I didn’t move.
I couldn’t.
Mira stood in front of me, her green eyes glowing unnaturally bright, the knife in her hand humming with light that did not belong to the Demon Realm. The bde was stained dark—demon blood, still wet, still warm.
The body behind her hadn’t vanished yet. The smell hadn’t faded.
Silence stretched too long.
“…As expected of demons,” Mira said coldly. “I shouldn’t have believed you.”
She lifted the knife and pointed it straight at my chest.
For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
Before I could even open my mouth, Sparky and the guards moved.
Steel cshed as they stepped in front of me, shields raised, bdes drawn. “My Lord, stay back!” Sparky barked.
“Wait—!” I shouted.
Too te. One of the guards lunged forward without waiting for my order, spear aimed at Mira’s shoulder.
Mira reacted instantly.
Even with her wrists bound by demon cuffs, she twisted her body, ducked under the spear, and smmed her knee into the guard’s stomach. The spear slipped. Her glowing knife fshed once.
The guard dropped.
His body hit the ground with a dull sound.
[Announcement: A Demon has been killed by a human.]
I gasped.
“No—stop!” I screamed. “All of you, stop!”
Sparky froze for exactly half a second, then she roared.
“You dare!” Sparky shouted, eyes bzing. “You kill my comrades in front of the Lord?!”
She charged.
They collided like lightning.
Sword against knife.
Sparky moved fast, faster than I’d ever seen her move before. Her bde swung wide, forcing Mira back step by step. Sparks flew as steel met light.
Mira gritted her teeth.
“You demons really don’t know when to quit,” she snapped.
“And you really don’t know when to stop killing!” Sparky fired back.
I stood there uselessly, mind racing. Gender change? No.
Fire spell? I didn’t have a real one.
Potatoes?
“…I hate that this is my only option,” I muttered.
Sparky pressed harder, nding a clean ssh across Mira’s arm.
“Argh—!” Mira cried out.
Blood spttered the dirt. For a moment, I thought that was it.
But then Mira smiled.
A sharp, dangerous smile.
She stepped forward instead of back and drove her knife into Sparky’s arm and leg.
Sparky screamed, her sword falling from her hand as she colpsed to one knee.
“No!” I shouted.
My body moved before my brain did. I ran forward and stood in front of Sparky, arms spread wide like an idiot.
Mira stared at me.
Her knife trembled slightly. “What are you doing?” she asked, half in disbelief, half in anger.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “But I’m not letting you kill her.”
She scoffed. “What are you going to do? You can’t fight.”
“Who knows?” I shrugged weakly. “I surprise myself a lot.”
“Stop acting cool,” she snapped.
“You’re the one who’s been acting this whole time,” I shot back. “Honestly, you’re really good. Ever thought of being an actress?”
She blinked.
Then, to my horror, she ughed. Just once.
Short. Bitter.
“…You’re infuriating,” she said.
I took a shaky breath and did something incredibly not demon lord like.
I knelt.
The ground was cold.
“I give up,” I said. “I won’t win against you. Please… spare Sparky.”
Sparky hissed, “My Lord, don’t—!”
Mira stared down at me.
Her expression twisted. “You’re pathetic,” she muttered.
She stepped closer, knife glowing brighter.
Sparky struggled to rise, fury burning in her eyes, but she couldn’t move.
Mira leaned down, dragging the bde lightly across my cheek.
Pain stung.
“Any st words?” she asked quietly, pressing the knife to my chest.
I smiled. “I wouldn’t mind getting killed by a pretty girl like you.”
She froze.
“…Shut up,” she hissed, cheeks burning red.
The bde pressed harder.
Pain bloomed.
Then... Blink.
The world shifted.
Suddenly, I wasn’t there anymore. I was standing several meters away, my hand tightly held by someone else.
“Thanks, Lazi,” I said weakly.
Lazi yawned beside me, eyes half-closed. “You’re heavy… I was sleeping…”
“I still need you,” I said desperately.
She yawned again.
Charmie and Grando rushed to Sparky’s side, shouting orders, healing spells fshing.
Mira stared at where I had been, stunned.
I raised my hands.
“Grow, you potatoes! Rise!”
