Chapter 73 - This Place Is Insane

Before his regression, Berge had rarely left his tower. His only excursions were the occasional outings to kidnap royalty.

It was only natural.

A Demon King had to guard the tower, always ready to receive heroes, but more importantly, he was the linchpin of the invading army. When the Demon King died, the tower vanished. When the tower vanished, the demons became prey for humans.

As the key figure who had to survive until the very end, a Demon King always had to remain somewhere safe.

After his regression, however, Berge had been forced to venture out onto the continent. Perhaps he had grown used to it, because staying inside the tower doing nothing felt suffocating.

No, it made him anxious.

The heroes were growing stronger. He still had not reached his former level. A hero's journey might begin at any moment, and his tower might be discovered. A hero's sword could pierce his heart once more.

'Ralph Schmitz. And the hero of the Red Sword.'

Those two bastards concerned him most of all.

He had met Ralph Schmitz not long ago. He had ordered Granada to investigate him, but the man had vanished without a trace. That sat very poorly with him.

And the hero of the Red Sword was the one who had stabbed his heart. He would never forget that hero, not for the rest of his life, not even after taking his revenge.

"I hope we find plenty today, too."

"Yes."

That was why Berge often roamed the mountains with Ernyan: to find elixirs, saturate them with demonic energy, and either consume them himself or bestow them on the Poil Orcs.

To strengthen the orc legion that would face his enemies.

Berge and Ernyan sped along on a gigantic frost wolf. Ernyan rubbed her cheek against its soft fur.

"I hope we find plenty this time."

"Yes."

Recently, Berge had found twelve more elixirs, corrupted them, and handed them to Krutu. Krutu had consumed one more himself and distributed ten among his subordinates to form a personal guard.

The number of tribes he had united had grown to seven, numbering hundreds of orcs in total.

Their growing strength meant growing strength for Berge's forces.

It happened then.

"Hmm...?"

Ernyan pursed her lips.

"What is it?"

"A spirit found something strange. It looks like a monster, but it isn't, and it looks like a demonic creature, but it isn't...?"

She tilted her head.

"It looks like a monster, but it isn't?"

"It's not very far. About four kilometers?"

"Let's take a look."

When he tugged on the frost wolf's fur, it raced across the snowy mountains.

ROAAAR!

A roar reached them. A faint smell of blood tickled his nose.

'Demonic energy?'

As they drew closer, he sensed demonic energy. It was so filthy and unpleasant that he instinctively frowned.

'Could it be?'

A strange sense of déjà vu made him grip the frost wolf's fur harder. The wolf yelped and ran even faster.

And at last...

"... What is that?"

They came face-to-face with a 'thing' that was ripping off a troll's limbs and crunching them down.

Its torso belonged to an orc. Its long arms belonged to a troll, and its lower body, arranged like a centaur's, was that of a hellhound.

GRRR!

Its red eyes spotted Berge and Ernyan. The frost wolf bristled warily.

The thing dropped the troll and lunged. Berge threw a fist-sized ball of fire.

BOOOM!

An explosion erupted in midair. The monster collapsed and writhed, its lower half melted away.

"An artificial life-form forcibly stitched together with magic. They're commonly called..."

"Chimeras?"

"Yes, chimeras."

Berge's expression hardened.

"It seems that troublesome bitch has come all the way out here."

He snapped his fingers, and spreading flames devoured the corpse without leaving a trace. Then he turned around.

"Let's go back."

"Yes."

"We won't be coming out to look for elixirs for a while."

"Is this person dangerous?"

"You avoid shit because it's filthy, not because it's frightening."

The two soon returned to the tower.

* * *

Berge immediately summoned Krutu to the tower. He arrived with his gleaming hair streaming behind him.

"You called for me?"

"Have you found any unusual monsters while expanding your territory?"

"Unusual monsters...?"

"Ones whose arms and legs look like they belong to different creatures, or that have strange things plastered all over them."

"Such monsters exist?"

Having spent his entire life in the Erjest Mountains, Krutu knew little about chimeras. Berge therefore explained it differently.

"Just tell me whether you've seen any monsters other than the ordinary mountain monsters you know."

