Mortal Enemy
"Welcome!"
The Crimson Flame Assault Squad was renting out an entire mansion in the royal capital, orthan, as their base of operations.
'A hero here, a hero there.'
I'd love to twist all their necks.
Berze endured the disgust and anger he felt from every corner of the place with superhuman patience.
Among them, the strongest hero spread his arms wide, welcoming him.
"You too, come on in. We'll be working together again, for now."
At the blatant nuance, Hillen Cargill bowed his head silently.
"This is our squad's vice-captain. Franz."
"A pleasure to meet you. Franz."
"I'm Pale."
"...?"
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Sir Pale, isn't today our first time meeting?"
"And?"
"In that case, shouldn't there be at least a basic level of courtesy between us?"
"Rozel Charnt didn't act like that."
"..."
Franz turned his head slowly. Rozel avoided his gaze with suspicious awkwardness.
"Captain, may I speak with you for a moment?"
Franz dragged Rozel toward the back.
"What is this?"
"What is what?"
"You didn't tell me he was that kind of person!"
Speaking casually on a first meeting, with zero intention of correcting it.
To Franz—who valued teamwork above all—that kind of person was absolutely unacceptable.
"One person like that is more than enough."
"We have someone like that in our squad?"
"..."
"Wait—what's with that look?"
"It's nothing. But that man is still a newcomer. Even if you personally like him, behavior like that only undermines discipline."
"Discipline comes from skill. Courtesy is a trivial thing. Does a monster pass you by because you're polite? Does a Demon King spare your throat?"
"We aren't monsters or Demon Kings!"
"Ugh, whatever."
"You little—!"
"You're the one who should practice some courtesy. Give you a little slack, and suddenly you don't know what you should or shouldn't say?"
Gentle, but with a firmness that brooked no argument—Franz shut his mouth.
"And don't get fooled by appearances. Look inside. Feel that mana."
Rozel grabbed Franz's face and turned it. Pale was talking quietly with Hillen.
"Tighten your eyes and focus."
"…You're right."
Hot. And pure. Mana that felt like gazing upon an elemental spirit itself—it earned automatic admiration.
Franz couldn't sense the "latent potential" Rozel spoke of, but even just feeling the quality of the mana was enough for him to realize Pale was no ordinary man.
"How can a human…"
"Maybe he's not a human."
Half-elf? Some other mixed blood? Rare, but not impossible.
"What matters is—I don't want to lose someone like him."
Truly, she wanted him.
Rozel licked her lips.
"…It's hard enough pretending I don't notice."
So blatant.
Even though he had blocked the sound by manipulating mana, Berze could still feel those piercing stares, and he ground his teeth.
"Don't explode."
"I won't. I'm not ruining the plan over something so trivial."
Compared to what he endured right before his regression—from the Hero of the Red Blade—this humiliation was nothing.
"We're done talking. Come to my room."
Moments later, Rozel led Berze and Hillen inside. With a look from her, Franz stepped aside on his own.
Tak—
The door closed. A faint smell of alchemical reagents prickled their noses.
"Sit. I don't have anything fancy to offer."
Two glasses of cold water were placed on the table.
"Now, let's talk."
"Talk?"
"More like an interview."
"I thought I'd already passed."
"In my heart, you've passed hundreds of times. But my body disagrees. When the back of my head tingles, I can't accept someone."
"How unpleasant. You were the one who made the offer."
"I know, I know—think of this as just a formality."
She opened a drawer and pulled out a document.
"Name: Pale. From Hilderan. Where exactly in Hilderan?"
"…Do I really need to say that?"
"Yes. Because according to this, there is absolutely nothing on you."
"You ran a background check."
"Don't be too upset. If you were a spy sent to sabotage the Hero Expedition, we'd all die."
That kind of thing had indeed happened. Maybe centuries ago in large-scale expeditions, but in smaller assault squads, it still happened from time to time.
"You were the one who made the recruitment offer first."
