Chapter 101
Chapter 101
Chapter 101
Baal (1)
Baal?
'That can't be right?'
For a moment, Rudian thought it might be an impersonation, but what would a demon gain by pretending to be Baal?
'…Really?'
While Rudian was silent in his confusion, anger flowed from Vincent's blazing eyes.
"That fellow didn't seem to regard us as worthy conversation partners. He was truly the epitome of arrogance."
At those words, the expressions of the surrounding ministers also began to fill with anger.
Vincent trembled as he recalled the conversation that had taken place just a short while ago.
No, to Vincent, that hadn't been a conversation but a one-sided notification.
"'Trash like you have no qualifications to negotiate with me.' Those were the first words that came out of his mouth."
"…What did he look like?"
"As I just said, he was far too young to be selected as an envoy. He appeared to be around your age. He had the atmosphere of a... Lazy young noble."
However, to be deceived by mere appearances, these were cunning individuals who had been steeped in politics for decades or more.
"Normally, no matter how much of an envoy someone is, we would drive out such a rude person as a matter of principle, but the feeling he gave off, and his escorts were also too ominous for us to dare do such a thing."
"His escorts?"
"Yes, actually the aura of his escorts was more ominous than his own. The Imperial Guards nearly drew their swords several times."
Seeing that the Emperor also agreed with a serious expression, it seemed certain that whether the opponent's identity was Baal or not, he was definitely a big shot.
"Understood. I'll meet with him once."
"Be careful. No matter how capable you are, their atmosphere is far too ominous."
If Vincent, who had experienced all manner of trials and tribulations, said such things, considerable weight was added to the possibility that the opponent's identity was indeed Baal.
After finishing his audience with the Emperor, Rudian headed to the separate palace guided by an attendant.
'Marbas and Asmodeus had planned Baal's summoning as Plan B, so how did this happen?'
But conversely, Asmodeus had said she was deceived by Baal, and Marbas had also given advice to be wary of Baal before dying.
If they too had been victims of Baal's deception, that would make sense.
"This is the place."
When Rudian arrived at the separate palace where the envoy was staying.
-Kuhuhuh….
Suddenly, Diablo began to react.
'…Damn, it must be real.'
-A familiar presence I'm feeling after a very, very long time.
Diablo's voice tone had risen several levels, clearly excited enough to be felt.
-Baal! Baaaal!
"Oh my, it seems an old friend is overly excited."
Just as Rudian was frowning at Diablo's noisy shouting, a gentle and quiet voice pierced through the space from inside the door.
CREAK!
When the door of the separate palace opened, just as Vincent had described, a languid-looking young man could be seen quietly enjoying tea.
The young man set down his teacup and smiled softly while slightly nodding his head toward them.
"Good day, Rudian."
"You know my name?"
"Of course. How could I not know the name of the one who killed the three Demon Kings I dispatched?"
A completely different manner of speech and impression than expected.
Rudian's impression upon first meeting Baal, the number one in the demon realm hierarchy, was that it was extremely unexpected.
Rudian widened his eyes and examined Baal's appearance.
His eyes were slightly sharp, but perhaps because of his smiling expression, they didn't feel particularly cutting.
His long red hair was carelessly disheveled, making him seem far from neat.
He certainly looked like a noble who lived as he pleased.
A completely different image from the dignified and massive appearance that had appeared in the original work.
Baal waved cheerfully toward Rudian's waist area.
"It's really nice to see you after such a long time, Diablo. Has it been ten thousand years?"
-Nice to see me? I didn't know you could say such words.
"What's nice is nice. I'm honest about my feelings."
Diablo deliberately raised his voice and scolded.
-After stabbing your fellow Seven Seats members in the back, what face do you have to say such things? Do you have something called a conscience?
But even at such aggressive words, the opponent didn't get angry.
Rather, his eyes curved like crescents and a sneer hung on his lips.
"Huhuh, there's a flaw in your words."
-What flaw?
"What you want to ask me isn't about the result of bringing down the Seven Seats, but, why I brought them down, isn't it?"
