Chapter 112 : What Were You Doing
Chapter 112: What Were You Doing
A week had passed since Hero Hillan Cargill came to see Martin.
Unexpectedly, there had been no interference from the other imperial royals.
“Hero Hillan Cargill hid himself well. It won’t be perfect, but unless we deliberately expose it from our side, it seems the secret will be maintained for the time being.”
“It’s fortunate that Hero Hillan Cargill had the sense to do that. Make sure to thoroughly seal the mouths of those around him.”
“Yes.”
“And what became of Hapstrain? As Hero Hillan Cargill said, is there something strange?”
“It’s a bit ambiguous to say whether this is strange.”
“Ambiguous?”
“As you know, Hapstrain is a restricted area.”
Though not on the level of the snowfields or the Ergest Mountains, Hapstrain Gorge was also territory occupied by monsters.
A place that rejected human footsteps.
Naturally, the Empire had built fortresses nearby to block monster incursions, and continued to do so.
And they always kept a close watch on the monsters of Hapstrain.
“They say they did not sense anything like the unusual stirrings of demonic energy that Hero Hillan Cargill mentioned. However, over the past several decades, the monster population has been steadily decreasing. Especially monsters that go berserk after being influenced by the demonic energy.”
“Monsters influenced by demonic energy are decreasing?”
In Hapstrain Gorge, there were occasionally monsters that lost their reason and rampaged after being influenced by demonic energy .
Each time, the Empire dispatched investigation teams to determine whether it was the advent of a new Demon King, but no tower had ever been discovered anywhere.
Instead, they confirmed that faint demonic energy lingered in certain areas without dissipating.
For some reason, the exact cause was unknown. They simply believed it was a coincidence formed by five Demon Kings and five towers.
And if another coincidence occurred—monsters consuming those overlapping demonic energy —they would go berserk.
“Yes. Because of that, they say a separate investigation team was dispatched.”
“And the results?”
“They say the demonic energy have decreased significantly.”
“That can’t be possible.”
Demonic energy was a power from another dimension known as the Demon Realm.
Because it was an impurity of an entirely different nature, it could not dissolve into this world.
It would never disappear naturally, and even with artificial means, it was difficult to erase completely.
That was the conclusion the Empire had reached, which was why they had left it alone until now.
Fearing that meddling improperly with the demonic energy left behind by slain Demon Kings would cause even greater problems, they focused solely on blocking monsters.
A long time had passed that way, and despite numerous investigations, demonic energy had never once decreased.
Yet now—
They had decreased?
At least by what he knew to be common sense, that was impossible.
Unless someone was intentionally absorbing the demonic energy .
“Don’t tell me···.”
“Count Travian made repeated efforts to determine the cause, but they say there were no traces of a Demon King.”
Count Travian was the one sealing off the gorge—the commander of the Hapstrain region.
“Was it the same with the heroes?”
“Yes. Requests were made to some heroes to identify the cause, but all they said was that they had no idea···. Because of that, they believe that after a very long time, the demonic energy may have deteriorated and become closer to mana.”
“That might be the case.”
Under normal circumstances, the Third Prince would have brushed it off that way.
But there was the variable named Hero Hillan Cargill.
If Hero Hillan Cargill were simply lying, everything would make sense—but was that really the case?
Why would he go out of his way to come and see him?
“I need to meet Hero Hillan Cargill.”
Martin rose from his seat.
* * *
“It’s been a week, Your Highness.”
“I invited you as a guest and yet showed too little concern.”
“It’s fine. Haven’t you been very busy?”
“After hearing your words, I sent people. Reports came in that Hapstrain has been changing little by little from before.”
“Yes.”
“They all said they couldn’t tell. Among those who investigated the gorge were knights, mages, and heroes. They all said the same thing—that perhaps the demonic energy had simply grown old and naturally faded.”
“I understand, but demonic energy never disappear naturally.”
“That’s what we’ve known until now. But what if it’s simply something we don’t understand?”
“If that were what you thought, I don’t believe you would have come to see me.”
Hillan smiled. A brief silence settled between them.
“Are you certain there’s something there?”
“Yes.”
“Other heroes didn’t notice it. Among them were those who boasted of being Stars, just like you.”
“Your Highness, I don’t know why they didn’t notice, nor how I came to notice. I don’t know the difference between them and myself. I simply think that after killing two Demon Kings, I may have become a bit more sensitive.”
