Mayhem (2)

The arrangement of Satan as Frondier mentioned.

The possibility that when he appeared in the Empire and summoned devils, high-ranking devils might still remain in this land.

This was just an unverified hypothesis.

‘But it will work on Paul.’

It couldn't be said for sure that Satan's devil would appear. Paul also knew that this was merely a suspicion.

However, even suspicion was dangerous for devils who had been hiding in the Empire for a long time.

‘Throughout the long history of the Empire, devils have perfectly hidden themselves. They merely imitated humans, and even if their crimes were discovered and they were caught, they would have been punished as ‘humans.’'

Most of them would be in a similar situation to Lily. Like Lily, many of them wouldn't even remember why they were in the Empire instead of the Demon Realm.

‘There's only one reason why they haven't been caught for such a long time.’

It was fear.

They couldn't return to the Demon Realm, nor could they live as devils in the Empire.

They had to live thoroughly as humans, restraining their desires and sometimes releasing them in unseen places. Even if they didn't understand morality, they had to thoroughly embed it in their minds and hide within society.

If there was even the slightest suspicion, they would immediately withdraw, move locations, and exchange such information with other devils.

‘So, this possibility doesn't need to be confirmed.’

As Frondier thought, Paul's eyes were shaking violently now.

Devils like Paul would definitely feel this situation more acutely than Frondier.

A considerable amount of time had passed since the incident where a devil appeared in the Imperial Palace. And in the meantime, there was the war with Manggot.

The time difference between the devil incident and Manggot's war wasn't that great. In other words, if there hadn't been a war, Satan's devils might have been running rampant.

Assuming Frondier's speculation was correct, they had already been hiding in the Empire for quite some time and would have reached the limit of their patience.

After the victory of the war, the Empire would undoubtedly be off guard, and with Belphegor gone, the devils of the West would be grinding their teeth to find the devils hidden in the Empire.

This was a clear threat.

Frondier added fuel to the fire.

“Even if there are no devils of Satan, the devils of the West remain.”

“……!”

“Elodie and I blocked their first attack. But of course, that's not all. The next, and the next attack will come from the West like a dust cloud. I don't know when. It could be coming right now.”

The first attack could only be explained as pure luck.

Elodie and Frondier, who were easily among the top five in the Empire in terms of subduing large numbers, were there.

“If that attack is repeated, the Empire will be exhausted. And if the Empire starts negotiations with the devils of the West, what do you think will happen to you and other devils?”

“Ne, Negotiations?”

“Yes. In exchange for handing over devils like you who are hiding in the Empire, the devils of the West will retreat. If I were the Emperor, I wouldn't hesitate to make this choice.”

Devils fight devils. But since the battlefield is where humans live, the homes of humans who have nothing to do with it are turned upside down.

Emperor Bartello is a wise emperor. As wise as he is, he is decisive and unforgiving.

“He didn't even know that devils were hiding in the Empire, and because of those devils, the Empire is in a mess? But if the devils of the West aren't interested in humans, why should the Emperor protect you?”

“Ugh……!”

Frondier's words were the truth. Frondier was the only one in the Empire who was free from the prejudice against devils. Even Frondier himself had the misconception that devils and humans would be similar.

If Frondier, who had only learned about devils through knowledge, was like that, what about the prejudices of the humans living in this land?

To be honest, Frondier wasn't confident in eliminating other people's prejudices. He didn't know how to do it, and above all, it was somewhat true.

The desires that devils had often crossed the line of human society. That was the fact that Lily testified to.

“I understand that you don't want to take the risk of being discovered by the Empire by providing information to humans, who are already nervous about the devils of the West.”

But even so.

Frondier still didn't intend to eliminate all devils just because they were ‘devils’.

“I'm the only one who can help you now.”

“……How can I trust you and take your hand?”

“There's no reason to trust me. Humans hate devils. It's a story that everyone in the Empire knows as a matter of course.”

“Yes, you're the same.”

“Even if I say I'm not, it won't be convincing. But why do you think I'm talking so long?”

Frondier looked into Paul's eyes. He still seemed to be half-believing and half-doubting.

“Just in case you didn't know, I defeated Beelzebub.”

“……!”

“Are you guys stronger than Beelzebub?”

“…….”

“If not, think about why I'm not making the ‘easy choice’. The choice that everyone in the Empire would be happy with, the ‘things worthy of applause’ that you just mentioned. I'm sitting in front of you now, enduring all of that.”

Paul was so heated up by the current situation that he hadn't thought about it, but objectively, if the Empire had seen Frondier's current appearance, it would have been very suspicious.

If he had found a devil, and if he had the ability, he should have killed it right away. Why was he talking so long and taking the long way around?

Especially when he had tried to kill the opponent by depleting their Mana.

“Whether you're a human or a devil, I had enough reason to kill you. The reason I didn't is because you were the most likely to have the information I needed. Hostility? Prejudice? Are you still saying those things in front of me now?”

Prejudice against devils, the achievement and reward of killing devils, sufficient force to make it possible, self-defense for trying to kill him first.

Frondier was enduring all of that and sitting there.

“I'm not trying to gain your trust, Paul. You're a researcher at Hitchcock. You must be much wiser than me.”

“…….”

“Make a judgment.”

At those words, Paul's eyes finally closed slowly. He took a deep breath and exhaled.

As much as he exhaled, he seemed to have inhaled some kind of resolve, and his eyes that opened again were clearer than before.

He said.

“……You know about the desires of devils, right?”