Volume 22 Chapter 1 - Infiltrating Fort Necross
Part 1
Demon Continent, Guthrow region.
It's one of the most severe areas of the Demon Continent.
The monsters living on the Demon Continent, when compared to the other continents, are extremely strong and numerous.
However, even on the Demon Continent there are distributions.
Like how the Biegoya region has many Acid Wolves and Pack Coyotes, this region is overflowing with monsters that are much stronger than the other regions.
Able to release a petrifying breath, the Basilisk.
Flying freely through the sky and attacking with its powerful jaws and poisonous claws, the Black Drake.
Imitating a pond, the enormous Lake Slime.
Extremely nimble and covered in hard scales that resist magic, the White-fanged Serpent.
Besides that there are areas that are covered in poison gas and deep valleys, so this region is called the worst part of the Demon Continent.
There are few towns or villages, and the ones that exist are transforming into secure fortresses.
Even Adventurers rarely come here…
However, it is said that those on journeys to sharpen their combat skills have this region as their final goal.
After all, this region has the fortress once built by the immortal [Five Elements Demon King] Necross Lacross, the strongest fortress on the Demon Continent.
The one ruling here is Demon King Atoferatofe.
The [Immortal Demon King] of the Guthrow region.
400 years ago she was a powerful warrior for Laplace, who clashed countless times with the party of the Armored Dragon King Perugius.
Among martial artists, there is a legend about her that is thought by many to be true.
[You who desire power, travel forth.
You who desire power, set your gaze on the Demon Continent.
Journey through the Demon Continent, reach Fort Necross.
Journey through the Demon Continent, gain audience with the Immortal Demon King Atoferatofe.
Display your power to the Demon King, and thirst for a greater power.
You shall gain a overwhelming power that you have never seen the likes of before.]
And the ones who follow the legend and set out on a journey are never heard from again.
Nobody knows the truth…
I know it, though.
Most die along the way, and the rest are forced into Atofe's elite guards.
Occasionally there are those who return… but even if there are only one or two people who tell the truth, the rumor shouldn't disappear.
That rumor is probably erased by Atofe's associate, Moore.
It's a cruel trap.
Playing with the naive hearts of martial artists, a devil's trap.
Well then.
The members that are going to meet her number three.
Me, Eris, and Roxy.
Aisha is in charge of mediation with Asura and Milis on behalf of the Kingdom of Dragon King.
By the way, we're bringing alcohol as a gift.
According to Orsted, Atofe seems to be fond of alcohol.
Well, even so, it will probably turn into a fight.
Part 2
Fort Necross was about three hours from the teleportation ruins.
That's not such a great distance, but the teleportation ruins are in the mountains, and furthermore, it's in the middle of a Black Drake nesting ground.
We traveled on foot while shooting the black flying dragons out of the sky, turning the defeated drakes into yakiniku, and the discovered eggs into tamagoyaki.
From fairly high up the mountain, we descended while sometimes evading the attacking monsters but other times routing them, and arrived after a full day.
This is the first time I've been to a teleportation ruin so close to human habitation…
Or rather, this is the first place where people live that I've been to that's so thick with mana.
"Well, we can afford to take it easy."
When I turn to face her, Eris is gleefully cutting apart the attacking monsters.
It's as if she's saying it's the result of her daily practice.
Although she certainly has never skipped out on practice swings, she shouldn't have had that many chances to fight…
It seems she's been hunting the monsters around the town when I wasn't looking.
"As expected of such a feared place… Just thinking of coming here alone gives me goosebumps."
Roxy's fatigue is showing.
She's been trying her best to find a route that avoids the monsters.
It's no exaggeration to say that it's all thanks to her we were able to protect the gift of alcohol.
"Roxy still has a long way to go!"
"Back in my adventurer days I moved around more, but recently I've just been working at a desk…"
"If you're like that, you'll be looked down on by the students."
"You're right… Then, please help me practice sometime."
"Of course!"
While listening to Eris's and Roxy's conversation, I looked down at the fortress spread out beneath us.
