The Gaslow Region of the Demon Continent.
It was one of the harshest territories on the entire Demon Continent.
The monsters inhabiting the Demon Continent were far more numerous and powerful than those found on other continents. But even so, their distribution was not uniform.
Just as the Biegoya Region was home to Acid Wolves and Pax Coyotes, this region housed a disproportionately high number of especially vicious creatures.
Basilisks that spat petrifying breath.
Black Drakes that soared freely through the skies, possessing powerful jaws and venomous claws.
Giant Lake Slimes that mimicked ponds.
White Fang Great Serpents covered in hardened scales that granted high agility and resistance to magic.
On top of that, there were zones of noxious gas, deep ravines, and other features that made this one of the most dreaded regions on the Demon Continent.
Towns and settlements were extremely scarce, and every one of them had been fortified into a sturdy stronghold.
Adventurers rarely came here.
However, it was said that those journeying on a martial pilgrimage would ultimately aim for this place.
The reason was that here stood the largest fortress on the Demon Continent—built by the former one of the Five Great Demon Kings, the Undying Necros Lacros.
The one who ruled it was the Demon King Atrofella Tofelle.
The "Undying Demon King" of the Gaslow Region.
During the war four hundred years ago, she had sided with Laplace, wreaking havoc and crossing swords with the Dragon God King Perugius and others on countless occasions.
Among martial artists, there was a well-known legend about her: "O seeker of power, go forth on a journey. O seeker of power, set your sights on the Demon Continent. Traverse the Demon Continent. Reach Necros Fortress. Traverse the Demon Continent. Gain an audience with the Undying Demon King Atrofella Tofelle. Show that king your strength, and thirst for even greater power. You shall obtain power without equal."
And not a single soul who set out in pursuit of that legend ever returned.
No one knew the truth...
Well, I knew it, though.
Most died midway through the journey, and of those who remained, the vast majority were absorbed into Atrofella's personal guard.
A few might come back, I supposed... but even if one or two told the truth, it wouldn't put an end to the rumors.
This legend had probably been spread by Atrofella's aide Moore, or someone like him.
What a terrible trap.
A demon's trap, playing on the earnest hearts of martial artists.
Anyway.
The party heading to her domain consisted of three, myself included.
Incidentally, I'd brought wine as a tribute.
According to
Well, even so, some kind of fight would probably break out.
--- Necros Fortress was about three hours away from the teleportation circle ruins.
It wasn't especially far, but the ruins housing the teleportation circle were nestled deep in the mountains—and happened to be inside a Black Drake's nest.
I tore apart the swooping black flying dragons, tossing them aside, tore them apart, tossed them aside.
I grilled the slain drakes over a fire and made scrambled eggs from the eggs we found, fueling up as we pushed onward.
It took about a full day to descend from a fairly elevated position, dodging and scattering the waves of monsters that came at us along the way.
This was the closest teleportation circle I'd ever encountered to a settlement...
Or rather, this was the first time I'd seen a settlement so close to a place with such dense mana.
"That wasn't too bad," Eris said lightly.
She had been eagerly cutting down every monster that charged at us.
It was as if she were saying, "See? All that daily training paid off."
Well, she never skipped her practice swings, so it made sense. Still, it seemed like she rarely got the chance to actually fight...
I'd heard she hunted monsters around town when I wasn't around.
"It was really rough out there... I can't imagine coming here alone." Roxy looked exhausted.
She had done her utmost to take routes where they wouldn't be spotted by monsters.
Thanks to her, we could safely say the souvenir wine had been preserved intact.
"You've still got a ways to go, Roxy!"
"Back when I was an adventurer, I could've moved more nimbly. But these days, it's all desk work..."
"At that rate, the students will start pushing you around."
"Indeed... Then perhaps you could spar with me sometime."
"Of course!"
As I listened to the conversation between Eris and Roxy, I gazed down at the fortress sprawling below us.
The overall color was black.
It was probably made from the same material as Xilica Castle.
The size was nothing special.
It had the look of a heavily walled castle with a town enclosed within—not unusual in this world.
What the word "fortress" truly referred to here was its structure.
