CH 542

As they spoke about humanity and such, Kono Lint suddenly brought up the cross-dressing contest, a memory that had almost faded away.

When did this guy start to suspect me?

What's worse, my delayed response only reinforced his conviction.

"You! It was you, wasn't it?!"

Kono Lint's face paled, and he quickly retreated.

"Ye-yeah, I knew you were weird, but not just weird, you're even weirder!"

"No, it wasn't me! What even is that?! I have no idea! I don't know anything about it!"

"You… Why would you even have that kind of hobby?"

"It's not a hobby! I said it wasn't me!"

"So, you understood what I was talking about? That means it's true, right? It was you?!"

He got me.

He didn't seem to intend to, but he got me.

When did he start to doubt me?

And why does he still remember it?

"Give me back my innocence, you bastard!"

Kono Lint's face turned white, and he yelled angrily.

"What innocence?! It was a cross-dressing contest from the start!"

"I don't care, just give it back, you crazy bastard!"

Why are we even having this conversation?

Finally, I summoned my Alsbringer in my right hand. Kono Lint's face went white.

"…You shouldn't know about that."

Why am I only threatening him now?

"I'm sorry. Die."

But Kono Lint wasn't scared at all, even with the Alsbringer in my hand.

"Try to touch me with one finger. I'll spread the rumor that the Demon King loves cross-dressing."

"…"

Why?

Why is it like this?

"I don't believe that story more than today, you bastard!"

Who would believe that the Demon King won a cross-dressing contest?!

It's true, but nobody believes it!

I should really kill him.

This is not going to work.

-Whoosh!

As I swung my Alsbringer, Kono Lint moved to the other side of the room.

"You really swung at me! I'll tell Ellen! You crazy pervert!"

"…"

I felt my blood run cold.

It was too late.

He already found out.

Not only Bertus, but now this guy too.

"If you don't let me go unharmed, you'll hear people singing a song about the perverted Demon King who loves cross-dressing in the Alliance's garrison starting tomorrow, you perverted bastard."

It felt like I was losing my grip on sanity.

"…You're calling me a pervert?"

"Well, you are a pervert. If you're not a pervert, then what are you?"

I couldn't refute Kono Lint's words.

There were unavoidable reasons, and I had no choice but to engage in such debauchery.

In the end, wasn't it through those debaucheries that I am here now?

Yes.

I have to admit it now.

"Fine, I'm a pervert."

"What…?"

Upon my calm admission, Kono Lint's face turned even bluer.

"But, do you think that's all?"

"…Huh?"

"Do you think my perverted acts are limited to just that?"

My chilling laughter made Kono Lint, who was stuck to the wall and prepared to run away, tense up.

"You."

"At the beginning of the school year."

"First grade."

"Early on."

"You were eating dessert at a café with some kids…"

"And got confessed to by a girl…"

"Didn't you?"

At my words, Kono Lint's face went pale.

"...What?"

"And after that girl confessed, there was no contact, right?"

I utilize the ring of Sarkegaar.

"Perhaps that girl... looked something like this?"

"Uh... uh-uh-uh-uh-uh?"

A brief silence.

To be honest, there's no need to go this far in discussing this.

I know it's unnecessary.

But.

"You, you... you son of a b*tch!"

My spirit is broken.

Let yours be broken too.

------

“Why did you do this to me...?”

“Is it because I'm a pervert? That's why, isn't it?”

“I... I...! I thought that maybe, because of that memory, I might be accepted by someone... but now...!”

“There's no way that's true! You've been deceived by this guy. We're done talking. Now, go back to the allied camp quietly!”

“You demon... no, worse than a demon!”

“It doesn't matter since I'm actually worse than a demon, being the Demon King! Hahahahahaha!”

“What have I done to deserve this...! I'll curse you for the rest of my life, Reinhardt!”

“Try it! There are so many people doing that already! Euhuhuhuhahahahahahaha!”

Kono Lint, with his sanity reduced to zero, could not fully understand the situation.

For some reason, Harriet quietly sent the disheartened Kono Lint back to the allied camp.

