68th Floor. The 68th Floor, also known as the 'Stratum of Stars,' was ruled by Decarabia, who had built an unrivaled force among the lowest-ranking Demon Kings.
The reason it was called the Stratum of Stars was simple. The sky above it possessed the most twinkling stars in the Demon World. Perhaps for that reason, Decarabia often gave star-related names to his forces.
His five most trusted generals, the Pentagram Generals, were one example; furthermore, even the special ore produced only in the mines of the 68th floor was named 'Nebula Stone.'
Nebula Stone was treated as a high-grade gemstone everywhere in the Demon World. It earned Decarabia vast sums of money, to the point where one could say the entire Financial Base of the 68th floor relied on Nebula Stone sales.
And now, the owner of all that Nebula Stone was enraged.
"Balthazar is dead, Crowley is captured... and you even lost most of the soldiers, failing the 69th Floor Conquest?"
"...Yes."
Decarabia let out a Dry Laughter. This war hadn't been Decarabia's unilateral decision. It was a matter decided after sufficient opinion gathering and Discussion with his five most trusted generals, the Pentagram Generals.
Meaning, the very instigators of the war had returned bearing defeat. It wouldn't be strange for Decarabia to be angry.
"To think you'd repay me with such results, after I trusted and cherished you all so much."
Decarabia revealed his fury, delivering a Reprimand to the remaining three Pentagram Generals.
"Can you still call yourselves the finest generals Under my Command after this?!!"
"...We have no excuses, Your Majesty."
Decarabia growled, issuing a Threat.
"Bring me the heads of Seere von Devata, that bitch, and Dantalion right now. If you fail, it will be your heads that roll. Go now, immediately!!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!!"
After answering spiritedly and leaving Decarabia's Audience Chamber, the three generals sighed. Among them, a man with indigo hair and ears resembling fish webbing spoke.
"Does anyone have a Plan?"
He was Dahak, a general from the Triton Clan and the third star of the Pentagram Generals. A handsome man with long silver hair answered Dahak's question.
"Well, with Balthazar fallen, I don't know what move we could possibly make."
This was Kruahe, from the Drake Tribe and the second star of the Pentagram Generals. And finally, Rubia, the last remaining general, from the Harpy Clan and the sole One Red Spot of the Pentagram Generals, spoke.
"How on earth did Balthazar fall? We even sent him off wearing Magic Armor so he wouldn't fall to Dantalion."
"To the Demon King of the 72nd Floor..."
"No, I know that! What I mean is, how did Balthazar fall to the mere Demon King of the 72nd Floor?"
Balthazar was incredibly skilled. He was the strongest among the Pentagram Generals. The shock wasn't just that he had retreated, but that he had died.
And at the hands of the lowest-ranking Demon King, no less.
"Wouldn't you know better, Rubia, since you went down with him?"
"I wouldn't know! I told you I was somewhere else entirely! I was too busy retreating when Rin El Razar suddenly appeared."
"Rin El Razar? Then he must have fallen to her."
If one of the Four Swords was the opponent, it was certainly possible for Balthazar to fall. But even if Rin El Razar had dealt with Balthazar single-handedly, subjugating the 69th floor was ultimately the power of one Demon King.
Kruahe spoke with genuine admiration.
"Seere von Devata... I didn't expect that young Demon King to have grown so strong already."
"We might need to nip this bud now. We don't want a second comming of Seyre's spawn."
"But how? Honestly, with Balthazar fallen, it's become difficult."
"Still, we vastly outnumber them in terms of Scale. If we can draw the enemy into a Decisive Battle, we can crush them with overwhelming numbers."
Dahak nodded in agreement with Kruahe's opinion.
"No matter how strong Seyre's Four Swords are, they can't face a Military Force of tens of thousands simultaneously. From what we've gathered, the 72nd Floor's army is at most 20,000. Even combined with their Alliance partner Sitri, they are barely over 100,000."
"But Sitri is unlikely to mobilize her entire army, and despite being in an alliance, she won't want to clash with us. Since the 72nd Floor is Acting alone, she'll try to wash her hands of it."
Listening to Kruahe and Dahak's conversation, Rubia summed up their words concisely.
"So, in the end, we need to Strike first and force a Decisive Battle, right?"
"That would be best."
"Then let's Sortie immediately..."
"Generals!"
Just then, a Messenger ran up. Seeing the urgent look on the Messenger's face, Dahak asked what was wrong. The Messenger then delivered surprising news.
"The Blockaded Portal on the 69th Floor has just opened!"
"...What? Opened?"
"Is there any reason for them to open the portal?"
"It's a Trap."
Kruahe spoke as if he had grasped the enemy's intentions.
"They deliberately opened the Portal to Lure us in. There's no reason to oblige them."
"But His Majesty ordered us to conquer the 69th floor quickly?"
"It means there's no need to go right now, Rubia."
After explaining simply, Kruahe ordered the Messenger to relay his command.
