Chapter 622 Sixteen Demon Generals
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(Third Person perspectives)
A lone warrior strides through a corridor illuminated by a faint magical glow.
His pitch-black figure absorbs even the slightest light around him, appearing as if a humanoid shadow is walking.
Though he looks like a shadow or a wisp, a dark brown face is clearly visible within that darkness.
Strangely, that face is… 3 faces in total, facing forward and to the left and right.
The faces on the left and right appear to be crying and laughing, respectively.
And the face facing forward wears an expression of furious rage, yet his walking gait suggests a calm composure that contradicts his anger.
”Kidnap Kazumi. It won’t be easy…”
A low voice murmurs, echoing through the corridor.
There’s no one else around, so it seems to be a mutter to himself.
”Hiroya won’t just stand by. He’ll definitely try to stop it with all his might. And besides, there’s Goddess Rena and Lady Lilith… and now Lady Frejya should be there too. Then…”
The warrior stops his steps.
He’s reached the end of the corridor.
The path splits into 2 directions.
”Use the Sixteen Demon Generals. … Add the 4 generals who served under Gargantua to my loyal 4…”
He clasps his muscular arms, tilts his head slightly as if deep in thought, then──he turns towards the left corridor.
* * *
(Geat’s POV)
”…So, did you hear?”
In the large room where they’re waiting for the sortie, 4 figures gather together, face to face, and Adalar asks in a small voice.
”I heard… Lady Gargantua’s business, right?”
”I heard too. This time, if we don’t go down to Demon King…”
Rolf and Ole, who sit to Adalar’s left and right, reply.
I nod along with everyone else.
All 4 of us simultaneously let out a sigh and drop our shoulders.
We are the 4 arcdemons who served under Four Dark Heavens: Lady Gargantua in the previous battle.
We are the Sixteen Demon Generals, the vanguard commanders of the Demon King army.
My name is Geat.
I’m technically the leader among the Four Generals.
However, it’s merely a coordinating role; there’s no hierarchy among us.
Each of us possesses formidable power as demons.
”On top of that, I’ve heard they’ve allied with the enemy this time.”
As I lowered my voice to speak, a collective “Ah…” of understanding rose from everyone.
”I get it. The battle with the heroes──now that was a thrilling fight.”
”Through that struggle… I mean, was it friendship that blossomed? It felt something like that.”
A smile graced Ole’s beautiful face, while the towering figure of Adalar scratched his head with a troubled shrug.
”I heard Azradelius requested Lady Gargantua to join them once again.”
The small-bodied Rolf tapped Adalar’s shoulder and shifted his gaze to me.
”That thing… Was it ‘Star of Thunder’? Apparently, they’re attempting to intimidate us with some relic from an ancient civilization.”
Just thinking about it made my insides boil with fury.
They were aiming a star capable of wiping out a small city over the Oni-kin’s settlement, putting pressure on us.
”…Such a dirty trick… If it’s him, I wouldn’t put it past him.”
”He probably will. He──Azradelius is that kind of guy. …But we’ve changed too.”
I agreed with Ole’s disdainful remark, and Adalar and Rolf both chuckled softly.
”Aside from our loyalty to the Demon King, we had nothing else, did we?”
Everyone nodded vigorously at Adalar’s murmured words with a smile.
Each of us had once commanded the demons and monsters of the Demon Continent.
’To subjugate through strength’
That was the only belief we’d lived by.
Our loyalty to the Demon King stemmed largely from our fear of his immense power.
Without a doubt, it was Lady Gargantua, Three-Face, and Purple Flame Demon Princess who transformed us.
Sir Goliath believed that “strength is everything” and that any means were justified to win.
But having witnessed Lady Gargantua’s Oni-kin way of life firsthand, and seeing the Three-Face(s), a creature from the ancient civilization era, and the Purple Flame Demon Princess, both of whom were demons yet possessed a nobility unlike any modern demon, our perspectives shifted.
”I still want to fight alongside Lady Gargantua…”
”I know. But I want her to follow her own path.”
Adalar muttered sadly, and everyone nodded in agreement at Ole’s words.
”But… to have Oni-kin comrades taken hostage… What will become of Lady Gargantua?”
Everyone immediately put their heads together at Ole’s unspoken worry.
”That’s the problem…”
”I want Lady Gargantua to act as she wishes, but…”
Adalar and Rolf looked at Ole, hoping for some wisdom, but I had no bright ideas… I could only shake my head.
”What should we do? Should we just take matters into our own hands and deal with the ‘Star of Thunder’?”
Ole slammed his fist on the table, proposing an idea.
But, even though we deeply admired Lady Gargantua, we couldn’t carry out destructive acts against the Demon King’s army.
It was simply impossible.
”Ole… We are members of the Demon King’s army. We are Sixteen Demon Generals, with great responsibility and power. Even for Lady Gargantua’s sake, we can’t…”
”No, we will.”
Rolf stood up, his words echoing my own.
”I’ll do it too. I owe no loyalty to the Demon King who has yet to reveal himself.”
”…I wouldn’t say I owe him no loyalty… But at least Azradelius’s methods… I can’t stand them.”
Adalar and Ole also stood up, looking down at me, the 3 of us still seated.
Their expressions seemed to say, “Well, what are you going to do about it?”
”──I have no choice. You lot wouldn’t let me do anything anyway, would you?”
Demon King loyalty aside, Azradelius’ methods weren’t something I could get behind.
With a smile at the 3 of them, I rose to my feet as well.
First things first, I needed to find the Star of Thunder’s control device.
”The most likely place is… Azradelius’ study.”
As I led the way out of the large room, the door swung open.
”T… Three-Face…?”
Three-Face of the Four Dark Heavens strode into the room, a furious expression on his face, with 4 demons at his side.
”I’m here to call back your master, Gargantua. ──Without her aid, our ultimate goal will be impossible to achieve.”
Looking at him standing there, I felt a different kind of intensity than his usual demeanor.
”But… Lady Gargantua is likely being threatened by Azradelius.”
”We don’t need to go fetch her back…”
Adalar and Rolf hesitantly replied to Three-Face.
”‘Star of Thunder,’ eh? I destroyed it. ── I don’t approve of that method either, you know.”
Three-Face snorted, glaring at us with a contemptuous look.
”Anyway… We leave for Raetia tomorrow morning. ── Be prepared.”
With that, Three-Face left the room, followed by the Sixteen demon generals.
(Calling Lady Gargantua back…? Will she even answer?)
Three-Face wouldn’t resort to forceful measures.
That’s what we believed about him.
We nodded to each other, and left the room to prepare for tomorrow.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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