The devil who spoke to Bart then turned his gaze to Frondier.
"...You, Frondier de Roach. Are you truly a devil?"
The devil asked with a face full of doubt.
Frondier smiled faintly. He roughly understood the situation.
It seemed Bart had hinted that Frondier was a devil to make it easier to summon them.
The devils of the Empire were currently afraid of the western devils. To be precise, they were afraid of being exposed as devils because of them. The situation was already dire.
But if Frondier, the most famous person in the Empire, was a devil, he might act on their behalf. They had all gathered with that hope.
'It's not entirely wrong, so as long as the results are good, it's all good, right?'
"Yes. Pleased to meet you. I've summoned you all to help. Thank you for coming despite your busy schedules."
Frondier wasn't lying.
If left alone, these devils were destined to be defeated by the western devils. The difference in power wasn't even a factor; the sheer number was overwhelmingly against them.
If they just acted according to Frondier's goals, they would have a chance to survive.
"...No. I still can't believe it."
This time, another devil stepped forward.
"Bart! We've been doing well for a long time, so I trust you, but don't you find this situation strange? All the hidden devils of the Empire gathered here in one place! What if this is Frondier's trap? What will you do?"
"...That won't happen. Please be at ease."
Bart tried to calm him down, but the suspicion seemed to fuel the fire. Other devils murmured amongst themselves.
"What should we do? Should we escape now? There are still windows..."
"Where would we escape to? The western devils will be attacking soon."
"This is our only chance."
"But what if that Frondier fellow approached us with this opportunity in mind?"
The murmuring voices swirled with worry and anxiety. Bart looked around at them with a troubled expression, trying to say something, but he couldn't quell the commotion.
At that moment, Frondier lightly clapped his hands. The sound resonated through the mansion as his aura-clad hands collided.
"Calm down. I am indeed a devil."
It was a lie, of course, but Frondier felt strangely embarrassed to call himself a devil.
"You, you're the second son of Roach! How can the son of a prestigious family be a devil!"
"I'm not of the Roach bloodline. I was just a child taken in."
The lies flowed smoothly from his mouth.
"Nonsense! We've never heard such a thing...!"
The devil, about to say 'heard', closed his mouth.
He couldn't say they hadn't heard it.
"You've all heard it a lot, haven't you? The story that the second son of the Roach family was adopted."
Before Frondier's possession, when he was still a human sloth and closer to a villain.
The rumor that Frondier wasn't of the Roach bloodline was widespread.
"You might have also heard that I was going to be excommunicated."
The devils whispered amongst themselves again at his words.
Looking at the Frondier before them, it was hard to believe he had such a past, but he had indeed been neglected by his family at one point.
So were those rumors actually true?
Frondier put an end to their thoughts by saying,
He raised both his arms, as if to literally show them himself.
The devils tilted their heads, not understanding what he meant.
"I don't look much like my father or brother, do I?"
The devils' eyes widened at his words.
It was a flimsy piece of evidence for not being blood-related, but Frondier did indeed have a very different image from Enfer or Azier. It wasn't about appearance, but rather their aura.
Enfer, with the Form of the Armament and the title 'Iron Wall', and Azier, like a sharpened blade, exuded a somewhat similar atmosphere, but Frondier was completely different.
This was partly due to the influence of Sloth and partly because a completely different person resided within him, but the devils were completely unaware of both facts.
"...That's not enough!"
The devil who had protested first shouted.
"Don't think we'll be convinced by that, Frondier! You're one of the heroes who led the war to victory. We can't believe you're a devil now!"
"...If you can't believe me, then what?"
"Show us proof! Frondier!"
The devil spoke as if it were a line he had to say, as if it were a natural demand.
Frondier had been waiting for it.
He smiled. A silent smile. His lips parted and stretched wide, like a smile drawn in a picture. Elysia turned pale as if she had seen that face in a nightmare. Frondier smiled with a similar paleness.
"I'll show you proof. Right now."
The moment he said that.
Elysia, who had been standing right behind him, took a step back. As if that wasn't enough, she took two more steps back.
Bart, who had been standing in front to persuade the devils, quickly retreated out of Frondier's sight.
Both of them wanted to retreat naturally, but they moved so simultaneously and urgently that it looked strange to anyone watching.
Of course, the devils didn't know the reason and simply watched their actions with puzzled expressions.
Frondier closed his eyes.
...In Bart's case, it had worked. He got the feeling from that.
Frondier mimicked the catchphrase of his trusted comrade and opened his eyes.
Countless devils of the Empire.
About half of them fainted and collapsed.
Among the remaining, about half fell to their knees.
The rest knelt on both knees.
"...! Huff, huff...!"
All the devils who hadn't fainted stared at Frondier with wide eyes, as if they couldn't believe it.
Almost all of them shouted similar words.
"The power of a devil...!"
Meanwhile, Frondier looked around at them with a relaxed expression, but in reality, he was busy scanning the fallen devils with his eyes.
'...They're not dead this time, are they?'
Cold sweat was dripping down his face.