CH 446

Olivia's claim that the Demon King must be handed over to the Five Great Holy Orders.

Ellen's claim that the Demon King should be given a chance to explain himself.

While these two arguments seemed similar, they were different. For starters, Ellen didn't argue that the Demon King must be brought in.

At the very least, they should give the Demon King a chance to explain what he had been up to so far, and whether or not his actions were intended to harm humanity.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the high priests of the Five Great Divine Orders welcomed Ellen's more moderate proposal over Olivia's extreme one.

"Let's hold something like a public hearing... is that the idea?"

Bertus, who had heard the result of the high priests' meeting, wore a stern expression.

He didn't know what that would mean.

"Well, at least it's better than the absurd demand to hand over the Demon King..."

It wasn't as crazy as Olivia Lanze's ultimatum to either hand over the Demon King or go to war.

"I don't know what difference this will make, but if we can do this much and manage to keep the Holy Orders quiet for now..."

Whether it was a public trial or a public hearing, they couldn't be sure of the nature of the event, but it would give them some ground to oppose Olivia Lanze's outrageous demands.

They had already given you everything you were entitled to during the last public hearing, so don't make any more excessive demands.

Questioning the Demon King in a public place.

While it wasn't as extreme a choice as Olivia's, Bertus bit his lip.

If Ellen Artorius also took the Demon King's side, the situation would spiral out of control.

Tiamata, Alsbringer, Lament.

If all three divine artifacts sided with the Demon King, there would be no reason for the Five Great Religions not to join him. Denying those three would be tantamount to destroying the very foundation of their faith.

Of course, the high-ranking members of the Holy Orders probably didn't want to support the Demon King. It was more like a desperate move made with tears in their eyes.

If the entire Five Great Religions were to support the Demon King, the world would literally fall apart.

"What about Charlotte?"

"She is currently in isolation at the Spring Palace."

Bertus sighed.

Charlotte's worsening condition was another serious concern for him.

They had captured the Demon King.

All their problems should have been resolved, but for some reason, the situation seemed to only get more complicated.

—---

The Five Great Religions and the Empire would hold a public hearing for the Demon King.

What kind of conspiracy had he been involved in so far? What process led to his selection by the divine artifacts, and was there truly no foul play involved?

Whether the Demon King was truly an evil being.

They would question the Demon King on these matters and determine his punishment based on their mutual agreement.

Such news spread far and wide.

Of course, the public hearing wasn't open for civilians to attend.

Only those with the authority to speak on the matter or the right to witness it were granted permission.

Emperor Nelliod de Gardias of the Empire.

First Prince Bertus de Gardias.

High Priests from each of the Five Great Religions.

Holy Knight Commander Eleion Bolton.

Champion of Tu’an, Olivia Lanze.

Champion of Mencis, Ellen Artorius.

Shanafel for security and escort, along with the Royal Mage Corps.

Holy knights from the Five Great Religions.

In addition to this, there was Scarlett, an individual with immunity capabilities, to prepare for the possibility that the Demon King might use his Word Magic to cause mischief.

Unable to show herself outside, Charlotte could not attend.

The interrogation was decided to be held within the main temple building.

The interrogation didn't start immediately. In anticipation of unforeseen circumstances, numerous barriers and magical measures were implemented within the temple, which had already passed safety verification.

The outcome of this interrogation would determine whether the five major religions and the empire would become hostile or maintain a precarious peace.

Two days later.

The public interrogation of the Demon King began.

"..."

From a distance, Harriet looked at the main temple building.

Harriet could not attend the public interrogation.

Whether it was right or wrong, she could not know.

Perhaps it was not right, thought Harriet de Saint-Owan.

But she decided to do it.

She decided to trust.

In that desperation.

In that earnestness.

In the end, Harriet could not deny it.

So.

She intended to do what she had to do.

If she had to betray everything she knew for the sake of trusting a single person.

She decided to do so.

—---

"Two days later... is that correct?"

"That's what the Lord of Wednesday said."

Eleris nodded to Antirianus' words.

"It seems like the right time. If a situation arises, we'll proceed as planned."

"..."

"Are you now sufficiently familiar with the use of Akasha?"

"...Yes."

Eleris nodded silently.

The preparations to use the tool of creation for destruction were complete.

Eleris had finished the preparations.

Valier would resent her.

There was no other choice but to bear resentment.

Because of this, the Demon King would become a symbol of hatred and loathing for all beings.

Only to survive.

Only to live.

Was it truly right to accept all that hatred and loathing just for the sake of survival?

Would it be acceptable to throw someone into such a situation to avoid death?

Would Valier really be happy to survive?

Eleris knew the answer.

He wouldn't be.

However.