“So in the end, you’re praising yourself.”
“You flatter me.”
Though it displeased him, Martin had no choice but to acknowledge it.
Even capturing a single Demon King caused a hero to grow explosively. That alone showed how tremendous the power held by a Demon King was—so what of a hero who had captured two Demon Kings?
The fact that other heroes failed to find it, yet only Hillan had discovered it, left no choice but to believe him.
At the very least, in the current generation, the only one who had hunted more than one Demon King was Hero Hillan Cargill.
“What did you discover?”
“An enormous amount of demonic energy .”
“That isn’t what I’m asking.”
“A human.”
“A human?”
“One who harbors an immense amount of demonic energy .”
Hillan’s gaze sharpened.
“A human. A Dark Mage.”
* * *
Originally, Dark Mages were beings who gained power in exchange for offering their souls to a Demon King.
In ordinary dimensions, they were the Demon King’s lackeys and objects of terror—but not in Arein.
As Demon Kings grew weaker, there was no longer any need to rely on them. Naturally weeded out and left behind, Dark Mages vanished from the continent.
It was only natural for Dark Mages to be disregarded. Yet Martin did not dismiss Hillan’s words. Though merely a Dark Mage, he believed there had to be a reason Hillan spoke so gravely.
“Are you certain that will become a great threat to the Empire?”
“I am certain.”
“I am an imperial prince, and my words carry responsibility. To act, I need proof that your words are correct.”
“If you wish, I will bring it to you.”
“And what do you need?”
“If I bring you the proof, I want your promise that you will support the subjugation of the Demon King of Dark Flame.”
“If circumstances allow, I will do so.”
“Thank you.”
Just as they had secretly entered the imperial capital, Berje Deias and Hillan quietly left it as well.
“······.”
On the main road not far from the capital. Once he no longer felt the gazes of others, Hillan released the breath he had been holding.
“What were you doing?”
“Is it really true?”
“······?”
“Is that Dark Mage bastard really in Hapstrain Gorge?”
“How insolent. Are you saying I am lying?”
“I’ve bet everything on you, Demon King, and I spoke out in front of the prince. I have nowhere left to retreat.”
“If I hadn’t helped you in the first place, your head would be hanging as decoration on the Frost Tower.”
“······.”
Hillan could not bring himself to deny it.
“Then please tell me just this. Is it truly dangerous? Even if it’s true, it’s hard to believe that just one person could threaten the Empire···.”
“Not all Dark Mages are the same, and not all demonic energy are the same.”
“I understand that the Dark Mage’s talent must be exceptional.”
“Not merely exceptional. demonic energy are a power granted solely to the demon race. He handled it with nothing but his own talent and became a Dark Mage on his own.”
“That is certainly impressive, but···.”
“No, you still don’t understand. That demonic energy is neither that of an ordinary demon nor of a monster. It is the essence of the demonic energy that formed the tower—residual traces of a Demon King. Do you think it makes any sense for a mere human to master and control that on his own?”
“······!”
“He accomplished it and waited for his time beneath the gorge for quite a long age. Can you even imagine how formidable his forces must be?”
“···Don’t tell me you plan to consume that.”
“No.”
Berje shook his head.
“It’s tempting, but I have no intention of swallowing it. That would be like a poisonous mushroom with a flashy exterior.”
If this place had been close to his tower, it might have been different—but this was the Empire. And not just anywhere, but the very heart of it.
Thousands of troops constantly defended the gorge, and it was an enormous distance away from Ergest.
“And above all, for now, it’s better to throw it to the Empire.”
Giving the Third Prince an opportunity and fully igniting a civil war to shake the Empire itself was far more profitable.
“What do you intend to do?”
“What else? He’s a Dark Mage.”
“Yes.”
“And I am a Demon King.”
“···Yes?”
“A Demon King met a Dark Mage. So there’s only one thing to do, isn’t there?”
One had to discipline the impudent fool who coveted what was not his, and carve the mark of obedience into him.
“That is the proper relationship between a Demon King and a Dark Mage.”
“You really are a Demon King through and through, aren’t you?”
“Thanks for the compliment. Come to think of it, what happened to those guys?”
“Those guys?”
“You know. The ones you released together with you and turned into a Dark Mage and a Dark Knight. Aside from Aman, I didn’t pay them much mind.”
