Chapter 122 - The Empire's Target

The Demon King of Hellfire.

That name was enough to seize the imperial family's attention.

"... The Demon King of Hellfire?"

"What did the Demon King of Hellfire tell you?"

"He told me to kill all of you! To kill you and plunge the Empire into cha—!"

Betrayed, Bairif had nothing left to hold him back. He summoned all his strength and confessed everything. Or tried to.

COUGH!

"... Huh?"

Bairif touched the black blood trickling from his mouth.

"What is th—?"

Those were his last words. His head exploded. His headless corpse fell to the ground.

No trace remained. He had merely been made to pay for his betrayal under the contract branded into his soul.

If anything, there was only the demonic energy within Bairif going berserk.

That was why no one noticed.

"There's a demon nearby! Find him!"

"Who would dare!"

But humans saw only what they wanted to see. Believing someone had assassinated Bairif, the imperial family flew into a rage.

Stars and heroes, including Dafner Philiain, Balaf Dislord, Roselle Charnt, and Aina Diaphrin, scattered in every direction, along with the knights, mages, and soldiers.

The dispute of moments before was forgotten in pursuit of a single objective: finding the imaginary demon who had killed Bairif.

"Who would dare...!"

The imperial family raged, and Berge joined the ranks of the outraged as he climbed out of the crater. Together with Hillen Cargill, he pretended to search the surroundings.

"Was that your doing, Master Pale?"

"Yes."

"But how? There wasn't even any demonic energy."

"It has nothing to do with demonic energy. His soul suffered the consequences of breaking the contract."

There was only one reason he bothered to explain.

"Don't forget that what's inside your head is stronger than a contract with a dark mage."

"..."

It was a warning.

Berge himself had decided to abandon him first, and he understood Bairif's state of mind after being driven into the worst possible situation.

But understanding and acceptance were two different things.

For a mere servant, a mere dark mage, to dare betray him was utterly unthinkable.

He might abandon a servant, but no mere servant was permitted to betray him.

That was what it meant to be a Demon King. That was Berge.

"... I know."

Hillen averted his eyes and changed the subject.

"What will you do now, though? This is no longer a question of whether you can use the Third Prince to weaken the Empire, is it?"

"... Bairif, you goddamned bastard."

Hillen was right.

Bairif's words had exposed Berge's existence before four members of the imperial family—the Empire's prospective heirs.

Despite all his caution.

Despite all his efforts to remain hidden.

"You must calm down."

"I am calm."

Simply keeping his demonic energy concealed was an act of truly superhuman restraint.

He was deeply shaken. This was the first time he had experienced a dark mage betraying a Demon King.

The bastard had paid for his betrayal, but its repercussions were beginning to tighten around Berge's throat.

"How do you think the Empire will respond?"

"They'll become obsessed with finding your tower, my lord."

"That's what I thought."

"I don't know exactly what Bairif did, but the explosion shook the gorge, and the First Prince's camp was full of wounded, with far fewer people left. Considering that those were House Osrian's elite troops, and considering the First Prince's pride..."

The pride of the Empire's First Prince and its foremost noble house had suffered a grievous wound.

The Empire was a vast castle, pathologically obsessed with the reputation it had built over countless years. It would not tolerate even the smallest scratch.

Its failure to notice a Demon King secretly operating within its territory was another blow to a particularly sensitive spot.

In short, the Empire would inevitably act to repair the damage.

"... What a..."

Berge lamented.

"Fucking mess."

Wasn't it?

"You worthless worm. All because of you."

Berge ground his teeth. His gaze rested on the soul clutched in his hand.

- "Th-this is impossible! Why am I...!"

"You fool. Did you think death would free you from my grasp? Did you think death would solve everything?"

He did not even understand what becoming a dark mage, what belonging to a Demon King, meant.

Granted, centuries had passed since dark mages disappeared from Arain, and Bairif had become one through his own efforts rather than a Demon King. His ignorance was understandable.

But that did not absolve him.

"Look forward to it. Your annihilation will be anything but pleasant."

- "N-no...!"

Bairif's soul trembled in terror.

So did Hillen Cargill, who was watching.

* * *

To state the outcome first, the search for a nonexistent demon naturally ended in failure.

The expedition's sole achievement was learning that the Demon King of Hellfire was involved, while the losses it sustained far outweighed that gain.

Instead, they found other things.

"There's a dungeon here."

"There are no traces of any other dark mages."

The underground dungeon where Bairif had lived lay directly beneath the deep crater. Its discovery surprised everyone.

Astonishingly, there was no sign that even one other person had been there.

"Perhaps Hillen Cargill lied to us? There was only one dark mage. How could there have been any formidable undead?"

