< 188. The One You Chose >
“...It’s real. The towers have truly merged.”
The sight of one tower devouring another was beyond comprehension. Reina shuddered at the astonishing scene unfolding right before her eyes.
“As expected of the great First Mahwang.”
It was said that the towers had been created by the First Mahwang. Any hidden functions within them must surely be his design.
“Yeah, sure, let’s say that’s true.”
Berge mumbled awkwardly, swallowing his words.
For now, merging the towers had cleared the biggest hurdle. But it wasn’t over yet.
A tidal wave was about to crash down on them—one massive and vicious beyond imagination.
“My lord, what is the meaning of... Lady Reina?”
Gordon Dirik was the first to rush up to the summit. He quickly grasped the situation.
Realizing that they had absorbed the Frost Demon Tower, he quietly shut his mouth. Then he shot Berge a look.
Absorbing the Frost Demon Tower is all well and good, but if Lady Reina sees all this...
It’ll work out somehow. She’s one of my subordinates now, after all—not like before.
That’s usually called a lack of any countermeasures.
Vivian fell for it. Why wouldn’t Reina?
The two are blatantly different.
Gordon shrugged.
Well, in the end, it’s the Demon King’s burden to bear.
You bastard...! And you call yourself my adjutant...!
As Berge quietly ground his teeth at Gordon’s irresponsibility, the second guest arrived, having noticed the disturbance in the tower.
“What the hell is going on now, Ber... Reina Sordain?”
“Vivian Blunt?”
Their gazes clashed. Then both turned to Berge simultaneously.
“Greet each other nicely. You’re in the same boat now.”
“Aha.”
Vivian’s lips curved up. Her eyes arched like crescent moons in mockery.
“So the lofty and great Frost Demon has become your subordinate?”
Good lord.
“That’s awfully vulgar and un-Demon-King-like, isn’t it? Just like someone said. Right?”
“......”
Reina bit her lip.
“...Berge Dayas.”
“What’s wrong?”
“No, well... You did say it clearly. That Vivian had become your subordinate.”
It was then.
“My lord! What is the meaning of...?”
“Who...?”
“A human hero...?”
Kaede Jespain and Elena Hildean came face-to-face with the Frost Demon King.
Reina exuded killing intent. Berge hurriedly stepped in to block her.
“Stop. They’re both my subordinates.”
“...Heroes as your subordinates?”
“How else could you be meeting them here?”
“A hero would never become a Demon King’s subordinate.”
“Not here.”
“......”
It wasn’t just empty words. There were no restraints or bindings on them whatsoever. He had simply let the heroes loose in the tower.
In that situation, Berge added a shocking remark.
“...Princesses?”
“The Ninth Princess of the Jespain Empire and the Thirteenth Princess of the Hildean Kingdom.”
“Why have princesses become your subordinates?”
A wave of utter chaos crashed over Reina, incomprehensible by any standard of common sense.
“Hmm, so this is what it feels like.”
Vivian crossed her arms and chuckled.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, I’ve only got one thing to say to you.”
“One thing?”
Vivian strode right up beside Reina.
“No matter what sights you witness from here on out—whether they make sense or not.”
She whispered past Reina’s icy glare, right into her ear.
“This is the Demon King you chose. Grit your teeth and endure it with sheer malice.”
Her laughter was utterly infuriating.
After inspecting every corner of the tower—now expanded to fifteen floors—Reina regretted her choice.
“...Berge Dayas.”
“Yes.”
“You’re insane. You lack the qualifications to be a Demon King.”
“Then you’re the subordinate of someone unqualified to be a Demon King.”
“How...?”
Reina spat out her impressions after touring the tower.
“How can there be more humans than demons? And two heroes at that!”
“Demons, heroes, humans, elves, dwarves—what does it matter? Right now, they’re all just my subordinates. To me, you and they are the same. Of course, you’re a bit special, but so are they.”
