I thought he was just one of those guys trained as assassins abandoned by the empire, but he's actually a hero candidate.
Honestly, I was shocked.
'Yes, it was a shock...'
I never thought I would be so distracted to lose track of my surroundings.
When I came to my senses, I had already arrived in my room.
Maybe it's because I was thinking deeply, but my memories seemed foggy and I remembered very little clearly.
What was my clearest memory?
Am I sure he will die?
'...'
It would be better not to think about that any more.
Whether that guy dies or not, whether I sympathize with him or not, there's nothing I can do anyway.
I laid down on the bed holding the cube that Ed brought me.
While I was shuffling the cubes and erasing random thoughts one by one, I heard a knock.
"It's me."
"...The Demon King?!"
I suddenly got up. I hurriedly checked my clothes, straightened my disheveled hair, and opened the door.
"Why is the Demon King here again...?"
"I told you. I will come get you."
"Yes?"
When?
The Demon King must have read my questioning expression as he raised one eyebrow. He leaned against the door with his arms crossed and looked at my face with an uncomfortable expression.
"The Corps Commander's Meeting. Even after this, you don't remember?"
I didn't remember, but somehow I felt like I shouldn't say that.
I nodded with as calm a look as possible.
"Ah, I remember."
It was a performance that I put all my effort into.
The Demon King, who accepted it without any doubt, nodded and straightened up.
"Then let's go."
"Yes."
I didn't think I should take any more time, so I hurried after him.
Because of that, I left the room without even having time to put the cube down, forgetting that I was even holding it in my hand.
***
At the time of the battle with the hero, the Commander of the 7th Corps was an ogre.
Even if one put aside the reason that it was one of the core forces of the Demon King's army, it was remembered clearly. Because he was a great groomsman for Deon Hardt.
In other words, when Deon Hardt first appeared, he appeared by killing the commander of the 7th Corps.
The Demon King smiled as he recalled that day.
When he won the battle against the hero and raised his sword to take the hero's life, which would have been cut short if left unattended, the hero chose to self-destruct.
"...This hero seems quite aggressive."
A hollow laugh came out.
A hero has two choices when he dies.
One is to spread fragments of power across the continent to create beings that can even slightly oppose the Demon King, and the other is mainly used when the Demon King is
nearby, so-called self-destruction.
Gathering the strength of the hero and exploding it.
Usually, heroes choose to scatter fragments of power for later use.
'I won't die anyway.'
It is not for nothing that he is called the strongest Demon King in history. Although it was a bit of a waste, he was confident that if he used my magic power generously, he would survive the aftermath of that explosion without major damage.
The problem is the other demons surrounding them.
All the demons of the Demon Castle came out to watch the historic battle, which could safely be said to be a battle that determined the fate of the demon race.
The power of the hero was given to eliminate the Demon King, and the Demons are a race born from the Demon King.
In the end, the hero's power had no choice but to indirectly affect the demons.
So, if the hero's power bursted out here...
'Roughly half.'
About half of this large army would evaporate in an instant.
Considering that the size of the Demon King's Castle is that of a small city in the empire and that all the demons there are here, the level of damage is unbelievable.
"Everyone get back...!"
Therefore, the Demon King gave an order in a hurry.
Kwaaaang!!
...A man fell from the sky.
Also with the 7th Corps Commander.
He appeared after crushing the 7th Corps Commander and did not even cast a glance at the Demon King. As if to double-check whether the 7th Corps commander
under him was dead, he stabbed him in the neck with the dagger and slowly got up, using it as support. It was a ridiculously relaxed attitude.
White hair and red eyes.
Blood-red eyes went back and forth between the Demon King and the hero, then quickly fixated on the hero. Then he began to slowly approach that direction at a leisurely pace.
There was no sign of nervousness in the middle of the battlefield surrounded by countless demons.
It was a very defenseless attitude.
However, perhaps because of his confident attitude, his unwavering expression showed a spirit that could not be ignored, so the soldiers had no choice but to watch him frozen, rather than stopping him.
