Chapter 22: Prince Kurobuta Returns to the Royal Capital

--The "Phantom Realm".

It is a world between the human world where humans live and the demon world where monsters live. Close to the fairy world and the spirit world, it's a world where the concepts of time and space are vague and different.

In a world overlooked by two black suns and a rainbow-colored sky like a mysterious aurora borealis, the current base of the Demon King's army, "Yume Genjaku Castle(Dream Castle)," was located.

And a little before Brad left the cat people's Village, a meeting was being held at the "Castle of Dreams" by the Leaders of the Demon King's army.

"......"

In an audience room.

In a space that was dimly lit by the light of a magic stone lamp, dozens of various monsters were gathered.

All of them held high positions in the Demon Lord's army, and at the same time, were all powerful monsters that ordinary humans couldn’t compete with.

And even among these monsters, there was one that possessed an overwhelming amount of evil magic power.

A luxurious throne floated in the air.

A humanoid monster sat comfortably on the throne, cross-legged and slumped over.

He was smaller than a human, and because he was humanoid, at first glance he looked like a weak child. However, the cloak that covers his entire body was filled with an intense magic power, giving him an unparalleled sense of intimidation that is unrivaled compared to the other monsters.

Above all, there was a black mask covering his face, which is proof of his status as one of the "Four Demon Generals," the highest-ranking members of the Demon King's army, clearly showed the overwhelming strength of this demon.

"Kekeke... it's had to believe that the cyclops was defeated. It's interesting to know that there are other people with this kind of power besides the Seven Heroes."

The masked monster "Gluttonous Overeater" otherwise known as Belzebub was staring at the center of the audience.

There was a huge magic crystal floating in the air there, showing the horrible scene of the Cyclops being defeated by a single human boy in the Sky Mountain labyrinth.

Belzebub was amused as he watched and the monsters' reactions to the scene were mixed.

"I can't believe he caught the Cyclop's blow with one hand. Just who the hell is this guy?"

"......Don't fret, he’s just a fragile human. If me and my brothers were there, we would have turned him into a pile of meat."

"No ..., it won't be that easy. If he’s still hiding his true power, he could even reach his majesty's throat if we’re not careful..."

The audience room quickly became noisy but when one of the goblin lords said something like that,

" What!?"

Beelzebub who had been smiling narrowed his eyes as the lower part of his cloak fluttered.

Immediately, a whip-like tentacle flew from the hem of Beelzebub's cloak at tremendous speed and attacked the Goblin Lord.

The tentacle twirled around the Goblin Lord like a snake, lifted him easily into the air, and strangled him tightly.

"aah...!”

The goblin lord's scream rang out.

He struggled to get out of the tentacle, but Belzebub's tentacle, which seemed weak at first glance, contained extraordinary power and could not be easily detached.

This is not to say that the captured goblin lord is weak.

The goblin lord is the highest-ranking monster of the goblin race, with a level of over 30 in Final Quest. But even more than that, Belzebub's power was off the charts.

Belzebub looked at the Goblin Lord suffering from being strangled by tentacles with cold eyes and a dry smile.

"... Whose throat did you say that man could reach? Be careful with your words. It makes me laugh seeing you think a human who just defeated a giant, our dark overlord could be in the same class."

"I'm sorry Belzebub sama! Please have mercy!"

The goblin lord begged, and Belzebub pondered for a moment.

"...... Fine, I'm not a heartless monster either."

Suddenly, he loosened the power of his tentacles.

The goblin lord finally took in a satisfying breath of air and smiled in relief at being forgiven.

But it was the last smile he would ever make.

A moment later, the sound of something being crushed echoed.

It sounded like something trying to squeeze the juice out of fruit.

The problem was that the fruit was the goblin lord's body, and what was squeezed out was his reddish-black blood.

No sooner had he loosened his grip that Belzebub suddenly tightened the strangling power of his tentacles, crushing the Goblin Lord with his overwhelming power.

A loud splash of blood stained the floor along with the body of the monster that had turned into a lump of flesh.

"Keke Keke ...... Rejoice. If His Majesty had been awake, a fool like you would have been tortured and condemned to a perpetual living in hell. You can thank me in the underworld for being merciful enough to take your life without pain."

Belzebub ran his serpentine tongue over the tentacles and licked off the dripping monster blood.

Then he took a deep breath and said, 

"...... You are all making a big deal out of this little issue. The Cyclops is not only the weakest of the "Four Demon Generals" executives but he was just a lackey. He is a piece that can be easily replaced. It is outrageous to ridicule his majesty just because a small fry was taken down by a human Prince."

The demon king whose powers were greatly reduced by the 'seven heroes' now lies in a dormant state.

