How am I supposed to endure this?
"······."
Hillen opened his eyes.
It was dark and pitch-black. Damp and filthy.
The disgusting stench made him frown. The back of his head throbbed. When he instinctively tried to raise a hand, the clatter of chains stopped the movement.
Ah.
Only then did Hillen clearly realize his situation. His limbs were bound, his mana sealed.
He had been a hero—yet now he was nothing more than a captive.
The final moment resurfaced.
The woman who greeted him wearing a masquerade-style mask meant for ballroom parties.
She introduced herself as a subordinate of the Demon King, a dark spirit summoner, but how could he not know?
The platinum-blonde hair symbolic of the Hilderan royal family.
The strange violet eyes—impossible to forget after seeing them once.
She was undeniably the first princess of Hilderan, Ernan Hilderan. The very target he was supposed to rescue.
Why the princess?
He couldn't understand it.
The Demon King kidnaps the princess.
The Hero fights the Demon King to rescue the princess.
That is the truth. Or rather, it was.
Hillen had gone through countless towers, but this was the first time something like this happened.
"Are you awake?"
"···Granada."
Hillen wasn't the only guest in the prison. Granada, bound in the same manner, cracked open his exhausted eyes.
Damn it.
Why the hell did he have to deal with this?
Granada grumbled internally.
The moment Hillen was captured, Granada's mission should've been complete. But the Demon King threw him into prison together with Hillen.
— No one has looser lips than a weakened human. Sit in there with him and dig something out.
What does he plan to do with a hero?
This was Hillen Cargill. A hero with the achievement of subjugating a Demon King.
Yes, he had been captured easily this time by using the princess, but Hillen was not an opponent anyone could guarantee victory against twice.
Even as an elf, Granada had to admit—keeping him alive would only cause trouble later.
Don't tell me he plans to take him as a subordinate like me.
The thought was so absurd Granada scoffed at himself.
A hero, serving the Demon King?
And what was with that damn dwarf?
Why was a dwarf making something like a mana-cannon inside the Demon King's tower?
And he even seemed like he used to be a hero.
"Are you all right?"
"My head throbs. My body won't move, and my mana isn't responding at all."
"Same here."
"I remember the princess appearing. But I don't remember what hit me."
"That much I don't know either…"
"This is troublesome. Everything is."
Hillen sighed. Up until they arrived at Hortonwalk, everything had gone smoothly. Why had it turned into this?
"This tower. Something's wrong with it."
Hillen had risen to fame after killing the Demon King of Lust, but he had climbed many towers even before that.
And every tower shared the same pattern.
"The first floor has monsters and traps."
"The second floor has stronger monsters and traps."
"The third floor has even stronger monsters and traps."
That was normal. Not just by his experience—this had been an unbroken rule for hundreds of years since the Demon Kings first descended.
But this tower…
"The first floor had mana cannons and ballistae."
One unexpected volley, and everyone except Hillen and Granada had been wiped out.
"Why the hell would something like that be in a tower?"
"I… don't know."
"Of course you wouldn't. No one would."
If that had been all, he could've chalked it up as a new kind of crisis. Once they defeated the Demon King and rescued the princess, it could be remembered fondly as 'that one time.'
But—
"On the first floor there was something shocking, yet on the second floor there was nothing."
"Same on the third floor. And once we reached the fourth…"
Crack—
A thin line of blood trickled from Hillen's mouth.
"Why the princess!"
Unendurable rage made his heart pound wildly.
"Why would she—who I came to rescue—oppose me and side with the Demon King!"
His small mutter exploded into a roar.
"How far I came for this!"
"What I sacrificed for this!"
"How much I did to make this hero quest succeed!"
The torrent of fury poured out like a waterfall, then quieted.
Khh… hahahah…
And then he began to laugh like a madman.
"Do you know something?"
"···Sorry? Know… what?"
"Since entering this tower, we haven't encountered a single monster. Not a single demon."
