Chapter 12: 12

[Translator – Nine Lives]

The confusion was short-lived. The Corps Commanders, who quickly calmed their hearts, stood up in unison.

Soon the door opened, and the Demon King and Demon Aurt, the Zero Corps Commanders, entered.

Edellia secretly observed the look on Velitan’s face. 

As expected, he had a sour expression. Who would dare to mess with Demon Aurt? He is the second most respected being in the Demon Realm after the Demon King himself. 

The Demon King sat leisurely on the most luxurious chair, crossed his legs, and waved his hand lightly.

“Sit down, everyone.”

There was another movement in unison.

The Demon King glanced at the people who had taken their seats, looked at Deon who was sitting closest to him, and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

“As you all know, there was an intruder. The Zero Corps Commanders here captured him brilliantly.” 

All eyes turned to Deon. 

All the people here were powerful enough that their gazes should have been overwhelming, but he just lowered his eyes and fiddled with the cube. 

…Cube? 

Glances began to be busily exchanged between the Corps Commanders.

‘Hey, that’s…’

‘Yes, it seems like he’s interested in this incident.’

‘Alright, the result will be certain, but…’

‘It could be dangerous, so it’d be better to be careful.’

During war meetings, he always participated while fidgeting with his cube and listening to the opinions of all the people present. 

When he liked an opinion, the cube would rotate smoothly, but when he didn’t, it would rotate roughly and fill the hall with a rattling noise.

Whether it rotated smoothly or roughly, the best conclusion was always reached along with the completion of the cube. The problem was that when it rotated roughly, it would always explode no matter what happened.

In the midst of the subtle tension, the Demon King’s words continued.

“According to the investigation, it wasn’t just a simple intrusion. Of course, it’s not simple for someone to break into the Demon King’s castle, let alone the inner areas, but in this case, it’s particularly special.” 

His eyes, filled with a slight hint of hostility, scanned the people sitting in their seats. 

Although his eyes were on the Corps Commanders, it seemed as though he was looking beyond them at someone else. The Demon King spoke with a faint sigh. 

“Because it was the remnant of a Hero.”

“…A Hero?”

“Yes, one of the few that the Empire had taken notice of and was collecting. He was sent here as a sacrifice.”

Thud!

A heavy sound was heard. The Corps Commanders didn’t bother to look for the source of the noise.

Because it was obvious without looking at who the source of it was.

The Demon King leaned forward, still holding his tightly clenched fist on the armrest. The heavy pressure filled the entire meeting room.

“What was their purpose?”

“…”

“The Empire’s movements are suspicious. Even recently, contact with the Ninth Corps Commander who was in the front line, has been cut off. There must be something going on.”

The Demon King was strong. 

He was so strong that he didn’t need to use his head, so his choices were always simple yet heavy. This time was no different.

“First Corps Commanders.”

“Yes.”

“You should go.”

He was thinking of launching a frontal attack.

Jaykar is the representative of the Demon King. There were no fools present who didn’t know what it meant for him to make a move.

Jaykar, who hesitated for a while, looked at the Demon King with his head lowered and only his eyes slightly raised.

After a brief moment, he quietly answered without even a word of protest.

“Understood.”

A slight tension began to fill the meeting room.

Although war was not about to break out immediately, the Demon King clapped his hands as if to change the tense atmosphere that seemed like it’d explode at any moment.

The silence was broken, followed by a light voice.

“Well, that’s roughly the end of the story, but there’s something we need to touch on before moving on to the next issue.”

“…?”

“What kind of reward should I give to the Zero Corps Commanders who caught a remnant of the Hero all by himself?”

The hand that was turning the cube without a break came to a halt.

The red eyes, which had not risen from the desk for a single moment throughout the entire meeting, slowly rose to face him.

Facing the red eyes directed towards him, the Demon King smiled lightly.

“It won’t be bad for the one in question to decide it himself.”

***

I hate Corps Commanders’ meetings. I hate it terribly. No need to mention why.

Because it’s scary!

The Corps Commanders’s exclusive dining hall is tolerable because some people don’t eat much, but the meeting room is a place where everyone participates in some way. So how scary it must be.

‘I don’t want to go…’

Every time I’m late for the meeting, it’s because I don’t want to go, and I always end up being late. If it wasn’t for the Demon King who came to pick me up, I would have been late again this time.

Oh, am I already late?

I stopped trying to wipe my sweaty hands on my clothes. What’s this?

‘Cube?’

Cube. Of course, I bring a cube with me wherever I attend a meeting, but that’s only when it’s a ‘meeting centered around me’.

 

Since the meeting goes well without me, it’s troublesome if someone asks for my opinion after making eye contact. So I try to avoid eye contact and fidget with a cube to pass time…. 

The meeting I am going to attend right now is a meeting centered around the Demon King!

Why didn’t the Demon King say this before?

I wish I could go back and leave it where it was, but it’s too late for that.

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

The door to the meeting room opened with a rather loud and solemn voice.

I walked into the meeting room feeling like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse. 

And soon after the meeting began, my thoughts about the cube shifted 180 degrees.

‘I’m glad I brought it.’

It would’ve been awkward if I didn’t bring it.

The atmosphere was scary, and no one was looking at me, it’s the perfect environment to fidget with the cube.

As I was mixing the new cube and solving it halfway, the Demon King suddenly said something unexpected.

“Well, that’s roughly the end of the story, but there’s something we need to touch on before moving on to the next issue.”

Until then, I thought it had nothing to do with me.

“What kind of reward should I give to the Zero Corps Commanders who caught a remnant of the Hero all by himself?”

I raised my head in surprise.

Even though I was trying to deny that I had heard it wrong, the Demon King’s gaze was clearly directed at me.

