Chapter 130 : Pursuit
Chapter 130: Pursuit
‘Found it. I found it!’
He finally found it.
The highest peak of the Ergest Mountains. Inside a basin not far from there, hidden and difficult to see.
There stood an alien structure that did not belong among the mountains.
A jet-black tower that contrasted starkly with the pure white snow.
The Demon King’s Tower.
And the Tower of Dark Flame.
Orcs lined up in a row entered the place. They were moving mana cannons into the tower.
‘Mana cannons inside the tower…’
Daphne Phillian swiftly recorded the location. To make sure he would never forget it, he preserved it in a recording orb and marked it on a map he had drawn himself.
‘But this place…’
For some reason, it felt familiar.
It was there.
When he had first climbed Ergest to search for the tower, it was the basin he had checked almost at the very end.
It definitely had not existed before. Yet now, it did.
How? The question arose.
‘Did I fail to notice it?’
‘Was the tower moved?’
‘Was the tower hidden?’
He did not know. If it were the first, it would have been his own carelessness, but at the time, after climbing the mountain, he had always maintained razor-sharp vigilance.
It might have sounded like self-praise, but that had not been the case. As for the second possibility, he had never even heard of such a thing.
For the past thousand years, once a tower took root, its position never changed until the Demon King died and it collapsed. That was an absolute truth.
‘Then…’
The tower had been hidden temporarily. How? There were, in fact, many ways.
Using magic, or exploiting the terrain.
‘The 3rd Prince…’
He was nowhere to be seen. From the beginning, while following the orcs, he had not found any trace of the 3rd Prince.
‘That demon wasn’t there either. Nor the Spirit Sorceress of Darkness.’
If not at the tower, then where had they gone?
‘For now, let’s return.’
Finding the tower itself was more important than the prince.
Why had the Kingdom of Hilderan failed to rescue the Crown Princess who had been abducted?
Why had the Zespine Empire, which lost its 9th Princess, and Hilderan, which lost even its 13th Princess, been unable to do anything?
It was because they did not know the tower’s location. Because they could not find a clear target upon which to vent their rage.
Because they could not grind away astronomical manpower and resources just to search for a tower whose location was uncertain, blocked by the natural forbidden land known as Ergest.
But now, it was different.
Because the tower had been found, the empire could send out a hero’s march without hesitation. No—one had already been foreseen.
So.
“Your Highness the 3rd Prince, please endure just a little hardship in the Demon King’s embrace.”
Soon, the empire would come to rescue him.
Though the reputation of the captured 3rd Prince would fall, what did that matter?
The name of Daphne Phillian, who had discovered the tower, would rise higher than ever.
The smile on his lips deepened.
And then, he vanished without a trace.
It was two days before Berje arrived with his wings spread wide.
* * *
“…He’s gone.”
Gone. He was gone.
Berje muttered in a daze after arriving at the tower.
He searched everything while following the path the Peul Orcs had taken. He scoured the basin where the tower stood.
Even so, Daphne Phillian was nowhere to be found.
Yet faint traces remained in the basin.
That only made him angrier.
He had come here.
He had seen the tower.
And then he had fled.
It was the worst possible situation.
He had to be caught. No matter what, he had to be prevented from leaving the mountain alive.
The dead told no tales.
“Gordon!”
“If the Demon King is absent, the tower’s functions are greatly reduced. Unless he entered the tower itself, we couldn’t afford to pay attention to the outside… I’m sorry. This was my fault.”
In the end, it was all excuses. A hero had come and gone right under their noses, and yet an adjutant had been unaware of it. Gordon clenched his teeth in frustration.
“I’m sorry. At the time, I never imagined it could be a hero.”
Krutu lowered his head. He said that while returning with the cannons, he had felt something strange exactly once.
But it soon vanished, so he brushed it off, thinking it was just an animal.
“If Daphne made up his mind to hide, it’s not strange that you couldn’t find him.”
If only he had noticed then.
If only he had caught him then.
There would have been no need to rack their brains like this.
But Berje forcibly suppressed his anger and pulled him up.
‘It’s nothing more than venting my anger.’