"I may rush into things, but I like to clean up afterwards."
"I have no reason to tell you. And no reason to accept restrictions."
"No. If I say it's necessary, then it is necessary."
"Then I'll withdraw."
He couldn't withdraw.
Berze had to participate in this Hero Expedition and personally confirm Draxon's death.
But he could call her bluff—because he knew Rozel was just as desperate as he was.
'With her personality and that obsessive gaze, there's no way she lets me walk out.'
Sure enough—she hadn't expected real refusal. Her eyebrows twitched.
"You're throwing away the chance to join the Crimson Flame Assault Squad?"
"It's not importhant to me."
"Didn't you need the expedition pushed forward as soon as possible for a reason?"
"Sounds like you needed it more than I do."
Rozel's mouth twisted. Her gaze turned sideways.
"Hillen Cargill. Can you personally guarantee Pale's identity?"
"Of course."
"Can you stake your life on it?"
Hillen hesitated. But then he nodded firmly.
"…Well, that's surprising. What kind of relationship makes a man gamble his life?"
Enough to hide someone's identity?
"Fine. I'll trust him."
"Do you trust Hillen?"
"I'm not trusting Hillen. I'm trusting the career and honor he's obsessed with."
The Hillen Cargill she knew valued honor and reputation above all else.
"If he betrays us, he loses everything. And I'll personally make sure of it."
Her sharp gaze swept over Hillen.
A very accurate assessment.
Then she smiled brightly.
"But there's a condition."
"A condition?"
"If I'm overlooking something suspicious, I deserve something in return. Don't you think?"
"I only joined because you asked."
Anyone hearing this might think she had begged him.
"Why are you being like this? You clearly have something you want—why else push the expedition forward?"
"…What do you want?"
"Your mana, your blood, and your hair."
From the moment she first saw him—until now—Rozel Charnt's goal had been singular.
Berze's mana, dense and hot enough to rival a spirit's.
She wanted it. And if she couldn't have it, she wanted to force a way to have it.
She held out a crystal orb.
"A mana storage vessel. Fill it with your mana."
"I refuse."
"…What?"
"I don't know what you'd do with my blood and hair. But fine—I'll give you mana."
Even if Phoenix power concealed his demonic energy, his body was still that of a demon. A grand mage like Rozel would discover the truth with just a little research.
But since the mana belonged wholly to the Phoenix, there was no issue.
"Just from mana alone, I still can't figure out how you obtained this power…"
"In exchange, twice. Once now, and once more after the Demon King dies."
"…Fine. I'll be satisfied with that for now."
"…For now?"
Rozel nodded. It felt ominous, but Berze extended his hand.
He closed his eyes and released mana—being extremely careful not to disturb his demonic energy.
"…You really intend to milk me dry, don't you."
"It's a rare opportunity."
Injecting mana took far longer than expected. Contrary to its appearance, the crystal orb's mana capacity was enormous.
Rozel grinned slyly. Berze, feeling a slight dizziness, withdrew his hand.
"Good."
"Now it's your turn to keep your promise."
He steadied his breathing.
"Perfect timing, too."
Rozel shrugged. At that moment—an immense wave of mana swept across the entire mansion.
"…Must be nice having money to burn."
"Acan Kingdom is loaded."
Clank, clank—
Heavy armor clattered loudly in the hallway.
Knock, knock—
"Come in."
The door opened. A knight in silver full plate armor bowed deeply.
"Great Hero, Lady Rozel Charnt, reporting. Three hundred and one knights including myself, Zeno, and one hundred fifty-two magicians have arrived."
"Welcome."
Rozel stood and held out her hand to Berze.
"Stand."
Berze lifted his head and met her eyes.
"The second Hero Expedition begins now."
"…That's very much to my liking."
Berze grasped her hand.
***
Secretly.
And swiftly.
That was the intention of Rozel Charnt and the Kingdom of Acan.
Before any other kingdom caught wind of it.
