#092. The Demon Lord Extermination Party is Too Nice (6)

#092. The Demon Lord Extermination Party is Too Nice (6)

The Hero had lost everything.

Betrayed by the Saintess, her cherished comrade, whom she’d believed would follow her to the ends of hell, even if the entire world abandoned her.

Now, there was nothing in this world she could trust.

“Oppenheimer…”

From afar, the Saintess watched the Hero, tears streaming down her face.

Ian observed the Saintess, then turned away.

“Don’t you regret it?”

“I always do. It’s just that the burden of today feels a little heavier than that of other days.”

Gorgon gently patted Ian’s shoulder.

So many burdens for this small child to bear, all so she could live like a human with her mother.

The reality of tearing apart his heart to realize a life free from injustice and unfairness was too cruel, painful even to watch.

If it was this bad just to witness it…

How excruciating must it be to walk that path himself?

But the Dark Citadel was conquered.

Now, only one step remained until the Demon Lord.

Ascension to the Demon Lord’s Castle.

Unfortunately for the Hero, abandoned by the entire world,

For the Hero who wished that humanity would just die, ascending the Demon Lord’s Castle wasn’t so difficult for the current Demon Lord Extermination Party.

* * *

The Demon Lord’s Castle has a special gimmick.

The gimmick of “Retention” and “Forced Breakthrough”.

A structure that forces the abandonment of companions: if one party member is left in a room with enemies, the guardian of that room will allow the others to break through.

A scheme to diminish the Hero Extermination Party’s power.

To erode the solidarity of the Hero’s party.

A plot filled with malice from past Demon Lords.

However, the special gimmick of the Demon Lord’s Castle, painstakingly planned by the Demon Lord, was nothing more than a small trick, utterly useless against an army of 300,000.

“We can’t close the rooms!! The enemies are swarming!!”

“We can’t seal the paths!! Challengers keep flooding in!!”

The swarming army triggered a “Constant Forced Breakthrough” ruling.

No matter how many troops passed through, people kept remaining in the room.

And it wasn’t like everyone who followed after was necessarily falling.

There was more than one or two strong warriors in the Extermination Party capable of facing the strong individuals guarding each room of the Demon Lord’s Castle.

Sometimes in unit scale.

Sometimes as the strongest warriors of each unit.

For the legion commanders and Four Heavenly Kings-level strongmen who couldn’t be taken down by one or two strong warriors, they used elite forces composed of the Extermination Party’s most powerful.

Those who realized their turn had come chose the battlefield where they would fight and stopped.

All the strongmen within the 300,000-strong army could exercise their priority right to remain in the room that was ‘most advantageous’ to them.

“Hahaha! This is a truly exhilarating, rapid advance!”

“Great Warrior. Do not let your guard down. Right now, we are…”

“Having lost strength, but gained even more allies in its place.”

The Great Warrior gladly volunteered as a sacrifice.

Unlike the sacrifice of the hero and saintess, abandoned by the kingdom but forcibly pressed into forming the next hero party.

He was a ‘hero created’ for that sacrifice, thrust into the role against his will.

But even if it was a manufactured position, his desire to save the kingdom was genuine.

The greatest performance.

The greatest honor.

He had lost his original place, a position meant to satisfy the noble families, but his accomplishments within this great army were not insignificant.

Therefore, the Great Warrior wished for the subjugation to succeed.

That was why he could confidently resolve to hold back one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

“There is no place more perfect to raise Sodom’s reputation and take a position on the front line that pays off. Four Heavenly Kings. This time, you’re mine.”

Diego, a high-ranking adventurer from Sodom.

“For a saintess whose faith is her strength, my belief in humanity is stronger now than ever before. This place, the Benevolent Saintess Kasha will take it.”

The saintess of the Revolutionary Order.

“If there is a place for the beastfolk in the coming tomorrow, it is a place I will obtain through my own strength.”

Dracozar, the leader of the Beastfolk Alliance.

The other powerful figures were the same.

And so they reached the highest floor of the Demon King’s castle.

