Chapter 367 - [25th Round] The Power of Friendship!

“Impressive…”

A tremendous 19 years.

Very few companions managed to accompany me from the beginning to the end of my adventures.

However, all of Hero Satan’s companions survived, and even those who left the party for personal, familial, and other reasons still appeared on the promised day.

I would call them all “dummies” if I weren’t paying attention, but I decided to take a closer look since there was already a decisive offensive ahead.

[Scouts]

Green Cake: My Adopted Child (Son or Daughter)

Adam: Me

Eve: Despicable Inspector

Dungeon King: Dungeon Trap Expert

Thief King: Enemy Detection Expert

Archaeologist: Not Lanuvel

Scouts were guides that explored dungeons, terrain, monster habitats, and enemy fortresses ahead of the main force so they could lead them along the safest path.

Disco and I joined this group to minimize our interference with the Hero’s adventure. Even as scouts, though, we weren’t particularly useful. All I did was point out the location of the nearest flush toilet.

The remaining four could be considered the real scouts.

[Tanks]

Knight King: Masochist (Male)

Mercenary King: Veteran

Princess of Darkness: Masochist (Female)

Tomato: Fallen Paladin

Earth Knight: Strong Chested Elf

Brave H: Shield Master

Earth Dragon King: Masochist (Dragon)

Wind Dragon King: Evasion Master

Pseudo Demon Lord D: Father-in-Law’s Subordinate #4

Tanks were meat shields that attracted the enemy’s attention and protected the rest of the party with their lives.

Pseudo Demon Lords were bugs left by Pedonar. Satan convinced them to join by saying, “Don’t you want revenge?”

During the 4th curriculum, five elf knights defended the Elf King’s wife, who had seduced her father-in-law, but now they were unemployed. Satan found them all and again gathered them into one team.

Even the daring dragon kings were recruited into the party, almost as if it was only natural for them to be involved…

[Universals]

Satan: Hero

Sword King: Haris (My Son)

Spear King: Pierce Master

Brawl King: Martial Arts Master

Ice Princess: Freezing Master

Aqua: Silly Princess Fish

Nasus: Boob Lover #2

Brave A: Senior’s Descendant with Dragon #1

Brave G: Senior’s Descendant with Vampire #1

Brave P: Senior’s Descendant with Vampire #2

Bandit King: Highland Combat Expert

Black Dragon King: Exhibitionist

Darkness Dragon King: Dark Energy Enthusiast

Light Dragon King: Muscular Fool

Chicken Head C: Exhibitionist Angel (Female)

Chicken Head G: Exhibitionist Angel (Male)

Pseudo Demon Lord Q: Father-in-Law’s Subordinate #2

The Universals weren’t tough enough to become tanks, but their high combat power made them suitable for helping other roles.

This group included stupid dragon kings who charged in like moths to light, thinking they were tanks. Satan used them for strategic purposes.

Haris, who participated instead of Kang Han Soo and the Sword Princess, helped all groups according to the situation together with the Hero.

He had grown extremely powerful, so much so that he received the title “Sword King,” like Alex.

Saintess E’s large breasts (pads) seduced Prince Nasus, first in line to the throne, and made him join the squad.

… Poor guy.

[Melee Damage Dealers]

Heavenly Demon: Invincible Android (Holy Sword)

Demonic Swordsman: Swordmaster (Male)

Heavenly Swordsman: Swordmaster (Female)

Dragon Swordsman: Swordmaster (Dragon)

Pirate Queen: Naval Combat Expert

Assassin King: Cunning Tactics Expert

Dark Knight: Close Combat Master

Sylvia: Husband Seeker

Brave B: Senior’s Descendant with Elf #1

Brave C: Harem Master

Brave N: Senior’s Descendant with Mermaid #1

No. 99: Android Bianca

Bananael: Persuaded Angel

Chicken Head B: Silly Muscular Angel

Pseudo Demon Lord C: Father-in-law’s Descendant #3

The Melee Damage Dealers sacrificed defense to maximize their damage in close range.

They fought face to face with their enemies, relying on the Saintesses for support.

Satan used the Heavenly Demon’s soul the same way I transferred it from Holy Sword C into Golem D in the past.

