The Demon King's Tower
"Hotenwalk welcomes the heroes!"
"Hail Hillen Cargill!"
As they passed through the fortress gates, the people erupted into cheers.
Granada exhaled a puff of white breath. The emotion washed over him.
'I've finally returned.'
Hotenwalk.
The place where he first met the Demon King.
The place where he had been purchased and chose to become a subordinate.
It had been long—almost half a year of the Hero Expedition. Truly long.
But it had not been meaningless.
Hail Hillen Cargill!
Hail Watton Collo!
Granada!
His name, subtly mixed in among the illustrious heroes, proved that much.
"Granada, what are you doing? Let's go in."
Hillen, with whom he had grown fairly close over the months, gently patted his shoulder.
"Yes."
Led by Hillen and Granada, the five hundred–strong Hero Expedition finally stepped into Hotenwalk.
One hundred heroes, and four hundred nobles, knights, or mercenaries.
Contrary to the Demon King's worries, small disputes arose, but there were no defections that reduced their numbers. Naturally, their campaign continued without issue.
It was Hillen Cargill's influence that made it possible.
He had drawn knights to his cause, soothed deserter mercenaries, and dragged everyone this far.
Granada believed the Demon King had underestimated Hillen.
"Krr, it's been a while since I came here."
"So in the end the rumors were true, right? The actual Demon King was in Ergest. But someone insisted we stay here without knowing a thing."
"Cut it out. I told you, I was drunk back then!"
"Idiot."
"Shut it or die?"
The mercenaries of the Red Hawk Company laughed as they returned to their familiar post. The members of the expedition unpacked their belongings in one of the lord's castle wings under the warm welcome of Hotenwalk's lord.
"As the lord responsible for Hotenwalk, it is an honor to stand at a page of history where evil is vanquished and justice restored!"
With the lord's greeting, the banquet began. He sat with Hillen Cargill, Watton Collo, and other renowned heroes at the seat of honor.
"Our destination is finally before our eyes. We have reached this point without major trouble. Intimidated by our might, the Demon King has done nothing and quivers in fear."
"But we must not grow complacent. He is the Demon King and the vile fiend who abducted the princess."
"I pray that, after the Demon King is defeated, we may all meet again smiling. For the peace of the continent!"
"For peace!"
"Long live the heroes!"
At the lord's request, Hillen raised the toast, and the members cheered. Their morale was soaring.
Their trust in Hillen Cargill.
A hero's march without a single monster or demon encounter thus far.
A newly-descended novice Demon King whose only known trait was fire magic.
Four factors that combined perfectly. Confidence in guaranteed success wrapped around the entire expedition.
Granada found the atmosphere unsettling.
'At this rate, won't things go almost the exact opposite?'
At first, things had been going exactly as the Demon King had intended. But Hillen was far more capable than expected—and had reversed the outcome entirely.
'Can I stop him?'
Granada seriously considered betraying them now, striking from behind.
It had only been a little over two months since he joined the expedition. And the last image he remembered of the tower was the princess standing alone in an empty clearing.
'No, there's nothing to worry about. If he succeeds, that's good for me.'
He had not become the Demon King's subordinate by choice.
If the Demon King died, the shackles binding him would be released.
"······."
Even so, he could not shake the unease in his heart. Frustrated, he stepped out onto the terrace and poured mana into the crystal orb.
Fortunately, there was a response.
"We've just arrived at Hotenwalk. After a short resupply, we'll begin climbing the mountain."
『I see.』
An utterly relaxed, unconcerned voice replied.
『Once you begin climbing, there's a risk of being detected, so consider this the last communication.』
"Should I continue doing my best to aid the heroes?"
『Until I arrive at the tower and issue new orders, the previous ones still stand.』
『Perfect timing. I'll tell you what to watch out for.』
『When climbing the mountain, be wary of the snow.』
『Do not relax at night.』
『And lastly, when opening the tower's door, do not stand close—prepare for impact.』
"...Excuse me? What does that even mean?"
No answer came. The connection was abruptly cut.
"What the—"
"What are you doing here alone?"
Hillen approached, carrying a wine bottle. Granada quickly hid the orb.
"Just getting some fresh air. What about you?"
"I left the lord with the other heroes for a bit."
Indeed, the lord was surrounded by them.
"Care for a drink? It's a fruit wine elves supposedly love."
"I'll just have one."
