Chapter 76 : The Demon King Appears
Chapter 76-Unedited: The Demon King Appears
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Unexpectedly, Louise denied him.
“No matter what excuses you make, in the end you just want to step forward yourself, so you’re asking me to set the stage for you, right? Greedy, aren’t you. Swallowing two Demon Kings wasn’t enough for you?”
“It was advice for Your Highness, but if that is how you felt, I can only regret it.”
“The greatest loyalty you can show is telling me where Roger is.”
She gulped down the dark beer. At her unexpected firmness, Hillan confessed obediently.
“He was in Bolion.”
“The Trafarta Union? Can you swear to it?”
“I swear.”
It wasn’t a lie. When they had once gathered materials for the mana cannon, the Demon King and Roger had visited that place together.
“After Tarta, now Bolion? He really slithered around everywhere.”
“Tarta, you say?” “Don’t pry.”
“Do you truly not intend to take revenge?”
“It sounds like you’re more eager than I am.”
“How could that be.”
Louise issued her dismissal.
“Then I will withdraw for today.”
Hillan disappeared. Louise, who had been putting on airs a moment ago, irritably flung her cup aside.
“···I almost.”
She had almost taken the bait.
Why wouldn’t she want to take revenge on the Demon King of Lust?
She was holding herself back.
A hero’s march wasn’t something done lightly.
Too many nations and people were tangled up in it···
No, that was all an excuse.
She was merely watching her father’s mood. Because she had already caused a major incident once in Ormus, she was restraining herself.
‘And besides···’
From the moment the Demon King had tried to kidnap her, her father would, one way or another, make her pay.
Since the attempt had failed, he wouldn’t go so far as to invoke the hero’s march, the ultimate measure, but he would vent his accumulated fury in some form.
‘For now, I should be satisfied with just that···.’
Hillan Cargill’s suggestion might not be bad to revisit later when the time came.
“Ah.”
Louise, about to wet her throat with beer, looked at the cup rolling on the floor and let out an empty laugh.
The beer had already spilled across the floor.
* * *
Hortonwork was the foremost line that blocked the monsters of the Ergest Mountains.
It was a perilous land visited by monsters, and the usual entrance that led toward the Ergest Mountains.
Because of that, soldiers were always stationed there, and many mercenaries seeking work also gathered.
And a few days ago, strange individuals appeared among the mercenaries and came to Hortonwork.
“The lord gave up the entire lord’s castle?”
“Who could they be? Did a prince come?”
A force numbering at least two hundred. Knights and mages mixed together—anyone could see they were extraordinary.
They carried no banners, no emblems, yet the lord came out personally to greet them.
The rumor that he offered them the entire lord’s castle and treated them with utmost hospitality was no exaggeration.
Thanks to that, the curiosity of Hortonwork’s people soared to the extreme.
“Why would His Highness the prince come here?”
“Very rarely, don’t they take trials?”
“But His Majesty is still perfectly healthy.”
“But if it were a prince, would he need to hide his identity?”
“True.”
Since it was a rite to prove themselves, royalty always arrived with great fanfare. This was completely different from the ones who had occupied the lord’s castle.
Just when doubts grew thicker, the lord’s soldiers overturned the entire city with urgent shouts.
“Search every corner!”
“What, what is this?!”
“The lord’s command. We’re looking for a person—cooperate.”
“Have you seen this woman or not?”
“No, we haven’t.”
“If you lie, you’ll face severe punishment.”
“Why would we lie when we have no ties to her?”
Streets, shops, houses—places with people or without—everywhere became subject to the search.
Then traces were found.
“I-I’ve seen her. At the north plaza···.”
“I saw her wandering near the northern wall.”
“She asked if she could leave the city, so I told her it wasn’t possible alone.”
“I told her to bring the lord’s permit, and she never appeared again.”
Immediately after that—
Creak—
The north gate opened.
The two hundred guests who had come to Hortonwork slipped out as they were.
“So sister really went up into Ergest.”
The 5th Prince of Arkan held his throbbing head.
“What’s so hard about waiting a little? This isn’t a place to climb lightly.”
The snow swallowed their legs deeply, making him frown.
“It’d be nice if we could ride horses.”
No steed, no matter how magnificent, could gallop through this snowy mountain.
