Volume 11 Chapter 13 Infiltration! Toxy Team
That day, Toxy went to work as usual.
With Philia and Sur, they climbed the hill as usual and entered the Demon King Castle by showing their affiliation at the castle wall as usual. They then arrived at the Demon King Army headquarters building.
Inside, they nodded lightly to the passing Demons as they walked. At first, Toxy and the others were treated coldly, but since they had helped many as military doctors, they were now often greeted in return.
They moved to the medical room assigned to them and waited. Usually, by this point, cases would come flooding in, but today was different.
Sipping the tea that Sur had thoughtfully prepared, Toxy muttered.
"Ahh... It'd be nice if we could always relax like this in the morning."
――At that moment, with a loud bang, a shock ran through the building, making it feel like it was shaking.
"It's here."
Who did what? After a moment of silence, the Demon King Army headquarters suddenly became noisy.
"What was that!?""Emergency assembly!""Rebel army!?""Were the rumors true!?"
The soldiers hurriedly returned to their posts. Just as a message was about to reach Toxy, Philia stuck out her tongue and said, "Oops, I did it."
"Of all times, my hand slipped. I broke the communication artifact."
"Hehe, Philia, that was too obvious!"
The 3 of them laughed lightly. Then, they all stood up.
"Well, shall we start?"
"Roger!""Understood."
They left the medical room. The 3 of them jogged along, blending in with the surroundings.
"Philia, do you know where we're heading?"
"Of course! I didn't just walk around here for nothing when I had free time!"
Philia said proudly, wearing a huge armor that made her look even bigger than Toxy, and moved forward at a considerable speed.
Because of that, the Toxy team stood out. But even though they were noticeable, they were always moving around, so they didn't get caught.
Several demons watched Toxy and her team, but they all looked at them with an expression that said, "They look busy again today." Toxy thought that daily behavior really does show.
"Here it is. This is the office that manages the Circus District."
Philia said, and Toxy looked up at the building.
Like the other buildings, it was a solidly built, square office. Toxy hid in the shadows once and peeked inside through the window.
"There are people inside... but not many. It looks like a lot of them have already been sent out."
"Yeah. So, what do we do? Should we cause a scene?"
"Philia, not yet. This time we're doing a reconnaissance, so it's too early to get ourselves fired."
Toxy calmed the extreme Philia and took a deep breath before entering through the front door. She walked up to the reception counter and spoke to the female demon at the desk.
"We're here to check the Circus documents regarding the ongoing riots."
"Y-yes...! Oh, you're Toxy, the medic from the Toxy team, right? Um, I've been a fan for a long time...!"
"Huh? Oh, thank you...?"
Toxy was bewildered by the sparkling eyes looking at her. She responded to the handshake request.
"I've always thought you were amazing, um... please keep up the good work...!"
"Oh, uh, yeah. Thank you..."
The woman grabbed Toxy's hand and shook it up and down vigorously.
Toxy was in a bit of a hurry and feeling troubled.
Suddenly, a stern voice came from behind.
"...Huh? Toxy team? What are you doing here? I thought I ordered you to assist the suppression unit."
Startled, Toxy turned around. Their superior officer was standing there.
"Uh, um, well..."
"Don't tell me you're breaking military regulations? In the Demon King’s army, breaking regulations means 5 death penalties. And in the middle of a battlefield, no less."
Toxy felt a chill run down their spine at the worst possible timing.
But then, Sur stepped in.
"Excuse me, sir. Actually―――"
Sur whispered something to the officer. The officer's eyes widened, "What? The Commander-in-chief..." He then nodded.
"Alright, I understand. I officially approve the Toxy team's actions. And... make sure to inform the Commander-in-chief."
"Of course. Thank you for your cooperation."
The officer quickly completed the procedures at the nearby desk and left. Toxy, feeling relieved, asked Sur,
"What did you say?"
"Nothing much. Just used a bit of family influence."
Sur said mischievously. "You really saved us," Toxy said, receiving the permit at the desk and starting to walk.
"Wow, that was close. If Sur-chan had been a second later, I would've killed them all."
"Philia, your dark jokes aren't funny, so stop."
"How rude! I'm serious!"
"That's what I'm saying!"
While lightly arguing with Philia, they opened the door to the archive room.
Inside, there were countless bookshelves filled with a massive amount of documents.
