Absolute secrecy.

Jason and Balaf made stealth their highest priority for this hero's journey.

"Unlike other Demon Kings, Berge pays close attention to intelligence. If he learns we are preparing a hero's journey using the levitation ship, there is no telling what he might do."

『Yes, I know that very well.』

Although it would come at a considerable price, they could continue obtaining the tower's location. But Berge Deias had demonstrated far more than simply hiding his tower. He used mountainous terrain to obstruct expeditions, laid traps with a fake tower, and spread demonic energy to gather monsters.

The great hero and the Demon King concluded that they had to prevent Berge from preparing at all.

"But nothing can remain completely secret."

However discreet they were, attacking at sea required cooperation from several nations. Dormund, Hessen, Akan, and Berft—four in all. Berge was certain to find out.

But if they did not act now, they would lose their chance. While everyone was still intoxicated by Adamant's death, while Berge had let his guard down, assuming another hero's journey would not begin immediately. Before his rapidly accumulating demonic energy points became more than they could handle.

They had to cut off that arrogant bastard's head.

"If we cannot conceal it completely, we must draw his attention elsewhere. Keep him preoccupied with something else. That is why your role is so important."

『Do not worry. I cannot tolerate another failure myself.』

"How are you feeling physically?"

『Never better.』

Not only had he killed the Adamant Demon King and absorbed his power, he had also devoured the entire dragon's tail he had personally severed. Though it offered little compared to the dragon heart or eyes, dragons were a race with mana distributed evenly throughout their bodies. Their flesh itself was a mass of elixirs.

And that was not all. The dragon's scales and bones had become his armor.

"That is good to hear. Ugar's sacrifice was worthwhile."

『Was that a jab at me?』

"How could it be? I only hope this affair will put an end to the discord between us."

『Very well.』

"Then I am counting on you."

The connection ended. Jason closed his eyes, swirling his wineglass. A little later, his adjutant knocked on the door.

"My lord. Lord Dorche will descend shortly."

"At last."

Jason rose from his seat. He straightened his clothes in the mirror and adjusted his half-slipped monocle. Then he went outside and stood directly before the tower with his servants.

A moment later—

───!

A hole opened in the sky. Something dropped out of the vast abyss, a rift forcibly torn open in space.

It was not alone.

THUD

THUD, THUD

Dozens, hundreds—no, perhaps a thousand. An entire legion descended, every last member a demon or a high-ranking demonic creature.

The man at their head, whose presence was by far the most powerful, drew a long breath.

"It has been some time since I last breathed the air of a lower dimension."

He swept back his disheveled black hair and surveyed his surroundings. His gaze settled on Jason, who bowed his head.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Dorche Astin."

"Are you Jason Cockmundo?"

"Yes."

"I have heard the gist of it."

Dorche clicked his tongue.

"Utterly incompetent. I hear you have been in this dimension for quite some time, yet you are still floundering about without having conquered it completely."

"My apologies."

"How dull. It was a joke."

Dorche was different from Vivian, who had arrived in Arain knowing nothing. He understood exactly what this place was and why he had come.

"I hear some insolent young demonic dragon who insulted the Guide at his graduation ceremony killed a fellow Demon King?"

"Yes. He was involved in the killing of Lord Drakson Doldorf."

"Drakson, hm."

After a moment's thought, Dorche nodded.

"I have met him. A wolf, was he? I remember him being fairly useful. A pity."

Still, he was only a beastman. That was the extent of his thoughts on the Demon King's death.

"I hear you will be giving me demonic energy points."

"Yes. Once you establish your tower wherever you wish, contact me, and I will provide enough demonic energy points to remove a substantial amount of interference, along with information about this place."

"They said you had amassed quite a lot of demonic energy points. So it was true."

His brow furrowed, as though he found that displeasing.

"Why not use them to summon demons and demonic creatures and wipe out the humans instead?"

"My abilities were insufficient."

"Well, lesser races do have their limitations," Dorche replied with a nod.

"The wayward young demonic dragon's wanderings will end as you wish. I will contact you again after establishing my tower."

