Chapter 21 - The Demon King's Tower

"Hortonwork welcomes our heroes!"

"Long live Hillen Cargill!"

People cheered as they passed through the fortress gates.

Granada exhaled a cloud of white breath. Returning stirred fresh feelings in him.

'I'm finally back.'

Hortonwork. The place where he had first met the Demon King. Where the Demon King had bought him, and he had agreed to become his subordinate.

It had been long. The hero's journey, which had lasted nearly half a year, had been very long indeed. But that time had not been wasted.

Long live Hillen Cargill!

Long live Watton Collo!

Granada!

The occasional cries of his name among those of the eminent heroes proved as much.

"Granada, what are you doing? Let's go inside."

Hillen, who had grown quite close to him over the past several months, gently patted his shoulder.

"Yes."

With Hillen and Granada at their head, the five-hundred-strong expedition finally entered Hortonwork: one hundred heroes and four hundred nobles, knights, and mercenaries.

Contrary to the Demon King's expectations, there had been minor disputes, but desertions had not diminished the expedition's numbers. Naturally, the hero's journey had proceeded without a hitch as well.

That was thanks to the esteem Hillen Cargill commanded. He had recruited knights and coaxed fleeing mercenaries back into the fold, bringing them all this far.

Granada thought the Demon King had underestimated Hillen.

"Ahh, it's been ages since we were here."

"So the rumors were true after all, weren't they? There really was a Demon King in Erjest. But someone didn't know that and kept insisting we stay here."

"Give it a rest. I told you I was drunk then."

"Idiot."

"Will you shut up? Or would you rather die?"

The Red Hawk mercenaries chuckled as they returned to their familiar workplace. Welcomed warmly by Hortonwork's lord, the expedition members settled into one wing of his castle.

"As the lord responsible for Hortonwork, I am honored to be part of this chapter in history, in which evil shall be vanquished and justice restored!"

The banquet began with the lord's greeting. He sat at the head table with renowned heroes such as Hillen Cargill and Watton Collo.

"Our destination is finally within reach. We have come this far without any significant trouble. Frightened by our might, the Demon King cowers, unable to mount any meaningful response."

"But we must not let down our guard. He is a Demon King, after all, and a villain who abducted a princess."

"I hope that once we have slain him, we can all meet again with smiles on our faces. To peace on the continent!"

"To peace!"

"Long live the heroes!"

At the lord's request, Hillen gave a toast, and the expedition members cheered. Their morale could not have been higher.

Their faith in the hero Hillen. An unprecedented hero's journey without a single demonic creature or demon. Their foe's status as a newly descended, novice Demon King, and the information that he used fire.

These four factors had come together perfectly. Every member of the expedition was swept up in the certainty that they would succeed.

Granada felt out of place in that atmosphere.

'Isn't this almost the exact opposite of what he wanted?'

At first, things had seemed to be going the Demon King's way. But Hillen was a more capable hero than he had anticipated, and had brought about precisely the opposite result.

'Can he stop them?'

Granada seriously considered whether he should turn on them even now. It had only been a little over two months since he had joined the hero's journey. And the last sight of the tower he remembered was the princess standing alone in an empty space.

'No. There's nothing to agonize over. If they succeed, that's a good thing.'

He had not become the Demon King's subordinate willingly. If the Demon King died, the binding that held him would be broken too.

"..."

Even so, he could not shake the unease in a corner of his heart. Feeling stifled, he went out onto the terrace and fed mana into his crystal ball.

Fortunately, there was an answer.

"We've reached Hortonwork. After a short period of preparation, we'll begin climbing the mountain."

『I see.』

The reply was utterly relaxed, without the slightest sense of danger.

『Once you start climbing, you risk being discovered, so you needn't contact me anymore.』

"Am I still to do my utmost to help the hero?"

『Your previous orders remain in effect until you reach the tower and I personally give you new ones.』

『Your timing is good. I'll tell you what to watch out for.』

『Watch out for the snow as you climb.』

『Don't let your guard down at night.』

『And lastly, when the tower doors open, stay well away and brace for the impact.』

"... What? What is that supposed to mean?"

No answer came. The connection was cut off from the other end.

"What the..."

"What are you doing out here alone?"

Just then, Hillen came onto the terrace carrying a bottle of wine. Granada hastily hid the crystal ball.

"Just getting some cold air. What brings you out here, Hillen?"

"I left the lord to the other heroes and stepped out for a moment."

Indeed, the lord was surrounded by other heroes.

"Would you like a glass? It's a fruit wine elves are said to enjoy."

"Just one."

Unable to refuse Hillen's offer, Granada accepted a glass. It smelled pleasant.

