Chapter 229 : The Demon King Who Set the Sky Tower Aloft
Rewinding time slightly, to an uninhabited island located in the northwestern part of the continent.
There stood a gigantic tower, rising proudly—one that all heroes and humans, and even a certain Demon King, had so desperately sought.
“Begin!”
At the top of the tower, Roger issued the order after completing all preparations.
“Raise the legs!”
“Raise the legs!”
In the control room installed in the upper levels, dozens of dwarves simultaneously manipulated the consoles.
Kiiii—
The tower sank down with a heavy thud.
The eight spider-like legs that had supported the tower began to slowly rise upward.
Kiiiiing—
Thousands of joints rotated organically. The connection mechanisms installed along the outer walls of the tower naturally received the legs.
As if they had been one from the very beginning, the legs became one with the tower.
“Leg connection successful!”
“Phew.”
Roger wiped away the sweat flowing down his face.
Since this involved modifying the tower itself, it was uncharted territory even for the dwarves—everything had been a first. Thankfully, they had succeeded up to this point.
“Then…”
“Finally…”
Roger and the dwarves swallowed their dry saliva. The Demon Kings, the princess, and the elves watching from behind were also tense.
“Demon King?”
“I’ve already handed over sufficient control of demonic energy. Do as you please.”
“Yes! Activate the floating stones!”
“Activate the floating stones!”
A tremendous amount of demonic energy was sucked in all at once. The tower began to shake violently. The sand on the beach scattered in all directions.
And then—
“……!”
Berje released the chin he had been propping up while leaning against the throne.
A tower was different on the inside and outside.
Externally, it appeared ordinary, but internally, dimensional magic overlapped in layers, making it entirely different. Once the doors were closed, the inside and outside could practically be considered different worlds.
That was why nothing could be felt from inside the tower.
No sensation of floating.
No shaking of the tower.
But—
It could be seen with the eyes.
The external scenery displayed through the tower’s authority was changing.
The viewpoint rose higher.
The ground below came into view.
The tower was ascending.
The tower was flying.
“I-It’s lifting! It’s lifting! It’s really lifting!”
“Woooooah!”
The tower rose to 50 meters and then stopped in place. The dwarves released the controls and embraced one another.
“It’s flying! The tower is flying!!”
“To think I made something like this with my own hands! I could die without regrets…!”
“Why would you die, you Peul dwarf bastard. Now that you’ve seen the Sky Tower float, you’ve got to see it in action too.”
“To think the Demon King’s tower would truly be lifted into the sky…!”
That awe and shock were not limited to the dwarves alone.
“…You truly accomplished it.”
“Wow, the tower’s floating? Did you see it? The tower’s floating!”
“I get it, so be quiet, Vivian.”
Though his tone was curt, Berje could not hide the smile etched on his lips.
“Congratulations, Demon King.”
“It’s incredible, in a completely different sense from simply being able to learn magic.”
“Wow, hurry and fly more. You’re not ending it here, right?”
“Of course not.”
If they had only intended to stop at merely lifting it, he would never have pushed Roger and the dwarves so hard, nor supported them so extensively.
“Roger!”
“Yes.”
“Can it fly immediately?”
“Of course. Theoretically, it can reach up to 500 km per hour.”
“500?”
“However, the higher the speed, the more massive the demonic energy consumption becomes, so on average, I recommend 200 to 300. Anything beyond that is close to wasteful.”
“300, huh.”
It was not bad. No, it was extremely satisfying. A Sky Tower cruising at an average of 300.
“The downside is that demonic energy consumption increases as speed increases.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
He had already lifted all interference power. The remaining demonic energy was meant for paying tribute to the Demon Realm to summon monsters or demons, granting power to his vassals, or strengthening himself.
But Berje was already more than satisfied simply by fully absorbing the power of Dorche, Daniel, and the vampires of Demon King Bruno. Absorbing additional demonic energy right now would actually be a misstep.
Reina had also already reached a wall and needed a trigger rather than more demonic energy, and while he was giving demonic energy to other demons, more was coming in than going out.
