Chapter 49 - It Was Incredible

Arain was the worst possible dimension.

It had many heroes, and its humans were strong. They had endured invasion for ages. The humans had adapted, and Demon Kings were no longer absolute powers.

Those who sought to become dark mages or dark knights had dwindled, and the Demon Kings’ standing diminished with each passing day.

But adaptation was not exclusive to humans.

Time was impartial. Amid the endless deaths, Jason Cockmundo was the first to bring about change. He survived in Arain for over a hundred years and shared his wisdom. Thus, the other Demon Kings’ survival rate rose as well.

But not all of them followed suit.

Anyone who readily listened to others was no Demon King. Some repeated the mistakes of their predecessors; others adapted.

Lies, Bitter Cold, Adamant, and Beast. Those four seats remained unchanged for decades, while the fifth changed hands incessantly.

And so the humans deluded themselves.

The ever-changing seat of Lust, its occupants dying because they could not adapt and had no time to build their strength, gave humans the illusion that Demon Kings were nothing special.

The foolish notion that heroes—that humans—were invariably stronger than Demon Kings.

Yet dimensional interference was what weakened Demon Kings.

Their inability to bring their legions over at will was what weakened them.

The humans of recent times had never experienced the might of Demon Kings who had spent years undoing all those restrictions.

Of course, that did not mean Demon Kings held an absolute advantage.

If they did, they would already have conquered the world, and Berge would not have failed in the past.

Heroes were strong. And numerous. In certain respects, they could even rival Demon Kings. They simply fell short in many others.

Ralph could be seen rushing toward them from far away.

His shield was scratched but remained sturdy. He had the defensive strength to withstand some of Drakson’s attacks. But he lacked the speed to catch a Demon King intent on slipping past him.

The bleeding Roselle possessed magical flames capable of burning even a Demon King. But she had no means of blocking his attacks.

Once or twice at best. The defensive spells of a mage specializing in offense were powerless before a Demon King.

Together, the two made up for each other’s weaknesses, but cracks appeared once the Demon King deliberately began evading them.

Ralph was kept busy chasing him, while Roselle fought desperately to survive his savage attacks.

It was a one-sided battle, if ever there was one. At this rate, the Demon King’s victory was all but foretold.

“But I can’t let that happen.”

Hillen. When Berge called his name, he stepped forward.

There were not two people here who could hold the Demon King back, however briefly, but three.

Hillen’s sword sought Drakson’s back. Drakson turned and met it with his claws.

CLANG!

Hillen retreated two steps. In that brief instant, Ralph placed himself between Roselle and Drakson.

“Right. There was you, too. Hillen Cargill, the man who killed Turus.”

Drakson’s gaze moved to Hillen, then to Berge beyond him. He faltered for the briefest moment, but soon regained his composure and bared his teeth.

‘What fucking revolting mana. There’s no way someone like that is Berge.’

The pure mana stood in complete opposition to demonic energy, provoking an instinctive aversion.

He thought, ‘I’ll kill Hillen Cargill first.’

Ralph, Roselle, and Hillen were the strongest three humans gathered here, but Hillen Cargill was the weakest among them.

His decision made, the Demon King moved. He lunged at Hillen, who was still recovering from the impact.

BOOM!

Sword and claws collided. Hillen stepped back. Claws glanced off the flat of his blade and sought his forearm.

“Ghh!”

Hillen forced the claws aside. Enduring the aching pain in his wrist, he conjured magic with his other hand.

Lightning surged in an instant, cast at blistering speed.

CRACKLE!

The lightning struck. For the briefest moment, Drakson stopped moving.

Hillen darted inside his reach and thrust his sword. Keen aura pierced his hide.

“That tickles.”

Despite his words, blood flowed. A thick hand seized the sword. Demonic energy welled up and shattered the aura.

THUD!

Hillen staggered.

At that moment, flames surged upward. Flames so utterly pure that they were utterly repulsive.

It was that man who resembled Berge. Drakson’s face twisted.

“You’re not even a hero, and you dare?”

Heroes could kill Demon Kings not only because they were strong, but because they possessed the special power of interference—a power that was a natural enemy to demons.

Even the same spell became no different from poison to demons when imbued with interference.

Flames that were merely pure and hot were a minor nuisance, not an overwhelming threat.

But Berge’s sole aim was to distract him for a moment.

CLANK!

In the meantime, an enormous shield rose toward the Demon King.

Clad in aura, the shield was a fearsome bludgeon in its own right.

CLANG!

Claws slashed through the air. The aura coating the shield was crushed. A faint groan sounded. But Ralph endured without retreating a single step.

