Demon Lord: Erotic Adventure in Another World

Chapter 872: The Kraken Slayers Await

The Kraken Slayers looked far uglier from up close.

That was Logan’s first thought as he stood beneath the left harpoon launcher. He pressed one hand against the black iron frame, gripping a wrench with the other while tightening bolts until his knuckles became white.

From a distance, the weapons might have looked majestic.

Two enormous silhouettes standing atop Grigor’s eastern cliffs, their runes glowing orange against the storm, their pillar-sized harpoons aimed toward the violent sea below.

But standing so close, Logan couldn’t help but lament his lack of artistic nature.

Crude, large and deadly.

That was all he managed; only the runic engravings added a sense of beauty.

The Kraken Slayer was not majestic.

It was dangerous.

And most of that danger pointed in the correct direction.

Hopefully.

"Stop staring at it like it’s your first lover!" Lun shouted from behind him. "Either tighten the band or kiss the damn thing already!"

"I’m checking the resonance!"

Logan flinched at his lover’s words, unable to think of anything smart to say; he gave up.

Lun stood on a stool above him, but she ignored his response and hurried on with her business, shouting back at him.

"You’ve been checking the resonance for ten minutes!"

"It changes every time the cliff shakes!"

"Then check faster!"

Several demon warriors carrying a replacement counterweight paused just long enough to look at him with pity.

Despite the slight hostility, he couldn’t help but enjoy the atmosphere; somehow, his fingers grew more dextrous and moved faster until he noticed the demon warriors out of the corner of his eye and glared at the idle workers.

"Get back to work."

"Y-Yes, Master Logan!"

The poor demons hurried past him, boots thudding over the rain-slick battlements as they dragged the weight toward the right-side weapon. All along the cliff, the defensive line had become a mess of movement. Dwarves shouted over demons. Demons shouted over sailors. Signal flags snapped violently in the wind while cannon crews rotated their guns toward the water below.

Far beyond the cliff, the sea still smoked.

Slowly healing from the wound carved deep into its core.

Even from the cliffs of Grigor, one could see the flash of brilliance from Asmodeus.

Logan watched keenly where the ocean had split, leaving a boiling scar across the battlefield. Steam rose in walls, drifting slowly apart as black-sailed ships forced their way through the opening.

"That was His Majesty, wasn’t it?" Lun asked.

Her voice had lowered slightly.

Logan glanced at her.

Lun’s ginger hair was plastered to her face, and rain ran down her cheeks, but her eyes remained fixed on the distant trench in the sea.

"Aye."

"What did he fire for?"

Logan swallowed before shaking his head. He dared not pretend to know, but in his mind he never doubted that Asmodeus needed to do so.

"I don’t know."

That answer bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

He had crafted cannons, mana cores, blades, anchors and now these ridiculous harpoon launchers, but that attack from the sea did not look like a weapon. It looked like someone had taken a red-hot needle and dragged it across the world.

Lun stared for another breath before clicking her tongue.

"Then stop admiring your emperor’s madness and make sure your crazy invention works."

"That’s what I’m doing."

"Do it better!"

"Yes, dear."

He knelt again and pressed his palm against the support plate.

The left tension wheel still hummed strangely, but the worst vibration had faded after Alan’s warning and their hurried fix. The reinforcement bands held. The main arms were stable. The harpoon sat in the groove, chained, locked and ready to launch.

"Finally... it’s finally done..." Logan fell back onto his bottom, glancing up at the megaweapon that hummed faintly. "What do you think, Lun?"

"W-Well, it’s quite... good for you." She turned away with a snap before glancing up at the massive weapon. "You’ve done well, Logan."

A dry cough sounded near the wall.

Logan looked back at once.

Alan stood beside one of the stone supports, his cane planted firmly in front of him. The rain had soaked his coat, turning the dark cloth almost black. His pale ash hair clung to his forehead, and the dark veins along his neck looked worse beneath the stormlight.

"You should be inside," Logan said.

Alan smiled faintly.

"You’ve done well, Master Dwarf; this is exactly what I imagined when Asmodeus bragged about his new weapon..." The ex-hero dragged his lazy leg, tapping against the stone with the tip of his steel cane.

Alan stepped closer to the edge of the battlement, slow but steady, his eyes fixed on the approaching fleet. "You truly did well."

"T-Thanks, lad, but whether it will perform is another question..."

His fingers tightened around the silver head of his cane as he watched the black water below.