"Yes. May I offer one piece of advice?"

"Speak."

"Your tower should be in a remote place where humans will not discover it..."

"Are you telling me to defy the great First Demon Emperor and the Guide? Have you gone mad after spending more than a century stuck in one dimension?"

Jason flinched and shuddered under Dorche's murderous intent.

"... I apologize if I overstepped."

"I hear the Demon Kings of Arain have the gall to twist parts of the Guide. You are not one of them, are you?"

"No."

"Well, I will believe you for now."

He would contact him later, then.

Dorche turned away and lightly pushed off the ground. His thousand followers went after him. Jason and Aina watched them run across the water's surface as though gliding.

"... He is exactly as the rumors describe."

"Indeed. He is the very epitome of a demonic dragon."

Dorche Astin.

He was a fairly renowned candidate to become the next grand duke even in the Demon Realm. Born into a great race, he had distinguished himself from birth and finished the Demon King Military Academy as its top graduate. He had subsequently descended into and conquered several dimensions. Even among demonic dragons, every one of whom ranked among the most powerful beings, he was one of the strongest.

And he was as arrogant as he was strong. He considered every demon who was not a demonic dragon beneath him and took his own supremacy for granted.

Of course, that was not unique to him. Most demonic dragons were the same. In a sense, it was the unprejudiced Berge who was unusual.

"Can Dorche kill Berge?"

"His abilities match his arrogance. And he has more than enough reason to do so."

Demons were individualistic, and demonic dragons even more so. Unlike the dragons of lower dimensions, who at least cherished their young as hatchlings, demonic dragons had little affection even for their own offspring.

But there was one word that could bring their entire race down on anyone who mishandled it: the Guide.

Of all the races in the Demon Realm, they followed and revered the Guide most faithfully. The reason? Simple. The First Demon Emperor had been a great demonic dragon. To others, he was a great emperor. To them, he was a great forebear—the pride of their race.

Their pride and arrogance left them incapable of compromise where the First Demon Emperor and the Guide were concerned. That was why Berge's rejection of both had caused such an uproar in the Demon Realm. Had he not descended into Arain immediately, almost as though driven out, the problem would have grown worse.

"He will find it all the more offensive because a fellow demonic dragon is rejecting the Guide. He will see Berge as a disgrace to their race."

Demonic dragons had no strong bond of racial kinship. Their individualism was extreme, even between parent and child. The honor of the Guide mattered far more than the life of a demonic dragon they barely knew.

"It was worth paying Grand Duke Alkain such a steep price."

He could not have chosen anyone better. Although interference currently prevented Dorche from exercising his full strength, once Jason supplied demonic energy points to release those shackles, he would surely make short work of Berge, who had only just entered his first dimension.

"But Lord Dorche is not favorably disposed toward you, my lord. Once he kills Berge, he seems likely to become a second Berge."

"I know."

Of course he did. Jason smiled.

"Do you know something? Even Lord Dorche took at least a dozen years to conquer a single dimension."

That was undeniably fast in itself, but compared to Berge's current pace, it fell woefully short.

"Berge is an unprecedented demonic dragon."

Dorche had also been the top graduate of the Demon King Military Academy. For demonic dragons, that was only natural. But Berge was the only one whose distinction had been prefaced with 'the best in history.'

"Berge Deias is the most exceptional of all demonic dragons."

The Demon King Military Academy vouched for that. And his current results proved it.

"In just two years, he has completely removed all interference. What other Demon King could accomplish that?"

He had not. But Jason, unaware that merging towers increased efficiency or that Berge had eaten Arain's Phoenix and dragon, could only think otherwise.

"Berge will not go down easily."

This was not mere speculation, but certainty. Even against Dorche, Jason could not picture Berge suffering defeat without being able to do anything.

"If the expedition led by Balaf Dislord fails to kill Berge, Lord Dorche will step in."

Dorche was a Demon King who faithfully followed the Guide. He would not violate it by interfering when humans attacked another Demon King's tower. But if Berge survived, he would act to execute the traitor.

"The battle will not end easily. They will wound each other."

And that would be the moment.

