< 122. The Empire's Goal >
The Flame Demon King.
That name alone was enough to capture the attention of the imperial family.
"...The Flame Demon King?"
"What did the Flame Demon King say to you?"
"He said to kill you all! Kill you and plunge the empire into chaos...!"
Betrayed, Byrif had nothing left to hold back. He poured out everything with all his might. Or tried to.
*Cough*—
"...Huh?"
Byrif touched the black blood trickling from his mouth.
"What is th...?"
Those were his last words. His head exploded. The headless corpse slumped to the ground.
No traces remained. It was merely the price of betrayal, enforced by the contract etched into his soul.
If there was anything, it was just the magic points inside Byrif going berserk.
Thus, no one noticed.
"There's a demon nearby! Find the bastard!"
"How dare that filth...!"
But humans see only what they want to see. The imperial family, convinced someone had assassinated Byrif, flew into a rage.
Daphne Philian, Balaf Disrod, Rozel Charnt, Aina Diaphrin, and the Stars and heroes, along with knights, mages, and soldiers, scattered in all directions.
For the single purpose of hunting the imaginary demon that had killed Byrif, they forgot their recent disputes.
"How dare that filth...!"
The imperial family raged, and Berge joined them in fury, climbing onto the crater's edge. Pretending to search the surroundings with Hillun Kargil.
"Was that you, Lord Fail?"
"Yeah."
"How, when not even magic points were revealed?"
"It has nothing to do with magic points. It acted on his soul as the price for breaking the contract."
There was one reason he explained it outright.
"Don't forget that what's in your head is firmer than any contract with a warlock."
"......"
It was a warning.
Even though Berge himself had decided to discard him first.
He understood Byrif's psychology in that desperate situation.
But understanding and acceptance were different things.
For a mere familiar—a lowly warlock—to dare betray him? Unthinkable.
He might discard a familiar, but a familiar daring to betray him? Never.
That was a Demon King. That was Berge.
"...I understand."
Hillun averted his gaze, changing the subject.
"But what now, my lord? It's no longer a question of whether to use the Third Prince to whittle down the empire's strength."
"...Byrif, you damned bastard."
Hillun was right.
Through Byrif's mouth, Berge's existence had been exposed.
Before four members of the imperial family, the empire's heirs.
Despite all his caution.
Despite all his hiding.
"You must stay calm."
"I am calm."
Just suppressing his magic points was an act of superhuman restraint.
It was utterly chaotic.
A warlock betraying a Demon King was a first for him.
The bastard had paid the price, but the aftermath was now strangling Berge's neck.
"What do you think the empire will do?"
"They'll go berserk trying to find your tower, my lord."
"As expected."
"We don't know exactly what Byrif did, but there was an explosion that shook the gorge, the First Prince's camp is full of injuries and short on numbers. Considering those were the elite of the Osrian ducal house, and the First Prince's pride..."
The empire's First Prince—the empire's premier noble house—had suffered a massive blow to their pride.
The empire was a colossal fortress obsessed with its long-accumulated prestige, tolerating not even the slightest scratch.
Failing to notice a Demon King lurking in their territory was one of the scales they wouldn't allow touched.
In short, the empire would move to repair the wound.
"...Truly."
Berge sighed.
"What a dogshit situation."
Isn't it?
"You worm. Because of you."
Berge ground his teeth. His gaze fell on the soul clutched in his grasp.
"You idiot. Did you think death would let you escape my hand? That death solves everything?"
To not even know what becoming a warlock meant—what pledging to a Demon King meant.
Well, black magic had vanished from Alein for centuries, and Byrif had become a warlock through his own power, not a Demon King's, so it was understandable.
But that wasn't an excuse.
"Look forward to it. You'll never fade into happy oblivion."
Byrif's soul trembled in terror.
And Hillun Kargil, watching it, felt the same.
In conclusion, searching for a nonexistent demon was, naturally, a failure.
The subjugation force's only gain was the information that "the Flame Demon King is involved," at the cost of massive additional losses.
Instead, they found other things.
"There's a dungeon here."
"No traces of other warlocks."
