Chapter 30 : Chapter 30
Chapter 30. Have You Ever Heard of Transmigrators?
Though her heart was still in turmoil, the most urgent matter at hand was clearly getting off the eighth layer first.
After they dealt with the Pure White Collector, the staircase leading upward appeared before them, and the three of them slowly made their way up the long flight of stone steps.
At this moment, Lilith’s mind was extraordinarily clear. So long as that worldly urge to throw herself at the Demon King was gone, her intelligence immediately retook the high ground.
As she walked, she quietly studied the man beside her with a cool, appraising gaze. After hesitating for a moment, she finally asked the question that had been troubling her for a long time.
“Um... Demon King, have you ever heard of ‘transmigrators’?”
Lilith had already made up her mind.
If the Demon King had been able to put forward such advanced ideas as “racial equality” and “universal education” three hundred years ago, then he should not be some brutal tyrant.
If he really was a fellow Earthling, then things would actually become much easier. She might even be able to sit down and explain clearly that she had once been a full-blooded man, with all the proper male equipment. They might even be able to grill some barbecue together and chat about home.
「To be honest, I really do hope Asmodeus is a transmigrator...」
「If he is a fellow countryman, then surely he can understand my suffering, right? Then he will stop making me be his wife, right?!」
With those thoughts in mind, Lilith looked into the Demon King’s eyes with anticipation.
However—
Faced with Lilith’s question, Asmodeus merely tilted his head in confusion. There was not the slightest trace of panic in those crimson eyes, as though some secret had just been exposed. There was only pure puzzlement.
“Transmigrators? What are those?”
He came to a halt, thought about it seriously for a moment, and then asked in return,
“Is it some kind of profession? Or a term used by some remote race? I have never heard of it.”
“Huh? How could that be?”
Lilith blinked, and the heart-tipped tail behind her swayed from side to side with the motion.
“Y-You... you really have never heard of them?”
“Is ‘transmigrator’ a very famous profession?”
Still baffled, the Demon King could only turn his head to look at Shier on the other side.
Shier, too, spread his hands with a blank look and shook his head.
「Hm? From the look on their faces... it doesn’t seem like they’re acting, so was I just overthinking it?」
「Asmodeus isn’t a transmigrator? Then why would he...? It makes no sense...」
No matter how she turned it over in her mind, Lilith felt that something was off. For some reason, she even had the vague sense that all of this was part of the Goddess’s scheme.
So she still could not quite let it go. Tugging on the Demon King’s arm, she pressed on.
“Then! Then why are you promoting racial equality and educational access? Ideas like that... who taught them to you?”
“Who taught them to me?”
Asmodeus raised a brow, his tone utterly matter-of-fact.
“I thought of them myself, of course. Why? Do you dislike them?”
“Uh, it’s not that I dislike them...”
Lilith scratched her head awkwardly.
“It’s just that... they feel very novel.”
In this other world—a place ruled by the law of the jungle and steeped in racial discrimination—how could anyone possibly arrive, entirely on their own, at the core values of modern civilization?
Yet when Asmodeus saw how conflicted she looked, he only curled his lips into a faint smile and gently rubbed the girl’s head.
Then he turned his gaze toward the dark staircase stretching ahead and explained in the same tone one might use for some entirely ordinary matter,
“There is nothing especially profound about it. It is merely a matter of efficiency.”
“The various races waste far too much manpower and material resources fighting and slaughtering one another for the sake of some imagined superiority. Elves excel at magic. Dwarves excel at forging. Humans excel at creation and reproduction... every race possesses its own unique wisdom.”
“If they remain enemies, that knowledge will vanish amid the flames of war. That would be an immense waste. Only by bringing them together and allowing each to learn from the others’ strengths can one create a civilization that is stronger and more prosperous—only then can the Demon Realm stand undefeated.”
At that point, Asmodeus paused, his gaze deep and unreadable.
“Equality exists so that resources may be used more effectively. Is that truly so difficult to understand?”
“Uh...”
After hearing that, Lilith hesitated, her lips parting slightly.
But before she could ask anything more, Shier suddenly cut in from the side, his eyes already brimming with tears and admiration.
“Exactly so!”
“The Demon King’s policies saved countless mixed-bloods like those of the Valen Family! Demonkind and elven blood both flow through my veins. In the old days, that made me someone despised by both sides. Only under the Demon King’s rule did I have the chance to study magic, become a powerful member of Demonkind, and pledge my loyalty to my lord!”
“The Demon King is great! He is wise beyond measure! No matter what happens in the future, we will remain forever loyal to the Demon King!”
「Fine...」
Watching this master-and-servant pair echo each other so perfectly, Lilith felt rather speechless. She could only pout and let the matter drop.
“What is it, Lilith?”
Asmodeus turned back to look at his fiancée, who clearly was not in the best of moods.
“Could it be that this so-called ‘transmigrator’ has done the same things I have?”
“N-No.”
Lilith waved her hand helplessly and let out a sigh.
“I was just asking casually. Please don’t take it to heart.”
That was what she said aloud.
In truth, disappointment still lingered in her heart.
