"......?"
The silver knight hesitated. Leaving the position to grab honey water didn't make sense. If he wanted then his subordinates would instantly grab honey water for him.
Furthermore, he added 'Yihi' to his sentence. The silver knight couldn't help feeling misgivings.
Yihi swiftly realized her mistake and explained.
"Hum hum, it was for Yihi. Yihi! I, my lovely fairy."
"Lovely?"
The silver knight showed signs of distrust. Confusion was also visible.
Grand Duke Randalph Brigsiel. As of now, he was the most famous of the demons. As a demon, he wasn't the type to use the word lovely.
However, Yihi didn't pay attention to the silver knight's reaction and improvised.
"Listen well to my words. My Yihi! I...she is the best fairy."
"...I understand."
The silver knight had nothing more to say. She had made a decision.
"Then...I will tell Ariel Diablo that Randalph Brigsiel left to get honey water for his lovely fairy Yihi."
Yihi didn't sense the sarcasm and nodded. The silver knight stiffened with surprise.
"Can I really say that?"
Yihi quietly looked at the silver knight.
The silver knight didn't speak anymore.
'There must be a reason for this behaviour. He is Randalph Brigsiel' were her thoughts.
His appearance was so different from what had been seen before.
Out of all the demons, he was the one with the most overwhelming charisma.
It was natural to think there might be a trick.
Of course, Yihi had no idea and just wanted to praise herself while looking like Master. However, the silver knight obviously misunderstood.
The silver knight bowed and left.
"Yihihi."
Now Yihi's mouth loosened.
She was proud of herself for crossing that hill unharmed.
However, nobody knew what Ariel Diablo's reaction to this would be.
There was a little angel. He was looking down at the ground from the sky while wearing a crown made of grass. Around him, numerous angels were engaged in a fierce battle with the creatures.
But apart from that, the little angel had a very gentle look. His appearance was cute like a cupid, but a air of nobility was felt from him.
Hash was a top rank cherub.
At present, he was leading them on behalf of the angels and was playing the role of commander. Even though he didn't know everything about strategy, the other angels helped clean things up nicely.
He was young, but the angel hierarchy was strict.
"93rd unit, destroyed by Upa Bullenon."
"77th unit, engaging in a fight with Ariel Diablo. Assemble all nearby troops."
"33rd unit..."
There were battles going on but they didn't forget to report back. Numerous commanding angels hurried to Hash and suggested what to do.
All Hash needed was to give consent.
Even if he couldn't speak, his will was naturally transmitted to them.
"Hash."
A thrones angel also in the upper hierarchy called Opinion talked to him. The angel with huge wings approached with a resigned expression.
As Hash shifted his glance, Opinion continued talking.
"The situation isn't good. I will lead the troops and punish the seeds of darkness."
Like his words, the worst situation was currently happening on the battlefield. In particular, Ariel Diablo and Upa Bullenon's presences were very difficult. The two grand dukes were annihilating the angels so the momentum was with them.
At this rate, the damage would only increase. It wouldn't be a bad choice for the thrones angel to move and try to overturn the situation.
Opinion confronting the grand dukes was an option.
Hash closed his eyes. It wasn't long after he was born but Hash absorbed everything faster than anyone else. He finished understanding the life and death battlefield, and realized what qualities were needed for a leader.
There were three types of angels in the upper hierarchy and the cherub was near the top. Only the seraphim and Celestial Ruler were higher than them.
There weren't only two seraphims. There was one Celestial Ruler and Opinion was one of five thrones. Truly the best of the best. It was natural that his speed of learning would be extraordinary.
Even so, there was still a lack of experience. This was a battlefield that wouldn't even tolerate one mistake.
Right now a decision was needed.
And it needed to give the best outcome.
The best outcome was killing as many creatures and demons as possible.
He received a message from his master, Randalph Brigsiel.
Sending Opinion right now was the worst option. He needed to lead the battlefield until the end. Randalph Brigsiel was a warrior who knew more about the battlefield than Hash.
Hash couldn't stop here.
Hash opened his eyes.
As he felt thousands of eyes looking at him, Hash sent them a short message.