“Shall we rest a bit?”
“It’s fine. Did you find sister’s trail?”
“Yes. Fortunately, since the blizzard hasn’t started, the search shouldn’t be too difficult.”
The princess moving alongside chimeras and having no intention of hiding her presence also helped.
“Sigh, our sister, she’s truly unstoppable. What direction?”
“She is heading upward.”
Sparse, soggy monster corpses lay scattered. Monsters drawn by the scent of blood attacked them.
The 5th Prince muttered anxiously.
“Is this really all right? The monsters here aren’t a joke···.”
“Her Highness’s chimeras are stronger than most monsters. She isn’t someone who would fall easily.”
“There’s even a Demon King in this mountain, isn’t there?”
“Yes. That is why Her Highness wished to come to Ergest.”
“And why His Majesty allowed it.”
Until now, no Demon King had ever hidden their tower.
A Demon King’s tower was meant to be easy to find, and that allowed humans to more easily confront Demon Kings.
But the Demon King of Ergest was different.
What they had assumed natural was not natural. Humans couldn’t punish him despite the crimes he committed.
Even though the heir of a kingdom had been kidnapped, they couldn’t kill the Demon King or rescue the princess.
On a small scale, it was a single issue concerning Hilderan—but on a large scale, it concerned every kingdom.
If it had happened once, could it not happen twice?
The abduction of the 9th Princess of the Zespine Empire, and the abduction of the 13th Princess of Hilderan, reinforced that fear.
‘Your role is critical. You must, must find the tower. Even if we cannot kill him right away, as long as we find the tower, we will hold the initiative.’
‘Otherwise, we’ll be dragged around by these Demon Kings forever.’
He recalled His Majesty’s command.
No one wanted such a situation.
Fortunately, Arkan possessed one method.
Lavinia Arkan.
An exceptional chimera-maker, a human, yet more attuned and responsive to demonic energies than anyone.
The King of Arkan believed she could find the tower.
It was already widely acknowledged that though she was not a hero, her sensitivity to demonic energy surpassed that of heroes.
Conveniently, Lavinia herself was curious about the new Demon King, and the Kingdom of Korzen had agreed to share information and cooperate.
They only had to establish Hortonwork as their base and investigate Ergest step by step.
But Lavinia Arkan couldn’t hold herself back and ran off.
“She won’t really run into the Demon King, will she?”
“The Demon King does not leave his tower unless he is abducting royalty.”
“My sister is a princess.”
“···But there’s no way the Demon King knows that, right?”
“The problem is that sister isn’t even trying to hide her identity.”
“Are you saying the Demon King would talk to her?”
“No one can know.”
“···“I’ll increase our speed.””
“That would be best.”
The commander of the knight order urged the knights on. The mage corps cast reinforcement magic to clear the path more easily.
But Ergest was forbidden land for a reason.
Hundreds of heroes, including Hillan Cargill, hadn’t failed to remain on the mountain until they found the tower for nothing.
Moreover, they were following the trail Lavinia Arkan had left behind—
A blood path carved straight through every monster that had blocked her way.
Monsters, smelling the blood, swarmed like a pack of dogs.
Nearly two hundred humans gathered together formed an irresistibly tempting prey.
Battles broke out without a moment’s rest.
“Your Highness, I believe retreat would be best.”
“···We must find sister!”
The 5th Prince shook troll blood from his sword. He brushed a dented section of his armor and blocked the blade of an orc that aimed for his flank.
“At this rate, the casualties will be too great. We came far too unprepared. Ergest is not a place to face lightly!”
The commander unleashed a massive aura, cleaving down monsters. The mages’ spells crashed down upon them.
The smell of blood grew stronger.
A massive explosion shook the mountain.
Smell, hearing, sight—
A battle that stimulated every monster’s senses only called forth greater battles. It was vicious repetition.
The 5th Prince bit his lip.
“···Sister.”
“Her Highness will be fine. You know this.”
Lavinia’s chimeras were infused with a unique aura that monsters instinctively disliked. Thanks to that, she had survived countless dangerous situations—but it wasn’t a perfect safeguard.
There was no perfection in magic.
“For now, you must trust her.”
“···Yes.”
“Retreat!”
“Retreat! Use lightning magic to paralyze the monsters and break through to the rear!”
