NOVEL WEB Chapter 58
58. I’ll Break Through And Show You
In the depths of the demon realm, within the pitch-black castle.
A beautiful silver-haired girl knelt before the demon king’s throne.
“Demon General Meriel, I have just returned.”
She—Meriel—bowed respectfully.
“Glad to see you safe. It seems your hypothesis that one can remain in the human world without ‘malice towards humans’ has been proven correct.”
The Demon King nodded in satisfaction.
“Well done, Meriel. This is valuable data. Ordinary demons and beasts wouldn’t have managed this. They are too consumed by attacking humans to feed on their fear.”
“Allowing demons and beasts to rampage freely is due to your generous nature, my Lord.”
“We, who tasted defeat in the Great War between Gods and Demons, have some resentment to vent. However, higher demons must see the bigger picture. We will conquer the surface, weaken the gods, and eventually—”
The Demon King nodded at Meriel’s words but then stopped speaking.
“…No, let’s not go further. There’s a chance ‘he’ might be listening.”
“‘He’…?”
“It seems we’ve found someone with the power of a God.”
Without answering Meriel’s question, the Demon King changed the topic.
“Yes, he’s in the capital of the country humans call Adonis. His name is Haruto Riva.”
(The Demon King is hiding something—?)
Suspicious, but not showing it, Meriel reported.
“He possesses the power of Ilfaria. He probably defeated Gyrasvrim.”
“Good work. Report as soon as you find the others.”
“Yes.”
Meriel bowed her head again at the demon king’s command.
“About a month ago, I sensed the power of Ilfaria. Now I feel the powers of Garezza, Vym Force, Melgias, and Luv—all godly powers have been appearing one after another.”
“The ancient gods number seven in total—so others with divine powers besides Haruto have appeared?”
“Or perhaps they existed earlier. It seems more natural to think their power has grown enough to reach the demon realm over the past month.”
The Demon King groaned in response to Meriel’s question.
“However, the power of Melgias suddenly disappeared recently. Maybe he was defeated by another demon, or possibly died in a conflict among humans.”
Indeed, the human world was filled with more conflict than Meriel had imagined.
Desires, anger, hatred, jealousy—these negative emotions between humans lead to conflict.
“To extinguish a god’s power by themselves is the height of folly.”
“However, conversely—it is possible for those with divine powers to join forces.”
Meriel suggested.
Between humans, there are not only negative emotions.
Kindness, compassion, friendship, love—though Meriel, a demon, could neither understand nor empathize with these feelings, she knew of their existence.
This she had learned from the twins, Alice and Lilith.
“If that happens, it will be troublesome for us.”
“—Since when have you been here, Dialva?”
Meriel frowned at the sudden voice.
No sound, no presence.
Not even a hint of existence—
From the void, a shadow emerged.
The shadow landed right next to Meriel.
“From the beginning.”
The tattered, bloodstained robe and hood spoke of countless fierce battles.
A pendant with five gems hung around the chest.
Dialva, the most skilled sorcerer among the Six Demon Generals.
The face within the hood was shrouded in black mist, even Meriel, a fellow general, did not know it.
“I shall go, Your Majesty.”
The glowing eyes in the center of the mist stared straight at the demon king.
“I will eliminate those with godly power before they can join forces. Starting with this Haruro Riva, whose location is known.”
“Even Gyrasvrim, with the greatest offensive power among the Six Demon Generals, couldn’t break through his defenses. It would be wise not to underestimate him.”
“There is no need to rely on direct attacks like Gyrasvrim.”
Dialva’s cold voice informed Meriel.
“I will slowly corner and kill him. Including the surrounding humans, everyone.”
“Surrounding humans…”
Instinctively, she thought of the twins.
Those close to Haruto.
If a Demon General attacked, Alice and Lilith could be caught in the crossfire.
“Everyone—if you act with such blatant malice, your time in the human world will drastically decrease. Have you forgotten why Gyrasvrim disappeared?”
“Hmm? Do you dislike me killing humans?”
“…!”
Meriel was momentarily at a loss for words.
It was an unexpected accusation, even to herself.
(Could it be—I am concerned about Alice and Lilith?)
Ridiculous.
Impossible.
As a Demon General, she couldn’t care about the lives of mere humans.
“I-I just thought we should avoid the risk of losing more Demon Generals.”
“How kind of you. You, who once destroyed numerous nations with mass slaughter magic.”
Dialva’s eerie gaze fixed on Meriel.
As if doubting something.
“I can bypass the vile phenomenon you proved, where malice shortens one’s time in the human world. Haruto Riva and the surrounding humans will all perish.”
Then, Dialva turned to the demon king.
“You seem confident, Dialva. Then I command you. Eliminate Haruto Riva, the one with Ilfaria’s power.”
“As you wish, Your Majesty.”
Dialva bowed respectfully and disappeared into the void.
“I will break through the guardian goddess’s power. With my supreme sorcery—[Barrier Fang].”
Only the eerie voice echoed in the audience chamber.