Three people stood there in the lavishly decorated room, all looking nervous and standing straight-backed as they awaited the chamber's owner—Yuuki, the man who came to the Empire and immediately shot up to the rank of commander.
To them, the story of Yuuki was not any sort of surprise. After all, Yuuki was their boss, the leader of the Cerberus secret society.
"Hey," he said when he finally came in, "sorry to keep you waiting! You could've sat down, you know." With him was Kagali, standing politely toward the rear like a secretary.
"Not at all, Sir Yuuki," one man among the visitors said. "We remain your faithful servants. You hardly need to be considerate of us."
This man was Damrada the Money, one of Cerberus's three boss-level officials. He was a hard man to grasp, all greasy and shady-looking. The other two were Misha the Lover—a beautiful woman with a strange air about her, at times looking like both a young girl and a mature woman—and Vega the Power, whose supple, well-balanced, carnivore-like body dominated anyone who laid eyes upon her. This was the trio at the top of Cerberus's operations.
They all saluted Yuuki before sitting down.
"First, let us congratulate you on reaching the rank of commander."
"Yes. As someone who survived an encounter with the demon lord Guy, I was sure you could do it, Sir Yuuki."
"Pfft! Let me at that force, and taking over a division would be child's play."
Damrada and Misha expressed their good wishes to Yuuki. Vega, at the end, didn't seem so impressed. But Yuuki didn't let it bother him.
You're right, I think, he pondered with an internal sneer. You really could be part of the hundred…but after that, you'd never hold out. No way anyone could ask you to command anything. You wouldn't stand a chance.
"Well, I have to thank you, Damrada," he said, changing the subject, "for intervening on my behalf with Lord Gadora."
"Oh, don't be silly! It was all in anticipation for this moment, Sir Yuuki. All I did was introduce Lord Gadora to an otherworlder you secured for us, so there's hardly any need to thank me that much."
"Ha-ha-ha! You're always so stiff, Damrada. Why don't you just accept my gratitude for a change?"
"I am afraid I cannot, sir. I don't want you to expect more from me than I can provide."
"Ha-ha! That's a funny joke." Yuuki looked at Damrada and grinned. That brought the point across well enough. After many years, they each trusted in the other's abilities.
After a shared laugh, Yuuki moved to the main topic. "Now, Kagali, brief us on what the demon lord Rimuru is doing."
"Yes, Sir Yuuki. The demon lord Rimuru is currently—"
With his order, Kagali began her briefing. Her information mainly came from members of the Free Guild who remained in the West. The majority of Yuuki's agents there had fled, but several had used that as a cover to become underground spies.
Kagali went over everything in her clear voice. Rimuru had total control over the Western Nations and was using it to form an army of fearsome size, preparing for an imperial invasion. She covered all of that and more, alongside
some unbelievable phenomena occurring in the capital city of Rimuru.
"Oh… So they've designated the lodging town along the Great Ameld River as a military base?" said Yuuki. "Yeah, if they're going to put defensive lines in their own nation, they'd have to do that, huh?"
"Indeed," Kagali replied. "There are already nearly twenty thousand troops stationed at that base. They are using something called magitrains for material transport, so they likely stored up enough food resources to survive a siege."
"That's Tempest for you. The Empire's not gonna have an easy win there."
"I agree. They're importing food supplies from Farminus, so they've got enough to feed a population of several million. The nation as a whole is far more powerful than it was a year ago, and I'd say they could fight off the Empire all by themselves. Plus, the Council of the West is now entirely controlled by the demon lord Rimuru. If they can collate the West's forces into a cohesive whole, that would be substantial, too."
"You think so? I'm sure Rimuru tries to be thorough with everything, but he's pretty naive, as far as I'm concerned. He probably figures that pitting numbers against numbers will just lead to more casualties, so I bet he wants to chase off the Empire with just his elites."
"That's ridiculous…"
"I doubt someone like a demon lord would attempt something so foolish…," Damrada added.
He and Kagali discounted the idea, but that didn't change Yuuki's mind.
No, seriously, he really is that naive. But between that and how freakishly strong he is, I feel like he could actually do something…
Despite his thoughts, he asked Kagali to keep going.
"Thank you. Continuing with the briefing… The capital of Rimuru has a force of over fifty thousand on standby, and reinforcements are streaming in from the former Eurazania. Their total fighting power will likely surpass one hundred thousand in the end."
"That's pretty amazing, but it still gives the Empire a big advantage."
"Certainly, the numbers don't compare. The Empire has over a million, and their foot soldiers have been undergoing some kind of weird modifications, too. I think even the lowest infantry would rank at least a C. And consider all their bizarre armaments as well—honestly, I don't think they stand a chance."
Those were Kagali's honest feelings. Yes, a hundred thousand pairs of boots on the ground was impressive, especially given their expert training and high morale. Normally, Tempest would be worthy of high praise. But compared with the Empire's full outfit, it simply paled by comparison. Even the defenses Kagali built for her castle back when she was the demon lord Kazalim wouldn't hold out against the violent charge of the Empire's numbers. A mere one hundred thousand, faced with that maelstrom, meant nothing.
But Yuuki had different ideas. "I'll keep your advice in mind. Keep going." "Right. Now, moving on to their nation's technology…"
Kagali continued reporting the facts.
Tempest had suddenly begun offering a variety of curious goods for sale— tools to make life more convenient, for example, and fancy high-end weaponry; they served different purposes, but all were very effective gadgets. A lot of buyers wanted to sign exclusive contracts with the developers of these goods, but try as they might, none of the merchants had figured out where they're coming from. Their origins remained a mystery.
"…The magitrains I mentioned are another example, but as with the Empire, we're seeing a wave of technological innovation. Unfortunately, they are doing a thorough job with preventing information leaks. The Free Guild members weren't able to trace these goods back to their creators."
They were probably being developed internally. That much was clear, but nobody had any idea where. It frustrated Kagali as well, but they couldn't send her out to deal with the demon lord Rimuru herself. If she arose suspicion again, it'd be all over, so Yuuki couldn't push his inner circle like that.
Then Kagali suddenly recalled something.
"If you think about it, they must be developing new kinds of weapons, too. Considering that, perhaps we should be concerned about more than the size of
their armies."
Yuuki gave this a grin. "I thought you'd notice that. You're right, though. I was surprised to see the Empire developing tanks, but Rimuru's not far behind with his trains, either. It's not like the Empire has an exclusive license for scientific weaponry, so it'd be stupid to look to that for an advantage."
No, the Empire wasn't the only side of this fight with otherworlder tech. Rimuru retained all his otherworlder memories, so there's no telling what kind of weapon he might decide to fund.
If the Empire were fighting any normal nation, that opponent would have been shaken to the core by all its mysterious firepower. Even if that opponent had otherworlders, the knowledge they'd learn from them would only add to the despair. The difference in fighting ability would become clear as day, and they'd understand that there was no chance of winning. But what if the other side had the technical skill to develop the same kinds of things? They'd immediately work out countermeasures, and any advantage would be evened out in the blink of an eye. In fact, if one side trusted in their tech too much, they'd have the tables turned and lose terrain on their foe so quickly that it'd make their heads spin.
Yuuki had seen all this, and by his estimate, he thought Rimuru's chances of victory weren't at all minor.
"Ridiculous!" interjected Vega. "Just crush them, then! If you're that worried about that stuff, just tear it all down! Problem solved!"
Whether it was a weapon or an army, the eminently confident Vega thought, all you had to do was trample over everything in your way. His observation demonstrated a critical lack of comprehension across this whole conversation. It made Yuuki rub a hand against his head.
This guy… He's strong but so stupid. Too stupid, even…
If he had even a bit more brains in his head, he could be useful for so much more.
Yuuki sighed. "Well, if it comes to that," he said, "you can be sure I'll ask you for it. But we can't misread the enemy here."
