Published: March 21, 2026
"We demons live on a barren land farther north than the continents of the other races. Food doesn't grow, so people die of starvation — it's not a particularly blessed place, the Volcano Continent. The Demon King's Castle where I grew up is clean and well-managed, so I hardly ever got sick, but once you leave the castle the outside isn't very nice. I hear it used to be different, but the first generation hero's attack blew up the northern half, and all the documents and knowledgeable people that were there disappeared along with it."
I couldn't help but frown at hearing about the Demon Clan territory for the first time. There was clearly a civilization gap with the other races — maybe because civilization had collapsed once.
I didn't know what the first generation hero did to blow up the northern half, but unlike Adrea where a city relocated, it seemed everything that had been there — the civilization, everything — had been blown away. Darion had said he came to kill the hero before entering the continent, but perhaps this was why.
"The Demon King is my father. My mother was killed by a Human who admired heroes when I was little."
The air froze at Reytis Nail's words, and I realized I'd heard this story somewhere before.
I think I heard it while rushing down the Brute Labyrinth to rescue Amelia, who had been kidnapped in the Beastmen territory — I heard it from Yoru's back. Yoru said it was about a Demon King several generations ago, but maybe it was about the current Demon King. A Demon King who hated conflict and tried to make peace treaties with other races, only to have some fool kill his wife.
Ria, who had also heard that tale from Yoru's back, stiffened and looked at Yoru.
Yoru looked somehow confused, her mouth opening and closing.
"That... is a story from a few generations ago. The demon lord..."
"That's a lie. At that time my father wasn't the Demon King at all. If you notice what's inside you, you'll understand why the lie was told, right?"
They were saying something only the two of them understood, so I was completely left behind. From context, it seemed the Demon King taught Yoru a false story because of something inside Yoru.
Leaving Yoru in the center of that confusion, Reytis Nail resumed speaking.
It was helpful for us, but they would need time later to talk among themselves.
"To be honest, I never really thought of my father as my parent. After my mother was killed when I was little, my father shut himself away, so I was raised by my father's older brother — my uncle."
"You know him well, I'm sure," Reytis Nail added, and we exchanged looks, puzzled.
Noah, Crow, Mr. Zeal, and Amelia apparently knew him; they looked at me with surprised expressions at my confusion.
The first demons I met were Aurum Trace, then Mahiro, and then Reytis Nail. But Reytis Nail said he knew us — which meant he had seen us before I was forced from the castle under false accusations, or after we met in Beastmen territory. I had no clue.
"Huh? You were summoned at Reytis Castle, right? I heard you were the knight commander there," Reytis Nail said.
There was only one person who could be called the knight commander of Reytis Castle.
The one called the "last bastion," clad in pure white armor. My teacher who died before our eyes. Even now I can picture him happily teaching me so many things.
A hiss escaped my throat.
"...Commander Saran was a demon?"
"Really? You didn't know?"
Now that I thought about it, the first time I used the world eye was in the second Cantinen Labyrinth. I never used it back at Reytis Castle, so I never saw Commander Saran's status.
But so what if Commander Saran was a demon? I've heard magical power capacity correlates with lifespan, and if his appearance didn't match his true age, that would explain his knowledge.
Still, why was I so shocked?
"I thought Commander Saran had told Akira-kun," Noah said.
"Me too," Mr. Zeal agreed.
"Wait. When I mentioned Commander Saran's name in the Cantinen Labyrinth, Amelia and Yoru made a strange face because they already knew he was a demon?" I asked.