He finally sighed.
Hell was startled by the sigh that clearly showed his frustration, and slowly curled up, looking around. Deon looked at the black shadow slowly falling down in bewilderment, then closed his eyes.
"I'm not trying to scold you... I just want to ask you a few questions. Get up quickly."
"Yes..."
"There's no reason to scold you in the first place. Anyone can see that this is a good thing, so why is everyone paying attention?"
"Since Deon seemed to be in a bad mood... a Corps Commander other than me should have been summoned..."
"No, you are enough."
I don't know why I'm here to appease this guy.
Deon had a feeling of skepticism, but he knew that if he expressed it, the situation would return to square one, so he smiled brightly, conscious of the expression that kept disappearing.
"They said the situation when you were summoned was a mess. You must be capable of signing a contract in the meantime, right? Even though it was a hectic situation, you also prevented information from being passed on to hostile forces."
This was why Hell was currently covered in blood.
The timing was perfect, because at the same time as he was summoned, soldiers from the Empire, who had received information that the Demon Cult was in the process of summoning demons, rushed to the scene. He had to identify, single out, and eliminate the enemy before he could properly understand the situation.
"That is enough to prove your abilities."
"..."
"The reason the expression on my face was strange is because your contractor is an unexpected person."
In fact, he seems more capable than other Corps Commanders, so I don't know why he has such low self-esteem.
He's so talented that it's giving him a headache right now.
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
We can't not send him to the human world. Currently, the demons are working hard to conquer the human world, which seems to be out of reach. Even though he was the General Commander, if he made a decision that was difficult to understand, he will immediately be criticized.
Or rather, it would be more so because he was the General Commander.
The demons would pour out questions, and the Demon King would playfully check them with a polite smile.
Deon, who was looking at Hell, the 8th Corps Commander who hesitated, began to cry slowly.
"First... let's try to understand the type and scope of your abilities that can be used in the human world."
***
"Annihilation..."
"Yes."
"The Demon Cult believers are probably not strong enough to annihilate the Imperial Army, so they probably succeeded in summoning demons."
That too, just as the soldiers arrived.
It seems like they've failed all along, so how can they expect to succeed this time? Elpidius touched his forehead as if he was in trouble.
"Because it was annihilated, there is no way to know how strong the demon is that was summoned..."
He thought it was suspicious, but he didn't expect it to be this bad. How surprised he was when Prime Minister Ardal rushed in with a pale look on his face and shouted that soldiers should be sent to the Demon Cult immediately. When he asked what that meant, the document presented as if he had been waiting for it contained information that was hard to believe.
'Demonism... the same humans are trying to summon demons.'
They were at war with the demon world, and there was an enemy within.
Yes, if there are people like this, there are also people like that. He understood it in hs head, but... Elpidius clenched his fists. An indescribable feeling of frustration weighed on his heart. At first glance, it had a tinge of despair.
'Even so, the situation is not good.'
No, maybe it was because the situation was not good that itended up like this.
The desire for survival, inherent in all living things, must have led to the desire to cling to the strong.
So... he understood. They were simply defeated by their most basic instincts as a living being before they were human.
So Elpidius slowly opened his mouth.
"There is nothing we can do about what has already happened, so let's move on. Let's conclude this by sending a warning to the king of Shanguk to be careful."
"..."
"Send troops to the Demon Cult again. Even if we let our guard down and allow it once, we shouldn't allow it twice. This time, send more qualified people than last time and handle it reliably."
Judging by the fact that the documents Ardal brought with him at the time recorded a conversation in which they strengthened their resolve to succeed this time, this must have been their first summons. That's a good thing.
Not twice. Ardal, who read the meaning of the command, raised his head in surprise. Elpidius was not willing to avoid eye contact, but instead faced him directly and spoke like a nail-biter.
"There is no need to arrest them. Find and kill all believers who participated in summoning demons, as well as those who have even the slightest connection to Demonism."
"... When you say 'those who are even slightly related'... do you mean to kill them even if they are not believers?"
"That includes people who received even a piece of bread from the Demon Cult."
"..."
He can't help it. We also need to filter out those who are sympathetic to Demonism. Only then can we prevent the possibility of the resurrection of Demonism or the emergence of a second or third Demonism.
He added to Ardal, whose expression was stiff.
"If it were my uncle, he would have given the same order."
"... I know. But at least he felt guilty."
"Yeah, it was a really useless feeling. There is no need to overturn the order, so there is no need to make yourself feel uncomfortable."
For the Demon Cult believers, guilt is a luxury. It's unfortunate that non-believers die, but that's it.
The reason humans can be superior to other living creatures is because of reason, which can suppress instinct. Since they have lost to their instincts, they were beasts.
'If you turned your back on us because of your desire for survival, we have no choice but to stimulate that instinct as well.'
It was not a meaningless order based on his desires, but a command given out of necessity. There was no reason to feel guilty.
Ardal sighed at the tyrant-like temperament clearly visible in Elpidius.
