Tsuyokute New Saga (LN)

Book 9: Chapter 6

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The castle that was known as the Demon Lord’s Castle among the humans stood atop a giant deformed rock. Surprisingly enough, it didn’t look all that different from humanfolk castles from the outside. At the base of it was a town, regarded as the biggest in all of the demon territory. Right now, Seran and his group were inside this town, resting inside a building owned by Flame-Eye.

“Not even your capital has a name? For the time being…how about Demon Capital?” Urza gazed outside the window and thought about this and that.

There were a lot of demons walking through the streets, but it was quite different from what she expected.

“There aren’t many pure demons around, are there?”

Not too many had horns growing from their heads.

“Is that a goblin? I’ve never seen one before,” Lieze said as she sat next to Urza.

The goblin was only a third of a human’s regular size, being part of a half-demon race together with orcs and kobolds. Because of their stature, their strength wasn’t anything to write home about, and their intelligence wasn’t any different than that of a human, but they were used to handling labor work. And although you never saw them anywhere in the human territory, they practically filled this town.

“How many demons exist out there, anyway?”

Seran looked down at the town as this question popped up in his mind.

“I don’t know the exact numbers, but…There should be at least a thousand in this town.”

“So in total?”

“At least more than ten thousand, I would assume.” Yuriga said without giving it much thought.

However, just hearing that rough number left the three humans in shock. A single demon could handle their own against a hundred soldiers or more. So if all the demons, under the Demon Lord’s orders, attacked humanfolk…Even Seran felt a shiver run down his spine at the thought of that.

“…You seem to be under the wrong impression there. Not all demons are born fighters. Especially this current generation that hasn’t experienced the war 300 years ago,” Yuriga said with a sigh.

Some demons lived for the fight, but others possessed abilities that didn’t relate to fighting. But even if what Yuriga said is true, it wasn’t enough of a reason to feel reassured. Because even if these demons weren’t natural-born fighters, they still were participating in the [Great Invasion], at least according to what Kyle told them. Surely, witnessing that must have been hell.

He said they were practically bloodthirsty and hungry for death. So the one who made them turn out like that was the black-winged demon, huh?

Seran asked Kyle for details a while ago, and just the sheer absurdity of it all created an impression. In order to stop the [Great Invasion] before it could happen, they had to stop the Demon Lord.

“As long as Luiza-sama is around, you won’t have to worry about it.”

“I know, of course. So, about our plans from here on. How do we get in there? We’re not gonna barge in through the front door, are we?”

“There’s an underground passage not currently in use, so we’ll use that to get inside.”

“And you’re sure they aren’t extremely cautious of such a secret entrance?”

“Since they haven’t been in the castle for long, there’s a good chance they aren’t aware of this entrance…Of course, that’s half wishful thinking.”

“Well, I’ll be sure to look into that,” said Poison-Needle, interrupting the conversation between Yuriga and Seran, as a bee danced around the tip of her finger. “I already had some of my children check inside. Now I know what’s going on.”

The bee on her finger flew toward the castle. A bee this small could enter just about any building without a soul realizing, and since Poison-Needle shares the bee’s senses, her ability was especially useful for reconnaissance. By spreading these bees across the territory, she didn’t have to take a step outside her beehive to be completely caught up with everything happening.

“First is the location where they’re keeping Luiza-sama.”

“Then we’re starting with the first place…” Yuriga suggested a location, as Poison-Needle began her search.

“Oh yeah, I remembered. Your ally…Kyle, was it? You said he was coming over, but will he make it in time?” Flame-Eye asked but shook his head.

“It’ll take two to three more days. Especially because he’s not familiar with the territory and he has to keep hidden. We’re keeping in contact through a magic item, but we can’t fill him in on every detail.”

“That’s a shame.”

“We could wait for him to be here before we strike, but…”

“That’s probably not a good idea. We won’t know how the situation will be after that time.”

Just as Flame-Eye said, the new Demon Lord’s rule is still uncertain. It was now or never.

“I’m aware…so once we’re prepared, we strike tonight. And for that, we need to figure out where they’re keeping Luiza…”

“Ah, I found her,” Poison-Needle interrupted Seran.

“R-Really?! How is she?! Is she hurt?!”

“H-Hey, relax a moment!” Yuriga grabbed Poison-Needle’s collar. “Well, she’s not moving, so she’s probably not conscious. And she’s tied up with chains as far as I can tell. Guarded, too. Three people.” Poison-Needle explained while putting one finger on her forehead.

“We must save her right now!” Yuriga immediately got a grip and kept on listening.

“What else…The entrance to the underground passage is still the same, with no sights of a guard. Well, I don’t think there’s many people around in the castle to begin with. It seems like getting in there will be child’s play,” Poison-Needle sighed to herself in disappointment. “That said, it does seem…a bit unnatural.”

