The Demon King had appeared
"Don't talk nonsense."
Unexpectedly, Louise denied him.
"No matter what excuses you make, in the end you just want to step forward yourself, so you're asking me to set the stage for you, right? Greedy, aren't you? Swallowing two Demon Kings wasn't enough?"
"It was sincere advice for Your Highness, but if that is how you felt, then I can only be disappointed."
"The greatest loyalty you can show me is telling me where Logar is."
She gulped down the dark beer. Faced with her unexpected firmness, Hillen confessed without resistance.
"He was in Bollien."
"The Trafarta Union? Can you swear to it?"
"I swear."
It wasn't a lie. When they had once gathered materials for the magic cannon, the Demon King and Logar had stopped by together.
"First Tartara, and now Bollien? He sure wanders around."
"Tartara, you say—?" "Mind your own business."
"Are you truly fine with not taking revenge?"
"Seems like you're the one more desperate than me."
"How could that be."
Louise issued her expulsion order.
"Then I will withdraw for today."
Hillen vanished. Once he was gone, Louise—who'd been putting on airs—threw her glass aside irritably.
"...That was close."
I almost fell for it.
Why wouldn't she want revenge against the Demon King of Lust?
She was holding herself back.
A hero's journey wasn't so simple.
The relationships of countless nations and people tangled and intertwined…
No. Those were just excuses.
She was simply watching her father's reaction. After the huge incident in Ormus, she'd been restraining herself.
'And besides…'
From the moment the Demon King attempted to abduct her, her father would undoubtedly make him pay somehow.
Since the attempt had failed, he likely wouldn't resort to the final measure of dispatching the hero, but in one way or another he would vent his accumulated wrath.
'For now, I should be satisfied with that…'
It wouldn't be bad to revisit Hillen Cargill's proposal when the time was right.
"Ah."
As she reached for her beer, Louise looked down at the glass rolling on the floor and let out a hollow laugh.
The beer had already spilled across the ground.
***
Hotenwalk was the front line blocking the monsters of the Ergest Mountains.
It was hostile territory where monsters frequently appeared, and the most common entryway into the Ergest range.
Because of this, soldiers were permanently stationed there, along with many mercenaries seeking work.
And a few days ago, strange visitors arrived among the mercenaries who frequented Hotenwalk.
"The castellan surrendered the entire lord's manor?"
"Who are they supposed to be? Did a royal prince arrive?"
A force numbering easily two hundred. Knights and magicians mixed together—anyone could tell they were no ordinary group.
They carried no banners, no symbols, yet the castellan personally came out to greet them.
The rumor that he had handed over the manor and was treating them with utmost hospitality was no exaggeration.
Naturally, the curiosity of the people of Hotenwalk grew to its peak.
"Would a royal prince have any reason to come here?"
"Don't they occasionally come for trials?"
"But His Majesty is still in good health, isn't he?"
Hotenwalk was one of the most dangerous regions in the Korzen Kingdom, and royal princes or princesses sometimes came to test their courage.
"But if it were a prince, why would they hide their identity?"
"Exactly."
Since such trials were a matter of proving oneself, royalty always announced themselves loudly upon arrival. Very different from the group that had occupied the manor.
Just as the questions were multiplying, the castellan's soldiers overturned the entire city with urgent shouts.
"Search every corner!"
"What—what do you think you're doing?!"
"By the castellan's command. We are looking for someone. Cooperate."
"Have you seen this woman or not?"
"No, I haven't."
"If you lie, you will be punished."
"What reason would I have to lie?!"
Streets, shops, homes—places with people, places without—everything became subject to search.
And then, traces were found.
"I-I've seen her. In the northern plaza…"
"I saw her wandering near the northern wall."
"She asked if she could get out, and I said it wasn't possible alone."
"I told her she needed the castellan's permit. Haven't seen her since."
Immediately after—
Creeeaaak—
The northern gate opened.
And the two hundred mysterious guests of Hotenwalk walked out.
***
"So Sis really went up into Ergest."
The Fifth Prince of Acan pressed a hand against his throbbing temple.
"What's so hard about waiting a little? That's not a place you just climb on a whim."
He frowned at the deep snow swallowing his legs with every step.
"Would be nice if we could ride horses."
No steed, no matter how fine, could run through these snowy mountains.
