Dolda flashed his axe.
The heads of the three demonkin in his path were sheared off.
Severed heads tumbled cleanly through the air.
The strike was flawlessly smooth, without a hint of hesitation.
The demonkin tried to counterattack, but it was futile against Dolda.
Vanishing from sight, Dolda reappeared in the next instant, charging straight into their midst.
He swung his axe, bowling over more victims.
It was high-speed movement using thunder magic and body reinforcement.
Visual tracking was nearly impossible.
Even I required magical assistance to fully follow his movements.
The demonkin present had no hope of keeping up.
"Headssss, headssss! Moar headssss for meee!" Dolda screamed as he swung his axe.
With each swing, another demonkin's head flew.
His proficiency was terrifyingly efficient.
He targeted only the necks with precision.
Combined with his high-speed movement, his killing was devoid of any wasted motion.
Though half-mad, his combat technique likely didn't fall short of his prime.
I watched Dolda's slaughter from the corner of my eye as I moved.
I also called out to Luciana.
"Let's go. We capture that demon while they're distracted."
"Sure, sure."
The demon in question was attempting to escape from the ruins amidst the commotion.
They were leading what appeared to be their subordinates.
It seemed they intended to use the other demons as decoys to break away from the scene.
Of course, I would not allow that.
I teleported to block their path.
Generating a lance of miasma, I pierced through one of the subordinates.
"Aaagh!?"
The subordinate who screamed was transformed into a skeleton in the blink of an eye.
The demons witnessing this froze in their tracks.
They turned to flee, but Luciana was already standing in their way.
"I won't let you escape."
Luciana placed her hands on her hips and spoke with a cheerful smile.
She appeared to be enjoying the current situation.
Her eyes glistened with pleasure.
Meanwhile, I addressed the demons.
"There is no escape. Surrender quietly."
"As if we would obey such an order—"
A skeleton lunged at the subordinate who had spoken up in defiance.
The subordinate pinned beneath me was pierced repeatedly by the miasma-laced lance.
At first, he let out groans of agony, but quickly transformed into a skeleton.
He then stood up and faced the demons.
Realizing they couldn't resist, the demons wore looks of frustration.
They glared at me and Luciana with hatred in their eyes.
"Demon Lord, why don't we just capture them quickly?"
"Right."
I nodded at Luciana's suggestion.
I would have preferred they obey quietly, but that seemed unlikely.
Killing one as a warning had only irritated their nerves further.
I used magic vines to bind the demons.
Without caring about their counterattacks, I immobilized them.
We then moved together as a group.
Our destination was a point far from the ruins.
The demons lay across the wasteland.
The vines binding them had the property of draining mana.
It wouldn't be long before they couldn't use magic.
Here, there would be no interruptions.
Having decided this, I looked down at the demon in question.
"What was your purpose in contacting humans?"
"What...what are you saying...a human? There's no way a human would be in a place like this."
The demon in question feigned ignorance out of desperation.
Even now, they still refused to cooperate.
"..."
Without a word, I touched one of my subordinates.
Miasma flowed into him, and the subordinate's eyes rolled back as he convulsed in agony.
Before long, he had transformed into a festering ghoul.
Drooling, he began to groan.
"If you try to hide things, this is what happens."
"...!"
The demon in question gasped.
They were genuinely afraid now.
The others looked as though they were about to lose consciousness.
"Why did you make contact with humans? Tell me the reason."
"Kuh...!"
I pressed again, but they still wouldn't talk.
Surprisingly stubborn.
It wasn't as if some form of magic was preventing them from speaking.
They were choosing silence of their own volition.
(I have no choice. This isn't a method I prefer, but...)
I touch the demon's leg.
What I'm about to do is simple torture.
I'll gradually induce undeath from the toes upward, severing the affected parts.
This agony is fatal for living creatures.
It will take some effort, but it should produce screams before death.
Just as I was about to proceed, Luciana abruptly raised her hand.
She pointed to her own face and spoke.
"Wouldn't it be better if I used charm to get the info?"
"...Please do."
I simply nod quietly.
I had forgotten about Luciana's charm ability.
It must have completely slipped my mind.
Visiting this place of old grudges has made my thinking violent.
It was entirely unconscious.
(That was over ten years ago.)
The sage who fought alongside the hero back then is no longer here.
What remains is an immortal demon lord.
If I keep acting on impulse, I'll inevitably make a fatal mistake.
I need to change my mindset.
After that, Luciana charmed the demons, broke their spirits, and extracted the information.
To state the conclusion first, the demonic races did not possess significant information.
The humans who made contact with them seemed to be of unknown origin.
The demons had agreed to the proposal without even knowing which country these humans hailed from.
The exchange between the two parties was not particularly complex.
In return for food and magical tools provided by the human side, the demons would gather and hand over locally growing plants, water, minerals, and so forth.
It was a simple exchange.
The demons did not know the purpose of the human side.
They said the humans had suddenly appeared one day and proposed the arrangement.
The demons, struggling to make ends meet, agreed to the terms offered.
The exchange began about four years ago.
Since then, it seems they have secretly maintained this relationship.
This time, it came to the attention of a spy.
Four years ago would be before I became the Demon Lord.
That was about the time I was in the Valley of the Dead.
(If the world's will is involved, the catalyst should have been a year before I descended to the surface)
It was the same with John Doe.
The period when his research began to accelerate coincided with the time I became the Demon Lord.
But this time was different.
It was closer to mere underhanded activity.
Some human, somewhere, was secretly exchanging pacts with the demonic races.
Perhaps it was some other foul deed unrelated to subjugating the Demon Lord. Even so, I decided to investigate the details. If I dismissed it as irrelevant and left it alone, I might come to regret it later. If there turned out to be nothing, it would simply be unnecessary worry. It was unfair to the subordinates assigned the task, but here I would have them conduct a thorough investigation.
"Now then..."
Once I had gathered the necessary information, I further restrained the remaining demonic prisoners. I wrapped them in vines, molding them into spherical shapes. I stripped away all five senses, rendering them completely powerless. At this point, even suicide would be impossible.
Next, I opened a telepathic link to Grom.
"Can you hear me?"
"Y-Yes! I can hear you loud and clear!"
Grom was as energetic as ever. At this hour, he was probably looking after Yura. He seemed the most concerned about her.
"I'm about to transfer the prisoners now. Confine them in the dungeon beneath the castle."
"Understood! Leave it to me!"
I ended the telepathic communication after hearing his reply. Then I teleported the vine-covered demons to the castle in the Royal Capital.
That seems to settle things for now.
They will be interrogated later.
We must examine whether they possess any information that could not be extracted through charm.
Once their purpose is served, they can be handed over to the lab.
As valuable specimens of demonkind, the director will likely be moved to tears of joy.
Just then, I felt a gaze.
Luciana was staring intently at me.
Her cheeks were flushed, a rapturous smile gracing her face.
"Cold Demon King, you were so cool. I'm completely starstruck."
"That is irrelevant. We're returning to the ruins."
"Okay."
Guiding a somewhat dissatisfied Luciana, I teleported us back to the ruins.
Every demon in the ruins had their heads cleaved off.
Not one was alive, and none had managed to escape.
Even after our teleportation, the slaughter must have continued.
It was a scene easily imagined.
Retrieving Dolda, who stood amidst a sea of blood, we returned to the Royal Capital.