The Mermaid Apostle left, intending to visit the merfolk's current settlement.
The merfolk had not always lived entirely along the seacoast. They settled along rivers as well, so it was perfectly normal to find them on land.
Mel turned to look toward the center of Demon King Island, where the Demon King's palace stood—and where the hero was being held.
Something seemed wrong. A sword aura that made the demons uneasy was rising from the center.
"Did something happen?" Mel asked the Demon King's attendant, who hurried over to his side.
"Um, Demon King, the hero seems to have gone out of control!" The attendant dropped to one knee before Mel.
"Did something happen? He was fine when I left."
"It seems Lord Blood Demon sparred with the hero and hit him too hard. After he entered a near-death state, the Holy Sword in his hand began acting strangely."
Mel looked at the chilling sword aura. This was absolutely not power that hero could unleash on his own. It could only be attributed to the Holy Sword—a living thing, just like the door inside the Rubik's Cube. The two were bound to be able to combine.
"I'll go take a look. That Blood Demon really has no sense of restraint."
Mel used teleportation again and appeared in the Demon King's courtyard in an instant.
Blood Demon was fighting the hero. Compared to how completely he had dominated before, he now looked rather miserable.
Mel sensed that strange aura as well. It did not feel like Yax was wielding the sword; it felt more like the sword was controlling him.
Ferocious sword aura struck again. One of Blood Demon's arms was severed and sent flying, while he rolled across the ground in a sorry state.
"Damn it! What's wrong with this