With Maki, the Demon Spirit, slain by Shien and receiving the retribution she deserved, Taiger Forest finally returned completely to peace.
The monsters that had fallen into a frenzy because of Lilith's authority had more or less calmed down by now, returning to their respective habitats to recuperate.
Everything seemed to have returned to how it had been.
But that was only on the surface.
In the hidden depths of the ancient forest, darkness was still stirring.
A refined-looking demon man arrived before a cliff reduced to ruins, accompanied by several black-robed figures.
This was the cave where the Demon Refining Ritual Shien had destroyed had been located.
The refined demon man looked at the ruined cave and murmured.
"Come out, larva."
At his murmur, the ruins ahead suddenly exploded.
Rubble and dust surged into the air, instantly engulfing the surrounding area.
Some of the stones and dust drifted toward the demon man, but the black-robed figures beside him blocked them.
The black-robed figures merely flashed in front of the demon man and released magic power. Their incomparably solid and powerful magic power blew away the incoming rubble and dust, leaving him unharmed.
Meanwhile, the demon man had not moved from beginning to end. His expression had not changed in the slightest as he stood there calmly, protected by the black-robed figures.
His gaze fell ahead, clearly seeing the enormous figure flickering in and out of view amid the dust.
Before long, the dust settled.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa--!!!"
A terrifying roar rang out, setting off an enormous sound wave.
Within that sound wave appeared a monster with dragon wings, a human upper body, and the lower body of a centipede. It looked immensely tall and muscular.
An aura that made the atmosphere tremble rose and fell faintly around it. Even though it