Chapter 36 : Find the Dwarf
Chapter 36: Find the Dwarf
All information in the tower was delivered to the master of the tower. From the most trivial matters to the most important ones.
4th floor. An anomaly occurred there.
‘Unpleasant.’
Within the Demon King’s Tower, overflowing with demonic energy, a sudden surge of pure mana burst forth. That alien presence felt unbearably irritating and bothersome.
“It succeeded.”
“Thanks to you.”
Jjeo-eong—
“Khuk…!”
Kaede collapsed while coughing up blood.
“Your skills improved.”
“When I summoned the spirit, I absorbed some of that mana.”
Ernan replied indifferently without even looking at the fallen Kaede. Berje looked around. The 4th floor had changed.
“Tell her that if she keeps this up, I’ll just throw her into the underground prison.”
“You won’t do it yourself?”
“Other than the first time I kidnapped her, I’ve never actually stood face-to-face with her while both eyes were open.”
Thanks to that, he had accumulated plenty of Demonic Points and generously let it slide, but his patience was nearing its limit.
‘It’s already impressive I tolerated this much. I’ve become far too lenient.’
It must have been because the first person he kidnapped after returning was Ernan. And she had obediently followed his intentions, so he assumed Kaede would be the same and gave her the chance.
But now it was over.
“That’s…”
It was that spirit.
Behind Ernan stood a spirit he had never seen before. A woman whose presence far surpassed that of any spirit that had roamed the 4th floor until now.
— Nice to meet you, Demon King.
— I am Nairuniel, a high-grade water spirit.
She extended her hand, asking for a handshake.
“…”
Was there ever a spirit favorable toward the Demon King? No. Thinking so, doubt rose within him.
“What’s your scheme?”
— Don’t misunderstand. I don’t like demons either.
— But you and Ernan’s…
“Let’s stop there, Lady Nairuniel.”
Ernan blocked Nairuniel’s mouth. The high-grade spirit flailed her limbs while muffled groans leaked out.
“…What are you two doing?”
“Lady Nairuniel tends to talk a bit too much.”
— No, I— mmph!
Watching their little performance, like some kind of skit, prompted a sudden question.
The tower turned mana into demonic energy.
“I’ve never brought a spirit into the tower before, so I don’t know.”
And spirits were pure masses of mana.
“If you stay here, do you turn into a dark spirit?”
— Do you really think I’d be corrupted by this level of demonic energy? That’s an insult!
“If not, whatever.”
— You insult me and then say ‘whatever’?! Apologize!
— What do you take me for!
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Ernan repeatedly bowed her head. Berje snorted and left the 4th floor.
* * *
After seeing Nairuniel, the high-grade water spirit, he realized he had been far too indifferent toward himself.
He had many excuses lined up.
He had purchased the elf Granada, released him across the continent, and kidnapped the dwarven hero. He had stopped the hero Hillan Cargill, kidnapped the Ninth Princess, and continued to draw a grand plan.
Ever since descending upon Arein, Berje had lived an extremely busy life.
But that was all just an excuse and a justification. In the end, what mattered most to the Demon King was his own strength.
Yet Berje had never truly thought about improving his own strength. His attempts had been weak. At best, he had taken a few elixirs or spent a small amount of Demonic Points to barely reduce a sliver of interference power.
‘At this rate, I’d probably lose even to that idiot Ugar.’
Even if he fought inside his own tower, he would still be defeated.
In the Demon Realm, perhaps things would be different, but the interference imposed on Ugar and the interference imposed on him were drastically different.
That was why Ugar and Draxon, those fools, could bare their fangs at him. They assumed the surface was all there was to see.
Although Berje had died once and now walked a different path compared to before, his essence had not changed.
He revered strength, prioritized sheer might, and removed anything that stood in his way without hesitation.
Because of that, he did not intend to let those two Demon Kings continue their insolence for long.
“…”
The problem was that no immediate solution came to mind.
“…I suppose it’s been a while. Maybe I should go out.”
He steadied the battle spirit rising within him.
He decided to go hunting together with the Peul Orcs, partly to see how they were doing.
Maintaining combat instincts was also important.
Berje burst out of his office and sprinted forward.
* * *
Ergest was vast.
It was not just a mountain but an entire mountain range—naturally, its scale was immense.
The monsters living there were innumerable, and the strength they had honed while desperately fighting to survive that harsh land was beyond imagination.
For humans, it was a forbidden domain they could never challenge.
For monsters, it was a battleground where survival was the only rule.
And for Berje, it was a sturdy wall that blocked the hero squad and a prison that prevented the princesses from escaping.
“It is an honor to be in your presence.”
Krutu, the chieftain of the Red Frost Tribe, bowed his head.
The Red Frost Tribe, which had relocated to a peak not far from the tower, had grown considerably in scale. With Berje’s arrival, they all dropped to their knees in unison, offering worship.
