The demon race possesses its own unique authority.
This power, known as 'Sacrifice,' allows the caster to recover or enhance their strength by sacrificing their own kind.
Demons fundamentally receive sacrifices from their worshippers, using these offerings to grow their own power, making them a race that flourishes on the act of sacrifice.
The 'Sacrifice' ability is an extreme condensation of this mechanism, allowing the caster to forcibly make a lower-ranked demon their sacrificial victim.
Imps are the demon race most optimized to be targets of 'Sacrifice.'
Small, unimpressive, and weak.
They are the lowest class of demons, easily carried around like emergency rations, to be consumed by higher demons when recovery or enhancement is needed. Imps have evolved in such a way that they can offer beneficial effects to the higher demon that sacrifices them, ensuring they are better consumed.
Upon becoming a target of 'Sacrifice,' they can increase a specific stat of the higher demon that consumes them, temporarily enhance them, or boost their defense, among other buffs. In life, they serve as assistants for various menial tasks, and in death, they become food that provides buffs.
Imps are such a race.
Naturally, imps are treated as mere tools, to be used as other demons command.
Lowe, the commander of the Imp Legion, was no different.
He lived his life following the orders of other higher-ranking demons.
The reason he was given the task of leading an invasion after receiving the scepter was merely because the other Demon Legion commanders were all out on the front lines fighting the Black Dragon.
It was a chance given to him because he was not strong enough to be on the front lines, a weakling commander.
The power of a demon race is often shown by the size of their horns. Unlike Cromwell, who possessed large and beautiful antlers, Lowe's horns were small and unimpressive.
With a self-esteem as small as his horns, Lowe had lived his life groveling.
However, as he fought against Ash, a desire like never before began to ignite in Lowe's heart.
Chasing after the distant figure of the enemy commander, confronting the seemingly impregnable walls of the fortress, both in vision and reality, sparked a flame in the heart of this small demon who had lived his life passively.
He wanted to win.
He desperately wanted to win.
His life, which he thought was meaningless, might have existed just to overcome this man, to breach these walls.
'I can do anything to defeat this greatest of adversaries...!'
And it was at that moment, Lowe finally found a clue that could lead to victory and was about to grasp it.
***
After the thirty-fourth invasion.
Lowe was summoned to the king's castle. More precisely, he was dragged there.
Boom, thud...
The castle was still violently shaking from the battle with the Black Dragon.
Black dragons outside the barrier continuously spewed black flames, and other Demon Legion commanders were furiously trying to intercept them.
Inside such a castle, in the audience chamber, the demon royal guard commander, Cromwell, was waiting for Lowe with a tired expression.
"Lowe."
As soon as the dragged-in Lowe arrived, Cromwell growled.
"Why did you break the rule?"
"..."
"Why did you break the 'rule' set by the Demon King? Why did you do such a thing?"
Cromwell shook her head in disapproval after her questioning.
"No, right. It must have been a mistake. I must have rushed you into the task, which led to this situation."
"It was not a mistake."
"What?"
"I did it knowingly."
In front of the flustered Cromwell, Lowe spoke confidently.
"When I first held this scepter, it showed me what could be done with it. And, how far we should not go."
"But... why did you cross the line?"
"Because I wanted to win."
Lowe held the scepter tightly in his embrace.
"To test the strategy I had in mind, I had to deploy two legions."
"Because I trusted you with this task...! And because you broke the rule, I now face the punishment of the King of Kings!"
Cromwell, akin to the royal guard of the Demon King, naturally fears being reprimanded by the Demon King the most.
Cromwell, after yelling, took a deep breath and extended her hand forward.
"No... actually, it's obvious. The responsibility lies with me, and I will bear it."
"..."
"I will not blame you further. However, Imp Legion commander Lowe, I will revoke your right to act on behalf of the King of Kings. Hand over the scepter."
"I refuse."
"What?"
"I said, I refuse."
For the first time, even Cromwell and the other demons widened their eyes in surprise.
And for the first time in his life, the small Imp Legion commander refused an order from a being far superior to himself.
