< 127. Eyes Met >
A search party centered around one prince and one royal prince had set foot in the forbidden zone known as the Erjest Mountains.
Martin entrusted the lead to Belrov Corzen, who was more familiar with the mountain range.
Belrov dispatched three ranger units, including the White Weasel unit, in all directions.
"We'll thoroughly search the surroundings using the ranger units as we go. This is a battle of time anyway."
They had to find the tower no matter what, so it was just a question of how long it would take.
It was better to take a little more time and proceed reliably.
"Understood."
A week passed like that. By then, the search party couldn't help but sense something off.
Monsters like yetis, frost wolves, and trolls had appeared, but compared to the infamous reputation of the Erjest Mountains, there were far too few.
"Is it always like this?"
"No. Even at the foothills, the Erjest Mountains are swarming with monsters from the entrance."
Belrov Corzen frowned. As the captain of the White Weasel unit, he had climbed the Erjest Mountains multiple times. Though he had never gone beyond the foothills, he clearly remembered how many monsters had greeted them each time.
"Should we expand the rangers' search radius and prioritize finding the monsters first?"
"Let's do that."
The search party set up camp on a suitable hillock for rest while scurrying about to uncover the cause.
"This seems like..."
"Yes, it does."
Unlike the others, Hillun Kargil and Granada knew the exact cause of this incident.
It was a strategy to lure the mountain's monsters and unleash them all at once.
The current silence was no different from the calm before the storm.
"Lord Hillun. Did something like this happen during Lord Hillun's hero expedition?"
At that moment, Daphne approached. Granada quickly shut his mouth.
"No. Back then, monsters were plentiful from the entrance. I can't say for certain since it was my first time in the Erjest Mountains, but at least it matched the descriptions we'd heard in Hotenwork."
"It was the same when I climbed to search for the tower. So this is the first time something like this has happened..."
Daphne stroked his chin.
"It's definitely the Demon King's doing. Monster ecology is inextricably linked to Demon Kings."
Now there were more things to keep in mind. Controlling monsters meant the Demon King's influence had grown that much stronger.
"Hiding the monsters suggests they're being held back for a single mass assault."
"I agree."
"Then it's just a matter of where, how, in what way, and how many monsters will come charging."
Demon Kings traditionally welcomed heroes at the top of their towers, but they also sent monsters against them or planted dark wizards and demons in human society to interfere with hero expeditions.
At that point, a knight approached and summoned Hillun and Daphne. It was the prince and royal prince calling.
"What do you two think?"
Upon arriving at the command tent, they were immediately met with Martin's question.
"It's the Demon King's trick."
"As expected. That's what we think too. What should we do?"
"There was no such incident when Lord Hillun and I climbed. That means the Demon King's influence isn't that strong."
"Then it's likely limited to the foothill monsters pushed out of the food chain."
"Yes. Things will be different from mid-mountain onward. And the assault will probably start there."
"Soon, then."
"We prepare thoroughly and..."
That was when it happened. Commotion erupted outside.
The kingdom's knights and empire's knights rushed into the tent in a panic.
"Your Highness, you need to come outside."
"What's going on?"
"Did monsters appear?"
"No. Demons have appeared."
"Demons?"
They hurried outside. On a snow-covered hillock not far from the camp, shadows were visible.
A woman cloaked in a robe and masked over her face. And behind her stood others at attention.
"Humans?"
"I sense magic power. They can't be human."
"Dark elves behind her. That woman is definitely a demon too."
The group buzzed with murmurs.
"The Demon King's scheme?"
"Give the order, and we'll capture them immediately."
Some were puzzled, others burned with zeal.
But everyone felt a strange unease.
A masked woman in the heart of the monster-infested Erjest Mountains.
It didn't fit at all.
"They called it the Flame Demon King, but we're not heading to the Lust Demon Tower by mistake, are we?"
If she was a minion of the Lust Demon King, known as a succubus, it could make sense. But the woman before them seemed utterly unlike a succubus no matter how they looked.
"Lord Daphne."
"...Nothing is known about the Flame Demon King. Nothing would be surprising, no matter what they do."
But in all the hero expeditions he'd joined, nothing like this had ever happened.
At that moment.
"Hello."
The woman bowed gracefully in greeting. It was soft, elegant, and refined.
Her voice was small, yet it rang clearly in everyone's ears.
The commotion died down, and all eyes focused on her.
The woman smiled proudly.
"Pleased to meet you, humans. I am one of the Four Heavenly Kings serving His Majesty the Demon King, the Dark Spirit Summoner."
"...Four Heavenly Kings?"
"Four Heavenly Kings? What's that?"
"A demon who's a spirit summoner?"
Her brief words were packed with contradictions. The unheard-of Four Heavenly Kings, and a spirit summoner at that.
Spirits were the essence of a world. It made no sense for demons, invaders from another dimension, to command them.
...This crazy woman. Ernyan Hildean?
Hillun and Granada suppressed their crumpling expressions with superhuman endurance.
They knew better than anyone who the figure before them was. They'd seen and dealt with her directly.
What the hell is she thinking?
What if she gets found out...!
Despite her mask and disguise, she couldn't fully hide her inherent aura.
Fortunately, there was some distance, she wore a mask, emanated magic power, and no one would suspect a princess of claiming to be the Demon King's lackey—but ifs could happen.
As their worries deepened, the Dark Spirit Summoner spoke again.
"I've come to deliver His Majesty the Demon King's words to you. Who is the highest among you?"
Martin and Belrov flinched simultaneously. They glanced at each other, but in the end, Martin stepped forward.
