Chapter 414

Chapter 414
## Chapter 414

The Great Demon World War (1)

“Ah, so that is how the situation unfolds.”

Hella gave a slow nod as she digested the words of her messenger.

“I anticipated this outcome… though it remains a disappointing turn of events.”

She had actually readied a magnificent reception, just in case reality defied her expectations.

Clicking her tongue with a trace of regret in her tone, she shifted her attention to Siana, who stood close at her side.

“Abort Operation Dragon Snare. We must advance to our backup strategy.”

“A pity. We possessed an opportunity to conclude this matter with minimal effort.”

“Well, our adversaries are not completely devoid of intellect.”

Hella directed her gaze toward the massive table, which was buried under a detailed map of the Demon World.

Numerous tokens, indicating the positions of the competing factions, were drifted across the parchment.

Among those markers, a pair of exceptionally large tokens, positioned side by side, commanded her focus.

‘…Dragon Marquis Krushaior… ‘

His might was grand enough to bypass the territorial checkpoints and employ spatial transposition magic, even if it forced him to forfeit the command of a massive host.

Furthermore, that high level of swiftness could be weaponized in alternate fashions.

For instance, to swiftly collect the surviving remnants of the Dark Nest…

‘…Would it have been wiser to feed Ken’s coordinates to him?… No, the variables were too perilous. A true shame.’

Had that gamble succeeded, capturing him would have been a simple affair.

Releasing a soft breath, she twisted a lock of her long tresses around her finger before inquiring further.

“Is there any other intelligence?”

“They appear remarkably vigilant regarding their internal safety, given recent developments. Observing their transmissions was simple enough, as a grand alliance of that scale cannot easily mask its movements… however, the specific contents of their deliberations remain hidden.”

“Well, fortune has favored us until now.”

“It is merely the result of their faith in you, Hella-nim. They view you as the legitimate sovereign of the Demon World.”

Hella offered a gentle laugh at Siana’s transparent praise, noting the bright expression and pleasant tone.

Still, it was justifiable behavior. The throne of the Demon King was nearly within her grasp.

Who could have predicted that the Dream Walkers, who once stood on the precipice of ruin, would transform into the ultimate arbiters of the Demon King succession?

Settling back into her seat, a smile of contentment graced her features. It was a highly favorable shift, particularly for someone like her, who had carried the heavy burden of being the faction’s chosen successor.

‘…Even so, our security is not yet guaranteed.’

Her eyes drifted back to the parchment, focusing on the markers for the opposing armies.

Krushaior, the Dragon Marquis, consumed by fury and desperate for retaliation, and Pieta, the Dark Duke, who had finally recognized his role as a pawn.

A pair of fierce adversaries, who were locked in mortal combat mere moments ago, had now united to oppose her.

To ascend as the undisputed Demon King, she was required to crush both of them.

Thump— Thump—

Lifting her lids, she listened to the rhythmic thudding within her chest.

‘…The moment approaches.’

She could sense it clearly—her bond with this realm, the Demon World, intensifying with every passing second.

She could perceive the existence of her devotees, their unyielding allegiance and reverence inflating her own might.

This represented the authentic authority of a Demon King.

The exact trait that ensured their absolute dominion over the Demon World.

《The Demon God looks upon you with favor.》

Thus, the hours slipped away.

And in time, the grand conflict reignited as the joint armaments of the Dragon Marquis and the Dark Duke initiated a colossal offensive against Helheim’s newly claimed borders.

—

Within a dim chambers, the sole illumination emerged from a pair of sapphire fires burning inside the skull of the entity resting upon the throne.

Pieta, the Dark Duke, was immersed in deep contemplation.

‘…The situation grows overly intricate.’

His initial strategies had been abandoned long ago.

His sole option now was to react to the constantly shifting battlefield, relying on instinct and rapid adjustments.

His preference always leaned toward intricate plots and silent treachery rather than raw violence… yet even his intellect yielded little fruit under these conditions.

‘…Might remains the absolute truth in the Demon World.’

His historical maneuvers had depended entirely on data, an awareness of his rivals’ flaws and vulnerabilities gathered over centuries of warfare.

Yet Hella and her organization, Helheim… they represented an absolute blank space, a wild card he could neither divine nor manage.

