Dark Nest (1)
A battlefield with corpses of different types strewn everywhere.
Hoooow—
A cold gust of wind caressed them as it passed by the hideous-looking demons who were panting for breath after finishing a war, and soared high into the sky.
“···Tsk, I was hoping.”
In the middle of the high sky where the wind blows.
A beautiful woman hovering in a position overlooking the battlefield frowned in discontent, her palms wrapped around the wind blowing in from all directions.
“I really missed it. I guess it was impossible to end it here.”
Her yellow-tinted eyes returned to their original state, and the wind swirling around her gradually died down.
Just in case, I used the elemental control of the “Seven-Colored Eyes” to search the entire area, but no matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find any traces.
‘Well, I guess that’s to be expected, since he was once called the strongest in the Demon World.’
Hela, who had been biting her lip in regret, lightly cracked her neck.
Even Duke Marryong, the opponent, was a powerful force that could not be ignored, so he could not end the war with just one fight.
More than anything, rather than confronting him head-on, he was unable to fight properly because he tried to get in the way of his return to his base whenever he had the chance.
‘Well, I guess we can say that this is an achievement that exceeds what we initially expected.’
The time that was originally intended was not enough, but was overflowing.
This was all possible thanks to the “Seven-Colored Demon Eyes” acquired thanks to Duke Marryong.
Because every time he tried to do something, I was able to respond quickly with the ‘Eye of Foresight’.
‘Of course, that guy also had the same evil eye, so he ended up missing it like this. But even if I go back now, there’s nothing I can do, right?’
It’s already very, very late to do anything.
Hela burst into laughter as she recalled all she had gained from her successful mission.
[Hella! The first inspection has been completed. We are currently assessing the damage to each unit in detail and classifying the surrendered enemies!]
At that moment, a huge Balrog flew in flapping its wings and began to report back.
Although it was a bit tedious, it was a necessary process since the current top commander of the unit was the leader, Hela.
“···Is it because Duke Marryong himself intervened? The battle wasn’t that long, but this is the most casualty so far?”
[Actually, this is pretty good. This is all thanks to Hela-sama taking extra care of us while we were fighting. And since a significant number of enemy troops surrendered after Duke Marryong retreated, I should be able to quickly make up for the losses I suffered this time.]
The Marquis-level demon Tovares, who had figured out everything not long after the battle ended, began reporting on this and that.
She simply nodded to his report, as he had been a member of the Dark Nest before being transferred to Helheim and was now in charge of the army led by Hela.
[The moment we took over the entire territory of Ottorel, the central gateway to the Dark Nest, the initiative has completely passed to us. Now, depending on where we go first, their defensive strategy will also waver, so they will probably have a hard time thinking about it for a while.]
This was also why Hela, who only knew how to fight and knew nothing about strategy and tactics in war, entrusted him with command of her troops.
As he had been one of the enemy’s senior commanders until recently, he was also keenly aware of their current situation and response system.
He was also a talented person who had experience leading the military on the front lines when Dark Nest merged with Duke Tooma’s Burning Inferno.
“Hmm, so from now on, we can unilaterally force the flow of the war as we wish?”
[Yes. This place is a strategic point worth it. It is hard to understand why Duke Marryong, who came all the way here himself, retreated so easily.]
‘He couldn’t help it. That place was probably more important than this battlefield.’
Hela glanced at Tovares, who chuckled at his words.
The fact that she was able to come this far smoothly was largely due to his ability to move his subordinates like his own hands and feet.
I don’t know why he sided with Duke Marryong and attacked Duke Tooma, who was also a Balrog, even though he was from Balrog…
She didn’t care about such personal matters at all.
Since he had decided to take over the entire demon world, the only thing he needed from those who came under his command was skill.
‘Well, it’s not like we’ll all get along well just because we’re from the same clan. And that’s especially true in this demon world where conflict and betrayal are a daily occurrence.’
The factions that dominate the Demon Realm are simply warlords who have banded together according to their own interests, based on the abilities and tendencies of their leaders.
