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[22nd Round] Shocking News

“The United Federation is a powerful nation that brought many small states located throughout Festival under one banner. Elfheim handed its power to his two beloved granddaughters, and he now acts as their adviser and arbitrator, which is a rather unusual management system.”

“Is that possible?”

“They are expanding their territories without any difficulties since 96% of their state’s power comes from their two rulers. The United Federation army certainly isn’t weak, but Elfheim’s granddaughters are just that incredibly strong.”

“Something is wrong here. With elven genes, this is simply not possible.”

Due to their racial characteristics, all elves had excellent skills, but at the same time, they were deprived of the possibility of unlimited growth.

The power of a nation being concentrated around only a few individuals was often only possible with humans.

… Or were they half-breeds?

Although highly probable, that would mean they violated one of the elves’ most important rules. Their royal family was supposed to preserve the purity of their elven blood from generation to generation.

I was intrigued.

What kind of man was the father of those twins that made even Elfheim decide to abandon the preservation of their blood and choose this path?

“I’ll have to meet with him later.”

But I had already mentally drawn up my schedule.

Therefore, meeting an evil elf was at the very bottom of my list.

At the top of it was, of course, Lanuvel.

I had to reveal Lanuvel’s true identity, who no longer acted like an ordinary companion.

Ssosiel, the director, was already on it, but I couldn’t sit idly by.

Wondering where she could be hiding, the city of angels came to mind first.

I decided to start there.

***

The Festival planet was small.

It didn’t even reach half the size of Fantasy.

But it had many moons, large and small, where angels built their cities.

“That’s not the latest information, is it?”

“Yes. I heard this from my parents, so I can’t guarantee its veracity. I don’t think the situation has changed much, though.”

I received a fair amount of intel from Hanjo.

“I wonder how they will behave.”

Teachers were loyal to the “director,” who had absolute power. That was why, after the owner of that position changed, their behavior changed accordingly.

What would the angels do?

If they were all loyal to the First Angel herself, they might resist the Righteous Hero with all their might.

Otherwise, they would prostrate themselves before me.

“Would you rather fight them?” Hanjo asked.

“That would be nice.”

I wouldn’t regret crushing their shaky faith by force.

Compressing space, I found myself on a moon.

The higher one rose in the atmosphere, the more useless the angels’ white wings became. It was because of this that it was difficult for birds to climb into the stratosphere.

But these chickens seemed different!

Not giving a damn about the laws of physics, they flew around in space.

“D-Demon Lord!”

“Parmamon is here!”

“Alert! Alert! Alert!”

“Mama!”

The angels who found me were frightened, causing them to flap their wings in panic.

How pitiful.

The patronage of the universe used to send meteorites from the sky to punish all evil for me.

Now, however, I had to deal with everyone separately.

“Their defenses are full of holes.”

I thought I wouldn’t touch their civilians and focus on their soldiers instead, but only a few stupid chickens representing the civil defense attacked me.

“How is that… Kh?!”

After hitting Hanjo over the head with Dark Energy, I replied, “Do not ask me, but try to find out yourself, since you have already come with me.”

“Oh… I get it.”

Hanjo flew towards the angels and began to collect information.

“Sorry. Don’t be alarmed. I am an angel just like you.”

“D-don’t come any closer!”

… Who even started conversations like that?

Why should they not be afraid just because she belonged to the same race?

It was just like when Elf Princess Sylvia burst into the Black Market with weapons in her hands, shouting, “Don’t be afraid, I’m an elf too!”

Being of the same kind meant they wouldn’t commit sins against each other? That was an absurd way of thinking.

There were robbers, perverts, arsonists, kidnappers, madmen, murderers, crooks, and all sorts of criminals, even among elves.

That happened not only among kinsmen but also among classmates, work colleagues, fellow countrymen, representatives of the same sex, comrades…

One shouldn’t lower their guards just because they were somewhat similar to others. After all, manipulators often used such similarities to gain their victim’s trust before striking.

My method was way more efficient.

“Hey, don’t worry, chicken head. If I wanted to kill you, I would’ve done it long ago. Now, tell me why this city almost has no soldiers.”

“Kh-kh?!”

“Keep your mouth shut if you don’t want to talk. Your scream would make too much noise and lead to a commotion. There are others here who can answer for you. Parents, wives, sons, daughters, friends…”

“L-let go of my throat… Kh!”

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to talk. I won’t force you.”

“Let me do it! Please!”

I hoped Hanjo learned from what I just did. This was how the Righteous Hero asked questions.

I utilized a technique that made my target voluntarily spill intel in the shortest possible time.

“Speak before I change my mind.”

“I will! Thank you!”

Angel A began his story.

Most of his comrades who went to Fantasy to rescue the First Angel didn’t return.

Therefore, the few remaining soldiers here didn’t stay in one place but instead patrolled different cities.

But over time, this changed.

“… Hurry up, Angel A. I don’t have much free time.”

“I was going to, but I don’t know how to explain it…”

“Just tell me how it is.”

“Rumors are spreading that the missing Parmael has been captured. Therefore, the higher-ups formed a rescue squad with the remaining soldiers.”

“A rescue squad…”

Ignorant angels.

Saving Parmael?

His bold statement made me chuckle.

I smiled at him.

“H-hik?!”

