The Great Demons Appear on the Surface
"Doesn't Hell have any alcohol?"
Hermann pulled a bottle of Holy Kingdom wine from his magical space and handed it over with a puzzled expression.
"There is some in Pandemonium. Satan likes it, after all. But the place where I dwell is meant for my subjects. Even if I brought such things, they would rot away in no time."
With a regretful look, Beelzebub muttered and uncorked the bottle with a deftness that had grown quite familiar.
"What a fine aroma. It brings back memories of the past."
Beelzebub murmured in a nostalgic tone as he inhaled the scent. He closed his eyes as though reminiscing, and Hermann, watching him, asked.
"Are you remembering your days as a god? Or do you regret the present?"
Greg flinched at the words, and Limia’s eyes widened in shock. It was a truth only Hermann, a high-ranking cleric, knew in this place, so their surprise was understandable.
"...What? You knew? Child of Yuno."
Yet Beelzebub himself showed no intention of hiding the fact. Baal, who had once been revered across the continent as the god of abundance—that had been Beelzebub’s original name.
"I do miss those times."
Beelzebub did not deny Hermann’s question. It would be a lie to say he did not long for the days when he had helped humans till their fields and granted them plenty. But... that did not mean he regretted the path he had chosen.
"Still, since it is the road I selected, how could my subjects feel anything but despair if I were to regret it? One may reminisce, but one must not regret. Is that not the way of things?"
Even as he spoke, Beelzebub seemed rather taken with this changed surface world. He casually opened a cabinet, took out some glasses, turned them over in his hands with evident curiosity, and said.
"In that respect, humans—do not put your faith in devils. Devils are cruel creatures that betray without reason and harm humankind."
"...Ah, yes."
Hermann answered, feeling a strange sense of dissonance at the king of devils warning them against devils. From the looks on Limia’s and Greg’s faces, they felt much the same.
"Anyway, I shall go and find that person… what was his name? Renkenson?"
Beelzebub set the glass on the table and spoke offhandedly. Hermann fell silent for a moment.
"...It’s Jenkinson."
When Hermann corrected the name, Beelzebub nodded.
"Yes, I will set out to find the child called Jenkinson, so the rest of you be careful. It seems you have drawn the attention of a rather bothersome individual."
A bothersome individual? While everyone present felt puzzled, Beelzebub finally succeeded in pouring the wine and exclaimed with delight.
"I poured it! Look here. These modern glasses are so small it’s difficult to pour properly, yet I succeeded! Ah, that’s right. Was I in the middle of speaking? It appears the Satan fellow has come up to this realm."
Everyone present froze solid.
"S-Satan, you say?"
When Hermann asked again, his face deathly pale, Beelzebub nodded.
"This magical power is most likely hers. Hm, is her goal Jenkinson as well? How troublesome."
While idly rolling the empty bottle across the table, Beelzebub saw an approaching fly and gently stroked its head with affection.
"If you have any means of contacting that child, warn her to avoid Satan. And children of Yuno, you must be even more vigilant and guard against devils. If you do not..."
Bzzzzzzzzzt.
Watching the fly disappear into the distance, Beelzebub smiled.
"The only future awaiting you is destruction."
Satan would surely annihilate humanity and set herself up as king and god of both Hell and the mortal realm. And she intended to use that child as her vanguard. It was a shallow, worthless, utterly boring ambition. Beelzebub, who had once been the chief deity of this land yet had cast the position aside without hesitation and fallen of his own will, could not comprehend such a desire. He instinctively understood that just as he could not grasp her, she would probably never understand him for the rest of her life.
"This is getting far more complicated than I expected."
Silvestina turned pale after hearing Beelzebub’s words. Satan? Beelzebub was essentially a being confined to Hell, so he had never felt like a genuine threat to humans. More like an incredibly powerful devil. That was why, though his strength inspired fear, he had not seemed like a catastrophic danger.
But Satan was different. She had never concealed her craving for the surface world and had sent countless devils to plunge it into chaos. The fact that most devils who appeared here were dispatched by Satan and Lilith was something even a child on the street could understand.
"Satan..."
