Two weeks before the peace treaty conference begins. The demon lord immediately summoned the Cruel Brigade to attend an important meeting at the palace.
During the meeting, they discussed the peace treaty conference which was held precisely at the Holy Oldine temple. They also discussed the Humas' suspicious movements recently, so today, they would decide who would follow the demon lord to the Holy Oldine temple.
Previously, Izumi had met with Aquinas and the others in order to ruin Avoros' plans on the day they held a conference at the Holy Oldine temple.
Firstly, the ones who follow Eveam to the conference would be Izumi, Teckil, and Kiria. The reason why Kiria was allowed to tag along was that she would expose herself in front of Eveam as an enemy. Another reason was that Izumi didn't want the plan that had been made with Aquinas to be suspected by Kiria just because of a trivial matter.
Aquinas had already realized that Kiria was indeed associated with Iraora who was Avoros' follower. So he immediately came up with a plan. In addition, after Aquinas heard Izumi's prediction that Avoros would start moving during the conference, he made some preparations to oppose Avoros' plans.
If Kiria started to take action, Izumi would stop her immediately. And after that, he could move to eliminate her. Izumi wondered if Kiria could change her expression if she knew that Izumi was just playing with her all along.
Aquinas already knew how strong Izumi was, so he entrusted Eveam to him.
Secondly, Grayald and Shublars would guard the border between the Evila and Humas continents while keeping an eye on Iraora. Also, Aquinas pretended to be left behind in the capital of Xaos, but secretly went to the border to help Grayald and Shublars to kill him immediately after Eveam and her group crossed the border. After that, Aquinas had to chase Eveam on the Humas continent while Shublars and Grayald returned to Xaos to defend the capital.
Thirdly, Ornoth and Marione would be left in Xaos, because Gabranth would attack when the conference started. They got information about the Gabranth race's war preparations from Teckil who was conducting reconnaissance using his magic.
During the meeting that Eveam held, Aquinas suggested who would go and who would stay.
Izumi also said that the Humas race planned something. However, Eveam told him not to worry.
After the meeting, Izumi let out a deep breath. He somehow felt restless lately, as if something nasty would happen.
— — — —
A week later.
Izumi strolled around the capital city, Xaos. Izumi didn't know when Hiiro would arrive at Xaos, so he had been intentionally wandering around the city since a week ago.
As Izumi walked past a large building that seemed to be the grand library. At that moment, Izumi saw the silhouettes of the three people. The three of them walked toward the grand library.
The one leading them was a little girl around 130cm in height. She looked like a little girl in her first year of middle school. She has long, fiery-red hair tied in twin tails and eyes, her eyes look overbearing and assertive. She wears a gothic lolita dress which precisely suits her appearance. Her name is Liliyn Li Reysis Redrose.
Behind the girl were a maid and a butler.
The maid has light peach-colored hair tied in twin tails. She has something that resembles a red jewel embedded in the center of her forehead. Her key feature is undeniably her chest, given her ample breasts. Her name is Shamoe Arneil.
As for the butler, he appears to be about 50 human years of age, has white hair that he keeps swept back, a well-formed mustache, and wears a distinct tailcoat, giving him the look of a stereotypical butler. He is Silvan Pultis.
When Izumi was looking at those three, they also noticed Izumi who was walking past the grand library building. The three of them looked surprised when they saw Izumi's appearance, while Izumi himself seemed confused by their changing expressions.
But then, he thought something.
"Hmmm, looks like Hiiro decided to go with an appearance like mine." Izumi said inwardly.
Izumi smiled at them while approaching. Then he bowed. He drew back his right leg. While doing so, Izumi's right hand was pressed horizontally across the abdomen while the left was held out from the body. With a smile, he asked.
"Hello young lady, it seems you look surprised when you see me. Is there anything strange?"
"Hmm, I want to ask you something!" Liliyn looked at Izumi with a serious look.
"Ah, please ask young lady!"
"I wonder, how many people are there in your tribe? I've never seen an Evila like you before. Did everyone seclude themselves?"
What Liliyn asked was quite surprising, it made Izumi think. "Erm, am I wrong? Was she supposed to be surprised because she saw another Oni? Wasn't Hiiro imitating my appearance? Or is this young lady pretending not to know?"
Izumi didn't know if Hiiro changed his appearance into an Imp like in the actual storyline or not. On the other hand, Hiiro could have changed his appearance to become an Oni like Izumi because the appearance of Oni was more similar to that of the Evila race.
Izumi asked back in a slightly colder tone.
"Why did you ask that?"
"Just answer my question!"
"Why should I? If you want to ask a question, shouldn't you be a little polite?" Izumi answered nonchalantly while crossing his arms over his chest. Her attitude annoyed Izumi. So, he responded to her question nonchalantly.
Finished saying that, the girl's true nature emerged. Her face was full of anger even though her face had turned quite cute. That little girl raised her right hand.
From Liliyn's posture, it was clear that she was about to release her magic. Her magic created illusions to trap Izumi and prevented him to move. In that illusion, Izumi saw the sky which was starting to turn dark, decorated with fiery flames along with the appearance of monsters he had never seen before.