「So Asmodeus really isn’t a transmigrator...」
「I suppose that makes sense. He doesn’t recognize phones, instant noodles, or ice cream. He doesn’t even speak Mandarin. How could he possibly be a transmigrator?」
「But... I still feel like something is off... I just can’t put my finger on it... What is it...?」
「Forget it. I’m too lazy to think about it now. I’ll deal with it later~」
...
And so, the three of them continued onward.
The staircase on this level was rather long. In the distance, they could already see the solemn iron gates of the seventh layer.
Looming in the darkness, they looked especially sinister, casting a rather eerie pall over the atmosphere.
“No matter what kind of monster the guardian of the seventh layer is, and no matter what traps lie ahead—”
“So long as I am here, I will never let them harm the Demon King! I will give it everything I have, my lord!”
Shier was still at the side, vigorously declaring his loyalty.
Meanwhile, Lilith merely curled her lips slightly, unable to stop herself from laughing inwardly.
「Hmph. I wonder which little fool it was who got wrapped up like a turtle and hung in the middle of the exhibits just now.」
「Still... with Asmodeus here, no matter what kind of enemy appears, he can handle it easily, right? And right now I’m perfectly calm. I’m definitely much stronger than before. I won’t go limp and helpless again just because someone touches my foot!」
With that thought in mind, Lilith lifted her full chest and wore a proud, self-satisfied smile.
Before long, the three of them reached the end of the staircase. Before them stood a massive steel gate carved with elaborate patterns.
“We’re here.”
Asmodeus stepped forward, placed one hand on the gate, and pushed slightly.
Rumble...
The heavy doors slowly opened inward.
「What will it be?」
「Surging magma? A frozen wasteland? Or some horrifying fighting arena filled with the roars of monsters?」
「Whatever it is, this time I won’t get captured by the enemy again and trigger a defeat cutscene! Hmph!」
But just as Lilith was thinking that—
The doors opened completely.
And what lay beyond was nothing like what they had imagined.
A wave of heat rushed out at them, carrying with it the scent of grilled meat, the reek of cheap perfume, and the noisy clamor of countless voices.
“Come take a look! Come take a look! Freshly roasted giant lizard legs!”
“Only two copper coins! Only two copper coins!”
“The Succubus Bathhouse is having a grand opening sale! Don’t you want to come in and have some fun, sir~?”
“Huh?”
Lilith froze in shock.
Shier’s mouth fell open.
Even Asmodeus’s brow furrowed slightly.
What appeared before them was not some grim and terrifying underground labyrinth at all.
It was a bustling underground commercial street, lively as a city market.
The enormous cavern beneath the earth was lit as brightly as day by streetlamps made from some sort of luminous crystal.
Both sides of the broad avenue were crammed with every kind of shop and street stall imaginable.
Countless members of Demonkind, dark elves, horned beastfolk, even voluptuous succubi and long-tailed nagas, moved through the streets bartering, laughing, and jostling one another.
The entire seventh layer looked like a flourishing underground black market, overflowing with the smoke and noise of ordinary life.
“W-What is going on here?!”
—
At the same time.
Holy Kingdom of Rodell · Hero’s Palace
It was already deep into the night.
Moonlight outside the window was cold and pale, but within the room the candle flames flickered softly.
Alicia, having just finished a day of “special training,” had only now washed away the greasy residue and fatigue from her body. Draped over her was a somewhat thin silk slip.
Because she had just bathed, the golden hair that usually gave her such a sharp, heroic air now hung damp across her shoulders.
A few wet strands clung to the edge of her cheek, and droplets at their tips slid down her long swanlike neck, passed over her delicate collarbone, and finally disappeared into the deep, shadowed cleavage half hidden beneath her neckline.
Under the candlelight, the light silk clung tightly to her still-warm skin, perfectly outlining her mature and ample curves.
The full, proud swell of her chest rose and fell ever so slightly with each breath, and below her slim yet explosively powerful waist stretched a pair of long, fair, completely bare legs, her naked feet resting on the red carpet, gleaming in the candlelight with a soft, sensual luster.
She possessed a body so alluring that it was enough to set any man’s—and even any woman’s—blood racing.
And yet she still wore an expression so severe, as though she were commanding troops on a battlefield.
Her azure eyes were fixed on the map spread across the table, her brows tightly drawn together.
At the marked position labeled “Far North · Entrance to the Demon Realm,” she had drawn a large circle in red ink, and beside it she had written several bold words:
【Rescue my brother!】
“Old Duan...”
As she looked at the position of the Demon Realm, determination blazed in Alicia’s eyes, and her fist slowly clenched.
「Right now, you must be trapped in suffering so deep it is beyond imagining. That perverted Demon King must be tormenting you without mercy. He may even be forcing you to do unspeakable things...」
「But rest easy, Old Duan! I will never abandon you!」
「Even if I must climb mountains of blades and cross seas of fire, even if I must face armies beyond count, I will defeat the Demon King and rescue you from that hell!」
With that thought in mind, she drew a deep breath and slowly shifted her gaze toward the south of the map, to the plain nearest the Holy Kingdom.
The first step on her journey—
「Begins with the Goblin Plains!」