He ground his teeth at Gordon’s and Krutu’s incompetence, but anger was not a solution. Right now, it was time to rally the orcs and catch the prey that had escaped.
“Cancel the plan to block the other two kingdoms. From now on, you’ll be searching for Daphne Phillian, that damn bastard.”
“We receive the order.”
“Lavinia.”
“Yes.”
“How many magic hounds do we have?”
“Five. Newly made.”
“You’ve made quite a few. Release them all.”
“Yes.”
Magic hounds were dogs that chased demonic energy. Dogs more sensitive to demonic energy than anything else. But being sensitive to demonic energy also meant they could sense interference power, which was its polar opposite, better than anyone.
They just had to feel the aura they hated the most.
“Find the interference power. Find the hero.”
“Cher. Hero.”
“That won’t do. Neither you nor Cher is to move directly.”
He had to contain this somehow, but Berje was first assuming the worst. If Daphne Phillian safely descended the mountain and the tower was revealed—if it came out that he had abducted Lavinia, he could not afford to create a new enemy called Arkan, on top of Zespine and Hilderan.
He released the magic hounds.
The Peul Orcs, who had shoved the cannons into the tower, scattered in all directions under the Demon King’s command.
“Do not waste time clashing with monsters! Finding him comes first, no matter what!”
And Berje rode a wolf together with Ernan. Flying was faster, but it also meant missing more. He had to find the bastard for sure, riding a wolf.
“You’re coming with me.”
“Shall I release the spirits?”
“Release them. The search parties are on the other side anyway.”
Dozens of spirits scattered in all directions.
“We will catch him. No matter what.”
And kill him.
Berje let his killing intent spill out.
* * *
Bwoooo… uk!
The horn that had been echoing through the snowy mountains fell silent. An arrow shattered the horn. An orc with its throat pierced collapsed.
“…They really don’t give me a moment’s rest.”
Daphne stopped his brief respite and forced his heavy body up.
How many days had it been already?
He was so exhausted, he wasn’t sure. He only remembered that night and day had changed several times.
‘Vicious bastards.’
A curse slipped out on its own.
From far away, he heard the sound of horns and felt presences approaching. Peul Orcs riding frost wolves.
“Just how many of them are there?”
He lowered his body as much as possible and ran. Under normal circumstances, he would have erased his tracks and even his scent, but he had no such leeway now.
‘How did it end up like this?’
It must have been about four days after he found the tower and began descending the mountain.
Orcs had started appearing one by one, then their numbers gradually increased.
Adding in the monsters they had driven together, they were countless.
He couldn’t rest properly, nor could he sleep.
After three days of that, Daphne realized that they weren’t simply pursuing him—they were herding him.
‘Are they waiting for someone?’
Probably one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
‘The Spirit Sorceress of Darkness, or if not her, that demon for sure. That demon is probably also one of the Four Heavenly Kings.’
If two demons attacked at once, could he win? Both were high-ranking demons, and especially the demon who wielded black flames—he couldn’t fully gauge that one’s level.
If he were in perfect condition, maybe. But in his current, exhausted state, he couldn’t be confident.
‘I saw the tower, and they realized that fact.’
The fact that the tower had been hidden was one of the major assets possessed by the Demon King of Dark Flame. Now that secret had been exposed, he would try to hide it again no matter what.
The most reliable method was silencing through murder.
‘I can’t get caught…!’
He had finally found the tower. Realising that was entirely his own achievement. And that sweet reward was right before his eyes.
It was then.
A shadow fell.
Daphne threw himself aside in desperation. A massive body crashed down onto the spot where he had been just moments before.
“Hero. You won’t escape.”
“What the hell?”
The one who had blocked him when he tried to kill one of the Four Heavenly Kings during the fierce battle back then.
“It was you?”
The suffocating tension suddenly eased.
“Thanks. Thanks to you, I found the tower.”
And the one who had kindly led the orcs and guided Daphne all the way to the tower.
“…You bastard.”
Krutu erupted in fury.
Since becoming a vassal of the Demon King, this was the first time he had seen Berje so enraged. The thought that he himself had provided the trigger made his blood boil.
