— Jame, did you hear the rumors going around outside? Apparently, there was a separation among the twelve.
A woman with medium-length, straight blonde hair and an elegant air, approximately forty years old, wearing a business suit and high heels, approached Jame, the head of general security for the Central Defense Department.
— And why are we the last to know about this? Shouldn't we be the first? After all, I was the one who sent him there.
The man, also somewhat crazy, but with tanned skin and Latin American features and an energetic expression, dressed in an expensive black designer suit, got up from the leather chair where he had been sitting and angrily looked at his smartphone.
— You know we're just a grain of sand in the desert around here, even though we were responsible for almost everything before the restructuring.
— But those bastards! Do they really think I'm just going to sit quietly and watch all this power being taken away from us?
— You miss being the one giving the orders, Jame. That's the problem. We don't have a "boss" anymore.
— You're being treated like an employee too! How can you just let that happen? Kori, are you trying to get a position in the Core?
The man approached the woman, who was fiddling with a tablet as if she were ignoring his complaints. However, she was paying close attention to everything he was saying while researching the flow of information coming from the tower.
— And what would that change? Nothing. Like I said, you, me, the head of Central Policies—we're all pawns. We're not Returners. We're under a false sense of "control" here. If we went outside, we'd end up dead at the hands of a lesser demon. Are you still denying reality?
The woman turned off the tablet and, for the first time, looked directly into the man's blue eyes. He seemed to have calmed down.
— I know we're all screwed, but humanity depends on this! Even if it doesn't look like it, I'm still a patriot. When the first resistance fell, I swore I'd do everything I could to protect the Last Siege. And if I fail to keep my promise, I'll walk into that tower and kill myself by jumping onto some fucking demon.
— Being a patriot in this chaos changes nothing. We're one nation now, remember?
Outside, all the countries had united—or at least those whose survivors remained—into what was known as the "Last Siege," a dome-shaped wall surrounding the Central and the last city that still possessed humanity's remaining technology, electricity, and supplies.
The Central was divided into three wings. The first, closest to the tower, belonged to the Core, where the five world leaders, along with their guards, gave orders and coordinated the actions of the scouts and "heroes."
Below them was Public Security, headed by Jame. He was responsible for coordinating the third wing, which consisted of soldiers, Returners, and scouts. They were essentially the highest-ranking forces of the armies that no longer even existed.
After the fall of humanity, the countries united in a single location beside the tower. Years later, the last survivors were rescued.
There were still colonies living outside, but they were small groups, and no one in the Last Siege knew whether they were still alive or what they were doing.
Every day, armed groups and Returners conducted sweeps across the countries in search of supplies, ammunition, and survivors. But after years had passed, the number of living people continued to decline.
There were, however, colonies that refused to go to the Last Siege and survived on their own.
Outside, there were countless demons. Although the ones operating independently had been eliminated by the Returners and the army, there were still legions taking shelter in various countries.
The Central had counted 51 legions. Seven of them had managed to enter the tower, and they were classified as Legions A through G.
Each legion had a "King" demon as its leader. Although there was no definitive proof, several researchers and theologians claimed they were the demons of Solomon. This was confirmed in several encounters in which the beings themselves identified themselves using the names found in the book.
The Central had defeated 15 of the 51 legions, and it was observed that two of their leaders had identified themselves as Ose and Gaagenti, both demons from Solomon's book.
Therefore, research indicated that all 51 demons were part of the writings of King Solomon in the Goetia. But there was one mystery: there were 68 demons in total in the book, meaning that 17 demons had yet to be identified—and apparently, they were the strongest ones.
There had been no activity from them, either inside or outside the tower.
Currently, there were 29 legions outside the tower and 7 inside.
Each legion had its own army of demons, dominated by a stronger demon.
The classification was as follows, from weakest to strongest:
LEVEL 1 — KNIGHTS
Furcas — No. 50
LEVEL 2 — PRESIDENTS
Marbas — No. 5
Buer — No. 10 (Defeated)
Botis — No. 17
Foras — No. 31 (Defeated)
Malphas — No. 39
Haagenti — No. 48 (Defeated)
Camio/Caim — No. 53
Ose — No. 57 (Defeated)
Amy — No. 58 (Defeated)
Valac/Volac — No. 62
Zagan — No. 61 (Defeated)
Gaap — No. 33
LEVEL 3 — COUNTS
Marax/Morax — No. 21
Glasya-Labolas — No. 25
Ronove — No. 27 (Defeated)
Furfur — No. 34
Halphas — No. 38 (Defeated)
Raum — No. 40 (Defeated)
Bifrons — No. 46
Andromalius — No. 72
LEVEL 4 — MARQUISES
Samigina/Gamigin — No. 4
Amon — No. 7
Legion K: Leraje — No. 14 (Defeated)
Naberius — No. 24
Legion I: Ronove — No. 27 (Defeated)
Forneus — No. 30
Marchosias — No. 35
Phenex — No. 37
Sabnock — No. 43 (Defeated)
Shax — No. 44
Orias — No. 59
Andras — No. 63
Andrealphus — No. 65
Cimeies/Kimaris — No. 66
Decarabia — No. 69
Legion H: Barbatos
Legion I: Gusion
LEVEL 5 — PRINCES
Legion E: Zepar — Inside the tower
Vassago — No. 3
Sitri — No. 12
Ipos — No. 22 (Defeated)
Gaap — No. 33
Stolas — No. 36
Orobas — No. 55
Seere — No. 70
LEVEL 6 — DUKES
Legion F: Agares — Inside the tower
Legion G: Tebas (Defeated)
Valefor — No. 6
Barbatos — No. 8
Gusion — No. 11
Eligos — No. 15
Zepar — No. 16
Bathin — No. 18
Sallos — No. 19
Aim — No. 23
Bune — No. 26
Berith — No. 28
Astaroth — No. 29
Focalor — No. 41
Vepar — No. 42
Vual — No. 47
Crocell — No. 49 (Defeated by the heroes)
Alloces — No. 52
Murmur — No. 54
Gremory — No. 56
Vapula — No. 60
Haures/Flauros — No. 64
Amdusias — No. 67
Dantalion — No. 71
LEVEL 7 — KINGS
Legion A: Bael — Inside the tower
Legion B: Paimon — Inside the tower
Legion C: Beleth — Inside the tower
Legion D: Asmoday — Inside the tower
Legions Unknown Until Then: Purson, Vine, Balam, Zagan, and Belial
Jame grabbed his weapon, placed it around his waist, and covered it with his suit.
