Schemes, And Toward The Decisive Battle.

The Beast Emperor, Zegart, stood facing two of his fellow demons deep within a dense forest.

It was a clandestine meeting.

Both his primary sprawling estate and the various villas he maintained across the Demon World carried an exceptionally high risk of being under surveillance by the Demon King’s operatives. The Demon King clearly harbored suspicions regarding Zegart, making it a strict tactical mandate to execute all movements in absolute secrecy.

“A full month has elapsed since my return to the Demon World. How are the preparations for the operational blueprint progressing, Sigmund?” Zegart queried his trusted confidant.

“For the most part, our curves are tracking smoothly along our projected timeline, milord.”

“What is the real-time status on Tsukuyomi’s end?”

“My own assignments are proceeding without a single operational hitch, milord. The completion metrics currently log a clean 78%. We shall guaranteed hit our milestones ahead of the scheduled deadline,” the silver magitech automaton reported.

“Honestly… just because my registry logs my build under the taxonomy of a Homunculus experimental model, you are pushing my parameters far too hard. My system is zero percent a basic tool to be casually exploited by Zegart-dono… you oversized meathead.”

“ …Your un-routed internal monologue is perfectly audible to my sensors, Tsukuyomi.“

“An internal monologue? My, my. My processors possess zero logs of my vocal array venting a single syllable, milord,” Tsukuyomi responded, giving a completely deadpan shake of her silver head.

“Never changing, I see,” Zegart muttered, a low chuckle escaping his jaws.

Well, her psychological quirks were entirely a non-serving variable in his calculations. The only data node that factored into his equations was raw capability. Elite subordinates who commanded maximum scores across both character settings and capability metrics—like Sigmund—were an exceptionally scarce resource.

“The Demon King, Fried… I ran a minor sparring calibration loop against his frame the other day, and his absolute status parameters exponentially outclass the baseline rumors. Even though our network has meticulously engineered a counter-offensive matrix to suppress his specs, our simulations still register a non-zero volume of volatile, unmapped variables. As expected, securing a clean clear sequence will not be an effortless calculation.”

Zegart locked his optical arrays onto Sigmund and Tsukuyomi in turn.

“Which is precisely why the utility yields of your respective portfolios are comprehensively mission-critical. I heavily rely on your processing lines.”

“Staking my absolute lifeforce parameters, I shall guaranteed materialize the absolute foundation to secure Zegart-sama’s grand objective.” Sigmund executed a deeply respectful, solemn bow. He was a textbook image of an ironclad, loyal vassal.

“My own profile shall continuously push its output to the absolute limit, milord. I am fast-tracking our structural espionage loops to thoroughly map out the subterranean mechanical infrastructure blocks of the Demon King’s Castle. Furthermore, I am optimizing the assembly line to stabilize That Special Armament assigned to Zegart-dono’s arsenal,” Tsukuyomi validated.

“Granted, my bandwidth is already completely bottlenecked managing my routine duties as a Supreme Commander, and forcing my system to simultaneously process these covert engineering queues represents an exceptionally grueling strain… Zegart-dono simply lounges around issuing basic high-volume orders, so his lifecycle is wonderfully relaxed and easy. Mutter, mutter.”

As expected, her highly critical internal monologue carried cleanly across the frequency, perfectly audible.

“I trust both of your profiles to continuously monitor the lines,” Zegart boomed. “The hazardous variables threatening our blueprint are zero percent restricted strictly to the Demon King. The remaining five Supreme Commanders flanking our positions present an equally tedious bottleneck to calculate.”

Stella and Feria’s builds weren’t engineered to maximize raw frontline close-quarters damage outputs, yet their character sheets came pre-outfitted with exceptionally hazardous, specialized skill matrices that could easily scramble an offensive line. Regal was a veteran brawler of unparalleled ferocity, and Juda commanded a raw mana pool that allowed him to loose magic arrays that horizontally rivaled independent Demon King models. Even Olivier’s restoration multipliers would guaranteed present a grueling obstruction if forced to engage her lines as an active hostile.

Mapping out a definitive blueprint to systematically neutralize those specific entities was an exceptionally delicate equation.

“Exchanging casual, high-volume pleasantries inside a coordinate sector of this nature? Supreme Commander Zegart, Supreme Commander Tsukuyomi.”

Abruptly, a chilling voice hijacked the airspace from their rear flank.

“ …Regal, is it. Exactly what classification of operational routing directed your own boots to navigate into this quadrant?“ Zegart growled, his golden mane tensing.