“Still, well done. As expected of the best news source in the whole territory.”

“Praising me won’t get you anything, okay?” Poison-Needle brushed off Flame-Eye’s praise.

Seran felt a doubt pop up in his mind and asked it.

“Then I’ve got a question. That envoy with a supposed creepy laugh you mentioned…Targ, right? What do you know about him?”

The second Targ’s name popped up, Poison-Needle’s expression changed.

“Since you know that name, you must have made his acquaintance before, right?”

“Something like that…”

Seran subconsciously caressed the leftover wound on his left arm. Poison-Noodle stated that she had only heard about him and began explaining.

“I heard he worked under the Demon Lord active during the war 300 years ago. I think his duty was to assassinate any strong warriors amongst humanfolk, all in secret.”

“That happened? Not even I knew of that…But why was it done in secret?” Flame-Eye seemed surprised since she wasn’t informed about that.

“It’s simple. Many of the strong humans said to have been defeated by the former Demon Lord were actually assassinated by Targ.”

“That…Well, it probably sounds better for morale if the leader did the heavy work,” Flame-Eye nodded.

“And so, he’s basically rushed to the point of having glory and fame, except his name was kept under wraps and nobody knew of his existence. If Three-Arms was the public hero, he was the monster moving in the shadows.”

“So he was someone like that…” Yuriga remembered how she could barely do anything in her battle against him.

Hearing that he was on the level of Three-Arms definitely made things a lot clearer.josei

“After Luiza-sama’s father passed away and she ascended the throne, I didn’t hear any more stories about him. So imagine my surprise when he showed up, working under the new Demon Lord.”

“Right…Then I’ve got one more question. And that one’s even more important…Just who is that black-winged demon?”

Everyone present swallowed their breaths, waiting for Poison-Needle’s response.

“Who knows? I sure don’t.”

“Oh, don’t give me that crap! There’s no way you of all people wouldn’t know!” Flame-Eye was more shocked than anybody else.

She must have had a deep trust in Poison-Needle’s network of information.

“But I really don’t know. If they were someone who had built up fame before, I’d definitely have been aware, but it really seems like they just appeared out of nowhere,” said Poison-Needle, herself not fully accepting this result. “Considering he managed to bring Targ under his control, as well as the dragon, we definitely can’t take him lightly.”

“Is that dragon present in the castle?” Irumera asked.

Her main reason for following the group was the dragon Juvars, after all.

“Don’t think I ran across him on my search…Why? Are you curious about him?”

Since Poison-Needle didn’t know that Irumera was a fellow dragon, she was probably confused as to why a human would care this much.

“Sure is, but let’s leave that aside for now. Do we know where that black-winged demon is hiding?” Seran spoke up.

“I didn’t spot him during my first tour. Should I look around some more? That’d run the risk of us getting spotted, though.”

Seran thought about Poison-Needle’s offer for a moment but eventually shook his head. Any information on that winged demon would be extremely valuable, and a part of Seran hoped they could just strike him down right here and now. But their goal this time was solely centered around saving Luiza, so avoiding any sort of battle was probably the best choice. Plus, Yuriga and the others probably wouldn’t agree otherwise.

“We have to get Luiza out of there, the rest we can put on the backburner. Now that we know where she’s being kept, we’re heading out tonight. Sounds good?”

Everybody nodded.

“All right. Then I’ll go take a nap and prepare for later. I’ll be using a room in the back,” Seran said and sighed the second he left the room. “I swear, this kind of job just isn’t for me. I’m impressed Kyle could keep this up for days on no end.”

Seran felt awfully exhausted from this unfamiliar work of taking the lead and quickly dozed off.

***

After the sun had fallen, Seran walked through the demon capital. He was checking up on their escape route. Their plan was to escape the capital immediately once they succeeded in freeing Luiza, for which Yuriga and the other demons would guide them, but you never know how things might end up, so he had to see it with his own eyes at least once. He wasn’t familiar with this kind of work but had to confirm it nonetheless.

Seran wasn’t sure about just walking around town as the human that he was, but after discussing this matter with Yuriga, she had no problem. Demons varied greatly in terms of size, but usually, they were similar to humans and didn’t look all that different. As long as he didn’t run into someone he knew, nobody would find out. Even so, he made sure to put on a hood, but after stepping out, he didn’t seem to catch anyone’s attention.

They really don’t pay attention to the small details. Call it a lack of diligence, I guess. But, something just doesn’t feel quite right.

After walking for a while, Seran had that feeling fill him. Of course, he didn’t know what this town was usually like, but considering the population they had here, he expected the streets to be a lot more lively than this. Although he did hear demons discussing the uncertain future here and there. It seemed like a lot of them were just as confused.

