The Hero’s Mentor is a Demon (King) Witch

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Who do you think has faced the most heroes in this world?

Me.

I have fought countless battles against those called heroes, pretending to travel alongside them while poisoning their food to assassinate them, and I have also studied their thoughts and motivations when they charge at me.

After all, no one knows an enemy better than their sworn foe.

As the Demon King, I can confidently say that I understand the habits of heroes better than any other Demon King.

I’ve seen many heroes attacking my castle and realized that this is the fundamental form of a hero.

Just like now.

“Go, Lucius! Your first task is…!”

Lucius unsheathed the Holy Sword.

The Holy Sword, raised high above his head, revealed itself in all its magnificent glory towards the sky, causing the Orcs to stare at it in awe.

The trapped Elves too.

Perhaps it was because of the light of the Holy Sword, or maybe they were just seeing a glimmer of hope amidst the chaos.

The Elf was staring at Lucius in a trance.

“Foolish beings.”

Orcs and Elves alike are astoundingly naive.

If the enemy prepares an attack with such a striking visual effect, shouldn’t they prepare for defense or counterattack instead of falling for it?

“Good for us.”

The Orcs were captivated by the power of the Holy Sword.

We have no intention of advertising this widely, so we need to deal with the enemy quickly.

First of all.

“Save the Elves first!”

Without hesitation, Lucius dashed forward.

The moment he stepped down, a whirlwind surrounded him and propelled him straight toward the Elves.

Swish!

Lucius swung the Holy Sword at the iron cage with one hand.

The golden storm infused with Lucius’s will sliced through the sturdy iron cage effortlessly, and Lucius reached out to wrap his arm around the Elf’s waist to safeguard her.

“Ah….”

I could hear the sigh of relief from the Elf in the distance.

In the meantime, I stealthily retreated, checking the number of Orcs and surveying the surroundings.

There are no other enemies.

No other eyes are watching this place.

“Burn bright, sacred flames!”

To hear the Demon King utter “sacred” is a bit humorous.

But it’s best to use the same incantation that the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus used.

“Become the wall that protects my hero! ‘Flame Wheel Shield’!”

As soon as I thrust my staff into the ground, my mana quickly flowed into the staff and manifested outward.

A swirling spectacle of three flame spheres began to revolve around me, and simultaneously, three flame spheres launched toward Lucius, circling around him.

“Wipe them out!”

As soon as my command was given, Lucius swung the Holy Sword sideways.

Boom———!!

He merely swung once horizontally, yet the golden storm swept through the Orcs, killing them instantly.

The air pressure from his sword swing caused fountains of blood to burst from the Orcs’ bodies.

Thirteen in one blow.

But Lucius’s sword still brimmed with the golden storm.

“Kill him———!!”

Only now did the Orc chief, Ges, begin to screech with rage and lift his weapon.

The Orcs raised their weapons toward Lucius, but it was not an assault; it was merely a defensive measure to protect themselves.

“Ch-chirp…!!”

Instinct knows.

Before the power of the Holy Sword, Orcs are but powerless beings.

However, it is the true nature of an Orc to not back down and to fight even in the face of overwhelming strength.

“Kyah!!”

And they all fell.

The Orcs began to throw down their weapons and scatter in all directions.

Some were charging towards me.

Lucius looked shocked to see me, but I twirled my staff once and readied my next incantation.

“The flames shall guide you. My power shall become an arrow piercing the enemy, igniting their hearts!”

Ahh.

Here I am, a former Demon King reciting three lines of incantation.

To conserve a paltry amount of mana, it’s neither a silent incantation nor a natural ignition using mana, but to use basic magic like Fire Arrow and recite three lines!

“Master!!”

However, I cannot rely on Lucius’s protection forever.

“You need to focus on your own battle.”

One reason is to show that I possess my own means of protecting myself, so he worries less about me.

“And I need to vent some stress.”

Another reason is to personally eliminate the Orcs who are tarnishing my memories.

“Target the chief! I’ll handle the lesser ones!”

“…!!”

I swung my staff forward with vigor.

“Frame Spear!”

The mana congregated at the tip of my staff transformed into flames in an instant, becoming sharp fiery spikes flying towards the Orcs’ hearts.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.

The fiery spikes pierced the hearts of the Orcs.

Since they aren’t even wearing armor, they can hardly withstand the spell that I refined through three incantation lines.

“Hmph.”

The Orcs that had aimed at me began to fall helplessly.

My attacks knocked them out with ease, and the fiery spikes ignited their hearts.

‘This will make it easier to farm Magic Stones later.’

I can’t keep asking Lucius to dig into their hearts, so it’s best to extract the enemy’s magic stones while fighting.

It’s not like there are enemies here planning to steal magic stones anyway…

“Grrrr!!”

Suddenly, red light began to seep from the Orcs’ eyes.

Something that stirs their blood, as if the instincts of violence and slaughter were awakening.

“Grrr….”

The Orcs were all staring at me in unison.

