Preparations Begin Tomorrow
"From tomorrow, we'll start preparations right away."
The voice of the fear-stricken centaur echoed. "A... acquaintance of Lord Beibaros..... I'll... guide you..."
If things had gone normally, Rasitena would have been detected as an intruder by the centaurs and killed on the spot. But due to this absurd misunderstanding, she ended up traveling with the centaur through a hidden portal.
The centaur infused his mana into it. This was like a secret passage exclusive to the Demon King's army, reacting only to the mana of monsters. Though it wasn't clear exactly what magic had created it, it allowed instantaneous travel over vast distances.
Whoosh—
Rasitena and the centaur, teleported somewhere, mounted a gargoyle once more and took to the skies. Through this process, Rasitena—who should have met a gruesome end—ended up being escorted with utmost care to the Demon King's Castle on gargoyle-back.
"Lord Beibaros! Someone's here looking for Lord Beibaros!"
As she dismounted the gargoyle, the centaur explained the situation in detail. The vampire who heard this rushed to inform Beibaros of the guest seeking him.
Of course, it was odd for a Demon King's corps commander to have ties to a human priestess, but wasn't Beibaros the type to exploit anything around him if possible? He assumed she was a spy planted in the kingdom and paid it no mind.
"What nonsense is this?"
Beibaros eyed the vampire quizzically. In the current situation, no one should be coming to see him. Wondering if it might be someone sent by the Demon King, he hurriedly shifted his gaze.
But there stood only a single woman cloaked in a robe.
Beibaros immediately sensed the aura emanating from her.
'Definitely a priestess's divine power.'
Beibaros glared at the vampire and centaur and bellowed, "Fuckin' hell... you idiots have truly lost your minds! Bringing a human priestess into the Demon King's Castle? You crazy bastards!"
The vampire and centaur trembled in terror at Beibaros's sudden outburst.
As he opened his mouth to say more, the centaur muttered, "Lord Beibaros said... to let her in immediately if she mentioned his name.... She said she was looking for you..."
"You brain-dead fuck."
Beibaros clutched the back of his neck as if his head throbbed. How could there be such a moronic bastard?
At that moment, the human priestess Rasitena at his side spoke up.
"I don't know how it happened, but you must be Beibaros."
"You crazy bitch, who the fuck do you think you're talking to? Shut your trap. I'll figure out what to do with these idiots first, then kill you."
"Beibaros. I know you lost to the Hero and fled."
Rasitena had struck his sore spot.
Scratch—
In an instant, Beibaros drew a sharp blade from his arm and pressed it to her throat, speaking in a chilling voice.
"You fuckin' bitch... you wanna die right now? No, wait—how the hell do you even know that?"
Instead of answering, Rasitena pulled out her nameplate from her bosom and showed it to him. Etched on it were the words "Hero Subjugation Unit." And as proof it wasn't fake, the king's seal was clearly imprinted below.
"Sent by the kingdom?"
Before she could reply, Beibaros shook his head and changed tack.
"If the kingdom sent you, you wouldn't expose yourself like this. What's your goal? Why seek me out?"
Only then did Beibaros realize this wasn't an ordinary priestess, and he began questioning her.
'There's potential here.'
Rasitena spotted a faint glimmer of possibility in Beibaros's reaction. She might have died before even reaching the Demon King's Castle, or right after arriving. But now she'd reached a point where she could pitch her proposal directly to Beibaros.
Determined to seize this chance, she spoke without hesitation.
"Beibaros. I know the ridiculous damage you suffered at the Hero's hands. Because I'm a member of the newly formed Hero Subjugation Unit. Thanks to that, I got reports on it straight from the capital. As you can see from my nameplate, it's no lie."
She looked at Beibaros, who nodded for her to continue.
"You might not believe it, but I don't like the Hero. Hell, honestly, I want to kill him. That's why I risked everything to come here."
"You could be a kingdom spy. You must've expected I'd suspect that, right? Prove you're not first. Fail, and you die. Succeed, and I'll hear the rest."
Drip—
Beibaros pressed the blade closer to her throat. Blood trickled from her neck, but Rasitena ignored it. She channeled divine power into the nameplate she'd pulled out, writing words upon it.
'I hate and resent the Hero.'
Handing the inscribed nameplate to Beibaros, she said, "Thanks to becoming the Hero's priestess, I received even stronger divine power. I just used that power to write those words on the nameplate. If I were a spy, I couldn't dare use divine power on a sacred nameplate from the king to write such blasphemy."
"I'm giving this nameplate to you, Beibaros. You understand, right? Why I'd use divine power on a nameplate given directly by the king to write blasphemy and hand it to you."
"If you show that nameplate to anyone in the kingdom, I'm dead—executed on the spot. My life is collateral, so I couldn't pull any spy bullshit even if I wanted to."
