“Demon King?”

Naiad stared at the soldier in disbelief.

“The Demon King’s alive?”

“Aaaaaargh!”

Oblivious to her shock, the blood-soaked soldier rushed toward Clay.

“Dieeeee!”

His eyes, clouded with rage, saw nothing else.

Clay calmly sidestepped the downward slash of the blade and subtly hooked the man’s leg.

Crash!

Unable to fight the momentum, the soldier lost his grip on his sword and tumbled to the ground.

“W-What the heck?!”

Naiad shouted, startled.

“Clay! Are you okay?!”

“Yeah.”

Clay looked down at the collapsed soldier without moving.

“What’s going on?! That guy’s totally lost it!”

Though she didn’t know the context, the fact that a Yaphenon soldier had attacked Clay enraged her.

“He attacked the Hero?! I’ll teach him a lesson!”

“Naiad.”

Clay raised a hand to stop her from flying off.

“It’s fine.”

“What? But—”

“This is something I need to handle.”

He looked her directly in the eyes.

“So please, just go back.”

“Clay?”

She opened her mouth in confusion.

“Something happened, didn’t it? While I was gone?”

“Yeah.”

Something had happened—something massive.

“But I don’t want to explain it to you.”

Naiad knew nothing. And Clay had no intention of letting her get dragged into this mess.

“Go back, Naiad. Otherwise, you’ll regret it.”

“Regret it?”

Naiad’s expression hardened as she flew up and punched him with her tiny fist.

Thwack!

The impact was no more than a squirrel tossing an acorn, but it left Clay momentarily stunned. While he stood frozen, the soldier groaning on the floor slowly got up.

“You… damn Demon King…”

He growled through clenched teeth and charged again.

Clay instinctively raised a hand to intercept—but before he could, Naiad flew in front of him, took a deep breath, and puffed out her cheeks.

Fwoooosh!

A torrent of water erupted from her mouth in a wide fan, slamming into the soldier with crushing force.

Crash!

The man was knocked off his feet and swept down the corridor by the sudden current, slamming into a window.

『Katarakta.』

With her hand raised, Naiad’s blue eyes gleamed with a resonance that echoed through nature.

Shatter!

Without uttering another word, she activated a spell—her power flowing through the vibration of water droplets alone.

The raging cascade grew fiercer like a waterfall, shattering the window and flinging the soldier out into the open air.

“You idiot, Clay.”

Naiad turned her head sharply and muttered,

“What exactly can’t you tell me?”

Clay blinked wide-eyed as Naiad stomped angrily in the air.

“You’re doing it again—trying to carry everything alone! We said we’d face things together, didn’t we?!”

He remembered.

Back when she would throw tantrums and cling to him every time he tried to solve something on his own.

Caught off guard, Clay let out a small breath, then slumped his shoulders with a faint laugh.

“Not everything can be shared, Naiad.”

“What, did you become the Demon King or something?”

That question left Clay speechless again.

“…Ha.”

Naiad wiped her forehead with a hand.

“Clay.”

She flew right up to his face.

“If you don’t tell me, I won’t know anything.”

“It’s better that you don’t know.”

“Ugh!”

She grabbed her own head in frustration.

“Please, stop that! I’ve already been apart from you for so long! No matter what you’ve gone through, I wasn’t there—I couldn’t help you at all!”

“Whatever happened to me, it’s not your fault.”

“You’re so frustrating!”

She shouted.

“I like you!”

The words burst out of her, emotion spilling over.

Clay froze.

“I’ve confessed so many times! Just let me carry some of the burden! Let me feel conflicted for once!”

“…What?”

“I mean, what do people do when someone they love falls from grace?! When they’ve changed so much you don’t even know what to do anymore?! I’ve already figured out how I’d handle it!”

She had always been strange—unusually blunt for a spirit attuned to the purity of nature.

And now, she was being honest to an overwhelming degree.

“I’ve made up my mind!”

“Made up your mind about what?”

“I’m declaring everyone who’s hurt you… my enemy from now on.”

Naiad raised her hand.

“If you don’t want to tell me, then don’t. I’ll just pretend I heard enough. I already know what kind of person you are. And I know how important you are to me.”

It was a declaration—directed solely at Clay.

“I, Naiad, Spirit King of Water, hereby swear an irrevocable pact in the name of the sacred spring, Bdanew. Clay, who stands before me, is the one bound to me in eternal connection. This bond is equal to an everlasting alliance, and…”

“Naiad!”

“…I vow we will always walk the same path.”

In that instant, a blue light enveloped her body.

The sacred spring revered by water spirits had accepted her vow.

“You…!”

Clay snapped, his voice sharp.

“Do you know what that means?”

Her pact had been inscribed in the Akashic Record. Not merely recorded, but established as divine law.

From now on, betraying Clay was impossible for Naiad. If she did, the world itself would reject her—and she would lose her spirit powers.

“I know.”

Naiad folded her arms and huffed.

“That’s why it would’ve been better if you just told me. Before I had to go and do this.”

Clay said nothing. He didn’t even know what to call the emotion welling up inside him.

