Chapter 11

Belial continued to approach the terrified assassin. If the assassin could, he would have tried to stand up and escape from the presence of the young man. However, he couldn't do that because his legs refused to cooperate and continued to tremble.

'Will my life end here...?'

With that thought crossing his mind, he began to reminisce about his past. From his orphaned childhood to growing up and becoming an assassin under the guidance of Queen Dotorea. He recalled it all while a tear started to stream down from the corner of his eye.

However...

"Stand up. As I said before, we are all friends now, so there's no need to be afraid. I won't hurt you or kill you."

The assassin's fear diminished slightly, and he immediately stood up upon hearing Belial's words.

It was true that Belial had previously stated that they were all 'friends' from now on, but the young man seemed to have a different intention behind his words.

"Do you not believe me?"

Belial smiled and reached for the assassin's shoulder, whispering to him.

"Do you want me to kill you?"

His tone was cold, and it sent a shiver down the assassin's spine, reigniting his fear.

"N-No, I believe you. I'm sorry..."

Although he was terrified of Belial, the assassin still managed to respond to the young man's words because... he didn't want to die!

"Good."

Belial turned his body around, still embracing Celestia like a princess, and approached the Queen, who appeared somewhat frightened.

He briefly thought that the young man wanted to kill his assassin, but apparently not. And because an Elf's ears have sharp hearing, he heard everything that the young man said to his assassin.

'That human threatened him...!'

The Queen didn't dare express those words and only screamed them in her mind. Although she was strong, she still didn't know if she could win if she fought against the terrifyingly powerful human. Although she was curious about it, the Queen didn't dare to try.

"In that case, Queen... I want you to escort me to your kingdom."

Belial didn't know the name of the woman in front of him, so he simply called her Queen.

"O-Okay..."

Queen Dotorea couldn't refuse or avoid this human's request. Perhaps if she refused, she would be killed instantly.

"All of you, we're going home!"

Despite the fear within her, she commanded her entourage with grace and firmness. As you already know, the entourage consisted of Orchalcum Adventurers, Glorieux Kingdom Knights, and Magic Casters from the Tower of Spirit Magic in Glorieux Kingdom.

"Very well!"

They all immediately rose. They were behaving like that because they had previously been suppressed by Belial's power until they were weakened, but now they no longer felt that.

The Queen also didn't forget to awaken the knights who were accompanying Celestia, including the Captain among them.

"Phew, luckily they're all fine."

The Queen immediately felt relieved after seeing the knights beginning to wake up, realizing that they only had a few bruises and bruises from punches, without any sword or sharp weapon wounds.

Yes, Belial also only wanted to beat them all up, with no intention to kill them.

"Ugh..."

One of the knights who woke up first was the Captain, followed by the others after he regained consciousness.

As they fully regained their senses, they saw their Queen in front of them, wearing a worried expression on her face.

"Your Majesty? Why are you here? And where is the humanoid monster from earlier?"

Uttering the last sentence, the Captain, representing everyone's question, shuddered, remembering their previous battle.

Queen Dotorea shook her head and gave a bitter smile upon hearing that, unsure how to answer the Captain's question. She then turned to Belial, who was standing behind her.

"Who are you calling a humanoid monster, huh? I am fully human, you know?"

Belial looked at the Dark Elf Captain with a hint of annoyance. It was true that he was previously a monster, or more precisely, a demon, but that was in the past, when he was still in Gehenna.

"Hiiik!"

The Dark Elf Captain, who was still sitting on the ground, quickly moved back upon seeing Belial. It seemed that he was still traumatized by the young man's face.

"Calm down, Captain. This human... this gentleman is now on our side."

Queen Dotorea tried to reassure him. She also didn't know the young man's name, so she used 'gentleman' to refer to him.

"What?! A-are you joking? How could a monster..."

Before the Captain could finish his sentence, Belial cut him off.

"Stop it, or do you want me to hit you again?"

He clenched his fist and showed it to the Captain.

"No, no, I'm sorry!"

Seeing Belial's fist, the Captain quickly shook his head while raising both of his hands. He didn't want to experience the punch that nearly killed him again.

"Alright, that's enough. We're going back now, Captain."

Queen Dotorea spoke again and stood up. She glanced briefly at Belial and then looked at Celestia.

As for the Captain, he quickly got up and moved away from Belial. He seemed to have no concern for Celestia in Belial's embrace. He was only concerned about himself at the moment.

"What's wrong?"

Feeling the gaze from the Elf Queen, Belial felt uncomfortable. Even though the Queen was only looking at Celestia whom he was holding, it still made him slightly uneasy.

"Ah, it's nothing."

The Queen put on her helmet and immediately mounted the unicorn-like creature without wings. She, along with her entourage, began to prepare to leave for their kingdom.

Belial followed them. He didn't know what the Queen's intent was when she looked at Celestia like that, but he would remain vigilant about what would happen in the future. He also briefly thought about Celestia's memories, which made him feel a little sympathy for the Elf girl.

"But his past is not my concern. So, whatever."

With that thought in mind, he suddenly leaped onto the Elf Queen's mount, which was nearby. He didn't want to walk, so casually and without asking for permission, he sat directly behind the Elf Queen, carrying Celestia on his shoulder.

"Kyaa! What are you doing?!"

Queen Dotorea was startled beneath her helmet. She truly didn't expect this.

"Don't mind me. Just continue your journey."

Nonchalantly, Belial said that.

"There's no way I won't mind a man sitting behind me! I'm still young and unmarried!"

Queen Dotorea wanted to hit him, but considering the power and terror of the young man, she reconsidered her intention.

"Hah, you really need to be taught some manners."

Queen Dotorea muttered as quietly as possible, so as not to be heard by the young man.

But...

"What did you say?"

Belial furrowed his brow. The murmuring of the Elf Queen reached his ears, and he became slightly annoyed.

"I didn't say anything, Sir. Perhaps you misheard."

The tone of Queen Dotorea's voice sounded pleading. She was trying to evade.

"Tch, suit yourself."

Though Belial was slightly irritated, he immediately disregarded the Elf Queen's tone of voice.

Queen Dotorea smiled beneath her helmet and continued to control her mount. Whatever was going on in her mind about Belial, only she knew.

In the end, they all continued their journey towards Glorieux Kingdom. With Belial, Celestia, the Elf Queen, the adventurers, the knights, and the magic casters. Their entourage continued to traverse the vast Megálos Forest.