Chapter 411

Chapter 411
## Chapter 411

Dark Nest (1)

A war zone littered with the mutilated remains of fiends, their shapes bizarre and monstrous.

Swoosh—

A chilling gust swept across the scarred earth, brushing past the dead, blowing over the remaining fiends, whose physical forms were broken and bloodied, their breathing labored and heavy, before lifting high into the atmosphere.

“…Tsk, just as I suspected.”

Far above, suspended in the eye of a rotating cyclone of air,

…a striking woman, her blood-red pupils squeezing tight with irritation, scanned the slaughterhouse below, her eyes tracing the path of devastation.

“He slipped away. I failed to end him on this ground.”

Her pupils shifted back to their standard shade, and the rotating cyclone surrounding her body dissolved.

She had deployed 「Seven-Colored Eyes of Domination」, utilizing its control over the natural elements to scour the local territory, yet she discovered no lingering sign of his presence.

‘…Then again, he holds the title of the mightiest within the Demon World, so this outcome is logical.’

Hella pursed her lips, a trace of regret surfacing in her tone, before elongating her spine and letting her knuckles pop.

The Dragon Marquis was far from a simple target, not an adversary she could expect to crush in a solitary engagement.

Furthermore, she had concentrated too heavily on blocking his path back to his main base, which restricted her from unleashing her full capabilities.

‘…Even so, this is a more favorable result than I anticipated.’

She had delayed him for an ample amount of time.

This success was entirely credited to 「Seven-Colored Eyes of Domination」, a power she had wrested from the Dragon Marquis himself during their past encounter.

Utilizing his own foresight ability had granted her the capacity to predict and block his paths of retreat.

‘…Naturally, since he possessed that identical gift, he managed to break free eventually. Still, his current options are entirely exhausted.’

The hour had passed for him to alter the trajectory.

Hella offered a low, amused sound, reviewing the benefits accumulated from this… triumphant undertaking.

[“Hella-nim! Our preliminary evaluation is wrapped up. We are presently figuring out the precise casualty metrics and sorting the captured enemy combatants!”]

A colossal Balrog, his massive wings beating the air with immense force, glided up to her position and commenced his briefing.

It was an exhausting but vital duty, given her role as the supreme leader.

“…Is this the result of the Dragon Marquis personally entering the fray? The clash was brief, yet our losses surpass our previous engagements.”

[“In truth… they are quite manageable. This is entirely due to your strategic foresight, Hella-nim. Furthermore, a vast portion of the opposing battalions surrendered the moment the Dragon Marquis fled, meaning we can swiftly restore our numbers.”]

Tavares, a Marquis-level fiend who had turned his back on the Dark Nest and now directed Hella’s military forces, extended his update, his delivery remaining poised and uniform.

She offered a simple gesture of understanding, pondering how he had successfully aggregated such vast data within such a brief window.

[“Our forces possess absolute dominance over Otorel’s region, the vital entrance of the Dark Nest. Their defensive perimeter will collapse if we push forward immediately. They will be desperately scrambling to draft a defensive blueprint.”]

She had relegated the management of her legions to him primarily because she lacked… deep expertise regarding grand military formations and battlefield maneuvers.

Given his prior status as an elite tactician within the opposing regime until quite recently, he possessed intimate knowledge of their current vulnerabilities and their standard defensive maneuvers.

He had previously directed the battalions of the Dark Nest during their prior push into the Burning Inferno, the domain belonging to the Fighting Demon Duke.

“Mmh, meaning the initiative of this conflict is ours to command?”

[“Precisely. That region is a vital geopolitical asset. I find it difficult to comprehend why the Dragon Marquis conceded the ground so readily.”]

‘…Choice was a luxury he lacked. A more critical matter demanded his focus.’

Hella smirked under her breath, shifting her gaze toward Tavares.

His personal input toward her current triumph was undeniable. He directed her battalions flawlessly, acting as though he were an extension of her own consciousness.

She remained ignorant of the true motive behind his decision to break faith with the Dragon Marquis to enlist in her cause, particularly since he was a Balrog, just like the Fighting Demon Duke…

…yet the answer was irrelevant to her.

For an individual aiming to dominate the entirety of the Demon World, the only currency that mattered was… sheer utility.

‘…It is obvious that shared lineage does not guarantee… harmony. Particularly in the environment of the Demon World, where treachery and subversion are standard practice.’

The alliances within the Demon World operated essentially as… independent warlords, their allegiances tied strictly to personal gain and the visible dominance of their commander.

Viewed through that lens, the Dream Walkers, an alliance made up exclusively of succubi, stood as a bizarre exception.

