The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated

Chapter 504: “A Couple of Flat-Chested…”

Unlike the Elven Homeland, the Tegor Forest at night was terrifying and eerie.

There was no light.

There was no scenery.

There was only a forest shrouded in darkness.

The moonlight and starlight were blocked by the tall trees.

There were no sounds of birds, beasts, or insects, only a suppressed magic power and ominous aura.

The only ones active in the Tegor Forest at this time were nocturnal monsters.

And nocturnal monsters were usually carnivorous, ferocious, and sinister. Moreover, this was the depths of the Tegor Forest, where the lurking monsters were all high-level. Even legendary-level experts needed to be extremely cautious here.

However, under such circumstances, a little girl, a mysterious small beast, and a young human noble were strolling through the forest.

“Hum hum~ hum hum~ hum hum hum~~~”

Millu, walking at the front, skipped and hummed a strange tune, completely out of sync with the eerie surroundings.

“Haaa~~~”

Lid, lying on Millu’s head, yawned continuously, seemingly more bored than sleepy.

“…”

Shien followed them with narrowed eyes, silently telling himself not to mind, not to mind. If he complained, he would lose.

But Shien did regret it.

He regretted following this pair out of the Elven Homeland.

“Am I stupid? Isn’t soaking in a natural hot spring more enjoyable? Isn’t looking at elven beauties more pleasing to the eye? Or even going back and playing some wholesome games with Lucy would be better, right? Why did I come out for a night stroll because of a little curiosity?”

Shien almost questioned his life choices.

Mainly because he had been following this pair for so long, yet he still didn’t know what they were up to, which made Shien feel a little amused.

“Could they just be out for a walk?”

Shien strongly suspected this.

Even a fool wouldn’t want to take a walk in a place like this in the middle of the night, but this pair, even if they weren’t fools, seemed a bit crazy.

…Should he find a chance to run away?

Shien seriously considered this.

But his thoughts seemed to be seen through.

“Young man, be patient.” Lid glanced at Shien and said calmly, “You have nothing to do in the Elven Homeland anyway, so why not come out and have some fun with us, right?”

“Heh.” Shien snorted and said, “Are you sure this will be more fun than staying in the Elven Homeland?”

Did they not know that he had a fiancée who was the most beautiful woman in the human world?

As Shien thought this, Lid spoke again.

“At least it will be exciting.” Lid said, as if patting its chest, “I guarantee you’ll have a good workout, the kind that makes you sweat.”

…Could he accuse her of innuendo?

She wasn’t even human, and she could still make innuendos?

Amazing.

“Forget it.” Shien sighed slightly and changed the subject. “How should I address you?”

Before Lid could answer, Millu, who was skipping along, turned around and raised her hand.

“I’m Millu!”

Millu said excitedly, like a student called upon by a teacher.

“Well, just call us by our names.” Lid said nonchalantly. “Since you know Airi and have such a good relationship with her, no one will say anything if you address us directly.”

“Really?” Shien curled his lip. “Are you sure I don’t need to add an honorific? Princess Millu? Princess Lid?”

“Mmm~~~” Millu puffed out her cheeks and corrected him. “It’s Millu! Mi! Lu!”

Meaning, just call them by their names, no honorifics needed, right?

Lid also gave Shien a meaningful look.

“It seems you’ve guessed our identities.” Lid said lazily, “Not bad, quite clever.”

“Heh.” Shien snorted again and said, “It’s not that I’m clever, but there aren’t many in this world who can address Airi directly and possess such magic power and aura.”

Therefore, it wasn’t difficult for Shien to guess their identities.

He just didn’t know who they were specifically.

Among the Three Goddesses, Shien had already met two, and the remaining one clearly didn’t match the appearances and rumors of these two.

Among the Six Demon Lords, excluding Sara and Airi, there were only four left.

Who were these two?

Shien could probably guess Lid’s identity, but he was still observing Millu.

Whether Lid knew this or not, it looked at Shien with a meaningful expression.

“I said you’re clever, not because you can guess our identities, but because you know how to treat us.” Lid grinned, its appearance rather ferocious. “A man favored by that girl Airi shouldn’t be afraid of us, let alone our identities and backgrounds. The fact that you can still face us with such a calm and casual attitude after knowing who we are is commendable.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Millu nodded vigorously. “Commendable! Commendable!”

Shien, however, didn’t care about this.

“Perhaps I’m just disrespectful, clueless, and arrogant.”

Shien shrugged.

“You are indeed a bit arrogant.” Lid didn’t deny Shien’s words and said, seemingly trying to scare him, “Knowing our identities, and still daring to follow us, aren’t you afraid we’ll attack you?”

“Oh?” Shien seemed intrigued. “Will you attack me?”

Lid didn’t answer but turned to Millu.

“Do you want to attack him, Millu?”

Lid asked casually.

Millu actually started thinking seriously.

Seeing this, Shien felt a chill down his spine.

He felt that deep within this seemingly innocent, naive, and childlike little girl was something terrifying.

And it wasn’t just about power, but something more fundamental.

Shien had a premonition that if she decided she wanted to attack, she would do so without hesitation, killing him on the spot.

Fortunately…

“Millu doesn’t want to attack.” Millu seemed to have reached a conclusion, shaking her head and smiling innocently. “Big brother seems fun.”