So In order to awaken the demon lord a huge amount of magic power along with several key items is needed, so the monsters under the Demon generals’ control are now scurrying around the world trying to get these items.

It was part of their plan that the Cyclops called himself one of the "Four Demon Generals" and demanded sacrifices from the cat people, an action that had never been seen in the Demon Lord's army before.

In reality, the Cyclops was only an aide to the "four demon generals" in the Demon Lord's army. It's not a big deal if he was defeated.

"... but we should certainly take care of this threat as soon as possible. If we underestimate him and he grows to be "Seven heroes" class, we'll end up like the Giant. We can't allow any interference in our carefully laid plans."

Belzebub continued, but then one of the monsters, the Ancient Lich, raised his hand in a fearful manner.

When Belzebub glances at him and gives him permission to speak, the Ancient Lich breathes a sigh of relief and slowly speaks up.

"I agree with you about getting rid of this Brad. However, Pistel has the Demon Slayer. I'm not afraid of him, but I think we'll be the ones who suffer the consequences if we do anything half-heartedly.

Belzebub snorts.

"Indeed the "Demon Slayer" is quite troublesome. As originally planned, we'll have to tread carefully. But in order to get rid of this prince, we would naturally have to get through him."

"When it comes to such a task, it's not something I myself should handle. The "Dream Castle" should not be left unattended and there’s also the situation at the Deltora Peninsula. I do not have time for trivial matters such as these."

"So, who else is qualified?"

"... please leave it to me and my brothers."

When Belzebub turned around, it was a single monster that spoke out.

"Oh, you the Garlov brothers?"

It was a werewolf lord, a higher species of werewolf.

They look like bipedal beastmen with the heads of bloodthirsty beasts, and they are extremely skilled at cunningly tricking people and then eating them.

"I and my brothers have the ability to transform ourselves into humans. I'm sure we'll be able to get rid of one or two humans in an instant if we take advantage of their sword dance festival that will soon hold in Pistel. Please, leave it to us."

The werewolf lord said with a confident expression and a fearless smile on his face.

Belzebub paused for a moment to think and then laughed out loud "Haha Good!"

"Go to Pistel and make sure that Prince regrets baring his fangs at us."

A moment later. The Garlov brothers wearing nasty smiles and leaped with their overwhelming leg strength and departed.

However, immediately after that.

"Are we really going to leave it to those beasts?"

A woman walked in from the doorway of the audience hall speaking with such a calm voice.

The woman who gracefully walked in front of Belzebub was a bewitching woman wearing a black mask.

Her slender body was clad in a red mermaid-like dress.

Her appearance is very revealing, almost like that of a prostitute, but her demeanor is elegant and reminiscent of an aristocrat.

In addition, there were two ravens perched on her shoulders and a doll of a pretty girl in a gothic dress was in her arms.

"Lionetta, you're back."

--Lionetta, the Puppeteer Doll Master.--

She was one of the "Four Demon Generals" and also one of the few people who could exchange words with Beelzebub on equal terms in the demon lord's army.

"Given the power and circumstances of that Brad individual, they won’t be the best men for the job. But if you’re the one to go... It would be a different story though."

"I'd be happy to go."

When Belzebub jokingly suggested it, Lionetta replied immediately.

Beelzebub’s eyes widen at the unexpected reply.

"Well... what strange wind is blowing today?"

Lionetta shrugs in a relaxed manner.

"I was originally entrusted with keeping an eye on Pistel. Don't you think it’s my job to eliminate those that might harm us later?"

"Kekeke... I know it's your job. But you didn't seem like the kind of woman who would bother herself with such trivial matters even if when ordered to."

Lionetta was a capable woman but had a very difficult character. She wasn't the type that liked to be ordered around.

"Excuse me! I'm still the third general who is always serious about her job."

"Yeah since there are only four of us, and the remaining two are extremely eccentric."

When Belzebub shrugs, Lonietta laughs and covers her mouth with her hands.

"But if you're volunteering to go, then there's no reason to refuse. You have a plan, don't you?"

"Yes, I found a nice doll in Pistel that I can use as a pawn."

"Right, Arrieta?" Lionetta called out and the doll on her shoulders nodded as though it were alive.

"I see, that's why you said you’ll go."

Belzebub smiled as he understood the situation and Lionetta snorted in a vague manner that couldn't be interpreted as affirmative or Negative.

"Kekeke… don’t mess it up"

"...... I don't need to be told that."

Lionetta replied immediately with a bewitching smile.

Immediately after. The ravens that perched on her shoulders melted like slimes and covered her entire body with a jet-black liquid.

And when it vanished, She was gone as well.

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