< Demon Realm (3) >A land of struggle where violence and war never ceased—the Demon Realm.
Yet apart from such infamy, the Demon Realm was also one of the worlds where intelligent beings built civilizations and lived their lives.
Even if war had continued for hundreds of years, not every region could be a battlefield in every season, and most areas still maintained societies within their own systems and rules.
“What, you bastard? I’ll beat you to death!”
“Fine, let’s do it! This time I’ll finish you off for good!”
“Ooh! Are they fighting? Hey, we’ve got a ring over here!”
“Kellok! Show him what you’ve got! Show him the pride of the Demon Wolf race!”
Though that society might seem terribly twisted from the perspective of other intelligent beings, it too was part of their culture.
In truth, given the Demon Realm’s environment, filled as it was with negative energy, it was not all that strange that its inhabitants, the demon race, leaned toward violent dispositions.
“Isn’t it nice to see how lively it is? This must all be because ‘Dark Nest’ has seized the advantage, and everyone expects the long war to end soon. Ah! Of course, it’s also thanks to the Coatl family, who played a part in that.”
The Doberman-headed demon who was guiding Hella inward made a comment while looking at the commotion that had broken out on one side of the road.
It seemed to be a perfunctory remark prompted by an everyday sight, and that was the entirety of his reaction.‘...Can that really be brushed off as simply lively?’A large crowd surrounded the area, and at the center, two demons had begun beating each other.
Neither of them seemed to be particularly high-level, but the brutality of their fight was not something that could be ignored.
“Die!”
“Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!”
“What are you doing, Kellok! Tear him apart and kill him!”
Both sides did their utmost to destroy the other’s body.
Blood and bits of flesh scattered from attacks exchanged as if they truly meant to kill each other, while the crowd cheered at the sight.‘Is it because regeneration is a common ability among demons? Good grief, they fight so viciously.’Was this what one called a difference in culture?
For such a fight to be taking place openly in the middle of the street—this was a sight that made her keenly aware that this was indeed the infamous Demon Realm.
And if they could survive without eating as long as they were supplied with mana, were they not, quite literally, living weapons born to fight?
“We’ve arrived. Please come this way.”
Her time spent traveling while observing the reality of the Demon Realm she had only heard about did not last long.
Guided along, Hella soon arrived at a vast mansion in the center of the castle.
As if the claim that they had been informed in advance was true, someone had already come out to greet her in front of the mansion’s main gate.
“Grunt—! Welcome. I am Dallun, the lord of this land.”
And it was none other than the person said to hold the highest position in this castle, the castle lord himself.
It was an exceptionally courteous reception, almost enough to be overwhelming.‘They’re bowing this low just at the mention of the Coatl family... At this point, I could say they’re completely subordinate.’Hella quickly grasped the situation while concealing her expression behind an arrogant demeanor.
It seemed they too had swiftly attached themselves to “Dark Nest,” to which the Coatl family belonged, immediately after the balance of the battlefield collapsed.
As she followed the castle lord, who had personally come out to greet her, into the mansion—
Dallun, the boar-headed demon, repeatedly snorted roughly, then frowned slightly and lowered his voice.
“Grunt, sniff! By the way, I didn’t expect someone from Coatl to come so suddenly without even contacting us... And someone I’ve never seen before, at that. I suppose the district overseer who came previously must have become busy? Seeing as someone like you has come in his place.”
Perhaps because he was a castle lord after all, it was impressive how he maintained courtesy without appearing excessively servile.
Unlike his subordinates, who had merely been swept along by the situation, he immediately caught onto the suspicious point and subtly probed her.‘Not bad. Well, that Dallun is still a noble-class demon in his own right.’He had hurriedly prepared and even come out to greet her because a member of the next hegemonic power had suddenly visited, only to be faced with someone he had never seen before. His reaction was only natural.
Though baron-class was the lowest of noble ranks, in this Demon Realm where ability reigned supreme, rising to such a position was the same as proving one’s own worth.‘Well, to me, they’re all the same.’In any case, there was one method of response that was most efficient and certain in a situation like this.
“Hehe, are you taking a jab at me right now, asking why I came?”
“Huh? No, that’s...”
To crush him with force.
This was the Demon Realm, a land of struggle where violence and coercion ran rampant.
A subtle pressure began to seep from Hella’s body.
“......!”
Before Castle Lord Dallun could say anything, remnants of overwhelming power instantly occupied every side around him and bared their fangs.
Mana that a mere baron-class demon’s power could never dare approach brazenly crushed all suspicion and distrust by force.
Gulp.
—The castle lord swallowed with difficulty.
His entire body went stiff, and his complexion slowly began to pale.
Though, covered in boar bristles as he was, it did not show on the outside.
