Representatives leading two factions of similar scale gathered in one place.
A highly symbolic meeting that could shake the current political landscape of the Demon Realm.
However, the atmosphere they radiated was starkly different, making it feel awkward for them to be in the same location.
“Nice to meet you! It’s my first time seeing you in person. My name is Hela. Nice to meet you!”
A beautiful woman, seemingly brightening the surroundings just by existing, greeted them with a friendly smile.
The pair of long horns extending from her head and her eerie eyes only added to the strange aura that surrounded her, giving her a unique charm.
She waved her hand lightly as she entered the room.
“Please take a seat.”
In contrast, the one who was already seated had an incredibly bland attitude.
No, it was beyond bland; his presence seemed to suck the color out of the world around him.
The long black robes draped over his body trailed on the floor, and atop his head sat the skull of a ram with curved horns.
Visually, he was so ominous he could put the Undead King to shame.
An inexplicable sense of rivalry surged from within Hela as she looked at him.
‘Wow, what a visual! And upon closer inspection, that’s not a mask, is it? His head actually looks like that!’
While there are humanoid demons and beast type demons, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were Undead type demons as well.
After all, the very existence of Undead is strongly negative, making it a good match for demons.
‘Yet, something about him doesn’t seem quite like a typical Undead.’
With her knowledge in the Undead realm, she couldn’t be mistaken; she was undoubtedly the best in the world.
The Duke of Darkness Pieta was not fully Undead; only parts of his body were, while other parts were relatively intact.
‘Fascinating. To think Undead flesh and biological tissues can coexist within a single entity.’
Such a thing would only be possible for a being that’s not an ordinary life form, but rather a demon.
Hela’s eyes sparkled with curious excitement as she inspected him from different angles.
Though she had been in the Demon Realm for quite some time, this was the first time she encountered such a unique existence.
“…I believe it’s rude to stare like that on our first meeting.”
Of course, such a gaze couldn’t help but feel unpleasant to the subject.
The Duke of Darkness, unable to hold back, bluntly spoke up.
“Oh my, I’m sorry! I got so curious because it’s so fascinating.”
“I understand. Demi-Corpses are quite rare even in the Demon Realm.”
“Thanks for understanding. But that head of yours is truly amazing! Honestly, it’s totally my type.”
“…I appreciate that.”
“That’s not just out of courtesy! If I had my way, I would love to…”
She hesitated.
Hela, who was about to spill her true thoughts of wanting to rip off his head and hang it on the wall as decoration, stopped herself just in time!
No matter how inconsiderate she was, she certainly knew that wasn’t appropriate to say in this situation.
‘No, no. I didn’t come here to fight.’
Now was not the time to confront the other party.
With that thought in mind, she shrugged off her peculiar remark, smiling again to change the subject casually.
“…Oh, right! This over here is Davidson. Isn’t he adorable?”
“Ka Ka Ka K!”
As if in agreement, three heads opened their mouths wide, revealing their vicious teeth.
Red flames danced within the deep throats.
Whether it had any effect or not, Pieta was intrigued by Davidson, not caring about Hela’s vague remark.
“That’s hellfire. Could it be a variant of Cerberus? No, it seems more akin to a Chimera instead…”
To someone like him, whose main focus was magic, an unknown existence like this offered a perfect opportunity to satisfy both excitement and thirst for knowledge.
Just by looking, this creature was undeniably a considerable monster.
If it hadn’t been for this meeting, he would have stopped at nothing to use this creature as an experiment.
‘Of course, what I’m really interested in is over there.’
As he fascinatedly observed Davidson, his gaze drifted to Hela, who was affectionately patting her pet monster.
Again, the results were the same, no matter how many times he checked.
‘It’s undeniable. This exudes the essence of a Demon King. Add to that, how much he resembles the 14th generation…’
Like a law of nature, the air of dominance that designated the members of the Demon Realm to be above others pressed upon his flesh and spirit.
For someone of his rank, it might only feel uncomfortable, but for the demons below Marquis status, it would be nothing short of a severe mental assault when paired with his unique ‘demonic’ presence.
