Fate Begins to Deviate
“Huff... huff...”
The moment Capier slew the griffin with his Holy Sword.
Beibaros bolted toward the Demon King's Castle like a madman.
Terrified that the hero might pursue him, he couldn't even breathe properly as he kept running relentlessly.
Only after sprinting for a good while did the demons on guard duty come into view.
The centaur blocked his path upon spotting the frantic object charging toward him.
With his way obstructed, Beibaros flew into a rage and bellowed,
“Fuckin' bastard, you lost your damn mind? Don't you know who I am?”
The centaur just tilted his head in confusion.
Beibaros was currently running without his robe, which he'd dropped along the way. Since he always hid his appearance under that robe, the demons had a hard time recognizing him in his bare state.
“Oh? Won't move, huh?”
As someone on guard duty, the centaur had no intention of letting this unidentified figure pass.
“You stupid fuck. That's why everyone calls you a low-rank demon.”
Beibaros grimaced in disgust and pulled out his nameplate from his bosom to show him.
It read: Demon King's Army Corps Commander Beibaros.
This was a badge personally issued by the Demon King for situations where friend-or-foe identification was difficult.
“S-sorry...”
Upon seeing the nameplate, the centaur trembled and hastily apologized.
But it was already too late.
“You fuckin' piece of shit.”
-Thwack!
-Thwack!
Beibaros mercilessly pummeled the centaur.
Though his combat prowess was the weakest among the corps commanders, that was only relative to other commanders—it was nothing compared to these low-rank demons.
He was already on the verge of madness from the hero recklessly unleashing the Holy Sword out of nowhere, and now seeing this subordinate who didn't even recognize him blocking his path made his head feel like it would explode.
It was lamentable that such an idiot was under his command.
“Fuck... From now on, the second you hear 'Beibaros,' you open the damn path, got it?”
“Y-yes... sir...”
Only after beating him thoroughly did Beibaros warn the centaur repeatedly not to make such a stupid mistake again before departing.
In the spot Beibaros left behind, the centaur muttered continuously to etch it into his memory.
“Beib...aros...”
Passing the centaur's post, Beibaros mounted a gargoyle waiting nearby and flew for a long stretch before finally arriving at the Demon King's Castle.
“Wheee—!”
The demon controlling the gargoyle whistled, and it descended rapidly toward the ground.
-Thud!
The moment they touched down, Beibaros's legs gave out from released tension, and he collapsed onto the dirt.
“I... survived...”
He had finally returned to the Demon King's Castle.
When the griffin died, he'd been certain he wouldn't make it out alive either, but he'd survived against all odds.
Of course, Capier had exhausted all his energy after using the Holy Sword and couldn't even think of pursuing Beibaros—but this was a fact Beibaros was unaware of.
Fuck... I'm alive, but it's not like I can relax yet.
After catching his breath a bit, he suddenly remembered something he'd forgotten in the chaos.
He had to report what had just happened to the Demon King.
Lost the griffin and hundreds of demons. To a hero who hasn't even received the baptism yet.
If he reported the truth, he might end up torn limb from limb.
He'd caused such massive losses, failed to recover the Holy Sword, and achieved zero results. Reporting that as-is would surely make the Demon King smash his head to pieces.
I need something... anything to salvage this if I'm gonna live...
Beibaros couldn't bring himself to enter the castle and just paced around it in circles.
Just then, Senimeria—the succubus corps commander who had returned from patrol—spotted him and called out with a smile.
“Oh my~ Beibaros, you look uglier than usual today. Something got you all anxious? Why're you pacing around like a dog desperate to take a shit?”
“Y-you vulgar bitch! Senimeria, looking at the way you talk, I can't for the life of me figure out why the hell someone like you is a corps commander just like me...!”
Her expression turned icy in an instant.
“Hmm... I was trying to be nice, but your mouth is filthy. You think that doesn't piss me off?”
“W-what?! You started picking a fight first...!”
“Ha... fuck... fine. I try to be nice, and you take me for a pushover, huh?”
She slowly tightened her grip around Beibaros's throat with her hand.
Overwhelmed by her superior strength, he couldn't move a muscle.
-Gasp, wheeze!
“Beibaros. The only reason I never messed with you is because the Demon King trusted you so much. Not 'cause I was scared of a weakling like you.”
“G-gasp... l-let... go...”
Beibaros clawed at her hand desperately, but she just smiled amusedly and continued.
“Y'know, I went out on patrol and saw something hilarious. You lost the griffin and your minions to the hero, right?”
“F-fu...ck... h-how... d-did you...”
