Episode 396

"Recruitment for a subjugation force?"

"Yes."

Stonegan had once been the leader of Block 107's lesser race unit. Somehow, he'd ended up in a position resembling that of decision-maker for the lesser races. Right now, he felt puzzled.

He said, "It is too sudden. Is it a request for cooperation from another block?"

"No. This is an official letter from headquarters. Defying it isn't an option. It means you have to follow it unconditionally."

The word used was recruitment, but it actually meant forced enlistment. Stonegan looked at the man in front of him with even more doubts.

This was the fairy Michael. As the current acting director, he was the prisoner who decided on the major and minor affairs of Block 107.

At first, there had been many concerns about him. The prisoners had wondered if this fairy could properly fill the void left by Luzard, who had quickly brought block 107 under control with his outstanding charisma.

That was especially true for Stonegan. Life for the lesser races had started to improve and became a bit more livable; Luzard was the one who had created such an environment. Stonegan was worried that if Luzard disappeared, it would return to its original state.

In the end, it was a useless worry. Michael was more resourceful than expected and took full charge of Block 107's administrative matters. He didn't have Luzard's charisma, but there were no flaws in his work. Now Stonegan had come to trust Michael quite a bit.

Stonegan said, "If an official letter has been issued, shouldn't you just give the order? Tell them to prepare to participate."

Michael replied, "I am reluctant to do so. I want to try and exclude as many as possible."

"What does that mean?"

"This subjugation force is composed only of lesser races."

"Hm?" Stonegan tilted his head. "Why are you reluctant about that?"

"I've never heard of a subjugation force consisting only of lesser races. Doesn't something stink?"

"I'm sorry. Those of us in the rock tribe have a dull sense of smell."

Leone, who was acting as Michael, looked at Stonegan with a dumbfounded gaze for a moment.

Stonegan suddenly said, "As far as I know, you have just been admitted to the labor camp, yet you seem to know its inner workings quite well. How amazing."

"I can't tell if you are dull or sharp. It would be nice if you could pick one."

"What?"

"Nothing. In any case, you've been here for quite a while but you've never experienced anything like this, have you?"

"That's right."

"Mm."

"Still, how can we refuse an official letter from headquarters? We might be punished if there is no good reason."

"Just do whatever it takes. It is up to all of you to think of some excuses."

"I see."

"Mm. Now that you know, you can leave."

Leone let Stonegan leave and thought for a moment.

Is the Golden Lord ready to act?

She had already expected the Golden Lord to take action within a few months, so the timing wasn't that surprising. However, she felt a sense of uneasiness for some reason.

The church is too quiet.

There was no way the church members who had infiltrated deep into the labor camp wouldn't notice the Golden Lord's movements. It was the same for the Pope, who was leading all of this.

Strangely, I can't get in touch with him.

Leone clicked her tongue as she looked in the direction of the punishment building. She briefly thought about going there herself, but unfortunately, she couldn't do so. She sighed.

Then she let out an even deeper sigh after receiving another official letter from headquarters that evening. It stated that they wouldn't allow non-attendance for any reason.

***

Just as children resembled their parents, would a priest also become like the demon king they served? I didn't think so.

Tantata was a somewhat special demon king for me. That was because, unlike the other demon kings, Tantata was the only demon king I had faced directly in a place called hell.

Technically, I had also directly faced my eldest senior brother and Behemoth. However, my eldest senior brother was more like a brother to me thana demon king. Meanwhile, I had seen Behemoth on Spirit Mountain, so that could be set aside.

In any case, my intuition from meeting Tantata firsthand was telling me that this was Tantata himself. Even if the body was different, the consciousness was unmistakably that of the demon king.

How the hell had the Green-Tongued Demon King Tantata been summoned? What was going on in this labor camp? If that was the case, were those insects that appeared at the labor camp a sign of the demon king's summoning, or perhaps the aftermath of it?

That couldn't be the case. I judged that it was unlikely the demon king's descent had already occurred due to the absence of Dark Qi.

Even if a demon king summoning didn't succeed, as the ritual progressed, bad changes would occur in the surrounding area. Living things would become twisted, regardless of whether they were animals and plants, and demons would appear. Those terrible effects were caused by a flood of Dark Qi.

Meanwhile, I'd never felt Dark Qi at the labor camp. That was true even for the Dark Pope on the top floor and Tantata wearing the mask of Gustav.

I needed to face them directly to be sure, but if the Dark Qi of a demon king had truly been present, I would've sensed it merely by being in the same building.

At that moment, the screen was suddenly cut off. It was as if the communication crystal was broken. Due to that, an even more unsettling silence settled over this place.

"What is this?" Jisal muttered.

"D-demon..."

The moment one of the guards spoke, the surroundings fell into panic.

"A demon! Huh? That's a demon! We are all dead now!"

"C-calm down."

"How can I calm down, you crazy bastard?! Larsen is dead!" a young guard shouted desperately.

I didn't know had name, but he was probably someone who had joined at the same time as Larsen. They usually stuck together and got along really well.

"H-he even stuck his face into the monster's mouth... Oh gods. This is a dream. Or maybe I saw it incorrectly..."

I got up from my seat, approached the guard, grabbed him by the collar, and slapped him on the cheek.

"It isn't a dream."

Slap!

"You didn't see it incorrectly."

Slap!

There was nothing more effective than pain to wake up a stunned person. The guard's once pale cheeks turned red and I saw his dazed mind quickly returning.

