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Two days had passed since the [Transference] Demon Lord sent Procell away to an unknown place.

During that time, Procell’s monsters made considerable efforts in not only looking for him but also protecting the city he founded.

It was only natural for monsters to look for their lost Demon Lords, but Procell’s monsters were desperately doing so not out of duty but because they loved him.

 

And so, in a certain workshop filled with countless electronic devices, a silver-haired girl was busily moving her fingers to type while also analyzing the incredible amounts of information being displayed in the monitors that surrounded her.

A fox girl visitor then came along.

 

“Rorono-chan, have you found Oto-san?”

“No, not yet. I’ve made all three satellites go into full operation, but still no trace of master.”

 

The silver-haired girl, Rorono the Elder Dwarf, frustratedly replied so.

Because it was her, someone capable enough to design and build three satellites herself, it was no surprise that she was able to analyze in almost real time the data being sent by her satellites.

And yet, she still couldn’t find her Demon Lord.

 

“After this much searching, we should have found master. It’s strange that we haven’t. Also strange is that even though Ciel is with master, we haven’t even received any word from them. We can still feel a connection to him, so there’s no doubt master’s still alive. At this point, master being underground, in another Demon Lord’s dungeon, and even be not in this planet anymore all seem possible to me.”

“Then, we just have to search underground! To the deepest parts of the world if we have to. If there’s no path there, we’ll dig one ourselves. If we still can’t find him there, we’ll search in all the other Demon Lords’ dungeons and crush anyone that stands in the way!”

“That last one aside, I agree. I’m confident I can let us search every corner of the world. …however, it’ll still take time.”

 

Rorono could build just about everything, but even she needed materials, equipment, and time to do so.

 

“Then, I guess our only hope right now is Aura-chan.”

“Mhm. She should be arriving soon.”

 

Right when Rorono said so, an alert sound went off and a monitor mounted on the wall displayed something.

That something was a group of black flying dragons that each carried special carriages.

These flying dragons were called Darkness Dragon Graphross. Each was a wild and powerful creature. If a human not familiar with Avalon and its creatures were to see such a scene, they might just go half-crazy.

As for the carriages, each one was full of monsters and equipment. And by making the dragons carry the carriages, Procell’s side was then capable of launching attacks on faraway places with minimal delays.

 

The Darkness Dragons continued flying until they reached a large dome deep within Procell’s Avalon. The dome’s ceiling opened when they were near and low enough, and they then proceeded to enter it.

 

“Ahh, speak of the devil.”

“Let’s go there right away. With any luck, Aura might have obtained some kind of hint to get back master.”

 

And so, Kuina and Rorono, two of Procell’s [Monsters of the Covenant], headed to the other side of Avalon concealed by the dome.

 

◇

 

Generally, anyone could go anywhere in the city of Avalon. One big exception to that was the gigantic dome. Only Procell, his monsters, and select guests were allowed inside.

If one was to get close, they would immediately receive a warning to not proceed further. If one chose to ignore that warning, they would be eliminated. Quickly and without hesitation.

 

By the time Kuina and Rorono entered the dome, the dragons had already lowered the carriages they carried, and the monsters from within were coming out one after the other, unloading the weapons and the food provision they had brought along.

Kuina and Rorono were looking for one particular monster among those that arrived: Aura the Ancient Elf.

Aura was the third of Procell’s three [Monsters of the Covenant]. She had long ears much like any elf, but unlike most elves, she had a supremely voluptuous body.

When the two found Aura, she was beside someone that looked a lot like Procell.

 

“Is this scum the horrible scum that did that horrible thing to Oto-san?”

“Yes, it is. This thing’s nothing more than scum, yet it dared to do that to our master… unforgiveable.”

 

In Aura’s hand was an iron chain that was almost completely red thanks to the blood on it.

 

At the end of the chain was a man with a snake for a tail. However, his appearance at the moment was utterly miserable.

On top of the wounds all over his body, he had countless lash marks as well as burn marks too; the area around his eyes has become bright red due perhaps to continuous flowing of tears; half of his teeth were missing; and he was practically wheezing each time he breathed.

