333. The Worst Reunion (1)
333. The Worst Reunion (1)
- 1 -
It was the evening before the last day of September. Two months had passed since the last council.
I met with the two Demon Realm Archdukes once more.
It hadn't been a short time, but it hadn't been a long time either.
Especially not when I thought about the 'task' I had carried out.
"What is this alcohol? It seems to be human blood, yet..."
Agares drew a long arc across his reptilian face as he asked.
He seemed quite pleased with the 'blood-mixed alcohol' he was drinking.
"Does it not suit your taste?"
At my question, he shook his long jaw from side to side.
"No, it's a delicacy. That's why I'm asking."
"I'm glad to hear that. It's nothing special. It's simply the blood of a subordinate who willingly offered it to me."
"Willingly... you say? Huh."
The expression that surfaced on his reptilian face grew strange.
He must have found it curious that a human could produce such a quantity by willingly offering their own blood to fill a bottle.
All the blood Agares had ever tasted until now had been steeped only in fear and despair.
He hadn't known that the flavor derived from emotions like 'loyalty' and 'spirit of sacrifice' could be pleasant.
'Honestly, I never wanted to know what blood tasted like.'
I clicked my tongue and swallowed a sigh internally.
There were more than a few irritating elements.
To think I had to know even such things to mingle with the Demon Tribe.
My current appearance felt unfamiliar to me.
"That is not what's important."
Eligos, who had been chewing and swallowing food made from a condemned prisoner's body without issue beside us, opened his mouth.
Unlike the previous occasion when he had arrived in armor, now clad in a formal suit, the satisfied smile at the corner of his lips gradually faded away.
"So, how did you manage to dispatch that Botis? With a body that has just reached High Rank."
Curiosity and a desire to compete filled its place.
The intense, aggressive energy surfacing in his red eyes deepened.
I wore a leisurely smile.
"Telling you that is simple, but I wonder if it will resolve your doubts."
"I will decide that after I hear it."
I raised a black power above my hand.
The power that had belonged to Botis.
"That... could it be?"
"It's what's commonly called a compatibility issue. Assuming we possessed equal power, he could not defeat me."
"Is that all? A Marquis-rank noble, by something like that..."
"It may be puzzling, but what happened, happened."
"..."
It seemed it wasn't a satisfactory answer.
As dissatisfaction appeared on Eligos's face, Agares laughed and clapped him on the back.
"Kuh-ha! More importantly, the crucial point is that our remarkable junior has passed our test! Now it is our turn to answer. Eligos."
"Hmph..."
"Now then."
Agares's eyes, filled with interest, turned toward me.
"What should we do for you?"
"First, the conditions are the same as last time."
I stared at him, then shifted my gaze toward my glass and continued speaking.
"Please provide some form of support to the dungeons that will be in the interior. So that numerous dungeons may spring up."
I paused briefly to catch my breath and added.
"And then I shall receive a 'gift'."
"A gift? We have something to receive..."
Agares's face showed a mix of suspicion and greed.
Then, as if struck by a realization, he tore his lips wide and smiled.
"Aha. Is it the same as what we received last time?"
Greed coiled in his eyes, and Eligos also glanced at me with a gaze containing veiled interest.
I interlaced my fingers and answered.
"I shall prepare a plan to cut off support on the Genota front, and on the Tailrand front. In the meantime, all you have to do is carve up the human lands little by little, as if dividing a cake."
Of course, there was room for concern here.
Regarding how to prevent the mass slaughter of humans that would occur during their advance.
But that was a matter for later.
Anyway, if they intended to kill humans in far-off places, there was no particular way for me to stop them.
I could only hope the adventurers there would do well.
"And I would like to receive the reward for the test."
At my next words, Agares slightly furrowed his brow.
"Was that not your preparation to cooperate with us?"
"No. Had I not already given you a 'gift' once before?"
"Hecate's words are correct."
This time, Eligos took my side.
"State the conditions you desire."
"..."
Agares's displeased eyes briefly turned toward him.
As expected, their alliance was not so deep. As was the case with all Demon Realm Archdukes.
But upon hearing my condition, the displeasure veiling Agares's eyes disappeared.
"Inform me of the locations of Lord-level magical beasts that do not properly obey your commands, or that are eyesores."