Unable to refuse Hillen's offer, Granada accepted the glass. The scent was pleasant.
"Is something worrying you?"
The hero took a sip—ahh, that's good—and let out a satisfied exhale.
"Do I look like it?"
"Yes. Are you nervous because the Demon King's Tower is near?"
In a way, he was correct.
"Do you think we can actually defeat the Demon King?"
"No idea. Others believe in me, but there are no guarantees in defeating a Demon King. A Demon King is always strong, and the tower is hell."
"But you defeated the Lustful Demon King, didn't you? Compared to him, a freshly descended Demon King is—"
"If it were that simple, all the Demon Kings in Arein would have died out long ago."
Hillen shrugged.
"Still..."
A faint, cunning smile tugged at his lips.
"With your help, Granada, I'm certain we'll succeed."
"I am merely an elf."
"There you go again, acting weak. Aside from me and a few others, no one is more renowned than you."
"That's because when monsters surge in, I'm the first to—"
"Exactly. A few may be stronger than you, but your fame has grown incomparable. It's the difference between those who act on their sense of justice, and those who cannot."
As expected of an elf, that's a virtue only you can show, he whispered quietly.
"So."
The hero placed both hands on Granada's shoulders, eyes widening as he met his gaze.
"I'll take the lead—just support me from the side."
"...I will."
Granada forced himself to ignore the strange sense of dissonance.
From Hilderan in the far south to Hotenwalk in the far north.
After a long journey, the expedition took a week of rest.
Hillen summoned the command group to review the plan.
"Above all, speed and stealth are crucial. Mount Ergest is overflowing with monsters. Avoiding their attention will reduce casualties, and we must not lose our way in the snow."
"Once we reach the summit, the tower should be easy to spot. Demon Kings typically build their towers where they're most visible."
"He probably built it on the highest peak."
"Since it's a snowy mountain, progress will be slow. Expect at least a week."
"Then we'll need more supplies."
"He supposedly uses fire magic, so we need fire-resistant gear as well."
"And cold-weather equipment for the snow—the load will double."
They resupplied in Hotenwalk, checked their gear one last time, and finally—
"Move out!"
The Hero Expedition charged toward the climax of their campaign.
The lower slopes of Ergest were not very steep.
Gentle inclines. Relatively flat ground and dense forests welcomed the visitors.
But as time passed and altitude increased, white snow appeared. The incline steepened, and trees vanished.
The mountain's true inhabitants did not welcome intruders.
Kwoooaaaar—
"Yeti!"
"Five yetis on the right flank! Distance about 300 meters!"
Creatures unseen anywhere else emerged every few hours.
"Twin-headed ogre!"
"Shit, scatter! If we bunch up we'll all die!"
Large monsters bared sharp fangs.
Even one of them was enough to be considered a disaster. But they could not stop the expedition.
Slice—
Hillen's sword danced elegantly. A flash carved the shape of death itself.
A yeti's head flew.
An ogre's heart burst.
Orcs fell one by one.
Despite his pleasant demeanor, his strikes were swift and ruthless.
"That's our hero!"
"Hail Hillen Cargill!"
Inspired by his performance, the heroes rushed forward, and no monster on Ergest—no matter how mighty—could halt them.
Strong monsters and harsh terrain were nothing more than minor annoyances.
Then, stranger monsters appeared.
"Feral orcs?"
"But the one in the middle looks… different?"
Dozens of shadows appeared above them, prompting confusion from knights and mercenaries.
"Demonoids!"
One figure, much larger than the other orcs by at least one and a half times, with horns sprouting from its head.
The heroes, most sensitive to demonic energy, immediately recognized it.
"No—that's closer to an actual demon. A demon is controlling the feral orcs!"
"They've sent a demon right from the start after holding back all this time."
The heroes tensed at the appearance of their first demon. Hillen lunged forward like a fired arrow. A portion of the expedition followed.
Granada joined as well.
'If it's a demon, the Demon King must have summoned it. Do I pretend to fight and let it escape?'
No—that would draw suspicion. He was told to "do his best," so that's what he'd do.
At that moment, their eyes met.
'Is it… smiling?'
Granada saw the demon's lips curl ever so slightly.
"Did it just smile?"
"That bastard."
Hillen and the heroes saw it too.
And then—
Bwoooooooo—
The demon blew into a massive horn.
A trap?
That strange sense of unease froze them for a moment.
BOOOOM—!
