Chapter 46 : The Promise
Chapter 46: The Promise
He had won.
But it had been a victory filled only with wounds.
From the 1st floor to the 10th floor, every layer had been swept clean. The monsters that had been stationed were annihilated, and the facilities were all smashed to pieces.
The summit of the tower, the 11th floor, was not much different.
Draxon had forced through the trick of gathering all his power at the summit. Thanks to that, he had won—but it resulted in him clashing head-on with the hero corps, who had preserved their strength all the way up to the 11th floor.
“Damn it. Rozel Charnte—because of that bitch and her personal guard, the damage is enormous!”
The Red Flame Assault Unit—that was what they were called, wasn’t it. His teeth ground on their own.
“Fortunately, we have a large amount of Demonic Points.”
Casey calmed Draxon.
The main source of Demonic Points was the negative emotions of humans, but what was actually far more valuable was the human life force itself. And among those who had shed blood inside the tower, many were heroes.
They were beings who had gained dimensional power, acquiring strength opposite to that of the invaders—and so, ironically, when they died, they gave even greater power to the Demon King.
“It won’t be enough, but we should be able to restore things to some extent.”
At Casey’s report, Draxon shook his head. He also knew that restoring the tower had to be the top priority right now.
He knew the Hero Guild would be sharpening their blades, and that even though they had been helped once, there would never be a second time.
But Draxon could not accept that.
“I’ll report to Archduke Arkaine and delve into the tower’s records.”
What had caused this situation?
That bastard. The son of a bitch who had infiltrated the tower and led to the death of Ormus’s Second Prince. One of the Demon Kings who had sent that demon.
If that bastard hadn’t existed, the Second Prince of Ormus would not have died. The hero’s march would not have begun, hundreds of heroes would not have come running, and the tower would not have been destroyed like this.
That was why Draxon could not endure it. No matter what, he wanted to find that bastard. Find him and take revenge.
The last amount of Demonic Energy Point he had gained by stopping the hero corps had to be used for that purpose.
Crossing dimensions required an immense amount of power.
Even something as simple as communication was the same, and just sending a report to Archduke Arkaine would consume a considerable amount of Demonic Points.
He had to send the report, receive permission, and then search the tower’s records—one among the countless authorities of the tower—and activating that authority required tremendous magic.
“But, Demon King…! If a second hero’s march breaks out…”
“We won’t die.”
Draxon did not completely trust Archduke Arkaine. But he trusted the Demonic Energy he had personally offered the archduke thus far.
And he trusted his own ability to continue offering it consistently in the future.
“Archduke Arkaine won’t be able to abandon me.”
The dimension called Arein was known as the grave of Demon Kings.
The one who had survived the longest in such a grave had been Jason Kokemundo, and after him, the number of Demon Kings who managed to survive gradually increased.
And the one who survived second-longest had been Draxon. He had endured nearly a hundred years in this place. Archduke Arkaine would not easily find another capable underling like him.
“Leave. I will contact His Excellency.”
“...Yes, may you achieve what you desire.”
Casey left the office.
Draxon approached the crystal sphere.
A massive surge of magic flowed in. The tower began to tremble.
---
There were ten archdukes in the Demon Realm.
Each archduke oversaw one dimension, and beneath each archduke were five Demon Kings.
Their achievements depended entirely on how those Demon Kings performed—how much magic they sent back to the Demon Realm, how quickly they conquered their assigned dimension.
In that sense, Arein was the worst dimension of all.
Arein had devoured dozens of Demon Kings so far, and the death of a Demon King counted as a failure on the archduke’s record.
It was an exile ground for archdukes. Once assigned there, they had to give up on further promotion—a truly miserable post.
“...Though it isn’t particularly bad either.”
But if one lacked ambition, there were few dimensions more comfortable than this.
In the past, Demon Kings died one after another on a daily basis, but starting at some point, the Demon Kings began adapting. The frequency of deaths dropped, and now there were no significant changes.
One seat continued to rotate, but that was all.
Regardless, Arein was a discarded dimension, and because of that, upper management oversight had grown lax. It meant he could run things and reap benefits with little concern.
That was why Arkaine Blarimph liked Arein.
There was no chance of the dimension being conquered, so unlike other archdukes, he had no need to adjust to new dimensions or take on additional responsibilities.
Now that Demon King deaths had become extremely rare, even that category of work had decreased.
Meanwhile, he still possessed prestige, received greater compensation out of pity from the outside, and enjoyed steady offerings of Demonic Points from certain Demon Kings.
For Arkaine Blarimph, who planned to enjoy this paradise for another hundred years before retiring, nothing could have been better.
‘Not completely perfect, though.’
Lately, he thought of the troublemaker who had shaken the Demon Realm.
The wretch had been so insolent that Arkaine had personally accepted responsibility and sent him to Arein. And to prepare for any tricks, he had issued orders through Draxon.
‘I thought he’d die the moment he arrived, but he’s surviving surprisingly well.’
Because of the dimensional barrier, he couldn’t receive frequent reports, but he wasn’t completely uninformed.
