◈ Episode 458. Dawn, the Darkest Hour (2)
It could not be called conversation.
Nor could it be called telepathic magic.
A space of an entirely different order.
The Ten Thrones exchanged thoughts within their own “consciousness.”
A thick fog blanketing that consciousness concealed their true bodies.
“Weak, yet not weak.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean they are an inferior race, swayed about like reeds.”
That was the assessment they had arrived at after observing through the Demon Eyes.
“Was it not said that pride is a dangerous emotion?”
“It was. The ‘pride’ that man carries with him is dangerous. However, after observing his world, I found that there are not many who harbor such pride. Their vessels are so pitifully narrow that they can only hold a single emotion at most.”
“Your words are correct.”
Baal, Gamigin, Buer, and Hoyeol.
The demon kings of the Ten Thrones, excluding those mentioned, had explored Earth through the Demon Eyes. Though, because of Hoyeol’s appearance, all the Demon Eyes they had painstakingly scattered had been destroyed, leaving them unable to obtain any additional information.
“Thanks to that, I have grasped it. To think their mental strength is weaker than that of the life-forms of the Arcana Continent. So the dregs of the Demon World did not stretch their hands into that world for nothing.”
The dregs of the Demon World.
Not the Ten Thrones.
Now, it referred to the demon kings devoured by the ill omen.
As if proving that their knowledge stood in a place far beyond reach,
the Ten Thrones discerned countless causal relationships merely by looking.
Thanks to that, they did not overlook it.
“Then it is time to face him in grand fashion.”
“Indeed.”
“The newly seated demon king of the Tenth Throne, who appears to be quite furious.”
They recalled the Demon Eyes that had burst all at once.
Beneath the fog,
someone spoke first.
“I cannot even guess what truth he made use of. It could not have been simple magic. If only to satisfy this swelling curiosity, I would like to personally receive him……”
It was then.
A voice rang out,
beautiful and refined to an extreme degree.
“Do not cross the line.”
“Oho, noble Paimon.”
“Was the troublesome task of welcoming the lowest seat not mine alone?”
The demon king of the Ninth Throne.
Noble Paimon.
He spoke in a manner that lowered himself.
However, no one took those words sincerely.
“Paimon, ambition shows through you. It is an emotion I have never once witnessed from you throughout eternity. As expected, are you curious about him?”
Paimon neither denied nor affirmed it.
“Curious, you say? I am already certain.”
Paimon leisurely stretched out his hand.
Clink.
The gold and jewels adorning his fingers, wrists, forearms, and body struck one another and made a sound. His garments were thin enough that his skin showed through, yet they still shone with a brilliant luster.
Click.
What Paimon held was a holy grail.
After wetting his throat with blood, Paimon recalled the newly seated demon king of the Tenth Throne.
Hoyeol.
Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.
“In terms of dignity alone, he is already of my kind.”
Why was Paimon called “noble”?
The reason was known better than anyone by the Ten Thrones themselves.
“Already of your kind? Is that not a generous assessment?”
Even among the same Ten Thrones,
their innate abilities and the domains they governed differed.
Paimon was the being who governed the fertile western region of the Demon World.
“I do not think there is anyone here who would welcome the movement of your army. We all know that Buer has only managed to maintain his seat among the Ten Thrones until now because of your mercy.”
The demon king of the Ninth Throne.
Yet his strength was not ninth.
That was the evaluation the Ten Thrones had of Paimon.
Just as had been said.
Paimon, commanding his army, was an existence that posed an undeniable threat even to them.
“Mercy, you say.”
Slosh.
Paimon lightly shook the holy grail.
The highest-quality blood swirled faintly within.
Looking at the ripples, Paimon continued in a low voice.
“I do not believe that is an emotion you are qualified to speak of.”
The Ten Thrones.
Because they were great, they were quick to count what they lacked rather than what they possessed. And their longing for what they lacked was just as great. Paimon had touched upon the deficiencies of such Ten Thrones.
A sinister voice rang out.
“Do not forget, Paimon.”
“The proof of the Ten Thrones applies to anyone.”
