Chapter 230: Demon King's Castle (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 230: Demon King's Castle (2)
“The Demon King’s Castle is empty? That’s impossible…”
The Demon King.
King of the monsters and master of the Demon Realm, the habitat of high-ranking monsters. Following the law of the jungle that governed the monsters, the strongest monster in the Demon Realm became the Demon King.
But that was a thing of the past.
At some point, the title of Demon King had become hereditary, passed down from parent to child.
Much like the monarchies of many other races.
It was a drastic change for the Demon Realm, but it caused no major issues. The children born of the Demon King’s bloodline were stronger than any other monster. Before ascending the throne, they killed every monster that dared to challenge them, and even after their coronation, they mercilessly eliminated any who stood in their way.
Under such iron-fisted rule, the Demon King came to wield absolute power in the Demon Realm.
And the symbol of that power was the Demon King’s Castle.
Guarded by legions of hundreds, even thousands of monsters, this was a place where not even Angelica, the Queen of Succubi and one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Army, could let her guard down.
This wasn't a place one could just walk into so easily!
“No need to be so shocked. They’ve probably set a trap.”
“No way. Those guys are just muscle-brained idiots, but their pride is through the roof. They’d sooner kill themselves than set a trap.”
“Are you saying monsters care about honor? How amusing.”
Frillite scoffed. For her, who had valued honor her entire life, the idea that cruel monsters would concern themselves with it was a ridiculous, unbelievable notion.
At her sneer, Angelica, who was also classified as a monster, frowned in displeasure and retorted.
“We know what honor is, you know. It’s not something exclusive to you humans.”
“I never said honor was exclusive to humans. I merely said it doesn’t suit monsters.”
“And why doesn’t it suit us?”
“Do you really need to ask?”
Frillite’s icy gaze fixed on the grumbling Angelica.
“You grovel before the strong, yet you torment anyone even slightly weaker than you without a moment’s hesitation. Regardless of their hostility. Without a shred of mercy.”
“Th-That’s only the low-intelligence monsters…”
“You haven’t forgotten the atrocities you committed in Aikenhard, have you?”
“…”
Angelica, who had a history of trapping all the citizens of Aikenhard in the Duchy of Polizia within a nightmare, fell silent.
It would be a lie to say she hadn’t felt pleasure in trapping the humans in nightmares that day.
And she felt that if she spat out a lie on top of the contempt she was already receiving, Frillite might actually tear her head off.
Seeing Angelica naturally lower her gaze under Frillite’s glare, Cloud intervened.
“Both of you, stop it. What are you doing, fighting inside the enemy’s stronghold?”
“…My apologies. I got too heated.”
“It’s fine. With what happened recently, and considering where we are, it’s understandable to be on edge. Just be careful from now on.”
As Cloud defended Frillite, an indignant Angelica cried out.
“But I was the only one getting yelled at!”
“You deserve to be yelled at a bit.”
But Cloud replied coldly before striding forward, telling them to refocus.
Why is he only like this with me? She’s the one who started it.
As Angelica grumbled to herself, Cloud suddenly turned back and spoke to her.
“Oh, right. Betray us, and you’re dead.”
“I can’t, because of the contract!”
“You never know.”
Cloud said it casually and continued on his way.
His attitude made Angelica’s blood boil.
I’ve done everything he’s ordered since we made the contract! I even risked my life to move that ancient dragon’s damn corpse!
Even though they were practically in the same boat now, his sharp, wary attitude made Angelica feel a fresh wave of sorrow.
Hailey, feeling sorry for her, patted her on the back, but it didn’t do much to improve her mood.
Cloud and Frillite paid no mind to Angelica’s feelings and kept moving. They proceeded with the utmost caution, wary of traps, but there were none. Before long, they arrived at the highest floor of the Demon King’s Castle.
A massive stone gate greeted them as soon as they climbed the stairs.
When they opened the gate, which was covered in unidentifiable carvings, a vast, dark corridor with not a single point of light appeared.
Frillite, Angelica, and Hailey tensed at the ominous aura flowing from the corridor.
“This is… quite dangerous. We can’t let our guard down… Wait, Cloud?!”
Frillite tried to stop Cloud as he advanced without hesitation. But she was a beat too late, and Cloud’s foot touched the corridor floor.
Fwoosh—
Blue flames erupted from the sconces lining the walls, illuminating the corridor.
In the center of the corridor, now bathed in blue light, a man sat on a massive throne made of obsidian.