It had decreased significantly recently thanks to Jason drawing all the attention, but it would soon increase again, so it didn’t matter.
“Then let’s go for now. Depart.”
“Yes! Destination?”
“As if that isn’t already decided.”
Hilderan.
“We’re going to Hilderan.”
---
“Load the mana cannons!”
“Load the mana cannons!”
Demonic Points drained away rapidly. Demonic energy infused the mana cannons.
“Aim!”
“Aim!”
Eight hundred mana cannons simultaneously lowered their angles.
“Demon King, please give the order.”
Roger looked at Berje with confident eyes after completing all preparations.
Berje’s gaze turned downward. Half-collapsed castles, and thousands of monsters surging like waves toward them.
The tower was at an altitude of 100 meters, but amid the fierce battle, no one noticed the tower.
“That bastard Jason has gathered quite a lot over several hundred years.”
This was only a tiny fraction. One of the cities being attacked, one of the attacking legions.
They said all of Hilderan was like this, and that the number already killed exceeded tens of thousands—there was no imagining how many more there were.
‘If all of those are wiped out…’
They would be grateful.
And Jason would be furious.
“Fire.”
“Commence bombardment!”
“Commence bombardment!”
The dwarves manipulated the controls. The mana cannons, angled toward the ground, unleashed fire all at once.
Eight hundred shells split apart. In the blink of an eye, those eight hundred shells became eight thousand and assaulted the ground.
──!
───!
The mana shells directly linked to the tower were, unlike before, aggregates composed purely of demonic energy.
Because it was demonic energy rather than mana, it was even more violent and savage. And destructive.
Caught off guard by the sudden bombardment that began from the sky, the monsters could not regain their senses.
“Khhhhh, to think I made this with my own hands…”
“A new-type mana cannon fired from the Sky Tower, my goodness…!”
“It’s fantastic! This thrill is incredible!”
“Ah, it’s so beautiful.”
And the dwarves were no different.
If not for the newly appearing monsters trying to attack the tower, it might have continued for quite some time.
“Enemy detected ahead!”
“A gargoyle swarm is approaching! Demon King, your orders!”
“Deal with it yourselves.”
“Yes! Adjust mana cannon angles, 120 degrees east and west!”
Some of the mana cannons that had been aimed at the ground turned toward the approaching gargoyle swarm.
“Ammunition: dispersal rounds. Attribute: lightning.”
Fire.
Fireballs advanced in parabolic arcs. Just before colliding with the gargoyle swarm, they split apart and scattered, then detonated. Black lightning spread in all directions.
More than half of the gargoyles fell straight down.
The survivors, enraged by the deaths of their kin, flapped their wings even harder, baring teeth and claws as they arrived within arm’s reach.
At that moment—
“Discharge.”
“Discharge!”
───!
Black lightning whips wrapped around the entire outer wall, striking the intruders.
That was the end of it.
“Where do you think you’re charging, you bastards!”
“This is the Sky Tower!”
“The dwarves’ technology is the best in the world!”
The tower’s mana cannons once again adjusted their angles toward the ground.
---
The soldiers cheered at the sudden bombardment.
“W-We survived!”
“It’s reinforcements! Reinforcements have arrived!”
Waaaaaaa—
The bombardment turned into cheers, and the cheers raised morale.
The roaring blasts were enough to rupture eardrums, but the relief and joy of survival came first. However, the cheers did not last long.
“But where are the reinforcements?”
“Huh?”
“W-What is that?”
“L-Look up!”
“A t-tower?”
“There’s a tower floating in the sky!”
Noticing the massive shadow covering the castle walls, the soldiers sensed something amiss. One soldier tilted his head upward. Others followed as if possessed. And once lifted, their heads did not come back down.
“M-My god…”
One soldier’s muttering spoke for everyone.
It was a tower.
So enormous that it seemed impossible for it to be floating in the sky.
“…What on earth is that?”
“W-Why is something like that here?”
