Chapter 217
As Nahun had predicted, Marbas did not raise any issues after receiving Nahun’s letter regarding Asmodeus following the banquet.
He did not contest the arbitrary disposal of Asmodeus, adding that he must reveal himself as a confirmed member of the Nobilis faction during the assembly.
“This gentleman is quite astute.”
“Are you talking about Marbas?”
“Yeah.”
Honestly, Nahun thought it wouldn’t be strange if Marbas contested this. Asmodeus was clearly a high-ranking Demon King, and now that Morax and Bune were dead, he held a power rank of about fourth or fifth in the faction.
However, he was completely willing to dismiss such a Demon King and display a firm attitude toward taking sides with Nahun. This created a situation where Marbas effectively needed to grasp his own hand. When Nahun remarked on this ruthlessness, Ersha responded as if it were obvious.
“Well, he’s a Demon King who is both tolerant and has that side to him. That’s how he’s survived until now.”
“Yeah, it seems so.”
Though he sent a letter of complaint to Debata’s side from the 31st floor because of this incident, Nahun merely responded that he had already returned. Gremony, who was last seen with Asmodeus, said the same, and since Marbas did not contest that point, the 31st floor had no recourse.
There was no trace or evidence of Asmodeus’s removal.
The 31st floor, having lost Asmodeus, seemed to be hastily promoting his kin as a Demon King…
‘But that would only add to the confusion later.’
The spell Nahun had used to throw away Asmodeus, “Endless Abyss Tartarus,” was not a spell that killed targets. It merely confined them to an endlessly falling void, making it so they could only fall.
It was effectively an endless prison, and could not be released by anyone other than the caster. Given its monumental effects, it came with several conditions, and Asmodeus was not a Demon King strong enough to escape those conditions.
‘Asmodeus will be released in due time…’
By then, he would likely be driven mad. Whether consumed by terror or madness. If it were the former, he would be useful; if the latter, he would be dealt with mercilessly.
“By the way, it went by quietly.”
“What do you mean?”
“Lin said that there has never been such a quiet gathering with Barbatos and Phynox together?”
“Ah.”
The two had a horrendous relationship. If Barbatos, with his martial art faction personality, was a lively and likable character, Phynox, who was closer to a strategist, hid something and was somewhat sly.
Their personalities and inclinations were completely opposite, and their ranks perfectly aligned to warrant caution. It was no surprise they didn’t get along.
However, even they couldn’t afford to cause a scene at this banquet.
“They’re both watching us.”
Particularly, Phynox would be watching Nahun more than Seere. He likely had no intention of causing a ruckus.
“Both Demon Kings covet talented individuals like Your Majesty.”
“Of course. The way you carried yourself at the banquet must have left an impression.”
“Thanks to that, it wouldn’t be strange if Nahun’s influence was openly revealed.”
“That’s exactly what I intended.”
It would not be surprising if Nahun’s influence intervened in Seere von Debata’s war. It had already been imprinted that the mass was under Seere’s command.
‘It’s not common for a Demon King to command a mass, but it’s not unheard of either.’
Take Belzebut, for example, who has masses under his command. He likely raises a few from among the numerous masses in Hell. Although in this case…
“Pwoo!”
“Moooo!!”
“Squeeeek!!”
They were truly monstrous beings. While they currently appeared pitiful, fighting over a piece of meat, nonetheless.
“Why are they fighting when I distributed everything evenly…?”
Just then, the door to Nahun’s office was lightly knocked. When Nahun permitted the entry, a black horn appeared first, followed by snowy white hair. The child, who now looked pretty just by moving, brightly gazed at Nahun with shining eyes.
“Teacher.”
“…Oh, yeah. What is it?”
Seeing Nahun’s delayed response, Seere tilted her head.
“Are you tired, by any chance? Should I come back later?”
“No. Just get to the point.”
“Oh, during yesterday’s banquet, I heard something from Phynox that seemed a bit strange, so I came to tell you.”
“Phynox?”
What sort of strange story had surfaced? Nahun asked with a puzzled expression.
“What did he say?”
“It’s about my rank.”
Both Nahun and Ersha exchanged surprised glances at Seere. Although the assembly would be held soon, the schedule had not yet been confirmed. This meant there was no way to know the new rankings either.
Yet Phynox had brought up the topic of ‘rank’?
“What do you mean? He talked about the rank?”
“He asked me how much my rank would rise. So I said, under the right circumstances, I could be close to rank 20, but I likely wouldn’t be assigned below rank 25… That’s what I said.”
“Right.”
“However, Phynox…”
Seere relayed exactly what Phynox had said. Nahun narrowed his eyes after listening to Seere.
“Was it just idle chatter?”
“No. The nuance of his speaking suggested that the ranks had already been decided.”
Given the information-oriented nature of the Demon King Phynox—who was known for having an outstanding intelligence network—Nahun found it hard to dismiss this talk.
‘Did they decide the ranks before the assembly even started?’
That was absurd. If that were truly the case, Marbas, Barbatos, or Phynox—even just one of them—would have mentioned it to him. Especially Marbas, who was to belong to the same faction, or Phynox, who had become a companion.
However, Phynox hadn’t confirmed anything, and Marbas hadn’t said a word either. This meant…
“…The Patriki faction.”
“Yes?”
“Belzebut, Agreas, Basago, and Samygina had already arranged their ranks among themselves.”
There were questions surrounding how Phynox obtained that information—using his wide network—but it was possible he didn’t relay it explicitly to Nahun, instead hinting it to Seere.
“Isn’t it good to be in the top 20?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Pardon?”
“At this point, settling below rank 25 is better. At most, it should be around rank 25.”
“Why?”