[Grow, you potatoes! Rise! Skill Activated!]
The ground rumbled.
Potatoes burst from the soil, flying wildly through the air like angry projectiles.
“…What a waste,” I muttered.
Mira dodged several, sshing some midair.
“Grow, you potatoes! Rise!”
[Grow, you potatoes! Rise! Skill Activated!]
More potatoes erupted, this time piling around her legs. They buried her feet. She struggled, cursed, tried to pull free.
I walked toward her slowly.
“It’s disappointing,” I said quietly, lowering my hand. “That you betrayed me.”
Mira gred at me, teeth clenched.
I continued, my voice steady despite the chaos around us. “Why pretend for so long? You could’ve killed me the first day we met.”
Her grip on the glowing knife trembled.
“I…” Her eyes wavered. “I did believe you at first.”
I let out a slow sigh. “…You did?”
She looked away, jaw tight. “You were stupidly kind. Too kind for a demon lord.” She scoffed weakly. “I thought maybe… maybe I was wrong about demons.”
My chest tightened.
“But history doesn’t change that easily,” she snapped, forcing herself to look at me again. “Humans and demons can’t live side by side. Every record, every story, demons invade, humans die. My parents died because of that.”
“We can’t change history,” I said softly. “But we can make a better one.”
She froze. For just a second, her expression cracked—curiosity, hesitation, something dangerously close to hope.
Then she ughed, sharp and bitter. “You’re really weird, Getgun.”
“I know,” I replied. “I get that a lot.”
She exhaled shakily. “Just kill me now. I lost.”
I shook my head. “No.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“I said before,” I continued firmly, stepping closer despite Grando’s sharp inhale behind me, “I will protect all living things here.”
She stared at me like I’d lost my mind.
“Even me?” she asked quietly.
“Yes,” I said without thinking.
She blinked, visibly thrown off. Her face hardened again. “Then I’ll never be forgiven.”
“You killed our friend,” I said softly. “You need to face that. Remorse matters.”
Her lips parted as if to argue...
Crack.
A sharp sound echoed.
Mira twisted her wrists with an unnatural grace, joints bending at impossible angles. The cuffs clinked once—then her hands slipped past each other in a blur of trained motion, like water escaping a net. In the same breath, she snapped her legs free from the potato pile, boots cracking soil as if the earth itself had failed to hold her.
Grando’s eyes widened. “That’s not physically...”
“I am The Hero,” Mira said ftly. “This is basic.”
The cuffs fell to the ground.
“IT IS NOT BASIC—!” Charmie shouted.
A magic circle fred behind Mira, glowing white and gold.
I felt it instantly.
Human magic.
Another human voice out from the portal, “Mira!” the figure barked. “What are you waiting for?!”
“So you weren’t alone,” I muttered.
Mira hesitated, eyes flicking to me. For one brief moment, she looked… sorry.
She turned and sprinted toward the portal.
“AFTER HER!” I shouted.
Charmie grabbed my arm. “WAIT...!”
Grando lunged at the same time. “MY LORD, THAT COULD BE—”
Too te...
Mira dove into the portal.
I jumped after her.
Charmie screamed. Grando cursed.
The world twisted.
Wind, light, pressure—
And then—
THUD.
We crashed onto hard stone.
I groaned, rolling over. “I swear… portals should come with safety manuals…”
Charmie groaned beside me. “Why… is the sky blue…?”
Grando sat up slowly. “My Lord...”
I blinked.
Tall buildings.
Bright lights.
No demon sky.
No crimson clouds.
Roads.
A billboard with a smiling human face.
“We’re in trouble,” I whispered.
Somewhere ahead, Mira stood frozen, staring back at us—eyes wide with horror.
“You followed me?!” she shouted.
I stood, brushing dirt off my clothes.
“Of course,” I said calmly. “You still haven’t paid for killing our demon.”
Her fists clenched. “You’re unbelievable.”
I smiled tiredly. “Yeah. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
Behind us, Charmie peeked at a vending machine. “MY LORD, IS THAT A FOOD GOLEM—?”
Grando sighed deeply. “This realm is going to kill us.”
And just like that...
[Announcement: The Demon Lord Has Entered the Human Realm (Unintentionally).]