“Get the hell out of here,” Nathan said coldly.
“Eh?” Ryuuki’s smile faltered, replaced by confusion as he tried to process the abrupt hostility.
Nathan’s golden eye began to glow with a dark, ominous light, his patience quickly unraveling.
“Or else, I’ll kill all of you.”
Nathan’s words hung in the air, a chilling threat that sent shivers down the spines of everyone present. His voice carried a weight that was impossible to ignore, cold and devoid of any hint of deceit. It was as if the very air around them had thickened, heavy with the promise of violence.
No one doubted the sincerity of his words; there was no mirth in his eyes, no quirk of the lips that suggested a bluff. The menace in his tone was unmistakable, a declaration that left no room for doubt.
For a moment, silence reigned, each person grappling with the stark reality of his threat. It wasn’t just the words that struck fear into their hearts, but the absolute certainty that Nathan would follow through without hesitation. The atmosphere was suffocating, tension mounting with every passing second.
Ryuuki was the first to recover, his shock giving way to a desperate need to defuse the situation. His voice trembled slightly as he spoke, trying to inject a sense of camaraderie into his words. “W… wait, we’re both from Earth. We don’t have to fight at all. We should be allies, working together to find a way back home.
The Demon King is the real enemy here—you must know that?”
As Ryuuki’s words filled the room, Nathan’s gaze shifted to him, scrutinizing him with an intensity that was unsettling. At first glance, Ryuuki seemed to embody the very image of a hero—strong, confident, a natural leader among his classmates. There was something familiar about him, a quality that reminded Nathan of Jason.
But where Jason’s righteousness had often felt like a mask, hiding a more self-serving nature, Ryuuki’s concern seemed genuine. He wasn’t just playing the role of the good guy; he truly believed in what he was saying.
Nathan found it intriguing. The ability to communicate so easily, despite their different backgrounds and languages, was something that had puzzled him since they had been summoned to this world. He knew he was speaking English, yet everyone around him understood perfectly, and when Ryuuki spoke, it sounded like English too, though with a strange undercurrent that hinted at its Japanese origins.
It was as if the summoning had gifted them with a universal understanding, allowing them to bypass the barriers of language entirely.
Ryuuki pressed on, his tone growing more earnest as he tried to reason with Nathan. “I think the demons have fed you a lot of lies. They are the enemies. The Demon King has terrorized and killed millions of innocent people. He’s a monster, responsible for so much suffering. The demons are the ones we need to fight.”
Semiramis, who had been silent until now, stepped forward, her face twisted with anger. Her voice was sharp, cutting through the tension like a blade. “That’s all in the past! We’ve sought peace countless times, begged for an end to this senseless war, but you refused to listen. You kept attacking, forcing us to defend ourselves! How many years has it been since we last invaded any of your countries?
Now you’re doing to us what you accused us of doing to you!”
Kazuto, still visibly shaken by Nathan’s earlier threat, adjusted his glasses awkwardly, trying to regain some semblance of composure. His voice, though less steady than Ryuuki’s, carried a note of resignation. “Unfortunately, the damage is done. You can’t expect the nations your King terrorized to simply forget everything. They hold grudges, and they have every right to.”
“We aren’t asking for forgiveness! We just want peace! Why do you insist on fighting when we’re offering peace? Isn’t that what any reasonable person would want?” Semiramis’s voice was sharp, laced with a frustration that bordered on desperation.
Kazuto, who had been grappling with his own fears, found himself silenced by her words. He knew, deep down, that she had a point. The idea of more bloodshed made his stomach churn; it was the last thing he wanted. Yet, despite his personal desire for peace, he couldn’t shake the gnawing fear that the Demon King was too dangerous to be left unchecked.
The stories they had heard, the atrocities they had witnessed—how could they trust that the Demon King wouldn’t strike again without warning? He was a ticking time bomb, one that could explode at any moment, bringing unimaginable devastation.
Ryuuki, however, remained resolute, shaking his head slowly as if trying to shake off the mounting tension. “We want peace too,” he began, his tone measured, “but peace comes with conditions. Hand over the Demon King. He must be executed. And the Hero of Darkness can’t remain in your country any longer. Only then can we begin to discuss peace.”
Ryuuki’s proposal was, in his eyes, a fair one—a reasonable compromise that would satisfy the demands of justice while paving the way for reconciliation. He wasn’t asking for anything excessive or unreasonable. From his perspective, it was a straightforward solution to a complex problem, one that would allow them to move forward without the looming threat of the Demon King.
‘Naive and idiot.’
But to Nathan, Ryuuki’s words were nothing more than naive idealism. A fool’s errand. They had spent a year in this world, and during an even shorter time, Nathan had come to understand the deep-seated hatred that the other nations harbored for the demons. Ryuuki, despite his good intentions, seemed oblivious to the harsh reality of their situation.
If word got out that the Demon King was powerless or captured, the other kingdoms would seize the opportunity to unite against Tenebria, reducing it to ashes in their pursuit of vengeance. The demons would be enslaved without mercy, their kingdom torn apart, and its people, including those like Azariah and Ameriah, would face a fate far worse than death.
