Why Is Sis Showing Up Here?
In all of history, a Demon King has been killed by someone else's hand exactly three times.
The first was when that Rank 1 bastard I refuse to even name slaughtered the Rank 71 who gave birth to him.
The second was during the Great War.
And the third… is happening right now. Sloan has already cut down eleven of the seventy-two Demon Kings. She hasn't managed to take out anyone from the upper thirty-six ranks yet — but even so, the mere fact that she was killing the bottom-tier ones was enough. No one dared lay a finger on us after that.
The very idea of a Demon King being murdered was that shocking to humanity.
I couldn't even begin to count how many times Heroes had challenged us over the years. And every last one of those chosen ones had been slaughtered for their trouble.
Honestly, even I could handle most of them without much trouble. I fought a few Heroes myself and won. Of course, I lost the legions under my command in the process, and then…
My mood's starting to sour. Let's leave the old memories there.
That wasn't what mattered right now. The real question was why Sloan's achievements had been buried.
Well, I'll just have to find that out starting now.
In the dead of night, I launched myself onto the roof of the Adventurer's Guild. A soft thud — not even a sound on landing.
Let's see… two or three presences inside.
"Hmm?"
One of them was human. But the other two… no matter how I looked at it, those were monsters. What were they doing here? Had they snuck into the city somehow? I pressed my ear quietly to the roof.
"We're in serious trouble. The Hero Party you mentioned earlier has arrived in this city. And just as I reported — they've already slain His Greatness's servant!"
That voice… I'd heard it during the day. One of the Adventurer's Guild officers had roughly that same tone.
"Yes, I've heard. To think that mighty one would fall in battle. The entire force meant to wipe out the southern elves, gone just like that."
From the conversation, this one was clearly a subordinate of that Skeleton Emperor. I'd known Lichtes had his eye on this city, but he was being more thorough about it than I'd expected.
"Then what should we do? As things stand, we don't dare face that Hero."
"You will stand by until further orders. That is all. Understood?"
"Y-yes, sir."
I decided to hold off on barging in just yet. Charging in now would accomplish nothing.
"Sloan… she's a dangerous woman, no question. His Lordship doesn't seem to fully grasp that."
"I-is that so? Do you have any idea what kind of mission might come down? We don't exactly have the capacity to just accept whatever's thrown at us…"
"You don't need to know. Simply obey."
"Yes, sir!"
"Ah, and one more thing. I'd like to discuss the date for the city invasion soon… Hmm. Wait. There's a little rat on the roof."
I'd been made. I drew a dagger from my belt. Honestly… nothing ever goes smoothly for me. He'd already sensed my presence and just played dumb. Typical of that slimy skeleton's underlings.
"What?"
"Do you lot not even bother with counter-espionage? Hah. Forget it. What can I expect from mortals. You up on the roof — get down here. Running won't help."
Excuse me? Why was this bastard talking down to me? I was a completely different class of being from the likes of them.
I smashed through a window and dropped straight into the building. The one inside was a Dullahan — one of those types who can't even keep track of his own head and has to carry it around in one hand.
"The hell do you want?"
"Wha—!? Wait. This mana… quite potent. Don't tell me you're a monster as well."
No. I'm a Demon King.
"Which faction are you with? Looking at your skin, you seem to be disguised as a human… This area is already claimed by our forces. Go elsewhere."
"Ha."
"You ought to count yourself lucky I'm not killing you on the spot. What's with that look of pure disbelief?"
Wasn't it obvious? Even if I was on the weaker side, I was still a completely different rank of existence from these things. If I felt like it… I could crush them with sheer authority alone.
Power check.
I have one ability that sets me apart from the rest of my kind.
I can tell exactly how strong an opponent is. (It's more impressive than it sounds, though for some reason it doesn't count as a proper innate ability.)
To everyone else it looks trivial, but it's the very skill that's kept me alive this long — and it's an excellent one.
Those two… I can take them.
A cut above ordinary monsters, sure, but nowhere near a Demon King. Judging by their level, they were an advance party. A Dullahan was fairly high-grade personnel, though.
Good. At full Lich-tier strength, I couldn't win even if I died and came back in my current state — but these two? I could kill them without breaking a sweat.
"Seems your ears are plugged. Shall I punch another hole in that tiny head of yours?"
"Stand down, Number One. We don't have kill authorization today."
"Shut up, Number Two. I'm still thirsty for blood."
Muttering that, the monster who'd been quiet until now gave a sudden twitch.
Ah. That one was a Ghoul. And one that still had its full intelligence intact, no less. A step below a Dullahan, but still strong enough to tear through a pack of twenty Hell Beasts on its own.
