"If only you had apologized even once, even a fraction sincerely."
Marbas picked up where I left off. His voice was unmistakably drained.
"An infinitesimally close-to-impossible possibility, yet still—Barbatos. If you had knelt before where Paimon lay and offered your remorse, we of the Neutral Faction would never have had to intervene. And had your provocation never occurred in the first place, the Plains Faction and the Mountain Faction would never have clashed either."
"……"
"Did you not realize it? No—were you even capable of realizing it……"
Marbas let out a sigh.
"We summoned the Demon Realm's Grand Dukes directly and had them verify the truth. The Grand Dukes testified to your deep involvement in the assassination, and it did not take long to determine that their testimony was no lie. Do you understand, Barbatos?"
Marbas murmured in a low voice.
"Before today's convocation was called, Sitri already knew everything."
"……"
"Yet Sitri chose not to accuse you. Instead, he merely demanded an apology. He gave you one last chance. Holding back tears of blood, suppressing the overwhelming urge to drive a blade into your chest right then and there, he granted you—and the Plains Faction—a single opportunity."
Marbas spoke with desperate sincerity, but his words were not reaching their target. Barbatos was looking only at me. His trembling eyes stared straight into mine, beseeching.
It's not too late yet. Anything is fine. Anything at all——
Please—just deny that you betrayed me.
Barbatos was saying exactly that.
Without breaking his gaze, I spoke.
"Lord Marbas. I would like to express my gratitude for the time you served as acting chairman in my stead. Though it is a heavy burden, I wish to resume my duties. Please return to me the right to preside over tonight's session."
"……Acknowledged. You hold the right to conduct this meeting. The right to grant or deny the floor. The right to bring matters to a vote. The right to adjourn or dissolve the meeting. All such authorities are hereby formally recognized as yours."
"Thank you."
And then comes the next part. Everything hinges on a single word I choose to utter.
Barbatos was a wise woman. She had already grasped how the situation was unfolding. And yet—or rather, because of that very understanding—she was giving me the chance to explain. She was handing the opportunity to deny the current situation back to me.
Everything we had built up over this time was stacked, layer upon layer, in this single moment.
"You discourteous wretch. If you mean to visit a lady's home, you ought to send word in advance."
"You men are about as sharp as a dried sardine. Back when I was your age, Batting, I could carouse day and night for three straight days without batting an eye."
Friendship.
"Fine, I'll cooperate. War? That's exactly what I've been hoping for. Sacrifice? If I were the sort to fuss over such things, I'd have given up long ago. For even a single moment of glorious battle, I'll bear anything. I am a Demon Lord, after all."
"Oh my. Our little schemer, the weasel Demon Lord, the half-baked Dantalion—just how foul a trick have you cooked up this time, to raise your hand with such confidence?"
Trust.
"Comrades. As you can see, I've already claimed this one. I've staked my mark, so if any of you want to steal them away, I'll kindly and lovingly beat you senseless. Only step up if you're confident you can take me one-on-one."
"...Truly, I'm the most important to you?"
"Please, stay by my side. Don't leave me alone anymore..."
Bonds.
A weight that even time itself could barely bear pressed down upon the space between us. Everything was being loaded onto this single moment. I braced my entire body against that weight and parted my lips. And the instant the tip of my tongue moved, something that had been binding the two of us together snapped silently—like a single string torn by a violent hand.
"For the crime of plotting and carrying out the assassination of the noble Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the Empire's Grand Seneschal, the Demon Lord Paimon—I, Barbatos, hereby strip you of the throne of Bohemia."
"......"
"This has already been unanimously agreed upon by the four Electors. There is no room for appeal. Given that the offender is the head of a faction, not only the offender herself but every Demon Lord belonging to that faction shall be imprisoned. Furthermore, I declare that all titles and positions held by them are hereby revoked as of this moment."
A single trail.
A single tear trailed down from the corner of Barbatos's eye.
"I... believed in you..."
"……."
"You said… I was the one… the greatest…"
I slowly raised my right hand and placed it against Barbatos's neck. My hand was close enough that it could have strangled that pale throat at any moment, but Barbatos didn't so much as flinch. It wasn't simply because Marbas's sword was threatening her.
—*Clack!*
In one swift motion, I tore the ornament from her neck.
The necklace Barbatos always wore. It was none other than a necklace threaded with my own fingers. The string of the necklace I had given her while swearing eternal love snapped easily. Once the thread that held them together disappeared, two fingers tumbled to the floor.
I gave the order.
"All of you. Cut off the prisoners' horns."
The Neutral Faction Demon Lords moved into action immediately.
For a Demon Lord, the horns were, alongside the heart, the source of life force and magical power. The more stunted the horns, the more wretched a Demon Lord was considered. One of the reasons I had once been called a half-baked Demon Lord was—among other things—that I possessed only a single horn, unbecoming of a true Demon Lord.
"You… you bastards…!"
"You think you'll get out of this alive, Dantalion?! I curse you! By my blood, I swear I will curse you for all eternity!"
The Plains Faction Demon Lords thrashed and struggled in defiance.