"All troops standby, don't fall for their intentions under any circumstances."
"Yes, I will relay the message!"
Tap-tap-tap!
As the Messenger received Kruahe's order and turned to leave, the sound of urgent footsteps echoed from afar. Running faster than anyone down the corridor, another Messenger appeared.
"Urgent news! Urgent news!!"
"What now?"
"Enemy Attack! They opened the Portal from the 69th Floor, and an army has crossed over here!!"
"......What?"
#
68th Floor. Arriving at the place called the Stratum of Stars, Rin narrowed her eyes slightly, feeling the chilly wind. Then she looked at the man beside her and asked.
"Sir Nahen, is this really possible without Sitri's Support?"
"Who knows."
"Pardon?"
"I'm not certain either."
Rin's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Nahen had always appeared Methodical, preparing Countermeasures and moving with certainty.
But now, he was admitting his lack of certainty, showing weakness for the first time. Rin looked at Nahen with questioning eyes.
"The situation got twisted. This wasn't what I planned, but thanks to Seere running wild, things got completely distorted."
Rin flinched at Nahen's words. After all, it was Rin who couldn't refuse Seere's insistence.
"...I apologize."
"No, I didn't mean to reprimand the Commander. It was Seere's stubbornness that was wrong. Anyway, it's true that the situation has deviated from my plan..."
Nahen let out a small, self-deprecating laugh.
"So, I can't accurately gauge the Risk and predict the outcome either."
"Then why did you resort to such drastic measures?"
"Because this seemed the fastest way, likely to minimize damage."
Nahen raised a hand and swept back his bangs. Rin flinched momentarily at the action, then turned her head slightly away.
"Commander."
"...Yes."
"Have the soldiers retreat."
"Pardon?"
"Make them stay very far away. Just don't let them leave the 68th floor."
Having swept back his Bangs, Nahen simply fixed his hair with Magic. His golden eyes, having found their prey, shone chillingly.
Standing right beside him, Rin thought she couldn't understand Nahen's Order, yet felt she had to obey. It was just... an Instinctive thought.
"...Understood."
Rin bowed her head respectfully and withdrew. After she retreated, voices ordering the retreat were heard several times. The army of the 72nd Floor began to withdraw together.
Left alone, Nahen slowly gazed at the countless shadows beginning to appear beyond the Ridge.
There were so many they resembled a Swarm of ants. Along the Ridge, Decarabia's army was revealing itself. Nahen could Experience firsthand just how massive an army of 150,000 Soldiers was.
"Quite a lot."
'Can I do this?' He still didn't know. Suppressing Andromalius had been accomplished based on the huge advantage of a surprise attack.
Nahen was certainly strong, but he still didn't know the exact Level of the powers visible in his Memory, so he couldn't be certain of the outcome.
Instability. This was the factor Nahen was most wary of.
The reason he had prevented Seere from Participating in War until now was also this Instability. In Nahen's mind, this was clearly the way to minimize Damage, but the Instability stemming from his lack of confidence in his own power complicated his thoughts.
"Sir Nahen."
"We're here."
After sending Lin and the Soldiers away, Nahen called only two people to his side. They were Dane and Eri, whom he had nurtured through vast Support.
Of course, this measure wasn't taken because he trusted them more than Rin.
"You two are people who die if I die, and live if I live."
"Yes."
"I know."
Unlike Rin, Varuna, and the Soldiers of the 72nd Floor, they were expendable pawns. Having grown rapidly over the past 5 years, it was also time to test the skills of the two who had become an outstanding Rogue and a proper Mage, respectively.
"So if you want to increase my probability of survival even slightly, help me properly on your own accord."
"Understood."
"Yes!"
Nahen closed his eyes briefly.
The chilly wind blew again. It felt like clarity was settling into his complicated mind. Nahen took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes.
"They're swarming."
What is the deciding factor in war? When asked this, many would offer various answers.
The experience of Soldiers and Commanders, the number of Soldiers, the quality of Weaponry, the Commander's leadership ability, brilliant Tactics and Strategy, and even the Soldiers' condition and Morale on the day.
All of it was true. War was inevitably lost by the side lacking even one more of these things. But there was one factor that could overturn all of this at once.
"Shall we begin?"
That was, overwhelming power.
#
Dahak, leading Decarabia's army from the Vanguard, asked a Messenger.
"Where is the enemy?"
"They had reached beyond that Ridge and weren't moving, and for some reason, they are not visible now..."
"It's a trap. All troops, wait here. Form a Scout Unit and ascertain the enemy's Movements first."
"Yes!!"
As Dahak's troops at the front halted, Kruahe and Rubia, who were behind, rode their horses forward.
"Dahak, what's wrong?"
"Why did we stop?"
"The enemy isn't visible. It seems best to send scouts first and observe their movements."
"Hmm, I see."
"Don't tell me they ran away?"
Kruahe and Dahak responded to Rubia's guess.
"Surely not."
"Nonsense."
