The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody - Volume 6 - Chapter 78.5

INTERLUDE

Prelude to Destruction

Ard Meteor was keeping busy, and meanwhile…a certain man’s plans were moving forward.

A number of secluded regions dotted the Laville Empire of Sorcery. The public knew about most of them, and those were treated as sightseeing locations. Others, they knew nothing about.

One was Ishwald, which experienced extreme weather on the daily. Within it was a hidden village that could only be entered by a special method.

One might say it was more of a maze than a village. Those living inside it looked grotesque and possessed uncommon fighting abilities. They rejected everything about this world and did not hesitate to kill anyone who tried to enter their domain.

—One man had just walked out of such a place alive.

Thunder rumbled, uncharacteristic of a desert environment. An instant later, space warped and opened a gaping hole. A man strolled out of it—looking like a poor wretch who had just been tortured within an inch of his life. Sand became red beneath his footsteps. His body was covered in deep lacerations. The tailcoat worn by the slender figure had been torn to shreds like old rags. Even the mask that covered his face had a crack in it.

But that didn’t stop him from laughing. Happily. Strangely.

Even as he experienced pain that any normal person would go mad from.

“Heh. Heh-heh…! Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh…! As I’d expect of my former master…! It’s been thousands of years since the Demon Lord got rid of my leader…! To think there would come a day when I’d experience his wickedness again…!”

The creator of the hidden village was what modern men called an “Evil God.” In ancient times, they were transcendental beings known as the “Outer Ones” who ruled over everything.

And…he was the father of Champion Lydia, Ireena’s ancestor, and Ard’s sworn enemy back when the boy had been Varvatos.

To collect a certain thing left by an Evil God, he’d sustained serious damage on his mask. Despite bearing fatal injuries that would kill a man—modern or ancient—he was never going to die. It was like time was being rewound. His wounds were healing up.

“Oh, my former master. I knew it wasn’t you. Even you couldn’t rob me of my immortality and finish me off. It must have been him—our beloved Demon Lord, who can destroy me once and for all.” He looked up at the thunderous sky and chuckled.

He pressed what he had recovered from the Evil God over his head: half a broken cube. It looked like a worthless piece of garbage, but this dingy box held a dreadful amount of power.

“The rest is up to my partner.” He spun around on one leg, holding the cube half up toward the sky. A girl materialized next to him—young and beautiful, but not the best-looking.

Her name was—

“Seems you’ve accomplished your mission, Kalmia.”

Kalmia, the one who had called herself a member of the Queen’s Shadow. The point of contact for Ard and Ireena.

She was the masked figure’s accomplice and most trusted subordinate.

“…I recovered it, Al,” she said, no inflection or emotion. Kalmia held it out to him.

It was the other half of the broken cube. The masked figure snatched it and greedily put it together with his own half.

“I wonder what might happen?” he asked, sounding as elated as a child standing before the unknown.

The combined cube started to glow white…and returned to its original form. The dirty gray surface peeled away like rust to reveal an ivory box. Gold lines flickered across it, a sight captivating and somehow unsettling.

“Keh-keh-keh…! So this is what it’s like to be a child again…!”

“You seem to be having fun, Al.”

“Oh, because I am!”

“You seem happy.”

“Oh, because I am!” The masked figure spun around with the white box in his hand and began to speak in a singsong voice. “Three thousand seven hundred and four years, two months, three days. That’s how long I’ve waited, impatiently. Now, I can finally move on. Ah, it doesn’t get any better than this!” His spellbound voice had an undeniable madness to it.

One other person showed up and called out to him. “Is that the holy votive known as the ‘Strange Cube?’”

The former Heavenly King and pope, Lizer Bellphoenix, had warped before them. He stared at the object in the masked figure’s hand. “Diverting the Demon Lord’s gaze was a challenge most could not hope to pull off. It seems our efforts were worthwhile. The first step has been cleared.”

“Right, you are. These days, he goes by ‘Ard Meteor’ and is surrounded by friends. He’s happier than he’s ever been. But it’s made him blind to everything else. If he had been the lonely monster he once was, he would have seen through our plans with godlike acumen.”

This “Ard Meteor” only thought about protecting his friends, which was why he couldn’t pull himself away from the lands ruled by the Spencers and Salvans. They were right about him.

“I know I proposed we should push Asylas to attack the homes of his friends and keep him rooted there to let us to get what we need…but I never imagined it would work like a charm,” remarked Lizer.

That had been why Asylas had declared war: to keep Ard Meteor occupied at the border so they could obtain the box.

“…So what’s next?”

“We’ll have her… Hmm, I guess I should say ‘he’ now. Or ‘it’ for simplicity’s sake? Either way, it’s ready. Looks like we’re in for a real treat, so I figured we’d lend a hand.”

Lizer seemed dissatisfied.

The masked figure chuckled. “Of course, this is a part of our plan. I thought I’d explained right off the bat. Obtaining the Strange Cube means nothing if we stop there.” He stared at the box. “We can’t do anything unless we’ve got the right person with the proper qualifications. Like—”

“Ireena, for example.”

The masked figure nodded and broke into a smile. “Heh-heh. Our Demon Lord hasn’t even noticed that in the innumerable tales about him, there’s exactly one where he isn’t the main character…but that girl is.” He spread his arms out as he looked at the dark clouds above.

Lizer stared at the man. “You mean to use that being and awaken the girl. Is that right?”

“Correct. She’s a chrysalis on the verge of emerging. One more push, and she’ll show us her beauty. And when the time comes—”

“—We’ll achieve our wish.” The old general’s wrinkled face seemed eager. “…We’ll discuss the particulars later. I have urgent matters to attend to.”

“Good luck, Your Eminence,” the masked figure replied mockingly.

A magic circle manifested beneath Lizer’s feet. Just as he was about to warp, he glared at the figure. “I will not forgive you if you betray me. I suggest you keep this in mind.”

And with that, he disappeared.

“Keh-keh. So he doesn’t trust me. I have to say, that hurts.”

“…But you are going to betray him, aren’t you?” Kalmia questioned, tilting her head.

The masked figure shrugged. “Can’t say for sure yet. Depending on how things go, we might be accomplices till the end. But it’s all up in the air… The forces might very well work together to destroy me. And the truth is, that’s exactly what I want.”

“I knew it, you’re planning to betray him.”

Kalmia looked at him with cold eyes. After he stroked her head, the masked figure took her small hand and began to dance with her. Their steps were light, and he spun her around and around.

He thought of his beloved archenemy.

“I’m going to give you the most riotous prelude. Prepare yourself, my Demon Lord.”