Forward

 “Now, before we go out to deal with the other Lords, there’s something we need to discuss: who you are.”

I paused from putting a cut piece of steak into my mouth and replied, “Do you think I should pretend to be Sero now?”

“It seems like the only option, but it’s not a good one. Sero is so much stronger than the other demons in your suit that he’s probably the only one they’d sense. The problem is that he’s a Demon Lord, so he’s likely to have some amount of influence and fame, so many other important Lords and Kings are likely to know him. It’d be suspicious for you to be doing something other than what he would do, even worse if he’s on bad terms with someone.”

“Hm, so it might be better to be someone unknown, but Sero’s in the way of that. Can’t I just give his territory to Durus or something?”

“Libero’s the only one who can consume territory quickly, it’d take too long the normal way...Oh, but the brand? Durus was one of Sero’s servants, right? He should be branded.”

“Right! I can feel the brand on Durus, so I could use that to transfer all the power over, and most wouldn’t know a lower-rank demon like Durus.”

“You’d have to be careful with it. There are bound to be situations where Sero’s authority would be useful, but switching in front of them would definitely make them wonder where Sero popped out from. Anyway, why not give it a try?”

     I nodded and looked at my right hand where Sero had the control brand. Upon activation, I could feel all of the demons that were connected to the brand and how strong each one of them was. I found Durus’s and began the transfer. It was a strange feeling, like all of the strength from one arm was being put into the other, even though one was so much stronger to begin with.

     Once done, the surrounding territory undeniably felt like Durus, and my ability to form and shape metal became substantially easier. Whereas forming tungsten was once a struggle, now it was almost effortless to form it into a lace and tie knots with it. I was focused so much on testing out the ease of metal forming, yet my concentration was broken by a sudden feeling.

     It was a powerful demon, only slightly weaker than Sero once was. It wasn’t there a moment ago, but with my territory covering the settlement, I could easily notice them appear inside it. Where did they come from? What did they want? Were they reacting to the transfer of power to Durus?

Siti broke up my thoughts as she spoke up, “There’s someone at the castle door. They seem to be another Demon Lord, but they seem...passive? They said they want to ‘have a chat.’”

“A Lord that’s just willing to talk? Well, if we can deal with this in a civil manner, I think we should listen.”

Siti nodded, “I’m leading him here, get ready.”

     Soon enough there came a knock at the door, followed by another Siti dressed in a maid outfit and the guest stepping in. The maid gave a little bow and stepped out as the mysterious demon stepped forward.

     It was an odd demon if only because it looked nothing like any of the others. Rather, this one looked like an ordinary human. He wore a black suit with white gloves and polished black shoes. On his face sat a bright yellow mask depicting a grinning face, and on his head sat a black top hat with a pair of curved horns sticking through the brim. Yet as he took his hat off to give a bow, the horns were actually a part of the hat and not his head. He even had hair underneath the hat, something I saw very few demons have.

“Greetings and salutations friends,” He began with his bow, “Allow me to introduce myself: I am Trico, Demon Lord of magic tricks! I serve under the great Demon King Fictus, and it is a pleasure to meet the great usurpers!”

Siti responded with suspicion in her voice, “I couldn’t sense you a moment ago, but you already know who we are?”

“Naturally!” Trico responded with excitement, “I am a Lord of many tricks, after all, but I was most certainly here to bear witness to your incredible battle against Lord Sero! Ah! I was in awe from start to finish! Libero, the ‘Demon of Freedom!’ Siti, the ‘Green Plague!’ Durus, the ‘Demon of Metal!’ A trio of incredible demon-slaying rebels~!”

     Siti winced as he mentioned each of our names and titles. Even I could tell that this demon knew too much already. To call her Siti instead of her full name, and he even knew about Durus, a mere servant of Libero? And if he witnessed it, he’d know I was using more than just metal. What more could he know that he wasn’t letting on about?

“And?” I replied, “To what do we owe the honor?”

Trico gave another bow, “Oh the honor is all mine! As for my purpose for this visit: I come offering a partnership of sorts. You’ve set your sights upon King Caedes, have you not? I would like to help!”

     He even knew about our intentions. Whoever he was, he knew too much already and I had no intention of trusting him. I was about to tell him to leave, but Siti signaled me to stand down.

“And what reason do you have to help us?” Siti inquired.

“Surely you know the situation here in the Demon Realm,” Trico began, “Seven Demon Gods, thousands of Kings, millions of Lords, all vying for power to become the one to come out on top. It’s nothing special, just one Demon King trying to take down another and reduce the power of their respective God. This sort of thing happens all the time you know!”

I really didn’t know, but political and power struggles like that aren’t anything new to humans. It made sense on the surface at least. “And how do you intend to help us?” I asked, “And what do you expect of us?”

Trico snapped his fingers and pointed, “Interested? Tempted? Tantalized~? It’s simple, really. You’re too weak to face a Demon King and so am I, we all know this. A simple division of labor! I will rally and convince other Lord under Caedes to turn against him! No demon can resist the possibility of more power, after all~ Then, with some converts and some reinforcements from King Fictus, we ought to take him down in one grand attack! Your task will be the same, to convince or feed the other Lords to Libero! Haha, if the once-great ‘Demon of Freedom’ takes back his former power, this realm will change again!”

     The plan was straightforward enough, and something we were planning to do anyway. With us splitting the workload and having some extra reinforcements, we could get it done much more quickly, and we could get back to Earth much sooner. But I just couldn’t bring myself to trust this guy. He was just TOO honest when he must be hiding other information.

“And what’s stopping you from turning on us once the deed is done? With reinforcements and whomever you can convince, you’d be able to wipe us out once Caedes is out of the way, wouldn’t you?” Siti pressed him.

“Very true, very true~!” Trico mused, “But even with the forces I have now, I could destroy you. I alone may not be enough, but a mere two or three Lords would be enough to wipe this place out. Why betray you later when I could just do it now? No, no, I want your capable assistance! Besides, we’re not after the same thing, are we? We want his territory and to remove his power. You want his ability to interfere with the Great Realms, do you not? We want two different things~”

     He knew that too? Then there’s no way he doesn’t know I’m human. Does he not care? Or maybe that’s what he’s after in the end.

“I think we should accept.” Siti spoke into my mind, “I don’t trust him, but for now, our goals seem to align.”

“But like you said, what if he’s plotting something?”

“There’s not much we can do about it. I can spread my roots and try to keep an eye on his movements, but either way, we need more power. If you and Libero can become strong enough, it won’t matter how many reinforcements he has.”

“Mmmgghh. I agree, but I REALLY don’t trust this guy.”

“I understand. There’s too much he’s not telling us, but the fight against Caedes won’t be for awhile either way. We’ll have time to gather information and make a plan.”

“Yeah, alright. Heh, I can’t trust him, but I can always believe in the amazing Siti.”

I stepped forward and spoke, “We accept your proposal. So, where is our first target?”

     Even as I said that, it felt like my heart sank and regret began to swell up within me. Just looking at Trico made me feel uneasy, as if behind his mask was an even wider, more malevolent grin...