Chapter 225 : Godfather
The monsters that had brought down Belogan Fortress of the Principality of Artian returned to the lake once more.
Because of that, people thought that was the end of it.
Although the alliance had suffered a crushing defeat, twenty thousand troops had vanished, and a fortress had fallen and been reduced to scorched earth, they believed that was all there would be.
Because that was how it had always been until now.
For over a hundred years—no, for an even longer span of time—the Demon King had never led a legion and embarked on a continental conquest.
Most of the Demon Kings of Airen had lacked the strength to form legions and set out on conquests.
That was why the monsters that suddenly descended upon northern Hilderan came as an even greater shock.
【Hero Guild Guildmaster Hillan Cargill claims, ‘The movements of the False one are different from other Demon Kings; the Demon King’s legion may ravage the area around the lake.’】
Although Hillan Cargill, acting on Berje’s orders, had raised the possibility, no one believed it would actually happen.
But then it did.
Countless monsters poured out of the lake and began ravaging the villages of Hilderan.
Yet for them, there was fortune in misfortune.
No one had believed Hillan’s words and instead blamed him, but he had already stationed heroes across Hilderan and several other kingdoms.
The stars that had been waiting unleashed their pent-up rage.
“I might get beaten by that bastard, but do you think I’ll lose to the likes of you!”
In particular, the fury of Rozel Charnte, who had been forced to endure humiliation at the wall, was beyond imagination.
She stepped forward and began slaughtering monsters. As a mage of the fire lineage—destructive power at its peak—who had engraved eight Sigils, a level that would be remembered in history, and as a hero, her performance stood out especially.
Of course, her efforts alone were not enough to hold them back. The monsters were truly endless, and they did not advance in a single stream but split into dozens, invading every region of Hilderan that bordered the lake.
“I cannot stand by and watch this land be trampled by filthy feet.”
- Yes, that is what a contractor of the Spirit King should look like.
- No! The Ernan I saw was not like this! A bit more gentl—
- Silence.
People wondered why the monsters were attacking only Hilderan, but because of that, the Hero Guild was also able to concentrate its forces.
With the stars, and even the contractor of the Spirit King, taking action, the tide of battle evened out. Moreover, the allied forces had not yet disbanded and turned their steps toward defending Hilderan.
“Fire!”
“Kill them all!”
“Long live scatter shells!”
Although they were not very effective against the False Demon King, the killing power of the dwarven mana cannons was unrivaled.
Blocking indiscriminate attacks in a lake without proper preparation was different from strategically defending while relying on castles and fortresses.
In that way, it seemed that Hilderan was somehow managing to hold the line.
【Shock—Zespine Empire and Kingdom of Ormus form an alliance, declare war on the Kingdom of Arkan....】
【Zespine Empire sends envoys to the Kingdom of Iasince, demanding they clear a path....】
Until two hundred and fifty thousand imperial troops crossed the border of Iasince.
* * *
Berje returned to the tower.
The composure he had when he left the tower had vanished completely. He immediately summoned the tower’s executives.
“You do not look well.”
“Because you lost?”
“Lost?”
“You lost to Jason?”
“We did not fight directly. But if we had, I would have lost nine times out of ten.”
“...That much?”
Everyone’s expressions turned grim.
“Indeed, if he has devoured dozens of Demon Kings and even more heroes over several hundred years, then even for you, it would be too much.”
“What matters is that I must capture and kill him. Otherwise, I will be at too much of a disadvantage.”
“Then it was a failure.”
At Gordon’s words, Berje nodded.
“The hero’s march failed. Roughly twenty thousand died, and even Pablo Barkat was killed.”
“Hm.”
“Are my sisters—are Sister Ernan and Sister Lavinia alright?”
“They are both fine.”
Ellena let out a sigh of relief.
“Humans must be in quite a shock.”
“Indeed.”
This was on a different level from before. Berje had brought down a floating battleship and stopped a large-scale hero’s march?
That had only been a thousand heroes. But now, it had been a thousand heroes along with a hundred thousand troops. It even included thousands of mana cannons from the dwarves who had sharpened their blades.
And yet it still failed. The shock shook the continent day after day.
The refugees scattering to get as far away from the Tower of the Lake as possible were only the most fragmentary glimpse of it.
“Is there a method?”
“There is. Two.”
“Two?”
“What are they?”
“One is Daniel Deyrus.”
“As expected. If you could obtain the power of a hero who devoured dozens of Demon Kings, you would become even stronger.”