Their hidden talents, their ultimate boundaries, the psychological profile of their commander, the hierarchy of their force… every detail was shrouded in darkness.

He had attempted to breach Helheim, deploying undercover operatives to harvest secrets… but the endeavor had failed utterly.

His infiltrators, regardless of their mental fortitude, had been… reformed, transferring their devotion to Hella and exposing their own hidden truths.

He was fundamentally incapable of winning an intelligence struggle.

Moreover, he had already suffered a prior betrayal.

‘…It was Hella who baited Krushaior.’

Yet the Dragon Marquis, fully believing that he was the architect of the insult, had directed a relentless campaign against Demoniac.

He remained ignorant of what had catalyzed that reaction, or if the Dragon Marquis maintained lingering… skepticism…

…but a definitive catalyst certainly existed.

“The event materialized immediately following their clash. This implies…”

…that Hella commanded the assets required to construct an emergency that demanded his own, the Dark Duke’s, direct intervention.

It was entirely plausible that she possessed a clandestine ally of Duke-level strength.

If that hypothesis held weight, the race for supremacy had already concluded.

‘…This is highly disadvantageous. I must secure a path of retreat.’

He possessed no desire to forfeit his existence for the mantle of the Demon King.

The current conflict had already claimed the existences of two Dukes. He had no intention of becoming the third casualty.

—

The hostilities, which had been briefly paused, burst forth once more on an even grander scale.

This was no focused strike like Hella’s previous maneuver, but a comprehensive push across multiple sectors, calculated to test Helheim’s overstretched defensive lines.

Helheim, which was occupied with absorbing the surrendered assets of the Dark Nest into their military structure, lacked the luxury of focusing entirely on domestic stabilization.

Their boundaries had swelled, their foes had multiplied in power, and there remained… domestic friction to quiet down.

Furthermore, it was not Hella alone who maintained their unity.

A multitude of gifted subordinates supported her rule, including…

…the Dream Walkers, her most prized companions, who obtained exceptional tidings shortly after the frontline reignited.

“Our respects, Matriarch!”

“As we all foresaw, Matriarch. We have anticipated this hour for so long…”

“Blessings upon you! You have finally breached the threshold!”

Liliana, the Dream Walker Matriarch, who had been holding the line within their borders while Hella struck at the heart of the Dark Nest’s domain, had at last broken through to the Duke level.

The information, which provided a massive surge to their collective spirit, was greeted with roaring acclamations and revelry.

“Hehehe, this is the fruit of your collective dedication… And naturally, Hella-nim’s immense favor.”

She looked down at her palms, a self-deprecating smile gracing her lips.

Her current might, though still trailing the established Dukes, had expanded exponentially.

She remembered too well how vulnerable she had been previously, how distant she had stood from this tier of power.

Achieving the status of a Duke would have remained impossible without the ‘Succubus Queen’s Essence’ that Hella had provided for her consumption.

‘…I only managed to claim the title of Marquis due to my heritage, the Demon King and the Queen. Without that lineage… ‘

She had barely maintained an Earl’s standing even during the era when her sibling, L’rei’e, occupied the throne of the Demon King.

And during that period, she had possessed virtually boundless assets at her disposal.

Squeeze—

She tightened her fingers into a fist, causing an unblemished, vibrant pink sorcery to cascade outward.

It was the precise essence she had once identified within her mother, the Succubus Queen.

And now, that power belonged to her.

‘…In what manner can I possibly requite this debt?’

She felt… entirely captured by the weight of her appreciation.

The ultimate method to honor that benevolence was to secure her master’s ascension as the unchallenged Demon King.

“Huu— Now, shall we commence our duties?”

With those words, Liliana, the Nightmare Duke, stepped onto the field of battle.

And…

“Glory to the Nightmare Duke!”

[“In the name of Helheim!”]

“Wooo—!”

…moments after her arrival,

…one of the primary combat zones was… completely purged.

—

[“That… harlot, Liliana?!”]

The monstrous visage of the Dragon Marquis twisted into a mask of pure fury upon receiving the battlefield update.

Yet another obstacle.

Discontent among his troops was accelerating, and concurrently, a fresh Duke-tier combatant had reinforced the opposing faction.

