Chapter 74 : Friend
Chapter 74-Unedited: Friend
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The axe slammed into the floor.
Shattered fragments burst out in all directions. The battle-axe did not stop but turned sharply.
Vivian clenched her teeth. It was too close to dodge. She wrapped herself in demonic energy and reached out to grab the axe.
The sharp edge bit into her skin, sending a chilling sensation up her arm. But she pushed forward regardless.
Crackle—
Louise’s body was forced back.
‘This is a princess···?’
Vivian was appalled by the unexpectedly strong power and the vividly bulging muscles of the princess.
‘Impossible.’
The princesses she had known were easy to toy with. There were gentle ones, and some with a bit of temper. Some learned magic, and others swung swords claiming they would become knights.
But none of them ever stepped beyond the boundary of being a princess.
Because they were royalty.
Because they were princesses.
Being seen as a princess mattered more than being a knight, more than being a mage.
But Louise Berfht was different. Her face was beautiful, but beneath it lay a mass of muscle that could put Ugar to shame. Inside her burned a feral beast.
Vivian could not help but doubt.
“You call yourself a princess?”
“Then what am I, a prince?”
Vivian lowered her head, tightening her grip on the weapon.
That was when she felt something chilling behind her.
‘Damn it.’
She had been so shaken by the dwarf called Louise Berfht that she had forgotten the truly dangerous one.
The royal guard hero she had no confidence of defeating in her current state.
Crackkk—
Lightning struck her back. Still pressing against Louise, she was thrown forward, tumbling across the floor with the princess dozens of times.
By then, the blaring sound of alarm bells shook the entire royal palace.
‘I have to run.’
The princess was no longer the problem.
Her decision was swift, and her resolve even swifter.
The moment the hero lunged at her, she leapt away. It was disgraceful, but the dignity of a Demon King meant nothing before life itself.
She sprinted toward the window—but just as she reached it, a strong force yanked her backward. Agonizing pain tore through her, forcing a strangled cry from her throat.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
In Louise Berfht’s hand—no longer holding the axe—was something else.
Something black and slender. The tail of the succubus, Vivian Blunt.
“···You bitch.”
“You can come in as you please, but leaving? Not so easy. You want out, you’d best leave at least your head behind. That’s basic courtesy, you damn whore.”
Thud—
The princess’s body shook under a kick charged with demonic energy. Yet she didn’t release her grip on the tail.
“Let go.”
“And let you run?”
“Not letting go?”
The struggle was brief—but the distance to the hero was even shorter. Lightning exploded. Vivian gasped.
Slash—
A terrifying gust brushed past her nose.
Something was severed.
A black lump dropped to the ground.
Her tail.
It was cut off.
“Ah.”
Blinding pain surged through her.
Tears welled in her eyes.
How much care she had given it, how dearly she had cherished that symbol of beauty—
The princess and the hero gave the Demon King no time to think.
The tail was only the beginning. The hero’s sword, bent at a right angle, came slicing toward her neck.
‘I’ll remember both your faces. I swear I’ll remember!’
Through the interference, she released every ounce of demonic energy she could muster.
The massive recoil force blasted everything away. The princess screamed as she was thrown back, and even the hero staggered for a moment.
The radiant aura eventually cut through the demonic energy and surged forward—but by then, Vivian was gone.
Only shattered glass and an empty, hollow silence remained.
“Tears···?”
A single drop of moisture fell onto his face, and the hero, Hillan Cargill, tilted his head in confusion.
* * *
The demons had invaded.
When the report first reached him, the king ran from his bedroom still in his nightclothes.
“My daughter!”
But there was quite a distance between Louise’s annex palace and the royal bedchamber, and more reports arrived in the meantime.
The king frowned in puzzlement.
“So you’re saying the demons tried to kidnap Louise, but Hillan Cargill stopped them?”
“It wasn’t just a demon, Your Majesty—it was the Demon King.”
“The Demon King was defeated?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“How?”
The words escaped him naturally.
It had been nearly a thousand years since the descent of Demon Kings. Every living being in Arein had learned to coexist with Demon Kings, demons, and monsters alike.
In their lives—politics, diplomacy, and economy—the demons were inseparable. Humans, elves, and dwarves had all changed much over that long time, but one fact had remained constant through the ages.
No one could prevent the Demon King’s abduction.
No matter how tight the defenses, no one could stop it.
The reason was simple.
The advantage always lay with the one doing the abducting.
No one could predict when or where it would happen.
No kingdom could maintain perfect protection for every royal.
