The dry desert wind whistled through the open stone arches of the mountain fortress, carrying with it the faint scent of sulfur and ancient dust. Guy Crimson swirled the dark red wine in his large stone chalice, looking out over the endless, cracked earth of the Barren Lands. Across from him, the giant Demon Lord Dagruel sat like an unmoving mountain, his massive fingers lightly gripping his own cup.
"So," Dagruel broke the silence, his deep baritone voice rumbling through the floorboards. "You came all this way to discuss your impending clash with Loki. I must admit, the underworld has not been this loud in centuries. Everyone is waiting to see what happens when the Lord of Darkness finally steps onto the field."
Guy took a slow sip of the robust wine, a confident smirk playing on his lips. "Let them talk. It keeps things interesting. But actually, Dagruel, I have a specific favor to ask you regarding this duel. I want to use your domain as the stage for our fight."
Dagruel blinked his colossal eyes, staring at Guy for a long moment before letting out a hearty, booming laugh that caused some loose pebbles to shake loose from the ceiling.
"My domain? You want to bring that storm here?" Dagruel shook his head, leaning back against the stone couch. "Well, I certainly do not mind. Ever since that ancient, cataclysmic battle between you and Milim, these lands have been nothing but a desolate, barren wasteland anyway. It has served as the default arena for world-ending conflicts for thousands of years. A bit more destruction won't change the landscape."
Guy offered a rare, casual shrug of apology, his crimson eyes gleaming with amusement. "Yeah, sorry about that. Milim and I got a little carried away back then. I appreciate you letting me use the space though. It is hard to find a sandbox large enough to handle our output without causing a massive geopolitical crisis."
Dagruel nodded, his expression turning serious as he looked at the slender, red-haired demon across from him. "Tell me, Guy. Are you truly confident you can win this? Loki is not like the other newcomers. He has consolidated an absurd amount of power in a remarkably short window of time. He possesses assets and knowledge that defy standard logic."
Guy set his chalice down on the table, his smile widening into a sharp, predatory grin. The absolute confidence exuding from his frame was suffocating.
"Confidence has nothing to do with it, Dagruel," Guy spoke softly, his voice carrying the absolute weight of a supreme ruler. "As the older brother of Loki. I absolutely will not lose to my younger brother. It is the duty of the elder to show the younger exactly where the boundaries of the world are drawn. I am going to teach him a very thorough lesson about the true hierarchy of power."
---
Hundreds of miles away, within the opulent, gold-trimmed war council chamber of the Kingdom of Falmuth, the atmosphere was thick with greed and lingering hesitation. King Edmaris sat high upon his velvet throne, his plump fingers tapping impatiently against the armrest as he looked down at his assembled ministers and military strategists.
"The vanguard has already crossed the outer thresholds," King Edmaris announced, his voice filled with a haughty, arrogant pride. "An army of twenty thousand highly trained, fully armored Falmuth soldiers is currently marching toward the borders of Blumund. This surprise ambush will ensure their total submission before the Western Nations even realize the board has been altered."
One of the older ministers stepped forward, his face pale with anxiety as he adjusted his formal robes. "Your Majesty, if I may voice a final concern... is this campaign truly wise at this juncture? The Kingdom of Coleus, which shares deep ties with Blumund, has more than regained its former glory under Demon Lord Loki. Their economic and military metrics are skyrocketing. If we provoke a conflict in their backyard, we risk drawing the wrath of a Demon Lord."
A murmur of nervous agreement rippled through the council of ministers. The sudden revival of Coleus had sent shockwaves through the western nobility, and many were terrified of stepping on Loki's toes.
"Silence, you cowardly old fool," a smooth, authoritative voice echoed from the side of the hall.
Razen, the legendary State Archmage and the strongest military asset of Falmuth, stepped forward. His expression was perfectly composed, projecting an aura of absolute loyalty to the throne. However, deep within his mind, Razen was secretly laughing. He was currently operating under absolute, unyielding mental orders from Demon Lord Loki himself. His entire purpose in this room was to act as a saboteur, egging Falmuth into its own absolute destruction.
"The revival of Coleus is nothing more than a temporary theatrical display," Razen lied smoothly, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the king. "Demon Lord Loki is currently hyper-focused on his upcoming duel with Guy Crimson. He has absolutely no time to monitor the minor border disputes of a small, insignificant territory like Blumund. If we strike now, we can seize Blumund's resources and establish a defensive choke point before Loki even finishes his fight. I guarantee our absolute victory. Our magical corps will tear through their defenses like paper."
Hearing the legendary archmage speak with such total certainty, King Edmaris's eyes flared with immense greed. His hesitation completely evaporated.
