Chapter 206
The first floor of the Demon World is the only place connected to Hell and a layer that must be passed to normally travel between Hell and the Demon World. There was a high risk of severe side effects if one attempted to cross between the two worlds through other means, so even the great demons had to pass through the first floor when coming to the Demon World.
Thus, the first floor was an important place, and it was ruled by the most powerful and great Demon King, the first-ranked Demon King. The ruler of the first floor had never changed since the beginning of time.
“Beelzebub?”
That day, Beelzebub von Deus, the master of the first floor, sat on his throne with a very serious expression. Agreas, who had come to speak with him, immediately sensed that something was wrong and watched Beelzebub closely.
“Uh, what’s wrong? Is something going on?”
“…It’s not me who has a problem.”
“Huh? Then why do you look like that…?”
“A person from Hell just crossed over.”
“Again? Didn’t we have a demon cross over not long ago?”
“That’s right.”
Mephistopheles. A demon of considerable power in Hell, one that anyone who had lived long in the Demon World would have heard of at least once. However, Beelzebub did not tell Agreas or anyone else that the demon who had crossed over was Mephistopheles.
“Since the demon crossed over, he hasn’t returned.”
“What? He’s still in the Demon World? What is a demon doing here?… Ah, is that why you looked so grim?”
“No.”
“Not that?”
“I said another one crossed over.”
Agreas narrowed her brows slightly. Beelzebub’s way of speaking could occasionally be frustrating. No matter what he talked about, he only revealed about half of it, leaving the rest unspoken, which was particularly vexing.
“Who is it? You’re not going to tell me some secret again, are you?”
“That’s correct.”
“…If another demon crossed over, doesn’t that just mean we can leave it alone? It’s not like we can’t handle it ourselves.”
“That was the case originally. But it’s not that simple anymore.”
Agreas narrowed her eyes at Beelzebub’s ambiguous answer. However, surprisingly, she was pretty perceptive. Perhaps her frequent conversations with Beelzebub had helped her become so.
She widened her eyes as if she realized something and said.
“Ah, so this time the one who crossed over isn’t just any demon?”
Beelzebub didn’t answer. However, he didn’t deny it either. Seeing his silence, Agreas let out a small laugh.
“What is it then? A malevolent spirit? A massu? Or perhaps the Grim Reaper?”
If it wasn’t any of those…
“That’s as far as you go. You shouldn’t say more.”
“…Fine.”
Agreas spoke with interest.
“What’s the purpose?”
“He says he wants to judge one who has broken the rules of Hell.”
“What? What does that even mean?”
“I don’t know. However, one thing is for sure.”
Beelzebub’s eyes narrowed. As the highest leader of the Demon World, he intended to respond to the unwarranted interference from Hell.
“If they cross the line, I will kick them out forcibly.”
“Is that okay?”
“Considering they crossed over without permission, the leader of Hell will probably think favorably of it.”
“Ah, so it was illegal immigration?”
Agreas pondered for a moment before speaking.
“Hey, can I take care of it?”
“I don’t mind, but are you sure?”
“Since it’s not a fight in Hell, but in the Demon World, their movements would likely be restricted as well. Plus, as long as I don’t cross any lines, there’s no need to act against them, right?”
“True.”
“Where did they go then?”
Beelzebub looked at Agreas quietly before answering simply.
“41st floor.”
—
The King of Locusts.
This powerful great demon was known by the same name as the Kliroft called Taugirion. It was named after the locusts that appeared wherever he showed up and consumed everything.
“Uh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s something strange over there…”
“What is it?”
The sight of grotesque, terrifying, and ominous-looking locusts swarming in the sky was akin to a black cloud. Wherever that cloud passed, all plants withered or were consumed and disappeared, and the ground became tainted and turned black. The soldier guarding the 41st floor of the Demon Castle looked serious as he said.
“Hey, quickly let the commander know. Tell all soldiers to assume battle readiness!”
“Okay, got it!”
Thanks to the quick judgment of the officer who first spotted it, Celestia and Erina, who were managing the 41st-floor Demon Castle temporarily, rushed out to assess the situation.
“Commander, that’s…?”
Celestia couldn’t respond to Erina’s question either. It was the first time she had seen something like that. Locusts swarming like a black cloud, neither Celestia nor Erina, who had served under Seir von Debata, could identify what they were.
“…Close all the gates and set up a barrier. We can’t let those bugs inside.”
“Understood.”
Erina hurriedly descended the castle wall, and Celestia drew her sword. However, the moment she pulled it out, Celestia froze stiffly.
‘…What.’
Her body stiffened against her will. Celestia could barely move her eyes to see who was restraining her movements, and she was greatly shocked.
“Do the demon race these days fall into fear so easily?”
The one who restrained Celestia did not intend to bind her movement at all. He didn’t even give her a glance. He didn’t seem to be using any magic either. This was simply…
‘…Magic power…?’
Celestia had only ever felt this sensation once before. It was the feeling she had when she faced Nahun during the Great War of Angels when he exerted all his strength. It was less intense than that, but the issue was that Nahun had been an ally back then, while now he was most likely an enemy.
