"Ah, so you finally show yourself. And here I thought you'd forget and flee from me. I admire your courage for calling on me using the crystal. Now come, as we have agreed, you will now become my slave. I would have never bothered with you if not for your unusual strength, so be grateful," she stood haughtily, extending her hand out to him with a confident grin.

Though her stature was until only Laruse's neck, her personality was rather crooked and twisted, yet it came back to him that she was indeed a demon lord's disciple, and that her personality matched up just fine.

"Sorry, but that's not what I came here for. I'm here to defeat you before you do anything worse than what you've done here already."

"Oh? How confident of you? So did you only call me here for a simple massacre? If so, then I shall not be as merciful towards you. I've expressed a good intention in inviting you, but it seems that you have taken me lightly. My sister and I shall teach you a lesson that you should never take advantage of my kindness," her identical copy walked away from her victim and towards the other twin, both wielding the same type of spears.

"I can't quite tell, sister, but there is something different about him. Nothing too threatening, but rather amusing. We may have to force him into becoming our servant. He may do well after all," the other one said.

The only way Laruse was able to discern the two from each other was that the haughty character left her long, scarlet hair hanging freely, letting the wind flutter it smoothly.

The other had a neat style of a braided bun on the back of her head, making her seductive neckline stand out with the rest of her proportions, and the charm that their identical black dresses possessed.

"Amuse me then," she said, rushing forward alone, leaving the one with the neat hairstyle watch with a deadpan expression.

She reappeared in front of him in the blink of an eye, not giving him any chance to size her abilities up.

She seemed to weigh as much as a feather, seeing as how she would take light steps with her movements, striking and piercing with monstrous strength.

Using his instincts to react, he strafed to the side, deflecting her spear with his sword, forcing her back so that he could assume his stance.

"It seems that your strength has not waned at all," the wind blew upon her unscathed gown peacefully, disrupting the silence with a soft whistling.

She then rushed again, leaping a ridiculous height, then piecing down as if she weighed heavier than usual, destroying the ground as she pierced it, creating a small fissure.

Before she could land a blow; however, Laruse had already evaded, discerning her path.

He rushed, taking the initiative as her back was turned, cutting horizontally at the air, missing entirely as the disciple leapt backwards, looking to be surprised at his sudden attack.

Standing idly, she noticed a rip in the skirt of her gown, bringing forth an unamused expression from her face; one that sought to annihilate those she deemed a pest.

As Laruse started off with the scarlet haired girl, he felt an immense amount of bloodlust from behind him, causing him to react and perform a swift cutting motion as he turned around, cutting at nothing, unnerving him.

"A small amount of bloodlust, and you're already on edge? How pathetic. You were lucky that I was not at my top form that previous time we met, but now, I am more than capable of taking your life. Watch closely," in an instant, she disappeared, both of them, one reappearing behind Laruse, delivering a precise thrust pointed at his heart from the back, and the other appeared from the sky, descending with her spear pointed to his head.

at a moment's notice, he impulsively lashed back at the spear coming from behind him, swatting it away with his sword, then allowing the spear from above the come down, then engaging in a fast-paced clash between the girl with a unique hairstyle.

She delivered a flurry of thrusts while Laruse replied with several skillful slashes of his own, either narrowly evading the spear and taking only scratches and wounds, or using his blade to defend, deflect, and parry her attacks, which bewildered her further as she could not understand how he could fight evenly against one who has been given a demon's blood.

The battle became longer than he had anticipated, making it rather hard for him to keep up with the demon's stamina and tenacity.

He stood a few meters away from the two, looking to be unfazed and not bothered at all by anything, only having a few scratches, but on their gowns.

"What's this? I can only assume that with the way you are acting, you must be tired. I will also guess that you desire one last attack that will decide this battle's outcome, no?" the haughty one declared, grinning at the weakened man.

"Before this ends, I just want to know. You two are truly demon lord disciples, right? And what are your names?"

"What's with the chatter? Trying to delay the inevitable means nothing at all. Yet I will entertain you as you last wish, nothing else, nothing more. Yes, you are correct. We are both indeed disciples of a demon lord. I grace you with my name of Lis," the haughty one with the long, untied hair said.

"Elle, nice to meet you," the mature, composed, and calm one with the neat hairstyle of a braided bun said, nodding her head slightly.

"Now that you know, let us settle this," Lis readied her spear, and so did Elle, pointing it at Laruse, who held a firm stance, holding his sword in front of him with both hands to level with his waist.

The two rushed in unison with Laruse, meeting within a split second; their spears creating a cross as Laruse's sword separated them in the middle.

