Chapter 107 – Audience [Part 2]
Various people knelt in the ‘audience chamber,’ which was decorated in various places with brand-new, magnificent ornaments.
Fear, trepidation, and ambition lurked in the hearts of those who knelt.
The boy who looked down happily from his throne opened his mouth.
“…So, what can I do for you?”
The [Black Demon King], who pressed down on the audience chamber with his immense mana.
A truly solitary and unmatched king.
He looked like an ordinary human boy. However, his clothes were made of fine materials befitting a king, like a black military uniform worn by those of the highest rank.
To the left from the throne on which the Demon King sat was a piercing, fearless skeletal monster floating in midair in a zazen-like posture (1).
And on the right, a brown-skinned woman in a mask, who anyone could easily imagine was a beautiful woman, stood with her arms folded.
“……”
The Demon King, who rested his cheek on his hand that was propped up on the left armrest, gazed upon the kneeling group of emissaries from the Republic of Larman, a hooded man with a group of human women next to him, and…. countless orcs.
The silence continued, as if he was waiting for them to speak.
“….Hmmm. Well, let’s start with me.”
A thin man, with a look of impatience, opened his mouth while the knights and orcs were too frightened and shaken to speak.
“Not now. You’ll have to wait.”
“……”
“Let’s finish with the orcs first, then. Express yourselves to His Majesty at once.“
The thin man showed a dissatisfied expression at the words of the skeleton monster who seemed to be the famous [Swamp Devil], but quietly withdrew.
“…stay… here…” The orc chief muttered.
“Heh……”
An exclamation of admiration escaped from the demon king.
The lead orc had indeed spoken human language.
Normally, neither goblins nor orcs could speak.
Even though they resembled humans in their forms, they were not as intelligent as humans and were animal-like creatures that communicated through their distinctive cries.
However, there were rare cases of individuals mutating and developing intelligence. There have been numerous instances in which they were found to take the initiative in leading their herds.
“If you want to stay here, does that mean you want to work as a servant of His Majesty?”
“Goh….”
The orc chief nodded at the brown beauty’s question.
“….Tell His Majesty why.“
“Humans… scary…. Demon King…. serve…”
The woman felt an intense desire to kill the orc who referred to Chrono, their king, as just ‘demon king’ without any honorific titles, even though he was, in fact, the demon king…
“Can you be more specific…. and tell me why you are afraid of humans? Tell me slowly.”
The gentle words of the Demon King himself held the woman’s bloodlust back.
The softness of his tone and voice gave the delegation from Larman hope that there was room for negotiation.
Because a man who could speak with such sweetness and compassion could be taken advantage of, no matter how strong he was.
“….Forest… human… came…”
According to the orcs, an unprecedented outbreak of mana had occurred in the forest one village away from their settlement.
They gathered the orcs from other villages in the area and fearlessly headed for the source, only to find a human tribe there.
And at their feet was a large circular hole leading to the abyss.
“……”
“We might have to deal with it….. That much mana, it might be a little dangerous to leave it unattended.“
Even the Swamp Demon, who wielded powerful and unparalleled magic, couldn’t act careless after hearing the orc chief’s words.
The Demon King remained silent.
Silence took over, a stillness enveloping all of them.
“Here…..”
“….the hilt of a sword?”
The Orc, still nervous, held out the hilt left at the scene with a trembling hand.
“….Welcome to my [Kronos].”
The Demon Lord had taken the orcs in on his own accord.
“……”
“….is that fine?” Chrono asked.
“Tuskar, Tuskar….” (2)
The lead orc bowed his head.
“Your superior will be…..“
The Swamp Demon muttered, “Solnáda would be good. I’m still a bit tied up right now. And the girls…”
“Yes…. Wait there for now until after the audience. We’ll get the hilt later… keep it safe.”
The chief’s sign of relief was followed by frenzied, animal-like yells from the orcs.
“-belligerent!“
Dark green magic was unleashed on the audience chamber…
“When did someone allow such a commotion? Who told you to open your mouth? Who allowed you to be so free? Say it, you little creatures!” The Swamp Demon bellowed.
…Not the kind of majestic, awe-inspiring magic used by the Demon King, but violent magic that contained crushing force in it.
“Oh….”
“Ah…”
The thin man was moved by the commotion created by the orcs, while the women in the background sobbed in terror. The Larman delegation was completely frightened.
“……”
“Goh….”
The group of orcs, instinctively wild, froze in the lowest possible posture.
“Next, you. We’ve heard what you want… now tell His Majesty…” The Swamp Demon ordered.
“Of course. Then I will.”
The skinny man took off his hood.
His chiseled cheeks were pale, almost like his body never felt warmth.
