After our meeting with Priest Ignis, we left the capital of Divinia and headed toward the Sacred Forest in search of the Holy Lake. My demon companion summoned a pterodactyl, and we tore across the sky at sonic speeds.
"Are we there yet?!" I shouted, the wind whipping violently across my face.
"It's right below us." the demon girl replied calmly. "Take us down, Sonic."
I still called it "demon girl" because I didn't know its real name. It felt strange after traveling together for so long, but something always stopped me from asking it about its name. Maybe I was afraid that the demon wouldn't tell me. Or maybe I was afraid something else entirely.
The pterodactyl spiraled downward, slowing dramatically before vanishing into dark mist the moment our feet touched the ground.
"By the way," I asked, adjusting the straps of my backpack. "why are we here again?"
"This cave has what we need to help the Hero fight the Demon King." the demon girl said.
"Well, if that's the case—"
"Quiet." It's voice sharpened. "Something's wrong."
I dropped into a fighting stance. "What is it?"
"There's something up ahead."
"What?"
The demon girl paused for a moment, then responded. "The guardian of the Holy Lake."
A cold sweat trickled down my temple as I took a gulp.
"Let's go in." The demon girl said, already stepping toward the cave entrance without hesitation.
"Are you sure? Isn't that dangerous?" I asked, glancing around nervously.
"It's more dangerous for you to stay out here where I can't protect you." The demon girl didn't even look back. "I'm not inviting you. I'm simply warning you."
"…Thanks anyway. Wait for me!"
I hurried after it.
No matter how many times I saw the demon girl like this, I was still amazed by how little anything seemed to faze it. It carried this cold, unfeeling aura—like the world itself couldn't touch it.
I knew it was a demon, but I couldn't help finding it… cool. Maybe I was just envious. If I could face everything with that kind of calm, how different would my life have been?
We moved deeper into the cave. Glowing yellow moss clung to the walls and ceiling, bathing everything in an ethereal light.
"It looks beautiful." I murmured.
The demon girl spared the moss a single glance before continuing forward. Eventually, we reached a heavy stone oval door etched with glowing runes along its edges.
"Do we need some kind of incantation to—"
The demon girl simply pushed, and the door groaned with a heavy sound of stone that hadn't moved in years as it split apart with zigzag lines in the middle to open.
Inside lay a vast underground lake glowing with soft golden light.
"Stand back." The demon girl commanded.
"Okay."
The demon girl approached the water's edge. "Show yourself."
The lake began to churn violently as a colossal figure rose from the depths. It was a giant squid that had clearly slept there for decades, I assumed.
Looks like I get to enjoy myself before the Hero arrives. Lucky me. The female silhouette stood beside the demon girl, watching with quiet amusement.
The creature's skin was a deep navy blue, accented by white line markings that ran along its tentacles, mantle, and massive singular eye. That eye was pitch black with a glowing blue pupil at its center.
When submerged, its skin emitted a soft bioluminescent glow—navy turning sky blue, white line markings shifting to brilliant gold, along with its singular eye turning white with a golden pupil.
I had to admit… it looked pretty cool. It wasn't every day someone like me got to see something like this up close. With the demon girl beside me, I felt strangely safe, at least enough to not immediately run for cover.
"It seems we meet again." the demon girl murmured, her voice flat and cold. "After our last encounter, I never thought I would see you again." It paused. "Don't worry, I'll give you a far better role to play this time."
The demon girl's expression never changed. Not once. As for the giant squid, it was visibly irritated. Perhaps at the demon girl? Or what she had just said? Or maybe even both? I didn't know which was the case.
I watched in confusion. Does the demon… know this thing? Perhaps, they've met once before...
At this point, I had already accepted how pointless it was to try understanding this demon. Someone like me simply couldn't fathom the things it has experienced up until now.
Even though it was a demon—and logic said I should hate it, I just couldn't help being fascinated. Its calm, its detachment, the way it moved through the world like nothing could truly touch it… it all intrigued me more than I cared to admit.
Now, for the next part...
Don't worry Rowan, I got you. the female silhouette said with a snap of a finger.
I'm still not sure how, but I was able to perceive the entire fight without any problems—even though I'm just a normal human. It was as if my senses got a massive stat boost.
A cleaver shimmered into existence in the demon girl's left hand. "Come at me." the demon said.
The giant squid answered.
Two tentacles shot forward in perfect parallel, splitting the lake's surface. The demon girl ran straight toward them, waited until the last possible heartbeat, then leapt. Its boots touched flesh for an instant—just long enough to push off, and it sprinted up the creature's writhing limbs.