-…….
"If you had the chance, you would have stabbed them in the back directly like I did, so treating me like a criminal doesn't feel very good."
-Ku, kuhuhuh!
Diablo laughed gloomily.
As if Baal's words had hit the mark, Diablo didn't particularly deny it.
"You don't care at all whether the Seven Seats collapse or not anyway, do you?"
-Yes, that's right.
Baal shrugged his shoulders.
"Though beating around the bush about being glad to see me like a young lady is typical behavior for you, false accusations are still troublesome."
Since Diablo also wasn't someone with upright character, he affirmed Baal's words as if pleased.
Rudian no longer felt the need to tolerate the conversation between the two beings.
"Finish catching up with each other there."
"Huhuh, you're right. I was so glad to see him that I got distracted for a moment."
Rudian slowly sat across from Baal and steadied his breathing.
'…The number of those hiding in the surroundings is five. All top-tier demons.'
Moreover, through some method, they were all beings whose power restrictions had been considerably lifted.
'Without Eldorado right now, if those five all attack together, I can't guarantee my life. This is a death trap.'
As if seeing through Rudian's thoughts, Baal made an apologetic gesture and waved his hand.
"Oh dear. It seems my subordinates have disturbed your peace of mind."
"……?"
Seeing Rudian's puzzled look, Baal lightly waved his hand once as if brushing something away.
Then the forms of the five demons that had been tickling Rudian's nerves from the surroundings instantly disappeared.
"I've sent them all back to the Kingdom of Rohans. Will this satisfy you?"
"……!"
'Five people, sent on ultra-long-distance spatial movement with just a hand gesture?'
While Rudian was trembling with shock, unable to hide his amazement, Baal rested his chin on his hand and slowly brought his form closer to Rudian.
"I really wanted to meet you."
"…Why?"
"Because you're the one who caused the greatest crack in this world, the one who twisted all fate."
"……!"
How were you able to cross over? What schemes do you have?
Rudian's mind, which had been thinking about what questions to ask Baal, stopped at this single statement.
Rudian instinctively asked.
"You… What do you know about me?"
"…Nothing."
Baal rarely made a bitter expression, then sighed and shook his head.
"I really know nothing at all. Your origin, birth, growth process, the power you possess, all of that… No, Diablo is an exception. That friend can't help but know."
"Then what was your intention in saying that?"
At Rudian's question, Baal held up one finger and answered like this.
"The basis is just one thing. Intuition."
"……."
"I may not look it, but I've lived quite a long time. I'm confident that my intuition doesn't lose to anyone's."
"Intuition…."
"Seeing that you're not denying it, my intuition was correct. According to my original expectations, the plans of Marbas, Asmodeus, and Rigos should have succeeded normally."
Certainly, those words were correct.
In the original work, they succeeded in opening the Demon Gate, and based on that, they literally opened a hell gate on the surface.
"Diablo's seal, which should never have been broken, was released, Leviathan, who should have had his worthless life extended a bit more, disappeared earlier than expected, and the Demon Kings' steadily progressing plans were twisted all at once."
Baal's sharp eyes swept over Rudian's entire body.
"How could I not be interested in you after all this?"
"So you personally came to declare war, saying let's have a fight?"
"Hardly."
Baal, who shook his head, suddenly unfastened the necklace he was wearing around his neck and showed it to Rudian.
"Now, do you know what this is?"
"That's…?"
A considerably large gem, perhaps too excessive to be called a necklace ornament.
Having already experienced a similar object once in the Psychic Luminous, he absolutely couldn't mistake this familiar aura.
Baal looked at the gem with hazy eyes and said.
"A fragment containing the power of the Creator God, more vivid than any red color in this world."
Rudian also responded as if enchanted by something.
"Red World."
"Correct."
Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Black, White, Purple.
Among them, the Red World, one of the seven colored worlds that are fundamental to magic and the demon realm.
That was the identity of the gem Baal had produced.
"I have no intention of fighting you."
