206. The Returning Heroes
By the time Ernan Hildean had finished her task, tossed a bombshell at the Demon King, and returned to the Hildean Kingdom, the dwarves stood before the great undertaking of their lives.
A massive ship. The dwarves' masterpiece that soared through the skies.
"To think I have to smash this with my own hands."
"Ugh, we surrendered to the Sky Tower and got dragged in, but this was the ship I piloted myself..."
"The kingdom's treasure..."
"Destruction is the mother of creation! We have to smash this to build the Sky Tower! Between the title of Buoyancy Ship repairman or Sky Tower creator, which do you want?!"
"Sky Tower creator!"
"Smash it! This outdated relic!"
"The longer we drag it out, the more it hurts, so let's finish it as fast as possible!"
"Who do you think we are? This'll take a day!"
"Waaaaah!"
Hundreds of dwarves swarmed it at once.
The Buoyancy Ship was too large to enter through the tower's main gate and couldn't be dismantled in the deep sea. Naturally, they had no choice but to do it on the island prepared for the pirates.
Thanks to that, the pirates naturally witnessed the madness.
"Whoa."
"From today on, I swear I won't touch dwarf stuff ever again."
"I've seen plenty of crazies, but a whole species going nuts like that? First time."
"Makes sense, though. That's why they became the Demon King's minions and churned out over a thousand mana cannons."
"Then what about us, the Demon King's minions?"
"We're crazy for love. Milky Vivian!"
"Still, it's a bit of a waste. If we'd gotten our hands on that..."
Pirating on a flying ship? Just imagining it was thrilling.
"Forget it. You'd get your tongue cut out for even claiming it."
"Right. Lady Vivian said not to covet it. Having the dwarves reinforce our ships and build a harbor is plenty."
"Well said."
"Heard the battle's over. Hope the elves come back soon."
"Looking elsewhere when Lady Vivian's around? Are you insane?"
"Shut up."
"But is it true they're dismantling it to attach to the tower?"
"So the tower's gonna fly?"
"......"
"......"
The pirates exchanged glances.
"...We owe Lady Vivian a hundred thanks. For taking us in as minions."
"Same here."
"Milky Vivian."
A tower flying through the skies, blasting hundreds—maybe thousands—of mana cannons.
The pirates let out sighs of relief.
A week had passed since the hero party fell to Berge Dayas and became his prisoners.
Fortunately, the main force wasn't as fast as feared, giving Berge plenty of time.
Time to persuade most of the heroes.
Time to dismantle and destroy the Buoyancy Ship.
In the ocean depths, the Demon King and princess surfaced.
The Demon King asked,
"How far?"
The princess let out a soft whistle. A mermaid poked her head out.
"12 km?"
"Perfect."
Berge opened a subspace and dumped out the wreckage that had once been the Buoyancy Ship. It contained no buoyancy stones or rare materials, but the sheer volume from the massive vessel was immense.
And as if waiting, heroes drawn by the Demon King's power surged up from the deep sea.
"Puhah...!"
"We're out!"
"The fleet's about 12 km away. It won't take long to reach here. In the meantime, grab onto the wreckage and hold on however you can."
"Yes, sir!"
The heroes shouted in unison.
"Uh, but exactly what are we supposed to do? You said you'd reward us with dragon bone gear based on our achievements..."
"Live like you always have. Hunt monsters, subjugate Demon Kings. Oh, excluding me, of course."
And in doing so,
"You'll gain fame, become a Star like Hillun Kargil, or a great hero. Seize that power. The measure of your power will be your achievement."
"Yes, sir!"
"We'll keep it in mind!"
Berge gave them one final review.
"What happened to you lot?"
"We climbed to the top of the tower, but Balaf Disrod lost to the Demon King, so we failed!"
"With six Stars among you, how?"
"The False Demon King was with him! And the legions he brought were too numerous and powerful! Especially the False Demon King's power—it was overwhelming!"
"And?"
