The Crimson Warrior's Test
In the Demon Realm’s fifteenth floor, ruled by Jepar, the fifteenth-ranked Demon King, this place was also known as the layer of the ‘Crimson Warriors.’ The name came from the fact that the entire army led by Jepar wore red armor. There was one peculiar detail about this nickname: Jepar himself had famously requested to be called that.
In reality, the layer was more commonly referred to as the layer of the ‘Lame One.’ The name had stuck because the master of the layer, Jepar, was lame. It was quite unusual for a martial faction Demon King to have a limp, yet Jepar’s inconvenient leg was never a weakness. The reason was simple. He was simply too strong for it to ever become a disadvantage.
Within the Equites Faction, excluding Barbatos, the two strongest individuals in single combat were Jepar and Lerajie. Along with Barbatos, Jepar was always at the forefront whenever the Celestial Demon War broke out. The fact that he had survived all this time proved just how immense his power truly was.
“Here we are.”
“Hehe.”
Strangers had arrived in the domain ruled by such a powerhouse. A beautiful woman with snow-white hair streaked with a few unusual red strands, a man with striking black hair and golden eyes, and a maid whose fox-like ears and tail were particularly eye-catching.
Upon reaching the central district of the fifteenth floor, they drew attention in many ways. First and foremost, their appearances stood out. The long horns on the white-haired woman made the residents of the layer uneasy, for those horns were the symbol of a Demon King.
The man standing beside her, Nahen, spoke to the lovely Demon King.
“Seere, I already sent word to Jepar’s castle through Bennett’s trading company. We can head there right away.”
“It really is convenient to have connections with a major trading firm.”
Eight years had passed, and Bennett’s trading company had grown enormously in scale. It was only natural. They were distributing excellent weapons and armor supplied by the Devata forces across the entire Demon Realm, so the company’s influence could only expand day by day.
One of the major clients trading with Bennett’s company was none other than Jepar. He had formed a deal with them to supply his army with the high-quality armaments Bennett provided.
And now, Bennett had personally arranged this meeting with Jepar.
“By the way, Teacher.”
“Yes?”
“Is it really okay to only bring in the Equites Faction?”
“It is.”
“Won’t the other factions oppose it?”
At Seere’s question, Nahen explained slowly.
“Not every Demon King belongs to a faction. Out of more than seventy Demon Kings, only a small number actually belong to one.”
There were quite a few unaffiliated Demon Kings. Seere herself was one, as were her allies Gremory and Sitri.
“Out of all those unaffiliated Demon Kings, how many do you think would be satisfied with Beelzebute’s recent measures?”
Demon Kings were inherently ferocious, arrogant, and cruel by nature. After all, they were a race born to rule. So Beelzebute’s actions would have left a strong impression on many of them. That he feared humans—beings he considered beneath him, even inferior.
“…Not many, I suppose.”
“Exactly.”
In such a situation, if a faction too powerful to ignore proposed lifting the ban on entering the Human Realm, the dissatisfied Demon Kings would begin to voice their opinions one by one.
No matter how much Beelzebute reigned as the supreme ruler of the Demon Realm, he could not simply dismiss the opinions of other Demon Kings during the Grand Assembly where all Demon Kings gathered to discuss matters.
“The reason we’re going around meeting Demon Kings now is to gather support for our proposal so it can be raised as an agenda at the Assembly. Once it reaches the floor, we will achieve our goal.”
Seere nodded.
“Seere, your role is crucial.”
“Yes.”
“We’re here to ask for help, so don’t even think about confronting Jepar.”
“Teacher… do you really think I wouldn’t know that?”
Nahen was honestly anxious. No matter how gentle Seere’s personality was for a Demon King, a Demon King was still a Demon King. Could she truly bow her pride to another?
Despite his worries, Seere puffed out her chest and declared confidently.
“As long as you believe in me, Teacher, I will always strive to live up to your expectations.”
“…Yes. I believe in you.”
Hearing Seere’s firm answer, Nahen headed toward Jepar’s castle with a mixture of worry and anticipation.
And Nahen’s trust was betrayed in the most anticlimactic way possible.
‘…Maybe I shouldn’t have trusted her after all.’
Jepar and Seere were glaring at each other as if they wanted to kill one another.