A twisted smile stretched across his lips.
"In the Demon King's tower! Instead of the things that should be there, the princess is attacking the hero! What kind of damned tower is this?!"
"···I understand."
Understand? He had to. Even Granada, just hearing it second-hand in real time, had been baffled. He couldn't imagine what the actual victim felt.
"This is the tower of the Demon King. And I am its master."
The voice came from outside the cell.
There he stood in the dim torchlight.
Black eyes and black hair. He looked endlessly human, yet the pressure he exuded made it impossible to mistake him for one.
"Nice to meet you, Hillen Cargill."
Berze laughed.
It was new. It was delightful.
Hillen Cargill.
This pathetic sight—he had never seen anything like it in either his previous life or this one.
Hillen's defeat was never something meant to happen.
He had wide influence and always succeeded. Until the day Berze was killed, Hillen had been one of the greatest heroes.
But not now.
Berze couldn't hide his smile.
He hadn't merely captured a hero. He had broken the wings of a hero who would have soared even higher.
This had never happened before. Fate itself had shifted.
For that reason, Berze felt a rare thrill. It was the first meaningful result he had ever achieved.
Proof that his choices had not been wrong.
At long last—
He could change the future.
He could succeed in his revenge.
"You."
Hillen's eyes widened with fury.
"It's you! You bastard!"
"If you're referring to the master of the tower, as I said—it's me."
"You son of a bitch. You filthy, worthless, dogshit piece of trash."
"I heard Hillen Cargill was always well-mannered, polite, and respectful to his opponents."
"Bullshit. Like hell I'd be polite when I'm about to die. Why the hell did you make the tower like this?! If you're a Demon King, act like one—fill it with monsters and traps!"
"I did lay a trap. There were no monsters, but it did a fine job of catching you."
"That wasn't Demon King-like at all, you bastard."
Hillen sneered.
"I'm ruined because of you. Even if I make it out alive, the creditors waiting to tear me apart aren't just one or two."
"It's absurd that you'd go bankrupt over a single failure. You're Hillen Cargill, are you not?"
"You demons don't know. You've never seen money fiends worse than demons. Do you know how much money I poured into maintaining my connections? How much more I still have to pour in? Just thinking about the debts I owe already makes me dizzy."
"I didn't know that."
It was a new discovery.
He knew humans went mad over money, killed their own kind and family over money—but even a prosperous hero was shackled by debt?
He learned something.
And at that moment, a possibility occurred to Berze.
Could this bastard be one too?
A murderous urge boiled within him.
The Demon King's blood still surged in his veins, and the memories from before his regression screamed at him to slaughter every last hero.
Logar had been different. Unlike that thing who didn't even resemble a hero, Hillen Cargill was a real hero.
If they were to clash head-on when both were at full strength, Berze still couldn't guarantee victory.
Yet he could tolerate Hillen only because Hillen wasn't one of those who had killed and mocked him in the past.
Because there had already been a precedent—Logar.
If I could use a hero to bring down Arein…
If he could block the hero who mocked him with another hero…
That would be the perfect scenario. The ultimate revenge.
The mere thought sent a shiver of excitement down his spine.
But Berze didn't speak of it yet. Everything had its proper time.
A wounded beast trusts no one but its parent. He had to wait until Hillen grew weaker—until he broke further.
"Looks like your fangs aren't fully pulled out yet."
"So you plan to use me to negotiate with the kingdoms? Why not just kill me?"
"I'm the one who decides that. For now, it's better to spend some more time breaking your spirit."
Berze walked out of the prison.
"Let's escape."
The moment Berze's back fully vanished from sight, Hillen returned to his former self.
"Apologies for that disgrace just now. Given the circumstances, I showed you something unsightly. But letting it all out cleared my head a bit."
"A-ah… yes."
Granada nodded dumbly.
"The fact they didn't kill us means it won't be immediate. He's probably planning to use me to bargain with the kingdoms. We must use that gap."
