Chapter 904: Probably Gonna Cry
Seeing this person's appearance, the shapeshifter nearly jumped out of its skin like a mouse spotting a cat.
It remembered this man—no, even if beaten to death, it would never forget him!
It was him who, during the capital operation over a month ago, discovered its and the old Demon King's plans. And it was also him who, in the subsequent battle that swept through the entire royal palace, directly crushed the avatar of the Archduke of Hell!
This man's strength was formidable enough to confront the Archduke of Hell head-on!
"I've even fled to the Crimson Demon clan, yet you're still haunting me like a ghost!"
The shapeshifter screamed at the newcomer as if on the verge of a breakdown.
During the capital operation, it had been killed once by Eiji and only barely managed to resurrect. It should have sought revenge immediately, but even the master it served had no idea how to successfully retaliate. In the end, they could only decide to set aside the grudge for the time being and focus their efforts on the war against the Celestial Realm.
For this reason, it had specifically come to the Crimson Demon clan, following the Archduke's orders to harvest the lives of these nearly three hundred top-tier grand mages to strengthen the demon army under the Archduke's command.
So why did it run into this bastard here again?
Are you only happy when you're getting in our way?
Bastard!
"Easy solution—if you just scram the moment you see me, you won't have to worry about me haunting you!"
As for why fate seemed to bind them so tightly, Eiji offered no comment, merely chuckling with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
The shapeshifter fell silent.
Do you think I wanted to come to this world? It's only because there are barely any worlds left under Hell's dominion!
This world is relatively promising; otherwise, the Archduke wouldn't have established his proxy here.
It turned its gaze to the flesh golem behind it.
"Silvia, are you opposing the Archduke?"
"I certainly don't have the guts for that. But it's not me opposing your Archduke—it's His Majesty the Demon King!"
Silvia wore a smug, mocking smile as she replied, "Hasn't your Archduke also suffered losses at His Majesty's hands?"
Although this generation's Demon King is utterly irresponsible and doesn't act like a proper ruler, their strength alone is enough to rival ten others!
The shapeshifter fell silent again.
By now, it was all too clear that it had been played.
Silvia had barged into Crimson Demon Village and deliberately created a perilous situation, making it impossible for the shapeshifter to stand by idly. If it did, the Archduke's mission could fail. Driven by this thought, it had successfully taken the bait.
"...You knew all along that I would come here?"
"Not exactly. But the people I've offended are few and far between, and those capable of bypassing the barrier to infiltrate my Demon King's Castle are even rarer. After some thought, you were the only likely candidates. Of course, the most crucial clue was Wolbach's testimony."
Eiji replied nonchalantly with a laugh.
The shapeshifter stared at Wolbach in disbelief.
"Lady Wolbach, your agreement with Archduke Ashock..."
"I've already found my other half, so the agreement is naturally void."
Wolbach offered an apologetic smile.
She had been persuaded by Ashock to come to the Crimson Demon clan.
Ashock had guaranteed that if she helped him successfully eliminate the Crimson Demon clan, he would use his dream authority to help Wolbach find her other half.
Yasuk's mastery over the dream domain allowed him to connect to the dreams of everyone in the world. However, distinguishing each dream individually was an extremely tedious task, making precise control impossible. Yet, for the sake of the war against the celestial realm, Yasuk decided to go all out. Even if it meant spending years tirelessly sorting through dreams without rest, he would help Wolbach reclaim her other half.
Moved by his conditions, Wolbach came to assist on this side.
Unfortunately, Yasuk was a step too late. Unaware that Eiji had already found Wolbach's other half, he easily turned her against Yasuk by using it as leverage.
Truth be told, Yasuk's plan was undeniably meticulous. First, he used Eiji's name to summon Silvia, then dispatched a doppelganger to assist, and even went to great lengths to secure Wolbach's help. He even managed to uncover that the Crimson Demon Clan's warehouse contained a magical weapon capable of countering all mages. With multiple layers of preparation, his approach was indeed cautious.
It could only be said that luck was not on his side.
It was rather strange—Yasuk had fallen into Eiji's hands twice, and both times it was purely by chance that Eiji stumbled upon his schemes!
One could only imagine how hysterically he would cry upon finding out!
The thought alone was quite amusing!
"It seems we've lost this time. Kill me."
The doppelganger's tone was indifferent, as if it held no regard for its own life.
"We doppelgangers feel no pain, possess a natural resistance to illusions, and are impervious to physical attacks. Don't even think about extracting any information from me!"
"Fearless in the face of death—what a loyal subordinate!"
Eiji clapped his hands in mock applause, though not a trace of amusement reached his eyes.
"You didn't actually think I'd fall for that, did you? Last time you died, Yasuk resurrected you, didn't he? If you die again this time, he'll probably bring you back to life once more, won't he?"
The doppelganger shuddered, emitting waves of astonishment at having its true intentions exposed.
As a Grand Duke of Hell, Yasuk existed on the same level as a deity. If Aqua could resurrect Kazuma an unlimited number of times, Yasuk could undoubtedly resurrect his own subordinates—though there were likely certain limitations. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so desperate to recruit more and stronger followers.
Killing the doppelganger here would only play into its hands, allowing it to return to Yasuk's side. That was absolutely unacceptable. Letting go of such a rare shapeshifting species would only invite trouble!
"Wolbach, it's in your hands. Use a sealing spell to imprison it."
"Understood."
"W-Wait... If you do this, you'll truly become irreconcilable enemies with Lord Yasuk!"
The doppelganger panicked.
Eiji remained unmoved. Wolbach glanced at him and began preparing the sealing magic.
"Hold on, Lady Wolbach! I can tell you that there is an extremely important weapon in this warehouse, one capable of countering mages like you—"
"We can find it ourselves once we go in. Do it!"
Eiji coldly cut off its incessant chatter.
Without hesitation, Wolbach unleashed a blinding red light that enveloped the doppelganger entirely. The shadowy monster, which had been struggling violently, suddenly stiffened, its form rapidly evaporating and shrinking until it condensed into a red pearl, which fell into Wolbach's hand.
"We can bury this somewhere later. Sealing it for a few hundred years shouldn't be a problem."
Wolbach handed the pearl to Eiji.
"Be careful not to break it, or it'll be released."
With that, one troublesome matter was considered resolved.
"Boss, you finally made it! Is our business here finished now?"
Seeing that everything was concluded, Kazuma ran over cheerfully.
"The enemies have been dealt with for now, but the remaining issues can't be handled at the moment."
Eiji took the red bead and casually toyed with it.
Silvia muttered to herself, so this short-statured human really was the Demon King's subordinate after all.