It had to be said that Sesh, as a nation that had long opposed the demon race, truly had its own achievements in this area.
Before long, Duanmu Huai obtained the information he needed about the Demon Realm. Part of it came from demons captured on Sesh's front lines, while other portions were intelligence brought back by scouts Sesh had dispatched into demon territory. Naturally, anything that could be placed before Duanmu Huai was not some vague rumor or hearsay.
"I see…"
Putting down the records in his hands, Duanmu Huai murmured softly.
Based on the intelligence Sesh had extracted from demons, combined with the memories he had previously obtained from the Demon King Jill, Duanmu Huai had more or less sorted out the current situation in the Demon Realm.
Put simply, the succession of Demon Kings went as follows—
Long ago, the Demon Realm's Demon King was a man named Naichi. As the "Demon King," he was defeated by humanity's "Hero." Afterward, he encountered Jill, who at the time had had her limbs severed and was left to die. Naichi then passed his Demon King blood and the throne of the Demon King to Jill, who thus became the next Demon King.
During Demon King Jill's era, humanity suffered unspeakable misery. Jill knew the setting regarding the "Hero"—that once human casualties became severe, a Hero would appear, and the more humans died, the stronger the Hero would become, eventually defeating the Demon King.
In order to prevent the appearance of a Hero, Jill constructed human ranches.
She imprisoned humans like livestock within these ranches, destroyed human nations, and forced them to live in despair. This period became the darkest era in human history, almost completely devoid of hope or a future.
Later, however, another hero named Guy appeared. Though he was not a Hero, he managed to betray Demon King Jill from behind, defeat her, and seal her beneath the royal capital of Lisas, upon which the nation of Lisas was founded.
Because Guy had been bathed in a massive amount of Demon King blood when he betrayed Jill, he naturally became the next generation's Demon King after her.
During Demon King Guy's rule, the demon race was relatively quiet, allowing human civilization to recover. But as time passed, the selection of the next Demon King inevitably came onto the agenda.
Sesh did not have very clear records of this period. All that could be determined was that Demon King Guy passed his blood to someone in an attempt to make them the next Demon King. That person, however, refused to accept the fate and fled, and Demon King Guy was subsequently killed.
As a result, the delicate balance of power in the Demon Realm collapsed.
The demonfolk split into two factions—
One faction, led by the head of the Four Heavenly Kings of the demon race, rejected the Demon King who abandoned his post and fled, advocating for the selection of a brand-new Demon King. This was the Kebliss faction.
The other faction, led by Guy's daughter Hornet, believed that Guy's last will should be honored. This was the Hornet faction.
"I see."
After clarifying the chain of events, Duanmu Huai finally understood why the demonfolk had attacked Lisas.
Clearly, besides these two factions, there was also a third faction among the demons—
Those who sought to lift the seal on the former Demon King and return her to the throne: the Jill faction.
That old demon mage was probably from the Jill faction.
Some wanted to be emperor themselves. Some wanted to follow the late emperor's will. And some wanted the retired emperor to burst out of his coffin and fight another five hundred years…
The Demon Realm was truly a mess.
"In any case, thank you for providing all these materials."
Duanmu Huai raised his head and nodded to the girl seated across from him.
She was a girl with long brown hair, glasses, and neatly combed-back bangs, looking exactly like a model honors student.
She was the daughter of the King of Sesh—Magico ze Gandhi.
"It's nothing. You've also given us quite a bit of valuable information."
Magico set down her pen and replied.
As an exchange of intelligence, Duanmu Huai had told them about the contents of Demon King Jill's memories, including the game rules of Demon Kings and Heroes, as well as the three Overgods.
"To be honest, if you were not the warrior who eliminated the former Demon King, I would think all of this was complete nonsense."
Magico gazed at the written records with a complicated expression, especially the part describing the game rules between Demon Kings and Heroes—
Meaning that everything Sesh was currently sacrificing to resist the Demon Realm… was merely a game played by the Creator God?
If anyone else had said such a thing, Magico would never have believed it.
"Whether it's true or not, we currently have no way to confirm it. But the demon race being a threat to humanity is something that won't change anytime soon."
Duanmu Huai picked up another book and began flipping through it as he spoke.
