Chapter 11: Heroes, Meetings, And… (2)

I assumed he was just another assassin trained and then discarded by the Empire, but apparently, he was a Hero candidate. 

Honestly, it was a shock. 

‘Yeah, it was shocking…’ 

I never imagined I’d lose my mind to this extent.

When I came to my senses, I was already in my room.

I couldn’t clearly remember anything because I was in a trance. The clearest memory I had was probably the certainty that he would die. 

‘….’ 

It’s probably best not to think about it anymore. Whether he dies or not, whether I pity him or not, there’s nothing I can do about it anyway.

I laid down on the bed with the cube Ed had brought me.

As I was mixing the cube and started to clear my thoughts one by one, I heard a knock on the door.

“It’s me.”

“…Demon King?!”

I jumped up. I quickly checked my clothes and roughly combed my disheveled hair before opening the door.

“Demon King, what brings you here again…?”

“I told you. I’d come pick you up.”

“What?”

When?

As if reading my confused expression, the Demon King raised one eyebrow. He leaned against the door, arms crossed, and looked at me with an uneasy expression.

“The Corps Commanders meeting. Don’t you remember?”

I didn’t remember, but somehow it didn’t seem right to say that. 

I nodded my head with as neutral an expression as I could.

“Ah, I remember.”

I acted with all my might.

The Demon King nodded his head without a hint of suspicion and straightened his body.

“Then let’s go.”

“Alright.”

I followed him quickly, not wanting to waste any more time. 

As a result, I left the room without even noticing that I was still holding the cube in my hand.

***

During the battle with the Hero, the Seventh Corps Commander was an ogre.

Even if he disregards the fact that he was one of the core forces of the Demon King’s army, he remembers it clearly. He was a great sidekick for Deon Hart.

In other words, Deon Hart killed the Seventh Corps Commander when he first appeared.

The Demon King smiled bitterly as he remembered that day.

When he won the battle against the Hero, when he raised his sword to take the life of the Hero who would soon die if left alone.

–The Hero chose to self-destruct.

The Demon King was surprised to see the Hero’s body emitting a bright light.

“…This Hero has a pretty heroic appearance.”

He let out a hollow laugh.

Heroes have two choices when they are about to die.

One is to spread the fragments of their power throughout the entire continent to create some form of resistance against the Demon King, and the other is primarily used when the Demon King is nearby, known as self-destruction.

Where they gather all of the Hero’s power and explode it.

Usually, Heroes choose to spread the fragments of their power for the future.

‘Although I won’t die anyway.’

He was not called the strongest Demon King in history for nothing. He was confident that he could survive the blast without much damage if he used his magic power without restraint.

The problem was the other demons that were herded around.

All of the demons of the Demon Realm came out to witness the historical battle, which was, without exaggeration, a battle that would decide the fate of the entire demon race.

The power of the Hero is given to eliminate the Demon King, and the demon race was born from the Demon King.

In the end, the power of the Hero could only indirectly affect the demons. 

So if the Hero’s power were to explode here…

‘Half of them.’

It would cause half of the army to evaporate in an instant. 

Considering that the Demon Realm was the size of a small city in the Empire, and that all of the demons were present in the vicinity, the level of damage would be unimaginable.

“Everyone retreat…!” 

Therefore, when the command was given in a hurry.

Kwaaaang!!

…A man fell from the sky.

Along with the Seventh Corps Commander.

The one who appeared, crushing the Seventh Corps Commander, did not even spare a glance at the Demon King. 

He simply confirmed whether the Seventh Corps Commander lying beneath him was dead by slicing his neck with his sword, and then slowly stood up in a leisurely manner. His attitude was so nonchalant that it was unbelievable.

White hair with red eyes. 

His blood-red pupils went back and forth between the Demon King and the Hero, and eventually fixed on the Hero. Then, he began to slowly approach with a relaxed gait.

He did not appear tense among the countless demons that surrounded the battlefield.

His attitude was very carefree.

However, perhaps it was because of his carefree and confident attitude, the soldiers could not ignore the overwhelming presence that was felt from his unchanging expression. 

