episode_0153

“Umm… What is going on… … Versella hasn’t woken up for several days… … .”

The garrison of the Demon King’s army.

Xaviel, the Lord of Deception, looked at Versella sleeping and looked troubled.

After the Demon King’s Soul swallowed Versella’s consciousness, she was moving under the will of the Demon King’s soul most of her waking hours.

Versella, driven by the Demon King’s soul, was a completely different person.

Even the queen of Ainblad looked like an ordinary demon in front of Versella, who was dominated by the demon king’s soul.

Demon King Bersella ordered all the power of the Demon World to launch an all-out attack on humans.

It was also Versella’s instructions to divide the Demon King’s army into three corps and attack.

When Xavier stood in front of Versella, who had become a complete demon lord, he felt a thrill he had never felt before in his long life.

A tremendous sense of intimidation, something he had never felt even from the previous Demon King, made Xavier submit.

This may be because the Demon King’s soul has never been this strong in the history of the world.

In the past, before the Demon King’s soul became this strong, a hero often appeared and defeated the Demon King, but the hero died.

As a result, the worst demon king in the history of the demon world was born… … .

When the Demon King Soul first chose Bersella’s body as the Demon King, there were many demons who had doubts.

Even Xaviel, who had sworn to be loyal to the Demon King for life, including Bloodstein, who was defeated by humans, could not understand why a young and weak demon like Versella became the Demon King.

But now that the demon king’s soul has taken control of most of Versella’s consciousness, that thought has become meaningless.

Bersella, who was ruled by the Demon King’s soul, was a strong and unhesitating Demon King himself.

After leaving the Demon King’s Castle, all of Versella’s will was taken away by the Demon King’s soul, except right before she fell asleep and immediately after she woke up.

And now the kingdom is at hand… … .

Bersella fell asleep in bed and did not open her eyes for several days.

“Is Versella’s will surprisingly strong? … . Is there still some lingering regret left? … .”

Bersella’s sleeping appearance was not very peaceful.

Sweat was pouring down my forehead and I was constantly tossing and turning.

Sometimes he made noises that sounded like he was whimpering in his sleep, and sometimes he spoke into the air.

Xavier thought that this was Versella’s last self resisting the demon king’s spirit.

Just as a candle burns most violently before it burns out, Versella’s weak soul may also be making its final resistance before it completely fades away.

“… … But it won’t last long.”

If the Demon King Versella was in this state, the advance of the Demon King’s army was bound to be delayed.

I didn’t expect that Bersella would fight for this long with just one body against the Demon King’s Soul.

But Xaviel wasn’t worried.

The next time Bersella wakes up, the Demon King’s army will definitely win.

Now that there were no heroes, there was no one who could stop it.

Even if it was a little late, Xavier could wait long enough.

* * *

“Let’s see… … There are more monsters than I thought… … .”

Right in front of the main force of the Demon King’s army, where the Demon King is expected to be.

We secretly moved to a nearby hiding place and watched the movements of the Demon King’s army.

The pure-blooded demons seen in Ainblad and other humanoid demons are also ready for battle.

The composition was very different from the Demon King’s army, where everyone except Bloodstein was a monster.

And of course, dealing with a mixed group of demons was much more difficult than a unit made up of only monsters.

“What is it like? Can you feel the devil? huh? Can you feel it?”

Mariel was next to me, clinging to me so tightly that it was a little inconvenient and muttering.

“What are you talking about?”

“Didn’t you say that? They say they can feel the presence of the devil.”

“Ah… Yeah, that’s right. iced coffee… I feel it… I feel the devil is close… … .”

“Hmm?! Where is it?”

“Shh─ Try to be quiet.”

Unlike the reconnaissance unit that wandered around sporadically, this was the main unit of the Demon King’s army.

If they are caught, it means that only three people will have to fight against that enormous army of the devil.

Of course, there was no chance of winning. If you get caught, you’ll be saying goodbye to this world before you even see the devil’s face.

The magic tool I had to hide myself from demons could not be used until the location of the demon lord was identified.

This was because once it was used, it took quite some time until it could be reused again.

Moreover, with so many monsters mixed together like that, it is difficult to avoid the gaze of the monsters even if you hide yourself from them.

“Sylphy, how are you? What do you see?”

“Umm… … Wait a minute… … .”

Sylphy, who has the best eyesight among us, was searching with her eyes to find the location of the Demon King.

Unlike the monsters, the demons were pitching tents as if human troops were stationed there.

I thought that if the Demon King was here, he wouldn’t be in an ordinary tent.

However, Sylphy, who had been looking at the Demon Lord for a while, shook her head and said.

“I don’t know. They all look similar… … .”

“But I can’t go inside and wander around without knowing where it is.”

“Umm… … sorry. Because it wasn’t helpful.”

“No, finding the Demon King with only your eyes would be an unreasonable request.”

It’s difficult.

Where on earth is the devil?

“Now, don’t you actually feel nothing about where the Demon King is?”

Mariel asked, looking at me with suspicious eyes.

You have a needlessly sharp side.

I know from the narration that the devil is here.

However, the ‘demon king detection ability’ that was used to persuade Edward was a lie.

The moment I was about to say something to Mariel, Sylphy suddenly opened her mouth.

“Huh? But it’s a bit strange. There are humans in the Demon King’s army.”

“What?”

“There is an old man who looks a bit older. what… … .”

