157 Next, I'll surround you.




 The information Rahite had given me was not exaggerated. The people of the planet Yugra may not be strong as individuals, but their way of being is enough to be a threat.
 At such a young age, that kind of stain is the eye of someone who has willingly looked into the darkness of the human heart.
 I'm not sure why he chose such a path, but we have to recognize that he is at least as good as those who live behind the scenes of this world.
 We entered the grounds of a house that was said to be vacant. Already there, the most skilled fighters of our people, the Raitis, are standing, wearing deep robes to avoid individual identification.
 Each one of them is a master manipulator, as good as any of the country's darker elements. They are the ones who will act as a mechanism to take away the country's power of resistance when the Jesters turn against the country.
 There are sixty of them, and they will be enough to work behind the scenes.

"Mr. Littoral, you said this was an urgent call. For what reason?
They know who I am. I can't stay in Quama any longer.

 I can see the people around me are slightly agitated. I had made a name for myself at a young age as a world-renowned adventurer. The trust I had earned would not be shaken so easily.
 However, it backfired when I was forced to contact Jestiff and the others myself to keep their minds occupied with the True Eye.

"I'm going to ask you all to degrade the functions of this Quama to some extent. Everyone, please take care of those who were originally planned.
"But there's still time for the Scarlet Witch King to make his move. ......
That's true. But once it is weakened, it can be used as an excuse to lead new pawns and as a means of guiding the consciousness of other nations.

 If Quama wants to rebuild on his own, he can take advantage of that. If Quama wants to rebuild on his own, he can take advantage of the opportunity. If he asks for help from other countries, that's fine, because it will disperse the consciousness of other countries.
 Lowering them without using the people of Rhaetys who have infiltrated them to this point is just an act of escape.
 There will be a certain amount of casualties, but they can be replaced.
 I'll beckon the messenger over. Let's start by assessing Quama's current situation.

"How is the subject doing?
"The dark-haired man that Lord Littoral told us to watch is currently marching towards the southern stronghold with the rest of the Quama soldiers.
"So that's where he's sniffing out. That's impressive, even for the enemy.

 The guild's headquarters in Morgana had left a small trail. It was information about a decoy base that had been deliberately prepared. But to find the location without being detected as a decoy, you need to be smart enough to know where it is.
 The fact that they have figured it out in such a short period of time and are quietly preparing for a siege is quite impressive.
 However, this is not enough to reassure us.

Have you confirmed the possibility that the person you are monitoring is under the influence of spirit magic?
Yes. There are three of us, and we're all getting reports from different places.
It's not as if they're pretending to be trapped.
Aren't we being too cautious? I think even that southern base is too good a location for a decoy in the first place.
"Even the enemy can predict the best location. If this were military, we would have the advantage of securing it first, but what we are doing is a secret revolution. It would be foolish to stand on the same ground as the enemy. It's better to use it as bait to make it look more palatable than it is.

 I'm sure the man is well aware of the possibility that this is a decoy. But I can't help but check. It's true that you don't want to be positioned in the most awkward position.

Once the siege is over and the base is found to be empty, the search will begin again with the deployment of troops. Let's use that timing to create chaos and stir things up as much as possible.
"Yes!

 My compatriots all responded. I'll do what I can, and if I get the chance, I'll rescue Raheit and get him out of Quama.

"Oh? You've got so few. I thought there would be ten times as many, since you said you were going to overthrow the country.

 At the sound of the voice, almost everyone activates their detection magic at the same time. Everyone here has been trained to act reflexively in response to any anomaly. I am no exception, as I gave them that skill.
 I use my detection magic to search for any presence other than my own people here, and then my thoughts stop slightly.
 I'm surrounded. It's not a person. This place is now surrounded by countless demons.
 As soon as you realize this, your vision darkens. It's not magic.
 The perimeter of this house has been cut off from the moonlight by a physical wall.
 There are two things that I have learned. The first is that the black wall that suddenly surrounds the house is the result of the transformation of countless demons and devils.
 The other was that there were two distinct enemies within the enclosed space.
 One of them was immediately obvious. It was the unique class of demon we had just encountered at the guild headquarters.
 The other was ........