That bit of ambivalence ought to have shut Vega up. Besides, he thought, in this world, quality counted for a lot more than quantity. No matter how big an army you assembled, you'd never beat the demon lord Guy—an example that proved you could never deride the power of an individual.
To reach your strategic goal, it was important to master the information war and fully gauge your opponent's abilities. The easiest way to do that was by throwing someone decently strong against your foe and seeing what happens. In addition, abandoning an unwinnable battle was a proper practice to employ. And no matter how powerful an individual foe might have been, attacking with multiple forces at once could let you overcome them. In other words, looking at a side's overall war power was meaningless. What mattered was tactical skill— how well they could effectively operate the forces at hand.
Along those lines, Tempest was a troublesome enemy. Rimuru was far from the only threat—that nation had a ridiculous number of powerful magic-born. Even the Big Four—Benimaru, Diablo, Shion, and Gobta—were like four tactical units of their own. Defeating any one of them was a highly difficult mission.
I doubt it's just a matter of tech. They got a lot of tough people on their side, so sheer numbers aren't gonna matter with them. Guess it shows how right I was to capitulate to Guy earlier, huh?
As far as Yuuki knew, there were several people stronger than Gobta, which meant at least a few others were as powerful as the Big Four.
"My real concern is the magic-born comparable to Saints or demon lords," muttered Damrada, apparently in agreement.
"You're right. Because it's not just the Big Four with them," said Yuuki. "There's magic-born like Geld and Gabil as well. It's hard to understand why all these demon lord–class people keep coming over there."
The more Yuuki thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Multiple people, each with strength on the level of Clayman, in the service of Rimuru, a lone demon lord. If you were aware of that, you'd almost wish it were a joke.
"Lucky for us that the demon lord Rimuru isn't our enemy right now." Everyone except for Vega quietly nodded at Yuuki's statement. Now they had
a sort of agreement with Guy that placed them under his affiliation. Anyone who messed with Yuuki and his team would be inviting the wrath of Guy upon them. With Yuuki uninterested in challenging Rimuru, they were at an armistice, more or less—and Yuuki was selfish enough to try using this situation as best as he could. Even if they faced off sometime, it'd only be after he regained his losses in the West.
With that resolved in his mind, he returned to the main topic. "Does that complete your report?" he asked Kagali.
"We weren't able to obtain detailed military information, so that's all the accurate intel we have. But there is one curious topic I'd like to bring up."
"What's that?"
"In the capital of Rimuru, there's been ongoing disaster training taking place, but the local government recently added evacuation drills to the schedule."
This training involved pretty sensible matters—running into sturdy buildings, putting out fires, that sort of thing. But the evacuation drill this time had citizens practicing fleeing into town from outside the four main gates. It didn't make much sense.
"Fleeing into town?"
"Yes. Our investigators weren't sure what it was about, so they decided to split up and take a closer look."
"One on the outside, one on the inside?"
"Exactly. Then, they said, they saw something—a strange sight that looked like a dream—"
"A strange sight?"
"Yes, Misha. There was an announcement, and exactly ten minutes after that, the entire town vanished without a trace. All that remained was one single gate."
According to the investigator left outside, there were some security personnel left by the gate, guiding any stragglers into a nearby cave. Once the coast was clear, the investigator braced himself and went through the gate—only to find
himself in a mazelike chamber of stone walls. He quickly fled back out the gate in a panic, proving that it had two-way access.
"That might be their Dungeon, I think…," said Yuuki.
"Do you know what it is, Sir Yuuki?" Damrada asked.
"Yeah. I think Kagali knows, too, but there's a tourist attraction in town called the Dungeon, right?"
"Correct. A structure with wandering monsters for adventurers to challenge themselves against."
"It's probably that. I heard a rumor that there's a whole city inside that Dungeon, so…"
"A city inside it?"
Damrada didn't seem ready to believe that, but Yuuki and Kagali were serious. It was hard to explain to someone who didn't already know, but that was the reality.
"Yeah. It's a little crazy to think of normally, but… You know, it takes someone like Rimuru to make it possible. The Dungeon goes down a hundred floors, after all, and it's guarded by Veldora at the bottom."
"…Is that really true?" Damrada questioned.
"Of course. I heard it from Veldora himself."
That shut up Damrada pretty quickly. Kagali felt a little bad for him.
"But if you think about it," she said, "it makes sense. Do you think this Dungeon city might contain vital infrastructure for Tempest—for example, their technological development site?"
"Ah, I see," replied Yuuki. "I can believe it… In fact, it makes good sense."
There was no limit to what Rimuru would try. Yuuki didn't even let it faze him any longer. If anything, it excited him. And while this was only a guess, he doubted he was wrong. If it was Rimuru, he concluded, it had to be true.
"What does this say about the war, then?"
"That I really don't know. I always thought you couldn't take those guys with a
normal approach, but handling a city defense like that? I'm sure it's gonna shock the Empire."
Yuuki had assumed that Rimuru wouldn't fight the final battle on his own turf —he'd never let his citizens become casualties. But what if he had a surefire method to ensure every single civilian was out of harm's way? If he did, the enemy would have to rewrite their entire strategy.
"Yeah, so maybe they're taking a wait-and-see approach with the lodging town—see if they wind up fighting there or not. Maybe they'll fight the real war around their capital. If the Empire forces miss the gate and pass right on by, there could be a surprise attack from the rear, kinda thing."
"And then the Western Nations' army can pin them down from the front."
"They could send an advance team to examine and analyze the Empire's fighting power. Then, while the Western Nations and the Empire are fighting a war of attrition, they can take their time crafting a response."
"What a terrifying approach to think of. He really is a demon lord."
Once they understood Yuuki's thoughts, Kagali, Damrada, and Misha all showed visible surprise. They knew conventional warfare wouldn't be enough to stop the demon lord Rimuru, but they hadn't thought this far. Just imagining having to fight him gave them all headaches. It'd just be too hard—and now, the fight between Rimuru and the Empire was starting to sound like a lot of fun to watch.
"So, Sir Yuuki, what's your next move?"
Misha was waiting for the right time to ask. She and her cohorts knew Yuuki took on the demon lord Guy and lost. They remained loyal to him anyway, but they still weren't sure what exactly was on his mind.
The Cerberus trio was fine with the Empire giving Rimuru and his friends a hard time, but no matter what, they wanted to avoid playing a role in that. Yuuki promised Guy that he wouldn't seriously support the Empire—but if he was a commander now, there was every concern he'd get caught in his own trap. For Cerberus, having an imperial commander on their side was extremely
attractive, but it also came with the danger of getting involved in military affairs. That was an eat-or-be-eaten world; one wrong move and they'd face annihilation.
Those were the motives behind Misha's question, and Yuuki was fully aware of them.
"You don't have to worry. If Rimuru holds out for me, that suits all of us just fine. I mean, if we want to make our ideals a reality, the Empire gets in the way of that, don't they? I want to send them to their ruin someday, and not just because Guy told me to… And now that I'm a commander, I get to control the timing. Just think of it like that."
Now that Yuuki was one of the Empire's three top commanders, he knew all about their internal operations. Getting an inside view of their military strategy even let him read into the common ground he shared with them. Naturally then, when they went on the move, he'd be able to predict the size of their forces—as well as when defenses in imperial territory would be the lightest. If the Western Nations put up a tough fight, the Empire would have to deploy that much more firepower against them. Then, no matter how stout their defenses, Yuuki was sure he'd find an opening.
"And we'll hit them where they're open!" Yuuki said, smacking the table for effect. Kagali smiled, still standing up straight, while Damrada and the others grew excited in their seats.
"Are you suggesting a coup…?" Damrada asked.
"Ah, I love it," Misha gushed. "Now that's the Sir Yuuki I know." "Heh-heh! Sounds like a lot of fun. Empire, demon lord, I'll crush 'em all!"
Vega was a little too excited, maybe, but Yuuki decided not to worry about it as he got back to the point.
