Chapter 607 - Chapter Six: The Four Great Dragons III
"Humans made this, right?"
It was when the Demon peeked at the Four Great Dragons from behind a tree. Suddenly, a voice called out from behind a tree growing right next to it.
Startled, it looked toward the voice and saw a human ghost wearing clothes from a very old era.
What, just a ghost.
The Demon thought so.
A ghost is originally human. However, except for ghosts found at the sites of battles with the Demon Race, most of them are those who died leaving behind grudges against their own kind, and few hold grudges against the Demon Race. Moreover, in a land where there is no history of conflict between the Demon Race and humans, it's even more so. The area around the crater where the Fire Dragon lives is a place where humans and Demons could not easily visit until now, even though humans are now on good terms with the Fire Dragon. A ghost wandering such a place must have been killed by a magical beast, so it shouldn't hold a grudge against the Demon Race. As proof, it doesn't attack.
"What is that?"
She asked as naturally as possible. Making it seem like she was just a spectator.
"It's a mud doll that moves with magic."
I knew it. A considerable amount of magic power is being used. It had a general idea. After that, it's the purpose for which humans use that mud doll.
"How does it move?"
"I don't know the details. I just know that humans are using magic that can do that kind of thing."
"Hmm."
Shall we get to the main point soon? Just as the Demon thought that.
"You're of the Demon Race, right? A high-level Demon?"
It was suddenly asked. It didn't think a ghost would be interested in other races. However, if it thinks so, it might be more convenient to let it think so.
"What will you do if you hear? If I were a high-level Demon, would there be something?"
"Yeah. A little."
"What? Tell me."
"Sometimes humans come to the upper part, right? Those people are controlling it. That thing, it seems to be a new type of magic weapon humans made to defeat high-level Demons. It's resting now, though. If you were a high-level Demon, I thought it might be bad once it starts moving again."
"Eh? Seriously?"
"Seems so. It's in an operational test now, and if it moves well, they intend to exterminate the high-level Demons in this forest."
"Can they do such a thing?"
"I don't know. But they seem serious. That's why, if you're a high-level Demon, I thought you should run away."
She was able to get away with not knowing details like how to distinguish between high-level and low-level Demons, or how they would defeat the Demon Race. Despite that, the Demon was hooked. The Wetlands Priestess would find out later that if the high-level Demon is exterminated, the contract is terminated. In other words, she can be free. If humans will defeat the Demon who binds her with a contract, she has nothing more to say.
The Wetlands Priestess is a bellicose ghost, but she is a member of the clergy. Clergy of the ancient era were required to behave as leaders even more than in modern times, and at the same time, they were beings who healed the people. And the Priestess had the strength to be dispatched to a border fort. She listened to the story of the low-level Demon who was hooked, listened to its complaints, and gave advice as a member of the clergy. About how when she possessed a rabbit, she was attacked by a Cerberus. About how when she was running for her life, she was saved by a high-level Demon. About how after that, she signed a contract to be used as a price for having her life saved. About how she found out that the Demon who seemed to have saved her life had been controlling the Cerberus with Subordination.
The Priestess sympathized with the low-level Demon who was effectively enslaved, and told her that if she cooperated with humans, they might be able to exterminate the Demon she had signed a contract with.
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"And so, she wants humans to defeat the high-level Demon."
According to the Wetlands Priestess, the one following us was indeed a low-level Demon. It was being used by a superior Demon and was ordered to monitor the interaction between the Fire Dragon and humans.
There is only one high-level Demon directly involved. Accurately, there are apparently two, but the assigned territory is as wide as all of Finis, north of the forest where the Dullahan is. One was already defeated by the Finis army in the Demon Lord's army extermination battle. It's Gwyn-sama's achievement. The remaining one seems to be doing various things in various places, and it must be short-handed. It seems to be working hard to expand the Demon Lord's army personnel in preparation for the Demon Lord's resurrection. Here, it is broadly checking the magical beasts in the forest at the foot of the volcano and managing them so it can start an operation at any time. That operation includes sending powerful magical beasts to the fourth layer of the Demon Lord's cave. Since territorial disputes among species are fierce, it will likely sort them well. I heard the Demon Lord's army in Finis has almost no humanoids. Just like when the Behemoth appeared, powerful magical beasts apparently attack human settlements as if they had run wild. It's just like the attack of magical beasts that the Ruined Town launched against southwestern Nakanohara during the war. The villages in Finis are not only along the coast but are also scattered at distances along wide, long valleys. As expected, it seems dozens of C-ranks with high magic resistance don't attack at once, but the defensive battles while holed up in forts must be fierce. It's no wonder the entire nation is under arms. If the number of Demons in charge were large, the country itself might have been destroyed.
