The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 122: I swear I didn’t try to start anything!

Chapter 122: I swear I didn’t try to start anything!

’That’s why’?

What did that even mean? I looked toward the training ground, where the soldiers were gathering in several groups. Except for those patrolling the castle, the city, and the border, seemed like everyone was here. They sported different colors of training gear, perhaps to mark the division where they came from. Some were still glancing toward us, but most were already back to talking among themselves.

Did you want to rile up dozens of soldiers at once? I stared dumbfoundedly at the Chief Guard, and then turned to look at Malta. But she didn’t say anything, and just looked back at me with her expressionless face.

What...was happening here?

Was this part of the plan? Were they trying to see how soldiers would react to the presence of the demon slaughterer?

I looked toward the training ground again, and vaguely felt the presence of those shadow guards at the roof of the tribune, circling the arena as if they were ready to act on something. And then I remembered that Malta was strong enough to subdue Caba, so I looked back at her, who gave me a subtle smile now.

Ah, damn. Taking a deep breath, I faced the Chief Guard who was still waiting for my response. "Alright," I stepped outside the roofed corridor into the hard soil of the training ground--simply because I didn’t want the Spear to damage the tiled area in front of the doors.

The Chief Guard, Haikal, stepped to the side to give me room, but still followed me closely--so were my two guards. The stern look in his eyes had changed slightly into an intrigued one, and I honestly had no idea how should I feel about that.

Anyway, once my feet stepped into the hard soil, I roused my mana and called out my other child, which actually had been eager to come out since earlier. The mark on my palm glowed brighter, and the strings of light came out to coil around my right hand, swiftly taking the shape of a Spear.

The moment I took it out, a harsh wind swirled around me for a second, before dispersing the moment Alveitya’s sharp tip struck the ground. In an instant, the soldiers took their stance. Whether they were sitting, talking, or polishing their armor, those demons instantly brandished their weapon and pointed them at me.

Many things happened at once;

Some soldiers shout at their comrades or the Chief Guard. Haikal gritted his teeth and grind his heels to the ground, as well as yelling a command to stand by. And Alveitya shot out of my grip, menacingly pointing at the nearest soldiers brandishing their swords.

"Stop!"

The sharp, white tip of the spear stopped a few inches from the widened eyes of the frontmost soldier, who gripped his sword in trembling hands.

"Come back!" I commanded with a frown, and Alveitya swooshed back into my side, hovering while making a whining sound with the wind. "You said you’ll be good and listen well to me, why are you acting on your own again?!"

I knew the Spear acted because it felt panic bloodlust from the soldiers, but I also knew that reaction came from the sacred weapon’s aura, as well as all the scary things they heard about the Spear of Judgment from rumors. Just as I reacted badly at the knowledge of the Spear stabbing Natha before, I couldn’t control their instinctual reaction to their natural enemy.

So even if it seemed like I was in danger, I wanted Alveitya to know that it couldn’t just attack others however it liked without my permission.

At my scolding, it let out another whining sound and even trembled a bit, just like how Jade acted when I scolded the little bird.

Wait--did the spear just copy the little bird?

Talking about the bird...

[Master!] an entity enveloped in swirling elemental mana force swooped down like a rocket, as if trying to obliterate the training ground.

"Not you too?!"

[Why Spear out?! Master in Danger?!]

"No! You stop that right now!"

As if hitting a brake, Jade stopped its descent midair, sending a blast of mana everywhere. Thankfully, it wasn’t anything dangerous, since the bird just dispersing its accumulated mana into the air.

[No? Master alright?]

"I’m fine," I replied while biting my lower lip, and Jade proceeded to fly down slowly to land on my shoulder. The green eyes--which were sharper in this juvenile form--stared at me as if trying to scrutinize my status. Seeing as I looked perfectly fine but a little annoyed, it started to nuzzle on my cheek as usual, grinning inside my head. The spear also followed through, hovering closer to my side.

Haa...

"Don’t give me that act!" I narrowed my eyes at the spear and bird that tried to coddle me. "These demons are Natha’s soldiers. They are the ones that protect your new home, so don’t go around hurting them."

[Protect Jade’s home?] the sharp green eyes turned toward the soldiers, who were still brandishing their weapons, but with faltering stances and trembling hands. [They’re good?]

Well...probably, right? I nodded, and perhaps feeling that they weren’t a threat anymore, the big bird changed into its cute round shape and jumped once on my shoulder. [Okay!]

The spear, which was still hovering by my side, made a purring sound by vibrating lightly, and I took it in my hand again. "Promise me you won’t do that again."

