"…What?"
Hela frowned at the sudden news. She was busy managing the various front lines and stabilizing the newly acquired territories, and now this unexpected disaster?
"How is that possible?"
Her first reaction was doubt. Even if the Demon Dragon was stronger, the Shadow Duke wasn't a pushover. He was the leader of a faction that had reigned at the top of the Demon Realm alongside Crushire for a long time. For such a being to be defeated so easily…
"He's crazy. No, he's completely given up."
It meant the Demon Dragon Duke's scheme was far from normal.
"We've lost contact with all the spies planted within the Demon Dragon Duke's forces. It seems…"
[I'll order all fronts to minimize damage and prepare for any contingency.]
"An urgent report has arrived from a Demoniac survivor!"
The foundation of black magic was defiance. Unlike ordinary magic, which conformed to the laws of the world and utilized them efficiently, black magic twisted, distorted, and even directly defied the natural order to achieve the desired result. Naturally, it didn't have a positive effect on the user. Mental contamination from using black magic was also part of it. But in exchange for the heavy burden, black magic offered unimaginable and destructive power.
And the most common method black mages used to distribute the immense burden was…
'The more sacrifices offered, the greater their value, the more possibilities black magic offers.'
Just like a thousand years ago, when a transcendent black mage opened a hole to the abyss by sacrificing several cities and even himself.
"…He didn't just sacrifice his own legion."
"What? What do you mean…?"
Siana, who was beside her, asked in confusion, but Hela, lost in thought, didn't answer. As someone who prided herself as the foremost authority on black magic in this dimension, she could be certain.
'Yes, that explains how he subdued the Shadow Duke, a formidable opponent, so quickly.'
Most of the price Hans, the Lich King, paid for using black magic was borne by his 「Undying Heart」. Of course, it wasn't completely free, as the heart itself posed a tremendous risk. If he didn't have 「Mind Hub」, his very existence would have been consumed long ago.
The Demon Dragon Duke must have been in a similar situation until now. A high dragon like him could easily withstand most consequences. But what if he had given up on even protecting himself, driven to despair? What if he offered not only his followers but also himself as a sacrifice – a high dragon who had lived for thousands of years, the only Demon Dragon in the Demon Realm, and once called the strongest?
"…This is troublesome. I thought it would end easily when the Shadow Duke contacted me."
Hela sighed softly and frowned. The result was the current chaos.
The prelude to the Demon Realm War.
The nature of the war changed. From a power struggle between factions vying for the Demon King's throne—
[Screech!]
[Hungryhungrycoldhungry…]
[Kihik! Ugh? Ack?]
To a war of extermination against the white monsters that emerged from rifts, relentlessly swarming from somewhere.
"Block them!"
[There's no end to them, even if we keep killing them.]
"Ugh— Their magic resistance is too strong!"
One piece of good news was that Helheim could absorb many of the demons who were lost and wandering after losing their leaders in this incident. They belonged to various factions for their own reasons, but they weren't fools. It was obvious that siding with Hela was far better than being sacrificed by the Demon Dragon Duke. Thanks to that, Helheim rapidly swelled in size with requests to join from all sides.
To the point where there were no factions left to compare them to.
'In that sense, this situation might not be so bad. The problem is how to deal with those monsters…'
The areas where the Demon Dragon Duke's army had been stationed were now filled with swarms of monsters. Crushire, the mastermind behind this and the one who initiated the grand magic, had already disappeared. She even checked the temple in Dark Nest's headquarters just in case, but the entrance in the underground ritual site was gone.
As if it had served its purpose. Or as if it had been moved somewhere else. She thought there would be a limit to their numbers, and it would eventually end if they kept killing them…
But she soon realized she was wrong.
"…So that was his goal from the beginning."
It was different from before, when the 'Lich King's heart' and the 'Seed of Madness' appeared and quickly disappeared. Monstrous creatures poured out endlessly throughout the Demon Realm, their origins unknown. The monsters, growing stronger by devouring the victims caught in the crossfire, began to spread rapidly, as if to cover the entire world.
It seemed like they had already consumed 10% of the Demon Realm.
'Crushire, is this what you wanted to achieve, even at the cost of everything?'
If the Demon God, if the Demon Realm, didn't acknowledge him. If he could never become Demon King no matter what. Then he would make this world his own by eradicating all beings—that's what it seemed like he was saying.
Hela's eyebrows twitched as she thought about the Demon Dragon, no longer a competitor for the Demon King's throne, but an invader of the world.
'So, he's completely overturning the game?'
The Demon King competition was practically over, with her as the victor. What Crushire was doing was nothing more than throwing a tantrum after losing. And that meant…
"That bastard is ruining my perfectly set table!"
A vulgar curse slipped from her beautiful lips. But it was true. Because of his pointless rampage, her prize, which should have fallen into her hands intact, was being damaged. She, who was possessive of 'her things', couldn't tolerate it!
"…So that's how you want to play it?"
A cold glint flashed in her red eyes. If he was going to play dirty, she didn't need to be polite anymore.