“The tribe has grown quite a bit.”
“We have unified three tribes. It is all thanks to the power you bestowed upon us.”
They had unified three tribes, yet their size had roughly doubled. He could easily imagine how fierce the battles must have been.
Well, among monsters, how many would obediently say, ‘Yes, understood,’ if another tried to rule over them?
Their roots were still of the demon race, after all.
The Peul Orcs were the ones who had even bared their fangs at him, the Demon King.
“You’ve lost quite a bit of fur.”
“Ever since receiving your grace, it began to fall out. Even so, I barely feel the cold now.”
Peul Orcs were a type of orc whose hides and fur had developed to survive extreme cold. Now that his body had been strengthened through demonic energy and no longer felt cold, it was natural for the fur to fall away.
“There’s no need to dress up baldness so dramatically.”
Still, losing the hair on their heads made them look rather unsightly.
“…P-please ride this one instead.”
Krutu quickly changed the topic. What he brought forward was a massive frost wolf over three meters tall. The blue-tinted fur mixed with a faint silver sheen was quite beautiful.
Kki-ing—
Kking—
“Is it yours?”
“Yes, it is, but I’m not sure why it’s acting like this all of a sudden…”
“It’s only natural.”
Frost wolves were highly sensitive monsters. They instinctively perceived the Demon King’s rank and felt fear. Ordinarily, that difference in status alone would make them docile, but the problem was that Berje and frost wolves were opposites by nature.
“Stay still. Before I roast you whole.”
Kki-ing—
But even such an instinctive aversion could not overcome the fear of death. With its fur slightly singed, the frost wolf quieted down. Berje mounted it, and the warriors of the Red Frost Tribe began running in unison.
As if it had been waiting for that moment, snow began to fall.
After running for quite some time, a Frozen Drake could be seen in the distance, stomping heavily as it moved.
Its bright yellow eyes swept over the Peul Orcs and then over Berje. The killing intent that had surfaced for a moment vanished as soon as it reached Berje. The creature turned its head away.
However, that indifference came merely from reacting to the demonic energy and forcibly suppressing its instincts. If they showed hostile intent, it would reveal its ferocity again immediately.
“We will show you our strength.”
“You’re confident?”
“With the power you bestowed upon us, anything is possible.”
No. What Berje had given them was nothing more than a demonic-energy-infused elixir, and all it had done was awaken Krutu’s long-forgotten instincts as a monster.
It wasn’t something great—just a fleeting trigger. And the Frozen Drake was a monster placed quite high in the Ergest ecosystem.
Berje, in his current state, could not easily overwhelm that creature, and something like a Peul Orc was nothing more than prey it could devour by the dozens.
Even so, Berje nodded.
“The Demon King has given his command! Go!”
Kruoooo—!
Led by Krutu, the Peul Orcs charged across the snow. The frost wolves howled. The Frozen Drake bared its fangs.
Hwaaaak—
Pure white frost burst from its jaws. Ice layered over the snow. Krutu narrowly dodged it and yanked hard on the frost wolf’s fur.
The frost wolf leapt high and ran up the Frozen Drake’s arm. The creature thrashed, but Krutu maintained his balance with almost supernatural athletic skill.
Rough demonic energy coated the crude blade he held.
Kkaang—
The Frozen Drake’s scales were not pierced. Instead, the blade snapped.
But the attack had not been meaningless. A very small gap—while the blade could not destroy the Frozen Drake’s scales, it had managed to scratch them.
“Your fighting spirit is to my liking.”
Peul Orcs were blown away by the Frozen Drake’s wild thrashing. Even so, Krutu displayed astonishing prowess.
He jammed his hand into the narrow gap and held on. He bit down with his teeth. Taking weapons passed to him by his tribesmen, he tore the wound open even further.
The battle continued for a long time. Dozens of Peul Orcs fell. But in the end, the victors were the Peul Orcs.
Krutu, who burst the creature’s vulnerable eye, roared. He split open the chest of the fallen Frozen Drake and extracted its heart.
The heart of a monster brimming with mana was an elixir by itself. Although its purity and quality were inferior to proper Spirit Blossoms or true elixirs.
“We dedicate the glory of this battle to the Demon King! Glory to the Demon King!”
“Glory to the Demon King!”
“Glory to the Demon King!”
Krutu knelt and offered the heart.
As he watched the throbbing mana, Berje suddenly recalled a moment from before he returned in time.
‘Come to think of it, around this time… Draxon…’
He had taken something like this. And from that point on, he had grown explosively.
Before returning, it had been the one thing about Draxon that Berje envied.
“We should return. That is yours—I bestow it upon you.”
“Th-thank you!”
Krutu pressed his head to the ground.
Berje hastily turned the reins.
* * *
Louise Berfht. The second princess of the Dwarven Kingdom had met with failure after failure.
“Roger, you bastard!”
