"Commander. Is what the messenger said... really true?" A pair of men walked through the dense white mist. The younger of the two was dark-skinned, and his ears tapered to a point. He was a demon.
The older man turned to his companion and considered the question. He had a stern expression, which was only befitting of his age, and wrinkles deeper than the Reisen Gorge.
"Vice-Captain Celeka. Do you mean to imply that our messengers are lying to us?" the man intoned gravely.
"N-No, of course not. I would never even think of... My apologies, Commander Davros." The young man named Celeka shook his head hurriedly.
Davros glared at Celeka, the rebuke in his gaze clear. Celeka was a high-ranking member of the army. Someone of his station shouldn't have been making careless remarks like that. Especially not in earshot of the army marching behind them.
"Our messengers were willing to sacrifice the monsters they'd been given to deliver us that report. There's no doubt it's all true."
"But... I can't believe Freid-sama really was injured that badly... and to think—" To think that the enemy survived Freid trapping them in the Grand Gruen Volcano while it was erupting. Celeka didn't finish the rest of his sentence.
However, Davros understood exactly what he was trying to say.
"All that means is that the humans have someone that powerful on their side."
"I can't believe it. This is Freid-sama we're talking about here! He had Uranos with him, along with a personal army of monsters... Could he really have lost?"
Though he kept his voice low, Celeka couldn't hide his distress.
Davros once again glared reproachfully at his vice-captain. Celeka gulped and clamped his mouth shut. Though if he was being honest, Davros didn't blame the boy for being so worried.
It had been two months since Davros had taken his elite squad out of Garland, the demon kingdom, and headed to scout the Haltina Woods. They were searching for the true entrance to the labyrinth that was hidden within.
The entire forest was an unmapped region inhabited by beastmen and monsters. Dense fog blanketed the trees year-round, confusing the senses and making navigation impossible. Only the beastmen and the monsters native to the forest were immune to the fog's effects.
Freid Bagwa, supreme commander of Garland's forces, had ordered elite squads to seek out the other labyrinths and conquer them. The source of his own strength had come from conquering one of the labyrinths and obtaining the secrets of one of the ancient magics held in its depths.
Freid wanted as many of his brethren as possible capable of using ancient magic, so he'd sent the best of his men out to find the others and absorb their strength.
Davros was one of Garland's oldest commanders, and both Freid and the demon lord trusted him implicitly. They had selected him for this mission because they believed he was capable enough to handle the sea of trees and the true labyrinth that was in its depths.
Davros placed great faith in the opinions of Freid and his king, and he believed in his own strength. Though he knew the labyrinths' trials were dangerous, he believed he could take on whatever was in store.
Especially because he had an unbeatable trump card.
"Grrr."
"Screeech."
The monster mounts that Davros and his unit were riding growled, their hackles raised. Their cries sounded like metal screeching on metal.
They were powerful creatures, granted to Davros by Freid. Not only were they immune to the befuddling effects of the fog, they were far stronger than most monsters. And they were the demons' trump card.
All of the other units Freid had sent out to conquer key cities and discover the locations of the remaining labyrinths had also possessed monsters he'd created himself.
So long as they had Freid's monsters, they would be unbeatable. Every demon Freid had sent out had been confident of that fact.
Davros' faith in his god and the supremacy of his race had been absolute, and he had been certain they would be able to prove the superiority of the demons' ideals through their inevitable victory.
But now, Davros wasn't so sure. Not after all the reports he'd heard.
In order to find their way through the forest, Davros had needed to rely on Freid's monsters. On top of that, he'd needed to bring a sizable force with him. There was no telling how many beastmen and monsters he'd have to face along the way, and facing all of that alone would have been difficult. That had meant they couldn't rely on airborne monsters to transport them.
After all, no matter how strong Davros was, and no matter how powerful Freid's monsters could be, he didn't want to alert Verbergen of their presence. A large flock of airborne monsters passing over the forest would have done just that. Fighting Verbergen head-on with his numbers would have been unwise, so he'd stuck to stealth.
He'd started by following the south edge of the Reisen Gorge east, and entered the forest from the southern side. The Haltina Woods stretched a few hundred kilometers into the southern continent, so getting in had been a simple task
After that they had traveled north, sticking to places where the trees were less dense.
Maintaining contact with Garland had been easy, as the demons controlled the southern fringes of the forest.
Davros had been expecting to hear triumphant reports of how each demon had flawlessly carried out their respective mission. Instead, this was what he'd received:
—Mission to cripple the humans' agricultural capacity and assassinate the Fertility Goddess. Failed. Lace, the demon in charge of the mission, has been gravely injured. He will not be returning to active duty. All monsters under his command were annihilated.
—Mission to conquer the true Great Orcus Labyrinth and solicit the human heroes onto our side. Failed. Cattleya, the demon in charge of the mission, was killed in action. All monsters under her command were annihilated.
—Mission to conquer Ankaji. Failed. Logan, the demon in charge of the mission, returned safely. Most monsters under his command were annihilated.
One after another, Davros heard reports of his comrades being defeated. Whenever someone from the messenger squad came to report, it was with a grim expression on their face.
However, the most unbelievable report had come in just as Davros' squad was closing in on Verbergen.
—General Freid crossed forces with an unknown enemy at the Grand Gruen Volcano. He suffered grievous injuries and was forced to abandon the volcano. He is currently recuperating.
Freid, the invincible demon hero, had suffered his first defeat. Davros had been utterly shocked when he'd heard. He was glad now that he'd instructed the messenger to only inform his lieutenants of this report.
His men's morale would have been in tatters otherwise. The fact that his vice-captain had come to him about it right after they'd met up proved that keeping quiet about it had been the right decision.
Naturally, Davros himself was greatly disturbed by the news too. Still, more than that, he was furious. Furious at this upstart human who dared oppose the chosen race and spit on what should have been their glorious conquest.
"Commander, there appears to be a settlement in front of us. We've entered beastmen territory." Davros nodded at Celeka's report. He was determined to send the first positive report back to the capital, to make up for his comrades' losses.
"Listen up, men. Right now, General Freid will have begun the invasion of Heiligh's capital, while Divoff's squad should be in place to assassinate the emperor. They will surely succeed and bring glory to our great nation. There would be no greater shame than to return home empty-handed while our peers succeed!" Celeka and the others began burning with an unquenchable thirst for blood. Their monsters roared their approval with their strange, metallic screeching. These were a new species Freid had only recently created.
Unfortunately for Davros, his conviction came from ignorance. He wasn't aware that the same enemy who had defeated Freid would once again appear at the capital and thwart their ambitions. Or that an army of extremely powerful and bloodthirsty soldiers, trained by that very same man, called this place their home.
Little did he know that this invasion he believed to be simple would turn into the worst nightmare of his life.