A thunderous explosion echoed.
And then—
Rrrrrrrrrrr—
"Uh… what…"
"R-run!"
An avalanche began to fall.
As the white tide crashed toward him, Granada thought:
'You bastard—how am I supposed to "watch out for the snow" like this?!'
Cough, cough—
Granada spat out the snow he'd swallowed and barely crawled free.
"Is everyone alright?"
"Yes…"
Fortunately, the avalanche was smaller than expected, and the expedition members were strong. The damage was lighter than it could have been.
But—
"Damn it, what kind of demon uses an avalanche?"
"What the hell kind of bullshit is this…"
Their first failure after a long streak of victories. Their morale inevitably dropped a bit.
'Crazy bastard. Even with me here, he just wiped everything out?'
And some damage had occurred. The weaker mercenaries suffered the most—Red Hawk Mercenary Company had vanished entirely.
'Those guys shouldn't have been wiped out just from this…'
While Granada stood with unease and anger tangled in his chest, Hillen gathered the survivors and let out a stunned, hollow laugh.
"I never imagined our first attack would come like this."
"···What do we do?"
"For now, we tidy up, camp somewhere we can avoid the snow, and wait a bit longer for any possible survivors. The damage isn't severe, but rather than climbing immediately, it's better to rest a little."
Hillen calmly took control of the situation.But the avalanche had only been the beginning.
"Ambush!"
"The feral orcs are driving yetis toward us!"
"Block them!"
"Those bastards!"
The sun sets quickly in the mountains. The hero force began setting up camp, but before it was even completed, guests arrived with the night.
The monsters' foul stench filled the air as enraged beasts charged in.It was a sudden surprise attack, and the expedition was mentally exhausted.
Hillen, Granada, and the heroes fought well enough to fend them off, but no one could deny the steady erosion of morale.
And so one day passed. Then another.
Contrary to their original plan, the expedition slowed down, and the feral orcs repeatedly attacked them whenever their guard slipped.
"Those damn bastards!"
"Let's just fight them head-on!"
The heroes cursed, but chasing monsters into the dark—monsters who attacked and immediately retreated—was no different from suicide.
"Are those really orcs?"
"Why are they so cunning?"
The expedition slowly wore down.
"This Demon King is truly a wicked one."
"We cannot dance to his tune. Even if it costs lives, we need a forced march."
"I agree."
With grim determination, the expedition pushed forward faster.They slept less, ate while walking, chewing dried meat on the move.
Their murderous momentum lessened the frequency of feral orc attacks. Other monsters, too, dared not approach.
That was fortunate, yet the harsh forced march caused more dropouts, and by the time they reached the summit, less than half of them remained.
But a far bigger problem awaited.
"···The tower is gone?"
"We don't see it anywhere!"
Every Demon King's tower was always placed somewhere obvious—always where anyone would naturally expect it to be.
That had been tradition for centuries, practically a universal law.
So when that law cracked, the heroes grew confused.
One day passed. Then two. The cold and constant assaults steadily increased casualties.
Eventually, someone gave up.
"I can't do this anymore. This Demon King is nothing like the others. I refuse to waste time and lives searching for a tower we don't even know exists."
"We're close. It's just not on the highest peak—it must be somewhere on the summit."
"And how many more will die while we search? This is Ergest. You must survive before you can do anything. I reject pointless death. We should retreat, prepare thoroughly, and return another time."
"No. If we fail now, next time will be far worse."
"Better that than everyone dying and the expedition failing completely."
The hero second only to Hillen in fame—Watton—directly opposed him.
The real issue was that his words resonated with the exhausted, demoralized members.
"I'm leaving! Anyone who wants to return with me, follow!"
More than half the expedition followed him down the mountain.
The morale of the remaining force plummeted.
"······."
"I will stay with you."
"Granada… I swear it. I will kill that Demon King."
It was the first time Granada had seen kind-hearted Hillen grit his teeth and curse someone.
But progress in finding the tower remained agonizingly slow.Casualties rose. More deserted out of exhaustion.
And in the most ironic twist—just when it seemed they might have to give up on the expedition entirely—
They found the tower.
"In a basin…"
"That damn bastard…"
Roughly fifty remained. Barely a tenth of the original force. Their teeth ground in anger.
"What will you do?"
"We came for a righteous cause. Even if our numbers have dwindled and morale has fallen, we cannot flee when evil stands before us. A true hero does not run. Even if everyone else leaves, I will personally behead the Demon King."
