That same day, Elina left the Demon King's Castle.
As soon as she crossed the borders of the mist shrouding the Valley of Darkness, she took a deep breath. She felt that she was finally free, even though she knew it was a freedom on the leash of a contract.
She began to analyze the past few days, and her head spun from the sensory overload.
The village where she had lived peacefully for half a month had been wiped off the face of the earth. She had become a slave to werewolves, only to watch a moment later as a demon crushed their tribe. Then she had ended up in the Demon King's ice dungeon, only to ultimately... become his agent and, together with the succubi, kill another powerful ruler.
This sounds like some crazy dream she thought, stroking the bat-toad on her shoulder.
Now, however, the Great Demon King had given her space. As long as she didn't receive a specific order, she could return to the life of an adventurer and explore the forest.
But she had something now that she didn't have before - a powerful backing. She knew that if she got into trouble she couldn't solve with a sword, a single signal through her familiar would suffice, and the "Boss" with her demonic servants would come to the rescue.
With that thought, Elina headed toward the ruins of the Blood Fang tribe, where the unsuspecting scouts from the Red Blood Hero Association were waiting for her.
***
The night around the former seat of the Blood Fang tribe was thick and stifling.
Elina, knowing that as a bunny girl she would arouse immediate suspicion, activated her mimicry talent. Her body bent, her bones creaked, and her blonde hair was replaced by coarse, gray fur. She transformed into a werewolf, blending perfectly into the darkness.
She had barely approached the edge of the encampment when she felt the icy touch of metal on her neck.
"Who are you? Why have you come here!"
The voice coming from behind was harsh and devoid of emotion.
Elina froze. A sharp blade almost brushed her throat, and a trickle of cold sweat ran down her back. She swallowed and adopted the most convincing, trembling tone she could muster.
"I'm... I'm a Heroine from the Blood Fang tribe!" she rasped.
"You're a hero too?"
The pressure of the blade eased slightly. Elina slowly turned her head to look at her assailant.
Standing before her was a powerful wolf-hero with fur as black as pitch. Scanning him with her gaze, she felt an instinctive prickle of unease. This Werewolf, just like Elina, was already at Hero Level 2, and his stats suggested he was a true elite warrior. In a direct confrontation, Elina wouldn't stand the slightest chance against him.
"I am Werina, one of Verial's subordinates!" she lied without blinking.
She had heard that name during her captivity and hoped the real Werina had died during Lilith's attack or had fled far enough away.
The black wolf measured her with a searching gaze.
"Come with me," he said curtly.
Elina was led deep into the dark forest, and the sight she found there nearly knocked her off her feet. This was no small scouting party.
Hundreds of humans and beastmen were stationed in the shadows of the trees: werewolves, weretigers, and werebears. In the very center of the camp, she spotted over ten Heroes, at least five of whom emanated the strength of Level 2.
They were led by a giant tiger, standing over two meters tall. A deep scar above his left eye gave him the look of a beast.
"We are members of the Red Blood Hero Association from the city of Aethelgard," the tiger spoke, his voice resembling the rumble of an approaching storm. "I heard that you are one of the survivors of the Blood Fang tribe."
He took a step toward her, overwhelming her with his presence.
"But the tribe has been destroyed. Judging by the remains and the frozen stone, it was done by some unimaginably powerful being. We're betting it's the work of a Demon King with immense ice power. Now, little she-wolf, tell me exactly how it happened. And most importantly: where is Verial? Is your leader still alive?"
It was to be expected.
While the Demon Kings were still busy building their nests and competing for resources, the Heroes had already begun to create powerful structures - Guilds. They understood that alone they were only prey, but in a group, they became predators that even the most confident Demon Lord must fear.
Elina felt the tension rising. The people around her from the Red Blood Hero Association did not emanate an aura of justice or mercy. They were a group of tough mercenaries and cold-eyed fanatics.
If her mimicry failed for even a fraction of a second, they would tear her apart without question.
