Volume 5 Chapter 13 (1/2)
~ From the [Time] Demon Lord's perspective ~
”Hmp, I can't believe I am being used freely by a new-born chick.”
The [Time] Demon Lord, unaccompanied, had just finished using a Transfer array in order to go to the [Creation] Demon Lord's dungeon.
The place he Transferred to was the Plain previously used in Procell's war against a human city.
This Plain was set up to be the entrance to [Creation]'s dungeon.
Unless one had a Transfer array prepared beforehand, it was impossible to go into the city of Avalon without passing through this plain.
The Transfer array that [Time] used was prepared by the crow monster he had given [Creation]. Despite handing over the said monster, it was still under the command of the [Time] Demon Lord.
It was a so-called spy.
Furthermore, it had prepared the array through a method that would prevent any new Demon Lord from noticing.
”[Storage]”
He called forth the monsters that were stored in his [Storage].
The total number of monsters that awaited his instructions was fifty.
Normally, a Demon Lord could only store up to ten monsters in their [Storage] but the [Time] Demon Lord, and he alone, was successful in understanding and then improving his [Storage].
He was able to do so easily since half of the workings of [Storage] had something to do with time manipulation magic.
Hence, compared to other Demon Lords, he was able to move his forces at a much faster rate.
Among the monsters that were summoned, a dragon with a remarkably huge body had sent its thoughts to the [Time] Demon Lord.
It was an old dragon with a long and slender body, similar to an oriental dragon's.
The lightning that crackled around its body further suggested it was a monster far above the others.
”I use whomever I could use and right now, I can use him to gain more time with Marchosias.”
His agreement with the [Creation] Demon Lord was that in exchange for lending a hand, [Creation] would prolong [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias's lifespan.
Demon Lords were beings that were limited to a lifespan of three hundred years. Such was also true for Marchosias whom the [Time] Demon Lord loved.
As for the [Time] Demon Lord himself though, he had been continuously controlling his own flow of time to be about half of normal.
Of course, there were times he couldn't do it so his lifespan wasn't exactly doubled.
Even so, he had succeeded in prolonging his life by, at least, a century.
He had offered several times to do the same to Marchosias but each time he asked, she said no.
”That's enough for me. Whether I make her fall for me or not will depend on me and me alone. [Creation] says he's not in love with her but I know he is. Considering even that, I'm satisfied with this deal.”
The [Time] Demon Lord's deal with [Creation] was strictly limited to the latter prolonging the [Beast] Demon Lord's life. Beyond that, it all depended on [Time]. And that was plenty enough for him.
Just by himself, there was nothing he could do about Marchosias's impending death. And so, he pinned his hopes of having enough time with Marchosias onto [Creation].
”…Ragna. You seem to sometimes forget the fact that you are my monster. But, yes, you are indeed correct. I realize that. I know that I'm being naïve, too naïve in fact. But… seeing that guy, it just brings me back to the time when [Flame] was still alive. Along with that dream comes the many regrets.”
It was a golden age. It was the first time in the long history of Demon Lords that four with A rank medals were born in the same generation.
[Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias.
[Time] Demon Lord Dantalian.
[Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth.
……and [Flame] Demon Lord Amon.
They competed with one another until, gradually, the buds of friendship was born. Eventually, the four swore to bring happiness to each other for as long as they lived.
The [Time] Demon Lord yearned for those happy days.
Marchosias would propose something unreasonable;
Amon would get carried away;
Dantalian would point out the absurdity of it all;
And Astaroth would propose a plan to solve it;
And in the end, Amon would rise up unify the four of them into one.
With all four of them, they could do anything. With all four of them, they were invincible.
However, they stood out too much and caught the attention of the old Demon Lords of that time.
If the four of them stood as one, they wouldn't have been defeated.
However, there was a crack between the four of them and it revolved around the rivalry between Dantalian and Amon over Marchosias.
In the midst of battle, Dantalian tried to tried to one up Amon and show off to Marchosias.
Even now, Dantalian was regretting having done so. It was his youth and stupidity that had gotten his friend Amon killed. Ever since then, the friendship of the remaining three was ruined.
”If ever there is a next time, if ever a friend is exposed to danger once more, I will not waver. I will not lose another important person. That is what I have promised to myself on that day and I intend to keep it above all else.”
If [Time] willed it during his negotiation with [Creation], he could have snatched away several things that Avalon had a monopoly of. Those were after all treasures even from the perspective of one of the strongest Demon Lords.
Better yet, he could have demanded for [Creation] to reject Marchosias and thus not ever be a rival in love. [Time] knew, by looking at [Creation]'s eyes, that the latter would accept even such conditions. In fact, if demanded for, [Creation] would even offer everything he could without hesitation. All so that Marchosias could be saved.
Seeing such determination in [Creation]'s eyes, [Time] decided to cooperate and even entrusted his daughter, the Celestial Wolf Fel, over to [Creation].
[Creation] hasn't committed the same mistakes my former self had, thought [Time]. For me to take advantage of such a guy would just make me look so unappealing and how can I ever hope to win over the best girl out there if I'm such an unappealing person?
Despite being [Time]'s subordinate, Ragna spoke as he wished. And upon hearing Ragna's comment, [Time] smiled.
The Time Dragon Ragnaritte named Ragna was an A rank monster born using the [Time] and [Dragon] medals.
Excluding Fel, he was the strongest and most trusted monster of [Time].
When the four Demon Lords first swore to each other that they would walk through life together, they exchanged medals. Ragna was a monster made using those medals.
Ragna greatly like [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth, albeit a drunk one.
”The enemies will be here soon. Let's save the idle reminiscing for later, chief.”