Then I put him and looked around before saying, "This isn't the time to be stupid. We need to find a way to get outside."

A guard replied, "H-how? I've already checked all the passages that lead outside. There is no good path."

I asked, "Are you sure you checked everything?"

"That's right!"

"No," Jisal suddenly interrupted. "There is one more way to the outside. There isn't a door or anything like that. It's just a passage that's always open."

The guard asked, "T-there is something like that in the punishment building?"

"In a building where people live, such a thing naturally exists. This place is no exception."

"What does that...?"

"The chimney."

"Ah...!"

Several people exclaimed loudly. It was just as Jisal said. If it was a chimney, it would always be open.

Jisal continued, "Of course, it is very dirty and narrow enough for only one person to fit at a time. However, we can get out somehow if we can get through there."

"That's right! It is truly a brilliant idea! We can go there!"

Suddenly, Jisal added, "There is just one problem."

"A problem?"

"The chimneys of the punishment building don't run in a straight line. Just before reaching the rooftop, you have to go out of the chimney for a while and pass through a certain space." Jisal sighed. "It's the hallway of the top floor."

The guards held their breaths and everyone's eyes naturally shifted to the screen.

"Oho, ohuhuhu..."

The video function was broken, but the sound function was still working fine. From the noisy screen, we could hear the sound of laughter and lips smacking together again.

I shut off the screen since I thought it was annoying.

One of the guards said, "Still, it seems we have no other choice."

Another added, "We have to do this if we don't want to die. Just in case, someone should also head to the communication room and try to contact the outside. Maybe the situation can be conveyed to the outside with magic tools."

"I understand."

At that moment, one of the silent prisoners cautiously raised his hand and said, "E-excuse me. What about the demon's words just now?"

A guard asked, "What do you mean?"

"Three meals a day... He said that if we don't serve them, he will eat everyone..." The prisoner's face was pale as he spoke. Perhaps he was imagining Larsen's head being chewed.

Maybe he thought he would be the next prey. If Tantata could only be calmed by being fed people, it was likely that the one who would be next was a prisoner rather than a guard.

Jisal clicked his tongue and said, "There is no rule that only humans must be eaten. Let's buy some time by bringing food from the kitchen."

The prisoner asked, "W-who will bring it?"

"I'll do it." I stepped forward at this point. "Originally, I was the next person in charge after Larsen."

"Mm. Yes. Please do so."

"Then let's go to the kitchen and check the food first."

"Yes."

I left the monitoring room and headed toward the kitchen. I strolled through the excessively quiet hallway and thought about it.

At this point, was it just a coincidence that the punishment building had become like this? Was it the plan of the Dark Pope or some other leader? Why had Obi offered me an alliance? Why had he chosen death, and what did he mean by saying God would die?

I erased all the questions that came to mind one after another. In any case, I wouldn't get any answers at this stage. What I had to think about now were two people: the Dark Pope and the demon king.

The targets had suddenly doubled and my only collaborator had died. The situation couldn't be worse. If I could only kill one of them, I had to decide which one it would be.

Of course, both would be difficult, but right now, I thought the Dark Pope would be more difficult. That didn't mean the Dark Pope was stronger than the demon king, but certain conditions had to be met in order to kill them.

In order to finish off the Dark Pope completely, the throat of their other body in a different place had to be cut at the same time. I wasn't sure if there was anyone who could do that. The guards' combat power was terrible, and it was the same for the model prisoners.

In terms of combat, only the vampire Berwick would be helpful. However, even that bastard didn't seem to be free of the influence of Dark Qi or the demon king. It was the same for his combat ability.

To sum it up, the kind of collaborator I needed had to have the same level of fighting ability as me, be completely unaffected by the influence of Dark Qi, and have the ability to move in cooperation with me without being intimidated by the presence of a demon king.

"Huhu." I suddenly laughed.

Such talent was hard to find for even the Badnikers and the Hero Society, so it would be difficult to encounter any such person in the punishment building. In the end, I figured I had to do it all by myself.

"Vice Principal Obi has entered a long rest. I am truly sorry."

Just then, I heard a familiar voice from somewhere.

"Ah, yes. It can't be helped."

"I will take care of the body of the deceased. Please take care of your brothers."

"T-thank you, Sister."

I was at the infirmary. I stood in front of it for a moment. Then I saw guards coming out from inside.

"The sister is so pitiful. She was assigned to a place like this for no reason and got involved in this matter."

"By the way, I heard she is an inquisitor. Can we ask her for help?"

"Don't be stupid. Why would an inquisitor be in a place like the infirmary?"

"Indeed. That is true..."

The guards passed me and their voices faded away.

Then I opened the door and entered the infirmary. I saw the back of a somewhat familiar figure.

The nun who had just been attending to Obi looked at me and smiled. "Hello, Brother. Are you feeling unwell? Then it will be easy for me to—"

In an instant, I grabbed Verita's hand before I could think about it.

Verita's expression hardened. She asked, "Brother? What is this..."

I quietly used the Dark Sky Moonward Peak the moment I heard the deep voice that was contrary to her smiling expression. My Dark Qi that had long been dormant stirred once more and reached Verita.

The unease in Verita's eyes changed to confusion. Then her eyes widened with surprise.

"Ah." Verita made a blank sound and looked at me with a puzzled expression. She then said, "Nice to meet you, friend."

I hadn't known I would feel this way when I saw her. I was so happy that I was on the verge of tears. Really.