Dark Nest (2)
A full-scale war had begun between two giant factions that ranked among the most prominent even in the Demon Realm.
Though they had recently lost face in many ways, and voices tinged with concern were gradually emerging even among their own members, Dark Nest was still not an exaggeration to call the greatest in the Demon Realm.
And then there was Demoniac, which—while Helheim’s remarkable rise was becoming increasingly prominent—had consistently maintained a passive response day after day, gathering strength in secret.
The war that began in the borderlands of the front lines gradually swelled in scale before long spreading like wildfire across every place the two factions were even slightly entangled.
It had become a massive full-scale war to the extent that not only were all subordinate forces mobilized, but even the two dukes who were the heads of the factions had personally stepped onto the battlefield.
[You bastard! Pieta—! I shall tear off that head and make it a decoration!]
“Kuh, Demon Dragon Duke. What is the reason you’re going this far all of a sudden? Waging a full-scale war so abruptly must be a heavy burden for your side as well, no?”
[Don’t play dumb! Did you think I wouldn’t know about the schemes you plotted behind my back!]
“…I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about.”
Although he spoke that way, Pieta’s eyes flickered with a twisted light, for there was much that pricked his conscience.
He had launched his operations while Cruishier was surely preoccupied fighting tooth and nail with Helheim; Pieta had thought the Duke should have at least had the sense to notice.
‘What was discovered? The gates I secretly connected? The executives I kidnapped and brainwashed? Could it be that planting operatives in the core was found out? Judging by how excited he is, it’s no small matter. If not that, then could it be…’
Because there were far too many things that fit, he couldn’t even get a feel for what the cause might be.
The number of grand schemes he had been running behind the scenes against Dark Nest was not something that could be counted on one hand.
‘Perhaps everything has been found out. I let my guard down. No wonder he seemed to be losing too much ground against Helheim, unlike him—was he keeping an eye on this side even while fighting?’
Feeling the prick of his own guilty conscience, Pieta forced himself to analyze the situation.
Somehow, it seemed that if he had been caught, he had been caught red-handed at something serious.
In fact, the Demon Dragon Duke couldn’t reveal things openly with a clear conscience either, and his reticence had fanned the flames of misunderstanding.
Moreover, even if Pieta felt something amiss and claimed his innocence, nothing would change.
The Demon Dragon Duke knew all too well his nature of weaving dark schemes and reveling in falsehood.
That was why one’s usual conduct was so important.
[First, I shall kill you right here—! The mongrel is next!]
“Ha! You underestimate me. Do you think I will fall as easily as that idiot Karakul?”
With the Demon Dragon’s furious roar, a breath poured forth, and the secret art of the Darkness Duke, who commanded ‘Distortion’, opposed it.
Destructive energy surged like a tidal wave, and defense twisted space to deflect it.
As if counterattacking, twisted rays of magical power carrying lethal poison pierced the dragon’s massive body, but failing to overcome the combination of ‘Foresight’ and ‘Annihilation’, they scattered into nothingness.
Krrr—! Kwaaang!
Back-and-forth clashes that alone wielded enormous influence over the entire battlefield continued.
It was a fiercely intense battle where one couldn’t see an inch ahead, but in truth, the outcome was already decided to some extent.
“Kuh!”
[Do you think you can face me alone! I am Duke Keurusyaieo the Demon Dragon! The current strongest of the Demon Realm and a great being who will soon surpass even the Demon King!]
Despite considerable exhaustion from the fight with Hella not long ago, Keurusyaieo consistently held the upper hand in the battle against a fellow duke and pressed his opponent.
As if to demonstrate that his moniker as the Demon Realm’s strongest was by no means a self-proclaimed title.
In the end, Pieta, who had been locked in a tense standoff, had no choice but to accept the damage that would occur on the battlefield and fall back.
If he continued fighting like this and truly fell, that very moment would be the end of everything.
‘I’ll back down for now. But this is not the end.’
He hadn’t even entertained the thought of winning through a full-scale war from the beginning.
Hadn’t he prepared so many schemes all this time precisely for that reason?
Though most were still incomplete, if he mobilized all those arrangements, he could surely create an opportunity for a reversal.
“Kuhak! Lord Pieta!”
[Kieeek—! Kill… kill! Eat! Hungry!]
“Damn it! If I’d known it would come to this, I would’ve switched sides earlier… kgh!”
[Keuk— Kgeek—!]
As a result, a considerable portion of Demoniac’s forces supporting his rear were ruthlessly ravaged by pale, aberrant monsters without being able to put up proper resistance, but sacrifices on the battlefield were a common occurrence everywhere.
The Darkness Duke was able to safely withdraw to the rear based on his subordinates’ sacrifice.
“Do you truly intend to settle this once and for all? Very well, if it’s come to this, I won’t sit still either!”
Immediately after, he began pouring out every measure he had prepared until now all at once.
In response, every corner of Dark Nest’s mainland was raided, and betrayal and assassination ran rampant, bringing extreme chaos.
[Don’t mind trivial damages. What matters is crushing Pieta as quickly as possible.]