“Ah, I see. So now that I’m being quiet, it’s starting to get on your nerves, is that it? Because you’re trying to obediently follow the words of some woman you think you could easily toss aside if you felt like it?”
“N-no... What are you saying? It’s not like that...”
A sophistry that forcibly twisted the subject, paired with a blatant display of power.
And her displeased frown, her arms firmly crossed, even the hair that spilled down as her head tilted slightly to one side.
She was, in every sense, the perfect power-tripping superior.
“Then what is it? Aren’t you saying I came somewhere I shouldn’t have? Hm? That’s what you meant, right?”
“...No. I apologize. It was a slip of the tongue.”
In the end, Dallun had no choice but to quietly shut his mouth.
Strictly speaking, he had not done anything wrong, but there was nothing he could do.
In this Demon Realm, asserting one’s opinion without having the strength to back it up was a grave crime for which one could not complain even if one died.‘At least count-class, perhaps even higher. Where did a monster like this come from...? Is she truly affiliated with Coatl? Unless they pulled back a core force from the battlefield now that the war situation has become more relaxed...’All sorts of thoughts whirled through his mind.
From how to pacify the anger of the mysterious powerhouse beside him, to concerns about the worst possible outcome if he moved according to her wishes.‘The absolute worst would be if this woman belongs to another faction. The outcome has long since tipped. If I were forced to side with another faction now and Dark Nest retaliated...’If that happened, it would only be the difference between dying now and dying later; he would have no future.
He was trapped on all sides, unable to do this or that.‘For now, I’ll pretend to cooperate. Then, if I secretly contact Dark Nest and explain the situation well, I might even be able to render a service...’Dallun racked his brain desperately to find a way out.
Contrary to an appearance that suggested he would blindly follow nothing but strength, he was the type of demon who preferred schemes.
A crisis was an opportunity; if he used this well—
“Pfft.”
But then—
A soft laugh flowed from beside him.
There was no need to say who the source was.
“Why are you so stiff? It was a joke, a joke.”
“Ah, ahaha... I see. Goodness, you gave me quite a fright.”
“Hehe, it was fun, wasn’t it?”
It was a truly unfunny joke.
But he did not have the courage to say so honestly.
In the first place, there was no way that warning had truly been a joke.
“...This is our castle’s reception room. For now, let us go inside and discuss the details a bit more...”
“Well, this should be enough. It’s quiet, and there’s no chance of being disturbed. Excellent.”
“Pardon?”
As he did his utmost to manage his expression, incomprehensible words once again flowed out.
No, that was not all.
Saaa—
“What...!”
The atmosphere in the area changed.
His body, which had hurriedly turned its head to look at the suspicious guest beside him, abruptly froze in place.
However, that was absolutely not by his own will.‘Ugh, her eyes...?’At some point, the other party’s eyes had changed.
From ordinary eyes that had simply been beautiful, to inverted eyes with ruby-like pupils shining at the center of black sclera.
And as if he had been captured by them, he simply could not tear his gaze away from that pair of eyes.
“Now, relax. It won’t matter even if you resist, so let’s make this easy, shall we? I still have a long way to go.”
Now that he looked, the shape of the other party’s horns had changed as well, but he had no leisure to examine them more closely.
His inner mind had already long since been sucked into those red pupils, as if it had fallen into a quagmire from which it could never escape.
“Yes, yes. Good boy, Dallun. First, could you call in the leadership of this castle one by one? I’m not used to working on too many at once yet.”
“...Yes. As you command, Master.”As Dallun, enthralled by the 「Mystic Eyes of Domination」, answered politely, Hella smiled in satisfaction and patted his sturdy shoulder.
To think she would gain an opportunity to meet alone with the master of a castle this easily.
Because there were still considerable restrictions and a great deal of time required to take in a single high-ranking demon, the fact that an environment where she could work without outside interference had been prepared was inevitably pleasing.‘This means it doesn’t matter if I couldn’t come with my subordinates. I can just procure as many as I need here.’Local procurement, shipped directly from the source.
This was the Demon Realm, the homeland of the demon race.
A world overflowing with talent capable of becoming the Demon King’s kin.‘Given the nature of demons growing stronger inside the Demon Realm, their resistance will increase as well, but the same goes for me, so it doesn’t matter. The more I use it, the more my proficiency will rise too.’Also, the 「Mystic Eyes of Domination」 she used on them did not simply forcibly manipulate their minds.
It was a right and part of the authority by which the Demon King could command the forces under her.
In other words, this series of acts of subordination was all part of a ritual carried out through proper procedure.‘First, I need to confirm the exact location of this place... Next, I should try contacting the others. I did give them each guidelines, but I wonder if they’re doing as they were told. There’s so much to do.’If there was a problem in the Demon Realm, nine times out of ten it would be deeply connected to “Dark Nest,” the current center of upheaval.
