Although it was small in size, because it was a village facing the trader's road, the residents of the village were not very wary of outsiders. As there were a lot of merchants who gave them money when they lent their houses, they tended to welcome them when someone visited the village. So even when they saw torch lights appearing from the other side of the village in the middle of the night, they were not wary and just thought it was another guest visiting.
But they were actually demon worshippers.
A few days ago, the King sent soldiers to catch Prince Sidhar, who had committed treason. Searching through the Western Hautean, the soldiers found the hideout for the demon worshippers and a fierce battle soon followed.
Unfortunately, most of the soldiers sent by the King were wiped out. A small number of surviving soldiers ran back the way they came to convey the news to the capital.
In a similar manner, the demon worshipper's hideout was not intact and suffered great damage. After thinking that they could no longer hide there, they split and took refuge. Some of them ended up in the village.
"W, what? Wha… Arrghhh!"
It was a dark night. The demon worshippers were originally those who had mainly been invading and looting. They did not have the option to rent any rooms with money. Dozens of demon worshippers began killing villagers with two black sorcerers at the lead. They were going to take away all the food and money in this village and run away.
"Demian."
But Demian and the wolves were in the village. All of the wolves were capable of dealing with demon worshippers and Demian was something of a natural enemy of black sorcerers.
They were sleeping in a group in the living room on the first floor. Even though they were in the village, they had never let their guards down. As soon as the first scream was heard, Demian woke up with his eyes wide open. The rest of the wolves also followed suit.
"Hush."
They went out one by one, taking only simple protective gear and weapons without saying anything. Four wolves guarded Lara's room. The rest ran out of the door after Demian.
"Gentlemen, hurry up and escape. The village is being invaded… Leave this place!"
The man who lent them the house appeared on a pony and warned them. The demon worshippers who invaded the village began looting. Screams could be heard here and there.
"Four of you follow Demian and deal with them. Two of you patrol around the house and stand guard. The rest will be fighting in the front here."
"Okay."
The wolves did not contemplate for a long time. They were all skillful in battle.
Demian was the first to take action. In his hand was the royal family's sword given by Princess Sonnet. A dazzling light emanated from the red jewel embedded in the sword's handle.
"Who are you?"
The demon worshippers, who had been looting freely, faltered in surprise at Demian and the wolves who had suddenly appeared with weapons.
Demian did not say anything. The same went for the wolves. The villagers, who gave them meals and a warm bed, were covered in blood and collapsed on the road. Some were dying, but most of them were dead.
"Just kill them all!"
They shouted.
'Yeah, there's no need for words on the battlefield.'
Demian swung his sword. He stood in the middle of the demon worshippers, even though he was definitely over here just a little while ago. Whenever he swung his sword, the demon worshippers screamed like crazy. Their limbs were cut off and blood splattered everywhere. Demian was a merciless grim reaper. Wherever he stood, everyone he touched died.
"This way!"
The wolves tried not to disturb Demian and chased after the rest of the demon worshippers. Soon the black sorcerers were found. Two black sorcerers were preparing their magic, muttering their spells with blood all over their bodies.
"Demian!"
The wolves called Demian out loud. Then, they threw all the weapons they were carrying at the black sorcerers to prevent them from completing their spells.
"The great lord of the demon realm, Valac of Blood!"
"Aarghhhh!"
After somehow dashing at an incredible speed toward one of the black sorcerers, Demian hit his neck and stopped his incantations. And with the other black sorcerer being caught by the wolves, the black magic that they were chanting was only half successful.
Even after being exposed to half-complete magic, Demian did not appear to have any scratches. He moved again to deal with the rest of the demon worshippers. Except for those who quickly fled far away, most of the attackers knelt before him.
"Damn it!"
The wolves who dealt with the black sorcerer got up. The surviving villagers grabbed their family's bodies and wailed.
"Heaven will punish you for this… You demon worshippers."
Someone muttered.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Lara was not sleeping deeply. She did fall asleep as soon as she had closed her eyes, but she was woken up by Konny's loud snoring.
'She must have been really tired.'
