The tower had vanished. But it had not returned to the Demon Realm, either.

In other words, Vivian was alive. She had moved her tower.

How?

He did not believe that stupid fool knew how to move a tower. Had she attached herself to someone who could, then?

There was only one person who fit that description.

"Berge. You again?"

When had he reached out to Vivian, too?

'No, Berge had no time to spare for that.'

Jason considered the possibilities. How had the Demon King Vivian Blunt come to receive help from Berge Deias?

'Was it then?'

He had heard that, when he abandoned Vivian, she had disgracefully begged every other Demon King for help. Naturally, Berge Deias would have been among them.

'But back then...'

The hero's journey had been imminent. At a time when defending his own tower would have been difficult enough, he had helped another Demon King?

"You were playing me from the beginning. You never once thought you might die."

Jason burst into laughter, clapping his hands.

In every detail, from beginning to end, he had been dancing in the palm of Berge's hand. Whatever Jason did, Berge had countered appropriately and turned the attack back on him.

The more he learned, the more incredulous he became. He had thought Berge was a pawn moving at his command, only to discover it was the other way around.

"But..."

That ended now.

With Vivian now deemed alive, the descent of a new Demon King had quietly fallen through. But that had only ever been a secondary benefit.

What Jason truly wanted was to locate Berge's tower—and expose his lawlessness in killing another Demon King, cutting off his support from the Demon Realm.

A tower's role was to lift dimensional interference. It likely had various other functions, but few were known or usable.

For a Demon King in that position, nothing mattered more than the demons and demonic creatures they could summon in exchange for demonic energy points, and the legions built from them.

A demon without a legion was merely a somewhat powerful demon, and monsters fell short of the Demon Realm's higher demons and demonic creatures.

"My lord. His Grace Grand Duke Alkain has sent the locations of each tower."

What he wanted had arrived at just the right moment.

"Excellent."

Now it truly was over. All he needed to do was send the enraged heroes there...

"...?"

Jason tilted his head as he checked the coordinates.

"Aina."

"Yes?"

"Is this correct...?"

"... I thought it strange as well, but His Grace insisted it was accurate..."

"... But this is the sea?"

The open sea, at that, without a single island anywhere nearby.

* * *

『You piece of shit.』

Balaf bit savagely at his lip, his deep loathing for the Demon King showing through.

『I should never have trusted you Demon Kings. You conspired with the Demon King of Hellfire to lure me into a trap.』

"That is impossible. No one wants him dead more than I do."

『Shut up! Then why have you never given me his exact location until now? And why is this ridiculous bullshit what you finally claim is his location?』

"As I told you, I paid a heavy price to obtain this information myself. I have no intention whatsoever of deceiving you, Balaf. I can scarcely believe it either, but the tower is definitely here."

"If I intended to lure you into a trap, would I use such a crude trick?"

『Who knows? Perhaps, now that a useful Demon King like Hellfire has descended, you think it is time to wipe out humanity. You are a Demon King yourself, after all.』

『A Demon King among Demon Kings, who would sell out even his own kind for his benefit.』

"Humans do far more to sell out their own kind."

"And I have done my utmost to help you all this time."

『Because I am useful. The same goes for me. I joined forces with you because you were useful. But why should I keep trusting someone who pulls this kind of bullshit?』

"... I can swear upon the great first Demon Emperor and the Guide. I obtained this directly from a grand duke of the Demon Realm, at a price."

"Unless the grand duke deceived me, the tower is here. And he has no reason to deceive me."

With Jason going that far, Balaf could berate him no longer.

『... That is the sea.』

"I know."

『Open sea, without even a single island.』

"Yes."

『You expect me to believe the bastard who was in Erjest is suddenly underwater?』

"I know it is absurd. I feel the same way. But it is the truth."

『The so-called Demon King of Hellfire built his tower beneath the sea.』

Unbelievable.

The Demon King and the hero met each other's eyes through the communication orb. The hero nodded.

『Very well. I will trust you one last time.』

"Thank you."

『But before that...』

『I will slay another Demon King.』

Jason's brow twitched.

"... What do you mean by that?"

『When I fought the Demon King of Hellfire, I realized he would not be easy to defeat. I need more power.』

"Impossible. It has only been two years since Berge descended. He cannot be your equal!"

