Pandemonium (4)
"...What does that even mean?"
I couldn't help asking after hearing the final amendment proclaimed by the Chief Manager.
What kind of declaration was it to warrant such sheer shock? What on earth had been said to make the entire assembly hall erupt in an uproar of screams and furious shouts? From where I sat, nothing came to mind.
"That? Simply put, it means if a Demon Lord ends up dying in a ditch somewhere, nobody gives a damn."
"Dying in a ditch?"
"To put it more bluntly: even if a Demon Lord gets murdered by someone, they're just going to leave it be."
"And it wasn't like that before?"
"Nope. Why do you think people cursed out the Pandemonium Demon Lords for being a cartel?"
That came as quite a shock. Good grief. Was Pandemonium really the kind of place where if a single member died, the entire collective backed them up and exacted vengeance? To an awakened Demon Lord like me, someone who possessed neither connections nor power outside the gallery, it felt almost wildly unfair. Well, technically speaking, it wasn't that I lacked connections entirely, and I was receiving plenty of help, but still.
"Still, to outright abolish that... it's jarring. We awakened Demon Lords face threats to our lives every single day, but for the Pandemonium crowd, that was never the case."
"Tell me about it. Without that protection, Demon Lords will probably get butchered by the dozens at least. Weren't the Heavenly Realm, Hell, and the Hero Gallery all sharpening their blades just waiting to crush Pandemonium?"
"Probably. In the first place, the Pandemonium crowd has piled up far too much bad karma compared to their actual skill."
I listened blankly to the exchange between Leon and Ferma before curiosity got the better of me, and I couldn't resist cutting into the conversation.
"Uh, sorry to butt in, but... isn't the Chief Manager from Pandemonium himself?"
"Rather than hailing from it, he's closer to its creator and ruler, but yeah. He's from Pandemonium, all right. He's the famous Solomon, after all."
"Solomon?"
"Yeah. He's pretty renowned across other dimensions too. You didn't know?"
How could I not know that name? When I was looking up materials on Demon Lords and devils before attending the assembly, he was the figure associated with the seventy-two demons, and in Earth's history, he was known as the Wise King. In Earth's historical records, apart from the apocryphal grimoire known as the Lemegeton, he had virtually no connection to demon lords at all; he was a figure far closer to the side of good. Because of that, one might reasonably wonder why such a man would be a Demon Lord in the first place.
Then again, after seeing Odin, Moses, and Noah, it's a bit late to be surprised by Solomon.
I had already witnessed far too much bizarre nonsense to feel shocked anymore. At this point, even if Santa Claus, Jesus, or the Buddha suddenly sprang out as a Demon Lord, I'd probably just shrug and accept it.
"So the Chief Manager was Solomon."
In any case, learning his true identity was fresh information. Even so, the question remained: why would the Chief Manager—or rather, Solomon—table a motion that worked entirely against the interests of his own Pandemonium Demon Lords?
"He's probably looking to carry out a massive purge. Considering he put forth a motion that openly creates a survival-of-the-fittest jungle... wouldn't you say so, Old Man Moses?"
"Most likely, he intends to tamper with matters regarding the Scales... Heh-heh. The fine details elude me, however. Why not ask the young duchess over in the corner?"
"...Looks like the lady is sleeping right now. Guess I'll have to ask her later."
Fortunately, as if sensing my confusion, Leon and Moses carried on the conversation naturally, tossing out useful tidbits of information. Having resolved some of my curiosity, I turned my gaze back toward the grand assembly hall, where Demon Lords throughout the arena were leaping out of their seats and kicking up a ferocious racket.
Are they going to brawl again?
Enhancing my hearing to catch snippets of the outside commotion, I heard a torrent of fierce backlash directed at the Chief Manager's amendment. Shouts like, 'Are you out of your mind, passing a motion like this?!' and 'Passing something so absurd without prior notice makes no sense!' echoed endlessly. It was a stark contrast to their earlier meekness, when everyone had been suppressed into total silence under the Chief Manager's sheer aura.
Voices climbed higher and temperaments turned rougher. At this rate, it seemed almost certain that a brawl or an outright bloodbath would erupt within moments. It felt as though the arena matches scheduled for after the assembly might get pulled forward ahead of time.
"...They aren't about to start another free-for-all, are they?"
"No matter how much they bark, once it comes out of the Chief Manager's mouth, that's the end of it. The earlier motions were meant to gather opinions, but this one clearly carried his absolute will. And besides—"
Leon went on to explain that within Pandemonium, the Chief Manager, Solomon, was an assembly chairman in name only; in reality, he was practically an omnipotent monarch. He added that an assembly like this was mostly just Solomon dumping chores he didn't feel like doing onto the lesser Demon Lords beneath him.
