In stage plays, a plot in which a powerful helper suddenly appears without warning or logic to solve a crisis is called a Divine Descent.
The Red Dragon Sorcerer had undoubtedly used a Divine Descent. It had almost worked.
If Annan hadn't insisted on coming along, the Red Dragon Sorcerer would have escaped. All four Legendary figures, including the Skeleton King, would have died at the hands of the Sorcerer Protection Association's followers, and the Dimon Kingdom, deprived of the Three Legends, would have been unable to resist the Demon Army's invasion.
It was no exaggeration to say Annan had saved them.
So whatever the three Legendary figures thought of Annan, they were much more courteous now that he held the three crystals.
As for the Skeleton King... its attempt to send Annan away first when it sensed danger showed that it was a staunch ally.
"Could Nanako still be revived?" Annan recalled what the followers had done with her corpse.
"It doesn't matter. She can never come back," Andrius said.
Did that count as completing the Demon Lord's task?
Aetherlon purified the coins, checked the forest once more to make sure nothing had been missed, then used Teleportation to return to High Mountain City.
Annan opened a Portal and brought the Third Princess back.
Faced with the gazes on the other side of the Portal, she hesitated, looking ill at ease. "You haven't left yet?"
"It's already over."
"Over?"
Annan said with forced nonchalance, "How long could it take to hunt down a badly wounded red dragon?"
Only then did the Third Princess step through. She apologized to each of the four Legendary figures in turn. "Thank you, my lords, for tolerating my rash decision to pursue the Red Dragon Sorcerer..."
Andrius's stern expression softened. "We didn't do much.