"Well, that's my final goal anyway. Part of my promise with Guy was to stir up trouble with the Empire, too, and I gotta live up to my end of it. I'm gonna mess around with the West, too, but I don't think anyone's gonna complain about that, so…"
He smiled warmly. Guy hadn't warned him against that, so Yuuki was free to
do what he liked.
"Are you talking about having the Empire fight the Western Nations, then taking the Empire's head in the meantime…?" Damrada inquired.
"Vicious as always, huh?" said Misha.
"Oh, not really," Yuuki answered. "I think it's a plan pretty much anyone could come up with."
They would, maybe, but few would actually go through with it. Or maybe they'd try but not be powerful and talented enough to make it happen. Yuuki was the exception.
"Lord Gadora gave me a lot of information, too. That old man loves anything novel, and he's got a flexible mind, but for some reason, he just hates the Western Nations. Like, to an obsessive level. It's a lot of the reason why he's developed all these weapons and contributed them to the Empire."
"Ah yes, that's a famous story," said Damrada. "Even I was aware of that."
"Right? 'Cause if he's looking for things that could crush the Empire's ambitions, you'd think he'd see the demon lord Rimuru as that. I'm sure it'll dawn on him once he starts messing with the guy."
"…And then what will happen?"
"Well, Lord Gadora has a ton of influence with the imperial military, but in terms of actual power, he's got almost none. That's because he's more interested in revenge than anything. So if I can lead him the right way, I think I can pit him against Rimuru himself."
At the same time, thought Yuuki, he'd like to have Gadora poke around for information about the Dungeon.
"This is your way to hassle Rimuru and weaken the Empire at the same time?" "You got it!"
Yuuki briskly nodded at Damrada. He wasn't going to touch Rimuru, but if someone else wanted to challenge him, they were perfectly welcome—hence all his conniving plans.
He took this opportunity to discuss his thoughts in more detail.
"The way I see it, there are three people we need to watch out for in the Empire. One of them is Lord Gadora himself."
Gadora was a master sorcerer, a magic-born who had lived for many, many years. People saw him as a mystery figure who knew everything that went on behind the scenes in the imperial capital, and he was also a hero in his own right, one of the few survivors of the previous invasion attempt against Veldora.
"Who are the other two?" a curious Kagali asked behind Yuuki. He gave her a frustrated scowl in response.
"Well, I don't know much about them yet, exactly. That's why I know they're so much trouble."
Even with his extensive intelligence network, Yuuki hadn't found these two. Just hearing that indicated how slippery they were.
"Are they among the Imperial Guardians' upper ranks?" Misha asked, perhaps suspecting something.
Yuuki gave this a vague consent. There were rumors around military circles that certain Imperial Knights—referred to as the Single Digits—were even stronger than the three division commanders. In Yuuki's opinion, this was more than just a rumor. He could feel it. Here he was, a full-fledged commander, but his own numerical ranking was still in the double digits. He could try challenging someone higher up to a ranking duel, but he'd have to figure out who to challenge first. Becoming a Single Digit required winning a battle staged in front of the emperor, and even that fact was revealed only to those very close to earning a shot.
"I'm thinking that I can beat any Single Digit in the group, but I don't wanna reveal my best moves in front of the enemy, so I haven't sent a request to the emperor yet."
Yuuki became a commander despite that, thanks to some lucky connections with Lord Gadora.
"Thing is, though, even if you try taking someone on, maybe the real boss will be someone else the whole time, huh? You can't be sure about anything. So
what I guess I'm saying is: There's at least nine people you gotta watch out for, sort of."
Vega had a good point. It surprised Yuuki as he nodded at him.
"Yeah, you're right. There's a chance my real nemesis is hidden among those nine. But I can't watch out for someone I've never seen before, you know? So right now, I'm looking closely at someone who's a more public figure than that."
"Who?" Damrada asked.
"His name's Tatsuya Kondo. He runs the Imperial Information Bureau." "Ah yes. He is hard to grasp, isn't he?"
"We know his name and face but nothing else about him," said Misha. "It's bizarre."
Tatsuya Kondo, as the name suggested, was an otherworlder. Any more personal information than that was a complete unknown. Rumors pegged him as a "mysterious figure stalking the halls of information." His rank was first lieutenant, but none of the unit commanders had the right to give him orders. The Imperial Information Bureau, in other words, was higher up the hierarchy than the military itself.
"Yeah, it's freaky, isn't it? My guess is that he's one of the Single Digits, too," said Yuuki.
"…I see."
"Put it that way, and it makes sense."
Damrada and Kagali deeply nodded. Misha pondered this as well but had no objections.
"So who do you think the other one is?" Vega asked, already sounding disinterested and hoping to hurry Yuuki along.
"Ha-ha-ha! Patience, okay? The first thing is to meet up with this Tatsuya Kondo. I'll see if I can request a meeting with him. So as for the second person, she's also kinda a mystery."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Calm down, Vega."
"Ah… Sorry."
The tone of Yuuki's voice as he gave Vega a light warning was warm, almost gentle, but it made Vega break into a nervous sweat. It showed, in that moment, just how wide the chasm was between those two.
"The second person is someone who sits next to the emperor. I don't know who it is, but she strikes this incredible presence. I can feel her even with the imperial set of blinds between us."
"""…?"""
Nobody knew who it was—or really, nobody except Yuuki even realized someone like that existed. That made the potential danger crystal clear.
"…So there's someone like that, always with the emperor?" Damrada asked, speaking for his companions. "I haven't heard anything about it…"
"I didn't think so. She felt so present in the room, but nobody notices her at all. That has to be bad news."
The room fell silent for a moment.
"And you're sure she was there? I haven't even heard rumors of such a figure."
"Well, look at it another way—if we heard that from anyone except Sir Yuuki, we never would've believed it, right?"
"…"
Yuuki smiled at his doubtful underlings. "Eh, it's no big deal. Just remember— if I attempt to stage a coup in the Empire, those three are probably gonna get in our way. I'll eliminate Lord Gadora first, so…Damrada, can you look into Tatsuya Kondo for me?"
"Absolutely."
"And, Misha, keep up with your current mission."
"Understood. I will continue engaging the commander of the Armored Division."
"What about me?" Vega asked.
"You're going to go undercover in the Magical Beast Division. With your muscle, you'll get in the Imperial Guardians in a flash. But whatever you do, don't kill the division commander, all right?"
"Sure. I'll try not to."
Vega flashed a ferocious smile, glad to finally be on duty. Is he really gonna be all right? fretted Yuuki, but he decided to trust him anyway. If the leader did get killed, that'd delay the Empire's entire military operation, which was a concern… But Yuuki opted not to worry about it unless it happened.
The three heads of Cerberus left the chamber, leaving Yuuki alone with Kagali. "Sir Yuuki… Do you think they'll all pull it off?"
"Who knows? I thought I was being pretty careful, and then I caught a tiger named Guy by the tail. I'm not in any position to say this, but I sure hope they can."
Damrada was off investigating Tatsuya Kondo. Misha was attempting to inveigle herself with the Magical Beast Division commander. And Vega was about to embark on a standout career in the Composite Division. These were dangerous missions, and they were doing them all for Yuuki's sake. As their leader, he'd have to trust in their success.
"But we've finally made it to this point, haven't we? The battle's about to begin."
"It sure is. It'll be fun to see who wins."
"As if you can just sit back and watch. Even if you pull off that coup, the hard part comes after that."
"Yeah. I have Laplace and the gang working on that for me. I got everything covered."
The two shared a smile.
Their mission wasn't to have the Empire win. The longer they could drag out this upcoming war, the weaker the Empire would become. That's what they wanted, and the fate of Yuuki and Kagali's plans rode on whether the ensuing
coup attempt succeeded or failed.
"First, we make the emperor our puppet and establish a new Empire. Then…" "…Why don't we forge a peace treaty with the Western Nations?" "And then…"
"…We'll have the emperor assassinated!"
