Chapter 23 - They Called Him a Blockhead

“You're nothing.”

Logger rolled across the floor. Hillen kicked him and spat.

“You call yourself a hero, and you raise your hammer for a Demon King? Were those mana cannons that fucked us over your work too?”

“Yes! My only regret is that I didn't put more care into them and kill you in one shot! And you call yourself a hero, smashing someone else's creations like that?”

“What a fucking bastard. The power of the dimension must be weeping.”

With murderous rage surging through him, Hillen kicked Logger again. The dwarf went limp with a choked cry.

“I'm busy enough as it is, you worthless piece of shit.”

He would have liked to interrogate the dwarf and get some answers, but the Demon King was pursuing him. He couldn't afford to waste even a second, and this supposed fellow hero was picking a fight. It was enough to make his blood boil.

“This is entertaining. Do carry on. A Demon King doesn't often get the chance to watch heroes fight one another.”

It was already too late.

“Ha.”

At some point, the Demon King had taken a seat in front of the tower doors. He had even brought a chair. Such nonchalance could only mean he was toying with Hillen.

Escape? Impossible. From beginning to end, he had been dancing to the Demon King's tune.

“What the hell are you?”

“A Demon King. Berge Deias is my name.”

“I know that!”

“Asking when you already know is a rather distasteful habit.”

The Demon King found this situation immensely entertaining. All the more so for the contrast with his previous life.

Demon Kings and heroes. Heroes and Demon Kings. In his memories, it was the Demon Kings who were toyed with. They were the ones exploited, and the ones who died in the end.

But now? The tables had turned completely. He was laughing at a hero, mocking him, playing with him. It was restoring the pride that had crumbled just before his regression.

“You know, I tried every way I could to understand why there weren't any demonic creatures or demons here.”

Whether to station soldiers in a castle was the lord's decision. Yes, thinking of it that way made it easier to accept. But no one was mad enough to use an ogre as a castle gatekeeper.

“How the hell did you get the princess and this vermin on your side? Mind magic?”

“Unfortunately, I have no talent whatsoever in that field.”

FWOOSH

Berge conjured black flames.

“Hellfire is my specialty. As you already know.”

Yes, he had heard. Hillen ground his teeth.

A noble had told him that this Demon King specialized in fire magic. So he had spent an enormous sum equipping every expedition member with fire-resistant gear. Yet he hadn't seen so much as a spark on the way here. All that money pissed away, with absolutely nothing to show for it.

“Don't tell me you were behind that story too...?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“Whatever. That doesn't matter. I asked how you controlled the princess.”

“To give you the answer first, it was persuasion, not control. The princess willingly lent me her strength.”

“Bullshit! The princess would never follow a Demon King like you!”

“People follow a fucker like you. Why couldn't they follow a Demon King?”

The answer came from elsewhere. Hillen's eyes widened. The Demon King was here. He had assumed that meant Granada was dead.

“Master Granada...?”

“Master, my ass. We've seen each other at our worst, so drop the fucking courtesies.”

“Ah, I neglected the introductions. This fellow is my servant, sworn to serve me for a hundred years. His name is Granada.”

“... Even an elf?”

This was fucking insane. What the hell was going on?

“What are you? Are you really a Demon King?”

“Of course he is! That's why he built a tower!”

CRACK

The elf's knee slammed into Hillen's jaw.

“And you're the fucker who tried to sacrifice me.”

As the heavy blows continued, his vision went black.

* * *

“What should we do with the unconscious ones outside?”

“Gather every last one and throw them into the underground prison.”

He hadn't expected the prisoners to outnumber the tower's inhabitants. Berge chuckled. He simply couldn't help laughing.

“Have you gone mad?”

“I think you're the one who's gone mad. Clearly, your reeducation isn't finished.”

“I'll go collect them right away!”

Granada hurried off. Gordon, who had been listening quietly, bowed his head.

“... You were right, my lord.”

As a demon who revered the Guide, his heart had always cried out in opposition. Yet he had dimly suspected the truth: if things really unfolded this way, even the greatest hero would have no choice but to take a hit. Berge's methods were all outlandish, but there was an understated reliability to them.

But suspicion and certainty were different things. Having witnessed everything firsthand, Gordon considered the alternative.

If they had followed the Guide, erected the tower in plain sight, sent demonic creatures to hinder the heroes, and stationed weak demonic creatures on the first floor, could they really have stopped the hero?

No. Gordon was brimming with pride in the Demon Realm and the Guide, but he was not a fool. Had they insisted on following the Guide...

'We would have died. Without a doubt.'

The tower would have been easily found, and the expedition would never have split up. They would have suffered no damage upon opening the doors. And without the princess, they could never have captured Hillen Cargill so easily.

He had been wrong, and the Demon King had been right.

'Come to think of it, his ability has always been well established...'

Before he insulted the Guide, Berge had been hailed as one of the greatest top graduates of all time. The Demon King Military Academy had been founded thousands of years ago. If people spoke of him that way among all its graduating classes, there had been good reason.

“From now on, I will assist you more faithfully, my lord. I will strive to be worthy of standing at your side.”

“I'm glad you've finally decided to stop arguing with everything I say.”

“...”

