Ch.106Twelve Heavens (1)

# The Twelve Heavens (1)

A race that stands at the opposite end from demons.

La•Pa, the dean of the Eye of Truth that secretly controls the dragon race, had summoned the ancient dragons.

“Hmm, yes. The reason I called you all here today is nothing special.”

La•Pa was greeting them while sitting in an ordinary wooden chair with no decorations, as if everything was normal.

The ancient dragons who responded to her call had also polymorphed into human forms and sat in their respective seats.

At a glance, it resembled a university lecture. Somehow utterly ordinary.

And because of this arrangement, one thing stood out even more.

“Indra has died.”

It was the empty seat.

Just like the Demon Lord’s Army, there were 12 seats.

The original form of the commander system that La•Pa, the first Demon Lord, had created.

The Twelve Heavens (十二天)

And their leader, Indra of the Shakra Heaven (帝釋天), had been killed by the Demon Lord’s hand.

This was a far more significant matter compared to when Agni of the Fire Heaven (火天) died fighting against Five.

However, the gathered ancient dragons didn’t appear to be taking it too seriously.

“Well, I did push him too hard. I made someone with little lifespan left see such an unsightly end in his final days.”

“The Shakra Heaven probably died a satisfying death since he went down fighting.”

“I wonder? Would it still be so even though it was a dog’s death? He was torn apart without even being able to properly resist the Demon Lord.”

“Even so, if the opponent was the Demon Lord, it wouldn’t be a bad way to go.”

“Hmm?”

La•Pa looked around at the relatively calm Twelve Heavens before nodding.

Since mortals placed great significance on life and death, this was something incomprehensible to her.

What meaning could there be in attributing significance to death?

Yet, depending on the situation, they showed vastly different reactions to death.

La•Pa couldn’t understand it.

And she had no intention of forcing herself to understand what she couldn’t comprehend.

“That’s fine then. Still, we need to select a new leader for the Twelve Heavens, right?”

“As you wish, Mother.”

With the death of Indra, the leader of the Twelve Heavens, a new leader was needed to guide them.

Even though the Twelve Heavens were under La•Pa’s command, leading them wasn’t her role.

From the beginning, she preferred not to involve herself much in worldly affairs.

The only orders she usually gave to the dragons were to regulate the world so that chaos would never cease.

‘How amusing. They call that being the guardian of balance.’

She transforms humanity’s indiscriminate malice into something meaningful.

That’s why humans are lovable. They can attach any reason to overcome their fears.

“Well, yes. Let’s make the strongest one the next leader of the Twelve Heavens. Actually, it might be fun to rank them by ability like the current Demon Lord’s Army. But you all get along unusually well, so that would be pointless, wouldn’t it?”

“……”

The difference between the Twelve Heavens and the Demon Lord’s Army.

Unlike demons, they don’t determine everything by strength alone. The Twelve Heavens were closer to a horizontal relationship, unlike the Demon Lord’s Army.

From the beginning, being strong doesn’t necessarily make one a good leader.

Isn’t that why the current Demon Lord’s Army is nothing short of a mess?

Just a strange formation where a few strong individuals lead an army.

There’s no need to emulate or follow such aspects.

However, considering the dragon race currently at war with the Demon Lord’s Army, it might be better to determine the leader based on military strength this time.

In case of any contingency, having a commander with the highest survival rate would be much more convenient.

“Maheshvara. You will be the next leader. You are, after all, the strongest among the dragon race.”

“I accept your command.”

Indra was too old, even considering he was an ancient dragon.

So he certainly didn’t have the strength that could be called his prime.

In contrast, Maheshvara (大自在天), Shiva, is still close to his prime.

While he too couldn’t defeat First, the non-standard existence of the Demon Lord’s Army, he should be able to hold his ground.

“Is it still possible to maintain balance somehow?”

Agni’s defeat by Five was quite painful.

Of course, it allowed them to remove Five from the frontlines for a long time, and they succeeded in excluding Five altogether during that gap.

But Indra’s loss this time is quite a significant problem. It was enough of an issue for La•Pa, who usually doesn’t get involved much, to summon everyone.

And such a gathering of everyone was a rare occurrence.

The ancient dragon took this moment as an opportunity to ask something he had been curious about for a while.

“Mother, may this inadequate son ask you something?”

“Inadequate? How could I call children who are far more capable than me, who just plays in the back room, inadequate?”

La•Pa actually saw the ancient dragons as mere chess pieces, but she knew how to make such pleasantries.

When playing chess, one should oil the pieces to move them more easily, shouldn’t they? She was someone who knew at least that much.

“I heard you recently took in a human child. And you also gave that child ‘His’ heart? May I ask why you went to such lengths?”