This miserable man was the [Transference] Demon Lord Bathin, the one responsible for Procell’s absence from Avalon.

Right after returning from the [Evening Party], Duke, Procell’s chief of staff, held a discussion with the other monsters in Avalon. This resulted in the decision to attack the [Transference] dungeon and capture its Demon Lord. Moreover, it was decided that Aura was to be in charge of the said mission.

 

“I’m sorry I’m late. I myself can’t believe it took us 8 hours. This scum is more stubborn than I thought.”

“No, don’t worry about that. You did great in bringing this trash here. Great work, Aura-chan!”

“Mhm, amazing work as always, Aura. You’ve allowed us to exact revenge on the bastard that did that to master. If we could get a hint from this thing on how to get master back, you would have killed two birds with one stone.”

“Actually, since we attacked this thing’s dungeon with three objectives in mind, I think saying we killed three birds with one stone is more accurate. Ohh, you can stop now, master.”

“Okay.”

 

When Aura gave it permission, the Procell standing beside her dissolved and then became a red slime.

 

“Pyuii~~”

 

It was a Transform Slime, the B rank monster in the Evol Slime’s lineage.

It couldn’t use [Trace], but it still excelled in transformation to the point that it could mimic a target’s form and mannerisms.

 

It would seem this particular Transform Slime got tired from having transformed itself a bit too long though, causing it to be unable to hold its droplet shape and become mostly just a puddle of red liquid.

 

“Anyway, the first goal of the mission is to show that master is in good health and attacking Avalon is as foolish as it has been. To accomplish this goal, we made use of a fake.”

 

Hence why the Transform Slime transformed into Procell.

On the surface, it should look like Procell has returned and decided to launch a retaliatory attack.

There would be some who would suspect this was a sham, but even they would hesitate to attack without first gaining enough proof. In other words, this might not permanently prevent them from attacking, but it should buy some time. Hopefully, that time would be enough.

 

“The second and third are as you said. Revenge for taking away the most important person to us…”

 

With scorn in her eyes, Aura pulled on the chain—which made the naked [Transference] Demon Lord fall to the ground—and then stepped on his head.

 

“And also, to get master back. If this scum was able to send master away, it’s possible this thing can also get him back. If not that, it might know of where to look for him. If it can’t give us even that, we’ll just have to take its power. …still, I’ve hurt it so much, but never mind getting master back, it says it doesn’t even know where it sent him.”

“B-but I’m telling the truth. The honest truth. I really don’t know where my ability sent him.”

“Yes, yes, I believe you. I’m quite confident in my torturing skills and my drugs, you know. So, your ability’s really useless and you can’t think of a way to get our master back, yeah?”

 

Aura then smiled.

Without the reason behind the smile, it was a most beautiful smile. Such a smile only sent shivers down the spine of the [Transference] Demon Lord though.

 

“Well, this much was expected though. To be frank, I was kinda hoping this would be how things turn out.”

“But that would make finding Oto-san so much harder.”

“Yes, and that’s why I still followed procedure and did what needed to be done instead of just finishing him right away. That said… hey, you. I’m going to ask this only one more: can you really not bring our master back or give us a way of finding him?”

 

Aura, with the mercy befitting of a goddess, asked so to the [Transference] Demon Lord.

It was an ultimatum.

 

“I swear, I really can’t bring him back. So please, stop this torture.”

“Then, you’re of no use to us anymore. …hello, Ruhe-chan, please give the go ahead to your subordinate in the [Transference] dungeon.”

 

Aura said so and her earing swayed a bit.

Nothing happened for a few minutes, but then the [Transference] Demon Lord began shivering and hugging his own body.

 

“My, my power–”

“is no longer yours. It is now my master’s.”

 

The source of a Demon Lord’s powers was the crystal that could be found in the deepest part of their dungeon.

