The Lure
“…In summary, we have captured 276 humans over the past month. All confiscated items have been sorted and stored in the warehouse.”
Nahen nodded after hearing Rin’s report. Considering how many adventurers roamed the human realm, the number was lower than expected, yet it was far from insignificant.
“Two hundred seventy-six… That’s a lot!” Seere, perched on Nahen’s lap, exclaimed.
While 276 was no small figure, it still felt insufficient to launch their full-scale operations.
“Were they all taken alive?”
“We did our best. However, those who resisted fiercely during capture…”
“I see. I trust you handled them appropriately, Commander.”
After listening to the full report, Nahen lifted Seere with both hands and stood up. It was time for her lesson.
“Seere, let’s go study.”
“Study! Yes~!”
Nahen smiled fondly at Seere’s bright, eager expression. Rin then asked him a cautious question.
“Nahen.”
“What is it?”
“Is this approach truly the right one?”
“Do you dislike capturing humans?”
“No, that is not the issue.”
Rin, who viewed humans as lesser than insects, felt no moral qualms. Her concern lay elsewhere.
“So far we have managed without any oversights, but the residents of the 72nd floor are growing uneasy. Because we have left the borders completely unguarded, humans can easily reach the residential areas.”
“That is certainly a problem.”
Popular support directly strengthened a Demon King’s power. No matter how necessary the investment for the future, unrest among the people rendered any policy a failure.
Nahen pondered briefly before speaking.
“We removed the border defenses to lure humans down to the 72nd floor.”
“Yes.”
“Then we must find another way to draw them in.”
“In what manner?”
“Spread rumors.”
Rin blinked. Seere, still in Nahen’s arms, did the same.
“Are we going to catch more?” Seere asked curiously.
“Yes. We need to bring in a few more.”
Nahen chuckled at Seere’s slightly dazed expression, her mouth half-open. As a Demon King herself, she seemed indifferent to the act of capturing humans.
Rin ventured a guess. “Do you intend to send spies into the human realm?”
“No. If that sparked an unnecessary war with the human nations, we would be in trouble. We still need to prepare for the conquest of the 69th floor. We cannot afford a war with humans right now.”
“Then how…?”
“We already have plenty of people we can send.”
Rin’s eyes widened in realization, then she nodded.
“Shall I select a few and make the necessary… adjustments?”
“Can you do it?”
“We have capable individuals for this sort of work. A little coin will suffice.”
“Then I leave this matter in your hands, Commander.”
“Please tell me what rumor you wish to spread.”
Nahen rested a hand on his chin. After a moment of thought, he explained his idea. Rin’s expression turned slightly startled.
“You wish to use that?”
“Yes. Do you think it will be effective?”
“It will certainly be effective, but… might it not backfire? Our own losses could be considerable.”
“Do it anyway. There will be some casualties, but I believe you and Vice-Commander Baruna can handle it. Using Argol actively should make things easier.”
Rin bowed her head slightly. “Understood.”
“I will be off to teach Seere.”
“Yes.”
“Shall we go, Seere?”
“Yes!”
After Nahen and Seere left the office, Rin gazed at the desk piled high with documents—most of them written by Nahen himself. As she examined the top page, she closed her eyes for a moment.
“Dantalion will weep when he sees this.”
The first document bore the large heading: 69th Floor Conquest Plan.
#
The Adventurer Guild had recently banned all travel to the Demon Realm after adventurers who entered over the past month began disappearing. Nearly two hundred missing persons had already been confirmed by the guild.
Most adventurers voiced their discontent at the decision to seal the portals until the cause was identified. While the guild claimed it was for their safety, venturing into the Demon Realm remained the most lucrative source of income for adventurers.
“This is ridiculous! How are we supposed to make money now? Are you telling us to take those pitifully small quest rewards instead?”
“I’m sorry, Alex. This is an order from above. There’s nothing we can do…”
Recently, the guild had been filled with constant arguments between adventurers desperate to enter the Demon Realm and the staff trying to stop them. Soter City, home to one of the portals, was no exception.
A female adventurer watching the commotion muttered, “Here we go again.”
“Yeah.”
High-ranking adventurers, especially those unsatisfied with ordinary quest rewards, caused most of the trouble. A single successful trip to the Demon Realm earned them far more than several regular commissions.
“Two hundred people vanished, and you still want to go?”
“They’re confident in their skills. That guy’s a Double-A rank adventurer.”
“Ah… That explains it.”
Alex was quite well-known in the area—an AA-rank adventurer who surpassed ordinary A-rank. Adventurers of that caliber were considered equal in strength to knights officially commissioned by the state. Despite his repeated pleas to the receptionist, she firmly refused, shaking her head. Though he wanted nothing more than to force his way through, he could not. This was an order from the Guild Master.
