-Down here.

Davey heard the voice again, but he could discern the direction it was coming from now. He immediately turned to the source, and saw a small palm-sized girl who was staring up at him while sitting on his lap. “It’s the first time we meet. I was a little flustered when my seal was unintentionally broken, but I guess this is God’s plan.”

The girl had a pair of pure white horns on her head and eyes with a red symbol. She also had an odd glow that was incomparable to Davey’s or Shari’s. She was absolutely stunning. Seeing her brought up a memory, and Davey widened his eyes.

-Well, you seem a little confused by the weird window that you’re seeing. Am I wrong?

* * *

[Hm? You’re awake! What are the odds? Who are you drawing? I didn’t know you had an aptitude in art.]

-Hm, what do you think it is?

[From the ergonomic handles on its head, and the cringy blood-red eyes, is it not a demon? Looking at its appearance, they seem to be a high-ranking demon, like a Demon Lord.]

-You’re probably the only one using ‘handles’ to refer to horns. But you’re right; it is a demon.

[What makes you remember a demon and even draw a portrait of them? From how detailed your painting is, it seems that she’s pretty fresh in your mind.]

-Is she pretty? Well, she’s absolutely stunning even compared to those crazy women partying over there. Tsk, I only remember her because I’ve painted this hundred of times. Her name is Perserque.

The lazybones Ares bitterly smiled while pointing at the girl, who seemed to only be about 18 years old.

-She was my adopted daughter. I taught her swordsmanship when I was still human.

[Wait, Perserque?]

-Yes, it’s just as you know it. She was the Dark Lord of the Abyss, whom I slashed with [Caldeiras] and sealed inside the sword to end the Great War.

* * *

“...” It was so surprising that one of the two regrets that the forgetful Sword Lord had while spending thousands of years at the Hall was in front of Davey’s eyes. He muttered, “Demon Lord…Perserque.”

-Hm… You seem to know about me well, as expected. I was not wrong about y… Agh?!

As she was calmly speaking, Davey released his devil mana toward Perserque and tied her up. He didn’t have to feel confused anymore now that he had found the source. His devil mana spread like a rope and lifted her in the air after restraining her.

-Keugh… You…are quite rough. I don’t know about you, but I don’t enjoy being tied up.

“Are we two to joke around?”

-This is our first meeting, so there’s no reason for us to be hostile.

Still releasing his powers, Davey bitterly smiled. “Then I would like you to explain this situation.”

Perserque looked at Davey if that was a problem.

-Since we are now companions, I was going to ask whether you wanted me or not.

Davey’s eye twitched when he heard the woman. “Companions?”

-The stigmata on your back has now become a vessel for my soul. So, that’s not just any normal stigmata.

“A stigmata is a vessel for sealing the Demon Lord… That’s not even funny. I don’t really understand this situation, either.”

While tied up, Perserque let out a faint moan and looked away.

-If you can… Do you mind untying me? I’m telling you, being tied up isn’t really my thing, especially this indecently…

Perserque blushed as she looked away and slurred the end of her words.

“Hm…”

-I’m a little…embarrassed.

Seeing Perserque look so embarrassed and vulnerable, Davey felt his anger cool. He raised his hand slightly and loosened the mana that was restraining her. He didn’t have something in mind when tying her up, but she was the one who fought back and twisted herself into a strange position. Well, depending on who it was, they might not see anything wrong with it.

-Phew… This is much better.

Just letting go of a Demon Lord was risky, but Davey did it anyway; Perserque was already dead and could not cause any more harm to him. He then asked, “Okay. Can you simply explain it so that I can be convinced?”

-Hm… What a twisted personality you have.

“People do say that my personality is rather peculiar.”

-Ahem…

Perserque hollowly chuckled and looked at Davey, who was faintly reflected in her blood-red eyes with an engraved symbol.

“Okay, so what is a Demon Lord, who is supposed to be sealed inside the Divine Sword, doing here?”

-I guess convincing you when you already know my identity is of no use.

Smiling bitterly, Perserque let out a short sigh. She looked up at Davey and curtsied, holding up her dress quietly bowing her head.

-Allow me to introduce myself. I am Perserque von Pallan, the Demon Lord, who watches you from the Abyss.

The cause of the Great War between the Ancient Midgard and Demons was right in front of Davey’s eyes. ‘When someone stares into the Abyss, the Abyss stares back.’ Perserque was basically the origin of that saying. In that sense, she was quite different from normal Demon Lords.

As if she found something funny, Perserque looked up at Davey as she chuckled.

-It’s simple. It seems like you already knew that I was sealed in the Divine Sword.