To explain how this had happened, there really wasn’t much to it. Neither of them had done anything wrong. Seere had not been rude to Jepar, nor had he been rude to her. On the contrary, just as she had promised, Seere had swallowed her pride and greeted Jepar with a warm voice and expression.
So why had it come to this?
It was simply because of their personalities.
If Jepar was an extreme martial faction Demon King, then Seere was nearly the same. She was a Demon King who placed slightly more importance on brute strength than strategy.
“As expected… it would be quite interesting to fight you once, young Demon King.”
“Hmm, it seems we think alike, Lord Jepar.”
Yes. Their shared belligerence had created this situation. The moment Jepar saw Seere, he had revealed his fighting spirit, wanting to gauge her strength. Seere had responded in kind. No one had offended the other, yet they were on the verge of fighting.
From Nahen’s perspective, who had hoped for a peaceful conversation, it was enough to make him slap his own forehead.
‘No choice now…’
Nahen sighed and stepped forward slightly. He had intended to leave everything to Seere, but things had come to this.
“We did not come here to fight, great Jepar.”
“Who are you?”
“I introduced myself earlier, but it seems you weren’t listening. I am Nahen, the Royal Teacher of Her Majesty Seere von Devata, who stands before you.”
“Royal Teacher, I see. So you are the one who raised this young Demon King.”
“You flatter me. I haven’t done all that much.”
“Hah! Then I suppose I should at least listen to the words of the one who raised such a splendidly skilled Demon King.”
Jepar clenched his itching fist, eager to cross blades with Seere right away, and spoke.
“Go on, speak.”
“…There is something I wish to ask Your Majesty.”
“You have my permission.”
“What do you think of the recent measures implemented by His Majesty Beelzebute von Deus?”
There had been only one recent measure taken by Beelzebute. Understanding this, Jepar slammed his fist on the armrest of his throne and declared.
“A cowardly measure! Fearing mere humans—how can one call themselves a Demon King? Any Demon King who fears humans should cut off their own horns and step down from the throne!”
“We feel the same. Just as Your Majesty Jepar has said, we believe we must not fear mere humans.”
“Mmm! A righteous thought! I think so as well…!”
Jepar ground his teeth and continued.
“But it seems Beelzebute does not share that view.”
“His Majesty Beelzebute is likely concerned about the secondary damage the Demon Realm might suffer. I can understand that.”
“…Yes, I have heard of the damage suffered by the lower floors. However, is one truly worthy of the name Demon King if they cannot overcome even that?”
Nahen smiled.
“Well said.”
Though Nahen smiled faintly, inside he was cheering. Jepar was following his intentions perfectly. If he could guide the conversation like this, he believed he could draw out the answer he wanted.
“That is why we intend to propose an agenda at the Grand Assembly.”
“An agenda?”
“To demand the repeal of this measure.”
“…I see. So that’s why you came to me directly.”
Jepar grinned.
“You plan to persuade me and, in the process, drag our entire faction into this.”
Nahen was slightly surprised. He had known Jepar possessed far sharper political senses than Glasya Labolas, but he hadn’t expected him to see through their true intentions so quickly.
“I believed the Demon Kings of the Equites Faction would share similar thoughts with Your Majesty Jepar.”
“A close guess. However, coming straight to me like this is not a very good choice.”
Jepar continued with a smile still on his lips.
“When I engage in politics, I do not bet on the side without a chance of winning. Unless I help you, what power do you have to push such an agenda?”
“As for that… we have already secured the support of Her Majesty Glasya Labolas.”
“…Hmm? That madwoman?”
“Additionally, we have Her Majesty Gremory von Dieu and Her Majesty Sitri, who are allied with our Devata forces. Including ourselves, we have already secured the prior consent of four layers.”
At that moment, Jepar’s eyebrow twitched. Nahen knew exactly which word had elicited the reaction. The moment he mentioned ‘Sitri,’ Jepar had reacted.
Jepar’s expression grew serious for a moment before he broke into a wide grin.
“Kahaha, Sitri, you say! So that’s it—you’ve formed an alliance with Sitri!”
It was typical of a high-ranking Demon King to pay little attention to those in the lower ranks. Thirteen years had passed since they formed their alliance, yet he still hadn’t known about it.
