Estyshana’s POV
   The Hero has been really annoying these days. He would openly flirt with her, and would never deny that they have some sort of irregular relationships if they were ever teased. The worst part is, Esty could tell that he’s not doing it to tease her. Rather, he’s just being honest.

   No. The real worst part is that she also wants to flirt with him. Like how her father and mother used to do the same. Despite how strict her father was, the one time when he was being all mellow was when he’s spending alone time with mother, so much so that Esty was always jealous of them and wanted a husband for herself. Wait wait wait. Being married is too early, both her and the Hero should start by being lovers-

   NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO~!

   Stop fantasizing about things that would never come true, Estyshana Von Mantus! How many times must you be reminded? The Hero is a despicable human who killed your father and precious demon friends! There is no way that you could find happiness with him after everything that he did!

   Well, enough about that. Time to head down and fight some youkais. At least, she was about to when her hair made her pause.

   Previously, she fought inside shrines that she didn’t remember the names of. All the priests there knew who she was, and there weren’t any regular humans who happened to be caught up in the fight. As a result, she didn’t really have to put on a disguise, and the mask given to her by Aldenia was pointless. This time, it’s different. She has to fight at an open area where regular humans will see her. She reluctantly put on her mask before she departed, but she didn’t do a thing about her hair. Rather, she doesn’t want to. After all, her hair resemble her mother’s.

   “Do you think I can be just like you when you grow up, mother?” Esty asked mother once.

   “I don’t think so, dear,”

   That reply sure teared Esty up.

   “W-Why not? Is it because you’re too perfect? Or, or is it because I’m too hopeless?” she asked between sobs.

   “Now now, stop crying, calm down and listen to me. Just as I can never become you, you can never become me. We’re not doppelgangers, so we’re bound to be different.”

   “That doesn’t matter! You’re the perfect role model for me, mother!” Esty insisted.

   Esty was always proud of her mother. She was pretty, kind, elegant, wise, and most importantly, she’s one of the reasons Esty could withstand father’s harsh training. Without her mother’s soothing presence, Esty would have ran away from home a long time ago. One of her fondest memory during childhood consists of having her hair combed by mother. She was so good at it Esty will always fall asleep without realizing it.

   “I’m glad that you think of me that way, but you can never find your other half if you insist on being a mere copy of me.”

   Esty made a face.

   “I don’t need an other half! Male demons are gross!”

   “Hmm, I suppose you’re not at that age yet. Well, I’m sure you’ll find someone who’ll appreciate you for who you are. When you do, don’t ever let him go.”

   “And then what?”

   Her mother smiled mischievously.

   “Why, the two of you will do the same thing your father and I did, of course.”

   “You mean getting married and giving birth to me?”

   “Precisely. Well, not to giving birth to you, but rather another demon. I can’t wait for that to happen!”

   Unfortunately, she did not survive to see the day.

   Thirty years later, her mother passed away due to an incurable disease. Esty has taken each and every one of her advises to heart. Except the one about being appealing to her potential mate, that is.

   Being the daughter of the Demon Lord, there was no end to the insincere flattery and desperate marriage proposals from various demon clans. All of them wish to further their standings in the hierarchy and ambitions. Naturally, Esty ignored all those advances and turned down every single proposals. Flattery aside, Esty is honestly a bit surprised that her father has never forced her to marry a random demon for political gains.

   Hundreds of year later, she met the Hero. Frankly, she hated him with every fiber of her being. He has butchered lots of her comrades, and she herself was powerless against him. Worst of all, he doesn’t treat her with respect. At all. Does he even realize that he’s in the presence of the Demon Princess herself? The nerve of that plebeian human!

   But then, an incident happened. After that incident, she changed her opinion of him. Slightly, mind. Just a teeny tiny bit.

   It was the death anniversary of her mother. Her father had forbid Esty to mourn for her every year since according to him, reminiscing about the deceased is only done by weaklings who still clings to the past. This is one of the rarer times when Esty chose to defy his will. He eventually found out, and they had a huge fight over it. Even her fear of him pales in comparison to his lack of compassion when it comes to his wife, of all demons. At the end of the argument, Esty left the castle while still being furious.

   By the time she realized, it was already nighttime. She wasn’t really hungry, but she sure needed a bath as she didn’t take one that morning. As luck would have it, she came across a river. She wasted no time in stripping off her clothing and takes a bath there. Just as she’s cleaning her body, she heard someone coming from behind. She immediately turns around, her hands ready to rip the intruders apart.

   It was the Hero.

   Before Esty could think of anything to say, he covered his eyes with his right hand.

   “My bad.” he mumbled.

   “Why are you covering your eyes?”

   “It’s a human thing called decency. You wouldn’t understand.”

   “I sure don’t. What’s the big deal anyway?”