"I didn't expect you to come directly to this place. "The Purple Demon King.

 The Purple Demon Lord" is a purple dress that is lavishly decorated with glittering jewels. Her long purple hair is even more lustrous than her dress. And to complement it all, she has translucent white skin.
 In the past, the demon king who had dyed the most vast land into a demon world and entangled many heroes was standing there.

You don't think so? I'm his companion, so I can make my own moves, can't I?


I thought the man had been outwitted.
He knew he was being watched, didn't he? That's why he was so willing to fall for your bait, right?
...... So, how did you find me?
It's easy, I just followed your scent. Duvvlei's 'sniffing nose' can detect all kinds of things, but he is also a good hound.
"My Lord, I'm not sure about that expression. I'm no better than a dog.
"Oh, are you angry? You don't know any other animals with a good sense of smell, do you? But you know what? You were playing a trick on me, so I had to go after you in the simplest way possible.

 If it's body odor, of course it's gone. If it's body odor, of course I've eliminated it. If I can still smell it, it's not a biological nose. It must be a kind of unusual ability similar to my "true eye".
 That alone is troublesome, but even a simple difference in ability is quite difficult.
 If only I were twenty years younger, I might be able to do better. .......
 No, that's not the only thing I need to think about. He's watching me, he's making me realize that the decoy information worked, and he's hunting me down in this way. That guy must have been planning this all along.
 I have no choice but to admit that I was a step short this time.

You're his mortal enemies, aren't you? Then you can kill him as much as you want, right?

 Contrary to my expectations, it was not the demon in the butler's uniform that stepped forward, but the purple demon king.
 My eyes are telling me that. I can move around a bit, but compared to the demon next to me, my abilities are very poor.
 The magic is disastrous, but its absolute amount is measurable.

"My Lord, I'm here to ......
Duvvreoris, do you want me to be just a woman waiting for a man to come home?
No. ....... But the man wants me to take care of him, too. ......
Yeah, he's a worrier, isn't he? That's very nice of you to say. But it's not enough to be taken care of, you know?
It's .......
Of course not. I'll only take care of everyone but that old man over there. You just keep him in check and make sure he doesn't do anything.
"That's a very high estimate. I used to be a confident adventurer of some renown, but now I'm all worn out.
What do I care about you? He told me you were dangerous, so I'm just going to take his advice and do the best I can, okay?

 Well, it looks like you're putting a lot of stock in that guy's words. I've done enough analysis. Let's shake him up a bit.

"How can you believe the words of such a villain when you were once a princess of great renown?
"Oh? How did you know?
I have a keen eye for history. I know how you came to be the Demon Lord. I have a pretty good idea how you became a demon lord.
No, I said he's a scoundrel. See, he's very nice to new people, isn't he?
"He's been hostile to me from the start. I can tell. He's using you for his own gain. He's trying to make you dream of the world you want and control you for his own purposes.
"And?

 The Purple Demon Lord tilted his head deliberately with a charming smile on his face.
 I'm sure that the words you just said are an impression in her consciousness, something that she is aware of. Then it must have reached her true heart.

"Are you okay with that?
"Of course I'm okay with it. He's showing me a beautiful dream. He's doing everything for it. He may never be mine, but I can be his. He will let me be. Wouldn't that be a very happy dream?
Dreams do come true.
But you'll remember it. What's so beautiful about a fleeting dream?

 Oh dear. ...... A maiden in love is blind, and it seems that humans and the Demon Lord are no different.
 At the very least, the only person in this world who can make the Demon Lord's suspicion take root is that man himself.
 If we are to deal with this situation, we must first get rid of the threat of that demon Duvraeori.
 Even though he is a subordinate of the Demon Lord, his strength far exceeds that of the Purple Demon Lord.
 And his loyalty is no less than the chivalry that he possesses. It would be impossible to sway his mind.
 Then I'll take you up on your offer. Fortunately, I alone can control the strongest man in this room.