Instinctively feeling the overwhelming difference in power and the inherently existing disparity, Celestia couldn’t tear her gaze away from him and remained stiff.
‘Move…!’
As Celestia’s body wouldn’t listen to her, a man among the swirling locusts lightly rested his chin on his hand.
“Yet Mephistopheles is dead… I can’t comprehend. Should I clean up the obstacles and investigate?”
His short, tawny hair swayed slightly. The moment the tips of his bangs brushed against his eyelids, a brief word escaped his lips.
“Clear them away.”
The locusts that were circling around him suddenly took flight. Even though they were quite far away, their speed was so fast that they seemed likely to reach the walls before the barrier was properly set up.
“Ugh…!!!”
Celestia tried to force her body to move, but her arms and hands were only stiff. It felt like she had become a wooden puppet tied up with strings, unable to move freely.
The fact that Celestia, the strongest in the legion, was in this state meant that the other soldiers were also not faring any better. Because of that, the locusts reached the castle walls without encountering any resistance.
“Move…!”
Just as the locusts were about to attack the 41st-floor Demon Castle.
“It’s fine. Not being able to move is only natural, so don’t force yourself.”
“…!?”
Kwaaaang─────────!!!
With a gigantic explosion, a surge of powerful magic erupted right in front of Celestia. The locusts that had been rushing in were instantly vaporized, and only charred wing remnants fell to the ground.
“Celestia, are you okay?”
“…Your Majesty?”
Seere, who should have been lying in a sickbed, was now beside her. So, Celestia couldn’t hide her astonishment and said.
“Ah, no, why are you here!? Don’t tell me that thing is also your…?”
“Ah… I didn’t do it. I just came because the teacher said it was safe next to her.”
“Excuse me?”
Seere glanced forward, and Celestia turned her gaze as well. Below the castle wall, a man was holding a sword. He appeared to have just landed after coming down from the castle wall.
“Nahun?”
It was Nahun. It was he who had obliterated all the locusts that had just tried to cover the castle walls. And surprisingly, as soon as Nahun appeared, Celestia felt her stiff body loosening.
“Ah, finally….”
And the owner of the locusts, who had just discovered Nahun, was also slightly widening his eyes in surprise. Nahun stood up, crushing space with his magic to withdraw his sword.
“Why are you here, I…?”
“Why are you here, Taugirion? Or should I call you Beelphegor?”
Nahun could address him by his name, while Taugirion couldn’t manage to correctly pronounce Nahun’s name. After trying again, realizing he couldn’t say it, Taugirion spoke to Nahun.
“…Why is there a restriction on your name? What have you done?”
Taumiel’s inquiry went unanswered by Nahun. There was no need to answer him, nor was there any reason to lose the initiative in the conversation by doing so.
“You don’t seem to have the right to care. More importantly, have you received permission from Taumiel to come here?”
“…In that case.”
“Oh? How surprising. I thought….”
Nahun raised his magic sword and aimed it at him.
“I thought you crossed over without permission.”
Of course, he was well aware that Taumiel would have no reason to grant permission for such a matter. Since the one who made the contract with Nahun was Taumiel, he couldn’t have judged it as a breach of rules.
Having had his situation comprehensively assessed in an instant, Taugirion’s eyes narrowed.
“I came to find out why my subordinate died and what happened. I was thinking of judging the one who broke the rules. But to think….”
Taumiel looked at Nahun, who was pointing his sword at him.
“To think you would be the culprit.”
He believed that the one responsible for Mephistopheles’s death was Nahun. In that case, it made sense that his assistant had died in such a place.
In reality, it was because he had lost to Seere in a duel, but Nahun didn’t bother to deny it to prevent the blame from falling on Seere unnecessarily.
“The one who broke the rules seems to be you, not me.”
“That’s nonsense. You do not realize that wandering around the Demon World without permission from the kingdom is a grave crime for you?”
Taumiel didn’t seem to be aware of the restrictions placed on Nahun. Nahun contemplated for a moment on how to handle this.
In his current state, with his magic power not fully recovered, facing Taumiel head-on would carry high risks. Although there might be restrictions on Taumiel just as there were on Nahun due to their commands, Nahun lacked the means to exploit those weaknesses since he didn’t know the details of the restrictions.
Moreover, if two great demons fought carelessly and blew away one layer, the very purpose of the war they had just waged would be rendered meaningless. It was clear that here…
‘Avoiding a fight is the best course of action.’
Instead of pushing for a battle, if he could redirect the conversation, that would be the best outcome. It seemed that Taumiel was also cautious because of his presence and had no immediate desire to fight.
Of course, if Taumiel did start a fight, Nahun was prepared to respond. Before that could happen, he decided it wouldn’t be bad to attempt a conversation at least once.
“…Then why don’t I ask.”
“What is it?”
“Aren’t I wrong for residing in the Demon World right now? It would be worth asking Taumiel about that.”
Nahun threw down his gauntlet.
