Chapter 25: The Strongest Onmyoji Betrayed

The next morning.

As usual, we rented an inn on the outskirts of the village, so we built a fire outside and had a simple breakfast.

“Um, Demon King-sama.”

Just as we finished eating, King Vill timidly spoke to us.

For some reason, he feels the gaze of the kings around him. Everyone had finished eating early and were chatting in secret, so there was an atmosphere that somehow seemed to match.

I asked him, tipping my glass of water.

“What’s wrong?”

“Actually… we were talking, and it was decided that it would be nice if there was an organization representing the demons.”

“Boo!! Gohogohoho!!”

“Uwaa, are you okay Maou-sama…”

I accidentally choked.

King Vill asks an anxious question.

“I thought it was a good idea…is it bad?”

“I… no, it’s good. I think it’s really good.”

Even though I was shaken by the unexpected development, I made a smile and replied.

I didn’t think that they, the …… kings, would come up with the idea.

King Vill’s proposal was both Rurumu’s wish and mine.

In the event of a full-scale war, there will be options for negotiation, and above all, If the Demon King could unify their intentions without relying on the Demon King, I would no longer be needed.

Considering the current situation, it was insanely convenient.

However, it would be unnatural to be overjoyed, so I asked with a subdued smile on my face.

“But why all of a sudden?”

“After all, we are all different.”

King Sigil answered.

“Even though it’s a composition of demons versus humans, I thought it would be bad. For the time being, humans have a huge country called the Empire.”

“There are other good things too. If the demons could create a unified currency, it would be convenient. Fili, would want to do that.”

“I don’t really understand, but I wonder if it will be possible to do business that goes beyond the framework of the race.”

“got it”

I nod, then ask everyone.

“If it becomes an institution, representatives of various races will probably gather…is it you guys?”

“Yes.”

King Vill glanced back at the other kings.

As they exchanged glances, it seemed that they had a bond similar to that of comrades-in-arms.

When I turned my eyes to Risolera, she waved her hand and said,

“I’m just living a long life and I’m not in that position, so I won’t go out. I’ll send Remzenel or someone younger.”

It seems that Risolera knew about this as well.

I was the only one left out of the loop.

“Okay, but then…”

I ask carefully.

“What are you going to do about dealing with humans? 　The representatives who gathered at the village of the divine demons are probably still arguing…what conclusion did you come up with?”

“As expected, it was decided to explore the path of formal peace.”

King Vill clearly said.

“There are many things to lose in a conflict. It’s been several hundred years since the demons last took over the territory, so it’s probably a good time to make a non-aggression agreement with each other… and then together. I want to develop. That’s what I think.”

“If more demons were able to advance into the human country, there might be some who would be active there. They have many strengths that humans don’t have, such as long lifespans and strong arm strength. I think other races, like elves and dwarves, should actively interact with humans.”

“……Really”

I feel relieved.

The population has grown and become richer, and the number of generations who know about the age of conflict has decreased, so the number of demons with such thoughts will surely increase.

But I have another question.

“But…Is that okay? I think King Gauss was in a position to want the war to break out…”

“it’s alright”

King Gauss said with a smile.

“While I was talking to everyone, things were sorted out. I just wanted an opportunity for diplomacy. If I could get a place to exchange opinions with other races and interact with humans, I’m sure It will lead to the development of the giant race.

“…I see. The representatives of the demons ogres, and dark elves of the Black Forest also wanted to start a war, but… you’re fine with that, too.”

“yes”

“That’s right”

King Vill and King Sigil laughed and answered.

“I was originally in the opposite position. I believe that would be better for my race.”

“I’m not particularly a fan of war either. I should be able to improve our relationship with the forest elves without starting a war.”

When I looked at King Athos, he nodded firmly.

“I see… that’s right.”

I lowered my gaze to the ground.

Unbeknownst to me.

These children discussed their races with each other — and seemed to have come to a conclusion they could agree with.

When I first met them, I thought the kings were just children.