The underground dungeon where Byrif had stayed. Its existence right beneath the deep crater astonished everyone.
Because there wasn't a single trace of anyone—not even one person.
"Wasn't Hillun Kargil lying? Just one warlock? No way there were mighty undead."
The First and Second Princes, the First Princess, and the Third Prince.
The imperial family members leading each unit formed a separate gathering. A tent with the imperial banner was pitched not far from the crater.
The Second Prince's words drew a scoff from the First Prince.
"Don't talk nonsense."
"Nonsense?"
"There were two Death Knights. Dozens of dullahans, thousands of undead. And a lesser dragon."
"Who'd believe your words, brother?"
"Go outside and ask anyone."
"Who knows if you've already coached them?"
"Still nitpicking with absurdities, I see. You didn't miss that explosion, surely."
"...Well, that."
It was a massive blast that shook the gorge. No matter who caused it, the First Prince's heavy losses were fact.
"Then I'll believe it for now."
"It's not belief—it's fact."
"But one guy doing all that? Doesn't make sense no matter how you slice it!"
"Brother's right. Impossible alone. So..."
Martin interjected.
"The only answer is the Demon King deliberately intervened."
The other three imperial family members nodded. For a warlock to pull that off, he'd need power granted by the Demon King—nothing else fit.
"The empire's been gravely underestimated. A mere Demon King daring to..."
Quiet fury spread subtly.
"But do you really think it's the Flame Demon King, brother?"
"What else?"
"Could be the False Demon King."
"He believed to the end he'd be saved. You don't think that was acting, do you?"
"True. If it was, he'd be an actor, not a warlock. Or a politician."
The Second Prince nodded at the First Prince's assertion. The image of him shedding bloody tears, cursing the Demon King, then vomiting blood and dying upon mentioning the name—it was burned intensely into everyone's minds.
"But we should consider why the False Demon King is called 'false.'"
"He was cautious for over a century. Why pull such a blatant, idiotic stunt now?"
"That's suspicious, yeah."
"The Flame Demon King has precedent for hiding his tower entirely. Odd for others to use such crude tricks now."
The imperial family gradually agreed with the First Prince.
"Then it's no longer about some warlock. The empire's being toyed with by one Demon King. Without Hillun Kargil's help, who knows what would've happened."
"Praising the hero who took your hand?"
"Just stating facts."
"Facts are facts. Aren't you too quick to dismiss the False Demon King, brother?"
The Second Prince shrugged, siding with the Third Prince.
"I just called it what it isn't."
"Maybe."
"Your brotherhood is touching, as your elder."
"Seeing empty words means you're pretty pissed."
The Second Prince smirked slyly.
"Enough petty sniping. So, what now?"
"What about you, brother?"
The heaviest losses were the First Prince and First Princess. Their rage burned hottest.
"I'll return to the capital. Report to His Majesty and formally request a Demon King subjugation."
The First Prince wanted to erase the direct culprit who created the warlock and sparked this mess.
"I'll search for any remaining warlock traces and extract whatever I can."
The First Princess believed traces of warlocks and demons lingered.
"Neat and tidy. No warlock corpse means no casus belli. I wanna see that insolent Demon King's face myself."
The warlock's corpse, "assassinated" by a demon, had crumbled to dust. No demon traces anywhere, so no proof they'd defeated him.
But his final testimony revealed the culprit, so their fury had direction.
Though mere words, everyone gathered was imperial family—possessors of power and claim to the throne.
If they said so, it was so.
The moment "Flame Demon King" escaped the warlock's lips, the moment they acknowledged it—the answer was set.
"Anything else to see?"
Withdraw.
The four imperial rivals, checking each other for the throne, joined hands.
Their target: the Flame Demon King.
The worst outcome for Berge.
"Hahaha..."
Laughter escaped.
"Hahahahaha...!"
It poured out madly.
Suddenly, the past flashed back.
When he'd kidnapped Jespain's crown prince, and empire soldiers swarmed like zombies.
Block one wave, a stronger comes; block that, an even stronger follows—hellish times.
Outwardly, the subjugation succeeded.
