"…Oh."
Barbatos twisted the corner of her mouth.
Simple logic — those words had ignited her competitive fire.
In the end, she had cleanly admitted her own defeat. But was that truly a defeat born from an impeccable deduction? Couldn't there have been holes in it? Had Dantalion simply guessed right — relying on a bit of luck and intuition — when he named her as the culprit? That was what Barbatos wanted to know.
In duels between warriors, outcomes were often swayed by luck. Cases decided purely by luck were few, perhaps, but instances where luck played a significant role were commonplace. Barbatos knew this as well — that luck was an element of battle.
Yet Barbatos was born with the instincts of a warrior by nature. She craved a contest entirely free of luck — a true test of pure skill where only ability decided the winner.
"Very well! Dantalion."
Barbatos flung her empty goblet to the floor. The crystal cup shattered with a loud crash.
"I fully acknowledge your victory. I have no complaints about it whatsoever — not even a trace of regret or bitterness. If anything, I'm pleased. You turned out to be a remarkably gifted whelp, worthy of my expectations. I'll give you ninety-nine points out of a hundred. Do you understand what that means?"
"…So that means it's not a perfect score."
"Kekeke! That's right! Between a hundred and ninety-nine, there lies a chasm as vast as that between the ocean and the sky."
She thrust her right hand high into the air. At the Great Black Witch's gesture, the spirits answered.
The air grew bitterly cold.
—GROOOOAR.
Something mushroom-like surged up from the marble floor. It was the highest-tier monster — Death Knight. The kind of creature that could cut down a horde of Dantalion's weakest golems — those level-ten pawns — with a single swing of a blade. It wasn't just one. Dozens. Hundreds of Death Knights burst forth from the ground. They rose solely to answer their master's call.
—Grrrr…
—GROOOOAR.
In an instant, they filled the vast hall of the Demon Lord's chamber. Barbatos clenched the fist she had raised. All five hundred monsters drew their greatswords in unison. Five hundred blades sliding from their sheaths rang out in a deafening chorus. No one moved. Even breathing seemed to stop. The monsters formed perfect ranks in concentric circles with Barbatos and Dantalion at the center.
"…."
Dantalion didn't show it, but his heart was pounding. It was overwhelming. There was no army anywhere on the continent—no, anywhere in the continent—that could defeat the five hundred monsters arrayed here. Without question, this army belonged to the absolute strongest class across both the Human Realm and the Demon Realm, and it was silently pressing down on him with its presence.
"They are my proud subordinates!"
Barbatos spoke with a wide grin spread across her face.
"Not a single one among them has failed to march beside me across the battlefield over the past two thousand years, and not a single one has failed to taste the blood of glorious victory. They are my glory. They are my history. There is no Demon Lord in existence whom I respect as much as I respect them. Dantalion! Try to refute me in front of my most precious subordinates!"
She pointed a finger at Dantalion.
"It's a duel. No swords will cross and no blood will be spilled, but it is a proper duel where my pride and your pride collide head-on. Every worthy contest demands its share of spectators and stakes. Dantalion, accept my challenge. If you win, I'll hand over my twelve honorable Death Knights."
Twelve Death Knights!
Dantalion's heartbeat grew even more violent. At present, his dungeon level was still only three, which meant he could only purchase F-rank monsters. If twelve A-rank Death Knights joined his ranks, the benefit would be immeasurable—no calculation needed!
Despite his racing heart, Dantalion thought with perfect clarity. She had called it a contest. Since there was a reward for victory, there would naturally be a consequence for defeat. Dantalion spoke.
"That's extremely tempting. So, what happens if I lose?"
"Become my subordinate!"
Barbatos spread both arms wide.
"I've taken a liking to you. The fact that I like a man—that's a damn monumental event. Your mindset and ability are that captivating. I swear it. I will never treat you poorly. You will be recognized as the undisputed second-in-command of the eighth-ranked Demon Lord's army."
Her voice carried a thread of anger.
"Right now, most of the Demon Lords are trash! They've forgotten their very reason for existing as Demon Lords, concerned only with preserving their own lives and their own safety. What reason is there to even call them Demon Lords! How are they any different from those countless lords in the Human Realm! I declare that they are the trash among trash. Dantalion, come with me and burn all of that trash to ash on the surface."
Barbatos smiled darkly.
"And then, we conquer the Human Realm. We build a world for the Demonkin. An empire the likes of which has never existed before and never will again! A grand empire! And you will be its eternal prime minister."
"Heh."
Dantalion laughed.
"I see no reason to refuse. I accept the challenge."
"Good! Then prove it!"
Barbatos swung his arm. A transparent barrier materialized beside him and Dantalion. It was a list three times Barbatos's height. Thirty-two names were written on it, one per line, in large letters.
"Thirty-two Demon Lords attended the Walpurgis Night! Now explain why it was specifically I, Barbatos, who inscribed the brand on Leaf's corpse."
"First, I exclude every member of the Mountain Faction from the suspects list."
Dantalion spoke with supreme confidence.
"The reason is simple. The Mountain Faction wouldn't frame Belial, who is also of the Mountain Faction."
"Ha, how ridiculous!"
Barbatos laughed.
"Why assume a third party left the mark? It's entirely possible Belial himself inscribed the brand on Leaf's corpse. Dantalion, this is a sacred duel. Not a single bit of sophistry can be forgiven. Explain!"
"This isn't sophistry or anything of the sort. The fact that the mark remains on Leaf's corpse—that very fact proves the one who left the mark is not Belial."
Dantalion continued.
"Let's call the one who secretly aided Leaf's party from the shadows the 'benefactor.' Why didn't this benefactor fight me directly? Why did they covertly support a human adventurer's party? There can only be one reason. They wanted to hide their true identity."