“A simple routine stroll,” the skeletal swordsman calmly announced, stepping into the clearing.

Being logged under the undead taxonomy, his physical mass was completely devoid of a biological presence, allowing his signature to bypass their tracking sensors entirely until he was right inside their perimeter. Exactly how many chronological frames had he been stationed in the dark? There was a non-zero probability that his audio sensors had successfully harvested the core details of their conspiracy.

Zegart reflexively coiled his massive muscles, bracing his physical structure for an immediate explosive leap. He loosed a sharp optical signal to coordinate vectors with Sigmund and Tsukuyomi flanking his sides.

If the data confirmed that the Undead King’s tracking sensors had intercepted an illegal anomaly—in the absolute worst-case scenario, executing a summary deletion loop to permanently archive his model right here was an entirely viable strategic calculation.

Then again, looking at his baseline specs, Regal represented an exceptionally high-utility pawn that could be leveraged to optimize his future state governance. If possible, launching a high-intensity head-on clash against his blade within our current timeline was a sub-optimal choice.

(Furthermore—the exact dynamic hour my grand ambition normalizes and I successfully claim the absolute mantle of the Demon King, my long-term strategy requires anchoring an elite brawler of his caliber right at the central core of my military governance.)

Liquidating an absolute apex warrior who scaled at the supreme pinnacle of the Demon World’s combat database in a throwaway sector like this was a catastrophic waste of premium resources.

“My sensors could only harvest fragmented data packets, yet my acoustic processing nodes calculate that a handful of highly unsettling variables carried across the wind,” Regal noted.

Clang! His archaic full-body plate armor emitted a heavy metallic ring as he took a casual step forward. His posture remained comprehensively neutral; he had flatly omitted an active combat guard.

Had he genuinely intercepted the core elements of Zegart’s strategy? Or was he intentionally venting a suggestive statement to run a diagnostic check and audit their defensive reactions?

( …What is the smartest calculation? Deploying a smoke-screen dialogue loop to entirely scramble his focus? Or stepping straight into the absolute core of the matter to forcefully drag his profile into our active alignment network?)

“My internal processors are heavily grieving, you see. Grieving the absolute downward trajectory of the Demon World’s future.”

Zegart let out a slow, deeply sorrowful theatrical sigh, masking his calculations. He meticulously restricted his vocabulary to high-level abstract terminology, flatly blocking a single concrete keyword from entering the frequency.

“My mind continuously runs non-stop simulation loops. All to decode the absolute, smartest methodology to safeguard this sacred realm. My deepest desire is to deploy a definitive hand to lock down that ideal. And to successfully bring that equation to complete realization, integrating your high-caliber combat specs into my network is a mandatory requirement.”

“My power…?” Regal’s vocal array registered a noticeable trace of cold suspicion. His alertness metrics were clearly highly elevated.

“During our initial historical greeting loop inside the palace, your profile stated that your queue held a series of delicate matters you highly desired to pass to my consultation. Does this specific framework map onto that directive?”

“Well… it aligns beautifully within the exact same ballpark parameters,” Zegart boomed, his golden jaws curling upward into a massive, predatory smirk. “After all, among our entire Supreme Commander cabinet, my analytics permanently log your profile as an exceptionally trustworthy, elite comrade-in-arms.”

He resolved to systematically leak minor packets of information down the line, using the drip-feed to run a live audit on the Undead King’s processing metrics.

According to the historical field logs, the exact fraction of a second Regal had established a visual link with the current Demon King, he had instantly launched an unprovoked sparring engagement to oppose his crown. While his active behavioral routines showed zero overt signs of open rebellion for now, there was an exceptionally high probability that his internal settings harbored an immense volume of deep dissatisfaction toward Fried’s soft methodologies.

If he could successfully hammer a wedge straight into that specific psychological bottleneck, dragging the absolute power of the Undead King to align with his own banner was an comprehensively viable equation—

I was stationed at my executive desk as usual, systematically burning through a massive stack of administrative documentation. Standing permanently beside my coordinates to manage the queue was Stella.

“Lord Demon King, my office has successfully concluded a thorough peer-check across all financial, infrastructure-civil, and military department requisition files. Kindly authorize your master digital signature to finalize the決済 protocols.”

“Your operational efficiency continuously optimizes our timeline. My immense gratitude for managing the load, Stella.”

Venting the sincere praise, I received the processed files. To state the unvarnished reality, if her elite administrative specs were missing from my cabinet, running a horizontal processing loop to manage an absurd workload of this magnitude would be a comprehensively non-viable trajectory. My internal parameters lacked the necessary capacity to ever vocalize enough gratitude to match her service.