And even if they did, everything would already be over by then.
Hundreds of handpicked elite troops appeared in the orthan mansion through the teleportation circle.
The cost of the mana stones required to operate the circle alone was astronomical, but the Acan Kingdom valued what could be gained from slaying a Demon King far more.
"We can cover the cost by emptying a vault from the Tower."
"We can't afford to miss this chance."
The Mage Kingdom of Acan had always coveted rare monsters, demon corpses, and magical treasures.
Their value was limitless, and countless magical accomplishments had been built upon the blood of monsters and demons.
Thus, they made a decision.
Something they normally would never have done.
If the previous Hero Expedition hadn't dealt severe damage to the Demon King's Tower…
If Ormus wasn't desperate to erase the Tower as soon as possible…
If Rozel Charnt weren't showing such extreme enthusiasm…
This plan would never have been executed.
With Ormus's tacit approval, the secret second Hero Expedition began.
"Golden Lion Knights, Red Tiger Knights, White Wolf Knights… gods, even the Azure Comet Mage Corps, the Golden Galaxy Mage Corps, and the Crimson Sun Mage Corps…"
Hillen looked over the forces that emerged from the circle and let out a breath of awe.
These were the strongest combat groups in all of Acan—each one among the kingdom's finest. It was clear how seriously Acan was taking this operation.
With Acan's elite forces replacing them, the mercenaries—including the Red Hawks—were excluded.
Secrecy was of utmost importance.
'Azure Comet Mage Corps, huh.'
The Azure Comet Corps had once come to Berze's Tower.
A tower's environment follows its Demon King. Since Berze primarily wielded fire, his tower had been sweltering hot. The Azure Comet Corps, specialized in ice magic, had been quite a nuisance.
Though they never reached the top—no, they failed—they took many monsters' lives along the way.
Thus, six combat groups, along with the Crimson Flame Assault Squad, plus seventy-one additional heroes recruited by Franz, were assembled.
Berze exchanged no unnecessary greetings. A few magicians sensed his mana and admired it, but none gave him real attention.
From their perspective, Berze was merely an unwanted intruder.
With those perfunctory introductions, the second Hero Expedition departed from orthan.
"Are you confident?"
Berze flew up beside Rozel Charnt, who was leading the advance.
He acknowledged the strength—they were not weak. But doubt gnawed at him.
Even with one previous expedition, could such a force truly kill Draxon?
Draxon had survived in the dimension of Arein for nearly a century. He wasn't incompetent enough to fall to a mere one or two Hero Expeditions.
"Of course."
Rozel Charnt smiled with certainty.
"A mage is one who plans. And this plan is flawless."
"It didn't seem flawless last time."
"That's because Balaf—that damned bastard—ruined everything by popping out of nowhere. Or because Hillen Cargill wasn't as strong as his reputation suggested."
"In the end, the key is the Demon King. Do you have someone strong enough to hold him down?"
"Do you really think I'd rely on Hillen Cargill twice?"
Ah—speaking of the devil.
She muttered.
A presence approached from afar—massive, unmistakably heroic. A hero whose presence didn't pale even when compared to Rozel's.
The expedition slowed. A new hero joined them.
"Introduce yourself. This is Ralph Schmitz. Weaker than me, but you should've heard the name at least."
A heavily armored hero dismounted. He removed his helmet.
In that instant—
"...!"
Berze's gaze locked onto him.
A handsome face.
Radiant golden hair.
Eyes as blue as the ocean.
A muscular body that didn't match that elegant face.
Berze's skin prickled. His heart slammed violently.
"Hey."
Sensing something strange, Rozel nudged him.
"…What did you say?"
"I asked if you knew Ralph Schmitz."
"I do."
How could he ever forget?
That man.
That bastard.
That son of a bitch—
Hero Ralph Schmitz was…
"One I know very well."
One of the heroes who had smashed his tower and mocked him to his face just before his regression.
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