In that instant, Laruse stomped the ground, changing the position of his sword to slash upwards instead of downwards, creating a loud clanging sound that resonated as the two spears flew up into the air.

With the two looking up at their weapons, Laruse took this chance to seize victory, not wanting to harm them that much, though knowing that they will spell trouble in the future, he aimed to knock them out with the hilt of his sword, hitting them near their necks, forcing them to lose consciousness, falling to the ground with a thud.

Their spears landed near them, impaling themselves on the ground.

*sigh* "Finally over," he stretched his arms and body, sheathing his sword as he heaved a heavy sigh.

Opening his eyes, he noticed the presence of someone else in the area, one who looked at him in astonishment, at a loss for words as her eyes were glued at him and the two young women in dresses.

"Who are you?" he asked with a lazy and exhausted voice.

"How did you defeat them?" she ignored his question, asking her own.

"I don't really know how, but it's fine now, so there's no need to worry about anything. When they wake up, they'll probably try and kill everyone here, but that's another story," he stood up, going towards them and taking their spears.

"Wait, where are you going?! And what are you going to do with them?" she asked as he picked up the two unconscious women in his arms, struggling to take a tight hold of them.

"I'll do something about it, so there's no need to worry. I don't know if I should be telling you this, but you'd best retreat if you want to avoid being bombarded by the city. I've done my work and saved you. I guess asking for a reward is not the best thing now, so I'll take my leave," he walked off somewhere, leaving the armored woman to herself.

She took a glance at the city, and then at her men, all strewn about the field. Finally, she retreated, taking his advice without asking any more questions.

A few moments passed and Laruse took Cecil to a secluded spot at a nearby forest by the border of Harrick, letting the two cargo drivers deliver their cargo to the city while the two of them did something about their captives which they bound with a rope.

"Are you sure that it's safe to have them near us? I know you defeated them and all, but I just have a feeling that it might be worse," Cecil said, staring at the two sleeping twins in fear, hiding behind Laruse, who was trying to figure out what to do with them.

"If we leave them here, then they'll do something to get revenge for sure. I don't think this haughty lady would let me trounce her pride. Hmm, can you seal them?" he asked, holding his chin.

"I'm not that strong to seal them, but I might be able to do something about their powers for a short period of time. Sorry," she frowned.

"That's alright. It's more than enough for me. Actually, now that you think of it, I may have a plan," he ruffled her hair as he looked at the two, their eyes twitching, indicating that they were about to wake up at any moment.

"Cecil, be ready to cast the spell on them once I tell you to."

"Okay, I'll be ready, she said, holding her hands out towards the two, whose eyes opened, blinking to adjust to their sights.

"W-where am I? Elle? Are you here? Where is that ugly man?"

"Yes, I am. We seem to have been caught by him," she responded rather calmly, not doing anything about their state.

"Before you do anything about that rope, which I doubt will hold you back at all, I'll warn you. Go back to where you came from and never harm the people here, including us."

"Huh? And why should I follow a lowly order of a lowly human like you? That victory of yours was due only to luck, and I would be able to defeat you successfully this time," she turned her head away from him, snickering at his order.

"I know a bit about disciples, and the fact that they are demons, which are weak to specific types of spells," his tone changed, unnerving the two slightly.

"What are you talking about? Nonsense. There is nothing you humans can do against us. The only reason as to why you are still alive right now is because I am resting my fatigued body," Lis responded again, a bit grumpier than last time.

"Then I'll ask again. Do as I say, or I'll seal your powers and you. It'll be painful and excruciating for sure. So are you up for that?" he spoke with a loud, strong, and compelling voice, one that shook both of them, bending them to his will.

The two looked at each other, deciding whether they should do as he says, or stay stubborn.

(Man, I thought I did a pretty great job. It seems that they're not convinced. Might as well try out my second plan), he thought to himself, walking forward imposingly towards the two, then kneeling in front of them.

"W-what do you want now?!" Lis asked in agitation, unable to control her strength and do anything about Laruse and his stern gaze.

"I'm a human. So that means I have needs. I'm holding myself back right now from just pouncing you and... you know what comes next. That’ll be more excruciating than being sealed. You'll wished that you would've just begged for me to seal you, or follow what I say. So, what'll it be?" he gazes deeper into their eyes, inciting fear that ironically terrified two demons.

He held Elle's chin, making her shoulders twitch at the sensation of being touched and looked down upon dominantly.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! Get your dirty peasant hands away from her at once!" she yelled out, responding just as how Laruse wanted her to.

