Chapter 137
“Long live the great warrior, Hillen Cargill!”
Hillen Cargill had returned to the guild’s headquarters after a long while.
And he briefly halted when he saw the crowds and the welcome stretching from the entrance of the castle all the way to the guild headquarters.
“Great Argane, we greet Hillen-nim.”
“What is this?”
“A welcoming ceremony.”
Argane’s adjutant, Parni Dernium, answered with his usual nonchalant tone.
“Hillen-nim has achieved a tremendous feat by locating the Infernal Demon King that no one else could find. You have raised our value and restored the Guild’s tarnished honor, so it is only natural that everyone rejoices.”
“...I suppose so.”
The corners of Hillen Cargill’s lips lifted faintly. It was, indeed, natural.
It was just that his head felt like it might explode from everything he had been through recently, and so he had failed to recognize what should have been obvious.
“But it seems it’s not just the Guild’s personnel.”
“What Argane-nim has accomplished is not something to be weighed between warrior and non-warrior. Is it not natural for all ten thousand citizens of Karnia to welcome you?”
“Let’s go.”
He was a bit surprised, but Hillen Cargill was, at his core, someone who valued honor and enjoyed the eyes of admiration.
He had no intention of refusing the feast that had been prepared for him.
He waved slowly as he rode forward. Feeling a catharsis like a volcanic eruption from the endless cheers pouring forth, he soon arrived at the Guild’s main gate.
The guards at the gate opened it for him.
Receiving reverence and admiration from the warriors inside, he arrived at the grand assembly hall.
Along the long, stretched-out red carpet, ten Arganes stood on either side, and at the upper seats were the five Elders who effectively determined the direction of the Guild.
“Welcome, Argane, Hillen Cargill.”
And at the end of that path—
The rewards for his accomplishments awaited.
Hillen Cargill let out a cry of exultation.
***
After the commendations and rewards concluded, Hillen shared a private audience with the High Elder in his office.
“Thank you for the hospitality.”
“It is only natural. You are the hero who discovered the Demon King’s Tower that lay hidden in the unknown.”
The High Elder nodded calmly, then clicked his tongue.
“You must have noticed something strange, yes?”
“I did feel it was a bit excessive.”
“It was very excessive.”
Of course, discovering the Demon King’s Tower—finding a tower buried in the unknown—was an achievement worthy of praise.
But in the end, all he had done was locate the tower.
He did not clear any floors of the tower, nor slay any demons or the Demon King. He simply found what had not been found.
True, the Demon King’s Tower usually revealed itself easily, and this time had been an exception, so the anxiety had been great. Even so, it was not something for nearly the entire capital to rush out and cheer for.
‘No way the Warrior Guild wouldn’t know that.’
Moreover, this search had been led by the Empire, not the Guild, and the Guild had merely assisted.
‘Yet they still go this far...’
It meant they had sufficient reason.
“Is it because of Daphner-nim?”
“Correct.”
In the bright light of discovering the Demon King’s Tower, a heavy shadow had been cast. A very dark shadow named Daphner Philian.
A Star-class warrior—no less.
And she had died in what amounted to a mere preliminary process of locating the tower.
“Your success is certainly a great achievement, but Daphner Philian’s death is an extremely painful mistake for the Guild.”
Daphner Philian was the most free and lively of the ten Stars.
Officially and unofficially, she was not affiliated with any single nation and was the warrior representing the Guild.
Because she forged connections with nearly every nation, she was ironically the most trustworthy warrior within the Guild.
And such a warrior had died.
The grief and despair would soon translate into the Guild’s decline. And the Elders needed to shake off that decline.
“That is where you come in.”
The warrior who slew two demon kings, who found the Infernal Tower alongside Daphner Philian—another Star.
“From humanity’s perspective, this incident is a victory.”
But for the Guild, it was not.
A Star like Daphner Philian was far more important than discovering the tower of a Demon King who had descended barely over a year ago.
Anyone with an ounce of awareness would question it:
How could this be called victory when a giant like Daphner Philian had died, and all they gained was finding a tower?
Thus, the Guild headquarters designated this incident as a defeat.
“And a defeat can be covered by a greater victory.”
And so, Hillen’s achievements had been amplified.
How extraordinary Hillen was, how unbelievable his feats were—
They exaggerated and inflated them, creating the situation now before him.
“But Daphner Philian was a Star. With only this much—”
“You are mistaken.”
The High Elder shook his head.
“If a defeat cannot be covered, that simply means the victory is too small, too insignificant. With greater and more numerous victories, the defeat will be forgotten instantly. It must be forgotten.”
Humans are a race that wants to forget sorrow and despair—and eventually sugarcoats them.
“...A victory greater than discovering the tower.”
“Crushing that tower. What else?”
For the honor and prestige of the Guild—
“We have agreed to kill the Infernal Demon King.”
Hillen Cargill’s heart dropped like a stone.
“Of course, the Guild will not take the forefront. There are already two nations gnashing their teeth at the Infernal Demon King on the Guild’s behalf, are there not?”
Hilderan and Jespine.
“I heard you went to Hilderan.”
Now, speak.
“As the Argane assigned to Hilderan, as a warrior born in Hilderan, and as the one who had a private audience with Hilderan’s king—”
“What did the King of Hilderan say?”
We are prepared to give full cooperation.
***
Solve one problem, and another bursts open.
It felt like walking through pitch-black darkness.
The world was so dark nothing could be seen.
Below lay a thousand-fathom cliff. And the only thing supporting his body was a thin, fragile tightrope.
Berze had made the decision to release Ernan Hilderan in order to shake Hilderan off his trail.
