Became Pregnant With the Demon King’s Child

Unlike their earlier bold shouts, the enemies couldn’t launch an aggressive offense. They had witnessed their comrades collapsing one by one under the force of Felix’s rampaging magic—it was only natural for fear to set in.

"Aagh!"
"W-What is this?! No one said there’d be someone like that!"
The shadows—now too fast to track with the naked eye—pierced through legs or wrapped around bodies entirely, rendering the enemies immobile. Among those who resisted fiercely, some had their shoulders or abdomens pierced, left with serious injuries.

"You don’t need to see this."
Felix gently covered Lowell’s eyes, who was trembling faintly in his arms. Even as he ruthlessly manipulated his magic with one hand, the palm placed softly on Lowell’s face was impossibly delicate.
Damn it. I should be telling him to stop. If I can’t do anything and all I do is flinch, what use am I?

Witnessing not one or two, but many people fall injured or unconscious—this was overwhelming for Lowell, who had lived as an ordinary civilian. The fact that he wasn’t comforting Felix, but instead becoming a burden, stung bitterly.
Regardless of such thoughts, the battle only escalated. Those who appeared from the rear were cut down before they could even raise a hand against the knights. Thanks to that, Felix ruled out the possibility that these were assassins sent by someone. Even if they were, if this was ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ the level of force they could muster—weak, uncoordinated—they were no more threatening than ants.
"Cast barrier spells!"

From the hands of the once-disorganized attackers, reddish magic spread outward. It wasn’t enough to block Felix’s attacks outright, but with enough bodies gathered together, it could buy them time to flee.
"Don’t let a single one escape."
Felix’s energy grew even more vicious.

"They’ve been trained in black magic. Even one getting away is unacceptable."
The knights, who had momentarily relaxed seeing the weak opposition, snapped back into focus. Just as Felix warned, though their abilities were poor and full of impurities, every single one of them was using dark, murky magic.
Lowell, listening with only his ears, felt his breath catch in his throat.

Where did they learn this? Are they tied to those in power? Or are they black mages colluding with the noble faction independently?
Neither possibility was good. Just as Felix had sensed—it wasn’t just the guild, but likely the entire village that was infiltrated by black mages. Lowell had known that the noble faction, under the guise of being loyalists to the Emperor, was secretly nurturing black mages, but he hadn’t realized they’d spread even this far.
This could be even more dangerous than I thought.

The novel hadn’t delved deeply into black magic, and such details were impossible to learn from within Nyx—so there had been no way for him to know.
But ignorance isn’t an excuse.
Lowell bit down hard on his lip. Maybe sensing the turmoil in him, Felix hastened the battle.
"Lowell—hold on tight."

With expert command, he charged forward, overtaking the enemies. Dismounting swiftly, he drew his sword and scattered slashes imbued with magic, bringing down those who were still standing. They couldn’t even cry out as they rolled across the dirt.
"Some are breaking away from the back ranks! Don’t miss the ones hiding in the brush!"
Felix’s voice wasn’t especially loud, but it resonated through the entire forest.

Just as things seemed to be settling, Lowell risked opening his eyes. That was when a red, glowing arrow shot out from a place that had shown no prior signs of movement. Felix instinctively slashed at it with his sword.
"Huh?"
But the arrow wasn’t something wrapped in magic—it was magic. It passed straight through Felix’s blade and aimed directly for Lowell’s heart.

"No!"
At the same time that the arrow re-formed its shape, Felix’s magic burst from his body and wrapped around Lowell in a protective circle. The arrow collided with the barrier and disintegrated like sugar melting in water.
"Ugh—"

The remaining energy slipped through a gap and grazed Lowell’s arm. A small cut formed, but that was all. Once Felix confirmed that Lowell was safe, he surged forward, cloaked in explosive magic, toward the direction the arrow had come from.
"Grk—h-hh—!"
The archer, caught from behind, struggled to break free, but Felix’s grip was too strong. The man was soon pinned in place, completely immobilized. Felix’s sword glinted ominously, as if it could slice off the man's arm at any moment.

