The representatives leading two factions of similar scale had gathered in one place.
It was a highly symbolic meeting, one that could shake the entire political landscape of the current Demon Realm.
And yet, the atmospheres they gave off were so starkly different that it felt awkward for them to be in the same room.
“Nice to meet you! This is the first time we’ve met in person, isn’t it? My name is Hella. I look forward to working with you?”
A beautiful woman, who seemed to brighten her surroundings simply by existing, greeted him with a friendly smile.
The pair of horns stretching long from atop her head and her alien inverted eyes merely came across as unique charms within the strange aura that surrounded her.
She lightly waved a hand as she stepped into the room.
“Have a seat.”
By contrast, the attitude of the one already seated was utterly plain.
No, beyond plain, he radiated a gloom so dreary that his mere presence seemed capable of turning the world monochrome.
The hem of the pitch-black robe wrapped around his entire body trailed long across the floor, and on his head he wore the skull of a goat, its pair of horns curving downward.
In appearance, he was so sinister that he could put even the Immortal King to shame.
At that, an inexplicable sense of rivalry began to creep up within Hella. ‘Now that’s a proper look. And looking closer, that isn’t even a mask, is it? His head was just originally made that way!’
There were humanoid demons and beast-type demons, so it would not be strange for there to be undead-type demons as well.
To begin with, undead beings themselves had such strong negative aspects that they were rather compatible with demons. ‘But no matter how I look at him, he doesn’t seem like an ordinary undead either.’
There was no way she, who had more than just expertise in undead and could even be called the best in the world in that field, would misjudge him.
The Black Darkness Duke, Pieta, was in a peculiar state where only part of his body, including his head, was undead, while the rest functioned relatively normally. ‘Fascinating. An undead body and living tissue coexist within a single individual.’
Something like that was probably only possible because he was a demon, not an ordinary living creature.
Hella’s eyes shone with intellectual curiosity as she examined him from here and there.
Though it had been quite some time since she came to the Demon Realm, this was the first time she had encountered such a peculiar being.
“...I would think it rude to stare like that upon our first meeting.”
Of course, such a gaze could only feel unpleasant to the person concerned.
Unable to endure her impolite attitude any longer, the Black Darkness Duke tossed out a remark.
“Oh, sorry! You were so fascinating that I couldn’t quite control my curiosity.”
“I understand. Demi-Corpses are rare even in the Demon Realm.”
“Thanks for understanding. But that head really is wonderful! Honestly, it’s exactly my taste.”
“...Thank you for that.”
“I’m not just saying that out of courtesy. To tell the truth, if I could, I’d right now...”
She stopped.
Hella, who had been enthusiastically praising him as her heart led her, let her words trail off.
Had she not almost blurted out her true feelings—that she wanted to pull that head off right away and hang it on the wall as a decoration!
Even she, who rarely cared about what others thought, knew well enough that saying such a thing in the current situation would be inappropriate. ‘No, no. I didn’t come here to fight.’
It was not yet time to fight him.
Having roughly muddled the rest of her words, she smiled brightly again and casually changed the subject.
“...Ah, right! Where are my manners? This is Davidson. Isn’t he adorable?”
“Kakakakat!”
As if agreeing with her, the three heads opened their mouths wide and revealed their vicious teeth.
Crimson flames still flickered deep within their throats.
Whether that had an effect or not, Pieta paid no attention to Hella’s vague unfinished words and showed interest in Davidson.
“That is hellfire. Is it perhaps a variant of Cerberus? No, it seems closer to a chimera...”
For him, who mainly specialized in the magical arts, an unknown existence was excellent material that could satisfy both his interest and his thirst for knowledge.
Moreover, was that creature not clearly a formidable monster at a glance?
If this had not been such an occasion, he would have used every means available to make that life-form an experimental subject. ‘Of course, what I am truly interested in is that one.’
Pieta, who had been observing Davidson with interest, shifted his gaze toward Hella, who was affectionately patting her pet monster’s back beside it.
As expected, no matter how many times he confirmed it, the result was the same. ‘There is no mistake. This is definitely the majesty of a Demon King. And for her appearance to resemble the Fourteenth so closely as well...’
Like a law unto itself, the unique aura of a Demon King—one destined to reign above the beings of the Demon Realm—pressed upon his spirit and flesh.
For him, a duke-class being, it was only somewhat uncomfortable, but if that distinctive “demonic charm” were added to it, it would become, quite literally, the worst kind of mental attack for demons of marquis rank and below.