Jason swallowed the rest of his words. His eyes turned cold.

"But what happens if Balaf Dislord kills Demon King Berge? The demonic energy points you gave Lord Dorche will not come back, will they?"

"Left unchecked, he would become an even greater threat than Berge."

He would rampage like a madman, showing them how Demon Kings from dimensions other than Arain conquered worlds. That was certainly not what Jason wanted, but he was not particularly worried.

There was always a contingency.

"I have no intention of giving him enough demonic energy to remove all interference."

Only enough to bring him to a level Jason could control and handle.

"And if Balaf succeeds in killing Berge, he will become even more powerful."

With that power—

"It would only be natural for him to slay another Demon King."

Jason would merely offer a little assistance. To set the overturned board back in order.

"But suppose—just suppose," Aina asked cautiously.

"If Balaf Dislord slays not only Demon King Berge, but Lord Dorche as well, would he not become impossible to control?"

"The chances of that..."

He could not guarantee they were nonexistent.

"I know I am overstepping, but may I offer some advice?"

"By all means. I appreciate your advice."

"I understand that you have worked with Balaf Dislord for a long time and have benefited each other. But he is showing signs of slipping beyond your control, my lord."

Baring his teeth and growling at Jason, then killing Ugar because he had failed to catch Reina, were examples of that. Whom did he think he owed his easy growth to?

"Humans cannot be trusted. Keep doing them favors, and they mistake those favors for a right. Balaf Dislord takes your goodwill for granted, my lord. If he needs to, he will certainly betray you."

"Is that how you see it?"

"Yes."

"You are mistaken. What I offered Balaf was not goodwill, but a deal. It has been a fairly long-standing business relationship, one that satisfied us both quite well. Although the unforeseen factor of Berge has strained it somewhat..."

Not yet. Not yet.

"Of course, I cannot deny that Balaf has grown powerful. He is laboring under the enormous delusion that he accomplished everything on his own."

"Exactly. He will become the greatest obstacle to your grand undertaking, my lord."

"If Berge dies, he will."

"There are plenty of heroes. There may be no replacement for him at present, but we can certainly create one. Besides, do you not have a card you can use to dispose of him, my lord?"

"No."

Jason shook his head firmly.

"There is no hero who can replace him. Anywhere. That is why he—why Balaf Dislord is special."

"... Frankly, I do not understand why you are so fixated on Balaf Dislord."

"Aina. How long has it been since you became my adjutant?"

"Exactly 114 years."

"I appointed you after my previous adjutant was killed by a hero."

"Yes."

Normally, adjutants were assigned to Demon Kings by the Demon Realm. But that did not mean they could never be replaced.

"... Then you may not know. So I would simply like you to understand that Balaf Dislord is special."

"... Understood."

"Although things have diverged greatly from the original purpose, he has considerable value in another sense as well."

And perhaps—

"If things go well, we may even return to the original purpose. If he slays the Demon King of Hellfire and then Lord Dorche as well."

"What was that original purpose?"

"I suppose I could describe it as faithfully following the Guide."

Jason avoided a detailed explanation, but Aina asked no further questions. His eyes were chillingly cold.

* * *

"... An emergency summons?"

『Yes. The summons has gone out to everyone—the Guild's elders, the Argan, and even its mid-ranking officers.』

"Strange. As far as I know, the only person who can do that is..."

It was certainly an emergency. Hundreds of heroes had been wiped out by a Demon King, and Stars had died. Even if killing the Adamant Demon King had restored some of their shattered honor, those deep wounds would not vanish completely.

But humans were always inefficient. They would even risk their lives for authority or empty formalities. If an emergency summons was going to be issued, it should have happened long ago.

When the Demon King of Hellfire attacked the Empire. When hundreds of heroes lost their lives.

But it had not. Because only one person could issue an emergency summons to the entire Guild.

『... Yes. The Guildmaster has returned.』

And Hillen's prediction proved correct.

"... I will prepare and leave immediately."

The supreme leader of the Heroes' Guild, who had vanished for over a dozen years, had finally emerged from his long seclusion.