"Me."
"The Empire's Third Imperial Prince, Martin Jespain."
"You know me?"
"Of course. How could we not know the great Empire's prince? An imperial prince is qualified to hear the Demon King's words."
Ahem, she awkwardly deepened her voice.
"Descend the mountain immediately. Do so, and your lives will be spared. This is my final mercy to you."
Hillun and Granada screamed silently at the clumsiness, but the others, swept up in the atmosphere, didn't find it odd.
"Ridiculous."
Martin shook his head.
"You planted dark wizards in Hamstline Gorge and shook the Empire. The Empire will not overlook this, and the Demon King will surely regret it."
"Such words will only further provoke His Majesty's ire."
"I'll warn you instead. Admit your wrongs now and return the kidnapped princesses. Otherwise, the worst outcome awaits."
"Words aren't getting through. It seems you need some education."
"Education?"
"In His Majesty's stead, I, the Dark Spirit Summoner, will teach you your place."
In an instant, mana surged. The mask's magic power mingled with the mana, concealing her presence.
"How displeased His Majesty is."
"And what kind of being I am, who serves him."
Rumble rumble rumble—
The mountain shook.
"...My god."
The humans gasped in awe.
It was snow. A wave made of snow.
"Take it gladly."
A snow tsunami verging on catastrophe. Knights unleashed their auras. Mages hastily erected barriers.
"A mere lowly demon...!"
The Empire's pride, the Platinum Shield Mage Unit, chanted a joint spell. A massive ice wall blocked everything.
"Your Highness!"
Martin hurried behind it with the knights.
But.
"Perfect."
The Dark Spirit Summoner laughed. By creating the wall, the humans had blocked their own line of sight.
As if waiting, hundreds of mana cannons hidden behind her revealed their muzzles.
They concealed themselves in the avalanche and ice wall, muffling their sounds in the roar of the snow. Then they fired.
Boom boom boom boom—
Explosions rang out in succession. The wall shook.
"Nngh...!"
"Something's hitting the wall!"
"Dark magic?"
"Hold! If it falls, we're done!"
The mages spat blood as they poured in more mana. It shattered and reformed repeatedly, but in the end, the mana cannons prevailed.
Hundreds of mana cannons crafted by the dwarves' top artisans far surpassed what a few human mages could withstand.
Crack—!
The wall collapsed. Mages vomited blood. And through the gap, the briefly held-back snow tsunami swept everything away.
Screams, cries—all were buried.
"Adios Amigo."
The Dark Spirit Summoner murmured softly.
On a different hillock from where Ernyan was, Berge stood with arms crossed, looking down at the scene of utter chaos.
"Can't have Ernyan do the acting."
He'd been on edge, worried her awkward performance might give her away. Still, aside from that, she'd carried out the mission smoothly.
"There are many survivors."
The even larger avalanche had swept everything, but they weren't the elites of two nations for nothing.
The mages reinforced their barriers, knights endured with auras, and rangers let the snow carry them to minimize injuries.
The formation was completely shattered, but survivors were relatively numerous. Exactly the level Berge had intended.
"...I wonder if Lord Hillun, Lord Granada, and Red Hawk are okay."
Ernyan, having completed her mission and approached Berge, asked worriedly.
"After such a fine farewell?"
"My eyes met Granada's, and I just... couldn't help it."
She was too immersed in her Dark Spirit Summoner role. Well, it wasn't bad. The more she did, the more it benefited Berge.
"No need to worry. Nothing's as cockroach-like as those guys."
"That's a relief, then."
"But we can't let them regroup so easily."
Berge gave a glance. Bwoooo, the Frost Orc blew the horn.
The Frost Orcs, who had positioned monsters around the battlefield, began moving all at once.
Dozens—no, hundreds.
The rugged monsters from the frigid snow mountains were a disaster unto the confused allied forces amid the avalanche and mystery attacks.
Battle erupted, blood and roars filling the air.
Among them, the most standout were, as expected, the two Stars.
Hillun Kargil and Daphne Philian.
Each flash of lightning saw Hillun's sword sever a monster's neck. Daphne's arrows pierced vital points without a millimeter's error the moment they left the string.
"Send more monsters to lure those two."
At Berge's command, the Frost Orc blew the horn again. In the intensifying battle, the distance between the two heroes and the Third Prince grew.
"Collapse some snow over there."
"Yes."
Ernyan and the elves moved the spirits once more.
At that instant—
Screee—
A flash infused with dimensional interference rippled.
Crack—
Berge's hand grip slipped. The forcibly halted arrow shattered under the strain. Ernyan blinked at the arrow that had reached right before her.
Berge frowned at the interference burrowing into his body.
"...Were you almost killed?"
"You're awfully calm for someone who nearly was."
"I was shocked. Very much so."
Still.
"I figured His Majesty would protect me. And he did."
Berge snorted and turned his head. His eyes met Daphne Philian's, who was nocking a new arrow toward them.
Another arrow flew. That was just the start. One shot evolved into dozens in an instant.
He hurled black flames. The inferno devoured the flashes.
"Krutoo."
"Yes."
"Deal with that one."
Krutoo charged out on his frost wolf. The herded Frost Orcs followed behind.
The screams grew even fiercer.
Soon, none of the heroes could spare attention for the prince.
Only then.
The spectating Demon King moved.
To kidnap the prince.
"Are you keeping your mouth loose? To persuade my brother, your tongue needs to be smooth. I did mouth exercises before convincing you."
"Mm..."
Kaede swallowed dryly.
Information she didn't particularly want to know.
< 127. Eyes Met > End