To save the child she had endangered, the last descendant.

Eleris decided to destroy the world.

Living wickedly, living hypocritically.

In the end, she chose to open the path of absolute evil, which was neither hypocrisy nor wickedness.

—---

In an ambiguous time where everyone felt an inexplicable sense of unease, two days passed.

In front of the temporary detention facility where the Demon King was held, Shanafel, the Royal Mage Corps, and numerous Holy Knights were already stationed.

From the Empire's perspective, it was a place to find common ground with the five major religions. The five major religions sought to determine whether the Demon King's existence was truly legitimate.

Numerous people were prepared to escort the Demon King to the main temple building.

Even in such circumstances, there were onlookers.

Students who wanted to catch a glimpse of the spectacle from a distance, near the detention cell where the Demon King was certainly confined.

Standing beside the Demon King, who was gagged, were Saviolin Turner and Scarlett, prepared to respond to any emergency situation.

These elites, who could be considered the best of humanity, were gathered to escort the Demon King.

The assembled group consisted of only the finest and most powerful individuals of humanity, so much so that it could be said that even if the previous Demon King Valier returned to life, he would not be able to rescue his son in such a situation.

Everyone held their breath, gazing at the Demon King from afar.

Not long after being known as a hero, the man revealed himself to be the Demon King in human form.

Could that really be the Demon King?

Appearances can sometimes be everything, and so people could only sense the human presence from the Demon King in human form.

Could something be wrong?

Many who didn't know the full story couldn't help but think so.

Perhaps there was some kind of conspiracy, something we couldn't know.

Could they be trying to kill a perfectly fine hero?

Some inevitably reached that conclusion.

Regardless of people's suspicions, the escort party solemnly brought the Demon King to the main hall.

People were already waiting in the prepared seats in the main hall, and the Demon King sat in a wooden chair placed in the middle of the open space.

Not a throne, nor an excessively shabby chair, but an ordinary chair one could find anywhere, even in a temple classroom.

Next to the one who had sat as a student and now sat as the Demon King, Scarlett and Saviolin Turner stood.

Olivia watched this scene with a clenched fist.

Those gathered for the interrogation.

And those deployed for security.

Surrounded by people, the Demon King simply sat quietly in the chair.

Reinhardt, who was once believed to be a hero without a doubt and had been the fiancé of the princess.

But now, he was the Demon King, and the Emperor watched him closely, speaking.

"Remove the gag."

At that command, Scarlett carefully removed the gag from Reinhardt's mouth.

"From now on, we shall grant the Demon King a final chance to explain himself."

"How you became the owner of two divine artifacts."

"What is the mysterious magical tool, Akasha, that can make one a god? What happened to it?"

"What have you been hoping for until now?"

"If your desire for peace was sincere, how can you prove it?"

"This is your last chance."

"Young Demon King."

"Explain everything."

The Demon King, Reinhardt, in handcuffs, sat in the chair, quietly looking around.

Olivia Lanze.

Ellen Artorius.

Bertus de Gardias.

He stared at each of their faces slowly.

The Demon King seemed to sense something.

Being cornered, and more cornered.

As if feeling an inevitable fate he could no longer resist.

His expression became as if he had realized something.

"That doesn't matter anymore."

He clicked his tongue.

"You won't believe me anyway."

In this situation, his arrogant attitude made everyone's already serious expressions even more severe.

Where had the look of giving up everything gone?

Still gloomy and dark, the arrogant Demon King spoke.

"You'll think that I can only hate humans because I wanted to save you."

"You won't believe me if I say I did all this because I wanted peace."

"You killed my father, Valier, and destroyed Darkland. Of course, you think I'm a being that can only hate humans."

"With that mindset, you can't understand my intention to love humans and save everyone."

"I don't particularly hate humans."

"And being at the temple, I simply enjoyed it."

"I wanted to help the kids when they were in danger."

"I wanted to comfort them when they were sad."

"Two divine artifacts? Want me to tell you something interesting?"

"Alsbringer chooses only those who are ready to sacrifice themselves for the world."

"I won't bother telling you why I know something that even the Pope of the Als Order doesn't know since you wouldn't believe me anyway."

"Anyway, I am prepared to die for you all, but you probably won't believe that. Yeah, of course. It's unbelievable."

"So, I won't talk about such an insignificant truth that you won't even believe."

"Instead, I'll start telling you a story that you'll find believable."

"Rather than telling you the truth that you can't believe, no matter how much I explain, I think it's better to tell you about the future."

"I told you that my followers might try to destroy the world with Akasha in order to save me, so you should either kill me as quickly as possible or set me free, but you did neither."

"So now, the worst thing I've been trying to prevent is about to happen."

