〈 Chapter 135 〉 Demon King’s Meeting (1)

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In the depths of the Chaos Realm, there stood an unnamed ancient castle whose origins were unknown. It was referred to as the Demon King’s Castle by the Demon Kings who gathered there.

The “Demon King’s Meeting” was an irregular conference held sometimes every year, other times every fifty years. This was the first meeting since the death of Libero two years ago.

“Everyone seems the same as always.”

“Well, we’re Demon Kings, right?”

Demon King Violet, who responded to the obvious remark, turned her head to survey the surroundings. Each time she did, her distinctive dark purple hair swayed like a curtain.

“Then, I presume all of you are here this time?”

Participation in the Demon King’s Meeting was not mandatory. The fundamental rule among the Demon Kings was to guarantee each other’s freedom. However, the number of Demon Kings gathered in the castle this time was quite small.

“I think we’ve waited long enough. Let’s start the connection.”

The reason for the small attendance was directly related to what Violet was about to do now. As she began to manipulate the crystal ball she had carefully brought into the room, a certain figure began to appear within it.

“Hello, Ms. Levia.”

The figure was the 33rd Demon King, Levia, who was currently leading most of the later Demon Kings and reading their strategies. She was also referred to as “Sister” by the later Demon Kings following her.

Though Violet’s crystal ball was one-sided, preventing Levia from seeing her, she focused straight ahead as she opened her mouth.

“It seems the connection is good, Violet. How many Demon Kings are present at the meeting?”

In response to that question, Violet started listing the numbers of the participating Demon Kings one by one.

“Eleven of them have gathered.”

Although that might seem small compared to the total of 72 Demon Kings, not all 72 were alive either. Excluding most of the later Demon Kings who were currently in the field, this was almost everyone present.

Except for one.

“Hmm, is the 15th… absent?”

The 15th referred to Freira.

“Yes, she is not here.”

Unfortunately, she did not attend. However, Violet felt relieved about that. Currently, the opinion regarding her among the Demon Kings was not very favorable.

This was due to the leak of secrets that began with the 71st Demon King leading up to Libero.

Ultimately, it was just a suspicion, so they couldn’t find and punish her, but most of the Demon Kings currently suspected her to be the culprit.

“Definitely better that she didn’t come.”

As if solidifying that atmosphere, Levia spoke up.

“Then we can discuss the operation more seriously.”

Thus, the meeting commenced.

The Demon King’s side revealed information obtained from the church’s spies, and Levia represented the later Demon Kings in listening to that information.

“First, this is the information regarding this year’s Hero Academy graduates.”

The Hero Academy was an institution that continuously produced elites among the official heroes. Therefore, even in the Demon King’s Meeting, they always checked the graduates through spies they had embedded among the heroes.

“First off, this year’s swordsmanship class has produced a few knights with potential around the high-ranking level, though not Saint-level.”

Violet began reading the summarized details. Included were some candidate names that needed attention — now heroes.

Most of them were graduates from Swordsmanship Class 1 under Sigritt.

“…They’re from the Steel Clan. Considering Hugo, who’s currently the 86th-ranked hero, their potential seems sufficient.”

“But with Libero gone now, and the Steel Clan being known for slow growth, there’s no need to worry too much about them.”

If it were Libero, who could hide his Demon King aura and kill a hero from within a barrier using only swordsmanship, actively managing heroes would be a poor investment of resources. Besides, now there were two critical operations currently in progress.

They were short one Demon King.

“Unusually, this year, a promising candidate appeared from Freira’s side as well. I’ve heard there was a forfeit in the graduation tournament for the first time in ages.”

“A promising candidate from Freira’s class… and a forfeit?”

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold. That was not surprising because this description was not new.

The current second-ranked hero had mysteriously gone missing for some reason, but the Demon Kings could not forget the nightmare from their first encounter with him.

“What’s his level?”

“They say the swordsmanship he displayed in the graduation tournament was just one diagonal slash, making it hard to judge precisely. However, based on that single strike, he’s already appeared to be at least at the high-ranking level.”

“Already high-ranking level…”

“However, he also had a weakness. It seems the consumption of his relic was severe, as it broke immediately after that single strike.”

“His relic broke?”

Using a relic after just one attack was quite a risky move. For knights, whose swords were as vital as their lives, it was even more so. If that sword was not an ordinary sword but a relic, its practicality drops even further.

“And more so… the challenger rule triggered by the forfeit was also a problem.”

“A challenger?”

“It was Allen Pleuk.”

At that mention, the slightly thawed atmosphere froze once again.

“Allen Pleuk suddenly appeared at the graduation tournament?”

The holy Allen Pleuk, who had been missing for a year, was now at the graduation tournament. It was certain he had remained in Hailen, but even the spies from Hailen had not flagged any sightings of him, making his current appearances quite significant.

“Given that he talked with Hero Gwen, it seems he tried to recruit her since they had known each other before.”

