Demons in the Head

"Halt! Stop, you insolent adventurers!"

"Don't let them escape!"

The NPCs on the First Prince's side panicked and tried to grab the players.

"This is a trick! His Majesty is being blackmailed!"

"That makes it even better!"

"How incredibly capable do you have to be to kidnap the King and blackmail him?!"

"...These crazy adventurers!"

Of course, their words had no effect on the players. Realizing this, the NPCs tried a different approach.

"Anyone who runs will be cut down!"

"Do not run! Behave yourselves!"

"W-wait. What is this?!"

"This isn't what they said at first!"

When things were going well, these NPCs had acted incredibly arrogant, saying things like, "A mere adventurer like you should be grateful to join the Prince's camp! If you can't do your job properly, we'll kick you out!"

But now, they were threatening them with, "If you leave, we will attack!" It was a total scam!

"There's no way they'll actually attack. I'm leaving."

"Hey, a message window just popped up..."

*Boom! Crash!*

Immediately, the knights attacked the player who was trying to flee.

Knights over level 700 and 800 charged straight in, dealing massive damage and forcing an instant logout!

"......"

"……."

The atmosphere instantly turned ice-cold. Despite the warnings, no one had expected them to actually attack.

Or at least, they thought there would be a few warnings first...

"Flee and you will be cut down!"

"Any fleeing adventurer will be killed!"

"What a bunch of lawless bastards..."

"Just you wait. I'm definitely escaping!"

"I'm stealing items from their camp and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠running!"

It is human nature to want to do what is forbidden. Since they were already contemplating leaving, being attacked like this only made the players absolutely furious.

All sorts of ominous quests began to pop up within the First Prince's camp.

However, the players here had no idea. The place where Philip III resided was just as ominous!

"You little bastard! Get out here right now!"

"M-My lord has led his army to the Auston Kingdom and is not present!"

Since the lord was away leading his army, the head butler came out and bowed obsequiously.

It was an unavoidable circumstance, but Philip III was not convinced at all.

"What do you think!"

"About what, Your Majesty?"

"In my eyes, there is a demon in that fellow's heart!"

"???"

Tae-hyun wondered what kind of nonsense Philip III was spouting. A demon in his heart? Aren't the actual demons locked up in the cages of the Archisus Artillery?

"Lee Se-yeon. Why is he acting like that?"

"I told you, when people are raised as undead, they get a bit... strange..."

But it was true that Lee Se-yeon was also taken aback. Philip III was acting like a complete lunatic.

"I have quietly observed the hearts of the nobles. And it seems to me that the heads of this kingdom's nobles are filled with demons! Demons, I say!"

"Hmm. Well, considering those noble bastards kicked me out when I passed through because the First Prince ordered them to, your theory might not be entirely baseless..."

"Exactly!"

The rest of the party looked on in sheer disbelief as Tae-hyun actually played along.

"What are you doing?!"

"What, should I tell him he's wrong to his face?"

"...Well, that's true, but how are you going to handle the aftermath?!"

"The aftermath? That's not my problem."

Encouraged by Tae-hyun's agreement, Philip III seemed to grow even more excited.

"I believe the reason I died is also because the heads of these noble bastards are filled with demons! Do you remember how I was poisoned during my lifetime?"

"Of course. It was a truly heinous act."

"How else could such a thing have happened if those noble bastards hadn't joined hands with demons!"

"That is a highly logical point."

"I should have slaughtered all those noble bastards during my lifetime and completed my iron throne...!"

As Philip III began to assert this non-existent conspiracy of nobles colluding with demons, the visiting noble NPCs grew increasingly anxious. The atmosphere... was getting... a bit strange.

"N-No, Your Majesty! Please do not doubt our loyalty!"

"We have never once betrayed Your Majesty!"

"Colluding with demons? Never!"

*Cough, cough.*

"Who was that?"

"???"

"Who coughed just now?"

"...!"

The face of the noble NPC who had coughed out of sheer nervousness turned deathly pale.

"Unless there is a demon in your head, there is no way you would cough in this situation, is there?!"

I really need to bring some of that fiery logic to the Karbanog Church... Tae-hyun thought.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Spare us, please!"

"Do not worry. I have absolutely no intention of killing you! I shall simply make you an immortal being just like me!"

An immortal being like him... meant undead! In other words, he was going to kill them.

"Your Holiness! Your Holiness! Please, help us!"

"Indeed! The King will at least listen to the Pope!"

The nobles desperately pleaded with Tae-hyun.

When they had followed the rumors of Philip III's return, they never imagined the King would be running amok like a madman.

But Philip III's condition was far worse than they had anticipated. Perhaps due to the shock of being betrayed by his own sons, his entire personality had warped.

He wouldn't listen to a single word from the nobles; the only person he paid any heed to was the Pope of the Archisus Church!

"Well, well. Weren't you the very people who kicked me out when I passed through the Erangs Kingdom, claiming you were just following the Princes' orders? What was it you said back then?"

"……."

"……."

