THERE IS NO TOWER
The sky was clear.
Daphner Philian let out a sigh as he gazed at the snowy mountain range he had been staring at for nearly a month.
Cold.
He exhaled a white breath and moved carefully. Even after he passed, the pure white snow remained pristine, unmarred.
'I'm sick of this. I never want to come back to Ergest again.'
In the distance, the roar of a Prison Drake echoed.
The mountain trembled as monsters fought over territory.
Cold, monsters everywhere, and a wretched climate.
He regretted accepting the request just because of the large payment. He should have known better the moment Hillen Cargill failed.
'Only this area left now.'
He had combed the entire mountain range.
Even for Daphner Philian, it was not a simple task.
Every day his senses had to stay sharp, supply was scarce, and Ergest housed monsters even a powerful Hero like him could not easily handle.
'Especially that Demonic.'
The creature that had deceived even his senses.
Just thinking about it made Daphner Philian shiver.
'Luckily, it wasn't that fast. But I don't know when or where it'll show up, so I have to stay careful.'
A terrible experience, yes—but thanks to it, he had narrowed down the search more quickly.
The Demonic's Tower had to be somewhere nearby. He was sure of it.
'One week. I'll find it within a week and then leave this cursed mountain.'
And never again—even urinate—toward the Ergest side.
***
On the Demon King's floor.
Berze sat on his throne. At his manipulation, the Tower's authority manifested.
A hologram revealed the scenery outside the Tower.
"He's here."
Even without Gordon's words, Berze could see a figure cautiously approaching the basin.
"Daphner Philian."
It was indeed the same man he'd seen before.
[82459pt]
[82439pt]
[82419pt]
Magic Points dropped rapidly. Perhaps Daphner Philian's anger and attention toward Berze had shifted due to Draxon's death and the appearance of a new Demon King.
The Magic Points gathered were far fewer than expected.
At this rate, Berze had barely an hour of power remaining.
"I confirmed the effect of the Authority myself, but…"
Gordon spoke uncertainly.
"Will it really escape his senses?"
"I can't be certain."
The Authority he gained thanks to the Mana Ghost was low-grade, befitting the Tower's current level. It could fool weaklings, but Daphner Philian?
There was no confidence.
"But from a distance, with only a brief glance, he won't notice…"
"Kurutu's role becomes even more important, then."
Daphner Philian arrived at the peak overlooking the basin below. The Tower stood there—but it would remain invisible to his eyes.
If he would only turn back now.
But Daphner stepped into the basin.
At that moment—
KRUOOO—!
A monster's roar made him halt. A massive Yeti burst from beneath the snow.
KA-BOOM—!
Its enormous hand smashed into the ground. Dozens of Furl Orcs shrieked and charged in.
That was only the beginning.
Yetis, Prison Drakes, White Wolves, Twin-Head Ogres—countless monsters attacked the Furl Orc settlement Berze had relocated into the basin.
It was a well-prepared stage.
Under Berze's orders, Kurutu had moved the Orc tribe here and driven monsters into the basin just in time for Daphner's arrival.
The ensuing battle would serve as a perfect barrier to stop him from approaching the Tower.
"Building the Tower in the basin was a brilliant move by the previous Demon Emperor."
Though the basin itself was hidden from detection, once positioned atop it, the view of everything below was clear—no need to descend.
But Daphner did not retreat quickly as Berze expected. He stood there blankly, scanning the scene—and a Prison Drake that spotted him and fired a breath was instantly turned into a beehive by Daphner's casual counterattack.
Then—
Knock knock—
"Come in."
"…Are you busy?"
It was Ernan.
"What is it?"
"Lady Kaede has awakened."
"I see. You'll continue to manage her. You're jointly responsible."
"I tried to stop her."
"You should've prevented her from even thinking about escaping."
"That's unreasonable."
"A Demon King is someone who can make the unreasonable reasonable."
Ernan's eyes narrowed irritably.
"What's with those insolent eyes? Do you want me to pluck them out?"
"…No."
She looked away. Then her gaze caught the large hologram.
"Oh, Sir Daphner?"
"You know him?"
Berze answered—then found himself amused by his own question. Of course she would, as Hilderan's crown princess.
"Yes. He once asked me to teach him spirit magic."
"Spirit magic?"
"He had no talent for it, so he couldn't resonate even with a lower spirit."
"That's a relief."
Spirits were pure clusters of mana—they detected demonic energy extremely well.
Especially spirits summoned by a Hero; the interference alone would be troublesome to imagine.
"Why, do you want to escape?"
Ernan's gaze lingered on Daphner.
"If you want to escape, just go. Open the door and ask for help. You can open the gate, and that Hero could easily flee with you."
It was true. If Daphner decided to escape with Ernan, there was no immediate way to catch them.
"…Do you want me to leave?"
"Who knows?"
"If I try to leave, will you let me?"
As if.
Berze didn't bother answering. Ernan's violet eyes shimmered strangely.
"I'm a dark spirit magician."
"You mean, my subordinate."
"More precisely—one of the Four Heavenly Kings."
Berze let out a short laugh at her shamelessness.
"What kind of childish title is that?"
"I saw it. That Demon Kings always have special retainers beside them."
What kind of childish Demon King was that supposed to be?
