My interracial harem of beautiful queens

Chapter 132 Azaroth

Varasima has fallen. This was the news that Avalonia's citizens woke up to, the moment they opened their eyes. From aristocrats to the homeless, everyone knew about it, and the fear of the demon had certainly escalated, which undoubtedly troubled them. At the same time, Adam was in the advisor's office.

He sat in his usual place, arms crossed over his chest, his brows furrowed. He was dressed in his usual, not even work attire, all in black - a black shirt, black trousers, and black shoes. Although it was a coincidence, the chosen color matched the mourning mood that prevailed in Fortengard. It seemed that overnight, all the citizens' positive outlook had disappeared, and the fall of Varasima and the tragic, horrifying death of the king was something even Adam dared not announce to the public.

"F**k, what a loss. I didn't expect him to die... didn't that bastard have any escape routes?" Adam mourned the loss of a potentially useful person, cursing the demons: "Damn! What does that idiot want? It's hard to believe that crazy Veronica doesn't like noise."

Raising his head, he looked at Elizabeth, who hadn't changed her expression even amidst this chaos, coldly examining the documents. Her eyelashes occasionally fluttered, and her eyebrows moved slightly, but it could be said that she was somewhat surprised. Standing up from his seat, Adam cracked his neck and approached her from behind, looking at the document in her hands.

"Hero Leonid and Hero Alphiris disappeared without a trace... Ha-a," the man sighed and grabbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

"Useless," Elizabeth muttered and leaned back in her chair.

Adam raised an eyebrow, looking at her, and was surprised to see irritation on her face, which was unusual considering her usual cold behavior. It seemed as if she didn't know any other emotions besides seriousness.

"What? You look surprised. Thought I had no emotions?" Elizabeth snorted, catching his gaze on her. She waved a sheet of paper in front of his face, expressing her displeasure, dropping the facade of the cold queen. "Take a look for yourself. A pitiful sight, huh? These idiots ran away as soon as they saw the demon army. And I've spent so much money on their development? Damn..."

Taking the report from her hands, the advisor, with eyes narrowed out of curiosity, began to scrutinize every word. With each line, his face became grimmer and grimmer, and his mood changed from annoyance to intense anger.

"What the hell, damn it?!" he cursed, and his demonic energy (miasma) burst out, tearing the document into tiny pieces, challenging even a shredder. "Why did they just run away?"

Heroes. In Adam's previous life, this word had many associations, but among those who enjoyed novels and light novels, there was one common association - a saintly soul. What did it mean? In any dangerous situation, the hero would rush forward, selflessly sacrificing themselves and their group members. Sometimes it reached absurdity, so some readers left comments like, "Fucking priest. Why do you give me some fucking psychological therapy during the fight?"

But these heroes... more reasonable, so to speak.

"No, something's not right," Adam thought, cooling his anger. He remembered his spell. "I washed Leonid's brain so thoroughly that he'd call horse shit a gift from above. What are the chances that this idiot would leave the battlefield of his own free will? Zero! But..."

He took the small strip of paper with the name written on it.

"Hero Alphiris... if we don't count the one who died in battle with the demons, he was the first hero," Adam mused, and Elizabeth nodded.

"Yeah. He was famous for his kindness and honesty, but a year ago, he returned after a mission in a strange state. It seems he fell into depression because his team died," Elizabeth muttered, recalling the report from a year ago. Then she frowned. "Back then, I didn't pay much attention to it because I had more important matters, but... it looks very suspicious."

"Bingo," Adam thought.

Recently... he has been having dreams. These are just small, insignificant fragments from the past, lacking much context. However, in these dreams, he saw a demon with a slender body and gray skin. That demon was saying something to him while holding a staff, apparently a magical one. He wore worn but still impressive armor, and his black sclera with black eyes looked straight into his soul.

"$@%!@."

However, he couldn't remember the words. Everything was hazy. But Adam wasn't upset; on the contrary, he felt joy. He was regaining lost memories of this body, which meant he could use his abilities twice as effectively.

"But now, there's another question at hand... or rather, the reason for such an act. And if my information is to be believed..."

Adam walked to his desk and retrieved archival documents from the drawers. After a brief search, he found a folder with files: "Here it is."

The folder had the label "Hero Missions." It contained over a hundred documents, so with furrowed brows, Adam opened it and began searching. Scrolling through document after document, he checked missions from the previous year and stopped at the penultimate document, seeing the name he was looking for.

