"Throughout all of history… there has never been a Demon Lord who turned his blade upon the Demon Realm."
The Viper Grand Duke felt his voice go dry.
He poured the wine from the decanter on the table into his glass with a leisurely air, as though Dantalion's words were merely something to whet the appetite. I didn't flinch. This topic truly was worthy of being an appetizer for a sip of wine. That was the impression he wished to convey.
The Grand Duke was desperate.
"In the face of such an unprecedented event, the Demonkin will be greatly shaken. In fact, the confusion might even spread to the Crescent Alliance Army on the continent. The plan to stabilize the rear of the Crescent Alliance Army could backfire."
"Oh my. Aren't you quite concerned about the Crescent Alliance Army, Grand Duke?"
Dantalion taunted. The Viper Grand Duke kept his expression unchanged and bowed his head respectfully.
"I am, however lowly, still a member of the Demonkin."
"Even if things become somewhat chaotic, it doesn't matter. To that end, we'll crush the human armies beforehand — thoroughly. After all, Lord Bael's army is still intact. It should be more than sufficient to subjugate the Demon Realm."
Indeed. Bael's army was the strongest across all worlds. More importantly, Bael enjoyed immense popularity among the Demonkin. A plausible justification… what would happen if they attacked under a banner like "liberating the Demon Realm"?
The Viper Grand Duke took a sip of wine. This wouldn't work. He would lose for certain. The Demonkin had always resented the iron-fisted rule of the Grand Dukes. When the number-one ranked Demon Lord descended, countless would welcome him with open arms.
From the very beginning, Demonkin were fundamentally incapable of defying a Demon Lord. Even if they resisted with all their might, how long could they hold out? At best, two or three years. The Demon Realm would be unified under the Demon Lord. Imagining that far ahead, the Viper Grand Duke felt utterly wretched.
"What's this. Don't look so dejected. The Demonkin are ruled by the Demon Lord. Isn't that the natural order? The Demon Realm, after all, rightfully belongs to the Demon Lord. It was merely left in your Grand Dukes' care for a time. I'm simply returning what was entrusted to its rightful owner. Think of it that way, and there's nothing to be upset about."
Dantalion laughed cheerfully.
*How dare he, the weakest of them all.*
The Viper Grand Duke brimmed with fury. What do you mean "returning what was entrusted"!
The Demon Realm belonged to no one. It was nothing more than a barren, desolate wasteland. Plant a single grain of wheat and you'd be hard-pressed to harvest two or three. Dig underground and you'd never find a wellspring.
The demon race despised their homeland and called it hell.
The Demon Lords had abandoned this land. They turned their backs on this world. They departed, vowing to venture forth into a more fertile world — a continent. Countless Demonkin followed in their wake. The monsters that now infested the continent were none other than the descendants of those emigrants.
On the other hand, there were those who remained. They had adapted to hell in their own way. The survival of the fittest, the winner takes all — these horrifying social principles had ground on like interlocking gears for so long it felt nearly eternal. The Grand Dukes of Hell were precisely the ones who had clawed their way through those gears by the skin of their teeth.
Now they wanted to reclaim the Demon Realm? Because it had originally been theirs and they deserved to have it returned?
Grand Duke Toksa screamed inwardly.
'You've got to be kidding me!'
After wasting lives over and over on that continent for the so-called Crescent Alliance Army and whatnot — how dare they deny the true masters of the Demon Realm, the ones who had ground through this wasteland with flesh and bone?
Bael's army? Fine. Bring it on. They would gladly bring about their own ruin. But don't you dare expect that we have no cards up our sleeve — not even one or two trump cards. They would rain curses down until the very day the world ended. They would turn every corner of the earth into hell…
Grand Duke Toksa steeled himself for the worst-case scenario beneath a mask of composure.
But before crying for a fight to the death, there was one thing he needed to confirm: Dantalion's objective. The other side actually possessed the power to subjugate the Demon Realm. They had justification, too. Yet rather than attacking outright, they had come to negotiate with him, a Grand Duke of Hell.
Why? If the other side was willing to compromise, that would be the best outcome. The worst-case scenario was if their objective was nothing more than an ultimatum — then it would be a choice between annihilation and surrender, nothing more.
Dantalion broke into a grin.
"Oh my. Grand Duke, the mood is much too stiff. Let me lighten things up."
