Chapter 6: We Need a Plan

~ Dave ~

I disconnect from the link I’ve had with the familiar up until now. I’ve seen enough. A thousand thoughts and emotions swirl in my head, but none even come close to the shock of finding him.

Kenneth, you damn genius! We ran into the local Demon Lord himself!

However, shock and surprise quickly give way to outrage, and my brain springs into action, followed immediately by my mouth.

“Are you NUTS?” I shout at Kenneth before remembering to tone down my voice. “If he as much as anticipates our presence, we can kiss goodbye to our mission and shovel our graves while we’re at it! What were you thinking?!”

Even the usually bold daredevil Lance panics a little, taking guard duty more seriously than ever as he keeps looking left and right. Meanwhile, Berserker is the only one still observing through the familiar for some reason. Kenneth owes us an answer — a good one.

“Calm down, Dave. I didn’t ask you to escort me here only for the Demon Lord to murder my best friend,” Kenneth explains calmly, although he certainly seems unsettled by the team’s response. “Remember, this is primarily an espionage mission, and we’re not here to assassinate him if that’s what you were thinking.”

It’s exactly what I was thinking. Just because he says we’re not here to chop off his head, doesn’t mean the Demon Lord won’t beat us to the game. I’m not buying this.

“Besides, I already told you,” he insists, “that we achieved our main objectives with this discovery. Knowing his whereabouts is huge, you know?”

“Are you listening at all?” I hiss at my friend. “Your intentions are insignificant! He mustn’t find us! It’s THE Demon Lord! And he’s in a settlement with hundreds of inhabitants, not to mention the likelihood of him bringing some elite personal guard! He’ll turn us into minced meat, Ken!”

But Ken smiles, his demeanor as calm as the gentle breeze rustling through the leaves above our heads. Chances are, we won’t live to tell the tale. How can he be so composed? He must have a death wish!

“I think you’re overestimating the Demon Lord a little bit,” Kenneth says, but I cut him off before he can elaborate.

“And you’re underestimating him!” I shoot back. “We’re a strong guild, but we’re just five people!”

“Six, including me,” he points out, though his swordplay is ordinary at best.

“And they could attack us with an army if they find us!” I finally yell, ignoring Beatrix's hissed protests as she keeps our camouflage intact. “Ken, I just don’t want us to die for nothing like our families did!”

“You won’t,” he assures me, addressing the crew with his words as well. “Remember that even demons have things such as laws. Rudimentary, yes, but they exist in some places. Especially,” he grins, “when it comes to their royalty.”

His words linger in the air for a while. I briefly reconnect with the familiar, only to see a weeping Demon Lord in an empty classroom, frequently muttering ‘What should I do?’ to himself in his filthy demon language.

Not very intimidating, is he?

“They don’t select the strongest to lord over everyone but follow strict succession laws,” he explains and smiles. “What we just saw is the result of those laws. The current leader is Ragnar II. , called ‘the Strong’. He’s devoured by bitterness and hides his weakness by making everyone focus on destroying humanity. Meanwhile, the next Demon Lord in line is this child we’ve just observed him mistreating. She’s not fit to rule, but according to their laws, as long as she’s alive, she must rule once the current Demon Lord perishes.”

“What are you getting at?” I deadpan. “If you plan to kill him so that kid takes their throne, you’re barking up the wrong tree. I won’t send my guild on a suicide mission.”

“You don’t have to,” Kenneth replies cryptically before elaborating. “We’re on a recon mission, but the intelligence we gathered won’t be in vain. If we communicate our findings to the King, I’m sure he’ll order a raid party to this place in no time.”

“It took us days to get here,” I argue, and my worn legs agree. “It’ll take them over a week from the capital. Over a week of chances for those damned demons to find and eliminate us or for the Demon Lord to leave this place again before we can strike.”

“If I send the message now, they could be here within days,” he proclaims in an attempt to persuade me, but he hasn’t even convinced the crew.

“Sorry, I don’t want to interrupt your discussion, but there’s a slight problem,” Lucy says as her gaze wanders over to Berserker. I follow her gaze and understand immediately.

“He’ll run out of booze if we wait another week here, huh?” I sigh.

“Yeah,” Lucy shrugs. “Even if we complete the mission, he’ll go dry on the way back and cause all sorts of calamities.”

The mere thought causes everyone, barring Berserker, to shudder. While we’re debating, the giant seems transfixed on observing the Demon Lord.

“Oooiii Kenny, couldn’t yer just order some supplies while yer at it?” Lance ponders, and for once, he actually has a point.

“I could,” the young man replies, but a quick shared gaze prompts him to diminish Lance’s hopes. “However, as long as Dave is against the mission, there’s little point, and we’ll amount to nothing as we always do, right, Dave?”

Damn, it stings… he got me.

“I’d rather amount to nothing and keep everyone in one piece,” I grumble, but in some ways, Ken’s jab at my expense allows me to approach the situation a little differently. “Fine, any serious plans? How can our small team deal with this situation and get some shit done without dying?”

“Lance, you’re excluded,” Lucy jokes and eats a clout for it immediately. No one has it in them to chuckle at their display.

“Yer a damn traitor, that’s what’cha are!” Lance complains but comes up with something in the process. “But yer also a damn assassin. Can’t’cha just sneak in and chop his head off?”

“Come to think of it,” I interject, recalling the scenes we witnessed through Beatrix’s familiar. “Did anyone see any guards?”

“We didn’t see any, but it seems unlikely he’d come entirely unprepared,” Kenneth admits, which is unusual as now he’s the one displaying caution. “Just sending Lucy wouldn’t be in your interest. I’ve known you for too long, Dave.”

I nod grimly. “Yeah, it could work if we can confirm he’s alone and lamenting his shitty existence or whatever, but it’s too risky.”

The group silently nods, minus Berserker, who suddenly becomes unusually agitated.

Weird, he’s usually indifferent no matter what, just doing whatever we tell him without batting an eye. Something bothers him today; he’s still observing the Demon King through our little familiar…

“Perhaps we can find objectives other than chopping his head off,” Kenneth implies as he musters the group. “If you look at the Demon Lord right now, he doesn’t seem much of a threat. I don’t see a strong leader about to crush us; I see a country full of internal struggle. We may be able to bring those demons down from within if we play our cards right.”

Bring them down from within? He’s beating around the bush as always. Sigh…

However, before I can pester him into revealing his grand scheme, Berserker suddenly jerks out of his trance. When a man of his dimensions gets agitated, you forget whatever you just had on your mind, even if he’s an ally.

“She’s gone!” he exclaims, and I can almost feel Beatrix’s barrier struggling against his extremely voluminous bass.

“Who’s gone?” I wonder what suddenly drove the giant to break free from his usual drunken stupor and lethargy.

“She’s gone, I can’t see her. Must find her. Must protect her!” Berserker panics, his voice booming.

The kid? Does he refer to the kid? Why would he, of all people, suddenly care for her? He never cares about anything besides his booze…

“Ah, that saves me the explanation,” Kenneth says while gesturing to Berserker to lower his voice. “I was just about to reveal our best course of action. Let’s kidnap her.”

Kidnap her? That kid? The future Demon Lord?!