Arifureta : King Of Demons

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That fateful day when the world was shrouded in darkness and the very topography of Tortus changed. Needless to say, the world was thrown into chaos.

In the capital, as the Demonfolk attacked and kingdom soldiers fell one after another, an abnormal situation arose. It was impossible to expect people not to panic.

The citizens cried out, wondering if this was also the work of the Demonfolk, but it was none other than the Demonfolk themselves, who had been attacking the capital, who brought the situation under control. Although they used some rough methods, without their efforts, panic would have spread from citizen to citizen, and anything could have happened.

However, those in the capital were still fortunate. This was because, apart from the sky being enveloped in darkness and their vision being covered by light, nothing else particularly happened to them. The problem lay outside the capital, with those who were suddenly transferred, land and all.

They were covered in a blinding light, and when they could finally open their eyes, they found their entire country or city had moved to an unknown location. It was understandable that the guards who first noticed the changed scenery outside were stunned and momentarily lost consciousness.

The two nations, the Demon Kingdom and the Empire, received prompt situation reports via "telepathy" from Aldias. The Demon Kingdom, needless to say, and the Empire, through Gahard dispatching soldiers to various locations, minimized the confusion among their people.

As for Ferbergen, due to being surrounded by a deep forest, the nation itself hadn't realized it had been transferred. Ulfric was greatly surprised when he heard the situation from Aldias.

Aldias could not act for the other cities and towns. Instead, under the leadership of King Eliheid, who had heard the situation from Aldias, who had descended from God Mountain, and from Liliana, knight orders were dispatched to various locations and began acting with the primary goal of bringing the situation under control.

Honestly, the Royal Knight Order alone couldn't cover such a vast area, but then Demonfolk troops lent their aid. They primarily scouted the surroundings, shared information with the Knight Order, and based on that, the Knight Order rushed to the scene. It goes without saying that humans and Demonfolk collaborated for the first time, albeit unintentionally.

However, it still took two full days from that fateful day for the situation to be completely resolved.

Demon Kingdom Garland - Demon King's Castle

"How are things in various regions?"

It was early morning the day after the world had regained a minimum level of calm. Aldias asked Freid, who was following him, as they advanced through a corridor in the Demon King's Castle towards their destination.

"Yes. While a certain level of calm has been restored, anxiety remains. Some humans are even rumored to believe that this phenomenon is the wrath of God Ehit against the Demonfolk."

"Well, that's not entirely wrong, in a way."

"It's the wrong god, though," Aldias continued, and Freid nodded wearily. As their conversation indicates, the truth about Ehit has not yet been revealed to the humans. If the truth were announced just as the chaos had subsided, it would clearly cause more pandemonium. The Demonfolk and Demi-humans have already made the truth public and widely known. And with the world's reconstruction, one race whose hidden village was also made public is also aware. This means that among the races living in Tortus, the humans are a step behind.

"We'll decide on how to handle that, among other things, from now on."

"Understood."

With that, Aldias, accompanied by Freid, stopped in front of a door. Demonfolk soldiers stationed on either side of the door saluted and then opened it. As Aldias entered, the gazes of the twelve people inside turned towards him.

"Well, well, the one who called us here is the last to arrive, aren't you living the good life?"

"Your Majesty, the Empire has, for argument's sake, become a vassal state of the Demon Kingdom, so please watch your words."

Gahard D. Hellscher, Emperor of the Hellscher Empire, and his aide, Besta.

"Don't say that, Lord Gahard. Thanks to their efforts, the damage was minimized."

"We've been waiting for you."

Eliheid S. B. Heiligh, King of the Heiligh Kingdom, and his daughter, Liliana S. B. Heiligh.

"I never thought I'd come face to face with the rumored Demon King."

"I agree."

Lanzwi Feuward Zengen, Lord of the Ankaji Duchy, and his son, Bize Feuward Zengen.

"We never imagined a day would come when we'd be called to such a gathering."

"Lord Aldias! It's been a long time!"

Ulfric Hypist, one of the Ferbergen Elders, and his daughter, Altina Hypist.

"If you're going to say that, what about us? We never thought we'd have to reappear in the surface world like this."

"I was certainly surprised when the Dragonfolk hidden village appeared in such a place."

Adul Clarus, chief of the Dragonfolk, and his granddaughter, Tio Clarus.

"Why me...?"

"Please perk up! Nagumo-kun, you were called as our representative!"

Hajime Nagumo, representative of the Otherworlders, and his escort, Aiko Hatayama.

At the large table in the center of the room, representatives from each country and race sat in chairs, with one assistant behind each of them. Aldias, receiving all their gazes, showed no particular signs of disturbance and took an empty seat.

"My apologies for being late. Representatives of each nation and race, first of all, I thank you for answering my summons."

Seeing Aldias bow slightly, Gahard snorted.

"We're under your command. We can't disobey, can we?"

"Lord Gahard is right. It's a miracle that we're even alive in the first place."