"I'm afraid my words are too much for you. I'm sorry.


You don't know your real name, do you? Rithyal-Xentry, can you tell me your real name?

 You've been assuming from the start that my name is an alias. I thought that if I was going to use my name to cajole them as I said, I could have created a good opening with my performance.

I'm not so confused as to be able to say my name to someone who has the power of cajoling.
"Hmm, you're known for that. But that's okay. He's the only one I'm interested in caging. I'll leave the interrogation of you to someone else.
Let's see what the Demon Lord has in store for us. --Brethren, the Demon Lord can be resurrected after death due to his abomination. But if the current body dies, it will take several generations to come back to life. That will buy time for my people and for Rhaetys. Let's do justice with the grudge of history.

 I'm sorry.

 At the same time as Ritual's declaration, those who had been waiting in the rear quickly dispersed.
 Some were clothed in light, others blended into the shadows. Some approach from the front, some from the left and right, some from behind.
 Their speed is fast enough. I don't think the Lord can see them all, let alone me.
 But that doesn't faze me. I'll just calmly monitor the movements of Lytal.
 He's the only one who can make it happen. But I'm the only one who knows how strong you are.
 You follow the man in front of you with your eyes. But he must have decided it was too much trouble to follow the enemy as he swung from side to side. She closes her eyes and laughs.

No, I can't follow it with my eyes. --I don't even need to follow it.

 It was like a burst of darkness. It's like the darkness exploded and countless shadows exploded around you.
 The shadows had a great number of claws, horns, and fangs protruding in random directions, gouging the flesh and blood of the approaching humans.
 It was a saturation attack in all directions, returning the clothed demons to their original volume.
 The overwhelming mass and the overwhelming area of control transformed the people around them into pieces of meat in an instant.

"That's quite a lot. It's not just the clothes, the jewelry is also a collection of demons?
"Yeah, when you unroll the demons in the clothes, you expose the skin, right? He pointed this out to me, but I'm fine with it, you know? But since I don't need to show them to anyone but him, I decided to increase them.
"I tell you, even that man doesn't need to see it.

 The Lord's garments are made of demons transformed into fibers and woven together. But the jewels he wears are even more dense, containing a tremendous number of demons.
 The mere release of its mass would be a tremendous threat to humans.
 If there is a drawback, the Lord cannot wield his power to the fullest with that man by his side. I'm involved in the all-round attack now.
 It's too much mass for fine work.
 My barriers can prevent it, but if there are other allies nearby, there is a high risk of getting caught.
 With a single blow, my numbers were reduced to half. With great sacrifice, the humans have learned that the Lord is truly the Demon Lord.
 Everyone is trying to keep their distance, their distance, their wits about them.
 But it's all in vain. No matter how hard the worm tries, it is powerless against the strong man who wants to exterminate it.
 As the Lord swipes his hand away, a shadow stretches out to the black wall and cleaves away all those in his sight.
 Those who jumped up to avoid it were skewered by the countless shadows that extended just as the Lord turned his gaze.
 Only Ritual and a few others in front of him survived. The ones on the left, right, and behind are standing around, trying to stay out of sight, fearing that they will be seen by the Lord.

That's a very rough way to fight.
"Do you have to be so clever to squash a bug?
You, demon lord!

 One of them attacked from behind. But the blade never reaches the Lord.
 The demons you wear have no ego. But they do have functions. Countless eyes catch their movements, and the dense demon flesh acts as a barrier, blocking their attacks.
 Shiro smoke billows from the stopped blade. The blade must have been enchanted with purification magic.
 The Lord slowly turns around and looks at the spot where the sword pierced.

"Oh? Isn't it beautiful? One demon is dead, isn't it?
"d*mn! How hard is it?
You'll have to make up for it, won't you?

 A shadow crawled out of the ground and grabbed the man. And the moment he grabbed the limb, the sound of his bones being crushed to pieces echoed around him.