In that sense, the Dream Walkers, a group of demons of the Mongma type that have banded together, could be considered a special case.
The ascension of the 14th Demon Lord, Lerey, and the subsequent oppression following her death would have had an impact.
‘Liriana, who is leading the Dream Walker and taking charge of defense, won’t collapse right away either. Then what about next…’
The battle lines of Helheim were not limited to this one location.
As they grew into a faction that was truly one of the top three in the Demon Realm, the territory they had to protect had to increase accordingly.
In addition, we must also be wary of Demoniac, who is in a temporary cooperative relationship.
In this demon world, complaining about being stabbed in the back of the head by someone only resulted in ridicule.
‘Of course, you don’t have to worry about that for the time being. I hope you like my gift.’
Hela, with a meaningful smile on her face, looked up at the sky.
As always, the sky was tinged with purple, with a large sword running through its center, and the Milky Way shining within it.
As she gazed blankly at the beautiful scenery, her mind began to calm down.
“···Then let’s move on to the next step. Now that our allies are actively helping us, this is the perfect opportunity.”
Morale was sky-high as even the enemy leader, Duke Marryong, had retreated.
Thus, the army led by Hela, the ruler of Helheim, began to move again.
***
The home of the Dark Nest.
“Your Majesty! Are you alright?”
“You came back so suddenly···.”
The bewildered subordinates gathered around the sudden return of Duke Marryong, who had been on the battlefield.
It could be said that this was a natural reaction, as the ruler who was thought to be the strongest returned in a form that was no different from defeat.
“Get out! You idiots!”
But that only served to fuel his anger.
Even if the existence of that underground ritual hall was hidden so that no one outside could notice anything unusual, if these guys had just properly guarded their base, wouldn’t this have never happened?
He bit those who rushed towards him with a ferocious aura despite being in human form and hurried to the basement where the secret ritual was held.
In the process, he killed the goalkeeper’s small-headed demon with his bare hands, and the sight he encountered there was… even more serious than he had expected.
The scene of the incident remains intact, with the situation at the time neglected due to tight security.
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The stern-faced Duke of Magic Dragon slowly headed towards the center.
“Sodian···.”
All that remains of her in the completely destroyed and ruined underground workshop are a few small pieces of wood.
But that alone was enough to infer what had happened here.
The assassin who murdered Sodian had swept away not only her remains but also everything inside the workshop.
His face was distorted like a monster’s curse and he headed deeper.
The place where Duke Karakul of Touma, who was captured with great difficulty, was held captive.
All that was left was blood sprinkled on the floor.
Likewise, they meticulously tore down the restraints, large frames, and even the equipment used in the ceremony.
Thud—
He gritted his teeth fiercely and walked briskly.
Towards the door located on the pillar at the back.
I already had a good idea of the situation, but I needed to see it for myself.
‘Ken, how dare he…!’
My stomach was seething.
How much effort has he put into the security of this place?
But things had come to this point, and I was so angry that my mind was turning white.
‘This isn’t something that can be done by him alone. He must have some helpers.’
It was like that from the very beginning, when we took down Sodian, the first gate.
She is a Marquis-level demon, just below him.
If he is in his own well-prepared workshop, isn’t he a strong man who cannot be compared to anyone in his own rank?
His thoughts became more solid immediately after he entered the temple.
[Kuaaaaaa——!]
The roar of the wrathful demon dragon echoed through the halls of the great temple.
The space itself had become unstable, and the interior, which would normally be unmoving, began to shake as if an earthquake had occurred, but Duke Marryong had no time left to consider it at this point.
[How dare you! How dare you! How dare you! I will kill you! I will definitely kill you—!]
It just explodes with hot anger, as if it would tear the criminal apart at any moment.
At this point, it wasn’t that difficult to figure out who the suspect was behind it.
Even if I could get Ken’s help in entering the ritual hall, there weren’t many people in this demon world who could do something like this!
Still, he searched the temple thoroughly with the hope that he might find something, and one piece of crucial evidence came into his hands.
A small piece of cloth torn from somewhere.