With long white hair, pale violet skin, two large horns sprouting from his head, an upper body similar to a human’s, and the legs of a horse, he gazed at Cloud’s party with a bored expression.
“Are you the Hero and his party?”
His eyes swept over them, pausing on Angelica before he tilted his head.
“I thought winning over one of the Four Heavenly Kings was a rather old trend… I suppose it’s still in use.”
Frillite and Hailey, not understanding his words, narrowed their eyes. Angelica didn’t understand either, but unlike the other two, she was fidgeting nervously.
“M-My Lord. This… uh, what happened was…”
“Enough. There’s no need to explain. You must have fallen for the Hero’s passion and kindness, or something of that sort.”
Angelica froze. The absurdity of his statement left her speechless.
“I am pretty kind.”
Cloud shrugged.
Ignoring the disgusted looks from Angelica and Hailey, he continued.
“More importantly, let me ask you something. Never mind the talk about trends, why is the castle empty? According to Angelica, this place is supposed to be guarded by a legion of thousands of monsters.”
“Because it would be meaningless.”
“Should I take that as an expression of excessive confidence?”
I alone am enough to deal with the likes of you.
Something like that?
“That’s not it.”
The Demon King shook his head as if to say that wasn’t the case.
“I have no intention of fighting you. Therefore, there is no need to station soldiers here.”
The Demon King’s shocking declaration followed.
Frillite, who had been bewildered, finally erupted in anger.
“…What is this nonsense? Are you trying to mock us?”
Ever since being chosen as the Hero, Frillite had prioritized her duty over her own life.
She might be defeated in a battle against the Demon King, but she had never once considered avoiding the fight itself. To her, the Demon King’s words sounded like a mockery of both her and Cloud.
Her hand, gripping her greatsword as if she would charge at any moment, trembled. Just then, Cloud’s hand covered hers.
Frillite turned her head toward him. Cloud gave her a look that told her to calm down. Though she ground her teeth, she managed to rein in her emotions.
“You don’t seem like mere companions… Are you lovers? To have such a fierce woman under your thumb, you must be quite capable.”
“You said you have no intention of fighting, right? Then you’d be wise to stop with the wordplay. It makes me want to rip your mouth off.”
“How savage. I shall be careful.”
At Cloud’s warning, the Demon King chuckled and nodded.
“So, is that all you wished to ask?”
“Of course not. We still have the most important question left. After sending the Four Heavenly Kings all this time, why do you suddenly not want to fight? It doesn't seem like you're simply afraid to die.”
“Ah… there seems to be a misunderstanding. I never gave them such an order. They acted on their own, for their own reasons.”
“Do you really think that makes any sense?”
“If you don’t believe me, ask one yourself. You happen to have one of them right next to you, do you not?”
Skeptically, Cloud turned to look at Angelica. Frillite did so with disbelief, and Hailey with curiosity.
There’s no way that’s true—
“Uh… um…”
Angelica was scratching her cheek with an awkward expression. The cold sweat trickling down her neck only added credibility to the Demon King’s words.
“…We’ll talk later.”
Her motives weren’t important right now, so instead of pressing her, Cloud dismissed it with that single sentence.
Panicked, Angelica tried to stammer out an excuse, but no one paid her any attention.
Not Frillite, and not even Hailey.
Leaving a teary-faced Angelica behind, Cloud asked another question.
“Fine. Let’s say that’s true for the Four Heavenly Kings. But I still haven’t heard your reason for not fighting. Isn’t a Demon King supposed to fight the Hero?”
The ostensible reason for a Hero’s existence was to defeat the Demon King who harmed humanity. If the Demon King had no intention of fighting, then there was no need for a Hero to exist.
A Hero existed in this era, which meant that he, the Demon King, should have the will to conquer humanity.
But the Demon King before him seemed to lack any such will. Cloud pointed this out, but instead of answering, the Demon King simply stared at him.
As the continuous gaze began to unnerve him, Cloud was about to frown when the Demon King spoke.
“Their souls are contained within you.”
“Their souls?”
“The Heroes of the former Prona Kingdom.”
“…”
“There’s no need to be surprised. Your soul is vast, so much so that even I cannot comprehend it, but it’s not enough to hide the impurities engraved upon your vessel. Besides, I have met them before.”
Cloud, who had stopped himself from frowning, now let the frown complete itself.
“You’ve met them? What, did they die and come back to life or something?”