CH 350

Saviolin Turner briefly explained about Larken Simonstite.

Larken Simonstite had been the leader of the Shanafel squad when Saviolin Turner, now considerably older, was still a newcomer.

Just as Saviolin Turner is now, he too had held the title of the continent's strongest swordsman. Larken Simonstite taught Saviolin Turner many things to groom her as the next leader of the Shanafel squad.

After rigorous training that was so demanding that even the tremendous genius had to tear apart and rebuild everything she had learned at the temple, she eventually became the captain of the Shanafel's first knight squad.

At the time when Saviolin Turner was a newcomer, Larken Simonstite was already an old man who had passed his eighties. Although the aging process was slowed by the training and the manipulation of magical power, like Saviolin Turner, he had long surpassed the age for retirement.

Thus, he cultivated the next generation and, as Saviolin Turner's skills progressed, he handed over the leadership of the Shanafel squad to another and retired.

It wasn't a strange occurrence. Everyone believed he was living a quiet life after retirement.

As the sense of crisis from the Demon World War intensified, the empire needed strength, and they sought to borrow the retired Grandmaster's hand as well.

However.

Unexpectedly, Larken Simonstite had become one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Army, holding the heavy title of the first Heavenly King.

One of the Heavenly Kings was a human, and they knew nothing about it. Moreover, he was even a mentor to Saviolin Turner.

In the original work, even the dead Demon King wasn't mentioned much, so there was no reason to mention the Heavenly Kings. There had been no reason to discuss the Heavenly Kings during their time in this world, although the Demon King was occasionally mentioned.

So, it was rather an odd situation where everyone else knew almost everything, but I didn't.

"Why did he become one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Darkland...?"

"I don't know."

Saviolin Turner shook her head.

"We may never know."

She was set up as a character who felt guilty for not participating in the Demon World War. However, there was a hidden backstory that I was unaware of.

Why did Larken Simonstite betray humanity and join the Darkland side?

Would Sarkegaar, Loyar, or Eleris possibly know?

I had never asked questions related to the Heavenly Kings because I wasn't initially curious, but now that I had heard it, I became curious about the stories of the Heavenly Kings that no longer existed in this world.

Still, considering he had received the first Heavenly King's position and even taught Airi swordsmanship, it seemed like he had been treated well and lived comfortably in Darkland.

Saviolin Turner had many questions for the traitorous Larken, but she ultimately could not head to Darkland under the pretext of protecting the royal family.

So, it was inevitable that arriving at the Demon King's castle now that everything had ended would be bittersweet.

We walked further and finally reached our intended destination.

The very center of the Demon King's castle.

A desolate, ruined plaza.

Even after the battle had ended, there must have been rain and snow, but the traces of the battle did not disappear easily, as the place had witnessed such an overwhelming fight.

"This is where humanity achieved its final victory."

The site of the battle between the Demon King and the hero.

All the pillars and statues had been destroyed, and the ground was deeply hollowed out.

Despite the vast expanse of the area, traces of the intense battle could be found everywhere, and the walls of the Demon King's palace nearby had been torn away or showed signs of collapse.

"… It's hard to believe that this scene was the result of a battle between only two beings."

Even Saviolin Turner, who was currently considered the strongest being in the world, seemed to be taken aback.

"No matter how many times I see it, I can't even imagine how powerful the Demon King was… and the same goes for the strength of Artorius who faced him."

We walked towards the center of the battlefield.

"To think that Ragan Artorius was… this powerful."

Saviolin Turner seemed to be shocked for a different reason.

No matter how great Ragan Artorius was, he was not yet thirty years old.

He had killed a retired Grandmaster and defeated the Demon King, all with a strong group of companions. Saviolin Turner seemed to be starting to wonder if that was even possible.

"The remains of the Demon King could not be found due to the intensity of the battle, but Artorius was discovered here, with his sword Alsebringer plunged into the ground, looking as if he were merely sleeping…"

I didn't witness the fight, and I didn't describe it, but I know the truth.

It wasn't Ragan Artorius' strength that defeated the Demon King, at least not alone.

It was the power of Alsebringer.

Nobody but me knows the true purpose of Alsebringer.

The war god, Als.

Alsebringer.

It is, quite literally, a sword that can summon the war god.

From the beginning, it was Ragan Artorius, who had become the embodiment of Als, who fought the Demon King.

The price was his life.

Artorius had killed the Demon King at the cost of his own life.

Ludwig became the owner of Alsebringer.

In the original development of the story, Ludwig eventually used the true power of Alsebringer.

So…

As a tragic romantic, I ended up doing the crazy deed of killing the protagonist in a novel that started as a daily life story.

------

Charlotte decided that guiding was enough and sent the commander back.

From now on, stories that he should not hear would begin to unfold. She was allowed to roam the upper levels, but he sternly warned her never to go to the basement before leaving.

There were soldiers in the Demon King's palace, but not many. If they were around, they were likely focusing on searching the basement.

The commander had told us many things, but we hadn't come to tour the turning point in human history, but to find a clue to improve Charlotte's condition.

"Your Highness, do you feel anything?"

"…Nothing at all."

The place where the Demon King had died.

Charlotte arrived there, but it seemed as if she couldn't feel anything.

After all, it was just a place they had come to without much thought. There were no remains of the Demon King's corpse, and if there was such a thing as the Demon King's soul, it was far too uncertain to hope that it would still linger here.

More than anything, too much time had passed. The place had once been the site of a great battle, but there was nothing left other than the traces of that conflict.

"I guess we have no choice but to hope that there's something underground."

"But... it seems quite dangerous, more than we expected."

"Sigh, you're right."

