Bill, You've Done Something Needless
“Bill, you've done something needless.”
“I'm sorry....... But hear me out. This time it's different.”
“Different how? Looks like you've forgotten how we got played by those old human tongues.”
“N-no way.......”
“Jin clearly told you to bring prey, not guests.”
“But that's.......”
The Demon King's Castle of the Holy Land.
Adel scanned his surroundings as if he were a tourist, finding the rift in Cove far more comfortable than he'd imagined.
“The scenery here's pretty decent. I always figured the demon realm was nothing but hellfire rivers and monsters tearing into each other.”
He spoke while eyeing the man scolding Bill. The guy had blue hair, and unlike Bill's messy chaos, he carried himself with calm composure. His perpetually narrowed eyes made his expression hard to read. But from the earlier exchange, it was clear he wasn't welcoming Adel.
“I heard you're contracted to an ancient god.”
“That's right.”
And unlike Bill, this one showed no particular reaction to the fact that Adel was a god's contractor—fitting for a high-ranking demon.
“We demons serve the god of annihilation. No reason to treat the god of the void with any respect.”
“That's different from what Bill said. He made it sound like an ancient god's contractor was demon king material.”
At Adel's retort, the man shot Bill a glare.
“You've been flapping your gums needlessly. What does a mere 7th hierarchy demon know?”
“Impressive. A 5th hierarchy demon really is on another level. What's your name?”
“Rasan.”
Rasan answered Adel's question without hesitation, then blinked in surprise at his own instinctive response.
'Why the hell did I just answer a human so casually.......'
He stared at Adel with a sour expression.
“Take him to Jin.”
“A human daring to speak of Demon King Jin like a buddy. Even an ancient god's contractor has no business being this arrogant in the Holy Land.”
“Holy Land, my ass. Didn't you say another demon king in the North Sea's Forbidden Zone has over a thousand demons following him? And you've got just the two of you.”
Adel brushed past Rasan as he spoke.
“Don't delude yourself that guarding a king already losing the race makes you loyal. You're just torturing the guy with false hope.”
“And what about you?”
“I'm different.”
Adel replied to Rasan's question in a level tone.
“I can give him real hope, not this pathetic pipe dream.”
“Mad bastard. Trying to shake Jin's mind with your silver tongue. You a spy from Fury's side?”
“Fury? You mean that North Sea demon king? Rasan, you're not as sharp as I thought. Makes sense why you're stuck next to a demon king on his last legs.”
“......What?”
“Why would a demon king with hundreds of times more followers bother using a human like me for dirty tricks?”
Adel patted Rasan's shoulder lightly.
“He'd just wipe you out.”
“......”
“And using me? If that's true, it'd be weirder if I didn't wipe out that Fury bastard first.”
Rasan fell silent under the pressure radiating from Adel.
“Think it over. I'm the void's contractor. Bill's an idiot, but calling him demon king material isn't that much of a stretch. A human body might be weaker than a demon's, but a 5th hierarchy should sense it—what else is inside me besides the god's power.”
He knew exactly what that crushing pressure was. It wasn't mere human arrogance.
“Dragon mana.......?”
Rasan stared at him in bewilderment.
“An ancient god's contractor with dragon mana? No human body could withstand that.......”
The answer came easily, but that only deepened his confusion.
'Two dragon hearts....... Is this guy even human?'
Adel read Rasan's expression like an open book.
“No need to waste time. Talk to him, and if he's nothing special, feel free to draw your sword on me.”
As he nodded to Bill to lead the way, bypassing Rasan, Adel added,
“Of course, the moment you do, you'd better be ready. Don't gamble unless you're sure you can win.”
Leaving the baffled Rasan behind, Adel grabbed Bill by the scruff and headed deeper into the castle.
“......What kind of human is that guy?”
Rasan stared at Adel's back, dumbfounded. Strangely, he couldn't bring himself to stop him.
* * *
“Open it.”
Adel had reached the deepest chamber inside the castle. A massive iron door blocked his path, adorned with the castle's most ornate engravings.
“If it's a hassle, I can help.”
Ignoring Bill's hesitation, Adel gripped the handle. Instead of void energy, black dragon mana wrapped around it.
Crack—!!
With a flex, the handle shattered.
“......”
It wasn't the dragon mana overpowering it—the thing was so poorly maintained that even basic warding spells had failed, leaving it rusted to bits.
Bang—!!
Adel shook the rust from his hand and kicked the door with all his might. True to the brute-force method, both halves crumpled inward with a deafening crash.
“Bill. This really the demon king's castle?”
“......Pardon?”
“How the hell do you let it fall into this state? Only worthwhile thing around here's the annoyingly peaceful view.”
