Chapter 38 : Butterfly Effect
Chapter 38: Butterfly Effect
“Your Highness!”
“Your Hiiiiiiighness!”
A grief-stricken wail echoed out.
But their prince had already crossed a river from which he could never return.
“Did you love the prince that much? Anyone would think your lover just died.”
But what a shame.
Louise sneered. She pulled out the axe and shook it, the severed head dangling.
“Want to at least take Max’s ‘Max’ with you?”
“You fucking bitch!”
“Kill that woman!”
“Recover His Highness’s remains!”
Louise’s provocation became a massive crater. Sorrow turned into despair, and the wailing turned into rage.
Raw killing intent, incomparable to before, shot straight at Louise.
“Come on then, you bastards! As if I’d get scared of you!”
“Protect the Princess!”
Louise roared. Bolbof and the knights hurriedly formed a defensive wall.
A raging tide of warriors, coated in fury and killing intent, surged toward them. The dwarves planted their short legs firmly on the ground. Their shields came forward.
Kwaaang—
The shields shuddered violently. The dwarves screamed.
“They’re charging like dogs in heat just because a single prince died.”
The princess rolled up her sleeves and raised her axe. Bolbof quickly blocked her path.
“You must escape.”
“And can we?”
“Your Highness!”
“Don’t worry. I’d rather die than ever be taken prisoner.”
“I will never allow that. I’ll stake my life to open a path!”
“You think that’ll be enough? Might as well hope for some unknown demon to show up again and smack those guys around one by one like before.”
Come to think of it—where had that guy gone?
“Whom do you mean?”
“The demon who kindly delivered that horny bastard right to my feet.”
“...He vanished.”
Just as soundlessly as he had appeared.
At that moment—
Kkeuaaaak—
A monster!
Block it!
Screams erupted from the other side. The foul stench unique to monsters filled the air.
“...Did you call them?”
“How would I?”
“...Then why did they actually appear?”
A monster had appeared?
* * *
Quail sent out the gargoyles.
The gargoyles drifted through the sky, swiftly locating the two groups of enemies.
“The dwarves and the forces of Ormus just made contact.”
“The distance?”
“About five kilometres southwest of here.”
“Approach slowly.”
The monsters advanced. They melted into the jungle with practised ease.
“The humans of Ormus have surrounded the dwarves.”
“Surrounded them?”
“There’s shouting back and forth. I’ll descend a bit more and listen in.”
Quail received live reports. Ten gargoyles rapidly travelled back and forth between the scene and Quail.
“There is the Second Prince among the forces of Ormus.”
“So that’s one more troublesome bastard to watch out for.”
“It seems the Second Prince of Ormus is stopping the dwarven princess who was trying to head to Mount Mercon.”
“Really?”
Quail brightened. If it were up to him, he would have liked to slaughter all the insolent ones who had ignored the Demon King’s will and trespassed upon their territory, but the Demon King’s orders came first.
So it was better for the humans and dwarves to get tangled up with each other like this and walk out on their own feet.
“...But the atmosphere is not good.”
“Atmosphere?”
“The princess and the prince are arguing. The humans of Ormus have pointed their weapons at the dwarves.”
“That’s quite an amusing situation.”
That was fine as well.
Blades aimed at each other were blades that would no longer need to be raised toward the Demon King.
“Increase speed. I can’t afford to miss such entertaining spectacle.”
What Quail loved as much as battle was the sight of foolish humans. Their greed and avarice drove them helplessly toward ruin, and the despair at the end of it was nothing short of exquisite.
At that moment—
Kwaaaaah—
Quail abruptly halted. The monsters shrieked.
“This is…”
It was demonic energy.
“That’s impossible…”
Extremely pure and immense.
Not from an ordinary demon. Certainly not from a monster.
“A high-ranking demon.”
But why?
The Demon King was in the Tower.
“Did His Majesty perhaps give separate orders to another demon besides me…?”
But even that explanation felt wrong. This demonic energy didn’t match any high-ranking demon he knew.
A heavy sense of dread pushed Quail into a sprint.
And then he witnessed it.
The princess splitting open the prince’s skull, and the warriors of Ormus charging in, throwing away their lives out of vengeance.
The demon he expected was nowhere in sight.
His confusion lasted only a moment. The dwarves’ screams made Quail shake his head. Draxon’s warning came to mind.
“No matter what happens, you must keep the dwarven princess alive!”
Everything felt strange, but that was a matter for after the princess was saved.