I thought they were just spending their free time, but before I knew it…

“Oh, could it be that you the Demon King… are you crying?”

“Huh, I’m not crying, I’m not crying”

I rub my eyes and answer King Vill.

“I think it’s a great idea. I think that’s probably what humans want. I’m sure it will work.”

“Thank you very much!”

When King Vill smiled wryly, everyone else had the same expression.

“We don’t have any real authority.”

“I’m worried about what my father will say…”

“I wonder if everyone will listen to what Fili says.”

“…If such an institution is established and the other races insist on representation, we will have no choice but to represent ourselves. If we repeat this process with all the races, we can at least have a formality. Whether or not it will be feasible, however, is another matter.”

King Plushe said bluntly, but she sounded like she was thinking about the future.

I say with a smile.

“Right. It’s reliable.”

“Hmm… I don’t expect that.”

A lonely color mixed in King Plushe’s eyes.

“This friendly gathering will not last forever, We are only together for a short time, and we happen to be living at the same time. First I and Fili Nair, then Vildamund and Al Athos, then Gauss, and finally Sigil will die. The time of our deaths is uneven. We die one by one over a period of several hundred years. Each demon tribe lives for a different amount of time. We do not know how long the spirit of aspiration that exists here and now will be passed down among the demons.”

King Plushe continued while the air was pensive.

“But… still, doing what needs to be done now is a political affair. Worrying about hundreds of years from now won’t get us started. We should leave the future to our descendants and fulfill our current duties”

“…….hm”

King Gauss said slowly in an atmosphere where it was difficult to speak.

“It’s surprising that you said that we’re good friends…!”

“Nah…!! I didn’t say that!!”

“No, you did!　I may be stupid, but I’m not deaf..”

I smile as I watch King Plusche and King Gauss argue with each other.

“… I’ll support you. If there’s anything I can do, tell me anything.”

“Thank you, Maou-sama. Actually, I have one request.”

“…………Hmm?”

King Vil said to me, who had a slightly unpleasant feeling.

“In addition to the representatives of each race, we need a chairperson who will negotiate with the human society as a whole.”

“… Eh!?”

I groan unintentionally.

King Vill continues.

“If it is neutral to any race and has human blood, there is no more suitable person than this. Is it not……?”

“… no, no… that’s…”

I’m sweating badly.

To be honest, it was really inconvenient.

If i’m in such a position, i will not be able to return to the Empire.

On the contrary, if i do poorly, i will be more threatened by the possibility of assassination like in my previous life.

But… it’s hard to ignore these kids.

I answer while being confused.

“Ku, even if you suddenly say that, I can’t make any cheap guarantees. I’ve never been in such a position before… and half of me seems to have divine blood mixed in, so I can say that I’m neutral… and then. I don’t think I have a long lifespan either… But, wouldn’t it be better to consider a few more things…?”

“That’s true. It may have been premature, even though there is no prospect of establishment yet.”

King Vill said so easily, so I felt relieved in my heart.

“However, I want you to think positively. The feeling of wanting the Demon King to serve as our duty will never change.”

“I understand…”

I involuntarily nodded.

I’m in trouble… I think, while trying to deceive myself by standing up and saying.

“Okay, okay. Then let’s clean up. It’s a pity, but let’s leave soon.”

Yuki said in his ear as he was throwing a tool into the phase while everyone started to move while exchanging words.

“You have been asked for a position that is somewhat troublesome… Shouldn’t you have refused clearly without giving an ambiguous answer?”

“Don’t say it. It can’t be helped…it was hard to refuse.”

When I whispered back, Yuki said in amazement.

“It seems that Seika-sama is kind to children.”

I tried to retort further――――at that time.

The ground shook.

“…!”

“Whoa, is it an earthquake!?”

“… It looks big.”

The kings also stopped their hands and waited for the shaking to subside.

The earthquake subsided after a short while.

“It feels like it’s been shaking for quite some time.”

“… It’s bad, this. Isn’t the building collapsing?”

“No… Judging by the state of the village, it doesn’t look like there will be that much damage. If this is the one closest to the volcano, I’m sure the other villages will be fine.”