Seere tilted her head. Ersha began to speculate about Nahun’s intentions.
“If you rank too high, the chances of being watched by higher-ranked powers increase, right?”
“Exactly. And we have a contract with Citri.”
Citri’s power was sealed from the 30th floor onwards. While conquering the upper floors was praised as brave, trying to conquer the lower floors first was poorly viewed in the Demon World, making it increasingly difficult to return Citri’s power the higher the rank.
Seere seemed to grasp Nahun’s intentions.
“Ah…”
Nahun furrowed his brows. This was likely a scheme concocted by Belzebut, who had caught wind of the strength of Seere von Debata and Agreas, and was ensured of that information.
“Ah, I was worried that being wary would eventually lower the ranks, but now it’s something else.”
“What shall we do, Teacher?”
“What can we do?”
Nahun recalled the three Demon Kings whom he had invited to the banquet yesterday.
“We can only ask them to cast a dissenting vote.”
—
In the 4th floor’s domain, Samygina von Seos sat atop the gigantic hand of a bone dragon, gazing at a piece of paper.
“Is there some kind of problem?”
The woman speaking to Samygina was Agreas von Dio. The second-in-command of the Demon World, and a monster who could take on Samygina’s army alone and not guarantee a victory.
Looking at her, Samygina spoke.
“I feel like the draft for this rank is quite unstable.”
“Unstable?”
“Yes. The fluctuations are too big.”
What she was particularly referring to were Seere von Debata and her allies. Even if they raised their ranks as much as possible, going up around 20 ranks was the limit, but what was listed here…
“Going up from rank 46 to 15 is too much, don’t you think? Even if they defeated Garp, who was rank 33, and overcame an alliance of five Demon Kings…”
They had spiked by a staggering 31 ranks. Hearing this, Agreas shrugged.
“He’s a hero of the celestial war, after all; it could be special.”
“Isn’t it also worth considering the possible truce?”
“Well, that’s true, but it seems like they’ve decided to trust. At least, Belzebut has.”
Belzebut had said that. Samygina knew better than anyone how much weight that statement carried in the Demon World. Samygina narrowed her eyes slightly and then looked at Agreas.
“Agreas.”
“Yes?”
“What are you hiding?”
“Hiding? What do you mean?”
“You’re far too calm for your standard behavior. That usually indicates you’re hiding something.”
Agreas’s eyes widened. After staring at Samygina for a moment, he slowly began to smile.
“You know me too well.”
“I’ve come to know, even if I didn’t want to.”
“Ha ha, don’t feel too hurt. It’s not that I wanted to hide it; it’s that we decided not to talk about it.”
“…There is something going on.”
Agreas chuckled and approached Samygina. Gently stroking her chin, he leaned in to whisper in her ear.
“Yes, that’s why Belzebut is trying to keep you close. After all, the master of the 15th floor lost their life in the celestial war, right? Compared to Seere von Debata, who played an active role in it and even brought about the truce, won’t it do to substitute?”
Samygina, seemingly familiar with his cunning behavior, tossed her long black hair back.
“From that symbolic standpoint, yes, but…”
“When has our rank ever been defined solely by force? Influence is also an undeniable factor, you know?”
As he stated that, Agreas added a piece of news.
“At the recent victory banquet of Seere von Debata, Marbas, Barbatos, and Phynox all attended.”
“…!”
“Plus, Glashalavras, that fool, attended quietly too… Now, how can it be said there’s no influence?”
“That is a bit surprising…”
Samygina let out a slight sigh.
“Yet if they raise it by 31 ranks, there will be intense backlash from the others. It’s unprecedented.”
“Well, it’s just a draft. We can gather opinions during the assembly and adjust them, right? We also believe rank 15 would be a stretch.”
“Then where do you expect it to land?”
“Rank 18? Around that.”
“So, you’re saying it definitely won’t fall below rank 20.”
“That’s to make it easier to monitor.”
Samygina subtly observed Agreas’s expression. He appeared serious. It was evident that keeping a close watch on Seere von Debata and her forces was a priority.
“Looks like Basago granted permission after hearing me out.”
“He granted it after listening to my words.”
“Indeed. If you, Agreas, say this, there must be a need.”
Given Agreas’s nature, he often looked down upon and ignored most opponents. Even Barbatos, the martial arts Demon King ranked just below him, was regarded with indifference.
That he was showing caution meant…
‘Perhaps there really is something going on.’
Samygina sighed lightly.
“As a member of the Patriki faction, I will agree to this draft.”
“Thank you very much.”
With that, Agreas vanished from Samygina’s side. She stared at the empty space for a moment, remembering the great Archangel who had annihilated all her knights during the celestial war.
“…It was not a foe that a Demon King barely around 20 years should have dealt with.”
Even Samygina’s powerful army was helpless against the formidable Archangel wielding holy flames. They could not deliver a significant blow, only buying time. No matter how much the battlefield was not in the Demon World, the results were devastating.
No matter how much Seere von Debata was the heir to the Lord of War, some things were simply impossible. Yet the result was the Demon World’s victory, and Michaël vanished from sight. Whether he had been obliterated or had retreated was unknown…
“How on earth did they bring the war to an end?”
The war had indeed come to a close. Samygina still questioned that outcome.
—
On a clear afternoon, Nahun rushed into Seere’s office without even knocking. Seere was surprised and called out to him.
“Teacher?”
She looked as if to ask what was so urgent that Nahun would burst in without proper decorum. Knowing that there must be a reason for her usually courteous Teacher behaving so, Seere wondered and Nahun spoke.
“Seere.”
“Yes?”
“The schedule for the assembly has been set.”
There indeed was a significant reason.