An entire floor arranged solely for the Demon King, the final battlefield where further retreat and reckless charges were impossible.

The Demon King stared at the enemies endlessly ascending to the battlefield with a bewildered expression.

One would have been pathetic.

Two would have been miserable.

Three would have been spirited.

Four would have been excellent.

Five would have been a worthy elite party.

Six would have been enemies one could genuinely look forward to.

But this, wasn’t a hundred thousand an underestimation?

How many should he count?

Even considering the forces garrisoned in the fortress guarding the path to the castle, and the residual forces to hold back the powerful figures in each chamber, this was far too many.

“Do not bother counting so hard. It is ten thousand strong.”

Ten thousand out of three hundred thousand.

Even the Demon King was overwhelmed by the force that participated in the final battle to subjugate him.

“For a kingdom, not even an empire, to send such a large force all the way to the Demon King’s castle… Is the king having a nightmare, perhaps?”

“Yes. A nightmare. The last nightmare of your life, from which you will never awaken after today.”

Teresa said, raising her greatsword high.

“Each unit. Prepare for Formation Type 1.”

The ten thousand strong army deployed into formation by troop type.

A sea of humanity.

The Grand Army’s fervor surged as one.

“A clash of arms is welcome, but I have awaited your arrival for so long. Amongst the vanguard of this subjugation force, is there not one soul who would parley with this Demon Lord before crossing blades?”

Ordinarily, a Demon Lord’s plea for dialogue was an extravagance, a gamble of precious time that drained the lives of brave subjugation team members and party members sacrificed to create an opening.

Thus, historical Heroes willing to pay the price of so many lives for a simple parley were exceptionally rare.

The Hero of this generation, for a slightly different reason—that he hadn’t even been granted command of the subjugation force—remained silent. It was only natural the Demon Lord felt disappointment.

“Is there not, even among this generation, a Hero with the mettle to be a conversation partner for one such as I, deemed the weakest of Demon Lords?”

His gaze was directed not at the true Hero, but at Teresa, the leader of the subjugation force.

“Time is plentiful enough. If you so desire, you are welcome to respond.”

Leaving the battle-ready army behind, Teresa acquiesced to the Demon Lord’s offer of parley.

“You, whose very existence is a sin. What is it that your foul mouth so desires to discuss?”

“I wish to plead my unjust plight.”

“Unjust plight?”

The Demon Lord wore an expression of genuine perplexity.

“I am a Demon Lord so weak, that I am called the weakest of all time. Driven from my homeland by the Empire’s potent technology, forced to the northernmost frontier, I am a mere shadow of my predecessors. If you truly believe this is due to my inadequacy, you are sorely mistaken.”

The Demon Lord’s battle spirit was astonishingly thin.

It was not the war-weariness of one facing a grand army.

“All demonic entities grow stronger through devouring. But I have refrained from doing so. I consume only the bare minimum of mana needed for survival, thus I do not grow stronger, and thus, I have become the weakest of Demon Lords.”

The most benign Demon Lord in human history.

That was how the Demon Lord introduced himself.

“Nonsense. A weak Demon Lord may exist, but a Demon Lord without malice does not. The slaughter wrought by the demonic army beneath you, the suffering of the humans in the north, are living proof.”

“That too, is a misunderstanding.”

The Demon Lord once again pleaded his innocence.

“My power is so immensely formidable that all demons willingly submit and gather to me, thus a host is formed despite my desires. However, due to my aversion to personal growth, my limited control inevitably leads to demons breaking free, and these are the incidents humans mistake for the Demon Lord’s invasions.”

Not an invasion orchestrated by the Demon Lord, but independent acts of rebellious elements beyond his control.

A rather anticlimactic confession, coming from the lips of humanity’s supposed archenemy.

“Then surrender, and place yourself in our custody.”

“I, too, am a being with free will, so why would I not desire freedom, burdened as I am with this cruel fate of war and slaughter? I do not desire a meaningless war, but neither do I wish to be locked away in a human prison, condemned to a life in a lightless cage.”

