The stronghold of evil nestled in the northern mountain range of the Ion Continent—the Immortal Castle.
Siana, the succubus who oversaw the internal affairs of the Army of the Undying, hurried along.
She had been in the middle of busily devoting herself to her work when the king had suddenly summoned her.
‘Haa, what is it this time?’
Like every officer here, she had an enormous amount of work on her plate.
Her title was merely head of internal affairs; in reality, it was no different from being saddled with every odd job there was.
To be perfectly frank, what need did an organization made up mostly of undead have for internal affairs?
Those undying beings could return just fine even from the boundary of the Abyss, where there was neither water nor air, and even spacetime was mixed together.
Undead were monsters you could simply pile up in a warehouse and pull out whenever you needed them, so the only work to be done inside the Immortal Castle was to moderately manage the dark mages, who were no different from slaves, and the captive crown prince.
‘The Hubert Company, huh… Still, it’s a relief that we’re seeing results. They’ve already grown enough to be counted among the foremost on the continent.’
In that sense, managing the trade with a certain human company so that it proceeded without a hitch could be called the most troublesome task she was in charge of.
Rare materials that could only be obtained in the northern mountain range were easy enough to gather by commanding the undead, but covertly trading them was another matter entirely.
Well, she understood that there was no other talent in the Army of the Undying capable of handling such delicate work besides herself.
‘In any case, this generation’s Immortal King is definitely different from his predecessors, who stupidly relied on brute force alone. To draw attention by pretending to prepare for all-out war while, behind the scenes, eating away at the continent’s economy… Isn’t this practically winning before the war even begins?’
Having come to dimly grasp the grand design the Immortal King was painting through all the work she had done, Siana inwardly clicked her tongue in admiration.
Most likely, even the lukewarm moves he had made until now were all groundwork for that.
When she thought that even the playful game he had spoken of at first—about a three-year grace period or whatever, which she hadn’t been able to understand at all—had all been an arrangement for this, chills rose on their own.
‘I didn’t know back then, but I do now. The attacks by the Army of the Undying that followed afterward contributed enormously to the growth of the Hubert Company.’
War, which consumed vast amounts of goods, and merchants, who supplied them, were inseparable.
The Hubert Company, which had moved with the best timing and the greatest enthusiasm during the attacks by the Army of the Undying, rapidly expanding its influence.
How many people in the world, in truth, knew that the Immortal King’s intervention lay behind it?
‘…That keen intellect that doesn’t rely on overwhelming force. I suppose it wasn’t only the outer appearance of his skull that was sexy!’
Lightly ignoring the fact that the inside of that skull was utterly empty, Siana flushed and smiled bashfully.
The Army of the Undying was a black company with the worst possible workload, but the existence of a handsome direct superior was, in and of itself, excellent employee welfare.
Enough to calm the turmoil in her heart caused by the sudden contact from her homeland.
“Uh… My king? This person is…?”
That was why Siana, having arrived at the place after being summoned by the Immortal King, could not help falling into confusion when she encountered an outsider there.
Because that Immortal King… was in the same place as a woman she had never seen before!
[Hmm—if I had to say, she would be a business partner. No, perhaps a rival, even. Kuhahaha.]
“That’s too much. I’ve told you over and over, I’m not all that interested in this continent.”
The woman calmly carried on a frank conversation with the Immortal King.
With long horns, black wings, and red pupils that shone like rubies in the middle of black sclera—no matter how one looked at her, she could only be seen as a demon.
At that, wariness toward the other party naturally welled up in Siana, but that emotion did not last long.
“Hello? What a pretty child. My name is Hella. I look forward to working with you.”
A beautiful woman who exuded a strange charm from her entire body.
When she smiled brightly and spoke, Siana’s insides began to churn.
All she had done was meet her gaze and receive her greeting, yet goodwill of unknown origin surged up from deep within her chest.
‘…Impossible. A charm of this level! Just what is that woman?’
Siana was a succubus.
A member of a prestigious bloodline that could be called the greatest in all dimensions when it came to the field of seduction.
Their level was such that they looked down by several steps even upon other races with similar abilities, such as vampires, sirens, and lamias. As such, she possessed resistance close to immunity when she herself was on the receiving end…
‘Ugh, I’m a succubus… I can’t fall for someone of the same sex on top of that! I don’t have those tastes!’
Before the charm naturally emanating from the being before her eyes—Hella—whether one was of the opposite sex or the same sex was unimportant.
Perhaps even an emotionless golem would be bewitched by her.
A trickle of blood flowed down from the corner of Siana’s mouth as she clenched her teeth.
“Hehe, you’re quite something after all.”
[Enough fooling around. There is much to be done from now on.]
Still, perhaps because she had endured with all her might, she managed to hold out until the other party withdrew her power without ever fully succumbing.
She could not guarantee what would have happened had that standoff continued, but in a place she had come to for the sake of cooperation, Hella could not keep being rude to the Immortal King’s subordinate.