However, when he saw a certain entry, he suddenly froze.
"…Princess Magico."
"Yes?"
"What is this 'Monster Tamer'?"
Duanmu Huai handed the book over in confusion, and Magico glanced at it.
"Oh, just as the name implies, Monster Tamers are people who command monsters. They usually wander the continent, form contracts with monsters, and use them to fight enemies."
"…Do they also carry a round ball and throw it whenever they see a monster?"
"Huh? What's that?"
"Nothing. Just saying…"
What kind of bizarre monster trainer is this…
Duanmu Huai muttered internally, feeling speechless.
The reason he asked about Monster Tamers wasn't a random whim. Just earlier, while flipping through a book introducing magical professions, he had reached the page on Monster Tamers—
And a task suddenly popped up in his system.
[Special Task Activated: "Commanding Monsters"]
[Objective: Become a qualified Monster Tamer]
[Reward: ???]
Why would the system trigger this task for me?
Duanmu Huai picked up the book again and carefully reread the section on Monster Tamers.
According to the description, this world had creatures known as male monsters and female monsters… and Monster Tamers were professionals who captured them and trained them into familiars.
Once turned into familiars, these monsters would obey the Monster Tamer's commands and fight for them…
Wait.
In that case, as long as he became a Monster Tamer, he could capture monsters and extract intelligence directly from them, right?
And strictly speaking, wasn't a Demon King also a kind of monster?
If he could become a Monster Tamer, couldn't he just turn the Demon King into his familiar? Then there'd be no need for interrogation—he could just ask whatever he wanted and she'd answer.
If he'd known about this profession earlier, he wouldn't have blown Jill's head apart and ended up with fragmented intelligence…
The only troublesome part was that, according to the book, Monster Tamers required aptitude.
Hmm… did he have that aptitude?
He probably did—otherwise the system wouldn't have activated the task for him.
If that was the case, once he became a Monster Tamer, he could command and manipulate monsters…
Would it work on Warp demons?
If it did, that would be extremely interesting.
Duanmu Huai remembered that some players had indeed taken Pokémon-style trainer professions in the past. But since he was a Soul Walker with plenty of soul cards, there had been no need for such a job back then.
But now…
This profession seemed to have additional benefits.
"Miss Magico, may I ask how one becomes a Monster Tamer?"
"Hmm…"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's question, Magico frowned.
"Generally speaking, Monster Tamer lineages are very complex. Most Monster Tamers personally choose disciples to inherit their knowledge. It's not like other magical disciplines that can be widely studied…"
"I see…"
Just like traditional crafts—master-apprentice transmission.
"But why are you asking this?"
"The Demon King is also a monster, right? That means if I become a Monster Tamer, I could even command the Demon King, correct?"
"…Eh?"
Magico froze on the spot.
"Hm? Isn't that the case?"
"No, um… sorry, I'm not entirely sure… the Demon King…"
Looking at the man before her, Magico genuinely didn't know what to say.
The idea itself was so absurd that she was left speechless.
Strictly speaking, it did make sense.
The Demon King was the king of demons, so naturally a monster. And if Monster Tamers could command monsters, then theoretically they could command a Demon King as well.
But no one had ever thought of it that way before!
Not to mention—
The man in front of her was someone who had actually defeated a former Demon King.
If anyone else said such a thing, it would sound like a daydream. But when he said it, it carried an unavoidable sense of reality.
"Um… you really plan to subdue the Demon King? Why?"
"I want information. I'm not very good at ordinary interrogation. But if I can command the Demon King, then she'd say whatever I ask, right?"
"..."
That actually made sense.
"So, Princess Magico, do you know of any way for me to become a Monster Tamer?"
"That… would be difficult. Monster Tamers are extremely rare, and most of them don't like staying in populated areas…"
Magico thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up.
"Ah! I remember that long ago, Sesh once had a powerful Monster Tamer. Although he has already passed away, he left behind a trial. It's said that anyone who passes it can obtain his knowledge and abilities and inherit his legacy. However, so far, it seems no one has succeeded."
"Oh?"
A glint flashed across Duanmu Huai's eyes.
"Would you mind taking me there, Princess Magico?"
(End of Chapter)