'Pathetic bastards.'
Still, the Demon King could not bear to openly criticize them for being pitiful, so he quietly narrowed his eyes.
Although it was only for a moment, he too was overwhelmed.
Since the distance wasn't that far to begin with, the man quickly arrived in front of the hero.
Without even looking at the Demon King, he placed his hand on the hero's shoulder and brought his face close to the guy's ear.
And a miracle happened.
The light emanating from the hero's body poured down towards that human.
"...You're crazy."
A groan broke out.
Since everyone knew about heroes, demon kings, and the Empire's system of sending heroes to defeat the Demon King, speculation about this situation started quickly.
That white-haired human probably followed to see the outcome of this battle for himself and inform the Empire.
Maybe that's the main mission.
And as a side mission, even if the hero dies, he would find out the state of the Demon King and if he thought he could kill him, he would kill him.
So, when the hero chose to self-destruct, he would have calculated the probability.
The probability of causing damage to the Demon King through the hero's self-destruction and the amount of damage the Demon King will suffer from this. The number of surrounding Demons that can be reduced by self- destruction.
The probability of killing the injured Demon King through the reduced number of demons.
Finally: There was a possibility of accomplishing the main mission of 'return alive' by carrying this out.
It would have been judged that self-destruction was irrational.
So he would have put his hand on the warrior's shoulder and stopped him. It was a bit surprising that he jumped in the middle of enemy lines, but it may be because he's confident he can escape alive.
'Smart, loyal to the mission, and good combat ability...'
The corners of the Demon King's eyes were crinkled, filled with amusement.
He felt sorry for the Empire that sent this guy to this dangerous place. If it were him, even if he had to use this card, he wouldn't have sent him to his death without any respect.
In any case, the hero read his intentions and quickly turned around to pour into him for the purpose of transfer.
Of course, it did not happen that the power stayed in the opponent's body as the hero intended.
'Of course.'
The hero's power was given directly by the world for a purpose. Originally, when a hero dies, it is a power that should be scattered to pieces and returned to the world.
Just leaving it on this earth, even as a fragment, would have to cost the hero himself, so there is no way that an intentional transfer would be possible.
The hero himself would know better. He probably had to suffer a great deal of pain due to his actions.
Nevertheless, upon seeing the hero lying limp after death after a meaningless struggle, the Demon King raised his gaze slightly and looked at the man holding his body.
He was directly involved in an absurd attempt that violated the will of the world. There's no way he would be fine either.
Sure enough.
"Cough!"
With a resolute expression that did not show any weakness, he coughed blood.
Even though more blood was flowing out of the mouth than expected, the expression on his face remained the same. Joy flashed through the Demon King's eyes at that strange
sense of discomfort.
The Demon King, suppressing his excitement, said with a kind smile, "What's your name?"
"...Deon Hardt."
Deon Hardt. I rolled that name over and over again in my mouth.
In fact, there was no need to ask. The Demon King already knew him.
Looking at the external situation, he stopped the hero from self-destructing and suffered hemoptysis in return.
Even other demons would recognize this much.
Even the situation was on his side, so there was no reason to hesitate any longer. The Demon King revealed his desires without hesitation.
"Are you planning on joining the Demon King's army?"
It didn't matter whether the other person is human or not.
The Demon King liked this smart and loyal being, and more than anything, the human in front of him drew interest from himself, who was mired in boredom.
That was enough reason to bring him into the Demon King's Castle.
***
"Hey, get out of the way. I can't see!"
"So is that person an enemy or friend?"
"He stopped the hero from self-destructing! At least he's not an enemy."
"But he killed the 7th Corps commander?"
"Huh? The Demon King is asking for his name!"
"Noisy! I can't hear anything!!"
"You are louder!"
"So what's his name?"
Because the street was so noisy and the human's voice was low, the demon soldier narrowed his eyes and focused on the shape of his mouth instead of listening.
"Demon... a... root?"
"Demon Arut?"
"I think so?"
