Torture the hero, why has the Demon King's castle collapsed again?

Page 35

Yes, it's impossible for such a coincidence to happen... Klaitina looked up as if she had suddenly realized something and closed her eyes.

Now that I think about it, Mino's lying-down posture before is completely understandable. He was clearly certain that his sister Shana would be the next hero!

And how terrifyingly overwhelming must one's strength be to be the next hero, as determined by the strongest hero in human history?

Kleidina no longer wanted to think about it.

Was this also part of your calculations...? Mino, Kletina's cherry-pink eyes welled up with complex emotions.

"The birth of a hero is inevitable. What we need to do next is to weaken the hero's strength as much as possible. Apart from the hero and the contracted artifact itself, the goddess's blessing through the round tower is also a troublesome force... Next, we will have to contend with the most troublesome holy mage, Lak."

Klettina's slender white fingers tapped lightly on the table. As vibrant roses bloomed with terrifying magic, she suppressed the distracting thoughts in her mind and swiftly and coldly launched a series of plans.

"Furthermore, we can no longer be satisfied with just interrogating Mino. Other individuals from whom we can extract information should also be included in the scope, such as..."

Suddenly, the demon strategist Swell's will-o'-the-wisps trembled like never before.

"Sir, something is wrong! Just now, the Demon King's army at the front lines suffered unprecedented heavy losses, and humanity has begun to launch a counterattack against us!"

"Who is it?" Kleinna narrowed her eyes slightly.

With the Kingdom of Kur having just held a memorial ceremony and the awakening of heroes, she did not think that the second king of Kur would recklessly miss the opportunity to stabilize the regime and the people's mentality, and instead launch such a risky counterattack.

The only possibility left is a decision made unilaterally by certain influential figures at the border.

"It is a rather formidable opponent, probably beyond what elite demons alone can withstand."

Swell let out a soft breath and gave the answer: "It's the Ice Saintess, Lena."

"It's her?" Kleinna asked, somewhat surprised.

In the few brief encounters she had with Saint Lena, she could sense that the icy-faced saint was an extremely calm and sacred being, and should not have acted so impulsively.

"It is said that before being chosen by the Holy Church, Saint Lena and the hero Mino came from the same village, and their relationship... may be deeper than we imagine."

"Could it be something like 'childhood sweethearts'?" Kletina pondered for a moment, then shook her head helplessly. "Human love is truly a headache..."

"What do we need to do, Lady Kletina?" Svir asked softly.

"Saint Lena's strength is not as great as Mino's. By gathering the existing great demons, she could completely subdue this reckless human..."

“No, that’s too risky,” Kleinna interrupted softly.

"Don't forget, the Kingdom's most cunning and treacherous adversary, the Morning Star, is still hanging over our heads. Moreover, Saint Lena's most troublesome asset is the 'Heart of Ice' relic from the Holy Church that she possesses."

"With that sacred relic protecting her, Lena wasn't like Mino who could be worn down by a prolonged battle. Heh, too bad things are different now..."

Kleiner quickly came up with an idea:

"Right now, we have the best intelligence sources at our disposal..."

Swah——

An endless, boundless wind suddenly surged from the hall, and all the demons present, except for Kletina, were drawn to the newly appeared source of magic and turned their gazes toward it.

Swirl's ghostly fire paused slightly, then quickly broke into a smile:

"Welcome to your awakening, Eighth Demon, Demon Sword—"

"Lord Apophis".

……

In the corner of the cell, the holy sword Artotai suddenly shivered.

"My lord, I suddenly feel a chill down my back, as if something terrible is about to happen."

"Oh." Mino nodded lightly.

"Then turn over and go back to sleep!"

"Hey!" Altottai exclaimed in anguish, "Can't you have a little sense of crisis, you washed-up hero?!"

"Who are you calling a washed-up hero? Have you no manners?!" Mino said righteously.

"Don't you know that male idols only become popular after they turn thirty? I'm not Lena! Besides, older male heroes are quite popular in this other world! Don't you understand?"

“You’re not an idol either?” Altottai narrowed his eyes. “Besides, most of the kingdom’s current crisis is due to your capture and the important information you gave away for free… Fortunately, the Hero’s Ritual went smoothly, and Prince Ota and Chief Lak don’t seem to have been persecuted.”

"Humph."

At this point, Mino felt inexplicably guilty, even though everything he had done was to accumulate power and fight back against the demons.

But giving something away for free, or giving it away for a lifetime, is obviously not convincing to others.

“Altotai, a cold and emotionless holy sword like you cannot understand my feelings.”

Mino, with the air of someone who'd been there all along, said solemnly, "Only those who have experienced it firsthand can understand how unpredictable and difficult it is to defend against the demons' torture. If it were you, you wouldn't have been able to endure it either."

"Ha! Are you kidding me?"