Daniel Deyrus was stronger than Reina Sordein, who had endured in Arein for nearly a hundred years, and rivaled Berje who had surpassed his pre-regression self. There was no doubt about the power he possessed.
“Then what’s the other one?”
“Dorche. I killed him.”
“What?”
“You killed him?”
“Jason took him in as a subordinate.”
“...Jason has never taken another Demon King as a subordinate. If he had....”
“It must have been because of me. He confirmed that I had taken you all in as subordinates and copied it.”
“No wonder. I thought that despite the defeat, your aura felt even more neatly contained—so that was why.”
“That is why Reina Sordein, your role is important.”
“Mine?”
Reina tilted her head.
“Now that the tower has returned to the Demon Realm, Archduke Arkaine will know of his death. Then he will send down a new Demon King.”
“Can you be sure? What if Jason merges the towers as you did?”
“Would Jason really leave his own tower and sit on Dorche’s throne?”
The possibility was not zero. But the time between Jason accepting Dorche as a subordinate and deploying for the hero’s march had been extremely short.
There remained the possibility that he had not merged them, or that he did not even know about merging towers.
“You are right, we cannot be certain.”
“If my prediction is correct, the tower will return to the Demon Realm. And Archduke Arkaine will ask you various things. If not, you can contact him first and probe.”
From his perspective, Reina was the only Demon King he could communicate with.
“At that time, speak well with Archduke Arkaine and have him drop it near you.”
“The reason?”
“I am going to seize the tower.”
“...?”
* * *
Archduke Arkaine would surely seek to kill Jason. If so, the newly descending Demon King would likely be a powerful subordinate of his.
“So from the outset, it means accepting him as a subordinate is impossible. But I want the tower he possesses. Therefore.”
“Therefore?”
“We seize the tower before it is planted.”
“...That is not a good method.”
“But to achieve victory, it cannot be helped.”
“It would mean completely turning against the Demon Realm, which has only just found a clue to recovery. You could become a traitor.”
“Becoming a traitor is better than dying right now.”
“That much?”
Considering relations with the Demon Realm, it was obviously a bad move. But without this method, it was questionable whether Jason could be defeated.
Everything that could be done had to be done. Even then, he was a powerful enemy whose victory could not be guaranteed.
Reina soon accepted it.
“Understood.”
“And Roger.”
“Yes, Demon King.”
“What is the status of the Sky Tower?”
“I have been waiting for you to ask!”
Heh heh heh. Roger burst into loud laughter.
“All preparations are perfectly complete. Would you like to see this?”
Roger handed over the blueprints.
“First, the floating stones will be placed at the lower section of the tower and connected. Once it begins to rise, the tower’s legs will all retract at once and attach to the walls, and defensive barriers and magic arrays to protect the floating stones will be installed around them.”
“And those protruding things sticking out between the legs?”
“Mana cannons. One hundred and ten per leg, for a total of eight hundred mana cannons.”
“Come to think of it, during this hero’s march there were shells I had never seen before. Scatter shells, incendiary shells, and such.”
“We can make all of them! But we are planning something even more amazing than that.”
Roger shouted. At that confidence, Berje showed interest.
“What is it?”
“We will receive demonic energy and crystallize it directly into fire. There will be no need to make shells separately—if demonic energy is supplied, it can be fired infinitely.”
“Oh?”
That was not bad.
“Then depending on how you manipulate them, you can make things like incendiary or scatter shells?”
“Of course.”
“I will look forward to it.”
“Thank you!”
“And next?”
“The floating stone has been processed into a single massive form, and with the help of the elves, Princess Ellena, Lady Reina, and Lady Vivian, we inscribed magic arrays.”
“Magic arrays?”
“Large-scale lightning magic. It will fall vertically from the sky to the ground. It is a gigantic lightning strike about fifty meters in diameter.”
That was also to his liking.
“But Vivian?”
Reina made sense, but did Vivian have any use?
“Hey! I’m a great archmage in my own right! I’m a Demon King too!”
“You ‘were’ a Demon King.”
“Kyaaaaaaah! I feel like I’m losing my mind—mmph!”
“Be quiet.”
Reina’s cold sealed her mouth.
“Yes, and then....”
Roger continued his explanation.
“I like it. Proceed as planned.”
“Thank you! Then right away—”
“Go out first and prepare.”
“Yes!”
Roger left in high spirits.
“Once the Sky Tower is completed, we will head to the continent before long.”
“Really?”
“Mmpph!”
