He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 254

The sky was dyed black, the earth eternally ablaze.

“I’ve been here countless times, but this place really is… hell,” I muttered.

“…Spare me the meaningless sentiments, Emperor,” Balthazar replied dryly.

After enduring a night hotter than hellfire, I headed to hell itself the next day.

I met Balthazar there, and we are now en route to the City of Revelry, a peculiar metropolis nestled somewhere in this infernal realm.

“It’s amazing that even hell has a city like this.”

“It’s a city run by succubi [female demons who seduce men]; a place where you can taste the ultimate pleasure. Of course, the standards for that pleasure are a bit… different from humans.”

“…Sounds dangerous just hearing about it. Well, I’m not interested in that sort of thing. Let’s just focus on having a productive meeting.”

I didn’t come to this city for some frivolous reason, just because I’m an emperor. My purpose here is far more important.

Of course, there was a separate task to do here. It was to hold a meeting with the neutral factions that had not yet sided with the Creator, as Balthazar and I had discussed yesterday. Securing their allegiance was crucial.

“Now that we’re here, do you have confidence in persuading them?”

“Um…”

“…What? Don’t tell me you don’t?”

You confidently made various deals, so I thought you were sure of yourself. Don’t tell me it was all a bluff?

“Oh, it’s not like that. The conditions I discussed with you are interesting enough for them, too. However…”

“However?”

“…Even if the offer is interesting, demons are such an unpredictable bunch…”

“…Hearing that from you, a demon, suddenly makes it more convincing.”

Well, fine. I didn’t think things would go so easily anyway.

Besides, what more could demons possibly want? As Balthazar said, giving them a piece of the Demon Realm would be an incredibly appealing offer to them.

Demons would obviously prefer to live in a place like the Demon Realm rather than this burning world of hell.

“Don’t worry, Father! I will take the lead no matter what demands they make!”

“Son, I’m even more worried about you.”

“Haha! Father, you’re so funny!”

Oh, dear.

Demons are unpredictable enough as it is, but my son makes me even more anxious.

Anyway, after a while, we headed to the city’s meeting hall.

It’s called a meeting hall, but it’s actually a palace. Why does a city like this have a palace?

“Nice to meet you all. I am Rizelda, the incarnation of pleasure and the queen of the succubi.”

Because the owner here is the Succubus Queen. She was living in a lavish palace, calling herself a queen.

Of course, it was more of a place that exuded an enormous amount of sensuality rather than being simply lavish. The air itself seemed thick with desire.

The Succubus Queen herself was exuding a very seductive aura.

“It’s a pleasure. I am Franz I, Emperor of the Empire.”

“I have heard of Your Majesty’s fame. It echoes even in this land of hell.”

Rizelda looked at me with a very interested gaze. I ignored that burdensome gaze and turned my attention to the other demon lords.

“I think Balthazar has told you the story. What do you think?”

“Ahem, that is correct, Emperor. You’re offering us land in the Demon Realm? In exchange for becoming your vassal and cooperating?”

“To be precise, you’ll be entering a vassalage contract with the Northern Archduke family. They’ll be more familiar to you than I am.”

The horned demon lord spoke, and I quietly nodded.

It seems they’ve already discussed everything among themselves.

“It’s not a bad condition. If you grant us just one more thing.”

“Just one thing? What are you talking about?”

Then, the horned demon smiled wryly and looked at Rizelda. Seeing that, both Balthazar and I swallowed nervously, feeling a sense of foreboding.

“In other words, we’ll also become nobles of the Empire, right?”

“…That’s about right. But I don’t intend to interfere with you in every little matter. You’ll have to accept the Empire’s laws and culture, though.”

You’ll be given more autonomy than that. You’ll have to be. These demons are really the only ones who can rule the Demon Realm.

“We’re not unhappy with that. We welcome it. Frankly, we also admire the Empire’s culture now. But that’s why we want something more.”

“What is it?”

“Bloodline.”

“…Huh?”

Bloodline? What is he talking about all of a sudden?

“We want your bloodline, Emperor.”

“What?”

“If we’re going to do it, let’s do it properly. Even if we demons become lords and enter into a vassalage contract, it’s just a contract with no blood ties.”

“…So?”

“But if we’re connected to you, connected by blood, then it’s a different story. We truly become nobles connected to the Imperial Family of the Empire.”

…The moment I heard those words, I felt bewildered and glanced at Balthazar. He avoided my gaze as if he hadn’t predicted this either. You useless bastard!

“That’s difficult. I already have several wives and have no intention of adding more. I can’t grant your wish.”

Of course, I refused outright. It’s not that I don’t want to be known for having a demon concubine, but I also don’t want to be torn apart by my wives.

“Oh, how heartless. Am I not to your liking? Well, then, how about your son?”

Then, Rizelda’s gaze turned to Kyle. Is she trying to seduce Kyle since I’m not an option? Just as I was frowning at that, –

“How dare you! Are you trying to mock me!”