"You say all these scary things. It may seem unnecessary, but guilt is essential for an Emperor. It's a device that helps you find better solutions. If there was no guilt, it would be easy to give orders like this. In the future, without even thinking about finding another solution, you may order to abandon the people of the Empire without hesitation just because it can be processed more easily and quickly."
"... You've been nagging me for a long time."
Elpidius rested his chin and tilted his head crookedly. As he was shouting with his whole body that he would not listen to nagging, Ardal looked at the other person as if asking for help.
Alethea felt eyes on her and smiled awkwardly.
"Your Royal Highness the Emperor."
"Well... First of all, I think His Majesty's order can't be helped. I agree with what the Prime Minister said, but I don't think there is any need to feel guilty, at least as far as the Demonic believers are concerned."
"... Oh my god."
"A monarch just needs to take care of his people. There's no need to worry about animals since they're outside the scope, right?"
She openly called the Demonic believers beasts. Ardal stiffened.
It would have been better if she had called them criminals.
Humans are not given the right to lower the value of other humans to beasts. The Emperor was no exception to that.
What she said was something that even an Emperor should not have said.
What you think on the inside and what you say out loud are different. It could be such a dangerous statement that it could revive slavery, which was abolished a long time ago.
Are you really saying that they are brother and sister born to the First Prince, who was said to be gentler than anyone else?
Ardal lamented inwardly. At least when the Emperor was alive, it seems like they were good, but what made them like this?
No matter what Ardal was thinking, Elpidius didn't care and opened his mouth.
"Did you hear? Hurry up and pack up the troops."
"..."
"Show them a clear example of what kind of end you will face if you dare to betray us to the demons."
Golden eyes, similar to those of someone who claimed to be a tyrant in the past, but with a more vicious look, flashed fiercely.
...
This command was not just for example. In a dangerous situation where you don't know which demon has been summoned, the best way is to kill the contractor, who is an easy human.
Elpidius thought when he received the news of the annihilation and continued to infer that the demon summoning was successful.
'Who is the contractor?'
***
After the death of the former Emperor Eduardo Desert, Paul, the leader of the Revolutionary Army, which had increased its power unprecedentedly by absorbing talented people from countries that were victims of the war of conquest, had not joined because of his concern, heard the news that the Empire had sent troops to the den of Demonism. He ordered the collection of additional information.
'In a situation where even one troop is a waste, there is no reason to waste troops pointlessly on a pseudo-religion that can be disposed of later.'
It seemed quite urgent that it was left unattended and then suddenly attacked, so there must be some reason.
The additional information obtained was quite shocking.
The Demon Church had been consistently attempting to summon demons.
"They're crazy."
Paul, who had heard they successfully summoned a demon and was informed that the Imperial Army that arrived one step late had been annihilated, muttered coldly.
"Some people are going around saying they will stop the demon world for everyone, but others are trying to bring demons into the human world."
Even so, the Revolutionary Army was doing its best to protect the human world by thoroughly interfering with the Demon King's Army that was trying to attack Shanguk, so this news was particularly unpleasant.
After re-reading the contents and checking the front and back of the paper to see if there was any missing information, he looked up.
"Is there any information about the summoned demons or the contractor, Mr. Iram?"
"Not yet. Even the Empire that sent troops directly doesn't seem to know."
"Well, it said they were completely wiped out..."
The demons who came to the human world through contracts have different levels of risk not only in terms of personal force but also in terms of application.
The worst thing would happen if a 'human' contractor were to summon a 'contracted demon' at an important operational location. There was even a record that the restrictions in the human world are reduced for demons who make a contract, so it must be truly terrible.
"Whether it's the demon or the contractor, one of the two must be dealt with. Please let me know as soon as the information comes in."
"Yes."
The contractor was a passageway for the demon, so if it is difficult to deal with the demons, you must at least eliminate that passageway.
After receiving confirmation from Iram, Paul leaned back in his chair with a long sigh.
'...'
He closed his eyes and enjoyed the long-awaited silence, then slowly opened his eyes and looked at Iram. As if he sensed someone's gaze, Paul smiled an uncomfortable smile at the other person who had their eyes fixed on the documents.
"By the way, Mr. Iram."
"Huh?"
It's a rare moment of free time, but he had to say more about it. This was a question he could only ask in his free time.
"Have Sheia's whereabouts been found yet?"
"..."
Iram closed his mouth.
Although he seemed to have managed his facial expressions well, Paul seemed to be unable to pay attention to the slightly shaking eyes, and could read the agitation in the other person's eyes.
Ah. He laughed out loud. He knew it would be like this.
He pretended not to notice and said each word with emphasis.
"It's been a long time since I asked you to find Sheia, but you still haven't even said a word."
"..."
"Isn't it really... strange? Our Revolutionary Army's intelligence isn't so incompetent that it can't find a single girl."
Iram, who was only then released from the frozen state, sighed and lowered his eyes.
"Sorry."