The red sky of the Demon Realm was blanketed in black.
What covered the sky were swarms of wyverns belonging to the dragon species.
All the wyverns residing in the nearby area had gathered here, totaling approximately 100.
Generally, wyverns don’t live in such large groups, but if there’s an order from a higher species, even low-intelligence wyverns engage in collective activities like this.
This implies that there is also a creature of a higher rank than wyverns within the dragon species present here.
Already, five dragons with bodies ten times larger than wyverns were flying together in the sky.
‘…Is this a dream?’
Whether what lay before the eyes was a dream or reality.
The city’s ruler, a high-ranking demon, questioned reality as he looked at the sudden swarm of dragons.
His city had indeed been peaceful.
Situated on the outskirts of the Demon Realm, far from the Human Realm, it had almost no involvement in the ongoing war.
As long as he supplied a fixed quantity of resources to the Demon King each month, he could strengthen his forces without concern for the war—a safe city.
But now, it could no longer be called safe.
‘Why on earth are those ill-tempered, winged lizards heading toward my city…??’
Ten minutes ago, a distress call had arrived from the outpost stationed outside the city.
[—My, my lord… Th-there’s a grave situation…!]
The voice over the communicator was so filled with terror that it felt as if the soldier’s face had turned pale, trembling so much that even the communicator could be heard shaking.
“What has you trembling so much?”
[—Look out… out the window…]
Wondering what all the fuss was about, the ruler glanced out the window.
He thought the red sky might have turned blue, but in reality, the sky was black, not blue.
It took him ten seconds to grasp the strangeness of the situation.
Something was very, very wrong.
It wasn’t night yet, and although the Demon Realm’s sky was always red, it was strangely black now.
[—All of those are wyverns! It seems all the wild wyverns in the surrounding region have gathered here! At least 200 of them!]
At first, he couldn’t understand why the sky looked like that, but after hearing the soldier’s words, he realized those black shapes were all wyverns.
[—Have they lost their minds?! How dare those lizards swarm my city?! I’ll crush their heads right now…]
The appearance of the wyvern swarm was alarming but manageable.
He was the city’s ruler, a high-ranking demon lord of this land.
Though he wasn’t a demon specializing in combat, his city was well-equipped with a considerable number of soldiers and a variety of weapons produced within his territory.
This defense force was intended to protect the city in case of an invasion from the Human Realm’s army.
With that many wyverns, the effort would be substantial, but as the lord himself, he could contain them without severe damage.
***
However, a soldier urgently dissuaded him from personally intervening.
[—It’s not just wyverns! That wyvern swarm was driven here by dragons!]
[—D-dragons? Why would dragons suddenly…]
The reason was that, in the darkened sky, there wasn’t only wyverns but also dragons.
In that black sky, there were intense magical reactions far beyond those of wild wyverns.
[—It doesn’t matter! Whatever business the dragons have in my city, this is a blatant declaration of war! I shall personally demonstrate the power of a demon lord!]
Nonetheless, he remained undeterred.
With a single dragon, he could hold out with desperate resistance until reinforcement from the Demon King’s army arrived.
[—There are five of them!]
“…What?”
But soon, after confirming that there were five dragon magical reactions rather than just one, the high-ranking demon’s thoughts briefly halted.
Indeed, dragons were flying in formation in the sky.
Even a single dragon posed a severe problem, but now there were five.
Moreover, the wyverns, each with a physical resilience surpassing that of a mid-level demon, numbered at least 200.
This was practically an entire army force.
Even if a legion arrived from the frontlines of the ongoing war, it would be uncertain if they could stop them, let alone win.
‘What should I do?’
In the end, the high-ranking demon lord buried his head in his hands, deeply confused.
‘It will take at least two days for reinforcements to arrive, and even if they come, it’s uncertain whether we can stop them.’
The city’s soldiers could only look up hopelessly at the dark swarm blanketing the sky.
A calamity had arrived without any forewarning.
“…That guy actually did it, didn’t he.”
Arsep, gazing at the sky outside the city, frowned as he grabbed the back of his neck.
At first, he wondered what was happening, but when he looked in the direction Flua pointed, he thought he understood.
A massive swarm of wyverns, resembling a flock of crows, had gathered in the sky, accompanied by four dragons that looked similar to the one they had encountered earlier.
Come to think of it, the Demon Realm and the Human Realm were at war.