The idea of a fully committed fight would never materialize, and simply being in the same space would unknowingly sway them to his side.
No, it is even more dangerous that they remained without revealing their admiration.
It was practically a magical ability that completely blocked their subordinates from intervening.
‘Moreover, it strengthens his own followers even more. It’s really unfair! I barely managed to handle the 14th generation, and now why has that successor appeared again?’
Though his head spun with various thoughts that came to him unbidden, he pushed them all down for now.
After all, what was important now was not those thoughts.
“Well then, let’s get to the main topic. You wish for Helheim to inherit the alliance contract between Demoniacs and Abnormal, yes?”
For now, it was best to tackle the immediate problem at hand.
The gap between the Dark Nest and the two other factions had widened long ago to a point where direct confrontation was impossible.
Without close cooperation between them, they would have been swallowed whole by the overwhelming first place faction long ago.
As such, re-establishing relations with the faction that had changed its captain was the top priority in this situation.
“That’s correct, isn’t it? Otherwise, it’ll become too difficult to confront them. I’ve made it this far, and I don’t want to crumble down right away.”
And the same was true for Helheim, which was rapidly expanding.
However, they couldn’t swallow Demoniac as they had with Abnormal.
With the advantage of surprise eliminated, the Duke of Darkness would never allow himself to be easily captured, and the Dark Nest, which was waiting for an opportunity, would never let the chance created by that chaos slip by.
‘I had a feeling, but it doesn’t look promising. I brought Davidson here hoping to sneak an attack if I found a chance.’
Given the previous precedent with the Duke of Beasts, the Duke of Darkness Pieta thoroughly planned this meeting.
To ensure he could protect himself amid any variables.
In such a situation, rashly provoking him would only benefit the Dark Nest more than anything else.
‘Well, it can’t be helped. For now, I suppose I’ll have to maintain a balance while watching for opportunities.’
With the goal of swallowing Abnormal already achieved, the current state wasn’t too bad either.
After all, such a delicate balance wouldn’t last long.
“…As you already know, the fatigue the soldiers are feeling on the battlefield is quite substantial due to the continuous influx of white monsters from the Dark Nest. If we let this go on, they might collapse before we can even counterattack.”
What was needed to avoid such a troublesome situation was the close cooperation of the two factions ranked second and third.
Unlike the two Dukes who had a long-standing feud, Hela was like a rolling stone that broke all existing ties.
That understanding made discussions about cooperation between the two factions progress smoothly.
There was no particularly complicated content to discuss; mostly, it centered around refraining from disputes among themselves until the Dark Nest crumbled. Thus, the negotiation concluded quickly.
“…Let’s overlook the incident of taking those under Demoniac’s command this time. The circumstances have changed since then. But that’s as far as it goes. If you reach out any further…”
“Hmhm! Don’t worry about it! I’m a man who lives on faith and trust.”
Although there were a few pokes at sore spots along the way, as long as nothing got exposed before the fact, nothing would be a problem.
As Hela shook Pieta’s hand, she thought of reining in those whom she had already swayed.
‘But…’
‘If the opportunity arises…’
Of course, that was merely a façade of their relationship.
They had no intention of maintaining this relationship for an extended duration.
‘In the grand scheme of things, that’s an even greater threat than the Dark Nest. To eradicate it before it grows would require some preparation from now on.’
‘You’re quite transparent, I see. You may be a skeleton, but I can tell what you’re thinking.’
The Duke of Darkness and Hela, each dreaming of different futures.
“Ka Ka Ka K—!”
And so, they began a temporary alliance with unpredictably volatile tensions.
*
In the northern part of the Tulk Kingdom, the great city of Tarak.
Paa~
As the city grew, visitors began to increase, and from within the depths of the Tarak Shrine, the Gate shone with a divine light.
Beyond it appeared three indistinct figures.
They immediately greeted the temple residents and stepped outside to confront the magnificently developed great city.
