An Inevitable Matter
"Uh… did I hear you correctly?"
Ernan blinked her big round eyes.
"You heard correctly."
"But…"
No matter how she thought about it, it made no sense.
"I'm a princess."
"And I'm the demon lord."
"The Hero is coming to rescue me."
"He's coming to kill me. So?"
"I can't."
"Yeah, I figured you'd say that."
Berze hadn't held much hope to begin with.
It was just that…
Ernan's strangely cooperative attitude—
Her complete lack of resistance toward the Demon Lord's Tower—
Made him wonder for a moment if it just might be possible.
Not enough to force her. If forcing someone made them sincerely help you…
Then there was no reason for elves to cling to their honor in the first place.
Still, he might as well try the persuasion strategies he'd come up with.
"Hillen Cargill is a strong Hero. Odds are high he'll kill me and save you. And likely take you back to the kingdom."
"Ah. Back to the kingdom…"
Berze did not miss the way her eyes changed. There was definitely something there.
It was instinctual. He couldn't explain it, but Ernan clearly did not want to return to the kingdom.
What kind of home makes someone prefer a demon lord over going back?
Berze couldn't imagine it, so he didn't bother trying. Instead, he dangled a carrot this time.
"Come to think of it, you seemed awfully interested in the elixir."
"Elixir?"
"If you want it, I can give it to you."
"…if I oppose the Hero, you mean?"
"That's how it would be."
She closed her mouth. Her tiny lips wavered.
And after a long while…
"…can I think about it a little?"
A surprisingly positive answer returned.
…Wait, this might actually work?
To be honest, it had been a gamble.
If it worked, great—but he'd thought the odds were low. So he'd just thrown it out there, and somehow her answer came back positive.
Which put Berze in a difficult position.
He thought he understood humans reasonably well, but apparently he needed to revise that entirely.
"Aren't humans supposed to be attached to their families?"
So why did a princess hate her own kingdom this much? He'd heard she was a promising talent, too.
He didn't know the reason, but he couldn't deny the result was good.
"If Hillen Cargill confidently makes it to the fourth floor and runs into the princess—"
He could already picture her panic.
He never expected the princess to win. The openings that would appear when she turned against the Hero coming to rescue her—that was Berze's aim.
"Did the princess really agree to this?"
"It's not certain yet."
"It's good if it works, but I'm sure that woman is insane."
"Possibly."
Gordon clicked his tongue. Now relieved, his thoughts wandered elsewhere.
"But is it okay to do nothing about Demon Lord Draxon?"
"What am I supposed to do?"
He had no monsters to send, and none worth sending. Filing a written complaint would just get him laughed at.
"If he claims ignorance, we can't pin anything on him."
"But if we stay still and he spreads the rumor that Granada is your subordinate…"
"You didn't like the idea, but you also don't want it going wrong, do you?"
"That's not it. It's just that this is a scheme you've put so much thought into."
"Your loyalty brings tears to my eyes. If only you acted this obedient all the time."
"…."
And if only you took concern at face value for once.
Gordon closed his mouth. No matter what he thought, he just couldn't like this damned lord.
"But there's no need for pointless worry."
"What do you mean?"
"It means it's meaningless."
Crunch. Crunch—
"He's completely insane!"
A massive bone cracked. Draxon swallowed it whole and burst into booming laughter.
"Is that true?"
"Yes. The Red Falcon Mercenary Corps has joined Hillen Cargill's hero expedition."
"And Granada is with them for sure?"
"The current commander of the Red Falcons is Granada."
"Then it's certain."
Draxon gulped down the rest of the bone. Red blood dripped from his lips.
"I knew he was being overly cocky, so I figured he was up to something. But who would've guessed he'd shove an elf into the hero expedition. What do you think he's after?"
"A spy. I suspect she'll betray them once the expedition reaches its peak."
"That's my guess as well. And honestly, it's not bad."
None of the demon lords had ever thought of this. But it was so clever it made them wonder why no one had.
Toppling something from the inside was far easier and far more effective than striking from the outside.
"Interference won't do any good, will it?"
"Even if we announce that Granada is a demon lord's spy, no one will believe it."
"As expected."
If it were a human, there was precedent. Even without being a dark mage empowered by a demon, humans sometimes sided with demon lords out of personal greed.
But elves were different.
Elves had the World Tree—a solid pillar of support. To protect the World Tree, they were enemies of the demons.
In the hundreds of years since the Demon Realm found the dimension of Arein, not a single elf had ever sided with the demons.
"How did he convince an elf?"
"It might actually be simple."
"Simple?"