"Shall we rest for a bit?"
"No. Have you found my sister's trail?"
"Yes. Fortunately, there hasn't been a blizzard, so searching shouldn't be too difficult."
The princess was traveling openly with her chimeras, making no attempt to hide her presence.
"Sigh… seriously, our sister. Completely unstoppable. Which direction?"
"She's heading upward."
Scattered monster corpses lay along the path. Drawn by the scent of blood, other monsters lunged at them.
The Fifth Prince murmured nervously:
"Is this really okay? The monsters here aren't exactly weak…"
"Her Highness's chimeras are stronger than most monsters. She won't fall easily."
"And there's a Demon King in this mountain too, right?"
"Yes. That is the reason Her Highness wished to climb Ergest in the first place."
"And the reason His Majesty permitted it."
There had never been a Demon King who hid their tower.
The Demon King's tower was, of course, supposed to be easy to find, and that was an element that allowed humans to fight Demon Kings more easily.
But the Demon King of Ergest was different.
What everyone had assumed to be obvious was, in fact, not obvious at all. Despite the crimes he had committed, humanity had been unable to punish him.
Even though the heir of a nation had been kidnapped, they had failed to kill the Demon King and rescue the princess.
Viewed narrowly, it was merely Hilde's problem, but in truth it was a problem for every kingdom.
If it happened once, wouldn't it happen twice?
The kidnapping of the Ninth Imperial Princess of the Jespine Empire, and the kidnapping of the Thirteenth Princess of Hilde, only reinforced that fear.
'Your role is crucial. You must, absolutely must find the tower. Even if you cannot kill him immediately, as long as we find the tower, the initiative will be ours.'
'Otherwise, we will forever be dragged around by these Demon Kings.'
He recalled His Majesty's command.
No one wanted to see such a situation ever occur again.
And fortunately, Acan had one method.
Lavinia Acan.
An outstanding chimera creator, a human more attuned to demonic energy than anyone else.
The King of Acan believed she would be able to find the tower.
Though she was not a hero, her sensitivity to demonic energy surpassed even that of a hero—this was a well-established fact.
Conveniently, Lavinia herself had taken an interest in the new Demon King, and the Korzen Kingdom agreed to cooperate in exchange for sharing information.
All they had to do now was use Hotenwalk as their base and slowly investigate Ergest.
But Lavinia Acan couldn't wait—and she bolted out on her own.
"Surely she's not going to run into the Demon King, right?"
"The Demon King does not leave his tower unless he is kidnapping royalty."
"My sister is a princess."
"...But the Demon King wouldn't know that, would he?"
"The problem is that my sister doesn't exactly hide her identity."
"Are you saying the Demon King… talks?"
"Who knows?"
"...We should pick up the pace."
"That's best."
The knight commander pushed the knights forward. The mage corps used enhancement spells, clearing the path more easily.
But Ergest wasn't forbidden land for nothing.
It wasn't without reason that hundreds of heroes—including Hillen Cargill—had been unable to remain on the mountain long enough to find the tower.
And now they were following the trail Lavinia Acan had carved.
A straight path of blood, left behind as she killed every monster blocking her way.
Drawn by the scent of blood, monsters swarmed like packs of dogs.
Nearly two hundred humans gathered together were a highly delicious prey.
Battle erupted without rest.
"Your Highness, we should retreat for now!"
"...We need to find my sister!"
The Fifth Prince wiped troll blood from his sword. He adjusted his dented armor and blocked an orc blade coming in from the side.
"At this rate the losses will be too great. We came far too unprepared. Ergest is not a place to underestimate!"
The knight commander unleashed a massive aura, cleaving monsters apart. The mages' spells battered the horde.
The scent of blood grew thick.
A massive explosion shook the mountain.
Smell, sound, sight—
Battle that stimulated every monster's senses only attracted more battle. It was a vicious cycle.
The Fifth Prince bit his lip.
"...Sis."
"The princess will be fine. You know that."
Lavinia's chimeras carried a strange aura that monsters instinctively avoided. Thanks to that, she had survived countless dangerous situations—but that wasn't an absolute protection.
There is no perfection in magic.
"For now, you must trust her."
"...Yes."
"Retreat!"
"Retreat! Paralyze the monsters with lightning magic and break through the rear!"