"Ha ha. My apologies. I was simply startled by such unexpected news."
"It's not all bad news for you, you know."
So now they were getting to the point. Grand Duke Toksa tensed.
"…You mean?"
"Have I not told you already? As you well know, the Demon Lord's army has its factions. Some believe the Demon Realm must be taught a lesson. Others say it should remain at the level of a recommendation."
"…!"
Grand Duke Toksa felt as though his vision had brightened.
There had indeed been Demon Lords who were endlessly sympathetic to the Demon Realm. Barbatos was the prime example. And as it happened, the man before him was Barbatos's close associate.
'Of course! So that's how it is!'
The Grand Duke understood the full picture in an instant. The Supreme Demon Lords had formed some kind of alliance. The purpose was simple: deal with the Hell Grand Dukes who were secretly orchestrating the Crescent Alliance Army's failure. But there had clearly been fierce debate over the exact method of doing so.
"Your Grace Dantalion... what do you think?"
"Our opinion is relatively moderate."
Dantalion had used the word "our" again. The Grand Duke intuited that it carried a different meaning than before. In other words, the Plains Faction's opinion — Barbatos's opinion.
"Isn't it enough for the Grand Duke to simply show proof of unwavering loyalty to the Demon Lords? That is what I believe, at least."
Dantalion smiled. His gaze was infinitely cold.
"I trust you understand what that means."
"In wishing for the Crescent Alliance Army's success, I will donate one million gold."
The Grand Duke answered immediately.
"Not just this once, but whenever the opportunity arises, I will wholeheartedly and with full support assist Your Grace Dantalion. With Your Grace, one million gold will surely be handled wisely."
Grand Duke Toksa had emphasized Your Grace Dantalion in particular. The one million gold would be delivered entirely to you. You are free to skim whatever margin you like from it. We won't interfere. That was the meaning.
Dantalion smiled in a way that could have meant understanding or not. He raised the water skin to his lips and quenched his thirst.
Grand Duke Toksa found it difficult to gauge what Dantalion's gesture meant. Was it enough? Was it insufficient? The man before him was simply unfathomable.
"Grand Duke, you worry too much. We are not trying to take a cut of your taxes. A subject doesn't need to pledge loyalty to their sovereign every single day, does he?"
In other words, the tribute would end with this one time and never be demanded again.
Grand Duke Toksa's mind spun rapidly. As expected, the Supreme Demon Lords were wise. They saw through the fact that threats lose their effectiveness when repeated multiple times.
Even Hell's Grand Dukes couldn't cough up enormous sums like one million gold indefinitely. Before long, the tribute would become a crushing burden. The Grand Dukes would outwardly comply but grow ever more resentful. A rebellion would erupt. They would explode.
'This... could it be that they genuinely intend to cooperate with us?'
Had they planned to annihilate the Hell Grand Dukes, they would have demanded tribute payments in succession instead. They would have deliberately provoked an explosion. They would have invaded Hell under the pretext of putting down a rebellion. Instead, they had demanded only a single oath of loyalty...
Dantalion could not be trusted. Bael could not be believed either.
But if it were Barbatos, that was a different matter, thought Duke Poisons. A Demon Lord who had lived her entire life with the dream of conquering the continent — she could be trusted. Surely she would have found talk of securing the rear or retaliating against the Grand Dukes distasteful.
An opportunity to invade the Human Realm had finally presented itself. Now was not the time to fight their own kind... A Demon Lord like Barbatos would have thought exactly that much, at least. Which was precisely why she had dispatched her confidant, Dantalion.
"I shall sponsor an additional one million gold, if it please you."
"How generous."
Only then did Dantalion smile with satisfaction.
"However, Your Highness, even two million gold is quite a burden on me as well."
"Hmm? Surely you're not saying that's too much."
"Not at all. It's simply that if there is one thing this humble servant has learned in his four hundred-odd years of wretched existence, it is that nothing goes wrong when you insist on certainty in all things."
Duke Poisons set down his wine glass.
"If my sincerity meets with your satisfaction, then I dare make one request — that Your Highness also present at least some minimal proof."
"In short, you want me to prove that Barbatos and I are truly on the same side?"
"...Yes, Your Highness."
