Demon realm.

Pandemonium. The Battlefield of Ten Thousand Demons. The Graveyard of Adventurers.

A world so detached from reality that even humanity, the so-called rulers of all creation, was denied the right to conquer it.

And yet, here we were, strolling through such a place as if it were nothing.

Like we were just out for a casual flower-viewing trip, leisurely taking in the scenery.

At first, we had all declared that we would remain vigilant.

But no matter how far we walked, not a single enemy appeared.

Even though suppressing my holy power to the utmost only had a limit of about an hour—

Even though my presence should have been broadcasted across the entire Demon realm in real-time—

Not even a single named demon, nor even a goblin, came to challenge us.

Glance.

Glance.

Hans kept stealing nervous glances at me. His eyes brimmed with shock and terror. It was obvious what he was thinking.

There was a rumor that the leader of Black Fangs could see a thousand miles ahead, and that they could call down a sword of light as massive as a mountain to judge the guilty from the heavens.

By now, there wasn’t a soul who didn’t know the story of Sian Ludbeth and his death.

Hans had seen my holy power just moments ago. He was probably wondering if I had razed Demon realm to the ground with my sword of light before I even got here.

“A-Ah, I sincerely apologize for my rude words earlier….”

Just as expected.

He immediately apologized.

His face had turned pale, looking as if he might faint at any moment.

Well, if I really were the leader of Black Fangs, being called ‘Pope’ to my face would have been enough to make my blood boil. It wasn’t unreasonable for him to be this scared.

“This… wasn’t me. I have no idea what’s happening either.”

“Huh? Then what in the world is….”

Hans’ expression twisted with confusion.

I had briefly wondered if demons and monsters had mysteriously disappeared over the past ten years.

But that didn’t seem to be the case.

After a short moment of thought, I voiced the first possibility that came to mind.

“Could it be that the Empire wiped out the demons?”

I had no idea what their motive or reasoning would be.

But if I had to think of a force powerful enough to pull something like this off, only one name came to mind.

“The Empire? But they’ve ignored this place for so long… why now…?”

“Well, you know, it’s a knight’s duty to protect the Empire’s citizens. To save the people—”

I stopped mid-sentence.

Even lies had to have some level of believability.

Imperial knights protecting imperial citizens?

That was more ridiculous than some web novel protagonist who got isekai’d into a story but just wanted to live a quiet life without interfering with the plot.

But… no matter how much I thought about it, the Empire was the only plausible suspect.

As I struggled with this bizarre mystery, a sudden transmission interrupted my thoughts.

The face that appeared on the screen belonged to Balzac.

More precisely, the fake Balzac.

A spy implanted into the Empire—his soul forcibly stuffed into Balzac’s body.

With a slightly flustered expression, he spoke up.

[Uh… did you plant another spy in the Empire besides me? Maybe someone who infiltrated the imperial family?]

At those words, confusion washed over me as well.

A spy?

In the Imperial Family?

What the hell was he talking about?

As my face twisted in doubt, Balzac awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

[No? Then what the hell is going on?]

After a bit of back-and-forth filled with more bizarre speculation, Balzac finally got to the main point.

[The Empire has wiped out the demons. They thought Black Fangs was taming demons to use them as a weapon against the Empire.]

“…Taming demons? How the hell do you tame a demon?”

My face contorted in even greater disbelief.

Those things weren’t even capable of proper conversation. How could anyone possibly tame them and use them as allies?

If it were that easy, people would’ve done it ages ago.

There were demons like succubi and incubi who were obviously valuable commodities. But you didn’t see businesses popping up that used them.

Because countless people had tried—only to fail.

Some of the unlucky ones ended up as nothing more than splatters of blood.

It had become an unshakable truth that demons could not be domesticated.

There was no way that common sense had suddenly vanished in just ten years.

So what the hell was the Empire thinking?

I couldn’t make sense of their logic at all.

[The one who devised the operation was the Second Prince. Since the original owner of this body seemed to be acquainted with him, he didn’t suspect me at all. If I play my cards right, I might be able to deal with him. What do you think?]