"Is something worrying you?"

The hero sipped his wine, exclaiming appreciatively. "Ahh, this really is good."

"Do I look worried?"

"Yes. Are you nervous now that we're getting close to the Demon King's tower?"

In a sense, he was right.

"Will we be able to slay the Demon King?"

"Who knows? Everyone else has faith in me, but there are no guarantees when it comes to slaying a Demon King. Demon Kings are always powerful, and their towers are hell."

"But didn't you kill the Demon King of Lust? Compared to him, a newly descended Demon King..."

"If it were that straightforward, every Demon King in Arain would have been wiped out long ago."

Hillen shrugged.

"Still..."

An inscrutable smile settled on his lips.

"I believe we'll certainly succeed if you help us, Granada."

"I'm just an ordinary elf."

"Pretending to be weak again, are you? Apart from me and a handful of heroes, haven't you made more of a name for yourself than anyone?"

"That's only because I'm the first to step forward when monsters swarm us..."

"Exactly. There are a few people more capable than you, but your reputations are no longer comparable. It's the difference between putting that sense of justice into practice and failing to do so."

"A virtue you can display precisely because you're an elf," he murmured.

"So..."

The hero placed his hands on Granada's shoulders and fixed him with wide, intent eyes.

"I'll lead the way. Please stay at my side and support me."

"... I will."

Granada did his best to ignore the strange feeling that something was wrong.

* * *

From Hilderan in the far south to Hortonwork in the far north. After that long journey, the expedition took a week's rest.

Hillen gathered its leaders to review their plans.

"Mobility and stealth are our greatest priorities. Mount Erjest is teeming with monsters. Avoiding their attention as much as possible will minimize our losses, and we can save time by not losing our way in the snow."

"Once we reach the summit, the tower should be easy to find. Given their nature, Demon Kings generally build their towers in the most conspicuous places."

"He probably built it on the highest peak."

"We won't make good speed on a snowy mountain. We should allow at least a week."

"That means we'll need to take a lot of supplies."

"Since he reportedly has fire powers, we must bring fire-resistant equipment too."

"And we'll need cold-weather gear on the mountain, so we'll have twice as much baggage."

They replenished their supplies in Hortonwork and checked their equipment one last time. Then, at last:

"Move out!"

The expedition began its rush toward the climax of the hero's journey.

* * *

The foothills of Erjest are not particularly steep. Gentle slopes, relatively level ground, and dense trees welcome visitors.

But as time passes and the elevation rises, white snow begins to appear. The slopes steepen, and the trees disappear.

And the mountain's longtime inhabitants do not welcome uninvited guests.

ROAAAR!

"Yetis!"

"Five yetis on our right flank! About three hundred meters away!"

Yetis, unseen anywhere else, emerged every few hours.

"A two-headed ogre!"

"Damn it, scatter! Stay together and we'll all get killed!"

Huge monsters bared their sharp teeth. A single one of these creatures was considered a calamity, but they could not defeat the expedition.

SHING!

Hillen's sword danced gracefully. Flashes of light painted a picture of death.

A yeti's head fell. An ogre's heart burst. Orcs lost their lives.

Unlike his affable mask, his blows were swift and unerring.

"That's our hero!"

"Long live Hillen Cargill!"

Spurred on by his feats, the other heroes vied to take the lead. Formidable as Erjest's monsters were, they could not stop them.

Powerful monsters and rugged terrain were merely minor inconveniences.

That was when some slightly different monsters appeared.

"Poil Orcs?"

"But the one in the middle looks a little different..."

Knights and mercenaries voiced their puzzlement at the dozens of silhouettes appearing along the ridge.

"It's a demonic creature!"

One stood at least one and a half times as large as the other orcs, with horns on its head. The heroes, more sensitive to demonic energy than anyone else, identified it instantly.

"No, it's closer to a demon. A demon is controlling the Poil Orcs!"

"He hasn't sent a single demonic creature until now, and he starts with a demon."

The appearance of their first demon made the heroes somewhat tense. Hillen was the first to kick off through the snow and charge. Part of the expedition followed him.

Granada was among them.

'If it's a demon, the Demon King must have summoned it. Should I pretend to fight and let it escape?'

No, that would draw suspicion. He had been told to do his utmost, so that was what he should do.

Then their eyes met.

'Is it smiling...?'

Granada saw the corners of the demon's mouth rise ever so slightly.

"It's smiling?"

"That son of a bitch."

Hillen and the heroes had noticed too.

At that moment—

BWOOOO!

The demon blew an enormous horn.

'A trap?'

They hesitated briefly, sensing something wrong that they could not identify.

BOOOM!

An explosive report rang out from an unknown source.

