208. Defection
"Seems like you're under some delusion."
Berge lightly pressed his finger against it.
Sizzle—
Groooaaan—
The scorching heat of the blaze melted Daniel's skin.
"You're not in any position to negotiate right now."
"The delusion's on your end. Like you said, I've got nothing left to lose. If I'm going to die anyway, why the hell should I help you?"
"If you don't want to talk, fine. I'll just shatter your mind and take it from there."
"Go ahead and try. I've hunted down dozens of Demon Kings over hundreds of years. My will isn't so flimsy that some amateur succubus trick can break it."
Even if you destroy my mind itself like you said, you won't get what you want.
Berge's brow furrowed at Daniel's bold claim.
He'd hoped the bastard wasn't some pathetic worm. Hoped he'd stay defiant even in captivity, keep showing that revolting arrogance from back then.
That way, it'd be satisfying to crush him. But this wasn't the form he'd wanted.
After a moment's thought, Berge's eyes lit up. Playing along with the fool's tune wouldn't hurt.
The initiative was firmly in Berge's hands anyway. And what this idiotic hero would say to demand "trust" and "faith" was predictable enough.
"Fine. Tell me everything about Jason Cockmondo, and I'll let you go."
"Swear it on that First Mahwang you all revere so much and the Demon King's Canon."
"Do I really need to go that far?"
"How else am I supposed to trust a Demon King like you?"
"Then how am I supposed to trust a hero like you?"
"I'll swear on the power of the dimensions. If you swear on the First Mahwang and the Canon to spare my life, I'll tell you everything I know about Jason Cockmondo."
Even with all his mana sealed, a faint ripple of power stirred.
It was the dimensional restraint that bound a hero's strength and enforced compulsion.
"Your turn now."
"You know what the First Mahwang and the Canon mean to us, don't you?"
"That's exactly why I'm doing it!"
The man glared with fierce eyes. Berge met his stare before muttering lowly, as if with no choice.
"I swear on the great First Mahwang and the Canon that if you tell me about Jason Cockmondo, I'll release you. Oh, and as promised, I'll cut off one arm."
That good enough?
"Now, talk."
"...Where should I start? Our first meeting, I suppose. Exactly 458 years ago, I encountered him."
"458 years."
Jason Cockmondo had descended here less than 150 years ago. 458 years? That didn't add up.
"You know something about my past, right?"
"I heard you killed two Demon Kings and went around claiming you'd become a god after the third."
"I didn't go around claiming it. Followers just started flocking to me. Back then, heroes weren't as dominant as they are now."
Humans had only truly gained the upper hand about a century ago.
Sure, thousands of heroes had slain plenty of Demon Kings, but it was never an overwhelming victory. They always had to fight tooth and nail, lives on the line.
And in that era, an overwhelming powerhouse emerged.
Daniel Dayrus. From the moment he awakened as a hero, he stood out, and soon he'd slain two Demon Kings.
For heroes, skill meant power and fame. Admirers gathered, his renown soared.
Some even deified him, calling him the divine messenger who'd end the Demon Kings' tyranny.
"But there was opposition too. Ugly pigs who didn't want to let go of their power."
Daniel survived struggles against those who envied and hated him. At first, they were a minority, but soon they mobilized at a national level, branding him a continental criminal.
"I needed more power. To sweep away those damn pigs."
"So you went after a third Demon King?"
"Yeah. I still remember it vividly. The Stone Demon King. A Titan."
The Stone Demon King had built a notorious reputation back then, repelling numerous raids and hero expeditions.
"He was strong. Hell, I even made a deal with those power-mongers. Said I'd slay him alone. By the time I reached the top, I was exhausted. Reckless challenge. Even after two Demon Kings, I was still green back then."
"And?"
"I fought a brutal deathmatch with the Stone Demon King. We took each other down in mutual destruction, fatal wounds all around. The Demon King and I collapsed. No strength left to move, just staring each other down—who'd die first, who'd follow after."
That was when it happened.
"That's when the intruder showed up."
"Jason?"
"Yeah, Jason—or he wasn't called that back then. Anyway, Jason ignored me completely and approached the Stone Demon King. Then he got sucked right into the bastard's body."
A moment later, the dying Stone Demon King rose. He looked at Daniel and whispered.
"You're the famous Daniel Dayrus, aren't you? Your potential is astounding. You'll be useful."
"Do you want to live? To get revenge on those who sacrificed you for power?"
"Then."
"How about a contract with me?"
⟨ Whisper of Temptation ⟩
"...that's what he said."
* * *
"......"
Kaede turned away just before entering the prison.
She'd heard her eldest brother had been shocked upon seeing the heroes' corpses.
The Demon King had mocked him for it, telling him to get revenge.
But that kind of cruelty didn't suit her nature.
It's enough as it is.
No need for her to step in—the First Prince was already reeling. Overkill or not, she saw no reason to get involved. She didn't want to.
He was blood kin, her brother, after all.
A knight must always be ruthless.
Emotions had no place when serving one's lord. By that measure, she was unfit.
Returning to her post, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Slowly, she drew her sword.
The blade, forged from dragon bone by Roger, gleamed radiantly.
Beautiful.
Gazing at it cleared her mind of stray thoughts. She wanted to swing it. Unleash her swordsmanship with this blade.
