Prologue

“When it comes to battle, it seems the amount of preparation done beforehand decides the victor.”

Zagan muttered that to himself grimly as he sat in his throne room. He had countless wounds carved across his body, his black hair was disheveled and dirty, his robe—a sorcerer’s fortress—was torn and muddy, and there was clear exhaustion on his face. Only the strong glimmer in his silver eyes maintained the majesty of an Archdemon.

A few hours earlier, Zagan had fought the being known as Azazel. After stealing his sister-in-law Nephteros’s body, Azazel had handed him an ignominious defeat. The Angelic Knight who’d fallen in love with Nephteros, Richard, was still alive, but was in a comatose state. Zagan’s self-proclaimed older sister, Archdemon Andrealphus’s personal disciple and a wielder of a Sacred Sword, Stella, was severely wounded. The boy who’d been accompanying her, Head Archangel Ginias Galahad II, was also on the verge of death.

To make matters worse, the temporary alliance he’d had with the ultimate vampire Alshiera was now annulled by her declaration that she would kill the Azazel-possessed Nephteros. At least Shere Khan’s familiar, Dexia, and Zagan’s little sister from the streets, Lisette, hadn’t been taken. Still, this was Zagan’s first time being so powerless to do anything. What’s more, the situation was continuing to deteriorate.

“Raphael, have we still not received any word from Gremory?”

The one man Zagan put complete faith in, his butler Raphael, was also present in the room. Even after acquiring an artificial arm, the most dreadful Archangel hadn’t lost the tiniest bit of his true strength. Raphael nodded with a grave expression. This was grave from Zagan’s perspective, mind you, so any normal person would be liable to go into cardiac arrest if they saw the butler’s face.

“I believe she has likely been struck down or captured by Shere Khan. As such...”

This man always remained calm and composed when dealing with any matter unrelated to his daughter, yet here he was letting out a heavy sigh.

“As such...Kimaris has left in an attempt to track her down...” Raphael paused there, hesitating for an instant before mustering his resolve and continuing, “I find it hard to believe that a sorcerer of Gremory’s caliber could be captured, so I doubt she still lives.”

Gremory was a sorcerer whom Zagan trusted as his left hand. She was a former Archdemon candidate and could be considered the strongest sorcerer on the entire continent with the exception of the Archdemons. As such, not even an Archdemon could keep that granny from running away on a whim. Loss of contact with her couldn’t mean anything but death.

If she was defeated right after informing us of the situation, then I guess Andrealphus is the one who did it.

Even an Archdemon, as a rule, couldn’t capture Gremory if she focused on escaping. The only one capable of doing so was Archdemon Andrealphus, the man who could stop time with his sorcery. If he’d taken her by surprise, not even Gremory would have been able to escape. That was the biggest reason behind Zagan’s sighs.

He wouldn’t do any work when he was an ally, and now that he’s an enemy, he’s a thorn in my side.

In all likelihood, Bifrons’s or Shere Khan’s sorcery was manipulating him like a puppet. Furthermore, if an Archdemon had been reduced to a puppet like that, then he couldn’t possibly be alive. A fresh corpse was easier to manipulate, and a living target could resist the effects of the sorcery.

Gremory had last reported that she’d discovered Shere Khan’s supply route and was taking action to obstruct it. It was best to assume that this report was a trap. Knowing of Gremory’s disappearance, Kimaris, a sorcerer trusted as Zagan’s right hand, had immediately vanished. And that was why Zagan shook his head.

“No, Gremory isn’t necessarily dead.”

“Meaning...?” Raphael asked.

“If she is, I was the one who brought it about. Kimaris would slit my throat before heading off to kill Shere Khan.”

Kimaris was an extremely loyal retainer, but letting Gremory die would betray his trust entirely. In that case, Zagan would be the one who betrayed him, not the other way around.

“But he vanished without so much as seeing me,” Zagan continued. “In other words, he has a reason to ignore thoughts related to vengeance and hurry onward.”

There was only one reason Zagan could think of.

“That Gremory has been spared and is in captivity?” Raphael asked.

“Yeah. Meaning Kimaris has been lured out. He has no way of refusing, after all.”

Shere Khan had likely informed Kimaris of Gremory’s survival somehow. Zagan had been completely outwitted. In the worst case, he had to consider Kimaris an enemy now. The situation was growing worse and worse by the second, but even so, Zagan wouldn’t abandon his subordinates. His course of action was obvious. If Gremory was alive, he’d save her. And he’d get Kimaris back too, obviously. But that was also why Zagan was incapable of hiding his exhaustion.

“In any case, I must now meet Shere Khan’s army of ten thousand when I’m short a left and right hand.”

Shere Khan’s army was already complete. Ten thousand made it the size of an entire army division. It was said that the Angelic Knights spread across the entire continent were made up of four divisions. In other words, Shere Khan had a force on par with a quarter of the entire church.

Zagan’s forces had suffered a crushing defeat due to “Nephteros’s” rampage, and now Shere Khan’s invasion of Kianoides was close at hand. Zagan had received reports of suspicious individuals in the vicinity of the town. They were probably scouts. Perhaps this incident with Azazel was also part of Shere Khan’s plans. Archdemon Bifrons had been directly responsible, but any Archdemon was capable of that level of manipulation. The truly terrifying thing here was the wit to read so far ahead.

Zagan had to save his sister-in-law. He had to protect his subordinates. And on top of all that, he had to meet an army of ten thousand—one likely made up entirely of heroes from the past—which was quite possibly the most elite force in history. Even a great Archdemon would show clear exhaustion in such a situation. As such, he returned to his first statement.

“If the amount of preparation decides the victor, then there’s no winning this battle.”

For the first time, Zagan, who’d forced every obstacle out of his way with his fist, spoke words of defeat.