Side: Eris (Doppelganger Instructor, Playing the Demon King)
"Dekira-sama!! A mixed human force has begun advancing toward the gates of the castle town!!"
"Umu, so they aimed for dawn. I thought they might launch a night raid, but they chose the safer option... Very well. As planned, have the gate troops hold them back. Meanwhile, the separate unit will circle behind and crush them."
"Yes, sir!!"
One of the commanders ran out after receiving the order.
It seems Seraria has begun the march as planned.
"Still, Dekira-sama, the failure of the powerful monster invocation the other day was a bitter blow."
"There's no point bringing that up now. It wasn't Dekira-sama who was conducting the summoning experiments, and that person has already been beheaded. We obtained powerful monsters, so overall it was a net positive."
"...I suppose so. Though there were casualties, the damage wasn't severe enough to disrupt us, and we gained three hundred monsters potent enough to give even the Royal Guard a difficult fight. Between our regular forces and the emergency conscripts, we have thirty thousand troops stationed at the castle."
"Exactly. Reports state the enemy numbers only around ten thousand. Our victory is secure; there is absolutely nothing to worry about."
Mm-hmm. While I was focused on thinking about how to act as the Demon King and only listening to the information, it seems the executives have also properly received the story of the Demon King Castle assault operation we carried out earlier.
The official story we fed them is that a demonic mage discovered an ancient magic circle and used it to summon monsters, causing a localized riot within the castle walls. We essentially took the reality—an ancient summoning circle being a Dungeon Point (DP) monster spawner, and using Magic Power (MP) to activate it being equivalent to consuming DP—and twisted the explanation so they would misinterpret it.
Ah, of course, the three hundred monsters slated to participate in this battle have all had their stats heavily nerfed.
Through these machinations, our Dekira-Doppelganger—acting as the replacement for the deceased pervert—supposedly executed the hardline mage responsible for the incident and confiscated both the summoning circle and the research notes.
"However, was it really alright to put the peace faction on the front lines as the vanguard? I heard there was an internal revolt at the fortress that led to the gates being opened."
"There's no need to worry about that. That's exactly why we placed them at the front. If they betray us or get in the way, we can shoot them from behind. You know the castle town gate has double walls, right? Let the peace faction hold the first gate. We hardliners will stand at the second gate with bows ready. If they betray us, we can shoot them immediately. We've also spread oil inside the gates and walls so we can use fire tactics if they fall. If the peace faction inside the gates betrays us or is broken through, we can just burn them all together."
And depending on how we treat the peace faction, our course of action changes.
After defeating the pervert, Liliana visited the underground prison to explain the situation to them.
Option 1: If the peace faction is placed on the front lines, use the opportunity to defect.
Of course, if it's a trap, ignore it and surrender to the allied army immediately.
Naturally, they'll be monitored from behind, but they can pretend to pursue the enemy and chase after them.
There's also the issue of family members being held hostage, but since Dekira is on our side, we're using the dungeon's functions to strictly protect the hostages' safety.
Option 2: Execute the peace faction now.
This was not adopted, but in that case, the Dekira doppelganger would personally execute them as part of the act, then use them as MP for the summoning circle and let the rest escape.
"Well, messengers have already been sent to inform the Roumel invasion army about this attack on the royal capital. Thirty thousand reinforcements will arrive from there. The moderates will surely think that even if they betray us, they have no chance of victory."
"Indeed. Even if the capital falls, we can just take it back with 300,000 troops."
"Exactly. As long as Dekira-sama and we remain safe, cooperating with the Roumel invasion force will make it easy."
No, everyone here is going to die though.
In fact, we're going to wipe you out ourselves.
"That is right. There is no need for concern. I shall personally sweep aside those inferior humans. Unlike Liliana, I do not indulge in naive ideals. I rule all through superior power."
"As expected of Demon King Dekira-sama!!"
"Indeed. With such a powerful Demon King leading us, defeat is impossible."
As the Demon King stood and declared that, the executives rose one after another and voiced their praise.
Now then, I wonder how things are going on Seraria's side... Are they still drawing up their battle formations near the town gates? Compared to how fast Yuki-san acts, this is enough to make me yawn.
"If by some chance they break into this castle, we can just use the townspeople as shields and escape. Apparently, they won't harm those who don't resist if they call the demon race comrades or friends."
"Truly, they are as soft as Liliana."
"They can't even win battles they should win. Why don't we deliberately have some subordinates surrender and assassinate the allied army's commander or generals?"
"The battle has already begun, and Liliana is with them. There's no need to waste forces unnecessarily. After all, she was the one driven from the throne by us. They won't trust her so easily."