She gave in to the surging desire.
She swung. It was light. Graceful. It fit her hand like a well-worn favorite.
She imagined a foe.
A perfect opponent came to mind: the Star she'd clashed with recently.
A massive greatsword came flying. She parried. Deflected and closed in. Swung. The greatsword returned, batting her blade aside. It smashed down from above.
Her body vibrated from the raw power. She stepped back; it pursued. But a half-beat slow. She evaded the onslaught with minimal motion. Ignored her crumpling armor. Thrust straight for the opening...
She halted her sword. A faint vibration hummed from her bosom.
"Brother?"
It was the communication orb. A direct line from the Third Prince, Martin Jespain.
"Kaede! You got it!"
Mana flowed in, and an urgent voice rang out.
"Brother?"
"The Demon King! Where is he?!"
"Lord Demon King is in the tower, of course."
"Then why hasn't he answered comms..."
"What happened?"
"Something big. Not huge yet, but it's heading that way."
Kaede pressed urgently, sensing anguish and gloom in his voice.
"What is it?"
"...The Empire's gone mad."
"...The Empire?"
"Tell the Demon King."
"We need help."
* * *
More than mere shock.
Nearly 300 heroes dead.
Over 500 wounded.
The five surviving Stars gravely injured.
And.
Berft Kingdom's treasure, the buoyancy ship, sunk.
The great hero Balaf Disrod, deceased.
The press, which usually swarmed like hyenas at any incident, was different this time.
Past defeats had come with hope, even in loss.
The hope of their greatest Star.
The hope that they'd fallen into a trap but hadn't truly fought yet.
The hope that slaying a dragon meant they could take a Demon King.
All that hope was gone.
Even rewinding to a hundred years ago wouldn't seem off.
On average, heroes held the edge through sheer numbers, but Demon Kings took plenty of them down too.
But after slaying all but the False one and ushering in peace, over a century passed. Those who'd lived the old days were mostly dead.
Victory was expected. Human supremacy, a given.
Raids were hunts for scraps. Hero expeditions had to claim a Demon King.
That certainty shattered. Once or twice, laugh it off. But it repeated.
Defeat after defeat after defeat.
Hope broken. Stars fallen.
The complacency of human dominance vanished from their hearts.
In its place loomed the terror of the Flame Demon King.
"We must kill all the Demon Kings!"
"Demon Kings must not exist!"
"The Alliance, do your damn job!"
Public opinion soured rapidly. Calls to exterminate every Demon King surged.
In that atmosphere, the Alliance convened immediately. In a way, they were lucky—the continent's nations had already agreed to unite against Demon Kings.
"We must take a hard line."
Cain, Fifth Prince of Akan Kingdom, argued on behalf of his nation.
"We've been hit repeatedly, and Balaf Disrod—our hero representative—is dead. Our prestige is in the gutter, the people tremble in fear. We need revenge, a show of force. Kill the Flame. If not him, then another Demon King."
Other envoys nodded in agreement.
"Well said. But Demon Kings are like weeds. We've slain dozens over the last millennium, yet they keep descending, refusing to vanish. That's why we left the False one a hundred years ago, right? Instead of killing them all."
"True. Reckless purges just mean pointless sacrifices."
Some raised doubts, but it was caution, not outright opposition.
"We can't do nothing. And conveniently, we have a suitable target."
"Suitable target?"
"Survivor testimonies say the expedition's failure wasn't just the Flame Demon King. It was the other one who 'cooperated' with him. And that Demon King's tower is squarely in our grasp."
All other Demon Kings had vanished, but the False had stood there for over a century.
"We kill that one."
Because it was false.
Because it symbolized the Demon Kings' steadfastness for over a century.
It would mean more.
"Strike now, or the chance might never come."
The great hero was dead, the Hero Guild at its weakest ever—but it unified the continent's nations.
Fear and rage bound the Alliance tighter.
"When all nations unite to overcome this terror."
"Indeed. The root is Flame, but we can't deny the False's aid. He's watched the continent for ages."
"For a show of force, the False works for me."
"But we'll need armies from each nation..."
"Through agreement, for this incident, troop movements..."
"If we keep eyeing each other, the Demon Kings will..."
The nobles exchanged views. And the momentum swung toward purging the False, just as Cain wanted.
"What of the Empire?"
Then Cain's gaze turned to the Empire's envoy, who'd stayed silent.
"...We."
His expression was strangely dark.
And rightly so. The Empire had suffered the most from the Flame Demon King.
The Ninth Princess kidnapped.
Cities ravaged by monster invasions.
Tens of thousands of soldiers lost to traps—mostly Empire troops.
The First Prince kidnapped.
And the great hero Balaf Disrod was clearly Empire-aligned.
But from the homeland's view, it's not all bad.
Balaf Disrod had been a major obstacle to expanding influence in the Hero Guild. The Empire's forces weakening wasn't unwelcome.
Cain, as a prince, had to check the Empire amid this greater foe—but still.
"Sorry to rain on this mood."
But.
"The Empire will not join this Demon King purge. We withdraw from the Alliance. This is His Imperial Majesty's will."
"......!"
"......!"
The Empire didn't want sudden defection.
< 208. Defection > End