‘…With luck, she will cross blades with that mongrel… ‘

He briefly weighed the prospect… though the likelihood was minimal.

After all, the bond uniting them was not merely… transactional.

Furthermore, turned against Hella at this juncture to seek independent glory would be a brainless action, unless an individual’s intellect had been thoroughly… preserved in unholy sorcery.

‘…Curse it, this is… ‘

He was being bested.

He had operated with such certainty, so convinced of his ultimate triumph…

How had his fortunes degraded to this state?

‘…Once more? Am I… facing ruin again? Me? Krushaior?’

He had bided his time for millennia in anticipation of this era.

He had stood so close, entirely certain that he would at last grasp his eternal aspiration…

…and now, it was dissolving before his eyes.

He would spit upon destiny itself, challenge the cosmos…

His six eyes burned with a homicidal radiance, dark blazes dancing within the sockets.

A foul and predatory pressure spilled from his jaws, his breath, his armored skin…

Then, a delicate force, a spectral touch he had previously missed, began to… awaken within his core, a soft… push, a… whispered thought.

[“Rooooar—!”]

He possessed total clarity now.

The Demon God was meddling once more!

All to ensure that he, a dragon, a foreign entity, could never claim the mantle of the Demon King!

He had gone so far as to strike a covenant with a discarded deity, hoping to neutralize the Demon God’s malice…

Yet the trespassers within the holy grounds had demolished everything, leaving his age-old strategy… completely shattered.

The sole thing that endured was… pure malice.

‘…Was it… the trespassers within the holy grounds…?… No, that harlot was a mere Marquis until this hour. She must have only now broken her limits… ‘

He was no idiot, regardless of his… explosive temperament.

He had performed a meticulous analysis after striking the Dark Duke, believing him to be the mastermind of the holy grounds crisis, and he had verified that Liliana, along with every other recognized Marquis-tier entity, possessed no guilt.

His remaining target of suspicion was Pieta, the Dark Duke, a practitioner of bizarre and forbidden arts, whose capability rivaled his own.

His primary objectives had altered following the devastation of his stronghold, but he had never discarded the theory of Pieta’s treachery.

That plotting, scheming construct… he was likely attempting to deceive him once more.

Consequently, he had maintained a strict watch over him, even while directing forces against Helheim…

And his constant suspicion, his unyielding scrutiny, his command over forbidden arts,

[“…Ha! Hahaha! I discerned the truth! Khahaha—!”]

…had finally borne fruit.

[“Pieta, you treacherous snake—! You dared to make a mockery of me?!”]

A highly questionable gathering, a clandestine meeting between two supposedly warring camps.

And their subsequent maneuvers, entirely… artificial and… synchronized.

[“Khehe… So the two of you were coordinated from the very beginning. You perceived me as an ignorant brute.”]

The raid on the holy grounds, the ensuing conflict, the destruction of the Dark Nest’s primary stronghold, and even Pieta’s overtures for a truce… it was all a meticulously crafted deception.

A net, woven specifically to trap him.

‘…Splendid. If that is the game you choose to play… ‘

He was left without alternatives.

[“Pieta. We must converse immediately.”]

-”What brings your call, Dragon Marquis? My schedule is full. As you are aware, our situation has… deteriorated due to the emergence of that Nightmare Duke.”

[“The dilemma is shared. I require your cooperation. I have devised a strategy to ensnare that mongrel.”]

-”Hmm?”

The title of Demon King and the conquest of Auterica no longer held meaning for him.

His mind harbored a single desire… absolute vengeance.

“Ugh, what? What species of insanity is this, Dragon Marquis?!”

[“Khehehe! Khahaha! Insanity? No, this is the solution! I ought to have embraced this path long ago!”]

“You offered up your own devotees as a sacrifice! Do you genuinely believe you can claim the throne of the Demon King after committing such an atrocity?!”

[“It is of no consequence.”]

He was entirely indifferent.

He would reduce all of creation to ash.

The remaining legions of the Dark Nest, who still offered him their fealty, were completely exterminated.

And the Dark Duke, utterly blindsided, was successfully neutralized and bound.

Following that,

…the portals to the abyss tore wide open within the Demon World.