Chapter 199: Demon King Subjugation Battle
While the hero’s march was being prepared, the real hero’s march had already begun.
The hero, Balraf Dislode, looked at the continent growing distant.
Below him, a blue sea spread out, and hundreds of warships filled the waters.
“Magnificent.”
“In the past, I never imagined that all of these people would move just to subjugate a single Demon King.”
Aina Diaphrin gave a bitter smile.
“Are you nervous?”
“I’m excited. I’ll crush that Demon King bastard’s face with my own two hands.”
She had survived the trap set by the Demon King, but a severe burn was etched across her face. Although it had been healed to some extent with magic, the scar could not be completely erased.
And that scar had become the woman’s rage.
If one were to name the two people here who wanted to kill the Demon King of Dark Flame more than anyone else, it would be Balraf Dislode himself and Aina Diaphrin.
“You’ll be able to get your revenge.”
“Of course.”
After ending the conversation with Aina, Balraf shifted his gaze to another star.
A mage who clashed with Aina by nature. She was standing on the deck of the floating battleship, gazing at the distant sea.
“Rozel.”
“What.”
“Thanks for last time. Because of you, we killed the Gold-Steel Demon King without much trouble.”
“No need to thank me. I was furious too.”
During the subjugation of the Beast Demon King, there had been lingering resentment between them due to Balraf’s sudden withdrawal. However, after jointly going on an expedition to the snowy plains and coordinating to kill the Gold-Steel Demon King, things had eased somewhat.
“But you achieved something.”
“That’s right.”
“I heard you went to Ergest to meet someone called Pale. Was that the reason?”
“Did you stall just to ask that?”
“I won’t deny it.”
“What, you want him too?”
“I won’t deny that either.”
“Hmph. Don’t talk nonsense.”
Even when she hadn’t known that Pale was a Demon King, she had tried to monopolize him. Now that he was a Demon King and she had already received an enormous price to become his subordinate, there was no way she would sell Pale out.
“I’m the one who’s curious. How did you even find the location of the tower?”
“Ask the Empire, not me.”
“Aren’t you the Empire’s finest hunting dog?”
“I’m a hero who belongs nowhere. Just like you don’t belong to Arkan.”
“So you’re going to be official about it?”
“The Guildmaster is back. Don’t make statements that could stir unnecessary rumors.”
“You’d think this was the inside of the Hero Guild if you didn’t know better.”
“Instead, there are a thousand heroes here.”
“So?”
“I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Balraf turned his head away.
He did not neglect to examine Rozel Charnte’s presence one last time.
‘She doesn’t seem to be a big problem.’
Rather, her abilities had advanced. She had engraved a new Sigil.
Whether it was thanks to the dragon blood she had received from him, or because she had met Pale, he did not know. Either way, at this point, just before subjugating the Demon King of Dark Flame, it was a good thing.
‘I thought Pale was connected to the Demon King, but maybe he isn’t?’
Demon King of Dark Flame ▶ Hillan Cargill ▶ Pale. He had thought it went in that order, but perhaps Pale had no relation to the Demon King at all.
‘If I were the Demon King…’
I wouldn’t have let that opportunity slip. I would have killed Rozel Charnte immediately.
Even if he didn’t know about the real hero’s march heading to the sea, it had been the time when they were noisily preparing the hero’s march with Hillan at the forefront.
With a large-scale hero’s march planned, if even one confirmed star could be eliminated, it would naturally have to be done.
‘Beyond simply reducing their strength…’
The lives and blood of heroes became a great power for a Demon King.
Just as a Demon King became a great power for heroes.
‘The Demon King of Dark Flame.’
The horizon was visible far away. There was still a long way to go before reaching the Demon King’s tower, but for some reason, Balraf could see the tower’s silhouette shimmering before his eyes.
If they entered the deep sea and opened that gate, monsters would welcome them. After tearing them all apart and climbing up, the arrogant bastard sitting on the throne would greet him.
Like the other Demon Kings, he would spout some nonsense. Then what? Talk back? No, that was wrong. He should charge straight in and rip his mouth apart.
He had to cut off his head and sever the Demon King’s neck.
Only then could he show once again that humans stood above, that he himself was the strongest.
Only then could he restore his wounded pride.
He had to erase a defeat that must never be allowed to exist.
As his thoughts continued, the floating battleship rapidly drew closer to its destination.
Several days passed, and the floating battleship stopped.
The warships could not keep up with its speed, and the vast open sea was empty.
“We’ve arrived at the destination. According to the map, this is the place.”
A dwarven navigator approached and reported.
The location was different from the one Jason had initially told them. There was nothing special about that. It had changed regularly every two days.
This only reinforced the certainty that the Demon King of Dark Flame could move the tower.
“Do we enter?”
“Wait.”
He wanted to smash the tower below right now, but repeated failures had instilled caution in him.
They needed to be fully prepared. Variables had to be minimized and the battle ended decisively.
