The shamans were ultimately defeated.

Even when Clay asked if they had any intention of cooperating, they gave no reply and attacked again—only to end up torn apart, their bodies half-destroyed and sprawled across the floor.

All but one.

“Kh, haah.”

Lokanta opened his eyes and looked ahead through his blurred vision.

There were no other shamans still alive besides him.

‘He’s on another level.’

Just getting this far and facing Neville was already an incredible stroke of luck. They hadn’t expected the Demon King to appear, but he had thought that if they pushed through somehow, they might at least be able to take Neville down.

After all, the Demon King wouldn’t be well-versed in shamanic arts.

Even if it resembled magic, shamanism operated on different properties. Without a grasp of the concepts drawn from the spiritual world, it was difficult to dismantle it completely.

Lokanta had tried to exploit that gap to achieve his goal, even if it cost him his life.

‘Was it a trap?’

That thought crossed his mind now. It made sense—despite having people monitoring the royal capital, they hadn’t noticed the Demon King’s appearance.

‘Maybe they tampered with perception.’

While it was impossible at very close range, from a certain distance, it was feasible to set up magical devices that could interfere with a person’s awareness.

‘When did they manage to set that up?’

Even attempting to install such a device should have triggered the watchers. And yet, it seemed Neville had meticulously planted them in secret.

“We lost.”

In the end, Lokanta had no choice but to admit defeat.

“It was our premature aggression that brought our defeat.”

“At least you can acknowledge that,” Clay said. “That’s a relief.”

“Now kill me.” Lokanta glared up at Clay, “Even if I die, the remaining shamans will complete our mission.”

“You're incredibly stubborn,” Clay said as he looked down at him, “Wouldn't it be better to cooperate with me instead of dying?”

“Cooperate with what, exactly?” Lokanta asked in clear confusion, “You’ve already gone beyond the bounds I know. Shamanism may differ from the magic of this world, but you’ve already overwhelmed even that.”

“But didn’t you just say the other shamans would complete the mission? If I’m that overwhelming, how could they possibly succeed?”

“Even if you’re overwhelming, you must have a weakness. Sooner or later, we’ll find it.”

Clay twisted his lips into a smirk at that.

“If you can truly do that, then your persistence is admirable.”

“Exactly.”

“I want to make that persistence my own strength.”

Demonic beings could also use magia to cast magic, but most of them still couldn’t match the mages of the magic towers.

That was due to their inherent limitations. While their physical strength was superior, most demons couldn’t use magic easily. There were exceptions like Lin, but they were rare.

Lin and Goltche were beings whose potential had always existed. Their physiology could be enhanced, but not the demons whose limits were already clearly defined.

In short, the Demon King’s army lacked mages.

“But shamanism could be useful to us, the Demon King’s army, which lacks mages.”

“No.”

“I wasn’t asking.”

Clay grabbed Lokanta by the chin.

“This is an order.”

“Kuh, kuhahaha!”

Lokanta burst out laughing.

“You think I’ll obey just because you give an order? If you thought I’d be scared, then you’ve made a grave mistake!”

“How unfortunate.”

Clay let go of his chin and sighed.

“I was trying to be merciful, in my own way.”

“What?”

“Neville.”

Clay called out to the man who was crouched near the throne.

“There’s something I want you to send to Beatrice. Prepare a carrier pigeon.”

“A carrier pigeon, sir?”

Neville, who had been staring at the scene of carnage around them, swallowed dryly and asked.

“What should I send?”

“If we’re going to dig into shamanism, we’ll need to experiment.”

Consent from the test subject wasn’t necessary here.

“Tell Lin and Goltche I’m sending them one test subject and a few corpses. Instruct them to figure out everything they can about shamanism.”

“Understood.”

Neville bowed his head and slowly exited the area.

“Experiment?”

Lokanta looked at Clay with fearful eyes. Clay smiled and spoke.

“Even if you don’t talk, your body holds a lot of information. The same goes for your dead comrades.”

“What?”

“I sincerely hope you’ll become my strength.”

Clay leaned down and whispered into Lokanta’s ear in a chilling voice.

“Even if it means turning you into a broken wreck.”

♧

“Your Majesty, are you really planning to go to Yaphenon?”

Lilien asked anxiously.

“Yes.”

Tia answered her simply with a smile.

“I’m going to meet Neville.”

Since Clay released him, Neville had been acting in place of the King of Yaphenon.

“Neville is currently surrounded by rumors of collusion with the Demon King. After the last incident, both Yaphenon and Donon harbor only little hostility toward the Demon King. In fact, they seem to welcome Neville’s ties with him. Public sentiment has turned irrational out of resentment toward Krata.”

“I understand your concern, Lilien.” Tia spoke as if to reassure her, “But that doesn’t mean the people over there resent me too.”

“We don’t know what kind of message the Demon King might have spread. After what happened with the execution… it’s only natural that he would hold some grudge against Your Majesty.”

“Well, that’s possible.”

She shrugged her shoulders.

“But officially, there’s nothing stopping me from going to Yaphenon, is there?”

“Your Majesty!”