"Just once more! Just one more step forward, and we can bring down the human defenses...!"
As Lowe shouted, the demon royal guards cautiously approached him. Lowe glared at them fiercely.
"Do not come any closer!"
"...!"
"This war... is the first thing I've found on my own, something I want to accomplish with my life."
Lowe exclaimed.
"If the life of an imp is to become a sacrifice, then I... want to be sacrificed for this war!"
"..."
"This scepter, no, this war! It is entirely mine!"
In front of the panting Lowe, Cromwell blinked in confusion.
"Lowe, you..."
That's when it happened.
Boom!
With a terrifying explosion, the castle shook violently. The miserable screams of other demon soldiers could be heard from outside.
Cromwell, barely maintaining her balance, shouted towards the outside.
"What's happening!"
"The True Black Dragon!"
A demon royal guard rushed in to report.
"Night Bringer has taken the field personally! His breath has obliterated the external barrier of the castle from zones one through nine!"
"This damned lizard...!"
"Still, the last barrier maintained by the other legion commanders in this audience chamber is holding strong! We are still safe!"
But, in the next moment.
All the demons gathered here had to see it.
Lowe, who had suddenly run to the entrance of the audience chamber, was touching the barrier... slowly turning around to look back.
Cromwell felt a chill down her spine and stammered.
"Lowe?"
"You must have forgotten."
Lowe retorted coldly, in a flat voice.
"I am also a legitimate legion commander with the authority to control this barrier."
"Don't do this, Lowe."
Cromwell tried to calm Lowe down, speaking placidly.
"I'll let you keep the acting authority and the scepter, just stop-"
But.
The place where Lowe's hand had touched was already seeing the barrier being smoothly deactivated.
With a swirling motion, a small part of the barrier was deactivated, and Lowe squeezed his small body through the gap, escaping.
Cromwell, watching this scene dumbfounded, grimaced.
"That crazy bi..."
Cromwell couldn't finish her curse.
The Black Dragon was not foolish enough to miss the small opening in the barrier.
With a thunderous roar, Night Bringer, in the form of a massive Black Dragon, flew in, pushing his vicious claws through the barrier and tearing it apart in an instant.
Cromwell yelled towards Night Bringer, who was storming in like a siege tower.
"True Black Dragon! This traitor-!"
"The king who establishes a new dynasty is inevitably a traitor to all."
Night Bringer laughed with his massive mouth wide open.
"Rebellion is the true mark of a king."
With a snap, the dragon's massive jaws closed, chewing up Cromwell's upper body. Blood spurted in all directions like a fountain.
Leaving the chaos of the castle behind, Lowe, holding the scepter, ran.
"Ha, ha, ha!"
It didn't matter what happened.
Whether the demon race was annihilated, whether the Black Dragon seized dominance, or whether the King of Kings meted out punishment, it didn't matter.
If he could apply his strategy, if he could confront the guardian of humanity.
If he could give his all, sacrificing his life for one battle-
He wouldn't mind if the world perished.
The place Lowe reached after running out of the castle was the entrance to the underground sewer.
As Lowe was catching his breath, he heard footsteps from ahead.
Tap, tap.
To Lowe's surprise, there stood.
"..."
Cromwell's deputy, who had been monitoring Lowe.
She had read the information Lowe had gathered and knew he would come here.
Blocking the entrance to the sewer, the deputy sent an inscrutable look over her glasses. Lowe asked with a forced smile.
"Are you here to stop me?"
"...No."
The deputy smiled faintly.
"I wanted to see it. The end of the path you're taking."
The deputy stepped aside slowly.
"I'll follow you. So show me your dream."
With a bitter smile, Lowe staggered into the sewer.
And without hesitation, he threw himself into the deepest, filthiest part.
***
Lake Kingdom, Zone 10. The sedimentation area.
This place, where all sorts of filth and garbage washed down from the sewers gather, is the dirtiest and most unclean place in this hell.
"Cough!"
Lowe, who had tumbled down here, soon discovered it.
The monsters that had nested in this terrible garbage mountain, vibrating with a revolting stench.
