The Demon Realm General Assembly
The Demon Realm General Assembly. It was an integrated conference attended by every Demon King in the Demon Realm, where the realm’s most critical matters were decided. At the same time, it offered lower-ranking Demon Kings one of their few precious chances to voice opinions and meet their superiors. Ordinarily held once every decade, this assembly had been convened again after only six years—an unprecedented occurrence. The reason, of course, was the Heavenly Demon War. Given the gravity of the situation, what countermeasures the highest-ranking Demon Kings would propose had become a major point of interest.
The seating arrangement was as follows: the lowest-ranking Demon Kings crowded the southern seats at the lowest elevation. Mid-tier Demon Kings occupied the eastern seats, while upper-ranking ones sat in the west. Finally, the twelve most powerful Demon Kings claimed the northern seats at the highest elevation. At the very center was a place reserved for the single greatest and strongest Demon King. Since the appearance of the primordial Demon King, that seat had never changed hands.
“Belzebute is…”
“He still hasn’t arrived, it seems.”
Seere von Devata and Gremory von Dieu, seated among the mid-tier Demon Kings, remarked on the still-empty chair belonging to Belzebute von Deus.
“The meeting is about to start. Where could he have gone?”
“…Indeed.”
Meanwhile, Sitri paid no attention whatsoever to Belzebute’s absence. Her gaze was fixed on the seat she had once occupied—now taken by another Demon King.
“Vilede……”
Grinding her teeth, Sitri glared at him. Seere spoke simply.
“Please calm down. That seat will be yours again before long. Now that Teacher has returned, it will happen even sooner than before.”
“…Haa.”
Seere glanced around the hall. Each Demon King had brought a single attendant. Baphomet stood behind Sitri, while Vitus—one of Gremory’s Three Commanders—remained at her side. Normally Nahen would have been behind Seere, but after last night’s overindulgence, she was alone. Just as a faint loneliness touched her, a swirl of black mist suddenly appeared beside her.
“Hm?”
Seere was startled, and both Gremory and Vitus flinched beside her. An instinctive sense of unease and chill had washed over them. Seere, however, recognized the presence and remained relatively composed.
Moments later, just as she expected, a small white whale emerged, its tail swaying gently.
“Puu.”
“Why are you here?”
“Puuu.”
It seemed to be saying that it had come in Nahen’s stead. Seere, who had been feeling a touch lonely, let out a soft laugh. Even while dealing with a headache severe enough to warrant skipping official duties, Nahen had still thought of her. She was grateful.
“L-Lady Seere, please get rid of that thing…”
Of course, Sitri—who recoiled in horror at Leviathan’s existence—could never bring herself to like it. Gremory wore much the same expression.
“W-What in the world is that?”
“Your Majesty Seere, it appears dangerous. You should step back…”
“It’s fine. This is one of Teacher’s companions.”
“…Pardon?”
“It seems he sent it because he couldn’t attend himself… Would you like to go back inside for now?”
“Puu.”
Leviathan slipped back into the black mist and vanished. Sitri finally exhaled in relief.
“What was Nahen thinking, sending something like that? Ugh, it gives me chills.”
“He must have been worried about me.”
“And that thing drank that much yesterday?”
That was true as well. Teacher should have known to drink in moderation, so why had he made such a mistake? The Demon Kings of the Equites Faction who had drunk with them last night were all present.
I’ll have to ask Lord Barbatos later.
Seere had no idea that the moment Leviathan appeared beside her, several gazes from the seats of the most powerful Demon Kings had turned toward them.
Agreas narrowed her eyes slightly.
“Hey, Vassago.”
“Mm.”
“What was that just now? It felt like it came from where Seir’s daughter is sitting.”
“Who knows. It didn’t seem to be that young Demon King’s power.”
“So what was it?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you know?”
Agreas grumbled at the unhelpful answer. Vassago gave her an incredulous look. The black-haired Demon Queen beside them let out a quiet laugh.
“It was quite an alien aura, wasn’t it?”
“Do you know something, Samigina?”
Samigina von Seos. Ranked fourth among the most powerful Demon Kings, she was the foremost master of necromancy in the Demon Realm. Her personal combat strength was negligible compared to the Demon Kings seated below, yet the legion of undead she commanded was more than enough to secure her position here.
“It wasn’t the energy of the dead, so it wasn’t a spirit. However, the fact that it can conceal its presence like a spirit is certain.”
“Does such a being exist?”
“Who knows.”
Samigina spoke with clear interest.
“We’ll have to keep watching.”
Just as Leviathan’s sudden appearance had shifted the atmosphere in the hall, the doors to the assembly chamber opened one final time—right before the meeting was set to begin.
“Fortunately, I’m not late. My apologies for keeping you waiting.”
Belzebute von Deus, master of the seat that had remained empty until now, had arrived. Seere observed his entrance and made a simple assessment.
He deliberately came late.
While every other Demon King waited, he appeared last, imprinting his presence upon them all—declaring himself the one and only supreme ruler of the Demon Realm. It was a simple, small “show.”