‘Still… it’s fortunate he reacted as I expected.’
Nahen had deliberately mentioned Sitri. The reason was simple. Among high-ranking Demon Kings, Sitri’s name was widely known. She had once been a ‘Mighty Demon King.’ Even though she had been weakened by her seal, the value of Sitri’s former reputation had not faded. One could tell just by how Jepar’s indifference had turned to interest.
“It’s been quite a while since I last saw that woman’s face. I wonder if she’s doing well.”
“She is doing very well. She is diligently growing her forces alongside us.”
“Khhuhu, is that so? Then Vilede must be trembling in fear right about now.”
‘Vilede.’
Hearing that name, Nahen swallowed a laugh. So Jepar already knew. If he knew, then it was highly likely that the other top-tier Demon Kings knew as well.
‘It seems those who were meant to know already know the true culprit behind the incident that caused Sitri’s fall.’
Indeed. The reason Sitri had fallen from the high rank of twelfth all the way down to near the bottom at seventy-first. The one who had caused that was the Demon King Vilede. His current rank was twelfth—the very rank Sitri had once held. Originally ranked thirteenth, he had risen one step after Sitri’s downfall and joined the ranks of the ‘Mighty Demon Kings.’
The fact that the Demon Kings had known the truth of the incident yet remained silent meant that restraining Sitri and raising Vilede’s rank had been beneficial to the others as well.
‘…If Sitri ever learns of this, she’ll fly into a rage.’
She might even cause a scene at the Assembly, venting fury that would accomplish nothing. Nahen decided to keep this fact to himself and continued the conversation.
“…To finish what I was saying, if Your Majesty Jepar lends us your strength, we believe we can sufficiently raise this as an agenda for the Assembly.”
“Yes, that seems possible. It’s not just me—many Demon Kings are dissatisfied with Beelzebute’s measures.”
“That is correct.”
“However.”
Jepar spoke.
“Even so, opposing Beelzebute is not an easy decision.”
“…His Majesty Beelzebute cannot ignore matters decided by the Assembly.”
“I know. I know that well. But even if the agenda passes, the burden afterward will clearly fall on…”
The smile that had filled his face just moments ago vanished, replaced by a serious expression.
“Our Equites Faction. Am I wrong, Royal Teacher?”
It was true. That was exactly what Nahen had been aiming for. Seere would be the one to propose the agenda, but the greatest force supporting her opinion would be the ‘Equites Faction.’ It was only natural. The high-ranking Demon Kings who had lent her their strength would stand out far more than a seemingly insignificant proposer ranked fiftieth.
Naturally, Beelzebute’s gaze would turn not toward Seere and the Devata forces, but toward the Equites Faction led by Barbatos.
“Since our faction, including myself, will be bearing the risk, there must be something in it for us.”
“…What do you desire?”
“It’s simple. I want certainty.”
“What kind of certainty?”
“Whether you are capable of providing sufficient help to our Equites Faction.”
Jepar rose from his seat. Then, with a limp, he descended from the dais, dragging his left leg.
“Seere von Devata, young successor of the Martial King.”
“……”
“Would it be acceptable for me, Jepar, to test your ability?”
It was an exceedingly polite challenge to a duel. Seere looked at him for a moment, then glanced at Nahen beside her.
“…Do as you wish.”
Since Jepar had come out like this, there was no answer but to clash. With Nahen’s permission granted, Seere asked Jepar.
“In what manner? Must I defeat you to pass?”
That would be impossible. No matter how much stronger Seere had become, defeating a top-tier martial faction Demon King right now was out of the question.
“Youth brings good spirit. However, such a harsh test is not to my taste.”
Jepar said.
“One minute.”
“Pardon?”
“If you can endure my power for one minute, that will be enough.”
“…Isn’t one minute too short?”
“Oh?”
Seere drew her sword. Normally, drawing a weapon in another Demon King’s audience chamber was not tolerated, but no one stopped her. The master of this place had permitted it.
“One minute seems too short to show you my full strength. Let’s make it five minutes.”
“Very well! If that is what you desire!”
Jepar clenched his massive right hand tightly. With a smile that could not hide his anticipation, he said.
“Now then, I look forward to catching a glimpse of the Martial King’s fragment.”