The First Prince, the Second Prince, the First Princess, and the Third Prince.

The imperial family members commanding the four forces convened privately. Not far from the crater, a tent was erected beneath the imperial flag.

The First Prince snorted at the Second Prince's words.

"Don't talk nonsense."

"Nonsense?"

"There were two death knights, dozens of dullahans, and a thousand undead. There was also a lesser bone dragon."

"Who would believe your claims, Brother?"

"Go outside and ask anyone you like."

"Well, who knows whether you've already agreed on a story?"

"Still finding absurd things to quibble over, I see. Surely you won't claim you didn't see that explosion."

"... Well, that..."

It had been a tremendous explosion that shook the entire gorge. Whoever had caused it, the First Prince's heavy losses were undeniable.

"Then I'll accept it as true for now."

"It's not a matter of accepting it. It is true."

"But no matter how you look at it, one man couldn't possibly have done all that!"

"My brother is right. It would be absolutely impossible alone. So..."

Martin interjected.

"That leaves only one explanation: a Demon King deliberately intervened."

The other three nodded. There was only one way a dark mage could have done such a thing: a Demon King had granted him that much power.

"The Empire has truly been taken lightly. For a mere Demon King to dare..."

A quiet anger spread through the tent.

"But do you believe it really was the Demon King of Hellfire, Brother?"

"Who else?"

"Couldn't it have been the Demon King of Lies?"

"The man believed he would be rescued until the very end. Surely none of you think that was an act."

"True. If it was, he should have become an actor instead of a dark mage. Or gone into politics."

The Second Prince nodded at the First Prince's assertion. The sight of Bairif shedding bloody tears as he cursed the Demon King, then coughing blood and dying after naming him, was seared into all their minds.

"But we should also consider why the Demon King of Lies came to be called that."

"He's been cautious for over a century. Why would he suddenly do something so stupid and obvious now?"

"That would certainly be strange."

"And the Demon King of Hellfire has already concealed his entire tower. It wouldn't be surprising if he resorted to crude tricks like this, which the other Demon Kings have long since abandoned."

One by one, the others agreed with the First Prince.

"Then this is no longer a matter of mere dark mages. A single Demon King is making a fool of the Empire. Without Hillen Cargill's help, no one knows what might have happened."

"Praising him because he's the hero who allied with you?"

"I'm merely stating a fact."

"Exactly. Facts are facts. Aren't you being too quick to rule out the Demon King of Lies, Brother?"

The Second Prince shrugged, siding with the Third.

"I'm merely saying it wasn't him because it wasn't."

"Perhaps so."

"As your elder brother, I'm proud to see how close you two have become."

"Saying things you don't mean? You must be very angry indeed."

The Second Prince gave a nasty smile.

"Enough of your petty sarcasm. What do you intend to do now?"

"What do you intend to do, Brother?"

The First Prince and First Princess had suffered the heaviest losses. Accordingly, their anger was greatest.

"I will return to the imperial capital, report this matter to His Majesty, and formally propose a campaign against the Demon King."

The First Prince intended to eliminate the direct cause of this disaster: the one who had created the dark mage.

"I intend to search for any dark mages who may remain and gain as much as I can."

The First Princess believed traces of dark mages and demons still remained.

"Well, that keeps things nice and simple. There's not even a dark mage's corpse left to fight over. I'd like a look at that insolent Demon King's face myself."

The corpse of the dark mage assassinated by a demon had crumbled into dust and disappeared. With no trace of a demon anywhere either, there was no evidence left to prove they had defeated the dark mage.

But his final testimony had identified the culprit, so their anger still had a target.

The evidence was merely verbal, but everyone gathered here belonged to the imperial family. They possessed enough power and legitimacy to aspire to the throne.

If they said it was so, it was so.

The answer had been settled the moment the dark mage uttered the Demon King of Hellfire's name and they accepted it.

"Then is there anything more to discuss?"

Time to withdraw.

The four imperial contenders who had been keeping one another in check joined hands.

Their target was the Demon King of Hellfire.

For Berge, it was the worst possible outcome.

* * *

"Ha ha ha..."

Laughter escaped him.

"Ha ha ha ha ha...!"

It poured out like he had truly gone mad.

Suddenly, the past came back to him.

The time he had kidnapped Jespine's Crown Prince, and imperial soldiers had swarmed him like a horde of zombies.

That hellish time when defeating one enemy only brought a stronger one, and defeating that one brought another stronger still.

Publicly, the expedition had succeeded.

The dark mage was dead, and all the undead had returned to their original forms, so that was not untrue.

But it was a beginning, not an end.

"Lord Hillen."

After returning to the imperial capital, Martin summoned Hillen and Berge.

