Maou no Hajimekata

"How..."

She glanced at her eyes and Sophia let her body wander.

Why is Zana here? And why is it that Marie and the others are frozen without the art of exchange? Both were out of her comprehension.

"This castle is mine. It's easy to get ahead... and freeze these kids who were totally off guard in the guest room."

Between blinks, ice flashes from Zana's palms and surrounds Sophia, restraining both hands and feet disappointingly. It was an ice freeze for a moment, leaving even the sound behind.

"Why..."

Sophia says the same word again.

"Why did you miss me?"

But that was a question for another question. If we could do this, it would have been easy to capture Sophia without bothering to do such a roundabout.

"Good question."

Xana smiled and said. It's a casual, people-loving grin that reassures you around.

"To despair you."

But the tone of the voice is so low and faint that it softens.

"Until you got here, you would have worked pretty hard with that little body, wouldn't you? Now I can help you, Oulu. That's how you got here, isn't it?

Xana strokes her soft cheeks gently as she slowly walks over to Sofia.

"But it was all for nothing. I have the ability to hit my best hand. If you mean it, no one can stop you."

"... why are you doing this"

Sophia looked up at Zana and glanced at her.

"It's simple. You want Oulu to give these kids back, right? Then... be mine."

The meaning of the word was also understood by Sofia. Wanting Sofia means wanting that country. Sahara and Yamato. Zana is trying to keep the two countries in their hands.

"Don't worry. I won't make it worse. What a silly imitation of a goose laying a golden egg on purpose. Just do what you have to do, and let our country divide its richness. Then you can live happily ever after with your mom and dad. You don't have to worry about it, do you?

Zana's words, which she says in a calm voice like she teaches, or perhaps they are true. At least, Sophia doesn't have any other options. In the present situation, which has been consolidated with ice for each dungeon cube, we cannot escape or fight.

"... no!

But Sophia answered clearly with momentum that just bit Zana's finger.

Even as the king who deposits his country - the girl whose consciousness had just begun to bud - could not resolutely nod to the question.

At that moment, Zana's eyes narrow.

"Yes..."

And the finger was stuck on Sophia's forehead.

"Then freeze here forever..."

"Oh... oh... no, please"

On the verge of ice blowing out of its fingertips. Somewhere a tongueless mosquito squeaking voice stopped Zana clearly though.

"... why, stop?

Zana looks back and asks as she pleases. It was her sister standing there...... Yeldave.

"O... O Lord Oul, is my... benefactor... who repays his grace with vengeance..."

Yeldave obviously pulls that brown face just by getting Xana's gaze, but he spells words even as he trembles.

"Sister, also... O, to Master Oulu, was... helped, should have been..."

"Uh-huh."

Zana told him to throw up and stared at Yeldave half-eyed.

"When it came to Uselmart, we simply cooperated because our interests coincided. I don't owe you anything. If I insist, maybe he took that abominable collar of yours. You took away my purity, so you offset it. Unborrowed reciprocity.... If so, it's worse to be alert"

Pompous and squeaky as an excuse, Zana turns back to Sofia.

"Now choose, little demon king. Save your family with a slight detriment or sink into the ice forever"

It's not a threat. Sophia intuitively realized that. If you say no here, Zana is seriously going to freeze Sophia. To the horror of it all, there are tears in Sophia's eyes.

Trapped in the ice, spending eternal time. I absolutely don't like that. I can't talk to anybody, I can't make contact with anybody, only time flies by for no reason.

I don't want to think of that again.

Because I thought so... Sophia answered.

"Damn, no!

It's scary because I'm ready for it. Because I decided not to run away. If you can run, if you can avoid it, there's no need to be horrified anywhere. Sophia's answer was decided from the beginning.

"Yes."

Zana replies, not even funny, and she puts her hands on Sophia's head. And the cold air poured out of his hand, and Sophia's whole body was filled with ice.

"What are you going to do?

That ice melted loosely only moments after Sophia's consciousness was covered in ice before it sank into darkness.

"Oh, if your sister, you know, is going to"

Even Sophia trembles so bad that Yeldave floats a small chunk of flame in her palm as she shelters Sophia behind her back.

"Wow... I will follow you here!

"Nothing, fine."

Xana exhales in a frightened manner and moves her hand to pay lightly for the sky.

"How are you going to fight me with such a small flame?

With just that slight motion, the flames that Yeldave was creating froze and scratched out.

"Ya... Lord Igalk the Sun God, please give me strength...!

When Yeldave cries out and prays, countless flames arise around her. That tremendous calorie is as if the sun was born in front of you, and the ice that binds Sofia dissolves and looses even though it hasn't even touched it.

"It's late."

But before Zana's words reached Sophia's ears, without even moving her hand, the world of extreme cold wiped out the flames and froze the ice again.

"Speed, accuracy, power, it's like we're not talking. Hey, Eve. I've been desperate to learn icing since you caught me. Every day, every day, so many times that I can rub my hands off with the cold air I let go. In the meantime, instead of training, you weren't even allowed free will. Though I find that very pathetic..."

With breathtaking nature, Zana's cold air freezes Yeldave's entire body. Yeldave releases a flame desperately, but every last one of them was put out before it worked.

"Well, you're no match for me. If you know what I mean, stay with me."

Like teaching a young child, Xana says.

"Wow... I... am no match for your sister..."

Slowly iterated, Yeldave admitted it.

"... but this child is not"

The flames gush out, and the ice that was holding Sofia in captivity evaporates in an instant.

"What?"

Zana waved to extinguish that flame, but the flame momentum blowing from next to next is stronger.

"Your sister's technique, awesome and fast. But you can't keep freezing it."

Sophia said as she wrapped the swirling flame around her whole body.

"You...... no way!

The innumerable flames put out by Yeldave earlier were not meant to attack Zana. I'm no match for my sister. Yeldave himself knows that better than anyone.

"Unless you feel sorry to rely on such a little girl."

That's why she gave that power to Sophia.

The flames of the Sun God taken in the dungeon are material, and Sophia can manipulate them freely. The flames of the sun, which continue to burn extensively on the other side of the sky, did not even require incineration, and could be increased in as many divisions as possible.

"This kid can beat your sister too!