The captain had disappeared.
Thanks to this, they were able to escape the battlefield for a while and return quickly, but they were not happy at all.
The members of the Murderous Knight, sitting huddled together in one corner of the backyard, each sighed deeply.
"Where have you gone with that body?"
"You weren't kidnapped, right? If... if that's really the case... is the kidnapper providing proper meals?"
"Are you planning on eating in the meantime?"
"It's important."
"That's right."
"..."
They wondered if the Marquis was eating properly.
"... More than that, what should we do now? The Marquis isn't here either."
"Shall we go look for him ourselves?"
"I don't know if we'll be able to find him, and more than anything, we'll be caught quickly. "It's called desertion."
"Then what?"
The answer was given by Cleter.
"... Let us follow the Emperor's words only until the Marquis returns. Now that the hero has disappeared, he must be looking for him diligently."
***
Deon Hardt was dying.
The extreme stress that came from the combination of the terrible memories that had been forcibly separated was added to the stress that had accumulated so far, and this caused the state of his body.
His fever rose like crazy and he was coughing up blood all the time. The situation of crossing between life and death several times a day did not change even though he was safely transported to the demon realm.
"Do something!"
Lirinel, who was the one responsible for transporting him to the Demon World, called Ben, who came running after receiving the signal from the necklace given to him.
Her voice sounded like she was about to burst into tears.
"This is the realm of the mind. All I can do is... cool his body and replenish his blood..."
"You're the doctor! You're Demon's doctor, so why!"
When she saw him lying in the snow, she was scared and brought him to the demon realm. She moved around with only one thought in mind: that as soon as they got to the Demon King's Castle, everything would be resolved.
Lirinel wanted to burst into tears right away, but she knew that crying wouldn't solve anything, so she picked up a handkerchief instead. Ben looked at her bloodshot, unfocused eyes to see what on earth she was looking at, and then wiped the corners of Demon's eyes. There was blood on the handkerchief.
"If that doesn't work, try using magic, please..."
The sight of him not even blinking when the handkerchief touched his eyes made him look like a doll whose soul had been lost, and she began to cry.
"You're crying..."
He was sure he just wiped it, but the blood was flowing down again, leaving a trace as if it was never clean.
Tears would have been better, but the red liquid flowing down his cheeks was so unsettling that she had no choice but to cry like a child.
"... The ban on magic has not been lifted yet."
"Say it now!"
"And."
Ben looked down at the 11th Corps commander, who was grasping his neck with both small hands. The voice continued in a choked voice, perhaps because the throat was strangled or because of emotions.
"If it had been possible to solve the problem with magic, I would have used it a long time ago."
Magic or whatever, the top priority is Demon's life. He who escaped from the Demon King's Castle and went to the human world because he already received a strong signal, would he now think about what to do next? If there was a way, he would have used it right away.
That means he really had no choice.
A doctor who can't do anything with a patient in front of him. The most miserable demon here was none other than Ben.
"More than that, it seems like his body is starting to heat up again. Could you please let go of this hand?"
"...."
"... Thank you."
He walked towards Demon, pretending not to notice the arm that had fallen helplessly.
His whole body was boiling. With a fever so severe that he thought he was going to die, Ben chewed his lip until it bled and took out a towel he had soaked in ice water.
He muttered as if he were lamenting while wiping his scarred upper body, since he had taken off his top to relieve the fever.
"Unfortunately, the Demon King is out at this time..."
He said he would come back soon after hearing the news through the communication stone, so why hadn't he come yet?
He sent Ed to wait for a detailed explanation, but did something go wrong?
As soon as he could think of this, the Demon King appeared right next to him. At the same time, the strong smell of grass filled the room.
The Demon King appeared with Ed and looked around the room, which was hot due to the heat from Deon Hardt, and at the crying Lirinel, and then set his sight on Ben.
A cool and calm voice came out softly to the point where Deon would have asked who it was if he had heard it.
"I'm a little late because I received the news and received herbs from the Fairy King. How is his condition?"
"... It's serious."
The mouth that was supposed to report the patient's condition in detail uttered only one word.
Ed, who belatedly saw Deon Hardt's condition, let out a faint groan. The Demon King rolled his eyes and glanced at Deon Hardt without paying attention to the demon, then quietly nodded.
"It seems so. I have been receiving various herbs as needed, but I don't know if they will be effective."
"..."
"You should know better what these things are. Ben, please classify it properly and use it. Fairy herbs are effective, so if you use them well, he may be fine. The first thing to do is to bring down that fever."
Ben's movements became busier.
Ed was the one who took over the role originally played by the busy Ben. He soaked the towel in ice water again, took it out, wrung it, and wiped Deon's upper body.
The Demon King, who had been standing still and watching this whole scene, took a few strides forward.
After just a few steps, he stood at Deon's bedside and extended his hand. A finger delicately wiped away the blood flowing down from the corner of the eye, and a low voice continued.
"What on earth did you see?"
To be crying this pitifully.
He waved his hand to roughly shake off the blood and looked into the eyes of the human whose eyes were wide open and seemed as if he was about to suffocate due to high fever.
Eyes with bloodshot whites and even redder eyes, as if they were looking at something.
He realized the answer without difficulty.
"... You quit."
Turning away and repressing.