“What is it?”
Berje melted the frost.
“...Pwah, I almost died. This is suppression of Demon King authority!”
“What are you trying to say?”
“You’re going to reveal the tower to the humans?”
“It’s not just revealing it. I will help the humans.”
“...What does that mean?”
“Wow, Berje, I knew you were crazy, but I think you’re crazier than I thought!”
“Demon King? What does that even mean?”
The doubt was natural. Berje explained the plan he had devised together with Ernan.
“...Unbelievable. Even so, to join forces with humans. But if you have decided so, I will follow.”
Reina was displeased, but given the circumstances, she accepted it.
“Wait, then what about the promise that you’d let me do piracy?”
“I will let you.”
“But you said you’d join forces with humans?”
“Not all humans. The sea is not only the seas of kingdoms.”
“Ah, I see.”
Vivian licked her lips.
“Is that truly the only way?”
“Yes.”
“I thought I had adapted to you somewhat, Demon King, but perhaps I still have a long way to go. Once the tower starts moving, I will end up commanding it, won’t I?”
“I will be going out to fight.”
“I will have to learn a lot from the dwarves.”
Gordon shook his head, yet agreed.
“I will follow whatever the Demon King does.”
“I’m looking forward to it!”
“At last, the Sky Tower!”
The princesses welcomed it in their own ways.
Thus, the meeting ended.
“Kaede, stay behind for a moment.”
At the summit, only Berje and Kaede remained.
“Is something the matter?”
“I will not be able to grant your brother’s request.”
“...I expected as much.”
A star had died. Twenty thousand troops had died. By any standard, it was a failure.
“The imperial army will strike the Kingdom of Arkan.”
“...In the end, there is no persuading them, is there?”
“The upper echelons of the empire are completely under Jason’s control. Since he is a Doppelgänger, we must assume there are demon race members wearing human skins.”
“Could it be that my maternal grandfather and His Majesty as well...?”
“I cannot be certain, but probably so.”
“My goodness.”
Kaede bit her lip.
“Either way, what matters now is Martin. He is in danger.”
A human imperial prince who knew nothing, thrown among the demon race. Would Jason, who had decided to go all out, really leave such a thorn in his side alone?
“From my standpoint, it is better to keep him alive.”
No matter how vile the empire’s actions were, such a nation could not collapse all at once. Once the situation settled, weakened though it might be, the empire would remain and choose a new leader.
Then would it not be right for that leader to be someone connected to Berje?
“Tell your brother yourself. If he wants to live, if he wants to save the empire already eaten from within and become emperor.”
Become my subordinate.
“...I will speak to him.”
“Are you alright?”
“...Yes. I am fine.”
Kaede nodded with difficulty.
* * *
Daniel Deyrus. The great hero who had slain over a dozen Demon Kings spent his time in boredom and anxiety.
“....”
Although he had been defeated and captured, there was hope that he could be released.
Information? That meant nothing in the face of life. Especially if it meant revealing information about Jason, who had betrayed him, and setting two Demon Kings against each other. He could tell it a hundred times over.
The problem was that the one who should hear it stopped coming one day, and he had no idea how much time had passed in the dark prison.
‘Why isn’t he coming? Isn’t they curious?’
The relationship between Dark Flame and False seemed extremely bad. He had once threatened him to spit everything out, so why did he not come back yet?
‘Could he be taking Jason’s hand?’
No, that could not be.
How many Demon Kings had Jason killed? What Demon King, upon hearing that, would take his hand? That would be walking straight into death. In his view, the Demon King of Dark Flame was not that foolish.
‘He’ll come soon. This is just a tactic to make me anxious.’
Yes, he settled his mind that way.
But in a prison where he could not even tell the passage of time, hardening one’s resolve was exceedingly difficult.
The longer that time dragged on, the more so.
How much time had passed?
Fortunately, the heavens answered his wish.
Creak—
The door opened. The sound of someone’s footsteps echoed.
Daniel’s eyes flew open. This was different from usual when food was brought. The footsteps were different, and above all, there was no smell of food.
He sensed that the moment he had been waiting for had finally come. He was so happy that he wanted to give up his liver and gall, but he forced himself to maintain a calm expression.
“Have you been well?”
“...You came sooner than I expected.”
“It seems waiting was not that boring? I thought you would be desperate to get out quickly.”
“I am Daniel Deyrus. Do you think I would fall for such shallow tricks?”
“So you say.”
The corner of Berje’s lips lifted.