“We have no intention of tolerating any recklessness beyond that.”
Paimon answered with the holy grail in hand.
“You may act as you please. However, would that truly benefit you? No matter who sees it, placing me and the newly seated demon king of the Tenth Throne against each other would be more beneficial to you.”
There was no reply.
As stated, Paimon’s army possessed a strength that no member of the Ten Thrones could afford to overlook. Perhaps if Baal, who was not present here, were involved, things might be different…… Thanks to that, the negotiation was not difficult.
Paimon withdrew first from the consciousness and spoke.
“I shall head for the Behemoth’s Maw at once.”
“For what purpose?”
“Neither the Arcana Continent nor the adventurers’ world.”
My purpose is only one thing.
Confirmation.
Paimon’s lips curved in an arc.
“Perhaps, for the first time, I may make a friend.”
*Paimon’s army.
Just by looking at Gunner’s reaction upon facing its true form, Chainwalker could picture the scene before his eyes. Gunner was the finest pilot of the Iron Castle and a great scout.
Thanks to that, he had experienced all manner of things.
—“……
This is impossible.”
Those were the only words Gunner uttered.
At that point, Chainwalker moved his ear away from the device.
At the same time, Wallsweil set down his hammer.
“The basic repairs are complete!”
“How long until the spatial leap?”
“One minute will be enough!”
Chainwalker spoke into another device.
“Did you hear that, everyone? We will arrive at the Behemoth’s Maw in one minute. After the first spatial leap is used, approximately an hour will be needed before the next spatial leap.”
Chainwalker spoke in a hardened voice.
“In other words, the time we can hold off Paimon’s army is only one hour at most. Then what results can you achieve within that one hour?”
The adventurers belonging to the Holy War Allied Forces had already suffered heavy losses while facing the two evil dragons. It had not been long since they had parted, and it troubled him to sound as if he were urging them on.
“With the Commander-in-Chief absent now.”
I must make an even colder judgment.
Chainwalker bit down on his lip as he asked the question.
The answer came immediately.
Antonium.
Hisagi opened his mouth.
“We returned to Antonium just a moment ago. And we are currently preparing to march. If I could, I would like to show you this sight, Lord Chainwalker.”
A sight he wanted to show me? What does that mean?
Chainwalker flinched and asked back.
But Hisagi had neither the descriptive ability nor the leeway to explain in detail.
Antonium, the imperial capital.
The imperial army filled the plains before the city gates.
Those standing at the vanguard were the Lionheart Knights.
Their knight commander, Harkon, opened his mouth.
“Listen. The demon we will face today is on an entirely different level from those we have faced until now. The armor worn by a mere foot soldier is comparable to dwarven arms, and their cruelty will surpass even that of a true-name demon!”
Harkon did not hide even the slightest bit of the despairing news Gunner had delivered, declaring it to the imperial forces. Seeing his master like that, Nam Taemin grinned.
“He’s the same when it comes to not hiding anything. Is that why they’re close?”
It was a declaration that would not have made it strange for morale to hit rock bottom.
Yet ironically,
the morale of the imperial army did not falter in the slightest.
“That is right. The Empire now faces the threat of annihilation. But is such a crisis new to us? No! You have already overcome countless trials!”
The rebel army, the Demon King, and even the War Emperor’s Library.
The Empire had truly experienced countless trials and overcome them.
Harkon turned the reins.
He revealed his mechanical leg before the soldiers.
At the same time, he pointed toward the graveyard with his finger.
“The proof of that still remains clear among us!”
“Waaaaaaah!!!”
The roar that burst forth at Harkon’s declaration reached even the ears of the fledgling, Frozennax, who was guarding the World Tree in northern Antonium. Frozennax chattered his beak.
“Is it about time I take flight?”
“Pardon?”
“You just keep protecting this place properly, greenhorn dragon knight.”
“Ah, yes, sir.”
Greenhorn dragon knight.
Skal flinched, then immediately bowed his head.
Frozennax looked at Skal and added one more thing.
“That place is not an easy enough battlefield for you to ride me.”
“……?”
