The moment the report arrived that the Demon King of Sloth had appeared, the expeditionary command made its decision without hesitation. This battle could well become the turning point of the war.
The fact that a Demon King had revealed itself meant only one thing—on the other side, they too were prepared to commit their full strength.
"Did he perhaps make some sort of pact with the Demon Queen of Lust?" Leo muttered uneasily.
Caron answered in a flat tone, "I don't know the details. But one thing is certain, isn't it?"
"What's that?" Leo asked.
"If we don't respond quickly, the casualties will only grow," Caron answered.
A Demon King was no less than a walking catastrophe. Wherever the Demon King of Slaughter passed, only rivers of blood remained; wherever the Demon King of Sloth moved, only endless apathy followed.
The end of sloth was death. Even the will to live withered, and souls willingly surrendered themselves to the Demon King. The resulting beings were incomparably beyond ordinary demons. They were monsters steeped in centuries of stagnation, the very entities that once swallowed entire civilizations that had shone with brilliance.
They had been unbearable even when they merely descended upon the continent. And it would be worse now that they were in their very own demonic realm.
"Which side do you think the real one is on, Caron?" Utula asked, tearing into a chunk of meat.
Caron shook his head and answered, "It doesn't matter. We'll have to crush both either way."
For a Demon King, appearing in two places at once was hardly impossible. Even Caron himself could create avatars. Given how fast the casualties were mounting among the First and Second Armies, both threats had to be dealt with regardless.
Thus, Commander Hollander issued his orders. "Halo Leston, Sabina Leston, and the other elders of the Ducal Family of Leston, along with the Imperial Guards, will support the First Army. All remaining 8-Star knights will reinforce the Second Army."
It was a calculated distribution of strength. The elders of the Ducal Family of Leston numbered fourteen in total, thirteen of them 8-Star knights, not counting Halo himself—a fearsome power. Since the First Army consisted largely of the Oceanwolf Knight Order and Imperial Guards, Hollander made the decision without hesitation.
That left Caron to reinforce the Second Army. To deploy both Halo and Caron together would have been wasteful. By now, Caron was widely recognized as the expedition's second-in-command, and his martial power was worthy of the title.
As a result...
"So, you're actually letting us fight a Demon King, just as promised, young master?" Ugo asked eagerly.
"Please, stop calling me 'young master,'" Caron groaned.
"Ah—Caron, then. We'll put our faith in you," Kerra said, correcting himself quickly.
Caron's old subordinates, Ugo and Kerra, were being sent along to bolster the Second Army as well. Commander Uriel, who officially led the Second Army, was absent for the moment.
But they weren't the only ones.
"Well then, Caron, will you rub my shoulders on the way? I'll even let you ride my griffon," Queen Kynda Reynolds said with a mischievous smile.
"Your Majesty..." Caron muttered.
"What is it? Speak up," Kynda teased.
"...I was just going to say you've aged gracefully," Caron grumbled.
The Pirate Queen had attached herself to this force as well. The reinforcements for the Second Army were, in truth, a chaotic mix.
Including Caron himself, there were thirty-one 8-Star knights. Enough force not only to annihilate a single nation, but to wipe out several.
Caron took a swig from his flask of whiskey and sighed heavily, then said, "I'm not some nursemaid, yet here I am dragging around a gaggle of old folks. What a life. And Your Majesty, your men seem perfectly happy lounging at sea."
"Lounging? They're getting eaten by sea monsters every other day. Do you really have to put it that way?" Kynda snapped.
"Sea monsters are handled by the Magic Tower's airships anyway," Caron said.
"Pirates can't fight on land. That's why we're pirates," Kynda replied smoothly.
In the end, the burden was Caron's to carry.
If only they had sent my family's elders instead... Caron thought. Then he could have played the blood-ties card and coasted on their efforts. But orders were orders, and there was no helping it.
He cast a weary glance at the noisy group of experts and finally raised his voice. "Finish your preparations and gather within thirty minutes. Do not forget—we face a Demon King. Be ready in every way."
Though the thought of the first clash with a Demon King stirred a hint of tension in him, Caron wasn't particularly afraid. The strength of numbers couldn't be denied, and there were many warriors at the pinnacle of the 8-Star rank.
If this much power couldn't bring down a Demon King...
Then victory in this war was never possible to begin with, Caron thought.
That was the grim truth. Which was why they had to prove, here and now, that the blade of the expedition could indeed sever a Demon King's head.
Caron exhaled softly and toyed with the hilt of Guillotine.
"Owner, you're more nervous than you should be," Guillotine said.
"...How could I not be?" Caron muttered.
"Fair enough," Guillotine said.
The first battle against a Demon King was the battle that could decide the fate of the expedition.
Nodding, Caron rose from his chair and headed toward the door.
"Caron, where are you going?" Leo asked.
Waving a hand lazily, Caron replied, "To fetch some meat shields."
"Oh," Leo responded.
"The demons rotting in the prison camp will do nicely. If not now, when else would we make use of them?" Caron said.
As tension swept through the fortress, the champions of the expedition rose to march against a Demon King.
What awaited them on that battlefield, no one could say.
***
Where did it all go wrong?
Uriel—better known as Beatrice—had been racking her mind without rest since taking command of the Second Army, but no answer came.
This was no longer a matter of strategy or tactics. What had unfolded before her eyes was nothing short of a calamity.
"...Commander Uriel, perhaps it would be wise to fall back for now?" Uriel's loyal subordinate asked. He was the Captain of the First Holy Knight Order of the Holy Kingdom. His voice carried nothing but sincerity.
Beatrice clenched her teeth and shook her head, then replied, "That's impossible. Do you honestly think we can escape from that Demon King?"
"...Commander, we must at least try to minimize the losses," the subordinate pressed.
