In other words, Dastia had been without a king for two years now. The people were getting worried, while the various noble families were vying with each other for power. The kingdom was coming apart at the seams.
Over the past two years, Sveit had been shown time and time again that he lacked what was necessary to be king. He’d become a haggard shell of his former self, but he couldn’t just abandon his duties, so he continued pushing onward.
“Sveit wants to make up with Alfard as well. He’s reconsidered a lot of his previous beliefs. However...” Anya trailed off, massaging her forehead as if nursing a sudden headache. “Despite searching all over for him, we haven’t been able to find a single trace of where he’s gone. Besides, even if we were able to pinpoint his location, if he wanted to, he could easily evade capture.”
“Why’s—?”
Before Miledi could finish her question, Morgan answered, “Because he’s strong.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes. He’s unbelievably strong.”
“When we last saw him three years ago, he was already strong enough to beat all of our best fighters single-handedly.”
Everyone considered him the strongest vampire in Dastia, which was why Anya so desperately needed Miledi and the others’ help.
“I realize how dangerous allowing outsiders into the country is, but we need your strength if we are to rebuild our crumbling nation.”
If Alfard could escape even the combined might of seven ancient magic users, then there really was no one who’d be able to catch him.
“So, are you willing to accept this deal?” Anya asked, tilting her head toward Miledi.
Of course, Miledi and the others had long since made up their minds.
“And so, we now have to go looking for a runaway prince,” Vandre explained to Rasul through a Skynet.
“Wow, this prince sounds like one amazing guy! A real man amongst men!” Rasul replied excitedly, and Vandre let out a long sigh. Not that he’d expected his brother to react any differently.
The weather was perfect, with nary a cloud in the sky. From atop the mountain peaks, the Azure Lands looked beautiful. Behind him, Vandre could hear some of the vampire soldiers talking to Naiz.
“H-Hey, is that really the Demon Lord?”
“I get how you feel, but yeah, that’s him.”
“That cheerful weirdo?”
“Yep.”
“I don’t believe it. First I see the queen of the Pale Forest begging Meiru-dono to sit on her...and now this... Is the outside world doing okay?”
“Well, it kind of isn’t, which is why we came to visit Dastia in the first place.”
“How cruel!” Lyutillis said, butting in. “I was just—”
“Please just shut up, Lyu.”
“Ah...! Nacchan-san, you’ve been colder to me than usual lately... Haaah... Haaah...”
“The outside world seems terrifying,” the soldiers said with a shiver.
After their conversation with Anya, Miledi and the others had discovered that they couldn’t contact anyone outside Dastia via Skynet. Apparently, the Arbiter of Truth barrier blocked all communications as well. Thus, Vandre, Naiz, and Lyutillis had headed out into the mountainous marshlands to give their report to their allies...with some vampire soldiers tagging along to keep an eye on them.
Due to how remote the Azure Lands were, they couldn’t reach the entire continent with their Skynet, but since Rasul and the demon soldiers had safely made it to a demon fortress north of the Azure Lands, Vandre had been able to get in touch with them. Rasul would then relay their report to all the other Liberators scattered throughout the continent.
One unfortunate side effect of this relay method of communication though was that the vampires now had absolutely no respect for the Demon Lord.
Vandre could see Elga massaging his temples a short distance behind Rasul. Lestina was pleading with Rasul to act more stately too. For a moment, Elga was worried the prestige and dignity of demons had been ruined forever, but after Vandre finished his report, Rasul’s demeanor suddenly changed and he gave Vandre a serious look. The vampires gulped upon seeing Rasul’s more intimidating side for the first time.
“If that’s all, I have a report of my own to make.”
“What happened, brother?” Vandre asked.
“The church has appointed a new pope, one who goes by the name Darrion Kaus.”
“That’s impossible! We killed him!”
“I know. Everyone across the world saw the Paladins perish. And yet, the church still claims that their new pope is him, rather than any of the surviving archbishops. I don’t like that one bit. According to the church, Darrion survived, but they haven’t publicized any further details. Right now, the Liberators’ spies are trying to ascertain whether or not it’s the real Darrion Kaus.”
“What the hell is the church planning?”
“I don’t know. But, Van, you need to hurry. My gut is telling me that something bad is coming...and soon.”
“Got it. I’ll let Miledi and the others know. Your gut’s never been wrong before. Oh, and be careful out there, okay?”
“Heh, who do you think you’re talking to? I’m the Demon Lord, remember?”
In a flash, Rasul went from looking like an imposing, majestic Demon Lord back to a playful little kid as he grinned at Vandre and shrugged. He then went on to tell Vandre that almost all the Liberators were accounted for to end on a bit of good news, and soon ended the call. Vandre turned back to see Naiz and Lyutillis wearing determined looks on their faces.
Seeing the Liberators looking truly serious for the first time, the vampires finally realized how grave the situation was in the outside world.
The Liberators began their search for the prince early the next morning. Miledi ferried her group of three across the skies, while Laus, one of the other group members, sent out probes of spirit magic to see what he could find. Meiru, the final group member, used restoration magic on both of them so they could keep casting for longer.
The rest of the Liberators had also split into trios. Oscar and Naiz were traveling with Morgan, while Vandre and Lyutillis were with Nevrai. Morgan and Nevrai had known Alfard since childhood, so they planned to check on all the locations they’d explored as kids. The reason Oscar and Lyutillis were on separate squads was because they both had their own ways to see through camouflages and disguises.
After Vandre had relayed Rasul’s message to Miledi and the others, they’d all decided that they needed to find Alfard as quickly as possible. As they flew through the skies though, Miledi put that out of her mind for a moment and grinned at Meiru.
“Come on, Meru-nee, isn’t it about time you stopped sulking?”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“I know the queen lectured you for ages last night, but there’s no reason to feel down about that! By the way, how does it feel knowing your dad’s second wife hates—?! Oww!”
Meiru smacked Miledi across the face with a water whip, cutting her off. But even as she spun through the air, Miledi made sure to perfectly control Laus and Meiru’s flight trajectory with her gravity magic, showcasing her impeccable control.