He clasped his hands behind his back and paced slowly back and forth.
"Thus, the act of 'secretly aiding Leaf' and the act of 'leaving evidence on Leaf's body that he aided him' are clearly contradictory. Therefore."
He traced his fingertip along the section of the giant list where Belial's name was written.
"The one who marked Leaf's corpse was not the benefactor. This introduces another 'third party' separate from Leaf and the benefactor. That person is the one who carved Belial's mark onto Leaf's corpse."
"Kahaha. Fine, I admit it."
Barbatos gave a sharp flick of his arm. A swishing sound came from the list, and a long horizontal line was drawn through the center of the section reading 'Rank 68: Belial.' Dantalion's attack had succeeded.
Barbatos remained unfazed. One person among the thirty-two had been cleared of suspicion. So what? That was still just one. Thirty-one remained! Identifying exactly who the third party was among them was still hopelessly difficult.
"But Dantalion, your logic has a flaw. You can't just wipe the entire Mountain Faction off the suspect list simply because they share the same faction!"
Barbatos grinned.
"Even if they're in the same faction, it's entirely possible to hold grudges against each other. Demon Lords are the type to beat the hell out of each other even within the Plains Faction. You think the Mountain Faction is any different! Some Mountain Faction bastard might have done it because he fucking hated Belial."
"Interesting rebuttal. But it's useless."
Dantalion slowly looked around without breaking his stride.
"I quite detest rebuttals made purely for the sake of rebutting. So many so-called rebuttals that look plausible on the surface are really nothing more than excuses to nitpick. Belial is ranked sixty-eighth."
He emphasized and repeated himself.
"A mere sixty-eighth. If there's someone who seriously needs to scheme against the sixty-eighth ranked—someone who has to go through this much convoluted planning—then that someone must be someone who can't attack even the sixtyeighth ranked through normal means. Someone weaker than the sixty-eighth. That means ranks sixty-nine through seventy-two, a total of four people, become suspects. Oh well, how unfortunate."
Dantalion held up four fingers. He folded his index finger down.
"The seventy-second, Andromalius, was killed by me. Removed from the suspect list—that leaves three. Next, the seventy-first, yours truly Dantalion, is obviously not the culprit. Removed from the suspect list—that leaves two."
"Hmph."
Barbatos waved his hand. A line was drawn through "Rank 71: Dantalion" on the enormous list. Dantalion continued.
"The seventieth, Seere, participated in the hearing and was alive, but isn't in the Mountain Faction. Not affiliated with any faction. Removed from the suspect list. That leaves just one—the sixty-ninth ranked, Decarabia."
Dantalion raised his voice.
"But Decarabia didn't attend the hearing! He can't be the culprit. Therefore, your rebuttal that someone within the Mountain Faction framed Belial is invalid."
"...Kuh. But the possibility remains that a Demon Lord ranked above sixty-eighth framed Belial!"
"Now that's a real stretch. Take a look for yourself."
Dantalion shook his head. He pointed at the list with his hand. The same names that Lapis had once submitted to Dantalion on a parchment scroll were listed there.
────────────────────────
Rank 5: Marbas · · · (Neutral)
Rank 8: Barbatos · · · (Plains)
Rank 9: Paimon · · · (Mountain)
Rank 10: Buer · · · ( - )
Rank 12: Sitri · · · (Mountain)
Rank 14: Leraje · · · (Plains)
Rank 16: Zepar · · · (Plains)
Rank 20: Purson · · · (Neutral)
Rank 21: Morax · · · (Mountain)
Rank 22: Ipos · · · ( - )
Rank 27: Ronove · · · (Mountain)
Rank 31: Foras · · · (Mountain)
Rank 33: Gaph · · · (Mountain)
Rank 50: Purcas · · · (Plains)
Rank 55: Orobas · · · (Mountain)
Rank 57: Ose · · · (Mountain)
Rank 62: Balak · · · (Mountain)
Rank 68: Belial · · · (Mountain)
Rank 70: Seere · · · ( - )
Rank 71: Dantalion · · · ( - )
────────────────────────
"The Demon Lord ranked directly above Belial is Balak, ranked 62nd. That's a difference of only six ranks. The weight their voices carry within their factions would be worlds apart. Would someone ranked 62nd go through the trouble of secretly backing a human adventurer party from behind, marking a corpse—that kind of petty, thankless chore? And all for what? To have me, Dantalion, ranked a full 71st, carry out his revenge on his behalf?"
Dantalion laughed.
"That doesn't make sense! The one who framed Belial wasn't from the Mountain Faction. It was someone else outside the Mountain Faction who carved the inscription onto Leaf's corpse to put Belial in danger. The third party must have had their own ulterior motive!"
"……."
His first objection was shot down.
Barbatos had been relieved that with thirty-two attendees, there was no way anyone could single out the culprit with certainty. The price of that complacency was steep.
The Demon Lords who participated in the Walpurgis Night—thirty-two in total.
Of those, seventeen belonged to the Mountain Faction.
She could only watch in silence as Dantalion struck the entire Mountain Faction off the suspect list. Barbatos twisted his lips and waved his hand.
— Scritch-scritch-scritch!
In an instant, eighteen names were slashed through. The sense of security that came with a suspect pool of thirty-one evaporated in a heartbeat.
"There. The suspect pool has dropped from thirty-two all the way down to fifteen. Of course, since I've cleared myself too, the real number is fourteen. It's still a lot, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's impossible to narrow down the culprit."
"…Tch."
Barbatos swallowed a bitter sound. Dantalion's face was radiant with confidence.
"Now then, let's eliminate the next possibility… but first, how about a drink to wet the throat?"