They could only freeze and watch him in silence.

‘Pathetic people.’

The Demon King could not curse them outright, so he tightly clenched his jaw.

Even though it was just for a moment, he was also overwhelmed.

Since the distance was not that far to begin with, he soon arrived in front of the Hero. 

Without sparing a glance at the Demon King, he placed his hand on the Hero’s shoulder and brought his face close to the Hero’s ear.

And then, a miracle happened.

The light that was emanating from the Hero’s body was poured towards the man.

“…He’s insane.”

A groan escaped his mouth.

The Demon King knew better than anyone about the Hero, and the Empire’s system for sending Heroes, so he quickly speculated about the situation.

The man with the white hair probably followed to directly witness the outcome of the fight and report it back to the Empire. Perhaps that was his main mission.

And as a secondary mission, if he could determine that the Demon King’s condition is such that he could kill him even if the Hero died, then he would kill him.

So when the Hero chose to self-destruct, he had already calculated the probability.

[Probability of the Hero’s self-destruction causing damage to the Demon King, and the scale of damage it would cause.]

[Number of surrounding demons that can be reduced by self-destruction.]

[Probability of killing the wounded Demon King after passing through the reduced demons.]

[Finally, the possibility of achieving the main mission of ‘resurrection’ while performing this.]

Self-destruction would have been deemed irrational.

So he put his hand on the Hero’s shoulder and stopped it. Jumping into the enemy’s front line may be a bit unexpected, but maybe he had confidence in escaping alive.

‘Clever, highly loyal to the mission and excellent combat ability…’

The corners of the Demon King’s eyes curled up with delight.

He regretted that the Empire sent such a person to this dangerous place. If it were up to the Demon King, he wouldn’t have sent this man to a place where he would die without any respect.

Anyway, the Hero read his intention and quickly turned, pouring it out for the purpose of transfer. Of course, the power did not stay in the body of the opponent as the Hero intended.

‘Of course.’

The power of the Hero is directly given to them by the world with a purpose. Originally, when the Hero dies, the power should scatter and return to the world. 

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Leaving it on this land, even as fragments, would have to be done at the cost of the Hero’s own life, so intentional transfer would not be possible.

The Hero himself must know better. He probably had to suffer immense pain from his quick action.

Regardless, the Demon King, who saw the Hero die while struggling meaninglessly, raised his eyes a little and looked at the man holding his body.

He was directly involved in the meaningless attempt to defy the will of the world. He too would not be able to escape unscathed. 

Sure enough…

“Cough, cough.”

With a determined expression that showed no sign of weakness, he coughed up blood.

Even though a lot of blood was coming out of his mouth, his expression remained unchanged. This eerie feeling brought pleasure to the Demon King’s eyes.

The Demon King, suppressing his excitement, asked with a gentle smile.

“What’s your name?”

“Deon Hart.”

Deon Hart. He rolled off the name from his mouth.

There was no need to ask again, the Demon King already knew who he was.

Looking at the situation from the outside, he stopped the hero from self-destruction, coughing up blood in return.

This was enough for the other demons to acknowledge. 

There was no longer any reason to hesitate. The Demon King revealed his desire without hesitation.

“Do you have any intention of becoming my subordinate?”

It didn’t matter whether the other party was human or not.

The Demon King was attracted to this smart and loyal man, and above all, the human in front of him sparked his interest even when he was in a state of despair.

There were enough reasons to bring him to the  Demon King’s castle.

***

“Hey, get out of the way. Can’t you see!”

“That human, is he an enemy or an ally?”

“He thwarted the Hero from self-destructing! At least he shouldn’t be an enemy.”

“But he killed the Seventh Corps commander?”

“Huh? The Demon King is asking for his name!”

“You’re so noisy! I can’t hear anything!!”

“You’re the one who’s being noisy!”

“So, what’s his name?”

The demon soldier couldn’t hear well due to the noise around him and the human’s low voice, so instead of listening, he focused on the shape of the human’s mouth.

“De… mon, A… ru.. t?”