“Krata is leaving Yaphenon alone, and if I visit during such a time, it could actually improve their impression of me.”

It could lead to a strange situation where favorability toward both the Saintess and the Demon King increased simultaneously.

“Regardless of Neville’s ties with the Demon King, Neville is still Yaphenon’s official representative. If I go now and establish formal relations before the Demon King steps forward, it may be beneficial for future developments.”

“That may be a valid diplomatic judgment, but I must prioritize Your Majesty’s safety. Isn’t this a poor time for such diplomacy?”

“I’ll be honest with you, Lilien.”

Tia decided to speak her heart.

“Precisely because of the reasons you mentioned, Yaphenon is actually a place where the Demon King would find it difficult to attack me carelessly. He wouldn’t want to cause a stir in a place that’s still rebuilding—especially when the people favor him.”

“That’s…”

“If not now, when else could I speak with the Demon King without a fight?”

This was truly a rare opportunity.

“Besides, Lutan has already become our enemy. Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’?”

“This could still lead to mutual destruction.”

“Yes. I’ll be careful.”

Even at Tia’s response, Lilien couldn’t hide her unease.

“At the very least, please take Lady Nael with you. It’s better than going alone.”

“You mean Nael?”

Tia paused with a thoughtful expression.

“No, it’s better to leave Nael behind. She can protect Ezer while I’m away.”

“I understand. Then at least allow me to prepare—”

“You should stay here too, Lilien.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll be fine on my own.”

She lifted Excalbren.

“I still have the Holy Sword, don’t I?”

“The Holy Sword alone can’t guarantee your safety.”

“I appreciate your concern, Lilien.”

Even so, Tia shook her head at her.

“But please stay here and assist Nael. If something happens, you’ll have to report to me, won’t you?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“Then I’ll take that as settled.”

Tia immediately began walking away.

“Y-Your Majesty, are you leaving now?”

“Why not?”

“I’ll give orders to the knights to escort you at once—”

“I said I was going alone, didn’t I?”

“You’re really going alone…?”

Lilien stared at Tia in astonishment as she realized the empress truly meant to travel alone, without even a single knight.

“Yes, I’ll be fine. Just focus on what I asked of you, Lilien.”

Tia headed toward the door, making it clear she wouldn’t hear any more objections.

“See you later.”

And with that, she opened the door and stepped out. Lilien was left standing there in a daze.

“What is Her Majesty even planning…”

Her eyes were filled with worry.

♧

“My Lord, word has arrived that the corpses of the shamans and their leader, Lokanta, have reached Barungenia.”

At Neville’s report, Clay expressed his satisfaction.

“Is that so? Was there any resistance?”

“There was a little, but we had already fitted them with special restraints, so they couldn’t do anything significant. Besides, Lady Beatrice is there, isn’t she?”

“Beatrice…”

Clay softly repeated her name and asked,

“Did they say how she’s doing?”

“Yes, she also sent her regards. She said she looks forward to the day she’ll meet you again, my Lord.”

“I see.”

It wasn’t as if Clay didn’t miss Beatrice. She was someone whose very presence brought him a sense of peace.

However, as the leader of the Demon King’s army and one of its top commanders, there were duties they both had to fulfill. For now, it seemed they would have to continue this way.

“Ah, and Lin and Goltche also expressed their gratitude. They were thrilled to receive such a perfect subject to experiment on.”

“Hearing they’re pleased makes me confident. Those two only do their jobs well when they’re entertained.”

“My Lord.” Neville asked, “May I ask what the next plan is?”

His tone was one of concern for the ripples caused by Clay’s movements.

“Yaphenon is a nation right under Krata’s nose. The fact that you’ve come this far… does it mean you intend to head straight for Krata next? If so, I’ll need to prepare accordingly.”

“You mean preparations for what comes after the great catastrophe?”

If Krata were to fall by Clay’s hand, humanity would descend into utter chaos. And Krata would never go down quietly.

Though it had refused to help others in the past, in times of crisis it would surely summon the surrounding nations and attempt to form a coalition army. No, that was practically guaranteed.

“If Your Majesty cannot crush Krata in one blow, then we’ll see an era where countless lives will be ground up in war.”

“You speak rather bluntly.”

“I’m just being honest with you, my Lord.”

Neville had chosen to cooperate with the Demon King for the sake of humanity’s survival. After all, Clay had promised to preserve humanity.

“I don’t believe you’ll lose, my Lord.”

Neville truly saw Clay as a formidable figure.

“But I cannot easily predict how things will unfold. I just hope that you’ll minimize the damage to humanity as much as possible.”

“I don’t enjoy needless sacrifices either.”

Even so, Clay spoke with a calm expression.

“But I have no intention of extending kindness to the humanity that betrayed me.”

In other words—

“Don’t bother trying to predict it, Neville.”

Clay advised him.

“I can’t even fully predict what I’ll do.”

Neville swallowed dryly at those words. He didn’t know what to say in response.

Just then—

“L-Lord Neville! Urgent news!”

A soldier burst in, shouting.

“The Saintess has appeared!”

(End of Chapter)

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