Siana, who let out a sigh of relief at that, snapped her head up and glared at Hella.
‘There’s no doubt. That power just now. That was from the same race as me…’
It had taken her a little while to realize because there was something different about Hella for her to be called a complete succubus, but now she was certain.
The other party also shared the same root as herself.
‘But that’s that, and this is this.’
This was a separate matter from her curiosity about that woman named Hella.
Even with the Immortal King present here, her pride had been wounded, and she could not possibly let it pass without saying something.
Siana looked Hella straight in the eye and spoke with confidence.
“Um, uh… May I call you Big Sister?”
In a shy voice that did not match her expression.
It was shameful for a succubus to be swayed by another’s temptation, but if that other was the “big sister” of the same race, then there was no problem at all!
As Siana fidgeted her fingers like a young girl with such thoughts, Hella answered her with a bright smile.
“No.”
A single word that even seemed to carry some conviction, as if that alone was absolutely not permitted.
While Siana drooped and shriveled at that firm answer, the proper meeting finally began.
For the sake of overcoming the chaotic political situation in the Demon Realm and enthroning the true Demon King.
For the execution of the “Great Demon King Homecoming Operation.”
***
When gathering information, cross-verification was essential.
Even if the person giving testimony believed it to be the truth, no one knew whether it was truly so, did they?
In that sense, Siana’s testimony, following that of Ken and Frances, was of great help in understanding the situation of the Demon Realm from various perspectives.
Above all, the faction her clan belonged to was hostile to the factions of the other two demons.
‘The faction being helplessly pushed back right now is the one Siana belongs to, wasn’t it?’
The circumstances of the Demon Realm were more complicated than expected.
After the 14th Demon King, R’lyeh, invaded the continent and was subjugated, the selection of the 15th Demon King proceeded without major issue.
Of course, according to the laws of the Demon Realm—where it did not matter whether it was individual martial might, power, or popular support, and the one who seized the seat by their own ability became the Demon King—the process was not exactly peaceful.
Still, in any case, it was also true that they had succeeded in drawing out everyone’s agreement.
The problem began when that 15th Demon King suddenly disappeared not long after ascending the throne.
In truth, demons were not particularly responsible by nature either, so at first they assumed he had perhaps gone on an excursion somewhere and did not pay much attention. But as that vacancy surpassed not only several decades but a full century, the matter could not help growing larger and larger.
The unprecedented disappearance of a Demon King in the history of the Demon Realm.
It was only natural that it led to chaos.
Various factions rose up aiming for the next Demon King’s throne, and the faction still supporting the 15th Demon King refused to back down and fought against them.
That was the war mentioned earlier, which had continued for hundreds of years.
‘But there’s no way that’s all there is to it.’
In truth, in the Demon Realm, where struggle was an everyday occurrence, war breaking out was not particularly rare.
Hadn’t most of the Demon Kings of the past ascended to that position through similar processes?
Yet the fact that the war that happened to break out immediately after the previous Demon King went missing had turned into such an unprecedentedly massive great war…
‘Something feels unnatural. Unless there was artificial outside intervention.’
And that was likely the very source of the unease he was feeling.
In truth, he had a rough idea.
‘Whenever it seems like some huge problem has occurred in Auterica, it’s only reasonable to suspect that bastard first.’
How many years had it been since he arrived in this land, encountered various incidents, and resolved them?
This was a judgment born from experience.
『Sacred Fragment of the Imprisoned XXX (15,500,000)』
There was even evidence displayed so blatantly like this.
‘When I first saw it, it was worth 30 million, but at some point it’s decreased by almost half.’
On top of that, most of the phrase that had been impossible to properly make out had now been revealed.
Well, it was obvious what that remaining word was.
‘That number dropped sharply the moment I arrived here, didn’t it?’
Through getting entangled with that bastard several times until now, the required points had steadily decreased, but it had only been a few minutes ago that it dropped by nearly half like that.
“This is a strange feeling. It certainly feels similar to the 「World of Demonic Heaven」.”
Hella slowly lifted her head and looked up at the sky.
It was clearly daytime, yet there was not a single celestial body like the sun; instead, a purple sky simply glowed faintly and illuminated the ground.
And in the very center of it, as though something had cut through and passed by, beyond the torn sky, the Milky Way of a night sky could be seen.
“…No matter how I look at it, that’s a sword scar, isn’t it?”
As Hella blankly gazed at the mark engraved into the sky, a dry wind brushed past her ears.
The yin energy filling the atmosphere was further invigorating the power within her body, but before that magnificent sight, even that felt trivial.
‘That was a good sight. I’m glad I came after all.’
After staying that way for a while, she slowly began to walk with a faint smile.
Toward the horizon, where a castle wall built of black stone could be seen.
The black-stained earth and the vast wilderness without a single tree.
The land Hella was now treading upon was the homeland of demons.
And the place that would soon become her own homeland—the Demon Realm.
***
Hella narrowed her eyes and quietly looked at the castle gate before her.