[Ranged Damage Dealers]

God of War: Maniac Golem

Sage: Bleeding Archmage

Bow God: Archery Expert

Slave King: Manipulator of Humanoids

Soul Knight: Manipulator of Monsters

Fire Knight: Elf Mage

Wind Knight: Elf Archer

Brave D: Instinct Driven

Brave K: Senior’s Descendant with Dragon #2

Brave M: Senior’s Descendant with Mermaid #2

Brave Q: Senior’s Descendant with Elf #2

Snow Queen: Former Representative of the Five Great Disasters

Divine Dragon King: Divinity Enthusiast

Ice Dragon King: Global Warming Instigator

Ranged Damage Dealers (DD) sacrificed defense to maximize their long-range damage output.

There were those who inflicted area damage, obliterating ordinary fighters en masse, and there were snipers who focused on eliminating commanders-in-chief.

The most dangerous of them was the Slave King due to his ability to brainwash his enemies into loyal slaves.

Despite the risks, Satan still challenged him, however.

The moment the Slave King fell to his knees and agreed to follow him, I couldn’t stop myself from feeling awe.

Such was the power of Fabrication and Incitement!

[Healers]

Saintess A: Female-Healing Specialist

Saintess C: Male-Healing Specialist

Saintess E: Dastardly Fake-Breasted Elf

Celestial Dragon King: Body Modifier

Alien G: Android Mechanic

Healers treated wounds or revived allies while staying as far away as possible from combat.

Heroes were usually only accompanied by one Saintess.

But Satan recruited all of them, breaking that unwritten rule.

It could be considered the main reason behind the continued increase in the number of his companions throughout his 19-year-long adventure.

The Aliens, like Alien G, were Fugitive Senior’s subordinates sent here to find his ex-wives. They were now hiding across all continents.

Most of them started working under Connoisseur Shakespeare, but some of them remained unemployed.

Would they fight General Red, their boss, if they saw her?

[Support]

Shaman King: Summoner of Skeleton Workers

Merchant King: Loot Evaluator

Water Knight: Drinkable Water Supplier

Mad Sorcerer: Crafter of Various Potions

Cooking Queen: Elf Chef

Information King: Processor of Collected Information

Imperial Princess: Psychological Counselor

Yugioh: Entertainment

Alien F: Firearms Creator

Alien L: Android Designer

Alien U: Airship Pilot

Chicken Head G: Deliveryman

Pseudo Demon Lord K: Slacker

Mullan (Regular Slime): Excrement Disposal Unit

Members of the Support group provided comprehensive assistance to the party’s combatants.

Their efforts decreased, even minimized, Hero Satan’s chances of being distracted by trifling matters.

In the end, Satan gathered sixty-six combatants and thirteen supporters. Including him, their party had a total of 80 members.

That was how many people would enter the Demon Lord’s Tower.

“Forward!”

Hero Satan took the lead, his black cloak fluttering as he headed to the first floor.

“Yes!”

“Let’s go!”

“For Mollan!”

“Glory to the Great Child!”

“Aaaaaaah!”

His seventy-nine companions followed him, entering my abode in an orderly manner.

*****

The Demon Lord’s Tower was supposed to be my home, but I was only familiar with its 100th floor.

I had so little information about it that I learned of the Saintesses’ Resurrection being limited inside it through Sieg.

“This floor…”

Hero Satan didn’t rush.

He acted cautiously, taking his time to stop and provide briefings about each floor to reduce the number of injured and killed companions.

He had always done his best. The only difference this time was that he intended to reach the top floor.

“This is problematic.”

“What do you mean?”

“I see no chance of escaping the party.”

“Ah! Right. Due to our 19 years of adventure, I’ve forgotten you have your own role to play at the end of it all. If we continue to advance at this rate, we’ll probably reach the upper floors without casualties.”

The Demon Lord’s Tower had 100 floors, but it wasn’t that complicated or difficult except for the boss rooms every 10th floor.

The rest were organized like a theme park, weeding out weaklings and introducing students to diverse environments.

If I really wanted to stop the heroes’ invasion, I would place all the bosses on the same floor to avoid letting them get crushed separately.

The reality of our situation was different, however.

We reached the 10th floor.

“I am Silerion, this floor’s guardian. If you want to climb further, you must defeat me, but let me give you a fair warning. I am a true master of the sword. You will find it difficult to—”

“Master of the sword? That’s nothing but an empty phrase. Many swordsmen have fallen by my blade. You will be no different.”

