The Lion is a Predator
The Archdemon's machinations were at play. Most herbivores feared the lion, and many fell prey to the seasoned hunter's claws and fangs, reduced to mere sustenance. The empire's lioness, Charlotte von Bismarck, had already eliminated the old and ailing male lion with her own claws and devoured countless prey with her sharp fangs. Thus, she should have known: where there are beings preyed upon by predators, there also exist overwhelming entities that even seasoned hunters cannot hope to challenge.
BOOM──!!!
It was merely a punch. Yet the soldier struck by that fist was sent flying, and every soldier behind him had their skulls shattered. With a single punch, hundreds of elite troops lost their lives. That was not all. The colossal white whale that appeared alongside him swallowed thousands of soldiers with each opening of its maw. The soldiers could not even comprehend the creature's true nature until the moment they were devoured.
There was nothing they could do. They were utterly powerless. That was the sentiment shared by the Bismarck Empire's elite forces, among the finest on the continent. Schwarde felt the same.
Tactics? Strategy? None of it mattered. What use was forming a battle line when a single punch could shatter it?
"What... what in the world is this......!!"
Schwarde felt as though his twenty-plus years as an officer had been completely denied. None of this could be explained by common sense.
CRUNCH────!!!
Schwarde was thrown from his horse. A pure-white monster had passed right beside him, swallowing soldiers in its path. His eyes met the creature's. Its gaze was enormous, larger than any building. It swallowed the soldiers and vanished naturally into the pitch-black mist.
In the dead of night, the thirty thousand elite troops of the Bismarck Empire and the thousand-strong magic combat battalion disappeared without a trace. All at the hands of a single man. Three people had appeared, but two of them had not even fought properly. Only one man, his golden eyes gleaming in the darkness, stared down at the fallen Schwarde. It was all Nahen's doing.
"Ha... haha... hahaha...!!"
Schwarde could only stare at him, laughing like a madman. Nahen grabbed him by the neck.
"Gack!"
"Schwarde Hatzfeld. I ask this on the off chance you might consider it."
Nahen valued talent. For Seere's future, recruiting capable individuals was of utmost importance. If Charlotte had kept him as a close aide, then Schwarde's abilities were proven.
"Won't you become my subordinate?"
"......You want me... to become your subordinate."
"I acknowledge your competence. Capable talent is needed by everyone, and that includes me."
Nahen continued, "If you come under my command, I will guarantee you status, rewards, and honor."
"......Ha."
Schwarde let out a chuckle. Then he looked Nahen straight in the eye. Though reality left him unable to lift a finger, his gaze remained unbroken.
"Don't spout nonsense. I have only ever had one liege. The only one who can command me is......"
The empire's most promising young general, Schwarde Hatzfeld, showed his loyalty to the very end.
"Her Highness Charlotte von Bismarck alone."
"...I see."
Nahen tightened his grip.
After wrapping up the situation, Nahen spoke to Eri and Dane.
"Dane. Eri."
"Yes."
"Yes, Lord Nahen."
"You need to lie low for a while."
"Are we returning to the Demon Realm?"
"No."
There was no need to return to the Demon Realm. Seere would handle things well enough on her own for the time being. Besides, it would be better to witness the civil war and the state of the human realm firsthand.
"We need to stay here for a while."
"We'll need to secure suitable identities, then."
"Right. Hmm......"
Nahen pondered briefly before addressing them.
"You two will pose as a married couple."
"...What?"
"Excuse me!?"
"That will be the safest option. For a residence, a city would be better than the countryside—less attention from others. Avoid the empire's interior, though. Eri's face seems to be known."
Nahen continued issuing orders regardless of their flustered reactions. While Nahen discussed the details of their disguises, Dane and Eri were not truly listening.
Dane and......
L-Lord Dane and......
Pretend to be a married couple? Both were flustered, though the nature of their embarrassment differed. Dane was flustered because the words made him conscious of Eri, while Eri was simply taken aback by the idea of acting that way with her friend Dane.
"D-Do we really need to be a couple?"
"When a young man and woman live together, the arrangement least likely to raise suspicion is that of a married couple."
"Um... what about family?"
"Do the two of you look like family?"
Dane and Eri looked nothing alike. Both were attractive, but in entirely different ways. Eri had a gentle, lovable appearance, while Dane gave off a sharp, cold impression. If anyone called them siblings, the only comment would be that they did not resemble each other in the slightest.
"Th-Then what about you, Lord Nahen?"
"I can't stay in one place."
"What?"
"The Celestial God would notice if I did. I'll have to keep moving and observe the situation."
"Ah......"
"That's why your roles are important. Infiltrate one of the smaller nations near the Holy Kingdom or the empire and settle near the border. Gather information on how the empire's civil war unfolds."
When Nahen snapped his fingers, a pen and a sheet of paper appeared. He wrote something on the paper and handed it to Dane.
"Report to the location written here once every two days."
"Understood."
"Dane. Eri."
"Yes."
"Yes?"
Nahen spoke in a solemn voice.
"I believe you will both do well."
"......"
The two glanced at each other briefly. Then, as one, they nodded and replied.
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
#
"Schwarde is... dead?"
"...Yes."
Dire news had just arrived at Charlotte's office. The annihilation of the thirty thousand elite troops and the thousand-strong magic combat battalion sent to Delos Castle, along with the death of Schwarde Hatzfeld. Even Charlotte could not help but be shaken upon hearing it all. Schwarde's death struck her especially hard, as he had been both her close aide and a comrade from the northern war.
