Masan Area A was a vast, cool cave, with walls covered in crystals that glowed green in the darkness.
Even in the stillness, without a single breeze, the cold, sharp air brushed against the skin, creating a chilling sense of tension.
Lauro, who had joined Ga’al’s alliance, questioned silently whether choosing the opposite side of Kan had been the right decision.
…No. In the end, it’s only Kan, the Demon Lord’s army. What could he do against all these people?
Lauro thought to herself, trying to convince herself, and glanced sideways.
The fox, Roshi, seemed to have a similar expression, as though she was thinking the same thing.
Before coming to the demon realm, Lauro had heard rumors that she had made contact with Kan.
She must have used every trick to bring Kan, the rising monster from the demon realm, to their side, but in the end, she also chose the opposite camp.
Kan’s decisions were such that no one could easily understand them.
“Keurek, Ga’al, my lord! There’s a human knight ahead…!”
The goblin soldier, who had been sent ahead as a scout, shouted desperately in front of the passage.
Ga’al and the alliance forces immediately moved in the direction indicated by the goblin.
There, the bodies of armored human soldiers were scattered in a horrific manner.
Ga’al frowned at the gruesome sight and the smell of blood. He began to carefully inspect the corpses.
Each soldier had met a violent end, as though someone had played with them like toys and then discarded them.
Amid this, a man was hiding in the cracks of the wall.
A chubby knight, trembling all over in his armor, looked around with a mad glint in his eyes.
Ga’al recognized him.
He was Burman, the second commander of the Yurrendel Empire’s knight order.
It seemed that the Empire had tried to sneak a knight order into Masan for a surprise attack, but they had been counter-attacked instead.
“Looks like another demon lord passed through here… I wonder who it was? From the looks of the number of those who were wiped out, it could be Beal…”
Burman began mumbling with a soulless expression.
“Shit. The chancellor deceived us… deceived us!”
“THAT?”
“Please, please spare me! I don’t want to die!”
Burman, slobbering, clung to Ga’al’s legs. Without hesitation, Ga’al lifted his foot and kicked Burman’s head.
Burman’s short last scream ended, and blood and remains splattered everywhere, leaving a gruesome mark.
“How dare you dirty someone else’s body.”
Ga’al muttered softly, brushing off the remains from his leg with a cold expression.
At that moment, a massive shadow began to slowly approach from the opposite side of the wide-open passage.
“This saved me the trouble.”
A deep, heavy voice reverberated and filled the space.
“The A area is so vast, I was wondering where you ran off to—”
At that voice, Ga’al, along with the other demon lords, Lauro, Roshi, and the surrounding monsters, all turned their gazes in unison.
“To think you’d so kindly show me the next person to kill… very well done.”
With the end of the words, the pressure from the figure that appeared froze the space, as if the air had solidified.
Ga’al tilted his head slightly and muttered softly.
“…Drak. I thought you were dead after the dungeon was destroyed, but you’re alive.”
“Heh, as you can see, I’m very much alive.”
Drak, with a feigned relaxed smile, answered confidently.
Lauro could not hide her tension as she observed Drak. Drak’s body had grown much larger, and broken magic stone fragments were scattered around him.
Believed to be dead, Drak had made Masan his new dungeon, fully recovering his magical power.
“Ga’al, as much as I regret it, you’re going to die here. You’re on the Great Demon Lord’s kill list.”
“Kill list?”
“Yes. Demon lords, monsters, humans—anyone who’s deemed unnecessary is to be killed.”
Without finishing his sentence, Drak charged forward.
His massive body stretched out with incredible speed, and the air seemed to tear apart with a thunderous roar.
With each step, the ground cracked, and rocks flew into the air.
In the wake of the storm-like charge, several goblin soldiers standing guard were helplessly swept up in the shockwave.
The small bodies of the goblins were knocked aside by Drak’s huge arm, crashing into the walls, and an orc soldier was crushed under Drak’s shoulder, leaving no trace of his form.
Amid the screams and flying blood, even the other demon lords were startled and retreated.
Drak, however, moved forward with unwavering focus, targeting only Ga’al.
The ones who tried to stop him were Lauro and Roshi.
Lauro’s black chain and Roshi’s frozen limbs stopped Drak right in front of Ga’al.
Ga’al hesitated not before the opportunity.
No matter how invincible Drak might seem within his realm of powers, he was nothing before Ga’al, who possessed battle-specialized abilities.
“I’ve known this for a while, but you’re quite stupid.”
He sneered, raising his magical power.
Just as he was about to strike Drak’s heart with a fatal blow using his powers, Ga’al’s movement suddenly stopped.
Ga’al’s eyes widened in shock. His powers would not activate.
