The Eye That Pierces the Truth
The 60th floor's Demon King Castle. Until a few weeks ago, this had been Zaghan's residence, but now another Demon King occupied it. The beautiful Demon King who had removed the throne Zaghan once sat upon and installed a new one in its place was Gremory von Dieu. Yet today, her lovely face was deeply furrowed. With her brows tightly knit, she regarded the messenger delivering his report.
"...Who died?"
"A-Achiled, my lord... He fell in battle against the human army. Not only that, but the 100,000 soldiers he led appear to have perished as well."
It was an outcome she had never anticipated. Nor could she easily accept it. Gremory snapped in anger.
"Is what you claim truly fact? Could there not be some mistake?"
"I-I swear it... I swear upon my life it is no falsehood, Your Majesty."
"That cannot be, Your Majesty."
At that moment, someone interjected. It was Vitus, one of the Three Commanders who had previously voiced support for sending reinforcements. The death of Achiled, his fellow commander and a loyal subordinate, had shaken him deeply, and so he sought to analyze the situation with cold precision.
"Achiled could never have been slain by mere humans. This must be someone else's scheme!"
"Someone else..."
"It can only be them. Seere von Devata! They were the ones who delivered the news of Achiled's death!"
By Vitus's logic, Achiled losing to humans was simply incomprehensible. Achiled was no common soldier—he stood at the forefront of the Three Commanders. To claim he had been defeated by humans alone was absurd. This disbelief stemmed from the fact that neither Vitus nor anyone in the 55th floor's forces knew one crucial detail.
"Your Majesty, there is one more matter I must report."
"...Speak."
"According to Seere von Devata's report, the humans have invaded the Demon Realm led by beings called Heroes."
"Heroes...?"
The existence of Heroes was news to both Gremory and Vitus. They listened to the messenger with evident surprise.
"The human calling himself a Hero wielded a bow that radiated divinity. We had no idea such beings existed, so we entrusted the battle to General Achiled... and this was the result."
"Wait. Did you say 'divinity'?"
Gremory asked the messenger to confirm, wondering if she had misheard. The messenger nodded firmly.
"...Does this mean the Celestials are involved?"
"Your Majesty, that is—!"
Vitus recoiled in shock and tried to refute her words, but Gremory found the explanation plausible. The Celestials had always been hostile toward the Demon race, despising them and desiring their annihilation.
"If the Celestials used humans to invade the Demon Realm, then Achiled's defeat makes sense."
"Your Majesty!"
"Still, we must determine whether this is mere speculation or fact."
Gremory issued an order to the messenger.
"Relay my command to Kaya."
"To General Kaya?"
"Yes."
"Ah... Understood. What shall I tell her?"
"Tell her to go to Seere von Devata as an envoy. Add that she will be rewarded if she performs well."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The messenger bowed and departed. One of the Three Commanders, the Platinum Spirit Kaya, was an unusual individual. She typically remained shut away in her office, yet she executed Gremory's orders with flawless precision. Her obedience did not stem from the same deep loyalty Achiled had possessed. Rather, her reason was...
"Are you certain this is wise?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know full well what Kaya desires, Your Majesty."
"Indulging Kaya's wishes is a trivial matter."
It was because she harbored romantic feelings for her liege, Gremory. Both Vitus and the late Achiled had found Kaya's attitude deeply distasteful.
"It is disrespectful. To dare harbor such feelings toward Your Majesty—"
"Vitus, I already said I do not mind. Besides, if we wish to confirm whether the Celestials are truly involved, Kaya is the right choice."
"That is... Yes. Your Majesty is correct."
Vitus had no choice but to agree. There was no better candidate than Kaya for this situation. After all, Kaya possessed...
"With Kaya's eyes, she will be able to verify the truth."
She was the one who held the Mystic Eye that could see through lies.
#
"An envoy from the 55th floor?"
"Yes. They are scheduled to arrive in two days."
Upon hearing Kain's report, Nahen rested his chin lightly on his hand. The reason for the 55th floor sending an envoy was obvious, but their true intentions remained unclear—and that intent mattered greatly. It was especially important if he wished to realize the plan he had been formulating in his mind.
If their purpose was simply to mourn and retrieve the remains of their fallen subordinates, that would be acceptable. But...
'If they suspect us, that would be troublesome.'
It would be highly problematic. The situation itself was also prone to suspicion. While it was true that they had used Achiled and his forces and left them to die, the outcome remained unchanged. Achiled and his subordinates had been slain by the Hero Ceres. That fact alone could not be altered. Therefore, if the 55th floor suspected them, there was a part of it that felt somewhat unfair.
"Two days..."
"Yes. What shall we do?"
Nahen pondered for a moment. Though he did not know the envoy's intentions, there were things that still needed to be done.