“It doesn’t feel like much time has passed since I was last here, but it’s developed immensely during that time.”
Isea Pristine, the small-statured great mage, exclaimed softly as she took in the surroundings.
This was her first visit since she had defeated the massive white giant that had attacked the city.
Back then, the entire city was in chaos, and many parts were damaged due to the significant battle; now, however, witnessing the splendor of the city, she could barely recall how things looked before.
“Truly magnificent. I thought it was a pretty big city back then, but to develop this much in just over a year is impressive. I wish the Saint had come with us.”
Following closely behind Isea, the High Elf Lydia Greenwood expressed her disappointment.
Having been through all kinds of hardships together as the three women of the Hero party, Lydia had grown quite fond of them, so she felt somewhat lonely about the recent situation where the Saint had become preoccupied with other matters.
“The Saint has many responsibilities to attend to. Well, we’re here as part of her work, aren’t we?”
Then, trailing behind them…
A man cloaked in a fluffy robe stepped forward with a gentle voice.
His brilliant silver hair peeked out from beneath his hood, and his golden eyes shone like the sun.
He was none other than the Saint of the Holy Church Order of Auterica—Heinrich Saint Landgard.
“We still don’t have clarity on the unknown threat that the Saint sensed. So, everyone, let’s not relax and continue our reconnaissance with utmost vigilance.”
“You’re absolutely right.”
“Understood, Saint.”
“Oh, and let’s drop the title of ‘Saint’ for now. Just in case, it’s better to keep our identities hidden as much as possible. Most people won’t immediately associate that name with the Saint, so please just call me Heinrich from now on.”
The mere appearance of Heinrich, the highly acclaimed Saint, and the Hero party in the city could stir up considerable buzz.
For smooth investigations, it was best to keep their identities concealed.
“If you’re intending to keep your identity secret, you might want to cover your face a bit more properly. Just wearing a hood won’t do much for you, Heinrich.”
“Right. Even if you hide your hair, your eyes are too striking…”
“Hahaha… it’s not like I can just hide these at will.”
Heinrich chuckled awkwardly as his companions pointed out the obvious.
In darkness, he shone like a living lighthouse; a hood could do little to conceal him.
It was just as impossible to hide his divinely graced hair and eyes with dye or lenses.
“…Hmm, I suppose the best course of action would be to get some standard full-body armor.”
“You must wear a helmet too!”
Another innocent comment from Lydia provoked a quiet sigh from Heinrich.
While it was one thing to wear the renowned armor of ‘Guardian of Glory’ provided by the Holy Church Order, it was discomforting to live in ordinary full-body armor.
Still, in Tarak, which was a key point connecting to the Northern Mountain Range, there wasn’t an uncommon sight of someone walking around in full-body armor, so that method seemed quite reasonable for concealing their identities.
‘Better than suspiciously wrapping my face in cloth, that’s for sure.’
While giving his head a nod in agreement, Heinrich smacked his lips.
He felt a sudden urge to question whether this was truly necessary.
Although he told his party to stay alert, he himself felt not a shred of tension.
That was because…
He already had a solid guess about what the ‘unknown threat’ sensed by the Saint could be.
‘Hela must have detected the moment she appeared in Auterica. I did my best to keep it hidden, but she’s impressive, that’s for sure.’
And that meant, at this moment, nothing remained in this place since Hela had departed for the Demon Realm.
With the Hubert Association beginning to invest throughout the city, hybrids of vampires employed to boost security rates were stationed everywhere.
‘Well… let’s just think of it as a little vacation.’
Having been preoccupied with regional skirmishes against the undead forces, it wouldn’t be bad to spend a few days like this.
It would also be good to see how much Tarak had developed during the time when Hubert had been stuck in the office.
“By the way, what is that Harley guy up to these days? I haven’t heard anything from him.”
“Well, being the Mercenary King, he might have taken on some secret job somewhere.”
And so, the Hero party slowly made their way into the city.
One of the strongholds tightly held by the Hubert Association and the place where the unknown threat sensed by the Saint lurked.
