Chapter 400
Chapter 400
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 400
Chapter Title: Demon World Revolution (1)
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Hubert Merchant Company's reception room was filled with an awkward air.
"……."
"…So, this is him?"
The commotion that had occurred in Tar拉克 not long ago.
Shortly after that incident, the key figures involved had gathered in this very room.
Not only the hero party, led by Heinrich, who had made great contributions to resolving the issue, but also Heinz 2nd, who had provided crucial aid at the pivotal moment; Diana, attending as both the representative of the victims and a member of Hubert Merchant Company; and…
Even Temiran McClaire, the perpetrator of the incident.
"Mm, sorry about that. Back then, I…"
His cautious apology pierced through the awkward atmosphere.
It hadn't been long since they'd first met and exchanged blows, yet here they were, facing each other in this peaceful setting.
And the victim herself was staring at him with wide eyes.
No matter how shameless a person might be, this situation was bound to be embarrassing.
"I'm fine. I've heard the circumstances."
Diana responded maturely to his apology.
It wasn't that she was particularly forgiving out of the goodness of her heart.
She had simply heard the full story from Heinz and decided to follow his lead.
'He was being manipulated against his will, and now he's become a subordinate who can't refuse Uncle's orders…'
When you thought about it, they were now in the same boat. Holding grudges would only tire everyone out.
With the victim's representative accepting the apology, the mood softened considerably.
Of course, if anyone could claim to be the biggest victim, it was the shaman elder who had been injured, but she had entrusted everything to Diana and secluded herself for recovery, so there were no issues there.
"Your appearance has changed so much it's unrecognizable. For a vampire to grow this quickly in just a few days… It's astonishing no matter how you look at it."
"…And the aura he's emanating has shifted dramatically. If Lord Heinrich hadn't confirmed it's the same person, I'd have mistaken him for someone else."
With the saint's assurance that he was no longer a threat, the high elf Lydia and the archmage Iseah observed the boy before them with keen interest.
His early-teen appearance from their first encounter had swiftly matured into that of a late teen—perhaps even a young man in his twenties.
They could sense that it wasn't just his physical form; the very source and essence of his power had been completely transformed. That made it all the more astonishing.
"As expected of the Immortal King. Things had been suspiciously quiet lately, but to think he was scheming something like this behind the scenes."
"With war on the horizon, it makes sense. Hubert Merchant Company is the continent's premier trading house in name and reality. Shaking it would bring benefits in many ways."
The conversation naturally shifted to the mastermind behind this incident: the Immortal King.
The nefarious Immortal King had extended his shadowy tendrils to threaten the continent's commerce ahead of the full-scale war.
And he'd done so by manipulating a vampire whose cooperation had been tacitly promised, even aiming to sow discord.
How could this not be seen as a threat!
"……."
As the group, including the saint, exchanged serious opinions with furrowed brows, Temiran, seated across from them, subtly rolled his eyes toward Heinz, who sat with his legs crossed beside him.
[Focus forward.]
The new master's voice echoed in his mind, prompting him to casually shift his gaze straight ahead and chime in agreement.
Just as he'd been ordered beforehand.
"Yes, and that's not all. Among the missions I received, there were matters concerning the Demon World as well…"
All the world's malice unto the Immortal King!
He couldn't carelessly speak of the Abyss God anyway, and people from this world wouldn't understand even if he did.
So, like with the Oath of Reverse Heaven and the revolutionaries, it was easier to pin everything on the Immortal King.
'The karma I gain from this is pretty decent too.'
Thanks to the enhanced control from Subordinate Domination, Temiran performed his role more perfectly than expected.
This skill now allowed him to monitor his subordinates' situations in real-time and communicate with them. For an unexpected gain, it was quite substantial.
"The Demon World, you say…"
"We need to prepare for the demon worshippers too…"
As the conversation grew more grave bit by bit, Diana, who had been sitting quietly, subtly glanced back and forth between Heinrich and Heinz in the same room.
The two men still exuded a strikingly similar scent.
'Just as I thought.'
She recalled the day she had brought it up with Heinz not long ago.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "…Sorry. Could you say that again?"
