A hero's journey.

When had it lost its luster—this undertaking that made Demon Kings tremble and offered humans a chance to win distinction?

After the Demon King of Hellfire appeared.

Renowned Stars failed even to find his tower, let alone undertake a hero's journey. The crisis reached its peak when the entire continent united, only to suffer more than ten thousand casualties.

Demon Kings were weak.

Humans held the upper hand.

Coexistence with Demon Kings was possible, albeit within limits.

At humanity's mercy, and according to humanity's needs.

These beliefs, instilled for over a century and tacitly accepted as self-evident, had been utterly shattered.

Demon Kings were not weak.

Humans and Demon Kings could not coexist.

Humans and Demon Kings were enemies.

Demon Kings could not be trusted.

Yet there was little humans could do at present. The damage inflicted by the Demon King of Hellfire kept mounting, but his tower's whereabouts remained a complete mystery.

Their grief and anger, deprived of an outlet, turned elsewhere.

To another Demon King. A being to be slain. A formidable foe whose tower's location was known, and who had already dealt humanity a defeat.

To Reina Sordein, the Demon King of Bitter Cold.

Approximately three hundred heroes. Fifty thousand coalition troops. And four Stars, led by Balaf Dislord.

Considering that a hero's journey ordinarily involved a few hundred people at the low end and thousands at most, this was highly unusual.

It was not merely a hero's journey, but a continuation of the coalition's campaign. A war between Demon Kings and humans. Though they had failed in its opening engagement—the search for the Tower of Hellfire—they were determined to reverse that failure by killing the Demon King of Bitter Cold.

"The snowfields are in sight."

"So they are."

A pure white world stretched endlessly to the horizon. Balaf Dislord exhaled a cloud of white breath, his brow creasing slightly.

He did not like it. The terrain might be different, but the snow blanketing everything reminded him of Erjest, where he had been humiliated three times.

"You're certain of the Tower of Bitter Cold's location?"

"Absolutely, so long as we follow the map."

"I don't trust maps."

He had already been burned once. Following Dafner's recording orb only to find no tower there had been a painful blunder he had no desire to repeat.

That was why he had hired snowfield barbarians as guides—dozens of them, since one alone hardly reassured him.

"We will lead you and the coalition army to the Tower of Bitter Cold without fail, Lord Balaf!"

The barbarians shouted in unison. He nodded, though their assurances did little to inspire trust. After all, this was his first time in the snowfields.

The snowfields were cold.

They reminded him of that damned place.

Monsters appeared, too.

Once again, they reminded him of that damned place.

Fortunately, there were no avalanches. These weren't mountains, so there was no way an avalanche could—

"Stop!"

Balaf shouted urgently. Stepping forward, he swung his sword. An enormous slashing wave surged up and swept through everything ahead.

BOOOOM!

Red flames erupted from the white snow. A storm of mana swallowed the surroundings.

"... My God, what is that?"

"Mana bombs?"

Balaf's eyes widened. The memory of the exploding tower, of flames engulfing him from every direction, superimposed itself over the scene.

"Those bastards...!"

Grinding his teeth, he forced himself to calm down.

"W-we're alive!"

"Lord Balaf saved us!"

"Long live Lord Balaf!"

The trap wasn't what mattered. What mattered was that he had spotted and destroyed it in advance—and that this had earned him greater support.

Yes. That was enough.

'He said the Demon King of Hellfire might help the Demon King of Bitter Cold.'

That possibility had become reality.

Balaf's eyes turned cold.

'Fine. Struggle to the bitter end.'

It would be their final struggle.

He had fallen for it before because he had never imagined that a supposed Demon King would use mana bombs. Balaf was not foolish enough to fall for the same trick twice.

"We'll go around this area."

"Go around!"

At Balaf's command, the coalition army skirted the blazing inferno.

"Ugh, that's horrific."

"Those bastards. Demon Kings, resorting to such dirty tricks."

"We really do need to kill every last one of them."

The coalition troops ground their teeth. The failed trap only stoked their fighting spirit.

At that moment.

CRACK!

The smoothly advancing coalition column was abruptly severed at its middle.

The ground collapsed. People plunged into a massive pit. Those blindly following the people ahead had no time even to scream.

RUMBLE...