“I don’t know either. If I got involved with people who’d expose demonic energy the moment they slipped up, I’d be dragged down with them.”
“Well done. They weren’t very useful anyway. But are they at least still alive?”
“Wouldn’t you know that better than I do, Demon King?”
Dark Mages and Dark Knights bore the mark of obedience. The mark, etched not on the body but on the soul, ensured that when a minion died, their soul would return to the Demon King.
“Is it not completely tightly bound? By any chance?”
“I can hear the sound of your brain spinning all the way here.”“It was pure curiosity.”
“Do not harbor hope. You cannot escape my hand.”
“That wasn’t what I meant, in particular.”
“As if.”
He looked like a snarling hyena that wanted to tear into him at any moment.
Berje Deias snorted and returned to the original topic.
“Then I suppose they’re all alive and well.”
Their souls had never come to him.
“See? You do know, Demon King.”
“Is it Yeti oil?”
“Yes?”
“Staying in the warm north for a month or two must have made life too comfortable. Seems you’ve greased your mouth a bit too much.”
“It was so cold my tongue froze solid.”
Hillan shut his mouth.
The two headed south immediately. Following the Third Prince’s request to leave no traces, rather than using a transport magic circle, they cut straight through desolate mountain paths rarely traveled by people.
“To dare condemn a Demon King. I will definitely collect this debt.”
“Isn’t that debt being repaid by helping you attack the Demon King’s tower?”
“······.”
“···Demon King?”
“···Now that I think about it, it really pisses me off.”
To ask him to help someone who will attack Berje, together with the hero who will attack Berje, and then demand that he carry out the request he set as a condition?
Why should I?
‘Why else.’
Because it is the path that ruins the Empire.
Ultimately, it is for conquering Arein, for a better life than before the regression.
This damned contradiction had to be endured.
Although they did not use a transport magic circle, they were a hero and a Demon King. Moving swiftly, they reached their destination in just a few days.
“···Something feels lax.”
Hapstrain Gorge.
Though called a gorge, this place boasted a size comparable to a small nation. It was effectively a stronghold of monsters, and the Empire had erected four fortresses to seal it off.
In other words, the fortresses should always have been on high alert to prepare for monsters pouring out of the gorge, and yet···.
The Alkan Fortress reflected in Berje’s eyes felt nothing like that. There were many soldiers and mercenaries, and a few heroes could be seen, but that was all.
There was none of the tension, ferocity, or desperation felt in the snowfields.
“I believe the answer lies in the conversation with the Third Prince.”
“I can roughly guess as well.”
It had to be because the Dark Mage settled in the gorge.
By absorbing demonic energy, the number of rampaging monsters decreased.
By turning monsters into undead, the total number of monsters themselves decreased.
If that continued for quite a long time, vigilance was bound to loosen.
It wasn’t bad. Because the relaxed guard made it easier for Berje and Hillan to cross the fortress and enter the gorge.
Once they went deep enough that heroes, mercenaries, and knights hunting in the gorge were no longer in sight, Berje suppressed mana and activated demonic energy .
His red hair and pupils were dyed black. He let out an excited breath.
“Good.”
The demonic energy were overflowing. Power surged as if he were inside a tower.
Of course, that wasn’t actually the case. Even if demonic energy were abundant nearby, interference power did not weaken.
“···I want to get out immediately. It feels like climbing a Demon King’s tower. No, it’s more unpleasant than the towers I climbed.”
“And someone like that told me to try going into the Hero Guild headquarters?”
“That was a joke.”
“Shut up. Don’t make excuses.”
‘If I fought in a place like this, my endurance would increase.’
Because he could constantly absorb the surrounding demonic energy. Even if he couldn’t increase output itself due to interference power, it was far better than elsewhere.
He walked slowly, spreading demonic energy .
The demonic energy created by layered coincidences began to respond to the Demon King’s power.
“Found him.”
“Already?”
“Because I’m a Demon King.”
There were several reasons the Dark Mage had not been detected by heroes.
Because he possessed a human essence, he could conceal demonic energy to near perfection until he used his power.
And in this gorge overflowing with demonic energy , the gorge itself was unpleasant to heroes who sought out demonkind through instinctive hostility and discomfort toward demonic energy .
But Berje was a Demon King.
A race that used demonic energy as power, and among them, one strong enough to become the wielder of the authority called a tower.
