DKFTI 45

It was certainly different from the pure aura of this place. Not all demonic energy was the same.

“Ha, and why did you have to get hurt so much again?”

Since he had gotten hurt just running away, Sibel couldn’t say anything with confidence.

“But you did well.”

Aizen suddenly praised him. Sibel was taken aback. Why a compliment all of a sudden? Did he get hit in the head while fighting or something.

“Why are you being like this. It’s weird.”

“Well, you protected the castle and yourself, did what had to be done. Why, did you want to be cursed at instead?”

“W-who said I wanted that.?”

Once things outside settled, the castle residents returned to Sibel.

“Lord Demon King, are you alright?”

Shanti checked his condition first.

“Got to stretch out my body for the first time in a while!”

Raccoon stayed upbeat even in this situation.

“Puu!”

Pudding, who looked like he would pop if poked, had clung to Raccoon’s shoulder and fought the wyverns.

“Grrr!”

“Caw!”

The monsters Sibel had summoned had all done their best for the castle. Seeing them all gather, having finished the battle safely, gave Sibel a lump in his throat.

“Is everyone okay?”

He was thankful they had come through unharmed.

“What, it’s already over?”

Kairin returned in his human form for the first time in a while.

Sibel was also grateful to Kairin and the Hero, who had stepped in even though it wasn’t their business.

“It’s such a relief everyone’s safe. The castle too.”

As Sibel spread his arms wide, quick-witted Ruru ran into them. Soon, one by one, everyone crowded against Sibel.

“Ow, that hurts. Who was that. The hedgehog?”

“Hey, I’m getting wet here! Move over!”

“Smells like shit here!”

Someone complained, but Sibel hugged them all tightly.

Watching that scene, Aizen belatedly put away the holy sword he had summoned.

“What is this, are you acting some kind of family drama?”

He grumbled, leaning against the wall. This looked like it would go on for a while.

As he expected, Sibel shared the emotion he had felt with his family for a long time.

“You looked really cool earlier. Was that you who shot the vines? How do your thorns even fire out? Huh, Gomdori has one stuck in his hand too.”

Laughter echoed in the air. Sibel was smiling broadly for the first time in a while.

Seeing that, the corners of Aizen’s lips turned up slightly, as if Sibel’s expression had rubbed off on him.

***

#DemonKingCommunity#

-Rules of Use

-Announcements

-No fraternization, good deeds, or religious solicitation!

Does anyone here know about the recent incident?

You know that rumor about demons killing demons… could someone share the detailsㅠ Also looking for any Demon King willing to exchange info about tree tattoosㅠ

.

.

.

Once the incident had passed, Sibel was able to gather a few pieces of information.

First, it was certain that what attacked Valheim had been demons.

Second, it was a planned crime.

Third, the monsters had tree tattoos in common.

“It doesn’t look like just any tree. Isn’t it the World Tree?”

Shanti examined the tattoos carved on the monster corpses.

“The World Tree?”

“It symbolizes the tree born when the primordial mercy descended. I don’t know if they did it just for style or what, but it looks like the World Tree.”

Shanti kicked a bat corpse with distaste.

“These bastards studied our castle well. They knew the airways were the weakest point, so they only sent things with wings.”

Sure enough, all the monsters had been flying types.

“But no matter how much they look down on our castle, what could they do with mid- to lower-class demons like this? This has to be…”

Shanti rubbed his chin and clicked his tongue.

“It’s reconnaissance.”

“Yeah. Looks like they just came to test our defenses.”

“Then… that means they’ll come again, doesn’t it.”

“Hmm. Not sure. They might have decided it’s hopeless and pull out….”

“No matter how many times they come, what can they even do!”

Raccoon stomped his feet against the floor.

“Can’t you see the castle’s already wrecked?”

Ruru shot down Raccoon’s bravado.

“If they mean to wear us down like this, it’ll get exhausting.”

If the enemy used dirty tricks, it would become a serious burden.

“Hm. But are there Demon Kings who use underhanded methods like this?”

Sibel had always thought Demon Kings were aggressive by nature. That they’d fight straight on and overturn things if they were going to fight.

Reconnaissance and ambushes felt cheap.

