The sounds of swords clashing filled the air, followed by the crisp footsteps of shoes with hard soles. The sound of the footsteps walking through the hallway overshadowed that of the swords.
But as they approached the room where the clashing swords could be heard, the sound of the swords started getting louder.
Finally, the person walking arrived at the door of the room. She was a beautiful lady, not more than sixteen, with white hair and silver eyes.
She was dressed in black combat body armor and carried a fine sword on her back. She pushed open the door and walked into the room.
It was an arena, with two fighters battling at the center. One was a bald boy dressed like a monk and using a metal spear, and the other was a boy wielding two swords. He had black hair and a cold expression on his face.
The lady didn’t say anything as she walked to the seats and sat down. She didn’t do anything for a while, but then the monk spoke while parrying an attack.
“There is no way you’re here just to watch us, Meg. What brought you here?” he asked.
“I wanted to ignore her for as long as possible, but you just had to talk,” the black-haired boy said and went in for a double slash.
The monk flipped in the air and dodged the attack. He stabbed his spear into the ground, stood on the base, and then flipped off it while simultaneously pulling the spear out.
“If I had left her, she would’ve watched for a long time and then interfered with our sparring,” the monk said and went in for a stab.
The black-haired boy sighed and blocked the attack, pushing the spear back. “Fine, that’s true,” he said.
Meg allowed them to finish speaking and then she spoke.
“An issue arose in the Empire and the Holy Kingdom some time ago, and it has become a matter of serious deliberation,” she said.
“And how does that concern us?” the black-haired boy said as he went in for a multiple-slash combo, but the monk blocked all of them.
“Well, it does concern us because even the heroes were informed about the matter, and they considered it worth their attention,” Meg said.
“The heroes? Then this must be serious. Tell us more about it,” the monk said. He was about to attack, but then Meg spoke.
“It has to do with a Demon King candidate taking over a kingdom in human territory.”
Immediately, they stopped their fight and turned to face her.
“What did you say?” the monk asked.
“Well, a Demon King candidate has taken an entire kingdom. He destroyed their armies, killed the king, ruined the whole place, and is now rebuilding it as a mixed-race kingdom—filled with beasts, demi-beasts, and the humans who decided to stay with him,” she said.
“That is vile, to force people to coexist with lower life forms,” the black-haired boy said.
“The question is, who could make a Demon King rise over a kingdom? The blessings and curses won’t happen for a whole year,” the monk said.
“Well, you see, according to what I’ve heard, he’s not the normal Demon King candidate. He possesses immense strength and resources. Read latest stories on
He has powerful followers as well. He is considered an A-rank threat, while most of the other Demon King candidates are considered C-ranks, except for the elf, who is B-ranked, almost A-ranked,” Meg said.
“Hmm, why was the elf B-ranked again? She’s not as strong as the others from what I’ve seen,” the monk asked.
“Yes, she may not be the strongest, but that’s only on the surface. There’s a reason she’s ranked that high, and it’s simple. The Yggdrasil tree, also known as the World Tree, is located at the center of the elf empire.
It is the greatest treasure of the elves and something they all love and, to an extent, worship.
It’s truly like a god because within the World Tree is a spirit—the greatest spirit. A spirit that didn’t walk the path of other spirits but rather became the source of life for the tree.
That spirit is born with the tree and grows with the tree. It is the tree.
But that spirit must have a vessel aside from the tree, and that vessel is chosen. The vessel allows the tree to see the world and learn new things to help the elves.
That elf is currently the Demon King candidate. The reason she has a higher risk rating is because she carries the spirit of the tree within her, and if she releases its power, it will be catastrophic.
However, we don’t know the extent of her power. She might be super strong or not all that strong, so they allowed her to stay in the B ranks.
But as for the one who took the kingdom, he’s already graded based on the information we have on him, and we can say for sure that he is really strong and has enough influence,” Meg said.
“Well, that’s a lot of information. So, what do they want to do about this Demon King candidate? We can’t let him take a whole kingdom for himself,” the black-haired boy said.
“For now, they can’t rush into action. They have to discuss with the Demon Kings first and try to get them to make him withdraw from their lands.
If they move without the consent of the Demon Kings, it will be considered a declaration of war, and the Demon-Hero War will officially start for this generation.
But that is all beside the point, because we have our own task. According to what we’ve heard, the Demon King candidate might be keeping a Hero candidate in his lands, and we are to try and retrieve her.
If he refuses to let her go, it will be a declaration of war against us. So right now, we might be at the brink of a great war,” Meg said.
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[A thousand power stoned give an extra chapter]