It buzzed softly, the green jewel glowed as if voicing an agreement. I stroked the white staff to praise it, before shifting my gaze to the Chief Guard--who, I admit, was looking rather funny with a stiff frozen face. "So, are you still going to brandish your weapon at me?"

As if being struck by lightning, the Chief Guard flinched and blinked before clearing his throat and commanding the soldiers to drop their weapons.

"My greatest apologies, Young Master," he got down to his knee, as a real knight would, and bowed his head. The soldiers, of course, followed through like the protocol dictated them to.

Ah, damn it! I never thought this would turn out into a dramatic situation like this. Calm down, Val, calm down! I took a deep breath and tried not to sound flustered. "It’s alright, you may raise."

Oh-ho, looked how steady my voice was--Eruha wouldn’t be able to nitpick me with this.

"So, is this what you wanted to see, Chief?" I asked the rising Haikal, whose gaze had become less stern somehow--or was it because I kind of feel more confident now?

The Chief Guard didn’t respond immediately, but stared at the Alveitya keenly. I might be mistaken, but I felt like I saw a blazing fire in his eyes. Uh-oh...I had a bad feeling about this.

"Young Master, might you interest me in a duel?"

Well, damn.

* * *

Something different was happening on the training ground that day.

The ground was split and a fixed arena was brought up from below; an elevated platform made of mana-reinforced hard stone. The demon soldiers were watching a fight of their commander, the Chief Guard Haikal.

But it was a peculiar fight. It wasn’t a fight to the death, nor was it a fight to show their prowess to the audience and each other.

It was a fight for tenacity.

The duel wasn’t against the human, who was the smallest entity there--if they ignored the loudly chirping little bird on the side. It was the Spear in the human’s hands that they fought, or rather, the fear they had towards the Spear. Toward the deadly promise that beautiful, menacing Spear carried.

The human was reluctant at first. Of course, who wouldn’t, when he was suddenly asked for a duel out of nowhere as if he was making a mistake he didn’t know. But the Chief Guard explained that he wanted to fight his fear and apprehension toward the Spear.

Because how could they protect the Castle, the City, and the Lord if they were cowering in front of a weapon--albeit it was a sacred one, which had been imbued by God’s power. And most importantly, how could they protect the human, who was now their charge too, as the Lord’s future spouse, if they were too afraid of his weapon?

Him too, actually, but the human looked soft and harmless most of the time, unlike the double-bladed spear with a pointed end that pulsing divinity like it could obliterate them with a swing.

With that reasoning, the human relented, and stepped into the arena after telling Haikal that he could only perform the basic art since he hadn’t adjusted his damaged circuit to the new, awakened Spear.

That was okay, they didn’t mean it to be something deadly anyway. Haikal just wanted to accustom himself to the pressuring aura of the Spear.

No--that wasn’t okay.

The human did take him with basic art only, almost like he was trying to remember a long-forgotten technique--which was understandable because it was unlikely that he had ever performed it again after the war.

But each movement was sharp and fatal, and he gained fluidity with each passing second, as if he finally regained his muscle memory. And the energy that came from the Spear made the movement even more powerful. But it was also evident that the human tried his best not to land any lethal strike; it was no longer a duel, but simply a sparing.

How would it be like if the human used all his power, the Chief Guard wondered. What would it be like if this was a fight with their life on the line?

A prowess of a forgotten war hero; that was what Haikal thought as he fought the human. The green eyes even looked concerned through the fight, and Haikal couldn’t help but feel like he was still not good enough, to make the one he should be protecting worried for him instead.

When the Chief Secretary Malta called the end of the session, a smile cracked the stoic face of the Chief Guard. Once again, he kneeled in front of the human. "It is my honor to receive your guidance, Young Master."

"Guidance..." the human murmured, inhaling deeply but otherwise not even losing breath. "I’m honored you can see it as such, Haikal."

Ah...Haikal blinked. There was something vibrating in his heart when the human called him by his name. It reminded him of the time he fought with the Lord, before becoming his loyal subordinate. Despite getting absolutely trashed, the Lord still praised him, and called his name, asking him to work in the Castle.

The brilliant pair of emeralds glowed softly beneath the sun, looking at him with not an ounce of arrogance or resentment. Still with a dash of concern, that made his pretty face even more delicate than ever. There, standing in front of him, the human, the druid, looked absolutely regal; fierce and merciful at the same time.

So this was the one his Lord chose as a lifetime partner.

Ah, yes...if it was this human he needed to protect, he could do so proudly, however undeserving he was.

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