The Demon Lord & The Hero(ine)

Side Story I - Who is Artem Lockwood?

The normal route would be to head straight towards Alashic Records Academy and then towards the castle, but unfortunate circumstances had the route to be diverted.

"Your highness must have some sort of hunch, no?" inquires my carriage driver.

"Yeah."

"Anything we should be careful about?"

"A very likely chance of being attacked... can't really say with certainty by who."

The carriage driver relays the information to the others, yet this feeling of unease still swirls within my spirit...

I tried to calm down for a couple minutes, but the attack happened when I finally calmed down.

Tch. They had set up a quadruple layer spell - stamina draining, ally avoidance, entrapment, and magic sealing.

The effects of such a thing is far too great for our side...

Several minutes passed by and the situation already looks terrible as it is. My regalia is materialized through magic, which is prevented by the accursed barrier.

Not everyone awakens some sort of special ability just because the challenge is greater than one expected. Even if I were to have a weapon - which I do not - what sort of chance would I have against 10 professional mercenaries? There is a fine line between realism and idealism, but this situation has the odds severely stacked against me.

I do not have the same level of experience as the opponents, unable to cast magic due to the barrier, not enough stamina to even run to get a weapon, dizziness, vertigo, and fatigue... what sort of chance do I have? I would like to know.

I was unable to resist getting taken out of the carriage by the enemy - unless you can tell me you know a person who can punch through 12 inches steel armor with their bare hands. Their armor was of the specialized "titan" armor that used magic and enchantments to increase the power of the armor - essentially becoming as tough as a golem.

"Hey boss, the target is secured," spoke the person carrying me, although the rest of the words was hard to make out.

But all of sudden, I saw something of pure white - it is best to describe it as a white blob, as whoever it was had been too far for me to see in my current state.

In the very next moment, the barrier had been taken out and all the mercenaries had all been killed except one. The mercenary leader.

"I... I surrender!" he yells and throws down his weapon.

In a mere second, his head was lobbed off with the unknown swordsman's cold response being the last thing the mercenary leader would hear -

"No."

After the fight ended, I could not help but fall out of sheer relief of such an unlikely event.

"... Apologies for having you see such bloodshed," he said as he walked over to me, extending his hand as an offer to help me stand.

What surprised me was the fact his white cloak and armor did not have a single drop of blood or speck of dirt of combat - such a warrior capable of doing so while striking down enemies so effortlessly is one not to anger. Yet, his eyes seemed so emotionless, as if he did not have a soul.

"Thank you for your assistance. I am princess Harmonia Sylvein of the Elesian Kingdom," I spoke as I take his hand, "you are...?"

Lifting me up, he says, "I am Artem Lockwood. Soon to be student at Akashic Records Academy."

A fellow classmate? But with his skill, why is he even attending school? Sure he sounds about as expressive as a single color vase, the air of a corpse, and about as hormonal driven as a tree, but he is indeed unmatched as far as I have seen. In fact, I would say that he is a person who is empty of common, hormone-driven, teenage male actions.