At night, Diego Zenin walked out of the house engulfed in roaring flames, holding a head with a terrified expression in his hand.
Behind him was the Zenin family, which had a history of over a thousand years—a truly prestigious noble clan. It was a pity that the originally magnificent residence had now become nothing but ruins.
"Ptooey!"
Covered in blood, Diego spat on the Zenin family head, who was now reduced to just a head, and kindly gave his face a free SPA treatment with his foot.
The one who possessed the Ten Shadows Technique and was hailed as the strongest head in the Zenin family's history had actually met his end at the hands of a little brat.
"Is the Ten Shadows Technique only at this level? You truly are a scumbag through and through! A pathetic worm who relies on sorcery to live a glamorous life that doesn't belong to you. Just because of scum like you, Mom... Never mind, saying this is meaningless now."
With that, Diego punched the head in his hand over and over until it was unrecognizable, then tossed it onto a pile of dog shit.
"That's the best resting place for you... The Zenin family, starting today, is erased from the river of history."
"And I can finally break free from the Zenin family's shackles, under the name of Brando!"
Diego looted the magical tools and grimoires that the Zenin family had collected over the years and left, changing his surname to his mother's—Brando.
Without a moment of mourning for the Zenin family's destruction, the fleeting figure speeding away from the crime scene was: Diego Brando.
The Zenin family, due to their foolish arrogance and the deep-seated pride ingrained in their bones, genuinely believed that commoners did not deserve to live in the same area as them.
Thus, the family estate was located in the suburbs more than a hundred miles from the imperial capital, which also gave Diego ample time to escape.
"At this time... It should take about 15 minutes for the imperial capital's guards to discover the Zenin family's extermination and rush over. That means I still have ten minutes to evade pursuit from the imperial capital—more than enough."
Diego's escape pace quickened even further, and in an instant, he vanished into the thick night.
His hand gently stroked the silver cross pendant on his neck—that was the birthday gift his mother had given him on his 5th birthday.
Due to Diego's Heavenly Restriction physique, the Zenin family viewed him as a disgrace, and his life had been filled with exclusion and restrictions because of it. This pendant was something his mother had saved up for a long time from her work to buy.
Mom, watch from heaven—your Dio will become a man second to none!
...
—At the same time, at the Zenin family estate—
The belatedly arriving city guard captain led his soldiers to extinguish the flames and search for any survivors in the Zenin family.
"Who did this?! From the 80-year-old elders to the 3-year-old children in the Zenin family—no one survived!"
"Hurry and report to His Highness! Something terrible has happened—the Zenin family, which has served the imperial family for hundreds of years, has been wiped out!"
"How is that possible?! What a joke—no rumors at all, and they even... bypassed the mana detection!"
"From the escape route, the culprit fled south. We pursue!"
"Yes, Captain!"
...
—The next day, in the imperial capital—
The city guard captain knelt before the emperor to report the Zenin family extermination from last night. "...That's how it is, Your Majesty. The culprit escaped very quickly, heading south. After we pursued them into a mountain range, we completely lost track of the culprit. This subordinate failed in his duty and returned empty-handed. I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness."
"This is not your fault. Someone who could silently wipe out the Zenin family under the capital's mana detection is not someone you could easily capture.
Moreover, the killer chose to strike during the Zenin family's gathering precisely to slaughter every last member of the clan.
This is a long-planned conspiracy. The culprit is well acquainted with the Zenin family's internal affairs. Can you find out who did it?"
"On the day of the incident, magic academy students happened to be camping nearby. They personally witnessed a blond boy covered in blood leaving.
Based on the portrait they described, there's only one target: it was the work of the 7-year-old Diego Zenin."
"Only 7 years old... Impressive youth! At just 7, he wiped out the Zenin family, which had several Grade 1 mages.
Although the Zenin family has been restless in recent years, showing some ambition, they are still a noble family that has served the imperial clan for many years and contributed much to battles against the demons.
Issue the order: promulgate a wanted notice for Diego Zenin and classify him as a special-grade criminal."
"Yes!"
...
Huff huff huff...
The biting cold wind scraped against Diego's face as he led his four-man squad toward the Demon King's castle.
—At the northernmost end of the continent, Erde—
"You seem a bit distracted, Dio." Frieren spoke calmly.
Diego's thoughts were quickly pulled back. "Ah, sorry. I remembered something from the past."
"Idiot Dio, are you spacing out because you're scared?" The elf Sui blinked playfully and teased coquettishly, "I can reluctantly let you rely on me, you know..."
Diego awkwardly tugged at the corners of his mouth, showing a slightly gentle smile. After pondering for a moment, he instructed the group:
"Sui, when we fight the Demon King later, just use the long heavy piercing form of the ancient magical tool to assist my shooting."
Sui was stunned for a moment, then rushed over with a flushed face, lightly pounding (though it looked forceful) on Diego's sturdy chest.
Then, leaning close to Diego's ear, she asked in a voice only the two of them could hear: "What the heck... Do you think I'd be scared?"
"No, I'm serious. The same goes for Mabel. I need you two to abandon the idea of close combat with the Demon King unless absolutely necessary.
Mabel, your task is to guard beside Frieren and Alicia, using the Freeze God Sword to block any attacks they can't dodge."
"Why?" Mabel asked, puzzled.
"There are too few records about the Demon King. It has never shown its abilities in front of humans—what it's good at, what magic it uses—we know nothing. Risking your life... one person is enough: me."
Sui looked at Dio somewhat resentfully and murmured, "How could I possibly let you fight the Demon King alone..."
"Are you worried about me?" Diego tilted his head toward Sui.
"How could that be! I just... I just think the achievement of defeating the Demon King and ending the millennia-long human-demon war can't be hogged by you alone." Sui crossed her arms and replied insincerely.