— Have you gone insane?
Kori stepped in front of the man, who seemed determined.
— I need to go there. You don't understand. If their plan succeeds, there could be a disaster, and the last fucking trace of humanity will disappear!
Jame punched the wall beside him, clenching his fists and grinding his teeth.
— It's not that simple. Do you really think they're going to be able to gather all the legions from outside and send them into the tower? That's exactly why the Kings went there—to try to eliminate the heroes themselves and leave the weaker ones outside to continue conquering humanity.
— Those old men are sick. I agreed to this plan at first because I thought the demons would rush straight to the tower after the fragments. But apparently, they underestimated us. Taking out one or two legions wasn't enough. We started creating portals so they could easily go there, but it's not that easy. They've already realized it's a trap. And now, on top of everything else, they want to separate the heroes?
Jame moved toward the door, pushing his secretary aside.
— You're going to regret this.
Kori grabbed him again.
— I'd regret it more after watching the tower fall and realizing that everything was for nothing.
— You don't understand, Jame. This is beyond us. All we can do is wait. They have a team with Returners as powerful as the Twelve. What do you think you can do? Your little army of Level 30 scouts and Returners would be killed in seconds.
— At least I'll try. The worst they can do is kill me.
— And if you die, the entire army responsible for keeping the Siege secure and maintaining humanity's LAST stronghold will fall.
At the Central, in the heart of the Siege, the five leaders of humanity were gathered.
The leader of the Americas, Jonathan Marcus, a 55-year-old man with long white hair and a tired expression, sat at the head of the oval table in the dark, metallic room, with long windows overlooking the outside from the top floor of a 78-story building.
Beside him was the leader of Asia, Gao-Xinjian, a 43-year-old woman with short black hair and an apathetic demeanor. She nervously fiddled with a tablet on the table.
On the left sat Jullya Barovik, representing the European Axis. She was the youngest person there, only 33 years old—a beautiful woman with wavy brown hair, a slender body, and elegant clothing. Compared to the others, she appeared calm.
The man beside her was Terence Fisher, representing the United States. He had been the security secretary under the last president, a dark-skinned former military man who wore a displeased expression.
The final representative was a fat Australian gentleman smoking a cigar without the slightest concern for anyone else, as though he were simply sitting in his living room enjoying his free time. He was the leader of the Siege's economy, Claus Rosher.
A thin man with sparse black hair combed backward entered the room. Behind him came seven Returners wearing identical outfits: tight black and bluish clothing bearing the symbol of the Last Siege—a silver eagle surrounded by a bow—emblazoned on the right side of their chests.
They positioned themselves behind the table, and Jonathan straightened his posture and began to speak.
— Well, now that everyone is here, let's get straight to the point, because things are getting ugly.
— It appears that someone from one of the Central's departments is controlling the scouts in order to manipulate the legions inside the tower.
Everyone was stunned, even the man with the cigar, who stopped smoking and focused his attention on Jonathan.
— What? How was this possible? How did you let this happen!? Isn't Public Security supposed to do fucking something?
The man slammed his fist onto the table and tossed his cigar into a nearby trash can.
— No. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the security personnel. Someone from here did this—someone among us.
Jonathan looked at everyone seated around the table, and they exchanged glances.
— Huh? Are you kidding me? We wouldn't exactly have a reason to do that! The plan was going well. The demons were gradually moving toward the tower. We separated Omar from them. Why the hell would anyone create a "militia" with the demons? What would that person gain?
Jullya said this in a cynical voice.
— I don't know, but someone did it. And I say it was one of us because the information leaked from here. Only we and the Cleaners' group had access to that information. But since they are being monitored, there's no way it was them. So that leaves only the five of us.
Jonathan glanced at the Returners standing nearby. They maintained a serious posture, remaining silent and saying nothing.
— What nonsense. I certainly wouldn't do that. Why would I help the demons? Unless they actually want to see humanity fall completely! There's no financial advantage, no survival advantage, no advantage whatsoever!
Terence said this loudly, clearly nervous.
Everyone began arguing heatedly until another man entered the room with some information and quietly whispered into Jonathan's ear.
The man discreetly stood up, but the gravity in his expression was already evident.
Everyone noticed Jonathan's reaction and became apprehensive as well.
— What is it now?
Terence asked.
— There's a legion outside... They attacked Wing 3B and took several people hostage.
Jonathan began to break into a cold sweat.
— WHAT? It's the most heavily protected sector! — Gao stood up, asking in disbelief.
— Someone let them in...
— So that's it? There really is a rebellion happening? — Claus stood up and began pacing back and forth.
— But what do they want? For demons to take someone hostage... it has to be at least a Prince, right? — Jullya asked.
— No. It's a fucking King. Balam. And at the very least, he wants the heads of three heroes. Otherwise, the other seven legions waiting outside will invade the Siege.