If the demon lord Rimuru proved too hard to kill, there was no need to force that. Guy had defeated Yuuki fair and square, and with that, Yuuki gave up on conquering the world in the short-to-midterm time frame. Until he had the kind of absolute power he needed, he now realized, trying to get his way with violence was the height of folly. For now, he thought, adding more winning cards to his hand needed to be his focus.
And if the war kept raging, and more blood could be shed…
"…Then I'll awaken to a true demon lord once more."
"That's what I'm hoping to hear from ya, Kagali. And by then, I oughtta be able to fully use all the new powers I got."
Yuuki had awoken to an ultimate skill. Already, he could feel his life span extending. And now he knew the truth: There were those greater than him— people like the demon lord Guy, ruling over the world with absolute force. Conquering that world without addressing them would be a fantasy.
For now, best to slip under Guy's radar and build up force. He'd stir up the Empire, keep the war going, and weaken both the East and the West. Once pessimism set in, and everyone was weary of war, if he could take that moment to assassinate the emperor…the world would face an even more appalling age of chaos. They could ride that chaos, he and Kagali, and awaken yet more within themselves…and that, in essence, was the plan.
"Well, keep being careful, though."
"Of course, Sir Yuuki. Keep being careful."
Once more, they looked at each other and smiled.
…Even two intelligent schemers like them didn't see the Dungeon as a very
important factor. They just saw it as a neat way for Tempest to hide their top secret facilities—even a town, for that matter—and they figured bringing it to Lord Gadora's attention would be a good way to drive Rimuru nuts. They may be visiting it themselves someday, so they figured it'd be a good idea to have it checked out for clues on how to crack it—but neither of them spent much time thinking about it.
Thanks to that, when their dungeon runners came back with a rather unexpected report, Yuuki paid it no mind.
Upon learning what Yuuki showed him, Lord Gadora wrenched up his face, deep in thought.
Hmmm. Right when it's time to put our Empire on the move and defeat the god Luminus, too…
With Veldora resurrected, they had to embark on a major rewrite of their plans. That couldn't be avoided. The last time they staged a campaign this large, the Storm Dragon crushed the whole thing.
Now, in order to ensure their plan was impenetrable, some wanted to wait until the Storm Dragon fully disappeared from existence. Some wanted to tame him with the power of the new weapons they successfully developed. Others wished to point their armies around the Forest of Jura to avoid riling the Storm Dragon.
Opinions were split evenly among the three factions, delaying the Empire's movements—and thanks to that, they went and let the Storm Dragon revive itself. This greatly angered the war hawks in the "tame the Storm Dragon" faction, but the more mainstream minds in the other two groups didn't give them room to speak. If those "new weapons" didn't work, after all, their hopes were dashed a second time.
In Gadora's mind, the Storm Dragon didn't really matter. His mission, the reason he kept living, was to eradicate Luminism from the West and take revenge against the Seven Days Clergy who killed his best friend.
A newspaper he ordered from the West contained an article outlining the
Seven Days Clergy's evil deeds, under the headline THE HEROES' DECLINE. He also knew, at the same time, about reports that the Seven Days Clergy were slain. But Gadora refused to accept this at face value. At the very least, he was sure Gren, the Sunday Priest, was alive and lurking in the muck somewhere.
Over the past few months, information from the West had grown garbled and entangled, and it was hard to investigate much of it. Thanks to that, he had no way to confirm it—but there were rumors that the Rozzos had been toppled as well.
Ah, but it's all rumors. I'm sure Gren was what ultimately became of that one Hero. He may have been old, but he was no adversary to sniff at.
What's more, while the Council seemed to be on sure footing, Gadora had confirmed some serious goings-on behind the scenes. Nothing he heard, however, indicated that the Western Holy Church had weakened at all. That was proof positive, in Gadora's eyes, that Gren was alive.
It'd be so easy to ignore the Storm Dragon and just invade the West, but noooo…
Gadora's thoughts were along those lines, but even he knew how difficult that would be.
So the Storm Dragon is teaming up with a demon lord? It would be sheer stupidity to position an army against a monster like that, living outside any sort of reasoned magic. I helped construct the theories behind our new weapon, and it should be possible to stop him in his tracks, at least—but destroy him? That's another story. And forget about ever taming him…
As a survivor of the Empire's last campaign, he had personal insight into the threat Veldora posed. The experience taught him that the war hawks were being far too rash.
Those fools completely fail to understand how hard it is to rule over a spiritual life-form with a spirit of your own!
It wasn't impossible. They had conducted experiments on demons along those lines, and some of the results had been encouraging. Gadora knew that well enough—he came up with the theory for the work, so of course he would.
But based on their verified results, he concluded that Veldora was strictly off limits.
He had submitted a report to the emperor along those lines, but sadly, he was shut down. "If someone wants to try it," he was told, "let them."
Regardless, the problem now was Rimuru, a demon lord who built a nation and unified the Forest of Jura at an astonishing pace. If he had teamed up with the Storm Dragon, attacking the forest would have been nothing but foolish. If the entirety of the Empire's military were deployed for the effort, that would be one thing—but to make the most effective use of such a force, they'd need to lure the enemy into more advantageous terrain, and that was an impossibility.
What, then, if they must fight the enemy on their own turf?
"The Dungeon, eh? And they might be developing otherworld weapons as well? We must investigate this. If we could defeat Veldora and Rimuru while losing less than, say, a third of our force, I'd call it a fine job. Otherwise, we have no chance of winning against the Western Nations, at the end of it."
The words were mostly directed at Gadora himself. But he was making a mistake. He thought that Luminism, and the Western Nations supporting it, would be where they'd make their stand—not Tempest. And whether he picked up on this error in judgment would be key to deciding his fate, going forward.
Following Yuuki's orders, three people were put on assignment—selected for their spots in the Composite Division and having an acquaintance with Lord Gadora. They would all be meeting today, and Yuuki had invited Gadora to his personal chamber for the occasion.
The first was Shinji Tanimura, formerly a college student in Japan who spent most of his days holed up in a university research lab. He still retained his beloved white lab coat, which had become his trademark here. The second was Marc Lauren, a muscular, brown-haired man in his midtwenties; he was the oldest of the trio, a buff bodybuilder type who'd go around in a tank top and jeans even in winter. The third was Zhen Liuxing, young and taciturn; it was hard to gauge his thoughts, but he always did what he was told. His long,
braided black hair ran down his back, and he preferred comfortable, traditional Chinese-style clothing—under which, it was said, he hid a litany of assassin's weapons.
Shinji had evolved to become the leader of this group, Marc and Zhen taking orders from him, and now they stood up straight before Yuuki and Gadora.
"It is an honor to see you after so long!" said the dark-haired Shinji, speaking for his group.
"Yes, long it certainly has been," said Gadora. "And, Marc and Zhen—I trust you two are doing well?"
"Yeah, really well. Glad you're still okay, too, old man."
"…I am not feeling that well, my lord."
Gadora cheerfully smiled at Marc and Zhen. "Good! The same as always, then. I understand you're working hard in your squadrons as well. It's quite a relief to hear."
Shinji and his friends were otherworlders placed under Yuuki's guidance. He provided care for people like them from all over the world; they were sent to the Empire to live, whether they had skills suited for battle or not. There, they'd be received by the Cerberus secret society, and then Lord Gadora the sorcerer would see to them. His mission was to gain what otherworld information he could, and if the otherworlders had a talent for combat and were interested in pursuing it, Gadora would also train them.
This was what chiefly constituted the Composite Division—well-trained otherworlders with a litany of skills. Of course, simply being from another world didn't guarantee you a top officer rank in the Empire. They became excellent soldiers because they knew how to correctly harness their powers—the unique skills they manifested for themselves. And Shinji had used his own unique skill to establish a firm, secure role in the military.
"Yeah, these three are frontline talents in my Composite Division. I think they'll be perfect for this new investigation."
