--The meeting was in turmoil.

That's not what you said!

　A young man from the winged race slams his fist down on the table with a bang.

　The expression on their faces is hard to discern, but their faces are visibly distorted with anger, an expression that makes it easy to realize the extent of their rage.

You were the ones who were supposed to shut those old bastards up! Because of your failure, you let almost all the survivors escape to the enemy's side! You agreed to make me the chief of the winged race! This is good for the papier-mâché tiger!

"I'd like to say that we're not talking about the same thing at .......

"What!

Besides the winged warriors, we only heard that there were three poor humans as allies. One of them was a human warrior. As a result, we suffered heavy damage in the chase and even allowed that mask to come in and kill half of my men.

　The all-black man snickers at the winged youth as if to taunt him.

　He speaks back somewhat calmly, but what is reflected in his eyes is a deep-seated rage.

　A man is dead because of your inaccurate information. Without saying it, the expression on his face just showed what he wanted to say.

"It was only your men who were vulnerable!

"d*mn. You have no substance, you little bastard. You are a knothole in the eye.

"What?

　The young winged man stands up, knocking over a chair with a clatter, and laughs at the indignant young winged man, saying, "That's why you're so stupid: .......

I'm not going to stop, you guys! This is the presence of the chieftain!

　The person who stopped the volatile atmosphere was Derewes, the second in command of Demon Chieftain Gojim.

　The man in black all over the place bowed his head in anger, and the young man in the winged tribe, his expression twisted for a moment in frustration, put back the chair he had knocked over with a look of disapproval and sat down again.

Let's get back to it. Nagut, you're not going to be able to move for a while, are you?

"Mm. We've used up a little too much force. At present, my men are not equipped to act on operations. They can only gather information.

　A man all in black called Nagut nodded at the words of his lieutenant, Derewes.

"What is this brave man?

They didn't find the body, so it probably got away. The mask that seems to have been there must have brought him back.

"...... one, let me hear it.

　So quietly the words are released by a person in black full-body armor, who has been silent throughout the meeting, arms crossed, his voice muffled by the helm, his gender indistinguishable.

　His voice is muffled by the helm, and his gender is indistinguishable

"Is that mask that strong?

"At least I'm good enough to destroy half of Nagut's subordinates in the backfield, and I'm good enough to go toe to toe with Master Gojim and lose.

"...... Huh, I see. . strong.

　At the words of Delewes, a quiet laugh on the other side of the helm, full-body armor poured out.

"...... you're still the same.

　With a wry smile, Delewes then addresses the one who was seated elsewhere: "Do you know who the mask is?

Do the investigators know who the mask is?

We have narrowed it down to a few candidates but have not yet identified ......

"Hm. ...... What's the candidate?

"A dark man of Finale, king of the demon world, known as the assassin of Otonashi, is a sub-human, master of the elven sword, Shanadia. Shanadia, master of the elven sword, a subhuman who is allied with Finale. Following Finale, the demon race, the Dragon Newt warrior, Junaidel. Now we can assume that Yuki, the Demon King of the Labyrinth, is the true identity of the mask.

　It's just that none of them are decisive ...... and then the investigator closed his mouth.

"I see, all of them are capable, but they seem to have a much different fighting style than that mask: ...... Wait, what about the last one?

"Demon King Yuki is the man who sabotaged our operations in the human country of Arisia. This one also wears a mask in Arisia and uses a long-bladed sword, so he's a candidate, but it's unlikely to be the mask we've been fighting against .......

Why? From what I'm hearing, it seems pretty close to black, doesn't it?

He is the Demon King of the Labyrinth. On top of that, I've learned that he lives in a labyrinth inside the magical forest.

"...... Ah, the place where the black dragon is believed to have moved of its own accord and was killed by the legendary dragon tribe, Haorong.

　Spit those words out with a pained face, Dereweth.

''That land is a very harsh place even without its high dragon. The demons are two or three times more powerful than other realms, and I have sent several of my men to check on their abilities several times, but none of them have returned. ...... I thought it was unlikely that they would come out here to such a dangerous place, despite the fact that it has its own heart, the dungeon core.

"But you did go to the royal capital of the human country, didn't you?

"Consider the distance. With his projected ability, he can probably reach Arisia in a few hours, but it will take him a few days to reach this magical world. Moreover, he'll be here for an extended period of time for the fighting tournament.

...... It's certainly hard to imagine the owner of the labyrinth leaving his dungeon core unattended for that long. Understood, his presence will likely continue to be a hindrance to us in the future. We will continue to investigate--

"Leave him alone. Leave that man alone.

　The words of Dereweth were interrupted by - the chieftain of the demon tribe, Gojim .

　He opened his mouth, which had been closed since the beginning of the meeting, and said, with his cheekbones against the handle of the chair on his throne.

　--The king of the demon world, Finale, had accused Gojim of being a bunch of yes-men, and while he was right in the sense that he almost never contradicted the chieftain's opinion, he was wrong in one of his premises.

　The demon chieftain Gojim basically (・・・・) does nothing (・・・・・).

　He only acts when he decides that he needs to be out in the open, as in the case of this tournament, but he leaves the rest of the work to his subordinates.

　He understands that he can only fight, that it is his duty to be the leader, and that he would be better off if he left the rest to his men.

　Therefore, Ghozim just sits back and waits for the results of his subordinates' work and takes full responsibility for it all as head.

　In terms of charisma, Gojim had the makings of a great leader.

Huh? Good, okay?

"He's disappearing, right? I have more important things to do now than find that mask. Besides, he'll show up again when the time is right. Until then, we'll just let it go.



I'm in awe of ....... Is there anything else about it?

I'll tell you one thing. I'll tell you one thing. --We're being pushed now.

　Yes, spell the words, demon chieftain Gojim.

"There were significant deviations from our original plan in the tournament, and the recent attacks by the finals have begun to crush our important bases across the board. Our original plan will need to be revised. --But they are trivial matters (・・・・・・・・・).

　The participants in the meeting simply listened to the chieftain's words in silence.

We will only do what needs to be done with our arms and uphold our cause.

　Gojim's words, heavy and quiet, but with a definite heat, swirled in the conference room with a quiet enthusiasm.

"We will continue to carry on the will of those who have died and seek the end. --"We will continue to carry on the will of those who have died and aim for the ends, all for the sake of our ambitions.

"For the sake of ambition!

　And they wield their power for a single purpose.