"I found it. Alphiris was sent to the presumed sanctuary of the Second Prince of Chaos, Lucius," he muttered and frowned. "The Second Prince... he was known for necromancy and mind control. What are the chances that Lucius killed Alphiris and then resurrected him?"

"Unfortunately, the chances are not zero," Elizabeth replied, standing behind him.

"Yes, but didn't you notice the obvious, Lady Elizabeth?" Adam wondered, looking at her over his shoulder. "Do you not control everything around you, even your subordinates?"

"Is that what you think of me?" she said, snorting and turning away. Her long wavy hair swayed, and a delicate floral scent reached Adam. "Either way, during that time, it was difficult to see everything. Suddenly, there were disagreements among officials, chaos ensued, and protests. All my attention was on that."

Hearing this, Adam narrowed his eyes, feeling a strange premonition. He closed the folder and put it in the cabinet, then stood up.

"Well, that explains everything, although not completely. I'm sure all this chaos was also planned by someone clever, but who knows the extent of this mess," he muttered, cracking his knuckles. He narrowed his eyes and looked out of the window, where a good view of the sunset could be seen. "Measures need to be taken. The next stop for the demon army will be the vassal kingdom of Kiranis, and there are serious problems there. These guys don't have a good army at all, and it's a country on the brink of destruction due to corruption. Pathetic."

"I agree. I've already given orders to the elites, and we've temporarily halted military actions with Elfhelm," Elizabeth concurred, resting her chin on her hands. "It seems Amaria is facing problems as well. They say their chief elder disappeared suddenly and without reason. All the elves are searching for her."

"!!!" Adam felt his heart stop from worry as the news reached him. His breath became heavy, and inside, he felt a burning hope for something better, even with all the disappointment that might follow.

"A... and what was her name?"

"Uh... I don't know why you need this information, but she's quite well-known in the world. Her name is Iliantra, an amazing mage who can control nature."

***

Azaroth, the commander of demons and the first prince of Chaos. Most demons know about him when they enter the Coliseum, where the strongest demons fight for the title of "Strongest Demon." In the time since the Coliseum's existence, which has lasted for over two thousand years, Azaroth remains the only victor and currently holds the unofficial title of "Strongest Demon," a title that is challenged in the Queen's fanatical circles but is still respected by ordinary demons.

Throughout his life as a prince, Azaroth participated in two wars: a war against humans two hundred years ago and a war against humans a hundred years ago. Now, it was the third war, again against humans. Five hundred thousand demonic soldiers followed him, trampling every shoot and sapling in their path, making the world cry bloody tears. Their imposing aura frightened wild animals and creatures lurking in the darkness. The world discussed their movements, worrying about their future.

"How irritating..." Azaroth muttered, waving his hand and loudly ordering, "Army! Set up camp! Rest; today you've shown yourselves in a good light. Tomorrow morning, we'll continue at a faster pace!"

"Yes, sir!" the commanders and soldiers responded in unison.

Turning his horse, Azaroth moved away from the main army and found a place by the river. The location they were in was fertile. For the nearest five kilometers, there were only meadows with short grass and flowers. The place looked as if it belonged to paradise—a quiet and pleasant place.

"Finally, I'm here," he murmured, feeling the weight on his shoulders become much lighter.

"Hrrr"

The horse neighed and lowered itself onto the grass, sensing its owner's intent. Azaroth dismounted and landed on the ground. He gazed directly at the river, and upon examining his reflection in it, he reached into an inner pocket of his magically concealed armor and retrieved a green lamp. His pocket was something akin to Adam's [Inventory].

"Invezios," he muttered a mysterious word in an unknown language. Black miasma emanated from his body, covering an area within a 500-meter radius, obscuring the view from third parties. "At last... at last..."

Azaroth looked at his hand and the lamp, which trembled along with him. The cause wasn't his shaking hands, but rather a mysterious stone that had suddenly risen from the river. The stone was pale pink, resembling a gem, but its faint aura indicated that it was no ordinary stone.

"In ancient times, they ruled the world. Each of them possessed a power capable of changing the world, but for some unknown reason, they vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed."

With trembling hands, he grabbed the stone and then smiled. His smile was strange, almost twisted, but it carried sincere joy and admiration.

"The dragon race... this is the legendary dragon egg."

To be continued...