This solidarity likely stemmed from the period of the 14th Demon King, L’rei’e’s authority, alongside the subsequent suppression they endured following her demise.

‘…Liliana and the Dream Walkers ought to maintain their positions effectively. Moving on… ‘

Helheim’s military was not confined to a single theater of war.

As they had risen to become one of the three dominant empires within the Demon World, they were required to safeguard their newly seized lands.

Simultaneously, they needed to maintain surveillance on Demoniac, their… provisional partner.

In this realm, offering complaints about broken treaties was… an exercise in futility.

‘…Regardless, they require none of my focus for the moment. I trust they appreciate the offering I sent.’

Hella, a malicious grin surfacing on her features, directed her eyes upward.

The violet sky, marred by a monumental fracture resembling a sword strike across its center, with the glittering galaxy visible beyond…

A striking yet… deeply disturbing panorama.

She fixed her vision upon it, allowing her spirit to steady and her internal focus to crystallize.

“…The subsequent phase begins now. With our partners… providing vigorous backing, the circumstances are ideal.”

The spirit of her troops was soaring, having successfully forced the mighty Dragon Marquis into a retreat.

Consequently, Hella, the sovereign of Helheim, guided her legions onward into the fray once more.

—

The central stronghold of the Dark Nest.

“Marquis! Do you require assistance?”

“Your sudden reappearance…”

His retainers, shocked by his unannounced arrival, scrambled to gather around him.

Their response was predictable. Their commander, the absolute peak of their power, had returned… bearing the marks of retreat.

“Clear out! Vagabonds!”

Yet their concern merely intensified his fury.

Even granting that the subterranean ceremonial vault was entirely hidden, ensuring they perceived nothing suspicious from the surface…

…had they simply… executed their obligations faithfully and secured the perimeter of the stronghold, this disaster would have been averted!

He shoved past them, his presence—despite retaining his mortal guise—radiating a dark and oppressive force as he rushed toward the lower levels.

He ripped through the Viscount-level bull-headed fiend positioned at the doorway with nothing but raw strength, his wrath and irritation completely boiling over…

…and then the sight met his eyes.

The location of the transgression remained entirely untouched, preserved by the stringent security measures, the layout identical to how it was left during the breach.

He stepped toward the center of the chamber, his expression darkening.

“Sodian…”

The subterranean laboratory was utterly demolished, flattened into debris. Merely a handful of wooden fragments, the remaining traces of Sodian’s… physical vessel, were left behind.

Yet this offered all the evidence he required to piece together the events.

The intruder had not merely snuffed out Sodian, but had stripped the laboratory bare of every asset.

His expression contorted into a mask of pure fury, and he advanced further into the subterranean depths,

…steering toward the cell where Karakul, the Fighting Demon Duke, had been bound.

Nothing save a pool of dark fluids stained the masonry.

The bindings, the massive framework, the ceremonial apparatus… every component had vanished.

He mashed his teeth together, his fingers gripping so tightly that his knuckles drained of color, and marched toward the portal concealed behind the column.

He maintained no doubts… yet validation from his own sight was mandatory.

‘…Ken, that miserable wretch…!’

His core burned, his fury escaping all boundaries of restraint.

He had invested an immense volume of planning into securing this sanctuary…

Yet despite everything, it had been reduced to absolute failure.

‘…Such a feat exceeds his solitary capabilities. An accomplice was mandatory.’

Subduing Sodian, a Marquis-level entity, inside her personal sanctum—a zone packed with lethal mechanisms and defensive barriers—was not a feat a standard fiend could execute.

His theories received absolute validation the moment he crossed the threshold of the sanctuary.

[“Rooooar—!”]

His cry of pure outrage and frustration reverberated through the colossal sanctuary, making the masonry shudder and vibrate as though a subterranean tremor had struck the earth.

This was an abnormal occurrence. The protective fields of the sanctuary, typically rock-solid, were… wavering wildly.

[“The audacity! The absolute audacity! I shall end you! I shall tear your flesh to ribbons—!”]

He bellowed once more, his malice entirely unhinged, his singularity of purpose focused on tracking down the perpetrator and… dismantling him piece by piece.

Isolating the potential culprits required little effort.

Even assuming Ken had somehow discovered a path into the ceremonial vault, the list of entities within the Demon World capable of achieving this was minuscule!

He scoured the sanctuary, his perceptive faculties amplified, his eyes scanning with lethal precision…

…until his gaze caught a scrap.

A minute fragment of textiles, ripped away and abandoned.