The outer wall divided it into five tiered blocks, each set at a different elevation.
The three lowest levels contained a typical castle town.
The second level from the top held buildings that showed no signs of civilian life, plus what looked like a large open training ground. Military facilities, probably.
At the highest point, a castle-like black building loomed imposingly.
That would be the main keep.
We were approaching the fortress from behind.
From this angle, it looked rather unguarded.
Of course it did—the mountains behind it served as natural protection.
"Oh, there are people up there."
As I studied the fortress, I spotted figures standing atop the wall.
Five or so men clad in black armor.
They had noticed us and were making quite a commotion.
"Is it considered rude to enter from this side?"
"No, there's no such etiquette. They're simply surprised by travelers coming from the mountain side," Roxy replied firmly.
While she said this, Eris was already marching ahead.
I worried briefly about being shot at from above, but the men on the wall showed no sign of taking action.
Before long, we had arrived at the base of the wall.
There was what must have been a back gate—a slightly oversized door set into the wall. It was hard to spot from a distance, since both the wall and the gate were painted black, but up close it was unmistakable.
"O heroes! You have reached Necros Fortress!"
The language of the Demon God.
It had been a long time...
They say you never forget how to ride a bicycle, and apparently languages were much the same—once learned, they didn't fade easily.
But "heroes"?
"You have crossed the Demon Mountains—truly, that is the mark of a warrior!"
"What is it you seek—the glory of a hero, or the power of a Demon King!?"
"Either way, it matters not!"
"If you wish to pass through here!"
"Defeat us, the personal guard of Atrofella!"
In summary: you shall not pass.
Well, naturally.
No country on earth would let a stranger walk in through the back gate.
"Understood. We'll go around to the front gate."
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
I'd be humble and take the long way around. After all, I was here to ask a favor.
"............"
"......"
The black-armored men fell silent.
They were conferring with one another, uncertain of what to do next.
I'd been briefed on Atrofella herself, but not on the protocol for this kind of gate interaction.
Did I say something wrong?
"Oh, one thing—if you could pass along a message to Moore that
I probably should have mentioned earlier that I wasn't a threat. Oh well.
As I turned to leave— "Wait! Are you a guest of Lady Atrofella!?"
A voice rang out.
"Yes! She showed me a small kindness in the past! I'm here to pay my respects!"
"............Understood. Opening the gate now!"
Oh.
They were letting us in.
Good—I'd been dreading the detour, so this was a welcome development.
"You wanted to come in from the front, didn't you," Eris muttered.
I actually preferred the back. I wanted no part of that attraction where you defeat the Four Heavenly Kings of the Royal Guard one by one.
--- The Audience Hall of Necros Fortress.
It had no ceiling.
It was outdoors.
A long staircase flanked by thick pillars adorned with demonic carvings.
At the top of the staircase lay a vast hall.
The hall was ringed by candelabras bearing purple flames, and before each one stood a black-armored soldier, perfectly still at attention.
The hall was open, with no walls or railings. Approach the edge and you could look down upon the castle town of Necros Fortress below.
At the far end sat a throne festooned with ominous ornaments.
No, this wasn't an audience hall.
This was, more likely, a place where a massive magic circle would be drawn in times of crisis to summon some ancient archdemon.
And the hero's party would fight the Demon King to prevent that from happening.
That was what this place was.
Not an audience hall.
A final battleground.
"You have come far, O heroes!"
Seated on the throne was a woman.
A woman clad in the same black armor as those around her.
She was about the same height as Eris.
With a thoroughly delighted expression, she rose to her feet and swept her cape wide.
The setting sun dropping behind the mountains cast deep shadows across her figure.
In terms of sheer visual impact, it was majestic and fantastical.
At least in terms of appearance.
"I am Atrofella Tofelle Ryback, the Undying Demon King!"
From the moment we entered through the back gate, were brought before Moore, and were escorted to this battleground, about two hours had passed.
Had she prepared all this in that short time?
Or had she known about this fantastical setting and simply waited for sunset?
I couldn't tell which, but I'd give it four stars.