The Grand Duke felt yet another chill race down his spine — he had lost count of how many by now. The man before him leapt to conclusions in conversation without the slightest hesitation. As though it were only natural, he saw straight through to the other side's true intentions. Ranked seventy-first, yet in practice the chief strategist of the Plains Faction. So this was Dantalion.
"Fine, be that way."
Dantalion answered readily. Then he produced something from inside his coat and placed it on the table. Duke Poisons, relying on his long years of discernment, recognized it as a magical artifact.
"What is this?"
"An artifact imbued with a Memoria enchantment. Go ahead and verify whether it's a forgery. You surely know a thing or two about identification magic."
"As you command."
Duke Poisons was no mage. But he had plenty of mages under his command. From the rings adorning his right hand, he pressed the one on his ring finger against the artifact. The Grand Duke murmured a low activation phrase. Immediately, green light seeped out of the ring.
"......"
There was no response whatsoever. The artifact bore no magical traces. Whatever kind of imagery it contained was unknown, but there was no reason not to trust it as genuine for the time being. Duke Poisons withdrew the magic from his ring.
"I humbly apologize, Your Highness. It is undoubtedly not a forgery."
Dantalion grinned mischievously.
"Are you truly certain? The contents are rather stimulating, I should say. I'd recommend you double-check now rather than being caught off guard later."
"Ho ho. You have piqued my curiosity."
Duke Poisons flashed a genial smile.
"It is a presumptuous suggestion, but this ring was crafted by one of the few Eighth Circle mages in the Demon Realm. There is no need to take up Your Highness's time unnecessarily."
"Then by all means. Do enjoy it."
"Yes."
The Grand Duke activated the artifact. It hummed with a low vibration. The instant the imagery was about to project from the device, Dantalion spoke.
"I did explicitly warn you."
The scene unfolded across the secret chamber. Duke Poisons tensed, wondering what sort of sight could warrant such a warning. Finally, the first sounds burst forth from the image.
—Ah, hnngh!
"......"
Duke Poisons's composure shattered involuntarily. His expression—the one that had withstood Dantalion's relentless provocations until now—crumbled without mercy. And for good reason.
—Hnngh! No! Stop! Please, hnngh! Don't—!
—Shut your mouth, filthy sow. When did I ever give you permission to use words? Grunt like the pig you are.
The artifact contained footage of an intimate scene.
The Grand Duke looked at Dantalion in bewilderment.
"Y-Your Highness, what exactly is this."
"Be quiet."
Dantalion wore an utterly frigid expression. This was no joke — focus. That intensity radiated from him like killing intent.
The Grand Duke snapped back to his senses. That's right. Having come this far, there was no way Dantalion would toy with him. This meant the footage held some significance. But what was it? Despite the moans continuously blaring from the artifact grating on his ears, the Grand Duke turned his head and fixed his gaze on the video.
— Squeal... oink oink, squeaaaal...
— That's right, that's it, you filthy sow! You are the most debased and useless flesh slave in the world. Do you understand, you filthy sow? You are nothing but a lump of meat born to roll around in the dirt.
The Grand Duke immediately grasped the shocking truth.
The footage showed a man and a young woman. The man was none other than the person before his eyes — Dantalion. He lorded over her like a tyrant, toying with her. Lick my toes. Touch yourself. Say aloud that you're a cheap, heat-crazed sow. He issued one unreasonable command after another.
And the young woman —
— Fine. What am I? A filthy sow. Even a cock-slut like you must have a mouth hole. Go on, run that filthy tongue — what am I to you?
— Master... Lord Dantalion is, hnn, the master of this sow Barbatos.
The eighth-ranked Demon Lord and leader of the Plains Faction — it was Barbatos.
============================ Author's Afterword ============================
This is what the two of them are up to.
Quite the intimate little scene, wouldn't you say?
[Reader Comments]
TheDaybreak// You've reclaimed the first comment spot again.
Secret// As expected, Laura is running in first place by a wide margin.
asdMage// Dantalion — a story that starts with deception and ends with deception.
woomee9// Yes, I plan to elaborate on that part later.
Lunienm// I'm not late!
Dantalion's going around shakedown-style extorting kind and gentle Grand Dukes to afford a house.
Haldeim // Only realized their own talent after coming to this world.
Ronaf // I did this for reference purposes. It might affect things when I design the cover later!
Hellun // Thank you.
Skyraven // There's also a high probability it's all lies from start to finish. (...)
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