The fake Balzac asked.

Maybe because Lucy had chosen his soul well—he was proving to be surprisingly competent.

I debated for a long time.

Should I take this chance to eliminate the Empire’s prince?

But then—

‘…What kind of nonsense is this now?’

The voice whispered through my earring.

It told me not to.

That I shouldn’t do this.

After a long, heavy silence, I finally spoke.

“No, leave him alone.”

[Got it! Understood!]

The Imperial Swordmasters were always under scrutiny. Balzac, the fake one, ended the call, saying he couldn’t keep the transmission open for long without attracting attention.

I wasn’t sure if I had made the right decision.

If the Second Prince were assassinated, suspicion would inevitably fall on Balzac, and that, in turn, could lead to Miss Rubia.

Thinking rationally, it seemed like the best choice.

‘More than anything… I just have this strange feeling that letting him live is the better option.’

Even if I ignored the earring’s warning, something told me that keeping him alive would work to my advantage.

Not that my instincts were particularly reliable. If anything, they had a track record of being wildly inaccurate.

With that thought, I resumed walking—only to make eye contact.

A gaping mouth.

A face frozen in shock.

Hans stared at me, his expression a mess of disbelief.

“I-I’ve actually been a supporter of Black Fangs for a long time!”

He pulled a small, gleaming black brooch from his pocket—shaped like a fang.

…Since when had Black Fangs started selling merchandise?

I opened my mouth to explain, then shut it again.

From his perspective, I was some untouchable mastermind who had subdued an Imperial Swordmaster and was now using him as a spy.

No matter what I said, he wouldn’t believe me.

Besides, complaining that we were being mistaken for a revolutionary group when I actually had a spy in the Empire? That would be ridiculous.

“I’ve heard of Black Fangs’ greatness through rumors, but to think you could manipulate the Empire itself, even mobilizing their army….”

Hans looked at me in awe, as if I were some kind of genius tactician.

“So that’s what happened! It was all part of the plan… How did I not realize it?”

To make matters worse—

Lien was now looking at me with reverence, convinced by Hans’ words.

Even though I had already given up on correcting them, their admiration was starting to give me a headache.

I needed to change the subject. Fortunately, there was something we actually needed to discuss.

“Enough about Black Fangs—just focus on your job as a guide, Hans. If we keep going this way, we’ll reach the Castle of the Undead Sovereign, right?”

I had hired a guide, yet I seemed to know the terrain better than he did.

Lost in his own thoughts, Hans had been leading us forward without much awareness.

But if we kept heading in this direction, we’d run into the Undead Sovereign in his castle. That was a place we needed to avoid—

‘…Wait a second.’

A realization struck me.

Balzac had said that the Empire had wiped out all demons. And the Empire’s military strength was undeniable.

That meant it must have happened.

So what about the Undead Sovereign?

What about his castle?

The answer was obvious.

They were all dead.

The Undead Sovereign, his subordinates—

His castle, abandoned without a master.

And surely, the same fate had befallen the other named demons as well.

“I-I’m sorry! I got distracted… I’ll guide you to your destination right away!”

“It’s fine.”

I smiled as I said that.

When I first heard about the demon massacre, I had simply thought it would make traveling easier.

But now, I realized the Empire had done much more than roll out a red carpet for me.

“If you think about it, this is technically a trip, right? Might as well take our time and enjoy it.”

If the Empire wasn’t completely incompetent, they had probably taken the Undead Sovereign’s mana stones and any valuable equipment.

But had they really found everything?

The hidden Easter egg in Blood and Bone.

The elixirs, the artifacts—

And if I was lucky, the rune stone that granted the abilities of a boss monster.

Did they find that?

Of course not.

That meant I had only one course of action.

“Since we’re here, let’s take a little sightseeing detour.”

The Empire had cleared out the bosses and mobs for us.

Now, we would simply help ourselves to the treasure they had left behind.

…It was time to collect some free loot.

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