Chapter 69 – The Hero (Not) Arrives Fashionably Late

“Kkeueueueuk?!”

Beled couldn’t help but groan. The pain swelled, growing steadily. Unbelieving, he glanced at his own hand.

— *Eudeuk! Eujijik!!*

Surely his own body was far larger than this lowly being’s. So why was *his* hand the one being crushed? Why was *he* the one being pushed back?

He had to move. If he stayed still, those pesky ones would come swarming again. He tried to wrench himself free, but found he couldn’t budge. He was stuck, immobile.

The low-born creature clutching his hand was smiling. His hand still held fast. The sight filled him with such profound loathing that he strained harder, but freeing himself was still impossible.

“Yi, Yii!”

He was about to unleash the same roaring fury he’d shown the three humans, when he noticed something strange about the one facing him.

‘This scent? Could it be…?’

It was a familiar aroma. Blood. And the blood of demons, like himself.

“What have you done with Hagenti and Harphas?”

“….”

“I asked you! What have you done with Hagenti and Harphas?!”

“Ah. So that’s what those two were called. My apologies. It’s hard to remember all the extras’ names.”

Deus had carefully selected and sent them from hell. But from Deus’s perspective, they were merely extras, going from one to two, temporary, feint bosses, nothing more. Nothing less.

“Don’t worry. I split them in half and planted them in the ground.”

“Wh-what did you say?”

“One kept trying to regenerate. The other kept trying to absorb things.”

He wasn’t usually one for corpse-teabagging, but he’d make an exception this time. Forgive him.

At Deus’s impassive words, Beled felt his mind reel for a moment. Was this creature joking? Or was he trying to provoke him? Even if they were merely harbingers. Merely heralds. They were still Hagenti and Harphas. Even Beled himself found their combination to be quite troublesome. He would always win in casual spars, but he couldn’t guarantee victory in a fight to the death.

Subduing them both at once was difficult enough. Killing them was even more so.

And yet… what? He’d turned the two of them into four and planted them in the ground? As if they were crops?

‘…Damn! I was too careless!’

He’d been so focused on the one before him that he’d momentarily forgotten. There were still three more bothersome insects lurking about.

Belled turned his head, and his gaze instantly became one of utter bewilderment.

“W-what in blazes do these imbeciles think they’re doing?”

The three of them, a man and two women, were taking care of each other, preparing to retreat.

More precisely, the two women were escorting a perplexed man, conveying, ‘It’s best if we withdraw. What’s supposedly good for us is actually good for us if we’re not here.’

They weren’t about to launch a joint assault. On the contrary, they were entrusting everything to this man, while they themselves retreated.

Belled felt a profound humiliation at the sight. Daring to face him, and instead of swarming him like insects, they intended for this one lackey to fight?

“For lesser beings to think they can challenge someonе like—”

Unfortunately, his words were cut short.

—*SMACK!*

“Ugh!”

His face snapped to the right. His cheek instantly felt as though it had been ripped off, numb and stinging.

Stars filled his vision, his head swam, and for a fleeting moment, he even lost consciousness.

*What just happened?* Belled barely managed to right his head.

“There are stronger ones out there who can’t come here.”

“…?”

“So instead of the boss coming here, we have to go get the boss.”

“???”

“So what would you call the middle-tier guys who did show up?”

An easy skip. Deus grinned, opening his palm. Then he smacked Belled’s cheek again.

—*SMACK!*

“Ugh!”

*Crack!* Belled’s head snapped to the other side.

His face hurt, his neck hurt. Everything just hurt. But what pained him even more was the bruised pride of a demon who simply couldn’t comprehend the situation.

Reality crashed back. Two slaps. Only two, but fear bloomed quicker than anger.

This was like that time with the yellow eyes. That man. And the King!

“W-what is this even.”

“Don’t stammer.”

—*WHACK!*

He was slapped again, kindly, for stammering. Deus figured that since stammering was a result of being hit, another slap would snap him out of it, bringing him back to his senses.

After all, he’d learned from the ‘Old Codger’ himself, “You get your wits back when you get hit!” It made sense to him.

“U-uuh?”

Of course, getting hit didn’t restore his senses. It only made him more bewildered.

Deus clicked his tongue, looking at Belled, who continued to stammer, and then spoke.

“Let’s finish this quickly.”

I wasted way too much time on these two, it’s becoming an embarrassment to me.

*

“No! Wait! Fellow subordinates! Please, stop!”