“That can’t be possible. It must be a demon.”

“But it really looks human.”

There’s a human in the middle of the Demon King’s army?

That couldn’t have been possible.

Besides, he’s an old man, how could something like that happen?

『Yunoa couldn’t remember anything even after hearing that there were humans in the Demon King’s army.

How bad is his memory?

Yunoa was overlooking a fact that can be seen if you think about it carefully.』

At that time, the narration suddenly hurled harsh words at me.

If you think about it carefully, you will understand… … ?

There is no way a human could safely enter the Demon King’s army.

No, wait… … .

Clearly, humans cannot be in the middle of the Demon Lord’s army.

But didn’t I already know?

Why had I forgotten it until now?

Back when I was in church, wasn’t the bishop there a demon who had hidden in the kingdom?

If you were a human in the middle of the Demon King’s army, there was no possibility for you to be anything other than a demon in human form.

『Yunoa finally remembered and proved that her head was not a carp.

The nickname of Xaviel, a demon who transformed into a human for as long as a human life, was ‘Lord of Deception’.

He had lived in the form of a human for so many years that it became more uncomfortable to be in the form of a demon.』

As I recalled the memory, the narration added additional explanation.

If you’re going to teach me so well, it would be better if you didn’t start from the beginning and told me everything… … .

Well, the nature of the narration is not like this for a day or two.

Xaviel, the Lord of Deception…? … .

I heard that the horse-headed demon Bloodstein was the direct subordinate of the demon king called the Blood Lord.

Having a nickname like that meant that Xaviel was not an ordinary person in the demon world.

The devil’s direct subordinate… … So wouldn’t it be highly likely that the devil is right in the tent he’s in?

“Sylphy, which side is that human old man on?”

“It’s over there.”

“Where… … .”

Looking in the direction Sylphy gave me, I saw something that looked like a human being in the deepest part of the Demon King’s army.

There were limits to identification with my magic vision, but since Sylphy saw and confirmed it, it must be certain.

“There is a high possibility that the devil is in the tent on the side of that person.”

“Yes? Really? Do you know who that old man is?”

“You know, I’ve seen it briefly before. They are demons that have been hiding in the kingdom for a long time. He is one of the demon king’s direct subordinates.”

With Sylphy looking surprised, the problem now is how to get there… … .

As expected, it would be important to save as much as possible on the magic tools used to hide from the demons until you get to a closer location, giving yourself time to find the demon lord and finish the job.

“The location is so bad… … .”

Moreover, I had to travel alone to the tent where the Demon Lord was expected to be.

This was because Mariel and Sylphy had no means of hiding from the demons.

But no matter how much I tried to find a way to sneak in, I never felt like I could get there quietly and without anyone noticing me.

I explained my plan in detail to Sylphy and Mariel.

The tent that Xaviel is guarding is where the Demon Lord is most likely to be, and I have to infiltrate there alone.

He also said that he is in trouble now because the route is not visible.

“Umm… It really is. It’s not even inside the building in the first place. Infiltrating in an open place like this is a bit… … .”

Sylphy listened to everything I said and gave her opinion.

“For now, I plan to go in when it’s dark. At least the night is better than the day. The problem is that there is no hole in sight to get through without being seen… … .”

At that time, Mariel suddenly started laughing unpleasantly.

“After… Hehe… Hehehe… … .”

“Why are you smiling so much? Suddenly.”

“This genius magic researcher, Mariel. In my head right now! That’s what came to mind. A bright idea that will solve your worries!”

Mariel tilted her head and raised her sassy nose and spoke.

For some reason, I don’t believe it… … But it was also true that there was no way to infiltrate deeper right now.

It was too reckless to fight through it. If that was going to be the case, it would have been better to bring Mileia.

“Let’s hear what you have to say.”

“Isn’t it a simple story? This Mariel is a ‘magic researcher’, but first of all she is a ‘wizard’. If we direct their attention elsewhere, wouldn’t a gap be created?”

Just as I was about to be a little disappointed because it was such a simple idea that anyone could think of, Mariel continued.

“You just thought that we would be in danger if we made a fuss with my magic, right? You’re wrong. Don’t you know that I’ve been researching ‘Guardian’ so far?”

“You mean that can?”

“That’s right. I didn’t just create a Guardian. If that were the case, it would be in the realm of ‘engineering’, not magic research. I created a summoning spell that can summon the guardian I created.”

Mariel said that and smiled.

It’s a tin can summoning technique, that’s amazing.

But I already knew what those ‘Guardian X’ guys were like.

Aren’t they guys whose combat abilities are minimal and their performance is lacking somewhere?

Would summoning something like that really be enough to attract the attention of the Demon Lord?

As I had that question in my head, Mariel spoke again.

“Isn’t the purpose of fighting and winning against those guys anyway? If you want to attract attention, you can do anything. And that too safely. There are quite a few ‘guardians’ that I can summon with the summoning spell.”

“Even so… Aren’t there only numbers 6 or 7?”

“No, once you create a guy with summoning magic, you can summon the same guy as many times as your magic allows. I don’t know how much my magic power will be, but in theory, I should be able to summon almost as many demon lords as there.”

“What… … .”

“If it’s just a waste of time, wouldn’t it be okay to summon a bunch of guardians and charge them, and then wait in a safe place?”

Mariel nodded with a confident expression.

I had no choice but to admit it.

The method Mariel suggested is worth a try.

* * *