Yggdrasil, the world’s largest tree, reached high into the sky. At its base was the Palatial Tree—the residence of the fairy king, replete with splendor. Though it wasn’t as big as Yggdrasil, it was nonetheless an enormous tree, the likes of which couldn’t be seen outside this town. The structure inside the hollowed-out tree abounded with elegance.
“You still haven’t found the fairy king?!”
“No, sir. We’ve searched every corner of the dungeon, but it’s a complete mystery how he managed to get out of his cell and where he’s gone.”
The Palatial Tree was currently in the hands of Chancellor Mickaël. Its original owner, the fairy king, had evidently made an escape.
“Damn iiit! Do you understand how big of a setback this is to our revolution?!”
“Yes, sir! We have mobilized our entire force to search for him!”
On the receiving end of the chancellor’s anger was General Dainagon, the elf in command of the elven revolutionaries. Originally, magicians and farmers were held in the highest regard amongst elves, while politicians and soldiers were looked down upon. It was a nation so behind the times that they considered a reclusive lifestyle deep in the forest to be the most admirable of all. Perhaps it was the sense of discrimination lurking beneath the surface of this beautiful race that had made the political sector of the Elven Forest Republic, then led by Chancellor Mickaël, forge an alliance with its military sector and start a coup.
“I cannot bring forth the glorious elven revolution if the fairy king and that royal pair from Aryaka are out there!”
“Understood, sir!”
Gryphons landed on the palace’s balcony, flapping their wings. These were magical beasts with the head of a bird, the body of a lion, and large wings. The Demon Lord’s army had tamed them for the purpose of aerial transportation.
“Man, we should’ve gone to that hot spring! You’re such a wet blanket, Arima!” spoke Uta, an alraune, as she dismounted her gryphon, swaying from side to side. Being a vegetative monster, she had some difficulty walking.
“We cannot...act friendly...with enemies...” Arima spoke slowly as he dismounted too.
“Oh, come on, you’re so stubborn! Ah, but yokozuna Floortje and Prince Richie were so fantastic! I wanna go to Aryaka like Kukuri did!”
“The Aryakan capital is a good place, yes,” said Kukuri.
“This is simply unfair. I wanted to be the one sneaking in there!”
“You can’t assume human form, Uta, so that wouldn’t work.”
“I’m so jealous of you. You’ve found someone nice in Aryaka, haven’t you?”
“N-No, I didn’t. I-I went there strictly for work reasons.”
“Yeah, right, like I’d believe that! But man, I wanna see the sumo tournaments in Aryaka! They ban magic-imbued skills, right?”
“Yes, they compete in orthodox sumo.”
A furious Chancellor Mickaël opened the glass doors to the balcony.
“You! Why have you returned without that royal pair, Arima?!”
“They escaped...”
“What?! You’re telling me such a vicious and ostensibly evil trio let those two get away again?! Explain yourself!!!”
“What’s up with this guy?” uttered Uta as she furrowed her eyebrows and glared at the chancellor.
“And what’s with that look?! I am the leader of the elves—the race at the peak of humanoid races! We live over a thousand years and have higher intelligence than any species in the world! You monsters are far beneath us!”
The alraune was seething with rage, but since the chancellor had no training in martial arts, he couldn’t even sense it. Kukuri patted Uta on the shoulder.
“Chancellor, we came into contact with Crown Prince Richie and Crown Princess Candidate Floortje at the highway village of Hufton and engaged them in battle. Alas, we sustained injuries too great to prevent their escape,” explained Kukuri.
“Well, we lost two to one,” added Uta.
“Th-They were such mighty heroes?!”
“She was...the strongest...of all humankind...”
“Yeah, that’s a yokozuna for you,” said Uta.
Chancellor Mickaël started pulling on his gorgeous silver hair.
“Shit! What the hell am I supposed to do?! They’re about to escape to the Dwarven Great Caves! How do you plan to make it up to me, you blasted demons and monsters?!”
Just then, a particularly large gryphon landed on the balcony.
“Having some trouble, are we, Mr. New Fairy King?”
“Wh... I-I’m the leader of this revolution, not that... Wh-What gives, Demon Lord?”
“I heard my lovely chancellor was experiencing difficulties and simply couldn’t sit still. Now that I’m here, just leave everything to us!”
The Demon Lord, characterized by malignant beauty, dismounted his massive gryphon.
“My lord...”
His three servants knelt before him.
“So, Arima. You say our lovely Lady Floortje is on her way to the Dwarven Great Caves?”
“Yes... They will reach it...any day now...”
“I see, I see. Kukuri, get the word out to our engineers to bring out the you-know-what. I’m gonna need it.”
“Is it complete already?”
“That’s right. It’ll let me give proper chase.” With that, the beautiful Demon Lord turned to face the elven chancellor. “So don’t fret. I’m gonna catch Lady Floortje, so you focus on finding the fairy king.”
“O-Oh, okay. Since you’re giving me your personal assurance...”
The Demon Lord patted the elf’s shoulders in a friendly way.
“Your revolutionaries don’t have full control of the country yet, and it would be great if you could get that sorted as soon as you can. I’ll handle the rest.”
“O-Okay, got it. And thanks.”
The chancellor left the balcony and retreated deeper into the palace together with General Dainagon.
“You’ve really got a glib tongue, my lord!” spoke Uta.
“Heh heh heh! It’s easy for me, the Demon Lord, to take some idiot for a ride,” said the demon as he patted Uta’s head with a smile on his face. “All right. So I take it there’s one more tournament before yokozuna Floortje gets back to Aryaka?”
“Yes...” replied Arima.
“Find one more rikishi. We’re making it a five-on-five.”
“Uh... But they...only have two...”
“Arima, my man, your sense of duty is too strong! If they don’t find someone to field, we’re just gonna snatch that win by default!”
“But...sir...”
“Not having enough members is on them. Don’t let it get to ya,” said the Demon Lord, before sneering. “Man, I’m all fired up for some good sumo! I’ll show you, Floortje, what this Demon Lord—the yokozuna of Dark Sumo—is capable of!”
The demon’s laugh resounded across the balcony.