Ch.97Abaddon (3)

# Abaddon (3)

“…So, the former Demon Lord is the current king of Abaddon?”

Esmeralda nodded after processing Extra’s words.

If the king of Abaddon was the former Demon Lord, Leviathan, who was defeated by Belphegor, and if this Leviathan was a pacifist, this might be an opportunity.

If they could gain his cooperation, they might find a clue to the seemingly impossible task of defeating the Demon Lord.

However, Esmeralda couldn’t shake off a lingering sense of unease.

‘What is it?’

The former Demon Lord, Leviathan.

She knew he hadn’t shown any signs of invading the human realm. And because of that, there had been a peaceful era without the need for a hero.

So was he a good person?

Esmeralda couldn’t nod in agreement so easily.

It was just intuition. She had no concrete evidence. That’s why she turned to Lug.

“I’ve known that you were a spy for the Demon Lord’s army all along, Lug.”

First, she needed to set things straight with Lug. No point in hiding it and risking him trying to conceal it poorly.

In response to Esmeralda’s calm confession, Lug exclaimed in shock.

“What! I thought I might have been discovered for hiding my power, but to think you knew I was a demon… I thought I was doing a good job of hiding it. You’re impressive.”

“Well, well… of course!”

Esmeralda’s pride swelled.

They say even whales dance when praised, so it’s only natural to feel good when a former celestial deity compliments you.

“So you knew but pretended not to? Why…? Ah, I see. You didn’t feel confident handling my power, so you were acting until you built up enough strength?”

“That’s exactly it!”

Having somewhat regained his sage-like mind, Lug was able to arrive at the correct answer relatively quickly.

And Esmeralda affirmed his words, feeling as if a long-standing thorn had been removed from her heart.

“To think it was all an act… Even when attacks subtly came my way, or when you found me faster than anyone else when I was kidnapped?!”

“Yes, yes.”

Though she was trying to act dignified, Esmeralda couldn’t hide the twitching corners of her mouth.

How much mental anguish had she endured? Even the protagonist in a common fairy tale must have felt this way when shouting that the king had donkey ears.

“To think that all that foolishness was an act… Well, it was strange how you occasionally showed sharp insights. So that was your true self?”

“Oh my, have I been found out?”

It’s unclear which side of her was the real one, but she had indeed shown such aspects.

Mostly thanks to her divine powers, though.

Anyway, since it was also part of Esmeralda’s strength, she shrugged her shoulders as if it was only natural.

Esmeralda’s mood improved.

“So you were pretending to be foolish when you recklessly bowed your head to the Celestial Temple without understanding the Saintess’s mental state, when you left your post pretending to capture the Saintess at the magic tower, and when you charged into the ruins where Tina was without any preparation!”

“…”

Esmeralda’s mood soured.

Those were her sincere judgments.

Since he called them foolish, and they were her genuine thoughts, Esmeralda couldn’t help but feel bad.

“No, come to think of it, even that incident from not too long ago…!”

“Let’s stop there. We’re in the middle of an interrogation, so please answer my questions.”

“Ah, yes.”

She quickly returned to reality and was able to ask what she wanted to know.

“What do you think of this demon, Leviathan, the king of Abaddon?”

“I see… Well, let me tell you what I know first. Though what I know is about him when he was the Demon Lord, not the king of Abaddon.”

Lug was a celestial deity.

A being who ascended to the highest heavens and watched over all living creatures.

And among the beings he watched were the demons as well.

Of course, using divine power would only harm them, tainted by the demonic energy of the demon realm, so Lug moved in a way that directly eliminated threats.

Naturally, that was only possible if the demons prayed to him, a celestial deity.

Anyway, Lug had been watching over the demon realm, and in the process, it was only natural that he observed the Demon Lord.

From Lug’s perspective, the demon known as Leviathan…

“The Demon Lord Leviathan, as I knew him, was a being who did nothing.”

In a way, he was close to being a bystander.

***

Demon Lord Belphegor was alone, welcoming the former Demon Lord and current king of Abaddon, Leviathan, who had come to her castle. This was her decision.

As if there was no need to worry about someone like Leviathan, she had sent away all the members of the Demon Lord’s castle.