"A history book?"
"…Maybe?"
"It was a novel."
"…It was a play."
"They made that nonsense into a play?"
"A famous traveling troupe that toured the continent was invited to the royal palace."
"Hilderan royalty really has strange tastes."
"I was ten at the time."
"But you remembered it all this time because you liked it so much?"
"It's not that I liked it… I was just jealous. They were free. Unlike me."
Especially the figure of the "Giant of Hell," laughing boldly as he declared himself one of the Four Heavenly Kings…
Ernan's cheeks took on a faint blush as she quickly averted her eyes.
"So what now? Are you treating this situation as if it's a scene from a play? And you're the actress?"
"That's not it."
"Well, it doesn't matter. I don't know what thoughts make you cooperate with me, but I expect those thoughts not to change."
There were still many suspicious points, but Berze didn't pry further. After all, thanks to Ernan, he had easily captured Hillen Cargill. Her contributions were worthy of respect.
"…I'm not like that."
"I can't say I trust you. You and I aren't people who can give each other trust."
Ernan bowed her head slightly and changed the subject.
"…It's probably my father."
"The one who sent that guy?"
"Sir Daphner has deep ties with my father. I know he's taken many requests from him."
"So it's Hilderan after all."
After Hillen's failed Hero Expedition, Berze heard rumors that Hilderan tried to drag Hillen back by force. Once that was blocked for political reasons, things quieted down—he thought they'd given up.
But it seemed they hadn't.
Well, a crown princess with a shining future getting kidnapped—giving up would indeed be strange.
"…Things to worry about just keep piling up."
Using elves to control the continent, investigating Ralph Schmitz, now Hilderan's meddling hands as well.
They were all problems he created himself, so he could hardly blame anyone.
His thoughts grew heavier. Meanwhile, after surveying the basin a bit longer, Daphner turned his back.
And exactly seven minutes later, the Tower revealed itself again.
A close call.
***
"Failure? You failed?"
"I searched everywhere within my capabilities. But nowhere—nowhere at all—could I find the Tower."
"So the Demon King's Tower isn't in Ergest but somewhere else?"
"I did find Demonic beings."
"So it exists… You just lacked ability?"
"Ergest is a forbidden zone overflowing with monsters humans cannot handle. Even I cannot go everywhere."
"You call that an excuse—!"
"If I may offer advice: if I cannot find it, no one can. It may sound like self-praise, but there is no one on this continent more skilled at searching than I am."
"…Haa."
The man sighed. Daphner Philian simply watched him calmly.
"His Majesty trusted only you."
"I know. I valued my bond with His Majesty greatly—that's why I abandoned all my other requests and came running. But I cannot accomplish what lies outside my ability."
"…Damn it. How am I supposed to report this to His Majesty… He hounds me every single day."
"Shouldn't you request aid from the Hero Guild? Even if they failed once, this is still the kidnapping of the crown princess. They should show some reaction."
"Ah, you wouldn't know since you were buried in the mountains. It was revealed that Demon Kings used succubi to manipulate Dorlmunt nobles—the entire Guild blew up."
"Are there still Demon Kings that outdated?"
"The Beast Demon King died recently. The new one descended afterward. They say she's the Succubus Queen."
"Don't tell me she hid her Tower too?"
"The Tower was found on an island in the Seratin Archipelago. A bit dangerous like any other Demon King's territory, but not hidden or impossible to approach."
"That's a relief."
"Well… whether it's really a relief is debatable. Demon Kings are behaving differently. The delicate equilibrium is cracking."
After the Desolate Demon King appeared, conflicts between Demon Kings and humans sharply declined.
After Desolate came the Beast, the Frozen, and the Adamant Demon Kings—conflicts nearly vanished, only one explosion left.
"Now it's two again. And for one of them, we still know almost nothing."
"But the advantage is ours."
In the early days perhaps not, but now Arein was clearly a world where humans stood above Demon Kings.
"Two Hero Expeditions have already failed. You know well that a Hero Expedition must never collapse, even if an assault squad fails."
"But the last one succeeded, didn't it?"
"That was lucky—but it wasn't organized under the Guild. That alone is causing chaos. And there's something else you may not know."
The man hesitated, then continued.
"His Majesty sent the Azure Knights to apprehend Hillen Cargill."
"…I didn't know."
"You were in the Empire then, and we buried the matter so it wouldn't spread."
"Now relations between the Guild and the Kingdom are the worst they've ever been."
"A complete mess."
Daphner Philian stroked his beard.
"Where are Watten Collo and Hillen Cargill?"
"What are you planning?"
"I have ties with Hilderan. I can't just leave this request unfinished."
"They couldn't find the Tower either."
"But who knows? I may find some small clue from their movements."
"…True. Then I'll ask this of you. Thanks to you, I have something to calm His Majesty with."
"Yes."
"Watten Collo is in Hessen; Hillen Cargill is in Trafarta. They've both been brought to Guild tribunal along with Rozel Charnt."
"Understood. I'll take my leave."
Daphner vanished. Silence settled as though no one had been there at all.
The man left alone lifted his wine glass.
"A Tower even Daphner Philian couldn't find…"
He chuckled.
"Your Majesty, it seems the heavens have chosen me, not you."
The wine tasted sweet.
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