Chapter 200
“...What?”
The moment I uttered 'Paimon,' Barbatos's eyes flickered. Perhaps because only her face was visible, her agitation was clearly evident.
“Lord Paimon, have you already descended...?”
This was a reaction I had never seen from her before. Whenever I told her a demon had appeared, she would usually just scoff and eat snacks. But this time, it was different.
I mulled over the word she had used.
'Lord' Paimon...
It was the first honorific she had ever used. Just that alone seemed to reveal the nature of their relationship.
There was a statue of Barbatos inside Paimon's Altar.
Given that, it was probably a king-and-vassal relationship. As I thought this, Barbatos spoke again, rather urgently.
“Immediately... I must go to The One immediately. Release me from This Place at once!”
“No.”
I answered firmly.
You said it yourself last time. If you're freed from This Place, you'll become an enemy of humans. Even if we've grown a bit close, I can't just release an enemy.
There was a clear line between Barbatos and me. Our peaceful bickering was only possible here. I couldn't directly revive a Demon who would clearly become an enemy once outside.
Sometimes I regretted that fact, but I couldn't forget that she was still a Demon.
It seemed she knew this deep down, as she didn't press the issue further than I expected. She merely frowned, lost in thought.
“Lord Paimon... have you truly come out of the Demon Realm?”
Hmph, she sighed and muttered. The way she suppressed her emotions made her seem more mature than I had ever seen Barbatos. I watched her for a while before cautiously opening my mouth.
“You and Paimon seem to have a king-and-vassal relationship... Is that right?” “...That is correct. Among the Four Kings, he is the king I serve.” “Judging by your reaction, you seem quite loyal.” “...No. That is not correct.” “...?”
This was an unexpected answer. Given her earlier reaction, wasn't loyalty usually a given in a king-and-vassal relationship? As I pondered this, Barbatos answered my unspoken question.
“From the very beginning... my not resurrecting here is a refusal of a royal command, isn't it? Most Demons would already be out, trying to invade your World.”
Well, that was true. From the first time I saw her, she seemed unenthusiastic.
She had only poked her head out of the Altar due to a royal command. She had spent decades in this Forest in that state.
Still, there was something I didn't understand.
“Even so, your reaction was quite intense.” “...Though we are not particularly close, he is the most benevolent among the Four Kings. He cares the most for his subjects. How could I not be worried when such a being has appeared?” “...”
Instead of reacting, I made an ambiguous expression. It was a story I couldn't empathize with. The Paimon I knew had tried to kill me without provocation and had hurled boulders at the Extermination Squad.
Well, his actions were understandable given our adversarial relationship... but for such a being to care for his vassals in the Demon Realm? It was hard for me to imagine. Thus, my words couldn't help but be tinged with sarcasm.
“Honestly, if the Demon Realm is so great, why doesn't he just stay there? Why crawl out into someone else's World?”
“...”
Barbatos didn't reply. She merely muttered something incomprehensible.
“Flowers do not bloom in a land where the Earth's Power has run out...”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
I tilted my head but let it go for now. I had many other things to ask.
*She probably won't tell me about Paimon, will she?*
She was already trying to avoid talking about Demons as much as possible. I didn't think she would betray her own king. So, I decided to move past the topic related to her king.
After all, I was curious about something else.
“Anyway... I fought Paimon for a bit, and he said something I couldn't just ignore.”
“...You fought him for a bit?”
“Yeah. He said I have Asmodeus's blood.”
Barbatos's eyes twitched for a moment. I suddenly noticed Livia next to her, diligently rummaging through my bag. She seemed to be checking what kind of snacks I had brought. Her ears were perked up, though, so she seemed to be listening to our conversation. I turned back to Barbatos and asked her.
“Can you tell me what kind of demon he is?”
And secretly prayed. *Please let him be a Weakling Demon. A weakling so weak I could defeat him with a single breath.*
“...Alright, since you've already met two kings anyway, there's no particular reason to hide it.”
However, what came out of her mouth was the exact opposite of my hopes.
“The 32nd Rank, Asmodeus, is the king who rules the Northern Region.”
Fuck.
Swearing rose automatically to my lips.
“He is a being who handles quite a lot. Primarily, he deals with blood and lust. He is a being whose desires boil like a volcano. It seems you might have been affected by him too...”
Stop. Livia, who was rummaging through snacks, suddenly froze at that explanation, as if she had heard something she couldn't ignore. Then, she silently began to stare at my face and my lower body. Feeling awkward, I glared at Livia and mouthed something.
“What the hell?”
Only then did Livia awkwardly turn her head, her face slightly flushed. What on earth was she thinking? I was a little curious, but it didn't last long.
My mind was greatly disturbed by the word 'king.' Ultimately, to escape the berserk state, I had to catch that king, didn't I? Just thinking about Paimon gave me a headache..., and now I had to face a similar being later. Thinking about it made me feel a bit dizzy.
