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“There! Move carefully. It would be troublesome if I burned everything I desire.”

In the face of the dragons’ threat, the existence of the Demon King was overlooked. The Demon King, a very powerful wizard, successfully infiltrated Eramenia by blending in with the dragon formations, hidden in the scent of the dragons, so that even Jeongjae and Margaret failed to notice him.

Only King Richard sensed something alien mingling among the dragons and was conducting a search, but the Demon King swiftly flew past Richard’s watch and succeeded in evading his suspicions before the king could take any significant action.

If the King of Eramenia had the leisure to delve into exploring the existence of the Demon King, he would have been discovered long ago. However, while supplying mana to the short-range communication device, Richard was also tasked with suppressing the fighting strength of the dragons, leaving him no time to pay attention to any ‘suspicious mana’ that had mixed among them.

Perhaps there was a dangerous magical artifact among the dragons, or some were advancing while wielding black magic. But the black mana coursing through the dragons wasn’t just some simple magical tool; no one had expected the Demon King, who up until recently had shied away from revealing himself on the frontline, to boldly mingle amongst the dragons like this.

“This should prove my loyalty to my lord. Promises must be kept.”

A green dragon, flying alongside the Demon King, nodded towards him and spoke threateningly. The Demon King frowned slightly, seemingly uncomfortable with the dragon’s attitude, and replied.

“Don’t worry. Have I ever broken a promise over trivial banter?”

“That has not occurred, but isn’t this why you’re spewing fire and sacrificing the lives of your kin for this battle?”

“If that’s the case, shut up, green dragon. What good does it do you to provoke my suspicions?”

Under the Demon King’s admonition, the dragon fell silent. A promise. When using ten dragons from the Dragon Lord, it was only natural to offer some incentives in return. If the Dragon Lord could be appeased with rewards like granting land or transferring occupied territories, it would be more convenient for the Demon King as well. If the Dragon Lord was the type to be satisfied with such compensation, it might even be worth considering offering him more directly governed territories to use as shields or buffer zones.

However, the Dragon Lord thought his territory was ample for the survival of his few kin and had no interest in expanding his effective dominion. In fact, this old gold dragon, weary of total war, wanted to distance himself as much as possible from the battle, without offending the Demon King’s mood at the same time.

The Demon King, aware that treating dragons like orcs could result in rebellion from within, could not carelessly give orders to the dragons. While he pressured them with threats when giving commands, should he have recklessly used such a number of dragons—ten at a time—without any incentives, a war between the Dragon Lord and the Demon King’s army would likely have erupted by now.

The Demon King promised the Dragon Lords the right to refuse participation in this battle in exchange for committing half of their kin to the fight. From now on, the Demon King would be bound by a binding treaty that he could not arbitrarily order dragons to participate in without ‘sufficiently credible and just cause.’ He found it pitiful that he had to make such promises to beings who had pledged their loyalty before him, yet had no other choice.

If the Demon King and the dragons were in a perfectly symbiotic relationship, such ambiguous promises would be absolutely favorable to the Demon King. The expression ‘justifiable and credible’ was so vague that any old excuse could render it meaningless.

But the reality was otherwise; this ambiguous treaty was bound to become a justification for the dragons to refuse participation even in an urgent crisis. The Demon King’s army could not bear a two-front war, while the dragons were hesitant to confront the Demon King head-on. Such a situation led to this ambiguous master-servant relationship resulting in an unclear treaty.

“The chief of staff is an arrogant one. But let me emphasize it again: if you show your best efforts in this battle, the chief of staff’s loyalty will not be doubted again.”

“In that case, for my lord.”

The green dragon, expressing loyalty towards the Demon King with difficult words, began to descend towards the realm of Princess Margaret’s small kingdom. The place where the Demon King personally intervened was precisely this area, falling under the direct territory of Princess Margaret.

This large-scale invasion of Eramenia by the Demon King’s army had various reasons, but one of the most important was to attack Margaret’s territory and retrieve something lost long ago.

The Demon King was the being closest to the secret of the ‘Moriarty Machine’ among living entities, and after much hardship and research, he had even developed something capable of performing similar functions. However, he still lacked the technological prowess to realize his dreams and was uncertain if he would achieve it before the war concluded.

Thus, he needed that notebook. The records of his father, which he might understand now, perhaps, as he couldn’t grasp them in his youth.

The Demon King, having pinpointed the small castle of Margaret, instructed to hover in the air before slowly descending to the ground alone.

With a considerable number of troops dispatched to the frontline, not many soldiers remained in the rear where Margaret’s territory lay. Night had fallen, darkening the surroundings significantly, and the few elf soldiers were too occupied gazing at the dragon soaring in the sky to notice the presence of the Demon King landing on the ground.

Blending into the darkness was the specialty of the succubus tribe. It was not difficult for Violet Moriarty, the most powerful succubus, to deceive the sensitive eyes and ears of the fairies nearby.

Gently, Violet landed on the ground, fluttering her wings and cloak, and approached the nearest elven soldier.

“My dear?”

“Huh, what? There’s a dragon in the sky. Don’t touch me unless it’s something important—”

The elven soldier, showing a somewhat annoyed reaction due to tense feelings, seemed to freeze in place once he realized the identity of the being that had touched him, after turning his gaze. The Demon King, gripping the elf’s shoulder, tilted his head and spoke.

“It seems the dragon isn’t the issue here?”

“I-It’s here!”

“Your Majesty the Demon King.”

Though somewhat far from her usual rational demeanor, Violet indeed relished a dramatic entrance. With the last gasp, blood surged forth from the elven soldier’s neck, cleanly severed by the Demon King’s claws.

All eyes turned towards Violet simultaneously, instantly pushing the dragon out of focus. As the Demon King confirmed that hundreds of arrows were aimed at him, he smiled, licking his lips slightly.

“How adorable, my friends. So very cute.”

With a simple gesture from the Demon King, five elven heads flew off simultaneously. The remaining fairy body, having lost its head, became a screen to block the arrows shot at Violet.

Though it was called Eramenia, it merely resembled a dark forest at night. Eramenian magic weakened the Demon King’s powers, but the dark of the deep night fired up the blood of vampires. Consequently, while the dragons were staggering under Richard’s Grand Mage’s magic, the Demon King did not appear to lose much strength.

The Demon King knocked down an approaching fairy who brandished a sword against him and savored her blood. The blood of the fairies, rich in light’s mana, was not very favored by many vampires, but for a unique gourmet like Violet, it could be a delicious delicacy.

After replenishing his vitality with blood in the midnight hour, the Demon King began to transform into a devilish being that ordinary fairies could no longer withstand.

Jubilant Eramenian soldiers popped out like mere fodder. The once mighty warriors were being cut down effortlessly like twisting the arms of children. Only after dozens of soldiers had died did the elven battalion realize that they had not encircled the Demon King, but that he had casually walked among them.

In the worst-case scenario, retreat is not permitted either.

The Demon King restrained the Eramenian soldiers attempting to fall back with a powerful enchanting spell, leaving hundreds of elves bound there, immobile and awaiting death by the Demon King’s claws.

The fairies were left bewildered and stunned. This was the territory of the Kingdom of Eramenia, the land under the magic of King Richard. It was nonsensical that unfriendly beings appeared and brazenly cast Grand Magic among them while the king’s magic was still intact.

She was an exceptionally powerful Grand Mage, unprecedented in history.

If there were a single entity in this world that could stand toe-to-toe with Jeongjae in a magical duel without being outmatched, then it would be her. Conversely, it also meant that besides Jeongjae, there were hardly any who could resist the Grand Magic unleashed by the Demon King.

At that moment, Jeongjae emerged from the thicket and fired a beam of starlight directly at the Demon King.

