Finally
It won't do.
It absolutely won't do.
No one had ever mentioned it outright, but anyone who had observed Berge Dayas and Ernan Hildean from the Demon King's tower agreed on one thing.
There was a strange tension between them.
You might ask how such an atmosphere could exist between a Demon King and a kidnapped human princess, but to Hillon Kargil, neither Berge Dayas nor Ernan Hildean were ordinary Demon Kings or princesses to begin with.
What Demon King in the world would think of taking a princess as a subordinate? What princess would readily accept and become one of the Four Heavenly Kings?
It takes two hands to make a clap, after all.
'And now they want me to marry Ernan Hildean?'
The Demon King would be furious.
Ernan Hildean would be furious.
'I hate humans who covet what's mine.'
'Same here, my lord Demon King. To think he believes he can stand by my side. Shall I kill him?'
'Let's tear him limb from limb and feed his head to an ogre.'
'Excellent idea.'
He could already picture the Demon King and princess smiling brightly as they dismantled him.
But above all, Hillon himself had no interest. Crown princess or not, he had zero desire for such a... no, for that odd princess.
Sensing the change in Hillon's expression, the king's face hardened.
"I take it my proposal doesn't appeal to you."
"N-no, it's not that. Merely..."
"Merely?"
"Shouldn't we at least hear the crown princess's own thoughts on the matter?"
"No need. Your intentions are all that matter."
Or so he said.
"So you refuse?"
"I lack the qualifications."
"If a man who slew two Demon Kings lacks qualifications, then my daughter will die alone and unmarried."
"That's for the princess herself to decide, not me."
"Very well."
The king clicked his tongue in frustration.
Even for him, he couldn't openly bully Hillon Kargil.
It was different from rescuing the previous Ernan. Back then, the kingdom had a just cause; this time, they had none.
Fortunately, Hillon had left some room for maneuver himself, so there was nothing to do but bide their time.
"I pray you take responsibility for your words."
"Of course."
Hillon let out a sigh of relief and nodded vigorously.
He was certain. Ernan would never agree to it.
In the Berft Kingdom, where dwarves dwelled in an underground city, their king could barely contain his surging rage.
He tore the report to shreds.
"Truly, nowhere to be found?!"
The kidnapped artisans—and Luize Berft. The dwarves suspected the Lust Demon King as the culprit.
She was the only Demon King who could make use of skilled artisans. And she clearly held a grudge against Luize Berft.
From that moment, the Berft Kingdom had planned a hero expedition to rescue the princess and artisans.
They sent envoys to various nations requesting cooperation, promising trades of dwarf-forged equipment. They donated massive sums to the Hero Guild.
Hildean, Hessen, and Akan pledged their support, and the Hero Guild dispatched Waton Colro, a newly risen Star hero in place of Daphne Philian.
Everything had been going smoothly.
Unlike other places, the Pirate Archipelago teemed with pirates, but with naval squadrons from Akan and Hessen lending aid, the Lust Demon King's demise seemed all but certain.
Then, suddenly, the tower collapsed.
They should have rejoiced. But they couldn't.
No traces were found in the ruins—not a single one.
Not the forty-nine artisans.
Not Luize Berft.
Not even their possessions or a single strand of hair.
It was unbelievable.
Normally, when a Demon King dies, the tower crumbles, freeing everyone trapped inside.
Undead demons and monsters scatter, and prisoners are released from their cells.
That's the usual pattern. It should have been the same this time.
"Where in the world did they go?!"
But it wasn't.
"Your Majesty, perhaps they were kidnapped by pirates from the Seratin Isles."
"Kidnapped again?"
"The tower's location was squarely in pirate territory. And it's no secret that pirates covet our artisans."
In fact, the battalion sent to find the princess had already suffered some losses from pirate attacks.
"But even pirates couldn't abduct Luize without a whisper, could they?"
"Anything else doesn't add up. If they made it back to the continent on their own from the Seratin Isles, traces would have turned up in Akan, Dormut, or Hessen. We're talking fifty dwarves moving together. There'd be something left behind."
Unless they never crossed over at all.
The king groaned at his advisor's words. Everyone in the room suspected the same—they just didn't want to admit it.
If pirates had truly taken them, rescuing the princess and artisans would be next to impossible.
The pirates of the Seratin Isles were cockroaches that even Akan and Dormut had failed to exterminate.
No matter how many unlimited dwarf-forged weapons Berft promised, which nation would wade into that swamp of a war?
Facing guerrilla tactics leveraging geography, enemies that sprouted back like weeds no matter how many you cut down.
"...Still no word from the Golden Moon Merchant Guild?"
"They claim they bought it from someone else but refuse to name the source."
"Pressure the Iasin Kingdom."
"Yes."
It was suspicious. Incredibly so.
Yet they couldn't force it out of them—doing so risked diplomatic fallout with Iasin, and no one believed they would kidnap dwarves and a princess.