Which means, could it be that when we first came to see the Fire Dragon and a mountain of magical beasts attacked us, they were being controlled by Subordination?
"Seems so. Keeping humans from contacting the Fire Dragon is also part of its duty."
I see. It successfully prevented it, then. Well, the opponent was likely bad at that time.
"But she talked quite a bit, didn't she?"
If she talks about things related to the Demon Lord's army to humans, won't she be cursed to death by the Demon Lord?
"Yeah, I'm not human but a ghost, you see. It seems she wasn't told not to talk to ghosts."
It's quite a pitfall for the Demon Race.
At any rate, it's helpful to have an informant. Because of the contract, she can't get involved with us humans, but since the Priestess judged her, it should be fine.
"The meeting place is decided, and it'll come if she sends a message. So we should just ambush it."
Hmm. That might be good. Since it'll jump in with Teleport, we should start the attack at the point the magic circle floats on the ground. At the same time, if we fly something to its feet and wound it, we can keep it from escaping. For now, I'll do an eight-shot volley.
By Eleanor-sama's judgment, the Wetlands Priestess was told the meeting place, and we decided to ambush it. The Four Great Dragons are not useful for combat at the moment. We decided to leave them as they are.
We wait, hiding in the darkness.
Since the moon is truly thin, it's pitch black in the forest. Perhaps because of the high altitude, not even the sound of an insect can be heard. It's just silent.
"After we defeat the Demon here, how many will be left?"
I think we've defeated quite a few so far.
"Let's see. Violet said there were about twenty. If we subtract the number we've defeated and the Vice-Demon Lord, and if there were originally twenty, then about three remain."
As expected of Eleanor-sama. The numbers come out smoothly.
If we subtract the Demon of the Northeastern Forest, two remain. If we defeat one here, then one remains...
I recall hearing that the greatest Demon Realm with mountains of magical beasts is in northern Medioland, and the remaining one is there...
Which means.
"Um, could it be that the magical beasts here are brought from northern Medioland?"
"Why do you think so?"
Eleanor-sama asked. This time, what the Demon is doing is different from the Demons we've faced so far. Monitoring the interaction between the Fire Dragon and humans, bringing magical beasts like a tribute to the Fire Dragon, and even being found by the Salamander, and even being a decoy this time. What it's doing is too much like a subordinate.
"The Demons we've faced so far were more proud... They must have been following orders from above, but basically, they challenged humans to a fight. But this one, how should I put it... is trying to do things cleverly."
I don't know what to call it, but it's not the way of the Demon Race, who boast of their strength to others. It's the way of humans... in other words, the weak.
Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama went 'fumu' and crossed their arms. They are two people with abundant experience in fighting the Demon Race. They should understand what I'm trying to say.
"As a low-level Demon, what shall we do?"
Eleanor-sama asked me, but basically, a low-level Demon shouldn't want to fight. If they win, it's fine, but if they lose, they die and it's over, just like humans. Unlike high-level Demons, they can't resurrect. Their territorial disputes with their own kind are fierce, but I heard they live peacefully so as not to have trouble with other races.
"They must just be following instructions. Since they are watching, they shouldn't come at us. They are, so to speak, scouts. Since we've managed to get their attention, why don't we create a situation where a high-level Demon comes out?"
If it becomes a situation the subordinate can't handle, the superior will come out. Until now, we've killed them one by one, but this time, let's drive them away.
