"Say, Aura, do you have any thoughts on this tragic sight?"
"None. Absolutely none."
The two Demon Race girls walked indifferently through the ruins of the village.
Houses had collapsed and burned down. Bloodstains and incomplete human corpses were everywhere, and the smell of scorching filled the air. It was dead silent, save for the crows circling and wailing in the sky.
"I feel it's incredible. I actually think this is a natural result, even though I used to be a human too."
"But you are Demon Race now."
"I used to be human."
"I think you've gone crazy."
After finishing her sentence subconsciously, Aura shrank her neck back, a bit afraid of angering this nemesis.
"...I can't be bothered to explain it to you."
Nanoda didn't want to reveal her identity as a transmigrator.
With the soul thoroughly occupying this body, Nanoda could feel that her emotions seemed to have become weak. The desire for destruction and slaughter was instinctively amplified. A human soul, a Demon Race body; in order not to be assimilated by the Demon instincts, Nanoda was contending against them with her own willpower.
"I am a pacifist. I don't like boring things like war. Isn't living peacefully good?"
"You have to ask our Lord Demon King about that."
"That warmongering Demon King will die at the hands of the Hero."
Aura didn't dare to speak anymore.
Along the way, they passed three more villages that had been thoroughly destroyed by the Demon Race. There were no survivors in any of them.
"Eh? It seems this place was slaughtered not long ago."
Nanoda noticed that the flames on the collapsed houses hadn't been completely extinguished yet; little sparks were still dancing.
"It looks like there is a Demon Race unit heading south nearby."
Although there were traces of her own kind, Aura couldn't drum up any happiness at all. Leaving aside the fact that the Demon Race wasn't united to begin with, there were also many weirdos. Birds of a feather flock together; Aura disdained being with those dead-fish-faced ones who killed mindlessly. She enjoyed the queen-like life of enslaving others far more.
"Let's keep going. Maybe we can run into a village that's still intact."
"Why must we coexist with humans?"
"Hmm... because human life is more interesting?"
Aura did not deny it. Indeed, by imitating humans, many of the Demon Race had found fun outside of simply hunting humans—though for many, it was of a malicious variety. Aura was one of them.
"I promised a fool that I would become human in its stead. As a former human, I feel the first step to becoming human is naturally to get along well with humans first."
"As long as you're happy..."
Hidden within a ring of low, lush green woods lay a small village. The scale of the village wasn't large, consisting of a dozen or so households. Behind the village was a small, sparkling azure lake. Although the wooden houses were crude and the villagers weren't wealthy, they lived peaceful and stable lives.
"I want to become someone like the Hero in the future and subjugate the Demon King!"
A voice rang out at the village entrance. A boy of about ten, dressed in rough cloth, waved a wooden sword in his hand as he told his dream to his father, who was wearing light armor.
"Hahaha, wait until you grow up a bit more and become a qualified warrior, then we'll talk."
The stubbly uncle smiled and rubbed the boy's head with his large hand.
"I've already grown up! Dad!"
The boy was a bit bashful, but he let his dad stroke his head a couple of times.
It was a heartwarming scene, but it was shattered by sharp, shrill laughter.
"Heh heh heh, look what I've found. My luck is really good today; I've discovered another nest of humans!"
Firelight ignited in the woods. A burly Demon with fire-red skin, a pair of curved giant horns, and four arms walked out. Two of his arms held long sabers, while the other two held fireballs. A terrifying murderous aura permeated his entire being.
Behind him followed two expressionless black humanoid Demons; one held a long spear, and the other carried a massive machete.
"Timmy, run! Tell the villagers to flee!"
"But, Dad, what about you?"
Timmy's father drew the longsword hanging at his waist and revealed a reassuring, gentle smile to Timmy.
"It'll be fine. I'll hold them off. Don't look down on me just because I'm a village gatekeeper. Back when a dozen bandits attacked our village, I beat them back all by myself, let alone mere Demons. You run, tell the villagers to leave first, I'll come right after!"
"Dad, you have to be careful..."
With a forceful shove to Timmy's back, Timmy stumbled and ran towards the village.
The three Demons walked over leisurely. The red Demon in the lead spoke again.
"I am the Demon General, Hafleet of the Ashes. Human, you are very brave. You want to stop us with just you alone?"
"Heh, as a father, protecting my child is my duty. As a guard, I absolutely cannot retreat either!"
Hafleet waved his hand behind him, signaling his two subordinates to stand down.
The longsword in the man's hand trembled slightly. He somewhat regretted boasting in front of his child earlier that he could fight ten bandits. In truth, he was just an ordinary person who had learned a move or two when the Northern Nations' Knight Order passed through. A Demon General was surely incredibly strong, but even so, he had to protect his child and the friends in the village. He would stake his life to stall these ferocious Demons.
"Humans are truly interesting. I know you are clearly afraid, so why don't you run?"
There was mockery in Hafleet's tone, but his face was completely expressionless. He walked toward the man step by step, raised his two long sabers, and brought them down!
"Haaah!"
The man used all his strength to swing his longsword and block the attack. For a moment, sword shadows flew. Beans-sized beads of sweat oozed from the man's forehead; with the slightest carelessness, he would be pierced by the two long sabers before him.
"Pretty decent form."
Hafleet evaluated expressionlessly. For him, the moment they crossed hands, he knew the gap in strength. This human had some skill, but that was all.
Suddenly, an arm pierced through his chest. The man looked at Hafleet's four arms in disbelief.
"What a pity. You made the same mistake as those knights."
He pulled out the blood-drenched arm. With a clang, the longsword fell from the man's hand. He knelt on the ground, coughing up mouthfuls of fresh blood.
"Let's go. They can't escape."
Hafleet paid no more attention to the fallen human and walked toward the village.
Grab. Feeling his ankle being seized, Hafleet looked down. That human was actually grinning with a mouth full of blood, sneering.
"Hey... bastard, I'm not dead yet!"
"Truly hard to understand. You are clearly about to die, so why are you still so stubborn? Fire Magic: Combustion to Ashes."
Hafleet grasped a fireball in his hand and pressed it toward the man. Halfway through the motion, he suddenly stopped. He sensed an extremely strong mana coming from the woods.
"Hmm? This mana... a fellow kin?"
"Hey! You arsonists, you're already surrounded! Spare that village and deal with me!"
A white-haired Demon wearing a black robe with a broken horn emerged from the bushes. Behind her followed another purple-haired Demon.
___
New Story: ZZZ: Mr. Ethereal Does Not Want to See a Tragedy
✅ Get immediate access to 40 early chapters for all stories.
✅ Enjoy exclusive material and special announcements!
Help us unlock these community rewards:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters across ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan