Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: The Four Heavenly Kings' Conference
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At the very moment Astal's party decided to head to Forsaken Hollow, in a certain place in the Demon Realm, the Four Heavenly Kings were gathered, having a discussion.
"Bella Mora Lictus is dead."
The one who broached the subject first was the headless knight, the Death Knight known as Dullahan. He tapped his fingers on the table, displaying an uneasy demeanor.
This was the first time a member of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings had been killed by human hands. The fact that even beings considered incredibly powerful could meet their end was being driven home.
"That can't... be...."
A slime, a form where human or animal bones moved within a massive green gelatinous mass. Memoria, with her halting speech, was denying reality.
A monster that lived by endlessly consuming the memories of other living beings, like a starving ghost.
To her, Bella Mora was a being she thought no one could kill.
"In dreams... there should be no one who can kill her... Could some information be mistaken...?"
In fact, Memoria's words weren't entirely wrong. This wasn't some low-level demon, but Bella Mora, the Succubus Queen. Given this, it wouldn't be strange to say a being capable of killing her didn't exist in this world.
A nightmare demon that could freely move between reality and dreams. Even if she died in a dream, it was essentially the same as not dying in reality; to kill Bella Mora, preliminary work was needed to drag her into the real world.
"...The central power source of the Nightmare Theater was shattered, it seems. Because of this, it appears everyone woke from their dreams momentarily."
The very small gap created by the combined assault of the Hero Kyle and the mage Astal became the key to killing Bella Mora.
"...?!"
"......"
At Dullahan's words, the other two couldn't hide their shocked expressions, their bodies trembling slightly. The number of individuals who could accomplish such a thing from within the Demon Realm where they and the Demon King resided was somewhat limited.
"The Hero..."
"I knew it would come to this. I told you. We should have torn apart and killed those bastards, Kyle and Astal."
Recalling Kyle's face, the wolf Romulus growled. The hero's party had been active within the Demon Realm for over a year, hiding their identities and appearances.
Originally, he who could freely travel through the past and disrupt timelines, even at this moment, wanted to go back to when the hero's party were just babies and cut their throats.
"I don't know what the Demon King is thinking! I told him we should raid the hero's village and kill them all, but in the end, he only sent troops to some strange rural village!"
"And... you... made the choice... to spare one person there..."
Romulus and Memoria raised their voices, recalling the events of ten years ago. No matter how much they thought about it, they couldn't understand the choice the Demon King had made.
They thought he had identified the person who would be chosen as the hero and sent troops to the continent, but the forces mobilized weren't all Four Heavenly Kings, only Dullahan and the soldiers under his command.
Moreover, Dullahan made the mistake of letting a single person survive from that place.
"There was a sprout of a different kind. The moment I saw it with my own eyes, I could immediately understand why His Majesty gave me such a trivial order, why we had to burn that village before the Hero."
Dullahan chuckled as he remembered the blue hair and eye color of Astal. A heteromorphic trait different from his parents—that signified a constitution blessed by magic.
That's why most Tower Masters typically possessed hair and eye colors identical to the magic they specialized in.
"He was proficient in water-related magic. You should have seen him casting intermediate-level magic with a body not even that of a teenager. He was a genius who could have even aimed for the position of Blue Tower Master."
Dullahan recalled Astal's appearance from years ago, a shiver running down his spine. The fighting spirit and combat instinct, unbelievable for a child, gave him the first sensation that he could die.
An undead who doesn't die even when his head is cut off. The Death Knight Dullahan, seeing him for the first time, felt his heart race with the desire to fight.
"You shouldn't have spared even one person for such a reason. That one who escaped alive..."
"Astal... Kaiseroth..."
It became the reason he deliberately let Astal live, even against the Demon King's orders.
"Indeed. He'll probably head straight for my territory. It's the closest to Bella Mora's territory, and to avenge his parents."
Dullahan was barely suppressing the urge to draw his sword and fight Astal right then and there. For a warrior like him, battle was a sacred ritual that separated the strong from the weak.
How much stronger had he become by now? How much more consumed by vengeance, wanting to kill him? Such excitement enveloped Dullahan's body.
"...Who would have thought that guy would become the mage of the hero's party? Now I finally understand why His Majesty wanted him dead."