An attitude uncharacteristic of the always calm and composed Heinz.
Diana nodded slowly, as if fully understanding his evident bewilderment, before speaking once more.
"I get how you feel. But you know what my ability is like, Uncle."
A transcendent sense of smell that far surpassed animals or monsters—not just physical scents, but even intangible concepts like 'danger' or the fragrance of souls.
Diana, who had lived her whole life with such a gift, stated matter-of-factly, with unwavering certainty.
"You and the saint… You two seem like brothers separated in childhood."
"……."
"Maybe even twins. The vibes are different, but you're both handsome. And your features do look similar up close."
"……."
"I've heard about it. Saint Heinrich was a wanderer from Thalia Kingdom who donated all his possessions to the Church of the Main God and enlisted as a holy warrior. And Thalia Kingdom… That's where we first met, right?"
A logical argument backed by evidence.
Diana looked at Heinz with pity, as he struggled to find words in the face of this unexpected truth.
The master of a massive merchant company and king of vampires.
And the saint of the Church of the Main God, the first sword enacting the divine will.
Who could possibly have guessed those two were brothers?
Even she wouldn't have imagined it without her ability.
'If it's the merchant's identity, there's no issue at all. The problem is Uncle's true nature as a vampire. Though relations are relatively amicable now…'
Expecting that to last forever was overly optimistic.
The current peace was merely both sides pretending not to see each other like a cow staring at a chicken, all at the behest of their superiors.
Deep-rooted perceptions over centuries wouldn't change overnight, and the two groups' natures were polar opposites, making full integration unrealistic.
The opposition was silent only because of the immediate threat of the Immortal King. Once that was over, conflicts would surely erupt.
'Ah, come to think of it, the saint was the most vocal advocate for embracing vampires. This alliance is practically built on trust in him alone.'
As someone who could discern the divine will, he might have sensed something vaguely.
That's why he'd sent that friendly signal toward the vampires.
"…Uncle, are you okay?"
Diana cautiously called out to Heinz, who still hadn't spoken.
Even if he'd found lost family, as representatives of their factions, they couldn't act freely.
The slightest friction from below would become an insurmountable barrier for them.
If this wasn't fate's cruel joke, what was?
"…Mm."
At that moment, Heinz, gazing at Diana with sunken eyes, let out a low groan.
His expression was one of deep contemplation, as if wrestling with some dilemma.
Of course, his thoughts were utterly unrelated to her assumptions.
'What on earth is this girl talking about?'
For Diana to maintain her senses amid the chaos and distinguish the scents of his two avatars was impressive indeed.
Not only had they gained divinity to control their existential waves, but the avatars' spiritual security—wrapped in profound, thick barriers—was beyond imagination.
Yet she'd caught their scent—
'She's grown even more. On a whole new level from before. …Seems contact with the apostle Temiran had some effect.'
Still, her bringing it up suggested the security wasn't entirely futile.
She'd caught a whiff, but the imprecision led to this miscalculation.
"…I see. Thanks for telling me."
"No, this is nothing compared to what you've done for me, Uncle."
"Still, better to keep it under wraps for now. It could lead to unnecessary trouble for both sides."
"Yeah… Well, if you make a big enough splash, people will come around! Vampires' image has definitely improved in the west lately…"
Heinz gave a heavy nod to the girl earnestly consoling him.
Even if she was practically his own, fewer people knowing the secret was better.
He had no intention of clearing up the misunderstanding himself.
'That said, it's a pretty good setup. Wonder if I can use it somewhere.'
Heinz pondered for a while.
Though the nature of his musings was light-years from what Diana imagined.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Is this really okay? I know the fight with the Immortal King takes priority, but…"
Right after the meeting of those involved concluded.
Alone with Heinz, Temiran hesitantly posed the question.
He'd been uneasy like this for a while.
"What's got you so worried? Regretting your handiwork now?"
"Well, yeah…"
Temiran trailed off with an awkward expression.
His feelings were understandable.
Knowing what he'd done from the enemy's side made it weigh on him even more now that he'd switched allegiances.