“Moreover, if it was a challenger rule, there must have been at least minimal combat. His combat ability…”

“…He obliterated a high-ranking strike without a trace using a 1-star relic. It was described as if the strike was swallowed and vanished in an instant by his sword.”

And that description was familiar to the Demon Kings.

“That’s Libero’s swordsmanship.”

The Demon Kings already knew that Allen Pleuk could somewhat use Libero’s swordsmanship. However, the past him could only mimic Libero’s techniques poorly; he couldn’t use them properly.

The fact that he now had the ability to obliterate a high-ranking strike with a 1-star relic meant… somehow, he had grown during this time.

Of course, Allen’s growth could be attributed to Freira, who knew Libero’s techniques, even if only theoretically.

But from the perspective of the Demon Kings, they had no way of knowing that.

“Is he growing alone?”

“So he’s not satisfied with just being a high-ranking hero.”

“Then his next move becomes crucial…”

If they were to discuss next moves, they fell within a scope of reasonable prediction.

“Of course, it’s this side, right?”

“This side” referred to the Leim Kingdom, where Levia currently was. Libero had left a warning about the dangers facing the Leim Kingdom to Allen Pleuk as he died. Therefore, if Allen Pleuk had not stopped his activities, it was predictable that his next destination would be the Leim Kingdom.

However, Violet shook her head.

“No, it seems he’s not heading to the Leim Kingdom after all.”

“Not to the Leim Kingdom?”

“Did he also know about the operation on the Central Sea System? He recruited Hero Gwen and sent her first to the Central Sea System.”

The Demon King’s side, already aware through spies, remained calm. However, on the other side of the crystal ball, Levia’s camp was in turmoil.

The reason was that the operation on the Central Sea System was being conducted in extreme secrecy.

“Given that the operation regarding the Leim Kingdom was communicated by Libero, we could hardly assist it, but how did he learn about the Central Sea System’s operation?”

“It seems there was someone on our side who leaked information… We have no other explanation.”

Though they tried to beat around the bush, the suspect was all too clear.

Regardless, Violet tried to divert the conversation.

“Thanks to that, a command has been issued from the Apostle Meeting to gather heroes at the Central Sea System, which will soon be sent out as an edict from the church to the heroes.”

The situation was certainly looking grim. Right now, they had gathered most of the Demon Kings in preparation for the operation in the Leim Kingdom. The Central Sea System operation had been somewhat neglected.

“If heroes were to flock towards the Central Sea System as is…”

The Central Sea System operation could very well end in failure. Of course, if the operation in the Leim Kingdom succeeded, they might not even need the one in the Central Sea System, but their efforts wouldn’t guarantee success in the Leim Kingdom operation either.

The success of the Leim Kingdom operation ultimately hinged on the awakening of the 72nd Demon King.

If he were to fail in his awakening, the only large-scale operation that would remain for them would be in the Central Sea System. Thus, they’d find it hard to abandon the Central Sea System.

In the end, there was only one solution.

“To the Leim Kingdom, which is in its concluding phase, we will leave only a part of our forces and divert most of them to the Central Sea System.”

That was the best option. By doing this, the number of heroes heading towards the Leim Kingdom would decrease. Thus, it meant they could leave a smaller portion of their forces that had little relevance to the awakening of the 72nd Demon King.

However, Violet disagreed with Levia on this.

“But considering the relationship between Allen Pleuk and Libero, I don’t think he would abandon the Leim Kingdom…”

“Relationship? A Demon King and a human? Are you forgetting that he was the one who killed Libero, Violet?”

“Libero asked him to kill him first.”

A sudden contest of wills began. It was rare for Violet, who usually didn’t assert herself, to engage like this.

Yet, this wasn’t the first time Violet had fixated on Libero and other early Demon Kings, so Levia eventually took a step back.

“Well, let’s say that’s true. Nevertheless, there’s no guarantee that Allen Pleuk won’t head to the Central Sea System.”

The strength of Allen Pleuk wasn’t known. In fact, witnesses had testified that they didn’t particularly sense the aura of a strong person from Allen Pleuk.

However, his mentor Libero could hide his own strength and even conceal the aura of a Demon King. Naturally, the same couldn’t be said for Allen Pleuk.

If he were to head to the Central Sea System instead of the Leim Kingdom…

“No, I think it’s more likely he’s heading to the Central Sea System. If it’s a command from the High Priest, Allen Pleuk would be no exception.”

But Violet continued to refute Levia until the end.

“The precise command issued to the Apostle Meeting was that ‘Hero Allen Pleuk will head to the Central Sea System, so summon the other heroes to the Central Sea System as well.’ If that’s the case, Allen Pleuk must have already finished discussing with the High Priest.”

“That itself is contradictory…”

Just when the discussion spiraling without resolution continued, a figure emerged at the Demon King Castle.

With ash-gray hair and a relaxed smile, it was Freira.

“Why, were you all having secret conversations without me?”

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