Originally, the hero parties before Kyle's didn't pose a significant threat to the Demon King and the Four Heavenly Kings. Countless heroes challenged and fought them, all turning to blood and flesh before perishing.
"I'm itching to fight..."
But Kyle's party was different.
The Perception Hindrance Magic created by Astal, who was proficient in magic, allowed them to move freely within the Demon Realm, rendering all strict security useless.
"Then you should have killed him all the more! When the oracle came down about a human who would kill the Demon King, what kind of Heavenly King in this world ignores that and acts as they please!"
Romulus bared his fangs, showing an attitude of wanting to attack Dullahan. He thought that sparing a human who could potentially kill the Demon King for the simple reason of wanting to fight was an act akin to treason.
"...Do you think our Demon King will die? The absolute being who has destroyed countless parallel universes and leads all things to death?"
In response to Romulus's demeanor, Dullahan didn't even flinch. He didn't think for a moment that the addition of a mere human meant someone would die.
"But the oracle clearly...!!"
"Do you believe in that detestable god who abandoned us? The ones who labeled us as evil and targets for subjugation just because of differing religions and beliefs?"
"What...?"
Dullahan continued, rattling the helmet he held in his hand. Wasn't it suspicious from the very start that they claimed to be a god and issued oracles?
Dullahan knew that Demon King Ergothum, while pretending to listen to such a being, secretly harbored suspicions, as if something didn't sit right.
"Even if they are an otherworldly god who wants to help His Majesty achieve his goal, there are too many suspicious aspects."
Recalling the colossal humanoid figure composed of what seemed like shattered glass fragments, Dullahan stoked the flames burning atop his neck.
The moment Dullahan saw the being that called itself a god, he felt a creepy sensation, as if bugs were crawling over his skin. He instinctively realized that thing shouldn't exist in this world.
What on earth is the Demon King thinking, trying to make a deal with such an entity? Why must we follow the oracles of such a being?
Numerous questions flashed through Dullahan's mind, and this was also the reason for his sarcastic remarks to Astal back then.
"To be honest, you can't say the Demon King isn't insane either. To destroy the world because he can't forget one girl..."
"...Shut up, Dullahan. He is not someone you can speak of so casually! Know your place!"
Crash!
Romulus slammed the table in front of him with his powerful arm strength, stopping Dullahan from carelessly discussing matters related to the Demon King.
In fact, the reason Demon King Ergothum wanted to destroy the world, and the reason he gathered monsters and demons to create a new place called the Demon Realm, were all related to this.
"A life that's already died once isn't scared of dying again."
Dullahan shook his head as he looked at the shattered table. The story of a being who became the Demon King for the sake of one woman felt far too childish.
Even though the military power to shatter the continent was complete, and a single gesture from the Demon King could take everything.
Demon King Ergothum chose not to.
"Bella Mora is already dead. And we might be next... Yet His Majesty remains quiet, as if he desired this... So I will act as I wish."
Feeling that further conversation was impossible, Dullahan slowly rose from his seat and turned his back. How long had it been since he had a chance to dye his sword with blood and fight fiercely on the boundary between life and death?
If he missed this chance, he might have to wait hundreds of years for the next one. That's why he was hastening his steps.
"Oh, right. I actually plan to give the hero's party a grand welcome. They'll probably try to assassinate me... but I prefer a fair and square duel."
Dullahan deliberately acted nonchalantly, as if for the other Heavenly Kings to hear. Every fight that took place in his territory was like the survival of the fittest, where only the strong trample and take everything.
"...I'm curious how much that brat has grown."
Dullahan let out a loud laugh, thinking of Astal.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Having arrived at Forsaken Hollow to assassinate Dullahan, we looked at the sight unfolding before our eyes and realized something was strange.
The place where the arena should have ended and a banquet should have been held was instead filled with monsters and demons, as if still burning with the heat of battle, seemingly waiting for us.
"If you want to kill me, participate in the arena. No matter how much you're heroes, I'll face you here without giving you any disadvantage." "Don't you want to avenge your parents with your own hands?" The sentences, written in blood—whether left by Dullahan himself or not—were written using a human head with a hole punched through it, stuck upside down like a pen.
"This son of a bitch..."
Provoked by Dullahan's taunt, I could only clench my teeth and tremble. The veins on the back of my clenched fists stood out prominently.