ODGD 18

Chapter 18

She was small—maybe around 150 centimeters tall? She wore a short Gothic-style dress adorned with violet lace, fishnet stockings, and tall boots.

Her hair was tied up high into twin drill curls, and her pupils were diamond-shaped, glowing violet.

At a glance, she looked human. But one look into her eyes made it clear—there was no way she was.

Diamond-shaped pupils were a distinctive mark of demons.

I realized her identity immediately.

That demon must be Lady Aldred.

Right on cue, the system window popped up:

<Warning!>
<Demonic Ranking No. 162 — Lady Rohert Aldred has appeared!>

She smiled brightly.

“Nice to meet you all! I’m Rohert Aldred. Just call me Lady Aldred! You’ve been specially chosen as offerings for the grand banquet celebrating our Demon Lord’s return! Congratulations!”

Pop pop!

Aldred set off two more fireworks.

Oh, come on. Were those fireworks or bombs?

It felt like my eardrums had been ripped apart. The lights were so blinding, they burned through my closed eyelids.

Everyone clutched their ears in agony, eyes squeezed shut. Even covering them didn’t stop the painful ringing reverberating through our heads.

After a while, the noise gradually died down. I carefully opened my eyes. It really had felt like a bomb had exploded indoors.

…Would it kill you not to set off fireworks like that inside?

But Meteo ignored the chaos as if the explosions hadn’t even happened.

“…What did you just say? The Demon Lord’s return?”

That’s right.

Just now, Aldred had mentioned “the banquet celebrating our Demon Lord’s return.” Meteo seemed to have caught onto those words more sharply than anyone.

That was when a chilling wave swept through everyone.

The return of the Demon Lord.

Not even in their worst nightmares had people imagined such a thing.

For the past 500 years, the Demon Lord had ceased to exist, and the human world had known peace.

Unless you were from the northern regions, you probably didn’t even know much about demonic energy. People treated it like a myth.

And now the Demon Lord was back?

That… made no sense.

If, by some impossible chance, it were true… no one would’ve ever prepared for such a scenario.

Because that would mean the end of the world.

“That can’t be. The Demon Lord is dead.”

One noblewoman murmured in despair. She didn’t want to believe it. But this was the Demon Realm, and there was a demon right in front of her.

Aldred chuckled.

“It’s hard to believe, I know. But our Demon Lord has returned. The entire Demon Realm is celebrating daily! You’ll be sacrificed at the true banquet where our Lord will personally attend!”

Clap clap clap!

Aldred clapped joyfully.

Hey, can’t you see how freaked out everyone is?

She was clearly the only one enjoying herself.

Then—

“You’re lying! That can’t be true! The Demon Lord is dead! It’s all lies!”

Another noblewoman cried out, nearly screaming. That was when the children began wailing uncontrollably.

Even those around my age understood what the return of the Demon Lord meant. We’d learned about it in stories since we were small.

We’d grown up hearing, “A world without the Demon Lord is a peaceful world.” And now, he was back?

In the Demon Realm, no less.

The children’s cries intensified.

“Shut those brats up!”

Aldred suddenly barked with a terrifying tone. The crying stopped instantly, like the very air had frozen.

Just as suddenly, she smiled again, as if nothing had happened.

“But don’t worry. We demons don’t just slaughter people without reason. We’re giving you all a chance to return to the human realm. There are doors in this mansion that will open only if you solve the riddles. If you can find one, go ahead and try to leave!”

“…Is that really true?”

Countess Hayroth asked, her voice tinged with hope.

But I was confused. Even after looking around again, I couldn’t see any doors in this mansion.

Forget solving riddles—finding a door at all would be the real challenge.

“Demons always keep their promises,”

Aldred added, giggling again.

And just then—black smoke began to seep into the room.

I recognized it instantly.

You dirty cheat…!

“If you all manage to stay conscious despite this miasma, that is!”

“!”

Wait, what? You want us to find a hidden door and solve a riddle while the air is filling with poisonous demonic energy?

This kind of miasma knocked humans out almost instantly. Forget escaping—it was a death sentence disguised as a game.

I was dumbfounded, but Aldred just looked around smugly. Then her eyes lit up.

“Hm? You are…”

Her gaze landed on Rearwin. She was glaring at the demon with blazing fury.

“What do you want from me?”

“Oh my. With a pretty face like that, you’d make a perfect plaything for our Demon Lord for the night! I’ll give you special treatment!”

“!”

What did she just say?

It was so outrageous even Meteo looked shaken.

Before we could stop her, Aldred had already appeared in front of Rearwin and grabbed her wrist. Rearwin’s face went pale.

“L-Let go of me!”

“Mother!”

“Metty—!”

Rearwin’s voice echoed as she vanished. Meteo leapt forward to grab her, but she was already gone.

Aldred had disappeared, taking Rearwin with her.

“…….”

“This can’t be happening…”

Silence fell like a heavy curtain.

Rearwin had been kidnapped.

She vanished right before our eyes.

As we reeled from the shock, the miasma reached our area. The noblewomen, realizing what it was, shrieked and backed up against the walls with their children in their arms.

“Eek!”

“Hurry, we have to get out of this mansion!”

“Let’s look for a door—now!”

Meteo immediately stepped in front of them, sword drawn. With a slash of his silver blade, the miasma touching the steel vanished.

He swung again and again, but the miasma spread faster than he could dispel it.

A flicker of concern crossed his face.

“Don’t inhale this miasma. Lady Aldred may have said it’ll only make you faint, but prolonged exposure will kill you.”

“What…? Oh no…”

The noblewomen clutched their children tighter, pressing against the walls.

The miasma had already risen to my knees. But no one came to shield me—not that I really minded.

I looked up at Meteo and asked calmly.

“What about Lady Rearwin? How are you going to save her?”

“We have to find that demon. But first, we need to get out of here. She’ll show up again if we find the exit.”

“R-Right, let’s find the door—huff.”

One of the noblewomen was already losing strength, her breath ragged and eyes dazed. Then—

“Aaah! My child’s fainted! Rosy! Rosy, wake up!”

Countess Hayroth screamed, shaking the limp child in her arms.

The miasma had reached my waist. Though the children were being held, their weaker bodies succumbed to the toxic air far more quickly.

But Meteo, empowered by divine strength, was unaffected. And I, who had only recently awakened holy power, was fine as well.

Meteo’s brow furrowed even deeper at how quickly the situation had spiraled out of control.

“This won’t do. I’m going to search for the exit immediately.”

Just as he turned to go, he paused—and turned back to me, eyes laced with concern… and curiosity.

“But Crescent, are you okay? Why aren’t you affected by the miasma?”

At that, Countess Hayroth echoed his confusion.

“Th-That’s right. Crescent, how are you fine? Meteo is a Holy Knight, but you—why…?”