Beibaros snatched the nameplate and withdrew the blade from her throat. His actions spoke louder than words of belief.
"Fine, I get you're no spy. The arrogant kingdom bugs who stick their noses up think they're too noble for shit like this anyway."
"Thank you for believing me."
"You skipped the most important part. Why risk your life to find me? Related to hating the Hero, like you said?"
Rasitena nodded. Murderous intent burned plainly in his eyes.
"No need for the full backstory. Just know I genuinely want the Hero dead. And I know a way to kill him. But I can't do it alone. With help from you, a Demon King's corps commander, it's entirely possible."
"You think some plan from a bitch like you can kill the Hero? A baptized Hero won't die to some half-assed scheme. If you'd been there, you'd know his power firsthand."
"Of course. I've indirectly confirmed his insane divine power and the Holy Sword's ridiculous might. A baptized Hero moving with a full subjugation unit—including a Saintess and priests—is untouchable."
"But here's the thing. The priests and Saintess with him are there because the king declared him the 'Hero.' Strip him of that title, isolate him, and the Demon King's army could swarm a lone Hero and finish him off."
"Ha. Ridiculous. How? Like you said, he's the king's declared Hero. No petty tricks will work."
"I know. That's why we need a meticulous plan. I'll stick by the Hero, report his every move, speech, route, habits, who’s around him, their jobs, personalities—everything, without omission."
"Beibaros, you're famous even in the Demon King's army for your schemes. With this intel, you can steer things toward the scenario I've planned."
"Speak. What's your plan?"
"Murder his reputation first. Frame him for raping and killing a Saintess. Forge ironclad evidence so he can't escape. Make him the kingdom's greatest traitor."
"Explain the details of what you're scheming."
As she laid out the concrete plan, Beibaros's lips curled upward.
'This could work. If I pitch it right to the Demon King, I might recover from this blunder.'
Beibaros had lost griffins and swaths of his forces to an unbaptized Hero. Normally, the Demon King would demand his head for such massive losses. But if he packaged and presented her plan well, he might dodge execution.
"Follow me. You'll explain it to the Demon King yourself."
In normal circumstances, no matter how plausible her words, he'd never bring her before the Demon King. But with his life on the line, his only shot was exploiting her.
Creeeak—
As the door to the Demon King's chamber opened, he spoke in a low rumble.
"Beibaros, you worthless fuck. I trusted your abilities so much, yet you come back having lost your ridiculous forces to an unbaptized Hero?"
The Demon King already knew the gist from the succubus's report.
Thud.
Beibaros dropped to his knees and begged.
"I... I'm sorry, my lord... The Hero's power was... far beyond expectations..."
"Shut your mouth!"
Boom!
He rose and stomped the floor, sending massive vibrations through the room.
"Beibaros, you know the price for your idiotic failure. Pay it with your pathetic life."
Gack... gack...
As the Demon King seized Beibaros's throat to crush it, his eyes caught a woman.
Thump.
The Demon King scowled, released Beibaros, and spoke icily.
"Beibaros, explain."
"Sh-she's... a high priestess... She says she has a proposal..."
"Ha, a proposal? From some lowly priestess? You've finally lost it, bringing this bitch to me?"
"B-but... what she said was no joke..."
"Beibaros, you fuck. You let the griffins die like idiots, and now you can't even think straight? Kill her now."
"I... I'm sorry! As you command!"
Rasitena, having overheard, spoke just as Beibaros lunged with his blade at her throat.
"I have a way... to kill the Hero."
Twitch.
The Demon King seemed to waver for a moment, then halted Beibaros.
"Stop."
The blade halted inches from her throat. But it had already nicked her skin, drawing blood. Yet Rasitena's gaze remained unwavering—only the malice intensified.
'Even with the blade at her throat, she doesn't care. Her eyes brim with hatred, resentment, grudge, pure evil.'
Intrigued, the Demon King met her eyes and said, "Hmm... Hearing her out wouldn't hurt. Speak."
She paused, shed her robe, and declared, "I'll tell you the method. Kill the Hero for me."
With that, she explained to the Demon King everything she'd told Beibaros, including the full plan.
"Puhahaha! What an entertaining bitch."
"Well, if it goes as you say, we take almost no losses and isolate the Hero. No downside."
The Demon King's eyes sharpened.
"Obviously, fail, and you die."
Rasitena bowed her head.
"Yes. It won't fail. My life is on the line too."
The Demon King strode to his massive throne and sat.
"Beibaros, you brought an interesting one. I'll hold off on your punishment until this plan ends. Succeed, and I'll elevate your rank."
"Th-thank you...!"
He bowed deeply in gratitude. Relieved to be alive, Beibaros knew bringing her had been the right call.
"So, human priestess. When do we start your plan?"
"As you know, the Hero has the king's favor. Trapping him perfectly requires thorough prep. So..."
"From tomorrow, we'll start preparations right away."