But the Demon Dragon Duke, who had appeared on the front lines, did not care about that in the slightest and continued advancing forward without stop.
Leading pure-white monsters that feared nothing in any situation, betrayed no one, and craved only slaughter.
As the situation flowed to that extent, Demoniac could not help but grow anxious.
They urgently contacted Helheim, with whom they had at least a surface-level cooperative relationship, but…
-Right now, the fatigue of our entire force has reached its limit. Unlike some people, we have faced fierce battles every single day, have we not? As a result, we succeeded in advancing all the way to Dark Nest’s mainland.
And so, a reply came back saying they were very sorry but that it was difficult to send reinforcements immediately.
Along with the message that they would try to shake Dark Nest’s rear as soon as they reorganized their troops, so long as Demoniac held out as long as possible.
Kwang!
Upon receiving that message through his aide-de-camp, the Darkness Duke slammed his fist down on the table.
The aftermath reduced the table and the surroundings to a complete mess, but he had no luxury to care about such trivial matters now.
“…Fools. Do they not know that if we collapse like this, things will become difficult for them as well?”
Dark Nest’s ability to come at Demoniac so aggressively was also related to Helheim’s suddenly passive movements.
Whatever had become of the previous momentum that had been pushing into the heartland like bamboo splitting a bamboo shoot, they had suddenly begun subjugating nearby forces one by one, establishing forward bases and solidifying their defenses.
“…This is bad. Very bad.”
He muttered quietly as he gazed down at the battlefield map.
Thanks to mobilizing various arrangements, he had bought some time, but if he kept losing in the full-scale war as he was now, that would hold little meaning.
Moreover, the forces under his command were already shaken because of it.
‘Tch, I should seriously consider giving up as well.’
If things truly would not work out, surrender was also an option.
Seeing his opponent so enraged and trying to kill him made him somewhat skeptical, but once Keurusyaieo regained his composure, he would realize that accepting Pieta, a fellow duke, would be far more advantageous.
After all, the Demon Dragon himself was one of the Demon King candidates who had survived in such a manner.
“Still, I suppose I should try everything I can until the very end.”
Of course, he had no intention of yielding easily.
Had it not been the same during the election of the 15th Demon King right before this?
Even then, the Demon Dragon Duke had held overwhelming superiority throughout, yet the Demon King’s throne had ultimately been claimed by the greedy Tanuin, who never gave up until the end.
If he had continued challenging instead of surrendering under the pretense of preserving his forces then, perhaps he might have become the 15th Demon King instead of Tanuin; thus, this time, he intended to butt heads and avoid giving up until the possibility completely vanished.
‘Of course, Helheim is a variable, but…’
For now, dealing with Dark Nest, which surged in like a tidal wave, was the priority.
He had also managed to devise some countermeasures against Helheim during the time he had been at leisure.
And so, the Darkness Duke Pieta racked his brains diligently, not letting go of a single thread of hope.
To somehow seize the opportunity and claim the Demon King’s throne.
Of course, at that very same time.
Had he known what scheme Hella, whom he had designated as a variable, was hatching, he would never have been able to think so peacefully.
***
“Good work, Ken. It must have been a difficult mission, but you handled it very well.”
“Not at all, Lady Hella! If it hadn’t been for the help of Davidson that you sent, it would have been impossible for me alone. I merely guided him, after all.”
“No need for modesty. If it weren’t for you, things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.”
“Lady Hella…!”
Prostrate before Hella, Ken made an expression of deep emotion at the praise delivered with a gentle smile.
He couldn’t help it.
In truth, this mission was no different from forcing a fortuitous opportunity upon him.
A mind born artificially and a body created artificially.
He, whose very existence was practically fake, had been reborn as a complete individual through this matter.
Needless to say, he had grown into a count-rank demon in the process.
‘If it weren’t for Davidson… Even if I had luckily entered the temple, far from witnessing the original’s death, I would have had both my mind and body stolen by that curse.’
Of course, the help of an unidentified hero had also played a part there, but that could not diminish his loyalty toward Hella.
In the first place, the reason he had been able to survive until the end before those mighty enemies was entirely thanks to Davidson, whom she had sent with him.
As if sensing his feelings, Hella chuckled softly and continued lightly.
“So, what about the previous Demon King’s body? Have you made any progress?”
What they had obtained from that temple was not limited to one or two things.
The remains of the 15th Demon King Tanuin, which the Demon Dragon Duke had painstakingly gathered over hundreds of years, were among them.
And Ken, who possessed the same origin as those remains from the very beginning, had been able to absorb them and greatly increase his body’s potential.
“…It is shameful, but my abilities are lacking, so it seems it will take more time to produce proper results. Wouldn’t it be better to give the rest all to Davidson as well…?”
“Hmm, I more or less expected as much. It’s greedy to expect the next stage already when you haven’t even grown long. And Davidson is fine. He just has a big appetite, but actually, that much is enough for him.”
To Davidson… no, to Halli, what was truly needed was not the meat itself but the genetic information contained within a living creature’s body.
Of course, it was true that eating more byproducts of high-ranking beings was helpful, but investing more in him, who had already grown to the point of being able to devour divinity, was not very efficient.
