,” she warns. “Even a scratch could paralyze us. Be careful.”
The next instant, Lise takes a deep breath, steps forward, and unleashes a barrage of punches that would’ve made prime Mike Tyson proud. Her opponent crumples before he can even swing.
As for Urza, her attacker tries to stab her. She calmly summons a water spirit, freezing the blade in midair, then lifts him off the ground. He thrashes helplessly as she slowly drowns him in a floating sphere of water until he blacks out.
Both women go a little overboard, but their captives are still alive. They tie them up and wait for Theron’s return.
Watching all this, Gou is both impressed and horrified. He silently decides it’s probably best to keep his distance from the girls.
A short while later, Theron comes back inside dragging a dazed man—the lucky “chosen survivor.”
“Good news,” he says, tossing the prisoner on the floor. “Now we can have ourselves a little chat.”
The captive refuses to speak at first. So Theron kneels down, voice dropping to a serious growl.
“Listen, pal. You really want to talk. Because if you don’t… the girls behind me will.”
He spins a tale with absolute conviction:
- Lise, he explains, is a sadistic artist who can turn any household item into a torture device—forks, ladles, even salt shakers. She’ll cut you up piece by piece, then rub salt and hot sauce into the wounds.
- And when you’re begging for death? Urza will keep you alive with healing magic, stretching your agony out for days.
It’s a total bluff, but Theron’s performance is so intense the man breaks instantly.
“I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”
He admits they were hired to kidnap Gou. Theron isn’t convinced—these guys were far too bloodthirsty for kidnappers.
The prisoner quickly explains: their employer told them they could kill anyone who resisted. Gou then recalls recent reports of townsfolk vanishing—clearly connected to this group.
Theron presses. “And the missing people? Where are they?”
The man swears he doesn’t know. Their job was just to deliver the victims to an old, abandoned house at the edge of town. After that, they never heard a word.
Whoever’s behind this must be powerful, Theron realizes, to keep everything hidden so cleanly.
He leans in close. “Then tell me. Who hired you?”
The captive hesitates, then admits he has an idea of who it might be—
But before he can finish, Theron suddenly shouts: “Everyone, down!”
A deafening explosion tears through the side of the house. The blast rocks the walls, splinters wood, and sends smoke and debris everywhere.
Everyone survives—except the prisoner, who’s reduced to little more than ash.
Coughing through the dust, Lise clenches her fists. “I’ll go hunt down the bastard who did this—”
“Don’t.” Theron cuts her off sharply. His expression is deadly serious.
“They’re still here. And I’ve never felt killing intent like this before.”
Sildonia narrows her eyes. “You’re not chasing them?”
“Hell no,” Theron mutters. “I’m not interested in dying today. Whoever they are… they’re way out of our league.”
Sildonia tells Theron he made the right call not chasing the attacker—because that explosion was undoubtedly the work of a demon, and he wouldn’t have stood a chance alone.
Later that day, the group reunites with Kyle and relays everything that happened. The situation looks grim. Beyond the physical damage, Miranda can’t ignore the political fallout: since only the Empire’s embassy was attacked, the Empire is almost certain to accuse the Kingdom of working with demons.
Kyle doesn’t have to worry about being blamed—after all, he was the first to fight off the demon—but the timing couldn’t be worse.
Liese points out the obvious: Kyle saw a demon with his own eyes. But how can they be sure one was responsible for the explosion at Gou’s house?
Sildonia explains that such overwhelming, raw destruction is unique to demons. With their massive mana reserves, they rarely bother refining their spells—they just brute-force everything. Worst-case scenario, she says, the demons could blow the entire city of Kuran off the map if they wanted.
Kyle grits his teeth. He hates demons more than anyone in this room, but he also knows charging in blindly is suicide. For now, the priority should be to confirm whether Governor Bax is involved in the kidnappings.
The group turns to Miranda. Did she know about the disappearances?
Miranda admits guiltily that she only recently confirmed it was happening. She can’t deny Bax might be involved—but she doesn’t understand why he would allow such criminal activity in his own city.
Just then, a guard bursts in: “Governor Bax’s mansion is on fire!”
By the time they arrive, the entire building is a roaring inferno, reduced to rubble. Even the village idiot could tell this was no coincidence.
Theron emerges from the wreckage, coughing, saying he’s been trying to find the holy sword but has had no luck. Meanwhile, Miranda has been searching for Bax’s body—but finds no trace, even though he was supposedly bedridden.
Leila wonders aloud if demons caused the fire as well, but Kyle shakes his head.
“No. If demons were going to use arson, they would’ve torched the embassy too. This… feels like Bax covering his tracks.”
If Bax really was the mastermind behind the kidnappings, then torching his own mansion makes perfect sense—destroy all the evidence and vanish.
Their first step is clear: they need to find Bax.
Kyle can’t help but notice how calm and composed Miranda remains despite everything. But then again, this is the same woman who, in the future, would keep the entire human army supplied and informed. It’s impressive—but Kyle also notices cracks in her composure.
Just then, Gou suddenly appears. Everyone is shocked—he was supposed to stay behind with the guards for safety.
Gou apologizes, explaining that when he heard about the fire, he rushed over. Not for Bax—no, he’s worried about Gazus, his father. Bax summoned Gazus to the mansion earlier that day, and he hasn’t seen him since.
The group is stunned. If Gazus was inside when the fire started… that would mean Bax targeted him specifically. After all, Gazus was a prime candidate to become the next governor.
Miranda immediately breaks down, collapsing to her knees.
“This is my fault,” she sobs. “Gazus told me he didn’t want the position, but I kept pushing it on him. And now… now he might be dead because of me.”
Kyle watches in silence, shocked by her reaction. He hadn’t expected Miranda to be so distraught—until he remembers something.
A night from the previous timeline. He and Miranda had been drinking, and in her drunken haze, she confessed she once had a lover she cared about deeply. But because of her selfishness, he died.
Now it clicks: that lover was Gazus.
Later, while looking after Miranda, Kyle recalls another detail. That same night, after she drank herself unconscious, he had carried her back to her room. On the way, she muttered something about wishing she had found the secret underground passage sooner—because then, maybe, she could have saved Gazus.
That memory is all Kyle needs.
He grabs his gear and turns to the group. “I’m going back to Bax’s mansion. There’s something I need to check.”
The others, of course, refuse to let him go alone.
Together, they set out for the ruins of Bax’s estate—knowing full well they’re walking straight into danger.