“The end of the world has come!”
“We’re all going to die!”
“S-Shut up! It’s helping us right now! That means it’s on our side!”
“Could it be dwarves?”
“T-That’s right! It attacked the monsters! It’s on our side!”
“They say dwarves have floating battleships! Maybe they have floating towers too!”
“T-That must be it… right…?”
The soldiers tried desperately to rationalize it. But they could not hide the anxiety etched on their faces.
On one side of the wall, Count Pagan, who had been unconscious, opened his eyes.
He stared blankly at the tower still floating loftily.
“…I’ve gone mad. I must have gone mad. There’s no way something like that could exist unless I was insane. That’s right.”
Count Pagan muttered.
“We’re all insane!”
“Your Excellency! Please, pull yourself together!”
“How can I?! Ken! You’re seeing that, and you can still say that?!”
He stretched out his hand and pointed at the tower.
“It’s firing mana cannons. And that energy isn’t mana—it’s demonic energy!”
Having awakened as a hero, he could feel it clearly. The violent, ferocious, instinctively repulsive sensation was unmistakably demonic energy.
“I’ve only experienced something like this once in my life! How am I supposed to stay calm?!”
And that wasn’t all.
“That’s a tower! A Demon King’s tower!”
He had once participated in a hero’s march as a knight. Naturally, he had seen the Demon King’s tower. That was unquestionably a Demon King’s tower.
“Why is a Demon King’s tower flying through the sky?! Why is it bombarding its own monsters?!”
“…Perhaps.”
“Perhaps?”
“They’re not on the same side…”
“They’re both Demon Kings, though.”
“There isn’t only one Demon King, is there?”
“I’ve never heard of Demon Kings fighting each other in my life.”
“Nor have I.”
“Then why say something so ridiculous when you know that!”
“Then perhaps it’s dwarves?”
“Dwarves?”
“Who else but dwarves could make so many mana cannons or a flying tower?”
“And the demonic energy?”
“Pardon?”
“How do you explain the demonic energy?!”
Ken fell silent. Count Pagan grabbed at his hair.
“It must be the False Demon King mocking us with a play. Think about it. His very name is the ‘False’ Demon King, isn’t it?”
“That name was given by the Empire—”
“No, I’m sure of it. Yes, that’s it. We need to retreat. If we don’t, we’ll all die! At this rate, we’ll all die!”
Yes, that was it.
“Prepare to retreat immediately! While that damned tower holds the monsters back!”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
“Why wouldn’t it be necessary?! That tower could kill us all—huh?”
Count Pagan, who had been shouting in anger at the interruption of his command, widened his eyes.
Amethyst-like eyes that shone like jewels, platinum-blonde hair like woven silk, and a bright face with a classical, dignified atmosphere.
“…Uh, well.”
He forced a calm expression and searched for the right words.
“Your Highness…?”
“That’s right, Count Pagan.”
“Why are you… here…?”
“We were exterminating monsters near Bris Castle and were on our way to provide support.”
“Th-Thank you.”
“For what? It’s only natural, as the Crown Princess.”
“Yes… Truly, you are the very embodiment of a benevolent royal who practices noblesse oblige.”
“You flatter me.”
“Uh…”
Count Pagan stared blankly, his mouth closing. What had he been about to say?
‘The tower is floating, and demonic energy can be felt, so I was going to run.’
That was it. The moment that tower’s bombardment turned toward the castle, it would spell destruction.
“Your Highness! We are grateful for the help, but this place is dangerous!”
“Dangerous?”
“Yes! Please look above. An unidentified tower has occupied the airspace! Mana cannons attached to its exterior are firing continuously!”
“It’s wiping out the monsters.”
“Of course, for now. But that is a Demon King’s tower!”
“A Demon King’s tower?”
“I once participated in a hero’s march and assault force. I saw the Demon King’s tower then, and it looked exactly like that!”
“I see.”
“Yes! As long as that is a Demon King’s tower, we cannot let our guard down! We don’t know when that bombardment might rain down on us, so we must flee!”