“I, too, would like to join His Majesty the Demon King’s army!“
“….You seem to be skilled in necromancy, tell His Majesty just how good you are at it. Be careful with your attitude.”
A beautiful brown woman, dressed in a daring outfit that revealed her healthy thighs, muttered.
The Black Devil King looked down at the man silently through his mask.
“….how good, huh? How about…. these women, then?”
The scrawny man was not offended, and instead confidently introduced the group of women behind him.
“What about them? They are just a bunch of pale people, aren’t they?“
“No, no, let me explain….”
He answered the woman’s question truthfully.
“These are the ghouls I resurrected to take care of my personal affairs in the villages along the way.“
…The Demon Lord’s endless overflow of mana came to a sudden halt.
“……”
“……”
The Demon King’s followers were silenced by the sudden confession of his fearless deeds.
“…I’ve been wondering about this for a while now. They are the only ones who are different in this place. They are the only ones who have been (・・・・) in despair and desperation from the beginning, regardless of me….. What do we do about this, hm…?”
“……”
The thin man sensed the Demon King closing his eyes as if in thought behind his mask.
This gesture made the man even more excited as he was convinced that the Demon Lord was seriously considering letting him join.
“Digusting…. how could you desecrate the dead….?”
“Be quiet, don’t make a scene. You are hurting our mission….”
Words of disgust directed towards the necromancer were whispered by the emissaries of the Republic of Larman.
And understandably so.
A soul can only remain in a body that had not yet died. It may be affected by unresolved feelings and grudges, and if left unchecked, it may turn into a demon or become a ghoul.
A necromancer can forcibly bind the soul to a body by magic before it is separated from the body and make it work as a limb under his/her control.
What was even more troubling is that the newer the corpse is, the more it retains its consciousness, unlike a naturally occurring undead.
Some necromancers prioritize freshness in order to preserve the consciousness, and some are even cruel enough to kill people on the spot just to immediately turn it into a ghoul.
“……”
The Demon King opened his eyes and his gaze turned towards the ghoul women huddled together.
“…you’re also proficient in using a dagger, aren’t you?”
“Oh, my God…..! You are right! I have actually wandered around as a bandit for several years! Oh…. I didn’t realize you could see into my past….”
The women all had a scar on their left chest where they had been stabbed with a knife-like object, their only deep wound.
“….I guess with your mannerisms, I somehow knew that… Yes, I’ve decided.“
The necromancer was moved to tears as the Demon Lord finally decided what to do.
“I’m the Demon King.”
“Oh, you are right! I can fully use my abilities under the guidance of….. you!“
He extended his hand as if he was worshipping the Demon King, and offered himself to the Demon King who was seated on the throne above.
In response, the Demon King pulled the sword that rested on his throne from its sheath and looked at the cold reflection of the blade’s light.
“…..I am the king of evil. So there must be no one more evil than me, in this world or the next. Don’t you agree?”
“You are right, sir! You must, no you are the very pinnacle!“
“I agree. You know exactly what I mean. You’re very understanding.”
The Demon King was pleased by the man’s praise and agreed with him.
“Oh….!”
The members of the Larman delegation, despite their disdain, were relieved at the ease of the task.
He was no different from any other king.
All they had to do was to praise him, offer him tribute, and he’d nod his head in agreement with them.
Luckily, since he was this way, they could use their experience and skills in persuasion and flattery.
Despite the fact that inner thoughts continued to pop up in some people, the conversation between the king and the man went on.
“Then don’t you think…. that the subordinate working in such an evil organization needs to be… somewhat decent?“
The blade shifted its gaze towards the necromancer.
“Indeed, indeed, you are right!“
The men of Larman felt their dislike for the Demon King writhe internally, as the orcs writhed in boredom.
The necromancer knelt down and looked up to the demon king in fanatical worship and adoration. Anxiously, he looked forward to the moment when he would become this great entity’s subordinate.
“That’s the thing…”
–A blade grew from the man’s mouth.
“Kah?! Ka…..!“
“You are not worthy.”
Now, the voice of the Demon King, who was supposed to be sitting comfortably on his throne, was heard from the necromancer’s side.
“What…..!?“
All eyes, including those of the Larman’s delegation and the orcs, turned reflexively…. to the man who uttered an inaudible cry.
“idiot…”
The thin man stood there in a cruel state, skewered from the back of the head to the mouth with a sword.
“Ah….”
“They’re as terrible as always…..”
However, there was not a shadow of the Demon Lord in sight, already, before an instant had hardly passed….
“It’s at times like this that I really feel it…..”
…the voice came down from the throne.
In an instant, a chill ran through them as they all got goosebumps.
Subconsciously, they turned their gazes in the direction of…. the Demon Lord, who was about to sit down again on his throne.
