episode_0185

All preparations to summon the demon king’s spirit have been completed.

Mariel remembered the magic vibration that attracted the demon king’s soul through the transducer.

Now, if Mariel activates the magic inducer, the amplified magic vibration will spread throughout the continent.

However, before immediately activating the magic inducer, we reported this to both the kingdom and the demon world.

It took some time to find a way to attract the Demon King Spirit, so I overlooked it for a while, but attracting the Demon King Spirit was not the end.

“Is that so…? It means that you have perfected a method to lure the demon lord’s spirit.”

The spacious throne room of the Demon King’s Castle.

Edward, the head of the kingdom’s city union and the likely next king, came here after hearing the news.

In this way, the representative of the kingdom, although not yet an official king, and Versella, the representative of the demon world, came to be in one place.

In addition, influential figures including Algoth, Mileia, and Mariel were present on the kingdom side, and on the demon world side, people including several high-ranking demons that I had never seen gathered there.

In particular, among the demons’ side, there was one person who stood out the most other than Bersella and Xavier.

“Queen Ludmilla… … .”

A person I never thought would come here.

There was Ludmilla, the queen of Ainblad, the largest city in the Demon World.

Ludmilla looked as if frost would fall on her just by standing still, and she still radiated a great sense of intimidation.

If Bersella is the demon king and the king of all demons, Ludmilla is the queen of the first generation demons called pure-blooded demons.

Compared to Versella, who was sitting on the hard chair of the Demon King’s Castle with only the tips of her hips slightly resting on it, she actually looked more like the Demon King.

“… … .”

Ludmilla stood still and glanced at me with freezing eyes.

Does she really remember me?

What does the pureblood demon queen think of this situation where demons and humans are interacting?

If there is a Milleia in the kingdom, there is a Queen Ludmilla in the Demon World, and her face is so unreadable.

However, since I had already been imprisoned in her magic stone prison once in Ainblad, I also knew that despite her scary appearance, she had a surprisingly merciful side.

“Okay, then let me explain the situation.”

I stood with Mariel in front of everyone and opened my mouth.

As the attention of key figures on both sides, both demons and humans, is focused, I cannot help but feel nervous.

The air was oddly suffocating, perhaps because the two camps that had been fighting continuously for hundreds of years had gathered in one place.

Goddess Stellania was not present.

She was practically trolling the entire world and was of no help here.

By now, she would be watching over the store where Aruru and Meruru are working hard on behalf of Algot.

“Demons and humans have been constantly fighting for the past hundreds of years. From a human’s perspective, the cause of the fight was the devil. This is because the Demon King has always led the Demon King’s army to target the kingdom’s land. However, from the demons’ perspective, the cause of the fight was humans. The existence of the warrior who always appears in the kingdom has always threatened the existence of the devil, and in order to protect the devil from the hero, there was no choice but to attack the kingdom.”

Before talking about subduing the demon lord’s spirit, I had a somewhat fundamental conversation when both sides gathered.

“But in the end, when the truth was revealed, it was no one’s fault. We each thought that the cause of the fight was between us, but in fact, the cause of the fight was somewhere else. The compulsory forces of the Demon King’s Spirit and the Hero that were at work in this world were forcing us into battle. And now, the existence of warriors in the kingdom has disappeared forever. This is because the rules of the world that had been repeated for a long time were broken after the death of a hero who should never be defeated.”

While Versella continued speaking with a serious face, she sat cross-legged on the edge of the throne and yawned loudly.

And one of the high-ranking demons who was quietly listening to the story asked me a question.

“If, as you said, the existence of heroes has disappeared from the kingdom, why would we help you subdue the demon lord? A kingdom without a hero would be completely helpless in front of the demon king’s army.”

The high-ranking demon who asked the question was a face he had never seen before.

Perhaps he came after hearing news from another city in the Demon World.

Therefore, it was natural that he did not understand the current situation well.

I answered calmly without getting annoyed.

“In fact, the Demon King’s army took advantage of the absence of the hero to invade the kingdom, but failed. Because I took on the role of a warrior. However, the kingdom’s dead warrior did not reappear. Although the previously dead warrior and the current warrior share the same warrior’s name, there is an important difference.”

“Hmm.”

