“Ha, I surrender! I surrender!”
Burman and the other knights shouted as soon as Kan appeared.
The soldiers lost their will to fight, already exhausted.
Moreover, the opponent was Kan, who had fought equally with Kyleen in the heart of the Empire.
Although it was a rumor, he was a terrifying being who had even summoned a dragon, so the fight was pointless.
As all the human soldiers threw down their weapons and lowered their bodies, Kan nodded his skull.
“It’s good that you’re not wasting unnecessary energy.”
He gave orders to the orc soldiers to bind the three knights.
He intended to drag them to the dungeon.
“Chwiik! Walk properly, human!”
“Ahh, ah! It hurts! S-slow down!”
At the same time, he released Sofien, who had been captured.
Her white nun’s robe was tattered, like a dirty rag, and her tearful expression was on the verge of breaking down.
Kan paused for a moment, then raised his thumb and spoke.
“I told you I would save you, right?”
If she had been imprisoned in the Empire, he had planned to exchange the three knights for her.
Thanks to them delivering Sofien right in front of him, he had saved one more card to use.
“Waaaah!”
Sofien burst into tears and struck Kan with her small fists.
“Why did you cause such a ruckus in the middle of the empire, making me suffer like this! Why! Why, why?!”
“….”
Kan, receiving the punch barrage like a massage, gestured to the orc soldiers.
The quick-witted orc soldiers dragged Sofien out of the dungeon.
“Ahem.”
Kan cleared his throat awkwardly and walked through the monsters who had surrendered, just like the human soldiers.
Rodon, covered in wounds, gasped and glared, but Kan paid him no mind.
The only one who had business with him was the Demon King.
“Shall we talk privately?”
Damon quietly looked up at Kan.
At first, he was embarrassed by the statement that Kan had not come to save the dungeon, but after seeing the casual interaction with the nun, he realized.
This skeleton is soft, just like his master, Rupia.
…If things go well, this might work out without problems.
With that thought, Damon nodded in agreement, and Khn glanced around the dungeon.
“Well, I’d prefer a quiet space where it’s just the two of us.”
“Grrr! You bastard, Death Knight! What do you—!”
When Rodon shouted angrily, Damon casually waved his hand and said,
“Rodon, I’m fine. Succubus, you all stay here.”
He turned his back first and gestured to Kan.
“…This way.”
The underground corridor of the dungeon was decorated with black marble and golden candles.
Intricate Gothic arches filled the ceiling, and the faint light flickered, adding a chilling oppressive air.
Kan was once again reminded of how shabby Rupia’s dungeon was.
Soon, their steps halted in front of a lavishly decorated door.
Where Damon led them was a space only permitted to the Demon King and his consort.
It was the bedroom.
Here, Damon’s charm, a power of fascination, spread like steam from a hot spring.
It was literally Damon’s private room.
“Bedroom… well, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
Kan looked around the bedroom as if he were sightseeing.
As Kan’s steps neared the bed, Damon took a step toward him and slightly lowered his horned head.
“First, thank you for saving the dungeon.”
His tone had completely changed from his previous high-handed attitude to one full of politeness.
He slightly blushed and looked up at Kan from below.
This was a highly sophisticated charm designed by Damon.
He showed a side of himself that was never visible in front of the monsters who followed him, inflating the other’s ego and making them believe they were a special existence.
“As I said before, I didn’t come to save you.”
As Damon, the Demon King, adopted a submissive stance, Kan spoke politely in return.
Damon smiled faintly. Kan was clearly feeling awkward.
“I would also like to express my gratitude to your master, Demon King Rupia. I didn’t know there was still such kindness in the Demon Realm.”
“As I said, I didn’t come to save you. Now, let me state my demands…”
At the word “demands,” Damon’s eyes lit up.
The opportunity had come.
If he applied his charm, Damon could turn even a skeleton’s entire body into an erogenous zone.
He naturally released his magical power and spoke.
“So, you have a request, I see. I’d like to return the favor, and since the location is the bedroom… If you’re okay with it…”
“Hey.”
