Dungeon Defense

Thirty seconds.

It was too short a time for Demon Lords who had dedicated most of their lives to the Mountain Faction to decide whether to betray their faction. But Barbatos knew that giving them less time was more effective in such situations. The Mountain Faction Demon Lords were visibly shaken.

"……."

About ten seconds passed. An elderly man lowered his weapon and trudged over to the Plains Faction. The Mountain Faction Demon Lords shouted in shock.

"Morax!"

"Are you planning to betray our faction!?"

It was the former Rank 21 Demon Lord, Morax. With a face wrinkled with age, he turned to look at his comrades, or rather, those who were once his comrades.

"I have not betrayed the faction. It is Lady Sitri who has betrayed the Mountain Faction. Her Highness Paimon cared about the well-being of the demon world's citizens more than anyone and thought of the future of demonkind above all. Lady Sitri has betrayed those ideals of Her Highness Paimon. I am tired of this."

Morax let out a sigh. The old gentleman's beard trembled slightly.

Morax looked intently at Sitri. The old man's eyes, hidden within deep wrinkles, glowed with hostility.

"It was none other than myself who first advised Belial to change factions."

"What……!?"

"I wished to see how Lady Sitri would handle a defector."

Morax and Sitri continued to quietly glare at each other as the Mountain Faction Demon Lords buzzed in shock. Morax then opened his heavy lips to speak.

"You can say that I carried out a test of sorts. Although, at that point, it would have been acceptable to defect from the faction since Lady Sitri had already committed the crime of massacring countless citizens, I still wished to test once more whether she could truly follow in Her Highness Paimon's footsteps……."

"……."

"Everyone here already knows the result. Lady Sitri did not even give Belial a chance to publicly dissent. The immediate execution was not only unlawful but also barbaric. I have come to realize that Demon Lord Sitri is someone who only knows how to resolve issues through blood……!"

Morax spoke solemnly as if he were squeezing out every word from his lungs.

Sitri did not respond. Her violet eyes remained unwaveringly clear ever since she stepped foot into the chamber. She gazed at the other party with utterly clear eyes. I sensed a hint of melancholy in that gaze.

Ahh.

Here, I alone…….

I alone understood what Sitri was saying, even though she didn't speak a word.

– If Big Sis Paimon meant so much to you, why didn't you try to save her before?

Sitri remained silent, but I could read a thousand words and a hundred sentences from her gaze. No, to be precise, it wasn't that. Sitri was speaking through her gaze. It's just that no one else could understand except me.

– When Big Sis Paimon almost died in the Crescent Alliance War, when her mana was depleted and she was on the brink of death and the right to decide her fate was passed to Dantalian—why didn't anyone run to Dantalian and plead desperately to spare her?

– Why?

– Why was it only me, from our faction known for having the most members among all factions, who went to Dantalian's quarters and begged him to spare Big Sis?

– Hypocrites.

The tip of Sitri's sword trembled ever so slightly.

While she remained silent, the Mountain Faction Demon Lords slowly began to move. The burden must've seemed lighter since Morax had already stepped forward. One by one, they gradually left the formation. Even then, Sitri stood tall, holding her sword aloft with unwavering steadiness.

– You're all hypocrites.

– You obey the faction when it benefits you. You praise Big Sis Paimon's stance, adorning your words with lofty ideals and principles. But the moment the situation turns against you, you pretend nothing happened.

– You deliberately did nothing when Big Sis Paimon was about to be punished. You feared that being seen as her close ally would make you the next target.

– Big Sis……

– My Big Sis was worth so much more……so much more than any of you.

– It would have been better if all of you had died and Big Sis had lived.

– The world would have been such a better place……!

Over five minutes had passed.

Although the promised thirty seconds had long since elapsed, Barbatos pretended to not notice and extended the grace period. As time went by, the Mountain Faction Demon Lords gradually left Sitri's side. Sitri neither spoke to them nor gave them a simple glance.

As a result,

The Demon Lords who remained by Sitri's side were—two.