“Were you afraid I’d get caught up in this? Or… were you afraid I wouldn’t be able to accept what you’ve become?”

Naiad didn’t say it lightly. Her tone was calm, deliberate.

“Whatever it is, I’m not going to lose you. So don’t lose me either.”

A sudden reunion.

No explanation had been given. No understanding had been exchanged.

But still, Naiad had chosen him. Even if that choice might lead to unbearable regret.

“You might despair over the choices I’ve made.”

“Then I’ll despair.”

“You won’t be able to run from the ugliness inside me.”

“I won’t run.”

Naiad held Clay’s cheeks in both hands.

“I already made all my choices a long time ago.”

She would share in the pain of his future just as she had in his past—no matter if it ruined her. She would never blame him for it.

“That’s how hard I fell for you.”

With a pure, innocent smile, she said,

“…I see.”

Clay clenched his fist tightly.

In the moment he had lost everything, what he’d wanted most was this irrational belief in him. And now—after he had become the Demon King—it had come.

“I’m such an idiot, huh?”

Naiad scratched her head.

“What’s there to like about a guy who didn’t even accept my confessions…?”

Yet even as she said it, her face sparkled brighter than anyone’s.

“So show me.”

The truth he could no longer avoid.

“For me—the one who accepted everything about you the moment I came back.”

A bittersweet reunion—one that had come far too late.

♧

Yaphenon had fallen.

Utor was dead. Half the capital had been reduced to ashes.

News of the catastrophic event swept across the continent before long.

“W-What? The Demon King’s back?!”

“Yaphenon collapsed without even putting up a fight?”

“Is this going to be like the last war all over again?”

The appearance of a new Demon King sent ripples through every nation—reviving the long-buried terror of war in people’s hearts.

“Are you kidding me?! Another Demon King?!”

“The Hero’s dead, too! What do we do now?!”

“The Holy Alliance has to do something, right?!”

“Then why did Krata just stand by while Yaphenon got crushed?!”

Confusion cracked open like an egg, spilling unrest into every corner of the world. Suspicion toward Krata spread like wildfire.

Why hadn’t they saved their allied nation? Why had they remained silent even after?

Not even Clay, the very cause of this chaos, could answer those questions.

But regardless, one truth was now firmly established in the Demon Territory:

The era of the Demon King had begun anew.

What was once only a rumor had become the dominant topic among the demonfolk.

“They say the new Demon King wiped out Yaphenon and even brought all their weapons.”

“Those damn humans must’ve been totally blindsided. Hehehe.”

“You heard of Barungenia? The fourth Demon King’s Castle? They say he’s there, so I’m heading out.”

Most were ecstatic, seeing it as a herald of demonic resurgence.

“Hmph! Sounds like propaganda.”

“It’s probably Beatrice who did all the heavy lifting.”

Yet there were still some who remained skeptical.

But whether they praised or doubted him, one line silenced every voice in the room:

“They say the new Demon King… is human.”

And not just any human.

The former Hero.

The one believed to be dead had returned as the Demon King.

He had been resurrected—and now, he sought vengeance against humankind.

To the demons, this could have been seen as problematic. And yet—they didn’t reject him. They simply found it hard to believe.

“That guy was insanely strong.”

“If you’ve got power, then who cares if you’re Demon King or not? You can do whatever the hell you want.”

Demons needed only one thing from their king: strength and the will to lead.

And if that happened to be a Hero betrayed by humanity?

Then so be it. That was still better than rotting away in obscurity.

“Yeah, I’m going.”

“Me too.”

Some demons left for Barungenia.

“I’ll wait and see.”

“No way someone who’s no longer a Hero can wield our strength properly.”

“I won’t call him a real Demon King until I see it with my own eyes.”

Others stayed behind, uncertain, skeptical, or simply not ready to follow.

“Kukuku. I don’t care. I just want to fight the guy.”

And then, of course, there were those driven by sheer battle lust.

Resentment. Doubt. Excitement.

A storm of emotions stirred the Demon Territory—something that hadn’t happened since the death of the previous Demon King.

Whatever the case, the continent was about to erupt in chaos. The demons would begin to move in search of purpose once again.

And amid it all, Barungenia was alive with cheers.

“Long live the Demon King!”

“We can finally fight like real demons again…!”

“All thanks to the Demon King!”

The square in front of the fortress was packed with demons singing Clay’s praises.

But the man they worshipped was nowhere to be found.

“…Honestly. You have a talent for causing trouble in the weirdest places, Clay.”

Beatrice, standing in his stead, pressed a hand to her forehead with a weary sigh.

While the demons battled in Yaphenon, she had stayed behind to manage Barungenia—and she was still far from finished.

Meanwhile, Clay had returned and was seated quietly in his office, gazing at the opposite side of the desk.

There sat Naiad, who had followed him all the way back—slumped over the table, eyes lifeless.

“H-Haha… this really is something.”

She laughed awkwardly, looking up at Clay.

“…It’s going to be a rough ride, huh?”

Clay let out a long breath and muttered quietly,

“It really is.”

(End of Chapter)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.