Not only would a battle fought with their full strength fail to materialize in the first place, merely being in the same space as her would cause them to be influenced before they even realized it and defect to her side.
No, those who had already been bewitched yet remained without showing it were even more dangerous.
In effect, it was no different from an absurd ability that fundamentally blocked the intervention of subordinates simply through her existence. ‘And while doing so, it makes her own followers even stronger. As expected, it is unfair beyond measure. We barely managed to deal with the Fourteenth back then, so why has that one’s successor appeared again?’
His head grew dizzy from all sorts of thoughts that surfaced unbidden, but for now, he pressed all of them down into one corner.
Those things were not what mattered right now.
“Then let us slowly get to the main issue. You want Helheim to inherit the alliance contract made between Demoniac and Abnormal?”
For now, the priority was to resolve the problem immediately before them.
The gap between Dark Nest and the other two factions had long since widened to the point where a frontal clash was impossible.
Without close cooperation between them, they would have long ago been devoured by the overwhelming faction in first place.
For that reason, redefining relations with the force whose captain had changed was the matter that had to be handled first in the current situation.
“I suppose so? Otherwise, it’ll become far too difficult to stand against that side. I finally climbed up to this position, and I don’t want to collapse right away.”
And the same was true from the perspective of Helheim, which was expanding its influence at a terrifying pace.
That said, she could not suddenly swallow up Demoniac as she had done with Abnormal.
Now that the advantage of a surprise attack had completely vanished, there was no way the Black Darkness Duke would obediently fall for it, and Dark Nest, which was waiting for an opportunity, would not simply overlook the opening caused by such chaos. ‘I wondered if there might be a chance, but as expected, there’s no angle at all. I even brought Davidson along so I could pounce if the opportunity arose.’
Since there was the previous example of the Monster Wolf Duke, the Black Darkness Duke Pieta had planned this meeting thoroughly.
So that his own safety would be guaranteed under any variable.
In this situation, recklessly touching him would be a blunder that only did Dark Nest a favor for no reason. ‘Well, it can’t be helped. For now, I’ll have to balance things out a bit and wait for an opportunity.’
For now, since she had accomplished her intended goal of swallowing Abnormal, the current state of affairs was not too bad.
After all, this precarious structure was not likely to last long anyway.
“...As you already know, because of the white monsters that continue to be reinforced on Dark Nest’s side, the fatigue felt by the soldiers on the battlefield is no small matter. If we leave things as they are, there is a very high possibility that we will exhaust ourselves and collapse before we can even properly counterattack.”
What was needed to avoid such a difficult situation was close cooperation between the two factions ranked second and third.
Unlike the two dukes, who had built up a long history of ill will with each other, Hella was also a rolling stone that had smashed apart all existing relationships.
With those interests intertwined, the discussion regarding cooperation between the two factions proceeded very smoothly.
To begin with, it did not contain anything overly complicated, and since the main framework was simply that they should refrain from disputes between themselves as much as possible until Dark Nest fell, the agreement was quickly concluded.
“...I will overlook, for now, the fact that you took those who were under Demoniac’s command. Our positions and circumstances are all different now from what they were then. But that is as far as it goes. If you reach your hand toward our side any further...”
“Ahem! I told you not to worry, didn’t I? I’m a person who’s lived solely on trust and faith.”
There had been something that pricked at her conscience a little during the process, but in life, nothing was ever a problem until one was caught.
Thinking that she would need to warn the fellows she had already won over once more to behave themselves, Hella shook hands with Pieta. ‘But...’ ‘If an opportunity ever comes.’
Of course, that was only outward courtesy.
They had not the slightest intention of maintaining such a relationship for long. ‘In the long term, she is an even greater threat than Dark Nest. If I am to cut off the sprout before it can no longer be dealt with, I will have to prepare in advance starting now.’ ‘It’s obvious what he’s thinking. I can’t see his expression because he’s a skull, though.’
Pieta and Hella, dreaming different dreams in the same bed.
“Kakakakakat—!”
And so, together with a time bomb that might go off at any moment.
A temporary sleeping with the enemy began.
***
Tarak, a great city located in the northern part of the Tulk Kingdom.
Faaat—
Sacred light burst forth from the gate beneath the Tarak Temple, where the number of visitors had increased along with the city’s growth.
From beyond it, three figures appeared one by one.
They immediately exchanged greetings with the temple’s faithful, then went outside and came face-to-face with the great city that had developed beyond recognition.
