“The Hero.”
The white-haired woman leaning on the amethyst throne, her eerie white eyes gleaming, read the information held in the crystal in her hand. In the distant past, dragons bestowed the power of magic upon the demon race.
The magic of other races was essentially nothing more than stolen knowledge from the demons’ magic.
Thus, now that the dragons have returned to whence they came, the race of magic should rightfully be called the demon race. Unlike humans, they do not convey information through paper or parchment but instead encapsulate information within gems, offering them as reports.
Harmail smiled as she read the information recorded within the crystal.
“But in a situation where the tide has already turned, what can three mere individuals do?”
“It’s five now.”
The Succubus Queen, Sharon, corrected the misinformation beside Harmail.
“According to information from the demon merchant, Olrok, the Saint of Nemis, Araidel, and Archbishop Reinhaim have joined the Hero Party.”
The Hero Party must eat to survive, so they cannot stay in the forest forever.
Until now, it wasn’t a problem. With numerous demons scattered under various Demon Kings, there were plenty of demons willing to sell supplies to the Hero Party for money.
But now, Harmail is on the verge of taking control of the Demon World.
Although her influence isn’t strong enough to forbid all demons in the Demon World from trading with the Hero Party, it has reached the point where if the Hero Party makes any move, they can be tracked down soon enough.
“Whether it’s three or five, does it really matter?”
Harmail smiled contentedly as she looked at the crystal bottle containing Hydra’s Venom placed near the throne.
But deep down, something felt off. One of her loyal followers, the Slime Demon King Marmanun, risked his life to extract Hydra’s Venom, producing several bottles of the deadly liquid.
Though it’s only a few bottles, the number of people it could kill is countless.
Hydra’s Venom emits high heat if left alone, so the container must be enchanted with cooling magic. Of course, heat means radiation is also present.
Anyway, Marmanun, who presented this precious venom, was killed by the Hero Party. That alone was reason enough for her to hate the Hero.
“Marmanun. My loyal servant who risked his life to prepare this countermeasure.”
“Your Majesty, you must not underestimate the Hero too much.”
The Sacred Sword, a crystallization of the divine power of the Three Divine Gods.
The Hero of this generation, chosen by it, is accompanied by the Saint, daughter of Nemis.
The power they can muster doesn’t even need to defeat Harmail. If she is seriously injured, regardless of victory or defeat, Harmail’s power will crumble.
Among the so-called pro-Harmail faction of Demon Kings, only a few, including the already deceased Marmanun, truly pledge their loyalty to her.
Most are migratory birds ready to switch sides if a stronger entity emerges, or untrustworthy ones who smile on the surface but hide daggers in their hearts.
The Demon King. The king of the demon race. A king cannot be expected to serve someone higher.
The demon race is strong individually, but their population isn’t large, so a Demon King is more akin to a tribal chief than a true king. Harmail’s wish is to unite these scattered tribes into a single tribal alliance.
However, her dream of becoming the Demon Emperor inevitably encroaches on the authority and power of other Demon Kings. How many of them would willingly accept that? Many only follow because the tide has turned.
“If Your Majesty insists on personally confronting the Hero Party, you must crush them with overwhelming force. Then, the Hero Party could even be used as a sacrifice for Your Majesty’s ascension to the throne.”
The justification of defeating the Hero, the enemy of the demon race, could be a factor aiding her ascension as Demon Emperor. For Harmail, personally confronting the Hero Party requires caution.
There’s much to gain if successful, and much to lose if it fails. If she’s going to do it, she must succeed unconditionally.
“By the way, Your Majesty. The noble House of Duke Vlad from the southeastern part of the Empire has sent a letter. They congratulate Your Majesty on your ascension as Demon Emperor and even included a gift.”
“Why would a ducal house of the Empire? I haven’t even declared my intention to ascend as Demon Emperor yet.”
Harmail was momentarily puzzled but soon realized. It wasn’t someone else’s business.
“That side, the Illumina Empire, isn’t of one mind and heart like us, is it? Right?”
“Your insight is sharp. The House of Duke Vlad has been a family that has pondered whether to side with us demons or humans since the Empire’s inception.”
Vampires. Incomplete demons. A third race rejected by both humans and demons.
The founder of the Vlad family, as the progenitor of these vampires, sided with the founding Emperor of the Illumina Empire, earning great merit and receiving a dukedom and territory. Their descendants, now seeing the Empire beginning to falter, have reached out to Harmail, who is on the verge of ascending as Demon Emperor.