“…If everything works out and we save Luiza, we’ll be out by tomorrow. By then, the streets will be empty, I bet.”

Creet was walking with Seran and explained the layout of the town, giving a reluctant but detailed explanation.

“Yeah, seems like there won’t be an issue with our escape.”

“Then let’s head back.”

“…I’m gonna walk around a bit more.”

Things were about to get hectic, but Seran still wanted to relax just a bit more.

“Got it. But don’t be too late,” said Creet as he probably judged there shouldn’t be any problem even though Seran was a human walking around.

Walking a bit further, he spotted a bar but devoid of any music. Despite there being people inside, it felt lonely. Still, there was one place bristling with life—the arena. It couldn’t compare to the massive arena established in the Galgan Empire, but it was still a proper arena. Coming closer, he still heard the distant sound of fighting, paired with cheers. It was probably a fight between demons, or demonic beasts, which were watched by the audience. Just hearing those sounds tickled Seran’s fighting heart. And so, with horrible luck, or maybe as a blessing in disguise, he ran into the demon with two swords, who appeared from a back alley.

“Ah…”

Seran could only let out a dumbfounded comment like that. But there was no talking out of it since their eyes had met already. That said, the other party seemed to have been taken by surprise as well, making an equally shocked expression as Seran was. Things turned out incredibly awkward for a moment, so Seran tried his best to find a way out of this. After all, he was clearly at a disadvantage now. Of course, he wouldn’t mind the actual fight, but this wasn’t an opponent he could beat in a matter of minutes. Luckily, no people were walking down the street right now, but a fight of their scale would surely attract attention until they were surrounded by demons. And Seran certainly couldn’t put their whole operation in jeopardy just for that.

Of course, if the situation demanded it, he had no shame in running away, but that would attract attention as well. A crowded human town might be a lot more forgiving, but not in such a tranquil place like the demon capital. As Seran remained unmoving, the demon just sighed and averted his gaze to walk away.

“Wha…?!”

Was it just on a whim, or was there a bigger scheme looming behind this action? Seran didn’t know, but it was without a doubt convenient for him. Yet, Seran continued to press further, using excuses like preventing whatever the demon was plotting.

“Hey, what’s that attitude for?!”

Seran called out to him, and the demon turned around to give him an exasperated look like he was telling him not to speak to him.

“You don’t understand that I let you go?”

“…So we’re not gonna fight here?”

The feeling of being looked down upon was not to Seran’s liking, but he swallowed his anger as the demon continued.

“People will get in the way. I’d love to kill you but with my own strength. Nothing will work out if we fight here.”

“You’re so weirdly uptight.”

This was their second meeting, and yet Seran understood what a weirdo he was.

“You came here to save that woman, right? Then I can just wait for you there.”

“I’m not going in there knowing full well it’s a trap.”

That was a lie. Even if it was a trap, he had to go no matter what.

“Rest assured, I didn’t tell the others about you. And I’m the only one staying next to that woman…So inside the castle, we’ll be able to fight as much as we want.”

“You wanna fight me that badly…?” Seran couldn’t believe his ears and decided to make an offer he knew the demon would decline.

“Then why don’t you just follow us? If you help us get Luiza to safety, Kyle and I will fight you as much as you want.”

The demon stopped in his tracks and looked at Seran. Clear hesitation flared up in his eyes, which surprised even Seran.

“No, that won’t do.”

Seran wanted to retort that this silence was awfully long, but he remained quiet.

“Can’t help it then. But I have to ask…Why stick with him? Is it your sense of duty that you stay with the black-winged demon?”

Seran figured he could at least tickle some information out of the demon as he lined up next to him.

“…It’s simple. That black-winged one is stronger than Three-Arms, and I can’t beat him. Hence, I follow his orders. And as a condition, I asked to fight you people.”

Yet again, Two-Blade showed a righteous answer. Following the strong is the natural thought process for a demon.

“So that dragon is following you guys for the same reason?”

“…I have no reason to tell you that much.”

“Oh, don’t be like that. We’re gonna fight to the death soon enough, so let’s tell each other a bit more about ourselves, yeah?” Seran casually said, but Two-Blade didn’t seem too excited about that. “Plus, you’re not 100% sure you can beat me, right?”

“True. But I have no intention of telling you more,” Two-Blade spoke that far and started walking again.

“Oh yeah. I never even got to hear your name,” Seran said.

“I’ll tell you once you win,” Two-Blade responded without turning around.

“Seriously, this whole thing is just a mess. I wanna start cutting down some demons instead.”

Seran watched Two-Blade’s back distance itself as he remembered their earlier conversation and sighed.