Hello everyone, Astaroth here. Do you think you could run an entire religion on your own? It sounds difficult to me. Lady Luciel seems to have agreed, since she doesn't even try. Even on earth, the various religions almost always had a prophet, or people called holy or saintly or such. Jesus, for example, was a prophet, as was Muhammad. Then there were people like Saint Peter, too, and even founders of an entire religion, like the Buddha. Point is, you can't run a religion on your own, even as a god.

"Master, what are our plans from now on?", Charlotte asked me, sitting at her small round table as always.

"Can I beat someone up? Please?", Davna asked, somehow looking excited despite having the face of a reptile.

"We cannot hope to defeat Lady Luciel unless we first slay her Seven Saints and her Oracle", I answered, "and the first would be the Saint of Heavenly Protection. After all, while this Saint still lives, the rest are untouchable."

After breakfast, we had returned to my throne room, though the Ice Queen had taken Richard and returned to her own palace.

"That's the Saint who, who provides protection to the Holy Cities, right? I think she was, was called Theliel. When I left, she was, was in the Holy City of Gramrock, and there were no plans for her to move from there for a month", Evyna said, completely in an advisor-like tone. She was stood next to my throne, and one of the Ghost Maids had provided her with a pair of Magic Sight glasses- glasses which allow the wearer to see magic power, as if they're a Demon, without being such- so the term 'advisor' truly fit her to a T.

"Gramrock? I heard the girls there are all incredibly beautiful and the men really handsome", Lilith commented, a slovenly smile on her face and a tiny bit of drool dripping out of her mouth. Charlotte heaved a small sigh, but since she was on the other side of the room, she found it was impossible to admonish Lilith.

"If we're going to a human city, we'll need to disguise ourselves", Tempest offered. "I've made something to hide our monstrous mana, but I can't help in hiding horns, skin colour or a gelatinous constitution, I fear."

"It would be simple for me to hide my black eye with an eyepatch, and Tempest looks no different from a human woman whereas Charlotte would simply appear a very pale girl, but Lilith, Davna and Navillus will be tough..."

"Could we possibly pretend they are your, your tamed monsters?", Evyna asked, glancing at Lilith's face- Lilith was the only of the three 'monsterly' Demons with a readable expression, after all.

"Even for me, pet play is a little...", she responded, awkwardly looking away.

"That would fail without a doubt", I cut in. "Lady Luciel's followers are anti-monster fanatics, stretching even to Demons like Lycanthropes, who have built up a peaceful country and now trade with several others. The Sacred Kingdom of Eprela has sent several extermination forces that way. Monster Tamers are only permitted if they are Heroes, and can prove they are Monster Tamers."

"Do we really need to sneak in? Can't I just burn the entire city to the ground?", Davna asked, changing her telepathy so everyone could hear.

"That would not work, I am afraid", Charlotte responded. "Since ancient times, Luciel's Holy Cities have always been blessed by a Saint of Heavenly Protection, and those blessings take the shape of protection against outside attack."

"'Sides, Master is soft-hearted, so he doesn't want to hurt humans who don't have an Azalyth", Lilith followed up. "And it'd be a waste of humans too", she continued, gaining the same slovenly smile as earlier.

"Then, then! Master and Charlotte and Tempest will go into city! And look for Saint, and get Saint to leave city! And then Navillus and Davna and Lilith can beat up Saint!", a voice from the ceiling said. Of course, it was Navillus.

"Well, I suppose it has been a while since I have been present in a human city", Charlotte said, elegantly raising her teacup to her lips and drinking the last of her tea. "I can concur with this plan."

"Maybe I could get some inspiration from the humans?", Tempest wondered aloud while tilting her head.

"Beat 'em up, beat 'em up, beat 'em all up~♪", Davna telepathically sang in an elated tone, her large body swaying to the rhythm of her mental song.

"I won't get to see any developments, but if it's needed, I guess I can do this...", Lilith conceded in a somewhat melancholic tone.

"How will you convince the, the Saint to, to come out, though?", Evyna asked, an unsure look on her face.

"Charlotte, you are skilled with makeup, yes?", I asked, directing my gaze towards her.

"It is one of a lady's essential skills", she responded. "But why, Master? I do not feel like it would make you more convincing if you made yourself more handsome."

"Do you think your skills are sufficient to reproduce a scar, or a wound?"

"""Please take care, Master, Five Demon Generals."""

A platoon of Ghost Maids wished us safe travels in unison as we faced the front gate of my castle from outside.

"Plea, Please come back safe, safely", Evyna said, a somewhat worried expression on her face. "I wouldn't know what to do in a castle like, like this if you didn't, didn't come back."

"Be safe", a small voice whispered near my ear.

"I will absolutely make sure to return to you, so don't you worry, okay? Lady Entropy", I responded in the same volume to the invisible goddess.

"... I wasn't worried. Idiot. You know I trust you."

Turning my attention to the crowd, I said "We will save the saveable and slay the rest! We will strike down the puppeteer!" before turning around and departing, using [True Demon Form] on my back to reveal my large, dark purple wings. Tempest flew on a broom, whereas Charlotte had created wings of blood for her to fly with after making two small slits in her back with her knife. Lilith had the ability to float, so she needed no preparations, whereas Navillus had taken the shape of some manner of quadrupedal creature, running along the ground to keep up with us, and Davna simply ran alongside Navillus in her human form, enjoying the exercise.

