Chapter 38 - The Butterfly Effect

"Your Highness!"

"Your Hiiighness!"

Grief-stricken cries echoed through the air. But their prince had already crossed the river of no return.

"You must have really loved your prince. Anyone listening would think your ex-lover had died."

Well, too bad.

Louise sneered. She pulled out her axe and shook the dangling head.

"Want to take the 'Ma' half of Ma/x home?"

"You fucking bitch!"

"Kill that bitch!"

"Retrieve His Highness's remains!"

Louise's provocation became a vast volcanic crater. Grief turned to despair, and anguished cries turned to fury.

Raw killing intent, incomparable to anything before it, shot straight toward Louise.

"Come on, you bastards! You think I'm scared of you?"

"Protect the princess!"

Louise roared. Volbov and the knights hastily formed a defensive wall.

A raging wave of warriors, cloaked in fury and bloodlust, crashed toward them. The dwarves planted their short legs firmly on the ground and thrust out their shields.

BOOOM!

The shields shook. The dwarves screamed.

"I kill one prince and they charge like dogs in heat."

The princess rolled up her sleeves and raised her axe. Volbov hurriedly stepped in front of her.

"You must escape."

"And can I?"

"Your Highness!"

"Don't worry. I'll fucking die before I let them take me prisoner."

"I will never let that happen. I'll stake my life on opening a path for you!"

"You think that'll work? Wouldn't we be better off hoping some mystery demon shows up like before and smacks every one of them?"

Come to think of it, where had that bastard gone?

"Who do you mean?"

"The demon who served up this horny bastard right in front of me."

"... He's disappeared."

Without a sound or a trace, just as he had appeared.

It happened then.

"Aaaaargh!"

"Demonic creatures!"

"Stop them!"

Screams came from the other side. The sickening stench unique to demonic creatures filled the air.

"... Did you call them, by any chance?"

"How the hell would I do that?"

"... But why did they actually..."

Why had demonic creatures appeared?

* * *

Quail sent the gargoyles into the air. Flying overhead, they quickly located the two groups of enemies.

"The runts and the Ormus troops have just made contact."

"How far?"

"About five kilometers southwest of here."

"Approach slowly."

The demonic creatures advanced, slipping into the jungle with practiced ease.

"The humans of Ormus have surrounded the dwarves."

"Surrounded?"

"They're shouting at each other. I'll descend closer and listen."

Quail received reports as events unfolded. Ten gargoyles flew swiftly back and forth between him and the scene.

"The Second Prince is among the Ormus party."

"Another bastard we have to be careful with."

"It seems the Second Prince of Ormus is trying to stop the dwarven princess from heading to Mount Merkon."

"Really?"

Quail brightened. He would have liked to kill every insolent intruder who had ignored his lord and trespassed on his territory, but his lord's orders came first.

It was better if the humans and dwarves got tangled up with each other and left of their own accord.

"... But the mood isn't good."

"The mood?"

"The princess and prince are arguing. The humans of Ormus have pointed their weapons at the dwarves."

"Now that's a very interesting situation."

That was good in its own way, too. Blades pointed at one another had no reason to turn on his lord.

"Pick up the pace. We can't miss an entertaining spectacle."

Quail enjoyed watching foolish humans as much as he enjoyed fighting. Their stupidity as they gave in to greed and desire and raced toward the worst possible outcome—and the despair waiting at the end—was sweeter than anything.

At that moment—

ROOOAR!

Quail stopped abruptly. The demonic creatures shrieked.

"This is..."

Demonic energy.

"It can't be..."

Immensely vast and pure.

This was no ordinary demon, much less some demonic creature.

"A high-ranking demon."

But why? His lord was in the tower.

"Could he have given separate orders to demons other than me...?"

Yet the energy was too unfamiliar to dismiss it that way. It matched none of the high-ranking demons he knew.

Filled with a deep sense of foreboding, Quail sped up.

And then he witnessed it: the princess splitting the prince's head open, and the warriors of Ormus charging in for revenge with no regard for their lives.

The demon he had expected was nowhere to be seen.

His confusion lasted only a moment. At the dwarves' screams, Quail shook his head. Drakson's warning came back to him.

["Whatever happens, keep the dwarven princess alive!"]

Everything was strange, but that could wait until he had saved the princess. Saving the important princess who was still alive mattered more than the less important prince who was already dead.

