Chapter 423
"Thanks for gathering," Perserque mumbled in an exhausted voice.
As she spoke, she looked around at the demons, vampires, and all the races that were favorable toward demons.
"As expected, it's only right to attend if Your Majesty calls. Please do not worry about us." Many demons, starting with Grand Duke Astaroth, bowed their heads in respect.
Watching the demons, Perserque remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking. "First, we need to receive reports..."
"Yes, let's start with the technical area. We have transported many valuable books, including technical and magical ones, which were hidden in the past human civilization, to our main castle. We expect that these will greatly help improve the quality of life for our kind."
A young demon gave the first report, followed by a female demon.
"Following your order, we have successfully captured seven fortresses of the still resisting Orc rebels. Now, they only have three natural fortresses and one Orc king's castle left. We are ready to attack at any time at your command."
Various reports followed, covering funds, migration, and the situation of the war.
Finally, Astaroth stepped forward to give a report that was bound to throw everyone into confusion. "Your Majesty... we've lost contact with Chief of Staff Nyx."
"What...?"
"Huh..."
Despite the surprised murmurs of the demons, Astaroth continued his report with a calm demeanor. "He definitely went to capture the human who had rudely interfered with your body and cut off the lifeline of the dying Divine Tree with Grimghast (Black Dragon Troop)."
Perserque nodded.
"It seems that something went wrong."
Perserque nodded again, her expression unreadable. It seemed quite certain that Nyx was either dead or, at the least, sealed in a manner equivalent to death. The revolting feeling that had been infiltrating her mind and controlling her was completely gone.
"Grand Duke Astaroth."
As Perserque’s smooth, beautiful voice flowed, Astaroth respectfully bowed his head. "What does it seem like to you?"
"From a cold, calculated viewpoint, there is no one who could kill the chief of staff alone. He, unlike other immortals, is the true immortal itself. Killing him is nearly impossible." Astaroth continued calmly, "So, the only plausible explanation is that Chief of Staff Nyx has embarked on a secret mission using the Black Dragon Troop..."
Considering that he could not be dead, it could only be interpreted that Nyx was pretending to be dead to carry out some task.
"No, Chief of Staff Nyx is dead."
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"What...?"
"If not, he has been sealed in a manner equivalent to death." Perserque held her throbbing head with one hand. Although the discomfort of Nyx's mental intrusion was gone, she had a nagging headache, probably due to overexertion.
"Your Majesty! What is this?! There has been no report yet!" Astaroth shouted in surprise.
The other demons seemed to have trouble believing Perserque’s words too. It was understandable because, for the demons, Nyx was an absolute being.
"Chief of Staff Nyx is dead? That's impossible, Your Majesty!"
"Indeed!"
"Are you servants of Nyx or of me?" Perserque quietly asked them, watching their confusion.
Silence fell upon the room.
"So, you all blindly trust Nyx instead of me.”
"That, that is..."
In the strictly hierarchical society of demons, this was unthinkable.
Amid the chaos, someone moved first. "Your Majesty, please take my life!"
Seeing Astaroth clutching his head, begging for mercy, Perserque frowned. Despite her thoughts, she continued to speak. "You don't know what Chief of Staff Nyx has done to my body when he resurrected me."
"What did he...?"
"He violated the hierarchy of demons and committed treason."
‘If Nyx is dead, I would rather make use of it, even if it's to end this endless war we will face in the future. We can't continue like this. If we exterminate humans any further, it will disrupt the relationship between the Dark Lord and the antagonist. The moment that happens... the monsters would open their eyes,’?Perserque thought as she sighed.
"Your Majesty! Treason? What do you mean…?"
"Isn't the one who placed chains and constraints on the Dark Lord's flesh, controlling her to their liking, a traitor?" Perserque asked, her voice chilling.
"Impossible."
"Can't you believe the words of your Dark Lord?"
The hall fell silent at Perserque’s chilly question.
Only for a moment, annoyance could be seen on the face of Gluttony, the leader of the radical vampire faction.
'So it was him,' Perserque thought.
Under complete mind control, she could not exercise any free will. From simple meals to sleep, every aspect of her life had been controlled by Nyx. It was truly infuriating, but since he had already disappeared, Perserque had to consider what would come next.
Nyx did not mastermind all of this wicked scheme alone. The leader of the radical vampires, Gluttony, must have played his part too.
"Lord Vampire Gluttony. You don't look too pleased."
"Not at all, Your Majesty."
Perserque, who had been silently glaring at his short reply, turned her head away. "Really…"
"But, Your Majesty, the presence of Chief of Staff Nyx alone strengthened us demons…"
Gluttony was cut off.
Suddenly, the hall door opened, and a succubus lady rushed in. If other succubi were brimming with sexual charm, she had an unusually pure and innocent beauty among them.
"Haa… Haa…"
"Liline!" Astaroth, surprised by Liline’s sudden arrival, called out and ran to her.
Among the demons, Grand Duke Astaroth was known to be extraordinarily composed. However, he showed a caring side for his daughter-in-law, the succubus Liline Orlouge.
Liline Orlouge, although she had superior power among the succubi, was a bit of an oddity, being uncharacteristically gentle compared to others.
"Your, Your Majesty, I'm sorry! I have an urgent report…"
Just as the other demons were about to speak, seeing the visibly cowering Liline, Perserque raised her hand to silence them. Shen then said, "Speak."
"It's… A human has arrived."
"What?"
The hall fell silent at Liline’s report.
