CHAPTER 34: THE DURNHILL KINGDOM’S SECRET ARMY

"There is one more thing I have to tell you about what Azroth said," Pyria stated.

Ard braced himself to hear what Pyria was about to say. Pyria, meanwhile, looked at Ard seriously.

"The reason Evelina killed herself... was because when she got angry seeing Azroth being ganged up on and wounded, she lost herself and changed... the Demon God entered her body right in front of Azroth, who was watching from above. Then... Azroth jumped onto the ship but was too late; Evelina had already stabbed herself," Pyria said.

Ard was shocked because what Pyria said was the continuation of his dream. Then he suddenly understood something: when Esmeralda was beheaded, Ashton turned into a demon named Azroth, who then regained his awareness upon meeting the reborn Esmeralda (Evelina), and Evelina almost turned into a demon when she saw Azroth dying and wounded.

After that, he recalled Eva’s story that she also died after killing Ard because she was possessed by the Demon God, and her soul left her body, then repeated her life again at the age of 15. It was likely that Eva also killed herself, just like Evelina, when she realized she had killed Ard and her emotions made her start to be dominated. His face immediately went pale, and he looked at Pyria across from him.

"That means... Eva and I... are the mediums for the Demon God to be reborn in this world," Ard muttered.

"That’s correct. That’s what Azroth told the elf tribe. When Ashton and Esmeralda sealed the Demon God, a portion of the Demon God’s soul entered their bodies through their holy swords, which they received from the elf tribe," Pyria replied.

"No wonder everyone told me to be careful and asked me to protect Eva," Ard muttered.

"Those who speak like that, we can trust them. I will monitor both of you, and my eyes won’t leave you, because I bear a duty from the elf tribe," Pyria replied.

"Hmm... in that case, what do you think about our classmates?" Ard asked.

"They can all be trusted... even if Princess Beatrice acts annoying sometimes, she’s kind, and she’s clearly not a follower of the Orthus religion, since the Hellios Kingdom has its own beliefs," Pyria replied.

"True, they worship the Dragon God... in that case... maybe someday we’ll need their help," Ard replied.

"Yes, you’re right. Alright, let’s head back to our rooms," Pyria replied, her face suddenly pale.

"Huh... what’s wrong with you?" Ard asked.

Pyria raised her hand and pointed behind Ard while forcing a smile, "Huh?" Ard asked, surprised. But before he could turn around, Ard suddenly felt a chilling, terrifying aura behind him, and of course, he knew who was standing there.

"Um... this isn’t what it looks like, Eva," Ard said without turning around.

"So you’re here... no wonder my griffin told me you weren’t in your room. And what do you want with Patricia?" Eva asked with a cold, calm voice, crossing her arms over her chest and directing a knife-sharp gaze toward Pyria.

"Huh... y-you know who I am?" Pyria asked, surprised.

"Of course, I always pay attention to you. I know you’re an elf," Eva replied, cold and calm.

"Uuuh... so you’re the one who can really see me, huh... not Ard. I thought it was Ard at first. Empress Evelina is truly amazing... or Esmeralda," Pyria retorted.

"Huh... y-you know about me and... Ard?" Eva asked, now shocked.

"These ears are useful for eavesdropping, you know," Pyria replied, touching both her ears again.

"Eva, just sit down. Let’s talk," Ard insisted.

Eva sat down next to Ard. Ard then recounted his recent dream, and Pyria, in turn, finished the story about what happened 1,000 years ago in the secret elf village. Eva was stunned and shocked to hear it.

"So... the Demon God is already wandering around in this world?" Eva asked.

"No, he resides inside the Gate of Hell... but he can come into this world anytime if he finds the medium carrying a fragment of his soul... which is you two," Pyria answered.

"Eva, may I ask you something?" Ard asked.

"What?" Eva asked.

"In your nine lives, when you said you were possessed by the Demon God and became a demon... when you killed me, were you aware of it, and after that... did you kill yourself before fully turning into a demon, like Evelina?" Ard asked.

Eva immediately fell silent. She turned her head away and didn’t say anything at all, leaving Ard’s question hanging in the air. But with Eva’s silence, Ard understood that his suspicion was correct.

"Just as I suspected," Ard replied.

"Wait... what do you mean, ’nine lives’? I don’t get it," Pyria countered.

"Grr... why did you ask about that in front of her?" Eva asked, furious, pointing at Pyria.

"Because I needed to confirm something. (Turning to look at Pyria) Sorry, but you need to forget about this particular part. It’s a secret between her and me," Ard said, pointing at Eva’s angry face.

"Oh, okay. I won’t bring it up again," Pyria replied.

The atmosphere became silent again, but the three of them suddenly grew tense. Ard and Eva glanced toward the bushes behind Pyria.

"Eva... do you feel it?" Ard whispered.

"Yes, there are three people," Eva whispered back.

"Okay, let’s handle them," Ard replied.

Without further ado, "Swiiift," Ard and Eva darted past Pyria and into the bushes behind her. "Thud... whack... hey... whack... ugh," "rustle," Ard dragged two young men out, and Eva dragged one girl out. All three were wearing black robes complete with hoods. "Huh," Pyria turned, startled to see Ard and Eva already behind her.

"W-What are you doing?" Pyria asked, standing up and turning around.

Ard and Eva crouched in front of the three people who were unconscious behind the pavilion. Ard reached out his hand and pulled back the hood of the girl in the black robe that covered her entire body. "Gasp," Ard, Eva, and Pyria were all shocked to see the girl had a tanned skin, long ears like an elf, but a not-too-large, straight black horn on her forehead, and snow-white long hair.

"A Dark Elf," Pyria muttered.

Ard opened the hoods of the two young men, and they turned out to be the same, only they were male and had short, snow-white hair.

"No mistake. They are from the Durnhill mountainous region, and judging by their clothes, they are spies for the Durnhill Kingdom," Ard muttered.

"Really?" Pyria asked.

"Yes. They were formerly part of the demon army who rebelled and fled to the mountain regions. They have a good relationship with the Durnhill Kingdom. I used to live there and often saw their people going back and forth to the beach and my village," Ard said.

"But what do they want here?" Pyria asked.

Ard turned to look at Eva, who also immediately looked at Ard with a questioning face.

"It looks like they are monitoring Eva, because before Eva came, I didn’t sense their presence," Ard replied.

"Huh... me?" Eva asked, confused, pointing to her own nose.

"Princess, we should go back to the dorm now," Pyria urged.

"A-Alright," Eva replied.

"Ard, we’re heading off," Pyria said, already taking Eva’s arm.

"Okay, I’ll stay here for a bit," Ard replied. Pyria and Eva left Ard, who was still examining the three unconscious people in front of him. "The Durnhill Kingdom’s secret army... who has the power to bring them here... Oh, could it be... I guess I need to talk to Mirea tomorrow," Ard muttered in his heart.