No, at least I know the Origin Demon now. I should be thankful for that.
For now, I forced myself to put aside even those troubled thoughts. I still had a few more questions to ask.
“He also deals with sexual desire? The Demon Sitri I met last time seemed to deal with something similar.” “It is a characteristic of the Northern Demons. Those Demons generally possess abilities related to Lust and the physical body. Hmph, it's a place where only perverts gather, anyway.”
Barbatos said with a hint of disdain. It was almost like the Demon Realm's version of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Anyway, I had heard most of the information I wanted with this. Since I had already asked, I decided to get more information while I was at it.
“Amon, Paimon, Asmodeus...”
With this, I knew the names of three of the Four Kings.
“Then who is the remaining king?”
Naturally, I couldn't help but be curious about the last one. Barbatos scoffed at my words.
“You're really trying to dig up everything about Demons, aren't you?”
“Why? You can at least tell me his name.”
“...Hmm, indeed. Since you've already learned about the other kings, and considering all the snacks I've eaten...”
She took a breath and said.
“The 1st Rank, Baal, Ruler of the distant Eastern Plains, the First Demon, and the strongest Demon.”
The modifiers were somewhat grand. I tilted my head and asked.
“You said there were Four Kings? You said their powers were all similar before...” “That is when considering their Faction as well. Even in the Demon Realm, the Eastern Plains are a particularly barren land. As such, there are few Demons residing there, and few subjects.”
Yet, their power itself was similar. That meant one king filled that much empty space. Honestly, it was hard to imagine. I hadn't even caught Paimon yet, so I didn't have the luxury of thinking about other Demons. So for now, I just accepted it as it was. At this point, I ended the conversation.
“Alright... thank you for telling me. I learned a lot thanks to you.”
I had finally grasped the identity of the dog-like demon who had put this curse on my body.
The conversation with Barbatos was over, but that didn't mean all my tasks here were done. I immediately turned next to Neria.
The Demon Paimon was connected to Barbatos, but if I were to find the one most deeply connected, it would probably be Neria. If my guess had been correct, Neria's entire life would have been shaken by Paimon.
I spoke to her, who was staring blankly in my direction.
“You heard what we were talking about earlier, right? About Paimon.”
“Yes, you even fought him. Are you alright? I heard he was particularly strong.”
“...Yeah.”
As expected, she seemed unaware of his true nature and worried about me first. I continued.
“While fighting, I felt a power similar to yours. As if it were your Origin.”
“...!”
At those words, her eyes widened instantly. She had already heard from me about the method to release the berserk state, the way to forever escape that damned curse. Having suffered from the berserk state for so long, her longing for it had been immense. And that longing was now pouring out of her eyes, a longing mixed with desperation.
This time, I offered it to her first.
“Do you want to come too?”
“Yes.”
There was no hesitation. She simply nodded, her face set.
Being a Manifestor is a bit of a concern, but...
Since she already had a record of participating in the Amon Extermination, it shouldn't be a big problem. And even if she were discovered, it wouldn't matter much. Since I had already set a precedent, I could cover for her no matter what people said. Since I had worked hard to improve the Manifestor image, people would surely quickly nod in agreement.
After that brief conversation with Neria, I was about to head back to the Cave, but then...
“Me too.”
It was Livia, who had been listening silently the entire time, who spoke.
“I want to come too.”
At this, I couldn't help but feel a bit troubled.
Neria, being a Manifestor, was one thing, but Livia was a Criminal with a bounty on her head.
How could she come along when the Extermination Squad would glare at her as if to kill her the moment she arrived?
If things went wrong, she could actually be harmed.
“It’s okay. I can protect myself...”
But her will was firm.
“If we're going to catch Paimon, Jurgen must be nearby, right? He dared to stab my Master... I can't let that bastard just walk around freely.”
For a moment, anger filled her red eyes. It was a stark contrast to her earlier demeanor when she was rummaging through snacks. Seeing her more serious than I expected, I could only sigh and nod.
“Ugh, fine.”
After all, most people knew that I had caused a ruckus and taken her from the Knight Order. Who knew? Maybe if she performs well during the Extermination, her crimes might even be reduced.
It was the moment two unauthorized guests were added to the Extermination Squad.
“Then I’ll call you when people gather. See you later.”
Having finished the conversation, I was about to head back to the Cave. And then, someone else stopped me.
“...Just a moment.”
“Now what?”
I turned around with a slightly annoyed expression. This time, it was Barbatos who called me.
“If, by chance, you encounter Lord Paimon.”
She said, her face looking more troubled than usual.
“At the very least, please do not hate him too much.”
“...”
It was an incomprehensible request. So I remained silent. It wasn't something I could easily agree to.
Thus, the only ambiguous answer I could give was this:
“I’ll think about it. Now, I’m leaving.”
With that, I left the Altar in The Depths, for a long time under Barbatos's gaze.
Time quickly passed, and another two weeks flew by. The Extermination Squad's departure was imminent.