“To successfully manifest a high-utility return that optimizes Fried-sama’s operations brings absolute, supreme gratification to my profile. As long as the labor cycle serves your crown, my system stands pre-programmed to execute these queues infinitely,” Stella smiled warmly, her features softening.

“In that case, my own vessel stands highly eager to inject its utility to assist your portfolio as well~”

The executive door swung wide open, and slinking into the room was the pink-haired beauty—Feria.

“Tell me, My Lord Demon King, what exact classification of assignment does your system desire my profile to handle? Ah~! Could it perhaps involve checking off a high-intensity nighttime companionship routine inside the master chambers?”

“Feria. Exactly what baseline calculation authorized your frame to abandon your assigned department queues?” Stella’s facial parameters instantly dropped into an expression of severe disapproval.

“My personal administrative metrics have already hit a hundred percent completion for the day, so my navigation routing is completely unrestricted, correct? Besides, running an audit on our historical spatial allocation, your profile routinely maintains an exclusive, non-stop physical monopoly right beside the Demon King’s coordinates anyway.”

“My profile is strictly executing its mandatory sovereign functions.”

“Granted, running these dry documentation loops is entirely your specialized master domain, but then again…”

“Ah~! Beholding Stella-oneesama and Feria-sama engaged in a live face-to-face vocal exchange…っ!”

This time, a hyper-adorable beast-girl pre-outfitted with fox ears and nine fluffy tails rocketed into the room. The executive suite was rapidly transforming into a literal bustling central hub.

“Two elite beauties locking lines in a high-tension dialogue loop… comprehensively sacred…っ Funyaa~”

“Olivier as well, I see,” Stella sighed heavily, her patience parameters sustaining a minor drop. “Kindly remind your processors that this executive chamber is zero percent a casual social salon.”

“Ah, please omit my coordinates from your concern metrics! Kindly pretend my profile is non-serving and continue your elite girl-on-girl banter without delayっ!” Olivier declared, her features completely melting into a dreamy, starry-eyed grin.

“While my database lacks a clear taxonomy to decode exactly what your vocal array designates under the nomenclature of a ‘girl-on-girl banter script’… I highly anticipate that your system successfully checked off its assigned department work before launching this transit?” I interjected, a cold sweat breaking across my skin.

“With absolute, maximum velocity, milord~! To ensure my visual memory files could flawlessly engrave this precious girl-on-girl interaction frame in real-time, I pushed my operational parameters into absolute overdrive to vacuum my entire queue!”

The Demon King’s executive office had turned comprehensively, absurdly boisterous. Across our recent timeline, this exact chaotic layout had normalized into our daily baseline script.

Perhaps, this was the absolute textbook definition of the quiet calm preceding a catastrophic storm. I let out a silent, internal sigh to archive the tension.

Correct—a storm.

The chronological allowance permitting our network to indulge in these peaceful, warm data loops was rapidly approaching its absolute expiration frame.

The exact seasonal window marking the secondary massive invasion of the Hero’s Vanguard was drawing close. The structural degradation compromising our sovereign barrier was expanding exponentially day by day. To systematically fracture the defensive shielding framing the Demon World, the surface human factions were undoubtedly utilizing specialized dark Miracle-class armaments to launch a continuous, high-intensity artillery barrage against the boundary coordinates.

Yes, duplicating the exact same programming logic from that fateful day two months ago. Exactly like that ancient hour where my own profile had anchored the frontline vanguard alongside Lyle and a massive horde numbering close to a hundred human Heroes to launch a brutal spatial breach straight into the Demon World’s borders—

While my internal processors still maintained a deep, sincere gratitude for this brief margin of peace… I shall flawlessly lock down our defensive matrices to prepare for the impact.

I shall guaranteed protect the integrity of the Demon World.

And immediately alongside that objective—I shall protect the beautiful smiles of Stella and the others down to the final frame.

Eventually—a full month of chronological runtime ticked past, and the hard-coded strategic window officially initialized its active phase.

“Our outermost perimeter monitoring grid has successfully intercepted a massive vanguard legion of the human Heroes making landfall along the outer border zones!”

“ —So, the countdown has officially cleared its loops.“

Answering Stella’s high-priority operational report, I rose from the high throne, my posture locking into an absolute combat stance.

At long last, the campaign was active.

The secondary massive invasion of the human Heroes was officially online.

An absolute, total defensive war of interception—mobilizing every single ounce of the Demon World’s consolidated power—commenced its active runtime.