The moment Gerard moved away, the faint warmth that had lingered on Ranok’s face gradually faded.
He gave his orders to the Demon Clan members standing at attention.
“Attend to his rest so that not a single thing disturbs him.”
“Yes, Ranok.”
Under normal circumstances, Ranok would have seen to every detail of the sleeping arrangements himself — but unfortunately, there were pests inside the castle, and he had to move to deal with them.
Either way, it wouldn’t be long before Gerard opened his eyes again for the true Coming-of-Age sleep, so there was no need to feel too badly about not being there for him right now. Lightening his heart with that thought, Ranok called for his right hand.
“Mas.”
— Yes, Ranok.
The moment Ranok spoke the name, the voice of Mas — his long-trusted subordinate — came through inside his head.
“The Demon Clan members inside the castle are all in their usual positions, I take it.”
— Yes. Everything is perfect.
“Good.”
It was ordinarily the Demon King’s work — but perhaps because he had stood in as proxy so often, Ranok’s handling of things was swift and flawless.
That said, Ranok taking on the role of Demon King proxy so frequently was a source of dissatisfaction for some.
They must worry that I might dare set my sights on the Demon King’s throne. Ranok was well aware of that.
Of course, their dislike of Ranok wasn’t simply because he had Gerard’s trust.
In short — the existence of a subordinate more powerful than his master grated on people’s nerves.
……This isn’t something to dwell on right now.
Ranok cut off the thoughts that were about to spiral further.
“How far up have the Hero types gotten?”
— Currently on the 7th floor.
Already the 7th floor.
Faster than he had anticipated. But Ranok wasn’t worried. There was no need to be.
Even if they managed to reach him, he would simply kill them all — that was all there was to it.
Besides, no matter how strong a Hero might be, humans were still humans. The odds of them making it through all 100 floors were exceedingly slim.
However, a few days later — not long after Gerard had fallen into his sleep for the Coming-of-Age.
Ranok had no choice but to admit that he had underestimated humans.
— I apologize, Ranok.
The humans had reached the 99th floor of the Demon King’s Castle.
Good lord.
Once he had wiped those pests out, he was going to have to tighten the leash on his underlings. For humans to break through all the way to the 99th floor.
“What happened?”
— I know this will sound like an excuse, but there’s one human who appears to be a swordsman — and he’s far too strong. When that one steps forward, even most of our higher-ranking Demon Clan members get cut down like nothing……. My apologies.
“Did some reclusive swordsman come out of hiding or something? Humans, I swear.”
— Hmm, though for that to be the case, he seemed quite young.
“Young?”
— Yes. He didn’t look like he’d even reached twenty yet.
Ranok’s eyes narrowed. A greenhorn who didn’t look a day over twenty, cutting down everyone in his path by virtue of sheer exceptional ability?
In the lower floors, maybe. But the Demon Clan members stationed in the upper floors were handpicked elites that Ranok himself had selected — and even they had been torn apart by the hands of a young human.
Ranok felt a very faint flicker of interest in this being.
Though naturally, what came before that feeling was the fury of having the castle he had poured so much effort into reduced to a wreck.
— Shall I go, Ranok?
“No. I’ll go myself.”
Ordinarily he would simply have sent Mas to cut them down, but Ranok ground his teeth — for the first time in a very long while — and made his way to the 100th floor.
To meet that supposedly formidable swordsman himself.
Exhausted.
Casioth swallowed the words that had risen all the way to the tip of his tongue and forced them back down.
Every one of his companions in his field of vision was visibly exhausted — it was plain to see — but no one said it aloud.
He was already treated like a child at the drop of a hat for being the youngest of the group; if he let that show, he’d probably never hear the end of it. That was the last thing he wanted.
But knowing that didn’t change the fact that he was exhausted. He couldn’t hide it.
Of course it was exhausting — they had fought their way up to the 99th floor of the Demon King’s Castle without food or water for days.
“Everyone, just a little more! There’s only one floor left!”
Malek, the group’s leader and archer, shouted with a face full of excitement.
The problem was that the final floor was the biggest trial of all — but regardless, they had been the first ever to conquer ninety-nine floors of Demon King Gerard’s castle that no one had managed to crack before. It was impossible not to feel a surge of energy.
“But Malek, can we really take down Gerard?”
It was also right then that Ilena, the group’s mage and second-in-command, put the brakes on Malek.
