Ch.138Demon Realm (4)

# Demon Realm (4)

Around the time when Legion Commanders Six and Nine led their legions to subjugate the fortress city, the Demon King’s army was also mobilizing on a large scale.

The fact that they were pushing such an all-out offensive against the fortress city made it obvious they were on the verge of a full-scale invasion of the human realm.

In such a situation, military reorganization wasn’t the only task at hand.

“Recently, we’ve detected subversive movements within Abaddon.”

“What fools.”

The defection of Leviathan, the leader of Abaddon, and his subsequent death in the ranking battle.

While the sequence of events was crystal clear, the situation looked different from Abaddon’s perspective after losing their leader overnight.

Everything was a fabrication, they claimed.

Leviathan would never betray Abaddon, and it was the Demon King, Belphegor, who had trapped and killed him.

Such rumors were spreading. Honestly, it was understandable. The fact that Abaddon’s leader had betrayed them overnight was suspicious enough.

He went to negotiate and immediately surrendered and joined the enemy ranks?

That alone was hard to believe, but the person who could explain it had lost his life.

The circumstances were suspicious to anyone.

“I gave them a chance to live, but if they respond like this, we’ll have to proceed as planned.”

And the Demon King’s army, having orchestrated this entire plan, was well aware of this.

Abaddon was a potential powder keg.

The two groups could not compromise, so they couldn’t be left behind during the advance.

That’s why they provoked them.

They left behind suspicious circumstances to incite them.

And this was the result.

“It’ll be convenient to sweep them away while we’re at it.”

A group that had lost its core leadership, with no decent troops but only loud voices. Now they had a justification to crush them.

With both sides carrying their own causes, neither had any intention of yielding.

They could have used force from the beginning, but they gave them a chance.

While the Demon King’s army clearly provoked them, it was Abaddon who refused to accept defeat and created an atmosphere of unrest.

“Force, go and wipe them out.”

“I will obey your command.”

Belphegor, the Demon King of Sloth, decided to send Legion Commander Force to Abaddon’s territory with a look of boredom.

“Ah, but maybe sending him alone isn’t right? There might be some strong fighters in Abaddon that we don’t know about, so it might be better to add one more.”

Belphegor could assess the situation to some extent based on what Lilith had informed him beforehand.

She wouldn’t care what kind of enemy they faced, but the Legion Commanders were considerably weaker compared to her.

With the invasion of the human realm imminent, they needed to complete the preliminary work as thoroughly as possible.

“May I join that mission?”

“Huh?”

At that moment, the doors to the conference hall opened, and an elderly demon in a neatly pressed military uniform entered confidently.

“Y-you’re alive?! Eleven.”

Everyone was surprised at the sight, but the most dramatic reaction came from none other than Legion Commander Ten.

He had been quite wary of Eleven, who was directly below him in rank, to the point where he had even raised a toast when he thought Eleven had died.

“I clearly said I was going on vacation… Did Commander Lilith not relay that message?”

“No, that’s not it…”

Lilith had already told them.

She had stated it proudly in front of everyone. It was only the Legion Commanders who were wary of Lilith who didn’t believe her.

It was a moment when Lilith’s innocence was finally proven, but…

‘What is she plotting now?’

‘She completely fooled us.’

The Legion Commanders still couldn’t believe that Lilith was innocent.

In their eyes, she still appeared as something terrifying.

“I’ll take on that mission.”

“Well, that’s not a bad idea. Then you, along with Twelve, will go with Force.”

“M-me?”

“Is there another Twelve here besides you?”

“N-no, I will follow your orders, Your Majesty.”

Belphegor added Twelve to Force’s group along with Eleven for the most reliable approach.

He had been considering sending Twelve anyway. He had only been thinking of sending another Legion Commander because Twelve’s combat ability was below his standard.

With Eleven added, they should be fine regardless of what enemies they might face.

“What’s next?”

“The treatment of the dragon race.”

“There’s so much damn work to do.”

Despite having dealt with one major issue, Belphegor sprawled on his throne at the realization that there was still work to be done.

As always, it was a day when he really didn’t want to work.

***

And back to the present.

When Eirene and the entire hero party gathered, everyone commonly looked for one person.

“Well, it seems he left ahead of us as expected.”

Since Eirene wasn’t the only one who had gathered information, most of them seemed to have anticipated that Extra had left the hero party. And the fact that they remained so calm despite knowing this indicated they had no immediate intention of pursuing him.

And that was the original contract.

Extra had asked them to take him to Abaddon in exchange for guiding them. But he had abandoned the contract in the middle of guiding them.

Even if he had urgent business and headed to Abaddon, it wasn’t a problem.

The loss would be borne by Extra alone, not the hero party.

“What should we do?”

But even if it had been a short time, they had been companions.

Esmeralda sought opinions on how to handle Extra’s departure.

