Chapter 131

Martin forced his blurring vision open.

The escort knight who had been captured alongside him by the Demon King—Sir Cawell—looked at him with worry.

“Your Highness, are you all right?”

“Of course.”

He was not. He had endured far too much in too short a time.

His head was spinning, his feet sank deep into the snow, and the blizzard tore at his body.

Thankfully, no monsters appeared, but the storm itself gnawed at his mind and body.

The Demon King of Flame.

Berze Deias. Martin repeated the Demon King’s name in his mind.

At first, I thought he was a high-rank demon. But he was a Demon King.

He had been too shocked at the start to notice properly, but he caught on quickly.

The Demon King left the tower and kidnapped me.

Up to that point, it was possible. Demon Kings abducting royalty or imperial blood wasn’t unheard of.

However—

Shouldn’t the Demon King be waiting for the Heroes at the top of the tower?

That was the law of Demon Kings. The “orthodoxy” they preached.

There was, of course, some leeway. A search party wasn’t a Hero Party.

Is that why the orthodoxy flexes a little here? Or was it simply the Demon King’s whim?

The difference was enormous. A Demon King who does not obey orthodoxy would overturn everything known until now.

That wasn’t the only concern.

Kaede.

She had said she contracted with the Demon King—five years as his vassal, with freedom promised afterward.

For now, she seemed safe. But he was still a Demon King. Would he truly uphold that promise?

If he kills Kaede, I will never forgive him.

When he was young, his mother—the Third Empress—died of illness. And in the Emperor’s indifference, he had been forced to compete with his siblings.

In that life, Kaede had been the only family he could trust. More than just family.

She said she made him swear upon the Orthodoxy and the First Demon Emperor…

For now, he could only believe.

To Demon Kings and demons, those two oaths were akin to the World Tree for the elves.

He wasn’t certain whether they held binding force—but symbolically, they were absolute.

I must become Emperor.

But he could not afford to trust blindly. To end this unfavorable relationship that had begun entirely at a disadvantage, he needed equality. He needed the throne.

And until then…

He must aid the Demon King. He must prevent the Demon King’s subjugation.

For his own sake.

For Kaede’s sake.

Only then would the Demon King help him—and refrain from harming Kaede.

Who knows what butterfly effect giving him that card will cause…

He had practically given up everything, but he did not regret it. Without giving it, he would not have gained another chance.

Unless the Demon King is a fool, he won’t reveal the card I gave him.

And Sir Cawell had been unconscious the entire time, not witnessing their negotiation.

As long as he kept the secret himself, it was safe.

“Your Highness, footprints.”

The blizzard buried some of them, but they were too numerous to hide completely. These were unmistakably human footprints.

“The search party must be close by…!”

At that moment, the snow exploded upward. A shadow loomed.

A massive drake, hidden beneath the snow, burst forth. Cold breath gathered between its gaping jaws.

“Your Highness!”

Cawell shoved the prince aside and wrapped his body in aura.

Thunk—

But the impact Martin expected never came. Only the bisected corpse of the drake collapsed before him.

“Your Highness!”

Beyond it, the great Hero who had slain two Demon Kings shouted.

“We have been desperately searching for you, Your Highness!”

He extended a hand. The Third Prince grasped it.

“Lord Hillen! You saved me!”

“We scoured the entire mountain looking for you, Your Highness. I am glad you are unharmed.”

Hillen Cargill—the man who had become the prince’s lifesaver—grinned from ear to ear.

***

Desire is the most fundamental force that moves human beings.

Desire for power, desire for honor, craving for strength, greed for money, the survival instinct that wishes to live—

What moved Daphner Philian was honor.

The renown of being the first to discover the tower no one had ever found. And the honor and authority that followed.

But right now, the instinct to survive overshadowed everything else.

Only the living can claim fame, only the living can wield power, and only the living can spend wealth.

Whoosh—

Black flames spewed black light. A blazing inferno devoured the surroundings.

Daphner loosed arrows. Five arrows shot in an instant, riding the wind, pushing back the flames. The tiny opening allowed him to slip through.

But that opening did not last.

From above, flames fell again.

The moment he encountered the high-rank demon, Daphner had turned and fled. He couldn’t guarantee victory in a head-on clash, but he trusted his speed.

That didn’t last long.

The demon spread its wings, and escape became far more difficult than before.

Flames rained endlessly from the sky, and if he slowed even a little, the orcs’ presence grew nearer.

His legs were heavy; his skin melted from the heat. Even so, he did not abandon hope.

Not far now…!

He found the traces of the search party.

Hillen Cargill is with them… the elites of the Alliance. If we join forces, we can kill that Four Great Demon bastard.