"Kill every last Ormus dog! Keep the dwarven princess alive, no matter what!"

GRAAAAR!

A battle began, with humans, dwarves, and demonic creatures all thrown into the fray.

* * *

'They definitely noticed.'

Using his power meant he would inevitably be detected. Even so, he had had no choice.

'I couldn't fight him without demonic energy.'

Here in Ormus, a considerable distance from his tower, his opponent was not someone he could defeat while concealing his demonic energy. Continuing to fight that way would have meant defeat.

But his pride as a Demon King would not allow him to flee.

However different a path he was taking from his previous life, he was still a Demon King: an utterly arrogant, utterly lofty absolute being.

He was not cowardly enough to turn his back and run. Berge was not merciful enough to forgive a mere human who charged at him.

And so, for one brief instant, he unleashed everything.

He hadn't expected Louise to finish the bastard off, but it had allowed him to slip away easily.

Drakson would have detected what had happened, but...

'He won't think it was me.'

Demonic energy was not merely a measure of strength. It revealed a demon's stature.

By deliberately releasing his demonic energy as a Demon King, Berge would have made everyone realize he was no mere demonic creature or low-ranking demon.

But they would never connect it to the Demon King Berge Deias. By the common sense of demons, a Demon King secretly infiltrating another Demon King's territory without advance notice was unthinkable.

Dim-witted prejudice. Idiotic orthodoxy. A truly maddening combination.

And that accursed madness was smiling on him now.

'How ironic.'

Berge smiled bitterly.

'It's a complete mess over there.'

He had never imagined Louise would personally kill the prince of Ormus. That had sent the Ormus dogs into a frenzy, leaving the dwarves scrambling to protect their princess.

Then the demonic creatures had barged in, too.

Thanks to all that, Berge had left the scene without difficulty or anyone's attention.

'Come to think of it, this is the perfect opportunity.'

He had already sensed the demonic creatures. Their behavior had given him the impression that they were avoiding combat.

That would be Drakson's intention. He did not want to antagonize Louise, but Berge had shattered that plan.

The prince of Ormus was dead. Louise had ended his life, but there was no denying the involvement of demonic energy.

Now, think about it. If humans sensed demonic energy being used in a Demon King's territory, whose doing would they think it was?

The answer was obvious to anyone.

"Drakson."

There was no way the bastard spying from his tower had missed Berge's demonic energy. He would be in an uproar by now. Perhaps he had even come to investigate in person.

Wouldn't that mean he would have trouble paying attention elsewhere?

Mount Merkon...

"Is unattended, huh?"

The corners of Berge's mouth rose.

* * *

Berge concealed his presence and landed in a tree. He could see demonic creatures in the distance.

"At least I'm not lost."

Their numbers were increasing. That meant he had to take greater care to hide his presence, but at least he was going the right way.

'The entrance is over there.'

The demonic creatures were spread across the mountain as if standing guard. Studying their routes and the particular points they watched revealed places where those overlapped.

In the most heavily guarded spot, he saw a cave running through Mount Merkon.

Berge slipped silently inside. A Demon King's stealth techniques, honed at the Demon King Military Academy for kidnapping princes and princesses, were far too advanced for mere demonic creatures to detect.

The cave was dark. There was only one passage, and it smelled damp and foul.

It ran deep. He encountered no other demonic creatures or demons along the way, but something was changing.

It gradually grew warmer. Then it became not merely warm, but hot.

The dull darkness slowly brightened. Red heat turned into light, illuminating the interior.

"Move faster! Faster!"

At the end of the passage was an enormous cavern. As if the mountain's entire interior had been hollowed out, faint light filtered through a ceiling so high its end was lost from view.

At its center lay an enormous lake—a red lake of lava. Blistering heat shimmered above it.

The owner of the voice stood on the surrounding rocks.

A tiger beastman. His enormous build, over three meters tall, stood out. Blue demonic eyes peered from amid orange fur.

'A high-ranking demon.'

Berge clicked his tongue.

A high-ranking demon supported by demonic energy within his lord's territory, against a Demon King severely restricted by his distance from his tower.

The difference was considerable. Worse, this was their home ground. Any delay, however brief, would put him at a disadvantage.

He couldn't fight. He mustn't fight.

