At the very heart of the city, inside a towering obelisk-shaped structure…
On the highest floor, an elderly dwarf lay in a pool of his own blood.
The beard he had always groomed meticulously was now soaked in red.
Though not yet dead, a significant portion of his internal organs had been destroyed, leaving him completely paralyzed.
Only his extraordinary physiology and powerful life force kept him barely alive.
His face was filled with unwillingness and confusion as he looked toward the man nearby and asked:
"Why?
Aren't you the city lord?
Why would you betray us?"
He had anticipated the possibility of betrayal from someone in the city.
But what he never imagined was that the first traitor would be the very leader of their side.
It was completely beyond his expectations.
So, caught completely off guard, he'd been ambushed and seriously injured.
If it had been a fair fight—on his home turf—his opponent might not have even stood a chance.
And so, his frustration and confusion were entirely justified.
The city lord, meanwhile, calmly finished storing the energy core he'd extracted from the defensive barrier control system.
After a moment of thought, he finally turned around.
He, too, was an elderly man, and his body looked thin and frail.
Though he didn't appear particularly sinister, his presence carried a distinct air of decay and nearing death.
Looking down at the dwarf, his expression remained calm as he answered:
"The reason…?
I suppose… unwillingness.
I spent over three hundred years clawing my way to the top—burning through my resources, enduring all kinds of compromises and indignities—just to finally sit in this seat of power. And now, before I can even enjoy it, everything's about to be taken from me. I just… can't accept that. No matter what I have to do to keep it, I'll do it. I guess that's all there is to it."
After hearing this, the light in the dwarf's eyes dimmed.
He let out a shaky breath and sighed in resignation.
"…I see. So that's why you chose to side with the Abyssal Demons…"
He had known the man was power-hungry—but he never expected it would lead to this.
It was his own failure for underestimating how complex people's minds could be.
"More or less," the city lord admitted with a nod.
Then he raised a hand toward the wounded dwarf.
"The citizens of this city are my offering—my token of allegiance. And you… you're part of that offering."
With that, a blinding arc of lightning burst from his palm, striking the dwarf directly in the head.
A clean, fatal blow.
All signs of life within the dwarf were extinguished instantly.
"Farewell."
The city lord turned and left the room without another word.
Behind him, the charred corpse still sparked occasionally as it lay in silence.
---
Elsewhere in the city, the chaos continued to escalate.
With panic and fear running rampant, people began doing all sorts of irrational things—some to escape, some to stir up trouble, and some simply to drag others down with them.
In many places, the Abyssal Demons hadn't even started hunting yet—chaos had already consumed the residents.
The sheer absurdity of it all left Orsaga at a loss for words.
But he also understood—this was precisely the sort of bizarre psychology that gave Abyssal Demons their opening.
The living were practically their meal tickets.
Their rise and prosperity often hinged on moments like these.
___
Standing in the ruins of what used to be a beautiful garden, with the burning city visible in the distance, Alison quietly observed.
She carefully studied what the city looked like after falling completely into the hands of Abyssal Demons.
She saw the people backstabbing each other to the very end.
She saw the desperate, hopeless resistance of the few who refused to give up.
She saw the demons rampaging without restraint.
She had seen ruined cities in the Myling World, post-slaughter.
She had seen Abyssal Demons go on killing sprees in the Abyss, murdering even their own.
But this was the first time she had ever witnessed a massacre as it happened.
It left her with an intense sense of mental and physical discomfort.
And yet—she couldn't look away.
Because she knew… if Golarial hadn't met Orsaga by sheer luck all those years ago—and if the two hadn't, by some miracle, formed such a unique bond—
Then the fate of the Elsella Kingdom would've likely been no better than this city's. Possibly even worse.
This plane had only faced five greater-Rank Demons, but the Myling World had seen clusters of them invading at once.
If not for the world's high power level and strong resistance, it might've been destroyed before any demon lords even had a chance to join the fray.
---
At that somber moment—
Ssshhh—
A strange slurping noise reached Alison's ears, breaking her concentration.
Her solemn expression faltered slightly.
A few seconds later—
Slurp… slurp…
A vein throbbed visibly on Alison's pale forehead.
She gritted her teeth and looked to the side, barely containing her frustration.
"Can you two please eat more quietly?"
This was a moment of grave seriousness—and these two were completely ruining the atmosphere.
Orsaga, holding a bowl of noodles, looked indignant.
"Eating noodles isn't a crime!"
He then casually pulled out some meat jerky from his spatial storage and tossed it into his bowl.
Golarial looked curiously at the jerky. "What's that?"
Her eyes sparkled with interest—she clearly wanted a bite.
Orsaga shook his chopsticks. "Meat from an Outer God. Not for you. Could corrupt you."
"…Fine."
She lowered her head in disappointment and resumed eating her own noodles—hand-pulled and made from a blend of 3,000 different fruits.
"..."
Alison stared at the two, who had no intention of changing their behavior.
Helpless, she turned her gaze back to the burning city.
But suddenly, an unusual fluctuation caught her attention.
From seemingly empty space, a tall figure—around two meters in height, with four long, slender arms—slowly materialized.
The creature stared at Orsaga holding a bowl of noodles and was clearly stunned for a moment.
After regaining its composure, it bowed slightly.
"My lord, I didn't expect you to be here. I hope our actions haven't disrupted your enjoyment."
Orsaga took another slurp of noodles, then sipped the broth, before replying slowly:
"Not at all. Do whatever you want—I really don't care."
He could sense it—this demon bore a deep Abyssal contract that originated from him.
That meant it had been summoned by him.
Technically, it counted as one of his subordinates.
Hearing Orsaga's response, the four-armed demon exhaled in relief.
If this city had been marked in advance by a Greater-Rank Demon, then even with a contract in place, he would have had no choice but to retreat.
Because while that demon might not retaliate here, once they returned to the Abyss—it'd be a different story.
"…Then we won't disturb you any longer."
With that, the demon's body vanished once more, fading into the air like it had never been there.
____
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