"—Anyway, you can be sure the meeting ends right here, so don't sweat it."
"As long as it doesn't get extended, that's all that matters to me."
No matter how comfortable the private lounge was, enduring a session that dragged on for dozens of hours was pure torture. My personality was never built for bureaucratic meetings in the first place.
"Let's wrap things up and head out! Today's arena matches ought to be quite a spectacle!"
At Leon's words, the Demon Lords scattered around the lounge slowly began to rise. Moses, Edward, and Ferma briefly mentioned they would head over to the tavern first before briskly exiting the room, while Asha the Succubus Queen offered an enigmatic smile before vanishing into thin air. In the blink of an eye, the only ones left in the lounge were Leon, myself, and the mysterious young girl Demon Lord buried under a mountain of blankets.
"...They cleared out fast."
"Demon Lords are always like that. Look, the main hall is already completely deserted, isn't it?"
"What?"
Startled by Leon's remark, I peered out the window into the assembly hall, and sure enough, the colossal auditorium was utterly empty.
"Pandemonium meetings are always like this. No closing ceremony or anything. Once the final agenda wraps up, running straight to the arena or the taverns is practically tradition."
A closing ritual truly fitting for Demon Lords. Or perhaps the arena battles themselves served as the closing ceremony.
"Let's tidy up real quick and get going. Old Man Moses will have a table reserved for us at the tavern."
"Got it."
With a psychic powerhouse and a swordmaster combining their efforts, tidying and cleaning the room took no time at all. There was just one lingering problem.
"What about her?"
Even with all our bustling and noise while cleaning, she showed zero reaction, remaining curled tightly in the corner like an immobile lump under her blankets. It weighed on my conscience to just abandon her like that. Was it really all right to leave her behind?
"Don't worry about it, just leave her be. She hoards her little corner like a shut-in anyway, and sooner or later she'll just pop out of existence and return to her own dimension. Indifference is the best medicine for that lady."
"...Is that so?"
"Good enough, right? Let's go."
Leaving behind the shut-in Demon Lord who was being treated rather pitifully, I moved to follow Leon out the door. But right at that moment—
Grab.
Startled by a sudden hand clamping onto my clothes, I whipped my head around. Standing right behind me, having approached without a single whisper of sound, was the young girl—no, the Demon Lord.
"...Is something the matter?"
"......."
"Excuse me...?"
She said nothing, merely clutching my sleeve with a tight grip. Having no idea how on earth to respond, a cold sweat broke out across my back.
Did I do something to offend her while cleaning...?
Just as I was frantically combing through my memories to see if I had done anything wrong, the Demon Lord parted her lips, and a tiny, faint voice slipped out.
"...You. Outside guy."
"Pardon?"
"Help. Contact me."
"What is that supposed to..."
Before I could even voice my confusion at the disjointed string of words, the Demon Lord, who had been gripping my clothes just a moment before, vanished into thin air along with her blanket, leaving not a single trace behind.
"......"
A Demon Lord who had dropped incomprehensible words and simply disappeared. Staring at the empty spot where she had stood, I stood frozen in place for a long time.
"...What the hell was that?"
A good while had passed since that baffling encounter with the shut-in girl. Leaving the lounge with a stunned expression, the place I found myself in now was none other than—
"Cheers!"
""Cheers!""
A rowdy, bustling tavern.
The establishment Moses and Edward had staked out was located right on the doorstep of the Pandemonium Main Assembly Hall. Perhaps owing to the sheer proximity, the interior was packed to the gills with an immense sea of Demon Lords. Though whether one would call a gathering of demon lords a 'sea of demons' rather than a 'sea of humanity,' I wasn't entirely sure.
The tavern featured a remarkably modern interior, and the service was handled by the same automated robots I had spotted on the way here. Leon had mentioned that the appetizers and food were all prepared by these robots as well, making them an undeniably enviable piece of machinery. I couldn't help wondering if I could take one back home with me.
"Kaaah! As expected, Old Man Odin's mead is out of this world. Wouldn't you agree, old timer?"
"For once, you speak the truth. Odin's mead is easily counted among the finest delicacies across the dimensions."
"Shin Soohyun, what about you? You don't have stuff like this in your dimension, right?"
Watching Leon pour mead down his throat while tossing the question my way, an involuntary chuckle slipped past my lips. A lighthearted atmosphere, a boisterous tavern, delicious alcohol, and mouthwatering food. It had been over twenty years since I last enjoyed anything resembling this.