"Ho-oh. What do you mean by that?"
Eligos's two eyes were enveloped in interest and a fierce fighting spirit.
He appeared to have caught the implication in my words.
As expected, he was a man driven mad by his craving for the strong. More precisely, by the pleasure of crushing those strong individuals.
It wasn't for nothing that his epithet was 'Violence'.
"I would like you to provide the locations of 'sacrifices'."
"You're already preparing for that realm..."
Of course, the sacrifices I wanted weren't for strengthening myself, but for strengthening my subordinates. Still, they would have no way of knowing that.
To make an Advanced into an Elite, you needed an Elite-grade sacrifice. To make an Elite into a High-rank, you needed a High-rank.
To create a Lord-rank, you needed a Lord-level magical beast.
Naturally, this condition was far more difficult than the previous rituals.
The easiest way to procure Lord-level magical beasts in large quantities was to wage war against a High-rank Dungeon Lord who kept them as subordinates and then kill or subdue those beasts.
However, even for High-rank Dungeon Lords, it was uncommon to possess Lord-level magical beasts.
Most were monopolized by the Demon Realm Archdukes, or they lived alone or gathered only with their blood kin.
'To subjugate ancient magical beasts on the surface and bring them down, or subjugate them in the Demon Realm and bring them up—either way, it couldn't possibly be easy.'
Even Botis, with whom I had just recently waged war, hadn't possessed a single Lord-level magical beast.
A Lord-level magical beast possessed powerful strength in and of itself, so if it was a communicative being, it could rule not as a magical beast but as a Demon Tribe member.
It wouldn't be strange if it had already become a noble in the Demon Realm and held a territory somewhere in a corner.
Moreover, even my close aides who had returned through time didn't know much about this point.
'It's information from at least months or years in the future... But what must be done must be done now.'
Powerful strength was a guarantee of survival.
It wasn't something to be stingy with when it came to protecting the lives of my precious women and subordinates, and cultivating power.
"So. Your answer?"
"I'll help."
After Eligos readily answered, Agares rolled his eyes and scrutinized me closely before slowly nodding his chin.
"Good. Coincidentally, there was an eyesore."
His eyes had narrowed.
As if he had figured out what my true intention was.
He might have at least discerned that my wish for sacrifices was for the sake of my subordinates.
There had been several clues, such as my past actions and this 'alcohol'.
But...
'He probably doesn't know that this very meeting brought me another benefit.'
I thought of the one who had been my enemy.
The one who, by now, would know of my influence in the North through their instigation.
I hid my smile behind my glass.
What filled my glass was not blood, but bittersweet Kahlúa milk.
- 2 -
The next morning.
I was having a private audience with a man, placing my hand upon his face.
As the black light rising from my hand subsided, the black patterns engraved on his silver mask deepened further.
"It is done."
"...I shall not offer you my thanks."
The man with a youthful impression bowed his head politely.
It was Botis, who had lost the otherworldly power that was the foundation of his epithet 'Ugliness'... no, now he was a count by the name of 'Jevan'.
I had just returned to him the power he once possessed. For that had been the condition of the negotiation between Dantalion and me.
Of course, its form had changed drastically from the power he originally held, but that was still something.
Merely returning from a state stuck at Baron-rank to Count-rank, that is, from an Advanced Dungeon Lord to an Elite Dungeon Lord, was nothing short of a miracle.
I chuckled.
"It is fine. You may go now."
I rose from my seat. Ahead of me, Jevan walked, and behind me, the 'Mermaid Queen' followed.
That was how it was. Today was the day for another conversation with Dantalion.
The day we had agreed, during our previous arrangement, to renegotiate regarding Wepar.
"Are you not anxious, Salvia?"
After Jevan had moved away, at my use of her true name, her jet-black eyes blinked and she slightly lowered her gaze.
Her demeanor seemed quite cautious.
"I believe my liege will protect me."
I nodded.
"I trust he will not harm you... But yes, naturally, I shall protect you."
A small smile emerged at the corner of her lips.
Looking at her relieved face, I resumed walking.
- 3 -
"...She won't come, you say?"
As expected, Dantalion's voice was laced with veiled shock.
