A Demon Lord’s Tale: Dungeons, Monster Girls, and Heartwarming Bliss

had leapt right at me the moment I entered his range and attempted to deliver a high-speed stab. Damn.
You scary, man.

I fixed my posture in midair immediately after completing my dodge and swung Enne.
He managed to parry her and ward her off right before he lost all momentum and started to fall.

“You’re not getting away!”

Flapping my wings, I accelerated downwards and chased with an overhead swing.
He blocked and chained his defensive measure into a slash.
He managed to draw blood, but the fact that his stance was broken meant that it wasn’t actually poised to attack.
The attack ultimately amounted to nothing more than just a graze, so I ignored it as I smashed my foot into his torso from above.
I made sure to follow through with the attack; I kept my foot on him and slammed him into the arena.

An incredible sense of impact rang throughout my body.
The ground beneath us almost seemed to shake.

It was a heavy blow.
The butler, who had been unable to defend, coughed out a mouthful of blood.
Despite having taken serious damage, he continued to fight regardless.
He swung his blade, but it was a much weaker swing than usual, so I kicked it away with the leg I didn’t have on his torso and positioned Enne by his neck.

“Looks like I win,” I said with a pant.
“It certainly does,” he chuckled.
“It appears that I’ve lost despite intending to do the opposite.”

He was hurt so bad that there was blood dribbling from his lips, but he smiled regardless.
It was a teasing smile, the kind you would see on a child’s face immediately following an innocent prank.

“And we have our winner! Ypsilon has taken yet another match by storm!”

The audience, which had been left silent by our display, began to roar with cheers as soon as the MC declared my victory.

I exhaled deeply as I took my foot off of him and hoisted my blade back over my shoulder.
“You should probably hit up wherever they keep the doctor around here, and fast.
You’re getting on in years, old-timer.
You really shouldn’t be pushing yourself so hard.”

“I suppose so,” said my opponent with a bit of a laugh.
“I will do as you have suggested and head over to the infirmary immediately.”

He got up off the ground and began patting off his clothes.
The way he carried himself made it seem as if he was completely uninjured.

“I was lucky you were so old.” I smiled in a strained manner as I watched him walk away.
Though he had borrowed a shoulder from a member of the medical team, he still seemed to have the same firmness in his steps as usual.

I hadn’t killed him, but I had done some major damage.
And frankly, seeing him just walk it off as if it was no big deal was terrifying, even if he was just putting on a strong front.
It was as I said.
I was lucky that he was as old as he was.
The degradation of his body was the reason I had taken so little damage; I probably would have lost had he still been in his prime.

As I hadn’t watched every single fight, I didn’t know exactly how skilled the tournament’s participants really were.
However, my duel against the old butler had at least proven that it wasn’t all just fun and games.
Some of the event’s participants were at the peak of their game, the top of their class.
And that wasn’t the only thing I had learned from the experience either.
I now understood why the demon king was so worried about the human threat.

They lacked brute strength, but humans had technique.
They passed their techniques to each generation that followed, thereby refining them over relatively short periods of time.
Every batch of humans would be stronger than the last.
Of course, humans weren’t the only ones to hand down their martial arts.
Demons, demi-humans, and beastkin were all sure to do the same.
But they were longer lived.
Their techniques passed through fewer hands in the same amount of time, and the lack of iteration led to a lesser degree of refinement.
Races with longer lifespans didn’t evolve as quickly.
And neither did their martial arts.
That was why the humans, who had started off as a race of little note, had grown into a major power over time.
Stats were only one of many measures of strength.
I had to make sure to pay attention to more than just the numbers if I didn’t want the rug to be swept from under my feet.

“Looks like I’ve learned a helluva lot from you, old-timer.” I muttered a few words of thanks under my breath as I turned my back to the cheering crowd and made my way to the exit.

***

“Ughhh… I’m so tired,” I groaned.
“That old man was mad scurry.”

“Mhm.
He was really strong,” agreed Enne.
“How are your injuries, Master?”
“I’m fine.
It’s just a few flesh wounds.
I’ll just rub a few potions into them or something later.”
“Mmk.”

Enne and I headed towards the waiting room whilst engaging in a bit of a chat.

We weren’t the only ones present, however.
I realized that we were being approached from behind, so I spun around to greet whoever was following me.
And as I did, I was greeted by a pair of familiar faces.

“Oh, hey girls, what’s up?” I greeted both Leila and Agent McHoodface whilst tilting my head and speaking in a questioning tone.

Haloria immediately glanced around us in order to check that no one was present before leaning over and whispering into my ear.

“Leila said that you’ve received an important message.
The red orb of correspondence is glowing.
There’s been an emergency.”

Wait. What?

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