Volume 8, Chapter 42 – The Premonition of an Encounter

This was a dark and gloomy ancient castle, built clinging to a cliff.

It was also a place where the living were forbidden.

The residence of the Demon Lord, Tina Alexia Tartaros.

Although the three demon lords who ruled the world, Ouranos, Styx, and Tartaros, were respectively titled the Demon Lord of the Sky, the Demon Lord of the Sea, and the Demon Lord of the Earth, the connection between these titles and the three was actually so weak as to be negligible. Take the Demon Lord of the Earth, for example. This did not mean that Tartaros was nearly invincible when standing on the ground. In fact, even on the ground, Tartaros could not defeat Ouranos. The reason people called the three demon lords by these names originated from some prejudices and speculations.

In reality, it would be more appropriate to call the three the ‘Demon Lord who lives on a sky island,’ the ‘Demon Lord who lives at the bottom of the sea,’ and the ‘Demon Lord who lives on the land.’ All three demon rulers were skilled in elemental magic and were also sages who knew the past and the present—the latter being debatable.

In addition, the demon lords were not immortal. They just lived longer than most other creatures. For example, the current Demon Lord of the Earth, Tartaros, had already been succeeded by more than three generations.

At this moment, in a dim yellow room lit only by torches, resembling a cult’s meeting place, the Demon Lord who lived on the land, Tina Alexia Tartaros, was playing with a crystal ball on the table. The crystal ball showed the shadows of several poorly equipped adventurers.

Just as in the past, Tartaros, with black horns growing from the sides of her gray hair, wore provocative lingerie on the inside and a loose robe that did not match her delicate figure on the outside.

“That’s right, the exit is over there! Just a little more effort. As long as you defeat the monster in front of you, you can get out!”

If Yisi were here, she would surely think that Tartaros—let’s use a cuter name for now—if Yisi were here, she would surely think that Tina was watching a live stream of a game. But obviously, such a thing did not exist in this other world. The crystal ball in Tina’s hand was just a magic item that could spy on the outside world. Worried about being assassinated by the first fallen angel, Azazel, Tina could only hide in the demon lord’s castle and relieve her boredom by watching the crystal ball.

As for the scene displayed in the crystal ball, it was the underground labyrinth in Gota City. The previous generation of Tartaros had transformed the Gota City mining area into a labyrinth for the purpose of cultivating stronger humans to challenge him. And in Tina’s generation, the labyrinth had become a form of entertainment to pass the time.

The fallen angel Hetty, standing behind Tina, finally couldn’t help but ask.

“My Lord Demon Lord, these humans are just adventurers of level 20 or less. Forgive my foolishness, but I have been watching you cheer for them for a while now. I do not understand why you are doing this.”

“Hm?”

Snapping back from the tense and exciting lives of the adventurers and noticing her loss of composure, Tina cleared her throat with feigned calmness.

“Ahem. As a Demon Lord, I must pay attention to any seed that could become a challenger. Today’s hardships will benefit them greatly. Humans do not stumble over the same stone twice. As long as they accumulate enough life experience, they will one day be able to stand before me. At that time, I will make these ants who call themselves the future of humanity recognize their place, and crush their hopes just as they think they are about to see the dawn.”

“I see. As expected of you, my Lord Demon Lord,” a look of admiration appeared on Hetty’s face, but then it quickly became hesitant. “But my Lord Demon Lord, if you wish for humans to reach the demon lord’s castle sooner, why do you not secretly send a demon to place equipment and weapons in front of them in the form of a coincidence, and secretly cultivate them?”

Hetty couldn’t understand why her Demon Lord only cheered for the adventurers verbally. Of course, this did not mean that she doubted her Demon Lord. She was simply puzzled.

“Mmm.”

A pained grunt escaped Tina’s throat.

Rеad oո KαtRеаⅾіոɡСаfe

I’m sorry, Hetty. I don’t know why either. I just made all that up.

Tina quietly held her forehead—in Hetty’s eyes, that was the Demon Lord grieving over the incompetence of her subordinates. After a long deliberation, she found a flimsy excuse.

“Only when they have experienced enough hardships and overcome numerous challenges to stand before me will their despair be deeper. In addition, I hope that the challenger who stands before me is not a crawler that I can crush with a little force. To deliberately cultivate the weak and have them challenge me is an insult to the sacred ritual of dueling.”

“So there was that consideration as well. It was my foolishness.”

Hetty showed a look of genuine reverence.

In contrast, Tina, with her long gray hair and loose robe, had a terrible headache.

I’ve had enough of this.

Although she was the Demon Lord, she had only been one for less than two years. When she first sat on the throne, she had been very excited. But as time went on, she felt the pressure on her head grow heavier and heavier.