"You have come far for a mere mortal!"
"O courageous one who has overcome countless trials! Let me ask you!"
"Do you seek the glory of a hero? The title of legend? Or... the power of a Demon King?"
What an awful question.
If I answered "hero" or "legend," I'd get pummeled and conscripted.
If I answered "the Demon King's power," I wouldn't get pummeled and would still be conscripted.
It was an ultimate double bind where the only real answer was "yes."
"Heh heh heh..."
I noticed Eris grinning.
Right—this kind of thing was right up her alley.
"Atrofella, my lady... please reconsider..."
Moore, the black-armored man beside her, leaned in and whispered something to Atrofella.
Probably discussing the arrangement. We'd been expected as an apologetic delegation, so the fact that she was going on about heroes meant there had been some kind of misunderstanding.
"Shut up! From this direction, it's too bright to see properly!"
Atrofella Punch!
Moore went flying.
"Show me your face!"
Still holding out the fist she'd used to flatten Moore, Atrofella came striding toward us.
She walked right up until she was directly in front of me.
"Oh."
The moment our eyes met, Atrofella's face twisted—rapidly, unmistakably.
A grin spread across her face.
And in a low voice, she spoke: "So it's you..."
She said it as though she'd finally found someone she'd been searching for.
Terrifying.
"...H-Hello, it's been a while."
"So you came waltzing in here... the one who teamed up with Perugius to trap me..."
Atrofella's face was fixed with a ferocious smile.
But I'd anticipated this.
That was precisely why I'd brought the tribute.
This time, I could truthfully say I'd come to apologize.
"I, well, I would like to offer my sincere apologies regarding that incident—"
"Hmm. You've gotten quite a bit more manly-looking since last time. That's a good face—you've steeled your resolve. Every hero who challenged me had a face like that."
Atrofella didn't listen.
She simply widened her eyes and leaned her face close to mine.
Then she bared her teeth in a grin.
I could see fangs that looked like they might produce an audible glint.
"That's the face of a man who has accepted his death."
Oh. Hang on.
That wasn't supposed to happen.
I'd planned for this carefully... so why?
Why were my legs trembling?
No—this was bad. My whole body was shaking.
"Hmm?"
At that moment, my field of vision was filled with red.
Red hair.
"Get away from him."
Eris had stepped between me and Atrofella.
"And who the hell are you?"
"Eris
"Oh?"
Atrofella took a step back.
And studied Eris's face with a long, unblinking stare.
"Good face, good killing intent, good weapon. And right now, you're on the verge of cutting me down—I can feel it..."
Atrofella pinned Eris with a sharp gaze.
Eris returned the stare with eyes that burned like a wild beast's.
Tension crackled in the air.
"So you're the hero."
"That's right."
No, I'm not.
What are you even saying?
"That one over there—she's carefully scanning the surroundings... a mage, is she?"
"...Yes. My name is Roxy Greyrat. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Roxy lowered the brim of her hat slightly and bowed.
I'd have thought the mage part was obvious from her outfit alone.
"You've got a good face too. You intend to fight me?"
"...If Lady Demon King has decided to kill my disciple. Then I will fight, however feeble I may be."
So even the composed Roxy was prepared to fight.
That meant I had been looking really pathetic, hadn't I.
So terrified that these two felt they needed to protect me.
This wouldn't do.
I had to pull myself together.
"Kukuku... How interesting. All three of you are Greyrats... To think that a group sharing the same name would gather before me—it's truly amusing."
That was a pretty amusing coincidence, yes.
Eris and Roxy were both my wives.
Yeah.
Okay. I was calm now.
"Lady Atrofella. Before we fight, could I trouble you to hear me out?"
I steadied my trembling legs and turned to face Atrofella.
"Why should I?"
"Because I came here to talk."
"I hate talking. You humans are always spewing some nonsensical drivel."
"Today's should be straightforward enough."
I gave Roxy a look.
She set down the bag she'd been carrying and pulled a wooden box from inside.
I took it, held it up, and presented it to Atrofella with a respectful gesture.
"First, this. A token of my apology for what happened before."
"What is this?"
