Chapter 164 - Volume 8 (1/2)
Volume 8, Chapter 22: The Demon’s Trap, Part 2
“Lady Yurushia, news has come from Butler Noa and Ser Nea.”
I raised my head at Geas’ voice as he brought me steamed potatoes instead of my usual afternoon snacks as I plowed through the mountain of incomprehensible documents with my potato stamp.
“nn…? Is there an issue with plan’s progress?”
“Nothing of that sort. But they said that the Hero of Fire Minkichi has been defeated in battle.”
“Heeh…… that’s very early.”
I’d certainly ordered Noa to do that, but I’d thought that it would take him longer than that.
“We did plant information that Minkichi and the Beastmen were in a conspiracy, but apparently Kyoji used that information to make it seem as if she had betrayed humanity.”
“Kyoji, huh.”
Well, I think that’s all for him.
“But weren’t those three heroes the ones who were all accomplices in murdering the ex-Hero of Wind, Yuuki? Betraying an accomplice again like that has to be dangerous.”
“It was quite a blitzkrieg, so I think they beat her down too quickly. Still, Minkichi seems to have escaped, but the Hero of Earth Kanzo has entered the battle and seems to be in pursuit.”
“I see.”
Through Noa, I had given Kan-chan the potion to produce [Magic Gems].
I thought that it would be interesting if Kyoji or Minkichi took advantage of the tumultuous battlefield, but Kan-chan seems to have taken this opportunity to legally kill Minkichi.
That is, if that was a drug that really produced [Magic Gems]……
“What’s the battlefield situation?”
“The Beastmen army was somewhat destroyed by the combined forces of the Dark Elves and Kyoji, who are allied now. The general of the beastmen was killed, and their remaining forces have been absorbed into the Dark Elves’. However, the betrayal of one of the heroes of mankind has sown confusion into the human forces, and now that Kanzo isn’t there anymore, Kyoji has taken to the front.”
“……I guess the hour is approaching?”
“It seems to be so.”
Tina and Fannie popped up with the costume, stuffing their mouths with the remaining steamed potatoes.
“Milady, please.”
“Yes.”
Even though I call it a costume, it’s really just a black wig that’s long enough for it to touch and drag on the floor.
“Fannie, could you guide Minkichi and Kan-chan to that place? Tina, let Onzada-kun know.”
“Yes~”
“I hear and obey.”
“Well then, I guess it’s time to start doing the work of a [Demon Lord]?”
All of the Demons in [Paradise Lost] began to move at my word.
Although nearly 3000 Demons had been going all out in their work, there were still more than a thousand [Greater Demons] here.
After all, even the part-timers’ wages weren’t something to sneeze at, I couldn’t have all of my regular full-timers work as much as I’d like.
“Geas!”
[GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!!]
In response to my magic power, Geas transformed from a human into his original [Demon Beast Behemoth] form. ……… That’s a surprisingly huge reaction at being forced to transform again.
Tina and Fannie opened the doors of [Paradise Lost], and over 1000 [Greater Demons] and the mountain-like [Behemoth] leapt into the battlefield of the human world again.
…… after so long, I finally see the yellow sunlight again.
* * *
“……It’s the Demon Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The battlefield was swept with fear and confusion when it appeared.
The Hero of Fire had betrayed them and the Hero of Earth was absent.
As if mocking their efforts to preserve the delicate balance, the Demon army rushed forth, and an enormous beast trampled over the battlefield.
However, the people feared the lone girl on top of that mountainous beast more than either the thousands of Demons or even the gigantic beast itself.
The Black Saint, who looked down upon them with a cold beauty from atop the head of the beast……
They were crushed by terror from the overpowering fear emanating from the true [Demon Lord].
“Do not be afraid! Yuru-chan has not yet fallen!”
But there was the voice of a girl that echoed across the battlefield.
Black of hair and eye. As the little girl named Mizuki called out, voices across the battlefield answered her call.
“Rescue our Saint!”
“Demon Lord, release the Saint!”
The vast majority were all the sorliers and militiamen, but because of their sheer number, their momentum seemingly pushed the Demon Army away from them.
Then, the deserters who were trying to run for their lives returned to march with them, leaving the command of their original armies.
Of course, there were those who didn’t care.
“Who is that human!”
Nefertia slammed down her cup of fruit liquor, watching the battle from the back of her riding dragon.
It was all going so well.
Conspiring with one of the human heroes, Kyoji, they had succeeded in assassinating each others’ political opponents.
She’d even come to an agreement with Kyoji to continue a stable state of war after they defeated the Demon Lord.
It was the [Hero] that would become redundant if the war disappeared, and because the royal Dark Elves would be in trouble with nothing to pillage, in a certain way, they could trust each other more than their allies.
But if they couldn’t defeat that [Demon Lord]it would all be for naught.
For that reason, they had assembled their armies together on this side of the battlefield, not intending to use it at all until they were sure of victory.