He knew the bastard had kidnapped the First Princess of Hilderan, that the hero’s march had begun because of it, and that the hero’s march had been disrupted.
‘I heard he built the tower in a strange location?’
The heroes had reportedly failed to find the tower. It was an action directly opposed to the standard, which dictated that a tower should be built in a location easy enough to be discovered.
It was insolent. Even so, Arkaine Blarimph endured it.
The troublemaker had openly insulted the Standard during the graduation ceremony. This much had been expected.
‘The tower’s location is ambiguous anyway. “Moderately dangerous yet moderately exposed” ultimately depends on individual judgment.’
If he wanted to find fault, he could—but it was too unclear to impose a heavy punishment. So Arkaine Blarimph had waited. Waiting for Berje to commit another crime.
‘A troublemaker like that won’t stop at just this.’
Over time, the offenses would pile up. And all of them would tighten the noose around the bastard’s neck.
‘Dalgun.’
Arkaine savored a wine as red as blood. Its subtle scent of blood made the drink all the more pleasant.
Knock, knock—
“Your Excellency, Archduke. A transmission from Arein.”
“Who is it?”
“Demon King, Draxon Doldov.”
“I’m coming.”
‘It’s not the time for a scheduled report.’
Crossing the dimensional barrier required considerable power, even for the most trivial communication; thus, unnecessary contact simply did not occur.
He arrived at the dimensional communication room and closed the door. He infused magic into the violently trembling communication sphere.
『I greet Your Excellency, Archduke.』
A familiar face bowed its head.
“What brings you here so suddenly? There is still about a month left before the scheduled date…”
『I request permission to search the tower’s records.』
“...What has happened?”
Searching the tower’s records required an immense amount of magic. Because of that, most Demon Kings avoided it unless absolutely necessary—and since Arkaine Blarimph had become archduke, not once had anyone requested a search.
『A high-grade demon has invaded my territory. A high-grade demon is…』
A bleak, miserable report. If his words were true, then Draxon was currently in a precarious position. It would not be strange if a second hero corps arrived at any moment.
‘Draxon Doldov might die?’
Losing his most reliable source of magic offerings was absolutely not something Arkaine desired.
“Who do you suspect?”
『I believe it is Jason Kokemundo.』
“What about Berje Deias?”
『But there is no high-grade demon at his side.』
It was a reasonable deduction. However—
‘Something feels off.’
The Jason he knew was not the type of demon to make such reckless moves. Reina Sordein and Ugar Velbek were the same.
‘And something else bothers me.’
Was it a coincidence that Berje’s confident smile came to mind? Was there truly another Demon King capable of that kind of defiant behavior—something no ordinary Demon King would dare commit?
“Very well. I will use my authority to lift the protection over the tower’s records. It will take some time, so…”
Arkaine Blarimph forced down the unease he felt. First, it was time to search the records and find the rebel who had dared to strike a fellow Demon King from behind.
---
A faintly fragrant candle filled the dark bedchamber.
The rasping breaths were thin.
The handmaids wiped the sweat trickling down the old man’s forehead. At that moment, the door opened slightly.
“We greet Your Highness, the Prince.”
The handmaids quietly bowed their heads.
“Leave for a moment. I have matters to discuss with His Majesty.”
“But…”
“I will not say it twice.”
“…Yes.”
The handmaids hurried out.
Only the two of them remained in the darkened chamber. The prince pulled a chair over and sat beside the bed. He looked into the old man’s eyes, opening with great effort.
“…What… is it.”
“A message has arrived from the Kingdom of Arkan. They said they wish to completely destroy the Beast’s Tower and offered to secretly dispatch an elite force.”
“…That… must not… happen. Using the tower… as an excuse to… cross the border…”
“I have already granted permission.”
“The tower… must not fall…!”
The old man’s eyes trembled. The prince spoke on, expression calm.
“Do you know what state the kingdom is in? Two thousand of the kingdom’s finest have vanished. Max is dead, and the nobles who followed him are gone as well, leaving a severe void.”
“And because the hero corps recklessly provoked the Demon King, the monsters from the now-uncontrolled region are erupting everywhere.”
“This means that even in this very moment, the people of the kingdom are dying.”
For Ormus, the Beast’s Tower had been a necessary evil.
The Demon King was, of course, an enemy to be slain, yet thanks to the Beast Demon King partially controlling the monsters of the forest, the kingdom’s burden had been greatly eased.
And for a kingdom with no real source of income, the enormous amount of money spent by heroes and the Hero Guild while searching for the tower had been essential rain.
But that was all in the past.
“No matter how things unfolded, Max was the one who first trespassed into the Demon King’s territory. We are the ones who broke the unspoken pact. Whether the Demon King will show mercy again is uncertain.”
Moreover, someone had moved Balraf Dislode and caused the hero’s march to fail. Whatever the purpose was, the prince believed it would not be to Ormus’s benefit.
“That is why the tower must disappear. Given our current situation, that is the best course.”
