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24: Burn Up! Flame of Ambition!
While working in the office where the Four Heavenly Kings gathered, Luviana kept stealing glances at a certain spot.
The table that was kept there till the other day, was gone.
There were traces of it still remaining.
By the way, it wasn’t the one belonging to the expelled Capsodia.
“I’ll go and visit Blazel’s room.”
“Ou
”
I tell Voganis who was sitting opposite to me, where I was going.
After Blazel vacated the room, Voganis, who had completely become lazy, kept his feet over the table, slouched against his chair, and slacked on his office work.
With a sigh, Luviana leaves the room.
She immediately knocks on the door to the next room.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, Blazel.”
Luviana raises the force in her voice.
She clears her throat lightly in order to relax.
“Come in.”
With Blazel’s permission, Luviana entered the room.
Inside the room, there was only one man.
In the calm atmosphere, only the sound of Blazel running his pen echoed.
This was his exclusive office room.
Till the other day, Blazel who was working in the same room with us, had been granted his own personal room.
Here’s how it happened.
Blazel had been conducting his own research, outside of his military duty of uniting the demons.
He had been researching on demon beasts.
Fire magic is said to be extremely compatible with fusion magic.
Thanks to that, he had been developing war beasts, by crossing existing monsters for quite some time now.
Finally after many years, his research was recognized by the Great Demon King.
As reward, he was granted what he always wanted, an office for his own use.
“What’s wrong, Luviana?”
“Eh? I apologize.”
“Could it be, that you desire a room just like mine?”
“No, it’s nothing like that
”
“You too should be doing something other than martial arts, in order to contribute towards demonkind.”
Luviana looks over the room lightly, and replies.
“I think I’m fine
”
“Why is that?”
“That is
”
An old memory passes through Luviana’s mind.
It was right after they had been selected as the second generation Heavenly Kings.
The first generation all had their own offices like Blazel does now.
However, after the second generation, the Four Heavenly Kings all began to work in the same room.
At the suggestion of one among them

“In times where we have to unite everyone, if we work in separate rooms like this, we’ll fall over before we know it.”
“Besides, work would be a lot more fun, if I could gossip and create a ruckus with you guys.”
With a single voice, all the heavenly kings began working in the same room.
Even if the one who brought it up, worked outside of it most of the time.
“So, state your business Luviana.”
“I’ve put together the data I was asked to do yesterday. Give it a look.”
Luviana holds out the documents.
However, what Blazel grabbed weren’t the documents, but Luviana’s white hand instead.
“Sto-! Blazel?”
“Luviana, how about staying with me this day?”
“No, today is
 I have to go home and feed my dog.”
“Saying that, you have refused me every time till now! Can’t you do something about that? Like leaving it to one of your underlings?”
“I’m sorry, he’s been sick lately
 He’s also losing weight, so I’m worried.”
“Unacceptable
 Manage it somehow.”
“It hurts! Blazel, you’re hurting me.”
Despite that, Blazel doesn’t let go of her.
On the contrary, he grabs Luviana’s thin wrist.
Furthermore, he closes his face to hers.
Looking at Blazel’s face with a slight frown, Luviana gathers magic in her palm.
“I have a report!!!!”
The door opens suddenly.
A demon soldier suddenly jumped into Blazel’s room.
Blazel furrows his brows sharply.
At the same time, flames of anger erupted from his back.
The soldier also looked at Blazel’s hand holding Luviana’s wrist, and seemed to have figured everything out.
Realizing what he had jumped into, the soldier’s face grows pale.
The moment Blazel tries to use magic—
“Wait!!”
Luviana screams out suddenly.
As if controlling her coleague with just her eyes, Luviana asks the soldier.
“What news do you bring?”
Luviana’s voice was frighteningly calm.
Blazel clicks his tongue, and squeezes out the flame in his palm.
The soldier showed relief only for a moment, and raises his voice to inform us.
“I shall report
 The ‘altered’ Hydralord which we had released on Blazel-sama’s order, was defeated by someone!”
“T-there’s no way!!!!”
Blazel exclaims.
His expression was a mix of confusion and surprise.
“The ‘altered’ Hydralord
”
A few years ago, Blazel had recovered a Hydralord that had been rampaging in a village.
