Dungeon Defense

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On that day, every Demon Lord convened.

Though the term "every Demon Lord" may sound grandiose, in truth, our numbers were few. Thirty-one. Just thirty-one remained. Once boasting a legion of seventy-two, the Demon Lord Army had all but vanished, leaving less than half standing.

Comparatively speaking, it would be an understatement to suggest that they had merely declined. It wasn't solely a matter of quantity. Even Baal, once revered as the most formidable and strongest among Demon Lords, alongside Agares, had met their end. The quality of the Demon Lord Army itself had dramatically declined…….

Yet despite these losses, the Demon Lord Army had reached an unprecedented peak since its inception three thousand years ago.

The support from the demons for the new Demon Lord Army was at its peak. Implicitly, the humans of the continent had submitted to the majesty of the Demon Lord Army.

Once confined to the Black Mountains, the Demon Lord Army's influence now extended not only across the entire central continent but also westward to the Kingdom of Brittany, southward to the Kingdom of Sardinia, and eastward to the Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom.

In a paradoxical twist, despite its unprecedented weakening, the Demon Lord Army had ushered in an unparalleled golden age.

"……Is Lord Marbas not here yet……?"

"Her Highness Gamigin said he'll be here soon……."

"Exactly what is happening today……."

"……Unfortunately, I haven't really heard anything……."

The Demon Lords were mostly submerged in darkness, with only half of their bodies being visible. Yet, there was no one complaining aloud. By nature, Demon Lords had sharp night vision and preferred to converse in the dark rather than the light.

In the center of the moonlit building, there was a glass enclosure.

A woman with red hair lay there as if she were asleep.

This was Paimon's enshrinement chamber, a place newly constructed in the palace solely for her. Here, the Demon Lords murmured and chatted, glancing at each other under the dimly lit atmosphere. In the murky air, their features were indistinct, with only their moving lips faintly illuminated.

"……."

At that moment, something gripped my right hand. When I turned my head, Barbatos was holding my hand firmly. She murmured quietly.

"……Don't turn your head, you dolt. Others might notice."

"My mistake."

I muttered back quietly, before deliberately turning my gaze away as if nothing had happened. Across from us, eleven Mountain Faction Demon Lords, including Sitri, were gathered. They were whispering among themselves, nodding occasionally or casting sidelong glances our way.

"You won't regret choosing me, Dantalian. I'll make sure of that."

"How reassuring."

I smiled faintly.

Vassago and Gamigin were persuaded by me for different reasons. Vassago deliberated carefully before making his decision. On the other hand, Gamigin jumped for joy as she shouted, 'Of course I'll do it!'. Currently, the two were in different corners of the room, leaning quietly against the walls.

"……."

Suddenly, Vassago and I locked eyes. Once he noticed that I was holding hands with Barbatos, his face contorted into a scowl as if he had witnessed something he shouldn't have. He quickly turned his head away.

"Heh."

I let out a soft chuckle as Vassago's thoughts practically felt palpable to me.

It was verified once more that I was perfect at this.

Whether it was because I had innate talent or because being abandoned alone in an absurd world awakened something within me, I'm not exactly sure. What I do know is that my political acumen grew increasingly sharp. Rather than dulling with time, my mind became as keen and vivid as a knife stained with fresh blood.

The expressions and glances of other people spoke directly to me. I could confidently say that I knew what they feared and how to manipulate those fears to steer the atmosphere in the direction I desired.

However, there was a downside to this.

The myriad glances and gestures I had stored in my mind sometimes replayed themselves before my eyes involuntarily.

This was a secret I had told no one. Even Laura didn't know. Lapis, whom I share all my secrets with, was unaware. Daisy, who prided herself on understanding everything about me, obviously knew nothing of this either.

– You bastard.

A voice muttered in the voice. It was an auditory hallucination.

Dark places like this chamber were particularly dangerous. In brighter locations, hallucinations and illusions rarely occurred. However, they often appeared when my field of vision extended into the distance. In other words, when I could see a far distance away from me.

– Are you feeling all right?

– You're the last one.

– Lie……why would you……?

This is why I dislike places like this.

Voices would whisper directly into my ear without any context, repeating roughly every twenty to thirty seconds. As always when I heard these hallucinations, I pulled out a cigarette from my pocket and placed it in my mouth.

"Hoo."

Through the faintly rising smoke, a scene even more indistinct than the hallucinations came into view. It didn't feel like I was "seeing" anything. It felt more like it was "being shown" to me. As if my brain had short-circuited and was now showing me its own little play.

It was a rather humorous scene. People gathered in dark corners a short distance from the glass case speaking softly, laughing, and chatting.

Their laughter blended together with the sparkling dust in the air. The space was half-filled with the moonlight seeping through the roof, and the other half was immersed in shadows. It was fine up to this point. But it was different when their faces had been swapped with the likes of Riff, Hawk, Jack, and others.

Here we go with the madness again.

It was really nothing. One time, I pretended to be crazy and tried talking to 'them'. Of course, there was no response.

Even when I strained my ears to listen, as I mentioned earlier, there was no context to their chatter. Sometimes, a shadow with Jack's face would speak in Elizabeth's voice. It was pure nonsense.