   “Does that mean that I can see your naked body?”

   “Will it make you happy?”

   “Kind of. And excited too.”

   “Then no.”

   “A shame.”

   “Now run along. I’m still not done with my bath yet.”

   “That’s rare. You’re not going to go berserk and try to kill me?”

   “I’m not in the mood for that.”

   “Well, it’s not like you could beat me anyway.”

   Esty gritted her teeth and growled in frustration. This. This is what she was talking about. Ever since they met for the first time, he has no qualms about being rude to her despite knowing her status. It’s seriously getting on her nerves.

   “Are you done with running off your mouth? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m still trying to take a bath here.”

   “Sure, sure. Before I make myself scarce, though, do you want to talk about it?”

   “Talk about what, exactly?”

   “You said you weren’t in the mood. Do you want to talk about the thing that made you irritable?”

   “No, I don’t. Even if I do, I would never talk about it with you, of all people. Now. Run. Along. I won’t tell you a third time.”

   “What are you going to do, make me? I would like to see you try.”

   Esty growled again.

   “Devil, you’re annoying.”

   “Why, thank you.”

   “That wasn’t a compliment! Ah jeez, fine! I’ll talk about it! Just wait for me until I get dressed!”

   “Can I watch?”

   “No! Take a peek and I’ll poke your eyeballs out!”

   Once she got dressed, the two of them sat by the riverside. Esty then proceeded to tell the Hero what happened earlier today.

   “Your father’s in the fault.” he concluded when she was done.

   Esty blinked in surprise. He’s actually siding with her. What is this, an omen for the end of the world?

   “I know, right? He’s being so unreasonable! I can understand if it was one of our subordinate, but it’s my mother we’re talking about! You know, as in his wife?” she ranted.

   She then hugged her knees.

   “I really miss her…” she mumbled.

   “What was your mother like?”

   “Do you really want to know?”

   “...Suddenly, I’m very scared.”

   “Just kidding. I’ll just give you a very short version. She’s everything that I could hope to become. I could never match her beauty, and my chests are a bit smaller, but at least I have her hair.”

   “You shouldn’t compare yourself with someone. Trust me. If you do that for too long, you’ll just get depressed.”

   “As if you know what I’m going through.” she grumbled.

   “Oh, I sort of do. I was kept on being compared to my younger sister. All those comparisons did wonders to my personality.”

   “That I absolutely agree.” she agreed drily.

   “My point is, you’re you, and your mother is your mother. You’re bound to be different.”

   “That was literally what my mother said.”

   “Well, it’s true. Can you imagine everyone in this world looking and exactly the same? I sure don’t want to.” he said with a shudder.

   “I sure can’t imagine a world where everyone is exactly like you. Then it would be one hell of a gloomy place.” she smirked.

   He merely shrugged at that.

   “If everyone is a sun, it’s going to be way too bright. Someone has to be the black cloud.”

   “And you offered yourself as the sacrifice?”

   “Sure did.”

   She giggled this time.

   “That’s one lame excuse to be gloomy.”

   “As if you’re one to talk. You’re so optimistic it’s making me hurl sometimes.”

   He paused.

   “...That said, I guess you’re too stupid to be pessimistic and worried about the future.”

   “Alright, enough with the insult! I know, okay? I’m nothing like my elegant mother!”

   “Look, you’re fine just the way you are, alright? And that hair of yours? It’s yours and yours alone, and it’s definitely not your mother’s.”

   Suddenly, Esty remembered something else that her mother said.

   “You’ll find someone who’ll appreciate you for who you are.”

   For a brief second, the Hero, whom so far Esty can’t look at without having a fit of rage, looks, well, different. Esty can’t exactly describe this feeling, but it sure is different than usual. Thinking back on it, Esty is positive that it was then when she fell in love with the Hero. And she realized one other thing too, one that made her face burning with embarrassment.

   He saw her naked body.

   After mingling with the humans of this world for so long, Esty has known that it’s bad to show your naked body to someone of the opposite gender. The humans of Ifezan had no such restrains, hence her ignorance.

   That. Was. So. Embarrassing. She has a sudden urge to find a hole and crawl into it-

   Her thought was interrupted by a loud roar. She changed direction and head to where the roar came from. Once she’s there, she sees a huge spider the size of a three storey bungalow rampaging around the street. The spider looks, odd, to say the very least.

   For starters, it has three eyes, two at the normal place and one on top of its forehead. It has a nose similar to a cow’s and long jaws. Some of the sharp curved fangs inside its mouth are curved inwards, while the rest of them are curving outwards. It has actual human hair growing out of its head. They’re long, dirty, mud-covered and covering some part of its face. For its eight legs, all of them ends in sharp scythe-like shapes. Lastly, there’s its abdomen. It has the shape of a pumpkin. This part is by far its weirdest feature.