Davna, Lilith and Navillus looked as normal, but Tempest, Charlotte and I had undergone some changes. Charlotte had used makeup to appear less white, and she now simply looked like a pale girl rather than appearing white like candlewax. She was wearing the same clothing as always, which meant she only had to apply the makeup to her face, and she was protected from the sun by her parasol. She had covered up her unnaturally colourless lips with deep red lipstick, and had simply decided not to open her mouth in the human city, "lest I give away my identity", or so she had said. Additionally, she hid her blood-red eyes as a natural blue, since red eyes, too, would give her away, and she could not pretend she had been blessed by Salamander, Goddess of Fire, since anyone would notice it was not true.

Tempest was not wearing her usual witch's hat, since that would give her away in a matter of seconds, nor was she wearing her lab coat. Instead, she wore clothing which Evyna had recommended as 'magician-like', and on her back was a staff she would normally never use. She, too, hid her eyes as blue, but rather than with coloured contacts, she used illusionary magic. She used the same magic to make her verdant green hair appear blonde.

I had replaced my military-like clothing, instead wearing clothing suitable for a swordsman, though I wore no armour and there were two very thin slits in the back for my wings. On my hip was an ornate sword, decorated with intricate patterns engraved on the sheath. My right eye was covered by an eyepatch, and extending above and below was a fake scar, having been placed there using makeup.

All three of us, under our clothing, were wearing a special sticker of sorts over our hearts: these stickers, invented by Tempest, would restrain a Demon's monstrous mana, containing it inside the heart, which it originally flowed out of. This was not easy with powerful Demons like us, so they would only last for a day at most, but it would do for our purposes. Something else we all shared was that we all had fake wounds on our exposed parts, and in my [Storage], I carried an empty bottle which used to contain a healing potion and a set of clothes identical to the ones we were wearing, except torn up, as if having been cut apart by a beast's claws. Additionally, my sword had been covered in blood, as if recently used.

Approaching the city, we landed and I undid my [True Demon Form], Charlotte used [Bloodworks] to retract her wings and heal her wounds and Tempest passed her broom to me, upon which I placed it in my [Storage]. Davna, Navillus and Lilith were standing by at a nearby field- that is, Davna was stood in the open, and Lilith and Navillus had hidden themselves nearby.

Upon landing, we started sprinting to the city, with me in the lead and Charlotte and Tempest following. Once I got reasonably close, I called out: "Guards! Guards! There's an urgent message for the honourable Saint!" in as desperate a tone of voice I could muster.

From one of the gates of the walled city, a guard ran towards me, though he gave me a dubious look.

"You look that beat-up and yet your clothes are fine?", he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Taking Charlotte's dress from my [Storage], I threw it at him with a weak movement, and he barely managed to catch it by stretching his arms as far as he could.

"As you can... As you can see, we... we changed clothes. I can't... I can't let ladies show up in... In clothing like that, can I?", I asked, meekly gesturing towards the dress, full of tears and rips.

"I see", the guard said, comprehension dyeing his face. "But, for a Hero and his allies to get this beat-up... What in the world happened?", he continued, now with a face filled with worry.

"About... About that, it's... It's an emergency! A Dragon, a Dragon has!", Tempest pleaded from behind me towards the guard with tear-filled eyes. Charlotte, meanwhile, looked down with a gaze full of frustration.

"A Dragon?! Wh, what colour was it? How big?!", the guard asked, grasping my shoulders.

"Red... It was red... And it was huge... at least 10 metres tall...", I answered, while filling my gaze with as much desperation as I could muster.

"Red? A Red Dragon? With that height, it's still young, but... As you said, this is an emergency! We need to call upon the Saint at once!", he shouted, before sprinting inside, calling for some guards to take care of us. Said guards came out and led us to the breakroom for the guards who had the duty of watching the gate, giving each of us a warm tea-like drink, and repeatedly asking if we were alright.

After around ten minutes, a woman dressed entirely in white appeared. Her golden eyes shone like the sun, gleaming in my sight and causing me to curse internally, and her golden hair fell past her shoulders, flowing like gentle, warm light.

"Are you alright, my child?", she asked with her warm voice, gently placing a hand on my cheek.

"I'm... Fine", I spit out, feigning difficulty speaking. Honestly speaking, a beautiful woman on this level was nothing compared to my Entropy and my Demons, but meeting a woman like this after facing a life-or-death battle would normally cause anyone to have difficulty speaking.

"You met a Dragon, didn't you? It must have been tough. I am the Holy Saint of Heavenly Protection, Theliel. I'm terribly sorry to ask this of you, but do you think you could guide me to the thing? I don't think I can defeat it, but I should be able to seal it. Please, for my sake, and for the sake of all these innocent people?", she asked with an imploring gaze after removing her hand. Truly, to a human, this would be an unbeatable attack.

"Of... Of course, lady Saint... For this town, I will...", I squeezed out of my throat.

"What does he think he's trying to accomplish?", a Goddess wondered to herself. "Is he trying to reconcile with me by offering the death of a dragon?"

She had watched the exchange between the masquerading lord of evil and the first of her seven attendants through that attendant's very senses, and she was puzzled by the lord's actions.

"He knows the truth, right? So he couldn't possibly be trying to reconcile... And who are those two girls, behind him?"

With time, she would figure out the answer, but as of yet, that was still something for the future...