Chapter 85 – For What Comes Next

“I will now begin the meeting.”

At the man’s words, suppressed groans echoed from every corner of the dark, cavernous space.

Normally, someone would have issued a warning, but this time, no one did.

And why would they? In just a matter of months – what amounted to barely days in their reckoning – a multitude of their comrades had failed to return.

“First, as per the conclusion reached some time ago, all paths leading here have been severed.”

“Haa. We made the decision, but thinking about it again, it’s agonizingly wasteful.”

“Pointless worry. We can always remake them anyway.”

“Remake them, sure. But that’s more energy down the drain, you imbecile.”

They seemed to have quieted down, but were already bickering and fighting again.

The man watched them for a moment, sighing, before lightly swinging his fist.

–KWAANG!

“Everyone, quiet down. If an unforeseen situation has arisen, the least you could do is cooperate, not fight amongst yourselves!”

“That b*stard provoked me first. Are you telling me to just endure it?”

“Please, just stop there.”

Damned fools. Even the ones who were supposedly skilled couldn’t make it back, and they want to act like this.

Fighting the urge to bury his face in his hands, the man continued.

“For now, we will not cease sending the beasts.”

“They aren’t gathering as well as they used to, though?”

“Even so, we cannot plan for the future without them.”

Everything was twisted. In a devastating manner. What was the reason for sending the beasts all this time?

To meticulously confirm the level and growth of the world’s energy gathering. It was part of a plan to analyze their exact strength through the beasts and determine when to fully mobilize.

Originally, everything was perfect. When they became complacent, assured by the beasts, the vanguard would have gone in.

Thus, an enormous amount of energy would be collected in an instant, and through it, more powerful beings would be sent to gather even more energy, ultimately leading to everyone crossing over. That was the picture that had been drawn.

But what was this? The vanguard had fallen, and all the demons sent after them had failed to return.

In the midst of it all, even Astaroth, a powerful figure among the demons, albeit one who acted independently, had gone completely silent.

‘What is happening to the situation?’

‘Damn it. If I knew this would happen, I would have stolen some energy.’

‘I’m doomed. How much longer must I stay in this tiresome place with these disgusting creatures?’

‘Ah. This sucks. Just die, all of you. Hehehe.’

While all sorts of demons were preoccupied with all sorts of other thoughts.

“…”

The man leading the meeting continued to rub his forehead, deep in thought.

“Damn it. Anything beyond this is truly arduous.”

Unable to gather energy like before? It’s alright. Another solution will present itself someday.

Demons constantly raising a ruckus? That too can be endured. When were they ever quiet?

What’s truly driving the man mad now isn’t the energy, nor the foolish antics of those demon b*stards.

The Royal Decrees have ceased to descend. More precisely, the age-old command that had always been maintained has ended.

[ Gather energy and offer it to me. And guide this body to a new world. ]

That was the end. From that day forth, the King issued no further commands.

At first, he didn’t pay it much mind. Until just recently, he’d simply accepted it.

For like other demons, their King possessed an extremely reclusive nature.

Even the man himself, the most frequently summoned, was only called upon once every few years.

Thus, even after the final Royal Decree, when the King ceased to appear, he figured he’d be summoned again someday.

However, when the vanguard dispatched for more energy fell meaninglessly and utterly…

When the King’s personal stratagem, dispatched to the abyss, failed and never returned…

When numerous other demons crossed the gate, and yet none returned…

‘The King… remains silent.’

No, he now wonders if it’s even still his choice to keep the silence.

Could something have happened? Should he investigate? But how? No one can enter the King’s domain without leave…

The only ones who can enter the King’s domain are those whom the King permits, when he opens the gate.

Or when the King himself opens the gate and emerges, but that is ancient history and entirely meaningless.

The situation is grim. Whether he shows himself directly, or summons me with a Royal Decree as before.

Some action needs to be taken for those demon b*stards to feel at ease, but thus far, no sign has been sent.

“Let us conclude this meeting here.”