She took a deep breath, straightening her wolf silhouette and trying to give her voice a tone of deep grief.
"We were attacking a Demon King's Nest in a nearby valley," she began, her words carrying into the thick gloom of the forest. "But we hit a devastating ambush. Everything went wrong. Verial... Verial is dead."
The people gathered around the fire did not emit a cry of horror. There was a heavy, professional silence.
The fact that Verial - a hero of such destructive power - and his tribe had been cut down was the ultimate confirmation for them: something abnormal had nested in this area. This wasn't an ordinary Level 1 Demon King who trembles before a group of common heroes.
One of the bear-warriors struck his fist into his open palm, the sound like a trunk snapping.
"Don't be afraid, little one!" he roared, baring his fangs. "You think Verial was the peak of possibility? We are at least as strong as he was, and there is a legion of us here!"
"We have powers with us that Verial never laid eyes on," another added from the shadows.
"We are forming a demon-subjugation squad unlike any this forest has seen. That Demon King won't escape, no matter how strong he might be. If it bleeds, we can kill it!"
The tiger with the scar, who seemed to be the brains of the operation, took a step toward Elina. His yellow eyes bored through her, searching for any sign of a lie.
"Listen carefully," he murmured, his voice like stone grinding against stone. "I need every piece of information you can squeeze from your memory. Type of magic, number of servants, appearance, weak points. Tell me everything you know about this Demon King! If you lead us to his head, the Red Blood Hero Association will reward you handsomely."
Elina knew that the best lie is one that contains a grain of truth. She had to direct their attention to specifics that Lilith could control, while hiding her true nature.
"Actually... I don't know much about the figure itself," Elina began, pretending her wolf body was trembling with fear. "I only know that it might be an Undead Demon King. Everything around him was rotting or freezing."
The tiger leader's gaze sharpened like a razor.
"Undead? Can he use ice magic?!" he thundered, taking a step toward her. "What is his true strength? How large is his army? Speak! Fast!"
"When Chief Verial took us to slay him, we fell into a devastating ambush in the Valley of Darkness," Elina blurted out, carefully choosing the location. "The enemy forces... probably number between one thousand and two thousand skeletons and monsters. The battlefield was too chaotic then, the mist was too thick for me to see the Demon King himself. I only remember the cold... and death."
Her report was a masterpiece of disinformation.
Since the battle had not actually taken place in the Valley of Darkness, and she was merely "reporting what she saw in the chaos," the system contract did not deem it a betrayal. She wasn't revealing the truth about Lilith - she was creating a false image of the enemy.
A hero of the bear kin, a huge male with bloodied claws, chuckled icily, the sound making the hair on the back of Elina's neck stand up.
"Even Verial died, yet you somehow survived?" he murmured, narrowing his eyes. "I think something stinks here."
He turned to the tiger, pointing at Elina with a gesture dripping with venom: "In my opinion, this guy is either a cowardly deserter or bait that the Demon King deliberately allowed to escape to lure us here. Better to just kill him now, just in case. We don't need dead weight."
Elina felt the blood drain from her face. Her heart hammered like a mallet - these people were ready to kill "one of their own" just because of a shadow of suspicion.
The tiger leader, however, raised his hand, silencing the bear.
"It doesn't matter if he's lying or if he's a coward," he replied coldly. "As long as he can provide us with any information about the terrain, he is useful. He was at that necromancer's base. We need a guide who knows the entrance to the Valley of Darkness. It's worth keeping him around... for now."
Elina, playing her role to the end, hastily began to beg for mercy, taking a step back.
"Bosses, please! Let me go! I just escaped from that hell, I don't want to go back! I'll die if they see me there!"
"Shut the fuck up!"
The tiger leader smiled nastily, the scar over his eye twitching. "You'd better be good and obedient. That way, you'll at least have a shadow of a chance to survive the night. Otherwise... Hmph! I'll gut you myself before we even see the first skeletons."
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