And experiencing a drinking gathering after two decades of complete isolation was, quite simply...
"The absolute best."
It was perfection itself. I wasn't just saying that because I was caught up in the mood, either. The 'Avatar' magic conjured by our esteemed Chief Manager, Solomon, was so flawless that I frequently forgot it was a surrogate body; it felt completely identical to my real physical form, allowing me to eat and drink without the slightest impediment. In short, I wasn't just getting intoxicated by the ambiance—I could actually drink real alcohol and get drunk.
"To think I went through life never knowing a drink like this existed. What a waste."
"Hah! So you do have an eye for taste!"
In all honesty, Odin's mead tasted extraordinary. It possessed a delicate balance of bitterness and sweetness, slipping down the throat with unbelievable smoothness. The only alcohol I had tasted during my twenty solitary years on Earth were canned factory beers at best. Even those had gone completely flat and stale after surviving World War III and the psychic overload cataclysm, to the point where calling them alcohol felt like an insult. More than anything, before stumbling across the Demon Lord Gallery, I had treated food, clothing, and shelter as mere obligations for basic survival. There had been no room for indulging, savoring, or venting emotions like I was doing at this table.
Because of that, this gathering was nothing short of the finest time of my life.
Nor was it merely the drinks, the food, and the vibrant atmosphere that made it great. The Neutral Faction Demon Lords seated at the same table—the 'Hero Traitor' Leon, the 'Fallout' Uncle Edward, the 'Ten Commandments' Old Man Moses, and the 'Retry' Ferma—were genuinely kind people. Despite meeting me for the very first time today, they struck up conversations without the slightest reservation, and I could feel their consideration for me throughout the entire dialogue.
Perhaps it was thanks to that comfortable, welcoming atmosphere. As the liquor steadily settled into my system, the gentle buzz of drunkenness coaxed my own story out of me.
"—And that's basically how it ended up. I think slaughtering half of humanity along the way was what caused me to awaken as a Demon Lord. Humanity was stupid beyond belief. Myself included, of course."
The Demon Lords listened patiently to my ramblings all the way to the end.
"Ho-ho..."
"Your dimension is truly pitiful as well. No matter where you go, humans really are all the same..."
Skepticism toward humanity. It was a sentiment shared by all five individuals seated at this table, born from their own bitter experiences.
"Is that not simply the nature of mankind?"
Edward, who had been quietly listening to the tale, nodded in agreement with Leon's remark before speaking up.
"Perhaps because the circumstances of my awakening were quite similar to yours, my evaluation of humanity aligns closely with your own."
"Pardon?"
"Before you arrived, I was the resident newbie of the Demon Lord Gallery. Though by now, that feels like an eternity ago..."
As Edward dredged through his old memories, a profound emptiness settled over his face. It mirrored the exact expression I used to wear—the machine-like existence I had repeated day after day before finding the forum.
"My dimension was both similar to and different from yours. Mana existed, yet it was a world that developed upon a foundation of scientific technology. It was a civilization that had yet to break free from its mother planet."
Edward's homeland had been a world with humble scientific prowess.
"Terraforming was impossible, interstellar travel was out of the question, and let alone space colonies, we had a humble level of technology that could barely establish a rudimentary orbital space station."
It had been a planet with vast territories left untouched by human hands, housing an immature, stumbling civilization.
"However, our weaponry technology was excessively advanced. Far beyond what we deserved."
They lacked the technology to mass-produce prosthetic limbs, yet they possessed briefcase-sized magic-engineering bombs capable of vaporizing an entire metropolis. They lacked the medical technology to combat plagues and agricultural blights, yet they engineered magitech viruses designed to exterminate hundreds of millions.
"Wielding weapons far too large for their frail bodies, humanity did not last long before they turned them upon one another. It was a total war that consumed the entire globe."
And in that war, Edward had been an admiral of a great nation and the captain of a strategic submarine. When the global war erupted and Admiral Edward boarded his vessel, he was handed a single order: to launch magical nuclear warheads against every nation on Earth except their own.
"Everyone aboard the submarine refused the order. They insisted we could not slaughter all of mankind."
Edward was a human being.
Edward was the head of a family.
However,
Edward was an admiral.
Edward was a soldier.
And so, he pressed the button.
In that instant, ninety percent of humanity was wiped from existence.
"When we finally surfaced several years later, the world was dead."
Gazing upon the desolate planet he had annihilated with his own hands, the last surviving admiral of mankind submerged back into the silent depths of the sea. Twenty years passed, and the admiral awakened as a Demon Lord—alongside his crew, who had become his demonic vanguard, and his submarine, which had transformed into his demonic stronghold.