Volume 4 Chapter 10 Evil
In the central continent, at the far east, lies a vast forest──Storm Great Forest.
Beyond the Rain Great Forest, where the hero party was defeated, this forest exists.
It's at the heart of the Forest King's Army's invasion zone, essentially their territory.
Many forest demons and monsters reside there, ruled by the Forest King, Gálu.
At the deepest part of this Storm Great Forest, there are massive ruins believed to be created by humans in the past.
Having been left untouched by nature for many years, it's covered in plants, but the ruins still barely retain their shape.
Now, it serves as the base for the Forest King's Army and a home for its executives.
"Yawnnn...!"
In such a place, there was a monster letting out a big yawn.
It had white beast ears and a tail, with the tips of its elbows and knees covered in beast fur──half human, half beast.
Its messy, long white hair and sharp black eyes, along with a somewhat muscular build, were distinctive.
Its outfit consisted of no shirt, a black jacket, black pants, and a matching choker around its neck.
To an outsider, it looked like a carefree young man, not at all like an imposing monster, but this was the Forest King, Gálu──one of the Demon Lords overseeing the Forest King's Army.
"Man, there's nothing to do..."
Gálu let out a second bored yawn while lying on a pedestal of the ruins, playfully tracking the grooves in the ceiling with his eyes.
With his subordinates all out, he had nothing to do and was feeling idle.
Suddenly, he heard a noise like paper turning.
Looking to the corner of the room, he spotted a "small boy" quietly reading a book, leaning against the wall of the ruins.
"..Hey Vamph, tell me some interesting story."
".."
The boy, addressed by Gálu in a lazy voice, didn't respond and kept his eyes fixed on the book.
Since there were only the two of them in the large room of the ruins, Gálu's voice echoed clearly.
It was not a case of him not hearing; it was a clear act of ignoring.
Even so, Gálu didn't get offended because the two were in a "equal position"
"We've formed an alliance, right? So, shouldn't we get along a bit better?"
"..I didn't form this alliance just for the sake of being friendly."
Finally, the boy, still looking at his book, replied.
At first glance, he looked like a ten-year-old boy with black hair and red eyes.
However, he had bat-like wings on his back and pointed ears.
His skin was unnaturally pale, showing signs that he was otherworldly.
Dressed in aristocratic, black attire, this suspicious boy was Vamph, the Spirit King overseeing the Spirit King's Army.
This ruin, which usually served as the base for the Forest King's Army, had now become a shared base due to the alliance with the Spirit King's Army.
Currently, Vamph was waiting inside the ruins as part of an ongoing operation.
"Don't interfere with each other's subordinates. Don't disturb each other's invasion zones. We are just teaming up for the revival of the Curse Tree and to gain a biological sphere. Of course, I remember that promise."
Gálu said, sitting back on the pedestal with a slightly dissatisfied tone.
"But hey, we finally get to know an equal monster like this, right? It wouldn't hurt to chat a bit to pass the time. Besides, aren't you just as bored, Vamph? I mean, you're reading that boring human stuff."
".."
Vamph glanced at Gálu with his red eyes but quickly returned his gaze to the book.
Silence fell over the large room again.
Even when he made a teasing remark, it went unacknowledged.
Understanding that once more, Vamph let out a big sigh.
"..By the way, why'd you suddenly decide to cooperate with us?"
Out of nowhere, Gálu asked Vamph this question.
He thought that if he invited conversation, he wouldn't get a response, but perhaps if he asked a question, he might actually get an answer.
So, he asked something that had been quietly bothering him.
"It's true that the Demon Lord armies from various places are at a standstill in their battles for territory against humans, but why are you specifically bringing up an alliance with us? There were plenty of other candidates, right?"
The Dragon King's Army, Sea King's Army, and Rock King's Army.
Apart from these, there are several well-known Demon Lord armies.
Among them, the Dragon King's Army is said to be the oldest and boasts the largest power as a monster group.
So why propose an alliance with the newcomer, the Forest King's Army? Gálu looked at the spirit king Vamph with a slightly suspicious gaze.
"Oh? Could it be that you're up to something, Spirit King Vamph?"
"I already said. What I want is a biosphere for the undead. To achieve that, we need to take land from the humans. So I thought forming an alliance with you lot, who control the Cursed Funeral Trees, would be the best strategy."
"Hmm..."
After Vamph's reply, Gálu flashed a daring smile.
However, he didn't say anything more and shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, I can agree on taking down the humans and seizing territory, so as long as we can align on that, I don't care what you're planning."
Saying that, Gálu was about to return to the game he was playing with the grooves on the ceiling.
But just before he could──.
"Sir Gálu."
"Hm?"
A female catfolk monster entered the large room.
As one of the executives of the Forest King's Army, she walked right up to Gálu and immediately delivered her message.