"Heh, interesting."
Izumi activated his magic destabilization at once, dispelling Liliyn's illusion magic in an instant.
Liliyn's eyes bulged in surprise. She didn't expect to meet someone who had the ability like someone she knew. Even Silvan himself couldn't believe what he saw.
"Wasn't that quite rude, young lady?" Izumi said it in a cold voice. He walked up to Liliyn to intimidate her. Liliyn didn't expect her unique magic to be canceled so easily. Liliyn stepped back in fear of Izumi's ability. This reminded her of her annoying older brother who had the same ability as Izumi. Moreover, her brother also lived in the capital city, Xaos. Seeing this situation, Silvan swiftly stood in front of Liliyn to protect her. He lowered his head and pleaded.
"I'm sorry. My name is Silvan Pultis, her butler. Please forgive the young lady for the rude action earlier! She doesn't mean to hurt you, she's just curious because you look very much like our comrades."
Silvan's words made Izumi raise his eyebrows. "Oh, I see. It seemed that he changed his appearance to be similar to mine." Izumi said in his heart.
Izumi pretended to be surprised and asked.
"Oh, you have an acquaintance from the Oni tribe? Who is that? Shuten Douji? Ibaraki Douji? After all, there were only three people left in my tribe, including me."
Of course, he lied. There are no Oni tribes in Edea. Even if that tribe existed, their appearance might be very different from Izumi's.
When Silvan got a question from Izumi, he didn't know how to answer it. He thought that the young man in front of him was the real Oni, a person from a tribe he had never heard of. Otherwise, he would not have said the two names he had just said.
If Silvan said that Hiiro was an Oni, but Izumi knew that Hiiro wasn't a member of his tribe since Hiiro only disguised himself and his real identity was human, maybe something bad would happen. He didn't know what to say at this point.
At this moment, Izumi said.
"Hey, come on tell me, who is he? Otherwise—" His mouth grinned evilly, and suddenly teleported behind Liliyn and grabbed her shoulder with his hand while saying. "Something bad is going to happen to this loli."
When Izumi suddenly appeared behind her, Liliyn got goosebumps. Silvan and Shamoe were also stiffened by that sudden movement.
"Young lady!" Silvan shouted in worry, but he didn't dare to move.
"Hey, let go of me, you pervert!" Liliyn was so upset with Izumi's action. She tried to hit Izumi with her small hand. Too bad, she wasn't strong enough in a physical fight against Izumi. Izumi caught her punch which made Liliyn unable to move anymore.
At that very moment, Izumi heard whispers from passersby.
"Hey, isn't that the Cruel Brigade number 8, the Devilish Oni?"
"He preyed on the little girl huh?"
"What a beast!"
"It would be better if you kept your daughter away from him!"
"OY, DON'T SPREAD A WEIRD RUMOR LIKE THAT!"
Izumi yelled at them while pointing with his index finger. He looked very annoyed at their words.
"Oh crap, he heard us, let's run!"
"Run!"
They immediately ran away. In fact, their tones didn't sound like people panicking, but rather they sounded like making fun of Izumi.
Well, Izumi liked hanging out with the locals in the last three months. So they knew that Izumi liked to joke around with them. He often encountered ruffians who liked to pick fights with him, or when thugs attacked the locals while he was patrolling the city. Of course, Izumi made them all kiss the ground. Izumi didn't even stop to beat them before they were in a half-dead state or fainted. That's why he got the nickname "Devilish Oni".
"Tch, they got away too quickly."
After clicking his tongue, Izumi turned his head to Liliyn and said,
"Well, that was a joke young lady. I'm just teasing you a little bit." Izumi gave her a gentle smile.
"That joke wasn't funny!" Liliyn pouted. She was a little tense when she couldn't do anything in front of Izumi. But after Izumi said that he was just joking, Liliyn got annoyed.
"Ah, by the way, you look like my friend, are you a relative?" Izumi glanced at Liliyn up and down.
"That is none of your business! And don't look at me like that you pervert!" Liliyn covered herself with both hands as she stepped back.
"Don't be so mean, if your attitude is like that, you won't be able to get a boyfriend, you know!"
"What the hell are you talking about!" Liliyn gritted her teeth in anger.
While Izumi was teasing Liliyn, Silvan approached them and said.
"Excuse me, may I know your name, sir?"
"Me? Ah, I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Izumi, and I'm a member of the Cruel Brigade." Izumi introduced himself.
"A Cruel Member? I've never heard of you before." Silvan looked confused because he had never heard of him. Well, for the past six months, nothing major has happened to get him into action.
"I just recently joined." Izumi shrugged his shoulders.
"So that's why." Silvan just nodded in understanding. However, what Izumi asked next made him stiffen.
"Oh yeah, you said you've seen someone like me. Where's that person?"
Silvan and Liliyn didn't know how to answer his question. They shouldn't have asked Izumi earlier. They just didn't expect someone like Izumi to have such unfathomable abilities. They were too careless because they thought that their abilities were already high enough among the other Evilas. So they feel invincible toward strangers. If they knew Izumi's ability, they wouldn't dare to confront him carelessly. Seeing them not daring to answer, Izumi carried on.