"Grrrk! Alright, that's enough! I'm stuffing every scrap of that soft flesh into my maw—"
Opening your mouth was a mistake, you idiot. I flicked my dagger straight into its gaping jaws. The blade punched out through the back of its skull.
"Ghk—!"
"Number Twoooooooo!!! You bastard! How dare you do that to my brother—!"
"Wait, you two were brothers? That's just… what kind of lunatic does something like that?"
And of course that skeleton was twisted enough for it. Turning one into a Dullahan and the other into a Ghoul — and they were siblings, no less!
"To insult us, His Lordship's finest creations, is to insult the Demon King himse—"
"I am that Demon King. Are you stupid? Ah, right — you don't have a head."
Killing the one called Number One didn't take long. A Dullahan's weak point is the heart, and he'd raised his greatsword overhead to bring it down on me.
Naturally, that left his guard wide open. A sharp blade slipped through the gap — shunk. Black blood poured out in thick streams. The Dullahan wore a look of pure disbelief as he crumpled.
"Uh… uhhh?"
"Finally, some quiet. You there — can you talk?"
"Uh…"
"'Uh'? 'Uhhh'? That's awfully casual."
The night was long. This one had picked a secluded spot for the meet, so I had until dawn to wring every scrap of information out of him.
"You know how many daggers you can fit in a human body? Most people go into shock and die after just two. But that only applies to amateurs."
He scrambled backward, trying to flee.
Pointless. No matter how fast he was, he was slower than me. I flicked a dagger and pinned the door he was about to open.
"Someone at my level can plant a blade while avoiding every vital organ and major blood vessel. Still hurts like hell, of course."
"Why are you doing this to me…?"
"Why were you doing this to Sloan?"
As I've said — I enjoy hurting people. Pathologically. It's in my nature. Nothing I can do about it.
Humans are extraordinarily noisy animals. They make more racket than you'd think. In fact, very few creatures can produce a louder sound than a human.
Maybe elephants or whales, given the size difference.
But I, for one, have noise-blocking magic.
In other words, I gagged him, then used the edge of a dagger to work it in between his toenails. Sticky blood dripped steadily onto the floor.
"Mmmph—! Mmph!!"
"Alright. Why did you turn on Sloan?"
"Mmph!!"
"This bastard still won't talk. Planning to keep his loyalty, is he?"
Types like this required investment. You had to put in the work to pry the information out, or it got ugly.
Maybe I'd pull some teeth this time. A dagger is a surprisingly versatile tool — pair it with a rock and it doubles as a dental extractor. I removed the gag. For information-gathering purposes, of course.
"Refusing to talk till the end. Tough guy. I respect that."
"I've been ready to tell you everything for the past hour… please!"
"What?! You little—! I just paid you my respects, and you were preparing to betray me the whole time!? Why didn't you say so sooner!"
"My mouth was gagged! How was I supposed to say anything?!"
That was on him and his lack of effort, wasn't it? Honestly… humans these days had no grit. No grit at all.
"A-a few months ago, word started going around that Lady Sloan had killed a Demon King. Any noble in the kingdom would know about it by now."
"Oh, really? Then why keep it quiet? Killing a Demon King is a massive deal."
"Well… the head of the Allied Kingdoms issued a gag order on the whole matter."
Huh? Why on earth would they do that? Shouldn't they be broadcasting it far and wide?
"Why?"
"I-I don't know! That's the truth!"
"Whether it's the truth or a lie is for my dagger to decide. Hang in there a little longer. From now on, oatmeal gruel is going to taste absolutely delicious. Put another way — you won't be able to eat anything else."
Lying to my face right now? Looking to die?
"Aaaagh! I-I really don't know! I don't!"
"You don't?"
"No!"
"Then use your imagination."
"W-what?"
No imagination whatsoever. Given how hard I'd pushed and he still claimed ignorance… he probably genuinely didn't know.
I'd gotten plenty of information already. Time to wrap this up. I drew another dagger.
"Ever nearly drowned?"
"Hah… hah… I-I'm fine…"
"The human senses are remarkably easy to fool. When a lung gets punctured, blood floods in, you see? Creates the exact sensation of drowning. Never experienced it myself, but so I'm told."
"Please… I have a family…!"
No. I couldn't spare him. This man was a Demon King's collaborator either way.
Which meant he was a tool of my rival. I drove the dagger in without hesitation. Shunk. Blood burst from his body. There was no scream.
…!
When a lung is pierced, you can't make a sound.
"Maybe I should've asked more about the other collaborators. Ah well. I'll put that to use someday. Time to head ba—"
"What are you doing here?"
That was supposed to be my line. What was this elf doing here?!
"I… I just saw everything you did."
…Shit. This was looking like a serious misunderstanding.