“Do they intend to come over to our side?”
“They even expressed a desire to meet Your Majesty in person.”
“Hah, how incompetent must their Emperor be to leave such subordinates unchecked? It must be hard to be born an Emperor and be so useless.”
Harmail instructed to bring the letter and gift.
Though she hasn’t yet ascended, she is already practically the Emperor of the demon race, so the gift didn’t catch her eye much. Her gaze went straight to the letter.
“No, perhaps it was worth leaving them be. Truly astonishing.”
Harmail burst out laughing after reading the letter sent by Duke Shimira of the House of Vlad. It lightened her mood a bit.
“You want to establish a kingdom? That’s fine. That’s fine. If vampires want to create a kingdom, I will permit it. Let the vampires have the entire southeastern part of the Illumina Empire!”
If they have the ability, that is.
In any case, Harmail permitted it. Now, the rest is up to them.
“A declining race trying to make one last desperate move.”
Sharon also sneered upon hearing the contents of the letter. The sight of beings who cannot even stand under the sun boldly demanding to establish a kingdom as if they were something great was more entertaining than any play.
“Even if the old Emperor dies right now, it will take some time for the Empire to fall into ruin. They can’t even wait that short while and are preparing to run wild like a crazed colt, dreaming of becoming queen themselves? To have such trash as their leader, the vampires have truly gone too far.”
“They seem to be stuck in the past. The era when vampires ruled over both humans and demons.”
That past is long gone, and the glory has faded away.
If Duke Shimira clings to that glory, so be it. Harmail has no particular affection for vampires and only needs to use them as much as necessary.
Though the House of Duke Vlad is ready to defect to the demon race at any moment, upon reflection, the immediate problem remains unsolved. Harmail soon realized this and became cautious again.
How to deal with the Hero Party requires careful consideration.
“Grimudo.”
Harmail sighed.
“Why won’t he side with me? If only he were under me, I could not only unify the demon race but conquer the entire continent. I could reduce all other races to servant races for the demons, allowing the demon race to enjoy glory for millennia!”
“But in a way, it’s fortunate for Your Majesty that Grimudo remains secluded in the Arctic. If he desired secular power, Your Majesty would be in immediate danger.”
A being who can change the tide with his power alone. When he clashes with the world, it’s not he who is torn apart, but the world that is reshaped.
The Primal Demon King has existed since long before the Three Divine Gods were born, and even the Sacred Sword does not fear him. Divine power can only inflict minor damage on him, never penetrating his essence.
His power is such that even now, crouched in the Arctic, all demons revere him.
Even the arrogant Harmail cannot look down on Grimudo. Having seen him only once, she harbors an inner fear of him.
“…I must visit Grimudo.”
“Your Majesty, that’s too dangerous!”
Sharon was startled and tried to dissuade Harmail. If Grimudo is the opponent, even a million-strong demon army would be useless. His monster legion is infamous for its destructive power.
With a snap of his fingers, dozens of meters tall monsters would emerge, crushing his enemies. Though the man-eating monster, the Manticore, died once, his monsters are still numerous.
“I’m not going to fight him. I don’t think I can subdue him anyway.”
After all, even Hydra’s Venom originates from one of the monsters he raises.
Grimudo is terrifyingly strong as an individual, but with his monster legion, he is a being of dread.
He didn’t deploy a single monster while fighting the Hero Party, yet he alone overpowered Yurinel, Parnell, and Lucia. He dominated them completely.
“I just want to test him. Why does he remain crouched despite his immense power? What does he desire? Or is he a threat to me? I need to know these things. Without knowing, how can I dare to declare myself Emperor?”
What truly frightens her about Grimudo isn’t his power.
It’s the fact that no one knows what he wants or desires.
The unknown itself. That is the greatest source of fear.
What good is unifying the demon race if Grimudo can overturn it at any moment?
If he changes his mind, or even just his mood, that slight whim could send her plummeting into the abyss.
‘And if possible… it would be good to gain his support.’
If she could obtain even one of the countless monsters in his legion, or at least borrow one, it would be an incredibly profitable deal.
The presence or absence of monsters would make a significant difference when attacking the Hero Party and, further, when launching an offensive against the Illumina Empire.
Unifying the entire Demon World is just the first step of her ambition.
Dreaming of unifying the continent is only fitting for one with the blood of dragons, isn’t it?
To achieve that, she must understand Grimudo’s intentions. If she becomes certain that he is an obstacle to her ambition, she must collaborate with the Hero Party to defeat Grimudo first.