Kyle shouted sternly first. It was quite unexpected. I thought he would accept it with a hearty laugh.

“I didn’t mean it that way…”

“Silence! Is it not an impudent act to lightly discuss marriage with me, an Imperial Prince of the Empire? Furthermore, you have insulted my father as well.”

Thud!

“Are demons truly so devoid of manners? Even if such as you become my vassals, you will only cause problems. It would be better to kill you all here and now!”

Kyle unexpectedly refused resolutely and continued sternly.

It’s very unexpected… but isn’t he going too far? If the negotiations fall apart because of this……

“No, it’s not necessarily like that, Emperor.”

“Hmm?”

“Take another good look.”

At Balthazar’s words, I looked back at the demons. Then, an incredible sight was unfolding.

“In, incredible. How can he be so dignified?”

“Indeed, that’s what an Imperial Prince of the Empire should be like.”

“If we become Imperial nobles, we must have such dignity.”

…What? Why are these guys reacting like this?

“Ahem, well, you see. Recently, the Imperial style has been in vogue among the lords of hell… In fact, not only us, but all the other races are like that, aren’t they?”

…Well, I know that’s the case with elves, abyssals, and even greenskins. I didn’t expect even demons to be like that.

“Anyway, this neutral faction is a bit more extreme in that regard. They were originally more moderate among demons…”

“Moderate?”

“Doesn’t the fact that a succubus is the leader say it all? Succubi originally don’t cause much harm and just seduce men and steal their energy among the races.”

“Ah, I see.”

So, they were originally less harmful guys for demons. Well, that’s why they were somewhat likely to accept such an offer.

The hardliners Balthazar is talking about… needless to say, they must be the guys who sided with the Creator.

“We, we are sorry, Your Highness. Please do not abandon us and accept us.”

“Hmph, very well. If you behave yourselves in the future, I will reconsider.”

“Thank you.”

Anyway, the demons, who were completely captivated by Kyle’s dignity, were bowing deeply. Rizelda, in particular, was looking at him with a blissful expression.

“You’re, so cool……!”

…Rizelda seems to have fallen for him in a different sense, but well, the more the merrier.

“It seems the negotiations have gone well with this. But there’s still one more problem to solve.”

“That’s right. The task of dealing with the guys who sided with the Creator.”

Bringing in the neutral factions is actually closer to being for the sake of what comes after dealing with those hardliners.

“I think you said there was some problem with dealing with those guys.”

“…That’s right. It’s a more difficult problem than dealing with them.”

“What’s the problem? Don’t tell me the Creator is going to step in directly?”

“Maybe, but the probability of that is probably low. The Creator hasn’t fully regained his power yet. He won’t rashly engage in a final battle with you. But-”

Balthazar continued his explanation, using illusion magic with flames to summon someone.

“That’s why he’s trying to put the great warriors forward. The Great Demons of Hell.”

“Great Demons?”

“Yes… the tyrants that our ancestors once sealed away.”

According to Balthazar’s explanation, hell in the distant past was ruled by the Great Demons.

But these Great Demons were so cruel that they couldn’t even be compared to the demons of today, and even the demons were fed up with their tyranny.

“Eventually, the demons rose up and barely succeeded in sealing them away. But in return, hell is now burning like this.”

“So, you’re saying they’re going to use those Great Demons?”

“That’s right… Coincidentally, those hardliners were originally the ones guarding the seals of the Great Demons.”

“Do you think they’ll release them?”

“Hmm… I don’t know. Maybe the odds are about fifty-fifty… But wouldn’t the Creator definitely try to use them?”

That’s right. The Creator would try to do that without looking back.

“Great Demons… How strong are they?”

“I don’t know exactly either… But I expect each one of them to be comparable to you.”

“That strong? That sounds like an exaggeration.”

“Not at all. They are the ones who turned this once-healthy world into hell and collapsed countless countries. Millions of demons had to die to barely seal them.”

Well, if the objective indicators are like that, then it’s certainly okay to evaluate them that way.

“There are seven of them. If they were all released, even I would shudder.”

“Then the situation sounds very bad? You said those hardliners were originally in charge of the seals?”

“Fortunately, it’s not easy for them to break the seals either. They were in charge of guarding the seals, not holding the keys to the seals.”

“Then where are the keys?”

According to Balthazar, getting the keys is the most important thing.

But Balthazar shrugged.

“I don’t know. But someone who would know does.”

“Who is it?”

Instead of answering, Balthazar pointed to one side.

“Hehe. Your Highness, why don’t you spend some quality time with me instead?” “Hey, don’t cling to me.”

The person he pointed to was none other than Rizelda, who was ardently courting Kyle.

“Rizelda’s ancestor was the one who seduced and sealed the leader of the Great Demons in the past. After that, she became the guardian of the keys. She probably knows about the keys.”

“……”

I don’t know if things have gone well or gotten tangled up.