Bashbarza, the current Four Heavenly Kings' 'Ayan Fire', hadn't done anything in particular.
　For the past year, nothing.

　It was at the same time that his colleagues, Droyer and Bezelia, were desperately trying to hold off the brave men.

　He had locked himself in his room and hadn't gone out for days, and he had been doing that for a long time.

　But for some reason, he was out that day.
　Bashvaza had flown out and was fluttering around like a little bird, as if to say that he was celebrating the completion of the work he had been working on for years.

　If such a well-behaved person were to go, it would be a place with drinks and gastronomy.

　He went to a restaurant that was reserved for the senior demon family.
　He was one of their favorite customers.

"I'm in a good mood today!　You guys have a lot to drink and mingle about.

　Bashvaza called together not only himself, but also many of the demons he knew.
　It was like a big party.

''It's finally complete!　I have the secret to becoming the Ultimate Four Heavenly Kings!　This is all it takes to kill a hero!　Eternal death!　Never again will you ever poke your shield at our demon race!

　With such a great achievement, he could overtake his great father and become the greatest of all time.

''This is a prelude to a celebration!　That was before I became the Ultimate Four Heavenly Kings!　Enjoy it all to your heart's content!　And praise me!

　He thought he had gathered all the drummers in one place to praise him, so to speak.

　There were many such people.
　Even before he became the Four Heavenly Kings.
　This was because, as the son of the strongest Granbaza of all time, rubbing up against him, who was supposed to have inherited his talents in a strong way, must have promised prosperity.

　But...!

...Huh?

　When he actually came to the restaurant, Bashvaza was baffled by the scene, which was not quite what he had expected.
　In his imagination, he should have been greeted by a whole group of guests who would have filled the restaurant, which he had rented out, to admire him.

　And yet there were only a few people in the rented room, the few that he could count.
　We had rented out a large room for a big feast, but this only added to the loneliness of the room.

　Moreover, those few guests are silent and in no mood to welcome Bashvaza.

What do you mean...?　Isn't it already the appointed time?　So many late arrivals?

　It's outrageous.
　If Bashvaza is uncomfortable with you showing up late to his own functions...!

No, sir.

　One of the valuable participants said.

'He's not late, he's absent. He declined your invitation.
''What the hell is wrong with you?

　The situation was even more dire than Bashvaza himself had thought.

"Absent?　Absent?　The Four Heavenly Kings, Bashvaza, invited you here on your own, and you are the one who disrespected my favor?

　This was unbelievable to Bashvaza.
　It felt like the impossible had happened, so much so that the world had been turned upside down.

''How rude...!　You don't know what you're doing.　I'm going to remind you how stupid you are!　I'm going to expel everyone who isn't here from the Demon King's Army!
You can't do that, can you?

　Again, one of the lesser attendees told him.
　It was then that Bashvaza finally realized. That precious attendee of the dinner, too, had lost his respect for himself in his tone of voice.

'Your influence and voice, you know. Your influence and voice have been weakened to the point where it's almost zero. Who can you fire when you say you're going to fire them?　Who can you promote when you say you're going to promote them?

　This was only possible when he had just been appointed as the Four Heavenly Kings.
　Back then, the fame and power of the Four Heavenly Kings was still preserved by the expectations of an unknown number of people.
　But now, after many failures, the insubstantial expectations had vanished, leaving only the fact that he was an incompetent.

''You have long since given up on me. You keep failing, you keep losing money, and yet you don't work to recover from it in the slightest. What did you do while Master Droyer was desperately fighting on the front lines?　Aren't you just staying in your room and being lazy?

　The words in your teeth.

'No!　I'm here for a great plan.
'You're the one who's going to end up anyway. No one is going to get close to you because they don't want to get involved and fall in with you. But I wanted to say a few words to you. I didn't even want to come to the party, so I attended.
Me too.

　One of the few people present, another one, stood up.

''I couldn't help myself if I didn't complain to this stupid little boy. Master Grandfather is a great man, but he failed to train his successor!　You put this idiot at the top of the Demon King's army!
Kid....?　Idiot..........?

　They hurled unbelievable abuses at him.

''Thanks to this idiot in charge, the Demon King's army is in shambles!　Just being the son of a hero is enough to get us all in trouble!
The only thing he's got going for him is that Lady Granberza is his father, you incompetent bastard.
''You've learned the lesson that the selection of the Four Heavenly Kings should be based solely on merit. It was a somewhat expensive lesson, though.
''Because of this guy, the Demon King's army is weakened and his people's trust in him has been damaged!　How hard it will be to get this back!

　Those who had once followed Bashvaza's adulation are now hurling the exact opposite abuse at him.

