Mazoku Girl 2（Teaser） (Pixiv Fanbox)

（This chapter is about 30-40 pages long, so updates might be a bit slow. Thanks for your patience！）

Brokenneck Town was the smallest "city" in the Empire. Truth be told, it resembled a dilapidated market town haphazardly bound by crude stone walls rather than a proper city. Yet, thanks to that rickety ring of ramparts and its unique location—separated from the Demon King's Castle by merely a single mountain—it had managed to claim the title of a city: a "border gateway" reeking of sulfur, black-market smuggling, and cutthroat mercenaries.

Inside a cramped tavern near the city line, the air hung heavy, thick with the intermingled stench of cheap malt ale and stale sweat.

Seated at the farthest corner of the front counter was a young girl wrapped in a voluminous cloak. The faintest, most discreet magical shimmer glimmered along its hem, completely concealing her aura and features. No one had any idea that this girl, quietly sipping her drink, was the reigning Demon King.

The current power dynamic of the continent was delicate yet brutal. Though demons overwhelmingly outmatched humans in individual strength, humanity's terrifying rate of reproduction had forcefully leveled the playing field through a long, agonizing war of attrition. As the gears of time turned, the scales of war had irreversibly tipped in favor of mankind. In a twist of dark irony, the strongest Demon King in history had been born just to maintain a fragile balance in the world. Yet, owing to her enigmatic and unpredictable nature, she had never once stepped foot onto the battlefield since ascending the throne.

"If you ask me, it won't be long now! The demon scum are already falling back on all fronts. This continent won't belong to those beasts much longer!"

"Damn right! His Majesty should just order a total purge of those dark-skinned vermin! What good ever came out of anything with horns and a tail? Born evil, the lot of 'em!"

In the center of the tavern, a few adventurers, thoroughly sloshed on cheap booze, were boisterously spouting nonsense.

"Have you heard? Several top-tier Hero parties headed for the Demon King's Castle just a few days ago. Who knows, in a couple of days they might come back carrying the head of that cowardly Demon King to claim the bounty! Ha, ha-hahahaha!"

The crude, unchecked laughter instantly sparked a wave of raucous merriment throughout the tavern. Mugs clanked together, splashing cheap foam across the floor.

Amidst this near-frenzied clamor, the girl at the counter raised a slender hand and unbuckled her cloak.

The deep hood slid back, revealing a delicate, almost indifferent side profile. Without making a sound, her figure dissolved like a smear of ink spreading into thin air, reappearing silently right behind the adventurer laughing the loudest.

The laughter cut off instantly.

The smile froze on his companion's face, his pupils shrinking in sheer horror. Pointing a trembling finger at his friend's back, a sharp, distorted gasp rasped from his throat:

"Hey... B-behind you... That's a... De..."

Squelch.

Before the words could fully leave his mouth, a fair, delicate hand—as flawless as a piece of fine art—had effortlessly pierced through the man's chest from behind.

There was no burst of magical energy, nor any resistance from flesh and bone. It was like a red-hot blade slicing cleanly through soft butter.