"……Barbatos. You're going to apologize?"
Sitri's tone held a note of surprise. Originally, she had only aimed for the matter to be settled at the level of Brother Zepar. She probably never expected the rival faction's representative to step forward.
"I'm a Demon Lord representing the Plains Faction. I have no intention of shifting the blame onto anyone else, nor do I plan to cower and hide. If an apology is to be made, it should come from my own mouth."
"You acknowledge the accusations Sitri has raised?"
Marbas furrowed his brows.
"That you orchestrated the Mountain Faction's internal strife and that you seduced Belial — do you acknowledge this?"
"I don't."
"What……"
Barbatos's flat denial stirred up the assembly. The Mountain Faction Demon Lords' expressions crumpled — Sitri's included. There was also a brief undercurrent of "figures" from some corners. Since Marbas, too, seemed to have no intention of quelling the commotion this time, he rode the momentum and pressed further.
"You say you'll apologize, yet you deny the accusations. What exactly is going on, Barbatos?"
"Here's the thing. I did do terrible things to the Mountain Faction — I'll readily admit that. But I didn't commit the specific wrongs that Sitri over there accused me of."
Barbatos shrugged. There was a playful edge to the gesture. That only further provoked the Mountain Faction Demon Lords. Sitri hissed under her breath.
"I demanded an apology. I didn't come here to listen to your nonsense."
"Calm down, Sitri. Your beloved sister is watching, you know. Raising your voice in a place like this is disrespectful to the deceased……hm?"
Barbatos gently ran his left hand along Paimon's glass casket. It was an unmistakable provocation.
The Mountain Faction Demon Lords and the Plains Faction Demon Lords drew their weapons almost simultaneously.
Though they had surrendered all their weapons upon entering the memorial hall, a Demon Lord possessed the ability to summon their personal armaments without drawing a magic circle. In the blink of an eye, a serpent sword was in Sitri's hand and an axe in Brother Beleth's.
"Right now — take your filthy hands off of her."
A thick, viscous killing intent seeped from Sitri.
At that, Barbatos held out his palm in his usual playful manner, saying, "Whoa, whoa."
"It's only proper to hear someone out until they're finished. Why the rush to draw blades? So what — I'm not even qualified to touch the coffin? If you really want bloodshed here, just say so."
"..."
"Old man Marbas, look at that. The Mountain Faction's new leader sure lets the blood rush to his head too easily. At least Paimon didn't draw a weapon over this kind of provocation."
The killing intent in the antechamber grew thicker and thicker. The air was practically daring anyone to say one more word. Before long, the Demon Lords of each faction had their weapons trained on one another without a single opening. Only the five independent Demon Lords — Vassago, Gamigin, Amon, and the others — watched the scene, which was one wrong step from turning into a complete circus, with great amusement.
"...Everyone is putting on the worst display they can muster, as though it were the best they had to offer — and it's rotting my stomach."
Marbas let out a sigh. It was so faint you could barely hear it, but to my ears it sounded like the heavens were crumbling. Maybe it was about time the alchemists of the Demon Realm invented some stomach medicine for Marbas.
"I'm sick and tired of you lot turning everything into a mess. Fight all you want. But whichever faction decides to strike first had better brace itself. The Neutral Faction will attack whichever side fires the opening shot."
The moment Marbas's declaration fell, the Demon Lords of the Neutral Faction summoned their weapons.
If the Mountain Faction and the Plains Faction clashed head-on, the Plains Faction would win nine times out of ten. But if the Neutral Faction joined the Mountain Faction's side, the outcome became anyone's guess. A stalemate took shape in which neither side could afford to make a hasty move.
Marbas must have wanted to curse the world. In the end, as long as violent threats were off the table, the Demon Lords would always try to subdue their rivals by force. One could shrug it off and say that was just how the world worked, but for Marbas, who prized political compromise above all else, it could only make his stomach churn……
"Well, we never had any intention of causing bloodshed in the first place."
Barbatos shook his head.
"Here's the deal. Neither I nor anyone else in the Plains Faction ever plotted or acted to deliberately stir up internal strife in the Mountain Faction. But we didn't exactly plan to stop someone who was walking over of their own free will, either."
"...So you're saying Belial acted entirely on his own?"
"Yeah, that's the truth."
Barbatos's lips curled upward.
"We had no intention of provoking you whatsoever. Belial simply offered to switch sides voluntarily. 'Strictly speaking,' we have no reason to apologize to you whatsoever……but still, whatever."
Barbatos tilted his head at an angle and glanced at the Plains Faction Demon Lords standing behind him, as if asking, "Right?" Of course, his attitude was anything but serious. The Plains Faction Demon Lords quietly chuckled, as though they'd heard a joke.
"I guess I was a bit careless there. Yeeeah, it was just one low-ranking Demon Lord trying to leave, after all. I never expected you'd go apeshit over that. I had no idea the atmosphere in the Mountain Faction was that bad. Sorry, sorry."
"……."
"I do have a bit of a deficiency when it comes to consideration, you know. I should have been more mindful of the circumstances even the minor factions face and kept everyone's behavior in check — but I failed to do that. No, I'm genuinely sorry. Did I tell Paimon to bow his head? Well, he's a corpse who can't even move at this point, so whatever. I'll bow on his behalf as many times as you like."
Barbatos spread both arms wide and offered a deep, courteous bow toward the glass casket, like a theater troupe director performing on stage. There was nothing about the gesture, no matter how you looked at it, that resembled a sincere apology.
As the air in the memorial hall grew steadily colder, Barbatos raised his head and flashed a grin.
