Another side
This place was the only extraterritorial zone within the continent ruled by the Demon Lord.
It was land governed by a god, a divine realm.
A temple stood on a small plot of land, overwhelmingly small compared to the continent’s territory.
A great dragon soars towards it.
The Dragon King Pascal.
“My, it’s as wild as ever here. If only we could borrow even a part of the military strength here, how much easier the war situation would be.”
“But Ruina-sama wouldn’t permit that, would she?”
“I know, Pascal.”
Riding on its back, the Demon Lord gazed at the surrounding scenery with a smile, as if enjoying it.
In the airspace the Dragon King flew, dragons and birds of equal or greater size than the Dragon King flew about, and on the ground, extremely large magic beasts lived out their lives in their respective territories.
Every single one of these creatures possessed immense magic power.
While not reaching the level of divine beasts, there were still plenty of individuals capable of directly confronting a general.
The giant temple came into the Demon Lord’s central field of vision.
Around it, the dwelling place of magic beasts spread out.
It was a dangerous area where any intruder would be swallowed by the magic beasts.
“Still, the density of magic power here is incredible. It’s no wonder so many magic beasts grow here.”
The magic power in this entire area was so concentrated it would be toxic to ordinary people. The Demon Lord, bathed in this magic power with a cool demeanor, felt its presence.
That’s quite natural, as that temple was the building where the Moon God Ruina’s true body slept. In other words, it was a god’s residence.
From there, magic power that supported this continent overflowed as if inexhaustible, so it was a miracle that it remained at this concentration.
“However, I’ve never heard of the Demon Lord himself visiting a dungeon to collect materials just for some rookie general. Rather, this kind of work should be left to the newcomers to show them.”
Pascal did not approve of the Demon Lord, the top of the Demon Lord’s Army, coming to this place. While Pascal didn’t mind coming here himself, he became somewhat displeased to learn the reason was to pick up materials for a rookie’s dungeon.
If it weren’t for the Demon Lord’s superior strength, Pascal wouldn’t hesitate to refuse and would have likely ripped him to shreds for picking a fight.
“This time is a bit special. It connects to another world, but Earth has no magic power. We have to compensate for that. I want to personally assess the items. Well, that and I’m running away from work with Evia!!”
Aware of such emotions, the Demon Lord lightened the mood with a hearty laugh. In reality, the Demon Lord, using the pretext of visiting the temple, had pushed as much work as possible onto Evia.
Picturing Evia, who had reluctantly agreed with a twitch of her mouth, he worried that if he didn’t bring her a souvenir, he might be confined for years.
“Demon Lord, if you don’t stop, Evia will snap and stab you?”
“I was stabbed once in the past, so I’d prefer to avoid that. Her attacks are quite painful.”
Evia was an old acquaintance, and they had once fought to the death. The Demon Lord still vividly recalled the pain of fighting Evia, who wielded a vast number of magic swords and attacked with a mad smile.
Though not fatal, the deep wounds he sustained remained a clear memory.
Pascal, watching the Demon Lord wince and mutter about disliking pain, did not smile.
“Yeah, her attacks are tenacious, and I hate them too.”
Pascal, a habitual slacker, had also received his share of punishments and had been on the receiving end of Evia’s wrath-fueled attacks multiple times. Therefore, he knew firsthand the terrifying nature of her attacks.
As they engaged in such idle chatter, Pascal slowly descended before the magnificent gate at the temple’s outer wall, which could well be called a castle wall. If they were to attempt to bypass the gate and invade from the air, even Pascal, from the temple’s background, would undoubtedly be shot down. This was that kind of place.
“An ancient golem. I believe it was a gift to the temple from the ancestor of the Machine King.”
Guarding the gate were ancient golems made entirely of rare metals. Clad in armor, their height exceeded ten meters, resembling giants. They were placed on either side like the statues of Fujin and Raijin at Kaminarimon Gate in Asakusa, each holding a sword and a spear.
To an observer, they might appear as ordinary, old golems, perhaps weak. However, if one were to fight them without knowledge, it would become a troublesome situation. These golems could serve as vessels for gods. Furthermore, the castle walls were equipped with numerous firearms to support these golems. If one were to attempt to breach this gate without understanding this, they would be attacked by ancient golems controlled by a god while a barrage of magic from ancient magic tools, powered by divine magic from the castle walls, rained down. The attacks would be defended by a barrier on the castle walls, creating a one-sided game. In the past, when a previous Demon Lord had traversed the territory of magic beasts and attacked the temple, one of these golems had severed his head. It was an act of extreme hubris by that proud Demon Lord, but the ending was anticlimactic. The current Demon Lord resolved to maintain his self-control, deciding he must hold on to that if nothing else. Yet, in his mind, he was already contemplating how to conquer this temple, how much military strength would be needed, and whether their current forces were sufficient.
“It’s Demon Lord Insignia. I believe we have an appointment. Could you please let us pass?”
However, with a smile designed to hide his thoughts, he approached the golem without any apparent apprehension and spoke. A golem that had killed a Demon Lord. A typical Demon Lord would feel aversion and be on guard, but this Demon Lord showed no sign of suspicion and stepped closer. With a dull thud, the golem activated. Then, the golems on either side extended their hands, grasped the heavy castle gate, and pulled open the massive doors.
“Well, shall we go?”
“Ah.”