“Chris Kureil. Let’s see what you’re capable of, Sword King.”

The atmosphere seemed to demand they fight one on one.

But Satan didn’t allow it.

“We need to act quickly and decisively. Stay away from Silerion’s Holy Sword. It cuts through everything it touches. Fire at will! You don’t even have to aim! Just destroy everything around him to prevent him from dodging!”

Bang!

Bam!

BOOOOOM!

Fourteen long-ranged fighters began their bombardment.

If the walls of the Demon Lord’s Tower hadn’t been endowed with “indestructibility,” they would have collapsed by now.

Their firepower was that overwhelming!

The 10th-floor boss was quickly killed, leaving behind only the Corrupted Holy Sword Ssosiel provided.

“… Terrifying.”

Despite my over 200 years of experience as both a hero and the Demon Lord, I had never seen such a vile power of friendship.

But that was just the beginning.

One or two casualties wouldn’t really hurt his success rate that much, but Hero Satan reached the 20th floor without losing a single soldier.

Hence, his strategy of employing the power of friendship to cause total domination didn’t change.

I named the 20th-floor boss “Lord of Death Silvaras,” but my cowardly wife said it was too childish. As soon as she became the director, she immediately changed it to Elfhasha.

That was the real name of Silerion’s wife and Third Elf King Elfheim’s younger sister.

… It wasn’t that I remembered it.

However, during Satan’s briefing, which lasted for a full five hours, I heard that name more than a hundred times, and it was just stuck in my mind now.

I should forget about it in a few days, though.

“Kh?!”

She was stronger than her husband, so she didn’t die.

But could that really be considered a better destiny?

After brutal torture, Elfhasha became the Slave King’s slave, betraying the Demon Lord to side with the enemy.

Her immunity to magic didn’t help her, considering more than 30 combatants didn’t use magic at all in Satan’s party. They easily pounced at her and grabbed her.

That scene showed how cruel the power of friendship truly was.

“Mollan.”

I couldn’t stop myself from praying for the two fallen bosses.

We soon reached the 30th floor guarded by Boris, considered a dangerous enemy by the mollanphone community. Hero Satan nevertheless attacked him without much thought.

… With the help of another android.

Bang!

As soon as Boris was defeated in a one-on-one battle with the Ancient Hero, the aliens reprogrammed him to incorporate him into the Hero’s party.

“Ree-ee-ee-ee!”

The 40th-floor boss, Red, angry that her husband had been reprogrammed, wasn’t much different.

Hero Satan pointed out in the Mollanphone community guide to provoke Red. Doing so nullified her characteristics and manipulated her into fighting in her Dragonian form, which had a much lower weight category.

However, he violated that strategy himself.

“Icesssss!”

“Bleeeeee!”

“Daaaaaarr!”

“Vrerreeerrr!”

“Grooooh!”

“Ceeiiiighh!”

The dragon kings, abandoning their cute transformations, fought in close combat, demonstrating their power of friendship.

As soon as they saw a gap in her defense, they exhaled their Breath all at once towards her.

“Reeeeeeeeee?!”

Fighting desperately to the bitter end, Red finally collapsed.

She managed to swallow the 20th-floor boss Elfhasha, who wasn’t that active due to her broken mind and died only after completely destroying 30th floor Boris.

Even so, Hero Satan’s original party members remained unharmed.

He also didn’t forget to report constantly.

? Satan: Made it to the 40th floor of the Demon Lord’s Tower in the tertiary education course with no casualties. I’m uploading a photo for the first time. I took this one with my 79 companions near the body of General Chromatigus, the guardian of the 40th floor.

? Zeus: Three Saintesses? That’s insane…

? Allah: Have you completely lost your mind?

? Luke: 80 people… that’s overkill.

? Odin: Get lost, show-off.

? Lucia: I’m disappointed, senior Satan.

But no kind words came from the students.

This was unfortunate.

I turned to Satan, who took a deep breath as he looked at the mollanphone community.

“Satan, I have a question.”

“I’m listening.”

“Why are you still trying to help your fellow heroes even though they’ve done nothing but insult you so far?”

“Because I need comrades.”

“Huh?”

Did the guy who assembled an entire royal procession of 79 companions by himself really just say that?