Chapter 127 - Because Our Eyes Met

The search party, led by an imperial prince and a royal prince, set foot in the forbidden lands of Erjest. Martin entrusted the lead to Belof, who was more familiar with the mountains. Belof sent three ranger units, including the White Weasels, out in every direction.

“We will have the rangers thoroughly search our surroundings as we advance. This is a matter of time, after all.”

They had to find the tower, so the only question was how long it would take. Better to take the thorough route, even if it meant spending a little more time.

“Agreed.”

A week passed like that. By then, the search party could not help noticing something strange. Monsters such as yetis, frost wolves, and trolls had appeared, but there were far fewer than Erjest’s notorious reputation would suggest.

“Is it always like this?”

“No. We may only be at the outskirts, but even the outskirts of Erjest are crawling with monsters.”

Belof Korzen frowned. As captain of the White Weasels, he had climbed into Erjest many times. Although he had never made it beyond the outskirts, he distinctly remembered how many monsters had greeted them each time.

“How about expanding the rangers’ search area and locating the monsters before we proceed?”

“Let us do that.”

The search party set up camp on a suitable rise and rested, while others busied themselves trying to discover the cause.

“This must be...”

“Yes, I believe so.”

Unlike the others, Hillen Cargill and Granada knew exactly what was behind this: the strategy of luring the mountain monsters together and unleashing them all at once. The present silence was nothing less than the calm before the storm.

“Sir Hillen. Did anything like this happen during your hero’s journey?”

Dafner approached just then. Granada hastily shut his mouth.

“No. There were plenty of monsters right from the outskirts. It was my first time in Erjest, so I cannot say for certain, but at least I believe it was just as I had heard it described in Hortonwork.”

“It was the same when I climbed the mountains to search for the tower. That would mean this is a first...”

Dafner stroked his chin.

“This is certainly the Demon King’s doing. Monster ecology is inseparably linked to Demon Kings, after all.”

There was now another factor to consider. Commanding monsters meant the Demon King’s influence had grown that much stronger.

“It seems he is hiding the monsters so he can unleash them in a single ambush.”

“I agree.”

“Then the questions are where they will attack, how they will approach, what form the attack will take, and how many monsters will come.”

Demon Kings awaited heroes at the tops of their towers, but sending monsters against them, or planting dark mages and demons in human society to obstruct a hero’s journey, were traditional methods.

Just then, a knight approached and summoned Hillen and Dafner. The two princes had called for them.

“What do you think?”

The moment they arrived at the tent, Martin put the question to them.

“It is a ploy by the Demon King.”

“As expected. We think so as well. What would you advise?”

“Nothing like this happened when Sir Hillen and I climbed the mountains. In other words, the Demon King’s influence cannot be all that strong.”

“Then it is likely limited to the monsters on the outskirts, pushed down the food chain.”

“Yes. Things will be different from the middle slopes onward. And that is probably where the attack will begin.”

“Then it will be soon.”

“We should make every preparation and...”

It happened just then. A commotion arose outside. A knight of the kingdom and a knight of the Empire hurried into the tent.

“Your Highness, I believe you should come outside.”

“What has happened?”

“Have the monsters appeared?”

“No. Demons have appeared.”

“Demons?”

They hurried outside. Figures stood on a snow-covered rise not far from the camp: a woman whose body was concealed by a robe and whose face was hidden behind a mask, with attendants standing behind her.

“A human?”

“I can sense demonic energy. She cannot be human.”

“Those behind her are dark elves. That woman must be a demon too.”

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

“Is this another trick by the Demon King?”

“Give the order, and I will capture her at once.”

Some were puzzled; others burned with fighting spirit. Yet all of them felt a peculiar unease. A masked woman in the middle of Erjest’s monster-infested mountains? She seemed utterly out of place.

“They said it was the Demon King of Hellfire. We are not heading toward the Tower of Carnal Desire by mistake, are we?”