"By the way, Sitri. I'm asking this purely out of genuine curiosity."
"……."
"Wouldn't it be better for the world and for those already gone if an organization so incompetent it can't even manage one measly underling just went ahead and perished?"
Sitri swung his sambok sword.
The blade curved like a whip, aiming for the nape of Barbatos's neck — but the moment it was about to sink in, Elder Beleth had already stepped into position to intercept the strike. Elder Beleth brought the flat of the sambok sword's spine crashing down, as though splitting firewood. The floor of the memorial hall shook with a thunderous thud.
The attack happened in a flash, and it was blocked in a flash.
"―――."
Elder Beleth let out a derisive snort toward Sitri. Was he already in a combat stance? Elder Beleth's brown musculature writhed and rippled as though alive. Sitri, in contrast, stared back with a cold, indifferent expression.
"So you did it."
Barbatos spoke. She was standing half-hidden behind Elder Beleth's frame.
"You attacked me first."
Barbatos raised his right hand high. Black mana swirled and poured forth from his palm. Moments later, his signature — his other half — was summoned: a great scythe, the blade of the grim reaper that severs not just the body but the soul itself.
"Old man Marbas. What are you going to do now? They attacked me first, you know."
"……."
"If you're still going to bring up some soft talk about political compromise or what have you, I might just end up a little disappointed in you, old man."
Marbas pressed his palm against his forehead. It looked like his head was throbbing. With his expression hidden behind his hand, Marbas muttered in a low voice.
"……Everyone. Join the Plains Faction."
The Neutral Faction Demon Lords simultaneously turned their blades.
With this, the formation was complete: nine from the Plains Faction and six from the Neutral, a total of fifteen Demon Lords surrounding the Mountain Faction.
Although the Mountain Faction's eleven wasn't a severe numerical disadvantage, the problem wasn't quantity but quality. The Plains Faction had Barbatos, Beleth, and Zepar. Every one of the Neutral Faction Demon Lords was a veteran of war. For the Mountain Faction, which mostly consisted of moderate members, the current situation was overwhelmingly difficult.
"Guh……."
"Insolent mongrels……!"
The Mountain Faction Demon Lords began to step back. They tried to shrink the space, aiming to face more enemies with fewer of their own numbers. But they were already losing the momentum.
Some of them instinctively glanced toward the antechamber entrance. In a pinch, they'd want to secure an escape route.
"Heh. You all look ready to fight~."
Unfortunately for them, three Demon Lords—Vassago, Gamigin, and Amon—were blocking the way to the entrance.
None of them held weapons, but in this situation, at this juncture, positioned precisely at the entrance, no one here was stupid enough not to understand what that implied. As if to prove it, Gamigin was staring at the center of the antechamber with eyes full of interest.
"……."
"……."
The Plains Faction Demon Lords took one step forward.
In response, the Mountain Faction Demon Lords took one step back.
Silence wavered.
The Plains Faction Demon Lords were in no hurry. Like a pride of lionesses circling their prey on all sides, they slowly tightened the noose. At most, they advanced one step every minute. However, within the antechamber enclosed by walls on all sides, a single step was decisive.
Five minutes later, the Mountain Faction Demon Lords were perfectly surrounded by the Plains Faction. Behind the Plains Faction stood the Neutral Faction. Further back were the unaffiliated Demon Lords. Not a drop of water could squeeze through—that's the kind of formation this was.
"I won't bother with the tired suggestion to surrender."
Barbatos said with a smile.
"But not you, Sitri."
"......"
"You were sad because Paimon died? You were anxious that if the Mountain Faction fell apart, every trace of Paimon's existence in this world would vanish? Is that why you butchered a hundred thousand innocent citizens of the Demon Realm? Did you think that would put Paimon's restless spirit to rest and let them close their eyes in peace?"
Barbatos's expression turned cold in an instant.
Every trace of the playful laughter he had worn up until now evaporated completely.
"Don't make me laugh, you miserable bitch."
"......"
"I'll tell you the truth. If you had to pick the Demon Lord who would have been most devastated by your massacre, it would be none other than Paimon—the one you loved and loved and loved again. You didn't just abandon your duty as a Demon Lord. You betrayed the heart of the one who threw her entire self at your feet and screamed your name."
Barbatos roared.
"Marbas! I submit a motion to this assembly! The crime of slaughtering a hundred thousand innocent citizens! The crime of privately executing the Demon Lord Belial, who committed no wrong whatsoever! On the strength of these two crimes, I call for the execution of the guilty Sitri in the name of the Demon Lord army!"
"......I accept the motion into consideration. Sitri, the Demon Lord designated as guilty, and Barbatos, who leveled the accusation—along with myself as the chair—are hereby temporarily stripped of our Elector status. The remaining three Electors will cast their votes."
Marbas looked around the room.
"There's no particular reason to refuse, so I'll agree~."
"I concur, naturally."
"Hmph. I also agree."
Gamigin, Zepar the elder, and Vassago voiced their assent.
Marbas let out a sigh.
"All three voting Electors have agreed, so the execution of Demon Lord Sitri is passed by unanimous vote."
"This is an absurd decision!"
"Have you people lost your minds?!"
The moment Marbas finished speaking, the Mountain Faction demon lords shouted out. But since they were locked in a blade-to-blade standoff with the Plains Faction right in front of them, they couldn't avert their gaze.
Barbatos grinned.
"This is your last chance, gentlemen. You can still switch sides honorably."
"......"
"I'm a generous man. If any of you wants to join in executing the Butcher Sitri, speak up now. I'll give you exactly thirty seconds."
The swords raised by the Mountain Faction demon lords trembled uneasily.