They lightly pick up a nearby document and open it. From what they quickly read, it seems to be a detailed report of all the activities carried out by the Demon King’s army so far.
Originally, demons aren’t suited for such meticulous work. However, with memory-reading sorcery and a sorcery that can automatically write based on that information, such feats are possible.
Sorcery is more flexible compared to magic. It can do things that magic, which is not allowed, cannot.
"...But, looking for information in here is pretty tough... What should we do?"
"There was talk of the circus starting to change a few years ago. Shall we start from there?"
Toxy worries, and Sur suggests. Then Philia speaks up.
"Found it! My summoning magic is the best!"
"Give me back my worries."
Toxy makes a sour face, wondering how on earth Philia found it so quickly.
The 3 of them sit side by side at the desk. Toxy opens the thick document book handed to him by Philia.
What’s written is the transition of the circus's security. It used to be just an entertainment district. But it changed after a certain demon appeared and started to gain power in the circus.
"‘Leader Chiero’..."
―――Gentle for a demon. Has little aggression and is satisfied as long as those around him are smiling.
―――Started an entertainment called ‘circus’. Gathers people and shows performances, becoming the most popular in the entertainment district.
―――Popularity skyrockets. Develops into a major business rivaling the commercial guilds of the bazaar. Many in the Demon King’s army are impressed.
―――At the circus, many people have gone missing. Even from the Demon King’s army, those who visited the circus recently have disappeared one after another.
Toxy thought while reading, "The wind has changed."
―――An order was issued for Ringmaster Chiero to report to the Demon King’s army. Ringmaster Chiero must report immediately to the Demon King’s army.
―――Interrogation regarding the missing persons incident. Ringmaster Chiero keeps giving nonsensical statements.
―――It was revealed that the entire circus is covered by Ringmaster Chiero’s Domain Control. Chiero himself stated that all the missing people are brainwashed by Domain Control and mistakenly believe they are circus members.
―――To avoid a battle at the Demon King’s army headquarters, Ringmaster Chiero is escorted back to the circus.
―――Later, a forced investigation by a task force begins.
―――The advance team is wiped out. The following teams also go missing.
―――General Rupt leads the army and clashes with the circus. Both sides suffer heavy losses.
―――Peace negotiations with the circus begin. An agreement is reached. The circus is regarded as a pseudo-garrison force, establishing a cooperative system.
―――It is decided to set up a monthly meeting between the Demon King’s army and Ringmaster Chiero. The location is
"...Midnight, at the top floor of the clock tower in the First Entertainment District."
This is it, Toxy thought. The specified time is due to the nature of Ringmaster Chiero’s Domain Control covering the circus.
In other words, they must reach the top floor of the clock tower when it is midnight inside the circus.
"...With this, Wade and the others can start moving to bring down the circus."
Toxy closed the book. She glanced at the two and stood up, saying, "Mission complete."
Then, the 3 of them left the government building, and right in front of them was a demon engulfed in flames, walking.
"Huh?"
"Hmm... Oh. You guys must be the rumored Toxy squad? And... isn't that my foolish little brother, Sur?"
The demon was like a man made of charcoal, constantly emitting flames.
His skin was dark brown, covered in flames. Though it wasn't hot from a distance, the flames on his body gave off a vibe that you shouldn't touch them.
This is it, Toxy thought, eyes wide open. It was the first time seeing Sur's family. Just one look and you could tell how unusual they were.
After all, even Toxy, who had spent a fair amount of time in hell, had never seen a demon constantly on fire.
"...It's been a while, Rupt-oniisama."
Sur bowed deeply. In response, Rupt――Sur's older brother and the right-hand commander――touched Sur's head.
Sur's head ignited. His neatly arranged hair started to burn.
"It took you a long time to come back after running away. Because of what you did, we had a really hard time."
"...I deeply apologize for the trouble I caused."
"Really. Yes, really. No matter how much father's violence was directed at us――"
Rupt stopped speaking, glancing at Toxy and the others.
He released Sur and began to walk away.
"Sorry, I'm in the middle of work. Help the rumored military doctor and contribute to the Demon King's army."
"Yes. I will do my best."
"Hmph."
Rupt walked away. Watching his back, Toxy called out, "Sur..."
Sur, running his hand through his soot-stained hair, spoke.
"Yes. He is my brother, the Right General Rupt――――one of the powerful enemies who controls Domain Control, and someone we must defeat someday."
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