Saving the still-living, important princess was far more vital than the already-dead, less significant prince.
“Kill every dog of Ormus! No matter what happens, keep the dwarven princess alive!”
Kruooooooh—
A battle erupted, with humans, dwarves, and monsters all clashing together.
* * *
‘I must have been detected.’
If he used his power, it was inevitable. Even so, he had no choice.
‘Because I couldn’t face him without demonic energy.’
Far from the Tower, here in Ormus, he could not hope to win while hiding his demonic energy.
If he fought normally, defeat was certain.
Yet running away was not something the Demon King’s pride would permit.
No matter how different the path he walked now was from his previous life, he was still the Demon King. The most arrogant, the most exalted of beings.
He was not cowardly enough to show his back and flee.
Nor was Berje merciful enough to forgive a mere human who dared charge at him.
Thus, in a single, brief instant—
he unleashed everything.
He hadn’t known Louise would finish the man off, but thanks to her, he had been able to slip away easily.
Draxon had probably realized what happened, but…
‘He’ll never imagine it was me.’
Demonic energy wasn’t merely a measure of strength—it represented a demon’s rank.
By deliberately releasing his demonic energy, Berje had ensured everyone would sense that the source was no mere monster or low-class demon.
But no one would ever connect it to the Demon King, Berje Deias.
The idea that a Demon King would secretly infiltrate another Demon King’s territory without prior notice was unthinkable by demon standards.
A dull prejudice. A stupid “standard.” A truly maddening combination.
That cursed madness smiled right at him.
‘Ironic.’
Berje gave a bitter grin.
‘Things are an absolute mess over there.’
He truly hadn’t expected Louise to kill the Prince of Ormus with her own hands. Because of that, the dogs of Ormus had begun raging like lunatics, and the dwarves were desperate to protect their princess.
And then the monsters barged in out of nowhere.
Thanks to that chaos, Berje slipped out of the scene smoothly, without drawing anyone’s attention.
‘Now that I think about it, this is the perfect opportunity.’
He had already sensed the monsters’ presence. Their movements suggested an intention to avoid direct combat.
That was likely Draxon’s will.
The desire not to antagonize Louise.
But Berje’s involvement had shattered that plan.
The prince of Ormus was dead, Louise had delivered the final blow, yet it was undeniable that demonic energy had intervened.
Now, let’s think.
If humans felt demonic energy moving within the Demon King’s territory, whose doing would they assume it was?
To anyone—
“It would be Draxon.”
There was no way the bastard watching from the Tower hadn’t sensed Berje’s demonic energy. The Tower must be in an uproar by now. He might have even come personally to confirm.
Which meant he wouldn’t have the luxury to pay attention to anything else.
Like Mount Mercon.
“It should be empty.”
Berje’s lips curled upward.
* * *
Berje suppressed his presence and quietly perched atop a tree. In the distance, monsters came into view.
“At least they didn’t lose their way.”
Their numbers continued to grow. It made hiding his presence more troublesome, but it also meant he was heading in the right direction.
‘The entrance is that way.’
The monsters were spread across the mountain as if maintaining surveillance. By tracking their paths and the peculiar points they watched, overlapping zones became clear.
The area under the heaviest guard—
there, a single cave ran through Mount Mercon.
Berje silently slipped inside.
The Demon King’s stealth arts, polished at the Demon King Military Academy for the purpose of kidnapping princes and princesses, were far too advanced for mere monsters to detect.
The cave was dark. There was only a single passage, damp and foul-smelling.
It was deep. He did not encounter any other monsters or demons along the way.
But something was changing.
It grew warm. Then hot—blisteringly so.
The murky darkness slowly brightened. Red heat turned to light, illuminating the interior.
“Hurry up and move!”
At the end of the passage, a vast chamber appeared. As if the entire inside of the mountain had been hollowed out, faint light seeped through the impossibly high ceiling.
And at its center—
A massive lake.
A red lake of molten lava.
Scorching flames rippled across its surface.
The voice’s owner stood atop a rock outcrop nearby.
A tiger beastman. Over three meters tall, with an enormous build. Blue demon eyes gleamed from between the orange fur.
‘A high-ranking demon.’
Berje clicked his tongue.
A high-ranking demon here, empowered by the demonic energy of the Demon King who ruled this territory—
And Berje, a Demon King whose power was badly constrained by distance from the Tower—
The difference was vast.
And this place was the enemy’s home ground.
Even slight delay would turn everything against him.
He couldn’t fight. He must not fight.