“No one’s saying it out loud, but everyone’s exhausted. Even at full strength, there’s no guarantee we could defeat the Demon King — so can we really do it in a state like this? I’m doubtful.”
She laid out the reasons it couldn’t work one by one, but Malek was having none of it.
“But this is the 99th floor, Ilena. Are you saying we give up after making it this far?”
“We made it to the 99th floor, so next time we can get here more easily. And honestly — the plan coming in was to do a light reconnaissance, and you just kept saying a little further, a little further until we ended up here.”
Because that was how it had gone, their preparation was naturally lacking, and they were currently running on days without proper food or sleep.
“You’re the leader. You can’t just charge straight ahead — you need to save enough energy to make it back.”
Her words sounded reasonable at a glance. They were, in fact, correct.
And yet Malek’s face showed that he couldn’t quite let go.
“But having made it to the 99th floor and then not attempting the last one — everyone would think the leader of that group is an idiot.”
Ilena suppressed a sigh.
She didn’t fail to understand the desire — but Ilena looked around at their companions.
Casioth, the youngest and also the strongest among them, had been holding up relatively well, but the rest showed clear signs of being thoroughly worn out.
“Malek, I’ll be honest. All of this is thanks to Casioth. If it hadn’t been for him from the start, we never would have made it this far.”
At those words, the group’s gazes shifted to Casioth.
“And even Casioth is exhausted. There’s no telling whether he’d be able to give his all when it counts.”
……I’m not that exhausted. The thought crossed his mind, but Casioth read the room and kept his mouth shut.
“There’s no glory in it if we don’t make it back alive.”
The hesitation was settled by that single remark from Ilena.
Malek finally came to his senses. There wasn’t a single flaw in her argument.
Dying would make it all meaningless. On top of that, Casioth — the youngest of the group — was only eighteen. He was far too young to die if something went wrong.
Besides, not just Ilena, but Kol and Henri of their group also showed obvious signs of exhaustion.
But still — the 99th floor……
Reluctance spilled out of him in abundance, but Malek swallowed his regret down along with his saliva.
“Right, then for today let’s head back and——”
It was right as Malek was forcing himself to say those words with every ounce of composure he could muster.
Click. Click.
A deeply unsettling sound reached their ears. Everyone flinched. Malek — whose ears were particularly sharp, as befitted an archer — spun around quickly.
Something massive was slowly revealing itself from within the darkness. Malek shouted.
“There you are — Demon King Gerard!”
Malek was, in a small way, pleased. Now that the Demon King had appeared, there was no longer any way to say Oh, sorry, we’ll come back next time.
Ilena’s expression, by contrast, went rigid — though she too understood that she couldn’t stop where this was heading now.
Everyone readied for battle. Casioth raised his sword.
From within the darkness, a presence that could not be ignored continued that rhythmic clicking sound as it drew steadily closer.
Unsettling. As the sound approached, Casioth felt a creeping sense of unease rising in him without meaning to.
A sound no human could produce — a being that carried a distinctive sense of oppression from that sound alone.
Casioth had cut down hideous-looking Demon Clan members time and time again while climbing the Demon King’s Castle. The one who stood at their apex — the Demon King — would surely be monstrously, grotesquely formed.
He had just resolved not to be surprised by whatever he saw — when at last, the being revealed itself from the darkness.
“Huh?”
“……Hm.”
The group confirmed the identity of their opponent, and every one of them wore a baffled expression, stealing glances at one another. As though worried they were the only one who felt what they were feeling.
But they were all feeling the same thing.
And no wonder — what had emerged from the darkness was a man who looked, for all intents and purposes, like an ordinary human.
No. Not ordinary.
The man — in a perfectly fitted vest over a richly ruffled shirt, every detail coming together magnificently — looked as though he had stepped straight out of a masterwork painting.
The clicking sounds were gone; steady, unhurried footsteps now echoed through the quiet space. And still, the Hero’s party couldn’t find a single word to say.
Because they were bewildered. Was this really Demon King Gerard?
Could this be a human who had been trapped inside the Demon King’s Castle? But there was no trace of the restlessness particular to a captive human in those unhurried, composed steps.
At last, the man came to a stop. A couple of paces away from Malek.
“What brings you here?”
Malek was genuinely thrown. It felt as though he had dropped in on some noble family’s manor.
Despite having never actually visited a noble household in quite this fashion.
With striking looks that matched his immaculate attire — the man’s very manner was elegance itself, aristocratic through and through.