‘First, I need to find out where this place is.’
Coming to the Demon Realm itself had not been particularly difficult.
After all, with the Immortal King and the Demon King joining hands, there was no way something like the dimensional barrier blocking off the Demon Realm could get in their way, was there?
The problem lay in the fact that she could not choose the point she arrived at afterward as she pleased.
Whatever the case, it was her very first time coming to this land.
‘It would’ve been easier if I could’ve come with the others as planned.’
The current situation, in which she had fallen into the Demon Realm alone, had not been part of the original plan.
There were two locals who could guide her and one migrant right there, so why would she come alone to a foreign land and throw herself into it blindly?
‘I wondered if it might be different if they moved together with me, but in the end, it turned out like this.’
Unlike herself, who was a Demon King yet had never set foot in the Demon Realm, they had descended upon the continent through formal routes.
Naturally, the coordinates for their return had already been recorded, and as soon as they crossed the dimensional barrier of the Demon Realm, they were transferred to those coordinates.
Leaving only Hella stranded all by herself in this remote place.
“Well, it can’t be helped. It’s not as if this is the first time I’ve been dropped into another world alone.”
On top of that, her military strength was more than sufficient—it overflowed.
Hella lightly shrugged her shoulders and strode confidently through the castle gate.
“Hm?”
“Hey, look over there.”
“Huh?!”
At that, the gazes of the demons around the castle gate focused on her.
Starting with one that looked like a frog, there was a giant that seemed four meters tall, a four-legged dinosaur, a humanoid figure whose entire body was made of smoke, and more.
Their appearances were so varied that the word “demon” naturally sprang to mind.
‘They look fascinating. It’s like I’ve come to a zoo.’
They probably saw no need to go through the trouble of mimicking other forms even in the Demon Realm.
At times like this, shrinking back for no reason would only make her look more suspicious.
Hella straightened her shoulders and strode forward, trying to appear as confident as possible.
‘It’s fine. I disguised myself to stand out as little as possible.’
That, too, was an effect of 「Nation-Toppling Beauty」.
After all, if one was to be called a “beauty capable of toppling a nation,” then one ought to be able to satisfy any aesthetic preference.
Although it had the limitation of only allowing her to transform into the form of a beautiful woman, it was still more than enough to conceal distinctive features like horns, wings, and eyes.
‘Thanks to practicing on Siana, I can control the aura of enchantment pretty well now, too.’
As long as she thoroughly hid her unique charm, a pretty humanoid demon wouldn’t draw much attention in a place crawling with demons of every possible shape.
Wouldn’t they simply regard her the way one might admire a pretty cat or puppy?
“Wait, please wait a moment!”
But it seemed that was only what she thought.
A demon with the head of a Doberman, who appeared to be in charge of the castle’s security, pointed directly at her and came hurrying over.
With a large number of demons in tow behind him.
“Phew, what brings someone from House Coatl all the way to Dallun’s domain? We received no notice whatsoever.”
Then, looking at Hella, he asked an incomprehensible question in a subtly respectful tone.
His voice seemed to be forcibly suppressing tension and pressure.
Wondering if that might be the case, she discreetly glanced around, but as expected, there was no one else nearby.
‘House Coatl… That’s one of the central powers currently gaining the upper hand in the war, isn’t it? Why does he think I’m one of them?’
It was a name she had heard in passing while gathering information.
Supposedly, it was a force that held a fairly large share even within the faction Ken and Frances belonged to.
Hella quickly assessed the situation without showing anything on the surface.
There had to be some reason they had misunderstood.
They wouldn’t say something like that to someone they were meeting for the first time without any basis.
But perhaps taking her silence in some other way, the Doberman-headed demon gulped and continued in an even more cautious tone.
“…For now, we will escort you inside. Seeing as you have come dressed even in combat attire, it seems there has been some misunderstanding, but should you not at least give us a chance to explain? Please, just spare us a moment of your time.”
Combat attire.
At those words, Hella lowered her gaze slightly and looked at the clothes she was wearing.
A magic tool from the Demon Realm that she had taken out of 「Golden Treasury」 before coming here.
She hadn’t had any particular clothes to wear, and since she was heading to the Demon Realm anyway, she had simply found the one that fit her best and put it on…
‘Was this an item from that House Coatl?’
And it seemed to be combat attire symbolizing someone of quite a high rank, at that.
No wonder it was so comfortable and had so many effects imbued in it.
‘Those guys should have told me about this sooner.’
In any case, resolving this situation came first.
She had ended up being misunderstood unexpectedly.
At that, Hella let out a small sigh, looked straight at the Doberman before her, and opened her mouth.
“Guide me.”
In an arrogant voice that seemed ingrained in her very body.
“…Yes, yes. This way. I gave instructions before coming, so they should have finished preparing to receive our guest inside.”
“Hm. Let us see just how well prepared they are.”
Demon King Hella had personally descended upon this place to devour the Demon Realm.
If an opportunity came, she would not let it slip by.