A few days later, beast activities intensified on other continents.
Furthermore, some individuals began invading our own continent as well.
They were apparently attacking coastal towns while devouring marine life.
Previously, their movements had been sporadic and chaotic, but now they bore the hallmarks of organization.
While they appeared to be rampaging wildly, tracing their movements across various locations revealed a certain pattern.
It was proof that these individualistic beasts had united.
They must have learned of the Demon Lord Army's strength and devised countermeasures.
It was precisely the development Gwen had predicted.
Though each harbored their own motives, the beasts prioritized my predation above all else.
To achieve their goal, they had begun acting as a single faction.
Until they could incapacitate me, they likely intended to cooperate.
Within the continent, chaos still reigned.
However, the damage inflicted by the beasts was minimal.
They were being misled by the conflicting information.
The various nations seemed unable to decide on a unified response.
For now, they maintained a stance of quiet observation, focusing their efforts on subduing the beasts that appeared within their borders.
The upper echelons knew of the Demon Lord's power.
They understood that doing nothing was best.
It was a truly prudent judgment.
(Nowhere near peaceful, is it...)
I read through the reports, cheek propped on my hand.
None of these events seemed like they could have unfolded in just a few days.
That's how fast the current of the world is moving now.
Everyone is pushing themselves to the limit.
Yesterday, it seemed a hero-like figure appeared in a small port town.
After struggling valiantly against a massive horde of beasts, they fell in battle.
The will of the world must have manifested, but its power wasn't enough, I suppose.
Even heroes cannot always achieve victory.
They often lose their lives in reckless advances.
It was astonishing that an ordinary person without countermeasures could slay a beast at all, but they clearly didn't possess the ability to exterminate them.
The Demon Lord's Army was active across the continent.
I had adopted the method of revealing the beasts' locations, and then dispatching forces there.
The defeated individuals were transferred to the Valley of the Dead and converted into sustenance.
Thanks to that, their power had swelled, and there wasn't the slightest consumption of magic power or miasma on my part.
I remained in the Royal Capital, serving solely as the command tower.
Since the beasts' target was me, I concluded I shouldn't be moving around.
Instead, I inscribed spells onto the Demon Lord's Army's armaments, devising it so they alone could kill the beasts.
For those who could use magic, I passed on specialized incantations.
Compared to before, subjugation should have become far easier.
In reality, the Demon Lord's Army was achieving victory after victory in every region.
We are maintaining minimal damage while achieving remarkable victories.
Even after hearing reports from our commanders, it seems we are fighting without any precarious moments.
Regarding individual skirmishes, we have established a system where we can rely on their judgment.
While commanding the Demon Lord's army, I was simultaneously extending the range of my detection magic across the entire world.
Through this, I was flushing out the hidden beasts.
It was my first attempt to expand the range this far, so I was struggling somewhat, but the work was progressing steadily.
Once this uncovers all the beasts, I intend to make my move.
I will annihilate them in a short, decisive battle to firmly establish world peace.
Depending on the situation, I even plan to defeat the beasts that might exist outside the world.
It would also be good to set up a barrier to prevent the beasts from the outer world from entering.
In any case, I was planning to settle the matter with the outer-world beasts soon.
However, the turmoil did not stop there.
While the outer-world beasts were rampaging, a strange event occurred.
Specifically, a certain cult beyond the continent succeeded in the descent of a god.
According to the cult's statement, their prayers had been answered.
If this were just a rumor, it could be dismissed as delusional talk.
However, the entity called a god shattered the beasts that were attacking people.
After sweeping away the domestic beasts from that point, it made a grand declaration.
The creatures causing havoc across various regions are Calamity Beasts.
They are kin summoned by the Demon Lord; if the Demon Lord commanding them is destroyed, they will be subdued.
Several nations, upon receiving this information, formulated plans for a Demon Lord subjugation.
There were even rumors that armies were preparing to cross the seas at once.
The fact that the Demon Lord had long been perceived as a danger, with similar whispers circulating, likely played a major role.
With the backing of a divine voice, the people were finally mobilizing in earnest.
The current Demon Lord had been recognized as the enemy of the world, now targeted by the entire globe.
Coincidentally, this formed exactly the configuration I desired.
"A god, huh..."
I murmured.
At that moment, a distinct presence manifested beside me.
"In this world, there is no administrator akin to a god."
I looked toward the source of the voice.
Standing there was the Great Spirit that had possessed Yura.