## Chapter 1333 – Aftermath
“Ah! Kat!”
“Oh, Cloudy.”
These days, as soon as I arrived at the main hall, Cloudy rushed over, followed by Winia, Hilde, and even Ari, all in a line.
The four of them had been dealing with the remaining combat forces of the demons inside the fortress until I secured the surrender.
After the surrender, they were guarding the prisoners along with the knights and paladins. Currently, the hall was filled with numerous bound demons.
“Kat, you’ve really been through a lot.”
“What have I been through? Cloudy did more. Did everything go well?”
“U-Uh-huh… No problem. Because the knights were there…”
When I asked, stroking her ears, Cloudy made a sweet sound and buried her face in my neck. Soon, the others approached as well.
“Hey, Blackie? Where are Karin and Liz?”
“They’re lying down, exhausted. I moved them to a safe place.”
“Looks like the sisters had a hard time. Anyway, it seems like things are mostly sorted out here. And that knight said he’d report to you, Blackie.”
“I’ll get it soon enough. Winia, you worked hard too.”
He’d be here soon if I just hung around.
“Blackie did all the hard work. He killed the Demon King.”
“That was nothing. As easy as breathing.”
“Such bullshit.”
It’s not bullshit.
“Hehehe, anyway, Kat. It’s completely subdued now. It’s no exaggeration to say this fortress is really yours now. I saw the airships docking at the fortress harbor earlier. Those are all yours too now.”
Apparently, there’s a harbor behind the fortress.
Come to think of it, I think there was something like that.
“Hehehe, ah. Then of course it’s all mine. But looking at it, isn’t this place pretty good?”
“I want to explore it properly soon!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
But it’ll take some time. We need to get cooperation from the captured crew.
“Ari, are you okay?”
“Um… I used a lot of power. But now there’s nothing more to do… I’m okay.”
Ari looked quite tired.
It’s natural since she used so much power.
“You’re so admirable. I’ll give you a reward later for your hard work.”
“…Yes.”
As expected, when I stroked her head, Ari blushed and showed how happy she was.
Anyway.
The situation was roughly sorted out. Right now, the ground combat forces that came up on the beanstalk Ari created were managing the prisoners. Of course, even as we speak, knights are continuing to bring captured prisoners here.
That’s when it happened.
“Hero!!! Has the Hero arrived!!!”
The General of the Royal Knights was running towards me, calling out.
He seemed to be quite excited.
It’s natural.
If you see me, a warrior, you can’t help but like me.
“Reporting!”
“Hehehe, there’s no need to be so formal, Knight General.”
“No! I cannot be disrespectful to the Hero! Everything has been resolved thanks to the Hero! Thank you!”
“It was just something I had to do.”
“A-As expected…!”
The General was almost crying.
“Anyway, I will report. We have successfully acquired a large number of internal maps of the fortress.”
“Oh, very good.”
Maps of the interior of the fortress are very valuable.
Not only that, but wiring diagrams, waterways, gas pipes, etc. are all incredibly important, no joke. If those are lost, there will be major problems.
“Keep gathering them. It would be a big problem if any of the internal data is lost. This fortress could crash, General.”
“O-Of course, I understand! I plan to collect all the data!”
The General continued to report.
He spoke about the number of demons killed during the battle, the number of demons currently taken as prisoners, the distinction between combat and non-combat personnel, and the status of our side’s casualties. I listened to everything and nodded.
“And we’ve also found what you might call the control room. The Knights are currently inside, detaining the crew.”
“Very good.”
It seemed that the capture of the fortress was almost complete.
Now all that’s left is to… we can’t keep this fortress floating forever. We’ll have to dock it somewhere and interrogate the prisoners.
“B-Big trouble! Captain!!!”
Suddenly, a young knight ran over, shouting.
Looking at him, his face was pale.
“What! What’s wrong!”
“T-The Hero too…! Ah! This is no time for that! Please listen! It’s a very big deal!!!”
ㅡBOOM!
The young knight had a very good voice, reminiscent of Lady Isvant. Of course, it can’t be compared to that level, but it suddenly reminded me of her.
“What on earth?”
“Is something there!”
Anyway, his shout drew all eyes in the hall to us. I said to the knight.