If that crystal was somehow broken, the dungeon would collapse, the monsters created by the Demon Lord would perish, and the Demon Lord would lose access to their powers. Moreover, a Demon Lord whose crystal was broken would no longer be classified as a Demon Lord and would be nothing more than a mere mortal.

Because of those reasons, it was no surprise Demon Lords would fortify their dungeons as much as they could to protect their crystals.

 

Should a Demon Lord or their monsters break another’s crystal, however, that other Demon Lord’s powers would then be transferred to them.

In other words, Procell has now earned the [Transference] ability as well as the capability to create [Transference] medals.

Procell’s monsters thought such abilities would be able to help him get back. So, despite the high risk of Avalon being attacked due to his absence, they decided the attacking the [Transference] dungeon was well worth it.

 

“Ah, ah, ahhhhh! My powers… my–”

“Are you that stubborn? I said, they aren’t yours anymore. Rather than worry about the powers you’ve lost, you should worry what’ll happen to you next. We no longer have a need for you, so we no longer need to hold ourselves back.”

 

It took a while for the [Transference] Demon Lord to comprehend Aura’s words. When he finally did, his teeth began to chatter.

 

“Well, we might find a use for you yet, so we’ll still practice some restraint. I say we, but if I stay with you any longer, I most likely would kill you. So, I’ll be leaving you in the care of someone much more patient than me. Well, that person might kill you as well, but at least he can resurrect you. Amazing, right? Have fun!”

 

Wind whirled around the [Transference] Demon Lord. This wind then threw him up so that a hole within the dome could swallow him on his way down.

 

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

 

The [Transference] Demon Lord soon found out that there was something else within the hole. Before he could figure out what they were, their hands grabbed him and dragged him away.

In almost an instant, the [Transference] Demon Lord could no longer be seen, and his screams could no longer be heard.

 

“And so, this mission is complete. I just hope master will notice he has gained the [Transference] ability as well as its medal soon.”

“It’s Oto-san; I’m sure he will”

“Mhm, but I can’t be so sure. Master’s smart, but he also tends to be inattentive at times. Moreover, even if he notices it, it doesn’t automatically mean he’ll be able to return. The [Transference] ability and medal might not be enough. I mean, master who has gained the ability should be able to cover the same distance as the [Transference] Demon Lord, but the problem is specifying the target location. For that, I believe we [Monsters of the Covenant] are the key.”

 

Rorono told the other two her theory.

It was something that was on her mind while searching using the satellites.

 

“I see. I can indeed still feel the connection to master. It’s really faint, but it’s there. It stands to reason that if we follow the connection, we can identify master’s location. Which is easier said than done. We sense the connection, but translating it into definite coordinates is…”

“Something we can’t do. But maybe it’s something another monster can! I’m gonna go ask Marcho-sama and Stolas-sama!”

 

Like that, Kuina hurriedly dashed away.

She was in high spirits for having something she could do to help.

No other monster wanted to contribute in the search for Procell more than her.

In fact, she wanted to lead the attack against the [Transference] Demon Lord herself. However, because of the aforementioned high risk of Avalon being attacked due to Procell’s absence, she chose to remain.

After all, just her presence in Avalon was quite the deterrent to the other Demon Lords. Aside from being Avalon’s strongest monster, which was quite something already, she had also become quite a legend thanks to her demonstration of the power of an Aether Fox—the evolution of a Celestial Fox—in the fight against a former member of the three strongest Demon Lords.

Leaving now still carried risks, but considerably less so given the return of Aura and the attacking force she had taken with her.

 

“Alright, let’s continue giving it our all.”

“Mhm, naturally. For master… for father.”

 

And so, Procell’s monsters continued their search for him. It wasn’t just them looking for him though; other Demon Lords who cared for him were also taking action.

 

Soon, Procell, his monsters, and the other helping Demon Lords would realize something: that efforts from Procell’s side or Avalon’s side wouldn’t be enough. The only way they could make Procell come back was when their efforts aligned.

 

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Tl note: Duke didn’t receive any promotion. The same word is being used here as it was before. I just prefer going forward with chief of staff.

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