At that moment, the Holy Sword proudly raised its head and laughed heartily.

"I am the holy sword that has accompanied the most heroes throughout history, possessing the most powerful and unyielding force of light, an invincible holy sword of light!!!"

"No one can make me submit."

The resounding words echoed in the cell, the voice of the Holy Sword Artotai revealing a deep sense of pride:

"nobody!"

Chapter 47 The Struggle Between Saints and Demons, It's Always Been This Way (Please Read On!)

Demon City.

Joint meeting hall.

A crimson vertical eye opened on the jet-black sword, its entire body radiating a predatory aura. The demonic sword, covered in terrifying patterns, surveyed the hall before uttering an ancient, decaying voice:

"Little Fim, Little Apple, Swell, and Lady Kletina, huh... It seems I woke up not too late."

"The battle with the hero Mino almost ruined my old sword. I spent a long time soaking in the lava volcano before I woke up."

"Nothing major should have happened during this time, right?"

Without much small talk, the Demon Sword Apophis sat down at the long table opposite Fim and quickly got into the meeting mode.

After glancing at Kletina, Swell said in a calm and methodical voice:

"Using the information from the brave Mino, we once destroyed Prince Ota's mental support, but his heart was as cold as steel, and he gave no orders to investigate the matter."

"During this time, we organized a sabotage operation against the Magician's Round Tower Notes, but the kingdom's Morning Star saw through our plan and mocked us with a self-igniting counterfeit copy."

"The second time, we tried to destroy Prince Ota's soul source, but his body was as tough as metal and stone. He was only weak for a few days before he was reborn."

"And thanks to the obstruction of that holy mage, Lak, we were unable to stop the Hero Awakening Ceremony from proceeding as planned... The new hero is expected to be extremely powerful; she is Mino's sister, Shana Rek."

The Demon Sword sat in his seat, paused for a second or two, and then said:

"I... I should have only been asleep for a dozen days, not several months, right?"

In such a short period of time, you have managed to organize so many evil acts of destruction within the heart of the kingdom's capital.

Even more absurdly, all those humans managed to defend themselves? They weren't affected at all?!

Apophis felt a moment of disorientation, only realizing that... times had changed.

"Heh, getting old, the resilience of human beings... is truly terrifying."

"Lord Apophis," Swell briefly summarized the topics discussed at the meeting and inquired:

"The key now is to stop Saintess Lena's offensive, but we still lack relevant information about the holy relic 'Heart of Ice' on her body."

"Hmm, I understand." The Demon Sword Apophis chuckled, seemingly confident of victory.

It turned its head and looked at Kletina:

"Leave this interrogation to me, Lady Kletina."

……

The morning light shone through the fence and fell on the warm bed that tempted people to fall into depravity.

“My lord, I have a feeling that something is wrong with this hero’s awakening. According to my perception, the newly awakened holy artifact… is the Holy Blade of Fire, Darkfri.”

"So what?" Mino, who had been awake for two hours, stretched in bed.

Turned over and continued to sleep.

The Holy Sword Altote shook its head seriously. "As the Holy Sword that has followed the hero the most and has the longest service, I know the situation of the holy artifacts and relics in the Holy Church very well."

"Darkfrey belongs to the introverted and timid type among the many holy artifacts. Only those with an extremely unconventional personality and an excessive sense of self can summon it."

"Hey!" Mino chuckled, lifting himself out of bed and sitting up. "There's someone like this among the heroes' candidates."

“That’s the problem.” Altottai shrugged in Mino’s mind:

"There shouldn't be anyone in the entire kingdom with a more excessive sense of self than you!"

"You dare swear again?!"

With a creak, the cell door was gently pushed open.

A long, flowing emerald green dress, carrying a fresh fragrance, wafted in. Klettina pushed open the door and entered, her high-waisted silk belt embroidered with apple-colored roses.

Mino looked Kletina up and down, then suddenly had a strange idea:

"Are you sending signals to aliens by using a different rose color every day?"

"Aliens? What are those?" Klettina blinked, puzzled.

"I don't know, I've never seen it, but it might be right next to you."

"An interesting little joke." Kleinna covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyebrows curving slightly. "Are you getting used to living in the Demon King's castle, Hero?"

“Not bad.” Mino lowered his head and answered earnestly, counting on his fingers, “However, it would be even better if you could provide a maid wake-up service every morning, hold a Lent card tournament every week, subscribe to the Kingdom of Kur's gourmet weekly for 8 copper coins, and offer morning and afternoon tea…”

"...You should know that you are now a prisoner of the Demon King's castle."

"so what?"

“So, it’s time for the interrogation, Hero,” Kleinna said, taking a deep breath.

In the corner, Artotai roared fiercely, "You vile demons, bring forth your evil interrogation methods upon my lord!"

"Oh my gosh! I love this momentum, Artotai!"