Who Needs Magic in a Fantasy World Anyway?

Chapter 125: Captive Comrade and the Creepers

Koko's P.O.V

"Nathan?!" Koko asked in surprise as she hadn't been expecting to see any friendly faces alive after the demon's invasion of Goldgate, much less the Archbishop. Though his condition didn't seem to be that good as the man was covered in bruises and dried cuts.

"Ah, Koko... I suppose that I should have expected that they would have captured you as well, though I'd hoped that you escaped." Nathan gave her a sad smile with swollen lips as he spoke.

"Believe me, I'm right there with you." Koko sighed as she entered the room and moved to sit down in a chair before she heard someone cough behind her.

"If you don't mind, the king is waiting to meet you." Clyis stated in a disapproving tone.

"I do mind, actually." Koko replied angrily as she stomped back to the door. "You invade my kingdom, probably kill people close to me, kidnap me, wake me up with a mythical monster that tries to eat me and now you won't even let me talk to a fellow human?! Good day sir!"

"B- But-" The demon stuttered.

"I said good day sir!" She continued right before slamming the room's door in the demon's face and turning around. "Alright, now where were we?"

"I have absolutely no idea." Nathan laughed nervously. "To be honest, I never would have expected that there could be a human that can handle demons like that."

"Yeah, well, I guess that's the Demon Queen for you unless we find a way to get out of here. But judging from the fact that that Clyis guy is faster than me and they have a horde of demons outside that are just waiting to report escapes, I doubt that it's going to be easy."

"You must have woken up only a short time ago, but you're already full of energy." Nathan smiled as he spoke.

"Hey, we really should be going." An irritated Clyis knocked impatiently on the door from the outside.

"Just give it some time and I'm sure that we'll eventually find a way to escape." The archbishop became serious as he spoke to her. And while Koko wanted to spend more time in the room so that she could think, the demon knocked on the door again with more force than last time.

"Before I go... You wouldn't happen to have any clothes, would you?" Koko asked since, while she was wearing something, it was the Demon Queen's Mantel of all things. And seeing as the amulet where they were normally stored was irritatingly stuck underneath her new collar and any attempt to free it was met with pain, it seemed to be impossible to get her old outfit back out.

"All I have is what's on my back, I'm afraid." The man replied regretfully while gesturing toward his white robes. "And they took everything underneath it while searching for weapons."

"Great..." She sighed in misery afterward. "Well, thanks anyway. Whatever they have in store for me, I'd probably better go before they blow up the rest of the castle or something in a fit."

"Don't lower your guard. There's no telling what these creatures are planning." Nathan warned her before Clyis opened the door again and gave her an impatient look while tapping his foot and crossing his arms. And while she really didn't want to meet the Demon King, she didn't think that she had a choice since she could feel that she was still injured and was in no condition to face Clyis again. In fact, while her bones seemed to have thankfully been set, the rest of her body was badly bruised and it still slightly hurt to walk. And if the opportunity to escape did present itself, then she knew that she would need to focus on healing first if she ever wanted to have a chance at freedom.

"You could have talked to him later..." Clyis grumbled as soon as Koko walked past him, though she only stuck her tongue out at him in response before she led the way as she'd been in this part of the castle before and knew how to get to the throne room which was where she guessed that the big bad demon in charge would be. But as she walked, she couldn't help but to feel cautious as the castle's corridors were full of different species of demons that came in every shape and size. Outside, flying monsters dominated the skies as even more demons looted the buildings in the city below. And soon, she stopped looking out of the windows entirely since she didn't want to see it anymore before she reached a set of spiral stairs that led down to the castle's first level.

As Koko reached the first level of he castle, she could tell the the security was increasing as large, humanoid demons dressed in black armor and with massive helberds guarded the doorways. And as she continued to walk, all of them turned their heads to silently watch her which was unsettling to say the least. However, what she was thinking of the most at the moment was that she wanted to be like Richard and have enough MP to see how strong everything was as all of them were too high level for her to see their name plates clearly. Because with no idea as to how strong these creatures were, there was no way of telling if Clyis was the only threat or not.

"Try not to make the Demon King angry. Everyone else if fair game." Clyis grinned evilly as he spoke before walking in front of Koko when they'd finally reached the doors to the throne room. And when he opened one of them and held it while gesturing for her to continue, she stepped inside and shivered slightly as the once brightly lit room was completely dark save for a single beam of sunlight that was shining through a hole ceiling. But unfortunately, it wasn't enough light to see what was in the room and she had to continue to walk forward while nearly blind. Though that didn't stop her from being as confident as she could be as she pressed forward while now determined to see the Demon King and finally discover just what part that she had in his plans.

"This is the queen?" A man's deep and powerful voice shook the air with Koko stopping shortly before she reached the obscured throne.

"Yep. This is her." Clyis was just as loud and easygoing as ever.

"She's nothing more than a child..." The man sounded almost disappointed.

"She is suitable for your plans. I tested it myself." Clyis replied.

"I don't doubt you, but it's still disappointing that she doesn't have a better figure." The man sighed.

"Oy." Koko growled at the figure hidden in darkness. And while she was already angry that she was being ignored after being told to come meet this person, now they were making fun of her?

"Did she really pass your test? She looks so weak..." Another man asked.

"Frail and bad postured." A creepy pair of voices spoke at the same time from somewhere else in the room.

"Oy!" Koko now snapped while pointing her finger at the darkness. "Shut up! I might be small, but I'm still a lot better than you guys! Is the demon king seriously here? Where the heck is the intimidation and fear inspiring presence? You're hiding in the dark! This supposed to be the big reveal?! So far the only impression that you're leaving is that of a creepy stalker!"

"Creepy?!" The powerful man's voice asked in a pained tone. 

"Just who are are you calling a stalker?!" The other man's voice asked in shock before Clyis burst into laughter again from behind Koko.