"Do you realize what you’ve done?"
The man couldn’t answer—his throat was crushed. Judging from the hostility in his eyes, even if he could speak, it wouldn’t have changed anything. Felix didn’t even expect a reply. He simply continued his grim interrogation.
"You’re skilled at masking your presence. Judging by your ability, you’re likely the leader of this pack. You seemed confident you’d get out of this alive."

The sword that had been aimed at the man’s arm now crept upward toward his throat. The intent to kill was unmistakable—enough to terrify not just the archer but everyone watching.
"F-Felix! Wait, please."
Despite staggering, Lowell climbed down from the horse and came toward him.

Having just been the target of an attack, Lowell had no intention of stopping Felix from using force. Watching someone else suffer was one thing—but in this world, there were times when power had to be displayed, and this was one of them.
But if he kills this man, possibly their leader, before getting any information—what a waste.
Lowell placed a trembling hand on Felix’s forearm. Felix clicked his tongue and lowered his sword. Instead, he threw the archer to the ground and signaled for him to be bound. The knights quickly understood and rushed over to restrain the man.

Felix still held Lowell’s hand in his as his sharp gaze faltered. He couldn’t even bring himself to touch the shallow wound on Lowell’s arm—he fidgeted restlessly.
"Are you alright? I’ve let you get marked again…"
"My clothes got torn dramatically, but it barely grazed me."

Lowell made a show of wiping away the blood. But it was still a fresh wound, so the blood began to flow again. Felix looked more pained than if it had been his own.
"Thank you for saving me. But right now, instead of worrying over a minor injury, please focus on what needs to be done."
The words “How can this be minor?” reached Felix’s throat but didn’t leave his mouth. Lowell was right—so he didn’t argue. Still, as soon as he turned his back on Lowell, his face twisted uncontrollably.

"We captured forty-three in total. They had been monitoring the guild we contacted. They claim they were only in it for the money."
A knight finished his report, head bowed. Felix didn’t react much—he just walked toward the archer.
"It’s not just about money. The small fry might not know anything, but you probably do. Who spread the black magic?"

Felix asked with complete confidence. But the archer, now recovered, smirked coldly.
"Done with your little love affair? Watching you quake over something so trivial was quite the show."
"That your final words?"

Felix remained unfazed, not even twitching an eyebrow at the taunt—as long as it didn’t touch on Lowell’s trauma, nothing could shake him.
"That black magic… You must be Duke Felix, yes? The one born incomplete—the cursed one."
The knights, enraged at the man’s insolence, tried to move forward, but Felix raised an arm and stopped them.

"A god will soon descend upon this land. Even someone like you might be saved then. But in your ignorance, you’re making foolish choices."
"I don’t know how long I should tolerate your babbling."
"You think I’m afraid to die?"

Felix felt nothing from the man’s childish challenge.
"In war, death is everywhere. What you should fear is not dying—but being unable to."
His voice only grew more expressionless with each word.

"Shall we start with a finger?"
His sword pierced the archer’s hand.
"I prepared for this too."

Despite being tied up, the archer grinned grotesquely and began muttering something unintelligible. The snake-like hiss of his words sent chills down everyone's spine—it was clearly a curse.
"Back away!"
Sensing something was wrong, Felix summoned his shadows and created a dome around himself and the archer.

"Felix!"
Panicked, Lowell tried to run toward him—but had already stepped in front of him, holding him back. In the same instant, Felix and the archer vanished within the sphere.
All Lowell could do was stare, frozen, as the surface of the dome pulsed. Then, from within, a deafening boom rippled through the forest. Dormant beasts erupted from the ground, bursting violently into the sky.

Lowell stood in silence, unable to even scream.
He was drowning in despair.