No matter that it was the former Demon King’s body, its soul and essence had become a curse, and the body itself had deteriorated to the point of being completely wrecked, had it not?
‘Rather, it’s far more efficient to raise this guy and use him.’
If there had been no alternative, she would have simply devoured him whole like the duke-rank demons she had eaten up until now.
But with such an excellent slave available, the story was different.
“Don’t be too impatient and try to absorb it step by step. If you just manage to open the channel somehow, I can help.”
“Ah…! Thank you, Lady Hella! I haven’t been able to repay all the grace you’ve shown me until now, yet you care for me this much…!”
Unaware of her inner thoughts, Ken was overcome with emotion and pressed his forehead to the floor.
At this, Hella made an awkward expression, as she had merely been thinking of raising him to use him here and there, but such uncomfortable feelings disappeared before long.
‘Well, it’s actually a good thing for both of us, isn’t it? He’d be even happier if he could return to Earth again.’
No matter that he wasn’t the real Miyamoto Ken, it was an undeniable fact that he had inherited Ken’s memories.
The same went for having inherited a portion of that soul through the contract made at the end.
Come to think of it, the only thing that had changed was the body.
If his memories and soul still matched, wouldn’t it be no exaggeration to say that he was already the person himself?
And so, after concluding her meeting with Ken.
Hela slowly walked through the base where she was currently staying, making one final inspection of its interior.
After swallowing up Otorel’s territory, a strategic point of Dark Nest, she had subjugated the surrounding forces one by one and built this forward base at its center.
While the other two forces were busy clashing with each other, she had focused as much as possible on stabilizing it, and before she knew it, this place had come to boast a fairly impressive majesty as well.
‘Of course, this outward appearance is nothing but deception.’
A meaningful smile formed on her lips.
For what truly mattered was not this forward base itself, but something special installed here.
After checking it once more for the last time, she slowly nodded.
‘Perfect. With this, I can begin right away. The fragment of divinity has made things even easier.’
Another gain she had obtained from the temple.
By taking possession of the precious relic that had driven the previous Demon King, Tanuin, to ruin, she could now begin her plan at any time.
Because that divinity had fulfilled in her stead the qualifications as Demon King that she had still been slightly lacking.
“Now, then.”
Half with gratitude toward the Demon Dragon Duke, who had readily handed over such a precious item, and half with gratitude toward the Black Darkness Duke, who was buying her attention and time so that her plan could proceed smoothly.
Wearing a refreshing smile, Hela lightly took a step forward.
“Shall we start soon?”
A step toward swallowing the entire Demon Realm whole.
***
[···What is this?]
Serentata, a marquis-class demon guarding Dark Nest’s headquarters, frowned.
Then he immediately shot toward the place where the anomaly had been detected.
With the war having intensified to the point that the head of the faction had personally gone to the front, there was no need to explain how important it was to guard the headquarters that served as the center of every gate.
In the current situation, where not even the smallest variable could be allowed, it was only natural that he, tense to the utmost, would personally move toward the place where he sensed something suspicious.
If he failed to fulfill his assigned duty again, it would not end with merely being crushed by the Demon Dragon Duke as it had not long ago.
[···Who are you!]
And the moment he arrived at the scene in a single breath,
he came face-to-face with an unidentified figure whose entire body was emanating a strange current.
‘How? The gates should have been under strict control!’
It did not occur to him that this might simply be someone who had originally been staying here and whom he had failed to recognize.
Because if he had ever faced that opponent even once, it would have been absolutely impossible to forget her no matter what happened.
Even if he had not met her in person, he ought at least to have heard rumors.
“Oh? You came already? You’re a sharp one.”
A pair of horns soaring high, red-and-black inverted eyes, attire so splendid it was dazzling, and a violent demonic nature that overwhelmed even that.
Though their eyes had merely met, an erosion was mercilessly burrowing into his mind. Gritting his teeth, he was able to ascertain the other party’s identity.
[The Lord of Helheim, Hela···!]
“Mm, that’s right.”
How had she infiltrated this place without even passing through a gate?
Even if their forces had been drawn away, what sort of nerve did she have to charge alone into the very heart of enemy territory?
There was no time to ask any of that.
Whoooosh—
In that instant,
the world was overlaid with her at its center.
It had not changed completely.
As though two worlds had been layered into one, the image of a wasteland had merely been faintly superimposed over it.
But the problem was that the overlapping scenery was not all there was to it.
Thud, thud, thud—
Boom— Boom—
From beyond the wasteland in the superimposed scenery,
an army of demons, their fierce momentum surging and their morale soaring high enough to pierce the heavens, advanced in perfect order.
[What?! How in the world?]
It was impossible.
This was the base of Dark Nest, the greatest and strongest faction in the Demon Realm, and the nest of the Demon Dragon Duke, the only dragon in the Demon Realm.
It was not a place where an unauthorized person could carelessly invade the territory.
“How, you ask···.”
Of course,
“Do I need permission to visit my own land?”
Such things meant nothing to the rightful ruler of the Demon Realm, Demon King Hela.