"Well said."
"Cowards, the lot of them."
They cursed their deserters and regained confidence upon seeing the tower was only five stories tall.
"As expected of a newly descended Demon King."
"I'll open the door."
"The first floor will just be weaklings anyway."
The triumphant heroes opened the tower door.
At that moment—
Flash—!
A brilliant light engulfed them.
A colossal explosion shook the world.
"Gghh…"
Granada gasped for breath.
"Are you alright?"
A battered Hillen offered him a hand. Granada managed to stand.
"What was that?"
"If my instincts are correct… a mana cannon."
"A mana cannon?"
What madness—
He placed a mana cannon on the first floor instead of monsters?
No matter how eccentric this Demon King was—having purchased Granada and made him a subordinate—he was still a Demon King.But a mana cannon?
So that's why he said not to stand near the door!
"This is strange. A cannon of that size gathering mana should have been noticeable…"
Especially in a Demon King's tower, where mana was thin and demonic energy thick.
"And the others…?"
"No one is dead, but…"
Hillen trailed off. At the moment the bright flash erupted, he had instinctively deployed a defensive spell.
It had wrapped around the entire expedition and saved their lives—But it had not absorbed the shock completely.
Behind Hillen lay the unconscious bodies of every hero.
"The surprise was too sudden. No one had time to react."
"So it's just the two of us."
"Yes. Unfortunately."
"What now…?"
"I checked inside immediately after waking. There were five large mana cannons. Behind them were ten heavy ballistae."
"My god…"
"I destroyed all of them, but there was nothing else inside.No monsters. No one who fired the cannons."
Hillen frowned deeply.
"Still, we must continue."
"Wouldn't it be better to abandon this? Just the two of us—"
"I killed the Lustful Demon King. A newly descended one is no match for me."
Hillen's gaze hardened.
"Our expedition received great praise and attention. To fail that expectation—to abandon justice in front of evil—is unacceptable."
But then—
He added quietly:
"I would like you to come with me, Granada."
"I'm not sure if I'll be of much help."
"What nonsense? There is no one I trust more than you. Please stay by my side."
His earnestness made Granada nod.
'The first floor is over, but a Demon King must have more prepared. With the hero in poor condition, going with him is the right choice.'
And so an elf and a hero stepped into the Demon King's Tower.
Hillen bit his lip. The metallic taste cleared his head.
Stay calm.
This expedition could not—must not—fail.
He had to behead the Demon King, plunder the tower, accomplish something.
He had used fame and achievements to gather many followers.The price for shattering their trust would not be light, even for a hero.
The merchant guilds that invested in me…
The fire-resistant and cold-resistant gear worn by the entire expedition did not come from nowhere.
Nor did the supplies they consumed for months come for free.
He had even made secret deals with nobles, asking them to trust him.
Such luxuries always demanded repayment.
If he died here, it would end quietly.But if he returned alive empty-handed, every creditor would hunt him down.
This expedition could not fail.
Yes… the elf. With the elf, I can avoid the worst.
"It's time."
Resolved, Hillen ascended the stairs to the second floor with Granada.
"Huh…?"
"What?"
And they found an empty clearing.
"A trap…?"
"No, I don't think so. There really is nothing."
What is this tower?
When they opened the first floor, instead of monsters, mana cannons and ballistae greeted them.
Now the second floor was empty. More troubling than that—They had not seen a single living creature until now.
"···Let's move to the next floor."
After thoroughly checking the second floor, Hillen finally moved on.
At the third floor, they faced the same barrenness.They climbed to the fourth.
Don't tell me the fifth floor is empty too…?
Fortunately, that fear was unfounded.
A breeze blew.
The fresh scent of a forest tickled their noses.
Warm light brushed their skin.
"···What is this?"
Water flowed.
Trees swayed softly.
Translucent birds and animals fluttered about.
It was an ecosystem.A piece of nature.
And from within it, she appeared.
"Welcome to the Demon King's Tower, strangers.I am the one who serves our lord—one of the Four Heavenly Kings, the Spiritcaller of Darkness."
"···Your Highness, the princess?"
"You've mistaken me for someone else. I am Demon King's subordinate, No.1."
"But you just said Four Heavenly—"
"You don't listen well, do you? You need to be punished."
That—
BOOM—!
—was Hillen's last memory.
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