“Calm down. Tell me, knight. What could be so alarming that you’re so pale?”
“T-That is…! W-We subdued the underground!!!”
The knight was stuttering, probably because he was so shocked.
“And there!!! We witnessed demons being `produced`!!!”
Ah.
“W-What?”
“Produced?”
“What does that even mean?”
ㅡMurmurs.
ㅡWhispers.
ㅡA lot of whispering.
The knight’s words caused an uproar in the hall.
Come to think of it, I haven’t told them about this yet.
Looks like they found the hatchery.
“Tell me in detail!”
“Y-Yes!”
At the request of the other knights and paladins, the knight, completely shocked, began to explain, gesturing wildly. It was an explanation describing the hatchery, albeit a bit exaggerated.
“After interrogating them, they said that demons are born like that!!! T-This giant airborne fortress was literally their mother’s womb! Kyaaaaaaaaack!!!”
The knight, having finished his explanation, suddenly knelt down, screamed, and fainted… What the hell? Did he really faint?
“W-What did you say!!!”
“U-Uwaaaaaaack!! Uwaaaaaaaack!! Uwaaaaaaaack!!”
“We are!! We are!!! Inside the womb of a demon!!!”
And that shock and madness soon spread to the surroundings.
“Kyaaaaaaaaack!!!”
The knights and paladins, encountering the concept of clones for the first time in their lives, began to tear at their hair and perform acrobatics.
These guys… they’re never in their right minds, no matter when I see them.
Seeing this familiar sight, I felt relieved instead.
That’s right. People must never lose their sense of humor at any moment.
“H-Hero!! I think we should go see it!!!”
“Hero!!”
Not only the Knight General, but also the paladins from the Order, and other mages and noble warriors begged me to go with them.
“…”
At this rate, I can’t refuse.
“…I’ll go with you, so calm down a bit.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
I went down to the underground with the commanders.
* * *
“Uwaaaaaaaaaack!!!”
“Oeoeeoeoeoeok!! Oeoeeoeoeoeok!! Oeoeeoeoeoeok!!”
ㅡThump! Thump! Thump!
The paladins, witnessing the horrors of the underground hatchery, each grabbed the wall and began to wail, banging their foreheads against it. Behind them, the figures of demons submerged in green liquid, with their eyes closed, could be seen.
“T-There’s a demon floating inside!! Floating!!! Floating!!! Floatingfloatingfloating!!!”
“What on earth is this green liquid…!”
“D-Demon amniotic fluid!! It’s demon amniotic fluidaaaaaaat!!”
“Kiyaaaaaaaaack!!”
“This place was like the demons’ womb!!!! The identity of this airborne fortress is exactly that!!!!!!”
“How!!! How can such a terrible and unbelievable thing be!!!!!!”
Even the Royal Knight commanders couldn’t hide their shock. They grabbed their faces, knelt down, and screamed.
“We must burn all these unholy things!!!”
The madness spread, and soon the knights began to raise their weapons.
“What the fuck.”
That demon mad scientist I saw earlier, whether he was beaten like a dog on Boknal or not, had black eyes and was kneeling down, bound. The same was true of his demon subordinates.
Anyway, I stopped the knights who had fallen into madness.
What are you burning, you fuck.
“Calm down. Everyone, wait. Should we burn them all?”
“H-Hero! What on earth are you saying!”
“We must burn them! We must burn these unholy things!!”
“And!!! This fortress, which is like a demon’s womb!!”
“We must destroy everything!!!”
“Kiyaaaaaaaaack!!!!”
These guys are out of their minds…!
I have to stop them!!!
“Quiet!!!!!!”
I took a deep breath and then burst out my voice!!!
“In the name of this Hero!!!! Regain your composure!!!! Warriors!!!!”
ㅡGasp…!
ㅡ…!
ㅡHuff!!!
Silence fell instantly at my shout.
It would be a shout they couldn’t withstand. Nothing is more effective than a loud voice in ending chaos. No matter how crazy they are, they will come to their senses if I scold them once.
“…”
“…”
“…”
I looked around at the completely frozen knights and said.
“Thinking about it. This machine is like the demons’ womb, right? Isn’t that right?”
“T-That’s right…”
“Then the demons in these glass tubes. You could say they haven’t even been born yet, right?”
