Death's Door 135 Volume 6: Chapter 10: Hot Springs Part 3

"Already on the level of a hero?"

"Yeah, not sure how it works, but apparently the summoned individuals are given peak condition bodies, hero level strength, not to mention a blessing, by the G.o.ds. It's a good thing this guy went rogue, otherwise we would have a troublesome foe to deal with"

"Wouldn't they try to summon someone else?"

"Not any time soon, brother. Summoning spells can only be used to summon an otherworldly hero once every three years. So there wouldn't be any more summons for a while"

"That is good to hear"

It seems like Kazan's investigations into this matter was very thorough.

Soaking in water, two crow demons were conversing with each other to their heart's content.

"Yeah…. Considering the Knight of Light is back in action, we will have a lot to deal with in the future…. Come to think of it, brother, how did you manage to injure him in the first place? I have been curious for a while about it"

"Sword slash from behind. He didn't have much armor on his back. That is all there is to it"

"No way! It can't be that simple! I mean, no matter what type of weapon… be it arrows, spears, or swords, they are all immediately deflected due to his blessing, aren't they?"

Knight of Light's blessing gave him a fate based protection, which made sure that any weapon coming towards him were fated not to harm him.

Low level attacks by weapons had practically no effect on him.

Only high level attacks had any chance of harming him.

However, Dark Lord was interference, a being without fate.

This was the true reason why Dark Lord managed to injure the Knight of Light so severely.

"Think what you will, but that's the truth"

"Brother, you really are something else, you know that? Many of us, Demon Lords, fought against him, but he proved to be too strong. Heck, he just ma.s.sacred many of us while we could only retreat in terror. But yet, you, singlehandedly did what my king could not. Now that is something!"

"Speaking of Demon Lords… There is someone that comes to mind"

"Like who?" Kazan took a sip from a cup of water.

"Cifer Palak. I believe he is one of yours"

"Pffft!" Kazan ended up spitting out the water immediately.

"Cifer?! Cifer Palak? She is alive?!"

"Yes. And you are too close for comfort"

Kazan had both hands on Dark Lord's shoulders, making it a little awkward.

"I see. So she survived. That's good. "

Kazan breathed a sigh of relief before letting go of Dark Lord's shoulders.

"So she is a woman?"

"Kind of hard to tell with all that clothing she wears, I know, but yeah, she is."

Kazan chuckled a little.

"We thought the Knight of Light destroyed her. Shadow Demons are especially weak against light element based attacks, but she chose to fight him nevertheless. I am glad she is ok."

"If you mean missing most of the right side of her torso ok, then she is fine"

Kazan's face betrayed his surprise. It was obvious he felt a degree of sympathy for his fellow Demon Lord.

"I see…. But if she is alive, why didn't she come back to us?"

"She was under an impression that you guys were all dead, before I told her otherwise"

Kazan put his hand on his face.

"Let me guess…Now she thinks she is not worthy of serving our king anymore, but she still wants to help demon kind, is that right?"

"You know her quite well"

"That self-depreciating fool! We wouldn't turn back on one of our own, does she even realize this? Goodness!"

Kazan sunk his head into water and ended up blowing a lot of bubbles.

When he lifted his head up, he seemed to have calmed down.

"Regardless, I am glad she is ok. If she is in your hands, then that makes it even better. She is a strong demon, I am sure she will be useful to you, brother"

"Yes, I have noticed"

Dark Lord wanted to slap himself across the face.

'How did a talk with this crow b.a.s.t.a.r.d turn into such a buddy-buddy conversation?'

Dark Lord loathed admitting it, but he and Kazan Karatengu, at least personality-wise, were not so different.

Had they not encountered each other as they have, they might have become friends….

Dark Lord immediately erased the thought from his head.

'That's not happening. Not in this loop or any loop that follows!'

Kazan may have warmed up to Dark Lord, seeing him in a familial fas.h.i.+on, but Dark Lord regarded Kazan as a nuisance at best and an enemy at worst.

The fact that Kazan seemed to have a lot of useful info was a surprise. Maybe keeping this crow demon alive is a good call, at least for now.

As much as he read, explored, and found out about this world, Dark Lord still was someone who came from what was practically another world. There was still much he didn't know about.

A summoned hero…there was still much he did not know about this reality.

"As of lately, my king frequently talks about you, saying things like what would you do if you were in her place…."

Dark Lord by now was no longer paying attention to what Kazan was saying.

"Brother, you should probably know…It seems like my king has fallen in love with you"

"Huh?"

Where did that come from?

After an awkward moment of silence, Dark Lord uttered.

"What?"

"My King has fallen in love with you"

Dark Lord was not sure what to say to that.

"Huh…Of all the things I have heard till now, that must be the most ridiculous one yet. Even the notion of it is ridiculous"

"I am serious, brother. Due to her being a woman, there are countless suitors for her hand, it has become such a troublesome endeavor…Many demons even refuse to follow her once they learn that the current Demon King is a woman…While others want to obtain power by becoming her husband."

"But…if you were to become her mate, then I wouldn't have anything against it."

It seems like the Demon King Draco still wanted Dark Lord to join them. But those feelings may have evolved into something entirely different from wanting to have Dark Lord as one of the Demon Lords.

Seeing that Dark Lord was completely silent, Kazan chuckled a little.

"Just a food for thought. It was nice seeing you again, brother."

He proceeded to head towards the showering room inside the inn.

Since he was wearing the Ring of Race change, he looked like an ordinary human being. Now that Kazan left, Dark Lord spoke.

"You do realize this is men's bathing area, right?"

"Oh, so I have been found out~"

A form of someone Dark Lord knew rather well appeared before him. The blue hair and the pointy ears were unmistakable.

"Heh, so you two actually do like each other, huh? I guess the two of you are a family members after all~"

The one before him was one of his subordinates, Lukalis Kreschen.