The Crown Prince In Hiding

Yesterday she had gotten a taste of the Marine forces through those who could walk on land.

But actually following them into the sea to observe how the Diablo Navy truly operated was an entirely different matter, because humans could not breathe in deep water.

And likely for that very reason, Diablo was able to keep its Navy's secrets without even trying.

Rafinya had once been told by her second eldest brother, who served in the naval forces, that Diablo possessed the finest Navy in the world, superior to every nation by a wide margin. Engaging them in naval warfare was something everyone avoided.

There was a joke among the merchant guilds: if you wanted to sail a ship full of gold through pirate waters without losing a single bar, hire an escort from Luminus. But if you wanted the ship to arrive without a scratch, find a large banner and paint the Diablo crest on it.

Rafinya was set down from Fury's back.

She ran her fingers through her hair to straighten it, then looked around to find that Fury had brought her to a highland plateau, roughly twenty kilometers from the residential district.

The Diablo Army.

Down below, she saw Diablo's military forces in the middle of combat training.

The army, the air force, and the subterranean units. All except the Navy.

Demon soldiers were fighting each other, paired off in fierce bouts. Some wielded weapons such as sharpened spears or parts of their own bodies. Some were enormous, capable of grabbing an opponent and hurling them until blood sprayed from their mouths.

"How do you govern them?"

"Fear."

"You keep the soldiers in line through fear?"

"Not every Diablo is reasonable. Many of my soldiers don't hold much respect for humans, Rafinya."

"...Meaning?"

"Some see your kind as nothing more than food. Others enjoy catching humans and toying with them, the way a cat bats a mouse around until it dies in its paw."

"Has that actually happened?"

"In the chaos of war, there are always those who seize the opportunity. It comes down to who gets caught."

Rafinya swallowed.

"How do you deal with soldiers who break rank?"

"Defy my orders and the only outcome is death."

No disciplinary measures. Only brutality would keep creatures like these in line.

Rafinya followed Fury down, staying no more than an arm's length behind him.

"The biological diversity of the Diablo is far too complex to divide neatly into military branches. Air and ground overlap the most. Some Diablo can fly but perform just as well on land."

"Can you transfer soldiers across branches?"

"I try not to."

Fury turned to her.

"The human system makes armies easy to manage. But I believe we may not be able to adopt the human system entirely. We're more complex than that. Even though the Demon King disagrees with me."

Prince Fury walked the young woman through the ranks of Diablo soldiers. Hundreds of pairs of eyes fixed on Rafinya with burning curiosity, making her deeply uncomfortable.

She could hear Diablo language she couldn't understand.

"It's nothing. They're just talking about how you knocked out Jaiba last night."

"The demon from last night was named Jaiba?"

"Did I forget to mention his name?"

"You didn't explain anything at all..."

"Oh."

While Fury was explaining, Rafinya kept glancing left and right at the soldiers on both sides, studying the Diablo forms up close, and feeling just how small she truly was.

Until suddenly,

her hawk-sharp eyes caught a gaze staring back at her. A human. On a tree standing in the middle of the field, some distance away.

The eyes watching her were green.

When she held her stare long enough to register the details, she found that he was a young human man. He wore human clothing. He sat beneath that tree, and he was looking straight at her.

But there was no human besides Rafinya who had been authorized to be in this area ahead of the official schedule.

So who was he?

"Mr. Fury."

But just as she was about to tell him, in the span of a single blink,

the figure had vanished from beneath the tree.

"What is it?"

The young woman stared, frozen, at the spot where she had seen the anomaly. Fury turned to follow her gaze.

"That one..."

Without hesitation, Prince Fury called over the soldiers nearby and pointed.

"Go drag him down here. What is he doing in this area?"

"Yes, sir."

"Mr. Fury... what are you going to do?"

"Wait a moment."

Shortly after the order, the Diablo soldiers headed straight for the location Rafinya had indicated. They surrounded the tree and spoke in a language she couldn't follow.