As King Vill said, there have been no major changes in the settlement.

The inhabitants, the demon ogres, came out wondering what was going on, but there didn’t seem to be much confusion.

“Earthquakes can occur in places far from the great volcanoes, but at this rate, you probably don’t have to worry about it. So… Seika?”

Risolera’s bewildered voice.

Her words were barely heard.

I stare at the great volcano at the far end.

I felt a strange commotion.

Before long, the feeling of discomfort took shape, and it came out.

“… the steam is not rising”

“Huh……?”

The steam that erupted so much yesterday and created clouds around it can hardly be seen today.

Driven by a commotion, I take out the Hitogata.

“I’m going to go check on things. Take care of everyone for a while.”

“Eh, Se, Seika?”

Leaving Risolera’s bewildered voice behind, I ran and using the shikigami as a foothold, i climbed into the air and tried to open the door of the crow――――at that time.

Something pierced my chest from behind.

“Gofu…”

I spat out thick blood clots from my mouth.

It wetted the cone-shaped white metal protruding from my chest red.

I turn my head and look behind me.

Holding a long conical spear is a white-furred demon with a body approaching that of a giant.

It’s probably a kind of light-attribute divine Demon.

Until a while ago, there shouldn’t have been anything like this.

The painfully flickering vision barely captures the magic circle that summoned the demon and its caster.

“—Well, I wanted to avoid such an outburst in front of my king.”

The silver devil standing behind the demon and the magic circle――――Cell Senecle spoke out.

With the exact same voice as when conveying the master’s words.

“It can’t be helped if it’s a good opportunity to subjugate the Demon King. I’ve just finished preparations, so it’s probably the best timing.”

“… Se… Sene, cle…?”

King Athos turned his eyes to his squire in disbelief.

The other kings also seemed to freeze up, unable to accept the situation.

Cell Senecle bowed to the surrounding kings with the same soft demeanor as before.

“Don’t worry.”

“Th-yeah, huh… gofuh, that one, huh, huh, huh…”

Cell Senecle gave me a gentle smile when I said this while coughing up blood.

“As expected of Demon King-sama. To be able to speak while having his heart pierced. But soon…”

“Haha, ha…ha, haha, hahaha…”

At my laughter, the smile disappeared from the silver devil’s face.

I grab the tip of the spear protruding from my chest.

Gallium’s sludge that was created eroded the white metal.

Twisting my neck, I looked at the silver demon and said with a bloody smile.

“Ya, I’ll do it, huh… I’m going to split my own ransom.”

At the same time as Senecle’s expression stiffened, the white demon pulled its spear strongly.

The tip that was supposed to be pulled out of me is eroded and broken from the tip.

Released from the air that had been sewn up, it landed on the ground.

At the same time, the large hole in my chest instantly closed up.

A darkened hole opened in the center, and the limp Hitogata fluttered down in the grass.

Looking back, Senecle was nowhere to be seen.

He must have shifted

Then let’s start with the monster first.

Towards the spear-wielding white demon, I quickly fling the hitogata in my hand.

It flew through the sky…but was blocked by a black stone pillar that suddenly appeared from the ground.

“…!”

The stone pillar didn’t stop at that one.

Not only in front of me, but also on the left, right, and behind me, a total of six stone pillars rose up to surround me.

“this is……”

“It’s not just a stone pillar.”

Something like letters are drawn on the surface, and you can feel a clear flow of power.

“… a barrier, huh?”

“Yes. I was born in the ‘Silver’ tribe, so I’m relatively good at this kind of magic.”

“One of the black stone pillars.” Senecle standing on top of it says with a smile.

“Even if you summon a dragon, manipulate various attributes, and resurrect from the brink of death… can you wield that power satisfactorily in a barrier that seals magic?”

“…”

“At least if it was a pure demon with no human blood in it, it would have been possible to resist to some extent.”

A giant demon wielding a white spear approaches me from between the stone pillars.