“What’s the distance to the main force?”
“About 950 kilometers.”
“To arrive would take…”
“Several days.”
“Longer than I thought. Even though the dwarves must have adjusted the ships little by little.”
It was because the floating battleship’s performance was excessively good. Instead of departing together, they should have sent the fleet ahead and departed to match the timing.
“For now, we wait. To reduce variables, together with the main force—”
That was when it happened.
The anomaly.
It began from the sea.
A subtle vibration. Calm ripples turned into waves.
Kwaaa—
It was violent, in stark contrast to the clear sky.
“This is…”
“It’s definitely not natural.”
Aina Diaphrin felt the flow of mana rising from deep within the sea.
Because she was close to water, she felt it first, but the others soon did as well.
“Prepare yourselves. Something’s coming.”
Balraf drew his sword. Rozel and Aina began chanting spells. Watton, Ralph, and Pablo gripped their respective weapons.
“……!”
“What is that?!”
It was a tower.
A massive tower was slowly rising from the sea. But what shocked them was not simply the tower itself.
“…Mana cannons?”
Hundreds of mana cannons were mounted all over the tower, and at the very top, the muzzle of an enormous cannon was aimed precisely at the floating battleship.
───!
In an instant of realization, the mana cannons spewed fire.
A flash of light was expelled in a straight line. It tore through air and space, baring savage fangs.
“Crazy!”
“Activate the barrier!”
“Reduce its firepower! Fire the ship cannons!”
The dwarves moved frantically. The floating battleship’s cannons all turned in one direction. Hundreds of mana cannons fired at once.
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
Light collided with light.
A massive explosion swallowed the world.
Unresolved shockwaves stirred the sea into waves. The floating battleship rocked violently.
At that moment, torrents of water surged forth. It was like an ascending dragon. A dragon made of water stretched gracefully and flew toward the floating battleship.
“What the hell is that?!”
“Fire again! Cut it all down!”
“Heroes! Block it!”
“Out of the way.”
Aina Diaphrin manifested her magic. Water blocked water. At least, that was how it appeared.
“……!”
Cough—
Aina’s mana backfired. The water imbued with her will slipped out of her control.
“What is this…?”
Instead, it merged into one and grew even larger. Just before it struck the floating battleship, Ralph Schmitz raised his shield.
─!
A massive shield formed of aura stood firm. The collision followed, and Ralph grit his teeth. The floating battleship shook, but there was no damage.
“Useless bitch, as always.”
Rozel sneered at Aina and manifested her magic.
“You’re awfully confident. You’re just going to reveal the tower outright?”
Rozel bared her teeth.
The eighth Sigil, recently engraved, ferociously absorbed mana. It released heat and evaporated moisture.
Despite standing above the sea, the heroes momentarily felt as if they were in a desert.
A gigantic sun slowly descended toward the tower rising above the sea.
The seawater boiled furiously.
Just before it collided with the tower, piercingly cold frost blocked its path.
Pure white ice enveloped the tower.
Heat and cold met. They cooled and melted each other, producing steam.
When the steam cleared, neither sun nor ice remained.
In the brief void, the tower’s gate opened. Thin ice formed over the sea, and a breathtakingly beautiful woman walked upon it.
“So many of you have come just to see me.”
Her soft yet clear voice brushed past the ears of all the heroes on the floating battleship.
“The Frost Demon King?”
“Why is the Frost Demon King here?”
“Wasn’t this the Dark Flame Tower?”
“Why is a Demon King outside the tower…?”
Some heroes recognized her, but their questions were brief. She was an enemy regardless, so Balraf gave the order.
“Fire.”
“Open fire!”
Hundreds of mana cannons spewed flashes once more, all aimed at the Frost Demon King.
The Frost Demon King erected a wall of ice, but it could not hold long against the overwhelming firepower.
Yet the flashes failed to reach her. A transparent wall of water stood just behind the ice.
At some point, a masked woman was standing beside her.
“Everyone, nice to meet you.”
The woman smiled.
“I am one of the Four Heavenly Kings who serve the Demon King, the Spirit Sorceress of Darkness.”
Some heroes recognized her.
“So it was you.”
Feeling the intense water aura emanating from the Spirit Sorceress of Darkness, Aina Diaphrin ground her teeth. She realized that this woman was the one who had scattered her control.
“How dare you…!”
As a grand mage with seven Sigils, her pride could not allow it. She leaped out of the floating battleship.
“Crazy bitch.”
“Everyone, descend. If we’re going to advance into the tower anyway, we’ll have to break through them.”
Along with Rozel’s curse, the floating battleship rapidly descended. A thousand heroes, the stars, advanced.
The pure white ice was as solid as thick bedrock.
“The Frost Demon King is mine!”
Pablo Barkat charged forward. His fiercely blazing aura drew a straight line.
─!