Perhaps these dragons had allied with the Human Realm.
And as luck would have it, they had arrived in the very city the dragons intended to attack.
“That’s not it! Dragons have a habit of retaliating if one of them is attacked. That dragon must have returned and called for reinforcements!”
“The dragon that gave us a ride? We didn’t force it; we just asked politely….”
“My friend, ‘asking politely’ typically doesn’t involve knocking someone out until they lose consciousness.”
“Oh, really?”
He thought he’d been reasonably kind.
“Looks like living in the Demon Realm has altered my values and personality a bit.”
“…Do you really think it’s only a bit?”
“Come on, compared to what I’ve been through, this is nothing.”
Extreme stress can make anyone a little violent.
Between the strange puppets sent by demons and the human adventurers camping near the fortress and fleeing without cleaning up, leaving trash everywhere, ‘I’ve certainly met a lot of characters.’
And it wasn’t just a day or two; it had been several months.
‘I’m not a saint—how am I supposed to endure all that?’
“Let’s leave the city and return to the fortress. If we stay here, we’ll undoubtedly get caught up in this.”
“Get caught up?”
Regardless, I didn’t particularly want to deal with any hassle, so I decided to follow Arsep.
According to her, there was a portal near the fortress, similar to the statue that allowed us to teleport to the Fairy Realm before.
…Yes, those dragons likely intend to wipe this city off the map, thinking that it’s the demons’ doing because you disguised yourself as one.”
“Erase the city…?”
But at the words “erase the city,” my steps came to a halt.
At first, I thought it might just be some sort of protest, ‘but to erase the city entirely?’
“Stay here with Flua.”
“My dear?!”
That’s not going to happen.
Although I don’t have the best feelings toward demons, there were fruits and various tools sold in this city that would significantly improve my quality of life in the Demon Realm.
Letting them destroy the city was not an option.
“I’ll be right back, so wait here and don’t worry.”
I placed Flua’s hand in Arsep’s, then pushed off the wall and leaped upward.
This time, I’d ask the dragons to leave the city alone.
If they refused, I’d just keep asking until they finally agreed.
I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary bloodshed, either.
***
“So those demons are in that city?”
The dragons who brought the wyverns decided to listen once more.
In times like these, they generally avoided attacking humans or demons, unless the other party initiated aggression.
“That’s right, those wretched demon scum….”
Of course, not everything was disclosed.
Admitting defeat to a mere demon was too humiliating to bear, so he simply explained to the other dragons that the demons had set a trap for him and attacked.
It wasn’t exactly a lie, as it would have been impossible to knock out a dragon like him without some prior setup.
“Surprising that those demons in a mere city did such a thing….”
“This actually works out well. Those demons have been causing a racket around my nest with their war games, and it’s been driving me crazy. I’ve been waiting for a chance to teach them a lesson.”
“Bringing in the wild wyverns was worth it. Look at those demons trembling in fear! I’d love to go down there and squash them under my feet.”
This was more than enough.
With four dragons, each capable of leveling a demon city alone, plus the 200 wild wyverns they brought to intimidate, there was no way the demons could let this go without a fight.
Along the way, they had destroyed all the demons’ defense mechanisms and set the forest ablaze, leaving no room for the demons to ignore the gravity of the situation.
‘I can’t wait to see the expression on that little pest’s face.’
Though it was just a skull with no expression.
And so, the dragons, accompanied by the wyverns, advanced toward the demon city.
Even if the Demon King’s forces intervened, they wouldn’t have enough soldiers to make a difference, and gathering a sufficient army during a war would be a strain.
So the dragons decided to use the city as an example, planning to leave it a scorched ruin.
Despite the queen’s orders to avoid provoking humans or demons, the circumstances changed when the demons struck first.
“At this point, the high-ranking demon should appear, right? It must have been that one….”
The leading dragon looked toward the city.
They were about five kilometers away now.
This was about the time the high-ranking demon would likely show up, if only to try and stop them.
“Oh, there! I see a demon!”
‘But what was this?’
Swoooooooosh—
A small flash of light appeared from the city, and a brick came flying in their direction.
The brick easily broke the sound barrier, striking the wyvern swarm behind them directly…
BOOM!
With an inexplicable explosion, all 200 wyverns were obliterated in a single strike.
“Huh?”
The dragons quickly realized that something had gone very, very wrong.
‘Is this… a dream?’