Ch.96Abaddon (2)

# Abaddon (2)

“Alright. Since we’re here, let’s start with you. I’ve been curious for a while. Remember? When you came with the ancient dragon.”

“……”

“Back then you introduced yourself as an extra… Your real name is Extra, right? Honestly, I don’t see much difference, but do you have a preference?”

“Extra is fine. It’s a humiliating name, but I’ve been called that for so long that it’s easier to understand.”

“Lug, does this person always talk like this?”

“He usually speaks this way to people he’s just met or isn’t close with.”

“I see.”

“……”

Extra glared murderously at the two people discussing his speech pattern right in front of him, but that was all he could do.

What else could he do after being captured and beaten?

“So what is Abaddon anyway?”

“……Abaddon refers to demons who oppose the war.”

“That makes sense.”

Esmeralda became a hero precisely because Belphegor was preparing to invade the human realm.

It’s not that demon lords must always be defeated.

If that were the case, a hero would have emerged during the time of the previous demon lord, Leviathan.

But Belphegor harbored different ideologies from Leviathan, and had reached the same conclusion as in the eras of other heroes.

“Before that. Do you know what demons actually are?”

“I know.”

“I don’t know?”

Lug affirmed while Esmeralda denied. Their answers came almost simultaneously, and Esmeralda glanced furtively at Lug who had answered affirmatively.

He’s not even trying to hide it anymore.

What should she do about this?

‘Honestly, does it matter? No, wait. Tina still doesn’t know…’

Eirene Saintess and Millia Asrin had already figured out that Lug was a demon. But Tina’s situation was different.

Just recently, when Lug used strange techniques to interfere with Millia’s tentacles, she thought he was a mage, not a demon.

For now, she had brushed it off by asking them to keep an eye on Lug, but soon she would have to tell Tina about Lug’s true identity.

“Let’s continue, shall we?”

Esmeralda continued the interrogation. What kind of beings are demons? Eirene probably knew well, but asking her would likely only get the answer “vermin.”

Eirene’s hatred for demons was quite severe since the demon lord Belphegor was involved in the disgrace of the Divine Order.

Because of this, Esmeralda knew relatively little information.

“We were originally human.”

“Human…”

Esmeralda nodded slowly while looking at Extra’s appearance.

It wasn’t really surprising.

It was undeniable that demons’ physical appearance closely resembled humans, making it difficult to claim they were completely different.

Extra himself could hide his demonic nature just by concealing the horns on his forehead.

And this tendency seemed to become more pronounced among higher-ranking demons.

“Humans, but sinners. Our distant ancestors committed unforgivable sins and were driven to the boundary of hell—the demon realm.”

In the six realms of existence, the demon realm was a place that marked the boundary between the human realm and hell.

It was where the terrible demonic energy from hell contaminated part of the human realm through the air.

People isolated these contaminated, hell-like environments and used them to contain criminals.

“…That’s a terrible story.”

The fact that the demon realm was uninhabitable for humans and they had to adapt to survive.

After briefly explaining the origins of demons and the demon realm, Extra moved on to the main point.

“Even now, high-ranking demons and the demon lord harbor thoughts of returning to the human realm.”

“Have they considered resolving this through dialogue…?”

“The Emperor of the Empire refused.”

“Well, that’s how those in power are, I suppose.”

There were also practical reasons. Namely, the demons’ ferocious nature and the lack of land.

The human realm didn’t have systems in place to accommodate all of them.

“But we live in the demon realm. We’ve adapted. In such a situation, we don’t want to go to war with the human realm and spill blood.”

Most demons don’t even know what the human realm is like.

Some yearn for it as if it were heaven, while others think it must be a hellish place similar to their own.

In reality, the human realm is not quite heaven, but better than hell.

And demons were fighting to return to such a land.

“Not all demons are belligerent. I myself don’t particularly like fighting, and there are quite a few demons like me. That’s why we banded together to oppose the current demon lord’s regime.”

“……”

The reason was more desperate than she had thought.

And there was also the thought that the group called Abaddon might be helpful for Esmeralda’s purpose.

But there was one critical flaw in Extra’s words.

“How can a group of people who dislike war and conflict hold their ground?”

“Hahah, I thought you were stupid, but that’s quite a sharp observation.”

Bang!

Esmeralda threatened Extra by stabbing her holy sword next to his neck as he mocked her.

Despite the chilling presence of the holy sword grazing his neck, Extra continued his story unfazed.

“Then who do you think could be the central figure that unites such individuals and possesses the power to make it possible?”

Esmeralda read Extra’s surface thoughts for a moment and was shocked.