The overall color is black.
It's probably made from the same materials as Kishirika's castle.
It's not too large.
It seems to be just a castle and town protected by thick ramparts.
It's not a rare sight in this world.
What classifies it as a fortress is probably its structure.
It is separated into five blocks by the ramparts, and goes up like a staircase.
The three bottom ones are a normal castle town.
The second from the top contains buildings that don't look inhabited and something that looks like a sports ground. They're probably military installations.
At the top, a black castle-like building towers imposingly.
That's probably the keep.
We end up approaching it from behind.
From back here, it looks pretty defenseless.
Although since the rear is guarded by a mountain, it's only natural.
"Ah, someone's there."
As we drew closer while thinking that, we saw people standing upon the rampart.
There are around five people wearing black armor, outfitted with helmets.
They are watching us, and seem to be raising a bit of a fuss.
"Do you suppose it would be bad manners to enter from this side?"
"No, there's no such etiquette. They're probably talking about how rare it is for travelers to approach from the mountain.
When Roxy plainly said that, Eris rapidly progressed forward.
What should we do if arrows rain down from above?
Though I was thinking that, the people on the wall weren't showing any signs of attacking.
Before long, we reached the rampart.
There seems to be a rear gate, since I confirmed the existence of a large door.
Since it's a black gate on a black wall, it's not visible from afar, but looking up close it's quite obvious.
[O heroes! Congratulations on reaching Fort Necross!]
It's the Demon God Language.
It's been a while…
Like how you never forget how to ride a bike, learned languages aren't forgotten so easily.
Rather, what did they mean by heroes?
[What admirable spirit, crossing the demon mountain!]
[Is what you seek the honor of being a champion? Or perhaps it is the Demon King's power!?]
[Whichever it is makes no difference to us!]
[If you want to pass here!]
[You will first have to defeat us, Atofe's elite guards!]
In other words, we can't enter here.
It's only natural.
No country would let an unknown man enter through the rear gate.
[I understand. We will circle around to the front.]
It's not particularly a problem if we go in through the town.
We'll obediently circle around here.
We're here to ask a favor, after all.
[……]
[…]
The black armors went silent.
They're all asking their neighbors what to do.
I've heard about Atofe, but I never heard anything about fighting here at the gate.
Did I say something wrong…?
[Ah, if you could tell Moore-san that Rudeus Greyrat brings tribute for Atofe-sama, it would be a great help.]
It may be better to tell them up front that I'm no one suspicious.
While I was thinking that and about to turn around,
[Wait! Are you a visitor for Atofe-sama!?]
That was shouted at me.
[Yes, I have talked with her a little before! I would like to give her my greetings!]
[I understand. We're opening the gate!]
Ooh.
They seem to be willing to let us in.
It's bothersome going around, so it's good that we can go right in.
[I wanted to enter from the front, though.]
Eris complained, but I think it's better to enter from here.
Please excuse me from an attraction like having to defeat the Sheetennou to proceed.
Part 3
We arrived in Fort Necross's audience chamber.
It doesn't have a ceiling.
It's an open-air room.
There's a long staircase sandwiched between thick pillars carved with devil-like images.
At the top of the stairs is a large, spacious room.
The room is surrounded by candles burning with violet flames, and in front of each candle is a soldier clad in black armor standing at attention.
The room is completely open, with no walls or handrails. If you approach the edge, you could probably look down on the castle town.
In the center is an ominously decorated throne.
No, this probably isn't an audience chamber.
This is probably that.
The place where in dire times, a giant magic circle is engraved to call out an ancient devil.
Then, the hero's party will fight the demon king to prevent it.
This is that kind of place.
It's not an audience chamber.
It's a battleground.
"O heroes, well done in coming this far!"
Now then, sitting on the throne is a woman.
She's wearing the same black armor as the others around us.
Her height is around the same as Eris's.
With a gleeful face, she spread her mantle.
The evening sun descending over the mountain cast a profound shadow upon her.
It appears to be a very impressive and fantastic scene.
It appears to be.