In order to maintain the dignity of the Demon Lord, she had to pretend to be a wise person with great foresight. But she was the type who couldn’t even remember what she had said a few days ago. To maintain the posture of a Demon Lord in front of a group of adoring fallen angels, most of the time she could only rob Peter to pay Paul, using new explanations to cover up old ones.

If it were just that, she could probably muddle through until a new Demon Lord appeared. But the original Tartaros, that is, Tartaros I, had left a lot of trouble for his successors, such as cultivating a hatred for the other two demon lords among all the demons. The collective demand made her have to pretend to be hostile to the other two.

As a result, as soon as she mentioned foreign affairs, her fallen angel subordinates would think of things like foreign conquests. And she couldn’t very well refute them by saying, “No, I don’t want to fight.” Therefore, every time she wanted to pull back the runaway horses that were her fallen angels, she had to use a lot of brain cells.

If only she hadn’t agreed to become the Demon Lord in the first place. Tina sighed with a headache. Unfortunately, she had no choice.

I really want to go and see the outside world.

Tina let out a long sigh.

“My Lord Demon Lord, are you unhappy?”

“Being cooped up in the castle like this is so boring.”

Oh no.

I accidentally said my inner thoughts out loud.

Fortunately, Hetty didn’t mind.

“Do you need me to have a lower-ranking demon go out and catch a few humans? The painful screams of humans are the most stress-relieving delicacy.”

Rеaԁ οn ΚatReαdіnɡСаfе

That’s your hobby, isn’t it?

No, it should be said that it was the hobby of most demons. Just as humans would burn demons at the stake after catching them, demons would also cruelly torture humans after catching them. Of course, the starting points of the two were not the same. Humans killed demons out of fear, while demons killed humans to please themselves. Although Tina did not share the hobby of torturing humans like most demons, she would not stop such behavior. Humans to demons were like livestock to humans. It was only natural for livestock to serve their masters and be killed by them after they grew up.

Sensing Tina’s speechlessness, Hetty quickly changed her tune and said with a worried tone.

“It’s too dangerous outside now. What if Azazel—who is it?”

Due to a knock on the door, Hetty stopped what she was about to say.

“Mother, it’s me.”

“Sandra,” her eyes lighting up, Tina forcibly suppressed the anticipation in her heart and said with an expressionless face, “Come in.”

Sandra, with short orange hair, walked in. The turned-around Tina first looked her up and down, and after confirming that she was not injured and there was nothing abnormal, she lifted her chin with a look of dignity.

“How was the investigation?”

“Just as you predicted, my Lord Demon Lord. Hermes has entered a state of lockdown. Because I would be discovered by the fallen angels inside if I got too close, I only observed from a great distance and did not see any demons or people entering or leaving.”

“Sandra, are you sure this is true? You weren’t slacking off, were you?”

Hetty frowned and questioned. Although Sandra was her own daughter, most of the time, Hetty treated Tina better than her own daughter.

“Yes, Mother. I am willing to guarantee it with a hundred years of confinement.”

“My Lord Demon Lord, what do you think…”

“Hetty, there is no need to be suspicious. Azazel and the others have lost Ouranos, so they naturally do not dare to leave the sky island. I told you, didn’t I? They are in more of a hurry than we are. A demon must have a demon lord to lead them, otherwise they will lose their reason over time. They are accelerating the process of having the holy maiden ascend to the throne and have no time for other things.”

“Ah!” Hetty suddenly shouted. “Does that mean we can take the opportunity to reclaim our own territory? The failure in the Blood Clan’s territory last time was because I miscalculated the possible appearance of a powerful individual. I will not make the same mistake this time. Please, my Lord Demon Lord, send me to wipe away this shame.”

No, no, no. It’s a good thing the last operation failed. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to explain it to the deceased Ouranos.

Frantically waving her hands in her heart, Tina put on an expressionless face.

“There’s no need. I will personally go this time.”

“But…”

Rеαd οո КαtRеadіnɡСаfе

“Sandra has investigated. The sky island Hermes is now in lockdown. The lockdown will not be lifted until a new demon lord is chosen. We can move freely during this time.”

“But this might be a conspiracy by Hermes. They are pretending to lock down the sky island to lure us out. In reality, Azazel has already left the island before it was locked down and is lurking near the castle, waiting for you to appear.”

Having finally found a chance to go out, she couldn’t just give it up. To persuade Hetty, Tina deliberately put on an expression of having everything under control.

“I have already considered this possibility. So, just in case, we can first set some bait to test whether Azazel is waiting for me.”

“My Lord Demon Lord means…”

“Remember that group of people from the Empire?”

