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At that moment.

“Demon King, isn’t it dangerous to keep going deeper into the Empire?”

“There is no danger. The Empire will remain still, no matter how much we poke at their territory.”

Demon King Satan was wandering the human streets with a black-haired girl.

“We can simply change direction when we feel like we’ve crossed the line. We still have much more time.”

“Even now, we’re being bombed by the Hero Corps?”

“While we’re in the Empire, I’ve made it political so they can’t shoot at us. Look at this. The Empire’s people are dying here, yet are they sending a knight order?”

A huge presence in an orange robe and a black-haired girl. It was an odd combination that anyone would find strange, but all those who might think it strange were already dead.

Sandbag Baron territory. Annihilated.

All the inhabitants, including Baron Sandbag, had perished. A brutal slaughter had unfolded in broad daylight as Satan’s demon army burned houses and indiscriminately cut down people.

As if they wished the human race itself wouldn’t survive. Satan shamelessly slaughtered humans, regardless of age or gender, evidently disgusted by their very existence in the Intermediate Realm.

“This place will become our new Demon King’s Castle. It’s a bit of a downgrade from the White Castle to the Black Castle, but at least it’s better than being bombed by a Hero in my sleep.”

“What if the Hero suddenly loses it and bombs us?”

“Then we’ll start a war between the Principality and the Empire. I’ll lead the demon army elsewhere and regroup.”

“Where else?”

“Well, for starters, we should avoid the Hero’s hometown.”

Satan took out a map and marked an ‘X’ in red on a certain part of the continent.

“Why should we avoid the Hero’s hometown?”

“I heard that a Hero who has their hometown attacked becomes three times stronger. That’s what my mentor said.”

“That’s such a nonsensical statement!”

“It means they become blind with revenge and their hands turn cruel. Even those with a sense of chivalry who wanted to fight fairly become bloodthirsty killers. Especially if they have a childhood friend in their homeland.”

“…Hmm, that’s an interesting perspective.”

The girl folded her arms and spread her wings.

“So, what will you do while we hold out here?”

“I’ll perform a ritual to summon the Fire Demon God using the body of the former Mercenary King, Bearnes.”

“…Can you say that openly?”

“Of course. You’re my officer. And it’s daytime, so it’s fine.”

Satan spread his arms to the clear sky.

“At night, the Moon Goddess listens under the moonlight. That could be reported to either the Saintess or the Holy Knight, so night is dangerous. Also, if we attack at night, none of the women would survive anyway.”

“Do we need to take them to a place without moonlight to kill them? Man, that’s absurd. The demon army afraid of nighttime while dealing with humans? They weren’t like this 500 years ago.”

“There’s nothing sillier than fighting on a battlefield that’s advantageous for the opponent.”

“Is that what your mentor said?”

“No, that’s my own observation. …By the way, about 500 years ago.”

Satan bent down slightly.

“I’d like to hear some stories. How did you fight 500 years ago?”

“…All I have is stories of the Great Demon King’s victories, so I don’t want to talk about it much.”

“That’s precisely what I want to hear. They may be enemies to you, but they’re sworn rivals I must surpass.”

“Are you that envious of the title of Great Demon King?”

“I just can’t stand the thought that someone could be above Satan.”

Satan’s eyes flashed from beneath his robe.

“If someone can exist above Satan, it must be the Demon God.”

“…Is there a Demon God?”

“There was. They exerted great power and disappeared 500 years ago.”

“……?”

The girl tilted her head.

“There really was a Demon God 500 years ago? Then, could it be…”

“It’s unrelated to the Great Demon King. The Demon God didn’t welcome Bel Pegor rampaging through the Intermediate Realm. They intended to dominate the Intermediate Realm in a way that was distinctly un-Demon-like, separate from the Demon Race.”

“Then you don’t know what that way is?”

“The method has not been revealed. The first thing I did when I got here was look into the history from 500 years ago. But it was thoroughly erased. Then I met you, who was born 500 years ago. I thought it must be fate.”

Swish.

A red sword sprung forth from Satan’s hand.

“What happened 500 years ago? How did the Great Demon King plan to rule humanity, and what exactly was this different method from that of the Demon Race?”

“…I don’t know the details. I was extremely young back then. I’m 513 years old now. At that time, I was just a 13-year-old kid.”

“……A Half-Dragon doesn’t usually grow that fast, right?”

“I was just a little kid back then. But I do remember this: the Great Demon King… even took in humans as his subordinates.”

