There were indeed a few human-like figures, but they weren’t human.

…Demons?

The Akumataigoku was a nation of demons…

In this world, there were intelligent "humanoid" races besides humans.

For example, elves, dwarves, and various beastmen. These humanoid races other than humans were collectively called "demi-humans."

Demi-humans were rare in the Galyza Kingdom, so people didn’t see them often. However, there were countries where demi-humans were abundant, and even countries formed solely by demi-humans.

Generally, demi-humans resembled humans and coexisted with them. Some held negative feelings towards humans and avoided contact, but they rarely actively sought conflict with them.

However, unlike those demi-humans, there was a race that was closer to the monsters born in dungeons, with higher intelligence than even humans. They were collectively called "demons," and the humanoid demons were called "demon-men."

Goblins and orcs, who formed settlements and built homes, were living proof that more intelligent creatures existed, and it was not inconceivable that even more advanced demon-men existed.

These demons were far stronger than humans and demi-humans, and they commanded and subjugated beasts.

Demons were inherently hostile towards humans. To them, humans were merely food.

Just as humans hunted and ate animals and beasts, or harvested plants for food, demons hunted and ate humans and demi-humans as a natural part of their survival.

On Earth, humans might hesitate to consume animals with high intelligence capable of language. There was no such problem on Earth since no other intelligent life forms existed. However, in this world, even monsters with a certain degree of intelligence, like orcs, were considered food. So, there was no distinction based on intelligence levels.

What if all living things on Earth, including plants and animals, possessed high intelligence and could speak?

Even then, they would need to consume other creatures to survive. In such a world, having intelligence on par with humans wouldn’t be a reason to refrain from consuming them.

Naturally, the human-demi-human alliance would be at odds with the demons. The demons merely saw humans as food, and they didn't necessarily hate them. But for the humans and demi-humans, demons were enemies who ate their families and friends, and therefore, a target of hatred. Hence, there was a history of wars waged by the human-demi-human alliance against the demons. In those wars, humans emerged victorious.

The leader of the human-demi-human alliance warriors who played a vital role in those wars was called the "Hero," and the demon king was called the "Demon Lord." This is the tale that is passed down to us today in the legendary saga of the Hero's conquest of the Demon Lord.

However, the last war between humans and demons took place over 2,000 years ago, and it was believed that the demons had been wiped out. Subsequently, humans gradually forgot about their existence.

But the demons hadn’t been eradicated. (After all, monsters were constantly being generated in the dungeons. There was no reason why demon-men wouldn’t reappear). The diminished number of demon-men had gone into hiding, adapting to the rules of the human world, forming their "nation," and building their power. The Akumataigoku was one such nation.

However, the demons weren’t lying in wait to seize an opportunity for revenge. To them, humans were just food. It would be easier to understand if you thought of it as wild animals retaliating against humans who eat them, and temporarily retreating.

It was natural for wild animals to attack humans to avoid being eaten, and if the damage was significant, people might consider eliminating the threat. But that didn’t usually mean they harbored hatred towards the entire species.

Humans might personally harbor hatred if a family member had been killed. However, demons had a weaker sense of family ties than humans, so this wasn’t an issue for them.

Humans wouldn’t try to eliminate all animals that they hated, even if they did. Running out of food would be a problem for humans as well.

The demons felt the same way. They hunted and ate, just like humans. They even protected and raised certain animals as livestock. Since humans were food, they didn’t hold any hatred for them, nor would they consider wiping them out.

Why, then, had the Akumataigoku refrained from attacking their neighboring nation for so long? There wasn’t any deep reason for it.

Even humans, if they encounter dangerous animals, wouldn’t go out of their way to fight them if their living areas didn’t overlap.

However, if those animals were considered delicious and rare delicacies, and if there was a way to hunt them reliably, then humans might venture out to hunt them.

This time, the demons had invaded because they saw an opportunity to hunt while the prey’s defenses were weak.

However, demons were significantly stronger than humans. It was akin to a horde of individuals with strength comparable to Ryujin (Level 1) attacking. Moreover, the human side was poorly defended. The demons attacked, and the humans proved to be incredibly weak, leading to the swift fall of three cities.

It might not be so different from humans using weapons to hunt animals.

Ryu, sensing Sister Ann’s weak magical presence in the lord’s mansion, flew there and found the demons.

In the front yard of the mansion, several humans were lying on the ground. They all seemed to be dead. However, unlike those devoured by monsters in the city, they still retained their human forms.

When Ryu used his God’s Eye to search the mansion, he sensed a living human in the hall just inside the entrance. Entering the mansion, he found a demon-man biting the neck of a human, sucking their blood.

There were various kinds of demons, and the ones who had invaded the kingdom were “vampires,” who enjoyed drinking human blood.

Ryu immediately used dimensional rifts to slice the vampire who was sucking blood. The human who had been drained of blood was on the verge of death, but because it had only just happened, Ryu was able to rewind time and save their life.

The victim was a young woman.

Ryu: "Are you alright?"

Woman: "Ah… Ah… ? Did you… save me?"

Ryu: "What happened?"

Woman: "What…? Ah… Vampires! The vampires attacked the city! Monsters infiltrated the city, and they went wild…"

Ryu: "Do you know anything about the sisters and the children from the church in the slums?"

However, the woman’s answer dashed Ryu’s hopes.

The vampires who had occupied the lord’s mansion had used their monstrous minions to gather young women and children inside. They were then fed to the vampires as a feast, their blood drained in turn.

Guided by the woman, Ryu went to the backyard. There, he saw something he didn’t want to.

Numerous dried-up corpses were lying around, and among them were the bodies of children and a woman wearing a nun's habit…

Ryu approached and examined them. They were so dried up that they were beyond recognition, but based on their clothing, they were unmistakably Sister Ann and the children from the orphanage. He could detect a faint trace of magic emanating from their remains.

Unfortunately, time had passed since their death, and even Ryu couldn’t bring them back to life.

At that moment, an attack was launched from behind, targeting Ryu.

Of course, Ryu, with his danger prediction ability, managed to avoid it.

He turned around and saw several vampires standing there.

Vampire: "Who are you?"

The vampires, who had instantly killed all the humans in the city, seemed surprised that their attack had been dodged.

Ryu glared at the vampires.

In the next instant, their bodies were severed into pieces.

To be continued

Next time:

A battle against the vampires!

Don’t miss it!