Frondier’s voice reached Bael’s ears at once.
Pururpur and Bune are each in a state of possessing a paladin. In other words, their true bodies are not in the square. They are beside Bael.
“......To lead all seventy-two demons......”
Bael murmured Frondier’s proposal to himself.
At that, other demons who had been nearby searching for the gate raged.
“How dare he speak so arrogantly!”
“A mere human would try to command the Seventy-Two Demons!”
“We must make him know his place! Bael!”
The other Seventy-Two Demons clamored noisily around Bael.
But another demon spoke cautiously.
“......Then what do we do? If Satan has no intention of opening the gate, we’re as good as dead......”
“Even so, would Frondier have a plan to break through that!”
“Right! That and this are different matters!”
Bael closed his eyes deep and let out a quiet sound.
“Be silent.”
And then the silence settled.
Bael, number one among the Seventy-Two Demons. His words were enough to render the others hushed.
“You, who can’t open your mouths before my pressure alone, have your tongues so lively toward Frondier.”
“Bael! How can you say such a thing that sounds like defending a human!”
“The reason you can prattle like that is because you haven’t met Frondier yet.”
Terror is engraved in Bael.
He has the memory of tasting defeat at Frondier’s Pandemonium.
But what frightens Bael is not the power that defeated him.
Frondier, who defeated him, then came back into Pandemonium and dragged him out.
Bael is afraid of that.
He is afraid that the rule of Pandemonium was broken.
‘Until now, when demons faced a demon’s power, there were only two paths.’
Accept the demon’s power and submit to him.
Or stake life or death and open Pandemonium.
That is, no matter how weak the demon, if he did not wish to submit to a stronger demon, he had the right to choose death instead.
Yes. If you don’t want to submit, you must die. That is what Pandemonium is. A choice for a demon’s final pride.
Bael, originally, should also have been like that. Having been defeated in Pandemonium, he should have exited completely.
‘Frondier makes a third option possible.’
Bael returned. From Pandemonium.
By none other than the man who defeated him.
Bael neither submitted to Frondier nor remained confined in Pandemonium. He returned as if the fight with Frondier had never happened.
But the memory remains.
The terror at the time of defeat, and the wonder when he came back out of Pandemonium.
‘That process makes one harbor a subservience stronger than a demon’s power.’
Bael is not subjugated to Frondier, yet he has not the slightest thought of pouncing on him. Even if, were it a battle not of Pandemonium, the odds might be more than sufficient.
Subjugation by a demon’s power is a hierarchy sorted by fear. One simply follows an order received from above.
But Frondier—
“......I see.”
Bael lifted his head.
The words Frondier had spoken finally made sense.
─You submit to me. In return, I let you get out of here. For now, that’s enough. As long as that procedure is carried out.
─You let me into human society with no trouble. I will deliver to you the knowledge about returning to the Demon Realm. For now, that’s enough. As long as that procedure is carried out.
─Chase profit, demon.
“The very word ‘submission’ was trifling to you, Frondier.”
Frondier wants Bael’s full power.
He wants the full power of the Seventy-Two Demons.
“I will follow Frondier.”
At last, Bael decided.
The other Seventy-Two Demons looked at him in surprise.
“Bael! Why!”
“As one of the Seventy-Two Demons, as their number one, why make such a choice!”
“You’re the ‘King of Hell’!”
The King of Hell. At those words, Bael smiled bitterly.
“‘King of Hell’ is a story from long ago.”
“Bael!”
“It’s from when I was ‘Baal.’”
Bael recalled a moment of the past. The time when he was at his most powerful.
Would even that self have accepted Frondier’s proposal? No—could he have won in the fight of Pandemonium?
......It’s unknowable.
In the moment the result felt “unknowable,” Bael’s mind was fixed.
‘Frondier, I do not know why you do something so dangerous.’
The Seventy-Two Demons are divided in opinion, their thoughts caught on demon survival.
But if you switch positions and think, you can tell it is an exceedingly strange matter.
Why does Frondier claim to be the king of demons?
He, a human—why does he pretend to be a demon and there declare himself king of demons, standing in outright opposition to the gods?
Demons need a king. All demons would nod to that.
But for Frondier, it should not matter. As a human, whether the gods exterminate demons or not would be of no concern to him.
Furthermore, whether the gods manipulate humans to make humans wage war among themselves or not, unless it is something related to him, he would have no need to meddle.
‘I do not know what you intend to become.’
Is the Demon King merely a shell?
Is he truly trying to become the Demon King?
Or even that—is it merely a process?
“I will go to the capital Palma.”
Bael looked around at all and spoke.
“Either way, we stand in the position of having challenged the gods to a fight. The more we scatter, the more we will fall one by one like flies. In that case, I will walk the path on which demons live.”
“......You say that following Frondier is that path? You truly mean to follow a human?”
“What of that is any problem. It is no longer a matter of one or two demons living or dying. If we misstep, countless demons of Agoris will turn to ash and vanish.”
Bael spread his wings.
“Demons who followed me, demons who respected me—think well. The one I am now going to follow is, at the very least, stronger than I am.”
“......!”
“If you will join me, then follow.”
Leaving those words, Bael took flight.
The remaining Seventy-Two Demons looked at one another’s faces.
After their respective deliberations, demons spread their wings.
About half of the Seventy-Two Demons followed after Bael.
The remaining half are still debating.
***
When Frondier declared himself king of demons—
Satan’s leisurely smile vanished.
He brought his hand to his mouth.
‘In this case, from the gods’ standpoint it will look as though there are two demon kings. If they are deceived by Frondier, that is.’
Satan had thought they would not make it to this stage in the first place.