Then—

RRRUMBLE!

"Uh..."

"R-run!"

An avalanche began.

As a white wave came crashing over him, Granada thought:

'Fuck, how am I supposed to watch out for snow like this?!'

* * *

COUGH! COUGH!

Spitting snow out of his mouth, Granada barely managed to claw his way free.

"Is everyone all right?"

"Yes..."

Fortunately, the avalanche was smaller than expected, and the expedition members were far from weak. Their losses were less severe than they had feared.

But...

"Damn it, what kind of demon uses an avalanche?"

"What kind of bullshit is this?"

It was their first setback after an unbroken string of successes. Inevitably, morale dipped a little.

'Crazy bastard. He just sweeps us away when I'm here too?'

Nor had they escaped entirely unscathed. The weaker mercenaries had suffered most, and the entire Red Hawk Mercenary Company had vanished.

'They're not weak enough to get wiped out by something like this...'

As Granada wrestled with unease and anger, Hillen gathered all the survivors and gave a stunned smile.

"I never imagined their first attack would come like this."

"... What do we do?"

"For now, let's regroup and camp somewhere sheltered from the snow while we wait for any other survivors. Our losses aren't too severe, but I think we'd better rest a little instead of continuing straight up."

Hillen calmly brought the situation under control. But the avalanche was only the beginning.

"We're under attack!"

"The Poil Orcs have herded yetis toward us!"

"Stop them!"

"Those sons of bitches!"

The sun sets early in the mountains. The expedition had begun setting up camp, but before they could finish, visitors arrived with the darkness.

Enraged beasts descended on them, bringing the characteristic stench of monsters. The ambush was sudden, and the expedition was mentally exhausted.

Thanks to Hillen, Granada, and the heroes, they repelled it relatively easily. Still, no one could deny that their morale was being chipped away.

One day passed, then two.

Contrary to their original plan, the expedition advanced slowly. The Poil Orcs repeatedly ambushed them, targeting moments when they let down their guard.

"These fucking bastards!"

"Just come fight us head-on!"

The heroes seethed, but pursuing the Poil Orcs, who herded monsters toward them in the dead of night and vanished, would have been tantamount to suicide.

"Are these things really orcs?"

"Why are they so cunning?"

The expedition members grew steadily more exhausted.

"This Demon King is a truly devious bastard."

"We can't keep playing into his hands. We must force our way onward, even if it costs us lives."

"I agree."

Filled with bitter determination, the expedition began advancing swiftly. They cut back on sleep and ate jerky on the march.

As they marched with murderous intent, the Poil Orc attacks grew less frequent. The same was true of the other monsters.

That was a relief, but more and more fell behind during the punishing forced march. By the time they reached the summit, once again, fewer than half remained.

Yet a greater problem awaited them.

"... There's no tower?"

"I can't see the tower!"

Every Demon King's tower stood somewhere easy to find, somewhere one naturally expected it to be.

That had been taken for granted, and after hundreds of years, it had become an accepted truth.

As cracks appeared in that truth, the heroes began to panic.

One day passed on the summit, then two. The cold and the attacks inflicted greater losses on the expedition each day.

At last, someone gave up.

"I can't do this anymore. This Demon King is far too different from the others. I won't waste my time and my life searching for a tower when we don't even know where it is."

"We're almost there. It simply wasn't on the highest peak. It must be somewhere up here."

"How many more people must die while we search for it? This is Erjest. We must survive before we can accomplish anything. I refuse to die for nothing. We should prepare more thoroughly and try again another time."

"No. If we don't succeed now, next time will be even harder."

"Better that than all of us dying and failing completely."

Watton, the hero whose fame was second only to Hillen's, openly opposed him.

The problem was that his words resonated with the expedition members, exhausted beyond endurance and plagued by a sense of deprivation.

"I'm leaving! Anyone who wants to descend the mountain with me, follow me!"

More than half the expedition went with him.

Its morale plummeted.

"..."

"I'll stay with you."

"Granada... I will kill that Demon King. I swear it."

It was the first time Granada had seen the good-natured Hillen grit his teeth and curse someone.

But the search for the tower dragged on. Losses mounted, and exhausted deserters continued to leave.

Ironically, just as they began to wonder whether they should abandon the hero's journey altogether, they found the tower.

"In a basin..."

"That son of a bitch...!"

Roughly fifty people remained—only a tenth of their original number. They ground their teeth.

"What will you do?"

"We came here for a noble cause. Even if our numbers and morale have dwindled, we must not flee with evil right before our eyes. That is what it means to be a true hero. Even if every one of you leaves, I'll cut off the Demon King's head alone."

"Well said."