Berje’s gaze swept elsewhere.
The red lake.
There was something indescribable about it—far beyond simply “red.”
The lava bubbled.
Mana overflowed.
Even at a glance, it was extraordinary.
Despite being the Tower’s territory, overflowing with demons and monsters, the mana here felt even more immense.
‘In that place…’
It was there.
Around the lake, there was another path. No—closer to a ring. A wide moat dug artificially around the lake was steadily taking form.
‘Grizzly Bears.’
Dozens of powerful beast-type monsters were digging up earth and hurling it aside.
The high-ranking demon commanded them.
Berje could guess their purpose.
That lava was no ordinary lava.
Even Draxon couldn’t enter it carelessly unless he had resistance to fire.
So they were digging it out—creating a massive moat capable of holding the entire lake and draining the lava.
Once the lava was gone, the true object hidden beneath would be exposed.
But that—
‘—only applies to Draxon.’
Unlike the beast who solved everything with brute strength, Berje possessed resistance to flame. No—“authority” was the more accurate term.
Berje steadied his breathing.
He held his breath and wrapped his body in demonic energy, strengthening his form.
His muscles expanded.
“Who’s there!”
And at that very threshold, he was detected by the high-ranking demon.
Kwaaaang—
Berje blasted off the ground.
Shattered fragments burst in every direction.
Before the monsters and demons could even react, his figure plunged into the molten lake.
Whoosh—
Blistering heat surged over him. Everything he wore melted away instantly.
The pure, overwhelming mana reacted violently with his demonic energy.
Two opposing forces clashed in a fierce struggle.
Within the dense flow of powerful mana, everything was cut off.
The high-ranking demon’s shout, the monsters’ shrieks—none of it reached him anymore. He could no longer sense their demonic energy.
Pain tore into him.
For the first time since becoming a Demon King, Berje grit his teeth against such intensity.
Enduring the agony tearing through his skull, he swam slowly through the lava.
And finally, he found it.
A faint shape—so similar in color and aura to the lava that one would miss it without extreme focus.
A body nearly five meters long.
Outstretched wings, and feathers made of fire.
A bird.
A corpse. Yet also a living being.
Found it.
In Arein, there existed a bird made of pure flame.
A bird that cast itself into lava to cloak itself in new fire, granting it eternal life.
People called it a phoenix.
That corpse—
No.
That body waiting for its next cycle—
Slept within the molten lake.
“But…”
A sudden doubt struck him.
Draxon, after long anticipation, had obtained the phoenix.
He devoured it and gained tremendous strength.
‘When a beast meets flame, it should turn into roast meat. So why does he get stronger?’
Before his regression, and even now—Berje couldn’t make sense of it.
But that wasn’t important right now.
Berje reached out.
At that moment—
KWOAAAAAAAAAA—
A blinding beam of light erupted.
The lava exploded upward.
The volcano erupted.
* * *
Turning back time a little—around the moment Berje fought Max.
The demonic energy Berje had deliberately unleashed was unimaginably intense.
Its waves spread beyond the Demon King’s territory, reaching the outskirts of Tarta.
“……!”
Deiran, who had been hunting monsters near Tarta, lifted his head.
Every hair on his body stood on end.
‘A demon.’
The hero’s instincts sensed the power of a natural enemy and screamed.
Even with the considerable distance, the dread only deepened.
Demonic energy that could strike his senses so clearly from this far away was not something he could possibly withstand.
“What’s wrong?”
The mercenaries hunting with him noticed his strange behavior.
“We’re going back.”
“Huh? But we’ve only taken down twenty lizardmen. We need at least fifty for it to—”
“There’s a demon. And an incredibly powerful one.”
“...A demon? That’s impossible…”
Draxon and Ormus had acknowledged each other’s territories. Ironically, because of that, Tarta—despite overflowing with monsters due to the Demon King—was a good hunting ground where no one had to worry about the Demon King himself.
“We don’t feel anything.”
“Are you seriously talking about demonic energy in front of a hero? You think I’m lying? I said it’s a massive one!”
Deiran’s pale, trembling shout made the mercenaries shrink back, finally grasping the gravity of the situation.
“We’ll head back.”
“Let’s go! We’re pulling out!”
Leaving behind the monster corpses they had been dismantling, the mercenaries hurried back the way they came.
This was happening all across Tarta, and the jungle—normally overflowing with heroes and mercenaries—fell empty and silent.
And then the city, Tarta, was thrown into chaos.