These words dispelled the chill in Shien’s heart.

“Is that so?” Lid still seemed indifferent, then said to Shien, “I’m the same. I don’t want to attack you unless you’re truly a coward who can’t even face us.”

It seemed that in their eyes, Shien was at least passable.

But Shien was certain that if he didn’t meet their expectations, they wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate him.

“Don’t think we’re cruel.” Lid sneered. “If you want to be involved with Airi, you have to bear this risk.”

“Yes!” Millu nodded vigorously again and said seriously, “Airi is important.”

Leaving these words behind, Millu, carrying Lid, continued skipping forward.

Shien rolled his eyes, seemingly not caring about their words at all.

Of course, Shien wouldn’t completely ignore their threat.

He had heard their words, just didn’t take them too seriously.

“A couple of flat-chested…”

Shien muttered inwardly.

“Hmm?”

Millu stopped and tilted her head in confusion.

“What did you say?”

Lid narrowed her eyes, her expression unfriendly.

“Nothing.” Shien naturally wouldn’t admit it and smiled brightly at them. “Let’s go, shall we continue our walk?”

“A walk?” Millu tilted her head even further.

“This isn’t a walk.” Lid retorted.

“Yes, yes, yes.” Shien still looked unconcerned.

If it were anyone else, they would definitely be angry by now, but Millu and Lid weren’t. One continued to look confused, the other seemed too lazy to argue, truly a strange and incredible pair.

They continued forward.

Until a certain moment, Shien’s eyes narrowed, and he abruptly stopped.

He sensed a familiar magic power.

That magic power was somewhat evil, dark, chaotic, and ferocious, making him feel very uncomfortable.

Shien’s expression turned grim.

Not only Shien, but even Millu seemed to have a fierce glint in her eyes, baring her teeth like a little lioness.

“Do you sense it?”

Only Lid still looked indifferent, looking at Shien with a smirk.

Shien didn’t say anything, but suddenly accelerated, his figure flashing like a ghost as he dashed forward.

The sealed Holy Sword at his waist had already been drawn.

And as Shien drew his sword, a dark figure suddenly lunged out from the depths of the forest ahead, like a beast lying in ambush.

“Roar!”

A ferocious roar echoed from its mouth.

It was a terrifying monster.

It had a wolf’s head, a snake’s head growing from its chest, six arms, some on its back, some on its legs, and a tail on its face. It had no natural biological characteristics at all, a grotesque and horrifying chimera, making one feel physically uncomfortable just by looking at it.

Such a creature wasn’t a monster, nor any known life form in this world.

Yet, Shien knew its name.

—A [Demonized Being].

This monster was used as a sacrifice, as nourishment for Demon Lord larvae, born in a magic ritual called the “Demonization Ritual,” formed from monsters and demons driven mad by the ritual, killing and devouring each other, absorbing each other’s flesh and magic power.

“Roar!”

The grotesque Demonized Being pounced on Shien like a predator.

Its speed was so fast that only a blur could be seen, proving its high level and strength.

But Shien’s eyes flashed coldly as he charged forward without dodging or evading.

The Demonized Being’s ferocious wolf’s maw opened wide, biting down on Shien’s head.

“Clang!”

At this moment, a sword light, like a crescent moon in the darkness, flashed.

“Swish!”

The grotesque Demonized Being didn’t even have time to react before it was decapitated by this extremely fast slash, its wolf head flying into the sky.

“[Bestow: Combustion].”

Shien chanted the magic spell in a cold voice.

Astonishing magic power erupted from his body.

“Boom—!”

In the dark forest, flames suddenly burst forth, illuminating the surroundings.

The sudden flames ignited the surrounding forest, burning intensely.

Shien stood amidst the sea of fire, watching as the Demonized Being was burned to ashes, then finally stopped.

But his expression was still grim.

At this moment, Millu and Lid approached him.

“It seems you really hate this monster.”

Lid smiled, seemingly satisfied.

“Burned it! Burned it!”

Millu cheered repeatedly, running around excitedly in the sea of fire, completely ignoring the flames, moving freely without even a single spark on her.

Shien turned to Lid.

“What’s going on?” Shien asked stiffly, “Why is there a Demonized Being here?”

This question, instead of being answered, was met with a counter-question from Lid.

“I’d like to ask you, why do you think there wouldn’t be a Demonized Being here?”

Lid’s counter-question stunned Shien for a moment, then he fell silent.

Seeing this, Lid nodded.

“You know, right? The so-called Demonized Beings are the product of rituals performed by the Old Demon Faction, essentially sacrifices and nourishment, monsters formed from demons and monsters driven mad by the ritual, killing and devouring each other.” Lid said with an impassive face, “Therefore, this ritual needs to be performed in a place with many demons or monsters, and the greater their number and level, the better.”

That’s why the Garibaldi family, who colluded with the Old Demon Faction, targeted the Atlus Gorge, because there were many high-level monsters there.

And then…

“The Tegor Forest is the largest monster forest in this world, even containing many legendary monsters that have existed since ancient times.”

Lid sneered.

“Such a good place for the ritual, do you think those bastards from the Old Demon Faction’s [Original Demon] wouldn’t have their eyes on it?”

This was the reason why there was a Demonized Being here.