< 207. The Demon King Named Jason >
Berge finally found some leisure after wrapping up all the urgent matters.
At last, he headed to the prison cell holding his archenemy—the one he had so desperately wanted to kill, the one who had killed him.
In the dark, damp heart of the prison.
There sat Balaf Disrod—no, Daniel Dayrus.
His limbs were bound separately, with restraints linking his neck and torso. It was perfect confinement, allowing not even the slightest movement.
Hmm.
Berge checked the recording orb installed to one side. He had watched Daniel from his throne through it, but seeing him in person was something else entirely.
A chuckle escaped him at the sight of the man, aged prematurely after more than a week of neglect.
"How should I mock you to make it the talk of the town? How can I jeer at you and ruin your mood the most?"
How could he repay every humiliation that man had inflicted on him back then?
"……."
Daniel reacted. He lifted his head, and their eyes met.
Even after a week of abandonment, the fire in Daniel's eyes hadn't died.
Berge liked that even more.
That the hero who had killed him wasn't some weakling whose will crumbled at the slightest crisis.
At least it was some small comfort that he hadn't lost to a pathetic mongrel.
"You spout nonsense with such dedication."
"Yeah, you wouldn't get it right now. But it doesn't matter. I know, and that's enough for my amusement. By the way, what should I call you now?"
Balaf Disrod? Or Daniel Dayrus?
"What do you think? I'll do as you wish."
"…Do you think you've won?"
"It's not that I think I've won—I've won. You're a criminal locked in this freezing cell, while I've crushed every hero and claimed victory."
"…I'll admit your power is strong. But in the end, you won't get what you want."
"Sounds like you've got something to rely on."
Perhaps.
"Jason Cockmondo?"
"……."
"You know, among the heroes who came with you to dare cut off my head, one already knew your true identity. Guess who."
"…What did you say?"
Daniel's expression twisted for the first time.
"The guy who seemed like he wouldn't join suddenly jumped into the hero business, didn't he?"
"Pablo Barkat…!"
"He told me. That Balaf Disrod's true identity is the guild master."
And the guild master's true identity is the hero Daniel Dayrus, who vanished centuries ago.
"How do you think he knew your secret?"
"…That bastard Jason finally…!"
Daniel gnashed his teeth.
"It's really strange, isn't it? You and Jason were allies for quite a while. Yet he tries to stab you in the back like this."
"Hmph, not unexpected. An alliance between demons and humans was never trustworthy to begin with. Betrayal and backstabbing are your specialties, aren't they?"
"That means you never fully trusted Jason either and were preparing for this."
"……."
"The moment I learned your identity, I had so many questions."
How you wielded the Crimson Dragon Sword. What the guild master position meant, and what Balaf Disrod was. What exactly happened after you vanished with your tower centuries ago.
"At first, I wondered why a mere hero was so strong, but that's resolved now."
You must have killed plenty of Demon Kings over those centuries.
"But new questions arose. Especially about that."
The shell.
"Your perfect shell that no one noticed."
"You think I'll tell you?"
"Probably Jason's help. But I can't even guess the exact method."
Berge strode forward. The distance between them shrank rapidly.
Berge seized Daniel's shoulder.
"…Planning torture? Is that it?"
"Don't worry, it's not torture. Though it will hurt."
"What?"
"I've been thinking. You're already hiding behind a shell. So."
Is this current shell truly your real face?
"What?"
"No matter how many centuries have passed, you're the most famous hero on the continent, the one who became a public enemy and vanished. Records of you must exist. Yet when you were guild master, no one saw you as the same person as Daniel Dayrus."
If they had, you'd have been ousted from the guild and turned into a public enemy long ago.
So there's only one answer.
"You have more than one shell."
And this current form isn't your true one either.
"Now, I'm going to confirm that."
Berge tightened his grip. Vast magic writhed, piercing the hero's defenses.
"Gaaahhhh!"
Daniel Dayrus screamed in agony. His pain was Berge's joy, but right now, Berge focused on something else.
And then.
───!
Berge's fingers met fierce resistance. Impossible, with all mana and power suppressed.
It gave Berge even greater certainty.
"So, how many layers does your shell have?"
Berge squeezed harder.
Daniel's howls grew louder in proportion.
* * *
"Just one."
He'd expected dozens, but there was only a single shell.
And unlike the previous one, peeling it didn't unleash hidden power.
"This just hides your appearance."
Compared to Balaf Disrod's shell, it was crude.
But if you didn't flaunt your power, it could perfectly conceal your identity.
"You couldn't have survived centuries with just these two. Jason must have supplied you periodically."
Probably. That would have been one way Jason controlled him.
"So is this your true face?"
His features were sharper and fiercer than Balaf Disrod's or the guild master's.
But the black hair and eyes remained unchanged.
"I thought living centuries made you an elf, but apparently not."
Does killing dozens of Demon Kings extend your lifespan? Or did you break human limits?
Berge suppressed a laugh bubbling up for some reason. He had no idea why Ernan came to mind.
"…You bastard!"
"Yes, that's the look. That's what I wanted to see. That blazing glare!"
Filled with venom, seething rage.
"Isn't it sweet?"
The fury of a hero who's lived centuries and slain countless Demon Kings. How delicious.
"So what is this shell made of?"