Beibaros tried to speak, but she squeezed harder.
“What, you gonna whine about why I didn't help? Like, 'your job, your problem,' right? Kyahahaha!”
She burst into mad laughter.
“Hey, Beibaros. You know how annoying it was watching you strut around like a moron all the time? Lucky for me, I won't have to put up with that anymore~ Go report what happened today to the Demon King inside, and he'll kill you for sure.”
“F-fu...ck... y-you... bi...tch...”
As Senimeria gripped tighter, Beibaros's voice slurred, his resistance weakening.
Soon, his pupils rolled upward, and he passed out.
Whispering to the now-unconscious man,
“Sweet dreams, Beibaros. It'll be your last sleep.”
She tossed his limp body into a corner and spoke to a nearby vampire.
“Wait till this guy's conscious, then drag him to the Demon King. Got it?”
“Understood...”
Senimeria turned away with a pleased smile.
Her order to wait until he was fully conscious wasn't for any grand reason. She just figured if he was dragged in half-delirious, he might die peacefully without realizing his fate.
Can't have that~
She wanted him fully aware, writhing in agony as his body was torn apart.
After all, this pathetic weakling had strutted around calling her a vulgar bitch for years, banking solely on the Demon King's favor.
“What a fine day~”
Hours after she hummed and vanished, Beibaros finally regained his senses.
The sun had set, and it was late into the dawn.
Realizing he'd blacked out, he muttered blankly,
“W-what... the... fu...ck...”
A vampire stood rigidly beside him.
“Lord Beibaros, Lady Senimeria's orders. Escort you inside the Demon King's Castle once you're conscious.”
That damn bitch...
Though he'd only just come to, Beibaros instantly grasped her intent.
Going in now meant certain gruesome death.
Then, welcome news arrived for Beibaros.
“Lord Beibaros... a visitor has come to see you!”
-----
“Hyah!”
Rasitena, having secretly slipped out of the palace at dawn, mounted her nearby horse and galloped toward the Demon King's Castle.
Fuck... you think I'll just sit still after that humiliation?
She felt an indescribable wave of humiliation.
No one had ever despised and dismissed her like that in her life, making the shock all the more intense and wretched.
What made it hardest to endure was,
Fuck... I bowed my head and apologized to that hero... fuck!
The fact that she'd submitted to him.
She'd yielded instinctively to the threat at the time, but as time passed, her rage only swelled.
In the end, she entertained a forbidden thought.
I can't kill the hero alone, or even with my family's power.
She clearly remembered the hero's radiant Holy Sword.
With that level of divine power, wiping out a few families would be child's play.
Might couldn't do it, so she needed political intrigue against him.
But that required her family's backing.
Of course, they would never accept it.
If I fail, not just me—the whole family loses their heads. The family head would never agree to my plan. Hell, he'd probably disown me for suggesting something so insane.
She thought of one final option.
A force more powerful than her own or her family.
The Demon King's Army.
Those who wanted the hero dead more than anyone.
Their interests aligned perfectly with hers.
But the corps commanders generally despised all humans—except one: Beibaros.
Beibaros is cunning in schemes and will use anything beneficial, be it holy water or poison. If I can reach him, I can share my plan and persuade him.
Of course, it was a gamble.
She could get her throat slit by the guards before even reaching the castle.
But such risks weren't even on Rasitena's mind right now.
She was blinded by her thirst for revenge against the hero.
She galloped on and on.
Suddenly, a massive demon blocked her path.
“H-halt...”
He was the centaur on guard duty.
-Gulp.
Rasitena tensed for a moment.
If he shouted, alerting others to an intruder, every demon nearby would swarm and tear her apart in seconds.
Yet, driven mad by her desire to kill the hero, she pressed on without hesitation.
“Who... are you...?”
When the centaur asked, Rasitena figured revealing her identity and pleading wouldn't work anyway, so she decided to drop their superior's name first.
“Beibaros. Take me to him, and I'll explain everything.”
-Flinch.
The centaur shuddered at the word 'Beibaros,' feeling a phantom ache where he'd been beaten earlier.
Beib...aros...
Recalling what Beibaros had said, he muttered internally.
-Fuck... From now on, the second you hear 'Beibaros,' you open the damn path, got it?
Trembling, the centaur said to her,
“A... acquaintance of Lord Beibaros... I'll escort you.”
Due to the ridiculous misunderstanding, the centaur and Rasitena departed.
-Rustle.
A masked man in a shadowy corner watched the scene.
“Now that's interesting. Might come in handy later. Stupid bitch.”