   Esty can’t tell what youkai is it, and she doesn’t care. It’s going to be the perfect sandbag for relieving her stress.

   Before she attacks it, she looks around for any humans who were foolish enough to remain there. She doesn’t see any after searching for a few seconds. It’s either all of them have evacuated, or they’re buried under the rubble she sees all over the place. Not that she cares. Well, time to attack.

   She flies towards the youkai with speed faster than normal eyes could see, her fist ready to punch a hole at its face. However, the youkai has far sharpers eyes than she has expected. When he was inches away from it, it raises its right front leg and parried the punch. Almost at the same time, it aimed its left front leg at Esty with the intention of piercing her with it. Esty flew upwards way before the leg found its mark.

   The youkai opens its mouth wide, and a strand of web comes out of it. Esty could dodge it easily enough. Just as she was about to resume her assault, the youkai spits out more and more webs.

   In the blink of an eye, the area around them is covered with huge spider webs. There are lots of tall buildings in this part of the city, which is why it could build a dome of spider webs. The gaps between them are so tiny Esty could barely fit her head through them (not that she actually tried it). Once the dome is complete, the youkai hops onto the one nearest to it and starts moving around so quickly Esty could barely catch up to it.

   Besides moving around, the youkai is constantly spitting out venom and webs at Esty to throw her off balance. When Esty did manage to go near it, it counters her attacks by using the four front legs that it has. Since it has four more to spare, it doesn’t even have to stop moving while it’s attacking and/or defending. Esty is the one who has to be more cautious as the mask that she’s wearing has blocked off some of her sight.

   Aiming its lower body is no good either. All of its legs are so long each of them could reach the opposite end of its body without any difficulty, much less reach a pesky attacker that’s aiming for its abdomen.

   Well, time for something more drastic, then. Spells. She was planning to save up her mana since there could be other youkai that are stronger than this one, but she guess that it can’t be helped. She mutters a quick incantation and takes a deep breath. When the timing is right, she blows with her mouth and lets out Petrification Dust, a Level 5 Spell. She knows the youkai will just scuttle away before the Spell could reach it, which is why she made the Spell’s area of effect much larger than usual.

   When the dust cloud has dispersed, Esty had thought that she will be seeing a stone statue of that youkai. However, what she sees is a gray circular dome. As she watches, the dome crumbles away, showing the youkai within, which is still safe and sound. Before Esty could react, it leaps forward towards her, its four front legs all ready to slice her apart. Just as the legs were inches away from reaching her, she aims her palms towards the ground and cast Blast, a Level 5 Spell which causes explosion.

   The impact of the explosion propelled her upwards, thereby making the legs barely missing her. While using the momentum, Esty raises her right leg and brings it down while aiming her heel at the youkai’s head. Naturally, she cast Strengthen on her leg in order to maximize the damage. Before her kick could land, however, a web made of soil appeared from the ground and shields the youkai. Looks like that was how it managed to prevent the dust cloud from reaching it.

   The web crumbled before her kick, but she decided to leap backwards and take some distance between them. She needs to start using her brain and come up with a plan. That’s easier said than done, though. The youkai is so persistent that it’s barely giving her space. She could fend of its rapid attacks well enough, but this won’t go anywhere if she stays on the defensive. More spells, maybe? Or making the frequency of her attacks faster-

   “Yeah, all those you mentioned are not going to work.”

   …What was that?

   “You? Using your brain? Get real. Do you even have one to begin with?”

   Oh, this is just wonderful. She can’t afford to lose her concentration, and yet his voice is appearing inside her head like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

   “I DO TOO!” she screamed internally.

   She didn’t even know why she did it-

   “Well, you suck at using it.”

   …and she even got a reply. She needs to see a doctor after she’s done with this.

   “I suppose you have a better way of doing this?” she asked sarcastically.

   “I just bulldoze like I always do. I mean, I’m so strong I don’t even have to waste my time on a small fry like that. Unlike a certain someone.”

   Wow, it even talks like the real one. It’s really good at making her mad too.

   “You have something that others don’t. Use it.” the voice in her head continues.

   Something that others don’t? What’s this voice talking about-

   Oh, of course. She’s such an idiot. She has stopped using her Bloodline Magic Enticing Whisper for so long she has forgotten that she has it. She looks at the youkai straight in the eyes.

   “STOP MOVING!” she commands loudly.

   The youkai stopped moving as ordered while looking really confused. It might only last for a few seconds, but that’s all the time Esty needs.

   SMASH!

   With a smash of her fists, the youkai lost its entire head. Even so, it still kept on moving for a few seconds before finally stopping. It was kind of disturbing to watch.

   With the spider demon gone, Esty burned down the dome of webs. She then left the area with the intention of looking for more youkais to fight.

 

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