'The king... of the Cryptids...?'
...What the hell was that lunatic Cryptid even saying?
To dare call himself the king of the Cryptids while [Ibaraje] existed? There was no way to describe it except sheer insanity.
Monsters were a race with an especially strict hierarchy. For an intelligent monster—one from a species that already had an overwhelming apex like [Ibaraje]—to ignore that and call himself king was practically the same as breaking the unspoken “rules of monsters.”
The very rule of “the strong devour the weak” that even Veldora had accepted.
'Even a mindless Cryptid wouldn't try to push aside Ibaraje and declare itself king of the species, so why is he acting like that?'
It was far too strange for an intelligent monster to behave this way. Something about it felt deeply off.
As if I had stepped onto a [play] staged by [someone].
'Am I missing something here...?'
Just then—
[Report. A curse has been detected in the “mask” worn by the individual known as “Venenum.”]
[Answerer] finally gave me the clue that resolved that unease.
'...A curse? What kind of curse?'
[Answer. It is judged to be a berserk-type curse that interferes with the wearer's mind, consumes intelligence, and stirs up greed, while explosively increasing the target's magic power in return.]
'A berserk-type curse...'
If it was the kind of curse that made you stronger in exchange for a price, then it was actually a fairly rare one.
Some demons in hell even used that sort of curse as part of their contracts.
'It's a little similar to my [Berserk].'
That made me about half certain.
The truth was, there had been something bothering me from the very beginning.
'That mask... the overall shape definitely looks like an ogre, but some parts of it resemble a [Clown Mask].'
A clown mask.
That only pointed to one thing.
'So this was Kazaream's doing.'
I glanced sideways at Kazaream, seated beside Venenum.
If there was one Demon Lord most closely tied to clowns, it was him without question.
“......”
Once I was half convinced this was Kazaream's handiwork, I started to see what he was thinking.
'...I get it. He was trying to increase his influence already.'
Influence at Walpurgis. That was what Kazaream was after.
Since it was absolutely impossible for him to dominate the Demon Lords by force, he intended to pull newly participating Demon Lords over to his side instead.
Carrion, who had joined relatively recently, and even that Deathman who would become a Demon Lord later on—they had all become Demon Lords because of Kazaream.
'But... it feels like there's still something more to it.'
If all he wanted was more influence, there was no need to hand over a mask like that.
If things went wrong and he provoked the other Demon Lords into a fight, the whole plan would be ruined.
'...No, unless this was meant to do the opposite—'
Boooom!!!!
The moment that hypothesis flashed through my mind, I heard the table where the Demon Lords sat crack.
And the source of that sound was—
“So these are the Demon Lords I’d heard about... and most of you are just brats.”
Venenum, who still hadn't fully grasped the situation.
It wasn't enough that he'd already addressed all the Demon Lords as “you lot” earlier. Now he was going even further.
No matter how relatively mild the Demon Lords' personalities might be, there was no way they would tolerate being insulted any more than this.
“Hmm... do you not realize that what you just said insults all of us?”
Rumble...
See? Even Dagruel, who rarely stepped in, was already radiating a savage aura of displeasure.
“Hey. You're pretty arrogant for a newcomer. Judging us like that when you’ve barely arrived?”
Carrion, aggressive by nature, frowned openly in irritation.
“......”
The other Demon Lords stayed silent only because they were watching how things would unfold. They were clearly angry too.
But Venenum didn't care in the slightest. He simply sneered, thoroughly looking down on the Demon Lords.
“Noisy beastman. Don’t bark at me when pitiful strength is all you have.”
“?! You bastard...!!”
Just as Carrion, enraged by Venenum's words, was about to draw his weapon—
Guy finally stepped in.
“Oh? So what you're saying is that if someone is stronger than you, then they can do whatever they want?”
As he said that, Guy smiled meaningfully—and for some reason, he shot me a sidelong glance.
A look that made me extremely uneasy.
“Grrk...! Of course! If anyone defeats this Venenum by force, I will naturally pay the price.”
And Venenum, already too deep in greed and curse to turn back, swallowed Guy's provocation without hesitation.
The way this was all flowing so smoothly...
'Ah, I know this feeling...'
...I had a very bad feeling, like I was watching some awful cliché unfold.
...And then...
“Good. Then let's see this strength of yours—against [this one].”
They say bad feelings never miss.
And of course, the “this one” Guy meant... was me.
“......”
Yeah... I knew it would come to this...
'Tch... at this point, I'm not even surprised anymore...'
...The outcome was obvious now.
Whenever I imagined the worst possible situation for myself, that was usually my future.
While I was lamenting that inwardly, Venenum's voice rang through the banquet hall once more.
“Ha! Not you, but 'that frail-looking demon' is supposed to be my opponent? The title [Lord of Darkness] must be weeping.”
That loud-mouthed remark from Venenum—
'...This bastard...?'
—was more than enough to make me angry.
At this point, I was one of the highest-ranking demons and Guy's subordinate. Since both he and I had just been insulted, it was only natural that irritation flared up.
I wasn't weak enough now to be looked down on by just anyone, and Guy was my teacher too.
Honestly, I would have preferred it if Guy had just shown his anger himself.
“Who knows. We’ll find out once you fight, won’t we? Adelio.”
But instead of getting angry, Guy brushed off Venenum's cheap provocation with ease and gave a savage grin.
He was still intent on tossing the fight to me.
“......”
...When the man I served was restraining his temper that hard and still pushing me forward, there wasn't much I could do.
If I backed down here, both Guy's name and mine would be stained in a way no monster could tolerate.
This was why you had to choose your master carefully... though in the end, this was the result of my own choice.
“...Yes.”
Adelio answered half-heartedly, wearing a strange expression that was half Dino-like exhaustion and half cold, simmering anger.
'Well, I never intended to let things go exactly the way Kazaream wanted anyway... and I was already thinking I wanted to beat him down, so maybe this works out better.'
That casual attitude of his almost made it seem as though he didn't consider the likes of Venenum an opponent at all.
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