Apparently, this barrier seemed to be something that monsters could pass through.

“Then die.”

The white Demon raises his broken spear at me.

“With a spear of that size, it doesn’t matter if the tip is missing.” It would probably be able to crush a human body without even keeping its original form.

However, the moment it hit me — the white conical spear was cut in half with a dull sound.

“What…?”

Senecle opens his eyes wide on top of the stone pillar.

The white Demon backed away as if trembling.

“That’s… what the hell…”

The eyes of both of them were directed at the youkai who had just cut off the spear.

Just before the spear was swung down.

What emerged from the distortion of space was a bizarre crustacean-like youkai.

Its size is close to that of the demon. Two scissors, a knotted body and a tail. As a whole, it can be said that it is close to a scorpion. However, it had no legs other than its pincers, and its head had human-like eyes, hair, and a beak.

The silver demon’s expression distorted at the indescribable appearance.

“Monster… are you saying…? But like that…”

“…It’s called net-cutting amikiri.”

I mutter to myself.

“Originally, they are no more than the size of a dog, and they are monsters that only bother people by cutting fishing nets and mosquito nets. A certain individual

“Amikiri… you say? I’ve never heard of it. Such a monster shouldn’t exist..Why was there a summoning technique …… within my barrier in the first place!?”

I answer with the corners of my mouth raised.

“This isn’t magic.”

Amikiri moved smoothly.

The remaining part of the spear that the demon stuck out in desperation was cut from the base with a pair of scissors. Then, in a flowing fashion, cut off the demon’s head with the other pair of shears.

I didn’t see the fallen demon’s neck.

What i gazed at was the figure of Cell Senecle, building a teleportation magic circle on top of the stone pillar.

“Are you going to escape this time?”

《Gold Phase――――Tetsunaya no Jutsu》

A rotating conical iron stake was hammered out――――It pierced the shoulder of the silver devil with precision.

“Guu……!!”

The impact caused the demon to fall to the ground.

The transfer seemed to have failed, probably because the pain made him lose concentration.

Even with the black stone pillar barrier, the flow of power disappears as soon as it falls.

“Phew, it’s dangerous. I’m glad I hit it.”

“Tetsuninaya” is easier to hit because it flies straighter than normal arrows, but it doesn’t have that kind of precision.

I place a Hitogata around him and create a barrier for me.

With this, teleportation was definitely impossible.

I said as I approached Senecle.

Because the devil almost escaped with a teleport once… It seems that he is alive and well, and this time I did it well. (TN: Very sorry for the confusion, it seems Senecle was actually male)

“… fu, fufu…”

Cell Senecle let out a faint laugh as he fell to the ground with the stake stuck in his shoulder.

As expected of a devil, it seems that even if he fell from that height, he would still be able to laugh.

“Are you going to show me mercy…? I wish you would pierce through this heart…”

“Don’t get me wrong. I still need to hear from you.”

I say this with a smile on my face.

“It’s the first time i’ve caught a spy on the empire side. Tell me about whose hand it is…”

“Gofu!! Gufu…!!”

At that time, Cell Senecle vomited a large amount of blood.

I furrow his brow.

The iron stake is not applied to his internal organs. Bleeding is unnatural. If so, did the bones pierce his lungs when he fell, or did his stomach burst?

“… Well, that’s fine. If it’s just that much, I can heal as much as you want.”

I take out my Hitogata and lightly recites the mantra.

Just like when the carbuncle was cured in the Lamprogue family’s garden, the damage is simply transferred to the Hitogata. If you’re a tough demon, that should be enough.

— But.

“……what?”

I involuntarily let out a voice of confusion.

The Hitogata, which was supposed to be damaged… in the blink of an eye, it was blackened from the center and torn, losing its strength and falling to the ground.

There is no sign of interference with the spell. The spell should have worked correctly.

“Then this is――――.”

I noticed and said in amazement.

“You can’t tell… My internal organs…!”

“………”

Senecle let out a hoarse laugh.

His belly looked unnaturally concave.

No doubt.

