Dungeon Defense

By the time I opened my eyes, the sun had already set.

"……."

I was lying on the floor of Brother Zepar's room. I could hear an owl hooting from the slight opening in the window. I stayed there motionless for a while as I listened to the sound of birds crying out to the night sky. It almost felt like my entire sense of hearing was being occupied by their cries.

"Ugh." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

My sense of sight and touch gradually pushed my hearing away. For starters, there was a prickly sensation pressing against my cheek. It was probably because I passed out with my face shoved into the carpet as there were acutely visible marks left on my face. I rubbed my cheek with my right hand as I pulled myself up. After coming this far, the first thought to go through my head was simple.

'……Everything is going according to plan up to this point.'

That's right. This was all a part of my plan.

As soon as that thought went through my head, my thoughts chained one after another like catching multiple fish with one hook. Mountain Faction, Sitri. Plains Faction, Barbatos. Internal conflict and instigation…….

A sacrifice.

But this was the perfect amount of messiness. There was a need for everything to be a mess right now.

The script I had planned out was simple and effective.

First, eliminate the traitor Belial to ensure the unity of the Mountain Faction. This was to prevent the Mountain Faction from weakening due to Paimon's death.

Next, sacrifice Zepar, one of the wings of the Plains Faction. His downfall would signify the weakening of the political power within the Plains Faction itself.

Strengthen the Mountain Faction's power while narrowing the influence of the Plains Faction. This would establish a new balance within the Demon Lord Army…….

However, relying solely on Zepar would be insufficient. Think about it, the Mountain Faction lost Paimon. They didn't lose a limb or a tail, but their entire head. Stripping Brother Zepar of his political life alone wouldn't balance the scales.

"All right."

I put my hand mirror away.

If the Mountain Faction has lost its head, then the Plains Faction must also lose theirs.

What is there to hide?

"Let the game begin……Barbatos."

Barbatos will have to pay the price for crossing the line herself.

Ο* * *Ο

Barbatos wasn't in her chambers; instead, she was in the back gardens of the palace.

She was idly sipping on her wine, her gaze unfocused as she peered out at the garden pond. As I made my presence known with the sound of my footsteps, Barbatos glanced in my direction for a moment before turning her gaze away again.

"It seems a man who has been rather elusive lately has graced me with his presence."

Barbatos muttered with a hint of boredom in her voice.

"What kind of change of heart does a gentleman who's been constantly enjoying dates with another woman at an enshrinement chamber have to go through to seek out an old flame of his? Did he finally realize he can't have sex with a corpse?"

"I came here to see Barbatos, not you."

Barbatos chuckled and lightly swirled her glass.

"Oh, that's strange. I've lived my entire life thinking my name was Barbatos. For more than two thousand years now. If I've been mistaken, I hope you'll correct it."

"I am here to see the leader of the Plains Faction and regent of the Empire."

Barabtos glared at me. Her golden eyes were clearly tinged with fatigue. Yet, they were as sharp as ever.

"Is that all? You show up after a whole month and that's all you have to say?"

"Barbatos, I was not avoiding you on purpose. I have not met with Gamigin either."

"Hah. Don't you dare compare me to that insane pair of tits."

Barbatos snapped with a threatening tone.

"Do you even have any affection toward Gamigin in the first place? You only banged her so that you could use her, you son of a bitch. Are you seriously trying to put that bitch on the same level as me?"

"……."

We glared at each other.

Since Paimon's death, our encounters invariably devolved into fights. What started as trivial arguments would inevitably escalate into shouting matches, each of us fiercely defending our pride. Our familiarity with each other had grown to the point where a mere glance was enough to almost discern the other's thoughts.

"Do you want me to prove to you again that I hold you above all else?"

I continued.

"Was Paimon not enough? Will you only be satisfied if Gamigin dies as well? Might as well kill Sitri while we're at it so that I can become a man who only looks at you, right? Is this really what you want?"

"Don't talk to me like that."

"Oh, of course. I should be respectful when speaking to you, Your Excellency Barbatos. If it were not for Your Excellency, the absolute head of the Plains Faction, I would be crawling in the gutters."

I smirked.

"Do you want me to speak formally like I did when we first met? Would that make Your Excellency feel better? My apologies. I never would have imagined that Your Excellency's ears were so delicate."

"……."

Barbatos clenched her teeth. This was still mild. There were often days when we would hit each other and shout at the top of our lungs. Our relationship was gradually losing any semblance of dignity.

"I don't want to argue with you. So let's only talk politics, Barbatos."

"……Fine. What do you have to say, Count Palatine?"

"You can't make Commander Zepar apologize."

Barbatos furrowed her brows.

Brother Zepar had likely explained the situation to her. He probably admitted that he inadvertently angered the Mountain Faction due to his own careless mistake and that he intended to take responsibility and apologize.

However, he must have left out that I was the one who advised him to meet with Belial. He omitted that my advice was the decisive factor in his decision and that I was involved in this at all, as he wanted to handle it on his own.

So from Barbatos' perspective, it was only natural for her to be suspicious of how I knew the full details of this incident. Just a few hours ago, Brother Zepar must've reported, 'This was all an accident caused by my unilateral actions done in secret", and now, here I was, discussing the incident as if I knew all about it.