As Eliheid said, royalty like them would normally have been executed along with their entire families. The fact that a god's existence was involved in their reprieve must have been a difficult pill for them to swallow.

"The fact that entire countries were transferred, and that the Kingdom and Empire had already fallen, truly surprised me. It's as if it could have been us next..."

Ranzy, realizing how oblivious they had been and the completely bleak future of the Ankaji Duchy that was revealed when they finally understood, could only laugh at the sheer elegance of the maneuver rather than being shocked.

"I agree with that point. I was truly speechless when you suddenly brought down the Empire and appeared with so many of your kin."

The days of fearing the Empire suddenly ended. Ulfric still couldn't believe that he now had a seat at a meeting of various races like this.

"And above all..."

Gahard paused, his gaze fixed on one man. Following his lead, others also turned their eyes in agreement.

"To think we'd meet the Dragonfolk, who were supposed to be extinct..."

The elderly man with scarlet hair, who was the focus of their attention, nodded as if to say their reaction was understandable.

"We have forbidden contact with the outside world for five hundred years. It's only natural to think we were extinct. However, in this present crisis, we couldn't possibly remain silent."

Having declared that, Adul slowly turned his gaze to Aldias.

"By the way, Lord Aldias. I heard from my granddaughter... is it true that you annihilated Ehit?"

"Yes, I killed him."

Adul stared intently at Aldias, who admitted it so casually, but then he nodded once and suddenly bowed deeply.

"G-Grandpa!?"

Tio's eyes widened at the sight, but Adul continued speaking regardless.

"Five hundred years ago, the persecution caused by his orders pushed the Dragonfolk to the brink of extinction. We managed to survive outside the continent, but many of our kin were sacrificed... In other words, Ehit is our kin's enemy. And our sworn enemy. You have defeated Ehit. I cannot express my gratitude enough."

"...!"

At those words, Tio also hastily bowed her head. However, her expression was somewhat awkward. Although she couldn't have known at the time, Tio had repeatedly unleashed breaths at Aldias. Her actions were to protect Hajime, so she didn't regret them, but with her grandfather expressing gratitude to that very person, she felt a complex mix of emotions.

"Ehit was a common enemy of humanity. I only acted for my own sake. There's no need for such elaborate thanks."

"Even so. I apologize for making it about myself, but this is what I wish to do."

"...Understood, I accept your gratitude. Tio Clarus, there's no need to worry so much about it. We were enemies on the battlefield at the time. That's all there is to it."

"Hmm... Understood."

Tio hesitated for a moment at Aldias's words but then decided it would be smoother to accept it here and agreed. Then, Hajime, who had only been watching the proceedings, spoke up.

"Hey, Aldias. Why was I brought here? I'm not the leader of a country, nor am I a representative of a race. I'm just one human."

"It's difficult to simply call you 'just a human.' You've shown you can blow me away. And I'm interested in your unique perspective as someone from another world. I believe you have the qualifications to sit at this table, don't you?"

At those words, almost everyone present uttered a sound of "Oh." Especially Gahard, who had witnessed Aldias's power firsthand, his eyes gleaming as if he had found something interesting. He was the emperor who stood at the top of a meritocratic nation. Although defeated by the Demonfolk, his spirit hadn't been lost. He was impressed, thinking that while the hero was a disappointment, there was an unexpected dark horse. Hajime, who had suddenly become the center of attention, couldn't help but twitch his cheek. Indeed, he had blown him away, but it wasn't Hajime's power alone, and ultimately, there was no damage. Moreover, Aldias probably hadn't been serious. The magic used against the true god Schupass. Even though he was right next to him, Hajime couldn't even perceive when it was unleashed. If that had been directed at him, he would have left this world without even realizing he had died. He was being subjected to expectations far beyond his capabilities, but he felt that any excuse would likely be taken as false modesty. One reason for this was that Aldias wasn't trying to trap Hajime but genuinely thought so.

"It's not about me! I mean, we didn't gather here to talk about that, did we?!"

"That's true, Freid."

"Hmph, then I, Freid, shall moderate. We will now begin the Tortus Allied Forces: True God SpassCountermeasure Meeting."

Demonfolk, humans, Demi-humans, Dragonfolk, and Otherworlders. For the first time in history, five races that had never intersected gathered in one place, and the meeting began.

The meeting had been going on for about two hours. Facing the unknown enemy that was a god, the meeting faced considerable difficulties, but by exchanging their knowledge, they steadily made progress, little by little, in preparation for the coming day. Then, the next topic was a problem that everyone had unconsciously put off.

"---Therefore, non-combatants should be divided by race and sent to designated evacuation points..."

"That sounds reasonable."

"The enemy is expected to have considerable power, even a single soldier. Regarding that..."

"In that case, I have an idea. Hajime, I want to hear your opinion on this. We might be able to incorporate otherworldly technology."

"Strengthening the regular soldiers is essential, huh? Can't be helped."