"Prepare to receive them with proper courtesy. The 55th floor lost a key commander and 100,000 troops in this incident, so they deserve appropriate treatment."
"Yes."
"Still, keep one thing in mind."
"What is it?"
"Treat them with respect, but do not allow us to appear weak. It is time we establish an equal footing in the alliance we will form with the 55th floor."
Kain bowed his head.
"Understood, Lord Nahen."
"I trust you will handle it well, Kain."
"You need not worry."
After Kain left the office, Nahen remained alone, lost in thought. He was turning over the plan he had devised with his limited intellect. He intended to use the alliance with Gremory to elevate Seere to the position of a mid-tier Demon King by the time of the Demon Realm Assembly three years from now.
By forming an alliance with Gremory, they would increase Seere's influence. That much aligned with what Gremory's side desired, so there would be no issue. The real challenge lay in what came next.
If what Gremory's side truly wanted was Nahen's knowledge and power, then in exchange for providing it...
"...We should be able to secure several floors."
The reason higher-ranked Demon Kings did not conquer lower floors had already been explained before. Therefore, instead of simply accepting the alliance, they would demand the lower floors Gremory had already conquered. Expanding their effective control over more floors would naturally allow them to raise Seere's standing even further at the Assembly. Moreover, Sitri, their ally, would also benefit from the increased influence. It was a win-win.
If Gremory refused, they could simply reject the alliance. There was no obligation to elevate Seere to mid-tier status by the Assembly. It would simply be far more advantageous if they could achieve it, which was why Nahen was considering this approach.
"It would be nice if we could communicate well."
Who the envoy turned out to be was also quite important. Nahen hoped it would be someone receptive to his proposals.
Just then, the office door opened. Peeking her head through the slightly ajar door was his adorable disciple.
"Why are you standing there instead of coming in, Seere?"
"May I enter? Are you busy?"
"It's fine."
At Nahen's permission, Seere smiled brightly and stepped inside. Observing her, Nahen remarked,
"Your horns have grown a little more."
"Ah, you noticed? I measured them today—they've grown about 2 cm!"
The growth of her horns was proof that Seere was gradually maturing as a Demon King. While every Demon King's horns differed in shape, all Demon Kings possessed fully grown horns. Seere's were a pair of dark crimson horns that grew straight upward—the same as her predecessor, Seir, had possessed. Recently, some had begun calling her "the return of the Demon King" after witnessing her achievements...
'Like father, like daughter, I suppose.'
It seemed the saying that blood could not be denied was true. Seere, delighted that Nahen had noticed her change, approached him with a beaming smile.
"May I sit?"
"Hm?"
Nahen took a moment to understand before quickly grasping her intent and nodding. He patted his thigh lightly.
"Yes, come here and sit."
"Okay~!"
Seere settled gently onto his lap, and Nahen chuckled at the sight. Though Seere had spoken of maturity and wished to grow up quickly, she still seemed very much like a child in moments like this. As Nahen smiled warmly, Seere thought to herself,
'It's working...!'
All of this was part of Seere's calculated strategy. From their previous conversation, she had realized that her age was still too young for Nahen to see her as a woman. Seere was quite skilled at self-objectivity. If she could not imprint her maturity upon him in her current state...
'Then I'll build his affection through cuteness instead!'
That was her plan. While continuing her education to become a proper lady, she intended to act spoiled toward Nahen. Since she was still young, there was nothing strange about it. Moreover, Rea had taught her something important: one of the things men found most attractive in women was the "gap." If the once-cute child suddenly matured beyond recognition and expressed her feelings, even this stubborn teacher might show some reaction.
With that thought, Seere decided to wait a few more years. In the meantime, she would continue playing the role of the adorable disciple. She had briefly considered bringing back her white tiger plushie, but that seemed like overdoing it, so she abandoned the idea.
Seere turned her head slightly to look at Nahen.
"Teacher."
"Yes?"
"Pet my head!"
"...Alright. I thought you had something you wanted from the look in your eyes. So that was it."
"Hehe."
Nahen, completely unaware of Seere's calculations, simply stroked her head as she wished.
#
"Hehe."
The woman riding in the carriage heading toward the 69th floor's Demon King Castle wore a sly smile. It was not anticipation for the 69th floor she was visiting, but rather for the reward she would receive upon her return. Even in the dim interior of the carriage, her platinum blonde hair shone brilliantly. Despite her delicate appearance, black armor covered her from the neck down. The black arming sword at her waist marked her as a soldier.
She was Kaya, the final member of Gremory's Three Commanders—the Platinum Spirit.
"I should check what schemes the 69th floor has been plotting and return quickly."
"General."
"Yes?"
"We have arrived at the 69th floor."
"Have we?"
Kaya grinned.
"Then shall we see how Achiled died...?"
The woman who now held the key to the future relationship between the 55th and 69th floors had just arrived at the 69th floor.