An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride - Volume 01

by Fuminori Teshima

  Zagan then waved his hand as if driving away an insect.

  “See, if you understand, then get lost already. Or what, do you plan to make that slender woman lug three pieces of dead weight around?” The last Angelic Knight’s face twisted with anger to the point where it felt like he could kill with just his gaze.

  “Not yet! As long as I stand, victory shall be ours!”

  “Hey, stop! Step aside!”

  “I shan’t step aside, Lady Chastille. UOOOOOOOOOH!” Holding his longsword aloft with both hands, the knight came cutting in straight from the front with an overhead strike.

  Zagan gazed at him with cold eyes and swung his left hand toward it.

  His hand, which was wrapped in the light of a magic circle, took on a shape akin to a blade from his two outstretched fingers.

  The longsword and Zagan’s fingers collided. And, as a sharp clang resounded, the longsword snapped down the middle.

  After that, the man opened his eyes wide to the point where it felt like his eyes would fall out.

  “Impossible... Urk.” And then, Zagan stretched out his arm.

  “Wh-What are you...” With a crack, Zagan flicked the Angelic Knight’s bewildered brow. It was a prank he often pulled as a child.

  “Ugh!” However, from that single strike, the back of the man’s head slammed into the ground.

  Zagan then mercilessly trampled on the nose of the man who was writhing on the ground.

  “Hiigigigigi...”

  “Do you get it now? If I apply just a little more pressure, your head’ll be crushed like a tomato. The sound of the bones in your head creaking... is something you’ll never forget. Even now, I can’t say it’s left my mind.”

  It was something that happened when he was captured by a certain sorcerer. Just like one who fell into despair due to being offered up as a sacrifice, Zagan was tortured.

  That was why he knew just how much terror the sound conveyed. And while speaking, he turned his attention to the girl.

  “Hey now, don’t do anything unnecessary. Before you can even draw your sword, this guy’s brain will be splattered across the ground. I’m sure you wouldn’t be able to handle letting that happen when you have a chance to save him, right?”

  “Sh-Shaaave... meee... AAAH!” As the Angelic Knight let out an unsightly scream, the girl removed her hand from the greatsword at her back.

  What a sensible girl.

  In truth, if the girl had assaulted him just like that, it would have been troublesome for Zagan.

  The three Angelic Knights may have been worthless opponents, but a Sacred Sword was another matter entirely. Zagan’s fist would likely have been mercilessly cut apart, along with all the mana inside it. He was unsure he could win, even within his own domain.

  After thinking for a moment, the girl glared at him.

  “Tch... Why are you behaving like this is some sort of game. Do you intend to ridicule the defeated?” The eyes of the girl who said that were for some reason colored with more disappointment than anger.

  Zagan then made an exasperated face like she should have known the answer.

  “Do you know how to best make use of fear?”

  “What...?” Chastille’s face grew increasingly vigilant.

  Zagan had a need to make them feel fear. He had to make them see that it wasn’t worth it to challenge him, and that those who didn’t get involved would be safe. He had to drill that fear into the heads of not just them, but the people above them.

  That was why he was going out of his way to torment them.

  Zagan mercilessly trampled on the Angelic Knight, and planted seeds of fear within him.

  “People fear the unknown. However, what spreads that fear is a person’s mouth. Even if I slaughter you all here, the people who sent you would only see it as a problem of numbers. To spread fear, there’s a need for you lot to survive and convey your experiences to them. Experiences just like this.” As he put more strength into his foot, the Angelic Knight beneath him let out a scream.

  He was likely someone of considerable social standing, but with mud, tears, drool, and mucus wetting his entire face, he could only be described with a single word. Pitiful.

  However, the girl then said the following.

  “That’s, a lie.”

  “Oh...?” Zagan opened one of his eyes wide as if he found what she said to be amusing.

  “True, self-preservation is likely one reason you’re doing this. And speaking of the church, they probably would try again, with greater numbers, if you killed all of us. However, that is not your true motive.” Zagan’s body stiffened entirely.

