Neia bit her lip in unhappiness, feeling like she was being a burden. Whatever spells the demons used, they could not possibly pose a problem for the Sorcerer King. She could not help but think that he had chosen to go the long way around instead of flying directly to his destination because she was around.
Eventually, they reached their destination ― the headquarters, which also doubled as Caspond’s chambers.
The two paladins at the door had their hands full trying to manage the people jammed up near the door.
“Miss Baraja, we’ll go in from above.”
“Yes!”
After seeing that it would be a little difficult to enter from the front door, the two of them floated up and arrived at the balcony. Just then, the window facing them opened up.
“Your Majesty! Thank you for coming.”
It was a paladin.
“Are the others here yet?”
“No, Your Majesty. The priests are assembling. Vice-Captain Montagnes is off to liberate a prison camp and isn’t expected to return today. Right now, only Captain Custodio and Prince Caspond are present.”
“Is that so? Still, it’s good that the two of them are here. Lead the way.”
“Yes!”
After the paladin led them to Caspond’s room, they could hear a loud discussion through the door. It seemed quite chaotic.
The paladin opened the door for them, and over a dozen pairs of bloodshot eyes greeted them.
“Sorry I’m late. We’re out of time, so what plans were you discussing just now?”
Everyone glanced at each other, and Caspond spoke up on their behalf.
“We have not spotted Jaldabaoth yet. Your Majesty, could this fire have been made by a magic item or a demon other than Jaldabaoth?”
“I am unsure. After all, even I could not do such a thing.”
The others were shaken. The Sorcerer King employed magic that beggared the imagination. How powerful must Jaldabaoth be if he could use a spell that even the Sorcerer King could not?
“In that case, what effects does that fire have? Blue Rose said that they managed to pass through it, then surely normal people can do so as well, right?”
After saying so, Remedios turned to look straight at the Sorcerer King.
“That won’t be a problem. As for its effects, demons standing inside the fire benefit from improved attributes, negative-karma spells will do slightly more damage, item drop rates will increase, and many others. But according to the results from the investigation team, none of those were in effect. Still, whether it does anything else remains to be seen.”
“Which means we can freely move in and out of it, right?”
“Hm? Didn’t I say that at the beginning?”
“In that case, we ought to evacuate as long as there are no demihumans or demons around, and then form up into units there. After all, I heard that demons appeared within the area surrounded by the fire when it was last seen in the Kingdom. Let’s go with that plan of action, everyone.”
After giving the paladins their orders, he asked the Sorcerer King again, “Can you use your magic to pinpoint Jaldabaoth’s location, Your Majesty?”
“If I could, I wouldn’t need to stay in this city now, would I?”
“You have a point.”
Just as the Sorcerer King was dealing with one question after another, everyone heard an ominous creaking.
It started out quietly enough, and then it steadily grew to drown out the clamor in the room. One by one, they all quieted down, and finally, the only sound in the silence was the creaking.
Everyone looked around uneasily. Just then, Neia noticed something odd on the outside wall of the building and exclaimed an “Ah―”
A crack appeared on the wall, and as everyone watched, it began to spread. The wall bulged, and then—
“Get away!”
Just as Remedios shouted, the Sorcerer King stood in front of Neia.
The wall broke apart with a mighty crash. Bricks flew through the room like a spray of shotgun pellets. Groans filled the air; they came from those people who had been hit by the fast-moving masonry.
If the Sorcerer King had not shielded Neia with his body, Neia might have ended up wailing on the ground with them.
“Th-Thank you―”
The Sorcerer King held up his hand to stop Neia before she could thank him, and then he pointed at the smoke-spewing gap in the wall to draw her attention there.
There was a gigantic silhouette there, the color of a roaring blaze.
“―Thank you for the warm welcome, humans.”
It was a deep and powerful voice.
As though cutting through the smoke, that being slowly leaned in through the hole in the wall and entered the room.
It was ― a demon.
Due to his vast size, he had to bend down in order to barely fit inside the room. His posture looked a little stupid, but now was definitely not the time for laughter. Her throat could not work properly; she wanted to swallow the saliva pooling in her mouth, but it stuck there instead.
This was an overwhelming mass of power.
Neia had never been very good at judging the strength of her foes relative to herself, but she understood that she could not win against him even with tens of thousands of Neias. She was swallowed by a wave of power comparable to the Sorcerer King after removing his ring, and she could not move a muscle.
It was then that she realized who she was facing.
That, that’s Jaldabaoth… the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth…
His face was filled with wrath, his wings were red, and his burning arms ― he seemed to be holding something in one hand, and Neia could not help but doubt her eyes.
That was ― though she dared not believe it ― a lower body. It emanated a vile stench, one of advanced decay.
“Kyaaaaahh!”
It was a shout ― no, a scream. It was a sound that only one who had burst the shackles on their emotions and fallen into madness would make. It came from behind Neia.
Neia’s back shuddered. The person making that sound was Remedios.
Remedios raised her holy sword high and charged straight at Jaldabaoth, not caring about her own defense.
This was too rash. Even Neia, who was not skilled with swords, felt that it was a foolish charge.
“―Get lost.”
Those weighty, quiet words were accompanied by the sound of splashing. At the same time, Remedios flew in a straight line and crashed into a wall. Her impact was so loud it seemed as though the entire building would collapse. After that, Remedios ― who had been swatted aside like a fly ― collapsed limply from the wall.
It would seem Jaldabaoth had sent Remedios flying with the object that looked like a human’s lower body.
Neia would have surely died if she had taken that hit. But as expected of the country’s strongest paladin, her life did not seem to be in danger.
In its place, a revolting odor began to spread through the air.
The room was filled with chunks of meat from the decayed lower body that Jaldabaoth had used to strike Remedios.
“Ahh… what a mess. I sincerely apologize for getting the room dirty. Of course, it would not have ended up like this if that woman had not charged at me without thinking ― well, that’s just an excuse. Please forgive me.”
Jaldabaoth slowly bowed his head. He seemed genuinely apologetic, but that only made everyone else more afraid.
And then, he casually dumped what he was holding ― something that looked like the charred remains of a human ankle ― to the ground.
“My my, I guess I got a little too carried away while swinging it around and the top half flew off somewhere. It’s a dirty little thing, so I’ve been looking for a chance to dispose of it… but in the end I managed to make good use of her. Am I not a kind demon? She must be thanking me from the afterlife.”