“—”
Silence descended upon everyone.
All who heard Airi’s declaration were stunned.
No one would have imagined that one day, a Demon Lord would stand up and openly declare her protection of a human.
She was a Demon Lord, a pinnacle of the Demon Race, possessing immense power, a being even the Three Goddesses wouldn’t underestimate.
With their power alone, they could rival an entire nation.
Destroying a country was child’s play for them.
Moreover, they had the entire Demon Race behind them. If they stood up to protect someone, then even the Divine Race and the entire human race would be helpless, right?
But how did Shien achieve this?
How could he make a Demon Lord do this for him?
Throughout history, many people had interacted with Demon Lords, but there had never been a single case of a Demon Lord openly protecting someone like this.
Including Heroes, and even goddesses of the Divine Race.
Now, a young human, a noble of adventurer origin, a mere viscount, had achieved all this.
This made everyone, including Ancil, feel like they were dreaming, everything too unreal.
Of course, they didn’t know that there were two reasons why Airi stood up and made such a bold declaration.
One was that Shien’s actions this time were to her liking.
In fact, Airi had long felt that Shien should have done this.
In Airi’s view, there was no such thing as power or authority in this world, only the difference between being strong or weak.
If you were strong enough, you could do whatever you wanted, and all power and authority would bow down before you.
Conversely, if you were too weak, no amount of power or authority could protect you. Anyone could bully and humiliate you, and no one would care about the human rights of a weak person.
And Shien was a sufficiently strong person.
No, it should be said that all past Heroes were sufficiently strong.
However, those Heroes all abided by some inexplicable rules and regulations. On the surface, they seemed to be admired by many, heroes in the eyes of many, but in reality, they were just weapons used by the Divine Race and the human race on the battlefield.
Among the humans they protected, weren’t there also pests?
In the world they guarded, wasn’t there also something not worth protecting?
Clearly possessing the Holy Sword, clearly being the Hero, clearly having such immense power, yet as if bound by a curse called “saving the world” and “protecting everything,” they indiscriminately believed that the Demon Race was evil and that war was harmful. Why?
Airi couldn’t stand it. People with power actually lost their freedom, willingly being driven and used by others, just because they were given the title of “Hero,” they felt they should sacrifice everything for these people, unaware that many of these people were secretly rejoicing, happy that someone was fighting for them.
Like the Ragna Empire in the past, after the Hero died, those who had flattered him immediately started to carve up his legacy. If he were still alive and saw this, would he still think they were worth protecting?
Therefore, in the past, Airi always thought that Heroes were just powerful puppets, and she even killed two of them without hesitation.
However, Shien was completely different.
He didn’t have an inexplicable sense of justice. Every action he took was driven by his own will and thoughts.
He didn’t have any strange principles, doing whatever he wanted, completely unconcerned about others’ opinions.
He wouldn’t worship someone just because they were from the Divine Race, nor would he be wary of someone just because they were from the Demon Race.
Even towards her, a Demon Lord, he said and did whatever he wanted, his every action natural and unrestrained, never caring about race, position, or faction.
This Hero might be both righteous and wicked, too much of a free spirit, but that was precisely what Airi liked.
Shien didn’t feel like a puppet called “Hero” to Airi, but a “person” with a strong sense of self and personality, who wouldn’t flaunt his power excessively, but also wouldn’t hesitate to use it to obtain what he wanted.
This time was the same. He became angry for the people around him, used his power decisively to make others wary of him and avoid future trouble, and even though the other party was a fellow human, he showed no mercy. These actions were exactly what Airi wanted to see.
In short, everything about Shien was to Airi’s liking. In her eyes, he was perfect, which was why she liked him so much, to the point where she wanted him to be hers.
This was also the second reason why Airi stood up and made her declaration.
That was, to announce to everyone that this Hero was hers.
Of course, Airi wasn’t the only one who was extremely fond of Shien, so fond that she was willing to stay by his side, even if it meant being an enemy of the world.
“Swish!”
At a certain moment, another figure dashed out of the Buztout mansion and came to Shien’s side.
“Hum!”
The evil aura around her vibrated.
“Whoosh!”
Twelve black wings unfolded behind her back.
The little evil god appeared beside Shien, protecting him alongside Airi, her amethyst eyes fixed on everyone present, sending chills down their spines.
“Who… who is she?”
Everyone was shocked by the sudden appearance of this little girl.