Berge swept his gaze elsewhere.

The red lake had a peculiar quality that the simple word "red" could not capture.

Lava bubbled. Mana overflowed.

It was plainly extraordinary. Although this was the tower's territory, teeming with demons and demonic creatures, the mana seemed even greater.

'In there...'

There it was.

There was another path around the lake. No, it was closer to a ring than a path. An artificially excavated moat around the lake was steadily nearing completion.

'Grizzly bears.'

Dozens of powerful beast-type monsters dug up earth and hurled it out. The high-ranking demon was directing them.

Berge could roughly guess its purpose.

That lava was no ordinary lava. Even Drakson could not recklessly enter it without resistance to fire.

That was why they were digging. They would excavate a moat large enough to hold all the lava in the lake, then drain it away.

Once the lava was gone, the true prize hidden beneath it would reveal itself.

But that was...

'In Drakson's case.'

Unlike the beast who solved everything through strength, Berge had resistance to flames. No, it would be more accurate to call it an innate authority.

He steadied his breathing. Holding his breath, he discreetly wrapped himself in demonic energy to strengthen his body. His muscles swelled.

"Who's there!"

The instant he exceeded the limit and the high-ranking demon detected him—

BOOOOM!

Berge kicked off the ground. Unable to withstand the force, fragments flew in every direction.

Before the demons or demonic creatures could react, Berge plunged into the lava.

FWOOSH!

Scorching heat engulfed him. Everything he wore melted away. His demonic energy reacted to the utterly pure mana.

The two nearly opposing powers clashed violently.

Within the powerful current of mana, everything was cut off. He could no longer hear the high-ranking demon's shouts or the demonic creatures' shrieks. Nor could he sense their demonic energy.

Pain assailed him. Berge gritted his teeth at an intensity he had never felt since becoming a Demon King.

Enduring the pain tearing through his head, he slowly swam through the lava.

At last, he found it.

Something faint came into view, so similar in color and energy to its surroundings that he could barely perceive it without concentrating closely.

A body nearly five meters long. Outstretched wings and feathers made of flame.

It was a bird.

A corpse. And, at the same time, a living creature.

He had found it.

In Arain, there was a bird made of flames. It lived eternally by casting itself into lava and cloaking itself in new flames.

People called it the undying bird, or the Phoenix.

Its corpse—no, the body of a bird awaiting its next season—lay sleeping in the lava.

"But..."

A question suddenly occurred to him.

After a long wait, Drakson had acquired the Phoenix. He had consumed it and gained tremendous strength.

"When a beast meets fire, it should get roasted whole. Why does it get stronger?"

Before his regression and now, no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't understand.

But that wasn't what mattered now.

Berge reached out.

At that moment—

ROOOOOAR!

Along with an intense beam of light, lava burst forth.

The volcano erupted.

* * *

A little earlier, around the time Berge fought Max.

The demonic energy Berge had deliberately unleashed was utterly overwhelming. Its waves spread beyond the Demon King's territory to the outskirts of Tarta.

"...!"

Deiran, who was hunting monsters near Tarta, raised his head. Every hair on his body stood on end.

'A demon.'

His hero's senses screamed at the power of his natural enemy.

There was a considerable distance between them, but that only made it more chilling. Demonic energy that struck his senses so clearly from this far away was far beyond anything he could handle.

"What's wrong?"

The mercenaries hunting with him found his behavior strange.

"Let's go back."

"What? We've only killed twenty lizardmen. We need at least fifty to make a profit..."

"There's a demon. An incredibly powerful one."

"... A demon? That can't be..."

Drakson and Ormus recognized each other's territories. Ironically, that made Tarta a good hunting ground: the Demon King caused it to overflow with monsters, but hunters had no need to worry about the Demon King himself.

"We didn't sense anything."

"Are you seriously arguing about demonic energy with a hero? You think I'm bullshitting you? This bastard is monstrous!"

Seeing Deiran shriek, his face deathly pale, the mercenaries shifted uneasily and realized how serious the situation was.

"We'll leave."

"Let's go! We're withdrawing!"

Abandoning the carcasses they had been cutting up, the mercenaries hurried back the way they had come.

The same thing was happening throughout Tarta. The jungle, normally teeming with heroes and mercenaries, emptied out completely.

And the city of Tarta was thrown into an uproar.