However, with his extremely sensitive senses, he could tell with certainty whose energy was buried there.
“Ku …
A sinister laugh escaped the evidence that turned 99% certainty into 100%.
If it had been a normal situation, he would have been more suspicious of this evidence, but in a situation where there was only one suspect, the story could not help but be different.
A person who can slaughter the Marquis-level demon Sodian who was fully prepared in his workshop, has the ability to destroy the rituals set up in the temple and steal the offerings, and can even cleanly sweep away the 15 great demon lords who were trapped underground…
[Pietaaaaah—! How dare you—!]
Who else but the Black Duke Pieta?
This wasn’t something that could be done just by a few Marquis-level members joining forces.
However, Hela, the leader of Helheim, who was another suspect, was in the middle of a fierce battle with him at the time, so he was the only one left.
‘I don’t know how you managed to sneak in here, but…!’
If that corpse used a secret technique different from the general black magic, it wouldn’t have been strange if he had done something he didn’t know about.
Above all, isn’t there still evidence like this?
“Yeah, let’s give it a try, huh? It seems like you’ve been particularly quiet lately. You must be plotting something like this behind my back. I think you’re probably plotting this with that mongrel…”
The small piece of cloth in his hand was turned to ash and scattered in the black flame that suddenly rose up.
At the same time, his last bit of patience was shattered.
[Kuuuuuuu——! I’ll tear you to pieces!]
The temple shook again at the sound of his roar, once again expressing his anger.
But he didn’t know.
——!
From the moment he entered inside, the temple had been sending out signals as if trying to convey something to him.
But he didn’t notice the signal until the very end and quickly walked out of the temple with rough steps.
To resume war at any moment.
———!
The temple sent another strong signal as if it was getting irritated, but in reality, it was inevitable.
The Dragon Duke here was just a resident.
Because there was no apostle left who would hear that signal.
***
Demoniac’s home base.
A being with a long black robe hanging down to the floor and a goat skull on its head, the Dark Duke Pieta had blue flowers blooming from its eye sockets.
“It’s truly amazing. I never thought a new force could do this much.”
He sat on the throne and looked at the battlefield map where his men were moving in real time, muttering softly.
His gaze turned to the Mark of Helheim, which was sweeping across the battlefield with explosive force.
“It was a good thing I prepared in advance.”
A laughing voice came out of the goat skull.
Because Demoniac had already completed all preparations and was waiting for an opportunity to strike Helheim from behind.
It was only natural to keep an eye on Helheim, which, while Dark Nest might be larger in scale at the moment, would soon grow into an even greater threat.
Isn’t that sufficiently proven just by looking at the current situation?
‘Maybe we’ve already surpassed the Dark Nest.’
That’s why Demoniac has been responding as passively as possible on the battlefield recently.
Even as Helheim, which was showing its rough behavior, and Dark Nest, which had no choice but to be concerned about it, continued to clash, he was able to preserve his strength and then attack them all at once when both of them lost their strength.
To that end, a plan to worsen the relationship between the two forces and undermine both forces was also being gradually implemented.
“Hahaha, war isn’t fought with force alone.”
The Dark Duke, who enjoyed plotting rather than starting an all-out war, laughed at the foolish actions of his rivals.
The more those two fought, the more the only one who benefited was himself.
“Your Highness! Your Highness!”
When he was so satisfied with himself.
One of the adjutants came rushing into the situation room, his face still in thought.
Just looking at it, it looks like something unusual has happened.
Feeling an inexplicable ominousness, Pieta looked back at him with the light streaming from her eye sockets distorted.
If you made a fuss over nothing serious, I promise not to let it go.
And fortunately for the adjutant,
The unfortunate event of him being punished by the Dark Duke did not happen.
The situation was several times more serious than he had expected.
“This is all-out war! The entire Dark Nest army is gathering on the front lines with our forces! And the Demon Dragon Duke is there too…!”
“···what?”
It was the moment when Demoniac, who had been quietly waiting for an opportunity, was forcibly grabbed by the collar and pulled up to the surface.
