Han-shin was considering how the Demon Lord might be happy…
A way to make him attach himself to the Demon Realm…
Valetta was constantly deliberating on such things, imagining how beautiful the Demon Realm would become if Ezekiel stood by his side.
In the midst of his pondering, a sudden sound shattered the monotony. Ezekiel’s party and the vermin of the Magic Tower had arrived.
Originally, they had an agreement not to interfere in Ezekiel’s affairs, but there was something he couldn’t ignore.
—”What if I sold my soul to the demons and gained power? Then at least I could cut off the arms and legs of the Imperial Tower Inspector in a death match. Not a bad plan, right?”
It was the statement of some purple Magic Tower moron.
Calculations raced through Valetta’s mind, and soon a conclusion was reached. If used right, this could greatly win over Ezekiel’s favor.
So, without assigning anyone, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
BAM!
Shrouded in thick mana, he delivered a crushing blow to the face of the Magic Tower scum. It felt like hitting something disgusting, but he endured it.
There was only one reason.
Because it was worth it for Ezekiel.
“You’re going to sell your soul to the demons?”
Tsk, tsk, tsk, Valetta clicked his tongue several times.
“Hmm~ Nope. I don’t accept trash like you.”
He spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.
The dazed expressions of the wizards were quite the sight. And why wouldn’t they be? Valetta’s entrance was instantaneous.
“…”
The gaze of Zeta, who had just been punched in the face, and the elders of the Magic Tower turned towards the Demon Lord.
No matter how shallow their knowledge of demons, they couldn’t fail to recognize the Demon Lord. The moment they touched the mana, instinct kicked in, allowing them to realize who it was.
A shockwave washed over them.
“D-d-demon lord…?”
“Of all times, now…?”
“I’m completely restrained…!”
The Demon Lord occupied the very top of the food chain in the Demon Realm. Even taking precautions didn’t guarantee survival—now they had bumped into him?
Despair clouded the faces of the Magic Tower elders.
Meanwhile, Ezekiel pondered quietly.
‘Why is he here?’
The question was pressing.
At the time of their deal, Valetta had promised not to interfere in Ezekiel’s affairs. Meaning it was right to avoid getting involved in any way.
‘If he had just killed him, it would have been a serious issue.’
Ezekiel released a sigh of relief—not just for the Magic Tower elders, but because Zeta was still alive.
He had deliberately left him alive in front of everyone to enact his punishment. Wouldn’t it be terrible to die unexpectedly due to the sudden appearance of the Demon Lord? Everything he had meticulously planned was on the verge of falling apart.
It didn’t take long to decide.
He needed to kick Valetta out immediately.
Meanwhile, the Demon Lord’s mischievous antics continued.
“Ugh…!”
Zeta was face-down, pressed painfully against the ground. The Demon Lord had his foot on Zeta’s face.
Though he had no eyes, he still looked down upon him.
“How does it feel to be crushed by someone so superior? Consider it an honor. Just a lowly human, after all.”
Wrapped in an eye patch, the mysterious aura around the Demon Lord intensified. No one dared to interrupt; they held their breath in silence.
“…”
The elders of the Magic Tower were sweating profusely.
Even if they couldn’t step in, they realized they couldn’t do anything against the Demon Lord. He had absolute control over this situation.
Zeta was surely going to die.
If it weren’t for Ezekiel’s telepathy.
—Valetta, freeze.
How bold to utter the Demon Lord’s name— in the Demon Realm, that was a grave sin that could tear your soul apart.
However, the Demon Lord didn’t care in the least. He simply smiled wickedly.
“Hehe, heehee!”
“Please spare Zeta’s life!”
As the Demon Lord’s laughter rang out, the elders of the Magic Tower began groveling in fear.
But Ezekiel understood.
Valetta had brightened at hearing his telepathy, almost as if he were seeking Ezekiel’s praise.
…To be honest, it was absurd.
Ezekiel hadn’t even asked for help, nor was it a helpful act. If anything, the Demon Lord had significantly contributed to Arcne’s injury.
Why was he suddenly trying so hard to win Ezekiel’s favor? It made a sharp discomfort rise within him.
—You said it yourself. The moment you break your promise, you lose your motivation, and that would be a significant loss for you, Demon Lord.
Suppressing his anger, he sent another telepathic message.
—You’ve barged in just to show off. Thanks to you, I’ve lost my motivation. I suddenly want to quit everything.
The Demon Lord’s smile vanished.
—That can be interpreted as a destruction of our deal, right?
The Demon Lord seemed a bit flustered, his lips twitching. To see the highest being in the Demon Realm flustered? It was a remarkable sight.
‘I need to issue a strong warning.’
Blood Sphere.
To regularly receive that, Ezekiel would have to continue dealing with Valetta.
But allowing Valetta to act on his own whims? You never knew when some variable might pop up. He needed to maintain his position of power thoroughly.
—If there’s no response, I’ll take it as a yes.
“Hmm…”
—Valetta, let’s pretend this never happened. You don’t have eyes, do you? The clash between me and the Emperor? You wouldn’t be able to see it anyway.
“…”
The Demon Lord firmly shut his smiling mouth.
After that, a long silence ensued.
Was the Demon Lord seriously contemplating breaking the deal? It didn’t seem so. It almost looked like he was trying to gauge Ezekiel’s feelings.
Just when Ezekiel was about to urge the Demon Lord to make a choice.
“I’m getting irritated.”
Finally, the Demon Lord muttered to himself.