"Hmph, fair enough."
"The Demon King's castle is here~ Elf lady, Dio." Alicia spoke up, interrupting what sounded like flirtatious banter.
"Demon King's castle? I'm fighting the Demon King? For real?" Mabel shrank inside her Beast Robe and muttered to herself:
"I'm a nocturnal creature, and it's so cold right now—I should be hibernating. Cold is the enemy of the ice tribe. How about we turn back? If I fight the Demon King, I'll definitely die!"
"No way we're turning back. After going through so much hardship to reach the Demon King's castle, going back without doing anything would be a total waste.
Dio promised me grimoires, and the reward for defeating the Demon King—I haven't gotten it yet. I hear the royal treasury has a legendary spell that can clean clothes of stains perfectly."
Frieren showed a <(´⌯ ⩊ ⌯`)> expression.
"Such a powerful effect?! That's really convenient. Magic really is unreasonable." Diego, like petting a cat, rubbed Mabel's chin while sighing in admiration. "Maybe I should aspire to become a magical girl too?"
"Hehe, you can praise me a bit more."
"Ya... Yamete yo, I get it! I won't run away. That would be... too cunning." Mabel rallied her spirits again and pulled out the Freeze God Sword from her Beast Robe.
Sui ¬_¬: "Stare~"
Diego waved his hand and continued:
"Well, I'll go scout ahead first. If I don't come back in time, remember to save me."
"Scary Monsters!"
Diego's pupils instantly turned into vertical slits like a dinosaur's, his mouth stretching wider and wider until even the bandage on his cheek couldn't hide it.
His hands transformed into claws, and a dinosaur tail suddenly appeared behind him.
This was one application of Diego's Stand ability Scary Monsters: turning himself into a dinosaur, massively boosting strength and speed, while gaining astonishing dynamic vision. Even in humanoid form, he possessed extremely sharp hearing and sense of smell.
Next, Diego took out dozens of rabbits living in the far north from his backpack and slashed them one by one with his claws.
Seconds later, these rabbits that could move freely in extreme cold completed their dinosaur transformation, their eyes gleaming with an unusual light.
This was the second application of Scary Monsters' ability: turning targets into dinosaurs and fully controlling them. Creatures attacked by the dinosaurs (including dead ones) would also turn into dinosaurs and be dominated.
Additionally, Scary Monsters could release large numbers of small dinosaurs for attacks and infect humans or animals into dinosaurs under its control.
"I'm counting on you, little dinosaurs. Spread out and infiltrate the Demon King's castle with me!"
With that, Diego leaped up and in an instant reached the rooftop of the Demon King's castle, while the small dinosaurs surged into the interior from all directions.
A hint of reminiscence appeared on Frieren's face. "As expected, no matter how many times I see it, it's still unbelievable. No mana at all, yet he can turn into a dinosaur."
Sui hefted the ancient magical tool, activated its long heavy piercing form, and headed to a high point near the Demon King's castle. As she left, she said: "When we first met, I was saved by him looking like that. Back then, I thought this guy was a orc..."
...
The warm chat didn't last long. The moment Mabel, Alicia, and Frieren arrived at the Demon King's castle one after another, Diego's link with the small dinosaurs was instantly severed.
The next moment, a massive magic beam shattered the Demon King's castle roof and shot straight toward Diego, who dodged sideways.
Below the hole in the eaves, the shadowy figure seated high on an ornate horned chair was exactly the target Diego's group had come to subjugate: the Demon King.
"Looks like you all were having quite the fun chat. How about letting me join in? I truly wish for humans and demons to coexist... Mr. Diego Brando, hunter of so many of my demon subordinates."
"Hmph, entering the pre-battle trash talk phase? Your attack is surprisingly weak. Something like this is useless, useless! I'll let you taste defeat!" Diego's fighting spirit reached an unprecedented high, his handsome face revealing a beastly, ferocious smile.
(Writing novels is imagining a world; battles that can't be imagined can't be described. The original work never showed the Demon King's appearance or abilities, so please allow me to gloss over the battle here.)
(King Crimson, erase this part of time!)
...
Diego suddenly appeared behind the Demon King, delivering a heavy claw strike and shouting loudly: "Frieren, thanks for creating this opening for me to get close!"
Attacks rained down like a storm. Just as Diego's claw was about to tear through the Demon King's throat, the Demon King condensed an attack spell in its palm, instantly forming and aiming at the injured Frieren and the others whose mobility was limited.
Damn it, this guy wants to take us down with him!
"WRYYYYYYYY!"
With a furious roar, Diego abandoned the forward slash at the throat and instead struck the hand condensing the magic.
A powerful, heavy chop deflected the attack originally aimed at Frieren toward the ceiling, adding yet another open-air skylight to the Demon King's castle.
"Time to meet your end!!" Diego grabbed the Demon King's nape and hurled it out the window like a baseball pitcher throwing a ball.
Amid the sound of shattering glass, the Demon King appeared in midair above the ocean.
Diego followed closely behind, leaping out together.
"I've won! All the 'weak points and openings' I predicted about you have now been fully confirmed!"
In the air, Diego's dinosaur tail exerted slight force, tightly binding the Demon King and rendering it immobile.
The Demon King tried to counterattack, gathering attack magic in its palm again while chanting to cast a mental interference spell.
Diego followed with a chop that severed its arm, then another to slit its vocal cords, saying gravely: "Unfortunately, this time you won't get the chance to attack Sui or influence Alicia."
"Pu..." The Demon King seemed to want to say something, but with its vocal cords destroyed, it could no longer make a sound.
The next moment, Diego's hand blade plunged viciously into the Demon King's throat!