Prologue
The Last of the Four Kings
Flamberge Kingdom, on the western coast of the continent, had been the first nation to fall after the demon lord’s armies invaded from the sea. Ever since, the former Flamberge Royal Palace had been transformed into a castle of darkness, serving as the command post for the forces of the demon lord.
“Altra.”
In the bowels of that dark castle, Altra, the demon lord’s heavenly king of water, sat on the floor of what had once been a dungeon cell.
“How long do you intend to hide away here?”
“Dreadonna.”
The voice belonged to his fellow heavenly king, Dreadonna of the Flame. Desmond of the Earth and Gandor of the Wind had already been slain by Ruti the Hero.
“The situation has worsened while you were in here. The territory under our control has shrunk to where it was right after we started the war.”
“Hmph. It has no bearing on me. I was stripped of my title after falling to that masked knight.”
“Your successor is incompetent.”
“What of it? The four heavenly kings are chosen from our four tribes. No demon would obey an Asura calling themself the king of wind or water.”
Vidosra, the new heavenly king of wind, and Madhu, who had been named heavenly king of water one month ago, were both Asuras; they did not have any special powers over the elements but had simply been appointed as commanders.
To demons, with their strict belief in the meaning of blessings, that was unacceptable.
“Haha, too true. The demon lord’s armies will lose this war.”
“…Get to your point.”
“I’ve located the princess.”
“What?!” Altra exclaimed, jumping to his feet.
“As your brother-in-arms, who has sworn loyalty not to this heretic but to the rightful demon lord, I have a request for you.”
Dreadonna bowed deeply to Altra.
“Fight with me against the demon lord, for the sake of the future.”
“Of course. Every one of us—the fallen earth and wind kings, too—have endured our humiliation all for the sake of this day.”
“Thank you, my friend. I will go to rescue the princess.”
“Then I shall challenge the demon lord as a distraction.”
“No, I want you to come and slay me.”
“What do you mean?” Altra gasped.
“I want you to kill me and everyone in the rescue squad. We cannot allow for even the possibility of our memories being extracted through magic.”
“I see…”
“I’ve prepared a stand-in for the princess. We will make it look as if she died in one of my attacks, and that charred corpse should buy enough time for you to escape. You will protect the princess and take her someplace safe.”
“Is any place safe from Demon Lord Taraxon?”
“Only one! With the Hero who can stand against the Demon Lord!”
“You don’t mean—”
“You must head for Zoltan! There, in that frontier land, Ruti the Hero lives in hiding!” Dreadonna said, showing Altra a map. “After the battle with Desmond, the Hero’s brother, a knight, was banished from his party. That was where everything began…and this, too, feels like fate. The Hero went to a land far removed from the front line and humanity has defeated the demon lord’s armies without her. Desmond and Gandor died to give us this information, so make good use of it.”
“Dreadonna…”
“This is our will! You must carry on in our deaths!”
“I promise… I will see this through.”
“I’m counting on you, my friend.”
Altra grabbed the other demon’s hand with a look of grim determination, and Dreadonna flashed him a broad, white-fanged grin.
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