After bringing it to his lab, he steadily upgraded it, and that came to be known as the altered Hydralord.
It’s basic stats, were 3 times that of a conventional one.
In terms of human ranks, A rank– no, an S rank could have just rivaled it.
For its performance test, it was transferred to the human territory using large-scale ceremonial magic. But let alone a country, it couldn’t even destroy a settlement before getting subjugated.
Blazel was at a loss for words.
It couldn’t be helped.
The strength of that Hydralord was recognized even by the Demon King.
This private room itself, was proof of the Demon King acknowledging his abilities.
But it ended up showing miserable results in its crucial field test.
*Grii*

Blazel bites down on his molars strongly.
His angry face and wrinkled forehead was powerful enough to make it seem like he could take on the God of Death.
“Who the hell was it!? Tell me who subjugated the altered Hydralord.”
“T-the important details are still under investigation. However, according to the researcher who accompanied it for surveillance, ‘Mysteltam the Absolute Flash’, and ‘Verdana the Unsinkable’ were spotted there
”
“I’ve heard of them. On the human side, they’re well-known silver rank adventurers. They use troublesome skills using legendary weapons
 However–“
“Impossible! Two silver ranks couldn’t possibly have defeated my altered Hydralord!”
“Y-yes.”
The soldier takes a difficult breath, then nods.
“It is just as you say. The altered Hydralord had them both cornered. It was just one step away, when it suddenly collapsed.”
“How could
?”
To Luviana’s doubt, the soldier simply shakes his head.
“That is unknown. When the researcher took his eyes off of it for a moment, it had been defeated.”
“Is that so
 What comes to mind first is poison
”
“Impossible! That altered Hydralord was equipped with resistance against all kinds of venom. It couldn’t have been done in from human poison!!”
Blazel slams his fist on his table, and was distraught.
On the other hand, the soldier who finished his report, takes a step back.
He tried to leave the room.
“I, I shall take my leave
 since I have to report to the Demon King
”
“ Wait 
”
Blazel’s cold words echo.
He turns his enraged face towards the soldier.
“You have reported well. Here is your reward.”
Blazel shoots a flame.
The high-speed flame bullet envelops the soldier in a flash.
“———–!! ———!!”
The fierce heat robs the soldier even of his voice.
Without even being able to flutter about, the soldier turns into ash and disappears from the world.
Luviana, who could only look on at the outrageous sight, complains to Blazel.
“Blazel! What have you done!!”
“Moron! Such a blunder! Cannot be reported to the Demon King!!”
“Even so
 This is priority for the Demon King Army. It means that the human side has the strength to defeat a demon beast comparable to an S rank. Not even in the royal capital, but at a random location near the countryside. This means, that the human side has enlisted that much strength in its forces and the Four Heavenly Kings have to put an end—“
“There is no need for that! This was my oversight! I will clean after my own failures. There shouldn’t be a problem with that right?”
“I haven’t said that. No one blames you for what happened. Just listen to what I–“
“Silence! Do you want to be dismissed like a certain ‘someone’?”
A cold expression of rage surfaces on Blazel’s face.
Seeing his murderous and wild figure, Luviana keeps her mouth shut.
Meanwhile, Blazel spreads a map on his table.
After pointing to where the altered Hydralord was released, he noticed the existence of a town nearby.
“Even if they had defeated the Hydralord, they couldn’t have gotten away unscathed. They must be taking refuge here to treat their wounds.”
“W-what are you going to do, Blazel?”
“It goes without saying! I’ll dispatch my [flame beast corps].”
“The flame beasts
”
It was the corps which reported directly to Blazel.
Each one had a part of Blazel’s power residing in them.
Most of them were C rank beasts while the executives were above B rank; a corps filled to the brim with elites.
Touted as the strongest of the Demon King Army, any traces of them passing by never surfaces.
For humans, it was the worst and most despicable corps to ever exist.
“Ku ku ku
 Keep on looking, humans. I will reward you appropriately for making a fool out of Blazel the Scorching Retreat.”
Blazel’s cackling laughter reverberates inside the office.
His distorted gaze was focused on a town called Neuville on the map.