The Exit

'A demon lord?!' Yvanna sat up in alarm.

[Scan.]

She immediately released mana to check her surroundings. There were humans present and the demon lord was...

Yvanna frowned; she was not able to detect a demonic presence. She recalled fighting against a demon lord who can conceal his presence. He introduced himself as Aur. A tough battle ensued and in the end, after injuring a lot of her soldiers, he managed to escape. She had to order a retreat at that time so that they'll be able to keep their lives. They had to be sneaky as they were quite deep into the demon territory at that time.

That was the first time she experienced defeat.

'If the demon lord is like him-This is going to be difficult. I don't have my trusted troops with me. '

Filled with a sense of urgency, Yvanna pushed herself up and stood. She carefully observed her surroundings. She was in an enormous windowless room well-lit by bright mana lights. The walls of the room were of the same material as her coffin. The place was cold and unfamiliar to her.

'Uhh...where is this?'

"You are too late. Do you dare stop me now?" A taunting voice made her turn around. She saw a man wearing a dark hood that covered half of his face to her right and a group of thirteen soldiers, all wearing peculiar light armors and carrying strange armaments to her right.

This group seemed to have just arrived through the giant stone door behind them. They seem to be enemies based on the death glares they were giving the hooded man. But, they were all humans.

There is no demon lord on sight. However, based on Yvanna's experience, She should never let her guard down when faced with a demon, much less, a demon lord.

She immediately assumed an offensive stance. She lowered her body and bent forward, preparing to deliver a deadly strike to whoever is shameless enough to fight her. If it was Aur or someone like him, she cannot let her guard down. Underestimating such an opponent would cost not only her life but the life of these people. Tension filled the room. Nobody dared to make a sound.

"Oh great demon lord, heed my call! I offer these human lives to you." She heard the hooded man call out once again while pointing towards the group of soldiers. At that moment, she was filled with hatred for the person.

'How dare you betray your kind! Traitor!'

That was what she meant to say.

"Huwaarraagaaaahh!" Yvanna hunched forward and burst into a coughing fit. In her anger, she forgot that her throat is itchy and dry.

'Ugh. I need water so bad.'

She turned towards the soldiers and made a drinking hand sign, followed by a pleading one. She saw the group of soldiers flinch and turn pale. None of them made a move to take out their water containers.

The demon lord must have scared them silly. They are even shaking. She sighed.

'Looks like I need to defeat a demon lord to get my water, huh?'

Once again, she quickly scanned her surroundings. She can't afford to let down her guard.

'I can't find the demon lord. I guess I should ask?'

She turned to the hooded person and made a few gestures. She pointed at him, then at the soldiers. Then she made a demon sign, and finally, she made a slashing sign across her neck.

The people remained quiet while staring warily at her.

'What? They don't get it?' She was puzzled. Those were the standard signals in the military. Those were the first lessons taught to the new recruits.

"Yes, great Demon Lord. Crush the enemies of your kind." The hooded man spoke up.

'What?' This man misinterpreted her signs. He called her a... Yvanna's eyes widened with the realization.

'Oh, gods! I'm now a demon lord? How am I a demon lord? Wait, is that why I was locked up?'

Yvanna's breathing quickened. Countless thoughts ran through her head. There have been some humans who willingly gave up their humanity and turned into a demon. All of them willingly underwent metamorphosis.

'Is it possible to turn one without their consent?'

She tried to suppress the panic rising within her. She hurriedly felt her face and examined the rest of her body. She could not see any visible change.

After years of battling against demons, Yvanna was very familiar with many methods used to identify them. The quickest and easiest way was to look at their blood color. She bit the tip of her finger. The sight of the red blood made her relieved.

She scowled at the hooded man.

'What demon lord?! You dare compare me to one!'

"Yes, my demon lord. Please use your blood magic and unleash your fury upon these humans!" The hooded man said seeing the blood dripping from her finger.

Yvanna ground her teeth. Although she wanted to throttle the hooded man so bad at this moment, she has more important things to do. She sent him an aggrieved look that meant to say, 'You're also human, you bastard. And what blood magic are you talking about? I injured myself because of you. I'm going to beat you senseless.'

'This guy is hopeless. I'll beat him up later. Water is more important right now.'

She then turned towards the group of soldiers. Noticing her movement, the soldiers quickly assumed an offensive stance again. She took a step toward them and they flinched.

'Dearest gods above help me!' Yvanna let out an exasperated sigh.

[Move.]

She released mana on the soles of her feet and moved her body with the aid of mana.

In a blink of an eye, she was in front of the soldiers.

"Waaah!" Some of the soldiers' knees gave in and she heard the hood person begin laughing villainously.

[E-Earth. Wall!] One of the soldiers nervously cast. The ground rose and he was immediately surrounded by a wall of earth.

A moment later, she was behind the soldiers. The wall still stood, undamaged.

The soldiers waited with baited breaths for anything to happen.

1...

2...

3 seconds later, still nothing happened.

The hooded person stopped laughing and the soldiers had no idea how to react. They all turned toward her in confusion.

The demon lord was...chugging water from a water skin.

"Uh, demon lord, what are you doing? W-w-what about y-your enemies?" the hooded person broke the silence.

The glare she sent his way was so intense that he stuttered and his knees nearly buckled.

After draining the waterskin, she tossed it to a soldier who caught it with shaking hands.

She cleared her throat and slowly spoke, "Thank you for the water. I have to go now."

With that, Yvanna walked out of the door.

Everything happened quickly that none of them were able to react until the demon lord reached the end of the corridor.

"Demon lord!" the hooded person called out to her. When she disappeared from their sight, he began to panic. Only one passage led to this room. He was trapped. She was his only hope.

'That felt good.' Her mood got better when she left the room. The hooded man's desperate cry made her lips curve a little.

'Hmph! Who told him to call me a demon lord.'

"She's gone," Yvanna heard one of the soldiers say as she was walking down the dark corridor that led to the room.

"Yes, she is," affirmed another one.

'Do they have to sound so relieved that I left?' She stomped her way through the dark corridor.

* * * * * * *

"You have to gall to act proudly, you traitor!"

All of the soldiers turned towards the hooded man. The fear they felt before was slowly replaced by anger at the hooded person. He was once a soldier like them. They rushed toward the hooded person, tackled him to the ground and pulled off the hood that was covering his face. And there it was, the proof of his betrayal.

A five-petalled orange lily, the mark of the demons, marred his right cheek. Most of the members of the Tribute proudly wear their symbol upon their faces.

"Tie him up! Make sure to seal his mouth, too. We can't have him casting throughout the journey."

After binding and gagging him, they made him sit on his knees to receive his judgment.

The captain of the squad took out a scroll. It was the order of Ruska's arrest. In it was the list of crimes that he has committed.

"For your crimes against the kingdom of Orden and it's people, you are-"

"Excuse me." The soldier felt cold sweat drip down his back when he heard a familiar voice behind him. His mouth felt dry. He turned his head and saw the demon lord smiling at him.

"Y-yes?" He answered with a shaky voice. When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he was terrified that his knees gave out.

Yvanna frowned but she decided to ignore the hooded man. Instead, she asked the soldier on the ground, "Good sirs, could you tell me where the exit is?"