"Are you really going? This is obviously a trap — and is this new Emperor of the Empire actually out of his mind?"
"There's another possibility — maybe the invitation wasn't from the Emperor at all."
"Now that you mention it... could it be Wolf? He's probably the only one in the Empire who's ever actually seen you."
"Well, I won't know until I go. Besides, the invitation specifically asked me to come alone."
"Are you sure you'll be all right on your own?"
"Aaron, you're fussing like a mother hen. Relax — I'm a Great Demon from the Mythical Era. Leave it to me to put an end to this war."
The Northern Empire's imperial palace was a rectangular structure three stories tall, its walls a warm blend of gold and amber that carried echoes of Italian Renaissance grandeur. Two flanking wings, slightly smaller than the main hall, extended from either side, each crowned with a spire-like pinnacle resembling a clock tower. The overall effect was magnificent and imposing — so vast and sweeping that the two figures walking before it were rendered utterly small.
Upon reaching the main courtyard, the palace guard swallowed hard. He glanced back at the broken-horned demon behind him, who was gazing around with the leisurely curiosity of a tourist, and felt the weight of the world on his shoulders.
He couldn't decide whether the Emperor had some greater plan in mind, or had simply gone mad — summoning a demon for an audience was unthinkable enough. But the Emperor had gone further still, dismissing every knight and servant from the palace and erecting a barrier around the outer perimeter, so that he alone could meet with this demon.
"There is a barrier set by His Majesty ahead — none of us can pass through it. This is as far as I can escort you," the guard said with an awkward smile.
"You've had a hard time of it."
Nanoda gave a small nod, paid no mind to the guard's trembling legs, and walked toward the main entrance.
After just a few steps, she sensed it — an invisible barrier directly ahead. And to her surprise, it was identical to the repulsion barrier she had encountered when supporting Denken: this was a demon's barrier.
"Unexpected."
A demon, hidden within the Empire all along?
She reined in her curiosity and surprise, sharpened her intuition to its fullest, and stepped through the barrier.
Watching Nanoda walk into the barrier and vanish, the guard exhaled with relief — then turned and ran. Whatever happened next was absolutely none of his business.
The doors to the main hall swung open. Inside, the chamber was resplendent — gilded and ornate, with no sign of any ambush. Not a single person in sight. Only the figure seated upon the throne.
A demon.
He was a male demon with long gray hair, ram-like horns curving from his head, and a pair of pitch-black eyes that looked like a chaotic mess of dark scribbles. He wore a royal robe trimmed with red fur, a jewel-encrusted crown tilted slightly askew atop his head, and a scepter lounging loosely in one hand. Beneath his luxurious silk garments, the hard lines of dense muscle shifted faintly with each movement.
Most striking of all: one of his horns was chipped — missing a piece — so that the two sat asymmetrically on his head.
Nanoda had never seen a demon like this. Not even in Frieren's story had such a demon ever appeared.
Like the obscure demon general Hafleet, or reclusive great demons like Jane — these were beings she had never known. But this one was something different entirely.
Within her Mana Perception, his mana registered as faint — almost negligible. Among the Demon Race, mana was the measure of all status; demons displayed it openly and without restraint, letting it announce their power and rank.
Something about the figure before her was deeply wrong.
Her Mana Perception detected no threat. And yet every sharp instinct she possessed, every flicker of her sixth sense, was screaming the same thing: the demon on that throne was dangerous.
"Ah — you actually came. We meet again." The demon's pitch-black eyes fixed on Nanoda, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved upward. "Can you tell me your name this time?"
She had no memory of his face whatsoever. But something in the wild, unhinged edge of his voice called to mind a particular existence. Nanoda's expression went cold.
"You... are you Wolf?"
"How dare you! I asked for your name — where are your manners?! I am the Emperor of this nation!"
As he spoke, the demon on the throne briefly shifted into the unremarkable face of the original Emperor — then shifted back just as quickly.
Freely altering one's appearance and voice. Nanoda could now confirm it with certainty: this demon was the same "Duke Wolf" who had attacked Aaron.
In her understanding, only one demon possessed such magic — Grausam the Miracle, one of the Seven Sages of Destruction. He was a master of memory manipulation and illusion; changing his face and voice was trivial for him.
In the past, Grausam had been wounded by the Hero Himmel when he attempted to prevent Frieren from returning to the original timeline. After the Demon King's death, he had vanished from the sight of all — his fate unknown, whether alive or dead.
But in Nanoda's mind, Grausam shouldn't have had a personality anything like this — this raving, unhinged madness.
"You killed the Emperor, wore his face, and took his throne. Bold move." Nanoda's tone was flat. "Last time in Gaderia Territory, I'm fairly certain I killed you. So why are you still breathing?"
Nanoda was calm. She had been prepared from the moment she stepped into this trap alone. Her Mana Perception and instincts swept the entire hall — only the demon before her, no hidden ambush of any kind. That, in itself, struck her as strange.
"That," the demon said, rising from the throne, "is a secret." The imperial robes slipped from his shoulders as he stretched his limbs wide.
"You really are a fascinating creature. You actually came alone, just as requested. The first time we met, you genuinely frightened me — I'll be honest about that. But this time, I have made thorough and complete preparations."
"So — you dragged me all the way here for a rematch?"
Just for that? No ambush, no tricks — this openly and straightforwardly?
Nanoda narrowed her eyes. Going purely by the mana she could sense, any run-of-the-mill demon general could tear through him with ease. And yet that nagging sense of wrongness refused to leave her.
"That's right. I must look very weak to you right now, don't I? Well — did you know that over a thousand years ago, humanity invented a kind of magic? A magic to suppress and conceal one's mana."
As he spoke, an overwhelming surge of mana erupted from Wolf's body. To Nanoda's senses, it was even denser and more immense than Aura's.
"Surprised? Standing before you now is a Great Demon of over a thousand years. As for my name — Wolf will do just fine. I've grown rather fond of it."
"Now then — state your name, kinsman!"
Wolf flung the scepter aside and descended from the throne.
"Nanoda."
"Nanoda? What a strange name — hahahahahaha!"
One had to admit: Wolf's laughter was utterly unhinged — and yet, by demon standards, his expressions were remarkably vivid and varied.
Nanoda let out a quiet sigh and reached into the bag at her hip, drawing out her broken horn. Might as well settle all of it here — old debts and new ones alike.
"It has been a very long time since I last encountered an opponent I found interesting. Let me take on that challenge. This time, I will fight with everything I have — so let us clash, without holding anything back!"
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