"Cowards."

As they disparaged their fleeing comrades, the sight of a tower only five stories tall restored their confidence.

"He really is newly descended."

"I'll open the doors."

"The first floor will only have weaklings anyway."

The triumphant heroes opened the tower doors.

At that instant, a dazzling flash engulfed them.

A colossal explosion shook the world.

* * *

"Ughhh..."

Granada gasped for breath.

"Are you all right?"

A battered Hillen held out a hand. Granada barely managed to get to his feet.

"What was that just now?"

"If my instincts are right... mana cannons."

"Mana cannons?"

This was insane.

'He put mana cannons on the first floor instead of demonic creatures?'

However unusual a Demon King he might be, buying Granada and employing him as a subordinate, he was still a Demon King. But mana cannons?

'So that's why he told me to stay away and brace myself when the doors opened!'

"It's strange. If mana cannons that powerful were gathering mana, I should definitely have noticed..."

Especially in a Demon King's tower, where mana was scarce and demonic energy abundant.

"But the others..."

"No one is dead, at least, but..."

Hillen trailed off. The instant the doors opened and brilliant light poured out, he had instinctively cast defensive magic.

It had enveloped the entire expedition and saved their lives, but it had not completely absorbed the impact.

Where Hillen pointed lay the expedition members, unconscious and still as corpses.

"The ambush was so sudden, I couldn't respond adequately."

"So it's just the two of us."

"Yes, unfortunately."

"What do we do now..."

"As soon as I woke up, I inspected the interior. There were no fewer than five large mana cannons, with ten large ballistae behind them."

"Good heavens."

"I've destroyed them all for now, but there was nothing else inside. No demonic creatures, and no one who might have fired the cannons."

Hillen frowned.

"Even so, we must go on."

"Wouldn't it be better to give up? With only the two of us..."

"I killed the Demon King of Lust. A newly descended Demon King is no match for me."

A grim resolve entered Hillen's eyes.

"Our hero's journey has received so much love and attention. Failing to live up to that, giving up with evil right before our eyes, is unthinkable."

But he added one qualification.

"I do hope you'll come with me, Granada."

"I don't know whether I alone will be enough."

"What are you saying? I can trust you more than anyone. I truly hope you'll stay by my side."

Faced with his earnest plea, Granada nodded.

'The first floor is finished, but the Demon King must have prepared something else. The hero isn't in good shape. Taking him in is probably the right choice.'

And so an elf and a hero entered the Demon King's tower.

* * *

Hillen bit his lip. The metallic taste of blood cleared his mind a little.

'Stay calm.'

This hero's journey could not end in failure. He had to gain something, whether by cutting off the Demon King's head or plundering the tower.

He had used his fame and achievements to draw in a great many people. Even for a hero, the price of shattering their hopes and trust would not be small.

'The merchant companies that trusted me and invested...'

The fire- and cold-resistant equipment worn by every expedition member had not come out of thin air. Neither had the supplies they had eaten and drunk over the past several months been free.

He had even made secret deals with several nobles, telling them to place their trust in him alone.

All those luxuries came at a price. If he died, they would be buried with him, but the instant he returned alive, all those people would descend on him as creditors.

This hero's journey absolutely, absolutely could not fail.

'Yes, the elf. I still have the elf...'

He could avoid the worst.

"Let's go."

Having collected himself, Hillen climbed the stairs to the second floor with Granada.

"Huh...?"

"Hmm?"

They found an empty space.

"A trap...?"

"I don't think so. There really is nothing here."

'What is this tower?'

The moment they opened the first-floor doors, mana cannons and ballistae had greeted them instead of demonic creatures.

Now the second floor was empty. An even greater mystery was that they had yet to see a single living creature.

"... Let's go to the next floor."

Only after thoroughly inspecting the entire second floor did Hillen return to the stairs. After encountering the same dismal sight on the third, he ascended to the fourth.

'Could it be empty all the way to the fifth floor?'

Fortunately, that concern proved unfounded.

A breeze blew toward them. The fresh scent of a forest tickled their noses. Gentle warmth caressed their skin.

"... What is this?"

Water flowed. Trees swayed in the breeze. Translucent birds and animals flitted about.

It was an ecosystem. A piece of nature.

And from within it, she appeared.

"Welcome to the Demon King's tower, strangers. I am the Dark Spirit Summoner, one of the Four Heavenly Kings who serve His Majesty."

"... Your Highness?"

"You have the wrong person. I'm the Demon King's Subordinate Number One."

"But you just said you were one of the Four Heavenly Kings..."

"You don't listen very well, do you? You'll have to be punished."

That—

BOOM!

—was Hillen's last memory.