  If a corpse appears on the grounds, then Nephy will be frightened... That was why he wanted to turn them away without killing them.

  Suddenly, the girl who seemed like she had seen through Zagan entirely smiled.

  “...As I thought,” she said as she placed her hand to the greatsword at her back.

  “Waith... I dond wand to die...” The Angelic Knight below Zagan’s foot begged for his life, but the girl did not remove her hand from that sword.

  This is bad. She’s seen through the fact that I’m not interested in killing them.

  A hostage only had meaning if one could use their life as a shield. If he had no interest in killing said hostage, then they were useless.

  Eventually, the girl drew the holy sword from her back.

  “Chastille Lillqvist. By my Lord’s command, I shall subjugate the sorcerer Zagan!”

  Zagan knew he couldn’t hold back against an opponent with a Sacred Sword. But even so, he was reluctant to kill a young girl about the same age as Nephy. Not only that, he knew killing someone he had once saved would leave him with a bad taste in his mouth.

  In any case, despite her being a difficult opponent for him to fight, the girl — Chastille would not let him run away.

  “Tch—” Zagan kicked away the man at his feet, who tumbled across the ground and bumped into the other two collapsed figures.

  While he was doing that, Chastille rushed Zagan with her Sacred Sword in hand.

  “HAAA!” She brought the Sacred Sword straight down on him.

  Zagan brushed it off by hitting his fist against the flat of the blade, but—

  “...Damn it.” Just from that, a crack ran down the magic circle protecting Zagan’s fist.

  Even though he avoided the edge of the blade, simply touching it had reduced him to this state. Just thinking about what would happen if he were to be cut by it sent shivers down his spine.

  Chastille then crouched and swung her sword upward. They were consecutive strikes like a flowing stream, and all Zagan could do was retreat.

  But it doesn’t appear to have all that much strength behind it...

  The sharpness of the strike was considerable, but the blow itself was light. It likely meant that even if she had the divine protection of the Anointed Armor, there was a limit.

  While swinging her sword, Chastille shouted at him.

  “Why!? Why won’t you counterattack!? Are you trying to say that I am not sufficient as an opponent!?” Zagan was, in fact, only dodging and had not aimed a single attack at her.

  And while dodging a slash that came in horizontally by lying face down on the ground, Zagan replied.

  “Don’t be unreasonable. Beating women isn’t really my specialty, you see.” Or rather, he had grown averse to it.

  Beating a girl at about the same age as Nephy is a little...

  It wasn’t that he was worrying about whether Nephy would end up hating him. No, whenever he clenched his fist, that lovely girl’s face would float across his vision. There was no way he could calmly punch a similar girl just because she wasn’t Nephy.

  That was why he was searching for another method to get by without hitting her.

  With a creak, Chastille ground her teeth.

  “Why did someone like you stain your hands with sorcery?” Rather than anger, it sounded like she was lamenting his lot in life.

>   That made Zagan tilted his head to the side.

  “I don’t know what you’re saying, but is it that bad to use sorcery?” He was aware that people thought him a villain, but the idea of sorcery being to blame felt odd to him.

  Chastille then yelled out furiously.

  “It’s evil! Because that power exists, the people are oppressed and made to suffer.”

  “Then what exactly is the power you’re using? Isn’t it the power to unilaterally kill a sorcerer who is weaker than you?”

  “Ugh...” Having that pointed out to her, even Chastille’s face showed signs of unrest, and the Sacred Sword she swung missed its mark and sank into the ground.

  Then, without pause, Zagan stomped on it.

  If he could pin the sword down, even someone with Anointed Armor would have problems pulling it back out.

  “Urgh...” As the girl groaned, Zagan gazed at her indifferently.

  “I don’t have any intention of justifying myself, but there are a mountain of people who wouldn’t be alive if not for sorcery. Anyone who tramples those people underfoot and treats them as prey... isn’t upholding any sort of justice.”