"Balaf Disrod died, and we had no choice but to retreat! In the process, the Buoyancy Ship was destroyed, and the dwarves sank with it—wiped out!"
"Perfect."
It gave legitimacy to their survival despite failing to kill the Demon King or destroy the Buoyancy Ship—a trap aimed at the False Demon King.
Whether it worked or not, it would strike Jason like a sharp dagger.
"The special orb you swallowed will ensure no one knows you're my minions. So go ahead without worry! Build your foundations and prepare to welcome me!"
"Yes, sir!"
The heroes nodded vigorously.
The heroes, tempted by Armani's Orb and the promise of rewards tied to achievements, had become the Demon King's faithful dogs.
The alliance couldn't unite as one. Naturally.
Dozens of nations had banded together under the banner of subjugating the Flame Demon King, but not long ago, many had been bitter enemies.
They agreed to assign commanders per nation and coordinate movements by consensus.
Yet despite the fractured chain of command, no one anticipated failure.
Six Stars. A thousand heroes.
Among those Stars was Balaf Disrod. He'd failed multiple times, sure—one because he couldn't even find the tower, another because he'd hunted a dragon, no less.
And the last? Just an unforeseen trap. Nothing to doubt his abilities.
So they never doubted victory.
Until they realized the staggering, wounded mage flying in was Rozel Charnt.
"Hahk, hahk...!"
Her body, drenched in blood, was covered in wounds. Her face was pale, her skin ice-cold.
"Lady Rozel?"
The naval commander of the Akan Kingdom fleet rushed to receive her. He summoned healing mages.
"D-Defeat."
"Pardon? Defeat?"
"...That way."
She weakly extended a hand.
"Survivors that way. Save them..."
Her body went limp.
"Lady Rozel!"
"Healing mages—hurry!"
The ship buzzed with activity. News of the wounded Rozel spread to all fleets.
The allied forces advanced swiftly in the direction she indicated—and discovered the sunken Buoyancy Ship's debris, and the heroes clinging to it for survival.
"...My god."
They faced despair.
"Rescue the survivors, now!"
"Save the heroes!"
Rescue efforts ignored national lines. They carefully pulled up the heroes—over seven hundred in total.
"Balaf. Where's Lord Balaf?"
The rescue dragged on for over an hour, and the exhausted heroes began regaining their senses one by one.
The imperial fleet captain asked Aina Diaphrin, who had just awakened.
"......"
"Lady Aina!"
Aina bowed her head gravely.
"Lord Balaf..."
A tear dropped.
"Lord Balaf..."
Aina broke into sobs, unable to continue. At the sight of her weeping, the captain and nobles felt a chill of foreboding.
"No..."
The captain pressed again.
Aina's state was dire, but her mental panic went deeper.
"Surely not?"
"......"
"Lady Aina!"
"...I'm sorry."
"Please, tell us. What happened to Lord Balaf?"
"...Lord Balaf."
Sniffling, Aina forced the words out.
"Fought the Demon King at the tower's summit... and..."
"And...?"
"...He fell to the Demon King."
Thud—
The shock rippled out quietly, but faster than anything.
To the captain, nobles, knights, mages, soldiers—everyone in the allied forces.
"...Lord Balaf."
"...Is gone?"
No one dared speak amid the unforeseen blow. Eerie silence blended with the sea.
"Why didn't you wait for us! Why?!"
The captain's cry didn't escape the waves.
Shocked, the alliance froze. Or rather, couldn't move.
And in that despair, the heroes thought:
'She could be an actress.'
'I'm about to tear up myself.'
'Cry. Sob pitifully.'
'Laughter's gonna burst out.'
'Hold it together with sheer spite. Laugh now and the Demon King kills us.'
'Damn, fooling anyone with that?'
Aina Diaphrin was a filthy good actress.
Not long after the decisive battle between Berge and the hero party ended, Dorche Astrin returned to his tower in a daze.
"Demon King?"
He didn't respond to his adjutant's call.