The Demon King paused for a moment, then straightened his slightly bent back as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, Ben hurriedly approached, holding a small pill that seemed to be medicine. The Demon King took the medicine from him.
"It's a fever reducer."
"Well... I think sedatives or sleeping pills would come first."
... Still, it might be a good idea to give it a try.
He approached Deon with the medicine Ben had been looking around for. Meanwhile, the corners of his mouth were dirty, as if he had vomited blood.
Ed quickly turned his head to the side and wiped his face again, gesturing with his hand and calling out to him.
"Demon. Can you hear me?"
"..."
"You need to take this medicine, can you take it?"
"..."
"... That can't be possible."
In the first place, there is no way they could feed him something when he was vomiting blood.
Fairy herbs were effective, but this was a problem.
For a moment, he thought about forcing his mouth to open and force the medicine down his throat, but since it could cause serious trouble, the Demon King gave up and threw the medicine away. The small bead containing Ben's efforts rolled across the floor and disappeared somewhere.
"... I don't think you'll die easily, but it would be troublesome if you die already."
It's finally starting to be fun, so he didn't plan on losing this long-awaited opportunity like this.
"Yes, it would be fun to check your fate at this time. Will you die here or not?"
"... Demon King."
Ed realized what he was trying to do and urgently called the Demon King. On the contrary, seeing Ben silent, the Demon King stretched out his hand and covered Deon's eyes.
All creatures living on this earth have a certain lifespan.
In general, the majority of people die before they reach their designated lifespan due to problems such as unexpected accidents, so much so that people who have lived their entire lifespan are said to 'enjoy their life in heaven.'
Was he dying now because he had reached the end of his life span, or was he dying from an 'unforeseen accident'?
'If it's the former, no matter how much I reduce the fever, calm him down, and put him to sleep, he will die.'
If it was the latter case, the current actions of the Demon King could be seen as changing the 'future' of a human being's 'death'. Because his actions saved someone who could have died. Changing the 'future related to life' requires a considerable price.
'The price... is 90% of the magical power I have.'
If it were other demons, they would have felt significant inconvenience in carrying on with their daily lives, but the Demon King was different. He had the most magical power among all the demons.
How could one compare 90% of the water in a basin with 90% of the water in the sea when the sizes of the sources were different in the first place?
If we were to say a problem, would it be that the difference in magical power between the second-ranked demons is not as overwhelming as before and is narrowed to a difference of a bucket of water?
'Ah, it will be quite annoying when dealing with heroes later.'
... Well, let's think about it then.
He concentrated his mind.
"... Get a good night's sleep first."
What Deon needed now was mental rest.
Bright light from his hand filled the room.
***
The Demon King, who left Deon Hardt sleeping lazily, immediately summoned the Corps Commanders. To be precise, 'those who were familiar with Demon'. The Corps Commanders who could not come due to work were connected with a communication stone, and with Ed, Ben, and even Hien in attendance, he softly opened his mouth.
"Who is the demon that Demon Arut trusts the most here?"
"..."
A silence fell, heavier than ever.
He definitely thought they would fight each other, claiming it was themself, but the situation was completely different from what he expected, so the Demon King raised an eyebrow.
"Why is there no answer? I asked who he trusts most. If you don't know whether he trusts you, it's okay to answer the closest demon."
We need a demon to help restore Deon Hardt's broken mind. If the demon he trusts or is closest to was by his side, he would quickly stabilize.
But...
Those proud people were just looking at each other and couldn't move forward.
He looked around at the demons who could not easily step forward, and then fixed his gaze on the 2nd Corps Commander, Dvelania, who was the source of information.
"Dvelania. Didn't you respect and follow Demon a lot?"
"... Feelings are not always two-way. I can assure you that I like Demon second to none, but if you ask me whether Demon-nim trusts me the most, I think it would be difficult to give a definite answer."
"He always treated us with an invisible wall."
3rd Corps Commander Ashild nodded and added more.
Silence fell again.
The Demon King, who was speechless due to the unexpected situation, quietly turned his head and looked at Ed, Ben, and Hien. As if Deon's behavior was no exception to them, each of them shook their heads as soon as their eyes met.
The Demon King opened his mouth a few times, but instead of speaking, he let out a deep sigh and waved his hand.
"Okay... I understand, so let's just disperse."
***
The memories that came pouring out when the wall collapsed were roughly resolved, but that did not determine whether the mind was healthy or not.
As soon as Deon Hardt woke up, he began frantically gathering information.
How could his body be healthy if he was doing this and even giving up eating?
The bloody tears stopped and the frequency of hemoptysis decreased to a level similar to before, but the fever that the Demon King had managed to keep down rose again as soon as he came to his senses.
Cold sweat broke out.
Deon Hardt paid no heed, moving with unsteady steps and standing in front of the huge door on a certain floor.
A place he'd been to once before. A place where information compiled by 2nd Corps Commander Dvelania and 4th Corps Commander Idelia was located.
"Open it."
"Commander Demon?"
"Right now!"
A sound like an animal growling came out of his throat.
What kind of spirit was this for someone who was pale and dripping with cold sweat?
It was completely different from his usual moderate appearance. Maybe he was nervous because he was sick.
The gatekeepers hurriedly opened the door.