"There are elves in other dimensions too. Everyone assumes elves cannot be persuaded because of their reputation. But as far as I know, no one in Arein has even tried in ages."
"I heard there were some attempts in the early days. All failures, and after that, no one even bothered anymore."
"Maybe that's just prejudice. Maybe if they'd kept trying just a bit more, it would've worked. But they wrote it off based on other dimensions' elves."
"So Berze stumbled blindly into it, and beginner's luck kicked in… something like that?"
"Yes."
"I can't be sure, but it's worth considering."
Draxon stroked his chin.
"For now, we'll watch Granada's movements. Also, discreetly contact the elves—test the waters."
"Yes."
"And Berze came down, you said?"
"Yes. He vanished using a dimensional teleporter in Hotonwork with a dwarf. We traced the destination to Anscila, but found no further trail."
"Anscila isn't within my territory, so that makes sense. But a dwarf?"
"Yes. We believe he kidnapped one."
"A dwarf? When?"
"After Rosal returned badly beaten by Demon Lord Berze, there was a gap in his schedule. Likely then."
"An elf and now a dwarf…"
Is he avoiding the demons entirely, cutting ties with the archduke, and deciding monsters aren't worth using anymore?
Is he going to fill the tower exclusively with lifeforms from the middle realms?
"I don't think it's that."
"Yeah. No demon lord would go that far."
A demon's pride denied the possibility. No matter how unorthodox that lunatic Berze was, some things were unthinkable.
"He's probably planning to use the dwarf as another infiltrator, like the elf."
"Find out. Where he released the dwarf—if he did—don't lose track and monitor closely."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"I'm curious what picture he's trying to paint."
Draxon grabbed another chunk of meat.
Ernan Hilderan, the princess kidnapped by a demon lord, threw a ball made of mud.
The spirit of wind darted off, retrieved it, and dropped it before her. She patted its head for a job well done, and it danced happily. The pattern repeated a few more times.
Stopping Hero Hillen…?
Honestly, she couldn't picture it.
Hillen was the hero of Hilderan, and he'd had several encounters with her, the princess.
A kindness without end.
A warmth without end.
He was coming to rescue her. And she was supposed to stop him with her own hands?
But…
She didn't want to return to the kingdom.
To her, rescue didn't feel like rescue. Just as kidnapping wasn't merely kidnapping.
Life in the tower was boring. Nothing to do, no one paying attention to her.
The sudden limited freedom she'd been given was dull and monotonous.
But it was still better than the suffocation and pressure of the kingdom. Better than the eyes constantly watching her.
And lately, it wasn't even that boring anymore.
With that thought reaching its end, she rose to her feet. She descended the stairs to the first floor.
Tools and wires were scattered everywhere, greeting her.
Bang, bang, bang—
Loud hammer strikes.
Fwoosh—
Heat shimmered in the air. In the small workshop set up in one corner of the first floor, a dwarf was hammering away with full focus.
"What are you doing?"
There was no answer. But that happened often. He claimed he couldn't hear anything when he was concentrating.
Since she had nothing else to do anyway, Ernan quietly sat and watched the blazing fire.
The fire spirit leapt into the flames and danced. The fire grew stronger.
Ernan flinched, but Logar said nothing. There didn't seem to be any harm, so she left it as it was.
After quite a while—
"…what are you doing here?"
Logar finally noticed Ernan.
"I was curious about something."
"Curious?"
"Why are you working here, Logar?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well… you're a Hero, right? You were kidnapped too. So I was wondering why you're working for a demon lord."
"..."
Why? Because he had no choice. If he didn't, he'd die.
And the reason he didn't run was because he knew even if he escaped, only a bleak future awaited him.
By now, the princess was probably scouring the kingdom with bloodshot eyes, searching for him.
"…I just have my reasons."
But he couldn't bring himself to state them honestly. Even if he was a coward who never lived bound by the title of Hero, there were still lines of pride he refused to cross.
"I see?"
Ernan tilted her head.
"But it helped."
"…I'm not sure what I said, but I'm glad it helped."
"The demon lord told me to stop the Hero if he reaches the fourth floor."
"…What?"
Logar dropped his hammer. He checked the surroundings carefully and whispered,
"Has the demon lord gone insane?"
"I don't think so. He seemed fine."
"And he said that to you?"
"He was really torn about whether to ask."
"He was torn?"
There was nothing to be torn about.
Obviously, the princess should pray the Hero kills the demon lord and returns her to the kingdom.
"But hearing what you said helped me make up my mind."
In that direction.
She murmured firmly,
"I guess everyone has unavoidable circumstances. What right does a hostage have? If you want to live, you follow what your kidnapper says."
To Logar, it seemed she only needed a justification to convince herself. She had already come to her own conclusion.
