Humans called the Demon King the one and only absolute evil in the world.
The Demon King, whose very name was infamous, was spending days so peaceful lately that they could not possibly be more tranquil.
Indeed.
So much so that it ill befitted the terrible epithet humans used to call her.
“What a fine sunlight. It shall be a vibrant day.”
The reason was simple.
For the Demon King who ruled over demonkind, the only problem that ever plagued her had always been the humans.
Because they had destroyed themselves and fallen into the gutter on their own, they no longer even appeared as pests that needed extermination as in days past.
Humans had always been like that.
A lowly race with unnecessarily high fertility alone.
Even when told to meekly submit to the long-lived demon race, they never heeded control.
Like moths that quietly spawned offspring somewhere and then rushed forth burning with inexplicable hostility.
And at some point, there even came to exist so-called heroes who wielded sharp iron lumps claiming them to be holy swords.
As Demon King, she had only worried about how to effectively eradicate these malignant tumors, these twisted white ants infesting the world of demonkind.
Who could have known that the matter she had pondered for such an eon would be resolved so quietly and completely?
Thinking about it, the idea was truly genius.
Making the male-to-female ratio across the entire human realm one to sixty.
Naturally castrating humanity’s resistance.
Leading them to a quiet extinction in the long term….
Honestly, no matter how long she had lived, she was a Demon King who could never have dared to conceive such an idea.
The Demon King pictured in her heart a magnificent being who made even herself—commonly called pure evil—seem insignificant.
“Hero, let us eat.”
Today again, she carefully prepared the meal in a bowl, mixed it, and handed it to him directly.
“……….”
Now, without even a single rag covering him.
That being, wearing a choker, imprisoned behind iron bars, kneeling.
If one considered that this very being had relieved the worries of all demonkind,
then perhaps it was not so difficult a luxury for her—the greatest among demonkind—to personally prepare and serve meals every day.
This was much like, from a human perspective, feeding a pet.
From the standpoint of the long-lived demon race, who considered humans inferior, it was truly no different.
Feeding him in prison to keep Seradion alive was, to the Demon King, exactly the same as feeding dog food to a puppy locked in a cage.
“……….”
But.
Seradion had not eaten today.
That resistance was meaningless—
—was something he had understood hundreds of years ago, yet.
“Tch, do not just sit there! I thought you had adapted after three hundred years of this! If you suddenly act this way, it troubles me!”
“Demon King… Demon King…….”
“You have been going without food for days already; if you keep this up, I shall have no choice but to put a tentacle monster in your mouth and pour liquid food down like before! I do not do that because you hate it, so why!”
The ratio of men to women born in the human realm had become 1:60.
The magic capable of doing that
stemmed from Seradion’s “Intense Desire.”
To maintain it, he had to remain alive.
Thus, the Demon King had arranged with all her heart so that he could live long without clinging to his lifespan.
That was the very core reason the Demon King worried about Seradion’s meals.
But Seradion, who had called out to the Demon King in desperation, clung to her as if pleading.
He beat his head until his forehead seemed it would shatter, begging her.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!! I earnestly beseech you!!”
“If this is another useless request to put a woman in here, I refuse! The promise was only to keep you alive. Why do you act this way toward me these days?”
“It is not that. It is not that, Your Majesty. I wished to entreat you to look closely at the human realm, which you have ceased to concern yourself with due to the long peace…!!”
“……….”
“It has already been several months. From the direction of my homeland, the human realm, a chilling sensation flies forth and crushes my entire body. And yesterday and today, it has been even worse!”
He had begun making such requests
several months ago, just as he said.
As Demon King, she could not understand why he cared so much for a world that would destroy itself if left alone, so she had ignored him until now.
Seeing him do this again today without tiring,
she thought she might as well hear him out once.
“Very well. Then what would you have me do?”
Partly because the weather was good and she was in a fine mood.
And partly because nothing of note would likely happen.
And partly because of the simple thought that if she did so, he might meekly resume eating the meals he had refused.
“Th-then if it is true. Please look into the movements of the Blood Apostles.”
“…Blood Apostles? Aah, it has been two hundred years since I heard that name. The ones who followed the Sword Demon. But did I not greatly diminish their forces myself?”