That was how he responded to feelings Gordon had voiced after so much soul-searching? He really did hate the blockheaded Demon King he served.

* * *

“At last.”

Drakson was in an unusually good mood today. A report had arrived from the subordinates he had dispatched to Hortonwork.

“The hero's journey is nearing its end. The moment the expedition climbs the mountain and opens the tower doors will be his last.”

He chuckled darkly. Imagining that insolent head falling brought him delight.

“What do you think? Berge—that brat will lose his head, won't he?”

“In the past, Hillen Cargill's combat prowess was not rated particularly highly.”

He had been considered better at politics than fighting. Of course, that was only in comparison with the very finest heroes.

“But that is no longer the case.”

Public opinion had reversed when he killed the Demon King of Lust. Just as demons grew stronger by hunting heroes, heroes grew stronger by slaying demons. The difference was that a Demon King devoured the negative emotions humans felt because of a hero's fame, while a hero converted the Demon King's power itself into dimensional interference and absorbed it. The result, however, was the same.

“It was unexpected that Burtein, the elf hero on whom everyone pinned their hopes, died, and that Hillen was the one who ultimately severed the Demon King's head. But what matters is that he accomplished it and absorbed that power. How much of it he has assimilated is another question, of course.”

At the very least, it would be enough to deal with Berge as he was now. However widely Berge was hailed as one of the greatest top graduates of all time, he was a newcomer who had only just crossed over. Moreover, he hadn't spent any demonic energy points on himself. His dimensional interference would remain at its initial level, and a Demon King in that state could never defeat Hillen Cargill. That was why Drakson was certain.

One day passed, then two, three, four. Time went by. Just as Drakson's patience was reaching its limit, the news he had awaited finally arrived.

『Well...』

“Out with it. Hillen Cargill marched down the mountain with Berge's head, didn't he?”

『They say it is still unclear whether he succeeded or failed.』

“What the fuck are you talking about? Didn't you say the expedition had returned?”

『Apparently, those who came down were the dropouts, including Watton, who gave up partway because they couldn't find the tower. Hillen and some of the others are reportedly still on Mount Erjest.』

“They couldn't find the tower...?”

Impossible. A tower was supposed to stand in imposing splendor in the most obvious location.

“It would be on the summit of the highest peak! Those imbeciles have been heroes for years, and they don't even know that?”

『Apparently, that isn't the case.』

『They couldn't find the tower on the summit, so they searched the surrounding area, but still had no luck. In the end, an exhausted Watton and some of the others broke away.』

Good heavens. Drakson slapped his forehead. Only then did he understand what had happened.

“That crazy bastard! They called him a blockhead, and he really is one!”

As if insulting the Guide hadn't been enough, the brat had actually defied it.

* * *

Half a failure. The return of Watton Collo and the other expedition members sent a considerable shock through the public.

“Hillen Cargill failed? This Demon King must be incredibly powerful!”

“A formidable Demon King has descended!”

“Hillen Cargill hasn't returned.”

“Could it be more than a failure? Is he dead?”

All manner of rumors spread. Unbeknownst to those spreading them, every one of those negative rumors became points for Berge.

As the rumors grew ever larger, Watton Collo finally held a press conference on the group's behalf.

“This is not yet a failure. Some expedition members and I merely recognized our shortcomings and gave up. Hillen Cargill and the great heroes following him are still searching for the Demon King's tower, so there is hope.”

But that sparked another controversy.

“Why are they searching for the tower? Are you saying the Demon King's tower isn't on the summit?”

“Isn't a tower always in the most obvious place? Not a single Demon King has ever done otherwise.”

Their failure, and the questions they brought back about the new Demon King, caused confusion. And those most shocked by it were the people who made their living slaying Demon Kings.

“Different from every Demon King before him?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

Summoned to the Heroes' Guild headquarters, Watton bowed his head. Five shadowy figures surrounded him. He struggled to remain composed in the oppressive atmosphere.

“Hero Watton, recount precisely what happened.”

“If there is even the slightest falsehood, you will pay the price.”

“I swear to speak only the truth before the elders of the Guild.”

From the beginning of the hero's journey to the moment he gave up, Watton recounted everything, then departed.

“... There has never been a Demon King like this.”

“A Demon King who hides his tower and sends no demonic creatures? I'd sooner believe that dwarves live in trees.”

“But Watton would not lie. The other heroes said the same thing.”

“That makes it all the stranger. Why would a Demon King suddenly behave this way? A Demon King defying the Guide they hold so sacred? Is he completely mad?”

Silence fell for a moment. But no one present could know the answer. Not without asking him directly.

“I shall render a decision.”

At the deep, dignified voice, the five elders bowed their heads.

“This Demon King exhibits several peculiarities.”

“First, he sent neither demonic creatures nor demons to hinder the hero's journey.”

“Second, he erected his tower in the forbidding terrain of Erjest.”

“Third, he concealed it in a secluded location rather than on Erjest's summit.”

“Though Hillen Cargill's victory or defeat remains unknown, these variables could pose serious problems for future heroes' journeys as well.”

“Therefore.”

“As chairman, I shall exercise the authority of the absent Guildmaster to investigate this anomaly.”

“In accordance with the agreement between the Demon Kings and the Guild, we shall request cooperation concerning these variables.”

The meeting ended.