“...This is a scam.”
From the perspective of the proud Frost Demon, Berge’s tower was an unacceptable composition.
But she had to acknowledge it. Having already become a subordinate, her soul bound, Reina could not defy Berge’s words.
Berge knew that, which was why he’d shown her the tower without hesitation.
“Admit it. I got screwed the same way.”
“...Vivian. For the first time, I understand how you feel.”
The two Demon Kings shared a moment of mutual sympathy.
“So.”
A while later, Reina composed herself and summarized the situation.
“You’ve taken in dwarves, elves, and humans alike as subordinates—princesses and heroes among them. Correct?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve had a princess skilled in chimera creation modify monsters into chimeras, and dwarves crafting mana cannons and bombs?”
“That’s right too.”
“Incredible.”
But from a tower lord’s viewpoint—not as a Demon King—it was supremely efficient management.
“How on earth did you win their hearts?”
“I just fed them Armani’s Orb.”
“It has no effect unless taken willingly. That’s no different from truly winning their hearts.”
“If I had to put it in words, it’s similar to what I did with you.”
“Driving them to desperate straits until they have no choice but to reach out first? Ruthless and very Demon-King-like.”
“...Why does it always end up like this?”
“You’re the one who incited this troubled lady. Pretending to care about my subordinates—about me. I should’ve known you had ulterior motives like this.”
That was it. Reina didn’t vent any more grievances.
She still felt absurdly betrayed.
But in the end, it was her choice.
Berge had nagged from the sidelines, but it was her decision.
Thanks to it, she lived, and her subordinates were safe. That was enough.
She was already a subordinate, and subordinates followed their lord’s command.
Even if she didn’t like it, if Berge said to accept it, she had to. That was what it meant to be a subordinate.
More than anything.
Different races—non-demons at that—follow Berge.
They all lived together in harmony. With his inclusiveness, her Frost Demons and subordinates could blend in just fine.
That was enough.
The tower’s interior.
Its inhabitants.
The reason he could grow so suddenly—being a dragon.
But.
“Does this even make sense?”
Reina’s gaze shifted outside. The door was open, but blocked by water. Fish swam by close up.
“The tower is underwater?”
No, if it were simply built in the sea from the start, that would be one thing.
But those bizarre eight legs attached to the tower.
“The tower actually moves?”
“What do you think carried it from the Erjest Mountains here?”
“I’m asking if that’s even possible.”
“It is, since we’re here.”
“How?”
“Just like I told you before. We fused an artifact with the tower.”
“This is an artifact?”
“One the dwarves built directly.”
“The dwarves...”
“To be precise, the tower’s power is more impressive. The dwarves only made the legs—the tower connected and animates them.”
“...As expected of the First Mahwang.”
Merging towers was shocking enough, but attaching legs like this? A whole new world.
“You plan to merge all the towers?”
“It’s the surest, fastest way to conquer this damned dimension.”
“You approached this lady on purpose.”
“You’re the one who summoned me.”
“...True. But Ugar and Jason are different from me. Especially...”
It was then.
The communication orb vibrated furiously.
The worst news had arrived.
One tower had vanished.
The death of the Diamond Demon King quelled questions about why they hadn’t struck the Frost Demon Tower instead.
It was because the victory had been so desperately craved. The continent’s leaders deliberately inflated their achievements, showering them with even greater acclaim.
The Hero Party’s triumph played a major role in erasing the resurging fear of Demon Kings.
And amid that festival and cheers.
The great hero prepared for the next.
Jason adjusted his monocle. The glass in his hand shattered.
“In some ways, I do feel sorry. But it was the best choice.”
『......』
Jason steadied his breathing. He repackaged the crumbling mask with effort.
『...I acknowledge it.』
He hadn’t expected even the Frost Demon Tower to vanish.
If Balaf hadn’t slain Ugar, his and the heroes’ reputations would have hit rock bottom.