"If you believe so, Sir Yuuki, then I have no complaints. Please, all of you, have a seat."
The trio meekly took the austere sorcerer's advice. Gadora looked at them, smiling a bit. Seeing these full-fledged soldiers still act so nervous around him was an amusing sight. But he couldn't sit there grinning about it forever.
"Now, Sir Yuuki, you're going to let me borrow this trio for our investigation?"
"Yeah. I wanted to go there myself, but I can't really show my face around Tempest at the moment, you know? And I'd be anxious about sending just the three of them over, so I was hoping you could oversee them for me, my lord."
"Mmm. I had a look at the report you sent. If what's written in there is true, I think we do need to examine this in more detail before launching our full campaign."
Gadora eyed Yuuki, sizing him up and awaiting his reaction. Yuuki, aware of this, nodded back.
"It's all true, every word of it. I'll be briefing all three of you on this in a moment, but this is gonna be kind of a unique mission. Basically, there's this labyrinth I want you to investigate for us."
"Whoa, hang on! You called us all here for some kinda obstacle-course thing? Is that how little you trust us? Even if Lord Gadora's enlisting us, I really don't think this is something we need to do before a full-scale military invasion!"
Marc, the most short-fused of the group, was the first to flare up. This was common enough to see. Yuuki encouraged them to ask questions on matters
until they had an answer they were satisfied with.
"Calm down, Marc. This is important."
"But…!"
"Wait a sec, Marc. I'm sure Yuuki's got a good reason for this, so let's just hear him out, okay?" Shinji said before facing Yuuki. "Would you mind filling us in, then?"
"Of course…and trust me, once you hear it all, you won't be complaining." So Yuuki carefully went over the trio's assignment.
...…
...
…
Gadora had already given his approval beforehand, so he silently listened, making sure there weren't any discrepancies. Shinji and his friends were shocked.
Across the force, Yuuki had his protégés in place, well trained and blessed with unique skills, and they had laid low in their respective posts up to now. The idea was that, when the time came, they'd bare their fangs and take over their respective squadrons. Yuuki hadn't filled them in on the details, but everyone thought that the moment was near. Shinji and his friends were part of this, and now that Yuuki had full control of the Composite Division, they figured it was just a matter of time before the order came.
World conquest.
When Yuuki first told them about this childish-sounding dream, nobody thought he could actually do it. But as they polished their skills and learned how this new world worked, they all began to think it wasn't so impossible after all. Shinji and his team practically adored him at this point. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the moment—and then this "Dungeon" assignment arrived out of nowhere. The trio couldn't be blamed for their confusion.
But as Yuuki explained matters, they began to reconsider. Out of all the preparation and investigation they had done for this upcoming war, only the
Dungeon remained unexplored, and it was likely that some kind of important secret was being hidden in this maze. If word had it that an entire town was hidden deep in its chambers, they weren't going to take that sitting down.
...…
...
…
"I see now… So the Empire can't ignore this Dungeon in their operations, huh?"
"And there's a town inside? I'm never gonna believe that until I see it." "…And we're going to go in there?"
Shinji's team had to accept it.
"So that's the long and short of things. You see what I mean now, though? If the Empire's campaign takes it into the Forest of Jura, we're planning to stage our military coup once the front lines are stretched out far enough. When we do, we're hoping to attract as much of the army as we can. The demon lord Rimuru and the Storm Dragon aren't enough to make the Empire deploy the total brunt of their forces. I want a stronger reason for them to do that."
Maybe the labyrinth could be that reason. Or not. If it didn't live up to the hype, Yuuki explained, they'd fabricate something else—and with the time that'd buy them, Yuuki and his personal team would seize the imperial capital.
This came as a surprise to Shinji's trio. They had seen a coup attempt coming, but this was the first time they were let in on the details. Plus, Gadora himself was in the room. Wouldn't talking about it right in front of him cause a leak?
"Y-Yuuki?!"
Shinji tried to stop him, but Yuuki just smiled and waved it off. "No, no, don't worry. Lord Gadora knows all about my plans."
"Huh?"
"Heh-heh-heh! And why wouldn't I? I have a personal obligation to the emperor, but his Empire? That means nothing to me. My mission is to destroy
Luminism. I had no idea the demon lord Luminus led that religion herself; it took me completely by surprise. I have zero interest in Luminism's followers, but I will never rest until I personally take down those who killed my friend. I'd like to begin by taking care of the demon lord Rimuru; they say he's close friends with Luminus. That is why I'm planning to join you in this labyrinth conquest."
Beyond that, Gadora said with a crazed grin, he didn't much care what happened.
He had, of course, heard the stories about Rimuru. One year earlier, the Kingdom of Farmus was toppled after it attracted the ire of Veldora. A fit of rage drained the Storm Dragon's energy and allowed Rimuru to recruit him for his own purposes. Gadora didn't know whether this was a master-servant relationship or more of a cooperative arrangement, but the Storm Dragon had shown no signs of activity since, his massive aura no longer detectable. To Gadora, the rumors seemed plausible to some extent.
There were also moves being made among the other demon lords. Several had dropped out of the Ten Great Demon Lords, the remainder regrouping into the so-called Octagram. They had notified human society of this, and Gadora was positive the demon lord Rimuru played a major role. After all, Rimuru joined their ranks just as Clayman, one of the former Ten Great Demon Lords, disappeared. It proved that, in the end, Rimuru was simply more powerful than him. Clayman was a crafty demon lord, one you underestimated at your own peril, but Rimuru as a demon lord was an even greater threat.
What's more, Rimuru had opened up diplomatic relations with humanity, strengthening his influence within the Council of the West. Gadora couldn't say what the Western Nations thought about this, but he knew that riling Rimuru would be a very dangerous act.
But something else was also on his mind. Farmus, he knew, sent an army of some twenty thousand soldiers to attack Tempest—and only three of them survived. One had since been killed, so that left no one but the former king and Razen, his ex-apprentice.
I will need to question Razen about this, Gadora thought, making a mental
note. But there still remains far too much that's unclear with this demon lord Rimuru…
Gadora wasn't about to let his guard down. Farmus's forces were wiped out by the Storm Dragon, the reports said, but there was no physical evidence backing this up. That, in itself, was unnerving. In normal wars, a warring faction would generally be considered to fail its objective if it lost thirty percent of its personnel. That'd be the point a commander would issue a surrender, but there was no record Farmus ever attempted one.
One could interpret this as the Storm Dragon refusing to take prisoners, but Gadora saw that as unlikely. He was a survivor from their past campaign, after all, and he knew Veldora's personality well. As a fighter, he was, in a word, imprecise. He wasn't the type to pursue fleeing foot soldiers; he'd cause huge amounts of damage, but it'd all happen in one big wave with no follow-up. Considering this fighting style, a force of twenty thousand being 99.9999 percent annihilated was a bit too much to swallow.
So did Rimuru do something? Based on what Gadora knew about his personality, that seemed unlikely, too. In his mind, this was one demon lord who spared the lives of those who gave in to him. This, on the other hand, was a massacre.
I suppose Veldora really did do them all in, then, before they had a chance to surrender.
It was honestly a terrifying thought. The exact reason why a full frontal conflict had to be avoided—and he had a plan for that. Rimuru was another worry for him, but he was about to investigate him, and they could work out a response after that. That was enough to reassure Gadora for now. He had no personal vendetta against Rimuru, but if he was working in tandem with Luminus, he was an enemy.
He had to be defeated…though Gadora had no intention of reckless attempts on his life. Gadora had spent many years honing his plan, and now he'd move the Empire toward invading the Western Nations. They were one step away from all that—he couldn't afford to rush this part and send everything crashing down. He was careful, very careful, with every move he made.
Gadora and Yuuki shared the same interests, and after conversing about them, they agreed to work in tandem, sharing information with each other and becoming comrades in arms.