“…”
Looking around for agreement, the knights nodded.
“In other words, they may look big, but they’re just newborns. So. There’s no need to kill them. It’ll be enough to take them as prisoners, so follow my words on this matter.”
Right now, in this place.
Nothing has more authority than my words.
There is no being more authoritative than me in the entire human realm.
“Ah…”
Whether my words were conveyed or not, everyone nodded.
“Come to think of it… they were like newborns.”
“No… they haven’t even been born, so they’re not newborns. Just a big… demon child.”
“An unborn… baby demon.”
Looks like they understood.
“Y-Yes…! It’s the Hero! Such compassion! Sob…! A truly sacred being!!”
“T-That’s right! It’s the Hero after all!!”
“Long live the Hero!!!”
“Long live!!!”
Soon the knights and paladins cried, shouted, and chanted “Long live.”
Yes.
It’s a very good phenomenon.
“Hahahahahahaha!!”
Feeling good, I laughed.
Anyway, let’s finish this well.
* * *
A few days later.
The situation was roughly settled, and I went to Kadia to hear about the situation.
“Wow. Really? There were that many?”
“According to the report, yes. This Holy Maiden also finds it quite surprising. Really. It’s a tremendous scale.”
The number of demons taken prisoner was, without exaggeration, about one division. Considering that they pulled out all the demons in the airborne fortress and airships, it’s a natural thing to say… Wow, really.
But how does a division-level number come out?
I was once again impressed by the might of the airborne fortress.
It’s really amazing.
“Currently, as Paladin has instructed. All demon combat soldiers have been taken to the ground. Are there any separate instructions regarding this? If Paladin orders, it will be done as is.”
“After all, my power is authority.”
I don’t have official command authority, but.
Right now, the Karga royal family was obeying my words.
The same is true of the military.
Even though I didn’t ask for military power separately, it was already mine.
“It’s not just power. Paladin is the savior of humanity. And everyone has witnessed it. There are already many who think of Paladin as a god beyond a hero.”
“Hehehe, that’s only natural.”
Right now, I am in name and reality the savior of humanity.
The strongest.
The supreme being.
There is nothing that can challenge me.
Everyone is below me.
I know very well what that means.
“Anyway, what about the crew and non-combat personnel? The combat soldiers will be tried as war criminals and executed, so there’s nothing more to order.”
“They are all doing the work they were doing in the fortress. The same goes for the technicians. The Knights and Paladin Order are stationed above, so there won’t be any problems.”
Perfect.
“But… Paladin.”
“Hmm? Why?”
“I heard something strange. They said demons are being produced.”
“Ah. That.”
Looks like she heard about it.
I explained it to Kadia.
“What…!”
Kadia, having heard the explanation, also grabbed her head and was greatly shocked. This is probably… the normal reaction of people from this world.
“Such a thing…! It’s very terrible!”
“It is.”
“Okay. I understand. Then… what are you going to do with those baby demons?”
“I’ve been thinking about it. They haven’t done anything wrong. They haven’t even been born yet. They’re innocent. So I’m going to save them all.”
“…”
At my words, Kadia stared at my face.
“Why?”
“Hmph, no. That’s right.”
What is it.
“Emotionally, I think they should all be burned away, but Paladin is still… so kind and rational. It’s the right decision. Really… I like it.”
Kadia looked at me as if she was moved.
“Hehehe, it’s just a natural thing.”
“So. What are you going to do?”
“I have an idea. No matter what, I can’t completely free those baby demons, right? So I’m going to use them.”
“Use them?”
“The demons’ technology. The airborne fortress maintenance methods. I’m going to teach them all and use them as my subordinates.”
This was a pretty good idea.
Above all, the fortress already has complete educational facilities.
Even after interrogating the doctor, he said that there are already educational materials. This is also a natural thing. What’s the reason for making baby clones? They need warriors and technicians.
So.
I will teach those things to the baby demons and use them as my subordinates.
Then I could manage the fortress without difficulty.
“Hoo… such a method existed. You’re smart after all. If all the produced demon children learn properly. You’ll be able to manage the fortress without any major problems in the future.”
“That’s right. That’s my aim.”
“You’re thinking properly about the distant future. Excellent.”