“So it’s dangerous, and we should run?”
“Yes! Of course!”
“But then.”
“Yes!”
“Demon Kings might have bad relations with each other and fight, you know?”
“Yes! …Yes?”
“They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
“………”
Count Pagan instinctively reached for his sword. In his mind, only an airheaded fool like Ken could say something so absurd.
But the Crown Princess could not possibly be that.
So there were only two possibilities. Either she wasn’t the Crown Princess, or all of this was a succubus’s dream illusion.
* Don’t doubt it.
If not for the sudden appearance of the overwhelming presence of a water spirit, he would have swung his sword.
* This child is undoubtedly the Crown Princess you must serve.
* I guarantee it in the name of Naias, Spirit King.
“…Ah.”
“Were you just about to attack me? You know that’s treason, right?”
“N-No! Of course not!”
“Really?”
“Of course! Your Highness! How could I possibly dare…!”
“Then I will give an order as the Crown Princess.”
“Yes!”
“There’s no need to retreat. Gather your troops and remember this sight clearly.”
You will—
“—have to testify to this historic moment before everyone.”
That is the Crown Princess’s order.
Her voice vanished with the wind.
---
“Where are you looking in the middle of a fight, you bastard.”
A spear of fire aimed for the Dark Elf’s neck. Only then did he sense the killing intent and raise his sword—at which point an explosion swallowed him whole.
Ralph hurled his shield. The staggering Dark Elf’s neck snapped. Rozel’s flames rained down upon him. His corpse turned to dust and vanished.
It was a futile death.
Had he not been flustered by the sudden appearance of the tower, he wouldn’t have died so easily.
After finally dealing with the twelve Dark Elves, Rozel looked up at the sky.
“…They really made it fly.”
When the dwarves had been spouting nonsense, she had thought they were just lunatics. She never imagined they could actually make something like that.
“That is…”
It was incredible. No, the word ‘incredible’ was insufficient to describe how astonishing it was.
“This is insane! Do you see it? Amazing! The tower is flying!”
“…It is impressive.”
Ahem. Ralph cleared his throat.
“I want to go inside. I want to see how it’s structured, what other weapons it has, and how much firepower it carries.”
“Not yet. Have you forgotten the Crown Princess’s words?”
Gnn. Rozel swallowed a groan.
“So what did she say next?”
“She said that if the tower appears, we should watch.”
“Watch?”
“Yes. She said the rest would be handled by the Demon King.”
As soon as Ralph finished speaking, the bombardment stopped. Then the tower’s door—no, the lower part of the tower—opened.
And black spheres began to fall.
They were quite large. And there weren’t just one or two.
Before they could even wonder what they were, the moment the spheres hit the ground, they absorbed all impact and vanished. Then the monsters and demons that had been quietly contained inside revealed themselves.
“They’re sending monsters directly? Not finishing them off with bombardment?”
“The Crown Princess said that as proof the Demon King is on humanity’s side, nothing is more convincing than demons and monsters attacking demons and monsters.”
“Even so…”
Crack—
A blizzard swept through.
The heat from the bombardment vanished in an instant.
“Isn’t it a bit much for even that lady to come out? Are all the high-ranking demons already dead?”
“She said it’s better to be thorough.”
The Frost Demon King fluttered her blue hair.
Dozens of frost demons and thousands of monsters followed behind her.
They descended upon the False Demon King’s monsters.
New monsters!
This is insane!
S-Should we stop them?
No, they’re going that way, not this way!
Monsters attacking monsters…?
That’s impossible.
The murmuring atop the walls grew louder.
Shortly thereafter—
The area in front of the castle turned into a land of pure white ice.
There was not a single surviving monster, demon, or demon race.
And the tower, once again carrying demons aboard, leisurely disappeared.
“…What was that?”
“…Did I really see that?”
“…Demons wiped out demons…?”
“…I feel like I’m going to lose my mind. I really feel like I’m going to lose my mind.”
Leaving the panicked humans behind.