Even the fallen Orcs with dead eyes were staring at me with bloodshot eyes.

“…Tch.”

As I had suspected with the Goblins before, these guys are aiming for me.

No matter how much I try to hide, the essence that flows from the Magic Core embodied in my heart cannot be concealed.

They might not recognize me as Demon King Belphegor, but they surely sense that a powerful Demon Race stands weakened!

“Graaah!!”

The Orcs began to charge at me all at once.

Before I knew it, one of the Orcs rushing toward me was raising a giant axe to swing down, and I reached out to him.

Boom, boom, boom!!

The flames swirling around me raced toward the Orc and exploded.

The Orc was turned to charcoal and fell forward.

The problem is.

“Ugh…!”

I should have exploded and returned quickly when there were oncoming enemies, but the flame sphere got stuck in the Orc’s corpse.

I barely pulled it out, but an enemy was charging at me even faster.

If this continues,

‘It’s your turn now.’

Swish!!

The golden storm swept through on either side of me, and Lucius had arrived in front of me in no time.

“Are you alright, Master?”

“Yeah. Now you know roughly when to come to my rescue, right?”

“When you use a lot of mana in a dangerous situation….”

“Exactly.”

My mana is a sacrifice for my life force.

Lucius’s role is to come and save me when I have to use more mana than expected.

Of course, in the worst-case scenario, I will have to use magic myself, but using more mana than what I’d gain from the Orc’s magic stones just feels too wasteful.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“Um, yes, yes….”

The silver-haired Elf was standing there with a sullen expression.

Something must have made Lucius seem a bit uncomfortable while still holding her waist.

Is she perhaps uneasy about the touch of a human male?

If so, that could be somewhat discourteous even for a hero.

‘You can’t act cool in front of an Elf.’

Elves are a race that can greatly assist Lucius in fighting against the Demon King.

They would surely be trembling at the thought of facing a Demon King or Demon Race, and as the enemy of their enemy, they would greatly aid Lucius, the Hero of the Holy Sword.

“Lucius, she seems uncomfortable. How long will you keep holding onto her?”

“W-what? Ah, I-I’m sorry!!”

Lucius jumped back in shock, releasing the Elf.

The Elf briefly glared at me while fiddling with the spot Lucius had held, then closed her eyes tightly as if deep in thought.

“Um, um….”

“Hey.”

I thumped my staff against Lucius’s thigh, gesturing towards the coat.

I’ll cover her up.

Currently, the Elf was wearing rags that were almost like nothing.

Lucius quickly shed his robe and draped it over her shoulders.

“Ah….”

As expected.

The Elf’s hostile glare towards Lucius began to soften.

I felt quite pleased that my dating coaching seemed to have been successful….

“……”

What is this?

Why is she glaring at me?

*

I was curious about the human world.

So I secretly ran away and slipped away from the Elf escort to sneak into the human realm.

People generally didn’t pay much attention to the silver-haired Elf.

Elves have integrated remarkably into the human world over the past few centuries, having taken down all the dwarves through their skills and representing the larger festivals in human cities.

But where there is light, there is shadow.

“Rosmas” quickly fell into a trap.

She was captured by Orcs and eaten alive.

She is the princess of the Elf Kingdom.

However, if a princess runs away, eludes her escort, and roams around while hiding her identity, it would surely take time to find her.

-Cough…?! Why are the Spirits here?!

-Ha ha! The Spirits follow me!

-No way!

-What’s that? Of course it makes sense! I’m a shaman! Haha!

If something like this happens while she is going through all of that, and if there’s a mysterious Orc overpowering even her boastful Spirits…

-Set the fire! I’ll make it crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside!

-I-I’m the princess of the Elf Kingdom! The Elves won’t sit quietly!

-Then I’ll eat and run.

-Ahh….

Rosmas felt despair.

They intended to eat her.

The moment she thought that being eaten was her fate.

-Wind!

Rosmas was captivated at a glance by the man charging in with a golden storm surrounding him, swinging his Holy Sword at the enemy, and sending her a reassuring smile.

And.

-Master!!

At the moment when the Witch behind her faced danger, she instinctively sensed his urgency as he rushed to her aid.

“…….”

The Witch, who was called a master.

The Hero showed a face to the Witch that he didn’t show to her.

“Honestly, you didn’t have to come to save me….”

That Witch, being a Witch.

“Hmm, by the way, what’s your name?”

“…Rosmas Terbation.”

“Rosmas, can you fight?”

“…Of course.”

Swish.

Rosmas exuded mana and formed a bow.

The Hero was amazed by her silver-haired bow, but that was as far as it went.

“Lucius. You can keep going, right?”

“Of course, Master. I’ll make sure none of their attacks reach you.”

“Hmph. Those words….”

The princess of the Elf Kingdom, Rosmas bit her lip as she looked at the red Witch.

“Lucius.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Go take them down. I’ll be waiting for you to come back.”

As soon as the Witch’s words ended.

Swish.

The golden storm covered the forest.