Forsaken Priest of the Hero's Party-Chapter 29: The Demon Kings Resolve

“Hero, huh...”

A white-haired woman leaned against her throne made of pure amethyst, her bewitching crimson eyes gleaming like rubies as she assimilated the information from the crystal in her hand.

Long,

Long ago, the Dragons bestowed the power of magic upon the demons.

Ironically, the magic the other races now use was essentially nothing more than the stolen knowledge of Demon Magic.

So now that the dragons have left for where they once came from, it is only right to call the race of magic the demons.

Unlike those primitive humans, they do not convey information through paper and parchment, but instead offer reports by storing the information that should be contained in jewels and crystals.

Harmael smiled upon assimilating the information recorded in the crystal.

“With the board already set, what could these three humans even do?”

“It’s five now.”

The Succubus Queen, Sharon, corrected Harmael.

“This is information from the demon merchant, Orok. It has been confirmed that the Saint of the Nemi Church, Aridel, and Archbishop Renheim have joined the Hero’s party.”

The Hero’s party also needs to make a living, so they can’t stay in the wild forever.

Until now, it wasn’t a problem at all. With numerous demons rampant under various Demon Kings, there were many demons who would sell supplies to the Hero’s party as long as they were paid.

But now, Harmael was on the verge of unifying the Demon Realm.

Although her dominance is not strong enough to prohibit all demons across the Demon Realm from trading with the Hero’s party, it is enough to track them down not long after they take any action.

“Whether it’s three or five, does it make a big difference?”

Harmael smiled contentedly as she looked at the crystal bottle containing Hydra’s poison placed near the throne.

However, she felt somewhat uncomfortable inside. One of her loyal subordinates, the Slime Demon King Marmanun, risked his life to collect Hydra’s poison and extract a few bottles of the toxic liquid.

A few bottles may be an understatement, as the amount could kill countless people.

Hydra’s poison emits high heat when left alone, so the container holding it must have a cooling spell cast on it. Of course, the fact that heat is generated also means that radiation is produced as well.

Anyway, Marmanun, who presented this precious poison, was killed by the Hero’s party. That alone was enough reason for her to hate the Hero.

“Marmanun. My loyal subject had a countermeasure prepared at the risk of his life.”

“Your Majesty. You must not underestimate the Hero too much.”

The Hero, the chosen human.

The Holy Sword, the crystallization of the Three Goddesses’ divinity, and also...The Saint, who could be considered Nemi’s daughter.

The Hero’s party didn’t even need to kill Harmael, just injuring her would be enough.

Should this happen, her power would crumble regardless of who would come alive from their confrontation.

Among the so-called Harmael faction, only a handful of the Demon Kings under her were actually loyal, like the already deceased Marmanun.

The majority were snakes in the grass, waiting for an opportunity to strike at her.

Demon Kings.

The King of demons. There’s no way a King would willingly bow to another person.

Although individual demons are strong, their population is not that large, so even a Demon King is closer to a tribal chief than a king in the strict sense.

Harmael’s wish is to unite these ‘tribes’, into a single Nation.

However, the Demon Empire she dreams of inevitably infringes upon the authority and power of other Demon Kings.

How many of them would be willing to accept such a thing?

There are also many Demon Kings who follow simply because the tide has turned.

“If Your Majesty truly wishes to deal with the Hero’s party personally, I would advise overwhelming them ruthlessly. Then, you could even use the Hero’s party as a sacrifice for Your Majesty’s ascension to the throne.”

The justification for defeating the enemy of the demons, the Hero, could be one factor that helps her ascension as Empress.

For Harmael, personally dealing with the Hero’s party was a matter that required careful consideration.

There is much to gain if successful, and much to lose if it fails.

If she’s going to do it, she must succeed no matter what.

“Ah, Your Majesty. The Vlad ducal family, nobles from the southeastern part of the empire, sent a letter. They are congratulating your success in nearly uniting the Demons into an Empire and even sent you a gift.”

“Hm? Why would an Empiral Ducal Family do such a thing? I haven’t even announced my ascension as Empress yet.”

Harmael was momentarily puzzled but soon realized, this might be an opportunity.

“Regardless, the Illumina Empire is on the verge of collapse, isn’t it? And many nobles would enjoy the opportunity of jumping ships, wouldn’t they?”

“Indeed, Your Majesty. The Vlad ducal family has been a family that has pondered which side to take between us demons and humans since the beginning of the empire.”

Vampires. Unfinished demons. The third race is rejected by both humans and demons.

The ancestor of the Vlad family was the progenitor of these blood-sucking demons.

When the Illumina Empire was born, the Vlad ancestor became the Emperor’s right hand, making great achievements and receiving a dukedom and territory in return.

Now, as the empire begins to shake, their descendants have approached Harmael, who is about to create a new Empire.

“Are you saying they intend to come to our side?”

“They even hinted at wanting to see Your Majesty in person.”

