"What the hell did you guys even do?!"
Chilchuck shouted as he watched the series of transformations inside the dungeon. "And what's this about Demon King Laios? Laios, you're not seriously going through with this, are you?!"
Chilchuck turned to glare at Laios—
Only to grow even more furious when he saw the excited look on Laios's face.
"Why do you look so eager about it?!"
"Is this really okay? I feel like things are about to get a whole lot worse…"
Marcille said with clear unease.
"Don't worry, Miss Marcille."
Now fully recovered, Tanjiro stepped in to comfort her at the right moment.
"The Captain has everything prepared. We'll take responsibility and resolve this to the end."
Looking at Tanjiro, Marcille felt a little more reassured.
Even though Kairo Retsu and Laios seemed like completely unreliable goofballs, Tanjiro genuinely felt like someone she could trust…
"Relax!"
Kairo Retsu gave the group behind him a thumbs-up.
"I've made sure everyone has a role!!"
"Marcille—Chief Archmage of Demon King Castle!"
"Senshi—the Demon King's Royal Chef!"
"Chilchuck—the Demon King Castle's Master Locksmith…"
Kairo Retsu was visibly thrilled as he went on.
"And Izutsumi—she's the Castle Cat of the Demon King's Castle!"
"What even IS Demon King Castle?!"
Chilchuck cried out in rage.
"Why is something like that just popping up out of nowhere?! And what kind of title is 'Castle Cat'?! And—"
"Why is the Demon King LAIOS?!?!?!"
Chilchuck's outburst echoed loudly.
But the title "Demon King Laios" brought a faint sense of smug delight to Laios himself…
"Because—don't forget—we've got Four Heavenly Kings!"
Kairo Retsu declared with exaggerated righteousness.
"Tanjiro told me himself—he's now able to command a new Scorching Blade Glavenus, just like Marcille's familiar!"
"Since the first of the Four Heavenly Kings—the Fire Heavenly King—has appeared, then naturally, the others have to show up too!!"
Kairo Retsu clenched his fists, visibly pumped up.
"Ice Heavenly King! Snowpeak Behemoth! Gamuto! Ability: Massive size and overwhelming weight!"
"Water Heavenly King! Mizutsune the Heavenly-Eyed Bubble Fox Wyvern! Ability: Special bubbles and binding attacks!"
"Thunder Heavenly King! Astalos the Thunderlord! Ability: Violent electrical charge and brutal close-quarters combat!"
"Each of the Four Heavenly Kings is immensely powerful! Thrilling to the max! And with Tanjiro's summoned Scorching Blade Glavenus—full name: Dinovaldo—the Fire Heavenly King and leader of the Four, we've got the complete lineup!"
Kairo Retsu promptly shoved Laios to center stage.
"Now that we've got the Four Heavenly Kings, of course we need a Demon King! Otherwise, wouldn't that be such a waste?!"
"Wait—so you only made Laios the Demon King to fill out the roster?!"
Chilchuck screamed in disbelief.
"And there are six of you! With the Four Heavenly Kings and Laios—what does that make YOU?!"
"I'm obviously the Fifth Heavenly King."
Kairo Retsu said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"There are always five members of the Four Heavenly Kings. That's common knowledge. I'm the one who makes the final entrance, obviously."
"Huh?"
Laios looked a little confused.
"But Captain, didn't you say earlier that there's a super important strategist role in the Demon King's army? I thought you were going to take that."
"The strategist? Oh, I've already picked someone for that!"
Kairo Retsu gave a thumbs-up again.
"I choose Kabru!"
"Kabru will be Demon King Laios's most trusted confidant—Chief Strategist of the Demon King's Army! Just imagine it! Talk about winning at life!!"
"Achoo!"
At that very moment, Kabru—busy coordinating the adventurers to evade monsters—suddenly sneezed.
Chilchuck couldn't help but mutter,
"That Kabru guy sounds really pitiful! Why did you have to target him?!"
"Guess we've got no choice."
Chilchuck buried his face in his hands.
"We'll just have to apologize afterward and hope he doesn't take it too hard…"
"What are you even saying?"
Kairo Retsu gave another thumbs-up.
"If we don't take care of the demon, there won't even be a future! The whole world's going to go kaput!"
"Don't remind me of that!! I finally managed to forget!!"
Chilchuck shouted in distress.
"Captain is just kidding, Mister Chilchuck,"
Tanjiro said gently.
"Even if we fail, the Winged Lion won't have any real impact on this world. We promise."
"You mean what the cats did?"
Izutsumi interjected.
"Exactly," Kairo Retsu nodded.
"After all, the demon only wants one thing: to leave the dungeon."
"Then let him leave!"
Kairo Retsu said it like it was obvious.
"The dungeon is his domain. But once he's outside… that's our turf."
"Ah, looks like it's about time."
Kairo Retsu looked up and said,
"Hmm… Since we're doing the whole Demon King thing… guess we better dress the part!"
"Cat!!"
He shouted, and moments later, a Felyne appeared before them, carrying a supply crate on its back.
"Nya! Captain! I brought the portable camp tent, nya! Are you here to change your equipment, nya?!"
"Well then…"
Kairo Retsu looked around at everyone present.
"How about a change of wardrobe? Things are already this ridiculous—might as well go out in style!"
"…I want something that covers my face!"
Chilchuck said, hiding his face in his hands.
"It's been ages since I changed armor."
Senshi patted his long-worn plate mail.
"Anything that suits an old man like me?"
"Are we really doing this? Then… I want something that hides my face too."
Marcille resigned herself—if you can't fight it, enjoy it. She accepted the change of clothes.
"Nyahaha~~~"
Izutsumi, who was somehow already sprawled lazily on a nearby boulder, yawned,
"I'm not changing gear again. Too much trouble."
"D-Demon King… huh?"
Laios rubbed his hands together with excitement.
"That's right!"
Kairo Retsu clapped Laios on the shoulder.
"Strike terror into the hearts of everyone who sees your debut!!!"
"Let the whole world know—"
"The name of Demon King Laios Touden!!!"
"Just the sound of it is thrilling, isn't it?!"
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