Chapter 877
Episode 218: The Cycle of Stronger Foes Arriving After Each Defeat (6)
The Demon Realm, Sword Demon Fortress.
Faelito sighed deeply as he looked at Sakiel, who had been summoned in a severely injured state.
Sakiel Groshé—the name had long been a symbol of strategy and success in the Demon Realm. She had elevated the lowly Groshé family to become one of the realm’s top 30 noble houses, and ultimately, she had received a direct blessing from Jito himself, rising to the position of Chief Secretary—a true rags-to-riches story.
Yet now, Sakiel had disastrously botched the crucial first battle transfer, losing even a piece of Jito’s flesh in the process.
“…I have no excuse.”
“Sakiel, Jito will be arriving at the Sword Demon Fortress soon.”
“I will accept any punishment you deem fit.”
“This isn’t a problem that can be solved by punishing you alone. As your direct superior, I am equally responsible.”
Sakiel felt the weight of guilt settle heavily on her shoulders at Faelito’s words.
Faelito wasn’t just saying he disliked the fallout from Sakiel’s mistake. He was taking responsibility as her superior.
“So when Jito arrives, don’t offer any excuses. Just stay silent.”
“But, Faelito—”
“There’s no time. Listen carefully.”
No sooner had Faelito spoken than a violet magic circle appeared before them. Within it, Jito and a demon stood side by side.
Jito’s form was only half-formed compared to when he had fought Ayula, and the demon beside him was unlike ordinary demons, sporting green horns and wings.
[Ugh, these idiots. Do I really have to come down here myself?]
Smack! Crack!
As soon as Jito stepped out of the summoning circle, he slapped Faelito hard across the face, cursing loudly. The demon beside him chuckled at the scene.
“You asked me to send you, didn’t you, Lord Jito? If Faelito had come himself, I might have understood, but to put a nobody like Sakiel in charge of such an important matter…”
“Ragal… What disrespectful talk is that in front of Lord Jito? Be quiet.”
“Oh, I’m so scared. Jito said it’s fine, so who are you to boss me around?”
Ragal, once a Grand General and now a recently crowned demon king.
“Now that you have a king’s title, you think you’re not afraid of me anymore?”
Bam!
Jito punched Faelito again, this time in the jaw. Faelito staggered but managed to steady himself.
[Are you saying you’re not afraid of me now? How can you treat me like this? Don’t you know I’m still recovering from being beaten by Peace? And my precious flesh! Do you think you can just use it like that?]
“I will take full responsibility, Lord Jito. If you replace me with your own flesh, it would cost far more blood and flesh than what Sakiel lost. Please forgive her.”
[I know you hate this kind of pitiful, uncomfortable pain. I almost got killed by Peace because of it. When will I ever get over this…]
“Lord Jito, if you permit, I, Ragal, will deal with Sakiel.”
[Don’t get too cocky with Faelito just because you’re doing well, Ragal. You did well this time, but Faelito is still Faelito. What if he turns on you behind my back? Can you handle that?]
“Understood. But thanks to Lord Jito, I’ve grown much stronger.”
[Aww, you’re so cute. I just want to crush you because you’re adorable, Ragal. I let you talk back because you’re cute. If Faelito did that, there’d be no mercy.]
“I’m sorry.”
“You did well.”
Those words referred to the battle transfers outside of Huepester. Ragal had been assigned to the Luteiro Alliance invasion and had returned with a victory worthy of note.
[I get why you want to brag to Faelito now. You almost crippled Elona and Jiple.]
Faelito’s eyes widened at that.
Elona and Jiple were, along with Shiron, the two undisputed pinnacles of the Inse. The fact that someone like Ragal had made progress against one of them was unbelievable.
Faelito and Sakiel bowed their heads.
[Do you know what I hate most in this world?]
“Love…”
“And peace.”
[No, no. Those two, if used well, are excellent sources of painful inspiration. What I truly despise is pointless loss without any joy.]
Faelito and Sakiel lowered their heads even further.
[If you used my precious flesh to make the Inse’s suffering more beautiful, that would be praise-worthy. But this time? You got tricked by Jin Runkandel and Murakan, wasted flesh, and gained nothing.]
“I’m sorry.”
[Since I was freed from the seal, I’ve only been getting weaker. I haven’t even found my eyes yet. If my flesh keeps going out like this, it’s a problem. Be careful from now on, understood? Ugh, this is frustrating. Let’s go back, Ragal.]
At those words, the eyes of Faelito, Sakiel, and Ragal all widened simultaneously.
“…Lord Jito, will you not impose any other punishment on me?”
[I just hit you. This is the last time I’ll let this slide. You’ve done enough to earn some leniency. There’s still much to be done.]
