Some time before, when everyone was released from the fabricated world by Harrison, Kudou Riku was freed with Kaneki Mikihiko and Shimazu Yui.
“My king. According to Ayame, Majima Takahiro is safe.”
“Is that so? That’s good to hear.”
Fortunately, Ayame was capable of sensing Majima Takahiro’s well-being through the mental path, and Berta was able to inform the others of this. They had no reason to stick around here.
“Are you leaving?”
Kudou Riku was about to depart, but came to a stop at Berta’s voice. He turned around and met a certain girl’s sad eyes. It wasn’t really her, of course. Her lower half wasn’t that of a wolf to begin with, and she’d never looked at him like this.
Those eyes were those of someone who wanted to say something. He knew what it was. Being as artless as she was, Berta was incapable of masking what she sought from him.
“Go guard Majima-senpai. It isn’t like all the danger has passed.”
After a moment of silence, the boy gave her an order as her king. He had no hesitation. He wasn’t supposed to.
✦ ✦ ✦
He began moving right away. He only had Dora with him, so he had to go on foot. However, shortly after, Anton’s spawn detected that her king had returned and brought a firefang to him. That said, having completely broken his arm in the battle against the horror that Travis had become, Kudou Riku found it extremely difficult to ride on a mount. If he were riding Berta, she’d be able to use her tentacles to keep him from falling, but he’d left her with Majima Takahiro. In the end, he had to ride the firefang with Dora’s support.
Before long, he reached his destination. It was one of the small forests dotting the prairies. This wasn’t a Dark Woods—a leftover of the Woodlands; it was just a forest. However, the place had been transformed into a wicked haunt that couldn’t be described as a simple forest anymore.
Kudou Riku stepped within, and an enormous monster that looked like a solidified shadow came to greet him alongside a brawny beast clad in a dreadful atmosphere. This was the doppelqueen Anton and the vestige of Takaya Jun, the Mad Beast Emil. There were even more monsters behind them.
If anyone else saw this, their shock would be overwhelming. The swarm of monsters was of many different types, hidden within the shadows of the forest. These were the servants Kudou Riku had brought with him. The Demon King’s army numbered over a thousand, so strong it could even take on the imperial capital, which housed the greatest military force in the world.
However, this was a strange situation. Kudou Riku had left Aker around twenty days ahead of Majima Takahiro. Even accounting for the extra time, Majima Takahiro had traveled using Fairy Ring, so Kudou Riku had had at most a month. Setting aside monsters that could travel quickly, it would be very difficult to bring such a large assortment of monsters with wanton disregard for what they were. If not for a certain special method, that is.
“Well done. Looks like nobody noticed you,” Kudou said.
“Of course. I’ve striven to act in secrecy. Neither Heinrich nor Ida have made a move,” Anton’s spawn, one in the form of Juumonji Tatsuya, reported.
“Very good.” Kudou nodded in satisfaction. “They have tremendous hatred. If handled poorly, they might go on a rampage.”
The forest squirmed in front of his eyes. No. To be precise, something that had flattened the land deep in the forest, hidden from the outside, had started moving. It was a monster large enough to make it seem like the trees themselves were alive.
“AaaAaaah...”
It let out a hair-raising cry like a curse and shook the foliage. What slowly rose from the ground was an enormous dragon’s head. However, its eyes were empty cavities and all signs of life had left its body. This was the mere shadow of the dragon that had fallen to madness and hatred to protect her precious children.
The name given to her by the Demon King as his ninth named pawn was Ida. Her original name was the carapace wyrm Malvina. Her natural aegis had been shattered and her flesh was rotting. She was the elder of Draconia who had been roused by her hatred into an undead monster. She was over fifty meters tall and capable of flight. This was how Kudou Riku had brought over a thousand monsters from Aker to the imperial capital in just about a month.
Next to her was a zombie dragon towering over twenty meters tall despite losing its head. This one was given the name Heinrich. This was the undead monster born from the corpse of Draconia’s guardian, Rex. The mother and son who’d been murdered by visitors were now part of the Demon King’s army, intent on taking revenge on the world.
“Looks like you’ve been obedient,” Kudou said to Ida.
A growl came through her fangs and rotting jowls. Naturally, she possessed no sense of reason as she had in life. Her growl had simply come from the hatred and resentment that fueled her body. Listening to the chilling voice, Kudou Riku’s smile remained unmoving.
“Relax. So long as you follow me, I’ll grant your wish.”
Hearing him, Ida’s growling stopped. At the same time, the Mad Beast Emil started. Those were the same words Kudou Riku had used on him. A dead dragon fueled by hatred, and a beast driven to insanity by his fixation on a single girl—this boy said he would grant their wishes. How serious was he? It was impossible to tell through his fake smile.
“Hurry up and get ready to move out,” the boy ordered, still masking all emotions beneath his smile. “Things might get stormy again.”
If Majima Takahiro’s group heard this, they would probably find it suspicious. What could he be doing to warrant such an ominous prediction? There was even conviction behind his voice.
“My king. Will it be a battle?” Dora asked.
“Yes. A very big one...” Kudou answered, his smile deepening. “One big enough to stake everything I’ve built to date on.”
A lurid smile twisted his features. It gave a glimpse of the dark fire blazing inside him, one that wouldn’t stop until it burned him to ashes in despair. These were the flames of rage that would burn the world.
With a swarm of monsters capable of destroying the imperial capital at his command, the Demon King would soon ride atop the cursed dragon. Taking a look at her brethren, Dora suddenly spoke up.
“My king. Even though it will be such an important battle, you aren’t bringing Berta along? Are you sure?”
“It’s fine to leave that one by Senpai’s side,” he answered without hesitation. “I’m sure of it now. That one is a failure. I can’t possibly bring it along.”
Dora fell silent. However, she looked at her king as if she wanted to say something.
“What is it?” Kudou asked. “If you have something to say, then say it. Do you object to my decision?”
“Of course not!” Dora protested immediately. “How could I ever object to your decisions?!”
There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in her voice. She had fanatical faith in her king. She believed he was absolute. Given this, it was impossible for her to object to anything he said. Even if that weren’t the case, none of the Demon King’s subordinates could defy his will—with one single exception. However, precisely because Dora believed her king was correct, there was a part of her that wanted to know his thought process.
“Please forgive my ignorance,” she said. “There must be a reason for you to keep Berta at a distance that I do not know of. What is that reason? According to you, Berta is a failure. However, as your second servant, she must also possess significant strength. She is far stronger than I am. She continues to get stronger. Berta is your strongest servant.” There was the slightest hint of frustration in her voice at this fact. “If you use her as a sacrificial pawn, she’ll be more than useful enough. She’ll also gladly accept that role. You should understand this too. So why?”
“Leave it at that,” Anton cut in. Dora had been asking out of pure curiosity. Anton, taking on a role of matronly responsibility, bowed to their king in her stead. “Please forgive our insolence.”
“I’m going to get a little rest,” the boy-turned-Demon King said with a sigh. “Anton, make sure the army is ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Use your spawns to gather information in the capital. Also, dispatch some spawns to get any necessary information from Berta.”
“As you will.”
“Dora, explain what happened in that labyrinth to Anton.”
“Understood.”