"A human who claims to have killed Nyx has appeared here, alone. And he has even brought a brutal black dragon that listens to no one but your orders."
Astonishment crept on everyone's faces.
Perserque herself was silent, not fully grasping the situation. "A human has come?"
"Yes, he wants to meet Your Majesty…"
"Where is he now?"
"He accepted his arrest without resistance. He is being escorted here, but…"
At Liline’s words, the demons rose in an uproar. "It's dangerous, Your Majesty!"
"Send me, please! Let me sever the insolent human's head in one stroke!"
When the massive demon general shouted, similar voices echoed from all sides.
Most had the same opinion that Nyx had the strongest power among the demons. Despite Perserque possessing great magical skills, her physical condition here could not live up to her past glory. But the reason the demons followed her was that, among the remaining demons, Perserque could still demonstrate overwhelming power.
Nonetheless, if the one who killed even Nyx came in here without resistance and caused a ruckus, they could not predict what could happen.
"No, call him in."
However, Perserque made a different choice. With the control of Nyx gone, she believed that this incident of a human coming could be a great opportunity…to end this pointless war.
"Your, Your Majesty!"
"Are you afraid of a single human? Were you just scarecrows without the traitor Nyx?"
The demons froze as if they had been struck dumb.
With a small blow to the demons’ pride, Perserque achieved what she wanted and turned her gaze toward panting Liline. She asked, "Have you confirmed his power?"
"That is… We have not been able to confirm…"
"Let him in."
With those words, Liline exited the hall once again. Not long after, a unique presence entered the hall filled with numerous demons.
A young human boy casually walked in. Though bound in black chains, the expression on the boy's face was surprisingly calm. He was too young. Humans were a species that aged. While metamorphosis was said to halt aging, the boy looked too young to have experienced it; he seemed to be not even in his twenties.
“Perserque.”
Perserque sent a complicated gaze at the boy who was addressing her with a strange sentiment.
“Nyx is dead, so there’s no one left to manipulate you at their whim. That's why I came.”
“You..."
“Surrender, Perserque. If you surrender now, I’ll spare your life,” he said, as if he knew her very well.
The demons began to shout in anger at the boy’s words.
* * *
“That, that insolent! Daring to... Our queen!”
“Your Majesty! Please kill that insolent human immediately! We cannot believe that Chief of Staff Nyx was killed by such a young human!”
The shouts were intense.
There must have been no mana sensed from Davey in their eyes. He stored only a minimum amount of mana in his clone, so even if they tried to sense it, they would only perceive a trivial amount.
Despite the terrible murderous intent pouring out, Davey leisurely moved forward. There was nothing to regret since he had no risk of losing his life. However, he did have a means to casually crush their thoughts.
Clank!!!
Davey nonchalantly took out a small wand from his pocket and tossed it to the floor.
“That, that is!”
“The Abyssal Hole!!”
It was one of Chief of Staff Nyx's favorite weapons and was his symbol.
“Do you believe me now?” With a wide grin, Davey took a step forward and said calmly, ignoring the fact that his arms were chained. “Didn’t I tell you, if you surrender, I’ll spare your life?”
“Human! How dare you, in this place!”
Boom!!!!
Responding to Davey, a giant demon rushed over, grabbed Davey’s collar, and hoisted him into the air. “You really have guts, human! How dare you spit such nonsense to the queen! What color is your blood? I will see it right now.”
“It’s red, so don’t be curious.”
Thud…
The demon's grip was undoubtedly powerful, but Davey broke free just by tapping his arm a few times and then spoke to Perserque. “Nyx wouldn’t have known that this war cannot continue any further.”
“...”
“But you know, don’t you?”
Perserque's face turned pale. Compared to when they first met, she seemed really lively. She was tired due to resignation, but it was different from when she was being controlled by Nyx's power.
“If you don’t want every demon on this continent, and every human, to die, end the war here. Do as you wish with half the continent you have consumed.”
“You... Who on earth are…”
“Curious about who I am? Or, do you need a realistic alternative?”
There was a moment of turmoil for the demons who could not follow the conversation between Davey and Perserque.
“The war is pointless from here on. You would know that; the Abyssal ones are not ordinary species. If you insist on continuing the war here.”
Of course, it may not be easy to just convince the demons with words. In that case, Davey would just have to bluff.
“I’ll have no choice but to side with the humans and chase all of you back to that artificial demon world.”
“How dare you!!!”
Crash!!
Unable to suppress his anger, a giant demon drew his sword and tried to swing it.
“Stop!!”
But at Perserque's shout, his sword stopped just before it reached Davey.
If Perserque had been a moment late, the fragile clone Davey would have been shattered. Although he was considering using the one insurance he had in case he died, which would not align with his intentions, thanks to Perserque, he was able to keep it unused.
“Your, your Majesty!”
“He’s right… Continuing the war is too dangerous for both races.”
Confusion spread across the demons’ faces.
“You don’t know. The real enemy is waiting to stick its head in, watching for an opportunity. We should settle the grudges of the past here. Above all…”
Perserque, who had been muttering to herself, looked at Davey with fearful eyes. Despite trying to use the power of the Abyss to see, all she would perceive was a mere grain of noise. Therefore, even if she looked, she wouldn't understand.
However, the fact that she was wary of Davey, despite seeing nothing, was probably because their first encounter had left such a significant impact on her memory, even while she was under mind control.
Indeed, the Dark Elf standing next to her as a bodyguard looked terrified as soon as he saw Davey.
The hall fell into a chilling silence.
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