"Demon Arut...."
It's a name that sounded more like a demon than a demon.
In this way, Deon Hart's name was transformed into the name Demon Arut and spread throughout the demon military camp.
***
The human achievement of stopping the hero from self-destructing and preventing great damage had such a great merit that even other Corps Commanders acknowledged it.
Even after the battle with the hero, at the victory banquet for the new talent, 'Demon Arut' drank a lot and turned the Demon King's castle upside down. After that, there was no doubt about his skills. This was even more so because the victim of that incident was another Corps Commander.
Therefore, all the demons in the Demon Castle rarely said a bad word about the human who suddenly came in and took over the position of Commander of the 0th Corps.
Of course, this is only mostly.
"You're late."
Belitan, commander of the 6th Corps, tapped the conference room table and muttered. His eyebrows were narrowed as if he was feeling annoyed.
He know very well how great the merits he achieved at that time were. He also acknowledged his strong inaction. But even so, isn't this true?
0th Corps Commander Demon Arut.
He was late every time they had a meeting.
He still is. Everyone was gathered in the conference room except for the Corps Commanders who are out for work, but he is the only one who is absent.
In the end, Belitan couldn't stand the wait and slammed the table.
"Is this something we really need to say?!"
"Noisy."
"Jaykar! How long are you going to tolerate that arrogant behavior? He..."
"Belitan."
Jaykar, who was leaning on a chair with his eyes closed, slowly opened his eyes and looks at Belitan.
When he flinched and stopped talking at the cold gaze staring directly at him, Idelia, the Commander of the 4th Corps, suddenly intervened, as if she had been waiting.
"I think you are the one who is arrogant, Belitan. Do you know who you are making such rude remarks about?"
"...What?"
"It was a really boring joke to be arrogant towards someone who speaks highly of even mere servants."
"Then how do you intend to explain being late for the meeting?"
"There must be something going on."
It was a statement without any hesitation.
Even Ashild, who is not on good terms with her, nodded his head, so he had a momentary thought, 'Is that really true?' It was to the point where he wanted to believe it.
Belitan, who quickly shook his head to come to his senses, opened his mouth in bewilderment.
"How can you guarantee that?"
Just as Idelia was about to respond, there was a bang from one side of the table, and a crash sound was heard.
At the unusual sound, all the Corps Commanders' heads turned to one place.
Some of them sighed and shook their heads as if they had no idea who they were talking about, while others shook their heads as if they knew they would do that. Some even had embarrassed looks on their faces.
Belitan belonged to the third category.
At the end of the table. There, a small girl stood up with both hands on the table.
"Enough of the slander, Belitan! It's blasphemous!"
"...Lirinel?"
"It's blasphemous!"
"Liri..."
"Blasphemous!"
11th Corps Commander Lirinel.
She was normally calm and gentle, but she went crazy when it came to just one thing. Unfortunately for Belitan, this thing was Demon Arut.
Yes, she was a huge fan of Demon Arut.
It was a fact that most people staying in the Demon King's Castle knew, but there was no way that Belitan, who was often absent from the Demon King's Castle due to hunting monsters, would know that fact.
That's why he stared blankly at the kid who was pointing at him.
"Apologize! You're ugly!"
"Wow."
"Li-Lirinel...?"
She looked frail and cute, but even though she looked like that, she is still a Corps Commander.
Belitan was a typical warrior who wields a large axe, and Lirinel was an excellent witch who was a demon with the highest amount of magic power among the Corps Commanders.
It was obvious that the day the two of them fight, the conference hall would be blown up.
Even if that didn't happen, wouldn't the Demon King or the Commander of the 0th Corps come in soon and blow up the conference hall?
On that day, the Demon King's Castle will be overturned.
Perhaps there will be a large-scale replacement of corps commanders.
Therefore, while the other corps commanders were watching and fidgeting, a servant outside the door of the conference hall announced the appearance of the Demon King.
"The Demon King and Commander of the 0th Corps have arrived."
...With news of the 0th Corps Commander.