“The Demonic Realm has changed?” Duke Artezia asked from behind the expansive mahogany of his desk.

His head butler—a man whose form could now scarcely be called human—inclined his head. The movement was unnaturally fluid, like smoke given solid form.

“Indeed, my lord. It seems the Abyssal Bloom has begun.”

A low chuckle escaped the duke’s lips, then grew into a full-throated, manic laugh. “Ahahahaha!”

He wiped a tear of mirth from his eye. He had no idea which mad Demonkin had triggered the Bloom, but wasn’t it magnificent?

To renounce their return to the Demon God… it was a level of madness even he found difficult to comprehend.

“Who could it be? Do you have any suspects, Head Butler?”

“Based on the wavelength I detected, I believe it was either Solamio or Jin.”

“Hmm.” The duke nodded slowly, a thoughtful murmur escaping his lips. “I suppose only deviants of their caliber possess the necessary insanity.”

My money is on Solamio, that slothful swine… but that hardly matters.

What mattered now was how to exploit the situation.

The duke rose from his chair, his fingers drumming a restless rhythm on the polished tabletop. “The Demonic Realm is transforming… How do we turn this to our advantage?”

“What of the new assets, my lord?” the butler suggested. “Perhaps this is an opportunity to send them into the Demonic Realm.”

“Them?” the duke asked, tilting his head in feigned confusion.

He knew precisely whom the butler meant: the new forces gathered under his banner.

The Veilwarden of Death Veil, an imperial marquis, an ogre chieftain, and a cadre of Aura Masters. His private army, assembled to reclaim the empire.

And now his butler was suggesting he send them into the Demonic Realm.

A risky gambit, he mused. If he sent them in, they would shed their human forms and be reborn.

They wouldn’t lose their sanity, of course; the “red gems” and other preparations had seen to that. They would emerge as far more powerful beings.

The only question was whether those newly forged monsters would remain under his control.

It won’t be an issue.

The duke gave a slow, deliberate nod. The red gems bound them to his will. The hearts forged through that process were his to detonate at a whim.

He held their very lives in his hands.

He reasoned that even if they are consumed by the Abyssal Bloom, that fundamental truth would not change.

Contemplating the symphony of chaos to come, the duke nodded again. “That would be best.”

To swallow the empire whole, he needed stronger, more ruthless pawns. The Abyssal Bloom was the perfect crucible in which to forge them.

It was as if the heavens themselves had presented him with this gift.

Ah, Demon God, he mused, a cruel smirk twisting his lips. It seems you desire my greatness as well.

He patted the butler’s shoulder. “Tell them to head for the Demonic Realm.”

“At once, my lord.”

“Ah, and summon Hera. It is time I saw her.”

“…Her ladyship?” the butler asked, a rare note of hesitation in his voice. He almost looked concerned for his master.

The duke let out a dry, dismissive laugh. “It’s fine. Bring her. I am her father. It is high time I saw my daughter.”

“…As you wish, my lord.” The butler seemed to have more to say but pressed his lips into a thin line and bowed.

Some time later, Hera was dragged before him.

Her eyes, once the most celebrated jewels on the continent, were now hollow pits gleaming with a feverish light.

Her fine dress was stained with filth, her hair a tangled, greasy mess. Her fingernails were broken and black with grime; her skin, her very posture, radiated a beggar’s despair.

“Fa…ther…?” she rasped, the word a frantic, broken chant. “Fatherfatherfatherfather!”

The woman once hailed as the greatest beauty of her generation was gone. In her place stood only a madwoman.

Consumed by her lunacy, she lunged toward the duke.

The butler tensed, ready to intervene, but a raised hand from Artezia stopped him.

Just as he had predicted, Hera did not attack.

She simply… collapsed at his feet, a twisted, hollow smile plastered on her face.

“I-I was wrong,” she whimpered. “I’ll listen. I swear it. Tell me to go to the marquis, and I’ll go. Tell me to marry another, and I’ll do it. Just… please… forgive me…”

Her plea dissolved into a sob. Then, her voice sharpened into a shriek. “Damn it, just forgive me!” she screamed, clutching at the duke’s trousers.

Watching her, a cruel smile played on the duke’s lips. “Haha… You have finally become beautiful.”

“Forgive me…!”

“This brokenness… yes. This will be sufficient to serve our purpose.”

The duke raised a hand, cupping Hera’s face. His pupils, no longer entirely human, dilated as he inspected her features.

“Very well,” he said softly. “I will grant you the forgiveness you so desperately crave.”

“Ah… F-finally…!”

“On one condition. You must complete a task for me.”

“Anything!” Hera cried, nodding with manic intensity. “I’ll do anything!”

The duke’s smile widened. “From this moment, you will enter the marquis’s household as his concubine. While you are there, you will find an opportunity to retrieve a certain ring from his estate.”