Kan’s short word cut through the silence.
“…?”
Startled, Damon closed his mouth and blinked.
“Why do you keep repeating yourself? Didn’t I tell you I didn’t come to save you, you cow?”
This was the behavior Kan hated the most.
“C-cow?”
Damon, who was trembling with disbelief, suddenly flushed and changed his expression.
At the moment when the power of fascination was about to pour into Kan like an arrow of rage.
Puh-ack.
“Keugh!?”
Kan punched him in the solar plexus.
He hit so hard that Damon’s body jerked, and he convulsed slightly.
The fallen Damon looked up at Kan with a look of disbelief.
What he saw was only the terrifying knight who had severed Rodon’s front paw in the past.
Not even a hint of fascination worked on him.
“If you interrupt me one more time, the disgrace your master, the Demon King, suffered—being beaten by a lower monster—will be something you’ll experience in the same way.”
“…!”
Damon coughed and covered his mouth with his hand.
Only then did Kan take out the paper imbued with magic.
“Here are the terms. Read it.”
Damon slowly read the contents of the contract in a voice full of hesitation.
“Damon Karkis of the Demon King’s Army will be incorporated into the second legion of the Rupia Hon Derbil Balotus Demon King’s Army, and the dungeon’s revenue will be shared…”
Damon’s voice gradually faded, and by the end, it had completely disappeared.
Only shock remained on his face.
There were no words like “merger,” but it was essentially telling him to hand over the Demon King’s army and the dungeon.
Kan added an explanation as if to clarify.
“There can’t be two Demon Kings in one army, so Damon, I’ll give you the position of commander of the 3rd legion in the Balotus Demon King’s Army.”
Legion 1 was led by Lord Rupua, and Legion 2 was Kan’s.
Only then did Damon realize.
The Death Knight in front of him, Kan, didn’t see him as a Demon King.
He had never seen such a monster before. His heart was racing.
Even the proud Lauro, in front of him, maintained formality, but Kan showed no basic respect whatsoever.
‘No matter how bad the situation is for us, how dare a monster…!’
Seeing Damon’s stunned reaction, Kan, as if not caring, continued.
“Instead, the dungeon’s management rights will remain with you. Also, until this dungeon is restored, our Demon King’s Army will take responsibility for protecting it. I’ll do it myself.”
“Ah, even so, this…”
Damon gulped nervously and looked at him pitifully.
Kan smirked.
“If you don’t like it, you can start from scratch, with nothing. Your master, whom you mocked, started with three goblins and a golem.”
Damon tightly closed his trembling eyes.
As expected, Kan had been holding onto that card.
“C-can I have a bit more time to think about it…?”
“You’d better decide quickly. If you’re covered in wounds and reek of blood, hungry beasts will start to gather around you.”
Kan put the contract on the table and turned to leave.
Damon, left behind, sat miserably like a jilted man.
Just before stepping out the door, Kan turned his head slightly.
His deep, dark eye sockets weren’t looking at Damon’s misery but at something else.
Before leaving the corridor, I glanced back at Damon, who had been verbally assaulted and slapped.
The pitiful Demon King, shivering and sobbing.
But what I saw in my eye sockets wasn’t that.
I saw his trembling in pleasure, his face flushed, recalling the pain from earlier.
I looked up at his status window.
[Daemon Karkis]
[Detailed Traits]
Sadism (E), Masochism (E)
Daemon has a sadistic instinct that brings pleasure from hurting and trampling others, but paradoxically, he also has a masochistic tendency, deriving pleasure from being trampled by someone stronger than himself.
In other words, he’s a pervert who enjoys being dominated and trampled by someone stronger.
It seemed he didn’t even realize this from the confused reaction he showed.
No one had dared to lay a hand on him, the noble Demon King.
Perhaps this was his instinct waking up after getting hit by me.
…This should be enough, right?
To use this person’s traits, I added a little emotional weight to torment him.
It would likely influence his decision.
I shook off the distracting thoughts and continued walking down the corridor.