A shadow abruptly emerged and twisted the line. With a clang, a powerful rebound force pushed Pablo one step back.
“And who are you supposed to be?”
It was a knight. A Black Knight clad entirely in black armor.
“I am one of the Four Heavenly Kings who serve the Demon King, the Dark Knight.”
The Dark Knight calmly absorbed the impact and raised his sword.
“Another demon race has appeared!”
“Kill them all! We have more numbers!”
“The stars fight together!”
At that moment, a shadow fell. Something enormous dropped heavily among the heroes.
“Get back!”
“Aaaargh!”
“It’s a monster!”
────!
The screams were drowned out by a deafening roar. Heroes who couldn’t endure it were blown away. But no one suffered direct fatal damage.
That was because Ralph Schmitz, holding a massive shield, absorbed most of the impact.
“A Titan?”
Ralph identified the monster that had struck his shield.
Over five meters tall, a writhing tail, reddish skin, a single horn rising from its head, and even one wing.
Its size was that of a Titan, but it was a monster that could never be considered one.
More than anything, what he couldn’t understand was—
“Commander of the Legion of Death…?”
A masked woman was sitting on the creature’s shoulder.
And it didn’t end there.
A massive axe struck down Watton Colo, who had been charging toward the Frost Demon King.
“Ghk…!”
He swallowed a groan under the heavy impact.
“I am the Giant of Hell.”
“…One of the Four Heavenly Kings.”
“Pretty famous, huh. That childish name.”
“What?”
“Well, what does it matter? No need to fight with our mouths when we’ve got good weapons.”
The Giant of Hell raised his axe.
“If you’re a star, show skills worthy of a star.”
“You filthy demon bastard! I’ll cut off your head!”
At the surging killing intent, the Giant of Hell grinned widely.
“Yes, this is it. This is real combat!”
The Giant of Hell and Watton Colo clashed.
“Am I your opponent?”
“You can coordinate well.”
The Lust Demon King sighed.
“I’m weak in combat to begin with, so why am I even here….”
“So you want me to go easy on you?”
“Wouldn’t that be better for both of us?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think that’ll work. I have to mind the eyes around us.”
Rozel spewed flames. Vivian recoiled in shock and widened the distance.
“Does it really have to be this way? We’re in the same boat.”
“Shh, the other heroes will hear. We can’t afford suspicion, can we? I’ll do my best. You should too.”
Try your best to block it.
Kyaaah!
---
“…What is this?”
He thought they had suffered enough. He thought he now understood the Demon King of Dark Flame to some extent.
He was wrong.
They were the owners of the childish name called the Four Heavenly Kings. But their power was anything but childish. Every single one of them possessed strength equal to the stars.
‘The forces of a Demon King summoned just two years ago are this strong?’
If he conceded a hundred times, he could somehow understand it if he was a Demon Dragon, the strongest race of the Demon Realm. But this was a different matter altogether from individual martial strength.
Crunch—
Balraf ground his teeth and calmly observed the battlefield.
All the stars except Rozel Charnte were tied up by those calling themselves the Four Heavenly Kings. And Rozel Charnte herself was fighting a newly appeared Demon King.
‘After Frost, even Lust?’
Was this really the Dark Flame Tower? What was going on?
His thoughts raced until one hypothesis emerged.
‘Have the Demon Kings formed an alliance?’
It might be so. Cornered as they were, it could be a final desperate struggle.
If that was the case—
Balraf’s gaze fixed forward. The tower’s gate had opened, and countless demons and monsters were pouring out. And at their center stood the Frost Demon King.
‘Kill the Frost Demon King and help the other stars.’
Then annihilate them all, climb to the top of the tower, and kill Dark Flame as well.
Balraf steadied his breathing.
Artillery fire rained down from above. Frost was concentrating on blocking it. One chance—just one ambush—could force her out of the battlefield, and with that momentum, he might even kill her easily.
Balraf drew the Red Dragon Sword. There were many eyes watching, but this was no time to worry about that.
Moreover, the heat of the Red Dragon Sword would be fatal to Frost.
He compressed heat and aura. His extremely tensed muscles swelled.
One step.
He advanced.
His body shot forward like a cannonball.
He swung his sword. The slash that tore through space aimed for the Frost Demon King’s vital point. An unlucky monster in between burned to ash, but the sword strike lost none of its power.
‘Got her!’
Just before the blade reached her—
“An interesting idea.”
A voice cut in. No, by the time he heard the voice, a clawed hand covered in dark red scales had already blocked his slash.
“Balraf Dislode. Don’t we still have unfinished business between us?”
“…You.”
Crimson eyes and hair, scales covering his skin, pitch-black wings, and horns rising high into the sky.
Dense demonic energy pressed down on him, and surging killing intent sealed off the surroundings.
Balraf recognized him. How could he forget? This was the Demon King who had instilled caution in him for the first time.
“The Demon King of Dark Flame…!”
The target of subjugation had finally appeared.