“Ha, I don’t know how incompetent their emperor is to leave such a subordinate alone. It must be hard to be so useless even though he was born an emperor.”

Then, she ordered the letter and gift to be brought.

To her, who was already no different from the Empress of the demons except for not having ascended yet, the gift didn’t particularly catch her eye. Her gaze immediately went to the letter.

“No, he could have just left it alone. They really are astounding.”

Harmael burst out laughing after reading the letter sent by Duke Shumira, the head of the Vlad ducal family.

Thanks to that, her mood lifted a little.

“They want to proclaim themselves king? That’s fine too. That’s also good. If the vampires want to create a kingdom, this one shall allow it. Tell them the vampires can have the entire southeastern part of the Illumina Empire!”

That is if they have the ability to do so.

Anyway, Harmael gave permission. Now, the rest is up to them.

“It seems a declining race wants to struggle one last time.”

Sharon also sneered after hearing the contents of the letter.

The sight of those who can’t even stand upright under the sun boldly demanding the establishment of a nation as if they were something great was more entertaining than a decent comedy.

“Even if the old emperor dies right now, it will take some time for the empire to reach the point of destruction. They can’t even wait for that brief moment and are preparing to act like a mare in heat,wishing to become a sovereign. The vampires have really gone too far, taking this waste as their leader.”

“They still seem to be trapped in the past. The era when vampires dominated both humans and demons.”

It’s already a bygone past, and the glory has long faded away.

If Duke Shumira wants to cling to that glory, that’s fine too.

It’s not like Harmael has any affection for the vampires, and it’s enough to just use them as much as they can be used appropriately.

Harmael knew the Vlad ducal family was ready to surrender to the demons at any time, but upon reflection, the immediate problem was not resolved at all.

Her cautiousness arose once more.

Careful consideration was needed on what to do with the hero’s party.

“Grimudo.”

She sighed.

“Why won’t he side with me? If only he was under me, we could have conquered the entire continent,

not just unifying the demons. We could have reduced all other races to servant races serving the demons, and demons could have enjoyed glory for thousands and tens of thousands of years!”

“But in a sense, it’s fortunate for Your Majesty that Grimudo remains holed up in the North Pole. If he had coveted secular power, Your Majesty would have been in danger first.”

A being who can change the tide with his power alone. A being who, when colliding with the world doesn’t get torn apart, but rather can grind the world.

The ancient Demon King existed long before the birth of the Three Goddesses and does not fear even the holy sword.

Holy power can only inflict very slight damage to him and can never penetrate his essence.

That power is revered by all demons even now as he crouches in the North Pole.

Even the arrogant Harmael could not look down on Grimudo.

Despite having seen him only once, she inwardly harbored fear towards The Ancient Demon King.

“...I should go visit Grimudo once.”

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“Your Majesty, that’s too dangerous!”

Sharon was startled and tried to dissuade Harmael.

If it’s Grimudo, even if the demon army numbers a million, it would be useless.

His monster legion is famous in a devastating sense.

If he flicks a single finger, monsters dozens of meters tall will pop out one after another and crush his enemies.

Although the man-eating monster, Manticore, died before, he still has many monsters.

“I’m not saying I’m going to fight. I don’t think I can subdue him either.”

In the first place, even the Hydra’s poison originated from one of the monsters he raises.

Grimudo is terrifyingly strong as an individual, but when his monster legion is added, he becomes a being so fearsome it’s terrifying. He didn’t mobilize a single monster while fighting the hero’s party, but with his power alone, he suppressed Yurinel, Parnell, And Lucia.

It wasn’t even a contest.

“I just want to sound him out. Why does he keep crouching despite having such strong power, what he desires, or if he might not be a threat to me... these things? If I don’t know that, how can I proclaim myself emperor out of fear?”

What’s truly frightening about Grimudo is not his power.

It’s frightening that no one knows what he wants or desires.

The unknown, itself. This is the biggest factor that creates fear.

What’s the point of Harmael unifying the demons when Grimudo can overturn it at any time?

Unless she was certain he wouldn’t do that, she couldn’t hastily ascend as the Demon Empress.

She feared the Ancient Demon King.

If he changes his mind or acts on a whim, that slight whim could plunge her into the depths of the abyss.

And if possible... it would be good to get support from him.

It’s undeniable that it would be an extremely profitable deal if she could receive or at least borrow even one of the numerous monsters that make up his monster legion.

The presence or absence of monsters would make a big difference when attacking the hero’s party and furthermore, when launching an offensive against the Illumina Empire.

Unifying the entire demon realm is merely the first step in her ambition.

Shouldn’t dreaming of unifying the continent be considered the aspiration of one who has inherited the blood of a dragon?

For that reason, there was a need to know Grimudo’s intentions.

If she becomes certain that he is a being who will hinder her ambition,

She’ll have to bring down Grimudo first, even if it means collaborating with that hero’s party.