"I am the immortal Demon King, Atoferatofe Raibaku!"
We entered through the back gate, met with Moore, and waited for about 2 hours to be brought to this battleground.
Were they making preparations during that short time?
Or did they anticipate this fantastic scenery and wait for evening?
Either way, I'll give them 4 stars.
"How admirable, coming this far with the body of a human!"
"O brave ones who overcame countless trials! I ask you thus!"
"Is what you desire the prestige of being a champion? Or is it the title of hero! Or perhaps… the Demon King's power?"
What a distasteful question.
If you answer ‘champion’ or ‘hero’, you get beaten up and made into a subordinate, and if you answer ‘Demon King's power,’ you are made into a subordinate without getting beaten up.
It's an extreme multiple choice where you can only answer [Yes].
"Fufun…"
Ah, somehow Eris started grinning.
That's right, you like this kind of stuff, don't you?
"Atofe-sama… mumble mumble…"
Right then, the nearby black armored Moore whispered something into Atofe's ear.
It's probably about the programme.
Even though I said that I came to apologize, she's been saying hero this and hero that, so there is probably some kind of misunderstanding.
"Shut up! It's too bright here and I can't understand!"
Atofe Punch!
Moore-kun is blown away.
"Show me your face!"
Atofe left her fist that blasted Moore out and rapidly approached.
And then, she was right before my eyes.
"Ah."
As soon as our eyes met, Atofe's expression rapidly changed.
She is glaring.
And then, she spoke in a low voice.
"It's you…"
Her voice sounds like she's saying 'I found you.'
Scary.
"… It, it's been a while."
"After working with Perugius, to catch me in a trap, you, without concern, came here…"
Atofe has a ferocious smile on her face.
However, that is within expectations.
That's why we brought a tribute.
It's no exaggeration to say that we came here to apologize.
"About that, I would like to give my apologies…"
"It's fine. You're making a much more manly face than last time. It's a good face, full of resolve. The heroes that challenged me all had that kind of face."
Atofe isn't listening to me.
She's just closing in on my face with her eyes spread.
Then she smiled, showing her teeth.
I could see her growing fangs.
"It's the face of someone prepared to die."
H, Huh?
That's strange.
I should have predicted this… Huh?
Why, are my legs trembling?
N, Not good, the trembling is spreading to my whole body…
"Hm?"
Then, my vision was filled with something red.
Red hair.
"Get away."
Eris forced herself between me and Atofe.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Eris Greyrat."
"Hooh."
Atofe took a step backwards.
Then, she stared into Eris's face.
"That's a good expression, good killing intent, and you're even carrying good weapons. And your guts to prepare to cut me down…"
Atofe shot Eris a sharp gaze.
Eris stared back with a beast-like glint in her eyes.
The tension is rising——
"Are you a hero?"
"That's right."
No it's not.
What the hell are you saying?
"That woman is determined and observing the surroundings… a magician?"
"… That's right. My name is Roxy Greyrat. It's an honor to meet you."
Roxy slightly lowered the brim of her hat and gave a greeting.
I think it's pretty obvious that she's a magician just from looking at her clothes, though.
"You also have a good expression. You want to fight me?"
"… If Demon King-sama is planning on killing my student, then yes. Though I am not worthy."
Aah, even the calm Roxy is planning to fight.
Which means I'm currently cowering that much.
Enough that she thinks she has to protect me.
That's no good.
I've got to pull it together.
"Kukuku, that's interesting. The three of you are all Greyrats… For three people who just happen to have the same name to gather and come before me, is truly interesting."
That interpretation is certainly interesting.
Both Eris and Roxy are my wives.
Yup.
Okay, I've calmed down.
"Atofe-sama, before fighting, can you listen to what I have to say?"
I stimulated my shivering legs, and turned to Atofe.
"Why?"
"Because we came to talk."
"I hate talking. Since you Human Race people always say things I can't understand."
"I think what I have to say is pretty easy to understand."
Then I exchanged looks with Roxy.
She put down the bag she was carrying and drew out a wooden box.