“Demon Arut?”

“It seems so?”

“Demon Arut…”

A name that is more demon-like than an actual demon’s name.

That’s how Deon Hart’s name had become Demon Arut and spread throughout the demon army.

***

The achievement of the human who prevented a great loss by thwarting the self-destruction of the Hero was recognized as a great merit, even by other Corps Commanders.

Even after winning in battle against the Hero, at the welcome party for the new talent, ‘Demon Arut’ drank too much and flipped the Demon King’s castle upside down. After that, no more words were said about his abilities. All the more so because the victim of the incident was another Corps Commander.

So, when the human appeared out of nowhere and was given the position of the Zero Corps Commander, the demons of the  Demon Realm generally did not speak of him negatively.

Of course, it was just ‘generally’.

“He’s late.”

The Sixth Corps Commander, Velitan, slammed the table in the meeting room and grumbled. His forehead was tightly scrunched, showing that he was uncomfortable. 

He was aware of the great achievements he made at that time. He also acknowledged his strong performance. But still, this wasn’t right.

Zero Corps Commander, Demon Arut.

He’s always late for meetings.

Even now. Except for the Corps Commanders who are out on missions, everyone is gathered in the meeting room, and only that person was absent.

Eventually, Velitan couldn’t stand the wait anymore and slammed the table.

“Shouldn’t something be said?!”

“How noisy.”

“Jaykar! How long are you going to put up with his arrogant act? He is…”

Jaykar, who had been leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, slowly opened his eyes and looked at Velitan.

When he flinched at the cold  gaze facing him, Edellia, the Fourth Corps Commander, interjected as if she had been waiting for it.

“You’re the one who’s arrogant, Velitan. Do you know who you’re talking about in such a rude manner?”

“…What?” 

“It’s a really uninteresting joke for you to speak in such a high tone even towards a mere human tool.”

“Just because you use honorifics doesn’t mean you’re not arrogant! Then how do you explain him being late for the meeting?”

“I’m sure he has his reasons.”

Her response was without any hint of faltering.

Even Asild, who had a bad relationship with her, nodded his head. For a moment, it made him wonder ‘Is that really the case?’

Velitan quickly shook his head to regain his composure and opened his mouth as if it were absurd.

“That… How can you be so sure?”

Just as Edellia was about to answer, a loud bang was heard from one side of the table. 

The Corps Commanders all turned to look at the unusual sound.

As soon as they figured out who the source of the sound was, some sighed and shook their heads, while others shook their heads as if they knew it would happen, and some had an embarrassed expression on their faces.

Velitan was in the third group.

The seat at the end of the table. There was a little girl standing on her feet with her hands on her table.

“Enough with the blasphemy, Velitan! How impudent!”

“…Ririnell?”

“Disrespectful!”

“Rir…”

“Impudent!”

Eleventh Corps Commander Ririnell.

Usually, she’s quiet and gentle, but when it comes to one thing, she would rage like a crazy person. Unfortunately for Velitan, that one thing was about Demon Arut.

Yes, she is a fan of Demon Arut.

It is a fact known by most of the demons who reside in the Demon King’s castle, but Velitan, who often leaves the castle to hunt monsters, was not aware of it.

So, he stared blankly at the girl who was wildly scolding him.

“Apologize! You ugly thing!”

“Wha…”

“Ri-Ririnell…?”

Although she might appear weak and easily intimidated, she was still a Corps Commander

Velitan was a brute who usually wields a large ax, and Ririnell was a skilled witch with the most magical power among the Corps Commanders.

If the two of them were to fight, it would be a given that the meeting room would be destroyed.

Even without that, the Demon King and the Zero Corps Commander were about to arrive soon. To destroy the meeting room?

If that were to happen, the Demon King’s castle would be turned upside down.

There may even be a major change in the Corps Commanders.

So, as the other Corps Commanders watched on nervously, the attendant announced the arrival of the Demon King and the Zero Corps Commander from outside the meeting room.

“The Demon King and the Zero Corps Commander have arrived.”

…With the news of the Zero Corps Commander’s arrival.

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