Driving off the orcs was far easier. If not for a member of the Four Great Demons, he could have slaughtered thousands of orcs alone, even if it took some time.

Daphner fired his arrows into the sky and forced his burning body forward.

At this rate…

He would lose him.

Berze deflected the arrow and ground his teeth. The interference force biting into him gnawed at his demonic energy.

I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t expect him to be this rat-like.

He unfurled his wings and soared.

Even so, catching Daphner was no simple task.

The greatest tracker among all the Heroes. That meant far more than just speed.

The man was fast, agile, expert in hiding his presence, and deeply accustomed to using terrain.

He hid in rock crevices, beneath snow, between trees—constantly throwing off Berze. With incredible speed, he kept the distance right at the edge of danger.

Even orcs mounted on frostwolves couldn’t keep up. The chase had long since become a duel between the two of them alone.

The problem was that Daphner—one of the Ten Great Heroes—was someone Berze could never take lightly.

A man difficult to defeat even head-on was now fleeing with full intent, and Berze grew increasingly anxious.

And that anxiety soon became reality.

A group appeared in the distance.

All too familiar. He had met them once before.

Berze’s face twisted.

…Already?

He had fled as if his life depended on it, and Berze had chased as if he meant to kill. In that process, night and day had swapped more than once.

But even so, he should have led Hillen away from the direction of the tower.

I realized it far too late.

He had fastened the very first button wrong. He should have caught Daphner before he ever discovered the tower. Failing that, he should have killed him the moment he found it.

But he had been too focused on the Third Prince, letting Daphner slip away, letting him discover the tower, and letting him escape with far too much time to spare.

Then he wasted more time trying to relocate him, leading to this outcome.

The one fortunate thing was that the group ahead had not yet noticed Daphner or Berze.

One chance.

He glanced back. The orcs had fallen behind long ago, but Ernan was still pursuing him with everything he had.

Good.

One chance.

Only a single chance.

Even if nothing lay beyond that, at least that man—

Berze stopped. Hovering in midair, he drew a breath.

Air was sucked inward. His heart thundered. Demonic energy gathered and compressed.

A colossal roar began to form.

The mountain trembled. The artificial flow of power he created was soon detected even by the humans.

“A massive surge of demonic energy…!”

“What is that?”

“It’s a demon!”

“A demon has appeared!”

At the same time—

“Help me!”

Daphner’s desperate scream echoed across the snowy mountain.

“It’s Hero Daphner!”

“Sir Daphner!”

“He’s being chased by a demon!”

The search party finally spotted him.

“Send the knights!”

“Mages, block that thing!”

“Rangers, snipe the demon!”

Urgent cries overlapped. Martin shouted to Hillen:

“Lord Hillen! Help Lord Daphner at once!”

But Hillen could not help hesitating.

Because he had identified the demon in the sky.

He had felt the wrath Berze exhaled, and the demonic energy gathering around him.

The Demon King himself has taken the field.

This had never happened before.

The Demon King he knew preferred to hide and manipulate from the shadows. The fact that Berze had broken the method he upheld ever since his descent meant he was desperate.

But why?

Because of a single Hero?

He discovered the tower…?

If so, everything made sense.

Berze’s furious pursuit.

The malice, the demonic energy, the seething anger emanating from him.

The problem was that Hillen now stood on the opposing side of such a Berze.

Behind him, he felt the prince and the king’s son pressing him. Ahead, the knights were already running.

The demonic energy swelling around Berze grew heavier.

Everything pressed down on him.

If I step in…?

If he stepped forward to save Daphner, Berze would grow furious.

Berze did not tolerate betrayal. Betrayal meant punishment, and punishment meant death.

If he helped Daphner, Hillen would die.

“Lord Hillen! What are you doing! Stop the demon now!”

But if he did not step in, the prince and the king’s son would grow furious.

A demon stood before them, and a Hero was being attacked. Everyone was rushing to help Daphner—there was no way anyone would miss the strangeness if Hillen did nothing.

Questions after the battle would turn to suspicion, and the more dire the situation grew, the more that suspicion would transform into anger toward Hillen.

Why didn’t you save Daphner then? Why didn’t you attack the demon with all your might?

And this pressure came from the Empire’s prince, the kingdom’s prince, and elite soldiers from several nations.

……

Hillen bit his lip.

Help him, don’t help him, help him, don’t help him, help him, don’t help him, help him, don’t help him, help him, don’t help him—

His head felt like it would burst.

“Lord Hillen!”

“Help Lord Daphner at once!”

“Please!”

The royalty, the knights, the mages, and even Daphner’s desperate scream—all of it cornered him.

Blood dripped from his clenched fist.

And at last, he chose.

Please…

He could only hope the other side would recognize his desperation—his signal.