Baal, who had already put the Red World back around his neck, lit fire in his eyes and passionately raised his voice.
"My purpose is solely to collect all of these seven colored worlds, this one thing only."
***
Collecting all seven colored worlds.
This aligned with Rudian's ultimate purpose.
'In other words, this guy is my competitor?'
The seven colored worlds are artifacts rooted in the seven dimensions that exist in this worldview.
It wouldn't make sense for Baal, the ruler of the demon realm, not to know about the seven colored worlds.
"You have no intention of fighting?"
"That's right."
"Ridiculous, limit your deception to a reasonable degree."
Rudian, having come to his senses, glared at Baal while emitting killing intent.
Baal leisurely asked back even while receiving such a gaze.
"Why?"
"You show that off so conspicuously and then say you have no intention of fighting? You say such things even after I correctly identified the Red World?"
"Huhuhuh…!"
"Having a fight might be good too. Come on in and try."
"Having a fight… That would be good too."
Baal leisurely shrugged his shoulders.
"Under my command, I have about 2 million prepared just in monster legions. Thanks to Iblis's steady efforts, while I can't speak to quality, I was able to match the numbers quite impressively."
"……!"
Enjoying Rudian's flinching appearance, Baal continued speaking.
"How about it? Shall I try sending them all here to Morian once? Whatever the result, I think an interesting situation would emerge."
Two million.
A number filled with monsters alone.
While it was military strength that couldn't expect tactics or strategy, that violent power would far exceed the destructive capability of armies.
If they all crossed Morian's borders at once, regardless of response or anything else… There was a very high possibility that Morian would have to take down its empire signboard.
'The number two million is definitely not a bluff.'
Baal might conceal the truth subtly and secretly, but he doesn't lie.
This is one of Baal's clear personality traits from the original work and his aesthetic.
'Let's stay calm.'
Rudian steadied his breathing without showing any signs on the surface.
'That's a bluff. The numbers might be correct, but whatever the case, he can't deploy that military strength.'
If he could deploy such military strength all at once from the beginning, he would have swept away the Morian Empire without dragging it out long.
Even if not that, instead of attempting dialogue like this, he would have brought monsters en masse to the border areas and started with threats.
Rudian's firm eyes met Baal's.
"Try it once."
"……."
"What is the great number one in the demon realm hierarchy, Great Demon King, scared of that he came as an envoy like this? If you wanted to see me so badly, wouldn't it be in your nature to bring Morian to its knees first, then sit on the throne and summon me?"
"…Ho?"
Baal opened his eyes wide as if truly surprised.
"Amazing. To see through my personality so accurately, did Diablo tell you?"
"I don't need to know that. If you're going to try, then try."
"……."
'You can't, can you?'
Seeing him remain silent without immediately answering made it certain.
At Rudian's continued urging, Baal finally raised both hands and declared surrender.
"Haha, it can't be helped. I lost. I apologize for provoking first unnecessarily."
"It wouldn't be easy to catch the troublemakers on that side either, so stop with such fruitless acts."
"You're right. In the ten thousand years since, this middle realm has become too harsh, making it difficult. Hahaha…!"
Rudian had a kind of certainty.
No matter how much the demons had conquered the Kingdom of Rohans, that was only the official kingdom.
The numerous secret societies and evil organizations of hidden behind the world would be exceptions.
'Just the major places I remember number more than five. To handle all of them, even you, Baal, would have your back broken.'
Led by the Psychic Luminous, even the Morian Empire had plenty of formidable opponents, but this place was still dominated by humans.
"Those guys would never recognize demons as the ruling class."
"You… Seem to know well about them."
"Yes, I know them very well."
At Baal's curious attitude, Rudian coldly cut off the conversation.
"I don't intend to drag out the story, so tell me your purpose for seeking me out."
If they continued talking, it seemed like he might be able to extract some information, but his instincts were rejecting any further conversation.
"Huhuh, good. Then let me make a straightforward proposal."
What came out of the guy's mouth was an unexpected proposal.
"How about making a bet with me?"