The village was already burning.
By the time Esper ran back, the streets were filled with screaming, fleeing villagers.
A figure stood right in the center of the village.
Red horns curved backward from his temples, his skin was a dark crimson, and his bare torso was covered in magma-like patterns. In appearance alone, he looked like nothing more than a wild youth.
Though he wasn't particularly muscular, the heat radiating from him had already baked the ground within a five-meter radius into cracked, scorched earth.
He was laughing, watching the fleeing humans as if they were ants pouring out of a crushed nest.
“Yo.”
He noticed Esper running toward him—a little girl dressed in exquisite children's clothing.
His fiery-red vertical slits narrowed, his gaze lingering on her clothes for a moment. “Oh?”
Esper stopped about twenty paces away from him. A wave of heat rushed over her, the air thick with the smell of burning.
The mana barrier Noelle had left behind fluctuated slightly over her skin, blocking out the heat.
“What are you doing?”
Esper spoke. Though her voice was that of a child, her tone was icy, carrying the oppressive weight of a noble and a superior.
Balor tilted his head.
“Hey, whose brat are you? For someone in a backwater place like this to be wearing clothes like that... Hm? That crest is...”
“I am Lonia Catori, Second Princess of the Vampire Royal Court.”
A second of silence fell. Then, Balor's expression shifted, his grin stretching even wider.
“Hahahahaha... A princess of the Royal Court? Here?”
His body temperature began to skyrocket. Waves of heat erupted from him, melting the scorched earth beneath his feet into a glassy liquid.
“For real? The little princess of the Catori family ran off to a human village? What is this? Eloping? Exiled? Or did you just get lost?”
He took a step toward Esper.
“Whatever. Hey, how much ransom do you think Eliza would pay if I brought you back?”
Balor. This guy came from the Royal Court, but he possessed absolutely no sense of honor or dignity.
Revealing her identity would only draw his entire focus onto her. This was exactly what she wanted.
Balor accelerated. The speed of a Rank Four Flame Demon was something this Rank Two toddler body couldn't possibly react to.
But Esper's combat instincts remained.
Her body began to move before her brain could even make a conscious decision.
She rolled to the left, dodging Balor's outstretched hand.
The moment his hand missed, a burst of flame shot from his palm, burning a black crater into the ground where she had stood a second before.
“Oh, you're pretty good at dodging, little princess.”
Esper ran in the opposite direction of the fleeing villagers, drawing his attention away from the crowd.
Balor chased after her, laughing loudly.
“Don't run, little princess! I won't kill you. You're only valuable alive.”
His hand reached out again, even faster this time.
Esper had no room left to dodge.
She spun around to face Balor and raised her left palm.
Light blue patterns emerged beneath her skin, spinning and humming.
“『Shatter』”
A pitch-black orb shot from her palm, completely draining her meager mana and plunging her entire body into a state of extreme weakness.
The Annihilation Sphere was small, only the size of a fist. But the moment it struck Balor's chest, it still blasted a gaping hole right through it.
Dark red blood erupted from the wound. The force of the impact pushed him back seven or eight paces before one of his knees crashed into the ground.
“Cough... What...?”
He looked down at the hole in his chest. Blood poured from it, mixed with shattered bone and charred flesh.
He raised his head, his gaze shifting.
“You little brat...”
Flames coalesced in his hand, forming a red rune.
“I've changed my mind. If I send your ashes back, Eliza's reaction will definitely be much more rewarding than any ransom.”
He crushed the rune.
A pillar of crimson fire erupted from beneath Esper's feet, completely engulfing her.
It was hot. But there was no pain.
The mana barrier Noelle had left behind vibrated violently on her skin, keeping the white flames at bay.
The fire flowed along the surface of the barrier. From the outside, Esper appeared completely wrapped in flames.
But she couldn't hold out for long. The magic link was growing weaker, and the barrier's effectiveness was far from what it used to be.
A few villagers who hadn't run far down the street saw this—the sight of a little girl in exquisite clothing being consumed by a pillar of fire.
And then, they fled even faster.
Balor was laughing.
“Keep struggling! Why aren't you struggling anymore, Princess~?”
Just then, the sound of footsteps came from behind him.
It was the soft, quiet pitter-patter of bare feet stepping on scorched earth.
But Balor heard it. He turned around.
A blue-haired little girl stood at the other end of the street.
She was barefoot, wearing a faded old dress, and clutching a small wooden bird in her hand.
Her eyes were wide.
The flames were reflected in her sky-blue pupils—the pillar of fire engulfing Esper.
“Huh? Another one? With holy light? Pfft, you think I'd be afraid of you just because of some holy light? We Flame Demons aren't like other demons when it comes to holy light...”
Eladia didn't look at him, nor did she wait for him to finish.
She only stared at the flames still burning Esper.
Then, her lips moved. Silently.
Her fingers loosened. The wooden bird dropped to the ground.
Her mouth opened. A voice rang out.
“Stop!!!”
White light.
A pure white radiance erupted from her body, as if the midday sun had crashed onto the earth.
There was no warning, no charging, no process of spellcasting.
It was simply pure, uncontrollable light surging from the depths of her soul.
And accompanying the light was a torrent of concentrated holy light.
This torrent struck Balor.
The instant the light touched his left side, his body was purified by the holy light at a cellular level.
His left arm vanished, his left chest vanished, his left face vanished.
He didn't even have time to scream.
The remaining half of his body was thrown backward by the impact, smashing through two burning houses. He convulsed twice and died.
But the holy light didn't stop.
It spread in all directions, extinguishing all the flames on the street. Wherever the light swept, scorched wood regained its original color, and the melted ground solidified once more.
The light also swept over Esper.
The flames were dispelled, and under the impact of the holy light, the magic barrier shattered with an extremely faint crack.
Eladia heard it.
She stood in the middle of the street, staring blankly at Esper's position.
The holy light was still constantly spilling from her body like an unclosable faucet, covering everything around her.
She saw Esper.
Her skin scorched and blistering.
A dying person.
A demon being purified by the holy light.
The one who would die because of her.
Rate on N.U.
