Volume 5 - CH 1

Act 5-1: Demon King’s Distress(2)

Throne room of darkness castle ―― Castle of Demon King of Darkness; Ashmedia―― one of four great demon kings. Each upper echelon attending the meeting had a bitter look on their faces.

「Another lost against those heroes, eh…」

The murmur of one of the upper echelon in that room represents dozens of others’ opinions.

「The one sealed in Babel, was supposed to be one of our evil god who lost in struggle against Holy Warrior God Ares in the long forgotten era, right?」

It was something that everyone in that place wanted to know too.

「OF COURSE! LIKE HELL A MERE HUMAN CAN WIN AGAINST GOD! AND THE ONE WHO SAID THAT WAS NONE OTHER THAN YOU, OLD MAN!」

Hearing such harsh criticism, the old man with blue skin was crossing his arms, frowned as if he was pondering about something but,

「I’VE TOLD YOU BEFORE RIGHT!? IF THAT DEMON RACE-HATER WOMAN YOU CALL AS HERO IS REALLY STRONG TO THE POINT OF BEING ABLE TO SLAY A GOD, WE, THE DEMON RACE, WOULD HAVE LONG BEEN ANNIHILATED BY HER!AND YET, LOOK AT US NOW, ALIVE AND KICKING!

The legend of evil god is just a mere legend after all. I’ve told you about that too! And yet――」

He refuted with an equally loud voice but he stopped right before finishing.

「”And yet”? What are you trying to say!? My subordinates who acted according to plan are dead!」

A young officer with blue skin used that moment to strike back, filling the throne room with another rain of jeers.

「Silence!」

Hearing the voice of the girl seated upon the throne, Ashmedia, everyone had no choice but to shut their mouth and grit their teeth.

「Old man, are they dying in vain?」

This time, the old man showed an extremely bitter look on his face upon hearing the girl’s question.

「Since all members of the hero party survived, the answer is yes.」

He said so.

「I see… They’re dying in vain huh.」

Ashmedia muttered those words again and again as she gazed at the black stone ceiling with an expression of deep grief in her eyes.

「WE’RE NOT DONE YET! To the end, the basis for our tactic was to reduce the combat force of the hero party as much as possible. The core of our tactic is the revival of our great god in North Grand. I received a report from Neim stating that everything went according to the plan. When our plan succeeds, it’ll be the beginning of our demon race’s golden era!」

The blue skinned old man persisted, clenching his fist.

But, no one in that place cheered up after hearing him. Rather, everyone’s expression was flat as if they’re chewing bitter roots. And finally――

「Honestly speaking, I can’t bring myself to trust Demon King Aldebaran! Even if the golden era of demon race has come, I can only imagine our people suffering from more tyranny than now!」

When the young officer with blue skin said so,

「EXACTLY! HAVE YOU GONE SENILE AND FORGOT ABOUT WHAT HE DID TO OUR PEOPLE DURING THE WAR, OLD MAN!?」

The Voices of opposition rise one after another. The blue skinned old man  just hung his head down as he heard everyone’s,

「THEN ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY THAT EVERY MEMBER OF OUR RACE GETTING SLAUGHTERED LIKE PIGS IS A BETTER CHOICE!!?」

He finally cracked and vented all the rage he kept inside.

「But――」

The young officer tried to say something but,

「DON’T LOOK DOWN ON ME! YOU THINK I DON’T HAVE THE SAME WORRIES AS YOU GUYS!? I’VE BEEN THINKING, AND TRYING TO FIND THE BEST SOLUTION! AND YET… IT FAILED, ALL OF THE PLANS THAT I CAME UP WITH FAILED!」

The blue-skinned old man cried as he vented his emotions. The throne room fell into silence after the old man’s outburst,

「I know, old man. The one who decided to use this plan is me. Naturally, all the responsibility will befall on me.」

Ashmedia declared so with an extremely bitter look on her face too.

In the throne room filled with sobbing, Ashmedia stood from her throne,

「WORRY NOT! NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, IN THE END, I WILL DO EVERYTHING TO PROTECT OUR PEOPLE!」

She raised her right fist as she declared, determined.

The wish of the hero of the human race was the annihilation of the demon race. Their atrocity knew no bounds as they slaughtered even women and children. That was pretty much clear from the past record of the current hero, Mashiro.

On the other hand, from the demon race side, Aldebaran wished to form alliance with Ashmedia and co of darkness kingdom was a genuine fiend. He was the worst demon king who would even kill his people as if they’re a mere insect. This alliance was clearly his preparation to invade the darkness kingdom after the defeat of the hero.

That’s why Ashmedia and co desperately tried thinking of a counterplan. In the end, it was akin to fighting poison with poison. Nevertheless, much better than total annihilation. That’s why――

（I will protect them even if I’ve to sacrifice this life of mine!）

Despite the determination in Ashmedia’s little soul, half of her subordinates replied to her declaration with a desperate yell as if to cheer for their lord.