It was permission to use the 'Ark.'
After Grand Duke Upa swept through.
Yoo Eun-hye and her party were able to speed up a little more.
The road to reach the centre was hard and long, but they couldn't give up.
However, there were some regrets.
If they failed.
They regretted not taking out Upa and his demons when there was the chance.
It really was a golden opportunity while he was fighting the angels.
Upa and his demons wouldn't have noticed.
All the team members would have been swept away by the explosion, but they could have killed a grand duke and many demons.
'No. I can't give up Hope just to catch one of them.'
Yoo Eun-hye hardened her heart every time she felt this.
Sometimes creatures and angels moved like the were scouting. There was no need for the party to worry too much. Angels wouldn't attack humans first and the creatures wandering weren't strong.
"At this rate, we will arrive at our destination in three hours. Our ultimate goal is to plant Hope at the destination and return as quickly as possible. There must be no one who falls behind."
Yoo Eun-hye spoke from the front. She had given this warning several times.
Three hours.
Three hours spent in hell.
Everything around them was the enemy. There were many opponents they couldn't afford to cross.
If their luck was bad enough to get caught by a scout, they could lose both Hope and their lives.
Yoo Eun-hye continued encouraging her team members.
The story that they could win, that they were humanity's hope.
It didn't alleviate the grim atmosphere.
It had been too shocking. The sight of Upa wiping out the angels alone. It was enough to plant the perception of being untouchable in the hearts of the humans.
"Wait...what is that?"
"What?"
The party stopped moving. Everyone was looking at one point with their mouths wide open. They were highly trained elites. Yet Yoo Eun-hye and the members were all amazed at what they saw.
It floated in the sky.
Even though it was a considerable distance away, the object was so big that it was visible to the naked eye.
"It is...a ship."
Kim Yura said with a strange expression.
That's right. A ship.
A wooden ship floating in the sky!
It looked like a normal ship, except for the fact that it was big enough to cover the sun.
'Please don't be a bad sign.'
Yoo Eun-hye barely suppressed her sigh as she stared at the sky.
Unexpected things kept on happening.
She was extremely worried about whether they could reach their destination safely.
Upa shifted his gaze from the angel whose wings he was tearing towards the sky.
"Something moderately interesting showed up."
Upa laughed roughly. He had been bored hunting ordinary angels. His opponents were only mid-rank angels and soldiers, with no high ranking angels being sent out.
It tasted of hunting.
The plan was obviously to consume a lot of his energy.
However, Upa followed this plan despite it being obvious.
He thought that the real opponents would come out if he kept on slaughtering the angels.
And...it seemed like the real thing had now appeared.
"Turn around. From now on, I will take over the ship."
There were some cerberuses with black wings. The symbol of Upa, the huge castle Bullenon, was painted on their collars.
Upa's hundreds of thousands of creatures started to move.
There was a half smile on Upa's face.
He desired that ship. So he would capture it directly.
It was a ship made by angels, but he thought it would be temporarily useful while he didn't have Bullenon.
Upa already imagined standing in the centre of that ship.
"Ho..."
Ariel Diablo.
She had stopped hunting and was resting for a while.
The angels had only sent weak soldiers.
There was a huge difference between them so she lost interest.
She was just watching Upa hunt when a ship appeared in the sky.
Ariel Diablo raised her ivory sword. A sword made of balrog ivory.
A hazy bone armour was also around Ariel Diablo. The bone armour wrapped around her whole body and there was a long tail.
The bone helmet seemed to look like a dragon's head and her magic power naturally dominated the surroundings.
"Let's go. I deserve that angel ship."
"......"
Cheok! Cheok!
The silver knights lined up behind her.
An answer wasn't required.
They only acted according to her will.
Ariel Diablo kicked off from the ground.
Wind blew up the dust as she instantly disappeared.
The Ark was a hidden card made by the angels. They gathered holy power and plants together to make it complete with wings. There were all types of magic and holy powers to stop the darkness, so the grand dukes' strikes wouldn't break it so easily.
There were 50,000 angels on the Ark. The angels started to fire the cannons on the Ark at the creatures.