A servant of the Demon King of Carnal Desire, known to be a succubus, might well look like this. Yet the woman before them seemed nothing like a succubus.

“Lord Dafner.”

“... Nothing is known about the Demon King of Hellfire. Whatever he does, it would not be surprising.”

Still, he had never encountered anything like this on any hero’s journey he had joined.

Then the woman spoke.

“Hello.”

She bowed gently in greeting, exquisitely graceful and elegant. Her voice was soft, yet everyone heard it clearly. The commotion subsided, and every gaze turned toward her. She smiled with satisfaction.

“A pleasure to meet you, humans. I am the Dark Spirit Summoner, one of the Four Heavenly Kings serving my lord.”

“... Four Heavenly Kings?”

“Four Heavenly Kings? What are those?”

“A demon spirit summoner?”

That brief statement contained far too many contradictions: these unheard-of Four Heavenly Kings, and her claim to be a spirit summoner. Spirits were the fundamental essence of the world. It made no sense for demons, invaders from another dimension, to command them.

‘... Holy shit. Ernyan Hilderan?’

With superhuman restraint, Hillen and Granada kept their faces from twisting. They knew better than anyone who stood before them. They had seen her and experienced her abilities firsthand.

‘What on earth is she thinking?’

‘What will she do if they recognize her...!’

She had put on a disguise as well as a mask, but it could not completely conceal her distinctive air. Fortunately, she was some distance away, wore a mask, and even emitted demonic energy. No one imagined a princess would proclaim herself the Demon King’s lackey, so no one had made the connection. Still, there was no telling what might happen.

As their worries deepened, the Dark Spirit Summoner spoke again.

“I have come to deliver a message from my lord. Who is the highest-ranking person here?”

Martin and Belof both twitched. They glanced at each other, but ultimately it was Martin who stepped forward.

“I am.”

“You must be His Highness Martin Jespine, the Empire’s Third Prince.”

“You know me?”

“Of course. How could I not know a prince of the great Empire? An imperial prince is certainly qualified to hear my lord’s words.”

She cleared her throat, then awkwardly deepened her voice.

“Descend the mountain at once. Do so, and I shall spare your lives. This is the last mercy I shall grant you.”

Hillen and Granada screamed inwardly at the clumsy performance, but fortunately, the others were too caught up in the atmosphere to find it strange.

“Ridiculous.”

Martin shook his head.

“You are the ones who planted a dark mage in Habstrain Gorge and struck at the Empire. The Empire will not stand idly by, and the Demon King will certainly regret this.”

“Such words will only further displease my lord.”

“Then let me warn you. Admit your wrongdoing willingly and return the princesses you kidnapped, even now. Otherwise, the worst possible end awaits you.”

“There is no reasoning with you. It seems you need a lesson.”

“A lesson?”

“On my lord’s behalf, I, the Dark Spirit Summoner, shall teach you your place.”

Mana surged. The mask’s demonic energy mingled with it, concealing her presence.

“Just how displeased my lord is.”

“And just what sort of being I am, as one who serves him.”

RUMBLE!

The mountain shook.

“... Good heavens.”

The humans cried out in astonishment. It was snow—a wave made of snow.

“Take your punishment graciously.”

A tidal wave of snow, nearly a natural disaster. The knights unleashed their aura. The mages hastily erected barriers.

“A mere lowly demon...!”

The pride of the Empire, the Platinum Shield Mage Corps, chanted a joint spell. An immense wall of ice blocked everything.

“Your Highness!”

Martin hurried behind it with the knights.

But...

“This is even better, isn’t it?”

The Dark Spirit Summoner smiled. By erecting the wall, the humans had blocked their own view. As though waiting for that moment, hundreds of mana cannons hidden behind her revealed their muzzles. With the avalanche and ice wall concealing them, and the roar of the avalanche masking their sound, they opened fire.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions erupted one after another. The wall shook.

“Ghh...!”