But Shinji was still shocked at how casually Yuuki revealed such secrets. He wanted everyone to take a step back, and it was obvious why.
W-wait… If this goes bad, we could all be rubbed out…
Shinji, being no fool, didn't think his group was being trusted that much—but he didn't think they were seen as disposable pawns, either. They were being tested, he believed, and Marc and Zhen felt the same way.
"All right! We'll investigate as best as we can."
"This'll be fun, old man! And I promise we won't drag you down in there." "…I'll do my best."
This was clearly an important mission. They had to produce results—in fact, as Shinji now realized, producing results was how they'd guarantee their survival.
"Right. Then let me ask you all: Do you know how many demon lords there are?"
"Sure. Eight, right?"
"…Huh? Weren't there ten? Or did it go up to eleven?"
"The lineup changed a year ago, Marc…"
Gadora sighed. "Shinji," he said, raising his voice, "you need to make sure that fool receives the right information. Any soldier who can't gather intelligence is going to wind up on the chopping block first!"
He took a moment to catch his breath.
"There are eight demon lords in an arrangement known as the Octagram. They style themselves as akin to eight stars in the sky, and with at least some of them, it's not far from reality. I bring this up because your target here is Rimuru, the so-called Newbie of this Octagram. You must never let your guard down around him. Furthermore, there is another demon among this group known as
the Labyrinth Master. What do you make of that?"
The trio nervously gulped. Even Yuuki looked at Gadora, surprised.
"Are they involved," Shinji carefully asked, "with the labyrinth we're exploring?"
Gadora nodded gravely, then handed them a book. It spoke of a labyrinth, a safe haven for spirits, located in the Republic of Ur-Gracia to the west. The stories told of a vast maze under the ground or in the sky, but this was correct and incorrect in equal measure. What this book revealed was that this haven was home to more than spirits—it also housed a queen who had transformed her body from a spiritual form to that of a fairy.
"That fairy queen is Ramiris the Labyrinth Master—one of the oldest demon lords."
The facts hit Gadora's audience like a ton of bricks. But he wasn't done yet.
"The door to this labyrinth of hers was located in Urgr Nature Park, but now it has vanished. I investigated this myself, so there is no doubting it. Based on what I was told, it disappeared at around the same time Rimuru declared himself a demon lord. Soon after, his nation revealed their own Dungeon…"
"Well," chimed in Yuuki, "that pretty much settles it, huh? I was wondering how they built a labyrinth like that, but now I'm positive the demon lord Ramiris created it. She and Rimuru must be allies."
Yuuki was sure of it, and he gave a bracing smile. No one on Shinji's side had the words to deny it—and that brought them all down. Now it felt like this mission just became far more difficult.
"I'll be counting on you," said Gadora.
"Make sure to stay on your guard, okay?" Yuuki reminded the trio.
Then, after another warning about the terrifying craftiness of the demon lord Rimuru, the three of them left.
The day after this meeting, Yuuki's secretary, Kagali, guided Shinji and his friends to the outskirts of Tempest.
Ten days after that, Gadora set off by himself to another destination. After seeing Yuuki admonish the three of them, he figured he'd let them handle the mission solo to start with. He didn't think Yuuki really saw them as disposable— it was just a little tough talk to put them in the right mindset.
Sir Yuuki's not exactly an honest man, either. He thinks he's so talented, and he expects the same from everyone else.
That much was clear to Gadora—and it was true for himself personally as well.
Gadora had no intention of sending his apprentices out to be killed. If they got in trouble, he could reach out to them. But he never actually voiced this. Instead, he just silently menaced those around him, making people think he was a scary old man.
But Gadora was blissfully unaware of all this as he headed for the former Kingdom of Farmus. He had recalled an old apprentice of his, and he decided to call on him to gather information about Rimuru. Flying over to the old Farmus capital of Maris, he promptly headed for the palace.
Razen, working in his office, practically shot out of his chair when he found out. Long before Gadora even reached the palace, he picked up on the nearby presence of his great master, a man he thought died long ago.
"I…I can't believe he's alive," he muttered—and as he did, he realized this was going to be trouble. Even if he didn't know Gadora's intentions, Razen knew Gadora had come here to see him, and it clearly wasn't just to rekindle an old friendship. And there was another problem: The Farminus palace guards didn't know Gadora. If something wasn't done, he'd doubtlessly start a scuffle at the palace gates and kill anyone who defied him. And should Razen himself ever get on Gadora's bad side…
No, no, no… If that ever happened, I could never hold back Sir Gadora myself.
Quickly reaching that conclusion, Razen sprang into action, making a magical call to one of his new apprentices.
"You can hear me, can't you?"
"Tch… Don't call me out of nowhere like this."
"You must've noticed what's going on, too."
"Yeah. Grigori hasn't yet, but I felt this foreign presence out of nowhere. It's gonna reach the palace gate, you know."
"Well, if you know all that, join me at the gate now."
"…All right. I owe you one, after all."
Razen had recently taken on two new apprentices—Saare and Grigori, former Battlesages and part of the Master Rooks assigned to the Papacy in the Holy Empire of Lubelius. He came to know the two men as he went around the country on inspection runs; they had committed mistakes that made them no longer welcome in the Papacy, so he picked them up as new disciples. This wasn't because they particularly hit it off. Razen just had a lot of sympathy for them—especially Saare, who had to admit his epic defeat to newspaper reporters from around the world. It was Diablo who handed him that defeat, and to Razen, that struck too close to home.
Saare could be a hothead, but he still accepted Razen as his master. Grigori, for his part, had spells where he'd be struck by terror about something, but over time, his natural fearlessness was coming back. In terms of pure strength, they were attractive talents, so Razen planned to train them as behind-the scenes agents in the future. Handling potentially dangerous incidents like this was part of that training.
Me, Saare, and Grigori? If I can have Sir Gruecith join us, that should be enough to handle Gadora.
Regular infantry would be useless against such a uniquely powerful sorcerer. The Kingdom of Farminus lacked champion-class talents at the moment, a major weakness. Chief Folgen of the former Farmus Knight Corps and his men were now a thing of the past, and Farminus's major issue was finding people to replace them.
Being reminded of this made Razen grit his teeth over how late he was to react.
By the time he reached the palace gate, Saare and Grigori were already there —and already in a stare down with Gadora on the other side.
"Hey, man, I don't know what brings you to this castle, but this is where we live, all right? You know we can't let strangers inside, okay?"
"He's right, old man. Take it from us—you'll wanna be on your way for now. If you're here to see someone, ask a clerk, and you'll get a response in two or three days."
The two of them were rather polite (by their standards) as they blocked Gadora's way. The sight made Razen feel like years were being taken off his life.
"Stop!" Razen hollered. "Let that man through!"
"Huh? You don't want us to stop him?" said Saare.
"What'd you call us for, then?" Grigori demanded.
They didn't appreciate the order much, but Razen didn't care.
"How nice to see you again, Sir Gadora. I'm afraid I was unaware you were still alive. I apologize I was not worthy enough to call upon you earlier."
He took a knee in front of Gadora as he spoke reverently.
Razen had a motive for wanting to stay on good terms with Gadora. If push came to shove, he'd put everything he had in stopping him—but it didn't seem like it'd come to that.
"It has indeed been quite a while, Razen. You look different, but it seems it really is you, eh?"
"Yes, sir. Unlike you, I have survived thanks to taking on a new body—"
"No need to be so formal. I'm not chiding you. I've come here today because I need to ask you about some matters. And you, the beastman hiding over there —there's no need to be so wary of me. If I was hostile to any of you, I wouldn't have come here by myself."
Gadora's words finally eased the tension. But Razen and his apprentices didn't let their guard down, asking for time to set up a conference space before taking their leave.
The next day, their conference began at a room inside the palace. The attendees were Yohm, Gruecith, and Razen, with Saare and Grigori standing nearby as Yohm's bodyguard detail.