“What….?”
“…haa….haa….?”
Some of them were so upset by this incomprehensible event that they were choking, and their breathing was so erratic that they were afraid to even take in air due to the extreme sense of urgency.
The man who had turned into a statue spouting a blade from his neck… towards the heavens was already out of sight.
Only astonishment and deep-seated fear of the Demon Lord, whose gaze seemed mocking, was left amongst them.
The level of astonishment they were feeling was different from anything they had ever experienced.
Everyone in the room had seen the Demon Lord, but had lost sight of him without even being able to confirm his first movement.
None of them could spot even a single hint of his movement from the throne to the floor and from the floor to the throne.
Such a feat should be impossible. That was a feat that was out of the common sense of those who lived in this world.
However…..
“….can’t stand to see them do whatever they want to do. The use of force without any sense of aesthetics is very ugly.“
…cold, dark eyes looked down on the puny creatures of the mortal realm.
They felt helpless, as if they were in front of God, and they felt as if they could easily disappear from existence any second, all due to a single mere whim.
The naive thoughts and bad feelings they just had were fleetingly shattered by the Demon King’s sheer power, and the negative emotions they had felt towards the Demon King were eroded from the depths of their hearts.
“I’m sorry I showed you something disgusting, and to have kept you waiting. Now, let’s hear what you want.“
“……”
The Demon King, who had just switched over to the next task in his schedule, turned his gaze towards the pale emissaries of the Republic of Larman.
But….
“…uh…”
…words never come out of their throats, only shudders of fear.
All one could hear was the moans of the orcs, who shivered with fear and were desperately trying to hide themselves.
“….Speak up soon! Your timidity will not help the situation. The longer you wait, the worse you and your masters will look. Why should His Majesty have to wait for the likes of you?” The Swamp Demon roared.
“Well, then…. Your Majesty the Demon King–”
“I told you not to linger. His Majesty has a full schedule. Are you humans trying to waste his time?”
The Swamp Demon made no attempt to hide her dissatisfaction with the leader of the Larman delegation.
Dark-green, poisonous magic oozed from her bones.
(….Damn it, damn it! Don’t… be ridiculous! How can I rush it?!)
The leader of the delegation swore in his heart.
If he offended the Demon King, who had the ability to move instantaneously in a single moment, he would be skewered, completely at the Demon King’s mercy and whims.
How could he ask the Demon King to return Type-2 and its collar arbitrarily, without gauging the Demon King’s mood?!
(I…. it couldn’t be… could he have…. stopped time?)
The moment the speculation that the Demon King had the ability to overturn the providence of all things entered the leader’s mind, even more fear ran down his spine.
“……”
“You…. I will not allow you to waste any more time…..”
Even the dark-haired woman, who had a calm and collected temperament, began to show signs of impatience and anger.
Her murderous intent made the leader feel like needles were being thrust into his entire body.
“….So, so, I- I’ll tell you frankly!“
“…Ha….”
Their leader’s words drew gasps from his men, who were filled with anxiety and fear.
“I- I’ve come to receive the…. thing…. that was entrusted!”
The captain, who was being blown by the wind of cowardice, requested that the item should be returned, albeit modestly and timidly.
Even though his voice was slurred and his pronunciation was strange, his courage was still respectable.
“…..Did someone give us something?” The Demon King asked.
“No, I don’t have anything given by others.“
“Kakka! She’s right, no one has given us anything!“
The brown skinned woman faithfully replied to the Demon King’s question that was directed to his subordinates, and the Swamp Demon laughed while replying in amusement.
“That’s what they’re saying. I think it must be a mistake on your part. Please go back and look into it.”
“Yes, sir, I will.”
The reconnaissance team had confirmed that ‘Type-2’ flew over the castle many times, and it was confirmed that it was not wearing a collar.
In other words, the Demon King had no intention of returning it and claimed it as his own property.
“If you still think it’s here, come again. You are always welcome….. Though, I don’t know if I’ll always be present here.”
The Demon King told the delegation of the Republic of Larman with a grim smile.
It seemed the Demon King had no intention of taking a kingdom of people seriously.
There was no way the delegation could argue with him, in fact, they were proud that they had done so well.
However, that did not mean that they did not gain nothing.
The delegation of the Republic of Larman were made to realize, even if only grudgingly, that the existence before their eyes was undeniably….. a far-off illusion, a mythical existence that was supposed to only exist in a fairy tale.
And, a report from this delegation that returned to their kingdom triggered an incident later.
(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zazen
(2) Most of the Orc Chief’s dialogue had some form of Japanese, though broken at times, but this one makes no sense, which is why I transliterated it.
Anddd— Chapter 107 is done!