“Something is striking the wall!”

“Dark magic?”

“Hold it! If it falls, we are finished!”

The mages coughed up blood as they poured in more mana. The wall repeatedly broke and was restored, but in the end, the mana cannons prevailed. Hundreds of cannons made by one of the finest craftsmen among the dwarves were far beyond what a handful of human mages could stop.

CRASH!

The wall collapsed. The mages vomited blood. Through the breach, the tidal wave of snow, briefly held at bay, swept everything away. Cries of anguish, screams—everything was buried.

“Adios, amigo.”

The Dark Spirit Summoner murmured softly.

* * *

On a different rise from Ernyan’s, Berge stood with his arms crossed, looking down at the scene of pandemonium.

“I should never have Ernyan act again.”

Her awkward, atrocious acting had left him anxious that she would be exposed. Apart from that, however, she had completed her mission without trouble.

“There are many survivors.”

The avalanche had grown even larger and swept everything away, but these were the elite of both countries for a reason. The mages strengthened their barriers, the knights endured with their aura, and the rangers let the snow carry them to minimize their injuries. Their formation had completely disintegrated, yet relatively many survived. It was exactly what Berge had intended.

“... Hmm. Will Sir Hillen and Granada be all right? And the Red Hawk members?”

Having completed her mission, Ernyan approached Berge and asked anxiously.

“After giving them such a fine farewell?”

“My eyes met Granada’s, and it just slipped out...”

She was far too immersed in her role as the Dark Spirit Summoner. Well, that was not a bad thing. The more she embraced it, the more Berge stood to gain.

“There is no need to worry. No one is more like a cockroach than those fellows.”

“That is a relief, then.”

“But we cannot simply let them regroup.”

Berge signaled with his eyes. A Poil Orc blew a horn.

BWOOOO!

The Poil Orcs who had brought monsters to the vicinity of the battlefield began moving all at once. Dozens—no, hundreds. These fierce monsters, accustomed to life in freezing, snow-covered mountains, were disaster itself for the allied forces, still reeling from the avalanche and the unexplained attack. Battle erupted, filling the area with blood and monstrous cries.

As expected, the two Stars stood out most of all: Hillen Cargill and Dafner Philiain. With every flash of lightning, Hillen’s sword severed a monster’s neck. The moment Dafner’s arrows left his bowstring, they pierced an enemy’s vital point without the slightest deviation.

“Send more monsters to draw those two away.”

At Berge’s command, the Poil Orc blew the horn again. As the battle intensified, the distance between the two heroes and the Third Prince gradually widened.

“Bring down some of the snow over there.”

“Yes.”

Ernyan and the elves commanded their spirits once again.

At that moment—

WHOOSH!

A streak of light imbued with dimensional interference flashed.

CRUNCH!

The skin of Berge’s palm was torn away. Forcibly halted, the arrow could not withstand the force and crumbled. Ernyan blinked at the arrow that had reached right in front of her face. Berge frowned as the power of dimensional interference burrowed into his body.

“... Did I almost die?”

“You are remarkably calm for someone who did.”

“I was startled. Very much so. But... I thought you would protect me, my lord. And you did.”

Berge snorted and turned his head. His eyes met Dafner Philiain’s as the hero aimed another drawn arrow their way. Another arrow flew. That was only the beginning. One arrow became dozens in an instant. Berge hurled black fire, and the flames devoured the streaks of light.

“Krutu.”

“Yes.”

“Deal with him.”

Krutu charged out on a frost wolf. The Poil Orcs, finished driving the monsters, followed him. The screams grew even more savage. Before long, none of the heroes could spare any attention for the prince.

Only then did the Demon King, who had been watching from the sidelines, make his move—to kidnap the prince.

“Are you warming up your mouth? You need a nimble tongue to persuade your brother. I did mouth exercises before I went in to persuade you.”

“Hmm...”

Kaede swallowed her irritation. That was information she had not particularly wanted to know.