“In other words, the angels are in a very precarious position right now.”

Everything was messed up.

What good would it bring me if I were to twist these angels’ heads? They didn’t even try to resist. Instead, they lined up to evacuate.

All I had to do was use dark matter on them, and they would be crushed in an instant.

“Hanjo.”

“Yes?”

“Bring them all back to the city. Kill those who disobey or try to escape. Even the children mustn’t be spared. If we let them go and they grow up, they’ll definitely want to take revenge, causing us many problems in the future.”

“Umm… Okay…”

“I see you have doubts. Don’t worry. I, the Righteous Demon Lord, am adaptable and merciful. If you find someone you can’t bring yourself to kill, then bring them to me. I’ll take your life in their place.”

“That won’t be necessary!”

I wanted to show mercy, but she refused.

For me, however, these were huge concessions.

If even a young angel were to escape, they’d grow up wanting to take revenge on me.

They would threaten my family, and I might have to make sacrifices.

But I offered to spare such a sinister being.

It was a really gigantic compromise on my end!

“I will give you plenty of time later to lay eggs with the males of your race, Hanzo. In the meantime, however, I need you to guard the city and disallow anyone from escaping.”

“E-eggs?”

Confused, Hanjo flew towards the refugees’ procession.

And ordered them to return.

They ignored her, but when their leader died from an arrow to his heart, they immediately realized the seriousness of the situation.

“Traitor!”

“How dare you call yourself an angel?!”

“Who are your parents?!”

“How can you attack your own kind?!”

“Betrayer!”

Curses kept spilling from their mouths.

It didn’t last long, however. Realizing their screams weren’t working, the angels were left with no other choice but to return to their city.

As for me…

“Just look at their erect vertebrae. I suppose you’ll only learn to bow your heads after witnessing your friends and families suffer from my Dark Energy until they succumb to death.”

“W-we’re s-sorry! Have mercy!”

“We didn’t want to! We apologize!”

“Have mercy! Demon Lord!”

Only now did they begin to prostrate themselves.

They didn’t know me.

If I wanted to get rid of them, I wouldn’t have talked to them for so long.

Doing so would’ve been pointless otherwise.

Why would I chat with those who’d soon meet death anyways?

Looking around, I realized the interior of the city seemed to combine magic and science.

This was made evident by most of its details, like a fountain that soared up instead of flowed down and the stairless multi-story buildings.

“You live in abundance here.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“You can relax, chickens. Rather than taking what’s not mine, I prefer to destroy it completely. I’m no thief.”

The angels had very diverse expressions as they looked at me, which I found quite a pleasant sight.

But my words weren’t without weight. The angels really lived in abundance.

Maybe it was because they used the natural resources of the universe, but most of their buildings and other structures were built of gold. They weren’t just gilded with it.

Precious metals, which would have made people’s eyes light up, were scattered everywhere here, like dirt underfoot.

These were the resources of the universe.

Their way of life was very different from Earthlings’.

“Welcome… Demon Lord Parmamon.”

One of the angels suddenly spoke to me.

Politely, I replied, “You’re probably the one in charge here. If not, and you still dared to disturb me, commit suicide. Once you do, I will forgive you.”

“You’re right.”

“Then, Angel D, since you’ve finally shown yourself, I take it you’re prepared to answer my questions? Oh! Fear not. I am righteous and fair. Any angel who has questions can raise their hand they don’t mind losing.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

It seemed that they had no questions.

“Demon Lord! We have neither the will nor the army to oppose you. I plead that you have mercy on us…”

“Who rules you?”

“Have mercy… Kh?!”

SKR!

Angel D, whose neck cracked between his 6th and 7th vertebrae, fell.

He stepped forward, ready to answer questions, but he started spouting a bunch of nonsense instead.

To calm everyone down, I displayed my Righteous Hero’s smile.

“Is there anyone here that’ll make more sense than this idiot?”

“…”

“…”

Nobody took the initiative, so I decided to choose one myself.

“Hey, you. The angel in pink panties with slime patterns.”

“Ah?!”

“I like your panties. If you answer my questions properly, then starting today, you’ll be known as this city’s representative.”

There was no need for me to look at her skills.

She already passed since she already recognized the greatness of slimes, the race of Master Mollan, the one true supreme being.

That was much more important than skills.

“You continue to assert that you do not have an army, but how is it so peaceful and calm in this city then?”

“That’s because… nobody attacks us…”

“What about Noebius?”

When he was young, the angels turned him into their pet. As a result, when I set him free, he rampaged like an unstoppable beast.

He would want to take revenge on them!

On the contrary, however, this city, along with many others, remained in perfect peace and order.

Logically, that simply wasn’t possible.

In other words, the angels were lying to the innocent Demon Lord!

The angel with slime-patterned panties answered, “He’s already passed away…”

“…. Who?”

“The Supreme Dragon of Oblivion, Noebius…”

“Are you sure he didn’t just pretend to be defeated by your army?”

The news that my best friend might be dead shocked me.

Angel shook her head in denial.

“No. That merciless dragon, distraught by vengeance, was killed by Elf King Elfheim’s two granddaughters.”

“… Are you saying that a dragon capable of piercing the angels’ divine shield with one blow died at the hands of two little elves?”

“Yes.”

“…”

It seemed like I would have to change my priorities and first meet the miserable elf.