He couldn’t draw out any magic.
His confusion quickly spread to the surrounding situation.
Lauro’s black chains vanished from thin air, and Roshi’s ice melted away without leaving a trace.
A chilling crescent-shaped smile appeared at the corner of Drak’s mouth.
“Come to think of it, Ga’al. Your power is specialized in one-on-one duels, isn’t it?”
Ga’al finally looked around and confirmed the glowing symbols of magic circles spread across the area.
The shimmering symbols, like crystals, surrounded the entire Ma.
Aishi’s power, sealing.
That symbol exuded intense suppression, overpowering everyone except Drak.
“This isn’t a duel, it’s a hunt.”
Drak declared in a cold voice and raised a fist larger than a mace.
As the fist made contact with Ga’al’s face, bones and flesh exploded, staining the space with red.
Ga’al was no longer Ga’al. Just like when he had crushed Burman, he vanished without a trace.
All the demon lords and monsters gasped in shock, while Drak, wiping his bloodstained hand across his hair, sighed.
“Aah, I should have slowly torn off their limbs, killing them helplessly… Damn it.”
Drak muttered in frustration.
Aishi, who had approached by his side, looked down at the remains of the cold Ga’al with a smile.
“It’s alright. There are still plenty of toys left.”
Her gaze, glimmering behind her glasses, slowly shifted to Lauro, Roshi, and the other demon lords.
Though she was also a demon lord, Aishi now bowed respectfully before Drak, the absolute ruler recognized by Beal within Masan.
“Great Lord, this is now your domain, where the power, time, and space of all enemies have been sealed. Please do as you wish.”
As Aishi had said, within this space, they couldn’t use their powers, nor could they escape, and even time was frozen in place.
Drak slowly looked down at Lauro, Roshi, and the other mid- and low-tier demon lords who dared defy him.
He licked his lips with a grotesque smile.
“Then, until Kyleen arrives, shall I play with you all? Heh heh.”
In the suffocating fear, Drak’s shadow loomed over them all.
There was no significant gain in the quarry of Area B.
I examined the abandoned mineral carts and the magic stone fragments that had lost their glow, deducing the situation.
“…Someone has already passed through here.”
The flow of magic that hung in the air like fog also hinted at the presence of ambushers.
I gave an order to the heavily armed orc soldiers.
“Don’t let your guard down.”
As ordered beforehand, Rain, who had not moved away from Rupia’s side, stood with her tail raised stiffly.
Rupia tried her best to maintain her demon lord-like dignity, but her trembling short legs couldn’t be hidden.
In contrast, the cat-like thief, Black Cat, who had sneakily followed them, appeared calm and composed.
“Lady Rupia, you need not worry. General Kan is with us, after all. And when danger comes, I’ll save you, so don’t worry.”
“Heh, Black Cat…!”
Despite the flattery, the innocent Rupia gazed up at Black Cat with a moved expression.
For reference, Black Cat, with the blood of a merchant running through her, insisted it was illogical to not enter a treasure trove like Masan.
She assured that she would take care of her own life, but seeing her stubbornly follow them from the entrance, it seemed her only goal was to leech off them.
At that moment, the cave shook deeply, and a tremendous noise echoed.
Kuguguguk─!
Debris from the ceiling fell, and broken stones and dust filled the air. In the midst of it, the demon lords and ambushers revealed themselves.
“…Just as Beal said.”
“I thought someone would slip through the side path, but I didn’t expect a little demon lord like that.”
“The target is the Death Knight. The order was to capture, not kill. Though it’s unlikely it will die anyway.”
An overwhelming army of monsters filled the cave. Even their commanders were all high-tier demon lords.
It seemed they had been waiting for us, knowing that our demon lord army would arrive here.
Their goal was unclear, but battle was inevitable.
I pointed at the flustered Rupia and gave an order to Rain.
“Rain, go ahead with the lord and move deeper. No matter what happens, protect the lord. Understood?”
“Yes, yes!”
Beside her, Black Cat, who had earlier been calm, had completely lost her composure and hurriedly followed Rupia.
I turned to look at the orc soldiers, who were breathing low. They were the elite that I had personally selected and trained for this assault on the demon mountain.
Their calmness in the face of an ambush pleased me as a commander.
“As knights, I swear we will not lose. I will stand before you. Trust me.”
The roar that erupted from the orcs’ giant mouths shook the cave walls like thunder. The ground trembled as dirt and stones poured down.
Battle is never a fight of numbers. With my orc soldiers, I stood guard at the entrance where Rupia had entered.
From all directions, monsters led by demon lords came rushing, stirring up clouds of dust.
Before them, I stood, sword raised, drawing up my magical power.