First, Eirene, who had acquired the most information, raised her hand and spoke.

“That person must have had a reason to leave. It seems the Demon King’s army is planning a large-scale invasion of the human realm soon, which means we don’t have much time.”

Yes, that’s why Extra had left. Asking them to take him to Abaddon would have been a difficult task.

If they went through Abaddon, there was a high probability they would cross paths with the Demon King’s army.

“Rationally speaking, we should leave him behind. But…”

Eirene shrugged her shoulders and then glared at Esmeralda as she spoke.

“You’re not a rational person, Hero. You’re going to rescue him, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Then why even ask?”

Eirene let out a deep sigh.

This is who the hero, Esmeralda, is. She fights for the greater cause, but she doesn’t ignore the suffering right in front of her.

Even while pursuing her dreams, she’s determined to protect what’s within her reach.

Eirene grumbled that she was being made to look like the bad one.

“Here’s a map, take it.”

Thud.

Eirene handed Esmeralda a map she had obtained during her information gathering.

Though it was just a rough sketch drawn by someone who knew the way, it was still a godsend for the hero party who were unfamiliar with the demon realm’s environment.

It was one of the things Eirene had collected in anticipation of this situation.

“Saintess.”

“Yes?”

Lug, who had been staring blankly at Eirene, smiled brightly and said.

“I find that aspect of you very attractive, Saintess.”

“…I don’t care.”

Lug, who was on a leash held by Eirene, knew that she had spent considerable time gathering information about Abaddon.

She might indeed be a bitch, but there are also parts where she acts like one deliberately.

It’s probably because of the actions she’s committed in the past.

She acts like a good person in front of others, but to those who know her true feelings, she wants to be seen as a sinner.

That’s who the Saintess Eirene, the unstable leader of the Divine God’s Order, was.

Lug gently embraced Eirene from behind and repeated words of praise to her.

“S-stop…”

Just as Eirene began to tremble with embarrassment at this affectionate display, Esmeralda spoke up.

“Ah, it’s time to switch now? From now on, Garnet will take over.”

Unable to bear the irritating sight any longer, Esmeralda forcibly separated Lug from Eirene.

Eirene had gone to great lengths to gather information, but rules had to be followed.

The tyrant of the hero party, Esmeralda, had to maintain balance in this party.

“Come here.”

Garnet replaced the leash on Lug’s neck with her own and pulled him away.

Lug was separated from Eirene, who was still trembling with embarrassment.

“You don’t seem… displeased.”

“Well, yes… This is enough for today.”

Although it was almost like being forcibly separated during a good moment, Eirene didn’t resist.

She just lowered her head, not knowing what to do with her flushed face.

“Then shall we depart immediately? Normally we would rest as we go, but since our goal is to catch up…”

After confirming who would be in charge of Lug today, Esmeralda immediately got up and dusted herself off.

They had a long way to go to catch up with Extra.

***

Shortly after setting out, Esmeralda once again realized how harsh the environment of the demon realm was.

“Haah…”

They didn’t know the shortcuts or the safe paths. All they could rely on was the rough map.

Even Esmeralda found herself out of breath when passing through areas dense with demonic energy.

The sensation of being crushed just by being there.

The only reason they could walk through this environment, which was no different from a poison fog, with just a loss of stamina, was because Saintess Eirene was purifying the demonic energy in real-time.

“I know it’s late to ask, but do you and Lug not know the way?”

“Why would I, as a Legion Commander, have any reason to walk such paths on my own? I usually fly; I don’t walk around avoiding people’s eyes like this.”

“That makes sense.”

They could reach their destination quickly if they flew through the sky.

But Abaddon was currently in a state of war.

In such a situation, even if Garnet was a former Legion Commander, if they detected her approaching, it could lead to unnecessary conflict, and through that conflict, the hero party’s location might also be revealed to the Demon King’s army.

“What about you, Lug?”

Esmeralda asked Lug, who had collapsed due to stamina issues while walking.

He was now being dragged along the ground thanks to the leash Garnet was pulling. It was truly a situation befitting his name.

“My entire life was spent getting to the Demon King’s castle with my eyes open.”

“I see…”

From the human realm to the demon realm.

Lug had to overcome that treacherous path with his bare body, driven by the sole determination to meet the Demon King despite having lost his memories.

That’s why it took years, and when he finally entered the Demon King’s army, he was assigned to the hero party.

There couldn’t be a more arduous life than that.

“You’ve lived such a difficult life. Come to think of it, maybe Lug was destined to join the hero party from the beginning. That’s how all our lives are.”

Lives that had all been messed up.

The atmosphere of the hero party became solemn as they crossed a steep hill.

And as they crossed the most treacherous hill in that solemn atmosphere, the hero party discovered something.

“…I think we might be too late, regardless of which side we’re on.”

They saw the territory of Abaddon, which had already been reduced to ruins.