Which meant,
if it were an easy battlefield, did that mean he might let him ride?
Skal’s drooping shoulders shot up.
“Th-then can I look forward to next time?”
But Frozennax did not seem to have the slightest intention of answering.
Because Frozennax was already looking elsewhere.
The chick’s eyes sparkled.
That is rather interesting.
“Oho, so you are stepping forward as well?”
The ones Frozennax referred to were the adventurer-players.
Even if the Arcana Continent were destroyed,
he had thought they would regard it as someone else’s problem.
Yet were they not all joining the imperial army of their own accord?
Looking only at the result, Frozennax’s thought was not wrong.
“I’m telling you, it’s one hundred percent!”
“Well, a World Message did pop up.”
“And it wasn’t an ordinary World Message either! A message appeared across the entire Arcana Continent? That means Paimon is a monster who’s going to shake the Arcana Continent!”
Whatever their motives were,
the players, each with their own resolve and complete preparations, were steadily joining the Holy War Allied Forces in Antonium. They even nodded at Harkon’s cry.
“We have to put our lives on the line. Considering the buff that’s active, it’s not enough to fight with our lives on the line—we have to survive to the very end. Nobody wants to gorge themselves on experience points, die, and end up as a ghost that only looks good, right?”
Now that reality and the Arcana Continent were connected,
a threat to the Arcana Continent could safely be seen as a threat that would soon arrive in reality.
All the more so now that the Demon Eyes of the Ten Thrones had appeared in reality as well.
In that sense, the players’ judgment was entirely reasonable.
What did that mean?
It meant that it would not be strange even if every player gathered in Antonium.
“Damn it, will you move?”
“Ah, sis. Want me to put you on my shoulders or something?”
“Shut up, I swear I’ll—”
Leoni pushed through the crowd and examined their faces.
From Shining, solemn after Dmitri’s death,
to Bohemian, Warlord, Olympus, ACDC……
“Even the ones you usually never see have all gathered, sis.”
“Well, they must be expecting quite a lot.”
“That is true.”
“Yeah.”
Hisagi and Nam Taemin joined them at almost the same time. Their gazes, neither sharp nor particularly gentle, turned toward the players.
“Even if our priorities are different, our goal is the same in the end.”
Because they were rankers themselves,
they could understand what those people were thinking.
What they wanted was a [War Quest].
“On a scale like this, it wouldn’t be strange if a ‘Great War Quest’ appeared, something that never happened even back when Arcana was nothing more than a game. Considering the buff currently active, if they build up even a moderate amount of contribution……”
“They must have calculated that they can seize considerable spoils.”
“The Commander-in-Chief would have said something if he saw this……”
But you, of all people, were integrity itself.
That was why you could admonish others.
They had no such right.
So Nam Taemin simply wished.
“Whatever happens, I just hope they don’t retreat in front of the demons.”
Before long, the Holy War Allied Forces sortied from Antonium.
It went without saying,
but forces for defense remained in Antonium.
The Four Families, Dune of the Red Eye, the Diamond Trading Company……
They were the great figures Hoyeol had summoned.
Because their master, Hoyeol, had given no orders,
they were waiting in Antonium.
“Then I will open the portal!”
The imperial palace mage, Nash William.
Woooooong.
Using Antonium’s mana stones as security, he manifested a portal. Its coordinates were Canary Road, the village closest to the Behemoth’s Maw—now reduced to ruins.
“……
Huh?”
However, even after they entered the portal
and breathed in the ominous air,
the players’ vision remained quiet.
No message appeared.
“At this point, it should have appeared and then some! The War Quest!”
The reason was simple.
Noble Paimon was already in the midst of waging war.
Amid the long procession of the great army,
at last,
Paimon emerged from the Behemoth’s Maw.
The demon king of the Ninth Throne opened his mouth.
“It is a pleasure to meet you like this.”
Above the sky,
toward Hoyeol.
Toward Granfell, he offered a courteous greeting.
“You, who may perhaps become my friend.”
At those words, a gaze beyond cold and utterly indifferent fixed upon Paimon.