It sounded like they were telling him to come down.

Within moments,

the one hiding up there slowly lowered himself down without resistance.

He showed no sign of defiance, nor did he appear to fear the Diablo soldiers. That led to only one conclusion: he was one of them.

And of course, his eyes never left Rafinya.

The Diablo soldiers brought him before Fury.

Now Rafinya could see his details clearly. He wore black clothing from head to toe. His face was youthful, seemingly around her own age.

Green eyes, like someone from Velmount. Black hair, the same as Fury's human form, but rather long and unkempt in a way that made it obvious he hadn't bothered to maintain it.

"Good day, Prince Fury."

He had the demeanor of a child caught in the act.

"Explain."

"Well, you see... I heard that humans were coming to visit us."

Rafinya could sense the cunning in him from his voice alone.

"And that made you disobey orders and trek all the way out here?"

"Not at all, Prince Fury. I didn't disobey any orders. I was just resting."

Talking back, even?

Who was he?

"You trekked all the way here to rest? Do you want the Empress to see you in this form?"

"No! I'm about to head back. I just wanted to see a real, living human, just once!"

A real, living human?

"The order was for all of you to live in these forms to build familiarity. I'd love to transform back too, but how could I disobey your orders?"

"You trekked all the way here without transforming? That's kilometers of distance."

The more Fury pressed, the more tangled the young man became.

"I had permission!"

"From whom?"

"Lord Dominic."

Fury stared at his face for a long moment.

Then the mood shifted slightly. The sense that this boy had just narrowly escaped punishment.

"Get back. Now."

"Yes, Your Grace. By the way, is this human Princess Nora?"

"You can leave now."

"Hey, human. What's your name?"

But his stubbornness didn't last long. He was hoisted away by one of the soldiers.

"Come, Rafinya. Let's continue."

"Yes, Mr. Fury."

The hours slipped by until evening.

The final stretch before departing from Diablo soil.

Princess Nora Ophilis had just been freed from a day of royal court ceremonies. She carried the jewel-encrusted ceremonial dress out and sat resting in her quarters, rotating her aching feet from standing all day.

She hadn't seen Fury once the entire day. Princess Nora had grown noticeably quiet because of it. Gone the entire day meant truly the entire day.

When she looked through the large window toward the human industrial zone on the opposite shore,

she noticed a ship docked there. It looked as though it had just arrived.

The Mathema delegation ship?

But something about it didn't seem quite right.

Princess Nora squinted to look closer, but a knock on the door interrupted her.

"Princess Nora, there is a guest requesting an audience."

"?"

She rose and went out.

But back at that ship,

a small group of people was disembarking. Not a large delegation by any means.

They were a group of students from the paleontology research center, funded by Goodison Inc.

Led by the three head professors, and Thomasin Mayfield, representative of Dan Burn.

"Is... is this really... Diablo?"

The young TA's eyes went wide as she looked around the island. Her companions shared the same expression.

They were stunned by how this land had reformed itself into something modern enough to rival human civilization.

She glanced down at her hand. Thomasin was holding Dan Burn's invitation card.

[I would like everyone, seniors and professors included, to come here for two days. Survey the suitability of Diablo for studying traces of evolution. I want you all to see it with your own eyes. This is an order from the project owner.]

"I can't believe this... Is he serious? How did he even arrange this?"

And just then,

the young man Dan Burn appeared, accompanied by Roma, Freya, Benfiga, and other Diablo in human form whom the researchers did not recognize.

"Hello everyone! The journey went smoothly, I hope? No trouble?"

"Dan... how did you pull this off? Isn't this still the period for priority guests only? Who are we to be cutting the line like this?"

"I told you, Randy can arrange these things."

Dan said,

"These are my people. They will fully assist the professors and everyone during your stay. While the Warehouse is under construction, I thought it would be good for us to come inspect Diablo's research sites first. So I invited all of you."

Thomasin and her companions exchanged uneasy glances.

"Come on. Follow me."

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