Only two.

Out of ten, a staggering eight had left. Eighty percent. An overwhelming majority. With such an overwhelming ratio, the Mountain Faction Demon Lords betrayed their faction, to which they had been indebted for anywhere from hundreds to thousands of years.

"Kyahaha."

Barbatos burst out into laughter. It sounded like she was so pleased that she couldn't hold back her laughter.

"Do you see this, comrades? This is the essence. The essence of the ideals and beliefs that that bitch Paimon so proudly proclaimed. The true face of the faction where everyone participates equally and harmoniously is this pathetic!"

Barbatos' expression twisted into a smile, distorted with malevolence.

"The excuse that the Mountain Faction no longer holds the same ideals as before! The excuse that you can betray without guilt, no, you can claim that betraying is not even a betrayal now……! And the fear of an imminent threat! The fear that if you don't betray your faction now, you might die, leaving you no choice but to betray!"

Barbatos let out a genuine laugh as she showed her teeth.

"Just by combining these two things, these swine became willing to break a thousand-year oath! This is the Mountain Faction! The faction that that bitch Paimon heralded as the future of the demon world is nothing but a vile, wretched pigsty!"

"What……?"

The atmosphere changed dramatically. The eight Demon Lords who had switched allegiance hastily looked around, shocked by Barbatos' outburst. Before they could protest, Barbatos laughed heartily and shouted.

"Men—cut off the heads of these ignorant, squealing pigs!"

And then, blood splattered everywhere.

Brother Beleth, Brother Zepar, and all the Demon Lords of the Plains Faction simultaneously swung their weapons. The eight traitors, who had sensed something ominous and were already on guard, along with Sitri and the last two remaining Mountain Faction Demon Lords, also brandished their weapons.

In an instant, the chamber fell into chaos.

"Aargh! My leg! My leg!"

"Th-This is not what we agreed on! Barbatos, Your Highness! Did you not promise to guarantee our positions if we defected!?"

Morax screamed. I see. I had wondered why the cautious old man had taken such a bold move to be the first to betray. So Barbatos had schemed this beforehand……. She really is as thorough as ever.

Since I had no talent for fighting, I had already taken a step back and was being protected by the Neutral Faction Demon Lords. They, along with the unaffiliated Demon Lords, were prepared to intervene if necessary, but they didn't actually join the fight. It was only natural. This was a duel between the Mountain Faction and the Plains Faction…….

"Hm? I don't know what kind of nonsense you're babbling about."

"Ugh……!"

Morax, having been taken by surprise early on, was now on his knees. As far as I knew, Morax was a mage. In this place, where a strong anti-magic spell had been cast, it would be extremely difficult for him to display his full power. On the other hand, while Barbatos may be a necromancer, she used to be a warrior. He was no match for her.

Clutching his bleeding arm, Morax shouted.

"H-How could you feign ignorance now!? Your Highness, this goes against the promise you made us!"

"I told you, I don't know what nonsense you're babbling about."

Barbatos grinned slyly and swung her scythe.

"To someone like you, I'm not 'Your Highness'. You damn retard."

Her scythe precisely cut through the center of Morax's neck. Morax tried to resist by extending his right arm, but even that raised arm was severed. It was a terrifyingly swift decapitation.

"……."

Morax's head remained attached to his body for a brief moment. However, as one or two seconds passed, his head tilted and then rolled off onto the floor. The old man's face was contorted with humiliation and pain.

"How brutal."

Marbas murmured beside me.

"This is horrendously brutal."

"That is a surprise, Sebastokrator. Haven't you witnessed far more horrifying scenes than this?"

"In terms of outward horror, perhaps. But what I see unfolding before me now is not just one killing another. It is our……the downfall of our Demon Lord Army."

Is that what this looks like to him? I silently watched the bloody spectacle. It was understandable that Marbas couldn't help but see it that way.

The battle ended in twenty minutes.