I felt a slight sense of pity, or something similar, toward him who had been my enemy.
For he bore the expression of one who only realizes what is precious after losing it.
"Yes. I will not go."
At Salvia Wepar's words, which were like a coupe de grâce, he straightened his back from where he had been reclining leisurely and sat upright.
His gaze briefly turned toward me before returning to Salvia.
He must have thought persuading her was the priority.
After all, I was the one who had promised her, from the moment the negotiation was concluded, that I would 'do nothing'.
And I had kept that promise.
"Why."
Dantalion's voice was like a fossil hardened by suppressing its trembling.
"Salvia."
It was her true name, called in a formal setting instead of her demon name.
The mermaid slightly furrowed her brow. He was someone who had always placed such importance on etiquette and dignity, yet now he was breaking his own principles.
It meant he was cornered that much.
But it was clear Wepar felt he wasn't being considerate of her.
As always.
"I..."
"Wait a moment."
I raised my hand to stop Salvia, who was about to open her mouth to say something.
"Dantalion."
In the eyes that turned to me at my call, emotions like anger, hostility, or hatred were barely visible.
Even that grew fainter as time passed.
Even amidst this, he was growing cold-hearted.
"For whatever reason, shouldn't her choice be respected?"
Dantalion's eyebrow twitched slightly.
He seemed to be trying hard not to show any expression, but the newly revealed bewilderment could not be hidden.
"This is an agreed-upon negotiation."
His voice was quiet, but power was loaded into every word.
I shrugged my shoulders.
"The basis of our agreement was that I would send her back 'if Wepar wishes it'. It was not that I would force it unconditionally."
Dantalion turned his gaze once again to the Mermaid Queen seated beside me.
From his mouth came a voice that had calmed down once more.
"Wepar. We spent hundreds of years together. My orders may have been cold and heartless at times, but all of it was ultimately for the sake of the Demon Realm. It was for the sake of 'our' Demon Realm."
Wepar's jet-black pupils wavered faintly.
His words held sincerity. A rare occurrence.
But she shook her head.
"No. It must have been for 'your' Demon Realm, my lord."
At Salvia's words, the corners of his eyes visible beyond the mask twisted slightly.
"You mean you will leave me, after all."
His voice turned cold and hardened.
As if he would not show whatever was contained within it. Or as if he had cut something away.
Salvia did not waver.
"Yes."
A resolute single word.
Dantalion closed his eyes and leaned back against his chair for a moment.
And a moment later, he rose from his seat.
"All agreements are now fulfilled. I take my leave. Jevan."
"Yes, Your Highness."
He looked down at me, narrowing his eyes.
"When we meet next time, the result will certainly be different."
"That could be so."
As I nodded calmly, he stared at me for a long while before turning his body.
His gaze had already hardened firmly.
As he turned, a power that was neither light nor darkness twisted the space.
Hoo-ooh!
The figures of Dantalion and Jevan vanished in the blink of an eye.
I turned my gaze to look at Wepar.
She was staring endlessly at the spot where Dantalion had been.
Her gaze seemed to hold either emptiness or a sense of relief.
"Salvia."
I took her hand.
And spoke in a whisper to her as she looked at me.
"I look forward to working with you from now on."
"...Yes, Your Highness."
A silver gleam rose at the corner of her eyes as she slightly bowed her head, but I turned my gaze away without staring at it.
- 4 -
"Master."
After the negotiation ended, back in the office, having let Wepar rest.
Evangeline was standing there, waiting for me.
"Speak."
She channeled mana into the crystal she was holding.
Then, three scenes appeared in the air.
They were the images of the armies of six nations arrayed at the borders of Leophere, Orbis, and Hilsa respectively.
"The army's forward deployment is complete. If you wish it, they can move at any time."
"It is not yet the time for the other places to move."
"That means..."
I directed my gaze toward Leophere.
More precisely, toward the female knight standing at the very front, looking up at the sky and gripping her spear with one hand.
"It seems the time has come to tell Elena to resolve her deep-seated grudge."
My 'Winged General' would crush all possibilities of the enemy resolving their grudges.
And Genota would have to chew on the grudges they held and swallow them inwardly.
Before Elena's wings tore them all apart, and before Agares's venomous hand descended upon their capital from behind.