“Hmph. This is the problem. Nothing ever goes right.”

“If you cooperated, it might be better than it is now?”

“Shut it.”

I wish they’d all just vanish. The man sighed once more, clasping his forehead.

Thus, the demons filling the pitch-dark space disappeared entirely.

All that remained was the man and the yellow eye that hadn’t moved since before.

“…Aren’t you leaving?”

Perhaps it has something left to say. It has good instincts, so perhaps it has sensed something.

The man watched the yellow eye with half expectation, half apprehension.

“Shhh.”

As if conversing with someone right beside him, the yellow eye gestured for the man to be quiet.

He wondered what it was suddenly doing, but its expression was so serious that the man obediently closed his mouth and watched the yellow eye.

“…Hmm.”

A short while later, the yellow eye let out a hum and continued, thanking him for waiting.

“It seems as though a path is opening up.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just got word from that damned woman. Astaroth, that is.”

Word? She sent word? How is that possible? All paths and gates have been cut off…

The man stared, a silent “Are you out of your mind?” hanging in the air. Yellow Eyes scratched the back of his head.

“Truth is, that damned woman and I, we’ve scrapped quite a bit from way back.”

“Indeed. And I was always the one pulling you two apart.”

“We might’ve stopped in front of you, but that couldn’t be the end of it, could it? So we even set up a kind of ritual space, just to keep the bickering going.”

“…”

These crazy b*stards. They went to all that trouble just to argue? Were they truly out of their minds?

As disbelief deepened on the man’s face, Yellow Eyes quickly steered the conversation elsewhere.

“Anyway. Thanks to that, we managed to get in touch, however faintly.”

“What’s Astaroth saying? Is she perhaps mentioning when the other demons are coming?”

“Something like that. More precisely, she says she’s made some kind of opening, so we could send a few of the ones good at hit-and-run tactics.”

Hit-and-run, huh? The man mulled that over, turning it over and over in his mind.

Astaroth, who loathed anything troublesome and always preferred a straight-up fight.

She’d always been strong, but that’s how she got even stronger. Not through effort, but thanks to her blasted laziness.

‘So that’s why he hates Astaroth so much.’

Looking at Yellow Eyes, the man kept wrestling with his thoughts.

“Taking a long time to think. Is this something that needs so much deliberation?”

“It does. We’ve already severed all the paths, and to remake them, we have to further divide our remaining energy. And if, by chance, we achieve nothing, it becomes a waste. More than that, we need to consider how that entity, ‘Dawn,’ might exploit that path.”

“Even considering all that, the fact that we need to gather energy in some way remains unchanged.”

“…Yeah. That’s true as well.”

Sadly, there’s no room to weigh everything. Our energy is already on the verge of depletion.

The thorough planning has become poisonous like this. If we had some room, it would’ve been good, but it wasn’t that plentiful, so it was set up perfectly.

When to send the beasts, when to send the vanguard for the first time. And after that, who to send if support is needed, and finally, who to send to deal with the last resistance forces. Things like that.

If Astaroth has really found a new method, and if we can move, avoiding ‘Dawn,’ then we might be able to escape this grave situation.

“If we can do as Astaroth says?”

“Establishing a foothold. A large-scale invasion like before would be difficult, but we can obscure our attacks by sending more beasts.”

“Conversely. If things go awry?”

“We waste the beasts, and our energy, which was already precarious, will run out completely.”

“The worst-case scenario?”

“The possibility that Astaroth has been swayed by the enemy.”

Neither the man who spoke the last words, nor Yellow Eyes who heard them, regarded them as particularly important.

Astaroth surrendering? Was that even possible? It was unimaginable to see that cursed woman bowing to anyone.

She must have gritted her teeth to escape and barely survive, and sent her opinion to move like this.

In that case, the only thing they can ultimately choose is one.

“It’s a complete gamble, then.”

“We’re demons, so I think we should at least do this much.”

“What a shitty situation.”

There’s no turning back now. We can only move forward, looking ahead.

Whether there’s a new path there, or a cliff.