Kung! Kwaang!
Those directly hit by the shells disappeared without leaving any traces behind. The airborne creatures attempted to attack from the sky, but the shield of holy power intercepted them. The evil creatures couldn't stand touching it and received wounds that couldn't be healed.
Even so, there were more high ranking creatures wiped out by the angels guarding the ship.
There were 20,000 angels protecting the ship. They wandered around the ship and killed any creature trying to pierce through the shield.
It was a dramatic reversal from the angels' previous state of being slaughtered.
"Dumb guys."
Grand Duke Upa watched the ship. He was disappointed in the demons hitting the Ark.
Even though he had entrusted this task to them, not one of them was able to scratch the Ark. The capabilities of his demons seemed to be inferior when compared to the vassals of the other grand dukes.
'I don't like it.'
He had no favourites among the demons. The creatures were like consumable items, while the demons would be together with him until their deaths. Yet they were like this.
He needed competent subordinates.
'In that sense, Gustarte is the best sword and shield for me.'
He would make Upa the best. Not a demon but a god. A demon becoming a god!
Just thinking about it made his body heat up.
Kwaang!
However, the sound of the Ark returned Upa to reality.
Dozens of wyverns were thrown to the ground. The other creatures were crushed to death because of the wyverns.
Of course, not all of his subordinates were useless.
Some high ranking demons were battling the angels.
There was someone who used the huge flying beast 'golgon' to push the Ark.
But there was no meaning to it if not all of his subordinates were competent. Upa personally didn't like this.
"Get out of the way. I will take care of it."
Upa immediately pushed aside the one commanding and came forward. He didn't like what he saw in front of him but he couldn't waste time.
He would use a blitz attack to finish it quickly.
It was best to start quickly and finish fast.
There were many ways to end it quickly but...
The best way was to show the overwhelming difference in strength.
Hwiing!
Upa waved his hand and strong winds started blowing.
Soon dozens of typhoons emerged and danced around Upa's right hand.
A huge typhoon was creature once they were joined together.
"The ship looks good."
Upa rode the typhoon into the sky.
He felt some comfort that he would be able to obtain the ship in a good condition.
At that time...
Pandemonium and his army hadn't moved far from Greenwich Observatory. He had no interest in the fighting as his gaze was only directed towards the observatory.
Randalph Brigsiel was a significant demon. The angels weren't high risk compared to him. He had dealt with one of the grand dukes, Okullos. There was no guarantee he wouldn't act against the other grand dukes.
As one of the oldest demons, Okullos was careful about everything. Some might say he was scared, but that cautiousness allowed him to maintain his position as grand duke for a long time.
'Does he really hold the key?'
His mind with filled with other thoughts while he went through the motions of fighting the angels.
It started with the invitation, but the true beginning was the special event.
A few lines of words had appeared in front of all the grand dukes.
And then the assault of the angels started...
'It isn't clear.'
The first special event was the emergence of the angels. This assault might also be one. It seemed suspicious but he wasn't sure how. He couldn't erase the feeling that someone had deliberately created this situation.
Then he needed to look at who would gain the most from this.
'Randalph Brigsiel.'
That guy. If the grand dukes' troops were reduced then the most profitable one would be Randalph Brigsiel who had no faction.
However, the angels wouldn't listen to a demon and they didn't seem like they were being used.
So Pandemonium decided to save as much power as possible.
If Randalph Brigsiel did anything then he would be able to respond flexibly. Or Pandemonium would surround Greenwich Observatory and stop him from moving.
'Humans.'
In the meantime, a dozen humans entered Pandemonium's field of vision.
The intelligence of humans was amazing so there was no reason for them to not notice this battlefield. Still, it was strange.
'Why would humans be here?'
Why would humans risk themselves to enter here?
Inferior organisms. All they could do was accept their fate.
Furthermore, the movements of the humans were careful.
It was clear that they were trying to do something.
'I need to find out.'
Pandemonium raised his hand. It was necessary to find out about any ambiguous occurrences. Then he could align the unseen puzzle pieces.
He knew from long years of experience that it was better to be as careful as possible.
Kwaang!