'I was trying to play by the Demon Realm's rules since it was a Demon King selection…'
If he was going to ignore them, she wouldn't hold back either. The faces of Davidson and Hesperon flashed through her mind, but she didn't flinch. Everything related to that temple was practically cheating anyway, so it was null and void, she rationalized. And considering the forces she could mobilize, that was just a minor detail.
'Yes, that's right. I'm not wrong. Everything that happens from now on is your fault.'
If it was a no-holds-barred fight where she could use everything at her disposal…
No one in this world could stand against her.
"Hey! What are you…?"
"Wait, you idiot! That armband, that's Lady Hela's symbol!"
"Oh? S-sorry!"
"I'll educate this fool! Please, carry on!"
In the midst of the Demon Realm battlefield, filled with tension due to the constant influx of monsters,
A figure, wearing a black robe with an armband and a wide-brimmed hat, slowly straightened up after examining the melting white bodies scattered around.
[Hmm, I see. Then shall we begin in earnest?]
And the moment he took a step,
He was standing alone in an empty lot. Coordinates he had checked beforehand. A burning black energy emanated from him as he meticulously set up barriers around the area. Black magic, blazing like black flames, and pure death energy quickly enveloped the surroundings.
[Keuh keuh— Try to hide if you can.]
Immediately after,
Along with a sinister voice echoing as if from the abyss,
An explosive pressure spread in all directions. To track the abyssal energy that shared the same origin as him.
At another location,
A man wearing an opera mask poured the contents of a small bottle into his palm.
"…Hmm, the quality isn't that good for its rank. And this is supposed to be dragon blood?"
He frowned slightly, rubbing the liquid between his fingers, then…
Lick
Licked it and closed his eyes. The blood Hela obtained from her fight with the Demon Dragon Duke. It was incredibly contaminated, likely due to his extensive self-modification, but it didn't matter, as the power within wasn't his objective.
He was the one who controlled blood. Tracing its origin through the medium, his gaze fixed on a specific direction.
Such events unfolded across the Demon Realm, separated by a certain distance. As if conducting a thorough investigation, dividing the territory. A creature moved freely amidst the white monsters.
"Sniff sniff sniff!"
"Munch— Munch—!"
"Woof!"
The three heads moved busily. The three-headed dog dashed like the wind, taking bites of monster flesh and sniffing repeatedly. Mystical patterns glowed faintly beneath the fur covering its body. Blood-red madness flickered in one eye, and a green light shone in the other, constantly scanning the surroundings.
"Sniff sniff!"
The 「Seed of Madness」 within him resonated with the monsters from beyond the abyss, quickly tracking their origin. —To the completely ruined headquarters of Demoniac. A place occupied by the monsters that had driven out the original demons, but there wasn't a single living being left there now.
Whoosh
In the midst of the slowly melting monster remains,
A man stood alone, eyes closed, praying silently, holding a brilliantly shining sword and his beautiful wings of light spread wide. Inside a holy barrier where even the dense negative energy of the Demon Realm couldn't penetrate,
The man's eyes snapped open, and a golden light, like the sun, erupted.
—High in the sky, where everything on the ground looked small.
Rumble
A being clad in a full-body suit, emitting flames from below, looked down at the ground. Then, as he slowly extended his right arm, the only part not covered in metal, the stained bandages wrapped around it unraveled. Geometric patterns densely inscribed on his skin, and a writhing black dragon. The man stared at the ominous arm and sighed softly.
"…Find it."
[GRAAAAAAAAAAH——!]
With a short command, the Dark Soul trapped within was released, and the former Demon King was unleashed under the purple sky of the Demon Realm.
—And at the last set of coordinates.
"Sniff!"
A small, blond child, who looked about six or seven years old, sniffed. The air wasn't agreeable, not a place to stay for long, but he wasn't a sensitive High Elf, so it should be fine for a while.
Flash!
A young dragon, the size of a mid-sized car, appeared with a flash of light. Then, the iridescent orb in its mouth glowed, and its body began to grow.
'I don't know which clan he originally belonged to…'
Dragons had a way of communicating, even if they weren't from the same clan. Communication was essential to maintain the balance of the world. Of course, it wouldn't be perfect since he wasn't a complete dragon anymore, but just grasping his approximate location was enough.
He wasn't the only one tracking the target.
Hela's eyes snapped open from her meditation. She rose from her seat, stretched lightly, and began walking somewhere.
"Lady Hela? Where are you going?"
Siana, who had been busily working beside her, hurriedly followed. It was a natural reaction, as Hela, who had been shut inside, suddenly started moving amidst the chaos of the swarming monsters. Hela glanced back at her and replied casually.
"Tell everyone to hold on as long as they can. I'll be back soon."
"…What?"
Hela smiled refreshingly at Siana, who blinked in confusion at her cryptic words.
"I found him."
Finding Crushire, who was actively hiding, wasn't easy. Despite employing various methods, she couldn't find much information about him. But it was a futile struggle against the combined efforts of those scattered across the Demon Realm, tracking him in their own ways.
A map of the Demon Realm appeared in her mind. And six… no, including her, a total of seven tracking results combined into one. The overlapping parts were selected, the missing parts complemented each other, and the investigations from seven locations converged into a single point. A single coordinate.
'Let's see what state he's in.'
It hadn't even been an hour since Hela entered meditation and used 「Group Convergence」.