Chapter 248

At a glance, there seemed to be about twenty people within Lesser Demon King Kyuka’s camp enclosure.
And they all had such great mana that suggested they were of the high-ranking races.

But the one who had the most was the man in the center. Or woman? The figure was overall quite shapely, and so probably a woman.
And surely it was Kyuka who would be in the center.

She had a tiger-like face and black wings. And was very tall.
Since she was standing on two feet, she would be one of the most advanced of the humanoid tigers.

In spite of the amount of mana, she had a rather slender build, which suggested to me that she was a magic user.

“Ohhhh? If it isn’t Golan.”

I turned to see who was speaking… There was someone who looked like a boy standing next to Kyuka.

But he was no smallfry. His mana was equal to Kyuka’s.
And I recognized him.

“Nehyor!”
I immediately reached towards the hexogonal club at my waist…but then remembered that I had given it up when coming here.

That included the Deepsea Dragon Sword that should have been on my back.
The only thing I had was my armor.

The rage I felt started to subside.
I could not just attack him while I was unarmed.

“So you’re the one that ran away and was chased?”
As reports would have been coming in, he must have heard them.

‘Hmm, I see,’ Nehyor muttered to himself as if he was putting the pieces together.
“Do you know him?”

Kyuka asked Nehyor. She was standing with her legs far apart and her knees bent a little, much like a crab. Was she really a woman?
But Nehyor’s height brought him just up to Kyuka’s thigh, so it was probably due to the severe size difference between them.

“Golan used to be my subordinate. But I suppose he’s an enemy now?”
“That’s right. Now come over here. I’ll beat you until you can no longer move.”

“…Golan has always been like this. I don’t think I’ve ever met him without a fight erupting at some point. He can’t stop himself from challenging me.”

“So you are saying that challenging his superiors is his hobby?”

Kyuka said as she glanced towards me.
It was written all over her face. I don’t need difficult subordinates.

I too did not want subordinates that acted like mad dogs. They were terribly difficult to handle.
However, if I could be allowed to defend myself, I didn’t just challenge anyone, and for no reason.

“But he is strong, I’ll give him that. After all, he was able to cut me in half.”
“He did what!?”
I didn’t expect…Kyuka to be that surprised.

“And even after being cut open, you stuck yourself back together and ran away.”
That was such a waste. I should have finished him off when I had the chance.

“Yes, and my plans were delayed quite a lot because of that. If anyone has a right to complain, it’s me!”
Apparently, he was quite angry.

This plan of Nehyor’s involved creating a new Demon King that he would be able to defeat.

Melvis had said that Vampires needed a Demon King’s Orb of Control in order to evolve.
And Nehyor’s actions up until now seemed to prove this.

However, saying that here would just make Nehyor more cautious.
If he escaped from here, then he would hide even deeper than before. And I wanted to avoid that.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but you’ve been moving around like a snake. It’s me that is angry!”
I shouldn’t know about Nehyor’s plan. And so feigned ignorance.

Now, I had to rethink some things.
Both Nehyor and Kyuka were in front of me. What should I do?

My heart wanted to go after Nehyor. I wanted to kill him.
Yes, even now it took great effort to stop myself from attacking him with my fists.

However, I could not spoil the plan just because I allowed my emotions to momentarily get in the way.
It would not do if Kyuka was free to do as she liked while I was fighting Nehyor.

General Farneze would hear me fighting and misunderstand. It would all be for nothing.
In other words, I had to stick to the plan and fight Kyuka one on one.

In the Demon World, strength was more important than anything.
If I challenged her to a duel, no one would intervene.

Even if you did win like that, you would be labeled as someone weak who could not win by yourself.

That would be a lethal blow to someone who stood above others.
No one would follow someone who was unable to prove their worth.

And so if I challenged Kyuka to Gekokujyo now, she would have no choice but to accept.
However, I might never be able to meet Nehyor again. And I so wanted to crush his plans here. Yes, I really did.

…Damn it.

As I agonized over the decision, Nehyor and Kyuka continued to talk.

“He was an Ogre before he evolved!?”

“He was. Not only that, but I even lost to him back then. Well, we weren’t really fighting seriously, but he still cut off my hand and arm.”

“But Ogres are merely walls of flesh. How is it possible that they can fight a Vampire?”

Kyuka was so shocked that her knees bent even more like a crab.
I could see her black and yellow tail dangling behind her. Yes, she really was some kind of tiger race.

However, what should I do?
Should I really just challenge Kyuka here and now?

Or was there some other better way?

I thought about it while watching them talk.
Mouga was staring at me to the side.
I could hear him mutter, ‘a former Ogre…impossible…’

Yes, Mouga was here too. I suppose I really should just fight Kyuka then.
Thankfully, not only were we in an enclosure, but it was very big. And so it was perfect if I wanted to fight and run at the same time.

(It can’t be helped then. I have to fight Kyuka.)

And so I approached Kyuka and challenged…I was about to challenge her, but then my eyes went to the swaying tail. And a certain thought came to me.

—Why don’t I just fight both of them at the same time?

Nehyor and Kyuka.
I had been so indecisive because I thought I had to choose between them.

Well, if I didn’t want one of them to get away, then I just had to fight them at the same time.

“It’s perfect.”

“Hmm? What is it, Golan?”

Nehyor asked in an innocent voice.
I laughed.

Next Chapter

Makai Hongi