"But the situation in the Demon World is no joke! The Abyss God didn't send that thing out of an incomplete ritual for nothing. The current Demon World crisis is their final bastion and last gasp!"
The operation underway in the Demon World was the culmination of thousands of years of effort.
Though Temiran hadn't been an apostle long enough to know every detail, as the one who pulled the trigger, he grasped the broad outline.
"It's fine. Preparations to counter it are already solidly in place."
"…Pardon? Preparations? I don't know how you got Demon World intel, but it's completely out of my hands now. Unless you go there yourself, there's nothing we can do from here."
He'd gone to Diana, bearer of a divine fragment, for cleaner handling, but her absence wouldn't have hindered progress much.
"The gates are fully open, and the Abyss's armies have begun eroding the Demon World. Their leader fell long ago. With faith at rock bottom and demons instinctively submitting to the strong, they'll soon fall in line under the new Demon King!"
What came after that was obvious.
Of course, it would never come to pass.
"Your info's outdated. Makes sense—your last communication was before Tar拉克."
"……?"
Heinz said nothing more to the baffled Temiran.
No point; he wouldn't understand anyway.
"Just prepare to head to the Zephia Republic."
"Ah!"
"The contract fulfillment was getting embarrassing with all the delays, but this outcome makes up for it."
His promise to Vice President Kayla McClaire was to locate her missing son.
If dead, at least find where and how—even the body or grave would do, she'd said.
'But bringing back her son alive and well like this? That's exceeding expectations.'
Any delays were irrelevant now.
Plus, the son being a vampire fully subservient to him was a bonus.
Cooperative ally Kayla McClaire would become Heinz's absolute minion.
"C-Can I really go?"
"Yes."
"…It's been twenty years. Will she even remember me?"
"Don't worry."
"Ah! Maybe I should've gone with my childhood look after all! Can we still revert—"
"……."
"Yeah, no. Just testing. Should I bring a gift? A grown son showing up out of nowhere… Gotta have something."
Temiran, kidnapped as a child and unable to approach his mother afterward due to puppet-like control.
Heinz sighed deeply, summoning an exorbitantly expensive necklace-type magic tool from thin air and tossing it to the fidgeting man.
"…Take that and get lost."
Whether it was the right gift, who knew.
Probably never would.
Heinz turned away after watching him for a moment.
Much work remained.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A battlefield under a violet sky.
Normally a chaotic tangle of monstrous forms vying for survival, it was now enveloped in an eerie silence that belied the term "battlefield."
"Huff! Huff!"
[Grrrrr!]
"Huuuuh—."
But those present weren't truly silent; it was no cold hush.
Eyes blazing not with battle madness, but fervent faith like zealots for their god.
All directed at one being at the field's center.
Her mere presence forced knees to bend—a great sovereign born to rule from above.
One word from her could inspire crowds to rip out their own hearts.
A fatal charisma; beauty and nobility that forbade even irreverent thoughts.
The Demon King was there.
[Battlefield cleared, Lady Hela. Give the order, and we're ready to march on the next at any moment!]
A massive balrog approached, prostrating itself before her and bellowing.
A high demon of marquess rank, yet utterly without reservation.
Only pure reverence and worship.
"Hmm— Siana, where to next?"
"One of Dark Nest's central gateways in Otorel's domain."
"Oh? Faster than expected."
It was only natural.
Hela's Helheim forces weren't conquering through ordinary warfare.
Armies typically weakened over prolonged fights.
Each battle brought massive casualties and fatigue to survivors.
Demons had innate resilience, but still suffered somewhat…
"Everyone rested enough? Moving out now."
Her legions were the exception.
An arrogant smile, and immense mana surged outward.
[As you command!]
"Hela! Hela! Hela!"
[Raaaaagh—!]
"Victory to Helheim! Glory to the great Demon King!"
The army went berserk in unison, influenced by her.
Not just her longtime soldiers, but even the foes who'd opposed her moments ago.
A demonic horde that swelled and grew fiercer with every fight.
Helheim's forces had reclaimed all of Abnormal's lost territories and invaded Dark Nest's homeland.