"It's wine, produced in the Asura Kingdom."
"Wine!?"
Atrofella's expression changed.
Just as the intelligence suggested.
According to Orsted, among the heroes who had fought her, there had been one who challenged her to a drinking contest, tried to get her blackout drunk, and then defeat her.
He'd lost.
In the drinking contest.
"At the coronation of the Asura Kingdom, Lord Nottos Greyrat presented this to the palace. It is an extremely rare vintage."
"Is it good?"
"Very much so."
I answered, though I'd never actually tried it myself, so I had no idea whether it really was good or not.
According to Ariel, it was a wine made roughly a hundred years ago.
Its quality was such that the Asura royal family had designated the vintner's cellar and vineyard as a royal supplier, and they stored most of it deep in the cellar, rarely letting any of it leave—so as not to waste it.
But a hundred years had passed since then.
The royal family had many important occasions, and every last bottle had been consumed.
However, that was only on the palace side.
The producer, Nottos Greyrat, still had bottles in his personal cellar.
During Ariel's coronation, ten of the bottles stored there had been presented as tribute.
A favor for Pilemon.
The current price was roughly three hundred Asura gold coins per bottle.
About the cost of a Linear.
It had to be good.
Of course, I hadn't bought it.
I'd asked Ariel if she had any fine wine, and she gave me a bottle.
It was only later, when I heard the price from someone else, that I nearly choked.
She'd agreed to the Dragon King Kingdom matter without hesitation, and lately Ariel had been trying very hard to do me favors—which was starting to get a little scary.
I had the feeling she might actually try to claim one of my children someday...
"So, it's good?"
"Yes. So please, forgive me for what happened before."
"Forgiven. I'm far more magnanimous than Perugius, you know. I don't hold grudges over something that petty."
"Thank you."
That was settled, then. The past was water under the bridge.
Though knowing her, she might forget once she drank it.
"The only one I won't forgive is Perugius. Someday, I'll kill that bastard."
Be my guest.
That was between the two of them.
Perugius would never deign to come here and bow his head either.
"So, is that all you have to say?"
"No, there's one more thing."
I pulled another bottle of wine from Roxy's luggage.
This was the one Orsted had given me.
It wasn't in a wooden box, and I had no idea of its maker or its price.
The low-transparency, antique-looking bottle was engraved with some kind of pattern.
But Orsted had said Atrofella would like it.
So the contents shouldn't be bad.
"Here—"
"Hey!"
The bottle was snatched from my hands.
"No way... this can't be... That's impossible... MOOOORE!"
At her sudden shout, the black-armored men began to murmur anxiously.
In the midst of the confusion, one figure shuffled over toward us.
The man whose face had been caved in earlier and who now sat in a pool of his own blood—Moore.
"Look at it! What do you think!"
Moore took the bottle and examined its surface in painstaking detail.
Then, upon seeing something like a marble-shaped object settled at the bottom, he let out a soft breath.
"It appears to be identical to the one I saw before."
"It must be! Where did you get this?!"
"My master, the Dragon God Orsted, told me that if I wished to be on good terms with Lady Atrofella, this would be the way."
"The Dragon God...! Then there's no mistake...!"
Atrofella's body trembled as she stared at the bottle.
"This is it—the same legendary secret wine of the Dragon Clan that Ulpen delivered on the occasion of my wedding with Kalman!"
Oh, so there was a backstory.
No wonder she was happy.
"It is called 'Dragon God Jewel Wine'!"
Whoa, that was a real finisher of a name. I was getting goosebumps.
But the contents were probably just some kind of ale? The bottle was so dark I couldn't really tell.
"The only time I ever drank this was on that very day. Since then, I've been searching everywhere for it—and at last, I've found it!"
A triumphant little jingle practically played as she raised the bottle overhead.
Whatever the case, if she was happy, that was all that mattered.
Orsted really had outdone himself.
He knew exactly what each person wanted.
Sorry, Ariel, but this contest was an overwhelming victory for Orsted.
"Then, that wine—"
"I've decided! I'll defeat you and claim that wine for myself!"