"There have been no new monsters."

"I see."

Then had Berge happened upon a single specimen that had wandered up here?

'Impossible.'

Chimeras, created by artificially fusing living things, were entirely a human invention. Because they used living creatures or corpses, they were known as the exclusive province of dark mages, but the field actually had little to do with dark magic.

There was no way he could have discovered one 'by chance.'

'It's that bitch.'

Creating chimeras was ultimately magic. Magic differed slightly in every respect—its tendencies, its properties—depending on its caster.

In other words, a chimera retained traces of its creator. And Berge recognized that energy.

So he had to stay away. As he had told Ernyan, there was no need to associate with something filthy.

"The unusual monsters I described may start appearing in the mountains."

"I will kill them all."

"No. Avoid them."

"Avoid them?"

"Yes. If you see even a trace of them, avoid them rather than clashing with them. Neither you nor your subordinates are to show yourselves before them."

"Yes. I will obey."

"Aren't you curious why?"

"I am, but I am your servant, my lord. If you command it, I simply obey."

"..."

That thoroughly demon-like response left Berge silent.

'... Why am I surprised? This is perfectly normal.'

The Demon Realm was a world where the strong ruled. Obeying a superior's orders without the slightest doubt was only natural. Obeying a Demon King's commands without question was how a proper servant, a proper subordinate, should behave.

So why had he stopped taking that for granted?

He hardly needed to think about it.

Granada. Hillen Cargill. Even Logger and Ernyan.

This problem was inevitable when he had taken only non-demons as his subordinates. And although it happened less now, his refusal to follow established practice from beginning to end had led to bitter disagreements even with Gordon, his sole demon subordinate.

How long had it been since he had conversed with a normal demon? It felt unexpectedly refreshing.

"Taking you as my servant was a good decision."

"... Pardon?"

"Never mind. Chimeras are made by humans. Clash with a chimera, and you'll inevitably clash with its mage."

"If it's a human, couldn't we simply kill them?"

"With an ordinary human, that would make things easier, but these chimeras' master is rather troublesome. Just ignore them."

"They must be a noble or a royal from some kingdom."

"Correct."

"I will follow your orders."

"Some may have demonic creatures mixed into them, so if you detect unfamiliar demonic energy, avoid it immediately. And be sure to report it."

"Yes. I will make certain my tribespeople understand."

Krutu returned to his tribespeople. Logger, who had been listening while hammering away and pretending to work on a mana cannon, spoke up.

"Um..."

"What?"

"... When you say chimeras...?"

"Surely you know what a chimera is."

"You said they have demonic creatures mixed into them..."

"What of it?"

"Then doesn't that mean their creator can handle demonic creatures?"

"That would follow."

"And demonic energy, too?"

"That would also... follow?"

By then, Berge had realized what Logger was getting at.

"Denied."

"If you brought that mage here, we could produce golems faster! I don't know how they obtain demonic creatures and turn them into chimeras, but they're the ideal candidate."

"Of course, that might be true."

Logger rejoiced at Berge's agreement. His attempts to create golem cores with demonic energy kept hitting a wall, giving him endless headaches. A mage who made chimeras using demonic creatures could only seem like a ray of light to him.

"Though your head might end up part of a chimera in exchange."

"Pardon...?"

"Listen carefully."

Berge leaned close, enunciating every single word.

"That bitch."

"Is even crazier than Louise Berft."

"A complete lunatic."

HIC!

Logger's legs went weak at Louise's name, and he denied reality.

"Th-that can't be true. There can't be a woman in this world crazier than the Second Princess..."

"Do I have any reason to lie to you about that?"

"... No."

"I'll find a mage myself. You just finish the first floor. We can make the golems after the first-floor mana cannons are complete anyway."

"... Yes."

Leaving the trembling Logger behind, Berge set foot on the stairs leading up.

* * *

As Louise Berft's guest, Hillen Cargill received exceptionally lavish treatment. Dozens of servants attended to him and the Red Hawk raiding party, and sumptuous feasts appeared at every meal.

"Ah, this is the life."

BUUURP!

Bark, former captain of the Red Hawk Mercenary Company, tore the last piece of meat from a bone.