“Wh-what kind of ring?”

“An ornate ring, engraved with petals. The very one for which I would burn this empire to the ground.”

The duke’s pupils blazed with an even fiercer light. Staring into them, Hera forced her own lips into a ragged smile, vowing to retrieve it no matter the cost.

* * *

“…We’ve finally reached the North,” Lancelot murmured, his breath pluming in the frigid air as he surveyed the scene.

The moss-slicked demonic terrain was gone, as were the jungle-like trees and grasping vines. In its place stretched the familiar, desolate beauty of the North: barren earth blanketed in pristine snow.

The castle walls stood ahead, draped in white. They were home.

“We’re alive,” one knight sobbed, sinking to his knees. “We actually made it.”

“Damn it, I never thought I’d see this land again.” Another choked out a prayer to the Goddess, tears freezing on his cheeks.

Knights wept and embraced, the raw relief of survival washing over them. The Praha Guard was no different.

Only the commander of the Guard and Lea could not bring themselves to smile. Their heads were bowed, their expressions grim.

Lea is worried for the Grand Duke, of course…

As for the commander… his reasons are his own.

I shook my head, my gaze shifting between them. The commander’s dark mood was a problem for later.

For now, Lea was the priority.

“Are you all right?” I asked, approaching her.

“Ah, Louis.” She spotted me and offered a faint, tired smile, but her eyes kept drifting back toward the Grand Duke’s litter. Her worry was a palpable thing.

To be fair, his condition was grim. His complexion wasn’t terrible, but after expending his own life force and suffering prolonged exposure to demonic energy, he showed no signs of waking.

A simple healer wouldn’t be enough. He needed to be taken to the Holy Kingdom, where they could at least purge the demonic taint.

I decided using Willbreaker on him was out of the question. His life force was already too fragile.

I let out a soft breath and placed a reassuring hand on Lea’s shoulder. “He’ll be all right. I’ll do everything I can to find a solution. Try not to worry too much.”

“…Thank you for saying so.”

“I’ll speak with the other knights,” I added, making sure my tone was firm. “You don’t have to worry about this incident.”

I had to make that clear, lest she decide to execute the very men we had just saved.

A genuine, if faint, smile touched her lips. “…You shouldn’t be so kind.”

“Me?”

“Don’t be so modest. I understand. I won’t touch them.” She paused, her voice turning placid. “As much as I’d like to hang every last one of them… I’ll hold back. For you.”

Then, without warning, she threw her arms around me.

The sudden embrace stole my breath.

“So, Louis,” she murmured into my shoulder, “don’t push yourself too hard, either. I’ll do my best to help you, too.”

Flustered, I managed a nod and gently eased her away.

A moment later, I hastily excused myself. “…I’ll be going now.”

I really was more comfortable on a battlefield.

* * *

After escaping from Lea, I went to find my master. He was speaking with the commander of the Praha Guard but waved me over the moment he saw me.

“Get over here.”

Wondering what this was about, I approached, only for the commander to bow deeply before me.

“Thank you for saving my men!” he said, his voice ringing with sincerity.

The abrupt show of gratitude was jarring.

I tried to calm my heart, which was still hammering from the encounter with Lea. “…I’m not sure what to say, but I accept your thanks.”

As if anticipating my confusion, the commander spoke again, his head still bowed. “I heard from Raym. He told me about your condition.”

Raym? And what’s this about my condition?

“To think you saved my knights while in such a state…” the commander continued, his voice thick with shame. “I am utterly ashamed of myself for thinking only of my own survival.”

I shot a questioning look at my master.

“I heard the story,” he said gruffly. “It’s for the best. Take this opportunity to go to the Holy Kingdom with the ice whelp. It can’t be easy for a human to wield demonic energy.”

“…I’m fine.”

“We are not fine,” my master countered, his expression unyielding. “The world is about to change, and you are indispensable to the war to come. Get yourself examined while you have the chance.”

Beside him, the commander, still bent at the waist, added his own plea. “Please, allow me to escort you. It is the least I can do.”

The man’s mood had certainly shifted. Just moments ago, he seemed on the verge of insubordination. Now, he was offering to be my personal guard.

“I’m really fine,” I insisted. “For now, we should send the Grand Duke to the Holy Kingdom first—”

It was no use. If they already knew, the rumor had likely spread through the entire knighthood.

“Hah…” I let out a soft sigh and shook my head.

From the determined looks on their faces, I knew arguing further was pointless.

In that case… it might not be a bad idea to go to the Holy Kingdom and gather allies.

As my master said, a greater war is on the horizon.

The Demonic Realm, transformed by the Bloom. The Demonkin allied with Duke Artezia. To face them, stronger allies would be essential.

“…Very well.”

Left with no other choice, I nodded in agreement.

And so, with a reluctant nod, my path was set.

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