“If it’s one of the calculating types, then they’ll be difficult.”

Shanti’s chin had been rubbed so much that the fur was smooth. He seemed troubled.

“What do we do?”

“Ah, to repair this, we’ll be working under the blazing sun for a whole month.”

Ruru wiped his tears as he looked at the ruined castle.

“What, Ruru, are you sad?”

Sibel doubted it. Ruru wasn’t usually this sentimental.

“It’s because the thought of repairing everything under the Demon King’s lousy orders already makes my future feel miserable!”

“…The reason your tear ducts burst sounds unpleasant.”

“Hng, even the pillars are broken. Their purpose really seems to have been to throw our castle into chaos!”

“Hmm.”

Ruru stroked the cracked walls of the castle, dejected. Certainly, with this much damage, they might exhaust themselves repairing and be left unprepared for the next attack. Looking at the attack pattern, it was natural to assume there would be a next time.

A very monotonous attack pattern, weak monsters, hitting once to test them and then quickly retreating.

“That demon woman, did she also have the World Tree tattoo? She was practically half-naked, so it should’ve been visible.”

Since he’d been so flustered, Sibel hadn’t been able to check the markings on her skin. He tried to recall.

“On her shoulder.”

“Wow, even in that chaos, you noticed. Amazing.”

Sibel gave Aizen a thumbs-up.

“But whoever comes, wouldn’t it still be difficult to topple this castle?”

That was when Ramiel, his face looking fresh and unharmed from hiding well, spoke up.

After the demons disappeared, he had peeked out from a nearby room and clung tightly to Sibel, saying the monsters’ attacks were terrifying.

“Get away from him.”

Aizen warned Ramiel.

“How could I leave the Demon King’s side when my knees are trembling?”

Ramiel put on a pitiful expression on purpose. He was a sly human.

“The human is right. Our castle is far from weak, but….”

Shanti’s eyes turned to Sibel’s face, and so did the eyes of the other summons.

“What. What. Why those looks. You’re worried about me?”

“Well, isn’t it that no matter how well the soldiers fight, if the commander’s head is cut off, it’s all for nothing?”

“Why say something so cruel….”

Sibel shrank back, wrapping his hands around his neck.

“The flying magic you used before, you’ve gotten the feel for it, haven’t you?”

“You mean I should just be good at running away?”

“Correct!”

As if he’d answered perfectly, Shanti clapped, and the summons around them joined in with applause.

“Hmm. Well….”

It did sound insulting, but with everyone clapping, Sibel scratched his head shyly.

“Anyway, I’ll do some investigating on this incident too.”

At Shanti’s words, Ruru also nodded.

“I’ll ask around too. I’ve a bad feeling about this.”

“I already posted on the Demon King community.”

It was time for everyone to unite to protect the castle. While they were agreeing, Ruru glanced at Aizen. Sibel and Shanti followed suit and looked at him too.

“What. What?”

Aizen looked at them incredulously.

“Since you’re also using a room here, shouldn’t you at least take some kind of action to show conscience?”

Ruru said with a bright face.

“You must have some kind of information network in the Holy Kingdom, don’t you?”

“Action, sure. Do you want me to take action right now?”

Aizen clenched his fist, and Ruru quickly hid behind Sibel. Sibel hurriedly averted his eyes and looked at Shanti.

“He helps when it’s dangerous, but then he acts like this. His personality is weird.”

“He definitely has a personality disorder.”

“I can hear you.”

“I’ve always thought Apostles have better hearing than others.”

“Shady. He’s shady.”

“I said I can hear you.”

No matter how much they tried to whisper, it always turned into gossip right in front of him.

“Alright, starting today, let’s do some rough repairs while keeping watch. Meerkats, keep a close eye on the skies.”

“Beep!”

“Beep beep!”

At the meerkats’ spirited response, Sibel nodded in satisfaction.

Even if there was danger, he had to steel his heart.

Sibel knew if he didn’t stay strong, the castle’s residents would all be swept away.

“Let’s do our best!”

“Yes, sir!”

“But this time, the repairs won’t be manual labor, right? Please, let’s use magic. Magic.”

“Nooo! I can’t trust that magic stuff!”

“Ah… Ahhh….”