It took considerable time for Rubens to learn the full story of the war between the demon and human armies. Asteria had intentionally blocked information from the eastern front, attempting to prevent the demons from even having a chance to learn of it.
If it had been just Rubens and Mergen, they would have been helpless, but they managed to avoid that fate because Gerik was there. On Rubens’s orders, Gerik had been busy gathering information within Hordia, employing his “Transform” ability, but it wasn’t going well. Despite this being the kind of intelligence that a nation’s intelligence agency should be gathering, no one knew anything about the movements in the east.
(What is this country…?) Gerik couldn’t hide his bewilderment. Nations and Kings alike had direct organizations responsible for gathering information. This was how Gerik understood human nations to work, but it didn’t apply to Hordia.
(Oh well.) Gerik easily gave up on obtaining information from Hordia. The important thing was the information itself, not where it came from. Even spies from other countries who had infiltrated Hordia would suffice. With that in mind, he began to identify foreign spies. For Gerik, with his demonic perception, it wasn’t particularly difficult. He easily found and incapacitated them, then used “Transform.” It was a terrifying skill that could copy form, mannerisms, and even memories.
Upon copying their memories, he was shocked. None of them possessed information about the East. It seemed the interference from the Hordian side was so severe that the only way to contact their home country was to return there. They were operating with virtually no information from their home countries. Gerik frowned, wondering why he, who was snooping around within the country, wasn’t being obstructed.
(Could it be they’ve noticed we’ve infiltrated…?) A dreadful thought crossed his mind, and he quickly dismissed it. If that were the case, their lack of reaction would be strange. For demons to infiltrate the country and be ignored would be impossible, unless they possessed power on par with Marius. Just as Gerik had done when operating in Seraeno and elsewhere, the military or knightly orders would surely be frantically searching for them.
(Is this all the Queen’s fault…?) He had information on the Kings of various countries stored in his mind. Hordia’s current King, Asteria, had previously engaged in behavior that could only be described as insane, earning almost no trust from those around her. Suddenly, she had annihilated corrupt nobles, declared it all an act, and enacted one policy after another for the people, earning widespread popularity. However, her reputation among foreign nations was apparently the worst.
(Well, whatever. My mission is to obtain information. I’ll leave the thinking to Lord Rubens.) Gerik abandoned his thoughts and resumed his mission. He chose the Galius Kingdom. If he had headed to the Royal Capital Hordias at this time, a different future might have unfolded.
Asteria had anticipated Rubens’s group’s actions. Therefore, she used familiars for information gathering and informed none of her intelligence agents. She withdrew everyone from areas likely to be within the demons’ range of activity, replacing them with familiars and continuing to avoid encounters with demons. If the use of familiars for espionage were common, Gerik would have noticed immediately. However, familiars were conventionally used for combat, like Vester’s Wyvern Corps; only Asteria possessed intelligence-specialized ones. This was why the demons had overlooked it, and Asteria, of course, had accounted for this.
The war that had just occurred had greatly damaged the eastern part of the continent, and the resulting emergence of numerous Undead would require Marius’s power for subsequent cleanup. Asteria believed she needed to stall the demons until he could arrive. She reasoned that her current method would buy enough time. Rubens’s cautious personality meant this approach would work. Of course, if they left Hordia, the problem could be resolved, but considering the demons’ power, three days would be the most they could hope for.
(The decisive battle will be in Vayuta Forest.) It was the seal location of the Demon Lord Decarabia, which Marius had once told him about. She was considering deploying the Twin Dragons, an elite force from the regular army, and even items developed by Isabella.
A few days later, Gerik returned to Rubens with information, his face pale.
“W-What did you say…?”
“D-Defeated…? In such a short period?” Rubens groaned, and Mergen’s eyes widened in disbelief. The shock was immeasurable. The defeat itself wasn’t the primary pain. They had considered that possibility and had positioned them as a diversion. However, the idea that they would be annihilated before they could resurrect Decarabia was a colossal miscalculation. They had ordered Gastark to organize millions of Undead troops and assigned them to the high-ranking demons Albert and Franklin, launching a large-scale invasion of three countries simultaneously.
“Wh-Where did it go wrong…?” Rubens desperately thought. His ambitions were in danger. His long-cherished desire for an era of demons to rule, to end the human world by resurrecting the Evil God Tindalos and the Demon Lord, was at stake. He hadn’t underestimated the human Marius. But if the idea of “five demons buying time” already constituted underestimating Marius, then…
“M-Melinda Guilford…!” He involuntarily uttered the name of the monster who had once ended the era of demons and brought about the era of humans. Was that nightmare returning? If so, how fortunate were these humans. To have an existence appear to prevent the resurrection of the Evil God Tindalos in an era where its resurrection was in sight. Was this the “fortune” or “destiny” that humans favored?
(That can’t be!) While demons were indeed at a disadvantage overall, the hope lay in the fact that the Demon Lords still slumbered on various continents. If an era of demons truly was coming to an end, why had multiple Demon Lords remained unexterminated until now?
“Lord Rubens.” Gerik and Mergen were looking at him. As a superior, Rubens had a duty to lead them.
“Forgive my presumption… but should we not begin the ritual to resurrect Lord Tindalos?” Mergen ventured his opinion timidly, but Rubens shook his head.
“That cannot be done. to successfully perform the resurrection ritual, a Demon Lord is necessary.” The two were surprised by his words but also found some sense in them. They finally understood why Rubens had prioritized resurrecting a Demon Lord, even strengthening their forces first, and why Tindalos couldn’t have been resurrected first.
“As planned. We head to Vayuta Forest.”
“Yes.” Rubens’s return to his usual demeanor seemed to calm Gerik. Mergen’s expression was inscrutable, but he followed Gerik. In reality, Rubens was not as cornered as the two behind him and the humans thought. While resurrecting Tindalos was certainly not easy, the conditions to make its resurrection impossible were also difficult. That was perhaps thanks to divine intervention. Forneus, Levith, Eligol… While none matched Auraniess, Demon Lords on par with Zagan should be slumbering on other continents, and if they were resurrected, Marius would become an insignificant being.
“No, wait.” Rubens stopped walking. His cautious nature, urging him to prepare for even a one-in-a-million chance, compelled him. “Just in case, Mergen. You will head to Barshark. Prepare for that particular operation.”
“Alright…” Mergen’s eyes widened at the sudden change in orders, but he quickly nodded and teleported away. In reality, it wouldn’t take hundreds of years to gather the necessary number of demons and identify the Demon Lord’s seal location. The reason it had taken so long was to ensure greater certainty, working to gradually erode the powers of human nations and foster organizations within human society that could be utilized in times of crisis. Most demons seemed to think they were merely rioting to relieve stress.
Marius could likely use “Teleport,” and possibly other displacement magic as well. This meant the chances of the Decarabia resurrection being thwarted were quite high. Therefore, he realized he should prepare a contingency plan that would allow for recovery even without his presence. This was something the usual Rubens likely would have realized much sooner. The outcome in the East had robbed him of his composure.