For now, we extinguish the Fireflies in the eyeballs and ascend. Eleanor-sama ordered the Four Great Dragons to standby. We deploy Magic Reflection toward the bottom of the bowl so as to deceive the monitoring eyes from below, and then cancel the Magic Reflection that was over the entire bowl.
"Sianya, please."
Sianya has the Priestess's stone. I had her sleep inside the stone until now out of caution against the Demon Race.
"Is it my turn? The opponent is the Demon Race, right? I'll do it!"
A scout who is too bellicose is also a problem.
After a simple briefing, we sent out the Priestess. The Priestess, who flew off from the bowl with a 'fuwa-fuwa', disappeared immediately.
"Will she be okay?"
Sianya, the one being protected, is worried.
"She'll be fine. If anything, she's on that side."
"That's true too. But I wonder if she'll suddenly pick a fight and start a battle. If that happens, a higher-ranking Demon might come out."
Honestly, that's what's scariest. This time, the Priestess's mission is not combat.
"She should be fine. If a ghost and a low-level Demon were to fight, which do you think would win?"
Eleanor-sama asked.
The answer is decided. The ghost. After all, the opponent's attacks won't hit. They have neither holy magic nor silver weapons. When we fought the Demon Race in the Northern Gram wetlands, we found out that the black swords are like Dark. In other words, for a ghost, it's the same as an iron sword and won't hit.
She's effectively the strongest, but according to the Priestess, there's also a weakness. In the case of fighting the Demon Race, the only weakness is sorcery, which is the funeral prayer used by human priests. If she takes that, she might ascend. However, since it has no binding force, it's possible to escape. And it would be the barriers used by the Demon Race. In short, it's basically the same as human anti-ghost tactics. Of course, there's no way a ghost who is a high-level mage like the Priestess would lose to a low-level Demon who doesn't have those means.
"The opponent should know better than anyone that they can't win even if they fight."
Hmm. That's true too.
Basically, low-level Demons are pacifists. I heard the exception is territorial disputes with their own kind. In fact, Keira is on good terms with the farm's livestock—goats, pigs, rabbits, and honeybees—and lives amicably with the squirrels, birds, and field mice nearby. She's popular with the old men at the silica quarry too. If so, even if they get into a fight, will they run away early?
The Wetlands Priestess returned more than two hours later. While waiting, we swapped the bowl twice.
"It was just as Jeanne said, it was a low-level Demon."
We asked her to scout, but she hated staying still and apparently talked to it.
"Was it okay?"
Sianya is worried.
"It's fine, it's fine, I'm stronger."
She's waving her hand 'hira-hira' as if to brush away Sianya's anxiety. She's quite something.
"That thing, it's bound by a contract."
"A contract?"
"Yeah. A contract with a high-level Demon."
The low-level Demon following us was being used by a high-level Demon who was surprised by the close interaction between the Fire Dragon and humans. The high-level Demon apparently trapped the low-level Demon and forced it into a contract, making it monitor the interaction between the Fire Dragon and humans.
The Wetlands Priestess, while hidden... though she didn't completely erase her presence... she left enough that a human above a certain level would notice and attack... approached the Demon following the Four Great Dragons. The Demon was apparently peeping at the Four Great Dragons fearfully. Since the Fireflies were already extinguished, the eyeballs didn't glow. Seeing it stop moving, it had been inching closer.
Even if it had a strange color, it must have realized it wasn't a living thing. It must have known immediately that it was being moved by magic. The combination of magic circles and magic uses over-ultra-high-level magic control... in other words, it's emitting that much magic reaction.
What on earth is this thing? Are humans involved? If humans are involved, what is the purpose?
To investigate, it used magical beasts to see the situation. The low-level Demon following us was also part of that. If humans were involved, they would attack. But we have no use for magical beasts either. The Demon also wants to find the location of the magic circle before defeating us, if possible. Naturally, it became a probing match. In a sense, the Demon's judgment is correct. Human magic will wear off after two hours. It just has to wait until then.
Just as the Demon intended, the Four Great Dragons stopped moving. This part worked in our favor because the true identity wasn't known. The low-level Demon, perhaps ordered by the high-level Demon to investigate, began to approach the Four Great Dragons. It was at that timing that the Priestess spoke to it.