The Demon King Overrun by Heroes Novel - Chapter 76

Chapter 76
## Chapter 76: The Arrival of the Demon King

“Cut the crap.”

Louise’s rejection was blunt and immediate.

“No matter how you try to frame it, you’re just trying to manipulate me into clearing a path so you can swoop in yourself, aren’t you? Talk about insatiable. Was devouring two Demon Kings really not enough for your appetite?”

“I offered that counsel solely for the benefit of Your Highness, but it deeply saddens me that you’ve misinterpreted my intent so poorly.”

“The only act of loyalty I care about right now is you giving up Roger’s location.”

She took a heavy swig of the dark ale. Caught off guard by her sudden intensity, Hillun Kagil let the secret slip.

“He was spotted in Volien.”

“With the Traparta Alliance? Can you give me your word on that?”

“You have my word.”

It wasn’t a fabrication. During the period they were sourcing components for the mana cannon, the Demon King and Roger had traveled together through that region—at least, that was the account he’d been given.

“First Tartar, and now Volien? The man is as slippery as an eel.”

“Tartar, you say?”

“Keep your nose out of things that don’t concern you.”

“Are you truly certain you aren’t yearning for vengeance?”

“It sounds more like you’re the one thirsty for it.”

“I wouldn’t presume such a thing.”

Louise signaled for him to depart.

“Then I shall withdraw for the evening.”

Hillun Kagil faded away. The moment he was gone, Louise, who had maintained a facade of cold composure, slammed her glass against the floor in a fit of rage.

“…I was that close.”

She had almost taken the bait.

How could she not crave retribution against the Lust Demon King?

She was forcibly suppressing the urge.

The life of a hero was never a straightforward path.

The political web between various nations and their populations was a tangled mess…

No, those were just rationalizations.

The truth was she was walking on eggshells around her father. Having already sparked a massive scandal in Ormus, she was forced to show restraint.

‘And besides…’

The second the Demon King attempted to snatch her, her father would have demanded blood or gold as restitution.

Since the plot had failed to materialize, he wouldn’t commit to the extreme measure of a full-scale hero’s crusade, but he would find some way to unleash his frustration.

‘For the time being, that should be enough to pacify him…’

Hillun Kagil’s suggestion wasn’t a terrible card to hold onto for when the circumstances were more favorable.

“Ah.”

Louise let out a hollow, dry laugh. She reached out instinctively to wet her throat with more beer, only to realize her glass was shattered on the floorboards.

The amber liquid was already soaking into the wood.

—

Hortonwork stood as the primary defensive line, the first wall standing against the horrors of the Erjest Mountains.

It was a brutal, unforgiving territory where monsters frequently broke through, serving as the official threshold to the Erjest range.

Because of its strategic importance, a permanent garrison was stationed there, supplemented by a constant flow of mercenaries looking for high-risk, high-reward contracts.

A few days prior, a peculiar group had appeared among the usual rough-and-tumble crowd of Hortonwork.

“The local lord surrendered the entire castle?”

“Who could have that kind of pull? A member of the royal family?”

The force was at least two hundred strong. With knights and sorcerers among their ranks, they were clearly no ragtag militia.

Despite lacking any identifying banners or heraldry, the lord himself had come out to receive them.

The rumors weren’t exaggerated; he had vacated his own residence and was providing them with the highest level of hospitality.

Naturally, the residents of Hortonwork were dying of curiosity.

“Why would a prince come to a place like this?”

“They send the heirs here sometimes for their rites of passage.”

“But the King is still in perfectly good health, isn’t he?”

Given that Hortonwork was among the most perilous zones in the Corzen Kingdom, it wasn’t unheard of for royalty to visit to prove their mettle.

“But if it were a royal, why go to such lengths to hide their face?”

“Precisely.”

Proving one’s worth was a public affair; royalty usually arrived with trumpets and parades. This group was far too secretive.

As the town buzzed with theories, the lord’s personal guard suddenly flooded the streets, their voices urgent and loud.

“Search every corner!”

“What’s going on now?”

“Orders from the Lord. We are tracking a person—comply immediately.”

“Have you laid eyes on this woman? Answer quickly.”

“I haven’t.”

“If you’re caught lying, the consequences will be severe.”

“I have no reason to lie; I don’t know who she is.”

Public squares, taverns, and private homes—no stone was left unturned.

Eventually, they found a lead.

“I… I think I saw her. Over at the northern plaza…”

“She was seen lingering near the northern battlements.”

“She was asking about the exit routes; said she couldn’t make it out on her own.”