The Empire of Light would be the first to lead the charge, and no amount of diplomatic reasoning from Ryuuki would change the minds of the Gods or the people of Kastoria.
Semiramis understood this reality all too well. “You don’t understand,” she retorted, her voice edged with exasperation. “If we do that, we’ll be defenseless against all the other kingdoms!”
Before she could say more, Nathan raised his hand, a silent command that halted her words. His expression was cold, devoid of any sympathy. “Don’t waste your breath on these idiots,” he said, his voice flat. His gaze swept over them, a chilling reminder of the threat he had made earlier. “Now, do I have to repeat myself? Leave, or your precious classmates will die.”
Yumiko, emboldened by a mix of fear and indignation, glared at Nathan, her voice trembling slightly as she spoke. “Aren’t you an earthling like us? How can you even think about killing us? What happened to your morals?”
Nathan’s eyes shifted to her, and in that moment, the fire in Yumiko’s glare began to falter. She could feel the weight of his gaze, the cold detachment that chilled her resolve.
“Morals?” Nathan echoed, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. “In this world? What do you know about morals here? You’ve probably killed demons too, haven’t you? What difference does it make? Just because they have horns, does that make them any less human than you?
They’re living beings, just like you—capable of feeling emotions, of love, of pain. They are just as worthy as any human, and in my experience, far better than the so-called ‘humans’ I’ve encountered in this world.”
His words were not just a defense, but a truth he had come to hold dear. He wasn’t speaking in the heat of the moment or trying to justify his actions; these were his genuine beliefs. In Uteska and Tenebria, Nathan had witnessed the demons’ lives, their strength, their resilience.
They were nothing like the tyrants and warmongers who ruled the human realms, who manipulated and destroyed without a second thought. To Nathan, the demons were not monsters to be feared, but beings who deserved as much respect as any innocent humans who had shown him more humanity than any emperor or divine knight ever had.
Nathan’s words reverberated through the group of demons standing behind him, their impact palpable. Semiramis, Kratos, and Megara, who had just regained their strength thanks to Medea, were visibly shaken. Even the other Demon Knights, who were hardened by countless battles, found themselves moved by what Nathan had said.
His words were not merely a defense of their existence but a genuine declaration of his beliefs. Despite being human, he had spoken without bias, viewing them as equals rather than the monsters most humans believed them to be.
Up until now, the demons had held Samael in high regard for his strength and leadership. But now, something deeper stirred within them. Nathan’s willingness to see them as more than just adversaries, to consider their humanity despite the differences in their origins, earned him a place not just in their minds but in their hearts as well.
He wasn’t merely an ally by circumstance—he was someone who saw the world as they did, through the lens of shared experience and mutual respect.
On the other side of the confrontation, Ryuuki and his classmates were equally shaken, but for entirely different reasons. They couldn’t fathom why Nathan, a fellow human from Earth, would choose to align himself with the demons. His thoughts and actions were so far removed from what they believed was right that it left them stunned.
The idea that someone from their world, from their own species, could think so differently was almost incomprehensible to them.
Yusuke, always quick to anger, broke the silence first. His voice was filled with rage as he glared at Nathan. “Why are we even discussing this with him? Let’s just kill him like we did with the others!” His words dripped with venom, his patience clearly worn thin. Yusuke had recovered enough from the earlier shock, and now, his frustration boiled over.
Nathan wasn’t just a nuisance—he was a threat that needed to be eliminated. It was clearly a personal grudge having his pride wounded for being scared of him.
“But…” Ryuuki hesitated, his conscience warring with the situation at hand. Nathan was from Earth, just like them. Was it really right to kill someone who had once been one of their own?
Sensing his hesitation, Yumiko tightened her grip on Ryuuki’s arm, her voice soft but firm. “Ryuuki-kun… we don’t have a choice. He said it himself—he’s going to kill us. We can’t afford to hold back.”
Kazuto, usually calm and rational, nodded in agreement. “I’m with Yumiko-san, Ryuuki-kun. We have to protect ourselves.” His voice carried a note of resignation, as though he didn’t want to admit what needed to be done but knew it was inevitable.
Ayaka and Akane remained silent, but their expressions were unreadable. However, it was clear from their tense postures that they had already made their decision. The moment they saw Nathan standing alongside the demons, any doubt they might have had evaporated. He might have been from Earth, but in their eyes, he had betrayed them the moment he chose to ally with the enemy.
A human who could so easily turn against his own kind was too dangerous to leave alive.
Nathan, observing the shift in their stances, understood their intent without needing words. Their glares were filled with a murderous resolve, their hesitation gone. “So, you’re staying then?” he asked, though the question was rhetorical. He had seen the decision in their eyes.
“I warned you,” he continued, his voice devoid of any remaining warmth. Nathan had no desire to drag this out. In truth, he would have attacked them without a second thought under different circumstances. The only reason he had given them this brief reprieve was because of Ayaka and Akane. Despite everything, he didn’t want to harm his former stepsisters.
But their classmates were another matter entirely.
“Don’t regret what is about to happen.”