''Well at least I hope Dariel is still around.

　Someone pouted.

''It wouldn't have been so bad if Auxiliary Dariel had been there. If the Four Heavenly Kings were the pillars that supported the Demon King's army, he was the cornerstone to support those pillars.''
'Come to think of it, this is the same guy who fired Dariel. He really does some unwanted things!

　Bashvaza is pointed at bluntly.

'Dariel certainly didn't have the ability to use magic, but he was better than this guy!　He was really the one we needed in the Demon King's Army!
We are fools to realize that until we lose it. Dariel, Lady Grandfather's bosom buddy, was a better successor to Grandfather than his own incompetent son.

　The participants' estrangement from Bashbarza was naturally replaced with admiration for Dariel.
　Everyone finally understood the power of the assistant who continued to support the Demon King's army in the shadows.

''Bashvaza-sama. If you are no longer in the position of the Four Heavenly Kings, the existence of the Demon King's Army is in jeopardy. We are going to join our names and petition the Demon King to remove you from office.
Hee.........?
I'm afraid the petition will be granted. Even your father would have complained about the same thing all by himself. But that would make you feel sorry for him, too.

　That favor is only within the bounds of righteousness, I suppose.

''Please resign from the Four Heavenly Kings of your own volition. That way, you can at least maintain your pride. This is the final loyalty we offer to you.

　Whether it was an errand or not, as soon as he finished saying it, every single attendee left, and Bashvaza was left alone.
　There was not a single person left to follow him.

''How..., how did this happen...?

　Today's sitting was supposed to be a prelude to the celebration of Bashvaza's promised victory.
　Everyone present was supposed to be praising Bashbursa with open arms.
　But the opposite is true.

'Shit!　Liquor!　Bring on the booze!

　I couldn't do this without getting drunk.
　I yelled at him, taking advantage of the fact that this is a restaurant.

　The proprietor of the restaurant came to us with his order, but his response was tepid.

"Mr. Bashvaza, if you're going to dine here, you'll have to settle your account first.
What?
You're behind on your payments these days. If this is the reason why you'll be dropped from the Four Heavenly Kings. I have to worry about not being able to collect the bill...!
'Nonsense!　I'm not going to quit the Four Heavenly Kings!

　Even after coming to this point, Bashvaza still couldn't accept the fact.

''I've never said anything like that in the past...!　You can't trust me!　Bashbursa, the best of the demon tribe's newfangled fire!
Previously, Dariel-sama was here, so...!

　At those words, Bashvaza's expression froze.
　I felt a gnarly distortion deep inside me that I couldn't even begin to appreciate.

'As long as your chaperone, Dariel-sama, could vouch for you, we could pay as much credit as we wanted without worrying. But now that Dariel-sama is gone, we will have to be cautious. This is also how society works and you need to study it...!
G....g...!
?
''Ooohhhhhh!''

　Red lotus flames erupted from Bashbarza's body.

''Ughhhh!　UGYAHHHHHHHHHHH!

　The poor shopkeeper was swallowed up by the vortex of flames, and in the blink of an eye, he was burned to ashes without a trace.
　Along with the house of the restaurant he had run.

''You idiot...!　All of you idiots...!

　In the demon race territory, he unleashes magic for no reason and burns his own people to death.
　It was a big problem, and without waiting for any proceedings any longer, Bashbarza would be chased away from the Four Heavenly Kings.

　But even that didn't matter to him.

''I'll make you regret it.......!　You will make everyone who has wrongfully insulted me very sorry!　You don't know who you are!　There's no way I've been cooped up in this house for no reason!

　The trump card is there.
　Bashvaza's high-pitched laugh, as if to show it.

'I'm already ready!　I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they apologize to me after I kill the hero and eradicate all humans!　I will never forgive you!　Not only will they themselves, but their entire clan will be reduced to the status of slaves!

　But at the heart of the disturbed Bashvaza, there was still a discomfort that was hard to shake.
　Dariel.
　That d*mnable name.

I must kill that person who insults me the most...!　I didn't have the wherewithal to banish him.　That filthy incompetent is the one who must burn up every last ash of his ashes or he will be a stain on my glorious legend!

　Everyone said.
　That Dariel is better than Bashbarza.
　That Dariel is more trustworthy than Bashbarza.
　That Dariel was a better man than Bashbarza for the Demon King's army.
　That Dariel is a more suitable successor to Grandfather than Bashbarza.

　It was a fact that Bashbarza, who was more self-loving than anyone else in this world, would never accept.

'Dariel!　Wherever you run and hide, I will find you. I will kill you!　Die!　Die, die, die, die, die!　That's the only atonement for the crime of displeasing me at the hands of an incompetent person, ah!