Tae-hyun, however, had not forgotten his grudge. He vividly remembered being expelled because of the ban the Princes had placed on him!

"T-That... we had no choice because of the Prince's direct orders."

"Then I suppose I have no choice either... I am the King of the Atali Kingdom, after all. Being banned from entry was quite a shock to my system."

"N-No, Your Holiness. Please, let's not be like this. Tell us what you want."

"Indeed! I actually harbor a deep faith in Archisus, so please, have mercy!"

They must have been truly desperate to claim they believed in Archisus, a god they didn't care about at all!

"Oh, please. You didn't care about him before..."

"Please! We beg of you!"

Only after letting the nobles squirm in agony did Tae-hyun finally step forward.

"Your Majesty. If you look closely, that noble simply coughed because his throat was dry. It was not a cough born of a demon in his head."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I tortured the demons I have locked up outside and extracted the information myself."

Tae-hyun shamelessly sold out the demons of the Archisus Artillery! Philip III was deeply impressed by his confident assertion.

"As expected of my right hand!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Very well. I shall let it slide today. However, if you show even the slightest hint of disloyalty in the future, I will assume all of you have demons in your heads!"

"Why on earth is His Majesty acting like that?"

"Is it because of the shock of betrayal?"

"Uh... aren't these quests a bit..."

"...too intense?"

"These quests look like they'll definitely increase our Infamy...?"

The players who had rushed over upon hearing the news of Philip III's return, thinking, Of course the King is better than the Prince!, were left utterly bewildered. The contents of the quests were highly questionable. They felt a bit... villainous?

"Was the King always like this?"

"I've never met him, but I heard he was actually quite kind..."

"You idiots, it's because his own sons betrayed him. Imagine how furious he must be."

"I guess so?"

Although the players were skeptical, they immediately began working hard on the quests. It was the tragic instinct of a gamer to clear any quest put in front of them!

"What is the First Prince doing?"

"I'm keeping an eye on what the players over there are posting. It seems they're blocking both players and NPCs from escaping and are marching straight toward us."

From the First Prince's perspective, dragging this out would yield no benefits. If he left the King and Tae-hyun alone, they would continue to roam the Erangs Kingdom, stirring up chaos!

Just spreading the word that "The First Prince is an unfilial traitor who attacked his own father!" would cause an unimaginable uproar among the nobles.

The First Prince had to attack Tae-hyun as quickly as possible, capture the King, and secure his hold on the throne.

"But if we fight right now, can we win?"

"It'll be tough, wouldn't it?"

Tae-hyun remained realistic. Although the nobles ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from the territories they had visited had joined the King with their personal knights and soldiers (and were currently shedding tears of regret), their numbers were not that great.

The allied forces of the kingdom's nobles, the Archisus Artillery, and the newly gathered players made for a decent-sized army. However, the problem was their opponent: the First Prince.

The First Prince had brought along the most powerful knight orders and mages of the Erangs Kingdom!

Even if their numbers were comparable, there was a massive disparity in quality. A head-on collision would likely result in them being completely obliterated.

"So what do we do?"

"We move to a place that's advantageous for us to fight."

The Erangs Kingdom was vast, with many uncharted territories. Some of these areas were so notoriously difficult that players had barely set foot in them.

Tae-hyun's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠plan was simple: move to a highly defensible location -> hold the line -> keep holding the line -> watch the First Prince's forces gradually weaken -> seize the opportunity to raid the First Prince!

"That sounds like a solid plan..."

Lee Se-yeon nodded. It seemed like a viable strategy if everything went according to plan.

"Where are you thinking of going?"

"We'll decide that after hearing everyone's suggestions."

Surprisingly, opinions diverged. The companions gathered here were all top-tier rankers in Pandemonium Online, and each had their own ideas about the best location.

"Mr. Kim Tae-hyun. There's a unique underground dungeon I visited back when I was a novice. It's incredibly vast, and I suspect it might be some kind of ancient ruin... Luring them there would give us a massive tactical advantage."

"Ryu Tae-su's idea isn't bad, but it's too risky. Underground dungeons don't have proper escape routes. If we get cornered while fighting, we're done for, and it's much harder to dodge attacks compared to open ground. I recommend a forest. There's a place called..."

"Miss Lee Se-yeon is only suggesting that because she wants a place where she can show off!"

"What? Do you want to die?"

Lee Se-yeon was dumbfounded. However, Ryu Tae-su's childish stubbornness was surprisingly hard to refute. That forest was indeed an ideal hunting ground for a Necromancer!

"Hmm. I'll consider both options. Lee Da-bi, do you have a place in mind?"

"Well... I do, but it's a bit embarrassing to say..."

"Come on, it's fine. Just speak your mind."

As Lee Da-bi hesitated, the others smiled warmly and encouraged her. What kind of bizarre place could she possibly have chosen? Lee Da-bi wasn't the type to suggest anything too crazy. She was likely just being shy.

"Personally, I think the Erangs Royal Palace would be perfect..."

"……."

"……."