"If I make one of you my woman, then it'll be easier for me to order you around. So, what'll it be?" they both made eye contact, and her breath could be felt by him, getting hotter by the second, seemingly not resisting with Laruse's methods.

(I'm dead if this doesn't work. I'm all out of options, plus I'm tired. Even putting on a tough face without much reason is a challenge), he said in inside his head, chaotic and constantly on edge.

"Fine! We'll leave! Just let us go!" she shouted at him, making him back away suddenly.

Reaching an agreement, he untied the rope and allowed them to flee with a flutter of their dresses, disappearing within the forest and from Cecil's and Laruse's sight.

"I'm glad that worked out, don't you think so too, Cecil?" he looked behind him, seeing his companion jittering as he looked at her.

"What's wrong?"

"You're really going back to who you were, huh? A crazed maniac that women, even demons feared. I don't know what to feel around you anymore."

"Oh, quit overreacting. I had to do what I could, otherwise they could've killed us. And what do you mean by a crazed maniac? I'm nothing like that."

"Sure, sure. That's what you usually said back then. Just don't do that to me, I'm a pure maiden just trying to live her life with a crazed menace to women," she added, unimpressed and a bit disguised by him.

"Let's just get back to the city and forget about this, can we?" he pleaded, walking back to the direction they came from, leaving Cecil a few meters behind as to not bother him with her teasing.

Meanwhile, a distance away from inside the forest, there were two walking figures that wore dark, tattered gowns, and had scarlet hair.

"Argh! I can't believe I lost to that inferior human again! And what's more, we were humiliated in front of more lowly humans!" Lis said in aggravation, scowling and seething with anger as she thought about him.

"Next time, I won't be as lenient against him! Next time, I will kill that man and send him into the afterlife, no, I'll curse his soul and he'll be lost for eternity! That's what I'll do!" she continued.

"Elle, aren't you angry about what he did to you?! That brute threatened you. Don't you want to take revenge as well?" she asked her sister, who walked alongside her absent-minded, staring off into the distance.

"Hey, do you even hear what I'm saying?" she started poking her with her finger, finally catching her attention.

"Oh, you were saying something about revenge?" she said aloofly.

"Yes. When we return to the master's mansion, I will ask him to train us both, then we will kill him once and for all. Aren't you angry at all at him?! He touched you and threatened you into being his woman, that lowly human."

"Well, I guess, if that's what you want. He doesn't seem that bad. After all, he let us live. Other humans would have killed us without hesitation. But he knew that we were demons, and spared us. And the master is scary. I don't want to train under him. Just serving him terrifies me," she said in her usual calm and collected demeanor.

"What do you mean by that? It doesn't matter if he spared us. Not only defeating and sparing us proves that he is mocking our pride... not that I prefer dying over living. We share the same hatred against him, that should be more than enough motivation."

"Fine, if that means I'll get to see him again. He seemed nice, so he might not be that bad against demons," she said smiling a bit.

"Elle, Demons cannot coexist with humans. That has been the fact ever since the previous two demon kings fought against the humans and the heroes. Demon King Meirix tried to calm the demons and declare peace with the humans, but failed. That was why it was chaotic all across the realm. Then the new demon king came and pacified everyone under his reign, establishing the demon's dominance once more, even stronger than the previous three kings. No human will ever think of befriending a demon after all that, let alone that lowly human!"

"We never got his name, but we gave him ours."

"It makes my skin shiver the mere thought of that human walking around with the knowledge of our name. I will return for him, that I swear!"

"... Okay. But wait, Lis. Who is the current Demon King anyway? Everyone should know who he or she is, but no one does," Elle wondered, changing the subject for a while.

"Hmm, now that you ask, no one really knows the identity of the new Demon King. All everyone in the realm knows about is that he became Demon King Meirix's lover, and she chose him as her successor. No one knows who he was as well and why she chose him, but all they know is that he became the new King after she passed away, becoming an advocate of conquest and destruction against the human realm. A surprising turn of events seeing as the one he loved wanted peace with the humans."

"How mysterious. But with how things are going with the realm, it seems that everyone is unified in their intentions to take over the entire continent. They might just succeed on this attempt; given that they don't have a hero to protect them anymore. I wonder why?"

"Not even I know of the matters happening in the human realm, Elle. Not that I have any interest as to what the lowly humans are up to. Let us just return. We might get scolded by the master again. I would rather not get in his bad side," Lis quickened in her pace, opting Elle to follow her pace.

"Lis! Wait!" Elle called out, frantically chasing her sister.