Chapter 137
The Demon World Assembly.
All Demon Kings are summoned to attend this integrated meeting where significant decisions regarding the Demon World are made. It is also one of the rare opportunities for lower-ranking Demon Kings to express their opinions and meet higher-ranking ones.
Typically held once every ten years, this meeting was exceptionally convened again after only six years. The reason for this was, of course, the Celestial War.
Since this was a crucial reason, it was a matter of great interest what countermeasures the top-ranking Demon Kings would devise during this meeting.
The arrangement of the meeting room was as follows.
The lowest-ranking Demon Kings were gathered in the lowest seats to the south. The mid-ranking Demon Kings occupied the eastern seats, while the top-ranking Demon Kings sat in the western seats. Finally, the twelve most powerful Demon Kings were seated in the northernmost seats, the highest elevated ones.
At the very center was a seat designated for the greatest and most powerful Demon King. Since the appearance of the Primeval Demon King, the occupant of that seat had never changed.
“Beelzebub is….”
“I guess they’re not here yet.”
Seere and Gremony, seated among the mid-ranking Demon Kings, remarked while looking at the empty seat of Beelzebub.
“It’s about to start; where could they be?”
“…I wonder.”
In the meantime, Citri did not show any interest in Beelzebub’s absence. Her gaze was fixed on the seat she once occupied, now filled by another Demon King.
“Vilred…”
Gritting her teeth and glaring at him, Seere spoke simply.
“Calm down. After all, it’s a place you will reclaim. With the Teacher returned, it should happen even faster than before.”
“…Huh.”
Seere looked around. The Demon Kings each had a single aide accompanying them. Behind Citri was Baphomet, and by Gremony’s side was Bitus, one of the three Archdemons.
Normally, Nahun would be behind her, but due to some reckless behavior the previous night, Seere found herself alone. Just as she felt a bit lonely, a black mist suddenly swirled beside her.
“Huh?”
Seere was startled, and both Gremony and Bitus flinched in surprise. Instinctively, they felt an unsettling and eerie sensation.
Fortunately, Seere was well aware of whose presence it was, so she wasn’t too shocked. Moments later, just as Seere had anticipated, a small white whale appeared, its tail wagging as it materialized.
“Boo.”
“Why are you here?”
“Buuuu.”
It seemed to say that it had come in Nahun’s stead. Feeling a bit lonely, Seere couldn’t help but smile. Even amidst the bureaucratic headaches, she was grateful for Nahun’s thoughtfulness.
“Se, Seere! Please remove that…”
Of course, Citri could not help but be alarmed by the presence of Leviathan. Gremony’s expression was no different.
“W-what is that?”
“Seere, it seems dangerous. You should step back…”
“No, it’s something the Teacher carries with them.”
“…Pardon?”
“It seems to have been sent in place of the Teacher not being able to come… Should I let it stay for now?”
“Buu.”
Leviathan faded back into the black mist. Citri finally let out a sigh as if she had just been reassured.
“Why would Nahun send something like that? Ugh, it gives me the creeps.”
“I think it was worried about me.”
“Did it drink to excess yesterday?”
That was certainly true. The Teacher must have known to drink moderately, so why had they made such a mistake? All the Demon Kings from the Equites faction, who had drunk with them the previous night, were present.
‘I should ask Barbatos later.’
Seere was unaware that as Leviathan had appeared beside her, several Demon Kings seated among the powerful side had shifted their gazes toward her.
Agreas narrowed her brows slightly as she spoke.
“Hey, Basago.”
“Hmm.”
“What was that just now? I felt it come from the area of Seir’s daughter.”
“Well, it doesn’t seem to be the power of that young Demon King.”
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you know?”
Agreas grumbled as she received an unwanted answer. Basago looked at her with a bemused expression, while a black-haired female Demon King beside them chuckled softly.
“It was a very foreign energy, wasn’t it?”
“Do you know something, Samygina?”
Samygina von Seos, the fourth-ranking powerful Demon King, was the foremost master of necromancy in the Demon World. Though her personal strength was insignificant compared to the Demon Kings below, the legion of undead she commanded was enough to defend this position.
“It wasn’t the energy of the dead, so it’s not a specter. However, the ability to conceal its presence like a specter is certain.”
“Such beings exist?”
“I wonder.”
Samygina spoke with curiosity glimmering in her eyes.
“Let’s keep an eye on it.”
As the atmosphere shifted slightly due to Leviathan’s sudden appearance, just moments before the assembly was set to begin, the last door of the assembly hall swung open.
“Fortunately, I’m not late. I’m sorry for making you wait.”
The owner of the seat that had remained empty until the end, Beelzebub von Deus. Seere evaluated his entrance briefly.
‘He made a point to arrive late.’
While all the other Demon Kings had been waiting, he appeared last, marking his presence. He affirmed that he was the one and only most powerful ruler of the Demon World.
It was nothing more than a simple and small ‘show.’