…Is the crown princess of Hilderan insane?
He couldn't think anything else.
Meanwhile, Ernan made her final decision.
"But I don't want the Hero to die. So I'll make that my condition."
"I doubt the demon lord will accept that…"
Just as Heroes grew stronger by killing demons and monsters, demon lords grew stronger by killing Heroes. Especially strong Heroes—they were prey no demon lord would willingly forgo.
"You think so?"
"I'm certain."
That greedy demon lord would never give up one of the greatest possible offerings.
"I'll allow it."
"Thank you."
"..."
Logar gave up thinking altogether.
What mattered right now wasn't getting stronger.
It was staying alive.
One had to live in order to grow stronger. In order to take revenge.
Therefore, the certainty of capturing the Hero mattered more than the possibility of killing him for power.
"And besides, if they can't break through the first floor, all of this is meaningless."
Sniff—
Logar, who had followed Ernan out of curiosity, flinched when the demon lord suddenly glanced at him.
"How are things progressing?"
"…The installation of Mana's Phantom is complete. I came to report that."
"Let's check it."
They went down to the first floor. The artifact called Mana's Phantom was embedded deep into one entire wall. Tendrils extended from the device, spreading across the entire floor, giving it an eerie atmosphere.
But compared to some of the bizarre things inside a demon lord's tower, it wasn't a problem.
"I'll activate it."
"What's the power source?"
"Normally, it absorbs ambient mana and operates semi-permanently. But for now, we need a mana stone."
"Activate it."
"Yes."
Logar flipped a switch. The magical device vibrated with a loud rumble.
Something brushed against their skin. A faint veil spread over the entire floor. Berze sensed no hostility from it.
Containment.
A barrier to prevent internal energy from leaking outside.
Wait.
Berze paused as he was about to test the performance. Magic device. And the tower.
So if I bring human artifacts into the tower, they can function more effectively. I don't need to waste magic points buying everything?
Was it coincidence that he recalled the boasting of the demon lord who had once given him information about the 13th princess?
One of the tower's functions—identification and assimilation.
A system that strengthened artifacts from the middle realm to match the tower.
But he'd never bothered using it. He had never felt the need to spend precious magic points strengthening low-grade middle-realm objects.
Back then, he'd been obsessed with orthodoxy and demon superiority.
Berze gently touched the device's core.
In that moment—
[The tower recognizes the magical device 'Mana's Phantom' installed on the first floor.]
[Confirmed to be installed by the tower master's will. The device can be assimilated with the tower.]
[Assimilation cost: 1000pt.]
[Proceed with assimilation?]
1000 points was not trivial. And since most of his points were exchanged for money through Draxon, they were even more precious.
But magic points were no longer omnipotent to him.
"I'll do it."
[Points consumed.][12182 ▶ 11182]
He nodded slightly, and the tower's mana surged.
Crackle—
The tower's magic rushed toward the device. When it reached the core, a massive spark shook the entire floor.
[A massive mana energy has been detected.]
[Assimilation failed.]
"Failed?"
[More magic is required for full assimilation.]
[Spend 10,000pt to attempt full assimilation?]
What?
Failure—and the cost jumped tenfold. It was everything he had left, yet the mention of "massive energy" piqued his curiosity.
"I accept."
[Points consumed.][11182 ▶ 1182]
The magic device, which had stalled, roared back to life.
Its tendrils intertwined more finely, more densely. They no longer merely clung to the walls—they bored into the walls, the floor, the ceiling, becoming one with the tower.
And then—
[Mana's Phantom recognizes Berze Deias as its master.]
[Mana's Phantom's power source is fully converted from mana → demonic mana.]
[Its purpose, 'concealing mana,' is altered to conceal all energies except demonic mana. The effectiveness now scales with the tower and demon lord's strength.]
[Mana's Phantom's range expands to cover the entire tower.]
[It will constantly conceal all energy within the tower.]
[By spending magic points, the tower itself can be concealed.]
"I—I didn't do anything strange! Everything was functioning normally in the workshop, so I don't know why suddenly—"
"I did it. You're noisy. Be quiet."
"Yes!"
"Princess. Summon a spirit and cast any magic."
"Is that okay?"
"Do as you like."
Berze stepped outside the tower.
Slowly—very slowly—
He walked past the doorway and stepped onto the white snow. Then he turned his body.
Even so—
Berze felt no mana presence.
Nothing.
He snapped his fingers. The tower obeyed his will and absorbed its demonic energy—
And vanished. Not perfectly, but unless one focused their eyes sharply, it faded like a mirage.
"..."
Berze shuddered with ecstasy.
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