"I envy how everyone seems so busy, and here I am struggling to walk..." Alan’s eyes drifted back to the massive battlement and could not fix it, before glancing at Logan, who smiled back at him.

"Don’t be so stupid, you’ve done so much for us already, Your Grace."

Logan might not have known everything, but he’d listened to Asmodeus complaining over beers dozens of times.

Alan stared at him for a moment, then lowered his gaze with a faint smile.

"You sound like Asmodeus."

"I-I do?"

"Mm. When he’s trying to be considerate, although it sounds awkward, it’s always sincere."

Logan scratched his cheek, suddenly unsure whether he had been praised or insulted.

Lun, however, snorted from her stool.

"Both of you can flirt later. The fleet is coming in."

"Flirt!?" Logan looked up at once. "Lun, my dear, don’t say strange things in front of His Grace! You’re the only one fer me!"

Alan laughed softly, though the laugh quickly turned into another cough. This time, he covered his mouth with a gloved hand, holding it there for several breaths before slowly lowering it.

Logan saw the dark stain on the glove.

He glanced at Lun, whose face turned dark before snapping away.

"Ah, please... don’t mention this." Alan closed his fingers tightly, before wiping the stain away with a small handkerchief. "If that fool knows about this, he’ll send me away."

"Aye, with good reason, Lad!" Logan’s voice rose.

"Do not look at me like that."

"You coughed blood," Logan said.

"I have done worse things."

"That doesn’t make it better."

Lun climbed down from the stool and approached Alan. She took a small white wipe from a sealed packet and leaned closer to his face, then dabbed the corner of his mouth with gentle rubs.

"If you don’t want that idiot to worry, then at least get rid of every trace."

Alan froze for a moment.

Maybe he didn’t expect Lun to be so gentle after shouting like a monster for the past hour. Logan didn’t either. His lover dabbed the corner of Alan’s mouth with the same care she used when polishing the tiny rune lenses used in the firing sights.

Alan lowered his gaze.

"Thank you, Lady Bronzeblade."

"Lun is fine. Lady makes me feel old."

"Then thank you, Lun."

"Don’t thank me. Sit down before you collapse and make me explain to His Majesty why his brother fainted beside my weapon."

Alan laughed softly.

"I thought you were afraid of Asmodeus."

"I am afraid of paperwork, but that man isn’t the type to make me fear him."

Logan almost choked.

Even Alan looked at her strangely before his lips curved.

"That is fair—he is extremely kind to his allies and friends."

The lower horns sounded again before Logan could answer. This time, the note came in pairs, signalling the flagship entering the protected waters beneath the cliff.

"Master Logan!" a demon warrior shouted from the stairway. "The first vessel is docking!"

"Then stop shouting and secure the chains!"

"Y-Yes!"

The warrior vanished down the wet steps.

Lun tossed the stained wipe into a small metal box and snapped it shut, then pointed at Alan with the same authority she used on the cannon crews.

"Sit there and don’t move!"

"...Yes, Lun."

Alan lowered himself onto a reinforced crate near the wall, still trying to look elegant despite the cane shaking faintly in his hand.

Logan grinned as the ex-hero obeyed his wife, then started packing his tools.

Below the cliff, Brando’s flagship slid into the harbour like a wounded beast. Its black sails were torn, the hull stained with monster blood, yet it still moved proudly beneath the scarlet glow wrapped around its frame.

Then Logan saw Asmodeus near the bow.

Rain slid down his horns and shoulders while Valena stood close beside him, one hand wrapped around his wrist.

Logan straightened.

"His Majesty has arrived."

Alan slowly turned his head.

The moment he saw Asmodeus standing there, his tired eyes softened, though his smile became a little strained.

"Don’t look at him like that," Lun muttered. "You’ll make him notice something."

"I am not that foolish."

"You coughed blood five breaths ago."

"Then I shall smile handsomely and distract him."

"Well, I just hope you managed to find a way to stop the pain, lad."

Logan and Lun both knew how close Alan and Asmodeus were, but chose not to speak any further as it would be impolite.

"Heh, should we go to the pier and meet them?" Alan asked.

"Nah, the ships will need raising into the artificial port; for now, let’s just slowly wait for them to arrive. I am sure the lad won’t take too long."

Below, the docking chains snapped tight.

Brando’s roar followed.

"Lower the damn gangway, make entry for the Emperor!"