And the Demon King’s absolute mastery of stealth and escape rivaled that of the Great Star among countless heroes and champions. Even then, it was not perfect. Only Daphne Phillian could compare.
But Daphne Phillian could not possibly protect every royal.
Thus humanity had long chosen not to prevent the abductions, but to retaliate afterward.
That had continued for centuries, and an unspoken rule had emerged.
The Demon King would treat the kidnapped royal well, return them in due time, and never target a direct heir to the throne.
As long as the Demon King did not cross the line, each nation would tolerate it.
It was an unspoken pact—born from the Demon King’s desire to survive, and humanity’s wish to minimize the endless, futile conflict against the unkillable monarchs of darkness.
But now—they had stopped the abduction itself?
The king’s doubts were great, but that was not the most pressing issue.
“So, is Louise unharmed? She isn’t injured, is she?”
As the king arrived, the soldiers controlling the area made way for him.
Entering the princess’s chamber, the king surveyed the damage.
The shattered ceiling and walls, the lingering traces of demonic energy—there was no room for doubt.
A demon had truly been here.
The king’s eyes fell upon his daughter.
“Louise! Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I am all right.”
She was not all right. Louise’s body was covered in minor wounds.
“You must see the royal magicians at once. Those damned demons—where could they have hit you so hard···.”
“Thanks to Sir Hillan, I was able to stop them.”
“Hillan Cargill?”
Only then did the king realize the hero was in the room as well.
“Sir Hillan warned us of the demon’s intrusion. Thanks to him, I had time to prepare and repel the attack. Regrettably, we failed to kill her, but···.”
Louise held out something that still twitched faintly—
The severed tail of a succubus.
“A succubus tail?”
“Yes.”
“The Demon King of Lust?”
The Demon Kings tended to command their own kind as subordinates. It wasn’t always the case, but that was the most common assumption.
“The Demon King of Lust—so that lunatic not only meddled with Dormunt but now wants to provoke us as well.”
Killing intent flickered in the king’s eyes.
To think she dared target Louise. Unbearable rage surged within him.
But he quickly suppressed it and approached Hillan Cargill. Though he did not particularly like him, Louise had not been abducted thanks to him, and that was something to be grateful for.
“On behalf of Berfht, I offer you my gratitude.”
“There’s no need. I merely did what I ought to do.”
“No one has ever rescued a princess before she was taken. You’ve rendered a great service. However···.”
There was one question.
“How did you know?”
“It was a coincidence.”
“A coincidence?”
“Yes. I couldn’t sleep, so I was training in the annex palace’s training hall when I sensed demonic energy.”
That was possible. The Demon King’s energy was subtle, but Hillan Cargill was the hero who had slain two Demon Kings. His senses were keener toward demonic energy than anyone else’s.
It felt almost too perfectly timed to be mere chance, but there was no way a hero and a Demon King would collaborate in such a scheme.
‘Or perhaps he had ulterior motives toward Louise and happened to run into it while lurking near the annex.’
The king shook his head. It was nothing but idle suspicion. He could not rebuke a hero who had saved a princess from abduction for that.
“You are a benefactor to the kingdom, to my daughter, and to me. Whatever you expect, I shall reward you beyond it. You may look forward to it.”
“Thank you.”
“Usually, one would at least feign refusal once or twice.”
“I heard that accepting what’s offered is proper etiquette.”
“Indeed, that’s etiquette.”
The king burst into hearty laughter.
The rumor that the Demon King of Lust had failed to abduct the second princess of Berfht spread swiftly across the continent.
『It was successful.』
Just a single line, but enough to please Berje.
Not only had they stopped Vivian, but they even cut off her tail.
He couldn’t help but laugh, imagining Vivian literally running away without her tail between her legs.
“Keep the tail safe.”
For succubi, their tail was both a symbol of beauty and a secondary vessel for demonic energy.
Though not as vital as the heart, the demonic power contained within it was not to be ignored.
『Understood.』
“Well done.”
『I merely did what I ought to do.』
“Indeed. Thanks to this, you’ll gain even more renown.”
『All thanks to you, my lord.』
“How was Vivian?”
『Weak. Honestly, I could have killed her if I wanted.』
That was because she had only recently descended and was still heavily affected by interference power. Yet, it wasn’t that Vivian herself was weak—
She was a Demon King, after all.
It was simply that Hillan had grown stronger. Stronger than when he had climbed Mount Ergest. Stronger than when he killed Draxon.
The power of two slain Demon Kings was still pushing him toward further evolution.
“Vivian is more useful alive, doing more things.”
She had caused trouble in Dormunt as soon as she arrived and now stirred up Berfht.