Something could be heard rolling. Then came the sounds of falling and crushing.

"Aaaaargh!"

"Gah!"

Only afterward did cries of pain echo out of the pit.

"W-what in the world...?"

Aina Diaphrin hurriedly jumped down into it. Her plunging figure settled into a gentle landing at the bottom.

The pit was deep—a full twenty meters. A well-trained knight or mage might have managed that height without much difficulty, but a sudden fall onto sharp weapons lining the bottom was no laughing matter.

Especially when enormous boulders followed to finish the job.

"What the hell happened here?"

Balaf descended, his face rigid. It twisted savagely at the sight of soldiers crushed to pulp beneath the rocks.

"It's designed to collapse only once the weight exceeds a certain threshold. Shortly after the trap activates and its targets fall, another mechanism releases the prepared boulders, sending them rolling down. It's remarkably precise craftsmanship."

"Dwarves?"

"Yes. I suspect it's the work of those said to be held captive by the Demon King of Hellfire."

"Those damned little bastards...!"

Fortunately, the losses were not enormous. The trap had been built without any mana whatsoever. Maximizing its concealment had also reduced its destructive power.

But that did not make the problem go away.

There were traps, and they were difficult to find. However limited their destructive power, someone would still be killed or wounded.

And no one wanted to be that someone.

Their advance would inevitably slow. The enemy had landed a blow.

"Can you tell if something unusual is hidden in the snow?"

"It's possible if I keep a detection spell active as we move. But we'll be considerably slower, and I can't cover these vast snowfields alone."

"What if I assign all the earth and water mages to assist you?"

"That would help, but it won't be foolproof."

"Then do it."

"As I said..."

"Is there another way?"

"No."

"Then what's there to deliberate over?"

"All right."

Diana gathered the mages. Balaf put some distance between himself and them, shielding his surroundings with mana.

He took out a communication orb.

"You were right. More dwarven handiwork has turned up."

* * *

In the noisy throne hall, the king clutched his throbbing head.

How had things come to this?

"Silence! All of you, be quiet!"

The hall fell silent.

"Repeat their allegations."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Akan, Dormund, Hessen, Hilderan..."

"Simply call them the humans other than Jespine."

"Yes. The humans other than Jespine claim that we have joined forces with the Demon King of Hellfire."

It was because of the trap that had sent the coalition to its death: the elaborate fake tower erected by the Demon King, and the hundreds of mana bombs installed inside it.

The resulting inferno had devoured everything. It had killed hundreds of heroes and inflicted more than ten thousand casualties.

The humans claimed that dwarves had designed the tower, and that they were cooperating with the Demon King.

From Berft's perspective, the accusation was absurd. Yet the workmanship was unmistakably dwarven, and they had an idea who was responsible: the forty-nine kidnapped artisans.

The Kingdom of Berft explained that those artisans had been abducted by the Demon King and must be cooperating under duress.

Naturally, that explanation got them nowhere. The devastating losses were too great to settle with words alone, and whatever the circumstances, the dwarves had indeed built it.

The humans sought targets for their anger and resentment. One was Bitter Cold. The other was the dwarves.

Several kingdoms threatened to destroy the Kingdom of Berft outright. A considerable number of others seemed inclined to support them, leaving the dwarves no choice but to be as conciliatory as possible.

War had to be avoided at all costs.

"... Is there any room for compromise?"

"The Kingdom of Akan says that if we capture everyone involved and send them to Akan, they will deal with them themselves and let the matter rest."

"Meaning they intend to help themselves to our artisans and their technology."

Greedy bastards.

"What about the other nations?"

"Well..."

Most were much the same.

Dwarven technology had indeed inflicted great losses, but the direct victims were the Empire and Dormund.

The uninvolved nations were intent on using the incident as an excuse to scoop up whatever spoils they could.

"Then..."

The king forced his reluctant lips apart.

"What of Dormund?"

"Our envoy was beaten by a mob and expelled. They reportedly had no intention even of discussing the matter."

"Whew. That leaves Jespine. What do you think they will say?"

"..."

The ministers fell silent. That was answer enough.

"Utterly bleak."

"Your Majesty, we must tell the entire continent how unjustly we are being treated. We truly did everything we could to support them—both against Carnal Desire and against the pirates."