“You want neither this, nor that. Even my youngest daughter, Anna, is not as capricious as you.”

Anna, who had been clinging to the back of the centaur archer Nina even in the midst of the harsh battlefield, voiced her protest.

“Pickiness good! Veggies bad! Brainwashy oppa mean!”

Nina hastily clamped a hand over Anna’s mouth.

Of course, such an action did nothing to salvage the already shattered atmosphere.

The Demon Lord sighed.

“Even this young girl cries out for freedom, yet you silence her, forcibly stripping her of it. Is this the act that you humans have done and going to do?”

“Anna is growing. Consuming nutrients without bias is an important thing to do to growing kids! I brainwashed her with the intention of wanting her to grow healthy instead of ending up starving like I did!”

That Ronowe and Dracozar’s mental unbinding interfered with this, and Anna’s sporadic resistance occurred was regrettable to Ian.

That lightness, with laughter blooming, was cut short.

Too small to occupy the grand throne, the Demon Lord, as young as Ian, asked a question.

“Boy. If you will allow me, I would like to inquire. You have discoursed on the importance of growth. Yet I, who have foregone even a bountiful repast, choosing instead a path of austerity, am still being persecuted.”

“That’s true.”

“Even the most merciful Demon Lord of ages past would recoil from mankind as it is. I grow weary.”

“The moment my heart breaks, humanity will never again know a Demon Lord who seeks peace, and a desolate inferno spanning continents shall erupt anew.”

Peace maintained by the Demon Lord’s mercy.

“Do you truly desire the end of peace? Are you prepared to face a new Demon Lord, one born after the weakest, the most forgiving Demon Lord?”

Ironically, the Demon Lord’s weapon was humanity’s peace.

A heavy truth, indeed, that even hardened veterans, who had endured grueling marches and triumphed in countless battles, found their swords and spears trembling.

“If you are not prepared, then consider my proposal.”

Compared to that impending doom, the terms offered by the Demon Lord felt almost benevolent.

“I can subsist for the next decade on the essence of but a single human. Deliver unto me the most worthy among you, and I shall gladly endure the hunger, savoring the thought of such exquisite sustenance.”

Ten years of peace for the sacrifice of one.

The acquiescence of one Demon Lord brings peace to all of humanity.

This is the most efficient offering humanity could possibly devise.

“Let he who can truthfully call himself a Hero step forth before me. If I am satisfied, I shall remain silent until you have returned to your homeland and enjoyed sufficient glory.”

The Hero and the Demon Lord.

The Demon Lord, confined and weakened by the achievements of the subjugation force.

The dwindling ranks of the demonic horde.

The reality was simple.

The Demon Lord consumes a Hero as a sacrifice.

Empowered by the Hero’s essence, the Demon Lord’s control strengthens, preventing demonic incursions upon mankind.

When that enhanced control wanes from prolonged starvation, humanity dispatches a new sacrifice, the next Hero.

“A Hero… as a sacrifice?”

“To obtain… peace?”

All eyes turned to Theresa and Ian.

And then, to one other.

The final member of the Hero’s party.

‘Oppenheimer, the Hero of this age’ was the center of attention.

“Ian.”

Theresa, seeking guidance in this chaotic situation.

Ian could tell them to send the Hero.

That was one path to reach the game’s ending.

The subjugation battle that would repeat again in ten years.

And the sacrificial offering that would continue forevermore.

The ＜Normal Ending – Time Deferred＞ route.

The one who would abandon everyone, and thus be abandoned by all.

The Hero, enraged, cried out.

“I am the Hero. But do not think of me as a sacrifice. I shall slay you and grant humanity a new Demon Lord!”

The Hero, abandoning all of humanity before being abandoned himself.

Only one person stood in his path.

“Move.”

“I can’t.”

The one possessed by the greatest desire, unsatisfied with the Normal Ending, Ian stood before him.

The boy’s eyes glimpsed a path leading not to the normal ending, but to the true one.