Horns were a Demon Lord's pride. To lose them was a humiliation worse than death. They had suffered the cruelest punishment at my hands—the very person they, until just moments ago, had regarded as the most dependable of comrades.
The Plains Faction Demon Lords resisted to the bitter end, but they were already half-dead from their injuries. Their heads were slammed against the hard, cold stone floor. The Neutral Faction Demon Lords subdued them and easily gouged out their horns. *Thud*—the sound of massive horns hitting the ground echoed one after another.
"Why… Dantalion, why did you betray us…!"
Brother Zepar lay pinned face-down on the ground, barely able to twist his head around to glare at me. His face was a mess of shock and humiliation.
"Didn't you love the Plains Faction more than anyone?!"
His entire body had been carved up and he had lost his right arm, yet Brother Zepar's roar still shook with terrifying fury.
"Didn't you love His Excellency the Corps Commander, Lord Barbatos?! Answer me, Dantalion! Answer me…!"
"No, Captain Zepar. Not at all."
I placed my hand on Barbatos's shoulder. Then, looking Brother Zepar in the eye, I spoke coldly.
"I have never loved the Plains Faction. I have never loved Barbatos, either. For someone of your station, Captain, you're quite the romantic. Love? Haven't we long since passed the age where we can afford to be bound by such things?"
A laugh slipped from my lips. It was unintentional, but fitting. The acting skills I had built over years with blood and sweat had already reached a level where they instinctively chose the right path, independent of my intentions.
"Honestly, I found it irritating. Every time someone opened their mouth—Barbatos, Barbatos, Barbatos. Do none of you have the capacity to think and act for yourselves? I simply cannot fathom your way of thinking."
"What did you just...?"
"The only concern rattling around in your heads must be how to start a war. The moment you equated the future of the Demon Lord's army with Barbatos's future, I was completely fed up with all of you."
I gently stroked Barbatos's cheek with my right hand. The traces of tears that had flowed and dried left a faint stain on my palm as well.
"Look. This is the Barbatos you all worshipped so fervently. He spoke so grandly about warrior's honor and pride, but in the end, the method he used to kill his nemesis Paimon was nothing but the most cowardly assassination. He couldn't even uphold the very convictions he espoused."
Suddenly, something wet the back of my hand. I didn't turn my head, but I knew it was Barbatos's tears.
It was fine.
Anything, everything—I could see it through to the end.
"And yet you still speak of honor? How impressive. Watching a murderer dress up his sins as aesthetics, I can't help but be filled with admiration."
"Remove your profane hand! His Excellency would never resort to something like assassination!"
"Oh my, you think I'm slandering him?"
I shook my head slowly.
"That's troubling. Well, I suppose it would be more comfortable for all of you to believe this is slander."
"You—how long do you intend to mock us...!"
"Very well. Please, do consider it slander. Believe that I lied to insult Barbatos, and that every member of the Neutral Faction here, including His Excellency Marbas, agreed to share in that lie."
Brother Zepar's expression froze.
That was right. It was only natural not to trust me, a traitor. But Brother Zepar knew as well. Marbas was not the kind of man who would launch a revolt over some fabricated lie…
Of all the Demon Lords, the most fair and noble, the one who presided over the absolute court — the illustrious Demon Lord Marbas. For the past two thousand years, he had never once sided with a false slander. The fact that Marbas endorsed my accusation lent overwhelming credibility to my words…
Brother Zepar clenched his teeth and screamed.
"That's absurd… That can't be!"
The air trembled. The poison of suspicion was spreading. The belief that Barbatos would never commit something like assassination. And yet, at the same time, the trust Marbas had demonstrated and proven over countless ages. The two collided head-on.
"I thought so too, Chief. I trusted Barbatos until the very end as well. In that very moment, with Paimon bleeding to death cradled in my arms — I did not suspect Barbatos…"
"…"
"After learning the truth, I confronted Barbatos. I told him to apologize to Sitri. If he couldn't do it officially, then at least through some indirect means."
It was an obvious lie.
But when proving it to be a lie was impossible, it was already a political truth.
"Indirect means… Don't tell me…"
"Yes. Today's assembly was precisely the occasion for that indirect apology. You, Chief, volunteered to apologize on his behalf, but that would have been meaningless. It was Barbatos's responsibility to apologize directly, nothing less."
Shock crashed down upon Brother Zepar's face once more. Right now, inside his head, the events and conversations of the past few days were being reconstructed in an entirely different light.
"You butted in at just the right moment, Chief. I was in a bind."
"…"
"Of course, your stepping forward didn't eliminate Barbatos's chance to apologize. But as you saw — rather than offering an apology here today, Barbatos attempted to annihilate the Mountain Faction."
I let out a dry laugh. My laughter echoed hollowly through the dome. The lightning had struck long ago. All that remained was the roll of thunder.
"This is not a forgivable sin. It is a sin that must not be forgiven. …Along with Barbatos, every one of you will be publicly beheaded in the square, before the citizens of the Demon Realm."
The faces of the Plains Faction Demon Lords twisted in utter horror.