Of course, Harriet seemed to be completely clueless while looking at the slightly deranged Reinhardt.

------

"..."

The vast allied camp, filled with a tense atmosphere, suddenly brought Kono Lint back to reality.

Listening to the sound of grass being trampled and watching soldiers passing by, and the troops preparing for the march, Kono Lint was unsure if he had truly been with the Demon King up until now.

Everyone hates the Demon King.

If they knew the Demon King was fighting the Gate Incident more desperately than anyone else, very few would believe it.

Kono Lint thought that people like Saviolin Turner, and others in the empire's upper echelons, might know this truth.

Whatever the case, it didn't matter.

A greater truth had deeply penetrated Kono Lint's mind.

Cross-dressing.

The suspicion that lingered in his mind had become a fact.

On top of that, transformation.

Kono Lint, who had learned that Reinhardt could transform, was petrified, only able to slightly move his mouth.

He's a pervert.

Not only does he cross-dress, but he even goes so far as to do that.

What was his intention, his thought process, when he deceived him?

He couldn't understand why he would do such a thing out of malice, to the point that it was terrifying.

It didn't seem like Reinhardt wanted anything from him, like using him or exploiting him for something.

Only to mess with him.

Only to make fun of him.

'Insane... bastard...!'

Kono Lint no longer knew whether the Demon King was good or evil.

The Demon King was a pervert.

That was all.

Upon returning to the Royal Class garrison, Kono Lint saw Ellen in full armor.

"..."

Did Ellen know the truth about Reinhardt?

Kono Lint couldn't tell.

But she wondered if Ellen knew about the other truth.

Kono Lint was sure that Ellen would never know, even if she died and came back to life.

"Um... Ellen."

"Yeah?"

When Kono Lint called her name softly, Ellen looked at her.

Lately, Ellen Artorius seemed a bit more energetic, as if she had something on her mind.

Should he tell Ellen that Reinhardt is actually a cross-dressing pervert who also transforms and messes with his classmates?

Perhaps not.

"No, I thought I had something to say, but I forgot."

"…?"

Ellen tilted her head, then seemed to let it go, looking around.

"By the way, have you seen a cat?"

"A cat…? I haven't seen one…?"

"I see."

Looking for a cat, Ellen quickly left for another place.

A cat.

A cat….

"…"

Fortunately, Kono Lint had not yet thought that Reinhardt could turn into a beast.

------

A few days later.

The allied forces, having finished preparations, began their advance.

It was more of a march than an advance. The path to their destination, Serandia, was a long one.

But it was not a leisurely march like any other.

They were entering the heart of enemy territory, where monsters continuously emerged.

The march itself was already a battle.

-Boom! Crash!

-Flash!

-Rumble!

Battles were, of course, breaking out, and the whole army was on alert, prepared for monsters that might ambush them from the side during the march.

At the end of the march, rest awaited not, but an even more enormous battle.

At the time when the army was most exhausted, they had to face the most arduous battle.

The march that penetrated enemy lines was a continuous series of advances and battles, with the sounds of fighting never ceasing day and night.

The army had to fight while advancing, and even fight while sleeping.

One small blessing was that the weather did not freeze the soldiers amidst the harsh winter.

Although it was not quite midsummer, the cool autumn-like climate was optimal. Even so, there was nothing that could be done about the fatigue from the march itself and the consecutive battles.

“Thank goodness the weather is good…”

“What would have happened if it had snowed…”

“Heaven is helping us.”

As they approached the main strategic objective, Serandia, the number of monsters could only increase.

“The Empire's mobile forces have already destroyed one large, one medium, and one small warp gate each through preemptive strikes. This is expected to make the assault on Serandia somewhat easier.”

The demon army's strategy had already been confirmed by the high command.

This lie would gradually become an increasingly obvious one. Even those who did not know the truth would soon realize that there was a force aiding this war, and they would also come to recognize that it was the Demon King's army.

It was no different from shaking hands with a devil, and if this were to be exposed, the allied forces might crumble.

