>CLACK<

>CLACK<

>CLACK<

Footsteps echoed all over the vast hallway as a few individuals made their appearance.

They all had peculiar appearances, and their features were bizarre, monstrous, and downright malevolent.

As they walked from various locations, the six individuals gathered at a single location.

Right before then was a massive door that led to the Throne Room.

The six beings present knew just who sat beyond the doors, and they had reverent expressions.

Having absolute respect, as well as unquestionable loyalty, were the traits of every member here—at least, almost all of them.

“You may all enter.” A deep voice surged from within.

Upon hearing this, they instantly proceeded into the vast hall.

From their distance, they could make out the magnificent image of Abellion as he sat on his throne.

The females among them were already drooling over his magnificence.

As he elegantly watched them enter, the Demon King’s eyes seemed to burn into their very soul, causing them all to shudder.

The moment they stepped into the appropriate distance, all six Demon Lords bowed to their absolute ruler.

“Raise your heads…”

They responded instantly.

“… Zenkiel of Vert. Lydia of Blanc. Serci of Jaune. Lubick of Bleu. Kyron of Noir. Desgarion of Rouge.”

As he called each other their names, the respective people shook even more. They did their best to stay composed before their master.

“You have all done well to appear before this Grand Assembly. Now, then, shall we begin?”

They bowed deeply and agreed with Abellion.

************************

Zenkiel was anxious.

“Serci, tell me your reports. Your agents have been dispersed all over, right?”

His King, Abellion, was asking concerning the affairs of the Invasion—just as expected.

He had already questioned Serci, Kyron, and Lubick.

Zenkiel knew that it would soon be his turn.

‘What do I say? How do I say it…?’

His plan had gone up in smoke, and he sacrificed valuable resources for nothing. Though he had a way to spring back from the slump he fell into, he feared that he wouldn’t get the chance to say it.

“My King. Indeed, my agents have infiltrated several regions of the Eastern Kingdom. The land of the Elves is too rich in Mana, so we can’t operate there. My agents disguise as birds and simply hover above the area for observation.”

The plain white woman spoke, but her body still looked as blank as possible.

“And? What have you learned?”

“The humans possess certain individuals who are powerful, but they’re only a few. They call them Grand Mages, and only one is currently present in the Kingdom. The second is currently away on a diplomatic mission, and the last one is currently missing.”

Lydia proceeded to explain the level of power of most humans.

From what she described, an average Demon would find it no problem to kill average humans in their multitude.

If Magic or Martial Arts got involved, Demons supposedly on the same level as humans would emerge as the superior ones.

That meant the Demons were actually superior.

“While no one really has an exact idea of how powerful the Grand Mages are, if we equate them to Demon Lords, then that should be more than enough.”

Even such an estimation seemed far-fetched, but Lydia was never one to underestimate her opponents.

She had survived so long donning multiple identities because of this very fact.

“Finally, one of the most concerning matters is a place called Ainzlark Academy.”

Everyone looked at each other with particularly displeased expressions.

They were all aware of the story of Kahn’s failure there, and how mere students were able to fight back against the Demons.

“While the students there are no threats to us whatsoever—the strong ones have graduated—the problem lies with the staff.

There are quite a number of exceptional lecturers there. Plus, the Headmaster…”

Lydia was worried about the one called Neron Kaelid.

Though she had never laid eyes on him in person, the words she heard about him made her feel like he was probably as impressive as a Grand Mage—especially after he had a match with yet another bizarre existence.

“There are too many uncertainties involved, but I stumbled across something that would definitely be used as a great card against us.” As Lydia said this, she used Magic to project a blueprint of something.

Using her sight to capture anything or anyone, Blanc could use Light Magic to turn them into projections.

That way, she could show everyone what she saw.

It took a while for the Demon Lords, and even the Demon King, to completely decipher the drawing and labeling displayed.

“T-this is—!!!” They respectively gasped the moment they grasped the meaning.

Indeed, it was an unexpected sight, but the device drawn in the projected blueprint was something that caused even the Demon King to shake slightly in his throne.

“A destructive weapon, uh? They probably intend to use it against us in the War.” Abellion growled.

“Yes. After investigating the staff within the Academy thoroughly—especially a particularly risky, but dexterous, man called Maro—I came across the blueprint.”

Apparently, the humans were using Ainzlark Academy as a cover to create a machine with enough capacity to destroy tons of Demons in one fell swoop.

“What do you think, Lubick? Just what kind of damage could this device wreak?” For a moment, Abellion’s gaze went to the blue-skinned Demon.

“Ah, forgive me for my ignorance, but… I do not know. But, that only means one thing…” The Demon Lord of Bleu hardened his face as he spoke.

“… That thing has an unlimited capacity. As long as an appropriate power source is placed in, it could translate the energy into a purely destructive force.”

That meant the capabilities of the device were only equal to the power source used for it.

“We don’t know what the humans want to utilize as its core, but such a weapon is still too dangerous,” Abellion spoke.

He would not tolerate any form of threat to his people.

“We should storm the Academy to destroy the weapon—or better yet, retrieve it.”