Adel clicked his tongue as he said it, thanks to the sight awaiting him beyond the ruined door.
“......”
Without a word, Adel rested a hand on Nazas and stepped forward.
Be careful. That's succubus smoke.
“Doesn't matter. My mind's not weak enough to fall for some low-rank demon's illusion.”
Step—step—step—
Adel strode into the hazy, fog-like smoke.
“But a so-called demon king flailing around in this cheap trick? Figures.”
Slash—
Then it came—a sharp sound sliced through the smoke, followed by a flash of light.
Adel didn't flinch. He summoned a spirit to whip up wind, scattering the smoke, then dodged the incoming thin blade.
Thud......!!
A dull impact followed.
“Gah!!”
A dying scream echoed. Adel looked down coldly at his ambusher, blood bubbling from her mouth.
“Kkh, kugh.......”
The woman on the floor, glaring up at him, was naked—hardly fitting for someone wielding a sword.
“If you're a dream demon, act like one. Don't go swinging a blade like it suits you.......”
Adel stepped on the fallen succubus's back and pressed on.
“No way a demon king falls for a low-rank illusion. Just escaping reality? What a basket case.”
“Who the hell are you?”
As the wind spirit swept the hall, a man sprawled on a massive bed spoke to Adel, his eyes half-glazed.
“Your underlings know, but you're in the dark? How the hell has Belkan not killed a loser like you?”
Succubi lay scattered around the demon king on the bed, lost in hallucinations.
“In this state, you're trash that couldn't ignore a spirit stone's hierarchy. Could just snap your neck.”
“Heh heh....... Now I see—you're that savage's human. Mouthy bastard. Gonna slice your throat and eat you headfirst.”
Then—
Slap—!!!
The demon king's cheek flushed red as his head snapped to the side. He'd been lying there in disarray, clad only in a loose robe.
“......!!!”
“......!!!”
The succubi around him gasped, as did Bill and Rasan.
“Snap out of it. I don't care if you're wasting time alone after losing the throne war, but guys are chained up suffering in this shithole for centuries because of trash like you.”
“You....... What the fuck did you just do?”
“What?”
Adel slapped him again instead of answering the demon king's incredulous stare.
“This.”
“Have you lost your mind?! A puny human daring to—!!!”
Jin yelled, more baffled by the situation than the stinging pain.
“Should grind you to dust, you little shit! I'll make you slave away in the demon realm forever!!”
“Playing house in a fake demon realm like this, and you talk big? Get your head straight. What were you seeing in that succubus haze?”
Adel smirked coldly at the roaring Jin.
“Dreaming of claiming the throne, thrashing around in your own fantasy?”
“You bastard!!!”
Clang—!!!!
In that instant, Rasan's spear blade hurtled toward Adel.
Skish—!
It grazed Adel's cheek.
“I went easy because you're an ancient god's contractor, but you've crossed the line, human.”
“Easy? With what?”
It was a minor cut, but it burned like fire.
“Daring to harm Jin!!”
“Harm? From one slap? And a so-called demon king getting hurt that bad?”
“......Shut up!!”
Rasan pulled back his spear, twisted, and thrust again.
Whoosh—!!
Shwoosh—!!!
His blade was eerily frozen, flames erupting with every arc.
“A weak demon king?”
Adel dodged while keeping up the taunt.
“Or not a demon king at all?”
Crunch—
Rasan's face twisted.
“Raaargh!!!”
With ferocious momentum, he raised his spear overhead and spun it like a windmill.
Roarrrrr......!!
As it whirled, flames formed a fiery wheel, swelling to fill the ceiling.
Rasan's fury was leagues beyond Bill's. Like a massive fire serpent coiling to strike, the spear tip lunged—
Ching!!
Clang—!!
Kakakakang......!!!!
Nazas clashed with the spear, wind and fire exploding outward.
“Agh?! B-be careful!!”
Bill scrambled to extinguish the spreading flames around the bed.
But amid the chaos, Demon King Jin—after his earlier outburst—had buried his head in the bed like it was all a bother. Succubus smoke was already creeping back around him.
“Can't even pull himself together.”
Adel clicked his tongue and shook his head at the sight.
That guy's from the Blue Flame Clan, from what I recall. Decent bloodline even in the demon realm.
“So why's a guy like that still serving a loser like him?”
Watch it. 5th hierarchy demon, right? Still tricky to handle.
“5th hierarchy.......”
Adel flicked Nazas's tip toward Rasan mockingly.
“Now this might actually be fun.”
Contrary to the concern, Adel seemed to relish the challenge, a spark of battle lust in his eyes.