This demon, at the moment it was pierced by the iron stake—had transferred his main organs, which fit into his own belly, somewhere else.

Compared to teleporting himself, he probably didn’t need distance or accuracy.

If the damage is such that his internal organs are completely lost, it cannot be cured with a simple curse. It’s probably the same with healing magic. That’s why, if the first priority is not to pass on information, it would be the surest way to do it.

But even so…

“……Why”

I asked the devil, unable to hide my astonished expression.

“Why so much… why are you joining the empire from the standpoint of a demon?”

“Fu… you say strange things…”

Wheezing was leaking from the devil’s throat.

Senecle looks at me and says.

“There are humans who support the demons…how can you say that the opposite is not true…”

Even though he was seriously wounded and would have died a long time ago, Senecle was still speaking logically.

But it won’t be long.

“It was a blunder to leave my heart and lungs behind. I was able to have time to talk.”

“… I see. That’s all I was lucky for.”

“It’s better to run away quickly… Maou-sama.”

The sign that summons Awakening stops halfway.

The dying demon smiles as though he’s somehow accomplished something.

“What are you talking about… what do you mean?”

“You’ve already noticed, haven’t you… the incident at the end of the great volcano…”

And then Cell Senecle said.

“All of the steam wells…we’ve destroyed them with a large-scale ritual magic…there’s going to be an eruption soon. A big eruption that once…destroyed the human nation.”

“…!”

I opened my eyes involuntarily.

“That’s just the number. Restoration… Goho, it’s not easy. The demons… will suffer devastating damage. The empire, they can’t resist… to the extent…”

“…that’s a lie”

Even though I’m stunned, I say.

“Yesterday today… you shouldn’t have had that kind of time.”

“Fu… you said ritual magic, right? The spies… I’m not the only one.”

I grind my teeth.

If you think about it, it makes sense. If things go wrong… it wouldn’t be strange if there were such spies among all the races.

The treacherous devil coughs from time to time.

His breath seemed weaker than before.

“Escape, Demon King-sama… Take the kings with you. Even if a great eruption occurs, this vast demon territory… will not perish. However… production will decrease, chaos will reign, and humans will no longer be able to resist ……. This war is now ……”

“Se… Senecle!”

At that time, a small shadow suddenly rushed in.

“Senecle, Senecle!”

King Al-Athhos clings to his own squire with a voice on the verge of bursting into tears.

“Oh… pathetic, my king…”

Cell Senecle smiled weakly.

His eyes have already lost their light, and he doesn’t even look at his master.

“Unfortunately, you know… the demons, huh…… From now on, the tyranny of the stupid nobles will continue, right? It’s because I… killed the former king… and placed a child like you on the throne…”

“Senecle……!?”

“For you, there is nothing but hardships to wait for… I am no more…”

And then, as if letting out his last breath, the silver devil spoke.

“From now on, ha… at most… you’ll be able to speak on your own… yo, uh…”

The demon’s body went limp and his neck tilted slightly to the side.

It seemed like he was out of breath.

A hopeless silence, unsuited to the sunny morning, drifted around.

In the midst of that — I pointed my finger at the small devil king kneeling on the traitor’s corpse.

“Just in case, let me ask. King Al-Athos.”

“…Se, Seika-sama? What are you…”

Yuki let out an upset voice in my ear, as if she sensed that I wasn’t normal.

I will continue regardless.

“Your servant was a minion of the empire. Is this situation…a tip on your side?”

“……No”

The voice that answered was slightly trembling.

Even the gesture of looking up at me was quite feeble.

However, in those eyes that looked back at me―――― I could see a strong power dwelling in them.

“I would never do something like that.”

“……Really”

Saying that, I scatter the Hitogata.

There seemed to be no point in doubting him.

I say this with a heavy breath as I gaze at the cloudless volcano at the far end.

“Then… let’s think about the future.”

※Tetsunaya no Jutsu

The art of releasing a conical iron stake with a spiral drawn on it by adding rotation. The gyroscopic effect makes it travel in a straight line.

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