He drew his sword.

***

Flash—

Lightning struck.

A nauseating interference disturbed Berze’s breath.

That bastard…!

Writhing emotion disrupted the flame further.

You dare betray me?

No—it was a signal. Like an empty wagon making an enormous racket, the lightning was big but hollow, a meaningless bluff.

It was Hillen Cargill’s frantic struggle to live.

He had no choice, the gesture said. He would pretend, just pretend—so please overlook it.

Fine. I’ll let it slide once.

Hillen was important. Berze had no intention of allowing him to be branded a traitor to humanity by both the Jespine Empire and the Kingdom.

So you, too—

Avoid this well.

Berze released the breath he had been holding.

Toward Daphner’s rapidly retreating back. Toward the search party rushing in to save him.

A black breath—

He exhaled it.

A dragon’s fury erupted.

The world turned black.

***

The scorching heat split the blizzard.

Horses screamed.

“Block it!”

The mages formed a joint spell. A massive shield intercepted the black flames.

───!

The shield shuddered. Unresolved impact swept the blizzard away. For an instant, a vacuum formed.

Crackle—

The shield melted. Mages coughed blood.

The shield shattered. Flames forced themselves through the cracks. The knights swung their aura.

They shaved away the flames. Their aura was shaved away as well.

The knights screamed. Their bodies melted away without even leaving corpses behind.

Crackle—

Blue lightning tangled with the black flames. For the briefest moment, it halted the flames’ advance.

In that fleeting gap, Daphner loosed the bowstring he had drawn.

Ten arrows merged into one. A massive wind pressure pulled everything inward.

Swaaaash—

In the blink of an eye, the arrow met the flames head-on. It pierced through the fire and shot forward in a straight line.

Or so it seemed.

But the truth was the opposite. The wind was devoured by the flames—feeding the fire, making it stronger and more violent.

A black storm erupted.

The search party screamed.

***

A massive cloud of steam—born from snow and flame meeting—blanketed the area.

“…….”

A deep, heavy sense of weariness settled in.

For the first time since his regression, he had used his full power.

He had squeezed every drop of his demonic energy to unleash his breath.

All to kill Daphner Philian.

Did I kill him…?

He could not be sure. He didn’t even have the strength to confirm it.

His fingertips trembled. He had no strength to move even a single finger.

But he forced himself to act composed. His breath had been aimed solely at Daphner Philian; its power had concentrated entirely on that man.

Though its sheer force wiped out everything around it, the aftermath alone would not be enough to annihilate an entire Alliance search party. They were not that weak.

Berze slowly descended to the ground—or rather, nearly crashed. Ernan, who had rushed over, caught him.

“Are you all right?”

“…Yes.”

He was not. His heart shrieked as if about to burst.

A breath attack was not mere magic—it was authority. Forcing that authority brought unavoidable backlash.

“…What about Daphner Philian?”

“The steam is too thick. I can’t see clearly.”

“And the orcs?”

“They’re coming. They’ll be here soon.”

“If Daphner is still alive, you must find him and kill him.”

“My lord, you…”

“I need a short rest.”

“Shall I sing you a lullaby?”

“…Do you wish to die?”

“Don’t worry. Leave everything to me.”

I’ll show you—
what it means to be the Demon King’s Four Great Demon.

“Daphner Philian. He must be killed.”

“Yes. Leave it to me.”

“…I leave it.”

For a moment, a faint worry of betrayal crossed his mind, but he soon dismissed it. If Ernan had ever wished to betray him, she had countless opportunities.

Yes. So the possibility of betray… al… is…

His consciousness vanished. Ernan gently closed his eyes.

— Are you really going to kill Daphner Philian?

“I’m one of the Four Great Demons now.”

— You sound very sincere.

“At least more sincere than listening to Nairuniel-sama gush about love. Bury the Demon King in the snow. Make sure he isn’t found.”

Ernan laid Berze down. The snow swallowed him.

“I owe the Demon King a great deal.”

He called it a transaction, but to her, it was grace. She had escaped the place that was like a prison. Because she came to the tower, she achieved major breakthroughs in spirit arts.

And she rescued her kidnapped younger sibling thanks to him. Because of the Demon King, her sibling had begun learning magic, and their frail body was slowly returning to normal.

She had received far more than she had given.

“It is only right to repay a kindness.”

— If that’s what you believe, then so be it.

“But I won’t harm anyone else.”

She was no blood-crazed killer.

“Keep the steam from clearing. And find Hero Hillen for me.”

— Confirmed.

“From this moment on…”

She raised her mask.

“One of the Four Great Demons.”

A sharp smile curled on her lips.

“It is the Dark Spirit Sorcerer’s time.”