Purpur, not understanding what I meant, stared at me blankly.
No, he must have understood. He just didn't think I would actually know.
I wondered how to explain it to Purpur, then decided to keep it simple.
“You're the traitor.”
“T-That can't be! I'm not a traitor!”
Purpur bowed his head lower.
Seeing that, I scratched my cheek.
This was troublesome. I didn't want to be bothered any further.
“Purpur, I'm sorry, but I don't want to discuss whether you're a traitor or not. I have no reason to listen to you. Why would I listen to someone who obviously claims they're not a traitor?”
“B-But…!”
“Let’s do this instead.”
I raised my index finger.
“Make a contract with me.”
“A c-contract, you say?”
“You tell me the location of the gate. And I won't hold you responsible for your betrayal. How about it?”
Purpur closed his mouth at my words. I could almost hear the gears turning in his head.
The trap in the contract I just proposed must have been too obvious, making things difficult for him.
“……That contract is too… for me…”
“Want to change it?”
“…….”
Of course, he would want to change it. Regardless of the consequences of his betrayal, I could kill Purpur whenever I wanted. Baal and half of the 72 Devils were now on my side.
However, changing the contract would mean admitting that he had betrayed us. And that was my intention.
‘I don't really care about Purpur’s life.’
I just wanted to get the information quickly. The conversation would only proceed properly if Purpur admitted to his betrayal.
Left with no choice, I channeled Mana into my words.
“I declare.”
My voice, imbued with Mana, sounded incredibly awkward to my own ears.
“I will make a contract with Purpur, and until then, I will not harm him.”
Elodie had told me that if you spoke with Mana, your words couldn't be taken back.
Words were originally like that, but imbuing them with Mana was an act of imposing a light restriction and constraint upon yourself. It meant that they couldn't be lies or jokes.
“There, satisfied? You better not miss this opportunity.”
“……Very well.”
Purpur nodded.
He also spoke, channeling Mana into his words.
“I will tell you the location of the gate. In return, until I cross over to the demon realm, you and all your companions, including the 72 Devils, must not attack me.”
“Good.”
I smiled brightly.
Just then, Baal, who had been listening, shouted.
“Purpur, you really!!”
His face was filled with rage. Purpur had just admitted to being a traitor.
Purpur glanced at Baal and said.
“Don't get so worked up, Baal. I'm not the only one.”
“W-What do you mean?!”
“We can't wait for you any longer.”
At Purpur’s words, Baal froze. As if in shock, but also with an expression that suggested something he had been expecting had finally come to pass.
“Baal, you're losing your power. And you know you won't get it back.”
“No, I…!”
“Stop trying to fool the other Devils any longer.”
Purpur glanced around.
“Do you want to lose any more?”
“Y-You…!”
Baal trembled, clenching his fists.
I had been listening silently, but I figured this was enough.
“So, where is it? The location of the gate?”
“……Master Frondier, what do you plan to do once we reach the gate?”
“What else? I'd like to say I'm going to send you all back to the demon realm.”
The 72 Devils belonged in the demon realm.
And once I found the gate, whether they were loyal to me or not, they would cross over to the demon realm. After all, all the 72 Devils yearned to return.
However, Purpur’s face contorted with deep worry. Not just him, but Baal and the other 72 Devils had similar expressions.
Seeing them, I smiled bitterly.
“That’s not going to happen.”
“……Frondier, you know the situation. That things have changed.”
“Right.”
Elodie, who had been listening, asked.
“What are you talking about? You're not sending them back to the demon realm?”
“I want to, believe me, but Satan has abandoned the 72 Devils.”
“……? What does that have to do with anything? Can't they just go back and live their lives?”
The demon realm was a world of its own. Whether Satan abandoned them or not, they could just live in a place where they wouldn't be bothered by him.
To begin with, the 72 Devils and the Seven Deadly Sins had nothing to do with each other. They wouldn't be abandoned, it was impossible.
That would be the case under normal circumstances, but this time, it was different.
Arald stepped forward and explained to Elodie.
“The problem is that Satan declared himself the Devil King. In front of Zeus.”
“So what?”
“And Master Frondier, you also declared yourself the Devil King.”
“Well, I did say those words.”
I had to stop the war.
“Satan proclaimed himself the Devil King to abandon the 72 Devils. He probably didn't want to oppose the gods. He must have thought he got away cleanly, but from Zeus’s perspective, there was another Devil King in Palma.”
“Zeus would at least know that Frondier isn't a devil, wouldn't he?”
“I once asked Master Frondier to become the Devil King. I explained the situation then as well, but there’s no need for Master Frondier to actually become a devil.”
A devil with folded wings was indistinguishable from a human.
Especially from the perspective of a god who knew that 'demonic power' was Eclexis.
What mattered wasn't whether their true nature was human or devil.
It was about their actions.
Proclaiming oneself the Devil King, possessing power befitting the title, protecting devils, and opposing the gods.
I had already shown plenty of evidence. To Zeus.
“Zeus will think he's been deceived. By Satan. Satan must prove that he isn't.”
“Prove it.”
“The easiest way is to become hostile towards the 72 Devils himself.”
“……Aha.”
I had only protected the 72 Devils. Zeus knew that too.
Therefore, Satan would attack the 72 Devils.
He would probably try to kill all the 72 Devils the moment they entered the demon realm. All of the Seven Deadly Sins would likely act in the same manner.
Baal spoke up.
“……That's why, even though we know the location of the gate, we can't use it right away. We have to stay in Edrium for a while.”
Elodie frowned.
“What's that supposed to mean? Frondier already saved the 72 Devils. They said they wanted to go back to the demon realm. And now they can't?”
She then glared at Arald.
“And the Devil King, you asked Frondier to do that?”
“……It was a necessary measure. It couldn't be helped.”
“Couldn't be helped?”
Elodie’s eyes blazed.
“Just how far does ‘couldn't be helped’ go? I'm curious.”
“…….”
Arald lowered his head deeply and didn't answer.
“Elodie, calm down. It's actually a good thing.”
I intervened.
“A good thing? We went through all that trouble to send them back to the demon realm, and now they can't even go back. You even did something as dangerous as calling yourself the Devil King.”
“Yeah, that's what I mean.”
I nodded.
“Let’s become the king.”
“……Huh?”
Elodie looked at me.
No, everyone who heard my voice looked at me.
“Become the Devil King? Frondier, it was just a way to stop the war.”
“That's true, but it seems like a powerful force has become my ally.”
“No, Frondier. The 72 Devils aren’t your allies! They’re devils! How can you say that when you don't know when they'll betray you?!”
Devils could betray you at any moment. She was right.
So, I looked at Baal.
“Baal, you each had your own demonic forces, right?”
“That’s right.”
“You’re not under the Seven Deadly Sins or anything?”
“We each stand at the top of our own demonic forces. We have nothing to do with the Seven Deadly Sins.”
I see. As expected.
There was no one above the Seven Deadly Sins.
Therefore…
“Let’s have a coronation ceremony.”
I raised a finger,
Kaboom—!
and shot Eclexis at all 72 Devils.
Instantly, all the devils fell to their knees.
“Gasp… Huff…!”
The devils each gasped for breath and looked up at me. Even Baal.
They hadn't knelt willingly. It was simply the outcome.
But this proved it.
The simplest rule of devils.
There was no one above the 72 Devils.
In other words, the position was vacant.
So, according to the devils' law, they were now mine.
“You won’t betray me now, will you?”
I asked all the kneeling devils with a grin.
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