Chapter 11: The Nightmare of Vigilance

It was utterly impossible to remain awake beside someone whose breathing was so serenely peaceful, especially after an entire day fraught with exhaustion.

His professional vigilance screamed at him that the Demon King lay beside him. To preempt any mischief, he absolutely had to keep a close watch on her throughout the night.

Yet, his body, weary to its core, warned him that without rest, he wouldn’t be able to face work the following morning.

Ultimately, in his grueling battle against the encroaching tide of sleep, Wade finally capitulated.

Lamia, that woman, was utterly lost in slumber, sprawled out across the bed without an ounce of decorum in her sleeping posture.

Then again, what sort of refined sleeping habits could one expect from a Demon King? It was already a small mercy that she hadn’t simply stretched across his bed, dragging him to the side to use as a human blanket.

The weather, for now, remained comfortably warm, rendering a blanket unnecessary over their simple sleepwear. However, as the days grew cooler, a covering would eventually become essential.

Sharing a blanket with the Demon King then…? No, the thought alone sent a shiver down his spine. He couldn’t shake the unsettling image of her producing a dagger from beneath the covers and plunging it into him, especially since he himself had nearly done the same to her just moments ago.

‘Haaah…’

These rambling thoughts only deepened his drowsiness. The day’s relentless mental strain had left him utterly drained. Perhaps, while the Demon King was soundly asleep, he could steal a quick nap, even if only for half an hour. Any rest was better than none.

Wade indeed harbored these thoughts, and in short order, he truly succumbed to sleep.

Yet, he dared not fall into too deep a slumber, so his sleep remained a hazy, dream-filled state.

The events of that morning had inflicted an immense shock and pressure upon him, and thus, the dreams that swirled in his mind were a direct manifestation of this profound tension.

He found himself reliving past events in his dream, arriving once more before the imposing gates of the Demon King’s Castle.

In his dreams, he habitually blasted open a breach in the castle walls, seeking a crucial point of entry. Yet, without fail, the Demon King would wield her magic to swiftly mend the formidable fortifications, rendering each of his seemingly potent assaults utterly ineffectual.

Within the dream’s vivid landscape, he continued his relentless assault on the towering walls, a longsword forged from condensed magic clutched in his hand, clad in the pristine white armor emblematic of the White Knight.

The Demon King descended slowly from the heavens, her dark armor clanking with each deliberate movement.

By all martial conventions, they should have maintained a respectful distance for combat. Instead, the Demon King, immediately upon landing, advanced swiftly towards him.

The Demon King’s pace quickened, then quickened again, until in the next instant, her black armor burst apart entirely. Lamia’s true form materialized before him, sprinting wildly towards him, arms wide open, and bellowing:

“—Husband~~~❤️ Take off your armor too~~~❤️ Let’s have hundreds of children—!!!🥰🥰🥰”

“—Uh…? Ugh, ahhhhhhh—?!😱”

Amidst his own dream-shattering scream and the earth-shaking clang of his armor as the Demon King pinned him down, Wade jolted awake, his face contorted in utter terror.

Cold sweat drenched him, and he found himself panting raggedly, utterly petrified. Never in his entire life had he experienced anything so utterly horrifying.

He instinctively turned his head, only to find Lamia still soundly asleep beside him, thoroughly monopolizing his side of the bed. Worse, she had brazenly thrown a leg over him, straddling his midsection. No wonder he had just dreamed of being pinned down—it was this woman’s leg, resting heavily on his stomach, all along.

‘…Oh heavens…’

‘At this rate, I won’t even dare to sleep. Invading my life is one thing, but why must she infiltrate my dreams as well…?’

‘…’

‘…?’

As Wade continued to silently bemoan how Lamia’s sudden intrusion had thrown his life into utter disarray, he abruptly, in a fleeting moment, detected the unmistakable aura of a monster.

A distinct magical signature emanated from the creature, an aura Wade, with his frequent incursions into the Demon King’s Castle, knew all too well.

Lamia’s case was peculiar; as a formidable Demon King, she naturally possessed the ability to mask her aura. However, ordinary lesser demons lacked such a skill. These creatures, daring only to emerge under the cloak of night, were typically low-tier fiends.

Yet, even these low-tier demons posed an insurmountable threat to the common populace.

Wade had always maintained this dual existence: by day, he served as the Grand Commander’s assistant in the Knight Order; by night, he transformed into the White Knight, a superhero dedicated to eradicating demonic threats. Now, his moment to act had arrived once more.

Despite a powerful demon slumbering beside him, he surmised she wouldn’t suddenly lash out and harm anyone. She was, after all, still asleep, and judging by her inner thoughts, she was meticulously planning something that necessitated keeping her identity concealed, which meant refraining from harming others.

Wade felt a pang of hesitation. The Demon King was right there; was it truly wise for him to simply depart?

However, if their guise as a married couple was to be convincing, he couldn’t possibly maintain constant surveillance over her. Nor could he entrust such a task to anyone else, for in the presence of a Demon King, a being of absolute power, others offered no threat whatsoever—she could dispatch them with the slightest exertion of her will.

‘Never mind,’ he decided. ‘I should prioritize finding those scattered demons. It would be disastrous if they harmed anyone.’

After careful consideration, Wade resolved to first track down the sensed demons, eliminate them, and then return with utmost speed. His own residence, fortified with minor defensive enchantments, should remain secure in his brief absence.

With this plan in mind, Wade carefully shifted Lamia’s leg from his stomach, then rose. Without even needing to change clothes, he slipped through the open window, leaping down. The moment his feet touched the ground, the pristine white armor of the White Knight materialized, fully adorning him.

Guided by his acute sense of auras, he swiftly pinpointed a target location. With astonishing speed, he vaulted across the interconnected rooftops, arriving at the scene. Under the revealing glow of the moonlight, he confirmed the presence of a wandering, low-tier demon.

Wade possessed the power to contend even with the Demon King herself; a low-tier demon was, for him, a trivial matter. This entire excursion, from departure to return, would likely not consume even ten minutes.

Such a paltry demon didn’t even warrant him descending from the rooftops to engage in close combat. Instead, he simply condensed his magic into a radiant spear in his hand, then, without a moment’s hesitation, hurled the shaft of pure white light directly at the low-tier demon’s head—

“—?!”

Yet, neither the expected shriek of agony nor the dissipating black smoke of a vanquished demon materialized. In their place stood a cloaked figure, effortlessly gripping his magical spear.

Wade’s eyes widened in disbelief. He even questioned if his lack of sleep had caused him to misperceive the scene before him.

The black-clad figure, with an alarming ease, crushed the intercepted spear into a shower of scattered magical fragments. From beneath the dark helmet, eyes obscured by shadow fixed an unwavering gaze upon him.

Meanwhile, the low-tier demon cowered, trembling, safely shielded behind the mysterious black figure.

‘—The Demon King?!’

After a moment of frantic internal confirmation, Wade finally solidified his terrifying realization: the figure before him was none other than the Demon King, his adversary in countless battles.

‘The Demon King? Lamia…?’

‘How could she possibly have arrived here so quickly?!’