『I did not say he was my equal. I did not use my full power.』

He had fought in earnest. But before he could give it everything he had, the Demon King had turned his back and fled.

『But the same was true of the Demon King.』

However much the trap had drained him, however tired he had been from fighting monsters on the way up, he could not deny it.

The Demon King of Hellfire was strong. Stronger than any Demon King he had ever faced. He was not an opponent Balaf could underestimate simply because only two years had passed.

Of course, Balaf was confident he would win if they both used their full power and fought to the end. But he disliked having even the slightest doubt about that victory.

Fortunately, he had a way to dispel that doubt. If he lacked strength, he simply needed to grow stronger.

Heroes had a sure means of gaining greater power in a short time.

『A hundred years or so is quite a long wait. It is time to harvest the ripe fruit.』

"... You cannot do that!"

"They abide by the established order alongside me. They are not like Berge!"

『They are still Demon Kings.』

"Balaf!"

『Jason Cockmundo.』

Balaf Dislord's eyes turned cold.

『Do you think I am asking your permission?』

Jason's face stiffened.

"... Must you really do this?"

『Had you given me the correct location before the Demon King of Hellfire kidnapped the dwarves, none of this would have happened.』

"... You are saying this is my fault?"

『You are not entirely blameless. You stood by when you could have ensured a better outcome.』

『Perhaps it would have been different had things worked out. Instead, Stars died because of it. Hundreds of heroes died, and tens of thousands of soldiers died. And my honor has been driven not merely into the dirt, but beneath it!』

『Do not test my patience! The fact that I am still speaking to you shows how much I am holding back!』

"..."

Jason bit his lip.

He could not stop him. Balaf Dislord was neither his servant nor his subordinate. Their cooperation was strictly between equals.

They had joined forces and maintained their relationship only because each wanted something from the other.

"... The Demon King of Bitter Cold."

『What?』

"If you intend to slay another Demon King, slay the Demon King of Bitter Cold."

Ugar and Reina both abided by Jason's order.

But unlike Ugar, who trusted and followed him completely, Reina merely accepted reality because she had no choice.

That made all the difference. If only one could remain, Ugar was preferable to Reina.

"Gillian Aint, the spiritual pillar of the snowfield barbarians, is dead. The barbarians are deeply shaken, and their fear of the Demon King of Bitter Cold has grown."

"If you declare that you will slay the Demon King of Bitter Cold for their sake, you will gain both a righteous cause and tangible benefits."

『I appreciate the advice.』

『If you learn anything more about the Tower of Hellfire, tell me immediately.』

The connection ended.

CRASH!

A glass shattered in an instant.

"Every last one of these bastards!"

Jason's mask shattered as well. Dozens of wineglasses were reduced to fragments, their broken pieces strewn across the entire floor.

Only after a long while did Jason subdue his anger, still breathing hard.

"Aina."

"Yes, my lord."

Aina, who had been waiting outside, came in. With practiced ease, she cleared the floor, brought a fresh glass, placed it in Jason's hand, and poured wine.

"Contact Ugar and tell him to stay put and do nothing. Tell him not to draw unwanted attention with any clumsy tricks at a time like this."

"Then, regarding the campaign against Demon King Berge..."

"There is no need for the Demon Kings to act. Balaf will do everything he can for us anyway."

"Yes."

"As for Reina..."

Jason considered for a moment.

Now that Balaf had chosen Reina as his target, she would die. That could no longer be undone.

Should he simply let it happen, then, or intervene somehow to extract the greatest possible benefit?

Jason shook his head.

If he needlessly interfered and Balaf caught him, there would be no turning back. That must not happen. They had known each other far too well over their long association.

Though he did have a hidden trump card, he had to avoid the worst outcome regardless.

'Then I will avoid getting directly involved.'

What about forcing a loss rather than securing a gain? It would also be a chance to gauge Berge's strength, which Balaf had rated so highly.

'I cannot believe he rivals Balaf after a mere two years. Even if he is a demonic dragon.'

He had to see it with his own eyes.

In that case...

"I will handle Reina myself. For now, do not tell anyone that Berge has been marked for execution."

"Will His Grace not issue the order himself?"

"He has delegated full authority to me. Cunning old bastard. If the evidence is inconclusive, he intends to pin everything on me and wash his hands of it. But for now, that works in our favor."