A Dark Mage gathered demonic energy . In the end, it meant that all they had to do was find a place where demonic energy were densely concentrated—and that was as easy as eating a piece of cake.
“But are you really going to do it that way?”
“Of course.”
“Will the Dark Mage follow you?”
“His will is irrelevant.”
Because Berje Deias was a Demon King, and the other was a Dark Mage.
Berje launched himself forward. Hillan followed after him.
* * *
The center of the gorge.
A fissure split between the cliff walls formed an entrance leading inward.
The passage extended underground, dark and damp.
And at the end of that passage was a massive underground cavern.
The cavern was hell in the human world.
The mountain-like piles were an aggregate of corpses—yellowed bones that had rotted and decayed beyond measure.
Vairif lay atop those bones, legs crossed. Water droplets fell from the stalactites on the high ceiling.
That was when—
Clack-
A gaunt skeleton hurriedly ran in from the direction of the entrance.
“What is it?”
Clack-
“An intruder? The Empire bastards came all the way in here?”
Clack-
“Demonic energy and a hero?”
The skeleton nodded violently.
At the utterly incompatible combination, Vairif frowned. Still, there was no way a skeleton bound to him would lie.
‘Did the Empire hire a Dark Mage to find me?’
No, the premise was wrong. The Empire did not know of his existence.
Then?
‘I’ll find out once I catch them.’
Vairif rose to his feet.
“How many are there?”
Clack-
“Two?”
Few. Far too few, at least.
Yet the fact that they came anyway meant they were confident.
‘A Star?’
It didn’t matter. At least here, he was confident he could win no matter who came.
Step. Step.
Footsteps echoed from beyond the passage. Vairif jumped down from the mound of bones.
There were two presences.
One was a hero who exuded an intense sense of discomfort, and the other was a Dark Mage reeking thickly of demonic energy .
‘A Dark Mage of this level existed?’
Which idiot made a contract with a Demon King? No—why were a hero and a Dark Mage moving together?
“Who are you?”
Vairif opened his mouth, muttering low.
The footsteps stopped.
Though it was darkness, Vairif’s eyes, long accustomed to it, quickly swept over the two.
‘Strong.’
The hero inspired a stronger sense of rejection than any hero he had ever encountered. Demonic energy surged.
But what shocked him even more was the other one.
Despite clearly being a Dark Mage, he could not perceive what lay within. His vision—honed over long ages of gathering and refining demonic energy —was completely shut out.
A chill ran down his spine.
“Answer.”
There was no reply.
“Fine.”
Vairif raised his energy.
Kugugugugu-
The mound of bones and corpses he had been lying on began to quake.
They split apart and merged, taking shape. Tens, hundreds—perhaps thousands.
There were many peaks, all made of corpses and bones. His legion.
Thick killing intent seized the cavern. In an instant, thousands of troops surrounded the two.
“If you can’t answer, I’ll make you answer by force. Who you are, and how you came here—I’ll make you spill it all—”
“Insolent.”
The black-haired man cut him off.
Their eyes met.
A shudder ran through him.
Instinct screamed.
Run. Right now.
Cold sweat streamed down.
“You ask who I am?”
The man spoke languidly.
He waved his hand.
Demonic energy crushed down upon him.
“Keugh···!”
The demonic energy within him went berserk.
They writhed, struggling to escape Vairif’s body.
“H-how?”
It wouldn’t obey him. Faced with something he had never experienced in his life, he was struck with terror.
“Wh-who… who are you!?”
The demonic energy slipping beyond his control began to ravage their host at will. Vairif spat blood.
“Well.”
The man lightly tapped his finger in a playful manner.
He walked forward slowly.
“In the Demon Realm, I was called Berje Deias.”
One step. Vairif retreated one step as well. Black flames surged upward.
“After descending upon Arein, I was called the Demon King of Ergest.”
One step.
“Furthermore, I am called the Demon King of Dark Flame.”
Another step.
Thud-
Rock pressed against his back.
Vairif’s complexion turned deathly pale.
His body trembled violently.
“And now.”
The man smiled. A frigid gaze pierced through everything Vairif was.
“I will become your lord.”
The distance between them closed to an extreme.
An arrogant gaze looked down upon him.
A pale hand pressed down on his head.
“What are you doing…”
The man whispered.
“Not kneeling at once?”
Boom-
Vairif’s knees slammed deep into the ground.