  “Ah...” Even this girl seemed to be forcing herself to malign him, so she likely understood his true intentions.

  Having turned pale, she couldn’t say anything back.

  Oh, come on. Don’t react like that. It’ll just make it even harder to hit you... Dammit...

  If she screamed out in an unsightly manner that she was just, then Zagan would have been able to hit her without worrying about it.

  Even so, Chastille bit down on her lip and put all her strength into the hand gripping her sword.

  “Still... No, precisely because that’s true, I cannot afford to lose!”

  “Ugh, whoa there.” The girl pulled out the Sacred Sword using sheer strength. And since Zagan was stepping on it, he lost his footing.

  “There!” Chastille unleashed a thrust with all her might.

  Unfortunately, your technique is far too crude.

  Without getting out of the way, Zagan clapped his hands together on the spot. And as he did, he splendidly caught the tip of the blade.

  The protection of his magic circle cracked. The palms of his hand were hot, as if they were being burned. Despite that, however, Zagan returned a ferocious smile to her.

  “Are you good at contests of strength?”

  “I accept your challenge!” Far from stepping aside, Chastille put her entire weight into pushing the weapon forward.

  The crest that was engraved on the Sacred Sword was shining to the point where it was blinding, and as if hailed by that, her Anointed Armor was also wrapped in light.

  “What?” It was somewhat unbelievable, but the girl lifted up her Sacred Sword along with Zagan’s body.

  This girl... was hiding a trump card all along? Just as Zagan was taking a wait and see attitude, Chastille seemed to have been hiding her true strength.

  And then, she swung her Sacred Sword down just like that.

  “This damn— Ugh?” Such a dainty girl managed to swing a lump of steel with a human attached to it. It was somewhat difficult to believe.

  Choosing not to endure it, Zagan let go. That sent him crashing into a tree behind him, where he choked on his breath.

  She’s wielding more power than me... inside my own barrier? It was true that a barrier didn’t have much meaning against an Angelic Knight, but it wasn’t like Zagan himself had lost his reinforced power.

  Even though it was due to the power of a Sacred Sword and her Anointed Armor, Chastille’s pure physical strength overwhelmed Zagan.

  Zagan checked his hands, which had just touched the sword, as he got up.

  His skin was festered from the burns. Even though he started healing them with sorcery, the regeneration was slow. This was likely also the power of a Sacred Sword.

  Back then... I really should have killed her, huh?

  As one would expect, he felt awkward about killing a defenseless woman, but he knew he should have been more cautious about getting involved with someone from the church.

  While he was groaning, Chastille came rushing in once more.

  Zagan somehow managed to immobilize the sword, which was coming down from overhead, but the large tree at his back smashed to pieces with a loud sound.

  If it wasn’t Zagan, or perhaps if he were not within his own barrier, he would have been crushed just like that tree.

  A sigh leaked out of his lips. If it had come to this, then there was no other option.

  I’ve got no other choice now... Shall I kill her?

  He had the option of running away. However, Nephy was back at the castle. If Zagan ran away, then Nephy would be attacked. The church executed all who allied themselves with sorcerers, after all.

  It seemed that breaking a Sacred Sword was impossible even with Zagan’s power. However, it wasn’t like there wasn’t anything else he could do.

  And then, just as he gathered power into both his hands to unleash utter destruction...

  (Stay like this and listen to me, bastard. Can you pretend to die by my hand?) Zagan unintentionally opened his eyes wide in shock as he heard that.

  Shifting his gaze over to behind the girl, Zagan noticed that the three Angelic Knights he’d beaten had begun to get up. Is she trying to make sure they don’t hear her?

  (What are you planning?)

  (The church won’t give up on killing you. If I lose here, someone stronger than me will be sent over next. Make it so you died here. And then throw away that damned sorcery and live as an ordinary person.)

  Zagan doubted his ears.