She was, by nature, the perfect scapegoat.
Whatever Berje did, for the time being, attention would be focused elsewhere—on her.
And he hoped it would remain that way.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.
‘Even though Arein has slain countless Demon Kings, almost none ever died immediately after descending.’
Moreover, Vivian had been sent by Archduke Arkaine to investigate the truth behind Draxon’s death.
If she were to die now, Arkaine would surely take another course of action—and that unpredictable move would be more troublesome than dealing with a known Vivian.
『Then I’ll contact you again next time.』
“When you return to the guild headquarters, send Granada separately to the Golden Moon Merchant Company.”
『Because of the elves, my lord?』
“Yes.”
『Granada is publicly known to be one of my direct subordinates. If I suddenly send him elsewhere, others may find it suspicious.』
“That’s for you to handle.”
『Truly like a Demon King. Very well, understood.』
The connection cut off. Berje pushed aside the crystal orb and stretched.
[1412492pt]
As he checked his Demonic Points and imagined placing a Balrog on the second floor, another communication orb lit up.
『My lord.』
It was Krutu.
『Monsters unlike any we’ve seen before have appeared, just as you said.』
『We tried to avoid them, but three of our tribe have fallen.』
* * *
Krutu.
Once the chieftain of the Red Frost Tribe, he was now the great chieftain who had unified seven tribes.
He commanded hundreds of warriors, and counting all members, their numbers exceeded a thousand.
That immense growth—unimaginable in the past—was all thanks to the great Demon King.
Something once unthinkable. Thus, his loyalty was unmatched.
“If you see any unusual monsters, do not engage—retreat immediately and report to me after.”
“Understood.”
“Follow the chieftain’s words.”
He obeyed the Demon King’s orders faithfully.
Since orcs were creatures ruled by instinct, he had drilled the command into their skulls through endless scolding and coaxing.
“Ogre. No.”
“Strange.”
“Chieftain, monster.”
Thanks to that, the orcs didn’t attack even when they saw an ogre with an abnormally large arm.
‘What is that?’
A black figure with massive claws. The arm of the ogre resembled that of a demon. A sense of foreboding crossed Krutu’s mind.
“Quietly fall back.”
“Understood.”
Thankfully, the creature hadn’t noticed them. After gaining some distance, Krutu pulled out his communication orb and infused it with demonic energy.
At that moment, every hair on Krutu’s body stood on end.
He slowly turned his head. It was a dog—or rather, a beast closer to a monster.
The creatures sniffed the air, fixing their eyes on Krutu.
When had they appeared?
‘These things don’t belong to the mountain.’
They must be connected to that strange monster.
Instinctively, he swung his blade. The beasts were fast, but Krutu and the orcs were faster.
Yelp—
The dogs fell dead. But they had wasted too much time. A piercing gaze locked onto them.
‘We’ve been spotted.’
In the next instant, the monstrous figure leapt into the air.
Thick killing intent rolled off it, and the orcs flared with battle spirit.
“Fight!”
“Kill!”
“No!”
Krutu’s cry became a hollow scream. An orc’s severed head rolled across the cold snowfield.
Another orc, enraged by his comrade’s death, swung his blade.
Slash—
The demon-like arm was severed, but another fist crushed the orc’s skull at the same time.
Two gone in an instant. The enraged orcs—and Krutu—charged.
They drew out their demonic energy relentlessly and cleaved into the creature’s body. In that struggle, one more orc fell.
The report could only continue after the battle had ended.
“···I apologize, my lord. I failed to follow your orders.”
『It doesn’t matter. I told you to avoid them if possible, not to let them go if lives were already lost.』
『Gather the bodies of your kin and bring the chimera’s corpse as well.』
“Yes.”
Fortunately, the Demon King was not angry. Krutu let out a sigh of relief.
“···A demon?”
“······!”
But that peace vanished at the voice that reached his ears.
He slowly turned his head. A woman stood there, staring blankly at him—he had no idea when she had arrived.
“···A human?”
“You, Demon King’s underling?”
Her bright eyes shone with curiosity, utterly out of place in the situation. If Krutu’s instincts were right, that was exactly what it was—curiosity.
A mere human dared look at him with curiosity.
He should have laughed scornfully and killed her. She looked too frail to resist even one swing.
Yet Krutu couldn’t move. Something felt stuck in his throat.
“Below.”
He asked,
“What are you hiding?”
“···Orc. Talk well?”
Her broken words carried no malice.
“This.”
“My friend.”
Rumble—
The earth trembled. The mountain ridge collapsed.
A massive shadow loomed over Krutu.