“Hmm……”

It was a question about Tina.

Indeed, for the ancient dragons who had been together for ages and had developed almost familial feelings, giving a dragon heart of their kind to a human could be quite a sensitive issue.

But La•Pa didn’t mind the dragons’ attitude.

Whether they were being impertinent or hitting a nerve.

There was no need for such thoughts. She doesn’t regret giving the dragon heart to Tina.

Because Tina is a special child.

“That child has good intuition.”

“…Is that all?”

Of course, she understood others’ thoughts.

Good intuition, good luck. If she said she gave a dragon heart just based on that, it might be incomprehensible.

But that point was fine too.

“Is that all? Don’t you all know of a monster who reached the pinnacle of its species based on intuition alone?”

“Ah…! Could it be that child has that level of potential…?”

“Yes.”

Good intuition.

If that was all, La•Pa wouldn’t have paid much attention either.

But what if there’s a precedent of a being with such intuition proving themselves?

What if that being is still suppressing the dragon forces?

What if having good intuition means always being able to choose the optimal way to become stronger?

“That child has the potential of the Second Commander… no, even more.”

There’s nothing to lose by investing.

***

Second, who had intruded between the hero Esmeralda and the Third Commander, was checking his senses by clenching and unclenching his hand.

Originally, he had intended to cut out the neck and heart in one go.

He was confident.

He had found Third, who had fled to the human realm from the demon realm based solely on intuition, and had smashed the forces of the Celestial Order that had surrounded the area.

And when he finally found Third.

He had planned to quickly dispose of the annoying person fighting her and leave with Third.

That was the natural course of action.

But that plan was shattered.

“What are you?”

Second glared at Tina, the only girl at the scene who had noticed his attack.

An unremarkable girl.

A girl whose existence he hadn’t even noticed until he attacked.

Yet she had protected her companion.

“……”

Second took a step forward while overwhelming everyone present.

“Ack?!”

“Eek?!”

Tina grabbed Esmeralda by the nape and rolled to the left. Esmeralda, whose neck was being squeezed as they rolled together, had her tongue out and a pale complexion.

Slash!

The place where Tina and Esmeralda had been was instantly devastated.

Seeing this, Esmeralda’s complexion grew even paler.

She couldn’t see the process of the attack at all, even though she knew it was coming.

“Ha…!”

The second attack.

Since it was essentially an attack for confirmation, Second was certain of how Tina had avoided him.

“Interesting.”

It was before the attack was even executed.

Just by taking a step, there was no way she could have guessed which direction the attack would come from.

That was the intention from the beginning.

The step was taken in such a way that the attack could be launched in any direction.

Yet Tina threw herself to the left without hesitation.

As if she was certain the attack would come from that direction.

“Hmm, this is a first.”

Second scratched the back of his head while looking at Tina, then grabbed Third by the nape as she was trying to sneak away.

“I don’t think I’d lose in a fight, but it seems like it would take some time.”

Killing would be simple.

No one at the scene could see Second’s attack.

It should have been over in one strike.

That should have been the case, but he had already missed twice.

Solely based on intuition.

‘This kid, when it comes to intuition, she might be even better than me? Where did someone like this come from?’

Of course, killing would be simple.

He could launch a wide-area attack that leaves no room for intuition to intervene.

But doing so would reveal his presence to the surroundings.

He doesn’t overestimate himself. Even if he’s strong, he’s not confident he could win against all of humanity.

Coming to the human realm alone was already problematic.

In the process, he had disturbed the paladins of the Celestial Order nearby, so he needed to leave as quietly as possible.

It would be troublesome if he got caught.

A wide-area attack in such a situation?

There’s no merit in it no matter how you look at it.

Second was also operating under the assumption that the hero had been killed by the Demon Lord, which influenced his judgment.

In a sense, it was natural, as it would be hard to believe that what was cut into pieces by his attack was the holy sword.

“Well, that’s that.”

Second contemplated whether to kill the two or not, then turned around. His goal was simply to retrieve Third quietly.

There’s no need to create unnecessary trouble.

“Ah, right. I should at least get your name. Hey, kid. What’s your name?”

“Ti, Ti, Tina…”

Tina stammered as she obediently revealed her name to Second.

Her intuition told her that if she didn’t answer, the probability of being killed was high.

“Right, Ti-ti-tina. I’ll remember that. It might be good to check how strong you can become later.”

“Ow! It hurts! Second! Gentle! Be gentle! Owww!”

Second left with Third, grinning.

After the two commanders departed, leaving only silence in the forest, Tina muttered dejectedly.

“Why can’t anyone say my name correctly…?”