At their sharp rebuttals, Rubia shouted back angrily.
"Then what is it!? Why don't you brilliant minds tell me!"
"It's obviously a trap."
"That makes sense. They probably intend to rain down arrows and magic the moment we get within a certain distance, ambushing us. If that happens, no matter the disparity in forces, we'll suffer severe losses......"
Even at Kruahe's reasonable assumption, Rubia snorted derisively and said.
"Don't make me laugh. If they were preparing magic, I would have sensed it already!"
"...Then you sense nothing?"
"Right! That's why I asked if they ran away, you know?"
Hearing Rubia's words, Dahak nodded and corrected his statement.
"They must know that you, Rubia, are part of our Pentagram Generals. Perhaps they aimed for that and didn't prepare magic. Compensating for the lack of firepower with Artillery."
"That makes sense."
"...So, the conclusion is still a trap, huh?"
Rubia went 'Hmph,' snorted once more, and then rode her horse forward. Dahak and Kruahe sighed, wondering what she thought she was doing.
"Come back quickly, Rubia."
"Do you want to end up like Balthazar by acting willfully?"
"Hmph, you cowards just stay quiet. I'll go check it out."
"That idiot..."
Kruahe and Dahak sighed deeply. Rubia wasn't even Talent worthy of being grouped with the Pentagram Generals in the first place. She had somehow gained Decarabia's Favor and snagged a position, yet her behavior was completely arbitrary.
She had listened somewhat to Balthazar, but without him, she was an unruly brat like no other. Watching Rubia ride off into the distance, Dahak shook his head.
"Kruahe, it can't be helped. We'll have to prepare, just the two of us."
"Right, we'll have to establish formation and wait until the scout results arrive."
Just as the two reached a conclusion and were about to issue orders to their respective armies.
Kwagagagak!!
Something was descending the Ridge. It was coming down the Slope at terrifying speed, tearing through the Dirt. Not only Rubia, who had approached the Ridge, but also Dahak and Kruahe heard the sound.
"...What is that?"
"Rubia, retreat for now!"
As the two shouted, Rubia also sensed something ominous and quickly turned her horse around. However, the moment she turned her horse, something grabbed her from behind.
To be precise, it didn't grab Rubia's body, but the horse's tail hair. And then Rubia's body flew up into the sky.
"...Huh?"
The horse, caught by its tail, was swung around. Rubia was sent flying straight up. Soaring high into the sky, Rubia looked down with a face clearly showing panic.
A man stood there.
"Pierce."
『 Spina 』
As the man uttered a short word, huge, sharp Spikes surged from the earth. Rubia urgently tried to begin Chanting, but there was no time.
Puk!
The Spike stopped Rubia's Heartbeat. Blood flowed like a waterfall. With a large hole in her chest, she trembled, drooling saliva, tears, and filth.
The fifth star of the Pentagram Generals fell anticlimactically. The lump of flesh, its flame of life already extinguished, slid down the Spike. Jureureuk.
The man who had killed Rubia in an instant slowly raised his head. Black hair and golden eyes. It was a face they had never seen before.
Kruahe and Dahak spoke, wary of their opponent.
"Who are you."
"Are you the second and third stars of the Pentagram Generals, Kruahe and Dahak?"
"We are. Who are you?"
"I am the one who came to wage war against you."
"...What?"
At that moment, Dahak and Kruahe couldn't believe their eyes.
Black mist shimmered behind the man's back, and a massive White Whale revealed itself. It opened its enormous Mouth wide. Judging by its massive open mouth, it was an immense whale, seemingly hundreds of meters long.
───────────!!!
It was no Illusion. The White Whale roared towards the front and passed the man. And began to Charge forward.
Soon, it began to swallow whole everything with its massive mouth. Engulfing the earth, it rushed towards Decarabia's army at a brutal speed.
"What is that...!"
Dahak was Horrified by the sight, while Kruahe quickly Judged and issued an order.
"Evade immediately! Abandon the formation and evade!!"
Dahak and Kruahe, on horseback with the 30,000 cavalry, were able to escape safely. However, the slower infantry couldn't escape the massive White Whale's charge, no matter how hard they ran.
With its mouth spanning tens of meters, it was natural that heavily armed soldiers on foot would need time to get out of range.
Over 100,000 Infantry were swallowed into the whale's Maw, and Dahak and Kruahe could only watch the gruesome spectacle. The White Whale that swallowed everything vanished, leaving behind only the trace of something colossal having gouged the ground.
Having lost most of their Infantry in an instant, Dahak and Kruahe couldn't tear their eyes away from this Astonishing sight. And the Awe they felt soon slowly turned into Fear.
Kruahe barely opened his trembling lips and asked the master of the White Whale.
"You, you..., just what the hell are you...?"
He glanced at the Trace left by the White Whale for a moment, then let out a Dry Laughter. And with a light smile, he posed a simple question.
"Who knows..., who could I be?"
As if he didn't know himself.