"Excellent! Razen is exactly correct!" Edmaris roared, slamming his fist down. "We shall proceed with absolute force! We will go all in on this war!"
The chief military strategist stepped forward, bowing deeply. "As you command, Your Majesty. Given the current march speed and terrain conditions, the twenty thousand strong army should arrive at the Blumund border in exactly seven days."
---
Meanwhile, inside the cramped, paperwork-stuffed royal office of the Kingdom of Blumund, the atmosphere was one of pure, unadulterated panic.
Fuse, the Guildmaster of the local Freedom Association branch, was pacing frantically back and forth across the rug, violently pulling at his hair as sweat poured down his face. Behind the massive mahogany desk sat King Blumund, his formal crown sitting slightly askew on his head as he stared blankly at a large tactical map of the region.
The heavy oak doors burst open, and a ragged, breathless royal messenger stumbled into the room, crashing to his knees.
"Report!" the messenger gasped, clutching his chest. "Our border scouts have finalized the data! The grand mobilization force from the Kingdom of Falmuth is officially confirmed! An army of twenty thousand soldiers is marching directly toward our territory! They are exactly seven days away from our border!"
"Twenty thousand?!" Fuse screamed, his voice reaching a comically high pitch as he slammed his hands onto the king's desk. "Are they completely insane?! Blumund's entire domestic guard doesn't even total three thousand men! If twenty thousand fully armored soldiers cross that line, our entire nation will be completely flattened in less than an afternoon!"
King Blumund rubbed his temples, his face aging ten years in a matter of seconds. "This is catastrophic. We don't have the military power or the mercenary budget to oppose an invasion force of that caliber. We are a nation of merchants and information brokers, not a continental superpower."
"What about the adventurers?!" Fuse suggested frantically, his eyes wide with desperation. "We have hundreds of high-ranking adventurers currently stationed within our city walls! If we draft every single one of them into a temporary militia—"
"We can't do that, Fuse, and you know it," King Blumund interrupted with a heavy, defeated sigh. "The Freedom Association is a strictly independent, international organization. Grandmaster Yuuki's charter explicitly states that adventurers cannot be utilized as a sovereign military force for domestic wars. If we force them to fight, we violate international law and lose our guild status entirely. We are completely on our own."
The two men stared at the map, the crushing weight of impending doom settling over the room like a physical shroud. They had absolutely no cards left to play.
"My, my. What a remarkably loud and stressful conversation you two are having."
A completely unfamiliar, sweet, and frighteningly cheerful voice suddenly echoed from the dark corner of the royal office.
Fuse and King Blumund both froze entirely, their hearts dropping into their stomachs. They snapped their heads around, their eyes widening in absolute horror as they looked toward the plush guest chair sitting near the fireplace.
Sitting comfortably in the chair was a young girl with long, vibrant purple hair tied into elegant twin tails. She was wearing a pristine, high-class administrative uniform that carried the official sovereign crest of the Kingdom of Coleus. She was casually holding a delicate porcelain teacup, taking a slow, elegant sip of her tea as if she were sitting in a peaceful afternoon cafe rather than a highly secure, restricted government office.
It was Ultima, the Purple Primordial Demon, currently serving as one of Loki's top administrative overseers.
"You really shouldn't wrinkle your faces like that," Ultima giggled softly, setting her teacup down onto the saucer with a soft, echoing click. "Lord Loki dislikes it when our neighbors look so miserable. He sent me here to deliver a very simple message. You helped Lord Loki, so Lord Loki is going to help you right back. It is a very basic balancing of relationships."
Fuse's entire body began to tremble violently as his internal danger sensors completely screamed in pure terror. He couldn't sense her exact magicule count, but the sheer, abyssal weight of the latent aura leaking from her small frame was enough to tell him that the creature sitting in front of them was an absolute monster capable of erasing their entire city with a blink.
"Who... who the hell are you?!" Fuse stammered, his hand instinctively reaching for a defense dagger he knew would be completely useless.
King Blumund, despite his sheer panic, managed to grip the edges of his desk, his voice shaking as he looked at the secure, triple-locked windows and reinforced steel doors.
"How... how did you even get in here?!" the king gasped, his mind breaking as he realized his absolute highest-tier security barriers hadn't even triggered. "When did you enter this room?!"
Ultima simply tilted her head, offering them a thoroughly beautiful, terrifyingly innocent smile that sent frozen chills straight down their spines.
"Oh, matching doors and walls can't keep me out," Ultima said playfully, her purple eyes gleaming with a dark, sadistic amusement. "Now, then... let's talk about how we're going to completely butcher those twenty thousand Falmuth idiots, shall we?"
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