He had not predicted that Frondier would do such a thing to begin with, but the important point is that Frondier is not a demon.
Many of the gods know that. The higher gods of Olympus generally know the story.
Thus the notion that Frondier is a demon should not be discussed even as a possibility in the first place.
But rather, is that the blind spot?
‘......Among those there, the only one who has seen Frondier “directly” is Atena. The rest only heard accounts from Hephaestus or Ares.’
Too few gods have seen Frondier in person. Especially if we speak of the Olympian gods, all the more.
Among those with divine power, the humans who were at least near him were Elodie and Aster. Neither has a relation to the Olympian gods.
Hephaestus left Edwin, and Renzo, who bore Ares’s divine power, always fought Frondier “just the two of them.”
In short, there are several problems for the gods there to properly see the truth.
First, whether Frondier is truly human.
Due to testimony from Hephaestus or Ares they will largely believe that, but right now Frondier is using demonic power. Probabilistically, it is more likely that a demon is simply using demon power than that a human is using “Ecleksis.”
And the most problematic point—whether that man right now is truly “Frondier de Roach”? There is no way to know that.
Even if they believe Frondier is human, unless they believe that man is Frondier, it is useless.
“That woman called Carla over there—in reality she’s Atena right now, isn’t she?”
Mammon said from beside him.
“They call her the goddess of war, and she’s incredibly terrified. Of Frondier.”
“Right. That’s amplifying the gods’ anxiety even more.”
To the gods, Atena will look not in her right mind right now. As Atena herself claims, she is merely frightened of a petty human and is stopping everyone’s attack.
Paradoxically, that makes Frondier look farther from being human.
“But isn’t it a matter of time anyway?”
Lucifer said.
“Zeus has left this place and is heading to Palma with the gods who were at his side. Of course, they too are possessing humans. Since Zeus heard Satan’s words, he will know that Frondier’s declaration is a lie. It is a lie that will soon be exposed.”
“......You’re right.”
Satan nodded.
Lucifer is not wrong. A lie that will soon be exposed. Frondier is walking a very dangerous tightrope.
......And yet.
“......‘Soon,’ you say.”
That is also why Satan’s smile had stopped.
“Why is it that you are not arriving in Palma, Zeus.”
***
Frondier’s declaration.
Even more shocking than that—the obedience of the two paladins.
Of course, demons are possessing them, but to outward appearance they are simply paladins.
At this, everyone’s movements stopped. The other paladins, the gods, even Atena and Aphrodite as well.
Caaaw─
In the midst of that silence, a crow flew in and alighted on Frondier.
[Frondier, two reports.]
“Wait a moment.”
Frondier lifted his head. His gaze turned to Selena and Elodie.
The two met eyes with Frondier, and when Frondier raised one hand and clenched his fist, they gathered around him.
Weaving, Heukcheon
Workshop
A building rose up to enclose Frondier and Cybel, who had been nearby already, and Selena and Elodie, and even the two paladins, and Frondier looked back to the crow again.
“Speak.”
[Bael is headed this way. As for the Seventy-Two Demons following him, roughly half. The rest at the place they had gathered are fretting and hesitating. There are a few who, belatedly, are chasing after Bael.]
Half. And in addition, a few more. Frondier nodded. The result is better than he had expected.
‘Most of the Seventy-Two Demons likely haven’t even seen me. They’re probably trusting Bael rather than following me.’
Frondier spoke to Gregory.
“Keep watch on those among the Seventy-Two who remain.”
[What do you want me to watch for?]
“Whether any demon breaks off alone. If there is such a demon, follow cautiously.”
[Hooh. An interesting order.]
The crow nodded as if he liked it very much.
That’s right.
Frondier is thinking of a traitor among the Seventy-Two Demons.
‘The gate Astaroth’s subordinates crossed. Seeing as Gregory cannot find it, the odds are high it’s been hidden in a magical form. And yet even though the entire Seventy-Two are combing through things, it still hasn’t been found.’
Each of the Seventy-Two commands his own demonic faction.
Thus, when searching for the gate, it is highly likely that each faction is in charge of an area.
If that many demons search and it doesn’t appear, shouldn’t we rather find it strange that it hasn’t been found?
‘From the beginning, one knows the location of the gate, hides it with magic, and does not report. If we say there is such a bastard among the Seventy-Two, things add up.’
There is already the precedent called Marbocias. A demon who attached himself as Satan’s subordinate.
And if one knows the gate’s location, in the event the gods attack, he can make sure he himself survives. As ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) goods for trade, it would be very tempting.
‘......In my thinking,’
Frondier looked down at one of the two still kneeling before him.
‘Pururpur, you’re the one that rubs me wrong.’
Pururpur, the demon who made a contract with Charon.
Charon did not move according to Bael’s wishes. He picked a fight with Frondier on his own and injured Pielot. Was that truly Charon’s own will, or Pururpur’s whisper?
It was good that, quick on the uptake, he knelt before Frondier—but just what face is that bowed head wearing right now?
As when Selena once bowed her head before him, even in this posture of fealty Frondier reads nothing.
[Frondier, second report.]
“All right.”
[A large number have been detected flying toward Poseidon.]
At that, Frondier’s eyes sank.
At last they have come—the gods coming from the continent of Falind. The odds are high that Zeus and other gods have joined in.
But since Frondier left words with Poseidon, they will stall him for some time.
[And, mm. Among them.]
The crow cocked his head.
[Aster is there, too.]
“What?”
[I don’t know what exactly he did, but—]
The crow’s eyes narrowed.
Frondier wondered if a bird could even make a face like that.
[He seems to be being carried, piggyback, by one of the gods possessing a human.]