"I received a report from the Spirit King's Army. They said that the sapling's curse work has progressed to 50 percent."
"Eh! Still only 50 percent?!"
In contrast to Gálu's dissatisfied voice echoing in the large room, the catfolk monster continued her report calmly.
According to the Cursed team, the injection of curse energy into all the saplings is probably going to be completed in about 2 weeks.
"That's a long time... Can't you ask if it can be done sooner?"
The cat-type monster shook its head, brushing off Gálu's unreasonable request.
Gálu let out yet another sigh, reluctantly giving up.
The Cursed Funeral Trees are currently being infused with curse power by the monsters of the Spirit King's Army.
This will help them grow and eventually complete the perfect Funeral Trees, which once bared their fangs at humanity.
In the Forest King's Army──none among the forest demons can handle curse powers, and for a long time, the Cursed Funeral Trees remained gathering dust in Gálu's hands.
However, with the cooperation of the Spirit King's Army, there was hope for the revival of the Funeral Trees, which could serve as a stepping stone for an advance into human territory.
This was the main reason both armies teamed up.
Still, Gálu sighed deeply, knowing that the injection work would take time.
"Just waiting around is really boring. If it could wrap up faster, we could wipe out the humans."
As Gálu expressed his frustration with boredom, the cat person delivered a second report.
"Also, we captured an adventurer who was lurking in the Rain Great Forest."
"What?"
With that voice, another monster, resembling a bear, entered the large room.
In its hand was a chain, and at the end of the chain was a human woman.
Seeing the human being dragged along the ground, Gálu's smile quickly returned.
"Hey, hey, what's this? You should have told me that first! This is perfect timing!"
Gálu pranced over to the woman adventurer as if he had just received a new toy.
He crouched down to peek at her, his smile shining even brighter as he noticed her already battered condition.
"What shall we do with this adventurer?"
"Oh, I'll take it from here. Just give some random reward to the captured monster."
"Understood."
The cat-like monster said that and left the room with the bear monster.
The only ones left in the room were Gálu, Vamph, and a woman adventurer who was showing signs of anger.
"Well then, since Vamph isn't paying attention to me, how about you help me pass the time instead? If you're going to blame someone, blame Vamph."
Gálu grabbed the chin of the fallen woman adventurer, lifting her face up.
Even though she was chained and brought deep into enemy territory, she still glared fiercely as if igniting her fighting spirit.
"That takes some guts to come alone into the Forest King's Army's invasion zone. I'll give you that much credit."
With honest praise, the woman adventurer finally opened her mouth to express her grievances.
"I will never forgive you...! I will definitely get back at the Forest King's Army for killing my friends right in front of me...!"
Having come to take revenge for her adventurer comrades, she was struggling to suppress her anger in front of the army leader.
Her body, which should already have been worn out from fighting the monsters, was desperately trying to move as she attempted to free herself from the chains.
However, it showed no signs of coming off, and while laughing, Gálu reached out to the woman adventurer.
"W-What are you planning to do...?"
Seeing Gálu's creepy smile, the woman adventurer grimaced.
Suddenly sensing an ominous atmosphere, she hastened her efforts to break free from the chains.
But, cruelly, her efforts went unrewarded, and instead, the baptism of the Demon Lord army came crashing down on her.
Snap! With that small sound... her nail was ripped off.
"──!?"
A fierce pain surged through her like electricity.
"Ugh, ahhh!!!"
"Hahaha! You've got an amazing face right now!"
Fresh blood dripped from her right pinky finger, and excruciating pain hit her brain.
Caught off guard by the sudden hurt, tears began to well up in the eyes of the woman adventurer.
"Ugh... ugh...!"
"Hey, come on, this is just the beginning! You're an adventurer, right? Don't give up so easily... oops!"
Crack! Another nail is ripped off.
"Ugh, aahhh!!!"
She was literally being turned into Gálu's toy.
One by one, her nails were being pulled off, and when there were no more nails, he started bending her fingers.
Once her right hand was done, he moved on to her left hand, taking pleasure in watching her suffer.
For a while, the only sounds echoing in the large room were the adventurer's screams and Gálu's laughter.
In the middle of that annoying noise, Vamph, who had been quietly reading a book, finally closed it in disbelief.
"..Being around you really doesn't let me read properly."
"Come on, just say it's not boring! And honestly, having this kind of fun is way more enjoyable than reading some human's scribbles. Why not join in, Vamph?"
Vamph turned his back to Gálu and walked out of the room without even looking at him.
Watching him leave, Gálu tossed aside the ripped-off nails from the female adventurer, letting out a dry chuckle.
"..Tch, so cold."
The violence from Gálu continued, and the painful screams of the female adventurer echoed cruelly throughout the ruins as she suffered physically.
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