Demon King Sharit (1)
One day before Kyle's funeral, the Imperial Palace was practically in a festival mood.
"Hahahaha! This wine is excellent!"
The Emperor's laughter rang through the entire banquet hall.
Ever since the day Kyle had been framed, he had held a feast without missing a single day. Wine and food arrived at the table without end, and women fawned at his side. Every single day was pure extravagance.
"Your Majesty, may I pour you another glass?"
And at the Emperor's side sat Yuli.
After submitting his petition, he too had been coming and going from the palace without fail. His reason was simple: to curry favor with the Emperor.
"Ahh, yes. Pour me another."
"Heheh. Your Majesty — it's an honor!"
Yuli filled the cup with a servile smile. The ministers watched the scene with open displeasure, but they couldn't drive him out. He was here by the Emperor's invitation, after all. No matter that he was a mere former thief — in this place, he was His Majesty's honored guest.
"What are you all doing? Fill Yuli's cup as well."
"Y-yes, Your Majesty."
At the Emperor's command, the retainers had no choice but to pour wine into his cup. Food was set before him, and women nestled into his arms as well.
The two men's private party continued for quite some time, and when the atmosphere had sufficiently warmed, Yuli carefully broached the subject.
"Come to think of it, Your Majesty — have you heard? There was an unfortunate incident in the slums recently..."
An unfortunate incident. There was no need to explain what that meant. The entire continent was in an uproar over the news.
At those words, the Emperor swirled his wine and let out a snort of laughter.
"Hmph. So some traitor hanged himself in a ruined house, did he?"
"That's correct."
"Keh heh heh. That Kyle bastard. I was fretting over how to deal with him, and he goes and dies like a worm all on his own. Trash will be trash, I suppose."
"Yes. He has finally paid for the crime of daring to covet Your Majesty's throne."
Hearing that, the Emperor slammed the table in agreement.
"That's exactly what I mean! That insolent little shit. How dare he, of all people, set his sights on my seat?"
The excited Emperor downed his wine in one go.
In truth, that was a story Yuli had fabricated on his own. He had reported to the Emperor that Kyle was plotting rebellion — that once the Demon King was slain, he would stir up the people and seize the throne. Of course, Kyle had never thought such a thing, nor planned it. It was nothing more than Yuli's lies and the Emperor's free-running imagination.
"Truth be told, We have long thought you far more suited to be the Hero than that arrogant bastard. Far better than some traitor, wouldn't you say?"
"I'm honored, Your Majesty."
"Which brings Us to this — how would you like to become a hero yourself, with this opportunity?"
"Pardon?"
Yuli's face went blank at the Emperor's sudden proposal. As if he'd been waiting for just that reaction, the Emperor produced a map and tapped a circled location.
"Just yesterday, We received a report that the Demon King is hiding here."
"Is that true?!"
"Mm. Soldiers searching the area discovered demons hiding in a cave to the south."
Yuli examined the circled location carefully. The southern reaches of the continent — the Runel Kingdom, the opposite end of the land from the demons' territory.
"To think she was hiding in a place like this..."
He'd naturally assumed she would have fled north, toward her own lands. Which meant the Demon King's condition must be that critical — too critical even to pass through the Republic and return to her own country.
In short, this was nothing short of an opportunity. A chance to finally end a war that had lasted for centuries. A chance to become the hero of all humanity!
Yuli had no intention of letting that chance slip away.
"Your Majesty. If you would only entrust this to me, I will cut off the Demon King's head and present it to you."
"Hahahaha! Yes. Those are the words We were waiting for."
Pleased with Yuli's answer, the Emperor immediately issued his command.
"We will grant you two thousand soldiers, one hundred knights, and fifty mages! Hero Yuli — go, sever the Demon King's head, and restore peace to the continent."
"Yes, Your Majesty! I will not disappoint you!"
Yuli dropped to one knee and pledged his loyalty to the Emperor. To think things would fall into place so neatly from a single petition. A sly smile spread across his lowered face.
And the Emperor was no different. If the Hero he himself had chosen slew the Demon King, then no one would ever dare covet the Emperor's seat again. No one would even dream of rebellion, the way that insolent bastard had.
"Keh heh heh."
Only laughter thick with greed filled the Imperial Palace.