Though she had decided to welcome Leviathan with such a confident demeanor, she couldn’t help but smirk when she saw Leviathan, who had also come alone.

A shabby appearance and clothes no different from a straw mat. He looked much older than when she had last seen him.

Was the shock of losing to her that great? Or was it the hardship of leaving the luxurious Demon Lord’s castle and devouring the organization called Abaddon?

Belphegor didn’t think so. Rather…

“Pathetic. Do you think the kids will praise you if you look like that?”

She thought it was all for show.

Despite Belphegor’s sarcasm, Leviathan shrugged his shoulders and replied, unconcerned.

“…Indeed, you’ve always had a sharp side in unexpected places. Why hide it? I’ve chosen to undergo asceticism to gain their support.”

“Ha! This is truly ridiculous…”

Leviathan knew it too.

That such an appearance worked well with the demons of Abaddon.

Because he looked like an ascetic, the demons of Abaddon didn’t doubt Leviathan.

“So? What did you want to say to appear before me? I’ll listen first, given your courage.”

Normally, it wouldn’t be strange if she killed Leviathan right here.

After all, Leviathan, the loser, had been scheming behind her back.

It’s an inelegant method.

If he had built up his strength and challenged Belphegor again, that would be one thing, but to create a new force to check Belphegor? That’s behavior unbecoming of a demon.

“Belphegor, must you wage war? Why shed blood that doesn’t need to be shed?”

“No, it’s not blood that doesn’t need to be shed. It’s blood that should be shed, which is why the soldiers are risking their lives.”

The invasion of the human realm.

It’s not simply driven by malice and greed.

It’s to break the endless chain of guilt by association.

The demons born now don’t know.

They don’t even know what their ancestors did wrong to end up like this.

Yet they are considered sinners, filthy, and monsters deserving of death.

Are they supposed to endure this?

“There are those who aren’t ready.”

Leviathan sighed bitterly.

Yes, there will be those who aren’t prepared. Those who fear war.

But…

“That’s the fault of those who lack resolve. As you know, we don’t conscript. All the current soldiers are volunteers. The soldiers from your era? I gave them a choice too.”

“They probably didn’t expect it to be this severe. That’s why there are still deserters.”

“You mean the fools who didn’t think carefully before choosing their life’s direction at a crucial crossroads.”

Belphegor dismissed the deserters as fools.

Aren’t they the ones who received all sorts of support as soldiers, but ran away when asked to risk their lives?

“Anyone can change their mind. I too had a radical phase like you. But I know that such wars actually kill demons. Belphegor, don’t you know? We’ve already adapted to this land without having to return to the human realm. We’ve already completed our adaptation.”

“Adaptation? Did you say adaptation?”

Belphegor’s small fist heads toward the table between them.

Bang!

The table instantly shattered, and the impact spread to the floor.

That’s how angry Belphegor was at Leviathan’s words.

“Do you know how many demons are born each year?”

“…”

“Over eight hundred thousand. That’s an astonishing number for us with a small population.”

Belphegor knows.

Despite almost dumping all her duties on Lilith out of laziness, she hasn’t forgotten the most fundamental reason.

The decisive reason she became the Demon Lord.

It was for the children.

“Eight hundred thousand. That’s a number almost equal to the current demon population.”

But that’s what makes it strange. If that many demons are born each year, how can the population remain similar?

“Half of them die within a month, and 99% of the remainder don’t survive half a year.”

Because they die in droves.

It was the environment of the demon realm. Even if children are born, those who can’t adapt to the environment die.

That’s why demons evolved to be able to give birth to as many children as possible.

And as a result, they lost maternal love. They lost family bonds.

Eventually, demons stopped naming their children.

Because naming them creates attachment. Because they would grieve for each of their deaths.

That’s why demons decided to abandon emotions.

“This place is the same now as it was before. It’s hell. And we were thrown into this hell without knowing why. Can you still say we’ve adapted to hell?”

The reason Belphegor defeated Leviathan using brute force.

“You coward. Be honest. You were content just playing power games like humans.”

It was because Leviathan was truly a monarch who did nothing.