“Someone told her she needed the lord’s clearance, and she hasn’t been seen since.”

Immediately following the report.

*Creeeeeak—*

The massive northern gate swung open.

The two hundred mysterious guests who had taken over the castle marched out into the cold without a word.

—

“My sister actually went straight into Erjest.”

The 5th Prince of Akan rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

“How hard is it to just wait a moment? That mountain isn’t a place you just charge into.”

He scowled at the heavy snow that buried his boots with every stride.

“I wish we could have taken the horses.”

No matter how noble the steed, none could navigate these frozen, jagged peaks.

“Would you like to take a breather, Your Highness?”

“No. Have you found any sign of her yet?”

“Yes. Fortunately, there hasn’t been a blizzard, so tracking her hasn’t been impossible.”

The princess’s decision to travel openly with her massive chimeras made her trail easy to spot.

“Ugh, my sister is truly something else. Zero sense of fear. Which direction?”

“Upward.”

The path was littered with the mangled remains of beasts. The iron scent of blood had drawn other monsters from the shadows, swarming the area.

The 5th Prince muttered with a sense of growing dread.

“Is this really okay? These creatures are no joke…”

“The princess’s chimeras are far more powerful than the local fauna. She won’t be easily overcome.”

“The Demon King is supposed to be somewhere in these mountains, right?”

“Yes. That is precisely why she insisted on coming to Erjest.”

“And the reason His Majesty gave his blessing.”

There had never been a Demon King who concealed their tower so effectively.

Usually, these towers were beacons—meant to be found so that humanity had a target to strike at.

But the master of Erjest was an anomaly.

The obvious paths led nowhere. Humanity had been unable to exact justice for his provocations.

Even after he snatched a royal heir, the rescue mission had failed, and the Demon King remained untouched.

On a small scale, it was a humiliation for the Hilderan Kingdom; on a larger scale, it was a threat to every crown in the land.

Would it happen again?

The kidnappings of the Jespain Empire’s 9th Princess and Hilderan’s 13th Princess only served to cement the terror.

‘Your mission is vital. You must locate that tower at any cost. Even if we cannot strike immediately, knowing its position gives us the upper hand.’

‘If we don’t find it, we will be at the mercy of the Demon Kings indefinitely.’

He replayed the King’s instructions in his mind.

No one wanted to live in that shadow.

Thankfully, Akan possessed a secret weapon.

Lavinia Akan.

A prodigy in chimera alchemy, more sensitive to the flow of demonic energy than any living human—even more than the heroes themselves.

The King of Akan was convinced she was the key to finding the hidden tower.

Her ability to sense demonic resonance was legendary.

As fate would have it, Lavinia was intrigued by the rumors of this new Demon King, and Corzen had traded intelligence to secure cooperation.

The plan was to use Hortonwork as a staging ground for a systematic search of the mountains.

But Lavinia, true to her nature, had grown impatient and vanished into the peaks alone.

“She won’t actually stumble into the Demon King, will she?”

“Demon Kings rarely leave their domains unless they are hunting for royalty.”

“My sister *is* royalty.”

“…But how would he even know who she is?”

“The problem is, she isn’t exactly trying to stay undercover.”

“Do you think the Demon King just chats with people?”

“Who’s to say?”

“…We need to move faster.”

“Agreed.”

The knight commander spurred his men forward. The mages began weaving support spells to clear the snow and obstacles from their path.

But there was a reason Erjest was considered a death trap.

It wasn’t just bad luck that had kept Hillun Kagil and his heroes from finding the tower.

Now, they were following the trail of destruction Lavinia Akan had left in her wake.

A straight line of blood and broken monsters.

The predators, driven mad by the scent, were closing in like starving hounds.

A group of two hundred humans was the ultimate feast.

The fighting became a constant grind.

“Your Highness, we need to pull back and regroup.”

“…We can’t leave my sister!”

The 5th Prince wiped the cold blood of a troll from his blade. He checked the new dent in his chestplate where an orc’s axe had nearly found home.

“Our losses are starting to climb. We weren’t ready for this level of aggression. Erjest is a nightmare!”

The knight commander unleashed a massive wave of aura, cleaving through a line of beasts. Above them, the mages rained down fire and ice.

The air grew thick with the smell of copper.

Violent explosions echoed through the mountain passes.

The noise, the smell, the visual chaos—it was all acting as a beacon for even larger, more dangerous monsters. A lethal feedback loop.

The 5th Prince bit his lip hard.

“…Sister.”

“The princess can handle herself. You know that better than anyone.”

Lavinia’s chimeras emitted a specialized aura designed to repel most monsters. It was her primary shield, but it wasn’t invincible.