The Fly Legion.
Dirty, repulsive, and shunned by all, these dreadful monsters were born from maggots.
"The guardian of humanity has assessed the strengths and weaknesses of all monsters. So, how should we respond?"
Lowe staggered towards the Fly Legion. The deputy followed him quietly, without a frown.
"We need to twist it. Both strengths and weaknesses."
"..."
"The guardian of humanity is confident in dominating the information war. So, if we can mislead that information, we have a chance of winning."
Lowe recalled the thirty-fourth invasion just before.
"When I deployed two legions that could complement each other's weaknesses, the guardian of humanity couldn't respond in time and suffered damage."
However, monsters are inherently difficult to cooperate.
The risk of breaking the rule, which Cromwell had borne last time, might have to be borne by Lowe himself if violated again.
Then the invasion itself might end midway.
In that case-
"The answer is simple. We just need to deploy in a state that doesn't require cooperation."
Standing in front of the flies messily sucking on filth in the garbage mountain, Lowe declared.
"To merge two legions into one."
"...You intend to offer yourself as a sacrifice, Lowe."
"That's right."
Lowe turned to the deputy and smiled.
"The Fly Legion possesses enough potential to destroy humanity. The only problem is their low intelligence. The guardian of humanity could easily defeat them."
"..."
"But if I become a sacrifice and enhance them... if I can give them sufficient intelligence. Then..."
Imps and Flies.
What would be the outcome when the two most despised legions merged?
Lowe took a deep breath and walked towards the swarming giant flies. The deputy called out to him from behind.
"Do you know, Lowe?"
"...?"
"Your horns right now, they are very large and impressive."
Lowe, puzzled, raised his hand to his forehead.
And indeed - his horns had grown large, now feeling them with his own hand.
Lowe unwittingly chuckled.
He had thought himself weak because his horns were small.
But that was not the case.
It was because his dream was small, so were his horns.
But now, having found a dream worth sacrificing his life for, Lowe's horns...
Had grown incomparably large, emitting a menacing light in all directions.
"Come on, maggots."
Standing in front of the Fly Legion with his arms spread wide, Lowe shouted.
"Eat me."
The giant flies clinging to the filth, along with the maggots and pupae... all turned their gaze to Lowe at once.
"I will gladly become your sacrifice. Devour me!"
With the brightest smile of his life, Lowe shouted with a voice full of hope.
"And together, let's bring about the end of the world!"
In response, countless flies and maggots surged towards Lowe.
***
While Lowe's body was being devoured.
The imp legions he had called also tumbled down to this sedimentation area below the sewers.
The deputy quietly observed the scene.
The sight of imps falling like rain through the sewer pipe connected to the ceiling.
And the flies, sweetly crunching on the imps as if baby birds being fed by their mother bird.
...
The long and hideous feast of sacrifice came to an end.
And suddenly, 'intelligence' emerged in the flies here.
Bubbling...
Making bubbling sounds, the flies began to stack their bodies on top of each other, orderly and systematically, as if constructing ancient wonders with a clear blueprint.
The flies merged into the form of one gigantic fly.
Into the shape of their greatest ancestor, hidden beneath their genes.
"..."
The deputy looked up at the form in awe.
With a roar, the gigantic fly, formed by thousands, millions, billions of flies merging together, slowly stretched out hundreds of legs to pick up the scepter lying on the ground.
Atop its head, like a crown, sprouted unbelievably large demonic horns.
The most filthy.
The most despicable.
The most impure.
The Lord of Maggots, the master of high dwelling, the forefront of evil-
That name, Beelzebub.
-Or,
"King of Flies."
Looking up at the giant demon that had finished its metamorphosis and hatched in an instant, the deputy smiled.
"Let's go, Lowe."
Hundreds of the King of Flies' other legs flew towards the deputy. She did not dodge.
"To put an end to this world."
As the deputy was torn to shreds and swallowed into the belly, the newly born demon thought.
Indeed, it would willingly go.
To humanity.
To the final bastion.
Every fortress exists, after all.
To be conquered.
--TL Notes--
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/MattReading