"Huh?"

The demon blinked, staring blankly at the pile of shit laid out before it.

It had never felt so humiliated before.

And then, the demon exploded with anger.

"You bastard! I'm a demon, a noble species! And you're forcing me to eat something so disgusting?"

"Yes."

Facing the demon's questioning and the murderous aura it emitted, Rudeus maintained the most indifferent attitude possible.

"Is there a problem?"

Picking his ear, the boy asked back.

"Of course there is a problem, brat!"

"If you want to live, then eat it, there's not much time."

"…!"

The demon was completely speechless.

Indeed, Rudeus was right.

This was its only choice right now.

Between dying and eating a pile of shit to survive, even a fool would know which one to choose.

Then, the demon gritted its teeth, trying to crawl closer to the pile of shit, and then, humiliatingly, it opened its mouth.

The demon's eyes were filled with hatred towards Rudeus and Alaric.

"...I hope you'll keep your promise."

And then, the demon stuffed all the shit into its mouth.

It didn't dare to chew, just swallowed it straight down into its stomach because it didn't want to taste that horrible taste.

That was why the speed at which the demon finished its meal was much faster.

"...I'm... done eating."

His mouth was covered in shit, to the point that just by opening his mouth the smell would waft out as if to assault Rudeus' sense of smell.

"Now... can you let me go?"

Once the demon was released and recovered, Rudeus and Alaric were the first two people it would kill.

"..."

The boy did not respond, only slowly approaching the demon lying on the ground, with a gentle smile.

And then…

Thud!

Rudeus' dagger pierced through the demon's heart.

Causing it to die right after.

"Do you think I would really keep my promise to a demon?"

The boy's eyes did not waver at all.

It was as if Rudeus had just killed a fly, an ant, an insignificant creature.

"How do you feel, little one?"

The King's voice rang out from behind.

The boy stood up, slowly turning towards the source.

"...It's fine. I don't feel too scared when facing this demon. But I'm pretty sure that's because my subconscious has decided that the demon can't threaten my life or anything."

"Does that mean that idea failed?"

"No."

Rudeus shook his head.

"It's progressing, but slowly."

Slowly but surely.

***

Just like that, they continued their journey to the Dicathen Kingdom together.

Every day for the two of them was like a loop.

Woke up.

Enjoyed breakfast.

Moved.

Rested.

Practiced swordplay.

Kept moving.

And played around with demons if they could catch one, the purpose was to overcome that fear.

It sounded boring, but it was actually quite fun.

During this time, The King also noticed that smiles appeared more often on Rudeus' lips.

After all, Rudeus was still a child.

But, all fun must come to an end.

And the end of Alaric and Rudeus' fun was when they set foot in the Dicathen Kingdom, which was now a ruin, and could be considered a kingdom of demons.

"Tch. As expected, I was right."

Hiding on the wall, The King could see that there were many demons below.

They had occupied the Dicathen Kingdom.

As if this place was their home.

But then again, if it weren't for the demons' skin color and the wings on their backs, The King would have thought that this was just an ordinary kingdom with people who couldn't be more ordinary.

"What should we do now, Alaric?" Asked Rudeus.

"Do you see that thing?"

The King pointed towards the castle, the place where he had his last conversation with Kaelus, or Erza.

"That's where we need to go."

The boy squinted, trying to follow his finger.

"…You mean that place a few kilometers away from us? Are you crazy? Furthermore, how are we going to get there?"

Rudeus' worries were not unfounded.

Because right now, the entire capital of the Dicathen Kingdom had been occupied by demons.

To put it simply, they were everywhere.

In every corner of the Dicathen Kingdom.

"Follow me."

Alaric didn't answer immediately, but jumped down from the wall, approaching his steed.

"Are you ready, Jeff?"

Jeff was the name of the steed.

A beautiful name, right?

Neighhhhhh!

The horse neighed firmly.

The answer was obvious.

"Very well."

With a confident smile, The King jumped onto the horse's back under the bewildered Rudeus.

"…You're not joking, are you?"

"I never joke about things like this."

"So… you're really going to do it? You're really going to ride this horse and charge straight to the castle."

"Yes."

Alaric replied firmly.

This was clearly not the best choice.

"But it's the only choice."

"…"

"So, are you going to get on or not?"

Gritting his teeth, trying to suppress the fear and anxiety surging in his chest, Rudeus was forced to jump onto Jeff's back.

"Do I have any other choice?"

The King smiled.

"Of course not."

Just like that, without any regard for their own lives, they rushed straight into the capital of the Dicathen Kingdom through the main gate.

They even ran onto the main road, the most prominent place in the entire capital.

"Let's go!"

***

[High Level Aura.]

With this Ability, Alaric could not only cover his body with aura, making himself stronger, but he could also create anything he wanted.

And just like that time in that village, a gun slowly formed in the palm of The King's hand.

And then, he aimed at a random demon.

Without hesitation, he fired.

Boom!

Causing a huge noise, at the same time, attracting the attention of all the other demons.

"What the hell!?"

"Am I blind or are there really two humans galloping down the road?"

Boom!

Alaric pulled the trigger again.

There was no reason for him to hide.

After all, he would definitely be discovered by the demons.

It was only a matter of time.

So, instead of doing nothing and waiting to be chased by the demons, why didn't The King kill a few first?

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Alaric kept firing.

And surprisingly, he always hit, never missing his target.

Even crazier, all of them were headshots!

Sitting behind, looking at The King's broad and majestic back, Rudeus felt truly… safe.

"...You're really reliable, Alaric."

Reliable to the point of insanity.

Boom!

But then, at that moment, a different explosion from the explosions from The King's gun suddenly rang out.

And the next moment, Rudeus felt a piercing pain in his side.

"...Eh?"

The boy was bleeding.

And with each spurt of blood, Rudeus lost more and more strength.

"...What the hell is this?"

The boy's two hands that were hugging Alaric's waist suddenly loosened.

"Save me..."

With his mind still hazy, Rudeus slowly fell off the horse.

"Alaric..."

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