“If it weren’t for you…!”
Then none of this would have happened.
Krutu roared. Black demonic energy surged over the smooth blade forged by dwarves.
“Fine, come at me.”
Daphne gripped his bow.
With a single aim, ten arrows were formed.
Swaeek—
Direct shots, arcing shots, drifting shots. The ten arrows surged toward Krutu, each drawing a different trajectory.
Krutu leapt down from the wolf. With a single sweep of his blade, he knocked away half the arrows. He rolled along the ground to evade two, then twisted his body and split the remaining three.
At that moment, his shoulder was pierced. The arrow shattered the demonic energy wrapped around him and dug into his flesh.
“I’ve seen enough of your tricks. You actually thought that firing ten arrows meant that was all? How utterly simple-minded.”
Two more arrows followed and lodged themselves into his abdomen. Krutu clenched his teeth. Enduring the pain, he charged forward.
Only when he was right in front of him did he break into a grin.
“It’s over.”
“You thought you’d win just by closing the distance?”
Really?
───!
Sparks flew. demonic energy and aura gnawed at each other.
A short dagger revealed itself. Krutu brought his blade down with all his might, but Daphne did not so much as flinch.
Kagagak—
The dagger slid up along the flat of the blade. At the sharp intent aimed at his fingers, Krutu lost his grip on the blade. In that instant, a long gash was carved across his face.
“What a shame.”
Daphne flicked the blood off his dagger.
“I could’ve split your face open.”
As Daphne stepped backward, Krutu clung to him without letting go. Krutu hastily picked up his blade and resisted.
Swaeek—
The blade traced a blue arc. Droplets of Krutu’s blood stained the pure white snow red.
His dagger was heavier than Krutu’s sword. It was faster, and more dazzling.
In every respect, it overwhelmed Krutu.
Every single swing inevitably resulted in a wound.
Blood-soaked, Krutu dropped to one knee. His upper body, about to collapse, barely supported itself by leaning on his blade.
Daphne gripped the dagger in a reverse hold.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to play with you anymore.”
Peul Orcs were charging in from all directions. And there was no telling when those childish demons called the Four Heavenly Kings would come crashing in.
Daphne drove the dagger down.
At that moment—
Whoosh-
Black flames clung to it.
A shadow fell.
Kwaaang-
A demon with black wings spread wide descended.
“Found you.”
Berje Deias, with black hair and black eyes, stared at Daphne with an expressionless face.
“Krutu, withdraw.”
“But…!”
“I won’t say it twice. Move Krutu.”
The Peul Orcs, who had been showing reverence at the Demon King’s appearance, hurriedly dragged Krutu away.
Until then, Daphne could not move recklessly. Suffocating killing intent and pressure were tightening around him.
“…Four Heavenly Kings.”
“Four Heavenly Kings?”
Berje turned around, but Ernan was nowhere to be seen. Naturally so. He had witnessed the battle and flown ahead first.
“…Are you saying that to me?”
“If not you, then who else is here?”
“…You’re calling me one of the Four Heavenly Kings?”
Ernan calling herself a Four Heavenly King on a whim.
Kaede and Lavinia being made into Four Heavenly Kings as well.
None of that mattered.
“But I can’t tolerate being called a Four Heavenly King.”
Of course, even aside from that—
“Now that you’ve seen the tower.”
Either way, you—
“Won’t be leaving this mountain alive—.”
────!
An arrow cut Berje off mid-sentence. A brief hesitation, and Daphne turned his back and fled.
“That’s unfair! You should at least give him time to transform or talk!”
Ernan shouted as he arrived late.
“What nonsense. An ambush is only natural.”
Berje snorted as he watched Daphne’s back rapidly growing distant.
Before, he had let him slip away because he couldn’t pursue him.
But now was different.
All five million Demonic Points had been used to lift the interference power binding him.
Compared to the total interference power imposed on him, five million—and the amount dispelled by it—was not all that much.
But that small amount was enough to let Berje bring out his wings.
And so, once again—
He spread his wings.
Toward the hero.
He soared.