“Yes. They have already lost much of their strength, but the chilling sensation I feel in my body is no different from what I felt when I faced them. Something has surely gone wrong in their camp!”
“Hmm. Well, I do not think it anything serious. Very well. You finish your meal. I shall come to check later.”
“You must. You absolutely must!”
To Seradion’s words,
the Demon King let out a snort, thinking “Surely not,” and returned to her office, but.
Her steps as she walked to her office were unusually fast today.
Because.
Because…
…the emotion of “anxiety,” which she had forgotten for hundreds of years, had briefly stoked the furnace in her heart.
The Demon King, unless someone was memorable,
did not remember human names well.
Thus, even though she had raised Seradion like a pet for three hundred years, she had not even properly committed his name to memory.
“…Balter? Surely not.”
But as the Demon King walked down the corridor,
she inadvertently spoke the name of someone in her heart.
“—Oh my. Good heavens.”
And.
“Surely not” catches humans and demons alike.
The Demon King deployed detection magic
and searched the places where the Blood Apostles had been sealed.
And lo, the stone statue at the place sealed with “Contact with Balter” was broken.
That was a sort of alarm she had installed.
Because that elusive man had to be identified beforehand,
it was a device she had planted in advance to recognize him during the time she trembled with anxiety after his death, but.
Now that so much time had passed, she had completely forgotten about it.
But now that it was broken.
What it meant that the seal had been undone was obvious.
“Balter has returned…? How. Damn it. Damn it….”
At that moment, the Demon King subtly wiped the moisture flowing down her forehead.
And soon realized it was cold sweat she had shed.
Just as humans had affixed the epithet of “absolute evil” to the Demon King.
The name demonkind had given him was Sword Demon.
The Demon King had once again faced the sole, primordial fear that demonkind could feel.
At that moment, there was only one thing the Demon King could do.
“Chief of Staff….”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I have arrived.”
“Today is the execution of the operation planned for hundreds of years. Organize the annihilation army and erase the human realm from the map.”
“—Wh-what?!”
The Chief of Staff’s words were cut short.
It was probably something like, “The humans are going to perish anyway. In these peaceful times, why…”
She understood.
The Chief of Staff was a new-generation demon who had not experienced that era.
But as Demon King,
she only earnestly wished that he would consider who it was that had erased the one sitting in that Chief of Staff position before he was born.
“Do not make me say it twice—!! Just do it!”
“Y-yes!”
And so the Demon King, trembling with anxiety,
soon tried to issue a second command, but.
“And one more command. Infiltrate the human realm with an assassination strike force, and the Sword Demon—”
This time, the Demon King’s lips would not part.
“Ah, are we to assassinate him?”
At that sight, the Chief of Staff tried to read the room and finish her sentence.
How could she readily give such an order?
In the end.
In the end…
If they went noisily flapping about, they would only all die.
That they would not succeed even if she gave the order
was something the Demon King—who had issued such commands countless times three hundred years ago—knew better than anyone.
“Sigh….”
But.
It was better than doing nothing.
She did not know how Balter had returned.
But perhaps he had grown weaker.
It pained her heart to think of the elite strike forces she had nurtured as good as lost.
Most of the new-generation demons born after his death had only heard of Balter in rumors; not knowing what facing him meant, they would leap at the chance.
The Demon King, who knew Balter’s true worth all too well,
had no choice but to speak while holding back tears of blood.
“…Yes, it is better than doing nothing. First, completely wipe out the Takreung where the designated beacon stones are. Doing so will reveal where he is.”
“By wipe out, you mean….”
“Kill them all. It is an extermination operation.”
“As you command.”
But.
Unlike the Chief of Staff’s expression, half ecstatic and half confident.
The Demon King thought, even as she spoke, that she did not know if this was right.
And so, while seated, her legs shook grotesquely.
She somehow spread out the tarot cards on her desk and drew the fate of this expedition.
“……….”
“…Your Majesty, your expression is poor. What card came out?”
“What would change if I told you? Do not concern yourself.”
Who could have imagined.
Who could have known that, impossibly, among so many cards, the one to appear would be the Tower upright.
The Demon King swallowed.