In other words, they didn't exist.

They weren't real or tangible.

They were like the deep footprints I had left on the path I walked—I had to take each step one at a time, but similar to how I could see all the footprints I left all at once by turning around, these shadows were also visible.

Sometimes, it seemed as if they were alive, as if life was their exclusive privilege.

Quite literally a delusion.

I was alive.

"……Dantalian?"

See? Even now, I could feel the soft touch of Barbatos' skin against my right hand.

I smiled faintly.

"I'm just feeling anxious."

"Hmm? It's rare to hear you admit something like that."

"Even I want to pretend to be a bit vulnerable on days like this."

Barbatos gripped my hand more firmly.

"Try pretending to be vulnerable more often. Then maybe your repulsive face might seem somewhat cute. Who knows? I might even be more accommodating in bed."

"Ehem, ehem……."

From behind, Brother Zepar cleared his throat. It was his way of telling us to maintain some decorum. Barbatos pouted in displeasure, and I couldn't help but chuckle quietly.

It was around that time that a group of Neutral Faction Demon Lords entered the chamber. Leading the way was Marbas, flanked by five Neutral Faction Demon Lords. Marbas first locked eyes with Barbatos, then with me, before settling at the entrance of the chamber.

Eleven from the Mountain Faction.

Nine from the Plains Faction.

Six from the Neutral Faction. Five unaffiliated.

Thus, all thirty-one Demon Lords had gathered.

"This is quite an inappropriate venue for hosting Walpurgis Night."

Marbas spoke up.

"I will not stand by if chaos erupts in front of the deceased. Although anti-magic has already been cast upon the palace, I have personally taken special care to place additional restrictions here. I sincerely urge my comrades gathered here today to be even more mindful of their words and actions than usual."

The Demon Lords present didn't respond vocally, but the atmosphere was generally one of agreement. Marbas nodded once.

"Then, as the chair, I hereby declare this Walpurgis Night officially convened. Normally, it is custom for Count Palatine Dantalian to preside……."

Marbas looked at me.

"However, given the sensitive nature of tonight's agenda, I will act as the chair for this evening. This decision has been unanimously approved by the six voting Demon Lords beforehand. Therefore, I am granted the rights to conduct the meeting, to allow and halt discussions, to put issues to a vote, and to adjourn or dissolve the meeting.

Do the five electors consent to entrusting all such authority to me?"

"I agree."

"I consent."

Barbatos, Sitri, Gamigin, Zepar, and Vassago answered in sequence.

Marbas nodded slightly.

"Very well. Then, let us begin with Sitri, who proposed this Walpurgis Night."

"My demand."

Sitri stepped forward.

"No, the demand of our Mountain Faction is simple. As some of you may already know, the day before yesterday, we executed Demon Lord Belial."

"It is strictly forbidden for a Demon Lord to punish another Demon Lord privately."

Marbas reprimanded sternly.

"If any Demon Lord is in the wrong, it must be brought as an agenda item to Walpurgis Night, where it can be discussed in detail whether to punish that Demon Lord and, if so, how. Sitri, why did you skip the proper process and execute Belial?"

"Yup, I admit what I did was wrong."

Sitri spoke with an expressionless face.

"But—what if I say I don't trust Walpurgis Night itself?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm saying there was someone who intentionally instigated Belial to betray our faction."

The Demon Lords murmured among themselves. Marbas raised an eyebrow and looked around, silencing them. He then returned his gaze to Sitri.

"Who is it, Sitri? Let me preface this by saying that you cannot accuse someone based on mere suspicion. I trust you are not intending to shift the blame for Belial's death onto another without evidence."

"Of course, we have more than just suspicions; we have proper evidence and witnesses."

Sitri replied calmly.

"But we aren't looking to find the culprit and punish them excessively."

"Then?"

"We only want a 'sincere' apology."

Sitri glared in our direction—where the Plains Faction Demon Lords were standing.

"We want the other party to step forward and bow their head before we point fingers. To us, and to Big Sis Paimon, who lies here."

That's why they suggested holding the meeting in Paimon's resting place.

"The one who made Belial betray our faction and secretly handed over our information should take the initiative and apologize. Promise that this will never happen again. That's all we want. I think this is a very mild request."

"……."

A silence fell over the chamber.

No one dared to make a sound. Marbas, too, seemed content to wait in silence. This silence persisted for about a minute.

"Ah, I get it, Sitri."

Footsteps echoed.

"I'll give that apology."

The Demon Lord with white hair.

The ruler of the Plains Faction—Barbatos took a step towards the glass casket.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I'm sincerely sorry for the delay. Work is actually being a bitch right now. One of our main EN translators was sent to China to attend some conference and I'm the only one who can handle her work. It doesn't help that I was given 3 new game projects this month and I've been desperately trying to deal with them as well.

It's actually been really stressful at work and I couldn't make the time to translate regularly. You guys get the point. For the most part, it looks like things will start loosening up in August, but I can only pray.

I'll stop my rant here… see you guys in hopefully better conditions…

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