“Surrender, Violet Moriarty! You’ve appeared where you’re not supposed to be!”

Jeongjae, who had successfully hit the Demon King with magic, shouted with a rough voice. It was a hair-raising moment. After returning to the kingdom from slaying the Black Dragon Pecadia, Margaret reported the battle to General Hambo Polio stationed in the capital.

Upon hearing the situation of the battle, Margaret also harbored doubts akin to an informal ally.

‘Isn’t there another purpose besides the capital?’ was the question.

Unlike General Hambo Polio, who had no information on the classified ‘Moriarty Notebook,’ Margaret and Jeongjae did not need much contemplation. If the destruction of the capital wasn’t his goal, then the object of this battle could only be ‘that notebook.’

“There’s a dragon in the sky. Stay alert.”

Margaret said as she followed after Jeongjae. The Demon King, groaning from barely managing to block the star’s light magic with its wings, recognized the voice it could never forget as it peered beyond its wings to confirm Margaret’s figure.

With a mysterious expression, the Demon King asked Margaret.

“Do you remember me?”

“The succubus who was screaming with a silly face. Yes, it is a tragedy that I couldn’t shoot an arrow at you back then.”

“What an honor. To think the sovereign of Eramenia remembers such a trifling body, what an honor of the utmost kind.”

“This time, I won’t miss.”

With a fluid motion, Margaret drew an arrow and shot it straight at the Demon King. Margaret’s arrow aimed for the Demon King’s face with precision, but the Demon King plucked the elven princess’s arrow out of the air like a game of catch.

“Not off-target. However, there’s no progress. It’s the same old arrow. The current me, the present me…”

The Demon King cracked his knuckles and raised one hand, pointing his finger at Margaret.

“You are neither young nor weak enough to fall prey to you, elf.”

“You have a bit of a vindictive character, don’t you? Ever heard of not being petty?”

Margaret flicked her ears and strapped her bow back onto her back. While the elven princess and the Demon King engaged in a psychological battle, Jeongjae dispelled the enchantment spells on the elves and cast protective spells to allow them to safely retreat.

“You really don’t forget wrongs done to you. Someone like me never forgets what has happened. Have you ever experienced a complete defeat, elf lord? The defeat I suffered at your hands was the first complete defeat of my life.”

“And it was also the first successful for me to take the field. It looks like we will soon see who emerges victorious today.”

“My strength has grown incomparably since then.”

“Is that so? Then you should be cautious. The more confident you are, the heavier the shock when you’re beaten.”

The Demon King did not easily reveal such childish aspects of himself. However, he also could not retain his composure when faced with the elven princess after several hundred years.

The defeat he suffered at Margaret’s hands was a personal humiliation and an inerasable pain for him. Realizing this fact through the Demon King’s demeanor, Margaret provocatively spoke in a tone more arrogant and dismissive than usual, trying to lead him to reveal his vulnerabilities. Though the Demon King’s sharp intellect was aware of Margaret’s intentions, emotions complicated his ability to respond reasonably.

She wanted to give that smug face a good whack. She wanted to bite the ears that pricked up high and tear apart the nobility of high elves that sparkled even in the night’s darkness.

By none other than Violet herself.

Confirming that the Demon King had completed his battle stance, Margaret looked back at Jeongjae and said.

“Wizard, please be prepared.”

“Body enhancement. Automatic counterattack. Lightning blade. Speed boost. Good. This should be enough.”

As soon as Margaret’s instructions were given, Jeongjae unleashed the enhancement spell circles he had prepared beforehand towards Margaret. Though the already powerful elven princess’s combat strength was inflated by each magic circle, the Demon King seemed entirely unconcerned.

“Tonight, here, your territory will be your grave!”

“Is that so? I was just thinking I wanted to pass my last moments here, how thoughtful of you.”

Contrasting attitudes, yet a similar vigor. The clash of claws and sword began as the Demon King’s nails and Margaret’s blade collided in the air.

 

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