Tracking their movements would be the shortcut to approaching the cause.
“Castle Lord? Why have you suddenly called me...?”
“Come here for now. As you know, she is an important guest, so mind your conduct.”
At that moment, Dallun and the Doberman’s voices came from outside the reception room.
As expected, he too seemed to be part of the leadership, perhaps the chief of security.
Hella looked at the people entering through the slowly opening door and smiled brightly.
At the same time, her pair of ruby-like eyes blazed red.‘The more there is to do, the more indispensable the existence of a force becomes.’That was a fact she had already learned through countless experiences.
There was a limit to struggling on her own in this unfamiliar foreign land.‘First, I’ll swallow this castle whole.’And after that—
Thus, a new Demon King faction no one had anticipated
quietly and rapidly began to take root in one corner of the Demon Realm.***The rear region of the Demon Realm occupied by Dark Nest.
“What, Ken? Why have you already returned?”
“Hm? Ah. Lucy Coatl, is it?”
“Don’t give me that ‘Ah’ crap. Explain properly first, will you? Why have you already come back? Do you know how much it costs to cross the Demon Realm’s dimensional barrier even once? You completed the mission properly, didn’t you?”
At the sharp, noisy voice of the woman ringing in his ears, Miyamoto Ken’s brow furrowed.
No matter that she was the person in charge of this sector, to nag him the instant they met?
She really was a woman one could never grow fond of.‘Tch, if she resembled even one of Lady Hella’s fingernails, suitors would be lining up for her.’But there was no way that would be possible.
How could anyone dare compare someone to that perfect idol, whose presence could be called the descent of a goddess?
There was not exactly a divinity in Auterica worthy of being called a goddess, but Ken was certain that his new master was the one most fitting for such a title.
“Are you listening to me? I let you go because you kept saying you wanted to, but if you came back without any results, the higher-ups won’t just let it—”
“Don’t worry. There were decent results.”
“...Hm? Seriously?”
Ken glanced at Lucy Coatl, whose eyes had gone round, and drew an item from his breast.
A jet-black, jewel-like polyhedron, with sharp pyramidal points jutting out like a star.
“It is the essence of a marquis-class demon who fell during the invasion of the fourteenth Demon King.”
“...Kek, it’s real?!”
The mission of those dispatched to the continent, Ken included, had been simple.
Recover as many objects of the Demon Realm that had spread across the surface as possible, no matter what they were.
Of course, while they had said anything would do, expectations naturally varied according to the level of the item.
“Huh. I thought it couldn’t be, but something like this was still left on the continent? How on earth did you manage it? Did you raid some dragon’s lair?”
“Hoo! Well, it wasn’t easy.”
“Hmm, a trade secret? Fine by me. With a result like this, you’ve certainly earned the right to boast.”
The minimum requirement to challenge the Demon King’s throne was being a duke.
They, of whom there were only four even in the current Demon Realm, were the heads of their respective factions and, at the same time, the true rulers of its divided territories.
A marquis-class demon stood just below those monarchs, a being that could be called the strongest force on any battlefield. ‘And if it’s the essence of a demon who fell in the last invasion of the continent, no less.’ The karma bound up in it would be beyond easy measure.
Ken was certain. Unless someone had recovered the remains of the fourteenth Demon King or the essence of the Succubus Queen, a duke-class demon, no one would return from this dispatch with greater spoils than he had. ‘...Yes. I must live up to the expectations placed in me when this was entrusted to me.’ Ken’s eyes gleamed as he watched Lucy examine the essence from every angle with an admiring expression.
In truth, if he had followed his heart, he would have stormed out of this place at once and gone to find his master, but for the sake of the instructions that person had given him, he had to endure it for now.
Hadn’t that precious item been bestowed upon him personally for that very purpose?
“Lucy Coatl, with this much, my achievement should be sufficient, shouldn’t it?”
“Mm, yes. I have no choice but to acknowledge it. With this, even if you went back and forth to the continent ten more times, no one would say a word.”
“Then what are you doing, not guiding me at once?”
“Hm? What did you say?”
Ken lifted his head squarely and, tucking the demon’s essence back into his breast, spoke with confidence.
“I must have an audience with the Demon Dragon Duke. I shall personally present this magic stone to him.”
The flames of fanatic faith blazed in his eyes.
Lucy tilted her head, wondering whether his loyalty had truly been that deep, but soon had no choice but to accept it and nod.
With an achievement of that level, his demand was perfectly reasonable. ‘All for Lady Hella.’ Of course, had she known for certain where his faith was directed, she would never have accepted it so easily. ‘Even if this body of mine must burn to ashes.’ A fanatic filled with resolve burrowed into the very heart of heresy.