“It feels like not much time has passed since I last came here, but it’s developed beyond recognition in the meantime.”
The small-framed archmage, Isea Pristine, looked around the city and let out a quiet exclamation of admiration.
This was her first time coming here since she had defeated the enormous white giant that attacked the city.
At the time, not only had the entire city been thrown into chaos, but there had also been many parts damaged by the aftermath of the great battle. Yet looking at the splendid cityscape now, it was impossible to recall its appearance back then at all.
“Indeed, it is a magnificent sight. Even then, I thought it was quite a large city, but for it to have developed this much in just a little over a year. It would have been nice if the Saintess had come with us as well.”
As if following Isea’s words, the high elf Lydia Granwood spoke with some regret.
As the trio of women in the hero party, they had overcome all sorts of hardships together and had become extremely close in private as well, so Lydia felt somewhat disappointed by the fact that the Saintess had recently become absorbed in other duties.
“The Saintess has many things to do in various ways, after all. Well, in truth, the reason we came here is also an extension of that work, isn’t it?”
And behind them.
A man wearing a loose robe slowly stepped forward with a gentle voice.
Brilliant silver hair and golden eyes, shining beautifully as though they contained the sun, occasionally showed beneath his hood.
He was the saint of the Main God Church, the largest religion in Auterica—
Heinrich Saint Landguard.
“We still haven’t accurately grasped what the unknown threat detected by the Saintess is. So let us all avoid letting our guard down, maintain as much tension as possible, and continue our inquiries.”
“That is quite right.”
“Understood, Saint.”
“Ah, let us also drop the title of Saint for now. Just in case, it would be best to hide our identities if possible. There probably won’t be many who hear the name Heinrich and immediately think of the Saint, so please call me by my name from now on.”
The appearance of Saint Heinrich and the hero party, who had already built up tremendous fame, could itself become a major issue in the city.
For the sake of a smooth investigation, it would be better for them to conceal their identities and move.
“If you plan to hide your identity, you’ll need to cover your face more properly first. For you, Lord Heinrich, covering your face with a hood is no use at all.”
“That’s true. Even putting your hair aside, your eyes are too intense...”
“Ahaha... This isn’t something I can hide as I please.”
At his companions’ remarks, Heinrich smiled awkwardly.
For him, who emitted his own light like a human lighthouse even in the darkness, the shadow of a hood was not much help.
Naturally, the same was true of his hair and eyes, which were imbued with a miracle of god; they could not be concealed with dye or lenses.
“...Hmm, it seems the best option is to obtain and wear an ordinary suit of full-body armor.”
“You must wear the helmet as well.”
At Lydia’s harmless addition, Heinrich let out a quiet sigh.
If it were Glory’s Protection, the masterpiece among masterpieces of armor provided by the Main God Church, that would be one thing, but there was no way living while wearing an ordinary suit of full-body armor would be comfortable.
Still, in Tarak, which was also a strategic point connected to the northern mountain range, there were not few people walking around in full-body armor, so this certainly seemed to be the best method to hide his identity. ‘It’ll be much better than suspiciously wrapping my face with something like cloth.’
Having convinced himself and nodded, Heinrich smacked his lips.
For a moment, the thought that he really had to go this far surged up within him.
Though he had told his companions not to let their guard down, he himself was not even the slightest bit tense.
And that was only natural.
He already had a fairly good guess as to what the “unknown threat” detected by the Saintess was. ‘She must have detected the moment Hella appeared in Auterica. I did hide her as thoroughly as I could, but still. She really is incredible.’
And that meant that now that Hella had left for the Demon Realm, there was nothing left here.
With the Hubert Trading Company beginning to invest in the entire city, the hybrid vampires they had hired had also been placed here and there, raising the public safety rate to an extremely high level. ‘Well... I suppose I can consider this a short vacation.’
Recently, he had been busy participating in every localized battle against the Immortal Army, so spending a few days like this would not be bad.
While he was at it, it would be good to inspect just how much Tarak had developed in place of Hubert, who was always stuck in the office.
“By the way, what has that uncle Harley been doing these days that there’s been no news from him?”
“He is the Mercenary King in name and in fact, so perhaps he received some secret commission somewhere?”
And so, the hero party slowly entered the city streets.
Into one of the Auterica bases held tightly in the grasp of the Hubert Trading Company, and the place where the unknown threat detected by the Saintess was lurking.