Berge toyed with the fragments peeled from Daniel. They crumbled at the lightest touch.
"…You think I'll tell you?"
Daniel drooled in pain, but his eyes still burned.
"It'd be good for you if you did."
"Your nonsense won't work."
"You already suspected Jason's betrayal."
"……."
"As you know, I'm Jason's enemy too. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"
"Can't be friends with a Demon King."
"But a little cooperation for revenge? That's possible."
You're caught anyway—don't you want revenge?
"You were once called a god, so I won't stop you if you show mercy, get used, and die meekly."
"You're not the Flame Demon King—you're the Mouth Demon King."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"Let me live."
"You think that's possible?"
"I'll give you an arm. In exchange for my life, I'll tell you everything you want."
"Didn't know you were good at bullshit too."
"Jason betrayed me, but you've humiliated me repeatedly. To me, you're no different from him. Without a guarantee of survival, why would I spill everything for your sake?"
Daniel growled.
Even with all mana and power suppressed, his aura befitted a hero of centuries.
"Choose."
Kill me and meekly fall to Jason.
Or spare me and wound Jason.
"Advice: without my help, you can't beat Jason. You don't know what kind of monster he is."
"Maybe. But I think I know him better than you."
"Is that so? Then listen."
Daniel sneered.
"Do you know how he's survived for centuries?"
"What?"
Centuries?
"Not a hundred?"
"Kukuku. See? You know nothing about Jason!"
Daniel cackled maniacally.
"So, what'll it be? Spare me and get your answers? Or kill me and leave it all a mystery?"
Choose.
The eyes of the once-godlike hero gleamed desperately.
* * *
"Lady Aina, can you believe it?"
The room was littered with shattered glassware. But Aina Diaphrin couldn't bring herself to clean as usual.
It was different.
Today's Jason was angrier, more hateful than ever. Touch him, and he'd erupt like a volcano.
"Reina Sordain has become Berge's subordinate. Vivian Blunt too."
Word had just come from the dragon lord he'd summoned as a counter to Berge.
"They made mana cannons using dwarves. They wielded a Spirit King contractor."
Kuhuhu.
"And they repelled the hero assault. Even."
He let out a self-mocking laugh.
"Killed Balaf Disrod."
His hair was disheveled.
"So easily. All my centuries of work undone so easily. I must be a fool."
To fail what Berge accomplished in just two years.
"…No, it's not."
"It is. I was too stupid to think of taking fellow Demon Kings as subordinates. Too stupid to turn kidnapped royals into subordinates."
His voice rose.
"Drakson Dolph! Ugar Belbek! Reina Sordain! If I'd made them subordinates! If I'd made all the kidnapped royals subordinates!"
If he had.
"I'd have conquered the continent by now. Right?"
"That's impossible."
"Impossible? How? Didn't Berge show it's possible? That damned bastard is proving it!"
────!
The fine hardwood table splintered into hundreds of pieces.
"Those dragon lords! Dragon lords! Dragon lords! They caused chaos in Ma-gye and now here, thwarting me! Useless scum with heads just for show!"
"Ruining my plans! Overturning my board and rebelling!"
"What? Need more interference release, so cough up more magic points? I deliberately hid Berge's power!"
───!
A sea of blood swept the office. Lightning struck, and wind blades shredded everything.
"You worthless dragon scum!"
"Born to be harmful pests with no right to exist!"
The office was utterly destroyed.
Only two stood unscathed: Jason Cockmondo and Aina Diaphrin.
"…I've shown you an unsightly display."
"It's fine. I'll clean up."
Aina straightened Jason's disheveled hair and clothes.
"What are your plans now?"
"Balaf Disrod was a key I'd prepared over long years."
"I don't know everything."
"Humanity's hope and despair, cultivated for centuries."
He'd fed him Demon Kings and funded him to gain power and fame.
He hated all dragon lords of this world and their canon.
But the canon reliably yielded more magic points and negative emotions—he couldn't deny its practicality.
"The greater the hope, the greater the despair. Daniel Dayrus was that existence. But he noticed and kept hiding his identity, so I played along."
He hadn't needed him then. But it dragged on too long.
Now, abandoning that plan was impossible. Cooperation with Daniel Dayrus had become invaluable.
Better to collaborate slowly for the long game than risk big and lose him.
Until the dragon lords appeared and ruined everything.
"Heroes are meaningless now."
His strongest card, Daniel Dayrus, had fallen. The next promising one, Hillun Kargil, was Berge's pawn.
"Still, I think you should gather forces matching the two Demon Kings and Four Heavenly Kings Berge recruited. More thoroughly."
"But heroes are no longer…."
"But there's another way. The one Berge showed."
"…No way."
Aina gasped.
"That would make it irreversible."
"No. Berge made Vivian and Reina subordinates without issue so far. Ma-gye's connection severed because I spoke of Drakson's death. Which means."
Alkain Archduke's power is more incompetent than thought. Specifically, monitoring and interfering from Ma-gye.
It made sense. Blocked by dimensional barriers—smooth operation would be weirder.
"I'll summon Dorche Astrin as a tower."
The pretext.
"Perfect. He'll provide it. Say I'll give magic points but want more details on that day since it's unfair."
He couldn't wait to see that arrogant dragon's face again.
Jason regained his usual smile.