Forty-five years ago.
The domain of the Platinum Sword King, Demon Lord Leon.
Looking at the girl whose body was badly burned, Leon's eyes brimmed with disappointment.
"Another failure?"
He had been searching for his childhood friend Chloe for almost a hundred and fifty years.
He had even developed a special summoning array to call people from another world.
To raise the odds of finding Chloe, he released the array for public use.
But after all this time Leon had given up.
More than a century had passed; a mere human like Chloe should have long since died of old age.
This would be Leon's final summoning.
The girl who appeared before him was Izawa Shizue.
"P-please… help me…"
Shizue's outstretched hand never reached Leon.
Watching the dying girl, Leon lost interest—
until something caught his eye. He murmured,
"Thought she was trash, yet she has flame resistance."
Leon summoned the fire giant Ifrit.
"This body is yours."
Thanks to Ifrit's possession, Shizue survived.
Afterward she spent several years in the Demon Lord's castle.
Within Leon's fortress stood a training camp.
Without relying on Ifrit's power, Shizue learned to fight with a sword.
Those days were grueling, but she endured.
One day she met a girl named Pirino.
During a live training hunt in the forest, the two became friends over an adorable wind fox.
Shizue even named the fox Pitz.
A faint light pierced the loneliness in Shizue's heart.
But it marked the start of a tragedy.
"Run—run, Pitz!!"
One day the trio crossed paths with Leon.
The Demon Lord's overwhelming Aura threw Pitz into a panic.
The fox bared its fangs like a dog—probably trying to intimidate him.
Pitz's hostility awakened Ifrit inside Shizue.
Any creature hostile to its master had to be annihilated!
Suddenly Shizue lost control of her body.
Ifrit forced her to seize the snarling wind fox.
Shizue could only watch as she strangled Pitz to death.
Pirino clutched Pitz's lifeless body, wailing in anguish.
The tragedy did not end there.
Flames erupted from Shizue's hands, a fiery tornado rushing toward the grieving girl.
In utter silence Pirino turned to ash—
as though she had never existed.
Ifrit bowed respectfully to Leon and vanished back into silence.
W-what… just happened…?
Shizue stood there, dazed.
Why?
It shouldn't have ended like this… She had killed her friends with her own hands.
Regret and sorrow overwhelmed her.
She wanted to weep, yet no tears came; to scream, yet no voice sounded.
Demon Lord Leon merely watched her coldly.
He offered no punishment… (Leon is actually a gentle soul; don't misunderstand.)
…In the Kingdom of Englassia, inside an academy,
Shizue was lecturing five students.
Suddenly—
Boom!!
A violent tremor shook her mind.
"Teacher, are you alright?"
Kenya looked worriedly at his most respected teacher.
"Sorry, I was just spacing out. Let's continue the lesson."
Shizu shook her head.
She raised her hand to rub her temples; that intense feeling of dizziness just now had left a deep impression on her.
Lately, Shizu had realized her time was running out, and her body was becoming increasingly weak.
She sighed softly. It was time to set out, or it would truly be too late.
Because the High-ranking Spirit Ifrit resided within her, Shizu's appearance remained that of a sixteen-year-old.
But her soul was already over sixty, and given her current state, she likely wouldn't last much longer before dying.
But the problems regarding the children had yet to be resolved.
These children were Otherworlder Summoners just like Draco, but they were considered defective products.
Due to the summoning array, their bodies contained a massive amount of Magical Essence.
This Magical Essence was a powerful force for adults, but for these ten-year-old children, it was a lethal poison.
Their small bodies simply couldn't withstand the rampaging Magical Essence within them.
If left unchecked, the little ones would surely die within another year.
Two years ago, after failing to find a solution, Shizu returned to the school.
In the past few days, she thought of someone.
A man who had both saved her and brought her despair.
Demon Lord Leon Cromwell.
It was this man who had summoned her, who should have died, to this other world.
He must have a way to save the children, just as he saved me.
And while she was at it, before she died... she couldn't beat him in a fight, but she could at least give him a piece of her mind.
Shizu bid farewell to her students and set out on a journey to find Leon... Meanwhile, at the Brumute Kingdom Freedom Association Branch.
Eren's trio had spent all their savings in the Duchy of Nazarick and returned to the Guild.
After hearing their report, Guild Master Fiz fell into deep thought.
Veldora's disappearance was confirmed, and the once-peaceful forest had fallen into chaos.
Also, why would the Otherworlder Draco appear inside the cave?
Could there be some connection here?
Fiz had a bit of a headache; the information currently known was too sparse.
Further intelligence had to be obtained.
"You guys did well. You have a three-day break starting now."
"After that, head back to that forest to investigate again, focusing on the area around the cave."
"Now, you may leave."
"Huh? Are you kidding me!"
"Three days? That's way too short!"
"Traveling through the forest is exhausting, you know!"
Fiz was already unfazed by such protests; he was used to it.
"Why haven't you left yet?"
He saw the eyes of the three filled with resentment, staring intently at Fiz.
"We're out of money."
"You haven't given us the reward for this commission yet."
"This makes things very difficult for us."
"..."
Izawa Shizue
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