Whenever I close my eyes, I can remember it.
　The hell that was burned into the back of my eyelids.
　Those ungodly people who taunted me and stole my stars.

　I will never forget this hatred.
　No matter how many stars and frosts go by, never.
　We will destroy everything, take back the stars, and finally get our revenge.

　In order to do that, we must first get rid of the people who stand in our way.
　As long as those two are around, we won't even be able to begin our revenge.
　So let's set up a suitable venue and then disappear.

　I am the master of demons.
　I am the one who violates and corrupts the light of life.
　Therefore, my name is ----.

◆

----

　His eyelids opened, and golden twin eyes glowered in front of him.
　All the demon clans that belonged to the Demon King's army as fighters had gathered in that place.
　None of them wasted a word, they all have a nervous look on their faces.

''A few days ago, the last Five Generals Labyrinth fell.

　A low man's voice echoed in the silent room.
　The one who uttered those stark words was a silver-haired, golden-eyed demon.
　His name is Ortegia van Zahlefeld.
　He is the Demon King of this generation.

"And all the Four Heavenly Kings died in battle except for the Rain.

　The demons gasped at Ortegia's emotionless words.

''It's the same as thirty years ago. That time too, the labyrinth fell and the Four Heavenly Kings died. And then the humans and sub-humans colluded and attacked the demon king's castle to destroy us under the banner of a brave man.

　Ortegia continues.

"Sit and wait, and it will happen again. "Sit down and wait, and the day will come when the demons will be persecuted by the humans. And the day when the demon race is eradicated is not far off.

　Countless cities and villages have disappeared in the long war.
　If they were defeated, the demon race would definitely be destroyed.
　Warriors and non-warriors alike would be killed until they were the last man standing.
　Imagining this future, the demons trembled with humiliation and anger.

''Let us ask you. How have the last thirty years been for you guys?

　Ortegia asks.

'Have you rested in the land of peace?　Didn't have to be scared to death?　Has the world been kind to you?

　There was no one here who could answer that question.
　They had fought with and defeated the humans and had gathered in this castle.
　Their cities were destroyed, their villages were burned down, and not a few of them joined the Demon King's army to protect their families from the human threat.

Now, the demon tribe is about to lose their last sacred place. Of course, if we are defeated in this battle, we will never see the light of day again.

　Blithely, Ortegia says.

Humans are powerless. But they have forged their magic, developed their skills, honed their wisdom, knowing that they are beyond their powers. Their arms will now be able to reach our necks.

　So Ortegia exhaled.

'Then what shall we do?'

　He broke for a breath, and then said.

''--It's simple. All you have to do is stick your fangs into anything that harms the demon race.

　For the first time, the heat in Ortegia's voice sounded feverish.

'We have created magic, developed our skills, honed our wisdom.' --What is that all about? Your fangs are not so vulnerable as to be blocked by such things, are they?　With your polished fangs, you'll be able to crunch them to a pulp with your shallow mind!

　Ortegia stepped forward.

'Overrun it, lest the humans invade this land!
　We must eradicate them, so that they can never threaten us again!

　All the demons will see the image of Ortegia.

"Let them know the meaning of your birth, your demons, and your existence.

　Ortegia flapped her cloak, exposing the demon king's crest that glowed red, and said, "My name is 'Demon King' Ortegia van Zalefeld!

"My name is "Demon King" Ortegia van Zalefeld! I hereby promise you the victory of the Demon King's army and the peace of the demon race!

　All the demon clans roared.


◆

　--Grunsilk Empire, Imperial Capital Vander.

　The last meeting of the Alliance forces was being held in the Imperial City Conference Room.
　The Kingdom, the Allied Nations, the Empire, the Church State, and the Subhuman Autonomous Region.
　These five forces are assembling a strategy to overthrow the Demon King's army.

''Then let's have one last look.''

　The emperor, the host of the Alliance Council, reads out the outline of the operation in a fluent manner.

　The Demon King's Castle, the stronghold of the Demon King's Army, was encamped on the central continent of Latesia.
　It was separated from the other countries by a sea, so they could not march directly into the city.
　It is the only one that is connected to the Allies, but there is a huge mountain that separates them, making it difficult to march in.

　In addition, forts have been established in the eastern and southern parts of the city to block the advance of the Church and Empire.
　There are countless demons and demonic tribes patrolling around, and it is not easy to reach the Demon King's Castle.
　If the Four Heavenly Kings and Ortegia appeared, it would be difficult to even get close to the castle.
　In order to get into the Demon King's Castle, the main forces of the Demon King's army would have to be dispersed.
　Therefore, the alliance forces decided to cross the sea and launch a simultaneous attack from three directions: the north, the east and the south.