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He added, as if hammering in the nail.

“It won’t be bad for the one in question to decide it himself.”

Silence descended with a different meaning than before.

When I didn’t speak, the other Corps Commanders who had kept their mouths shut glanced at the Demon King. The Demon King looked at me while resting his chin on his hand, as if telling me to speak quickly.

In the silence, I looked around.

‘So… you want me to say what I want?’

If that’s what he wants, it’s not too much. I can think of only things that he can easily give me from the Demon King’s perspective…

“Resignation…”

“No.”

“Then alcohol…”

“Is that really what you want?”

“……”

“……”

…I thought there was nothing wrong.

The Demon King cut off my words so firmly, with a stern expression. He waited for my next words while still keeping a soft smile.

His gaze that still followed me closely was overwhelming, I wanted to quickly say something and end it, but…

Is there really nothing else I want…

“…I can’t think of anything now, can I put it off until later?”

“What are you going to ask for? I’m already scared.”

He lifted his hand from his chin and straightened his upper body.

His gaze that scanned through the Corps Commanders fell on Velitan.

Instinctively noticing that he was about to move on to the next issue, the Corps Commanders stiffened their bodies, unable to lower or raise their eyes due to the tense atmosphere once again.

It didn’t matter to me what the issue was.

“Sixth Corps Commander, I heard you have something to say about the demonic monsters?”

“Yes, I would like to request for support.”

“Hmm…”

After rummaging through the report, the Demon King pulled out a paper. His calm expression at the start gradually became more and more distorted the more he read the report.

Finally, after reading the last line, he said with a low groan.

“The matter is certainly serious. Are you and the Twelfth Corps Commanders not enough?”

“The Twelfth Corps is currently unable to hunt demonic monsters.”

For a moment, the Demon King’s actions stopped. The eyes that had been looking at the papers raised up and turned to Velitan.

I nodded inwardly as I looked at the situation without the slightest movement, to the point where the word “frozen” would be more appropriate.

You must be surprised. It is natural to be surprised. because I was surprised as well.

What does that mean? The Twelfth Corps suffered such heavy losses that they are

not even able to hunt the demonic monsters? The cause should clearly be the demonic monsters. 

“Then the position of the Twelfth Corps Commanders is vacant…”

“I heard that he is recovering from his injuries.”

“Injuries from mere demonic monsters?”

“Be careful what you say. Even a small group of demonic monsters can become a threat when they band together.”

Small exchanges were heard between the Corps Commanders.

It’s not hard to understand. The Twelfth Commander was defeated by mere demonic monsters. 

The ‘mere’ demonic monsters. Failures that are called ‘monsters’ in the Empire.

The power of the Demon King creates countless demons even if the Demon King himself does not intend to. This is why the Demon King is a threat, and it is also the decisive reason why the Empire – and even all humans – strive to defeat him. 

However, creating life is not so simple.

Among the born demons, only 40% can truly be called a “demon.” The rest are nothing more than failures who only follow their own desires and are not worthy of being called a “demon.”

Since they’re a complete failure that try to eat even the actual demons, let alone controlling them, the Demon King called them ‘demonic monsters’ and purged them frequently for the safety of the demons.

‘I just remembered. Did I stay here too long?’

How long had it been since I had seen the sunlight? 

I idly stared at the well-worn desk as a sense of sadness washed over me.

 

Meanwhile, the Demon King’s voice resumed after a brief pause. I expected him to be a little shaken, but his voice was more calm and composed than usual. As expected, he was the Demon King for a reason.

“Written documents have their limits. Explain it clearly yourself.”

“At some point, the number of demonic monsters increased significantly. When we realized and tried to respond, it was too late and half of the small villages had already been trampled.” 

“Half… so what about the remaining half?” 

“We have evacuated them to the large cities with walls.”

Velitan I thought you were foolish, but you have surprisingly good judgment…?

I’m sorry, I must have underestimated you. I apologized silently in my mind and listened attentively to his explanation.

“The problem is that there are too many demonic monsters and they are trying to break through the walls. It feels like we are fighting a war every day.”

“…From now on, we will have to deploy Commanders in the big cities as well.”

“Why did the numbers suddenly increase so much…”

Velitan’s last statement was close to a complaint, following the Demon King’s muttering. 

In response, the Demon King placed his chin on his half-clad hand and said indifferently.

“It’s because the Hero died. And now the balance has been broken.”

As he said that, the Demon King looked at me.

Why is he looking at me? It’s not my fault, is it? You were the one who drove the Hero to his death in the first place, right?

Even so, unable to face his gaze directly, I avoided his eyes and mumbled.

“There are four big cities… If the Twelfth Corps is unable to fight, it will certainly be difficult to defend.”

“Yes, I’m requesting reinforcements.”

“Where… are the remaining personnel…”

An ominous feeling ran down my spine and I quickly lowered my gaze to hide the trembling in my eyes.

I realized too late that the cube under the desk was turning wildly.

I never knew my hands could move so frantically.

Click, click, click, click, click!

Why am I feeling so uneasy? Isn’t that obvious?

When you think of spare personnel, who comes to mind? Me, the one who could be considered a spare personnel even among the spare personnels, who doesn’t even do the paperwork that all the other commanders are busy with! The only thing I had done was set the garden on fire and smash some plates.

“Demon, it would be better if you went.”

…Click!

My hands stopped. My breathing stopped.

’Oh, f**k! I need to breathe!’

I think I saw someone calling me from across a river.

As I hurriedly supplied oxygen to my lungs, my mind started to function again. But this time, my quick thinking felt more frustrating than ever.

I found myself gripping the completed cube with both hands, and let out a silent scream.

I knew it, I knew this was going to happen, damn it!!

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