NOVEL NEXT Chapter 626: The One Behind Eveything
Zalkareth, the demons' strategist, stood atop the fortress.
From up there, the base burned beneath him like an open wound.
A deep frown sat on his bony face, and a cold rage gleamed in his narrow eyes, anger that did not need shouting to be dangerous.
Absolute chaos had engulfed the entire base, something he had neither expected nor even thought possible. And yet, it had happened.
All the prisoners had been freed, and worse, their powers had returned. He could understand the part about them being released, after all, destroying the prison cell bars was enough for that.
But the return of their powers? How was that possible? That was not something that could happen so easily. Even for him, removing the seals placed on all those prisoners was no simple task.
Exactly what kind of bastard had such power?
Zalkareth stared down at the scene below, his teeth clenched.
"What exactly… happened?"
The prisoners, creatures that had been obsessively collected over many years, were now attacking the demon soldiers like madmen.
Even though demon casualties were still lower, they were taking losses. Something that should never have happened in this base.
And that was not the only disaster.
Every single one of those prisoners was valuable. Projects, experiments, long-term plans…
And now?
There was only one way left to contain them: killing them.
Groups that tried to capture them alive often realized their mistake too late. When cornered, the prisoners detonated themselves.
Small but deadly explosions that killed not only themselves, but also the demons who had stepped forward to capture them.
And this was only the surface of the catastrophe. Sooner or later, this news would reach the authorities and the Demon King himself, and that was when the real disaster would begin.
His reputation, and that of the Crown Prince, would be severely damaged. Worse still, both of them would certainly be punished. Even though His Highness was the Crown Prince, not all the officials of the demon court supported him.
Especially because of his cold, harsh, and dictatorial personality, he had many enemies. However, since he had never made a single mistake until now, they had been unable to find any fault with him or make a move.
And now, everything might change.
Zalkareth watched as fires flared up across different parts of the base.
If he found the bastard responsible for all of this, he would tear him apart with his own hands.
He had plans for every single one of those prisoners. Years of thought, calculation, and foresight. And now… everything was turning to ash.
At that moment, his gaze sharpened. Different auras appeared in the middle of the battlefield.
"…The Demon King's children."
They had intervened.
With their arrival, the flow of battle changed. Their raw power and innate dominance caused the prisoners to be suppressed one by one.
Even so, most of them chose to die by detonating themselves rather than be captured.
There was nothing left of victory. Only damage.
Some time later—
They were all summoned by the Crown Prince.
The main hall.
The atmosphere was so heavy it felt as if even the air dared not move. The Crown Prince and the other princes were present. No one spoke.
A silence worse than shouting.
Suddenly—
The door opened. A soldier entered, dropped to one knee, and said respectfully:
"Your Highness… there is no news of General Karnoz. He was dispatched hours ago to apprehend the suspects and has not returned."
Zalkareth frowned.
"Leave." The Crown Prince raised a hand and told him to go. His tone was calm, but the coldness and hidden anger within it were unmistakable.
The soldier retreated and left the hall.
The Crown Prince fixed his gaze on Zalkareth. His voice was cold.
"Karnoz… is probably dead."
"A lowly human killed one of our generals. And we thought his powers were sealed."
At that moment, Zalkareth's eyes lit up.
The pieces of the puzzle came together.
A human, an interrogation, and Orsius
The exact human Orsius had gone to interrogate. And right after that, Orsius had changed, and he realized he had been possesed.
Zalkareth slowly exhaled.
"…So it's possible."
How had he not realized it sooner?
All this time, everything could have been the work of that one human. Why had he closed his eyes to it? Because of overconfidence, thinking it was impossible for that human to still have his powers?
Without delay, he explained his findings. He explained everything, including his reasoning, and a heavy silence fell over the hall.
The faces of all the Demon King's children turned grim and deeply frowning; even the Crown Prince's expression grew colder than before.
All this time, that human had been inside their prisons, and yet he had caused them such massive damage and losses.
For the first time, the Crown Prince questioned his own plan.
Was it really worth it?
The answer depended on the outcome. He still believed that his plan was worth it; if he succeeded, the demons would return to their former glory.
The Crown Prince frowned and stood up.
"We're going to the ravine."
Without wasting a single moment, he grabbed the chained human present in the hall with one hand.
The space in front of him split open.
He stepped through and disappeared. Zalkareth and the other princes followed after him.
Moments later, they appeared above the ravine. As they descended, the scene became clear.
A battle. Strange, monstrous, unnatural creatures were fighting the demons.
"What are these things?" Zalkareth said in surprise.
The Crown Prince did not answer. He simply raised his hand, and in a single second, all of those monsters turned to ash.
They landed.
The Crown Prince grabbed one of the demons, locked eyes with him, and asked:
"What happened here?"
"A… a human… together with these monsters… appeared out of nowhere and attacked us…" the demon said, trembling in absolute fear.
"Where is that human?" Zalkareth stepped forward.
"A-and… he entered that place." The demon said while pointing in a direction.
All eyes turned toward the Pagoda.
"…Impossible."