I received it from her, and held it out reverently in both hands to Atofe.
"First take this. It's an apology for last time."
"What's this?"
"It's wine from the kingdom of Asura."
"Alcohol!"
Atofe's complexion changed.
Just like my information.
According to Orsted, among the heroes that fought her were those that challenged her to a drinking contest, planning to defeat her when she was dead drunk.
They ended up losing though.
In the drinking contest, that is.
"During the Asura Kingdom's coronation ceremony, it was presented to the crown by Lord Notos Greyrat, an extremely rare and expensive good."
"Is it tasty?"
"Very."
Or so I answered, but I never tasted it, so I don't really know.
According to Ariel, this is wine that was produced 100 years ago.
About its taste, the fields and warehouses that produced it were regulated by the royal purveyor, who said it would be a waste to drink it all up, sealed it in the depths of the warehouse, and declared that it wasn't to be brought out except in special circumstances.
However, it's been 100 years since then.
The royal family had many important events, and it was all used up.
However, that's only concerning the royal family.
There are still some remaining in the storehouse of the producer, Notos Greyrat.
For Ariel's coronation ceremony, 10 bottles that were in the storehouse were presented.
Part of Philemon's brown-nosing.
The current price would be around 300 Asura Gold Coins per bottle.
It's worth 1 Rinia.
That's why it should be quite delicious.
Of course, it's not like I bought it.
When I asked Ariel what a good alcohol would be, she gave me one of these.
Later on, when I asked someone else for its worth, I was surprised.
She immediately consented to the matter of the Kingdom of the Dragon King too, lately she's been selling me a lot of favors, and it's kind of scary.
It seems like sometime she's really going to take one of my children…
"I see, so it's tasty."
"Yes. So please forgive me for the previous matter."
"I forgive you; I'm much more lenient than that Perugius. Something like that is nothing to me."
"Thank you very much."
I guess this means that we're even?
She might forget after drinking, though.
"However, I won't forgive Perugius. I'll kill him someday."
Please feel free.
That's something between the two of them.
I'm sure Perugius won't bow his head for forgiveness.
"So, is that all?"
"No, there is something else."
I took out one more bottle from Roxy's bag.
This is something I got from Orsted.
This one isn't in a box, and the maker and price are unknown.
The glass bottle seems old, and is losing transparency, and some sort of pattern is carved in it.
However, Orsted said that Atofe will be pleased with it.
So I think the contents should not be bad.
"This is——"
"Oi!"
It was snatched away.
"Don't tell me… It can't be… Moore!!!"
At her sudden scream, the black armors became discomposed.
In the rowdy atmosphere, one person calmly approached.
It's the man whose face caved in and collapsed in a pool of blood, Moore.
"Look! What do you think!?"
Moore took the bottle and carefully examined its surface.
Then, seeing the marble-like deposition inside, he took a deep breath.
"It's exactly the same as what we saw before."
"Right!? You, where did you get this from!?"
"From my master, [Dragon God] Orsted, who wishes to get along with Atofe-sama."
"Dragon God…! Then, there's no mistake…!"
Atofe looked at the bottle while trembling from head to toe.
"This is without a doubt, what Urupein sent for mine and Kal's wedding, the phantom alcohol passed down through the Dragon Race!"
Oh, so something like that happened.
Then of course she would be pleased with it.
"Its name is [AleschneilDragon God Jewel Spirit]!"
Whoa, what an amazing special technique. I'm getting goosebumps.
Or rather, it's ale, huh? The glass was so dark I couldn't tell.
"That's the only time I've ever drank this. I've searched far and wide, and finally I have it once again!"
Tatarata~
Atofe held the bottle so joyously that it seems like that sound effect would play.
In any event, if she's pleased with it then that's great.
I should say as expected of Orsted.
He knows well who would like what.
I feel sorry for Ariel, but this match is Orsted's complete victory.
"Then, that alcohol——"
"I've decided! I'll defeat you and take this alcohol!"
Atofe declares that with wine in her right hand and Aleschneil in her left.