At that moment—
BOOM!
A pitch-black mass crashed down from the sky, crushing the torso of a roaring Fir Orc and letting out a roar of its own.
The oppressive aura it emitted made the monsters hesitate.
"Sister!"
The Fifth Prince spotted the princess perched on a chimera's shoulder.
"Kain. Why?"
"Well, because you snuck out on your own, that's why!"
"I'll be quick."
"Quick? Ergest isn't just some hill! Why would you climb this alone?"
"Hurry. Monsters."
Lavinia scanned the surroundings. The monsters were hesitating before the ominous aura radiating from the chimera—but that wouldn't last long.
The smell of blood and the frenzy of battle dulled reason, and animal instinct would soon win over their discomfort.
"Charge!"
"Break through and run all the way to Hotenwalk!"
The knights' auras merged into one. The mages' spells layered atop it.
───!
A massive battering ram of aura crushed a section of the monster horde.
Roars and screams stirred the other monsters awake. Battle resumed.
Kain climbed onto the chimera's opposite shoulder.
"Are the other chimeras still in the subspace? It'd be safer to take them all out—"
"Dead."
"...Excuse me?"
Kain was one of the few who could speak casually to Lavinia—one of the people who understood her best.
Dozens of chimeras should have been sleeping in subspace, yet all of them were dead?
"...Is this really just because it's Ergest?"
"Orc. Strong."
"You're telling me an orc killed them all?"
If it's an Ergest orc, then it's a Fir Orc…
Fir Orcs were stronger than ordinary orcs, but strong enough to kill all of those chimeras?
"Don't tell me hundreds of them attacked?"
"One."
"Just one?"
Impossible.
"A strong orc. Horn on head."
"...A horn? That's not an orc, is it?"
"Orc."
"No, if it has a horn—"
"Orc."
"...Yes, an orc."
Faced with her unwavering expression, Kain reluctantly nodded.
Kain reluctantly nodded at her firm gaze.
"Sis, behind you."
Kain thrust his sword past her, slicing off the wing of a Frost Harpy aiming for her back. The harpy shrieked as it crashed downward, and the chimera's massive foot stomped down, crushing the fallen creature.
"Be careful."
"Mm."
"So what happened to that orc? Did you run away from it?"
"Lost it."
"You lost it?"
"Right before."
"Right before?"
"The Demon King."
"Ah, so the Demon King appeared?"
"Mm."
"I see. The Demon King showed up and took the orc and—"
Kain's jaw dropped. The knights and mages gathered around the chimera all snapped their attention toward them at once.
"W–what did you say appeared?"
"The Demon King."
"The Demon King took the orc?"
"Mm."
"Good gods…!"
We found him!
***
While the humans of Acan were reuniting with their runaway princess, Berze watched them from afar.
"Looks like about two hundred."
Their emblems and symbols had been erased, but the familiar aura remained.
'Was it when they came to kill Draxon?'
A considerable number of Acan's mage corps and knight corps had participated back then. They'd suffered heavy losses despite their achievements, but as a great nation, they had recovered well.
'If they sent those forces…'
They were going all in.
'For what?'
They didn't know where his tower was. They hadn't even properly explored the mountain called Ergest, let alone located the tower.
And they knew that themselves. So why send such overwhelming power?
'And putting that troublesome woman at the front, no less.'
His thoughts tangled together, then devoured even their own roots, forming a single conclusion.
'They're trying to find the tower?'
Lavinia Acan was a chimera mage. She created magical lifeforms using monsters and magical beasts.
Naturally, she was accustomed to demonic energy, and with black magicians extinct in Arein, there was likely no one more knowledgeable about demonic energy than her.
It was a very different nature from heroes, who felt innate rejection toward demonic power.
'So they intend to use her to find my tower?'
It was only a hypothesis.
But his instincts screamed that the hypothesis was correct.
Every possibility pointed to that single truth.
Hah.
Berze let out a hollow laugh.
'Fine. I've held back long enough.'
After the first failed hero expedition, he'd kidnapped the princess twice more—yet no reaction had come. That was strange in itself.
'In that case, I have only one answer.'
Just as he had done to Hillen Cargill's hero party, just as he had done to Daphner Philiain—
'I'll send them back empty-handed.'
Berze vanished.
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