Electricity crackled across the squid's skin as yellow arcs snapped through the air, forcing the demon girl to twist and weave as it climbed.
"How futile."
The demon girl glanced down at its thigh. Holy water from the lake had splashed against its skin, leaving angry burns that sizzled faintly.
The squid reacted, launching four tentacles toward its own head.
Steel flashed.
One tentacle was severed mid-strike and sent spinning into the water below.
"Skriiieee!" The beast screeched.
Enraged, it thrashed wildly, tentacles lashing in every direction. Waves crashed against the shore, the once-quiet lake churned into chaos, and stone cracked beneath its fury.
Meanwhile, I—far from the battle, was occupied with something else entirely.
I knelt by the shoreline, arranging flat stones into a crude circle.
It said that the Hero and his party would meet us here, I thought. I should at least make a place for them to sit when they arrive.
It wasn't much—but it was something.
I swallowed as the thought returned, bitter and familiar. If I truly contributed nothing on this journey, then I would feel like I chose to abandoned my sister. I could make all the excuses I want about needing money, but it still wouldn't change the facts.
That was a weight I refused to carry. So, I kept stacking stones.
A sharp cry snapped my attention back to the fight.
Still airborne, the demon girl swung her dagger again. Darkness clung to the blade, trailing like smoke. Another tentacle was cleanly severed.
"Skriieee!!!"
The squid reared back and fired a concentrated bolt of yellow electricity from its eye. The attack struck the demon girl squarely.
The demon girl shrugged it off, its expression not changing.
Mistaking endurance for defeat, the squid hesitated.
That moment cost it dearly.
The demon girl blurred forward and carved through two more tentacles in rapid succession, leaving the creature with only four remaining.
That was when the Hero's party arrived at the lake's edge. Said the male silhouette
Also, if you're wondering why I'm here—even though I vanished in the previous chapter, it's because I came in this specific time from Rowan's story to see the fight to the end. That's right, fuck continuity!!!
"I get the picture." Vlad said calmly.
"Yeah," Rowan replied. "We just need to wait for the demon girl to finish, then we leave."
"But how will Holy water help us fight the Demon King?" Sera asked.
"Surely we're not meant to splash him with it." Noctura added.
"Let's wait for it to explain." Rowan said.
Perhaps she knows something we don't? Vlad nodded. "Alright."
They watched as the demon girl continued her battle. By now, the creature barely resembled a squid at all.
Mid-air, she glanced toward the shore. Her eyes met Vlad's for a brief moment before returning to her prey.
"There's no need to drag this out any longer." she muttered.
The squid sensed death closing in.
With a desperate scream, it coated its entire body in crackling electricity—a final all-or-nothing gambit.
Burns covered her body as she fell to the ground, but she didn't falter. Dark mana surged violently into her cleaver, the blade humming under the pressure.
For a breath, they stared at each other.
Then they moved.
The squid charged, two electrified tentacles thrusting forward like spears, and another bolt from its eye.
The demon girl swung her body diagonally and threw the cleaver. The cleaver made a whistling sound as it flew.
The squid attempted to block.
Failed.
The cleaver pierced straight through both tentacles, continued forward, and drove through the creature's single eye. It then burst out the other side of the squid before embedding itself deep into the cavern ceiling, then it vanished in dark violet smoke.
The squid collapsed, and the electricity faded. Then, the glow vanished. Moments later, its massive corpse dissipated into mana, scattering into the air above the lake.
Wait, what? Vlad thought after witnessing the scene.
Silence returned.
The spectators were speechless at the sight of the demon girl slowly approaching them as if she didn't single headedly kill off what would pose a challenge for them.
All her burn marks started to fade until her skin was pale and soft once more—like she hadn't received any damage at all.
The others only stared in disbelief while it happened. They concluded that it was either the fact that she was a demon, or that it was a healing spell of some kind. After all, Vlad could do the same.
"By the way, do you think you could have killed that giant octopus on your own?" Thomas whispered.
"Firstly, it was a squid. Secondly, the answer is obvious. That said, whether I could've done it over a lake of dark mana...? That's a different story entirely." Sera replied.
"I'm sure you guys would win eventually." Vlad said.
"Very encouraging." Sera said sarcastically. "You could just one shot it, if you wanted to."
"Right..." Vlad gave a small wry smile.
"Keep you're guard up, we don't know just how powerful or dangerous the demon is yet." Thomas cautioned.
"We still have Vlad if it ever comes to that." Noctura said looking at Vlad.
"Let's hope it doesn't." Vlad expressed, approaching the demon girl.
"I'm the Hero. My name is Vlad." He said extending his hand.
"I'm a demon, and my name is Noel." She said with a handshake.