Suddenly there was a sound from the sky. Huge flames hit the Ark.
The problem was where the flames were launched from.
Pandemonium turned his head.
"He is doing moderately well."
There was an unmistakable man not far from here.
Randalph Brigsiel!
Despite not being close to it at all, he had attacked the Ark. He thought Randalph Brigsiel would continue to stay in the castle.
"Pandemonium. Aren't you interested in hunting the angels?"
That guy turned and proudly spoke to him.
It was natural for demons and angels to confront each other. A desire to hunt was also natural. It wasn't surprising for him to be rebuked for not moving.
Yet Randalph Brigsiel was the one saying it.
He was someone who had only stayed in the castle so far!
"I want to have a good time. Don't you think this isn't as entertaining as the banquet?"
"Are you trying to play word games with me now?"
Pandemonium frowned. He didn't want to get caught up in that guy's pace. Randalph Brigsiel might be young but he was surprisingly tricky. He likely had a separate purpose for this conversation.
"It is a joke. Aren't we close friends?"
"Shut up if you are just going to continue with the useless barking. Come back after you hunt all the angels."
"If I can't then isn't it impossible for you?"
"Impossible...?"
Pandemonium's expression hardened.
He hadn't expected the conversation to head in this direction.
That's why Pandemonium thought the words were a joke.
"It will be a big deal if I take action."
"It doesn't seem like a big deal to me."
"You will see after finding the way back to the Demon World. If you're not lying then all the others won't stay still."
A smile suddenly appeared on that guy's face.
"Demon World...I won't have any regrets about going there."
"Right. You are just an idiotic demon who is alone. You don't deserve to be formally called a grand duke."
"But I see grand duke in my status window. How is that possible if it isn't true?"
"It is a virtual one. The Demon World won't recognize you as a grand duke."
"I won't stay as a grand duke forever. In that sense, our wills match."
If he didn't stay as a grand duke, it meant he would become the demon king.
He left after saying those leisurely words. It seemed like he was going to find a nice place to watch the battlefield.
"You..."
Pandemonium shook his head.
That guy had moved away from the castle so there was no reason to stay here. In any case, it was necessary to finish this fight quickly.
"I will start hunting the angels. Spread out."
"As you command."
"As you command."
Pandemonium's demons moved with their assigned creatures. Pandemonium was proud of the quality of his demons compared to the other grand dukes'. They were all competent and did the required work without him needing to order them.
After a while, only a handful of creatures and the doll-like demons taken from Okullos' faction were remaining.
'They won't be able to endure.'
Pandemonium closed his eyes.
If he joined then the hunt would soon be over.
I shrugged.
It was a dangerous moment.
Pandemonium had noticed the humans. I knew exactly what they were carrying and what their plan was.
I had sent them Kim Yura and Kim Min-ji so that they could move as safely as possible.
'I don't know how much hope that bomb will be.'
Humans named it 'Hope' so it didn't seem entirely useless.
Anyway, entering the battlefield was the right decision.
Thanks to that, I was able to confirm some good information from Pandemonium.
'He must be looking for a way to the Demon World.'
The path to the Demon World!
This was possible if I could use Yihi. Perhaps it was the purpose of the special event. Yihi had the ability to move an opponent to the place they originally came from.
'I wonder what happened to the Demon World. It must be very important for them to move in such a hurry.'
I slowly headed towards the centre of the battlefield like I was taking a walk while lost in thought.
I continued to speculate on Pandemonium's words.
'The demons won't acknowledge me as a grand duke. In contrast, the other grand dukes have enough forces to be acknowledged. In a nutshell...the strength of my forces isn't something that the Demon World can overlook.'
That's why I had to go back properly.
The power of the Demon World would support the winner when they became the devil. Without power, I would become a puppet devil. Or I would be hunted by other forces.
Therefore I had concentrated on growing my dungeons. They would become my power when I became the demon king.
'I got good information and stopped him from obtaining a clue.'
It was a rewarding experience.
I looked up at the sky.
I was able to confirm that Pandemonium had joined the battlefield.
...The hunting would end soon.
Unless a small conflict upset the balance.