“…Ai Yue…?”
That incredibly familiar voice and scent meant Igrette didn’t even need to open her eyes to know the identity of the newcomer.
Was it a dream? No, that person couldn’t possibly be that kind-hearted.
Could it be a hallucination? No, this wasn’t an illusion.
“Why are you here…?”
“Where else would I be? I live here, after all.”
Ai Yue replied to Igrette, her gaze looking as if she were expressing concern for a complete idiot.
“What’s with that look!? How dare you look at me like that?”
“Since you still have the strength to shout, I suppose I don’t need to worry?”
“Worry…”
Hearing that word, Igrette found herself momentarily speechless.
The implication behind Ai Yue’s words just now… could it be that she had actually been worried about her?
She felt so happy, so… No! Don’t forget what this person has done! She’s a scum woman who ignored everyone else’s feelings, forgot her promises, and immediately went out to find someone new!
“You two are actually ignoring me.”
Sonio watched the two of them talk to themselves, completely disregarding him, and felt a surge of nameless rage.
“So, who are you?”
Failing to notice the little drama playing out in Igrette’s head, Ai Yue turned around to scrutinize Sonio and asked the question.
“You!? You actually forgot me? As expected, you truly are my greatest enemy, Great Demon King Ai Yue!”
Sonio’s anger flared even hotter. His Domain began to fluctuate violently due to his intense emotions. The sky flickered, the ground shook, and the controlled maids and that older man began to flicker with various error blocks, looking like a glitching texture in a game.
“What’s with all these flashy tricks?”
Just then, Kurimu suddenly appeared. She was completely dismissive of the changes in the Domain, and her arrival drew everyone’s attention.
“The Second Demon King? I didn’t expect the strongest member of the current Devil Race to show up here…”
Although Sonio was confident his Domination wouldn’t be broken, the abnormal nature of the Devil Race might produce results he couldn’t predict. Furthermore, in terms of raw strength, the Second Demon King, Kurimu, wasn’t much weaker than Igrette.
If the Great Demon King Ai Yue and the Second Demon King Kurimu joined forces, his situation would become extremely dangerous, even with his current power.
“…Heh, I didn’t think the Great Demon King, whose strength stands above the entire Demon Realm, would choose to rely on superior numbers.”
He had no other choice. He could only gamble on the Great Demon King’s pride, hoping she would choose to fight him one-on-one for the sake of her dignity.
“What are you talking about? I’m just here to watch the show,” Kurimu replied.
However, the reality was that Sonio didn’t need to worry, as Kurimu had no intention of fighting him.
Hahaha! As expected, the world was still on his side!
Yet, while one person was rejoicing, others were troubled.
“Master Ai Yue, that guy is the Fourth Demon King, Sonio.”
Bululu stepped up to Ai Yue’s side, answering the question she had asked earlier.
“A Demon King? The Fourth Demon King? Him?”
Ai Yue pointed at Sonio, a look of slight disbelief on her face.
Seeing her expression, Bululu understood what she meant.
“That’s right. To think someone of this caliber is the Fourth Demon King is simply a disgrace to all Demon Kings.”
“You!?”
Hearing Bululu’s mockery, Sonio’s anger instantly hit its limit.
“A mere lowly Goblin dares to be so insolent toward me!?”
“I am Master Ai Yue’s personal guard maid. In terms of status, I am your equal, if not your superior.”
If it were a Demon King ranked third or higher, Bululu might have shown some respect. But against someone who was only the fourth and belonged to a category of people she despised most, she wouldn’t show any mercy.
“A personal guard maid? …I see. Just like your master, there isn’t a single thing about you that I don’t utterly loathe! Great Demon King Ai Yue!!”
As soon as he finished speaking, an even more terrifying aura erupted from Sonio’s body.
“This… was he still hiding his strength?”
Even Igrette, who had just surpassed her own limits, was shocked. Even if she could continue fighting, she wasn’t sure if she could defeat Sonio now.
Possessing such strength, it was no wonder he had the idea of overthrowing Ai Yue’s rule.
“No, it’s better if we attack together…”
“Calm down.”
Bululu reached out and placed a hand on Igrette’s shoulder to stop her.
It seemed that because Sonio was concentrating his power, his Domination over the Maid Guard had weakened. In that brief moment, Bululu had already taken control of everyone to prevent any outside interference.
“What do you mean, ‘calm down’? Since you’ve become her personal guard maid, you should act as Ai Yue’s sword and shield, standing at the very front! Don’t tell me you—”
“I said calm down. Why aren’t you listening?”
In a fit of pique, Bululu forcibly turned Igrette’s head toward Ai Yue.
She saw Ai Yue standing coldly in the face of Sonio’s rampaging power. She remained completely unshaken, not even taking any defensive measures against the high-pressure air currents that were strong enough to slice through flesh.
“…Hmph.”
Not only that, but Ai Yue even let out a cold sneer, as if she didn’t view the opponent as any threat at all!
“See that? A small fry like him is completely beneath Master Ai Yue. We just need to do our jobs and quietly admire her heroic figure.”
“…”
Although Igrette had long known that Ai Yue was powerful — much stronger than she used to be — she also knew that not only her, but the other monsters had grown significantly stronger during this period as well. They were no longer the same as they were in the past.
And yet, even so, were they still unable to even touch a hair on Ai Yue’s head…?
Igrette looked at Ai Yue, unable to help feeling a sense of frustration.
‘I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead! Why did I run out here!?’
Contrary to what Igrette, Bululu, and the others imagined, Ai Yue was actually screaming at the top of her lungs internally.
Initially, she had planned to wait until things were almost over and then jump in to steal the kill. But for some reason, halfway through, her body had rushed out on its own.
Since things had come to this, she had considered trying to negotiate. After all, a gentleman uses his tongue, not his fists. But somehow, while she just wanted to confirm the other person’s identity, he suddenly got angry. To make matters worse, her two little protectors were leaking air — their merciless words only served to further provoke the opponent.
Faced with this Pressure, she was too scared to move an inch. She was afraid that if she did, her legs would give out and she would fall to her knees right there. Her Vitality Essence and Magic Power were almost entirely depleted. At most, she only had enough for one more spell. How was she supposed to fight this!?
If she had known it would be like this, she wouldn’t have been so impulsive. She should have just used a Return Item to teleport back. At least that way, she could have replenished her Vitality Essence and avoided a pathetic death.
Sigh, her life was too difficult. If she apologized now, would he just let it go?
Thinking this, Ai Yue stood with a gloomy face, her hair fluttering wildly in the wind.