Yet his perceptive traits, remarkably acute and exact, instantly deciphered the residual energy adhering to the material.

“Khehehe… My instincts were correct. The hand behind this belongs to you.”

The physical confirmation, validating his theory, caused him to offer a low, sinister laugh.

Under standard conditions, he might have exercised greater vigilance, maintaining a degree of skepticism… but only a solitary individual fit the profile.

An entity capable of overpowering Sodian, a Marquis-level fiend, within her own fortified laboratory, capable of bypassing the defensive arrays of the sanctuary to plunder the offerings, and capable of even… harvesting the core energy of the 15th Demon King…

[“Pieta—! You absolute wretch—!”]

…Who else could fit the description but Pieta, the Dark Duke?

This was an objective far beyond the scope of a few fragmented Marquis-level fiends.

Meanwhile, Hella, the sovereign of Helheim, the alternate individual on his list of suspects, had been occupied matching blades with him during the exact timeframe.

‘…By what method did he penetrate these defenses…?!’

That animate cadaver, utilizing an energy signature completely distinct from standard necromancy… must have employed some manner of… esoteric ritual.

And the tangible proof rested directly within his fingers.

“So, you choose to engage in games? Your recent silence was uncharacteristic… You were orchestrating this treachery from the darkness. You and that crossbreed… collaborating in secret…”

The minute fragment of textile within his fist crumbled, dissolving into black dust, vaporized by the dark embers that instantly flared from his skin.

At that moment, the restraint he had maintained with immense discipline dissolved completely.

[“Grrrr—! I shall end your existence!”]

He bellowed once more, his malice vibrating the very structural roots of the sanctuary.

Yet he failed to perceive the change.

———!

The sanctuary itself, as though attempting to pass urgent knowledge to him, had been emitting tremors since the moment he crossed the threshold.

Yet he remained oblivious.

He turned on his heel and stormed away from the holy site, his consciousness entirely hijacked by malice,

…mobilizing to restart the conflict.

———!

The sanctuary, pulsing with desperation, discharged an alternate, far more intense vibration…

…yet the effort was meaningless.

The Dragon Marquis occupied the space merely as a… temporary resident.

And no disciples remained alive to heed its calling.

—

The central base of Demonic.

Pieta, the Dark Duke, his form enveloped in dark shadows, a caprid skull masking his facial features, azure embers dancing within the hollow eye tracks, observed the glowing map projected across the space in front of him.

“Their performance is striking. For an emergent alliance to command this degree of influence…”

He spoke in a low murmur, his focus anchored to the emblem of Helheim, which was rapidly consuming territory across the theater of war.

“My foresight in arranging countermeasures was well-placed.”

A tone, laced with dark mirth, resonated from the depths of the caprid skull.

Demonic maintained total readiness. They had been biding their time, awaiting the perfect window to launch an offensive.

While Helheim remained minor in comparison to the Dark Nest at present… their acceleration rate was terrifying. They represented a brewing hazard that could not be disregarded.

Their string of recent triumphs provided undeniable confirmation.

‘…Their actual combat power might already eclipse that of the Dark Nest.’

This reality explained why Demoniac had maintained such a reserved posture across the active battlefields.

They were husbanding their resources, awaiting the ideal window to strike, allowing Helheim and the Dark Nest—completely blinded by their mutual hatred—to deplete their assets against one another.

Simultaneously, they were quietly steering the geopolitical landscape, working to inflame the hostilities between the two empires, degrading the power of both parties.

“Hehehe, conflict requires far more than mere physical dominance.”

The Dark Duke, who possessed a deep affinity for intricate plots and subversion over direct battlefield engagement, snickered quietly, deriding the ignorance of his competitors.

The greater the friction between them, the grander his advantage became.

“Your Grace! Your Grace!”

Right as he was indulging in his… instance of self-congratulation,

…one of his high-ranking aides, his complexion completely drained of color and his voice dripping with terror, burst into the command chamber.

An event of… catastrophic proportions had clearly manifested.

Pieta pinched his brow, the azure embers within his skeletal sockets flaring with a dangerous light, and shifted his attention toward the intruder.

Should the matter prove trivial, the price would be severe.

Fortunately for the panicked aide,

…no penalty was enacted.

The unfolding crisis far exceeded any scenario he had predicted.

“An all-out offensive has begun! The complete military force of the Dark Nest is rushing toward our defensive lines! Furthermore, the Dragon Marquis himself is leading the charge…!”

“…What?”

Demonic, who had chosen to linger in the deep shadows like a patient scavenger,

…was violently thrust into the center of the storm.