"Oh, my God!
It's okay, okay? I won't let it go to waste. Forged human corpses are very good catalysts, you know?
What the heck is ...... my body ...... doing, transforming me into a demon?
It's a good idea to use human remains as a catalyst to create demons that resemble people.


"No, no, no! I don't want to be a demon!
Don't get me wrong. You don't get to be the devil, okay? You're making a demon. But you don't want it to take your form, do you? You have to break it once, right?
"Hee--

 The man who tried to scream was swallowed by the shadows.
 Then, above the Lord's head, an inexplicable sound rang out and a literal rain of blood fell.

"Lord, you don't have to go through the trouble of getting blood on your face. ......
That's fine. It's more like the Demon Lord, isn't it?
You'll soil your body.
No problem. My demons will lick up every drop of human blood.

 A shadow instantly envelops the Lord who was bathed in blood. Immediately, the Lord appears in all his beauty, without a trace of blood.

"Oh, but if I leave a little bit, will he lick it off?
"I don't think that person has a taste for licking human blood. Even if he did, I'd stop him.

 The rest of the battle, well, it doesn't really deserve to be called a battle. It was a one-sided slaughter.
 Some of them tried to escape, but their way out was already blocked by the black walls fortified by demons. The Lord crushed those who remained, carefully and meticulously.

The Princess of Caging, with countless demons as her limbs. Her fighting skills are unimaginable considering her low base abilities.

 All that remained was Ritual and the two people around him. All the others are dead.
 The Lord hadn't aimed for him intentionally, but he had managed to engage Ritual several times in his attacks.
 But he was able to evade them without difficulty. If you look at his strength alone, he should be able to compete with Exoik.

I wonder if his two cronies will come at him? You don't want to aim too hard when you're around that guy, do you?
Oh, excuse me. I left them there on my instructions.
Well, what can you do?

 The Lord extends his shadow to attack. Its speed is no less than that of the Piercing Left Arm.
 But the three of them did not move in the face of the approaching shadow.
 Just before the attack hits, the shadow, which boasts an enormous mass, is flicked away.

"What?

 The identity of the thing that had blocked the shadow could be caught visually, without the need to sniff it out.
 It was a ward, and an unusually strong one at that. Perhaps even more so than the barrier I had put up. .......

"...... Duvreoli, split it.
"Yes, sir.

 The Lord must have sensed a disturbing presence when he saw the wards in front of him. Without hesitation, he gave me an order.
 I responded at the same time, closing the distance with my "Running Left Leg" and hitting the top of the ward with my "Roaring Right Leg".
 But the warding does not falter. This strength is far greater than the one that Rakhra-Sarv had set up.
 Is the man on the left side of Ritual the one who's setting the wards? How can a ward that covers three people be this strong?
 If this is the case, we can either keep attacking constantly and aim to run out of magic power, or we can use the "chattering tongue".

"Mr. Littoral, we are ready.
"Thank you for your efforts. Then let's retreat.
What the hell?

 The moment the one on your right activates some kind of magic, the three of you disappear.
 The nose detects the surroundings, but does not react. I physically probed with my "whittling tail" but got no response.
 They've completely vanished from this place. What the hell is this? .......

...... That's transference magic, right? It's been a long time since I've seen it work, hasn't it?
Transference magic. ......?
Yes, it's an advanced form of magic that moves through space, similar to the way you demons move through shadows. As far as I know, only Yugra, Kuro and Colorless can use transference magic, but ...... there are humans too?
You can't even smell it. They got away.
Oh, no, no, no. What should I do? What am I going to tell him?

 The Lord's smile fades and he asks me with a straight face. He has a slight sweat on his forehead and seems to be in a real hurry.

I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one who can help you.
I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm the one who made that decision. It's a good idea to have a good memory of being scolded, though. How will you be angry with me?

 The Lord embraced his own body and deliriously went into ...... meditation.


 This man has become really strong. But I don't know if this is good or not.
 I guess it's good because ...... seems to be happy. Then I'm happy too. Maybe. Maybe.