The central figure of Abaddon.

Those who openly opposed the demon lord’s army’s actions.

The reason why the demon lord’s army had left their stronghold alone…

***

Belphegor was sprawled on her throne as usual.

It was yet another military commander meeting, so many that she had lost count.

Fortunately, this meeting was coming to an end without any particular issues.

There were no commanders who picked on Lilith or opposed her will.

This time, it was an extremely ordinary meeting that was ending ordinarily.

“Yaaawn…”

Belphegor had been in a good mood lately.

Or more precisely, she wasn’t feeling as much tedium as before.

Things were still bothersome, but…

‘My sleep has been good lately.’

The lingering drowsiness after waking up had disappeared, replaced by a feeling of refreshment.

It might be due to the sense of accomplishment from rescuing Lilith.

Not knowing that a divine being had been present at the scene, Belphegor had no idea that part of what she had taken had been taken back.

Nor did she know that this had stabilized Lilith’s existence.

A situation where they had helped each other.

But since Belphegor didn’t know this, she could only feel that her mood was better than usual.

Yes, she was in a good mood.

“Then, Your Majesty, the next agenda is…”

“Hey, do any of you have any complaints?”

So she thought it wouldn’t be bad to listen to her subordinates’ grievances.

Of course, most of those grievances would end up being handled by Lilith.

“……”

“……”

And naturally, the commanders remained silent at Belphegor’s words.

More than a few commanders had met their end after expressing their honest opinions.

Especially Twelve, who had nearly gone to the gates of hell before barely returning, was sweating profusely from fear.

“None? Then fine.”

Belphegor examined the deathly quiet commanders and nodded with satisfaction.

No complaints is a good thing.

“Then there’s only one agenda left, right?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Belphegor brought up the agenda that was the real reason for this meeting.

“Um… I heard that the king of Abaddon wants to meet me. What do you think we should do?”

The King of Abaddon.

He had the distinction of having clashed with Belphegor and survived.

It wasn’t that Belphegor had let him off.

The opponent was a formidable enemy who couldn’t be easily defeated.

Of course, now he would be no match for her.

“I believe it would be good to create a forum for dialogue.”

That was the First Commander, First.

He was a figure who led evaluations with his consistently cool demeanor.

“Unless they state their reason first, I don’t think there’s any obligation to meet them.”

That was the Second Commander, Second.

He said that to check the First Commander, but his reasoning was also logical.

“It could be a confidential matter that’s difficult to disclose publicly.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Why should we accommodate their confidentiality?”

“Why are you asserting it’s their confidentiality? It could be an issue that might cause problems for our side as well.”

“Even so, shouldn’t they have conveyed at least minimal information first? They seem to take a private audience with the Demon Lord too lightly.”

“He is a dignitary of that caliber. It’s only natural to show him respect.”

“Ha! That’s funny. A dignitary of that caliber? Why are you the one deciding that?”

“Is it because you’re a newborn puppy who doesn’t understand your place that you’ve forgotten the rules of power? I was simply stating what’s common sense.”

“Oh, really? I didn’t know there was also a code of honor for acknowledging losers!”

“You also failed to defeat him, as I recall? For someone who couldn’t even defeat me to take the rules of power lightly…”

Bang!

The meeting was getting increasingly rough.

Just as Second, unable to bear First’s provocation, stood up abruptly…

“Right, now this feels normal. Why couldn’t you all be like this earlier today?”

“……”

“……”

The two who had been raising their voices stopped at Belphegor’s cold voice.

“……”

Although she intervened, she didn’t reprimand or explain anything to them.

That’s because Belphegor lacked the motivation to think that far.

But fortunately, Belphegor was aware of her own problem.

That’s why she had installed someone to act in her stead.

“Lilith, speak.”

“Huh? Oh, y-yes… First Commander’s point is valid. The opponent is the King of Abaddon, a very powerful being, so preparations will be necessary.”

First Commander nodded quietly at Lilith’s words.

“However, that’s different from showing courtesy. As Second said, the opponent is a loser, yet instead of accepting defeat, he’s interfering with Your Majesty through external means. So I think we should apply pressure, not courtesy. Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?”

“Yes, exactly. That’s precisely what I was going to say.”

No one took that as truth, but Demon Lord Belphegor, in a visibly improved mood, whispered to Lilith about something that had been puzzling her.

“…By the way, who is the King of Abaddon again?”

“The former Demon Lord, Leviathan.”

“What, it was that bastard?!”

That was the moment when Demon Lord Belphegor learned of Leviathan’s latest situation.