“It’s alright, Lord Lansardorte. Trust us.”

“Princess Etendeal! Really, is this alright?”

Etendeal watched the demon receding into the distance. Then, gazing at Luciel and Nefertiti, who were dragging her away as if she were a criminal, she was overcome with dismay.

“Shouldn’t we be fighting together? Even if he is the Hero of the Cradle, this is a bit dangerous.”

Wouldn’t it be right to have numerical superiority to eliminate the demon more surely?

But the answer that came back only added to his confusion.

“We’ve done all we can. Any more would be a nuisance.”

“What do you mean…”

“No. Senior. Wouldn’t *we* be in danger, not just a nuisance?”

“Ah. That’s right. The President is being more realistic. If we stay there, we’ll be in danger, and so will Kyung.”

*Deus, that junior of mine, he’s such a good guy. A really nice person. It’s just that he changes when he goes into battle.*

From the way his eyes almost rolled back into his head when he was ordering them around, they’d learned the lesson: *’Ah. If a real fight breaks out, it’s best to run like hell.’* That was their story, anyway.

And indeed. Behered was in a miserable situation, left all alone.

— *SMACK!*

“Gah!”

The skin on his face tore open, and blood streamed down. Enduring the pain, he threw a fist of his own.

— *THUD!*

A decent impact resonated. If *his* hand could do this, the opponent couldn’t be unscathed.

But Deus only mumbled, “Spicy,” without particularly flinching or looking surprised. He simply tilted his neck lightly from side to side, cracking it a few times.

“If you have even a little bit of information that only *you* know…”

— *SMACK!*

“Kyak!!”

— *RIP!*

“Gah!”

“Answer.”

He wasn’t showing even a hint of mysterious techniques or terrifying skills.

When Behered attacked, he simply took it. He allowed everything, continuously driving the massive demon back and back, only with the act of slapping his cheek.

“Ugh… Argh!”

Floundering, Behered desperately tried to counterattack.

As one of the top demons in Hell, he was supposed to display his power.

But each time stars flashed before his eyes, those thoughts were chopped off in chunks.

*What am I even doing right now? Ah. I’m getting hit. So why am I getting hit? That’s right. I was doing just fine in Hell not long ago. Why am I getting slapped by a lower life form?*

— *SMACK!*

— *SLAP!*

“Ugh.”

“Erg… Ugh!”

He was getting hit so much that his mind was going in and out. *Am I not a demon? Is *he* the demon?*

*Am I dreaming? Maybe I dozed off during an audience and the King is scolding me?*

“Answer.”

When his head snapped around again, the survival instinct within him slowly began to stir.

This wouldn’t do. He couldn’t win. No, beyond winning or losing, resistance itself was impossible.

Where did this guy even come from? *Fly*, or that *man*. Someone on *that* level would be someone he could try to contend with.

Even they might have a hard time, if he was being honest. *The King*. Yes, only the King could face this monster.

“This… this can’t be. Why, why in the hell…!”

It was infuriating. For the past while, they’d sent out the beasts they’d raised to parse this world, to fully understand it, and to even predict its potential for growth.

Even then, just in case things went sideways, they’d only gathered energy through the beasts. And when the growth seemed to stagnate, they’d immediately dispatched the vanguard to collect even more energy.

The plan had been perfect. All the demons had agreed, convinced there wouldn’t be a hitch.

Then *this* irregular beast shows up. They hadn’t even dreamt that a demon more demonic than demons could be born.

“Who knows? Maybe…”

“It’s all because of you lot.” Deus gave his shoulders a shrug, tapping Belled’s head a few times.

The world had a balance. It was fair when they sent only monsters, but then demons came along, tilting things to one side. So, to restore that balance, the world decided to insert some sort of device.

It just so happened that this device was Deus – this human.

“Don’t be too bitter. It might take a while, but this time, we’ll head over there.”

Deus had already mapped out the next move.

Because of him, the demon arrival event had twisted into something… off. They couldn’t come over anymore.

So, was he just supposed to shrug and say, “Oh well, guess that’s it”? Of course not. If they couldn’t come here, he’d just have to go there. That’s how a story continued, wasn’t it?

He already had the perfect candidates picked out, and knew just the right name.

‘When we get back, Chairman, let’s start a new club. Our club intro blurb can be like this.’

The demons’ abode. Hell. If they were going there, then naturally…

Join! The Hell Divers.