Ragal frowned, disappointed.
[Ragal, you look like you have a lot of complaints.]
“No, sir.”
[What do your people call you?]
“Excuse me?”
[Everyone calls Faelito the Sword Demon. What about you?]
“I’m called the Poison King, or sometimes Poison Ragal, Born of Poison, Incarnation of Poison…”
[Except for Poison King, those are all lame. Just call yourself Poison Demon. From today on, you’re Poison Demon Ragal. Sounds good. You almost took down Elona, so you deserve it.]
“Haha… Thank you!”
The title “Demon” had until now been reserved solely for Faelito. Even the best spear user in the Demon Realm was never called Spear Demon, nor the best axe wielder Axe Demon. It was an unspoken rule recognizing Faelito’s status as the greatest sword demon in the realm.
Sakiel realized there was meaning behind Jito’s seemingly careless words.
Through this incident, Faelito and Sakiel could still maintain their positions above other demons, and even Ragal, who had secretly been uncomfortable with Faelito’s dominance, received a satisfying reward.
[And Faelito.]
“Yes?”
[Even if Orgal is already dead, it doesn’t matter. Once you can freely come and go on the surface, find a way to capture Orgal and bring him to me. Also, I’m going to focus the transfer rifts on the sea and the Luteiro Federation, so you and Sakiel need to take responsibility for securing a few key locations.]
“I will do so without fail.”
[Good. I’m going back now to relax a bit. I have some things to discuss with the witch about Orgal. Ugh, I haven’t even properly been to the surface yet, and I’m already so busy.]
With that, Jito and Ragal left the Sword Demon Fortress through the summoning circle.
“Heal your wounds quickly and ascend to the surface again, Sakiel. I will be tearing down the remaining demon seals, so make sure you don’t make any mistakes until then.”
“Thank you, Lord Faelito.”
“By the time you arrive, seven Demon Lords will already have been summoned to the sea garrison. That will make it difficult for the Balmel Alliance or other Inse forces to attack the sea garrison like this again.”
“We will continue to attempt inland advances through the Demon Lords. What about the Holy Kingdom?”
“I will personally search for Jito’s eyes. Until then, do not deploy any troops to attack the Holy Kingdom.”
“Understood.”
“And the Red Sword of the White Whale that killed Plex Caluga… Fortunately, the footage shows it’s not yet fully formed.”
“What does ‘not fully formed’ mean, if I may ask?”
“It means there’s a strict limit on how many times it can be used. It has to be conserved until it reaches the Spear Star. Before it meets Jito, we must exhaust all its power.”
“How do we do that?”
“I’ll keep sending kings to the surface, forcing the White Whale to handle them alone. Once its power is drained, the deaths and disappearances of the kings won’t be a problem. Without its red power, it won’t be a threat.”
Or, perhaps, it might even become a threat to the Inse.
Faelito smiled as he trailed off.
Luteiro Magic Federation, Tower of Stories.
Beradin looked up at Elona with a worried expression. Elona floated with her eyes closed, the tower’s power healing her. The poison of Ragal that had taken root in her body was slowly being expelled.
“Ragal Pun, that’s the name you said? The one who did this to Lady Elona?”
“Yes, Master. He is one of the kings of the Demon Realm.”
The reason Ragal had been able to corner Elona was clear.
He was similar to the Drek Hon that the Balmel Alliance had faced in the past. Ragal’s poison ability specialized in mass slaughter, and Elona had been unable to fight properly while protecting the federation’s citizens.
As a result, Elona had borne the full brunt of poison that could have instantly killed ten million ordinary humans. Though nearly a hundred thousand citizens of the Luteiro Federation had died, without her, at least ten times that number would have perished.
Meanwhile, Jiple’s other superhumans were clearing rifts in other regions. Jiple currently lacked ultra-long-distance communication and spatial teleportation like the Balmel Alliance. So even if the superhumans cleared those battlefields, it was difficult to send support to Elona.
It would have been better if the civilians had died. If that had happened, Ragal wouldn’t have made it back alive, and Elona wouldn’t have been hurt like this. When faced head-on, Ragal was never a match for Elona.
In the end, that would have meant fewer deaths overall.
Veradin thought this but kept it to himself. He knew Elona would find such thoughts unsettling.
“Betty, Almatia, Koon.”
Three bio-golems, each given a name.
They currently held command authority comparable to other top leaders in Ziphl. Among them, when it came to the Demon Stone, they ranked third in power—right after Veradin and Elona.
“Yes, Governor.”
“Speak.”
“Engrave the name ‘Ragal Pun,’ that demon, onto the Demon Stone. Once the stone can wield its power properly, the first thing it will do is alter his life.”