B2 Ch 102 - The Required Sacrifices

This might have been the first time Jester had seen the Chaos reveal this much information about the perspective of someone he was interacting with, including what they were feeling and what was actually driving their actions.

Something similar had happened before, with Elora and Lucia, but back then, he had been in his normal form, his Jester form.

But here, he was disguised as a demon, one who was even lower in rank than the demon commander currently bringing her face closer to his chest, before slowly moving upward toward his neck.

Zorvaya finally pulled herself back and fixed him with a far more intense gaze than before, though it was still every bit as dangerous as her usual stare. With how fast she could move, she could probably kill a demon on Zarvok's level with a single slash. Like, that was how fast and powerful this woman was.

However, this was a different kind of look. A thirsty look, a hungry look, a look filled with greed. Maybe it really was much easier to bring out the greed inside a demon? Like, that was honestly something he should have expected when ordinary demons were already this chaotic and barbaric by nature.

Zorvaya wanted a position higher than the one she currently held. That much was obvious. The difference between a demon warrior and a demon commander alone was already that huge.

Like, sure, they both still looked like demons, judging from their bodies, their horns, and the color of their skin. At least in general. But Zorvaya, who had already become a demon commander, possessed a much more refined body, though Jester had no idea whether this kind of appearance was considered perfect or attractive from their perspective. Still, Zorvaya looked far more normal through human eyes, at least when it came to her skin, her face, and even the proportions of her body.

Maybe that was one of the features they gained whenever they advanced in rank. And from her current rank, there were still two important ranks above her.

Demon General, and then Archdemon.

There was actually another fact that made Jester's current situation even more concerning. They had repeatedly mentioned Queen Belial, the Sixty-Ninth Ranked Demon.

If even a ranked demon had possibly descended into this area, did that not mean there was also a chance that a Demon General or even an Archdemon was already here?

The more he thought about it, the worse this sounded, far worse than he had initially expected. And just from looking at the situation now, it was becoming painfully clear how weak and fragile Rania's position was with the forces she currently had.

Without Jester interfering and messing everything up from the inside, Rania could probably be crushed with ease, and Ashfall City would follow soon after. Worse than that, the kingdom did not seem to be giving this situation anywhere near the attention it deserved, despite how serious the crisis had already become.

The kingdom should have moved quickly to drive back the demons that had already pushed this far into their territory. There were hundreds of them. But even with the forces Rania had gathered, it was painfully clear that she was still struggling.

Rania was the second princess. She was the second strongest and one of the most influential princesses in the kingdom. She should have considerable authority, a wide reach, and plenty of backup to call upon.

But there was still the first princess. Or even the Crown Prince. Though perhaps they were occupied with something else, something important enough to keep them from getting involved in the situation here.

Zorvaya then turned around and walked forward with those dangerously quiet steps of hers.

They continued their hunt throughout the night. A hunt for humans. Not the ones native to Yunatea, though. Their targets were mostly human players. It was fine since they could simply return after death, respawn, and then be hunted all over again afterward.

This version of the story was never approved by its author; the real one is on .

Zorvaya shot forward at terrifying speed, wielding her two daggers as they spun through the air around her, striking before her opponents could even react to her presence. Even Jester simply followed along and relaxed in the back while the demons continued hunting down the players with brutal, almost insatiable hunger.

Oh, and their numbers were only growing. More and more players were showing up, drawn toward the chaos and eager to throw themselves into whatever was happening. Well, that really was the nature of players. Whenever something big happened, they always assumed there had to be something valuable they could gain from it.

Like, when else would they get the chance to encounter a Demon General, right? Even if that Demon General was completely fake.

Some time later that night, the meeting they had been waiting for finally took place, with Zorvaya gathering with the other Demon Commanders operating in the area. The meeting was held out in the open, near the edge of a long stretch of rocky terrain.

The woman emerged from the darkness with Jester walking behind her, while several other demons could already be seen standing there, waiting for her arrival. And just seeing those figures was enough to make Jester swallow hard.

There were four Demon Commanders in total. One of them was obviously Zorvaya. The second had a broad head and an equally wide mouth, almost like a frog, with a pair of small horns and a dark green cloak covering his body. Let's just call this one the Frog Demon.

The next one was tall and thin, wearing a white robe that covered him from head to toe. His eyes were hollow, while barely anything of his face could be seen beneath the robe and its shadow. Let's call this one the... Hollow-Faced Demon?

And then there was the last one. Tall and massive, with a muscular build and a rough face that looked almost scorched, his skin carrying a deep, burned-red color. He wore armor only over the lower half of his body, leaving his massive upper body completely exposed.

Let’s call this one the Big Red Demon.

Yeah, that should work. Just to make them easier to remember.

“You’ve caused enough chaos already, Zorvaya. What you’ve done goes far beyond your authority! If you keep doing whatever you please, you’re only going to cause more trouble for the rest of us,” the Big Red Demon said in a deep, booming voice.

“Khe khe khe.” The Frog Demon joined in. “Still, I have to admit, your creativity never fails to surprise me. It was clever, actually. Bold, too. Taking such an unusual approach without waiting for anyone’s approval... khe khe khe. Perhaps even genius. But push genius too far, and it quickly becomes stupidity.”

His wide mouth curled into an unpleasant grin.

“You’re putting your own troops at risk, along with yourself. And more importantly, you’re risking the orders entrusted to us by Her Majesty, Queen Belial. Surely you haven’t forgotten whose command brought us here in the first place.”

The Frog Demon suddenly extended his long tongue and dragged it across one of his own eyes before turning his attention back toward Zorvaya.

“Or perhaps that explains this little gathering.” His grin widened. “Have you finally become frightened, Zorvaya? Is that why you called all of us here for such an unnecessary meeting?”

He tilted his broad head slightly, studying her with suspicion.

“A great war is approaching, and every one of us has responsibilities far more important than entertaining your little concerns. Surely you don’t believe whatever you have to say is more important than the duties already given to us, do you... Zorvaya?”

The figure hidden beneath the white robe finally stirred as well, and a faint, whispering voice slipped out from beneath the hood.

“Zorvaya...” the Hollow-Faced Demon spoke. “You are free to act on your own judgment, but not to this extent. We have an important mission, and we cannot afford to waste our forces on unnecessary battles. Every loss makes what comes next more difficult.”

The darkness beneath his hood shifted slightly.

“We have two weeks to gather enough sacrifices. If we fail, we lose our chance to summon Queen Belial into Yunatea.”

Hearing that last part, Jester lowered his gaze slightly. He was beginning to understand.

Piece by piece, he was finally getting a clearer picture of why these demons had come here in the first place and what they were actually trying to accomplish. They were clearly gathering sacrifices so they could summon Queen Belial into Yunatea.

And honestly, that made sense. It was already widely known that Ranked Demons were restricted from freely crossing into Yunatea, bound by the rules of an ancient contract that placed strict limitations on beings of their level.

Unless, of course, those restrictions could be bypassed through a ritual.

And from what Jester had just heard, he was beginning to understand how that ritual worked. Apparently, the demons needed a certain number of sacrifices before they could complete it and summon Queen Belial into Yunatea.

Interesting. Very interesting.

Just how much chaos would erupt if Queen Belial actually managed to descend into this area?

It certainly sounded like things would become far more dangerous than they already were.

Still, the Sixty-Ninth Ranked Demon shouldn’t be powerful enough to destroy an entire kingdom by herself... right?

Or… Was he seriously underestimating just how powerful a ranked demon could be?