"If there had been even the faintest chance of retreat, I would have given the order already," Uriel said firmly.
Only a few hours ago, their advance had been laughably easy. The demons had been swept aside, and the Second Army had pressed forward with barely any resistance. They had expected serious opposition eventually, but the sudden appearance of a Demon King was far beyond anything Uriel had foreseen.
The First Army also reported encountering a Demon King... Could this be a deception? Beatrice thought.
For a moment, she considered it, then shook her head firmly. No trick could ever feel like this .
Her gaze fell on the battlefield, shrouded in the overwhelming might of a Demon King. Though the sun was sinking, the battlefield was unnaturally bright. At its center hung a massive sphere of violet light. It was the embodiment of the Demon King of Sloth.
Moments ago, her soldiers' morale had soared. Now they were drowning in despair. Most had already lost the will to fight.
The foe was overwhelming enough alone, but it was the dark mana of Sloth that gnawed relentlessly at their minds. Priests raised their voices in frantic hymns, trying to push back the corruption, yet the Demon King's power wasn't so easily dispelled.
Beatrice quietly fixed her eyes on the violet aurora rippling across the sky.
"...Gather the 8-Star knights," she ordered.
The Second Army had its fair share of such powerhouses. There was one knight from the Free City Union, the chieftains of the giants and the orcs, and others of near-8-Star caliber. They couldn't afford to collapse here.
The only answer was simple: Though it sounded impossible, they had to kill the Demon King.
Her aide bit his lip and nodded solemnly, then said, "May the Light bless us." With that, he rushed off to relay her orders.
Beatrice gripped her sword and walked forward, step by heavy step, toward the Demon King. With each pace, her mind grew more disordered.
I want to stop. I want to abandon this wretched revenge and sink into peace, she thought.
The dark mana gnawed at her resolve, stripping away willpower, leaving nothing but emptiness. Unlike the vicious mana of Havoc that had once ensnared her life, this mana dissolved even the thought of resistance itself.
Already, soldiers tainted by it wandered the battlefield like hollow scarecrows.
"Allow me to go back home..."
"...What meaning does life even hold?"
"It's all pointless..."
Only the strongest—those able to shield their minds—still gripped their blades with determination.
Beatrice exhaled deeply and released her holy power. She still didn't know why the Light had ever chosen her, but now... Now she thought she understood.
"Look at the enemy before you! Steel your will! Remember the mission of the expedition!" she shouted.
A dazzling wave of holy radiance burst from her, sweeping across the faltering ranks. Eyes once dulled with despair lit with renewed resolve. The violet haze receded beneath her light, and soldiers rekindled their fighting spirit.
The demonic monsters shrieked and charged through the confusion. The soldiers met them with blades blazing, rallying once more to battle.
Beatrice pressed on, her own eyes locked on the Demon King.
I'll buy time, she thought. She knew that her cursed Commander would be rushing here already. If anyone could drive a sword into that thing's throat, it would be the one who'd returned even from death itself.
Beatrice knew she could die, but she wasn't afraid. She had lived for this moment.
Those who had mocked the fates of countless souls deserved nothing less than annihilation.
"...A shame," she murmured with a faint smile. Not that she regretted her own death—only that she might not be the one to sever the head of that accursed Demon King of Havoc.
Even so, she strode forward with unshaken steps. This was only the opening shot. Sloth would be the first, but the others too would meet their end.
Even in the minds of the Demon Kings who had treated the continent like a toy, fear would finally bloom.
That much will be enough, Beatrice thought.
She nodded once, raised her blade, and charged the violet figure. A blaze of white light enveloped her as she kicked off the ground, surging toward the Demon King.
The amorphous violet shape loomed before her. There was no face, no true form, but it was unmistakably a Demon King. The crushing malice searing into Beatrice's mind, the sheer dread filling her chest, left no doubt.
Her holy blade sliced forward, tearing through the dark. Moonlight scattered around her as she struck.
The sword pierced the Demon King's chest—yet she felt nothing. No resistance, no flesh, as though she had cut through empty air.
Unease stirred, and she tried to wrench her blade free.
That was when the voice came.
"So you are one of Caron Leston's cherished subordinates. Until he arrives, I suppose you will amuse me. Caron Leston always loses his senses when those close to him are endangered. You will make the perfect bait for this trap."
The voice, dripping with dark mana, echoed from every direction. Its corruption birthed illusions. Beatrice strained, flooding herself with holy light, but—
Shhhh.
There was a hiss like searing wind. Dark mana spread like countless tendrils, effortlessly smothering her radiance.
"The Light you carry has no power here. In the Demon Realm, only the Void reigns supreme."
Before her eyes, visions unfurled. There was the burning palace, the bloodstained stairs.
Yes... the very worst day. The day her Commander had died by a friend's betrayal. The day the poor soul who had been a Demon King's plaything for a lifetime chose death.
"Serve me instead of the Light. Obey my commands, and I will grant you the chance to slay the Demon King of Havoc. Was that not your only purpose?"
The voice dripped with temptation.
But Beatrice only raised the corner of her mouth in a faint smirk. She slashed through the illusion and said, "Spare me your pathetic drivel. My purpose is to kill the Demon Kings with my Commander."
"Then you are useless. No matter. I will devour your soul and make your body my puppet—"
"You're already too late," a voice interrupted.
And then—
Boom!
A thunderous crash shook the heavens. From above, a star of dark blue fire plummeted.
Moments later, the voice Beatrice had longed to hear rang out across the battlefield.
"It's been a while, you slothful bastard. Who said you could lay a hand on my subordinate? You're dead now," Caron said.
Unlike in his previous life, when he had left her behind, her Commander now stood before her.
Beatrice's lips curved into a radiant smile.