"And so this body of mine will personally lead the troops into battle. That's the long and short of it."
Yuli finished explaining everything that had happened, preening with self-importance. But Muni, having heard the whole story, could say nothing.
To think that such conversations had been taking place between Yuli and His Majesty ever since Kyle's death. Come to think of it, Yuli had been absent from his room ever since Kyle was framed. He must have been frequenting the palace from that very day.
"So trash like you is going to catch the Demon King?"
"What? The Demon King's officers are all dead, and that bitch herself is on the verge of croaking. At this point, one clean slice of this dagger across her throat and she'll drop dead on her own."
As he said, even an ordinary soldier could probably take the Demon King now. The wounds Kyle had inflicted were severe enough that dying on the spot wouldn't have been strange.
Even so, Muni couldn't accept it.
"But all of that was Kyle's achievement."
"Exactly. So as his comrade, I should carry on his will. Heh heh. I'm sure Kyle up in heaven would want it that way too."
"Kh..."
Running his mouth with that hole of his... Blood was already trickling from the lip she had been biting. She felt so sorry for Kyle, for having kept a creature like this as a companion. Muni only wished he would get the hell away from Kyle's grave that very instant.
"Muni. You're coming with me, right?"
"No. I'm not going."
It was Yuli's proposal, so Muni didn't hesitate for even a second.
"It's an imperial decree."
"Then go tell His Majesty. I have no intention of moving alongside a filthy thief."
"...Ha. Are you serious?"
"I am."
Her answer was firm. Even if it was an imperial decree, she had no desire to act for the sake of a man like him.
At that unexpected reply, Yuli looked flustered for the first time. He had never imagined a First-class Mage would defy an imperial order. Disobeying an imperial decree would mean expulsion from the Magic Association as a matter of course, and she could even be driven from her magic tower. Muni was refusing with full knowledge of all of that. She simply didn't want to help that bastard Yuli steal Kyle's accomplishments.
Just as she was about to drive him off—
Wait... hang on...
An idea suddenly flashed through Muni's mind.
The Demon King. Might she know something? About magic that could turn back time, or bring a person back to life.
Muni knew from the last war. How powerful her mana was. How ominous that magic was.
Demons. The magic they used was fundamentally different from what human mages practiced. Humans called it black magic, or curses — a form of magic still poorly researched, full of secrets. Which meant it was well worth investigating.
If that black magic holds even a hint of how to bring Kyle back...
Among the magic humanity used, there was no spell that could reverse time or restore the dead. She had felt that truth in her bones over the past week, and her dark circles were proof of it.
But black magic might be different. Especially that woman, the Demon King — she might know something.
Having thought that far, Muni made her decision.
"...I've changed my mind. I'll go after all."
"Oh! That's more like it! Even you can't defy an imperial decree, huh?"
"Think whatever you want."
It would be more convenient if he thought that way, anyway. Right now, her mind held nothing but the Demon King's black magic and bringing Kyle back.
If I capture that woman, the Demon King, I'm bound to get something out of it.
The Magic Association strictly forbade the use of black magic. It was the magic of humanity's enemies, the demons, and almost nothing about it had been uncovered. But none of that mattered to her. If it meant she could see Kyle again.
Just wait a little longer, Kyle.
Muni gazed at Kyle's grave and made her vow. And so she joined Yuli's Demon King subjugation force.
The southern cave in the Runel Kingdom.
Deep in the forest, surrounded by nature, it had long been left abandoned. At best, a place where animals took brief shelter from the rain.
But for some time now, signs of habitation had been discovered there. Footprints. Voices. And occasionally, figures spotted near the cave.
But they were not human.
Red eyes gleaming in the dark of the cave. And the horns on their foreheads that clearly denied any claim of humanity.
The Empire's scout who witnessed them knew at once. These were the remnants of the Demon King's army they had been searching for so long.
And at the far end of that cave, the Demon King herself was hiding.
"Hah... hah..."
But her condition did not look good. Her red eyes were fully closed, and cold sweat poured from her horned brow, soaking her violet hair. And above all, the bandages wrapped around her abdomen were staining with blue blood.
Looking at her, the demons cried out in anguish.
"My Demon King..."
The Demon King. The demon who had been defeated in the recent war against humanity. She was currently taking refuge in the south, treating her wounds.