Are you referring to a regular female knight, or a trash-tier female knight?
“Without changing your expression at all, huh? Are you really a princess who was pampered like ‘butterflies and flowers’? Your mental strength is abnormal.”
Armand let out a bitter smile.
He realized he must have had some prejudice against the very concept of a “princess.”
She’s of royal blood. Of course she would be cherished and kept away from danger.
Naturally, she should never have experienced something as agonizing as being pierced through with an arrow.
And yet, Luna remained calm, not even breaking into a cold sweat.
Armand couldn’t help but feel genuine admiration for her willpower.
“If writhing in pain won’t improve anything, then it’s pointless, isn’t it?”
“That relentless rationality… I see. Impressive. If a king like you ruled, the people would surely be happy.”
A ruler without rationality cannot be considered capable.
However, if one pushes rationality to the extreme like Luna does, they risk losing their humanity—so it’s a case of give and take…
“Then, may I ask you to hand over your older brother? He must be dealt with.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. The orders given to me are to make Lord Dennis the Demon King. As a soldier, I cannot disobey orders.”
Her brother’s life is more important than her own wound.
Laughing, Armand shook his head, rejecting Luna’s demand.
He was a soldier. His military command was clear: “Support Dennis and elevate him to Demon King.” Since this served the Empire’s interests, he could not defy those orders.
Not yet.
“Hmm… You don’t seem like someone who would cling stubbornly to such things…”
“Oh? Really? That’s not the case at all,” Armand replied earnestly.
He truly believed there was no soldier more loyal to the Empire than himself.
After all, he had stayed out of petty factional disputes and simply carried out the military’s orders for the sake of the Empire—
All while keeping his true intentions hidden from everyone.
“What the hell are you two yapping about?! Just kill that woman already!”
Luna and Armand had been having a surprisingly leisurely conversation, despite being enemies.
Dennis, unable to bear it any longer, finally snapped.
“Oh my… To refer to your own sister as ‘that woman’… And besides, I’m not even your subordinate…”
Armand gave a wry smile.
By now, Dennis clearly no longer saw Luna as family—not even slightly.
Besides, Armand’s allegiance was to the Empire and the military, not to Dennis.
“Then, will you give up?”
“As I said before, I cannot. After all, you’re too capable. A capable Demon King is naturally quite terrifying for us fragile humans.”
“I see.”
A simple, indifferent response.
At the same time, a powerful wind bullet launched from Luna’s palm.
It prioritized speed over mass—sudden, and incredibly fast.
The deadly spell aimed straight for Armand’s neck, advancing unstopped.
He didn’t even manage to react.
Once this man was dealt with, her next target would be her brother.
That was what Luna thought…
“!?”
But suddenly, another intruder appeared—and deflected her spell.
“Tch! That was a pretty solid attack. Doesn’t seem like you were spoiled much, Princess.”
The woman who blocked Luna’s magic spat out words in a rough tone while waving her hand casually.
She had dispersed Luna’s spell with just a punch.
“I get that you’re having fun, but don’t drag it out too long. This princess is stronger than expected. You’re weak—you might end up getting killed.”
“Oh yeah, I know. But since you’re here, I felt safe, Filidora.”
“Heh. Sure you did.”
Filidora brushed off Armand’s eerie smile with a smirk of her own, not taking his words seriously.
“Another opponent?”
“I’m weak, so without protection, I wouldn’t dare stand before strong and scary beings like demons.”
Indeed, Luna had sensed that Armand wasn’t particularly powerful.
After all, he hadn’t reacted at all to her surprise attack.
Conversely, it meant that Filidora—their bodyguard—must be extremely strong to allow Armand to stand confidently in front of an enemy regardless.
Now what? Luna pondered.
She still had plenty of magical energy left.
She could definitely keep fighting.
But escaping would be difficult.
Dennis’s “Chasing Round Blade” and Armand’s arrows had already wounded her body.
Fleeing at full speed using her entire body was impossible.
“(Then, I shall kill them all right here.)”
As Luna began to raise her magical power and prepare for battle—
Suddenly,
“…!”
Her vision distorted, squirming like looking through water.
Everything seemed to warp and blur.
She could no longer stand and dropped to her knees.
“It finally took effect, huh? It’s cliché, but I coated the arrow in poison. Ah, don’t worry—it’s not a deadly toxin. Just a mild paralyzing agent designed for quick effects.”
Even Armand’s voice sounded distant and muffled, like it was coming through fog.
Yet the word “poison” rang clearly in her ears—and she understood instantly.
Of course. For a powerless human to kill a strong enemy, poison was an effective tool.
“If it were assassination, a stronger poison would’ve been better. But for simply creating an opening like this, even a weak toxin suffices.”
Though slightly relieved that it wasn’t lethal, the situation hadn’t improved at all.
In fact, being immobilized was just as dangerous as offering her neck to a guillotine.
“It’s me who’ll finish it.”
“You know, I could do it too. I can at least stab the throat of someone who can’t move.”
“Better not. You’d probably mess it up.”
“Eh…?”
Even Armand looked shocked.
To fail at killing someone who couldn’t even move—what an incredible klutz.
Ignoring Armand, Filidora approached the paralyzed Luna.
“Sorry, Princess. I got no grudge against you personally, but the Empire says you’re in the way.”
“I… cannot die yet. I have the duty to ensure the prosperity of the demon race…”
“You sound just as crazy as Armand, only in a different direction. Whatever.”
Despite facing imminent death, her thoughts were on the future of the demon race.
What happens when she dies?
What becomes of the demon race if her foolish brother takes the throne?
They’d certainly be exploited by the Empire.
And other human nations wouldn’t overlook a weakened demon race either.
Especially religious countries that absolutely despise demons—they’ll jump at the chance to wipe them out.
Ending the centuries-old conflict is natural—but she cannot accept that.
Born solely to bring prosperity to the demon race, she cannot lose the meaning of her existence.
“Well then, Princess.”
Filidora finally stood before Luna.
All that remained was to swing her arm down.
With the strength to nullify Luna’s powerful magic attacks, killing her helpless form would be easy.
As the light of her life flickered…
“Wait.”
A chilling voice echoed, as though rising from the bottom of a sea of absolute zero.
Cold. Terrifying.
Even with the blade poised to strike, Filidora froze stiff.
Following that came heavy metallic clanking sounds—clang , clang —from deep within the dark corridor.
Everyone turned—Luna, Dennis, Filidora, and Armand alike.
Drawing all eyes, slowly emerging from the darkness was… a figure darker than the shadows themselves, the strongest of the Demon Army’s Four Heavenly Kings.
“I cannot allow you to kill her. First, let’s have a little dance with me. (She’s the goddess who can retire me from the Four Heavenly Kings! What the hell are you doing standing around like that!?)”
The Dark Knight.
The strongest and most terrible presence had manifested before them.