"You're right. How long has it been since we could relax like this?"

"Erjest, then The Beast's Tower... We've had such a rough time."

The members chuckled and nodded.

The Red Hawk raiding party had accompanied Hillen Cargill to the Kingdom of Berft as envoys of the Heroes' Guild, but there was little for them to do. Meeting the king and princess was Hillen's job, while negotiations on the Guild's behalf fell to Parni, now his adjutant, and a handful of staff.

Left with no duties, the Red Hawks thoroughly enjoyed their leisure.

Granada was among them, but he could not relax as they did, pretending to know nothing.

'A Demon King is coming.'

Berge had guaranteed it, so one would definitely come. The only questions were when and how.

'He told us to stop it no matter what.'

He worried whether they could really prevent a Demon King's abduction.

'No, with Hillen Cargill here, it shouldn't be impossible as long as we know they're coming.'

That thought instead raised another question.

'Have they lost their nerve—or rather, gained far too much of it? Trying to kidnap a dwarf princess?'

Did they know nothing because they had only recently descended?

'Or...'

Was it an elaborate scheme?

Granada remembered Berge's first move. Catching everyone off guard, he had caused an uproar by kidnapping Hilderan's Crown Princess, then successfully counterattacked in a way that defied everything anyone thought possible.

It seemed unlikely, yet Granada worried that this Demon King might be another Berge.

'... Well, it's not my concern.'

He still had another ninety-nine years of service to his Demon King ahead of him.

He was giving a wry smile when it happened.

BOOOM!

A massive explosion erupted.

"Everyone, grab your weapons!"

Granada rushed out. The acrid black smoke was rising from Louise Berft's palace.

* * *

Demon Kings and demons usually carried out their abductions at night.

Night. When living creatures had to sleep. When vigilance inevitably weakened. Yet it was the time when demons brimmed with even more energy.

Vivian Blunt made full use of that advantage. The dwarf kingdom's underground location did not make it particularly difficult. All she had to do was pick up the sleeping princess and flee.

Yes, that was all it should have been.

"Welcome."

The knight guarding the bedroom door was rather large for a dwarf, but she thought little of it. When he muttered to himself, she merely assumed he was mad.

But when she realized that knight was a hero—when his gaze turned directly toward her hiding place—she could no longer shrug it off.

"... You can see me?"

"Perfectly well."

Her tentative suspicion proved correct. Vivian's eyes wavered. At the same time, the knight, armored from head to toe, drew his sword.

"... Why is there a hero here?"

Of course, she knew this dimension had overwhelmingly more heroes than the others.

But even so...

A hero of this caliber was merely guarding a princess's bedroom door?

The number 3198 flashed through her mind.

Just how insane a dimension was Arain?

"I don't believe I'm obliged to answer that."

The knight truly did not answer. Instead, he unleashed his aura. His sword swept in a broad arc, slicing through the palace wall as it hurtled toward Vivian's neck.

'...!'

Vivian screamed silently. It was only a single move, but she recognized the ferocious power it held.

If she met it head-on, she would die.

She realized that, as she was now, she could not win.

'I'm a Demon King who conquered an entire dimension, damn it!'

It was humiliating, but that aura was far too powerful to confront out of wounded pride.

Vivian gritted her teeth, ducked, and sprinted forward. The slash swept past, severing a few strands of her hair.

'If I run, I'll never get another chance.'

Against such a formidable opponent, retreating once would mean retreating endlessly. That was the last thing Vivian wanted.

CRASH!

Having shot past the hero, she smashed through the bedroom door. Vivian quickly scanned the room.

'I have to kidnap the princess and get out of here.'

She had no hope in a direct fight, but she was confident she would not lose when it came to escape. Along with stealth, escape was given the highest priority at the Demon King Military Academy.

But...

"So you're the demon who came to kidnap me?"

What greeted her was not a princess sleeping peacefully.

"How should I smash your skull to make everyone say I did a good job?"

It was a roaring beast clutching a battle-axe.

"You fucking bitch."

The enormous axe blade descended toward Vivian.

"... This place is insane."

Vivian stifled a groan.