"Do you have a method?"
"I've had it from the start."
Creeeeak—
The mana-restricting shackles and cuffs were torn open by brute force.
"······!"
"No artifact like this can completely restrain me. I gathered mana little by little while talking to the Demon King."
"Good heavens…"
He was a real monster.
Hillen tore off Granada's bindings as well.
"But in my current state, I can't defeat the Demon King directly. We must escape without getting caught."
"What about the princess?"
"That crazy bitch? Who cares about her? I came to rescue her and she throws the hero into a trap? If only I had evidence, I could've squeezed a hefty compensation out of Hilderan. A shame, truly."
Hillen grumbled, then crushed the iron bars as well.
"That stupid Demon King got so full of himself he didn't even leave guards. A blessing for us. Let's go."
"Y-yes…"
What do I do?
He had to stop Hillen. But Granada himself wasn't in normal condition. For now, he chose to follow quietly and wait for a chance.
Shhh—
Hillen pressed his ear to the iron door.
"I don't hear anything for now. Could you open the door? I'll keep listening."
"Yes."
Granada slowly opened the door—
"…Fuck."
"What a colorful curse. Humans would enjoy knowing your true nature."
"Why are you back…?"
"You thought I wouldn't notice your little trick? I'll admit, I'm impressed. I didn't expect you to actually tear those off. Truly, Hillen Cargill."
"Damn it!"
Hillen swung his fist—but it was effortlessly stopped. A rough hand seized his fist and threw him aside.
"Granada!"
Rolling across the floor, Hillen shouted. His desperate tone and unwavering eyes made Granada, against his own will, lash out at the Demon King.
SMACK—
"Aaaargh!"
He spat blood as he was sent flying. And he saw—
"Granada, my apologies! Fight the Demon King like a true elf! I'll avenge you, I swear!"
—the hero who had promised to fight alongside him turning his eyes away and running for his life.
"······."
"Well, this is new."
"That bastard… he's absolute filth, isn't he?"
"A dog that tried to bite its own master, and a hero who abandoned his ally. Hard to say which is worse."
"···I simply did my best to carry out my mission. Weren't you the one who ordered me to assist the hero, my lord?"
"Let's say that's true."
"Are you not going to chase him?"
"I was too dumbfounded and briefly forgot."
With a hollow laugh, Berze trudged after the fleeing hero.
Hillen climbed the stairs quickly. His weakened body was soon out of breath, but he had no time to rest.
At least there are no monsters.
He was certain. There had been none up to the fourth floor, and not even a single guard. Maybe this Demon King's tower didn't have monsters at all.
I can't get careless. This tower has mana cannons and a princess waiting on the upper floors. Who knows what other trash he's hidden.
He wouldn't be surprised by anything now. He had convinced himself of that.
Thankfully, the structure of the tower isn't too different from other Demon Kings' towers.
The prison was underground. If he climbed just one floor, and then escaped through the debris-filled first floor, he could survive.
"The elf better hold out long enough…!"
Though he would be trembling with betrayal, elves despised demons more than anything. Surely he was faithfully performing his duty right now.
"This is why I love elves."
Still, his promise to avenge Granada wasn't a lie. He would return someday and repay this humiliation and disgrace.
He opened the door leading to the first floor. Expecting the area to be empty, he instead found someone waiting.
"You?"
Short stature. Pudgy hands.
"You're the hero who made it to the fourth floor? The bastard who smashed my creations?"
Standing in the center of the first floor, the dwarf muttered with venom-filled eyes.
"The Demon King said it. The mana cannon didn't perform as well as expected. That my reward would be postponed."
Crack—
The dwarf tightened his grip on his hammer.
"Because of you!"
"I can't take apart the tower!"
The dwarf hero charged with his hammer raised.
Hillen stared blankly at the scene. He couldn't even sigh anymore.
He had thought nothing could surprise him now.
"…Fuck. Now it's a hero?"
How was he supposed to endure this?
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