Warlock dead, undead reverted—technically true.
But it wasn't the end. The beginning.
"Lord Hillun."
Martin, back in the capital, summoned Hillun and Berge.
"I never thought I'd fulfill our promise so soon."
For Berge, it was a hasty pretext to attach Hillun to Martin—something he never wanted realized.
"We've decided to launch a hero expedition against the Flame Demon King."
...Good lord.
He'd sensed it might go this way. But hearing it directly from the prince, mere days later in the capital, hit different.
"Not content with kidnapping Kaede, now this. The Flame Demon King who dared mock the empire won't sleep soundly."
It was true. Berge felt his blood draining daily. His head throbbed with no good ideas.
"But the Flame Tower is different from before."
"Yes, the tower itself is concealed. That's why you failed too."
"Indeed."
"It's our concern as well."
Find the tower, and the empire could crush it in one go.
No matter the Demon King, barely a year since summoning—a greenhorn.
Before the empire's might, just a tricky monster.
But Erjest was another story.
No human domain.
Hamstline Gorge was similar, but Erjest's eternal snows and harsher peaks were incomparable.
The monsters there were far superior too.
"Ultimately, piercing those harsh conditions to find the tower is key. But no easy feat."
Why's it a mountain range? Vast chains rivaling kingdoms in scale.
"Can't find it" wasn't an option.
But when, and at what cost—that was the issue.
Shortening that was core.
"Agreed."
"His Majesty even sees this as an extension of the warlock subjugation."
"...Meaning?"
"As you think."
"If I may speak freely..."
"Go ahead."
"Isn't that too complacent?"
Even for the empire, Erjest. If borders touched, maybe—but foreign soil.
Can't deploy armies, and splitting them further?
Beyond Hillun's common sense.
"I understand. I think so too. But it's His Majesty's will, absolute in the empire."
"Good lord."
Hillun was appalled. Berge felt relief mixed with rage.
Dispersing forces was good, but it meant the empire viewed him as insignificant.
Mere humans scorning him, a Demon King.
"Better this way. I'll definitely rescue Kaede. So, one request."
"I'll naturally search for the tower with you, Your Highness."
Whether Berge wanted it or not, allying with the Third Prince over Erjest left no choice.
"Thanks."
"Only natural."
The prince and hero clasped hands.
No reason to refuse.
To Martin, Hillun was the hero most eager to conquer the Flame Tower.
Any edge, even slight, warranted any effort.
"Your Highness, ascending Erjest requires much preparation. Send Lord Fail ahead."
"Indeed."
What Hillun could do for Berge: fabricate reasons to let him slip the capital.
"Dammit, dammit, dammit...!"
Berge escaped the empire via teleport array. Changing robes repeatedly to hide his path, he reached Hotenwork.
And spotted more annoyances.
'These vermin.'
Akan's dogs searching Erjest for Ravinia Akan.
He wanted to slaughter them all but held back for now.
Slipping past, he returned to the tower. The first floor was an empty maze. But his eyes saw the mana cannons hidden in the walls—nearly complete, a small comfort.
"Lord Demon King! You're back!"
"Demon King!"
The dwarf and mad princess greeted him, but Berge waved dismissively and passed.
Through the empty second floor, past Elena groaning on the third.
"Lord Demon King."
"Welcome back?"
Fourth floor. The Dark Spirit Summoner, Dark Knight, and elves welcomed him.
Impressed by the growing roster, but no time.
As he moved to the fifth, Berge paused. These were now full tower members.
To fend off the empire, they'd have to join.
"You there. Fetch Gordon from the fifth. And you, get Roger and Ravinia from the first."
"Yes, Lord Demon King."
The pointed-out elves scattered.
"Something wrong? You look pale, Lord Demon King."
Ernan approached worriedly.
"Yeah. A huge problem."
"...If you're saying that, it must be massive."
"Spot on."
"What?"
"The empire's coming."
"The empire?"
"First Prince, Second Prince, First Princess, Third Prince. All four with throne claims."
"...Brother too?"
*Clang*—
Kaede dropped her sword.
< 122. The Empire's Goal > End