But it was nothing more than a temporary fix.
A far greater enemy—the Empire—still remained, and Hilderan itself was merely delaying things, not quelling its fury.
‘Still, Hilderan should work itself out somehow.’
It was an irresponsible thought, yet not that irresponsible.
Considering Ernan Hilderan’s background, position, and power, imagining the chaos she would stir upon returning home was almost delightful.
If she was determined to block a kingdom-level warrior campaign, no one would be able to defy her easily.
‘There’s a high chance a power struggle will break out.’
If it was Ernan—he could trust her. He didn’t know since when a Demon King like him started trusting a mere human princess so much, but this, at least, he could be certain of.
Ernan Hilderan was trustworthy.
‘The problem is the Empire and the Guild.’
He had received word from Hillen Cargill. The Guild had decided to fully support both Hilderan and the Empire.
‘The butterfly effect of killing Daphner Philian. Damn it.’
He regretted it—but not enough to have spared Daphner Philian.
Now that the tower’s location had been exposed, everything was pointless, but at the time, that had been the only hope.
‘Damn it, this is a headache.’
Berze clutched his head. Doing so was not going to conjure up a solution that didn’t exist.
He took out the communication orb and injected demonic energy. A moment later, Krutu responded.
『Yes, my lord Demon King.』
“Bring the Frost Wolf and come to the tower. I need some fresh air.”
『I will come at once.』
Berze stepped out of his office.
When he set foot on the third floor, a loud clattering was in full swing.
“Hey, hey—no! If it breaks, are you going to fix it? I said don’t throw it!”
“You crazy yeti bastard! That one piece is worth more than your entire body!”
“Aaargh, my mana cannon!”
Mana cannons were heavy and delicate equipment. With more than three hundred of them, Logar couldn’t possibly carry them all alone, so he had enlisted the help of monsters.
Unfortunately, most monsters lacked high intelligence, and several mana cannons were being handled roughly in ways no one ever intended. Naturally, Logar screamed.
“Demon King!”
Logar caught the mana cannon the yeti had tossed onto the floor, then spotted Berze and nearly burst into tears.
“Please, stop these damned monsters! They’re treating precious equipment like garbage!”
“For that, ask Lavinia.”
Lavinia was the one currently managing the monsters.
“Do you think I haven’t tried?”
“Then did Lavinia reject your request?”
“No, that’s not it, but…”
“Demon King.”
Right on cue, Lavinia hurried over after giving orders to the monsters.
“Did you not tell the monsters to handle the equipment carefully?”
“I did.”
“How?”
“Careful. Gently.”
“And?”
“Some. Understand.”
She crossed her arms in an X. Meaning several low-intelligence monsters were rampaging however they pleased.
“Then exclude those ones from the work.”
“Still?”
“It’s fine. I did say to deploy all the monsters to finish quickly, but some flexibility is necessary.”
“Thirty-two.”
“Thirty-two of them. Exclude them.”
“Okay.”
Lavinia disappeared back into the crowd of monsters to relay the orders. Logar bowed repeatedly.
“Thank you.”
“That’s all, then?”
“Ah—there’s one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“Well, I can personally move the mana cannons and the other equipment, but I can’t touch the workshop…”
“I’ll move that myself.”
The Workshop of Hell was essentially an extension of the tower, created with demonic energy. Unlike the mana cannons, it didn’t need to be carried manually—just a bit of magic-point expenditure was enough.
“Thank you. And the Mana Phantom…? I created it, but since it’s completely bound to the tower, I don’t know if it’s safe to interfere with it. Ah, of course, if you order me personally, I’ll gladly risk my life to dismantle it perfectly and analyze it—”
Logar’s eyes gradually began to glow with madness.
‘The Mana Phantom?’
A single phrase slammed into Berze’s mind.
Right—there was that.
A tool that could briefly hide the tower at the cost of magic points. Imperfect, but enough to deceive Daphner Philian once.
Though he hadn’t been inside the tower this time and thus couldn’t use it, its value remained.
‘The Mana Phantom.’
But what Berze mulled over wasn’t its function.
It was the fact that although Logar created it, it became bound to the tower.
That despite requiring an enormous amount of magic points, it had inherited part of the tower’s authority and affected the entire structure.
‘Perhaps…’
A single possibility flashed through his mind.
‘Just maybe…’
Until now—
And perhaps moving forward—
Something no Demon King had ever considered, or ever would.
“Logar.”
“…I wasn’t saying I’m desperate to tear apart the tower, but we can’t just leave the Mana Phantom sitting on the first floor! As its creator, I should personally examine the principles—”
“Logar!”
“Y–yes, sir!”
The fire in Logar’s eyes died instantly. Berze grabbed him firmly by the shoulders.
“D–did I say something wrong…?”
“The opposite. Thanks to you, I’ve thought of something brilliant!”
“Of course—of course it was me! So what is—”
“From this moment on, we’re building a bridge.”
“…Sorry? A bridge? Is there a river here?”
“A bridge doesn’t only mean that kind of bridge.”
“It… doesn’t? Not that bridge?”
No way…
Feeling uneasy, Logar shrank back. But Berze’s grip on his shoulders only tightened.
Berze’s blazing eyes swallowed up what little madness remained in Logar.
“You’re thinking it too. The thing you have—and I have.”
Berze spread his arms wide.
“Something very great and mighty.”
Something that could even move massive things.
“I… I’m not sure I understand the Demon King’s meaning…”
“We are,”
Berze declared solemnly,
“going to make this tower move!”
“……!”
Insane.
Logar barely suppressed the curse rising in his throat.