No spell was without a flaw.

“We have to place our trust in her for now.”

“…Fine.”

“Fall back!”

“Retreat! Mages, use lightning to stun the front line—we’re breaking out through the rear!”

In that heartbeat.

*BOOM!*

A massive black shape dropped from the sky like a meteorite. It crushed a Frost Orc mid-roar, flattening its torso into the permafrost, and let out a roar of its own.

The surrounding monsters froze, paralyzed by the sudden, suffocating pressure of a dark aura.

“Sister!”

The 5th Prince saw her, perched high on the shoulder of the massive chimera.

“Kain. Why are you here?”

“Why? Because you ran off without a word!”

“Soon.”

“Don’t ‘soon’ me! Erjest isn’t just a walk in the park! Why would you go by yourself?”

“Hurry. The monsters are coming.”

Lavinia scanned the horizon. The beasts were retreating for now, repelled by the chimera’s foul presence.

But the bloodlust was too high; eventually, their hunger would overcome their fear.

“Forward!”

“Break through the line and head straight for Hortonwork!”

The knights synchronized their auras into a single, piercing point. The mages layered their strongest barriers over the formation.

───!

The collective force of the charge acted like a battering ram, obliterating a section of the monster tide.

The screams of the dying drew even more predators. The cycle began again.

Kain scrambled up onto the chimera’s other shoulder.

“Do you have more chimeras in your subspace? Bring them all out—it’s not safe…”

“They’re dead.”

“…I’m sorry?”

Kain was one of the few people who could handle Lavinia’s personality and knew her true strength.

She had dozens of high-level chimeras stored away—and they were all gone?

“…So this is Erjest.”

“The orcs. They were difficult.”

“The orcs wiped them all out?”

‘Erjest orcs are Frost Orcs, sure, but still…’

Frost Orcs were formidable, but to destroy an entire army of chimeras?

“Did you get jumped by a whole tribe or something?”

“No. One.”

“Just one?”

That was impossible.

“A powerful orc. It had horns.”

“…Horns? Sis, that’s not an orc.”

“It was an orc.”

“No, if it had horns, that means—”

“Orc.”

“…Right. An orc.”

Kain gave a strained nod, unwilling to argue with her unwavering stare.

“Sister, look out!”

Kain lunged with his sword, clipping the wings of a frost harpy that was diving at her back. It shrieked as it fell, only to be turned into a red smear by the chimera’s massive foot.

“Stay alert.”

“I am.”

“So, what happened with that orc? Did you manage to get away?”

“I lost track of it.”

“Lost it?”

“Just a moment ago.”

“What happened a moment ago?”

“The Demon King.”

“Ah, so the Demon King appeared?”

“Yes.”

“Right. The Demon King showed up and took the orc…”

Kain’s mouth hung open. The knights and mages surrounding the chimera all stopped and turned their heads in unison.

“W-what did you say appeared?”

“The Demon King.”

“The Demon King took the orc?”

“Yes.”

“Good gods…!”

They had found him.

—

While the humans from Akan were busy regrouping with their runaway princess, Berge was watching the entire scene from a distance.

“Looks like about two hundred of them.”

They had removed their insignia, but the aura they radiated was unmistakable.

‘Back when I went to deal with Drakson.’

Akan’s sorcerers and knights had been there in force. They’d taken heavy losses, but as a major power, they had clearly rebuilt their numbers.

‘Sending a group like that means…’

They are taking this seriously.

‘But what exactly is their goal?’

They didn’t have the coordinates for his tower. They hadn’t even begun a proper sweep of Erjest, let alone found his front door.

They knew the risks. So why this specific force?

‘And they’ve got that troublesome woman leading the way.’

He connected the dots.

‘Are they hunting for the tower?’

Lavinia Akan was a specialist in chimera magic. She literally constructed life out of monster parts.

She was naturally saturated with demonic energy. In a world where black magic was supposedly extinct, no one understood the essence of darkness better than her.

It was a different level of perception than the simple “repulsion” felt by heroes.

‘They’re using her as a bloodhound to find my home.’

It was a theory.

But his gut told him he was right.

All the pieces fit together perfectly.

‘Ha.’

Berge let out a short, cold laugh.

‘Fine. I’ve been more than patient.’

After one hero’s failed attempt and two princess abductions with no further response? It would look suspicious if he stayed quiet.

‘My response is simple.’

Just as he had done with Hillun Kagil’s band and Daphne Philia.

‘I’ll send them packing with nothing to show for it.’

Berge disappeared into the shadows.