“……Humans as subordinates?”

Satan fell into thought.

“What was he planning to do by bringing in human scum who only think about betrayal?”

“I don’t know the specifics either. But all the humans who entered the Great Demon King’s army were ostracized. There were so many of them… they all fled to somewhere. Perhaps some of them still remain to this day…”

“Asydia.”

Satan gritted his teeth.

“How dare those scummy humans try to treat me as a lowly demon by sweet-talking me! The ones who stole my body… I will definitely kill them.”

Flutter.

The wind blew. As the hood of the orange robe fell back, inside was—

“Damn it.”

A frail girl with the same hair and eye color as the robe appeared.

“I will definitely get my body back.”

*

“…It’s certainly comfortable.”

Tap, tap. Mammon licked his lips while watching the green-haired maid diligently carving the magic stone.

“Her consciousness should have returned, but how is she moving so well?”

In the innermost part of Mammon’s secret laboratory, in the pursuit of developing a secret weapon to defeat Demon King Satan, the beastman slave ‘Peor’ left behind by Bel Pegor was moving meticulously according to Mammon’s orders.

“Is her own consciousness still present? Or is it a splitting of consciousness? Does she exist simultaneously? Is it a replication of consciousness? Is this the power of magic?”

Tap, tap, tap. Peor accurately carved the magic stone with a knife, and Mammon took the magic stone and placed it into the grooves of a component to finish the assembly.

“…Now all that’s left is to finalize the appearance. Phew, if I were doing this alone, it would have taken four more days, but having such a capable assistant is great…”

“Right?”

Evil. The Sorceress of Crimson Lotus, Bel-Pegor, appeared. Mammon froze in the same position he was holding Peor’s cheek.

“It’s okay. After all, that’s not me right now.”

“How is this possible?”

“It’s the power of magic. If I had to explain the principle, it’s difficult to do so with science, so just think that the power of mana automatically moves the body.”

“…This isn’t just a level of moving undead; there’s a living essence inside.”

“It’s like instilling a similar persona.”

Bel flopped onto the sofa, and Peor immediately stopped what she was doing and approached Bel, starting to massage her shoulders.

“Nice. I don’t know where you got this beastman, but they seem to have pretty good bloodlines. They aren’t from the beastman kingdom’s nobility, are they?”

“…If they knew such a person was a slave here, the beastman kingdom would be in an uproar.”

“It can’t be helped. The beastman kingdom was part of the demon army 500 years ago. …Those who lose become prey for the mainstream powers.”

Bel bitterly smiled as she propped her legs on the table.

“How many weaklings were swallowed up before that Empire built such a massive force? The law of the jungle. It’s a fundamental law of the demon world, but the same goes for the human world.”

“The stronger take everything…. That’s definitely the words of the Great Demon King.”

“Exactly. Depending on who the strongest becomes, the laws of the world can change significantly.”

“And how about you?”

“Me?”

Mammon sat across from Bel and handed her a cup next to her foot.

“…Well, comparing it to 500 years ago, it’s like night and day. Back then, I crushed anyone who touched my stuff, and that’s how things became. Now it’s a bit different.”

“How different?”

“What I desire now… is peace.”

Bel squinted and opened her mouth, and Peor reached for the table, placing a cookie in her mouth.

“Peace. World peace. More precisely, peace in the Intermediate Realm.”

“What about peace in the Demon World?”

“If we want to prevent the Demon World from perishing, we need to go back in time. About 500 years back. The moment the Demon God forcibly intervened in the Intermediate Realm and began its decline, the Demon World was gradually doomed. Unless we go to the past and stop the Demon God, the Demon World cannot help but perish.”

“…Going back to the past, huh.”

Mammon scrutinized Peor, who was behind Bel.

“Well, I understand. You’ve been saying nonsensical things for quite some time now.”

“Isn’t that too much?”

“Anyway, just take a look at the finished product and check it.”

Mammon pointed to a product with gleaming silver wires connecting the magic stones.

“This is a voice amplifier. When you speak into the part where the wires connect, it changes into a magic wave and transmits through this amplifier. The speaking side is the microphone, and the sound-emitting side is the speaker.”

“Good. With this… I can just shout at Satan.”

“What will you shout?”

“Well… something about your muscle enhancing drugs…? While it might be good to provoke it like that, I’ll need to ensure the provocation is more certain.”

Bel grabbed the microphone and smiled slyly.

“We will defeat Satan’s demon army with our muscles.”

 

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