Whoosh!
Valetta suddenly thickened the mana concentration to an insane level, and it was too fast for anyone to react.
Thick mana acted like gravity.
“…”
To put it simply, everyone around was pinned down by gravity that felt several times heavier, unable to move. In this slow passage of time, only Valetta took action.
“After descending here, I touched that filthy waste directly, yet I haven’t achieved a single thing…”
Valetta muttered while lifting one foot high, then brought it crashing down.
BAM!
His sole perfectly stomped on Zeta’s face.
The sound was rather weak, as Valetta didn’t apply any mana to his body.
That was his version of venting frustration.
He stomped several times, inflicting pain just enough to express his rage without killing Zeta.
Thump! Thump!
“Ugh… agh…!”
Blood dripped from Zeta’s mouth.
Pinned down by the thick mana, he couldn’t resist, and the Demon Lord’s kicks were just painful enough. It must have felt like actual torture.
“You weak humans are utterly useless. Not even helpful for winning favor. How pathetic… bugs, trash, lowly creatures…”
Thump! Thump! Thump!
That was when Ezekiel stepped in. Having also learned the nuances of mana manipulation, adapting wasn’t difficult.
“I told you to stop!”
He yelled, swinging the ice spear he held.
WHOOSH!
The Demon Lord teleported just as if he had been waiting for Ezekiel, appearing in the air slightly above his line of sight.
Ezekiel quickly glanced at Zeta first.
And he couldn’t help but be surprised.
‘…Did he just heal?’
Zeta was covered in blood, but other than that, his face looked fine. Even his teeth were intact.
The Demon Lord had some bizarre regenerative ability. He had heard that even forbidden healing magic was within his grasp, and just before teleporting, he had finished healing.
But then the Demon Lord said this instead.
“The attack from the Imperial Tower Inspector is sharp. Even a quick emergency aid…? That might become a threat to the Demon Realm.”
He shifted the blame for his own actions onto Ezekiel. Was he still trying to win favor?
Ezekiel glared at Valetta and sent telepathy.
—Doing things like this won’t help me at all. Your regenerative ability, can you use it on others? Then you should have healed Arcne.
—That’s impossible.
The Demon Lord answered promptly.
—Han-shin, it’s true that I wanted to gain your favor, but I can’t directly heal Arcne.
—Why not?
—Every time I compromise with the Emperor, we stake each other’s hearts as collateral. The moment I break that promise, I would die.
Damn it, Ezekiel bit his lip.
—But Han-shin, don’t despair too much. The artifacts possessed by the Purple Magic Tower will definitely help Arcne. I assure you.
—…Enough already, just get lost.
Then Valetta gave a sly smile.
—Don’t hate me too much. After all, what I did originally aimed to win your favor. If you’re still upset about it, I might offer you some other compensation later.
His smile was filled with mischief.
—For example, my virginity?
—…What?
—Hahaha! Just kidding! I just felt like Arcne would say something like that. Of course, if you wanted, it wouldn’t be hard to hand her over… How about that?
—You’re spewing disgusting nonsense all day. Just scram.
—Hahaha, ahhahaha!
With that laugh, he vanished without a trace.
As Ezekiel sunk into thought, he overheard whispers from the Magic Tower wizards.
“The Inspector… made the Demon Lord retreat?”
“Did he learn emergency rescue magic too? That can’t be, emergency healing arts are unique to the Magic Tower…?”
“It doesn’t matter how he learned it. The fact that he used it on Zeta is what counts. Impressive.”
Even though he had betrayed and committed evil deeds, receiving help from Ezekiel, the elders of the Magic Tower couldn’t hide their admiration.
Well, Ezekiel’s mind was just a mess otherwise.
‘Looks like I have no choice but to save Arcne.’
He had learned that when the Demon Lord and Emperor made compromises, they always put their hearts on the line as collateral.
It hit him how pressing the time was. He needed to rush Arcne’s recovery no matter what.
Ezekiel’s gaze turned to Agnes.
“We’re canceling the camp, moving immediately.”
“Eh?”
Seina and Agnes’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Are you saying we should head back right now? It would be better to torment the Purple Magic Tower folks a bit more…”
“No way. We really need to hurry.”
Originally, he had intended to make the people of the Magic Tower suffer as much as possible in this humid terrain, but they had already faced a significant humiliation thanks to the Demon Lord just now, so that was enough.
Was that the only decent thing the Demon Lord had done?
Afterward, they soared through the sky with magic, returning swiftly while dragging the Magic Tower scum behind.
Immediately after their return, they locked up the Magic Tower scum in the basement of the Imperial Tower and checked on Solana and Arcne’s condition.
According to Solana, Arcne was in an incredibly bizarre state of between life and death.
Her body wasn’t deteriorating anymore, but she also wasn’t recovering.
Neither alive nor dead, she was merely suffering.
‘I will definitely save her.’
Ezekiel vowed once more. Only two days remained until the death match with the Magic Tower.
And finally.
On the day of the death match against the Magic Tower, he received an unexpected message from his secretary, Agnes.
“There’s a request for a private meeting with you, Inspector.”
A request for a private meeting was rare.
There weren’t many people who could request a meeting with someone as high-ranking as Ezekiel, and thus, it was likely that this person had a significant matter to discuss. He found it puzzling.
But that puzzlement was soon resolved.
“…It’s Herta, the other elite of the Magic Tower.”
Zeta’s twin sister.
The elite Herta of the Magic Tower had come to see Ezekiel.
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