But it was too sweet a temptation.

Silence and a few lies now would allow them to preserve their combat strength and save many lives.

Everyone sensed that Emperor Bertus of the Empire and the high command were hiding a crucial truth, but no one sought to know it.

Because it was true that someone's help was making the war easier, whoever it was.

Among those who remained silent was Louise von Schwarz, who occupied a place in the mobile high command.

------

Was music really necessary in a war?

It was unclear whether music itself was needed, but there could be no doubt that sound was essential.

-Boom boom boom boom

The deep resonance of the war drum instinctively stirred something in people, driving them into a frenzy.

It was said that the sound of a drum carried a soul within it.

Made from the skin of a living creature, it is perhaps natural to believe that the drums carry such a spirit within them.

Whether their sound truly contains a soul is unknown, but there is no doubt that they have a role in bewitching the human spirit.

In other battlefields, it may not be necessary, but in this special battlefield, the sound of the drums is even more essential.

-Kiaaaaaak!

-Growwwwwl!

-Kieeeeeeee!

Only then can they hope to drive away the monstrous roars that boil up from the waves of giant creatures surging from beneath the hill.

They must drive away the fear that stems from sound with sound itself.

The allied forces, having completed their long march, finally reach the battlefield and look down upon Serandia, which they must conquer and occupy.

The replenished monsters are boiling in a crater created by a meteor shower, regenerating in a place ravaged by tornadoes.

-Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The drummers beat the drums relentlessly, as if their hands would split open.

As if driving away the monsters' roars would actually make the monsters retreat.

They drive away the pitch-black boiling monsters and shatter the warp gate.

The seemingly impossible task isn't the end; they must move on to the next battlefield.

At any moment, in a fate of unknown death from the fangs and claws of the monsters.

Onto the next, and the next, and the one after that.

Beyond the next and the next.

The army of death, which must reach the final battlefield, faces its first despair.

There is no need for thought.

Despair is worthless.

Forget.

They must fight.

As if to say, think of nothing but fighting right now.

-Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of the drums anesthetizes the soldiers.

Within the reverberation that dyes their souls with rage, the soldiers' eyes hold despair, fear, and a premonition of death.

Anger swells.

There is nowhere to retreat.

Behind, beside, and ahead, there is only death.

There is no place for humanity to retreat any longer.

So, onward.

If death awaits everywhere, let them fall in the direction closest to the survival and victory of all.

After all, the march was meant for this purpose.

Choose life over death.

Rage over sorrow.

Despair over...

Madness.

Give in to it.

-Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound embedded in the war drum.

And then.

-"O, Almighty and great Five Gods, grant us protection... watch over us and defend us, grant us peace and safety..."

Many soldiers cried out the names of the gods like madmen.

-"To our enemies..."

The eyes of the soldiers, intoxicated by fear and despair, glowed strangely.

-"To the enemies of humanity..."

In despair and impossibility, they could only seek the absolute beings.

-"Death..."

They prayed for protection.

It wasn't only those who had lost their reason, calling out the names of the gods.

-"May Als protect us!"

-Boom! Boom! Boom!

Following the war cries of the Holy Knights of the god of war, a red aura began to pour from the sky, enveloping the vast allied forces.

O god of war.

O god of war who chose the Demon King.

Please lighten our steps today.

-Boom!

The drummers of despair played the deathly drums, and everyone entrusted their souls to it.

The commanders of each army raised their swords.

Though they may break, they will not fall.

All troops!

They may be broken.

Charge!

They may have fallen.

Ahhhhhhhhh!

They fight.

For they must survive.

—---

Humanity pours down from the hill below.

Monsters surge up the hill, streaking across the sky.

And the heavens.

Rumble!

From the rent sky, a rain of deathly flames begins to descend.

Atop the massive crimson crystal tower, a small girl reaches out toward the waves of monsters.

Standing on the Arc Crystal, Redina speaks.

"We can do this."

Roar!

Hellish fires pour down like lightning upon the monstrous tide.

"We can survive."

The little mage was summoning disaster from the sky.