"The battlefield is said to be the plain in front of the royal capital, but if we deploy troops there, will they really appear?"

"According to our information, their purpose is to fight us. It's unlikely they would intentionally avoid us."

Finally, Freid spoke of the issue that everyone had been unconsciously avoiding.

"---Given the scale of people we need to move, we need a central figure to motivate the soldiers. Who should that be...?"

At Freid's words, everyone in the room fell silent for a moment. This battle would involve various races living in Tortus. To establish unity in command, a single leader for all of them had to be chosen. However, the divisions between races were deep, making it not an easy problem to solve.

The first to speak were Gahard and Ranzy.

"I pass. We are, after all, the defeated. That's not a position suited for us."

"I also can't lead everyone now. I'm completely out of my depth."

Eliheid followed suit upon hearing them.

"I agree with Lord Gahard and Lord Ranzy. I, who merely followed the Holy Church, do not possess such charisma."

"That's not...!"

"It's fine, Liliana. In the end, I was merely manipulated by God. Compared to those gathered here, I am clearly inferior."

Liliana tried to object to Eliheid's words but quickly shook her head in denial. Next, Ulfric and Adul, who had been watching, spoke.

"That responsibility is too heavy for me. While I've been given a seat as a race, discrimination from humans hasn't disappeared. If I were to stand at the top, unnecessary conflict would arise."

"Likewise. The Dragonfolk are also a race that disappeared from history. Some would surely be confused if we suddenly appeared and led all races."

With the humans, Demi-humans, and Dragonfolk successively declining, only Aldias and Hajime remained, but...

"I'm not doing it. I'm not that kind of person to begin with, and it's impossible for me with no title or anything."

With Hajime's statement, effectively only Aldias remained. Receiving everyone's gaze, Aldias looked at each person and then stated clearly:

"No, I might split the alliance."

His roundabout refusal made everyone in the room widen their eyes. It was a difficult problem, but everyone had thought that Aldias was the only one who could be entrusted with it. Therefore, Aldias's denial was unexpected.

"Hey, hey, weren't you the one trying to unite the races of Tortus in the first place? You must have anticipated this much."

"Yes, of course, that was my intention. However, due to the world's reconstruction, the cities of our former sworn enemies are now right on our doorstep. I hear that some humans, especially those in the capital, are showing signs of unrest in this situation."

"...Ah, Lord Aldias is right. I, too, have heard that such citizens have appeared."

The Empire and the Kingdom. While both suffered defeat at the hands of the Demonfolk, there was a significant difference in their awareness. The Empire, having suffered an overwhelming defeat by the very power they championed, possessed a sense of being the defeated.

However, the problem lay with the Kingdom. While they, too, were defeated, the timing was simply bad. The battle was mostly decided, but Schupass's appearance led to the world's reconstruction and prioritization of that response. As a result, a certain number of citizens in the capital were unaware of their defeat. While the king had officially acknowledged their defeat, it seemed not to be fully accepted.

"If I were to stand at the top in such a situation, it would undoubtedly provoke resentment from some humans."

Even if a part of the capital's humans were to act violently, it would normally not be a big deal, but now was a bad time. While it would be better if dissatisfaction exploded beforehand, they absolutely wanted to avoid problems arising once the battle began. It would be like fighting with a bomb that could explode at any moment.

"But then, who in the world...?"

"Humans constitute a large proportion of this alliance. If they harbor resentment, it will spread to others. We must prevent that. It would also be dangerous to tell them the truth about Ehit now. In other words, we need a hope that is equivalent to, or surpasses, that."

Answering Adul's question, Aldias turned his gaze in a certain direction.

"About a month or two ago, a monster horde attacked a town called Ur. The residents of the town initially fell into a panic, but then an incarnate god sent from Heaven appeared, and her apostles easily mowed down the monster horde."

An incarnate god? As everyone tilted their heads at those words, only Hajime and Aiko felt a cold sweat run down their backs. After all, it sounded all too familiar, and Aldias's gaze was undoubtedly directed at them.

"That incarnate god's name is the 'Goddess of Fertility.' It seems that her worship is now spreading from the town of Ur, rivaling that of Ehit."

At that all-too-familiar epithet, Aiko, who was behind Hajime, flinched. Hajime, noticing Aiko's reaction, had a twitch in his cheek as he somewhat understood Aldias's intentions. Indeed, if the name "Goddess of Fertility," which was gradually permeating some humans, were used, there would be humans who would stand up. What would happen if such a being appeared among them, defeated in the war against the Demonfolk, and then stood above Aldias, the Demonfolk king? It was self-evident.

The others also seemed to have noticed that Aldias had been looking in the same place... or rather, at one particular person, for some time. The gazes of the leaders of each nation turned towards a small girl.

"The 'Goddess of Fertility'---no, Lady Aiko Hatayama. I wish to entrust you with the leadership of this Tortus Allied Forces."

"...Huh? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!?"

Aiko's scream, more like a shriek, echoed throughout the room.