  (Didn’t expect to hear such words from the mouth of an Angelic Knight.)

  (...You didn’t kill my subordinates. And even if you say you’re trying to instill fear in them, your eyes are colored with something like affection.)

  Her words were difficult for Zagan to accept.

  I looked like that? Zagan didn’t know that his feelings for Nephy came off in that manner.

  He naturally wasn’t pointing it toward his opponents, but Chastille had seen through the fact that there was someone that Zagan wanted to protect.

  And then, Chastille said the following.

  (Above all, I have not forgotten... that you’re my savior.) Saying that, Chastille made a truly apologetic face.

  (...Sorry. This... is about all I can do.) It seemed this girl didn’t just forget the fact that Zagan had saved her.

  This was not the first time Zagan had faced Angelic Knights. However, it was the first time he met one who would mourn a sorcerer’s death.

  This girl... must have it hard huh...?

  If an Angelic Knight protected a sorcerer, it wouldn’t just end with their status being stripped.

  They would be declared a traitor, have any and all human rights stripped from them, and would end up being tortured and executed in a way that made one hesitate to even try and describe it. For a girl as beautiful as Chastille, rape was also inevitable.

  She didn’t appear to be stupid enough not to know that. And so, those words were likely not spoken out of feeble resolve.

  It had become even harder to attack her thanks to that.

  But... I can’t really do that, huh?

  If Zagan did just as Chastille said, he could likely get away safely. It made sense too, since there weren’t any worthwhile assets left in the castle.

  However, he knew it would be impossible to save Nephy if he went that route.

  If they searched the castle, they would find her. And Nephy would definitely not run away. That girl didn’t have any real will to live, after all.

  Right as he was worrying about what to do...

  “Master!” Nephy, who should have been left back at the castle, called out to him.

  As Zagan turned around, a girl dressed like a maid was running over toward him.

  Perhaps because Zagan was late in returning, or perhaps because she sensed some trouble, she chased after
him.

  “Stay away, Nephy!”

  “Eh, a girl...?” Chastille spoke in a bewildered tone.

  That was also the moment both of them showed an opening at the same time.

  “Screeeeeewing around with us!” Among the three fallen Angelic Knights, the man with the spear stood up. Unlike the other two, he had only suffered minor injuries.

  After looking around, his eyes stopped on Nephy, who was running over to them.

  “The sorcerer’s companion, eh!?” What exactly was he thinking? He brandished his spear on Nephy, who was rushing over.

  “Stop it, Torres!” Chastille raised her voice to restrain him, but the Angelic Knight threw his spear.

  “Move!” Zagan thrust away Chastille, then rushed in front of Nephy.

  However, Zagan knew that Nephy wouldn’t get off lightly if he pushed her aside with his power as it was. He tried to gently wrap her into his arms, but he ended up surrendering himself to the spear instead.

  “Tch—” Zagan pushed out his left hand to use as a shield.

  The tip of the spear pierced through his palm, accompanied by the sound of meat and bone being crushed.

  “Master!” Nephy let out a sorrow-filled shriek.

  Still, Zagan somehow managed to stop the spear with just his hand.

  “It’s alright. Something like this... is just a scratch.” As Zagan spoke, sweat faintly ran down his brow.

  He was wounded in the same area where his healing abilities were obstructed, so his left arm was likely useless for a while.

  With a drip, blood slowly fell to the ground.

  It had been quite a while since he had seen his own blood.

  Don’t get carried away... you piece of shit...

  However, Zagan was unable to hurl out that abusive language.

  From within his arms, he could feel a shivering cold.

  “You wounded... my master, right?” Zagan didn’t immediately realize that Nephy was the one speaking.

  It was a cold voice that he would never have expected to hear from that sweet and languid girl’s mouth.

  And immediately following that...

  “Eek, what is this?”

  People often said that a forest was alive. That generally came up when all living things in the place moved at once, and the trees swayed from a strong wind.