Slowly ascending, he slumped onto the throne.
"What happened?"
"Something happened. Something huge."
Absurd? No, beyond that.
It was...
What he'd witnessed.
"Not some run-of-the-mill Demon King."
"Pardon?"
"That Berge Dayas bastard. He's only been here two years, right?"
"Yes."
"Unbelievable."
"Two years ago, he graduated from the Demon King Academy, caught Alkain Daegong's eye, and descended to Alein. All records confirm it."
"Impossible. How in two years..."
It wasn't just about raw power.
"Now I get why Jason didn't handle it himself and asked Alkain Daegong for help."
He'd planned to watch: if the heroes won, devour the weary victors; if Berge won, the weary loser.
But that was impossible now.
Berge's shocking power couldn't be overcome with current dimensional interference.
No confidence in winning.
Against a greenhorn just two years in, on his first dimension, no less.
'Greenhorn? That?'
Then all the real greenhorns were dead.
He was strong. Incredibly so. And moreover...
"...He was using them."
"Pardon?"
"He was. Using Demon Kings."
"What...?!"
"Reina Sordain."
A noble demon backed by countless frost demons.
"And Vivian Blunt."
From Alkain Daegong's hand, with experience conquering a dimension—deployed before him.
"Those two were aiding him."
"Other Demon Kings helping him? That's breaking the Demon King's Canon..."
"No. It wasn't mere aid."
A dragon's eyes, a veteran dragon's authority, saw more.
"They were Berge Dayas's minions."
"...My god."
The adjutant gasped. Demon Kings could become minions—it wasn't impossible. In Ma-gye's eyes, they were just demons.
But fellow Demon Kings descending together, one becoming another's minion? Never happened.
"Th-That's...!"
Breaking canon?
Demon Kings attacking each other was strictly forbidden, canon or not.
But accepting another as a minion? Unknown. The adjutant reeled in confusion.
"If that were all, it'd be fine."
Dorche gave a bitter laugh.
"...What else?"
"He was like a lower dimension's dragon. His minions were."
"Taking non-monster lower dimension races as minions?"
"Humans, elves, dwarves—a variety."
"Completely abandoned Demon King pride?"
"Abandoned? Is that it?"
"Pardon?"
The adjutant gaped. Dorche embodied arrogant dragon pride as a demon, dragon, Demon King.
Why the sudden change?
"If they were ordinary, I'd mock Berge like you. Yell he'd hit rock bottom, tarnished dragon honor, rage."
But among them...
"A Spirit King contractor?"
"...Spirit King? Why would someone like that follow Demon King Berge Dayas?"
The spirit realm was a higher dimension like Ma-gye. Its four kings were strong enough to daunt most archdukes if serious.
Spirits were far fewer than in lower dimensions, so contractors able to summon kings were rare.
Yet contracting one made you near-top in this dimension—disregardable even in Ma-gye. Why not defend Alein?
"How should I know?"
"Overstepped."
The adjutant bowed, then asked again.
"So what's your plan?"
"Scrap the 'wait for an opening and kill him' idea."
Impossible.
And above all, Dorche suspected Jason.
"Jason, that damn bastard. Keeping this from me."
"Suspicious. He's endured long in Alein, knows him well—can't have missed this."
"Unless he deliberately trapped me."
"But no reason for that."
"Doesn't matter."
Whether Jason knew or not, two Demon Kings as Berge's minions was key.
If he knew, it was a trap for Dorche.
Ignorance? No excuse.
"Use this to squeeze more magic points."
To face Berge Dayas, he needed his full power restored at minimum.
"Will he give them?"
"He'll have to. Report to Alkain Daegong, and Jason faces the archduke's wrath for withholding."
Berge was next.
For now, no answers despite brooding.
True to form, Dorche was an action-oriented Demon King.
He connected to Jason immediately—and that day, 71 glass cups in Jason Cockmondo's office shattered.
< 206. The Returning Heroes >