"Exactly. To put it bluntly, it isn't our fault those lunatics have all gone senile and started acting as the Demon King's lackeys, is it?"

The king's brow furrowed.

"We've already tried saying all of that! It doesn't matter to the humans. Whatever their reasons, dwarves helped the Demon King, and the humans suffered immense losses as a result."

"..."

Just then, the doors to the hall opened.

"Your Majesty, the envoy sent to Jespine has returned."

"Oh, bring him in at once! What did the Empire say?"

"Well..."

The dwarf, still breathing hard, prostrated himself.

"They said, 'This is deeply regrettable, and we understand the circumstances. However, the Empire has suffered immense losses, and Berft must pay a corresponding price.'"

Good God.

The king dragged a hand over his face. His ministers groaned.

It was the worst possible outcome.

"... Do they truly mean to go to war?"

"No, Your Majesty."

"No?"

"They wanted a different form of compensation. When I met with the Empire's emperor and ministers..."

* * *

The envoy bowed low. More than the nobles' hostility pressing in from all sides, it was the imposing presence of the emperor before him that made his heart tremble.

["So the Kingdom of Berft feels wronged."]

The emperor murmured languidly.

["Yes. The Demon King of Hellfire abducted our princess and our kingdom's artisans as well. We would fight him, not cooperate with him. What reason would we have to do so?"]

["Then what was it that sent our legions to their deaths? Apparently they weren't dwarves, but merely some stunted folk?"]

["... I believe the abducted artisans had no choice but to cooperate in order to survive."]

He wanted to deny it, but the evidence was too clear. The envoy bowed his head still lower.

["They had no choice but to cooperate."]

The emperor murmured languidly. Every word sent a chill down the envoy's spine.

["Then you will understand if our Empire has no choice but to burn the Berft Mountains."]

["Your Majesty!"]

["We would have no choice, would we?"]

["Have mercy! Our kingdom has absolutely no desire to oppose the Empire!"]

["You already have. My children vanished screaming, caught in the deadly devices you made. Can the anguish of parents who have lost their children be dismissed merely because you feel wronged?"]

And I am the father of this nation.

["Your Majesty! Please...!"]

Just then, the doors opened and a messenger rushed into the hall. The imperial guards stopped him, heard his message, then whispered in the emperor's ear.

["Oh?"]

The emperor's lips twisted. The envoy realized that this was by no means a good sign.

["Do you know what I just heard?"]

["... I do not."]

["The expedition sent to the snowfields has found itself in difficulty because of mana bombs buried in the snow. Unmistakably dwarven workmanship, I am told. Sending an envoy while still helping the Demon King on the side, are you?"]

["...!"]

The envoy went deathly pale.

["Y-Your Majesty...! The Kingdom of Berft would never...!"]

The emperor said nothing, merely gazing at him. That silence weighed still more heavily upon the envoy.

He begged and begged again. He could all too easily picture his kingdom trampled beneath imperial boots. He had to stop it. He absolutely had to.

["... We have no intention of obstructing the expedition or the coalition army."]

What felt like an eternity passed.

At long last.

["I understand."]

The emperor's voice rang out. Its warmth, so different from before, prompted the envoy to cautiously raise his face.

["I understand your innocence and your grievances. Therefore, I intend to give you an opportunity."]

["Th-thank you!"]

["Duke Osrian. You uncovered this, so explain it yourself."]

["Yes, Your Majesty."]

Duke Osrian, who had been standing quietly in attendance, stepped forward.

["Envoy of Berft."]

["Yes, Your Grace."]

["Recently, the Empire's loyal warriors at last discovered the tower's true location. Do you know where it is?"]

["I do not."]

["Somewhere utterly unimaginable. No wonder the entire continent couldn't find it despite all its efforts."]

["Where could it possibly be...?"]

["It is..."]

* * *

The king frowned.

"Where?"

"Under the sea, they say."

"That's insane."

He'd shoved his tower under the sea?

The dwarves swore. They could understand why no one had found it. No—of course no one could have found it.

"Therefore..."

"Therefore?"

"The emperor demanded our kingdom's symbol and sacred treasure. The levitation ship! He said he would see how devoted our kingdom was to the greater cause, and how determined we were to kill the Demon King!"

"...!"