But Ormus’s power alone was insufficient. That was why he had accepted Arkan’s proposal.
“They will cross into Ormus in secret. Their numbers won’t be large, so if we remain cautious, the other nations will not discover them.”
“All we need to do is open the path briefly. Then Rozel Charnte and the assault unit, along with Arkan’s elite forces, will kill the Demon King.”
“In return, we will obtain a vast amount of gold coins and some of the spoils.”
It was a short-term gain. But when everything could collapse in an instant, accepting even that was the right choice.
“But… if the tower collapses, the future of the kingdom…”
“I will be the one to shape that future, not Your Majesty, who lies here on the brink of death.”
“…How dare you.”
Bloodshot veins rose in the old man’s eyes.
“Your Majesty may find this disappointing. You wished to make Max king rather than me.”
The reason Max, the son of a concubine, had been able to stand as an heir equal to the First Prince was due solely to the old man’s power.
But Max had died, and those who might have raised their hands for the old man had vanished as he collapsed completely from the shock.
“Rest quietly and comfortably in your chamber. I will still do my best to serve you.”
The prince rose from his seat.
Ah. Come to think of it—
He turned his head.
“Did you say her name was Kaede Zespine?”
The imperial princess, the Zespine Empire had agreed to offer, as a concubine in exchange for immense tribute.
He did not rebuke the old man, asking if he had wasted the kingdom’s resources over a mere woman.
It had been a bribe—an offering made to earn the Empire’s mercy. A token showing they had received a loyal hound in return.
Ormus could not escape the Empire’s influence. They had no choice but to wear the shackles of a princess.
“If she is rescued from the Demon King’s tower, I will take her as my consort.”
She likely wished for that as well.
The prince bowed respectfully once more.
“Then rest well. I will inherit the throne, Father.”
Tak—
The door closed.
---
“Draxon is an idiot.”
Berje deepened his certainty in that belief.
Not because Draxon was stupid—because he was incompetent.
“Humans failed to notice. Elves, spirits, Demon Kings, heroes.”
None of them realized that Berje was a Demon King.
That was how remarkable the corpse of the Phoenix had been. Yet even after absorbing something like that, Draxon in his previous life had shown no worthy achievement.
Therefore, he was an idiot.
Of course, it wasn’t all advantages.
Pure mana was an unfamiliar power, not something a Demon King like Berje handled with ease. Moreover, the physical backlash burned his own body.
In other words, the more he used his power, the more he was injured.
A dog-like irony.
But Berje didn’t care; he gained far more than the restrictions cost him.
He could not even imagine what he would be able to accomplish in the future—how deeply he could infiltrate the races of Arein using this power.
“What thoughts occupy you so deeply?”
Hero Hillan Cargill’s voice broke his contemplation.
“I was thinking about what comes after hunting the Beast Demon King.”
“So you expect success.”
“We will succeed. There is no option other than success.”
It was not confidence or declaration. No matter what, Draxon had to die.
“You will be the one to sever Draxon’s head.”
A Demon King could also absorb the power of another Demon King by killing them. They grew stronger by fighting and consuming one another. That was the essence of the demon race.
But not now.
Berje’s body was already saturated. The magic that should have been stored in two separate vessels was concentrated into one, and in the other, a new power had taken residence.
Just melting those down properly was difficult enough for the moment.
Even putting that aside—
There was an enormous amount Hero Hillan Cargill could gain by beheading a Demon King.
Honor and power. And status.
“Yes.”
Knowing that, Hillan Cargill did not refuse.
“And after that…”
Berje tapped the table lightly with his fingers.
“I don’t know much about the Hero Guild, but a hero who beheads a Demon King twice should be able to secure a decent position within the Hero Guild, yes? Enough to wash away two failures.”
“That’s correct. Image-making—portraying myself as someone who personally overcame his failures—is my specialty.”
“You really are trash.”
Berje gave a faint smile.
“I want you to become the core of the Hero Guild.”
He wanted to destroy the Hero Guild—the greatest enemy of the Demon Kings—from the inside.
“That is what I want as well.”
All heroes were required to join the Hero Guild. A group consisting of every hero naturally possessed enormous power.
Many heroes wished to become the core of the Hero Guild. They wanted to seize authority.
Hillan Cargill was the same.
“My goal is to become the master of the Hero Guild.”
“I will help you achieve that dream. And within it, you will serve m—…”
Berje stopped speaking.
Knock, knock—
A moment later, someone knocked on the door. A human he had never seen before—no, a hero.
“Excuse me. Are you Hillan Cargill and Pale?”
“That’s right.”
“A message from the captain, Rozel Charnte. ‘I’ll show you what I promised, so come immediately.’ That is the message.”
“What she promised.”
One was including Hillan Cargill in the hero’s march.
The other was ensuring the second hero’s march happened as quickly as possible.
According to Hillan, the Hero Guild had been dragging their feet somewhat—so what trick had she used to persuade them?
He would know once he saw.
Berje rose from his seat.
“Lead the way.”