"That's true. No need for cheap tricks. The war situation is already tilting in our favor."
No, defeat is already inevitable. And you won't be escaping either. In fact, we won't allow it.
Still, this is turning out to be quite tedious...
According to the plan, we need a survivor from the hardline faction to escape and spread the word that the Demon King has completely lost his mind, but none of these fools are catching my eye. There must be people here who were forced into the hardline faction against their will, yet not a single person is speaking out against the comment about using the citizens as shields to escape. They have absolutely no backbone.
At this rate, should I just have a Doppelganger create a dummy body double to act as a witness, and stir up panic the way Dekira did...? But since a Doppelganger cannot mimic someone with absolute perfection, there's always a slight risk of exposure.
Should I wait a little longer?
Well, let's set the end of this council meeting as the time limit. If these executives disperse, I won't be able to use them as witnesses, so the purge is scheduled to happen right here. Come on now, you need to show me something, or I'm going to have to report that there were zero survivors.
"However, Captain of the Royal Guard, do you have no opinion on the matter? You have not uttered a single word this entire time."
"...Even if I told you not to use the citizens as shields, it would be futile, would it not?"
"That is quite correct. The survival of Dekira-sama and ourselves is the only way this nation survives... Ah, but of course, you were promoted to your position by Liliana, weren't you?"
"...Even now, I cannot bring myself to believe that Liliana-sama executed two of the Four Heavenly Kings just to instigate a three-way conflict between Roshure, Gartz, and Rithea."
"She is nothing more than a common criminal now. You know the outcome, do you not? That woman could not deny the charges leveled against her. For all her sweet talking, she was ultimately just trying to secure the best pieces for herself."
"...Which is why I am obeying your orders. However, let me make this one point absolutely clear. In the unlikely event that the Allied Forces close in on the Demon King's Castle, I and the Royal Guard will personally oversee the evacuation of the citizens. We have a firm agreement on this, correct?"
"Yes, yes. If you and your Guard head out into the town, it will serve as an excellent distraction. In fact, the enemy might even suspect you are hiding something. I hope you manage to get the citizens away safely when the time comes. We will use that window to make our elegant escape. Though, of course, the chances of such a thing happening are practically zero."
With that comment, the council room erupted into mocking laughter.
Heh, look at that... It seems that at the very last moment, someone actually worth keeping an eye on has stepped forward.
In that case, everyone except for that man... please prepare yourselves to become sacrifices.
"...By the way, gentlemen. Regarding the summoning incident that I supposedly resolved through execution, I have uncovered some highly fascinating data."
"Oh? And what might that be?"
"It appears there is a method to summon a monster far more powerful than the three hundred we currently possess, and assimilate its strength as one's own."
"That sounds magnificent!!"
"In truth, I have already summoned it. I would like to showcase it to you in this very room, if you do not object..."
"By all means, proceed!!"
The moment one executive gave his assent, the majority of the room voiced their approval, though a few remained hesitant.
And then, the monster manifested within the council chamber.
"""Ohhh...!?"""
The entire room gasped in unison, their voices filled with sheer astonishment at the sight before them.
Even from my perspective, looking at that creature was honestly revolting. Yuki-san had mentioned that he wasn't sure if it should even be classified as a monster, suggesting it fell squarely into the undead category. It was essentially an artificial humanoid weapon, created using a human body as its base modification.
Standing well over two and a half meters tall, it effortlessly brandished a massive sword and shield, with a barrage of arrow magic actively deployed around it, ready to fire at a moment's notice. However, its exposed flesh completely lacked skin, leaving the underlying muscle tissue starkly visible. It was thoroughly grotesque.
As I was processing this, the creature suddenly lunged at one of the executives, tearing into him as a fountain of fresh blood sprayed across the room.
"I am told this creature grows stronger by devouring flesh. I wonder how powerful it will become once it has consumed every single executive present in this room."
The Dekira-Doppelganger spoke coldly, egging the monster onward.
Within a heartbeat, the council chamber was painted entirely in crimson.
When Yuki-san first witnessed this flesh-devouring creature during our training ground experiments, he had remarked:
'Is this Biohazard, or some kind of Lavos?'
The exact meanings of those words eluded me since they are terms unique to his home world, but he did explain the underlying concept they shared:
'A monster that never stops evolving.'
There could not possibly be a creature more fitting for a tyrannical Demon King than this.
Now then, Seraria, please hurry up and get inside the castle before the place becomes completely deserted. I would honestly prefer not to have to hold this thing back all by myself—it really is incredibly grotesque.