Atrofella made her declaration, wine in her right hand, Dragon God Jewel Wine in her left.
What she wanted, she would seize by force.
Truly a Demon King.
"I'll gladly give it to you!"
"What?!"
"It's a small token of friendship from the Dragon God Orsted to the Undying Demon King Atrofella!"
I shouted back at the top of my lungs.
A question mark appeared above Atrofella's head.
About three question marks later, her brain overloaded.
"You—have you lost your nerve?! Fight me!"
"I'm happy to fight, but the wine is yours!"
"This makes no sense!"
It didn't?
I see.
I thought I'd been pretty clear...
"If it's not a feast, not a celebration, not an apology, and not recompense—then why would you offer something like this?"
Moore stepped in with a timely follow-up.
Right.
I did need to explain that part.
"Actually, I've recently gotten myself into a fight with a man named Geese."
Something something—bringing powerful pawns to crush me.
"In that coming battle, I was hoping to secure Lady Atrofella's assistance."
I said nothing about the war with Laplace eighty years from now.
According to Orsted, if you asked Atrofella to help fight Laplace, she would absolutely refuse. It would end in a fight and nothing more.
It wasn't that she felt loyal to Laplace or anything—it was simply too complicated for her to understand.
Even in the future Orsted knew, Atrofella would almost certainly side with Laplace.
The conclusion was that persuasion was not worth the risk.
The finer details could be left to Moore.
"All right, I understand! I'm not an idiot, you know!
Fine! I'll do it!"
Atrofella probably didn't really understand.
She nodded with the same expression Eris wore when she said "I get it" without actually getting it.
This kind of answer meant Atrofella hadn't fallen for Geese's sweet talk either.
"Then, are we done?!"
"Yes."
And just like that, I had secured Atrofella's cooperation.
The Death God and the Undying Demon King.
Having brought these two defeated opponents onto my side, I felt I'd gained a tremendous advantage.
I didn't know where Geese was or what he was up to, but so far, things were going well.
Still, I'd braced myself for a fight, and it turned out unnecessary—how lucky— "All right, then! Let's duel!"
—Wait, what?!
"You said 'before we fight' a moment ago! Our talk is done. Next comes the fight!"
Huh? Did I say that?
No, but wait— I'd offered the tribute, she'd forgiven me.
She'd promised to be on my side.
There shouldn't be any reason left to fight.
This was strange—Orsted hadn't warned me about this.
"I am Atrofella Tofelle Ryback, the Undying Demon King! Heroes—all three of you, come at me at once!"
Why...
I stood there in confusion.
Roxy had a question mark floating above her head too.
The Royal Guard members didn't move—they seemed used to this, so apparently this was standard Atrofella behavior.
Even so, the atmosphere was one of weary resignation.
Moore wore a "can't be helped" expression.
Only one person stepped forward with an eager "finally!" look on her face.
"I'll be your opponent."
It was Eris.
She walked right up to Atrofella as though distance didn't matter, until their faces were practically touching.
"Oh? You want to fight me one-on-one?"
They were so close it looked like they might kiss.
"You're not worthy of Rudeus."
"Watch your mouth, girl."
Atrofella's killing intent surged in response to that blatant provocation.
"In the last hundred years, you're the first one to speak to me like that."
It would've been incredibly cool if she hadn't been holding two bottles of wine.
But if she fought like that, the bottles would surely shatter.
Just as I was thinking this, Moore stepped in from the side: "Allow me to hold those," and took them from her.
"Someone like you is exactly what my Royal Guard needs. I'll beat you into submission and add you to my ranks."
"If you lose, you'll do as Rudeus says. Agreed?"
"Very well."
Fight, win, become allies!
So this was what "straightforward" looked like.
I'd made a mistake.
I'd gotten the wrong idea.
Presenting a tribute to secure forgiveness, then presenting another to secure an alliance—this approach was far too complicated for Atrofella!
But then, I'd known from the start that a fight was likely.
Fight, win, and make the Demon King Atrofella an ally.
For that purpose, I had both the plan and the preparations in place.
Let's do this.
And so, the battle against Demon King Atrofella Tofelle began.