Human anxiety would swell, most of it fattening Berge’s belly while humans declared all-out war on Demon Kings.
Humans preferred eradication over coexistence with anxiety, by any means.
But with Ugar dead and the hero expedition a success, the anxiety subsided somewhat. The reassurance that humans still stood above Demon Kings, the downplaying of the Flame Demon King as a special case, and faith in the great hero stabilized the situation.
It wasn’t enough to fully dispel the shock of hundreds of heroes and Stars dying, but it was an oasis to quench the momentary thirst.
That sliver of respite was the opportunity now. Not infighting, but driving in the wedge.
Hide the tower in the sea however he did and reveling—the damned dragon demon’s skull needed smashing from behind.
The Dragon Knights. Those who bore the name of dragons to slay them would march.
There was ample justification to mobilize the Dragon Knights, who served only the imperial family.
The First Prince had been kidnapped.
They’d hound the Hero Guild to redeploy Stars and heroes—over a thousand, naturally.
This time, even Berge couldn’t escape.
So only one thing remained.
“Confidence?”
The great hero laughed at the Demon King’s question.
Mockingly, derisively.
“I never thought I’d lose before either.”
The Flame Demon King back then was unbelievably strong for only two years post-descent.
But that was it. If that was all, he’d die.
“No—even if more, he dies.”
Balaf clenched his fist. Power overflowed.
“Indeed, nearly a century makes a difference.”
The Diamond Demon King, Ugar Belbek.
The power he’d amassed was stronger than any Demon King Balaf had faced. And it bore equally sweet fruit.
“You make sure he can’t escape again. Pin down his position precisely.”
“Obviously.”
I’ll kill him with my own hands, no matter what.
Balaf spat like he was chewing it out. The communication cut off.
“......”
Beyond the orb, Jason hurled the shattered glass shards to the floor.
“Aina.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“What do you think of my preparations?”
“More than sufficient.”
At least five Stars.
The Empire’s and continent’s strongest knight orders would join.
They’d borrowed the Buoyancy Ship, filled with over a thousand heroes.
And that wasn’t all. Coordinating with Akan and other kingdoms, dozens of ships would sail to the target, ready to throttle Berge’s neck.
More than enough. For just one Demon King.
“But we already failed once with that level of force.”
“Because we didn’t know it was a trap.”
“What guarantees it’s not a trap this time?”
“We have guarantees.”
Information straight from Archduke Alkain, updated in real-time at massive Magic Point cost.
That tower was absolutely real.
That was enough. If no trap, Berge’s odds of victory were virtually zero by any logic.
Yet.
Why.
“...Why am I still so anxious and irritated?”
—!
Everything on the table swept to the floor.
“Why does it feel like Berge will survive to the end and mock me? Why does that image keep flickering in my mind?”
The doubt became anxiety, anxiety certainty, certainty a thirst.
Not enough. Far from enough.
“...Aina.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Berge is currently a traitor involved in murdering Demon Kings. Right?”
“Yes.”
“And Ugar is dead.”
“Yes.”
“Then a new Demon King must descend.”
Very soon.
Very strong.
“We’ll have to give Archduke Alkain quite a bit.”
“But no matter how strong, a freshly descended Demon King...”
“We have plenty of Magic Points.”
Overflowing. What Jason wielded wasn’t Magic Points—it was money and manpower. After so long in Alein.
“And I’m not summoning an ordinary Demon King.”
“Then?”
“Isn’t it strange? Growing this astonishingly strong in just two years. Without something special.”
“True.”
“I think that specialness lies in his race.”
The greatest race in the Demon World.
The Dragon Demon Clan, like the First Mahwang.
They must have secret arts. Ways to better utilize towers, grow faster, dispel interference.
“So.”
Here it was.
“The Demon King to be summoned this time will be of the Dragon Demon Clan.”
I’ll make it so.
No matter what.
Jason adjusted his monocle.
The One You Chose — END