Mjurran wanted to join as well but was turned down—she had only just given birth, and Yohm insisted she stay in bed and rest. Their newborn was a girl named Mieme, cute and resembling Mjurran. Prince Edgar was giving the little one all his doting care.
"So, Master, what did you want to ask me about?" said Razen.
"Mmm… Well, before I broach the subject, I'd like to point out a few things first. You… Saare, was it? You seem decently strong…but magic is a weakness of yours, isn't it? Casting magic isn't about memorizing a spell, you know. You must learn how to correctly manage the magic force inside you. And this beastman, Gruecith—as for you…"
Thus Gadora began pointing out the weaknesses of everyone in the room. Gruecith, as he said, needed to learn how to gauge the capabilities of his foes before attacking them. "Transforming in front of your enemy," as he sternly put it, "is all but ceding the first strike to them." For Yohm, while he was "more powerful than the average person, by the looks of it," he suggested focusing more on protecting his own body, as overreliance on his weapons and armor would be his downfall. With Grigori, on the other hand, he struck a bitter tone, simply ordering him to polish his skills more.
Finally, Gadora's eyes settled upon Razen.
"Razen, I see you've been quite diligent. Your magic is possession-based, is it not?"
"Yes, Master. The Secret Art of Possession, based on the theory behind your Mysterious Art of Reincarnation."
"Mmm. A very interesting experiment. Unlike my spell, it doesn't require the target to spend time as a weakened, defenseless child."
"It is an honor to hear—"
"But it is all pointless unless you make the best use of it. You went through all the effort to seize that body, and you're not extracting everything you can from it."
"Yes, Master!"
Razen bowed at the advice, breaking into a sweat. This was something he already knew about himself. It forced him to admit that Gadora was probably right about everyone in the room.
Truly a fearsome figure. In the space of a day, he's perfectly judged every aspect of our abilities…
He fell silent, unable to put anything into words. But Saare and Grigori were less appreciative.
"Whoa, where do you get off lording it over us like that? How can you take one look at me and spout off all that nonsense?"
"Yeah! I owe a great debt to Sir Razen, but I ain't got no reason to kowtow to his master, too. If you're that confident about yourself, how about you and I have a little lesson together, huh?"
Now they were ready to duke it out. Razen wanted to scream at them to shut up, but seeing the look in his master's eyes, he refrained. To Gadora, this much was expected, and he fully anticipated showing off his skills to Saare and Grigori.
If so, Razen thought, perhaps there's still an amicable end to all this. Let's play along with my master.
So in a sort of warm-up before the meeting, Gadora fought a battle against Saare and Grigori. This was held in the palace's training grounds, and Gadora naturally destroyed them.
"N-no way…"
"This old man is crazy… He didn't even break a sweat whipping both of us…"
Gadora's overwhelming strength completely smashed their pride as former Battlesages. His intention was to show off his might, then use that to smoothen their negotiations, and Saare and Grigori reacted exactly as he had hoped. What
happened after that, however, didn't follow the script.
"But you're not as good as that demon," said Saare.
"That bad, eh? Then again, I'd say that dog I fought is about as strong as you, old man," Grigori added.
"…Hmm?"
They had just lost big but seemed oddly accepting of it—and despite seeing Gadora's strength, they didn't act too surprised.
…As strong as me? And a demon out there is more powerful than me, even…?
The unexpected reaction confused Gadora, but it didn't seem like Saare and Grigori were being sore losers. They must have really meant it. And Gadora wanted to inquire in more detail…
"We can discuss this later, Sir Gadora. For now, allow me to answer your original questions."
…but Razen put a quick end to the proceedings.
Returning to the reception room, the meeting was picked up anew.
"Man, you really are Razen's master," a jovial Yohm began. "What a monster! I don't think I could ever beat ya."
Gruecith nodded excitedly. "Yeah, the magic-born Razen's made a big name for himself around here, but we never hear many stories about his instructor. Mjurran said you crafted a new system of magic theory, and the way you fought, I believe her."
Gadora's magic was stupendous, as expected. He interfered with the magical energy of his opponents, blocking their spells as he launched two of his own simultaneously, both with punishing force. It was a spectacular feat, one designed to serve as a dazzling demonstration. Saare and Grigori were much more powerful than even a charged-up, ready-to-rock Gruecith, and Gadora treated them like playthings. There was no doubting his strength.
Thus, while Yohm and Gruecith enjoyed the spectacle, the losers seemed pretty discouraged as they dutifully returned to guard duty.
"So," Razen asked, "what is it that brought you here?"
"…I wanted to show you my strength to make sure nobody tried pointlessly resisting me. As I believe Razen knows, my anger is entirely directed at Luminism. I have no interest in anything else, so I cannot bear to have this nation exposed to an imperial invasion and untold casualties."
It was an ominous statement despite Gadora's casual tone.
"Imperial—"
"For real? C'mon, man," said Yohm. "Don't go barging in here while I'm the king."
"You said it. We'd never beat you, and I don't want Mjurran or my baby girl exposed to danger," added Gruecith.
"She's not yours, dammit. Get that through your head already. She's my treasure!"
"Ah, shut up!! She's not mine by blood, but she's my daughter. I've decided I'm gonna live like a father from now on."
"That's not for you to decide!!"
It was a pretty painful argument, waged between Yohm and Gruecith. Razen cleared his throat to shut them up.
"Right. Now I see, Sir Gadora, why you came here. You'd like Farminus to switch sides to the Empire, in exchange for not being touched during the war?"
"Quite so. You know perfectly well how powerful the Empire is, I imagine? I am part of that package, of course, and should Farminus join our forces, capturing Dwargon would be a simple job. That nation is extremely vulnerable to being starved out. Keep anything from entering or leaving, and they'll quickly throw in the towel."
Of course, that would only work if something was done about Tempest. Razen was quick to point that out. "I'm afraid, Sir Gadora, that is not possible. A railroad has been built between the Dwarven Kingdom and Tempest that allows for high-speed transport. Even if we halted all food exports today, they can supply themselves well enough via that route."
"And that's why I'm asking you to betray them. Tempest itself is not terribly self-sufficient foodwise, either. What you grow here could—"
"Sir Gadora?"
Razen interrupted Gadora, as rude as he knew it was. He had realized Gadora was relying on outdated information—he wasn't keeping up with the times. World trends were operating much, much faster than they used to. If they turned traitor to the Western Nations at this point, they'd be banned from the world economy, and that would spell doom for their kingdom. Even if the Empire offered them protection and generous support, they couldn't expect as much luxury as they enjoyed at present. That was how much Farminus was now influenced by the West—or really, by Tempest.
"…I see," Gadora said after Razen explained all this. "I was aware, although I wanted to hear about it straight from the horse's mouth. But you truly think the demon lord Rimuru doesn't fear the imperial force? I suppose, of course, that he could even defeat an army of angels with his power, but it would cause untold damage to everything he has built up. The Empire has been considering a train system of its own, but we've taken a wait and see approach for just that reason…"
That was how he responded to the news of a rail network linking the world's bigger cities.
"Sir Rimuru, I assure you, is not afraid of collateral damage."
"Nah, not at all. The guy hates losin' people, but anything else, I don't think he really cares that much."
"Yeah. And hell, maybe he likes it. It gives people more work to do."
Razen, Gruecith, and Yohm all lobbed out their opinions. Yohm's words, in particular, had real weight behind them. People find happiness in being relied upon; they want to use their skills to help others out. If there's no work and nothing to do all day, that'd take the wind out of anyone's sails. Some of them might turn to crime. It was thus the job of a leader—or employer—to find new work for them.
"Once all this construction work is wrapped up in each country, that'll just
leave repair and maintenance. My pal Rimuru's been frettin' over what he's gonna do after that. We were drinkin' together a while back, and he was all like 'Ohhh, I wanna do this, I wanna do that, but our technical skills aren't keeping up…'"
"And if the angels attack at a time like that, it'll breed a huge demand for rebuilding and recovery. I bet Rimuru'd act pretty pissed off about it, but maybe he'd actually be glad, deep down."
