Came Knocking

As the morning came, the rain had finally passed them by. The sun shone with brightness and warmth as it greeted those who welcomed the dawn of a new day.

Gathered at the chapel, Maria and the orphans offered up a prayer to Remigia, the Goddess of Creation and the mother of the gods. It was unknown what the others were praying for, but for Theodore, prayers seemed so empty. His greatest wish was to lead a life not too different from anyone else. Rather than bearing the burden of becoming a Demon Lord, he'd much rather a quieter life.

Prayed as he might, however, his desires were not to be. The moment he was touched by the Demon Lord's Aether, there was no turning back.

With the session concluded, they proceeded to breakfast. As the orphans began to eat, Maria decided to bring a portion to the demonkin they had taken in the day prior.

"I'll bring it!"

Raising his hand, it was Theodore who offered his help.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Maria turned him down. "Just sit and eat. This is no trouble."

"No, I think we should go with you, just in case."

The one speaking up next was Lucas. Turning his gaze to his side, his eyes met with Edwin's, who subtle nodded in agreement.

It was then decided that the three of them would go. Watching them disappear into the back, the younger trio simultaneously decided that they too would follow.

"We won't get into trouble, right?" asked Lina.

"They didn't tell us to stay, so it's fine," Theodore replied. "If you want to stay behind, that's fine too."

"No way, I have to watch out for you two in case something happens!"

Shrugging at Lina's words, Theodore took the lead while the other two tagged behind.

Quietly arriving before Eliza's room, the younger trio poked their little heads around the opened door. There, they saw the most shocking sight. The demonkin that was barely conscious when they brought him in was wolfing down the food handed to him with a fervor previously unimaginable in his state.

(Impressive...)

Even Theodore, who had secretly healed the demonkin's wounds the previous night, was astonished. After all, he had only healed the wounds. The loss of blood and vitality was not something he could easily fix at the time. It goes to show that this demonkin had far greater healing capabilities than most.

Regardless, it was good news, as it meant that the demonkin could leave as soon as possible.

***

After finishing breakfast, they gathered in the kitchen. The demonkin was up and walking, a picture of good health. He was granted Lucas's spare clothes and some food to have on his way. Rather than the front door, it was decided that it would be best if he left from the back door connected to the kitchen.

"Thank you..." said the demonkin as he cast a mystifying gaze towards the people gathered to see him off. He must not have expected this kind of treatment from humans.

Lastly, his gaze fell upon Theodore, lingering for a moment before shifting away. That gaze gave Theodore a bad feeling. He wondered if he had been caught. Few knew of the method with which the Demon Lord resurrects, so there's not much of a possibility that he had been seen through. Even so, he wanted to keep up the guise of being a relatively normal child for as long as possible. Hopefully, once this demonkin leaves, they'll never see him again.

Just as they were about to send him away, a knock came from the front door. For some reason, there was a significant weight behind the knocking, causing a heavy air to loom as the dull sound traveled across the temple.

"You all wait here. I'll go get it," said Maria as she headed off to the front.

But even as she said so, Lucas was quick to follow. With a sense of foreboding rising from the pit of his stomach, Theodore as well, followed suit, leaving the confounded Fio and Lina behind.

Upon answering the door, a peculiar pair of armored men were found standing before it.

"Good morning madam," one of the two greeted politely. He was a man in his thirties with a fine mustache atop his chapped lips. "We're sorry to have bothered you on this fine day, but have you seen anything out of the ordinary recently."

"Cut the crap, we've hardly the time," rebuked the younger man standing slightly behind. With his hair blonde and wearing a bowl cut, the younger man looked no older than Lucas. "We have heard reports that a demonkin had been taken in by this temple. Hand it over or face judgment by the Paladins of Eustia."

Right behind Lucas and Maria was Theodore, frowning upon hearing the mentions of the Paladins. They were an existence that was a thorn to the Demon Lord's side in the past.

"I- I am afraid that we have no such person here," said Maria, trying to keep her calm with all of her might. "You're free to look around if you don't believe me, however."

Counting on the fact that the demonkin ought to already be on his way out of town, Maria invited the paladins inside, hoping to stall them by letting them search for that which was there no longer.

As she led them in, walking past Theodore and Lucas, a figure rushed out from the back. The figure had a horn on his head and skin in a dark shade of blue, his eyes catching a glimpse of the paladins at the door.

Surprised at the sudden and untimely appearance of the demonkin, Maria was stunned for a moment, her eyes wide, not quite sure what to make of the situation. It was in that moment of shock, that the demonkin grabbed ahold of her and pressed a cold dagger against her neck.

"Don't come any closer!" the demonkin shouted as he dragged Maria to the side.

Immediately after, again from the back of the temple, another armored man came running with Edwin, Fio, and Lina right behind him. He too appeared to be a paladin. It would seem that they've had the place surrounded from the start.

"Halt, don't do anything rash!" said the third paladin, his face broad and clean-shaven, his dark brown hair cut short and neat. "There's no need for anyone to get hurt! We can talk about this!"

"I said stay back!" the demonkin bellowed as he became progressively more agitated, pulling back with Maria in his grasp till he hit a wall behind him. "You humans slaughtered everyone! Everyone I knew, you killed them without mercy! The time for talk is long over!"

In horror, the orphans watched on, the air felt so stiff that it was difficult for them to utter a single word, not that their words would have helped the situation. Theodore especially was frozen in place, his mind racing to find a solution as cold sweat ran down his back. In the back of his head, he regretted deeply about healing the demonkin. If he had known that this would happen, it would have been better to just let him remain injured so that the paladins can take him without resistance.

"Foul creature, you will not escape judgment!"

Before anyone could take action, the blonde paladin stepped forward, shouting with indignation.

"Johannes, silence! Don't provoke him!" The third paladin tried to stop the blonde one from escalating the situation further.

"You and your kind deserved a thousand deaths," but the blonde paladin wasn't listening and kept talking. "That you were born is the greatest sin against this world."

"You..." So enraged he was at the blonde paladin's, words, the demonkin was speechless. Instead, veins could be visibly seen bulging on his face and his dark blue complexion was getting darker by the moment.

"Shit!" the third paladin cried out. "Quickly, get the children out of here."

Theodore had noticed it as well. The Aether within the demonkin was surfacing over his body, swirling around him as if a raging storm.

Then, without warning, it all became calm. No one yet understood what had happened, none aside for the paladins and Theodore who possessed exception awareness. And having realized what just happened, Theodore felt his blood run cold.

With a silver flash, the blonde paladin closed in on the demonkin with unnatural speed and plunged his sword into him, right through Maria, skewering her and the demonkin both. With another quick movement, the blonde paladin extracted his blade from the bodies, both falling limply onto the floor as blood flowed from their wounds. As Maria fell to the floor, her expression blank, Johannes beheaded the demonkin where he stood.

Theodore couldn't quite remember what happened afterwards, but by the time he realized it, he was already kneeling in front of Maria's body, his knees soaked in her blood.

***

End of Chapter 9

***