Angeli sank into thought. If Satan had truly descended upon the surface...
"...It seems I will have to step forward myself."
Angeli felt he could no longer remain idle. If Satan had really appeared on the surface, the only one capable of stopping her was himself, the one who wielded the goddess’s power as her proxy.
Therefore...
"Please prepare it."
"Your Holiness...!"
Silvestina was startled, but Angeli’s resolve was firm. At first he had thought the holy war the goddess mentioned was meant to civilize the northern barbarians. But that had not been it. The Church now had to ready itself for a holy war against both the northern barbarians and Satan’s devils.
Only now did Angeli realize it. The Holy Kingdom could no longer avoid war.
Squawk! Squawk!
Sapira, the beautiful port city the Empire took such pride in. The city that served as the road to Quientang, where ancient ruins and the gate to Hell stood, was one of the wealthiest metropolises on the continent.
Yes… it had been.
Peck! Peck!
Seagulls were busily stabbing their beaks into the countless human corpses that filled the streets. The once-beautiful white buildings were now painted with blood, and bodies littered every road.
The great city of Sapira that had once boasted overflowing wealth and beauty now overflowed with corpses and grotesque horror.
At the site of the massacre, a man sat upon a throne of piled bodies. He slowly lifted the black goat-headed mask that covered his face. Pale, almost translucent white skin was revealed.
"Ah… the nostalgic scent of the surface. The air here really is pleasant."
He took a deep breath and murmured in satisfaction. Compared to the acrid air of Hell, it was indescribably sweet.
Crunch.
He lightly chewed on a warm heart freshly torn from a corpse and smiled. Human corpses were best eaten right after death.
[Isn’t that a bit too many kills?]
Bzzzzzt! Bzzzzzzzzzt!
At that moment a single fly appeared, buzzing as it circled the man. He clicked his tongue. Every fly in this world was that fellow’s subject. In other words, this fly was a messenger sent by him.
"Beelzebub, huh. What an unlucky bastard. Humans multiply again soon enough. Killing a few changes nothing."
Crack!
When he tried to snatch and crush the fly, a massive barrier protected it. He snorted. What an absurd creature.
"Che! With that much power, you’re going to desperately guard a single insect?"
Dividing your strength just to protect one measly bug? He felt he would never understand the being called Beelzebub.
[It is not a bug but my subject. You with the goat head may not understand, however.]
Beelzebub corrected him through the fly’s body. The man did not hide his irritation at the words “goat head,” but Beelzebub paid it no mind.
[What do you intend to do with this place? Satan.]
At the question the man—no, Satan—laughed. Well… what should he do with this surface world?
"I shall take my time considering it. The more that die, the more my subjects will increase."
Humans would endlessly reproduce, and through death they would become devils and serve as his limbs. Picturing that future, Satan declared.
"In that future… there will be no place for you and those repulsive bugs of yours."
In the future he desired, there would be no room for Beelzebub and the ugly creatures that followed him.
[...]
Beelzebub fell silent at those words. Satan walked on, leaving bloody footprints across the pure-white streets.
Thus the two Great Demons had appeared upon the surface.
For now… to meet a single priest.
"We should be arriving soon."
The two archdemons’ target, Jenkinson, was calmly checking his watch inside the train carriage. They would soon reach their destination of Harn. This mission would conclude after investigating and punishing the cases of adultery in Harn. A simple task. The location was...
"A place I miss. If we go just a little farther, we’ll reach the border zone."
If it weren’t the northern reaches of the Empire, that is. Alkai muttered nostalgically.
Indeed. The place assigned to Jenkinson this time was one of the border cities along the frontier with the barbarians.
This assignment can’t be meaningless.
Jenkinson intuitively understood. The Pope’s intention, as far as he could tell, was likely for him to see the situation here with his own eyes and judge whether a holy war was necessary.
Certainly… seeing something directly and hearing about it indirectly were entirely different. Since he would stand on the front lines once the holy war began, it was only right that he assess the situation himself.
Thinking that, Jenkinson closed his eyes.
What sort of city would Harn be? Honestly, he was a little excited.