Reinforcing his status once more throughout the entire Demon World, Beelzebub sat in his place. Just as he, the chairperson of the assembly, was about to strike the gavel to signal the beginning of the meeting.
Suddenly!
The door was flung open fiercely, and a man hurriedly entered. He stood there, brow furrowed and breathing heavily. Bowing his head, he spoke.
“I am the aide of Seere von Debata. I apologize for being late due to circumstances, but since the meeting hasn’t started yet, would it be all right if I joined, Chairperson?”
“…Sure.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded and headed toward Seere. His furrowed brows did not appear strange, fortunately.
Seere, who had felt a touch of loneliness, greeted him with a bright smile.
“Teacher, are you okay?”
“I still feel ill, but… I promised, didn’t I? That I would attend together this time.”
“I thought you weren’t coming since you sent Levi…”
“Levi?”
“I thought maybe if I referred to him by his full name, someone would recognize him. So I tried shortening it; is it not good?”
It didn’t quite fit the creature often referred to as the harbinger of doom. However, considering his usual appearances, it seemed somewhat appropriate.
Nahun chuckled as he replied.
“No, he’d like it too.”
“Really?”
Seere smiled gently.
—
Silence fell over the assembly hall. Though no one showed it outwardly, everyone was inwardly amused. Most of the Demon Kings who had caught on to the meaning of Beelzebub’s actions felt this way.
Thanks to that movement, the last individual to enter the assembly hall was not Beelzebub but rather this man. The presence that Beelzebub had carved out by appearing last was overshadowed by the male who followed closely behind.
From Beelzebub’s perspective, it was nothing short of a disaster.
Agreas wore a smile, finding the situation amusing. She was curious how the expression of Beelzebub, who had been dealt a significant blow, had changed, so she glanced toward him.
“…Huh?”
And was taken aback. Beelzebub’s expression was rigid and frozen. It was not anger; rather, his face seemed to reflect shock.
“Beelzebub, what’s wrong?”
“…It’s nothing. Let’s begin the meeting.”
With Beelzebub striking the gavel, the meeting commenced.
The main topic of this assembly was countermeasures for the Celestial War. Since the brief invasion by angels two years ago, there had been rising voices calling for preparation against the forthcoming Celestial War.
Thus, the assembly was convened, and naturally, the primary agenda was to devise strategies against the Celestial War.
Discussions circulated regarding where best to halt the heavenly invasion or whether a counter-offensive would be a favorable option, when Seere pressed a small bell placed before her.
The chairperson, Beelzebub, turned his gaze toward her.
“Seere von Debata, do you have an opinion?”
“I believe the most important thing before war is information.”
“And?”
“The closest place to the heavens is the human realm.”
Beelzebub’s eyes narrowed. Seere felt a shiver for a moment, but Nahun, standing behind her, reassuringly tapped her shoulder.
Seere glanced briefly at Nahun, then turned her attention back to Beelzebub and the gathered gazes of the Demon Kings focusing on her as she stated her position.
“Those who have received divine weapons from the Archangel Metatron continue to appear in the human realm. The strength of these individuals, the ‘heroes,’ has reached a level that we can no longer overlook. In order to counter them and to anticipate movements in the heavenly realm…”
Seere declared on the agenda.
“We should lift the ban on entering the human realm.”
“…I’d like to hear your reasoning.”
Beelzebub spoke briefly. After all, it was merely the opinion of a mid-ranking Demon King, and he did not expect any dissent from his actions.
“I agree. We must consider that the most recently appeared hero conquered all the Demon Kings of layers 71 and 70.”
While Seere had repelled him from layer 69, the previously ruling Demon Kings Dantalion and Amducias of layers 71 and 70 hadn’t even dared to face the hero and had let him through.
As Citri brought up this point, Beelzebub interjected.
“That’s not the issue; it’s those fools who betrayed the Demon World out of fear of humans.”
“…That’s not entirely incorrect, in my opinion.”
And those two were also present at the assembly. When Beelzebub glared at them, the two Demon Kings were visibly tense and had no words to speak.
“There is another reason. As I pointed out in previous assemblies, heroes are becoming increasingly stronger. To prepare for future heroes, understanding the circumstances in the human realm is crucial.”
It was Gremony. While still low in rank, as two Demon Kings that fell within the top ten families aligned with the same opinion, others began to contemplate their thoughts as well.
“In that case, I will hear the opinions of other Demon Kings. It seems those who have spoken thus far—Citri and Gremony von Due—are allied with the proposer of the agenda, Seere von Debata.”
Believing that only the allies of the speaker, Seere, would furnish opinions, Beelzebub’s eyes widened in astonishment.
Bells rang from both sides. While not immediately next to them, it was evident that two bells rang from the seats of the top-ranking Demon Kings.
“I agree with that opinion, Chairperson.”
One was Barbatos von Eishval.
“I also believe the ban should be lifted.”
And the other came from Paimon von Hog, a Demon King opposed to Barbatos’s Equites faction.
