The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated

Chapter 360: “You’re Truly Different.”

“I didn’t expect that little girl to be the rationality half of the evil god Lilith. I really misjudged her.”

Just as Shien was lost in his thoughts, a young but pleasant voice pulled him back to reality. He turned around to see a girl holding a pillow, slowly approaching.

It was Airi.

“You’re awake?”

Shien looked at Airi, surprised.

Airi wasn’t sleepy-eyed or yawning, indicating she had been awake for a while.

Indeed,

“I didn’t want to wake up, but you seemed to be talking about something interesting. Even with my love for sleep, I couldn’t stay asleep after hearing that kind of topic.”

Airi said nonchalantly.

“Isn’t that eavesdropping?”

Shien rolled his eyes.

“You were the ones chatting so happily in the living room. Who was eavesdropping?”

Airi seemed dissatisfied with Shien’s words.

Shien wouldn’t indulge this little girl.

However, he was more curious about Airi’s attitude than arguing about such meaningless things.

“What? Do you also know about the evil god Lilith?”

Shien asked Airi.

Airi’s attitude was straightforward.

“Back in that era, those who didn’t know about this evil god were the minority.” Airi narrowed her eyes, as if reminiscing. “Even though the Divine Race and the Demon Race were at war, fighting so fiercely, that evil god suddenly barged into the battlefield, descending right in the middle, and massacred everyone indiscriminately, sinking the entire continent. Even we had never seen anything like it.”

That… that was incredibly fierce…

Shien could imagine the scene back then. It must have been utter chaos.

Airi continued to reminisce.

“Because of that guy’s rampage, the war was even temporarily halted. No one wanted to be caught in the crossfire when that kind of being suddenly barged in and caused trouble, so we quickly withdrew our troops, both to avoid getting involved and to let the Divine Race deal with this headache themselves. Sister Sara was very happy at the time, hoping every day that the Divine Race would suffer heavy losses because of that evil god, allowing the Demon Race to reap the benefits.”

As expected, those who played strategy were all cunning.

But it had to be said that this was indeed a very wise choice.

“That evil god’s power was very troublesome. Anyone with weak willpower would go berserk just by looking at her, turning into a rampaging beast. Many of our demons fell victim to it, not only killing each other on the battlefield but also attacking us.”

Recalling this, Airi’s expression became somewhat unpleasant.

“Facing someone who could make people go berserk and lose their minds just with a glance, numbers were useless. No matter how many enemies there were, that evil god could instantly make them lose their minds. Under such circumstances, who would dare to send their army to the battlefield?” ȒＡℕȯ𐌱Ě𝘚

Therefore, Sara quickly recalled the demon army, leaving the mess to the Divine Race to deal with.

This was also why Airi couldn’t recognize Beatrice’s identity.

“I wanted to go and take a look at the time, but I couldn’t get close.”

“The entire continent was almost enveloped by the evil aura emanating from her power. I could withstand it and wouldn’t go berserk, but all the creatures on that continent, both humans and monsters, had gone mad and attacked me relentlessly, preventing me from getting close.”

“After that, she seemed to rampage on the land for a while, turning the entire world into a living hell, making even us Demon Lords afraid to approach her.”

Otherwise, they would not only have to face the evil god’s frenzied attacks, but also the attacks of almost all living beings on the land.

“Frankly speaking, at that time, even the big shots in the Demon Race would tremble in fear at the mention of the name ‘Lilith’.”

Airi curled her lip.

“I didn’t expect that little girl who couldn’t even speak to be that evil god’s other half.”

Hearing this, Shien wanted to retort, “What right do you have to look down on others, you little girl?”

But if he said that, Airi, who hated being treated like a child, would definitely not let it go.

Shien wasn’t in the mood to play with her now, so he held back and sighed instead.

“It seems this Lilith is truly formidable.”

Shien exclaimed.

“Her power is indeed troublesome.” Airi admitted, but then added, “However, in a real fight, it’s hard to say who would win.”

Obviously, the Dragon Demon wasn’t willing to admit defeat easily.

However, if her words were heard by others, wouldn’t they be shocked?

A Demon Lord actually admitted that she wasn’t sure if she could win against Lilith. This was enough to prove how terrifying Lilith was.

She was a being who could truly rival a Demon Lord.

Moreover, as the goddess who governed evil and chaos, the harm Lilith brought to the world was even greater than that of a Demon Lord.

Even the demons of that time chose to avoid her. It was clear how powerful Lilith was.

“Hell… ?”

Shien muttered these words.

Both Elise and Airi had mentioned this word.

Presumably, during the era when Lilith rampaged, the land must have been a scene of utter carnage, right?

He had almost released such a being.

“No wonder those beastmen priests were so angry.”

Shien smiled wryly.

Airi seemed to know about what happened last night as well. She turned to look at Shien.

“You’re not really thinking of releasing that lunatic, are you?”

Airi’s tone became somewhat serious.

“What? Are you scared?”

Shien raised an eyebrow, asking with a smirk.

“I advise you not to mess around.” Airi wasn’t sure if Shien was joking, so she could only warn him. “That’s not something to play with. If you’re not careful, the human world might cease to exist.”

This wasn’t an exaggeration.

Even the Divine Race and the Demon Race in ancient times almost couldn’t handle Lilith, and the world, which hadn’t been divided into three parts yet, was almost destroyed by her. Who would want to see such a crazy being released?

Airi, who was usually indifferent to most things, was surprisingly concerned this time.

“It’s different now. The Divine Race, humans, and demons are now coexisting peacefully, and the war is long over. Releasing such a dangerous being is no small matter.”

Airi’s warning made Shien smile wryly again.

“Do I look like someone who acts without thinking?”