Having once again engraved his existence into the minds of the Demon Realm’s rulers, Belzebute took his seat. Just as he—the chairman of the assembly—raised the gavel to open the meeting…
Bang!
The doors flew open again. A man rushed in, breathing heavily, his brow deeply furrowed. He stopped in place, bowed his head in greeting, and spoke.
“I am the aide of Seere von Devata. I was delayed by circumstances, but since the meeting has not yet begun, may I still attend, Chairman?”
“…You may.”
“Thank you.”
He bowed once more and made his way toward Seere. His stride, though marked by a heavy frown, somehow did not appear strange. Seere, who had been feeling a faint loneliness, greeted him with a bright smile.
“Teacher, are you all right?”
“Still hurts… but I promised, didn’t I? That I would attend with you this time.”
“You sent Levi, so I thought you weren’t coming.”
“Levi?”
“I shortened the name in case someone recognized it. Does it not suit him?”
It didn’t quite feel fitting for a creature also known as one of the Beasts of the Apocalypse. Yet considering how it usually manifested, it somehow seemed appropriate after all. Nahen chuckled softly.
“No, I think he’ll like it.”
“You think so?”
Seere smiled brightly.
A heavy silence fell over the assembly hall. Though no one showed it outwardly, inwardly they were all laughing. Most of the Demon Kings who understood the meaning behind Belzebute’s actions felt the same way. Thanks to what had just occurred, the last person to enter the hall was no longer Belzebute—it was that man. The presence Belzebute had so carefully imprinted by arriving last had been overshadowed by the man who followed.
For Belzebute, it was as though he had been thoroughly outmaneuvered. Agreas, thoroughly amused by the situation, allowed a smile to surface. Curious to see the expression on Belzebute’s face after being so neatly struck, she glanced his way.
“…Hm?”
She was surprised. Belzebute’s expression had hardened like stone. It was not anger—it looked as though he had received some kind of shock.
“Belzebute, what’s wrong?”
“…It’s nothing. Let us begin the meeting.”
With Belzebute striking the gavel, the assembly commenced.
The main topic of this general assembly was countermeasures for the Heavenly Demon War. Two years ago, after the angels’ brief invasion, voices calling for preparation against the full-scale Heavenly Demon War had grown louder. That was why the assembly had been convened, and naturally, the primary agenda was to devise strategies for the coming war.
While discussions continued about where best to intercept the heavenly invasion or whether a counterattack might be preferable, Seere pressed the small bell before her. As chairman, Belzebute addressed her.
“Seere von Devata. You have an opinion?”
“Before war, I believe the most important thing is information.”
“And?”
“Furthermore, the place closest to the heavens is the Human Realm.”
Belzebute’s eyes narrowed. Seere felt a chill run down her spine, but Nahen patted her shoulder reassuringly from behind. She glanced back at him, then faced Belzebute and the gathered gazes of the Demon Kings once more.
“Those granted divine armaments by the archangel Metatron continue to appear in the Human Realm. The strength of these so-called ‘Heroes’ has reached a level we can no longer afford to ignore. To deal with them and to anticipate the movements of the heavens in advance…”
Seere declared her proposal.
“The ban on entering the Human Realm must be lifted.”
“…Let us hear opinions.”
Belzebute spoke curtly. After all, it was merely the opinion of a mid-tier Demon King; he believed no one would oppose his own measures.
“I agree. We must consider that the most recently appeared Hero forced the Demon Kings of the 71st and 70th floors into submission.”
Although Seere had repelled the Hero on the 69th floor, both Dantalion and Andromalius—who had ruled the 71st and 70th floors before—had been unable to even consider resisting and had simply yielded the way. Sitri spoke, citing that point, and Belzebute snapped back.
“That is not the fault of those idiots who betrayed the Demon Realm out of fear of mere humans?”
“…I do not believe that statement is incorrect either.”
Both of them happened to be present at the assembly. When Belzebute glared at the pair, the two Demon Kings could only stand frozen in tension, unable to speak.
“There is one more reason. As Lady Seere mentioned in a previous assembly, the Heroes are growing stronger with each appearance. To prepare for future Heroes, understanding the situation in the Human Realm is essential.”
It was Gremory. Though their ranks were still low, when two Demon Kings from the Ten Great Clans voiced the same opinion, the others began to consider it more seriously.
“In that case, I will also hear the opinions of the other Demon Kings. Until now, Sitri and Gremory von Dieu—who have spoken—are allies of the proposer, Seere von Devata.”
Belzebute had assumed that at most, only the proposer’s allies would support the motion. His eyes widened in surprise.
Bells rang from both sides—not immediately adjacent, but clearly from the seats of the highest-ranking Demon Kings. Two bells rang in unison.
“I agree with that opinion, Chairman.”
One was Barbatos von Ischwar.
“I also believe the measure should be lifted.”
And the other was Paimon von Hog, leader of the faction hostile to Barbatos’s Equites Faction.