The Demon King raises his head.

"Soon, all the warp gates on the continent will be transformed into dimensional gates connected to another world."

"And monsters from that world will pour out and destroy your world."

The Demon King, with his ominous gaze, declares as if cursing.

"So, be prepared."

Everyone held their breath at the Demon King's gaze.

—---

Temple Royal Academy, Class 2-B dormitory.

-Bang!

Startled by the sudden appearance of someone running into the hallway, Ludwig turns his head.

"Uh... Scarlett?"

"Gasp... Huff..."

Scarlett, her red hair drenched in cold sweat, was panting as she looked at Ludwig.

As if something terrible had happened.

Ludwig felt the same way.

"Wait, aren't you supposed to be there now? You shouldn't be here."

Scarlett was supposed to be by the Demon King's side to control his Supernatural powers, and the interrogation was still ongoing.

But here she was, drenched in sweat and in her pajamas, running out into the hallway.

"No, I saw you leave earlier...?"

Ludwig had definitely seen Scarlett, with a determined expression, leaving the dormitory. But now she was here.

Hearing that, Scarlett turned pale and shook her head.

"It wasn't... it wasn't me..."

"What?"

"Someone... knocked me out and... disguised themselves as me..."

Now, someone other than Scarlett was closest to the Demon King.

—---

Reinhardt's interrogation room, where he had been confined, now had fewer guards due to the reduced forces.

The Demon King they had to monitor had been moved, and they had already obtained all the information they could from his subordinates who had been imprisoned with him.

The Archmage and Swordmasters had left, and Temple security, not Shanafel's knights, were guarding the place.

And right now, all the forces inside the prison were asleep, under the sleeping spell of the mage.

-Step by step

Two people enter the underground dungeon.

The iron bars open, and the white-haired woman sees the two people standing before her.

Loyar had never seen Ephinhauser and Lucinil before.

But she seemed to understand what their expressions meant.

"It's our only chance."

"..."

"Let's go save Valier."

Lucinil unlocks Loyar's shackles.

Struggling to get up, Loyar tries to move her stiff limbs. Although she had been imprisoned for a long time, she stretches a few times and takes a deep breath.

"There's something I'd like to ask."

Loyar looks back and forth between Ephinhauser and Lucinil as if either of them could answer.

"What happened to... the Rotary Club kids?"

Lucinil didn't know what Loyar was asking.

"Isn't it obvious what happened to those who were recognized as the Demon King's accomplices?"

Upon hearing Ephinhauser's words, Loyar slowly nodded.

"Adriana, who was once a temple student, seems to be under protection due to Ellen's request, but the rest have all been sentenced to death."

"Ah... I see..."

Loyar nodded again.

"Well, at least they can die without regrets."

The white-haired woman laughed.

With an expression that was anything but joyful.

—---

Right next to the Demon King, Saviolin Turner and Scarlett stood guard.

The arena fell silent at the shocking revelation of the Demon King's future foresight. In particular, Olivia stared at Reinhardt with wide eyes.

"The key to stopping the Gate incident is to destroy the Warp Gates. Once all the Warp Gates on the continent are demolished, the Gate incident will end."

As if sensing a terrible fate, the Demon King spoke with a conviction that left no room for doubt.

Bertus stared silently at the Demon King.

Had it been right to release him?

If this were part of his conspiracy, the Demon King would have had no reason to reveal the solution.

The Demon King was talking about an event that had not yet occurred.

Everyone was confused as to whether he caused the incident or if his claim of trying to save humanity was true.

Ellen stared quietly at Reinhardt.

Problems caused by her distrust of Reinhardt.

And if what Reinhardt said was true and such an event actually occurred,

The cause would lie with the Demon King and his subordinates.

And she would also bear the responsibility for her own distrust.

Bang!

The door burst open, and in rushed a Shanafel knight with a desperate expression.

His face was so pale that everyone couldn't help but be puzzled.

The Shanafel knight hurriedly approached the emperor and whispered something into his ear.

The Demon King watched the emperor's expression.

"Ah... It seems it has already begun."

As if he could tell what had happened just by looking at the change in the emperor's complexion, the Demon King laughed without a care.

"You should have trusted me..."

Grrroooooaaaaarrrr

From very far away.

Distantly.

Everyone heard the cry of an unknown monster.

Everyone looked at the emperor, not the Demon King.

As if asking what he had heard.

"From the Warp Gate... Unidentifiable monsters... are appearing."

The Gate incident had begun.

But that was not the end.

"The sky... is strange..."

A pale-faced magician from the Royal Mage Corps, who had been keeping watch outside, entered and reported.

"Meteors... are falling..."

The sky opened, and meteors rained down toward the temple.