Shien asked Airi.

Airi stared at Shien and answered,

“Yes.”

Her answer was immediate.

“…”

Shien’s lips twitched. He wanted to pull this little girl into his arms and give her a good… no, give her a good spanking.

Was he really that untrustworthy?

He admitted that he was usually a bit reckless, ruthless, and brutal, leaving a deep impression on them, but that was all an expression of his love!

At times like this, he was still serious, wasn’t he? Honey!

Shien sighed.

“Alright, even if I’m someone who acts without thinking, I wouldn’t do something that harms others and doesn’t benefit myself, right?” Shien argued. “I’m not the Demon King. I don’t want to destroy the world.”

These words made Airi quite unhappy.

“Regardless of whether your words make sense or not, I don’t like the example you used.” Airi said, “Do you think the Demon King wanted to destroy the world?”

“Huh?” Shien was slightly taken aback. “Wasn’t that the case?”

“Of course not!” Airi said with absolute certainty, even a bit angrily. “Don’t think that the Supreme God is necessarily a benevolent good person and the Demon King is an evil person who wants to destroy the world!”

Airi seemed very upset about this.

“Well, I personally don’t mind accepting your statement.” Shien blinked. “But if the Demon King didn’t want to destroy the world, why did she start the war?”

Although the Divine Race and the Demon Race had been enemies since their creation, there must have been a side that initiated the hostility and started the war, right?

And according to historical records, it seemed that the Demon Race, or rather the Demon King, was the one who started the conflict.

It was because of the Demon King’s orders that the demons attacked the Divine Race, leading to a long war.

Under such circumstances, if the Demon King didn’t do this to destroy the world, then what was her purpose?

“That’s because…!”

Airi subconsciously wanted to say something, but she held back.

Looking at Airi like this, Shien discovered that a sense of anxiety had unconsciously welled up in his heart.

This anxiety came suddenly, giving Shien the feeling that “something” was influencing him, making him feel strange.

Unfortunately, before Shien could figure out the source of this strangeness, Airi sighed.

“…It’s no use telling you.” Airi seemed to deflate, as if some old wounds had been reopened. She said sullenly, “Anyway, the Demon King has been defeated. That kind of thing doesn’t matter anymore.”

Speaking of this, Airi’s tone became somewhat low and sad.

Shien didn’t know what to say.

Judging from Airi’s appearance, she must have cared about the Demon King very much.

It made sense.

Demon Lords were born from the Demon King’s magic power, making them the Demon King’s children and descendants.

In other words, to Airi, the Demon King was equivalent to her mother.

And who wouldn’t care about their mother?

It was impossible, right?

Moreover, Airi was the youngest of the Six Demon Lords, so she was probably the closest to the Demon King (her mother) among the six sisters, right?

Otherwise, when the Demon King was defeated, Airi wouldn’t have lost control on the spot, almost being consumed by hatred and seeking revenge.

Therefore…

“Let’s not talk about the Demon King. Let’s talk about Lilith.” Shien changed the subject. “You told me not to release her, but I already broke her seal.”

As mentioned before, the seal was only temporarily stabilized, not restored.

“The seal will eventually break. When that happens, Lilith will be released, right?”

Shien said.

“No wonder the magic power flow in this city called Cosmos is even stranger than yesterday.” Airi came back to her senses and nodded. “However, you shouldn’t worry.”

“Why?” Shien was taken aback.

“Because those people from the Divine Race must have already noticed the problem with the seal.” Airi said bluntly. “That fox-girl saintess is Anima’s messenger, right? Then Anima must have already learned about her using her power to repair the seal. It won’t be long before she descends to the human world and personally repairs the seal.”

“The Goddess of Life will come in person?” Shien raised an eyebrow.

In other words, he might be about to meet one of the pinnacles of the Divine Race?

This was really…

“What? Are you scared?” Airi sneered. “Are you worried that Anima will come after you because of the seal?”

Shien only had one thing to say to Airi’s words.

“Do I look like someone who’s easily scared?”

Shien said defiantly.

Airi was speechless.

Was this guy not afraid of being struck down again?

Didn’t he know his own limits?

“Anyway, do as you please.” Airi seemed too lazy to banter with Shien anymore. “Our target is only the Old Demon Faction. We really don’t need to get involved in such a big mess.”

Leaving those words behind, Airi turned to leave.

However, before she could leave, Shien’s voice suddenly rang out.

“What if I want to get involved?”

These words made Airi stop abruptly.

She didn’t turn around.

But she could feel Shien’s gaze fixed on her back.

“…Aren’t you always afraid of trouble?”

Airi was silent for a moment before speaking.

“Yeah, I hate trouble the most.” Shien readily admitted, but then said helplessly, “But this time, I might meddle a bit.”

“Why?” Airi asked, confused. “This has nothing to do with you, right?”

“It indeed has nothing to do with me.” Shien was still frank and helpless. “But without my help, that girl will probably never achieve her wish, forever wandering the world, unable to find peace.”

How cruel and painful that would be was self-evident.

Otherwise, why would Beatrice be so eager to break the seal?

Knowing that breaking the seal would turn the world into hell, Beatrice still couldn’t help but do it.

This proved that she was probably at her limit, on the verge of breaking down.

What else could Shien do?

He could only meddle.

“…Even if it means becoming an enemy of the Divine Race, even an enemy of the world?”

Airi asked softly.

Shien smiled.

“Sounds very heroic, right?”

These simple words told Airi what Shien was thinking.

Airi also smiled.

“It does sound very heroic.” Airi admitted. “But I still want to say, you’re truly different from other Heroes.”

With that, Airi left.

Shien watched Airi leave, smiled, and looked outside again.

Outside, the scenery remained the same.