"How do you know about that?"

"I'm the one who pushed Commander Zepar to meet Belial."

"What?"

I spoke bluntly.

"Think about it rationally, Barbatos. Has Commander Zepar ever made any significant decision for the faction without consulting with you first? He has always acted under your command. However, the exception to this is……."

"If you give him advice, you son of a bitch."

Barbatos growled.

"I knew something about this was strange. What are you scheming?"

"I was trying to put the Mountain Faction on alert."

"Why the hell would you want them to be on alert?"

I let out a sigh.

"Recall the massacre Sitri orchestrated in the demon realm. Sitri is clearly in an abnormally agitated state. If the Mountain Faction collapses rapidly under these circumstances, Sitri might react impulsively again. In the worst case, it could lead to a civil war."

"……."

"A kind of shock therapy was necessary. If we let things go on like this, there would be more traitors switching sides. This was what I wanted to plant into their heads. Belial was the weakest among the Mountain Faction, making him the perfect example to instill just the right amount of caution……. This was my thought process."

I lowered my voice here.

"Though things didn't go as predicted."

"What was the problem?"

"Sitri. She was the problem. Sitri's unease went beyond my expectations. If Sitri were sane, she would have responded after Belial met with Brother Zepar two or three more times. She, however, killed Belial for having met Brother Zepar only once. That is by no means a normal response……."

Barbatos spoke with a displeased look.

"Hmph, the Mountain Faction only exists because of Paimon anyway, so it's no surprise those small fries are making a fuss. So what?"

"That's why Commander Zepar must not apologize."

I looked directly into Barbatos' eyes.

"No one will believe Commander Zepar acted alone. It's too obvious since everyone knows he's one of your closest confidants. Everyone will think you were behind it. Even those of us in the Plains Faction."

"……."

"If that happens, Barbatos, you'll be seen as someone who shifts blame onto your subordinates. The Mountain Faction will mock you, the Neutral Faction will scorn you, and even our Plains Faction will be disappointed. We must avoid such a situation."

Barbatos' expression shifted as I explained the reason.

"……In other words, you're saying that he shouldn't since that'd be like putting a stain on my face?"

"In short, yes."

Barbatos scowled.

"Then who's going to apologize? Belial was the only bad one and our Plains Faction had no hand in this. Should I just throw that out? I don't think that crazy bitch Sitri would be that understanding."

"Commander Zepar mustn't apologize, you mustn't apologize, and you can't not apologize."

I lowered my voice.

"I will apologize to the Mountain Faction."

"……What?"

"I'm not like Commander Zepar. Almost every Demon Lord knows that I can act on my own without being ordered by you. There's a low chance that any suspicion will reach you if I apologize."

Barbatos opened her mouth to say something, but I continued before she could.

"Furthermore, I'm widely regarded as the second-in-command of the Plains Faction. If I bow my head, the Mountain Faction will have no choice but to accept it. It will result in a satisfactory outcome for everyone."

"Hey, hold on a second. Shit, just wait."

Barbatos pressed her fingertips against her temples.

"If I'm not a fucking blockhead……it sounds like you're saying you'd rather take the fall than let me stain my face."

"Don't get it wrong, Barbatos. I'm not saying that I'm sacrificing myself for you."

I remarked coldly.

"I'm the one who gave Commander Zepar bad advice, which led to this incident. It's only natural that the one who caused the problem takes responsibility. Commander Zepar might think sacrificing himself is enough, but that's a gross misjudgement."

"No……."

"If I bow my head, the only one who suffers is me. But if you bow your head, the entire Plains Faction suffers. It's obvious who should take the responsibility between the two of us."

Barbatos stared at me, her lips slightly parted as if she'd lost her words.

"No, wait a second……you idiot. Sure, some might think you schemed alone, but most will see it as an issue tied to our faction and assume you consulted with me first, wouldn't they?"

Barbatos furrowed her brows deeply.

"So, fuck, instead of taking responsibility myself……you're telling me to become a total asshole who shifts all the blame onto my lover? What's the difference between dumping it on Zepar and dumping it on you?"

"I'll handle it."

A flat, emotionless voice escaped my lips.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure everyone knows you weren't involved. You had nothing to do with this, so just stay out of it."

"Stay out of it……?"

Barbatos glared at me in disbelief. I didn't meet her gaze. Instead, I turned my back and began to walk away from the garden.

At that moment, I felt a small hand grip my wrist tightly.

"Stop messing around, Dantalian. Wait."

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I did say this chapter would probably get delayed. My dad's condition is better now compared to before, but that's not really saying much.

I wanted to get this chapter out sooner, but uh, yeah. I want to blame this on work being busy, which it generally has been, but it was mostly due to the release of the new FFXIV expansion. I'm basically getting back into the game again with a renewed passion since I managed to get my large house. And then Zenless Zone Zero came out about a week later… I actually really love ZZZ.

The theme, the characters, the animations, the combat, everything is just so nice. Wuthering Waves really can't compare. Altho people can argue WW has better combat, I feel like that alone isn't enough to make it a better game. ZZZ is just so fleshed out and solid to play. I could probably go on and on about how much I enjoy ZZZ, but I'll stop here.

Apologies for the delay and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!