"Hiiro, right? Aren't you guys here because of him? Otherwise, how would you dare to get out of your Hikikomori life?"
"What do you mean Hiki– wait, what??"
Hearing what Izumi said really took them by surprise. Izumi shouldn't know Liliyn's identity, but he even found out that Liliyn was only living in her residence. It was as if Izumi had known Liliyn from the beginning.
"How did you know?"
"Of course, I know. I know everything."
They were astonished. In their hearts, they wondered if Izumi knew Hiiro's real identity. Or could it be that the Izumi in front of them was also a human, just like Hiiro. Since Hiiro was able to change his appearance with his word magic, it wouldn't be strange if Izumi could change his appearance too. But why did he join the Cruel Brigade if he was a human? Their thoughts were mixed up because of Izumi's words earlier.
"A little more than half a year ago, I ran into him while I was hunting something like a zombie that has a corrosive attack, it's possible that you guys also knew that zombie on the way here." Izumi lied to them.
"That thing? What was it actually?" Liliyn raised her brows. From Liliyn's expression, she had encountered those creatures many times, and it seemed like it was one of the experiments that someone had carried out. It was just, she had no idea who the mastermind was.
"Why don't you ask your beloved brother, young lady?" Izumi responded to Liliyn's question with a smile.
Liliyn clicked her tongue when she heard Izumi say her "beloved brother".
"So you already know my true identity?"
"Yep, Aquinas' little sister. Can we talk somewhere? It's really uncomfortable if we talk here."
"So all this time he already knew the identity of the young lady?" Silvan said inwardly.
Izumi walked first, but he didn't hear the footsteps of Liliyn and her two servants. So he turned around.
"I don't mind if you don't want to follow me. However, I want you to know something important. This concerns you as well."
Seeing Izumi's serious expression, Liliyn felt that something bad was going to happen. She agreed, then followed him all the way to his mansion.
Talking about something sensitive is not good when it is discussed outside. It would be bad if Avoros' followers overheard their conversation as it might affect the plans that had been hatched.
Izumi could indeed sense someone's aura. But when he's outside, he won't know who is the enemy and who is not. That was why he preferred to talk about important matters in the mansion since he could monitor his surroundings.
After Izumi prepared drinks for the three of them, Izumi started to speak.
"It's safe to talk here. I'm worried that our conversation will be overheard by the spies if we talk outside. That's why I invited you all here."
"Spies?" Liliyn looked confused.
Izumi started to explain.
"You should have known about the former demon lord, Avoros. He—"
Then, Izumi explained that Avoros was still alive, along with the zombies he created that had started to appear everywhere endowed with corrosive abilities.
Izumi also explained that Avoros would appear again in the near future. Even if Liliyn didn't want to get involved, sooner or later she would be dragged down.
"Why did you think so?" Liliyn asked.
Izumi didn't answer immediately, but glanced at Silvan and Shamoe.
"A Pheom, a half-Gabranth, an Evila, and an otherworlder. I can guess what kind of character you are."
Silvan immediately stood in front of Liliyn warily. However, Izumi ignored them while speaking.
"You may not know, Avoros' strength alone exceeds your brother's. That hasn't even been counted on by his army. I don't think he'll let the three of you live together if you don't want to join him."
Izumi paused to take a sip of his drink. Then move on.
"Anyway, like it or not, you have to help Evila fight them! Otherwise, let alone your dreams, you might even live in fear forever."
Izumi sat back in a relaxing manner. He just laid his back on the sofa while waiting for their response.
Liliyn didn't know why she felt so annoyed at the way Izumi's talking. On the other hand, it was her butler, Silvan, who could keep his composure. He could grasp what Izumi meant.
Silvan whispered to Liliyn to consider Izumi's words.
"Why should I help? It's none of my business!" Liliyn was still stubborn. However, Izumi replied.
"Hehe, even if you refuse, your lover will probably accept if I give him what he likes."
"Lo-lover?"
"Isn't Hiiro your lover? Otherwise, there's no way you'll want to return to the capital."
"Who-who said I was his lover, he is my servant!"
Liliyn denied it in a flustered manner. It was obvious that this girl was really interested in Hiiro.
"You're such a Tsundere, aren't you?" Izumi smirked while glancing at Liliyn.
"Yes, the young lady is indeed a tsundere. Even though at that time you tried to—" Even Silvan agreed with a nod. But, Liliyn interjected him.
"Shut up, hentai butler, whose side are you on!?" Liliyn kicked Silvan and flew to the wall.
Silvan immediately got up with blood pouring out of his head.
"Uooohh, young lady's kick is really great. I'm getting excited."
"This damn hentai, just die already!!" Liliyn stepped on him over and over again due to Silvan's perverted nature.
Meanwhile, Izumi who was in front of them twitched.
"Isn't this the so-called masochist? Worse than I imagined it seems." Izumi thought inwardly.
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