It had been a lie from the start, so of course he wasn’t there. But after seeing Roger’s necklace as evidence, Louise had thought he was simply hiding much better than expected.
“Princess, we can’t continue any longer. Ormus has issued a final ultimatum.”
No nation would look kindly upon a foreign army marching across their territory.
Louise had promised Dwarven-made equipment and negotiated in advance, but even that had its limits.
Especially since the dwarves, instead of stopping at the pre-agreed Tarta, had begun ransacking the surrounding cities as well, causing such damage that the citizens of Ormus were reaching the peak of their frustration.
The King of Ormus would no longer overlook the situation, and a final ultimatum was issued.
If they did not want war, they had to withdraw.
“He didn’t say we have to leave immediately.”
“It is no different from saying that.”
“I can’t give up like this. One more place. Just one last place to search before we go.”
“Tarta has already been searched top to bottom. The surrounding area as well.”
To her knight, Bolbof, if they hadn’t found anything by now, more searching would yield the same result.
“It seems we were deceived by that man.”
“But for what reason? And Roger’s necklace was real.”
Bolbof had nothing to refute that.
“And there is still one place left.”
“There is not.”
“Think about it—Roger is a coward. A coward wouldn’t hide somewhere he could be found so easily.”
Especially since *that person* had noticed him. He would have hidden even deeper.
“If anywhere fits, it’s that place.”
The mountain near Tarta.
“That is a volcano. It’s shown signs of erupting for years. No one goes there.”
“For all the noise, it hasn’t actually exploded yet.”
“It could happen any moment now.”
“But the people of Tarta haven’t abandoned the city, so they must believe it’s safe for at least a few more years. Think about it—nobody goes near that volcano because they’re terrified of it. So wouldn’t it be the perfect hiding spot for Roger?”
“It would not. If he’s a coward, he would avoid that place even more.”
“No, my instinct says otherwise.”
“It’s still unacceptable.”
“Bolbof. I’m not trying to convince you. I’m informing you.”
“No matter what you say, that is the Demon King’s territory!”
Yes—*that* was the problem. Half of Ormus’s land was covered by tropical rainforest, and Tarta was a city on the edge of that jungle.
And in that jungle, one of the five Demon Kings had built a tower and made his nest.
“And you are a princess. Please, have some awareness of that.”
“No, I’m not a princess.”
Louise smirked.
“I’m an executioner. An executioner who came to take Roger’s head. I will break that bastard’s neck myself.”
“…”
“The Dwarven Knight Order is with us. No matter how great the Demon King is, killing all of them and kidnapping me would mean he’s declaring war on the entire continent. Do you think my father would stay still? And we already have precedent—no sane man would repeat the same mistake.”
The Dwarven Kingdom was intricately tied to many other nations. The equipment they produced was indispensable to everyone.
“That was two hundred years ago.”
A foolish Demon King had once kidnapped the dwarven crown prince. The enraged king had called for help from every nation, offering vast amounts of equipment in return.
As a result, a continent-wide Demon King subjugation frenzy had swept across the land. Naturally, that Demon King had been unable to withstand the overwhelming forces and was beheaded.
“To a Demon King, two hundred years isn’t that long.”
Louise picked up her equipment.
“Don’t worry. I’ll just take a quick look and come right back.”
“…Understood.”
He could not stop her in the end. Bolbof prayed and prayed that the Beast Demon King would recall the past incident and refrain from touching the princess.
* * *
“…Who is coming where?”
“Louise Berfht.”
“That crazy dwarf wench—why her?”
Ptoo—
Draxon spat out the meat he had been chewing. His appetite vanished instantly.
“You already know that Louise arrived in Ormus recently with soldiers.”
“Anyone would know, considering she even bribed the King of Ormus in her search.”
“Her search was centered around Tarta.”
“And?”
“After searching Tarta and every surrounding area, she found nothing and has now headed toward Mount Mercon.”
“That damned bitch!”
Crunch—
The bone in Draxon’s hand shattered under his grip. His subordinates shuddered as dirty waves of demonic energy rippled outward.
“If she couldn’t find him, she should’ve just gone home quietly. And she dares try stepping into my territory!”
“What will you do?”
“…”
He wanted to grab her immediately and twist her neck off. But the opponent was a princess of the Dwarven Kingdom. If he laid hands on her without preparation, the situation would explode beyond repair.
But he couldn’t simply let her stroll toward Mount Mercon either.
“We’re almost finished. We can’t allow interference now. Send monsters and beasts to block her. No matter what, that woman must never reach the summit of Mount Mercon.”
“Yes.”
“And who exactly is she looking for?”
“A dwarf named Roger. She claims he went missing in Tarta.”
“Find him. Before that crazy woman forces her way here—find him and bring him to her.”
“Yes.”
Casey vanished.
“Damn it, all this because of one braindead dwarf…!”
Draxon ground his teeth.