　In the north, the kingdom and the sub-human autonomous region were in charge.
　In the east, the Church State was in charge.
　The Empire and the Allies would be in charge of the south.

"We must not forget what Master Mert told us.
Yeah, sure.

　The Emperor nodded at the words of the Pope, the representative of the Church Nation.
　Just a few days ago, there was a prophecy from Melt again.
　The content of the message was 'to throw everything into this battle'.

　Humans, sub-humans, and demons - these fates will be settled in this battle.
　If they are defeated here, what awaits them is the prosperity of the demon race and the destruction of the rest.
　Therefore, Melt told the alliance to forbid them to withhold everything.

''If we are to win, we must give everything we've got.

　Therefore, all nations were to drop all the forces they could have.
　In order to increase their command, the Emperor and Pope also declared themselves to go to the battlefield.
　Their presence is significant because the empire has magic power granting items (magic items) that can only be used by the imperial family and the pope's holy chanting magic in the teaching nations.
　In response, the Allies selected representatives to go to the battlefield, and several ward leaders from the sub-human autonomous region were to participate in the war.

'I, the king, will go to the battlefield, etc. ......'

　Only the king was reluctant to participate, but pressure from other countries forced him to do so.

　Thus, both the Alliance and the Demon King's army were ready for battle.

◆

　After the incident in the Void Labyrinth, we were gathering information.
　Particularly information about the allied forces of humans and subhumans.

　This time the target of our revenge is different from the previous ones.
　If we can get to him, we need to break into the Demon King's Castle.
　However, there are a great number of demons and monsters waiting at the castle, making even sneaking into the castle difficult.
　Even if you can make it there, the chances of killing Ortega are slim.
　To put it bluntly, it's impossible for us to take on the Demon King's army on our own.

　That's why we're going to ask the alliance forces to help us take our revenge this time.
　Combining the information we've been gathering for a while now and the information coming from the idlers, we've gotten a good idea of the alliance army's general trend.
　It won't be long before the Alliance forces move into the Demon King's territory.

　As for the Alliance Army, they had more strength than expected.
　If this is the case, the Demon King's Army should also have to allocate a considerable amount of forces.
　In particular, the Cathedral Knight Maria Theresia Stragen, who would have definitely been chosen as a member of the heroic party if she was there thirty years ago.
　If she was there, or even if she could drag the Ame out of the Demon King's Castle, it might be possible.

　We'll ask the Alliance to draw the Demon King's army as close as possible.
　Meanwhile, we'll infiltrate the Demon King's castle, which is now short-handed, and kill Ortega.
　This is the plan.

　To be honest, our success rate isn't that high.
　There are too many uncertainties.
　Nevertheless, if we miss this timing, there's a high possibility that we won't get another opportunity.
　The only way to win is to make the most of the allied forces.

　Our forces on this side are me, Elfi, and Verdia.
　And the Idlers.
　The Idler, who has a grudge against Ortegia, has offered us his full cooperation.
　I haven't fully trusted him yet, but at this stage, Idler is useful.
　Besides, if the Idler is what I think it is, then perhaps--''


'Hey, Iori-kun. Here's the lovely me.

　When I went to the meeting place, an idler was already waiting for me.
　This time, in order to infiltrate the Demon King's territory, I'll be working with the idler as well.
　In order to infiltrate, the idler's magic will be a perfect fit.

''Are we going to ride into the Demon King's territory like this on Verdia?
''Oh. The Alliance army will attack the Demon King's army within ten days at the latest. Before that, we need to make a preliminary inspection of the battlefield.
''Yeah, that's right. The alliance seems to be splitting up into three groups, and we have to decide which direction we're going to invade the Demon King's Castle from.
In the meantime, we'll talk about it in detail when we get to Verdia.

　That's when he turned his back on the idler.

'Hey, Iori-kun,'

　The idler called out in a stiff tone as he tugged at the hem of his clothes.
　When I turned around, Idler had a grim expression on his face.

'What,'

　After a moment's pause, Idler said.

'--You're a dead man.

　A death phase, huh?

Even if it's ......, that's no reason to stop taking revenge on Ortegia.

　Whatever it takes, we will get our revenge until the end.
　I will. Even if it means risking death.

I see. Well, I guess I'll have to get my ass in gear at .......

　I thought I heard a voice like that.