They could only guess some hero was involved, one big enough that even the Golden Moon Guild had to tread carefully.
"Any chance Hillon Kargil was behind it?"
"Unlikely. He was actively socializing in Hildean's capital at the time. And if it were him, why hide it?"
"True enough."
More importantly, it didn't matter who killed the Lust Demon King and claimed her horn.
The princess and artisans had vanished despite the tower's destruction.
"Pirates, truly?"
"We must wipe out their kind."
"Agreed. They need to learn the cost of touching dwarves."
The ministers began voicing their outrage one by one.
"These are the royal workshop's finest artisans. If the kingdom can't protect them, who will trust us?"
"Dwarven pride has been stolen. We can't reclaim our racial honor without bringing them back."
"Your Majesty, if we set a precedent of half-measures, humans will look down on dwarves."
"Exterminate the pirates!"
"Exterminate the pirates!"
The ministers bowed their heads low.
The king finally spoke amid their fervor.
"I want that too. But the Pirate Archipelago has never been conquered—not once."
"We don't need total extermination. A show of force to make them back down first."
"Instill fear? Use our specialty, then."
"Yes. Aren't there nations even more eager to eradicate pirates than we are?"
The world called them the Dormut Kingdom, the Akan Kingdom, the Hessen Kingdom.
"Promise mana cannons and artisan support. Hundreds—no, thousands of mana cannons. Send artisans to reinforce their warships. We must aid them with our full might, as never before and never again."
Only then would a nation dare step into the pirate extermination quagmire.
"What about the mana cannons and weapon tech that might leak?"
"We'll bear it. Technology can be regained with time and effort. But lost trust and honor? That's harder to restore."
"...Well said."
The king closed his eyes, deep in thought. His ministers were right—but too emotional to ignore.
Even if it tied directly to the kingdom's honor and the people's safety, war with them was a bottomless swamp.
The pirates had endured multiple purges. Perfect extermination was impossible, and without them surrendering first, it would be a endless mire.
The princess and artisans' fates would only grow murkier.
'If they die...'
He might lose his mind.
That small, adorable child...
Avoiding provocation might be the better way to save her. But he was king—he couldn't let sentiment dictate everything.
"...Very well. But limit it to one nation. Frame it as technical partnerships or exchanges, not mere support."
If he couldn't have it, no one should—that was human nature.
The continent teemed with nations unwilling to let Berft's weapons and tech flow solely to Akan.
Especially the Empire. If they took offense, Berft would be in peril. Sturdy breakwaters were needed.
"Send envoys to kingdoms bordering the Seratin Isles: Dormut, Hessen, and Akan."
"Yes."
"Pay special attention to Akan. Probe about the Demon King's horn—any clue will do. Officially, it came via the Golden Guild, but Akan's likely involved."
"Understood. We obey."
"Work out the details meticulously. The kingdom must suffer no losses."
"Yes. We'll do our utmost."
Two days later, the dwarf kingdom's delegation set out for the three kingdoms.
"The time has finally come!"
Balaf Disrod, commander of the hero legion, ascended the platform.
He gazed down at the five hundred members and spoke slowly.
"The Flame Demon King is unlike any before. He built his tower in the harsh Erjest Mountains, thwarting searches, and blocked us from outside rather than holing up inside."
"Our simple tower hunts cost us dearly, claiming the proud Star, Daphne Philian."
"He was a new breed of Demon King."
His voice remained calm, without crescendo. Yet that very steadiness stirred the heroes' hearts.
"Ernan Hildean. Kidnapped Hildean's crown princess."
"Kaede Jespain. Abducted the empire's ninth imperial princess."
"Elena Hildean. Took Hildean's thirteenth princess."
"No Demon King ever kidnapped royalty in the line of succession. We made that unwritten rule. Yet the Flame Demon King shattered it."
"He trampled a millennium of our achievements, mocking us while ravaging the continent from a hidden tower!"
And we...
"Had to watch! Because we couldn't find the tower, didn't know its location!"
But no longer.
"Thanks to Daphne Philian's sacrifice, we've found it! The time to punish that cowardly, vile Demon King—who lacks even the guts to show his tower openly—has arrived!"
Shing—
Balaf Disrod drew his sword. The pristine blade gleamed in the sunlight.
"We will!"
"Sever the head of that vile Demon King who toyed with humanity and ravaged the continent—proving justice lives on this land!"
Rooooar—
"March out!"
Thus, the legion set forth: Commander Balaf Disrod; Vice-Commanders Gillian Aint, Aina Diaphrin, and the newly minted Star Waton Colro; a total of 512 heroes.
An unprecedented force of pure heroes, including four Stars.
The Empire and Emperor's desperate resolve to slay the Flame Demon King, no matter the cost.
"My lord Demon King! It's finally complete!"
In the blinding snow of the white mountains, a dwarf bounced excitedly, cheering.