The Hero’s Mentor is a Demon (King) Witch

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Two days have passed.

Satan, the leader of the ‘Legion of Wrath’ that has been devouring the Empire’s territory, wanted to suppress his anxiety, but it wasn’t easy.

“When will the Hero show up again?”

“No one knows when they will appear. All the spies in the Anari Principality have been captured. Frankly, they might not come until we shoot the Hero cannon.”

“Don’t speak so easily. If something happens to me, you’re going down with me.”

“I know. But the situation is what it is.”

The black-haired girl pointed at the map laid out before them.

“The Anari Kingdom has exterminated all the Demon King’s Army within their territory. They’ve even risen up in full force led by the Hero. Is this really going according to the Demon Lord’s plans? To stir conflict between the Empire and the Principality?”

“…….”

“Before long, it looks like we’ll be hunted down from both sides.”

“…True.”

Satan placed several flags on the map towards the Empire.

And in the direction the flags faced were dozens of the Empire’s ‘brass’ banners lined up.

“I heard that the Empire dramatically accepted the Principality’s proposal. Probably because the public opinion was worsening, questioning what the Empire was doing while the Principality killed off the Demon King’s Army.”

“The Principality dealt with the Demon King’s Army with the Hero’s power, but if the Hero can’t enter the Empire due to its officials, only the citizens of the Empire will suffer.”

“Effectively… it has turned into a dramatic settlement.”

The Principality and the Empire temporarily joined forces.

Originally, the Principality was affiliated under the Empire, but their current actions seemed more like they were facing an ally.

From the Empire’s standpoint, it was a situation detrimental to their honor, but for now, calming the anger of the Empire’s citizens was essential.

“Did I touch a nerve for no reason?”

“Why did you have to attack the territory of the Empire’s Chancellor’s mistress?”

“Do I need to be mindful of who lives in the territory I attack? Give me a break.”

Satan waved his hand as if fed up.

“When Scouters and Sandbags were captured, no one said a word. Yet the moment Baron Zarks is attacked, public opinion flips! What a joke.”

“It hurts their pride to hear the Empire is worse than the Principality. Demon Lord, what are we going to do now? If a dramatic settlement occurs, the Hero could target us next.”

“…I think we might need to change our approach slightly.”

Satan successively knocked over the flags of the Imperial army facing the Demon King’s Army.

“There’s something my mentor once said. If things get tough, I can just jump in myself.”

“What…?”

“If my subordinates can’t achieve results, then I’ll take matters into my own hands. If my subordinates seem unable to defeat the Empire’s forces… I’ll just go in myself and kill them all.”

“What are you planning? Maybe…”

“The reign of the Holy Sword is over.”

With a flick of his hand, a ring on Satan’s finger began to glow red and started to change shape.

“What is that…?”

“It’s just a staff. It was originally in the form of a sword… I simply transformed it like this. And in reality…”

Fire blazed from the tip of the staff, taking on a scythe-like form.

The crimson flames continuously flickered, as if ready to slice through the enemy’s neck, and those flames even enveloped Satan’s white hand.

Flames erupted above the girl hidden under the hood.

It appeared as if the flames of a demon were wrapping around her body, and Satan slung the flaming scythe—Magyom—over her shoulder.

“Ah, ahh, …ahh.”

The voice lowered as it transformed.

[…Is this enough?]

“Oh wow, this really is the Demon Lord.”

Satan’s voice, which had shifted from the girl’s to that resembling a beast’s, soon became like the guardian of hell.

[Then… shall I go?]

With a thud.

Satan lightly swung the scythe against the ground.

Red flames engulfed Satan’s body, and he soon appeared in a completely different location.

“What, what is happening…?!”

“Ah, a demon…?! Call the general! Quickly!!”

[The Imperial army. It warped precisely above them.]

Right above the Imperial army’s formation.

“What’s all this noise… Eek?! A-Are you a Grim Reaper?!”

[Am I a Grim Reaper? That’s good too. But unlike other Grim Reapers, before I slice your necks….]

Flames erupted.

[I will burn you to death.]

“Ugh, aaah! Block it!! Call the Sorceress, hurry!!”

[Burn, flames of purgatory.]

Satan tossed the flaming scythe over her shoulder.

[Gehenna.]

With a light brush of the scythe against the ground, the earth became engulfed in hellfire.

[Don’t think you’re the only one wielding the power of the Holy Sword, Heroes.]

Satan looked down at the crimson flames consuming the surrounding land as she once again slung the Magyom-Gehennah over her shoulder.