At that moment—
Boom!
A pitch-black mass dropped from the sky. It crushed the torso of a roaring Peul Orc and let out a roar of its own.
The heavy, ominous aura rolling off it made the monsters falter.
“Sister!”
The 5th Prince spotted the princess seated on the chimera’s shoulder.
“Kain. Why?”
“Because you ran off without telling anyone, that’s why!”
“Briefly.”
“Briefly? Do you think Ergest is an ordinary mountain? Why would you climb it alone?”
“Hurry. Monsters.”
Lavinia’s gaze swept over the surrounding monsters. They hesitated at the ominous aura pouring from the chimera, but only for a moment.
The scent of blood and the raging battle dulled their senses, and instincts breaking through their hesitation was only a matter of time.
“Charge!”
“Break through and run straight to Hortonwork!”
The knights’ aura fused into one. The mages painted over it with magic.
───!
A massive battering ram of aura smashed through the edge of the monster horde.
Roars and screams awakened the rest. The battle resumed.
Kain climbed onto the chimera’s opposite shoulder.
“Are the other chimeras in subspace? If we take them all out it might be even a little safer···.”
“Dead.”
“···What?”
Kain was one of the few who could speak casually to Lavinia, someone who knew her best.
There should have been dozens of chimeras resting in subspace—yet all of them were dead?
“···So this is what it means to be in Ergest, I suppose?”
“Orc. Strong.”
“You’re telling me they all died to just some orc?”
‘If it’s an Ergest orc, that’s a Peul Orc···.’
Even if Peul Orcs were stronger than normal orcs, could one really kill all those chimeras?
“Don’t tell me hundreds of them attacked?”
“One.”
“Just one?”
Impossible.
“A strong orc. Horn on head.”
“···Horn? That’s not an orc then.”
“Orc.”
“No, if it has a horn···.”
“Orc.” “···Yes, an orc.”
Her unwavering gaze made Kain nod awkwardly.
“Sister, behind you.”
Kain swung his sword and cut off the wing of a Frost Harpy aiming for her back. The harpy shrieked as it plummeted. The chimera’s massive foot stomped down on its fallen body.
“Be careful.”
“Mm.”
“So what happened to that orc? Did you run from it?”
“Missed.”
“You missed it?”
“Just before.”
“Just before?”
“Demon King.”
“Ah, so the Demon King appeared?”
“Mm.”
“I see. So the Demon King appeared and took the orc with hi—”
Kain’s jaw dropped. Every knight and mage gathered around the chimera turned to stare at her all at once.
“W-what did you say appeared?”
“Demon King.”
“The Demon King took the orc away?”
“Mm.”
“Good heavens···!”
We found him!
While Arkan’s people reunited with their runaway princess, Berje watched from afar.
“At least two hundred of them.”
Their emblems were erased, but the familiar aura remained.
‘Was it when they came to kill Draxon?’
Quite a number of Arkan’s mage corps and knight order had participated then. They had played a large role, but suffered heavy losses as well. Still, being a major nation, they seemed to have recovered well.
‘If they sent that many···’
They meant to do this seriously.
‘Do what?’
They didn’t know where his tower was. They hadn’t even properly explored the Ergest Mountains.
They knew as much themselves. So why send such overwhelming power?
‘And with that troublesome woman leading them.’
His thoughts chained together endlessly, eventually swallowing themselves and leading to one conclusion.
‘They’re trying to find the tower?’
Lavinia Arkan was a chimera mage. She created magical lifeforms using monsters and magical beasts.
Naturally, she would be familiar with demonic energy, and with black mages extinct in Arein, it wasn’t wrong to say no one understood demonic energy better than her.
It was a different sensation from heroes who merely felt rejection toward demonic energy.
‘So they intend to use her to find my tower?’
It was only an assumption.
But his instincts screamed that the assumption was correct.
Every possibility pointed to that being the only answer.
‘Ha.’
Berje let out a hollow laugh.
‘Fine, I’ve been patient enough.’
After the first failed hero’s march, he had kidnapped a princess twice more, yet they hadn’t reacted at all. Odd.
‘Then my answer is simple.’
As he had done to Hillan Cargill’s hero squadron, as he had done to Daphne Phillian—
‘I’ll simply send them back empty-handed.’
Berje vanished.