The Divine Sword [Caldeiras] was the sword that Sword Lord Ares had used to slash the Demon Lord to end the Great War. That was what was known, but actually, the truth was that the Demon Lord’s soul was sealed inside the sword. Recalling that, Davey thought to himself, ‘I heard it from the person herself, so it was probably true.’

“Yes, but I didn’t know your will would still be free.”

-[Caldeiras] isn’t mean enough to confine the will of her friend.

“Friend?” Davey looked puzzled.

-Well, they’re just trivial and meaningless personal details. To be exact, I was just moved from [Caldeiras] to you by God’s will.

“...” Davey seemed dumbfounded. There was no telling whether God was real or not; he didn’t care about God, who had never even descended on this land. However, God’s will definitely existed, since [Saint’s Sanctuary] was based on it. The holy magic he had used to reverse the ‘Blood Polis’ was probably what caused this.

The problem was why Perserque, who was sealed in [Caldeiras], came to Davey. Feeling curious, Davey asked, “Why are you here?”

Perserque scoffed.

-If I knew, I wouldn’t be this frustrated either. Since we have become companions because of your actions, shouldn’t you take responsibility for me?

Perserque spoke like she was soothing a little child.

-Also, I am personally interested in you since you are the second person with traces of the Sword Lord.

“Ares’ swordsmanship?”

-You speak as if you know him well.

“Of course I do, since he talked about you quite often.”

-Is that so… Talked about me…”

If the status bar that appeared in front of Davey’s eyes was from Perserque’s powers, there was no use lying to her, since she had insight on not just him but everyone else too.

Perserque nodded at Davey.

-I like that you are not concealing anything.

“You have to know who you’re lying to; what use would lying be to a Demon Lord who has an insight on everyone? Also, isn’t that power foreign to most normal Demon Lords?”

Perserque bitterly smiled.

-The Hall of Heroes… I didn’t know such a thing existed; it’s quite fascinating. Although, let me get one thing straight.

“Get what straight?”

-It is not I who has insight on you. I just have the authority to borrow the will of a higher power. I am not the one who described you somewhat boorishly in that status window.

“The will of a higher power?”

-Don’t humans call them God?

Perserque mumbled, drenched in remorse.

Davey scoffed at the fact that the higher power—the King of the Gods—used descriptions like ‘half-lunatic’ and ‘crazy for her brother’. He didn’t expect any less from Him, who granted him more holy power out of curiosity, but…

Davey heard from the Sword Lord Ares that Perserque had the ability of ‘Discernment’. The value of her existence was to watch those who stare into the Abyss, and that was why she was called the strongest Demon Lord to have ever existed.

“So, you came to me from [Caldeiras] because I used holy magic?”

-When you cast the 9th level holy magic, I came along with the large amount of holy power that escaped. Then, my lost soul settled in your stigmata. It normally isn’t possible, but…

Clicking her tongue, Perserque made a face of pity.

-There is no such thing as an eternal seal. If I knew this would happen, I would’ve said my goodbyes with [Caldeiras]’s ‘Ego’…

“What about [Caldeiras]? Does she know about this?”

-She probably felt it instinctively. However, you know that she has fallen asleep from the aftermath of your 9th level holy magic.

“Oh.”

-She’ll probably be dead asleep for three days. My ears feel like they’re going to fall off whenever I hear her chatter, but at least I wasn’t bored. She will probably curse at you when she wakes up. Giggle.

Unlike how she spoke, Perserque giggled like a little girl. She was the Demon Lord, the reason for—or even the cause of—the Great War, but she was a little different from how she was known. Davey could instantly see that she wasn’t acting, not because it was just some dumb character setting that he knew psychology, but it was because he had heard things about her.

In regret and remorse, the Sword Lord Ares always described Perserque as the sacrifice for the war, and himself as the awful father who became a victim of circumstance.

-I had a strange feeling when I saw you with [Caldeiras]. I never thought that you would use even a part of my father’s swordsmanship.

To be exact, Davey’s sword technique was a combination of the Sword Lord and Heavenly Destroyer. He learned swordsmanship unique to the Sword Lord first, but then changed it up.

-To be frank, your swordsmanship seems like it has been altered to suit you.

“Yes, since two grandpops who were crazy about swords created it.”

With a bitter smile, Perserque slowly flew up. Flapping the tiny wings on her back, she approached Davey and held out her hand.

-Well, what’s happened, happened. Moving is quite a fresh change, and companionship shouldn’t be too bad. I look forward to spending time with you.

As she said, it was clear that there was no way Perserque could do anything right now, even if she intended to.