With the growling sound next to her ears, she could not sleep even though she was tired. Lara pulled up the blanket to prevent Konny from catching a cold.
At that time, an ear-splitting, desperate scream was heard outside. Lara got up in shock. Konny opened her eyes wide and looked at her, asking what had happened.
"Konny, did you close the window?"
"Yes, yes."
"The outer window?"
"Yes, I locked them all."
"Don't move from here."
"M, milady, where are you going?"
Konny hugged Lara's waist. She hung on her tightly, saying not to go out because it was dangerous.
"I won't. I'm just going to ask what's going on."
"I will ask for you!"
"It's better if I go."
Another scream was heard. This time, together with the sound of weapons clashing. There was no time to quarrel. As soon as Lara let go of Konny's hand and was about to go outside, the wolves' voices were heard outside the door.
"Milady, we're protecting you. Don't come out."
"What's going on?"
"The village is being attacked by demon worshippers."
"What about the villagers?"
"For now… Don't come out until we're finished outside."
So they're dead.
Lara got goosebumps on her forearms. Her heart beat fast and her feet staggered slightly.
"Milady."
"Konny, get me my clothes."
They quickly picked up their clothes. Then, they waited while feeling anxious. The time went by slowly. Whenever they heard someone screaming, Konny sniffled little by little. Her heart, which had been beating fast, was now about to hurt.
"Milady, you need to come outside."
"What's going on?"
The mercenaries called for Lara and she quickly went outside. She wondered if something had happened to someone, so her face was pale.
"We found the Prince."
"What?"
The Prince?
Lara doubted her ears for a moment.
"Prince Sidhar was among the demon worshippers."
Oh my God. Why is he here?
The wolves who read Lara's expression cursed on her behalf.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Lara once thought that she wanted to kill Prince Sidhar with her own hands. She thought that she would feel better if she could let go of the resentment in her heart even in such a cruel way. But she could not. It was not because she did not have the courage to kill him, but because those who loved her would be heartbroken. She came to think that there was no need to waste her life hating him.
When she heard that the Prince had run away and disappeared, she wanted him to leave far away and not appear in front of her at all for the rest of her life. She thought it would be nice if she could forget him forever without having to meet or hear any news about him.
But why are you appearing in front of me again?
"Why is the Prince here?"
Lara asked with a pale face. She could not let her voice come out properly.
Prince Sidhar was so miserable that it was hard to recognize him. His whole body was covered with blood, his hair was shaggy, and his body let out an unbearable stench. The wolves also said that they had no idea that he was the Prince at first. When they took him, they thought that they had seen his face somewhere.
The Prince barely opened his swollen eyes. Then he let out a groan while looking at Lara.
"Laviore!"
The Prince burst into tears and vomited blood. Dark red blood flowed nonstop. When Konny saw him, she let out a scream with a small voice.
Prince Sidhar was seriously injured. They did not know who did it to him but the Prince's body was full of traces of beating and abuse. There were old traces, and there were new wounds that had also just occurred.
"He might die if he's just left like this."
One of the mercenary wolves whispered in Lara's ears. Lara nodded slightly. Even in her eyes, Prince Sidhar's condition seemed serious.
"Send him to the capital.
Lara said firmly. She no longer wanted to kill the Prince herself, but she also did not want to treat him. She turned away from the Prince with a cold face.
"If there's a carriage or cart in the village, put him there and send him to the capital with the surviving villagers. So that His Majesty can punish him."
"He'll die on the way."
"It can't be helped then."
The wolves nodded silently. They also thought Lara's decision was right. Whatever the condition he was in now, Sidhar Hautean was a traitor and an immoral son. But at that time, Prince Sidhar, whom they thought had lost his consciousness, grinned and said.
"No, Laviore. If I die… You're all going to die too.."
Lara did not respond to him. She did not know what kind of lie he was spouting to deceive and use people. So she just tried to ignore him and turned around.
"He's in me. The lord of blood, Valac… Urgh!"
If the Prince had not brought up the demon's name, she would have never looked back. Lara stopped her steps.