The Infinite Journey of a Certain Flame

For now, Kiana decided to go and talk to the Demon King about a ceasefire.

"The Demon King's army released prisoners of war on a large scale? Is this reliable?"

"Of course it's reliable, sister. I heard it from those little bugs who were so scared they were out of their wits."

"Oh?" Kiana suddenly narrowed her eyes and stared at her half-human, half-spider 'good sister' upon hearing this. "So what's with these little bugs? Are they alright now?"

"Uh..." Solia was speechless for a moment, and then nodded somewhat reluctantly.

Hmm...it seems alright, she didn't eat the person directly.

Kiana had a somewhat peculiar feeling about the baby spider that Ariel had given her.

On the one hand, while she may not be absolutely loyal to herself, she is at least considerate in every way.

From both a moral and logical standpoint, we shouldn't be too harsh on her.

but...

Is this what monsters are inherently like?

Or perhaps, in her eyes as the apex predator of spider monsters, humans are nothing more than food to be slaughtered at will?

Hmm, the latter should account for a larger proportion, right? Or perhaps both?

In short...

“If they’re still alive, then let them go. Don’t think I don’t know you can eat other foods and still be full.”

Kiana crossed her arms and lectured her in a somewhat old-fashioned manner.

Solia, who appears to be slightly larger than her, bowed her body quite cooperatively, adopting the attitude of a good student who knows her mistakes and is ready to correct them.

But Kiana knew very well that it would be difficult to tame her with just that.

Unless... we need to figure out why she likes humans so much.

"Is there something you can't tell me? Solia, don't hide anything from me."

Finally, under Kiana's persistent questioning, Soria began to give a hesitant and evasive answer:

"Hmm... I just want to become more human, so that my older sister will like me more, right?"

Upon hearing this, Kiana was immediately puzzled.

This?

That's it? What kind of answer is that?

That's really weird...

"Silly child, simply devouring won't make you more human, quite the opposite."

Kiana chuckled and patted the spider girl's head, then frankly said, "Doing this will only make you look more like a monster, do you know why?"

"Why? Sister, please tell me."

"Because although humans have endless desires, they know how to restrain themselves. Well... although it's difficult, at least they won't devour their own kind as easily as you do."

Kiana sighed, then turned around, her back to the spider girl who was not even a year old but already understood many life lessons.

"Let's go. Now that they've shown their attitude, we should respond as well."

"Okay, sister."

Solia moved her lips, releasing the deserters bound by spider silk, and then followed Kiana on their journey to find the Demon King...

------

Located on the eastern side of the continent's center, there is a large forest known as the Jura Forest.

This place has a much larger area than any country on the continent. If a country were to be established here, it would surely become one of the world's leading powers in time.

However, humanity has not extended its civilized reach to this place.

The reason is simple: this is a gathering place for many demon tribes.

If you want to establish a country here, you'll at least need to wipe out these demons.

To date, probably no human kingdom has been able to achieve this level of accomplishment.

This would never have happened before, and now that the demon race has been unified, it is even less likely that it will happen in the future.

In fact, at this very moment, almost every human kingdom was wary of the emerging power, the Demon Kingdom Federation.

After all, under the leadership of the Demon King, this newly established nation can already be said to be the most powerful among all nations.

However, at this moment, the entire Demon Federation was filled with worry.

But don't get me wrong, so the demons are not worried because the human army has regrouped, nor are they worried because they heard that the human side has gathered a lot of powerful mercenaries.

The reason why everyone came to the wilderness to look around and be on guard was that the visitor was too powerful.

"Has that human hero arrived yet?"

"Look! She's flying over here!"

"Quickly inform the Demon King! The rest of you, line up properly! Don't let humans look down on us!"

With Kiana's arrival, the entire demon race sprang into action.

Long before she arrived, these guys had heard of her great achievements.

A powerful figure capable of fighting the Demon King to a standstill...

No matter how you look at it, they're not someone to be trifled with.

Therefore, none of the pig-people, oni-people, or other demons present intended to make things difficult for Kiana.

At this moment, all they wanted to do was show off their muscles and weapons, and try their best not to embarrass the Demon King.

Against this magnificent backdrop of demonic mountains and seas, Benimaru, the leader of the Demon King's warriors, slowly stepped forward.

"Everyone, perk up!"

He had confronted Kiana before and knew just how formidable she was, so upon arriving at the scene, he immediately ordered everyone to be on alert.

Only after his incompetent subordinates complied did he nod with satisfaction, and then turned his gaze to Kiana, who was slowly landing.

She looked travel-worn, her snow-white hair a little disheveled, but it couldn't hide her beauty.

Those azure eyes seemed to draw you in, making you want to immerse yourself in them.

A crisp, clean combat suit hugged her curvaceous figure, outlining her perfect curves, especially her long, slender legs, which couldn't help but arouse lustful thoughts...

A woman like that is truly hard to ignore.

Benimaru thought to himself, a rare hint of appreciation in his eyes, but he cleverly suppressed his emotions.

"My name is Benimaru, the commander of the samurai under the Demon Lord. Do you remember me?"

Benimaru waved and then tried to calm her nervousness as she greeted them.

"My memory is still pretty good. Is your sister alright?"

Kiana waved to Benimaru as well. Although they were in enemy territory, she still paid great attention to etiquette.

"Hmm... thank you for your concern, she's doing well. She recently volunteered to go to the front lines to oversee the battle again."

Benimaru replied, then asked, "So, Miss Kiana, was your arrival at the behest of the Western Nations Parliament to deliver a ceasefire agreement to the Demon Lord?"

"No, I came to ask if you are willing to cease hostilities."

Kiana neither denied nor admitted it.

"I have come in a personal capacity. May I have the honor of meeting your Demon King?"

“Of course.” Benimaru waved his hand.

Since the purpose of this visit is to negotiate a ceasefire, this matter cannot be decided by him alone.

"Okay. Solia, come inside with me."

Kiana turned around, nodded to her late-arriving companion, and then, guided by Benimaru, walked steadily into the Demon King's palace.

The layout here is similar to any city on the mainland, but the only difference is that there is no noisy and bustling atmosphere here. Instead, it is peaceful and serene, like a paradise.

This is truly a palace befitting the residence of the demon royal family!

Kiana sighed inwardly.

Here, she even saw rows of tall buildings, some soaring into the clouds, and others low like shacks.

"Welcome to His Majesty the Demon King's residence."

Led by Benimaru, Kiana entered a unique building.

The architectural style here is like a maze, making it impossible to tell which way to go and whether you are going forward or backward.

"Please sit down."

After walking for an unknown amount of time, a somewhat familiar male voice suddenly rang out in the empty hall.

Your voice is a little hoarse.

After Kiana sat down, she glanced around and noticed that the furnishings were simple, but somewhat in line with the Demon King's personality, appearing cold and dignified. However, there were many demon members around her, each with eyes filled with worship and awe.

It seems these demon kings aren't as difficult to deal with as I imagined.

Kiana thought to herself.

Then, she slowly closed her eyes and asked, "You should know why I've come, right? Demon Lord Rimuru."

"Oh? So you've come to question me."

Rimuru's voice was still hoarse, as if he was deliberately hiding his voice.

"No, you're mistaken. I hope you can stop the slaughter of all humans on the continent. After all, humans and demons don't necessarily have to fight to the death, and I think you should understand that."

"The fish dies...the net breaks?"

Rimuru raised an eyebrow, then smiled.

"Heh, the only enemies of our demon race are those damned heretics. As for you, I advise you not to interfere in this matter, after all, you are not qualified to criticize me yet."

No, I'm not blaming you.

Kiana replied.