Even Gruecith was agreeing with Yohm. Saare and Grigori looked exasperated, but they didn't seem eager to refute them.
"But even if he's a demon lord, if he starts meddling too much in the human territories of the West, the Rozzos won't take that sitting down, will they?"
Razen's story was generally a match with the information Gadora assembled, but some pieces of the puzzle were still missing. Gadora wanted to use this occasion to milk Razen for as much intelligence as he had. The Rozzos wouldn't wait for things to unfold; they'd take action to protect their investments. If economics get involved, Gadora reasoned, they'd engage in nonmilitary sabotage to get their way.
His question for Razen, of course, was framed so he could learn as much as possible about the Rozzos' current state. Razen, correctly reading this, gave Gadora what he wanted.
"The Rozzos, my master, are finished. The Kingdom of Doran is still going strong, and the survivors are gathered inside it, but they will never hold sway over the Council at this point. The surrounding nations continue doing business only because Sir Rimuru allows it. King Doran has surrendered to him as well."
As Razen explained this, he decided to divulge the truth behind why the Farmus military lost so badly. That was the first revelation of the day that truly surprised Gadora.
"…So the demon lord Rimuru laid waste to the Farmus army all by himself? And the Rozzos are no longer…? But hold on one moment! If those are no mere rumors, then what of Gren—of Granville Rozzo?!"
Granville the Hero was, in Gadora's mind, the most powerful man in the
world. He had been so careful in his campaign plans against the West because he knew he led the Seven Days Clergy. But now Razen claimed the Rozzos were gone.
"So the rumors that the Seven Days Clergy were killed…?"
"They are also true, Master. The Seven Days Clergy opposed Sir Rimuru, so they attempted to pit Hinata of the Crusaders against him. But the plot was discovered, and they were destroyed soon after."
Now even Gadora was stunned into silence. Razen had clearly stated that everyone in the Seven Days Clergy was dead. Even Gren, the Sunday Priest, met his doom at the hand of Cardinal Nicolaus. It made Gadora realize just how feeble his intelligence network was. If Granville was dead, that lent credence to the reported fall of the Rozzo family. If he had learned that sooner, Gadora thought, he could have greatly revised their plan for this campaign.
And also:
"That little sneak… He knew it all along, and he never told me…"
Gadora recalled the face of Yuuki as he bitterly intoned the words. Perhaps the young man thought telling him would damper his lust for revenge; if so, Gadora didn't like it one bit.
"By 'little sneak,' are you referring to Yuuki Kagurazaka?" asked Razen. "That man's taken advantage of us as well, so I think I understand how you feel."
Being comforted by his apprentice put Gadora in a mood that was difficult to describe—half frustration, half embarrassment. And the way Razen put it, Yuuki was a thorn in Rimuru's side, too, although the demon lord chose to see how things unfolded before declaring Yuuki his enemy.
Damn you, Yuuki… Hiding things from me yet again, are you? You know full well I'm here to destroy Luminism, and you give me nothing but the vaguest reports from the Western Holy Church. Is there something that would cause you trouble if I heard about it…?
Now Gadora realized he was being used—and there, in front of Razen and the rest, he found himself unsure how their future would unfold.
"What a pickle this is. Now that I know all this, I really must reconsider our approach to this Rimuru."
The demon lord Rimuru was a greater threat than Gadora pictured. What was the correct way to address this? Gadora had his friend betrayed and killed; he wouldn't stop his crusade against Luminism now. But now everybody in the Seven Days Clergy—the most urgent target of his revenge—was already dead.
Now there was no reason to advocate for the West's fall so passionately. Gadora and the Empire worked together because they had common goals…and if that was no longer on the table, Gadora had no real obligation to the Empire.
…No. There is still another. The god, the one at the top—the demon lord Luminus remains.
His friend's belief in their god killed him. There was no way a demon lord borrowing the name of a deity could be allowed to stay alive. The realization made Gadora renew his drive to soldier on.
Or it made him try to.
"Sir Gadora, forgive me if I am out of line, but I feel that stopping this campaign is your best choice."
"Hohh?"
But the sight of Razen looking concerned for him made Gadora doubt his resolve all over again.
"Even now, my master, I see myself as nothing more than your faithful servant. However, I have now devoted even more of my loyalties to another. And if you are going to wage war against his country, it will force me to become your enemy as well."
"You don't mean Rimuru…?"
"No. It is Sir Diablo, one of many serving him, who is my master now."
This more than surprised Gadora a bit. Razen was his apprentice, one he was quite proud of, and hearing him serve someone who himself served a demon lord was a hard pill to swallow.
"I hate to interject," Saare said without prompting, "but I'm gonna take this
opportunity to say something. Diablo's the guy…um, I mean, the demon who defeated me."
The demon who was stronger than me? I have a hard time believing it, but if Razen serves him now, I can't discount it as a lie…
He still didn't think he'd lose, but Gadora made sure to keep the name Diablo in his mind.
"And let me tell you this as well, Sir Gadora," added Razen. "Sir Diablo is one of the old demons."
"I'd imagine so. If you lost to him, he'd have to be an Ancient. Maybe even a Prehistoric—a rare breed indeed."
If he was both that and a named creature, his powers could easily surpass a demon lord's.
"No, nothing of that level," said Razen. "He is far, far above that—" "He said he was a Demon Peer," Saare cut in.
"That…?!"
That's ridiculous, Gadora almost shouted. Demons could only evolve up to a set level—that was a hard rule, and as far as he knew, only one demon had ever defied it. This Arch Demon found a way to enhance himself up to Demon Peer, and it made him the most powerful, most villainous of all demon lords—Guy Crimson, the Lord of Darkness.
"Sir Gadora, the life span of my master, Sir Diablo, is not a matter up for debate. I trust you understand what I mean by that?"
Razen's words seemed a planet away to Gadora. He couldn't believe it; he didn't want to believe it.
"A—a Primal?" he mumbled.
"Yes."
The affirmation cruelly reached his ears. He tried to calm his heart as he discerned how truthful this was.
There certainly seemed to be ample reason to doubt Razen. If a Primal Demon
had taken physical form anew, it wouldn't be strange at all to see one reborn as a Demon Peer. If Razen was being truthful, it'd mean a massive rewrite of the Empire's campaign. Looking at Blanc, the Original White, and the headaches she'd caused the Empire, there was no need to explain just how dreadful a threat this was.
But…wait a moment. If a Primal has acquired a physical body, why hasn't any tragedy ensued?
Gadora had composed himself now. But even he knew the question wasn't important.
Now hold on just one minute. Does it even matter whether Diablo's a Primal? He's certainly taken Razen as his disciple—that much is obvious—and that could very well mean he's at least a Demon Peer already…
Then, hearing Yohm and the others chat among themselves, he froze.
"Yeah, but isn't that Sir Diablo guy the butler to Rimuru or somethin' like that? Like, when I went to the opening ceremony for our railroad earlier, I heard he didn't want to deal with Rimuru's personal stuff on his own any longer, so he scouted some friends and brought 'em on board."
"Oh yeah, I caught sight of one of 'em! Rimuru made her his special diplomatic envoy, so we met at the Council. She's got this snow-white hair, these deep-red eyes… Like, crazy hot."
Gadora sank weakly into his seat.
It—it can't be! Those are the exact physical traits of Blanc…
It was looking more and more like the truth, but to Gadora, it was nothing but a nightmare. He looked at Razen, currently sagely nodding to himself.
"This is all true?"
"I would never lie to you, my master."
Then Gadora realized something. Razen and his cohorts were being truthful. And it was purely out of concern for Gadora's health that they urged him to stop this war.
"It's that bad?"
Gadora's question was greeted with silent nods across the room. And when he saw this, a new thought made the blood drain from his face.
Ah! Shinji's group might already be out on the field!