And in that opening—

“A mage can use stronger magic with blood as a medium.”

Searing heat shimmered.

“Thanks so much for drawing my blood yourself, you son of a bitch.”

The archmage’s flames erupted.

They were sharp enough to pierce the Demon King’s demonic energy. Hot enough to burn the beast’s fur.

And so Drakson sought to evade them. He would have, if not for the iron wall cutting off his retreat.

A wall stood on one side, lightning leaped on the other. He made his decision swiftly.

‘The shield won’t be easy to break through. But I can simply take the lightning.’

He kicked off the ground. The lightning dissipated without piercing his hide. He roared at Hillen Cargill, who stood in his path.

“Die!”

The Demon King’s surging demonic energy blasted out in every direction.

Hillen Cargill hurriedly raised his sword.

CLANG!

The tip of his sword shook. Fragments of shattered aura scattered everywhere.

BOOM!

Ralph’s shield slammed into Drakson’s back. He forced down the dizzying pain. A momentary injury was a worthwhile trade if he could eliminate one blade.

He lashed out with his foot. Struck in the chest, Hillen Cargill spat blood and retreated two steps. Managing to cut Drakson’s leg in that brief exchange was worthy of some praise.

But that was all.

“What a pity. You’re far too weak for someone who killed Turus.”

Had he not properly absorbed the power yet?

Even in the urgency of the moment, the mockery came naturally. How full of himself must he have become after killing a Demon King?

How little of a shit must he have thought demons were worth?

Drakson unleashed all his demonic energy. The storm of power forced Ralph back. Hillen staggered. Drakson’s attack drove into the opening.

WHOOSH!

At that moment, utterly unexpected flames swept over him.

He stifled a groan as they caught on his tail.

‘When?’

Even if the heroes had occupied his attention, how had he failed to notice?

His puzzlement was brief. It was no great problem. The flames parted, and he pushed his body through the gap.

“Flames like these can’t possibly...?”

That was when he noticed something strange.

Gray. No, black.

The crimson flames were turning black.

Revulsion became utter familiarity.

Red hair turned black.

Ruby-like eyes became obsidian.

Everything changed.

The mana vanished. Thick demonic energy writhed.

“... Ber...ge?”

The unknown man had become Berge Deias.

“It’s even better to see you like this.”

Berge smiled.

His intervention was no coincidence.

Roselle Charnt was strong. Ralph Schmitz was sturdy.

But she was not as strong as the Roselle Charnt before his regression. Nor was he as sturdy as the Ralph Schmitz who had withstood Berge’s attacks after he had lifted almost all his restrictions.

Thus, Berge had been certain they would be unable to press Drakson. He concealed his presence and waited for his moment.

The perfect moment to step in and shake Drakson.

“When your demonic energy erupts and conceals mine.”

“When your huge body blocks their view.”

“When they’re ready to exploit an opening.”

Wasn’t that precisely now?

“Don’t tell me you...!”

WHOOSH!

Black flames engulfed Drakson.

“How’s your tail? I told Hillen about your weakness.”

“You BASTAAARD!”

A black wave swept over everything.

But Berge withdrew his demonic energy once more and let the wave carry him away.

His role, though it had lasted only an instant, was over.

He had melted away some of Drakson’s demonic energy with black flames and held his attention, immobilizing him for a brief moment.

For that fleeting instant, Drakson was no different from a knight stripped of his armor.

And the seasoned heroes did not miss the opening.

───!

Flames powerful enough to pierce the Demon King’s barrier erupted.

The searing fire, useless until now because it could not hit him, began to show its true worth.

It burned through his demonic energy and burrowed into the weakened opening.

Drakson screamed. Amid it all, the steel knight swung his shield.

One tremendous impact slowed Drakson’s movements. The knight’s skill prevented him from so much as swaying.

Flames burned Drakson. The shield battered him.

His tough hide burned. His hard muscles were crushed. Horrific pain assailed him.

Yet Drakson paid it no heed. Rage rising to the top of his head paralyzed his reason.

“Die!”

He charged toward Berge, who was flying away into the distance.

Roselle Charnt’s crimson flames surged from behind. Berge’s searing fire shot toward him from ahead.

He broke through Berge’s flames with ease.

At that moment, Hillen Cargill’s sword blazed with light.

Drakson could not ignore the slash flying toward his neck.

However inferior he was to the other two, Hillen was still an exceptional hero. His blade was sharp enough to pierce Drakson’s neck.

Without changing his stance, Drakson twisted his upper body. The sword tip narrowly grazed his shoulder.