Guild Masters were typically S-rank or at least AAA-rank adventurers. No matter how skilled Alex was, he stood no chance against them.
“What does the Guild Master plan to do about this situation? Are we just going to keep the Demon Realm sealed off!?”
“I don’t know the details either…”
Just then, the guild doors burst open. The man who entered had once possessed bright golden hair, now dulled, and a gentle face now hardened by hardship. Yet he was unmistakably one of their own.
“…Huh?”
One person recognized him—the kind receptionist who had always handled his requests. She rushed out from behind the counter, her face filled with shock.
“Luke!?”
It was Luke, the C-rank adventurer who had gone missing after entering the Demon Realm. His once bright and gentle expression was now hollow, his eyes sunken.
“Ah… Angela…”
“What happened to you!? Where have you been all this time…?”
“I was… captured in the Demon Realm.”
The entire guild erupted into murmurs. Captured? Not killed by the guardians, but taken alive?
“The demons didn’t kill him?”
“Why? What reason would they have?”
Luke forced the words out. “The guardians… weren’t killing people. They were capturing them. Everyone who disappeared is being held there.”
“What…?”
“A few of us managed to escape. The others went to different guilds to spread the news.”
Luke grabbed Angela’s arms tightly, his voice desperate, as though pursued by something unseen.
“We have to help them. I know where they’re being held! We need to save them!!”
“L-Luke, could you let go for a moment? Please calm down. We need to report this to the Guild Master…”
“There’s no time!!”
“But there’s nothing I can do…!”
“Wait, Angela.”
A man descended the wooden stairs slowly. Everyone in the guild knew him.
“Young adventurer.”
It was Adelbert Grantz, Guild Master of Soter City—the most skilled active assassin-class adventurer.
Luke recounted everything that had happened to Adelbert. The most crucial detail was that the demons were capturing humans and gathering them in one place.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t have time to find out. The ones who escaped with me only got out because the guards looked away for a moment…”
“Master, what will you do?”
At Angela’s question, Adelbert stroked his chin thoughtfully. Luke’s story, delivered by a man who had vanished for weeks and returned battered, did not seem false. The timing of his disappearance matched his departure to the Demon Realm.
“I got out, but Eri and Dane are still trapped. Not just them—hundreds of people are being held. We have to save them!”
“Your opinion is not wrong, but this is not a decision we can make lightly. Given the gravity of the situation, we must cooperate with the government…”
“By then it will be too late!!”
Luke shouted. Whether he no longer feared the Guild Master or had forgotten fear in his worry for his captured comrades, a C-rank adventurer yelling at an S-rank one was unthinkable.
“Luke! Watch your tone with the Master…!”
Adelbert raised a hand to stop Angela. He asked a calm, rational question.
“Too late? Do you mean the demons are planning to do something with the captured humans?”
“…Yes. I heard they’re selling the humans as slaves to other demons. That’s why they’re capturing them alive.”
Adelbert let out a short sigh, then suddenly drew a dagger from his waist. Luke stared at him in confusion.
“Guild Master? Why the dagger all of a sudden…?”
“You’ve been subjected to mind control, haven’t you?”
“What?”
“Earlier, you said you didn’t have time to learn why they were capturing humans because you were busy escaping. Yet just now, you suddenly revealed their purpose.”
Adelbert pressed the dagger to Luke’s throat in an instant. Angela gasped, and the other adventurers flinched, but Adelbert remained perfectly calm.
“You claimed you didn’t know their reason, yet you just told us they’re selling humans as slaves. That means you knew their goal from the beginning and hid it.”
Adelbert’s voice turned sharp. “What were you trying to accomplish by luring the adventurers here?”
“……”
“Answer me. If you won’t—”
“As expected… Your insight is worthy of the greatest living assassin.”
Luke’s demeanor changed. His expression no longer seemed entirely his own as he spoke to Adelbert.
“But how many others will figure it out as you have? Others like me have already reached the other guilds. By now, they must all be heading to the Demon Realm!”
Adelbert’s brow furrowed. He immediately turned to Angela.
“Contact the other guilds. Tell them under no circumstances to enter the Demon Realm.”
“Yes!”
Then, with lightning speed, Adelbert slashed Luke’s throat. Luke had no time to react. He collapsed, blood pouring from the wound. A human whose mind had been taken by demons could never live as a human again. Death was the only mercy Adelbert could offer.
After eliminating Luke, Adelbert addressed the guild.
“From now on, the portal in Soter City will be sealed. If anyone has complaints…”
“M-Master!”
One of the receptionists who had been contacting other guilds called out to him in alarm.
“What is it?”
“The other guilds say their adventurers have already departed!!”
“…What?”