Naturally, the winners were the Plains Faction. The fight itself had already been in the Plains Faction's favor. Adding to that, the Mountain Faction had also split into defectors and loyalists. Perhaps they deserve praise for lasting twenty minutes under the circumstances.

It was mainly thanks to Sitri's fierce resistance. Despite cooperation from Brother Beleth and Brother Zepar, Sitri inflicted significant injuries on both. She dominated the battlefield with the ferocity of a berserker.

However, it was regrettable. While the two had Sitri pinned down, Barbatos led the rest of the Plains Faction to efficiently clean up the remnants.

The Plains Faction Demon Lords sustained minor injuries themselves, but that was all. After clearing out the remnants, Barbatos joined the two and easily subdued Sitri. Barbatos tactically achieved an overwhelming victory…….

"You cause quite a hassle, you stubborn bitch."

Barbatos spat. Her red saliva landed on Sitri's face as she lay collapsed on the ground. Sitri was barely breathing, missing one arm and a leg, her entire body was covered in blood.

"Zepar, how could you be so pathetic? How could you end up like that trying to deal with a single woman?"

"I apologize, Your Excellency."

Brother Zepar was relatively okay, having lost only one arm. This meant that he could at least stand on both legs, which, from Barbatos' perspective, meant he wasn't in critical condition, so she casually dismissed Zepar's situation.

"Damage report. Go."

"We killed eight enemies and captured three. One of ours died, and three are seriously injured."

"Whaat? Three seriously injured? Zepar, surely you didn't classify yourself as seriously injured, right? If you had lost a leg like Beleth, that would be another story. Why are you trying to act all weak after losing only a single arm?"

"……My apologies. There are two seriously injured."

Barbatos let out a snort.

Brother Zepar's report had a paradoxical part to it. Eight enemies were killed and three were captured. The eight here referred to the Demon Lords that betrayed the Mountain Faction.

Despite not being tipped off by Barbatos beforehand, the Plains Faction Demon Lords ruthlessly struck down the traitors but captured the ones who remained loyal to their faction. This was actually the reason the Plains Faction suffered more losses than expected.

It was already difficult enough to kill a rampaging Sitri, but capturing her alive instead? That was insane. Only the warriors who thought losing limbs was no big deal—like the Plains Faction Demon Lords—would engage in such an act.

"Now then, new head of the illustrious and noble Mountain Faction."

Barbatos grabbed Sitri by the hair. Sitri was dragged over helplessly, unable to even wriggle.

The presiding chair tonight was Marbas, hence Barbatos threw Sitri at Marbas' feet. Sitri lay helplessly on the floor, motionless like a corpse. No, she was essentially a breathing corpse.

"Hoo."

The calm after the storm set in. Barbatos stretched leisurely, feeling a sense of accomplishment. The Plains Faction Demon Lords leaned on their weapons as they sat on the ground. Everyone, without exception, was panting heavily as they cooled their heated bodies.

At that moment, a faint murmur spread across the floor of the chamber.

"……gize……."

The Demon Lords turned their gazes.

There lay Sitri.

Barbatos contorted her expression as she frowned.

"Haah? What did you say?"

"……Ap……ologize……."

Something flowed onto the floor. It wasn't blood. It was more transparent, more translucent than that.

—For the first time today, Sitri broke her cold expression and shed tears.

She was unable to even lift her head because of her missing limbs. This could potentially be her final words and her voice sounded like it was being drowned in blood. Despite this, Sitri gasped for breath as she struggled to pronounce each word clearly, slowly letting out the words that had been piled up inside of her. She desperately regurgitated something redder than blood.

"To Big Sis Paimon……."

"……."

"Apologize……to……Big Sis……."

Sitri was wailing in such a way.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I should probably apologize profusely because of how delayed this chapter was. Work… has just not improved. Everything feels so packed and I'm always exhausted by the end of work that I haven't been motivated to translate. Like, I sincerely want to, but the drive has been lacking because of how stressed I've been cause of work.

I sincerely apologize to everyone who's been waiting for these chapters. I'll try to whip myself back into shape…but first, somehow fix my work schedule…

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