[Now the Demon World will take the Holy Sword and seize the Intermediate Realm.]

*

What principle underlies the Divine Power of the Goddess of Moonlight that protects women?

If we simply observe the visible phenomenon, it’s that “women are protected wherever moonlight shines.”

The principle is surprisingly straightforward.

Moonlight forms a soft protective barrier on the skin, acting as a force to shield women from external threats.

So, what if we apply this principle to men?

If there’s technology, it wouldn’t be impossible.

“Look at this.”

I called Mammon into a separate laboratory, put on a helmet, pressed the button inside, and installed a Magic Stone in the groove on my forehead.

“This is how it works.”

Wiiing.

Mana flowing from the Magic Stone began to flow over my skin.

The curved part, my face, was covered by a face mask that flowed down from the helmet, and the mana running down my neck began to cling tightly around my body, covering me completely.

“Hmm….”

“What’s wrong?”

“This covers beneath my underwear.”

By making the mana react with my skin, the mana flowed between my underwear and skin, firmly protecting my body.

“I guess it shouldn’t be in the way in between. This confirms it. The more bare the skin, the more effective the ‘Shield Skin’ magic is. Therefore, we need to strip the men.”

“Why does it come to that conclusion?”

“It’s to ensure the mana flows more efficiently. Isn’t there a difference between having it flow over bare skin and having clothes compressing the skin and causing friction? This is like a type of thermal underwear. Extremely thin thermal underwear made of mana.”

“The defensiveness is like full plate armor!”

“Except it consumes a ton of mana.”

If we capture an Orc and install the Magic Stone, the shield will last at least three hours.

And when hit by an enemy’s attack, the shield will naturally consume mana, and it will disappear as soon as the mana runs out.

“Isn’t that dangerous? If the mana from the Magic Stone runs out, it’ll be game over?”

“In emergencies, I’ve set it up to use the user’s mana who wears the helmet. I’m not going to leave them defenseless and exposed to danger.”

I pointed to the three sets of armor I put on the green cat-eared beastman, Feor.

The helmet, pants, and boots.

The names of this equipment, which currently only protects the head, groin, and feet, do not exist yet, but these protective gear will surely protect men as if they too have received the Blessing of the Goddess of Moonlight.

As long as there’s enough mana.

“All that’s needed is to fit the basic shapes. The rest can be done by engraving magic circles on each piece of equipment.”

Between the helmet and the groin guard.

And between the groin guard and each boot.

If there’s extra time, I want to make and distribute gauntlets, but there really isn’t enough time to make groin guards for 300 warriors.

“You said it would all be ready by tomorrow, right?”

“Yes. The helmet and boots have to match the specifications of each warrior, but… for groin guards, specifications are key as well.”

“Exactly.”

If a man finds his pants uncomfortable, everything becomes annoying.

Water flows from top to bottom, and mushrooms grow larger over time.

While cloth may loosen as the fabric stretches, steel armor cannot do that.

Being made of steel, it should be crafted to maximize comfort for the men’s sizes, ensuring no complaints from the warriors.

While I can’t measure the sizes of each one individually, clothing generally falls within certain specifications.

“Let’s start by dividing them into small, medium, and large sizes….”

“Whoa there.”

I waved my finger at Mammon.

“There’s no small or medium. You really don’t understand human men’s physiology very well.”

“But there must be small and medium sizes! Just among the men in this Principality, there are people smaller than my fingers!”

“And yet there are only three sizes for the groin guards.”

I held out three fingers.

“Large, Extra Large, and Super Extra Large. Each labeled as Big Size, Super Big Size, and Ultra Big Size.”

“What meaning can that even have?”

“It has plenty of meaning. If we provide small or medium sizes, all the men will pick large sizes!”

Without saying it, that’s a sensitive reason.

After all the trouble to set up precisely 300 pieces, if I had to replace them for being ‘the wrong size,’ it would cause inefficiencies in the war against the Demon King’s Army.

“For human men, things like head size, height, or foot size don’t usually hurt their pride that much. But it’s different here.”

“…Well, since the Demon Lord says so, I’ll follow. But what about the size for your cherished disciple?”

“Lucius?”

I didn’t plan to put him in protective gear.

Because he’s the Hero, and the magic of the Holy Sword protects him even without it.

But if I were to fit the Hero’s gear as well…

“There’s no size.”

“Pfft, why not?”

“Because he needs custom-made gear. It must be created to fit him specifically.”

If I had to describe it…

“He’s completely Leviathan-level.”

Truly, isn’t that the grandeur of a Hero?