And Roselle’s flames washed over it.

The dimensional power penetrating him with the heat destroyed his flesh.

He screamed in horrific agony.

“Hillen!”

You have to be the one to kill him!

Berge forced himself to swallow the rest.

That was enough. Hillen’s magic struck. His sword fell immediately after.

Drakson blankly watched the blade coming toward his head.

He wanted to block it, but his melted body was unbearably slow.

SHUNK!

“Ah.”

A brief death cry.

Cold metal pierced his mouth and choked his throat.

As the world overturned, a shadow approached.

“Oh, right.”

Berge whispered.

“That Phoenix corpse you wanted. It was absolutely incredible.”

“You...!”

Drakson’s eyes widened. The faint remnants of his demonic energy surged.

But then—

CRUNCH!

The cold blade passed through his neck.

His head dropped, its eyes unfocused.

The demonic energy, bereft of control, scattered in all directions.

Some of it flowed into Hillen Cargill, who had ended the Demon King’s life.

* * *

“I’ve got it!”

Gordon sprang to his feet.

How could he make the swindler named Jetoson walk into Golden Moon of his own accord?

He had pondered it for a long time, and at last he had found the answer.

Ultimately, there was only one thing to focus on.

Take away his support base. In other words, ruin his shop.

Necessity would find a way. Once he had nowhere to get money, he would inevitably think of Berge, who had tossed him a whole gold coin.

“That part is obvious.”

In truth, he had arrived at the solution of ruining the shop long ago. The difficult part was how to ruin a shop in the Kingdom of Akan’s capital naturally, without revealing that he was a demon.

After much deliberation, he had finally reached a conclusion.

“I was thinking about it wrong! It doesn’t have to look natural!”

He just had to ruin it, whatever method he used. He had been overcomplicating things.

He had become too fixated on devising a grand, flawless plan.

“It doesn’t matter how unnatural it looks, as long as no one finds out I’m a demon!”

Yes. Whether everything was smashed, burned down, or struck by a natural disaster.

What mattered was that Jetoson became penniless.

“The cleanest option is a burglary. Or an accidental fire. Failing that, the local thugs could beat the shit out of him and leave him with enormous medical bills.”

There were plenty of methods. And plenty of means.

Because Gordon had access to the connections Berge had established.

“It’s irritating having to talk to that elf bastard, but...”

Mercenaries were the best choice for avoiding attention.

“I absolutely cannot let anyone find out I’m a demon, so I’ll have to go through several intermediaries. Persuade some suitable human in any city and send them to another kingdom...”

Then, in that kingdom, he could use that human to bribe another human and have them commission a guild in yet another kingdom.

“Perfect.”

It was a little cumbersome, but what did he care? Granada would be doing it anyway. If told it was the Demon King’s order, he would grumble but do it well.

Just then—

『Gordon, sir.』

A communication orb rang.

“Aman?”

It was Aman, heir to the Golden Moon Trading Company and a dark knight.

『Do you happen to know someone named Jetoson?』

“... Jetoson? What about Jetoson?”

『He came here saying he wants to work for Golden Moon. He says he came from the mountain. Did our lord send him?』

“...”

Gordon quietly tore up his written plan.

Fuck.

“Yes. Take him in and keep him there. Our lord has high expectations of him.”

『Yes, understood.』

The connection ended. Gordon gave a hollow laugh.

“... Is he teaching me a lesson because I defied him a little at first?”

Otherwise, why make him waste his time when everything had already been arranged?

No matter how he looked at it, it felt distinctly deliberate. Gordon quietly ground his teeth.

『Gordon, sir.』

At that moment, another communication orb rang.

This time, it was Krutu, chieftain of the Red Frost tribe.

“What is it now?”

『What do you mean, “now”?』

“No, never mind. What is it?”

『I was unsure whether to report this, but lately, a human has been climbing Mount Erjest.』

“Why bother over just one human?”

『It is only one, but their strength cannot be ignored.』

Only one, yet hardly insignificant. Anyone who could come and go through Erjest at will had to be that powerful.

『Quite a few of my subordinates have died as well. But I cannot defeat this intruder myself, so for now, I have ordered them to avoid confrontation and watch only from a distance.』

“Well done. Any idea what the intruder wants?”

『They appear in a different part of the mountain range each day, then disappear. And perhaps this is needless worry, but...』

Krutu hesitated before continuing.

『They are getting closer and closer to my lord’s tower. I suspect they may be searching for it.』

“...!”

Alarm bells rang in Gordon’s head.