“The previous hero was bound by the fate of having to kill the Demon King. Therefore, even if I did not want to subdue the Demon King, I had no choice but to go there. But I am different. I actually get along well with Versella. The same goes for the Demon King. The reason why the Demon King has been attacking the kingdom until now is because the Demon King’s will was enforced by an entity called the Demon King’s soul. And I was the one who extracted the demon king soul from Versella, the current demon king.”

I strengthened my voice and continued speaking while looking up at Versella.

“Whether it is a hero or a demon lord, they have been bound by something that is not their will and have been encouraging the fight between the two camps. And now is our chance to break that tiresome cycle forever and live together by our own will, not by anyone’s force. In order to do that, I am trying to attract and subdue the demon king soul that has run away somewhere in this world.”

“It may sound flashy, but isn’t it ultimately about demons sacrificing themselves for weak humans?”

After hearing everything I said, the high-ranking demon was not convinced and refuted.

At that time, Ainblad’s Queen Ludmila, who had been watching silently, suddenly opened her mouth.

“I am not a weak human being.”

“Hmm? Ludmilla?!”

“Humans are not weak. Rather, it is the greatest enemy on earth for the demons. Even if each person’s magical power is less than that of the demons, the demons have never truly won a fight against humans.”

“But that means the existence of a hero… … .”

“The same applies even if there are no heroes. Humans have things that demons do not have. It is not something that can be suppressed simply by the strength of one’s magical power. Likewise, humans have also lived by considering our demons as our greatest enemies. If two races whose winner or loser is not easily determined continue the war, all they get is sacrifice without result.”

I looked at Ludmila with a surprised expression.

Because I never imagined that she would take my side.

『Ainblad, the largest city in the Demon World ruled by Ludmila, was a slightly special place in the Demon World.

Even when the Demon King’s army invaded the kingdom before, Ainblad’s demons did not participate in the war.

That was because Ainblad was a city with absolute autonomy created for the preservation of pure-blooded demons.』

At that time, a narration played in my head, explaining the significance of Ainblad in the Demon World.

『Ludmilla’s top priority was the protection of pure-blooded demons.

To her, the war between demons and humans only seemed like a risk that threatened the safety of pure-blooded demons.』

Was it like that… … .

As far as I know, I heard that the demons always select the demon lord from among the pureblood demons.

The choice of the Demon King’s Soul was one thing, but to the Demons, pure-blooded Demons, who were the same as first-generation Demons, had more meaning than that.

Certainly, if Ludmilla’s goal is to protect pure-blooded demons, war will not help.

If the humans win the war and push into the Demon World, Ainblad’s participation in the war will be inevitable.

It’s not like they remembered me or were persuaded by what I said, so they took my side.

Still, thanks to Ludmila giving strength to my words, there were no more rebuttals.

In the worst case, I might have had to persuade Versella, who had a stronger say than Ludmilla, but it would be much easier to accept this in my heart than Versella, who was sure to come out with childish logic.

“I don’t know whether demons and humans will fight or live in peace after the demon king’s soul is destroyed. But no matter which side we choose, it is our choice and not something we are forced to do by some strange world-bound fate. The important thing is that we can choose whatever future comes our way.”

“That’s really true. I really hate demon spirits.”

At that time, Bersella, who had been listening to the previous story as if she were bored, spoke up.

I guess she wants the Demon King’s soul to disappear more than anyone else here.

Because I had the experience of having my will directly controlled by the demon king’s spirit.

“And the reason why you are all gathered here is to make sufficient preparations before summoning the Demon King’s spirit.”

As long as Bersella and Ludmilla, who had the strongest say in the demon world, supported the subjugation of the demon king spirit, there was no possibility of disagreement from the demon side.

A situation in which both sides agree to subdue the Demon King’s Spirit.

“Soon I will summon the demon king’s spirit. I heard that even now, monsters from all over the Demon World are running rampant. If you induce the demon spirit, there is a high possibility that something more serious will happen. In preparation for that time, I hope that all parts of the Demon World and Kingdom will prepare for emergencies. Please consider the worst-case scenario and maintain alertness to the highest extent possible.”

I spoke strongly to everyone.

Summoning the Demon King’s spirit is already a foregone conclusion.

But no one knew what that action would lead to.

Therefore, it was necessary for everyone to remain alert.

To reduce the number of potential casualties.

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