I couldn’t help but widen my eyes at Iris’s confession.

“Puppeteer Shion? And betraying Ms. Liene… does that mean…?”

Iris nodded firmly.

“Yes. She’s the puppeteer who was in my mother’s party three years ago.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“Yes. I’ve met her a few times. There’s no mistake.”

Iris’s trembling voice conveyed the truth. I clenched my teeth tightly. I never imagined we’d encounter someone tied to Iris’s past in a place like this.

Iris’s voice carried both pain and anger.

“Why… why did you betray my mother that day?! Because of you, my mother…!”

The pain in her voice was enough to make her suffering over the past three years palpable. Everyone present turned their attention to Shion, expecting her answer.

But instead—

“My apologies. I don’t recall anything of the sort.”
“What?!”

Her response, dismissive and as if shirking all responsibility, left Iris and the others wide-eyed with shock and rage.

“Pretending not to remember… that’s cruel.”
“Unforgivable.”
“Should we extract the truth from her?”
“Gruh…”

The reactions varied, but they all shared a common thread of dissatisfaction with Shion. Naturally, I felt the same.

Yet, at the same time, I couldn’t shake a sense of unease. Shion’s claim of not remembering seemed oddly genuine.

“…”

I glanced at Iris. Even if Shion’s words were true, it was impossible to doubt Iris. Her expression said it all.

On top of that, Shion herself had just admitted to being a puppeteer. Everything pointed to Iris being right.

“What is going on here…?”

What was Shion’s goal? How had she come to command demons? And what was her reason for appearing before us now?

The only certainty was her intent to oppose us.

Shion chuckled softly.

“This idle chatter is tedious. Shall we resume our fight?”
“So, you intend to face us?”
“Of course. Otherwise, why would I sic the Lesser Demons on you?”
“…Why do you fight us? What’s your goal?”
“Oh my, didn’t I mention it? Very well. I’ll tell you, as a special favor.”

With that, Shion began to stroke one of the Lesser Demons’ heads.

“I have been given a mission—to work for the benefit of the Demonkind.”
“A mission to work for the Demonkind? What does that even mean?”
“…The details are irrelevant. What matters is the outcome. Can you guess what would benefit Demonkind the most?”
“…”

What benefits Demonkind the most? Only one answer came to mind. The Lesser Demon we fought last time had alluded to the same goal.

But…

I glanced back at Iris. I didn’t want to voice that thought in front of her.

Shion, however, continued without hesitation.

“You’ve figured it out, haven’t you? There’s a natural enemy to Demonkind that exists in the human world. Yes—the Hero.”

Iris reacted sharply to the word.

“A… hero?”
“Indeed. And among all heroes, there was one particularly extraordinary individual. My greatest mission is to eliminate that hero.”
“…No way!”

At this point, it didn’t take long to deduce the rest. Shion’s target was none other than—

“You’ve finally realized it, haven’t you? Yes, my goal is the assassination of Lene, the legendary hero hailed as the strongest in history.

…When I heard that demons were wreaking havoc in town, I expected her to rush to the rescue. Instead, you all stood in my way. Unexpected, but not a problem.

I’ll deal with you first, then move on to the main event.”

With that, Shion gave a chilling smile.