Accompanied by Pascal in his dragon form, they entered through the gate. Upon entering the castle walls, there was nothing but what seemed like an empty space. In the center stood a large temple, surrounded by grassland. Along the single paved path leading to the temple, golems of the same design as those at the gate were positioned along both sides as guards. Apart from that, there was only vast land that gave the impression of being unnecessarily empty.
“…”
“…”
They walked that space in silence. While their walking speeds differed, Pascal, the Dragon King, matched the Demon Lord’s pace without issue.
They proceeded along the unique paved path leading to the temple, guarded by golems identical to those at the gate. Soon, they reached a decorative fountain that served as a midpoint.
“We have been expecting you. The current Demon Lord, Insignia-sama. And Dragon King Pascal-sama.”
A young girl, dressed in a simple sister’s habit, stood before them, greeting them.
“Ah, Sister Sanari. Thank you for coming to meet us.”
“You seem well, Sanari.”
As the Demon Lord and Dragon King approached to a suitable distance and addressed her, Sanari bowed her head.
“That is my duty. Thank you for your concern, Dragon King.”
After their respective greetings, there was no time for casual conversation.
“I have received instructions from Evia-sama to not waste your time, so we will proceed immediately.”
“Oh, she made such arrangements for me?”
“I have heard the circumstances. I also believe it would be best to not consume the busy Demon Lord’s time as much as possible to achieve Ruina-sama’s long-cherished wish.”
Sanari, understanding Evia’s intentions to spare the Demon Lord time, touched the pattern on the fountain and channeled her magic. This activated the fountain’s function. The paved ground surrounding the fountain began to move and descend gradually. If Jiro were here, he would surely exclaim in surprise, “A hidden elevator!?” The three of them boarded the elevator, which was the fountain, and descended into the temple’s true form, a subterranean city. However, this fountain was not merely an elevator; it could also transport them to their destination.
“This place is as amazing as ever. It’s so bright, like Tokyo.”
Below the Demon Lord’s gaze was a well-maintained cityscape bathed in light that never failed to impress. The townscape, reminiscent of a medieval European town, was illuminated by streetlights. Despite being a closed-off space, the high ceiling prevented any sense of oppression. The people living there all appeared young, but it was clear that life was thriving.
“I don’t know of that town called Tokyo, but is there a town more prosperous than this one?”
“Yes, in terms of some technologies, you could say they surpass us. As someone who uses a part of that technology, I keenly feel that if the world and culture are different, the prospering technologies will also differ.”
The Demon Lord paid no mind to Sanari’s questioning gaze as she compared the capital of another world to the town at the foot of the gods.
“Are you curious?”
“Yes, a town comparable to this one at the foot of the gods. It would be a lie to say I’m not curious.”
“Would you like to see it?”
“No, if the god’s word were to command it, I would go see it, but I would not leave this place for personal matters.”
“As always.”
“That is who I am.”
The Demon Lord and Sanari had known each other since he became the Demon Lord, so their relationship was quite long. However, their conversations were always very straightforward.
“…”
Pascal, who was from the temple, only grimaced and shook his head, a response that felt dismissive to the Demon Lord’s complaint about her being cold. As they continued this exchange, they reached their destination. The fountain, which had been descending slowly, stopped in front of a large building. At first glance, it resembled a factory, but the security surrounding it was immense. Not only were there golems, but also soldiers in complete armor, all appearing young. These young soldiers had lived for unimaginably long years, far beyond what their appearance would suggest. Perhaps they could be called veteran soldiers. The Demon Lord, sensing the full extent of their seriousness and dedication to their duty in their eyes, reflected that he should improve the training of the Demon Lord’s Army. He then passed through the factory doors.
“…Magnificent.”
And the item they sought was immediately visible. Just beyond the large doors of the factory, within several layers of barriers, sat a giant magic tool on a pedestal. Not only the magic power emanating from the tool but also the numerous magic circles inscribed on the massive magic stone at its core. The Demon Lord marveled at this creation, which could be considered a work of art.
“We used the magic stone of a thousand-year-old earth dragon that recently completed its natural lifespan. It is a magic tool for creating earth. Even for us, creating another one would be difficult. Please use it with caution.”
The role of this magic tool was crucial, serving as the core component for establishing a new Demon Lord’s Army base on Earth.
“I understand. His life will not be in vain.”
“Then that is sufficient.”
The Demon Lord had come solely to receive this. What should have been a transport requiring multiple layers of security, perhaps even dispatching generals, was instead a magic tool that Sanari had taken from within the barriers, and the Demon Lord stored it in a space within his own spatial magic.
“Thank you. Is an audience with the Overgod possible?”
“As you would say that, I have a message from the Master: ‘Await good news with accomplishments’.”
“As always.”
“That is the Master.”
Normally, he would offer his thanks to the god who created it, but he smiled, resigned to the Moon God’s aversion to such conventional greetings. The Demon Lord then departed.
“Demon Lord.”
Sanari stopped the departing Demon Lord.
“Yes?”
“…”
Although the important magic tool had been handed over, and the matter should have concluded there, Sanari called out to the Demon Lord, hesitating whether or not to speak.
“Yes, rest assured, Sanari. I will keep my ‘promise,’ for her sake.”
Sensing her hesitation, the Demon Lord gently declared this. In response, Sanari offered a prayer.
“I pray for the accomplishment of your long-cherished wish.”
So she prayed.
Another side End
Today’s Words
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