"Yes."

Aina left the office.

Jason contacted Reina.

"Reina, we have a serious problem. I hear the heroes are planning a hero's journey against you."

Warned in advance, Reina would prepare for the hero's journey.

And he was certain those preparations would include asking Berge for help.

Then...

'I will get a clearer picture of the power and forces Berge possesses.'

And he fervently hoped all of it would crumble along with Reina.

* * *

[Your eligibility to trade with the Demon Realm has been revoked.]

[You cannot remit demonic energy points to the Demon Realm.]

[You cannot summon objects or living beings from the Demon Realm.]

It happened without warning.

It had been bound to happen eventually. Now that Jason knew he had been involved in killing Drakson, there was no way he would leave Berge alone.

But anticipating something and having it actually happen were two different things.

"So this is how you're going to play it."

"What shall we do?"

"Well, does anything change?"

"... No, it does not."

Gordon marveled.

"Was even this part of your plan? Did you refrain from summoning demons and demonic creatures because you anticipated this? Just how far ahead are you planning?"

"Before, the problem was that you thought I was a complete idiot. Now the problem is that you give me too much credit."

"... It wasn't?"

"No. But you're calmer than I expected. Aren't you going to throw a fit about being abandoned by the Demon Realm?"

"To tell you the truth..."

"The truth?"

"I expected this to some extent."

"You expected it?"

"You have been acting as you find your own solutions, my lord, but you are rather far from meticulous, are you not? It was strength itself, not intellect, that made you the top graduate of the Demon King Military Academy."

"So you're saying I'm stupid?"

"That is not what I meant."

It certainly sounded that way.

Just then, the tower trembled.

The special communication orb used to contact the Demon Realm vibrated fiercely.

"... The grand duke?"

"He must intend to interrogate you, my lord."

"Probably."

It did not matter anyway. Berge was already firmly in his bad graces, and the fact that he had cut off the connection before calling meant he knew what had happened and had made up his mind.

Berge had anticipated this to some extent. So it was fine.

'Though how I'll get back to the Demon Realm is another question.'

Damn it, that was the most important part. But he had brought this on himself, so he had no one else to blame.

Berge would have answered the call—had the tower's notification not struck his mind.

[This communication is directed to the tower of the absorbed subordinate entity -Vivian Blunt-.]

"... This call is for Vivian?"

Why?

"Perhaps he has noticed that her tower disappeared."

"Then all the more reason to call me, not Vivian..."

"Since the tower did not return to the Demon Realm, would he not assume Lady Vivian is alive?"

"... Right."

That made sense. He had been too fixated on the fact that he had absorbed her tower.

"Bring Vivian here."

A short while later, Vivian arrived.

"What's going on?"

"That."

Berge pointed to the fiercely ringing communication orb.

"Grand Duke Alkain is calling you."

"But my tower is gone?"

"Which is why the call came here. Grand Duke Alkain will think you're alive."

"I am alive."

"With your tower intact."

"Aha."

"Answer it. And hide the fact that you've become my servant."

"Can I swear at him?"

"... Where did that come from?"

"That vampire bastard is the one who tricked me into entering this goddamn dimension."

"Don't you intend to return to the Demon Realm?"

"From what I hear, it looks like you can't go back either. So where would I go, as your servant? As long as I'm alive, this place isn't bad."

She was insanely optimistic. Or was she simply an idiot?

"Do as you like."

With Berge's permission, Vivian answered the call.

『Vivian Blunt. You look perfectly well. The other Demon Kings thought you were dead. What have you done?』

So that was it after all. Apparently, he had finally heard from Jason that Vivian was dead. Yet her tower had not been forcibly recalled, so he had found it strange and called her.

"Why do you think I owe you an explanation?"

『What?』

"When I think of all the suffering you put me through, I grit my teeth even in my sleep. I want to enter your dreams and suck every last drop of vitality out of you! You old vampire bastard!"

And she really did do as she liked.

"... Now I understand why you accepted Lady Vivian as your servant, my lord. She was eminently qualified."

"Qualified?"

"Qualified by virtue of being unhinged. She's every bit as fucking crazy as those princesses who call themselves the Four Heavenly Kings."

"... Shut up."