What she wants, she takes by force.
Truly a Demon King.
"I'm giving it to you!"
"What!?"
"It's a small gesture of friendship from the Dragon God Orsted to Immortal Demon King Atofe!"
I reply in a loud voice.
Question marks are rising from Atofe's head.
When three question marks have risen, her head burst.
"You! Don't chicken out! Fight me!"
"Even without a fight, I'm giving you that alcohol!"
"I don't get what you're saying!"
So she doesn't get it…
Is that so…
I'm pretty sure I made it easy to understand, though…
"It's not a banquet, it's not a congratulatory event, it's not as an apology. In that case, why would you offer something like this?"
Moore followed up nicely.
That's right.
It's no good if I don't explain that, right.
"Right. To tell the truth, in the near future I'm going to be fighting with a man called Gisu. He said he was going to gather powerful troops to defeat me… I was thinking I would like Atofe-sama's assistance for that fight."
I'm not going to touch the topic of the coming war against Laplace.
According to Orsted, if I ask her to help in the war against Laplace, she would definitely not give her approval, and it would end up becoming a fight.
It's not like she feels a sense of duty towards Laplace.
It's simply that it's too complicated for her to understand.
In the future that Orsted knows, Atofe will unmistakably serve Laplace.
It's definitely safer to not try persuading her.
It's probably best to request such things from Moore later.
"Okay, I understand! I'm not an idiot, after all! It's fine! I'll do that!"
Atofe definitely does not understand it very well.
She's nodding with the same face as Eris when she says "I understand" when she really doesn't.
This kind of answer means that Atofe probably won't be taken along by Gisu's cajolery.
"So then, is the talk over?"
"Yes."
Thus, I gained Atofe's cooperation.
The Death God and the Immortal Demon King.
Getting the two people who defeated me to this side feels like a large advantage.
I don't know where Gisu is or what he's doing, but it looks like things are favorable so far.
But I'm glad. At first I was thinking it would turn into a fight and was on guard, but it's great that we won't have t——
"Okay, now let's duel!"
——Huh?
"Earlier, you said [before we fight]! Our conversation is over. Then, next we fight!"
Huh? I said something like that?
No, but, huh?
I gave her alcohol, and was forgiven.
She promised to fight on my side… there shouldn't be any more reason to fight.
That's strange, Orsted never told me about any of this.
"I am the Immortal Demon King, Afoteratofe Raibaku! Heroes, all three of you, come at me at once!"
Why the hell…
I'm bewildered.
Roxy also has question marks above her head.
The elite guards aren't moving, so this is probably the Atofe Standard.
However, an astonished atmosphere is floating this way.
Moore has a "There's no helping it" kind of expression.
There's only one person who stepped out in front as if to say she's been waiting for this.
"I'll be your opponent."
It's Eris.
As if the distance to her opponent doesn't matter, she walked right up in front of Atofe and brought her face close.
"Hoh, you want to fight me one-on-one?"
Their faces are close enough that you could think they may be about to kiss.
"There's no need for Rudeus to take on someone like you."
"You've said too much, little girl."
Atofe fell for that obvious provocation, and let out killing intent.
"In these past 100 years, you're the only one to say something like that to me."
If she wasn't holding a bottle in each hand, that would have been a cool line.
However, if she fights like this, the bottles will surely break…
Or so I was thinking, but Moore said "I shall take care of these" from beside them, and carried them away.
"Someone like you is fitting to be one of my elite guards. I'll beat you to a pulp and make you my subordinate."
"If you lose, will you do what Rudeus says?"
"Sure."
Fight, win, make an ally!
Easy to understand means something like this, huh?
I messed up.
I made a bit of a misunderstanding.
'I'll give you something so forgive me for earlier, and I'll give you something else so become my ally' is too complicated for Atofe!
In any event, I knew from the beginning that it would likely turn into a fight.
Fight, win, and make Demon King Atofe into a supporter.
We made plans for that, and properly prepared.
Let's do it.
Thus, our fight with Demon King Atoferatofe began.
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