“I remember. They colluded with Styx and escaped our surveillance. But under your orders, my Lord Demon Lord, we have already sent people to re-deploy our spies.”

Did I give such an order?

A large question mark appeared above Tina’s head. But this kind of thing happened often. Tina quickly pushed the question mark to the back of her mind. As long as she remained calm and pretended to understand, the fallen angels would not feel any incongruity.

“Hetty.”

“Your subordinate is here.”

“Bring me the teleportation stone I gave you last time.”

“Yes,” Hetty took out an irregular cyan crystal from her storage magic. “My Lord Demon Lord, I remember you gave the other half of this crystal to the son of the great demon. You’re taking it out now to…”

“This teleportation stone is a pair with the one in the hands of the great demon’s son. As long as one half is triggered, the holder of the other half will be immediately teleported over. The great demon’s son was defeated by the Empire in the last mission, so that half of the stone has fallen into their hands. With the Empire’s tradition, they will surely try to study it. And once they trigger the effect of the teleportation stone, I can take the opportunity to appear in the outside world.”

“In that case, even if Azazel is waiting for you outside, you can immediately use the once-a-day ‘Infinite Gate’ to return?”

“Precisely. If there is no movement around me after I teleport, it proves that Azazel is also in the locked-down sky island. In that case, our soldiers can freely go on expeditions.”

Tina couldn’t help but nod at her own genius idea. Hetty would never know that she just wanted to take the opportunity to go out for some fresh air.

Hetty tilted her head in confusion.

“But if you are going to use the teleportation stone to go out, why not have your subordinate take a half of it out, and after I have confirmed that there is no danger, then trigger it? Although there are no humans on this continent who can threaten you, my Lord Demon Lord, the Empire has Styx secretly assisting them. What if they set a trap…”

If I take you with me, how can I play freely?

Rеaⅾ οո KαtReаⅾіոɡСafе

Of course, Tina couldn’t say her inner thoughts out loud—that would be tantamount to destroying the dignified image of the Demon Lord. After a moment’s thought, she came up with a reasonable excuse.

“Not to mention that teleportation stones are precious items, and we don’t have enough to waste them. Secondly, you are very important to me, Hetty. If Azazel is waiting just outside the castle’s barrier, you will undoubtedly be exposed to danger.”

Her Demon Lord was willing to risk her own safety to protect her subordinate. Hetty, who had been told “you are very important to me” by Tina, was immediately moved to tears, and eagerly took over the conversation.

“Your subordinate can leave her main body in the castle. Even if Azazel kills me outside the castle’s barrier, after the host body dies, my soul will return to my main body. I will not truly die. There is no danger in the process. Please, my Lord Demon Lord, reconsider!”

“No, my mind is made up. Have you forgotten the consequences of the last failed mission, Hetty? Those of the Blood Clan, in order to trap you, did not kill your host body, but continuously tortured and then healed it. Before the host body dies, your soul will not return to your main body. I do not want to see you suffer for me again. No, the pain you suffer will be projected onto my heart tenfold. So this time, no matter what, I must go myself.”

“My Lord Demon Lord…” Tina’s words moved Hetty to tears. Wiping her tears, she knelt before Tina. “To be able to serve a master as gentle as you is my eternal good fortune. Even if I were to die for you right now, I would not have the slightest hesitation.”

Because Hetty was kneeling in front of her, Tina could touch her head without using flight magic—Tina only had the appearance of an eight-year-old.

“Mmm, to have such a capable subordinate as you, Hetty, is also my good fortune. Then, arrange this plan. As soon as the teleportation stone is triggered, you will raise the castle’s alert level. I will not be out for too long. You are dismissed.”

“Yes!”

Watching Hetty and Sandra leave, Tina, who had put on a show, collapsed back in her chair, her mouth agape, as if she had exhausted all her brain cells.

“Ah~ ah~ Tina, oh Tina, why must you suffer like this? Ouranos, did you leave before me because you couldn’t stand this atmosphere?”

After recovering for a while, Tina sat up straight again.

“Forget it. After all that effort, it’s not bad to be able to go out for a while. That Yisi person is in the Hels Kingdom, and I’m going to the Norta Empire. We can’t possibly meet, right?”

Remembering the other party saying that she would first beat her up and then tie her up like a bug and hang her from the city gate, a shiver ran through Tina’s body.

“That person is the real demon… I hope I never see her in my life.”

For some reason, a voice suddenly appeared in Tina’s mind.

If you can’t beat her, just beg for mercy.

“Mm, no. A Demon Lord would rather die than beg for mercy. This is a Demon Lord’s bottom line.”

Pushing the cowardly thought to the back of her mind, Tina shook her head and continued to observe the crystal ball.