“I went and met Jason.”
“...What did you say?”
“I also learned why he raised you.”
“....”
“To think that the true nature of a hero worshipped as a god was a Demon King’s elixir. Isn’t the world amusing?”
“...It is nothing but his empty delusion.”
“Yes. From your perspective, it would be.”
Kheh heh heh, Berje burst into laughter.
“But tell me. Do you know what Jason said to me?”
It was instinctive. Daniel, who had fought Demon Kings for hundreds of years, felt a deep sense of foreboding.
He did not want to answer, but Berje’s gaze did not waver as it fixed on him. Under that stare, he slowly opened his mouth.
“...Do I need to know?”
“You must. Because it concerns you.”
“...What was it?”
“He told me to make you fulfill your duty.”
“Duty?”
“Your duty as an elixir.”
“...Jason would never say such a thing!”
Impossible. Having been with Jason for hundreds of years, he knew better than anyone what kind of demon race member he was.
Would he so easily hand over someone he considered his own?
“Do I look like I am lying?”
But there was not the slightest hint of jest in Berje’s eyes.
His heart sank.
“I-I will tell you everything!”
“Everything?”
“Did you not swear upon the great First Demon Emperor and the Standard! If I told you everything, you would spare my life!”
“Yes, I did. But you see, I have already resolved most of what I was curious about. Directly from Jason.”
“What if he spoke lies! Even his name is lie!”
“Yes, perhaps that is so.”
No, Jason had not lied.
There was no reason to, nor any need.
“But I believe it to be the truth.”
“...He is a cunning Demon King! You are being deceived!”
“I am also a Demon King.”
“Will you fall into his scheme! Will you do exactly as he commands!?”
“Yes, doing exactly as that vermin commands is not to my liking. How dare such a worm order me around.”
But.
“This time, I like it.”
“Oath! Are you going to break your oath!”
“You have not yet confessed everything, so do I even need to spare you?”
“What?”
Daniel unconsciously tried to retreat. But the firm bindings did not grant even that freedom.
“But I do not even need to use such a method. Do you know why?”
“...Why?”
“Because from the beginning, I never intended to let you live.”
Crunch—
A chilling sound rang through the prison. A thick stench of blood surged up.
“You would not know. How much I wanted to kill you.”
He knew all the secrets. And at the end of it all, there was Jason. The root of everything was Jason.
Perhaps, because Berje before regression had rampaged too much, Jason had sent Daniel to kill him.
But even if Jason was the mastermind behind everything, that did not erase the sin of Daniel, who had mocked Berje and plunged a blade into his heart.
From the moment he regressed.
No, from the moment the hero had mocked him and driven a blade into his heart.
He had longed desperately for this very moment.
He had never let go of this radiant future of revenge.
“How long I have wished for this moment, how desperately I wanted it!”
Berje roared.
“...To break an...oath.”
“Oaths, oaths, they are nice. But I do not believe in the First Demon Emperor or the Standard. Naturally, such unenforced oaths are utterly useless to me.”
Yet you heroes are so simple that you believe in such oaths without question.
Berje whispered.
“Did you really think I would release you?”
“...Y-you...!”
“To think that if you told everything I would let you go? My goodness, how optimistic. Is this how flower-filled the mind of a hero who faces Demon Kings on the front lines is?”
“You bastard...!”
“Yes, that expression. Daniel Deyrus.”
I wanted to see that twisted face of yours!
Berje was filled with rapture.
“What was it you said back then.”
He recalled an incomprehensible, forgotten past.
“You are a truly grateful godfather. Where else would there be those who devote their lives to sincerely nurturing my power?”
Berje mocked him.
“So go on ahead and wait. I will send Jason after you soon.”
From the bloodshot eyes, the soul slowly faded.
“...Haha.”
As Berje crushed the still-beating heart, he felt emotions beyond description.
At last.
At last, he succeeded.
“...He’s dead.”
Truly.
“I really killed him.”
The one he could never forget even in his dreams, he ended with his own hands.
He was the victor.
This time, Daniel Deyrus writhed and died like a worm beneath his feet.
Kahahahahaha.
Laughter would not stop. He could not contain it. He did not want to.
The trembling skin, the rising shivers, the surging emotions—everything felt good.
And at that moment.
“Kgh?”
The power of the great hero who had slain dozens of Demon Kings began to be absorbed by the Demon King.
“Gaaaaaah!”
Along with horrific pain, a massive tidal wave of power began forcibly remodeling the Demon King’s body.