It wasn't just the traps that would activate when stepped on; there were even spells that attacked the mind.

"Let's start by exploring the surface. There might be something up above as well."

There was nothing to be gained from the site of the final battle.

However, the Demon King's palace was vast.

Asserting that there were plenty of areas to explore even if it wasn't the underground, Charlotte took the lead.

------

Her memories of the Demon King's castle were not very clear.

The situation had been so urgent, and after meeting Charlotte, time had flown by like a storm. There was no room in her heart for anything else; it was as if she was sprinting across thin ice, constantly fearing that one misstep would lead to death.

Her state of extreme psychological stress certainly played a part in this.

"We should have brought Dyrus with us," Saviolin Turner murmured.

"Hmm... I don't think it's a place with fond memories for Sir Dyrus either, so I didn't see the need to bring him along."

"You're right."

Like me, Charlotte's memories of the Demon King's castle were likely hazy. After all, she had spent most of her time imprisoned there.

For Charlotte, the Demon King's castle held nothing but terrible memories, incomparable to those of Dyrus or me. Horrifying experiences, and eventually, the awakening of her strange powers that killed everyone in the prison.

The shock of cannibalism.

Despair, fear, and revulsion that came with it.

In the end, Charlotte had killed not only her mother but everyone else who was imprisoned with her.

It was impossible to tell if Charlotte was thinking about her past trauma. She simply walked silently through the corridors of the Demon King's palace.

I, too, found the experience to be quite new.

I wasn't being chased by anyone, nor was my life in danger.

While I wasn't completely at ease, I had the luxury of observing the Demon King's castle.

The ceilings of the corridors were high, and the passageways were spacious overall.

I had seen various palaces before.

From the Spring Palace to the Central Palace Tetra, the White Palace Arunaria, and even the Fortress Epiaux.

Yet, the Demon King's castle had ceilings and passageways that were excessively large and spacious.

"The scale is truly immense. I wonder if there's really a need for it to be this vast..."

Saviolin Turner murmured, seemingly sharing my thoughts.

"It's not for humans to walk through."

The one who answered wasn't me, the Demon Prince, but Charlotte.

"Ah."

"…Right?"

No.

I should have known, but hearing it from Charlotte made me feel incredibly foolish.

I am unaware, as I am not actually a prince of the demon clan!

It was reasonable for the structures to be built on a larger scale, as there were likely some demons who were bigger or more massive than normal.

I wondered if the spaces were big enough for even ogres to move around freely.

Of course, not all rooms were large enough for those enormous beings to pass through easily.

Throughout the hallways, there were traces of destroyed statues. The broken pieces had been removed, but from the size of the wall carvings, one could guess that there had once been considerably large statues.

Charlotte stopped in front of them.

"What are these…"

"What's the matter?"

"…I just remembered something Dyrus told me."

Charlotte glanced at the shattered statue.

"Dyrus and… uh… um…"

Charlotte attempted to say 'that child' but hesitated and closed her mouth after noticing my expression.

Perhaps she felt sorry for bringing up Valier again after promising to forget about him.

I wondered why she needed to be so considerate of my feelings.

"Ahem. Anyway, I came into the Demon King's palace and obtained a teleport scroll to rescue you. But when I tried to leave the palace, I was ambushed by knights from the Salerian Duchy Family to silence me."

"…I see."

It seemed like this was the first time Charlotte had told Lady Saviolin Turner about the events that had transpired in the Demon King's castle.

"Back then, the gargoyles suddenly became active and attacked the knights. That's how I managed to escape safely…"

The memory was vivid in my mind.

The Salerian knights had intended to kill us, and I had thought about the gargoyles in that moment.

Typically, in such situations.

Things like that moved.

With a feeling like that.

As if responding to my thoughts, the gargoyles activated and attacked the knights, killing one on the spot.

"So that's why all the statues were destroyed."

Charlotte seemed to conclude that after the incident, all statues were destroyed, and these were the remnants.

"…"

Lady Saviolin Turner silently looked down.

She had vowed to maintain political neutrality.

However, the fact that she was nearly killed by Bertus's minions after enduring various hardships in the Demon King's castle must have stirred intense emotions within her.

Of course, it wasn't her first time hearing about it, and she likely already knew.

But hearing it directly from Charlotte while revisiting the scene seemed to cause her expression to twist as she tried to suppress her emotions.

From the beginning, her neutrality was questionable.

Even though it was for the survival of the First Princess, the act of trying to save Charlotte's life couldn't possibly be considered neutral.

Lady Saviolin could distance herself from Charlotte's issues once her safety was assured, but that time had not yet come.

Her neutrality had already wavered, and it was clear that the heinous acts attempted by Bertus further shook her resolve.

Both her experiences in the Demon King's castle and the fact that she couldn't escape the aftereffects of those events, forced her to return to the dreadful memories within the castle.

It seemed that Saviolin Turner's heart was inclined towards Charlotte, if only out of sympathy for her unfortunate situation.

Turner struggled with the conflict between his belief in maintaining neutrality and his growing feelings for Charlotte.

"It's alright, Lady Turner,"

Charlotte said quietly as she walked ahead.

"If our situations were reversed, I would have done the same thing that Bertus tried to do to me."

"..."

Charlotte spoke those words calmly.

"I knew what would happen to me from the beginning, after all."

In the end, they were all the same.

Bertus wasn't inherently bad; it was just that his actions were fitting for the circumstances.

"So, there's no need to pity me so much."

"......I apologize, Your Highness."

As Charlotte spoke, she slowly walked down the corridor.

She neither defended Bertus nor demeaned herself.

Her words were simply meant to ease the psychological burden that Saviolin Turner was feeling.