Charlotte dropped her pen. Theodore, who had delivered the news, flinched and spoke up.
"Your Highness, are you all right?!"
"...Who?"
"Your Highness......"
"Who killed him!!"
Charlotte's expression twisted with rage. Theodore quietly advised her.
"Your Highness, please compose yourself."
"......"
"It seems the north had already anticipated our movements. There is no other explanation."
"...Right."
Charlotte regained her composure at Theodore's reasonable deduction. Theodore felt a slight chill as he watched her rationality return in an instant, like a machine.
"They must have intercepted us from the north. That is the only possibility. Has it been determined who moved their forces?"
"The Gaders are investigating, but so far......"
"Find out... as quickly as possible."
"Yes, Your Highness."
After Theodore withdrew, Charlotte, now alone in her office, ground her teeth. As Theodore had guessed, the north had indeed anticipated their movements. Yet this operation had been conducted in utmost secrecy. Only Charlotte, Schwarde, and Theodore had been present in her office when the plan was discussed. Schwarde was dead, and Theodore could be ruled out as a possibility. After all, he was the one who had offered that very deduction. Of course, that was assuming ordinary circumstances. Charlotte was someone who considered every possibility.
She tapped her desk lightly four times with her finger.
"You called for me."
A man descended from the ceiling of the office. Charlotte had deliberately created a passage through the ceiling tiles. The man who came down was Eric, the leader of the Gaders.
"Eric, investigate Theodore."
"Understood."
"Begin immediately."
"As you command."
Charlotte's response was rational. The only ones who had heard the plan were Schwarde and Theodore, and Eric, being a Gader, had remained by her side the entire time and had no opportunity to leak information. In the end, the only ones who could have known about the attack on Delos Castle and passed it on were Schwarde and Theodore. Since Schwarde was dead, that left Theodore. However, Charlotte did not know the truth. She had responded appropriately to the circumstances, but the incident had actually been carried out by an entirely different third party.
"Your Highness!!"
At that moment, Theodore suddenly returned. Charlotte looked up at him with slightly narrowed eyes.
"...What is it, Theodore?"
"His Majesty has departed for the north!!"
"...What?"
"He supposedly went for an inspection... but that makes no sense! He left at dawn without a word to Your Highness!"
"......"
Charlotte's eyes widened. Knowing what lay in the north, she immediately understood her brother's intentions. Her brilliant mind instantly determined what she needed to do.
"...Arrest everyone who managed the palace gates at dawn."
Her cursed intellect made her realize there was only one option left. Charlotte ground her teeth and issued the order to prepare for what she had desperately hoped to avoid.
"And ready the army for war."
"...Pardon?"
"That damned brother of mine... intends to drag the north into starting a civil war."
Charlotte rose from her seat. Her sky-blue hair swayed weakly. The empire's lioness let out a hollow laugh.
"It seems he truly wishes for me to tear out his own throat."
#
"Your Majesty."
Inside the Demon King's castle on the 66th floor. Two unfamiliar women stood in the audience chamber of Amdusias, the floor's ruler. From the waist up, they were clean, but below that, they were drenched in blood. The blood was not their own, which made the sight all the more horrifying.
The woman with wavy, water-colored hair and perked ears was clearly a member of the Evilcat tribe. Rin El Laza, the strongest swordswoman of the Evilcat tribe, cautiously advised her young liege.
"Lord Nahen instructed us not to kill Demon Kings if possible. Have you forgotten?"
"...I know."
Seere von Devata, the young Demon King who had reduced Amdusias to a pulp, spoke as if she had never intended to do anything in the first place.
"I was planning to stop after going easy on him."
Though Seere said that, Rin thought otherwise. The corridor leading here had been a scene of brutal slaughter. Amdusias's forces, who had resisted to the very end, had met a horrific fate.
"Commander, why did the teacher say to spare the Demon Kings?"
"He said we must keep the Demon Kings alive to prepare for the Heavenly Demon War."
"But you know......"
"Yes?"
"What use are these powerless weaklings in the Heavenly Demon War?"
Seere tilted her head, genuinely curious. Rin glanced at the pulp that was once Amdusias and replied.
"They could at least serve as shields."
"Hmm."
Seere puffed out her cheeks in mild dissatisfaction, then turned away, deciding she should follow Nahen's request.
"Well, they don't seem useful, but... it was the teacher's order."
Having lost interest, Seere left the audience chamber. Rin went to fetch a medic to save Amdusias before he died.
When Seere emerged from the Demon King's castle, her waiting army saluted in unison.
"The 5th Legion has completed clearing the northern border zone of the 66th floor."
"The 6th Legion has finished clearing the southern border zone of the 66th floor."
"The 7th Legion has secured the Demon King's castle and the central district. All soldiers have been captured."
"The 8th Legion has cleared the western border zone of the 66th floor."
They had successfully cleared all military zones except the eastern one that Seere's forces had entered. Though there had been some casualties in the process, none were critical.
Seere smiled.
"You all did well."
She was certain she had properly carried out what Nahen had asked of her. And if she completed everything like this......
"Rest and prepare to depart for the next floor immediately."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Once her teacher returned, he would surely reward her with something sweet. Seere, who still found Nahen's rewards far too delightful, hummed a tune as she headed toward her tent.