Chapter 3 — I Feel Like “Three Demon Generals” Is Missing Something
Hm. I came to observe the situation here, but there don’t appear to be any clues about how to get back.
The battle between the heroes and the Demon Lord had ended with the heroes’ victory. In truth, Yogiri was the one who had ended the Demon Lord, but the heroes would never have imagined that some random person could kill her from such a distance. So despite the bizarre circumstances, things were continuing to move forward.
Perhaps the trio had come to the conclusion that the previous attack had been successful after all. The party quickly collapsed, with the mage Rimlette being the only one left on humanity’s side. On the demons’ side were the hero Yoshimasa, the High Priestess Mimir, and a man with horns growing from his head.
“I-I’m sorry! But we defeated the Demon Lord. Now you can go back home, right?” Rimlette pleaded desperately. It seemed she had been the one to summon Yoshimasa.
“I thought you would be much more upset about having years of your life taken away. It looks like seventy years didn’t faze you at all.”
“W-Well...”
“Maybe there’re more people like me out there? Did you steal their lives too? Wow, you’re the worst.”
Rimlette fell silent as if to say he was right on the mark. Mokomoko didn’t know the specifics, but this mage was obviously able to stock up on other people’s life forces.
“Well, I guess I don’t mind going back.”
“Really?!”
“But too bad! I have no idea how to do that. Or do you think you can send me back?”
The mage’s face twisted into a bitter expression. Putting aside the lifespan issue, it seemed she just wanted to get the situation back under control. There were plenty of issues that needed to be dealt with, but returning Yoshimasa to his home world would at least solve one of them.
Unfortunately, that was now impossible. His connection to his world had been severed. As far as Mokomoko knew, there were few methods to get back once that happened, and they were incredibly difficult.
“All I’ve got waiting for me if I go home is a dead-end office job. So why shouldn’t I try living as a hero here? Or I guess it would be as a general of the Demon Lord’s army now. Don’t you think that sounds like much more fun?”
“So you’ve chosen to betray us.”
“I was summoned here against my will, threatened, and tortured. I’d hardly call it a betrayal. Did you really think I’d be your friend once I was free?”
Recognizing that things weren’t going well, Rimlette changed targets. “Mimir! Why would you do this?! How could a High Priestess, of all people, get involved with demons?!”
“I’m sorry. I was actually a demon from the start, so it’s not really a betrayal. I was able to make contact with Oryphes because we’re both demon generals,” Mimir explained apologetically. The slender demon beside her must have been Oryphes.
“What? How can a High Priestess be a demon?” Even from a distance, Mokomoko could see how bewildered this revelation had left the mage.
“Oh, I am a legitimate priestess of Malnarilna. When I prayed at the church, the answer I got was, ‘That’s fine. That sounds like fun. Be the priest you want to be!’ The oracles of the Malnarilna sect are an absolute authority, so even someone completely unknown like me was able to rise to the rank of High Priestess without a problem.”
“I have more questions about that, but putting them aside for now, what about you is actually demonic? I find it hard to believe that a demon could blend in with human society...”
“Ah, well, demons and humans don’t really look different, so if I hadn’t said anything, I’d never have been discovered. The horns are just traditional hair decoration.”
As Mimir said that, Oryphes reached up and removed his own horns with a single, graceful motion. “Apologies for the late introduction. My name is Oryphes, and I am currently serving as a demon general.”
“Wh-What?! This makes no sense!” Rimlette finally lost her composure. Of course, having arrived on the scene late, Mokomoko didn’t know exactly what had happened between them.
“There were a lot of people who resented Tesla becoming the Demon Lord just because she was the daughter of the previous one,” Yoshimasa said, although he didn’t seem to know the details all that well.
“Ah! Shall we tell you all about it as a final souvenir for your trip to hell?” Oryphes asked excitedly.
“I’ve never met someone who actually used that phrase before.”
“I wanted to try saying it once.” Of course, even if he wasn’t entirely serious, it didn’t seem like he had any intention of letting her live.
“Wait a second!” As Oryphes opened his mouth to explain, a voice called out to stop him. At some point, another person had appeared—a woman in flashy clothes, with horns on her head, now stood beside him.
“Well, look who it is. What brings you here, Exia? I didn’t expect all three demon generals to be gathered together.”
“I was just observing to make sure things went smoothly. But Oryphes, you’ve let your guard down.”
“Oh? What do you mean?”
“You’re being watched. It’s not such a big deal, but I can’t have you prattling away without realizing it.”
This is bad! Mokomoko immediately realized that they were talking about her, but it was too late. Something was already behind her. Before she could so much as turn around, it had grabbed her head.
What?!
Mokomoko was a spirit. It was difficult for someone who didn’t know that she existed to even perceive her, and she couldn’t be restrained by any physical means. But whoever was behind her was somehow able to do just that.
“That is the Lord of Specters, one of the spirits in my service. I thought it would be too much for a small-fry ghost, but you’re surprisingly tough.”
The spirit called the Lord of Specters was overflowing with killing intent. It was trying to crush Mokomoko’s head and erase her completely.
I want to offer a retort about being called a small fry, but I can’t even move enough to reply!
Completely stuck, she had no option but to ask Yogiri and Tomochika for help.
“I feel like ‘Three Demon Generals’ is missing something, don’t you think? Even if you don’t go as far as the Twelve Divine Generals, you’d think they’d at least try to match the Four Heavenly Kings.”
“I’m about to be erased, and that’s all you can think about?!”
“I hear what you’re saying, but it doesn’t sound very convincing.”
Yogiri, Tomochika, and Enju were outside the carriage, making preparations to move on. Their current plan was to use the horse to retrieve Mokomoko and then immediately leave the area.
“Young man, I would be quite grateful if you could dispatch this Lord of Specters currently holding on to me!”
Although Mokomoko’s voice sounded rather pathetic, the android she was speaking through simply continued to separate the horse from the carriage.
“Sorry, but if he’s not attacking me, I can’t do much about it. I can’t really kill something when I’m not sure it’s even real.”
“But you kill people without even knowing where they are all the time!”
“It would be different if I could at least see it, but when I have no way to perceive it... Oh, I guess there is something I can do.”
“Oh! What’s that?”
“I can kill you wherever you are. If you’re suffering too much, I can put you out of your misery.”
“That’s not funny when it’s coming from you, so please don’t say things like that! In that case, I’d be better off letting myself get crushed and trying to reassemble myself afterwards!”
The horse was finally ready. As it was large enough to pull the carriage alone, it was certainly capable of carrying three riders at once. It still had its invincible armor on, complete with saddle, but the issue was how to fit three people on it.
“Put Yogiri in the middle since he has no experience, Mokomoko can go in front, and I’ll sit in the back and hold the reins.”
For now, that was the best they could manage. They tried it out, but there was a problem with the suggested setup after all: they had to sit squished very close together. Tomochika couldn’t help but hesitate at the thought of having to press herself so tightly to Yogiri’s back.
“I realize you’re probably having fun with the idea of pressing them into him and all, but while you’re doing your little love comedy routine, I’m about to be crushed...”
“I’m not doing it because I want to!”
Mokomoko was dead serious.
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