"I never thought I'd be able to fulfill my promise to you so soon."

For Berge, it was something he had hoped would never come to pass—nothing more than a hastily invented pretext for attaching Hillen to Martin.

"It has been decided that we will launch a hero's journey against the Demon King of Hellfire."

... Good heavens.

He had sensed that things would go this way. But hearing it directly in the capital from the prince he was meeting again after only a few days was another matter.

"As if kidnapping Kaede wasn't enough, he went and did this. The Demon King of Hellfire dared make a fool of the Empire. He will never sleep peacefully again."

Indeed, he could not. Every day, Berge felt as though his blood were drying up. He racked his brains until his head felt ready to burst, but no good ideas came.

"But the Tower of Hellfire is different now."

"Yes. The tower itself is hidden. That's why you failed as well."

"Yes, that's correct."

"In truth, that concerns us too."

The Empire was confident it could crush the tower in one stroke if only it found it.

Demon King or not, he was a novice who had been summoned barely more than a year ago.

Before the Empire's might, he was merely a slightly troublesome monster.

But Erjest was another matter.

It was not human territory.

Neither was Habstrain Gorge, but it could not compare to the far more rugged Erjest Mountains, where snow fell all year round.

The monsters inhabiting them were far stronger to begin with.

"Ultimately, what matters is overcoming those harsh conditions and finding the tower. But it will certainly not be easy."

Why was a mountain range called a range? It was not one mountain but a vast sweep of many, covering an area comparable to an entire kingdom.

Failing to find it was not an option.

The question was when they would find it, and at what cost.

Reducing the time needed was ultimately the key.

"Indeed."

"What's more, His Majesty considers this an extension of the dark-mage campaign."

"... Does that mean..."

"Exactly what you're thinking."

"I'm not sure I should say this, but..."

"Go ahead."

"Isn't that far too complacent?"

Even for the Empire, this was Erjest. It might have been different if the Empire bordered the mountains, but they lay squarely within another country's territory.

They could not even deploy an army, yet they would divide what forces they could send?

It defied Hillen's common sense.

"I understand. I think so too. But it is His Majesty's will, and in the Empire, his will is absolute."

"Good heavens."

Hillen was appalled. Berge felt both relief and anger.

It was good that their strength would be divided, but this showed just how little the Empire thought of him.

Mere humans dared look down on him, a Demon King.

"Perhaps it's for the best. I will rescue Kaede without fail. With that in mind, I'd like to ask a favor of you."

"Naturally, I will search for the tower with you, Your Highness."

Whether Berge wanted it or not, there was no choice. They had joined the Third Prince on the pretext of Erjest.

"Thank you."

"It is only natural."

The prince and the hero clasped hands.

* * *

There was no pretext for refusing.

To Martin, Hillen was the hero who wanted to conquer the Tower of Hellfire more than anyone else.

If something could improve their chances even slightly, doing it was only right.

"Your Highness, climbing the Erjest Mountains will require extensive preparation. I would like to send Master Pale ahead."

"Do so."

All Hillen could do for Berge was offer another excuse to let him leave the imperial capital.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it...!"

Berge left the Empire using teleportation circles. Changing robes several times to conceal his route, he reached Hortonwork.

There, he found more irritating bastards.

'These worthless worms.'

They were Akan's dogs, searching Erjest for Lavinia Akan.

He wanted to kill every last one of them, but restrained himself for now.

Avoiding them, he returned to the tower. Its first floor was an empty maze. Yet he could see the mana cannons hidden inside the walls. Knowing they were nearly complete brought him some measure of reassurance.

"My lord! You're back!"

"Demon King!"

The dwarf and the mad princess welcomed him, but Berge merely waved a hand and passed them by.

He passed through the empty second floor and beyond the third, where Elena was languishing.

"My lord."

"Welcome back."

On the fourth floor, the Dark Spirit Summoner, the Dark Knight, and the elves greeted him.

He admired how much fuller the arrangement had become, but he had no time for that.

Berge was about to head straight to the fifth floor when he paused. Come to think of it, these people were now full-fledged members of the tower.

Whatever he did to stop the Empire, they would have to do it together.

"You there. Go to the fifth floor and fetch Gordon. And you, fetch Logger and Lavinia from the first floor."

"Yes, my lord."

The elves he had singled out scattered.

"Did something happen? My lord, you look pale."

Ernyan approached with concern.

"Yes. Something very serious."

"... If even you're reacting like this, it must be really serious."

"It is."

"What is it?"

"The Empire is coming."

"The Empire?"

"The First Prince, the Second Prince, the First Princess, and the Third Prince. All four members of the imperial family with a chance of inheriting the throne."

"... My brother is coming?"

CLACK!

Kaede dropped her sword.