The Hero's Return, the Demon King's Return! But First, an Inn Stay!
The village that a hundred and sixty-two slash-and-burn farmers had called home was gone without a trace. Jae-hyun had put it to the torch as he departed, burning it so thoroughly that nothing remained but ash — not a single sign that human beings had ever lived there.
And so, having erased an entire village from existence, Jae-hyun and his companions had at last arrived in the Holy Kingdom of Astraea. Not the capital where Saint Lucretia resided, of course — they were far to the north of that — but the moment they crossed into the Holy Kingdom's territory, the very air seemed to change.
The territory's grown since I was last here.
It was only to be expected. The southern and central regions of what had once been the Kingdom of Frank had been absorbed into the Holy Kingdom of Astraea. The lands of the three nations destroyed by the former Demon King Laylana and the forces of darkness had been divided among the surviving countries, and naturally the Holy Kingdom — which could purify land tainted by demonic energy faster than anyone else — had claimed a considerable share.
"Well, I'll be damned... not even a hint of discomfort from the Holy Kingdom's air."
Ron muttered the words as though he still couldn't quite believe his own condition. The flight from the former territory of the Iberian Kingdom to this place had taken less than a minute. Jae-hyun had simply swung the Holy Sword, a spherical barrier had formed around them, and the orb — carrying all five of them — had streaked across the sky and arrived here in an instant.
This was land that had been purified of demonic energy by holy power, so naturally a faint trace of that sacred energy lingered in the air. For a black mage — a servant of darkness — it should have been deeply unpleasant. And yet Ron felt nothing. Just a mild awareness that holy power was mixed into the air, and that was all.
Rin, equally curious, drew in a deep breath of her own.
"Haaaah~"
Even filling her lungs to the brim, she felt only clean, crisp air. Not a trace of discomfort. The sight of a seventeen-year-old golden-haired beauty taking such a deep, delighted breath was undeniably adorable, but Jae-hyun merely regarded her with the same cold eyes as always. Even so, the mere fact that he kept his gaze on her was enough to tell anyone that he was rather fond of the girl.
And since he intended to present himself as the Hero within the Holy Kingdom, his eyes were no longer crimson. They had returned to the dark, brown-flecked irises of his former self. It was a simple magical alteration of his eye color, but that alone was enough to restore the appearance of the Hero he had once been. The only potential issue was that his face hadn't aged a day since the moment of his betrayal ten years ago — but that was easily dismissed. He was the Hero, after all. A being of such lofty attainment that his appearance simply didn't change. That excuse would suffice.
Only Ron and Rin were visible at Jae-hyun's side. Selina and Lucien were nowhere to be seen — they were cloaked in stealth, trailing silently behind him.
"Now that we've entered the Holy Kingdom, do you intend to announce yourself as the Hero right away?"
Rin asked, stepping up beside him. Jae-hyun stroked her hair once, then answered in a voice as cold as ever.
"No. Rather than revealing myself as the Hero immediately, I should make my appearance through action."
Even if he revealed himself as the Hero right now — even if his status as Hero placed him above the Saint herself — not every paladin and priest would abandon Saint Lucretia to follow him. He would never forgive the traitors. And the betrayers of that day hadn't been limited to his old companions and the soldiers.
The paladins and priests who had mobilized for the assault on the Demon King's Castle had committed the same insubordination. They hadn't attacked him directly, but they had surrounded the castle, watched for any soldier who might refuse the order, and even bestowed blessings upon those who moved to strike him down. They hadn't swung a blade themselves, but their complicity had been active and deliberate. Those people had guilty consciences. They would side with Saint Lucretia no matter what, and they would treat him as an enemy.
That was why he intended to reveal himself through deeds. He would keep his identity hidden until the people were in danger, then emerge as the Hero to save them — basking in the cheers of countless Holy Kingdom citizens as he made his official appearance. If he simply showed himself, the power of the Intermediate World might not fully unite against him, but the humans at least would be rallied by those in authority and turned into his enemies.
He needed to reveal himself through acts of heroism that would leave the traitors condemned. And while that required manufacturing the right situation, Jae-hyun already had a method — and the preparations were complete. He had been planning how to earn glory within the Holy Kingdom for ten years now. He had even already chosen who would be sacrificed for it.
"But not today. Today, I'd like to quietly celebrate our arrival in the Intermediate World and get some rest."
It was a hell of a thing to say after slaughtering a hundred and sixty-two people, but that was the Demon King for you. The lives of a hundred and sixty-two humans meant nothing to him.
"If you want to rest...?"
Rin's face flushed as she grasped his meaning. Jae-hyun looked at her with the eyes of a predator.
"It's about time I had a taste of you."
He pulled her into his arms as he said it. Rin let out a startled little cry, but she didn't resist. He wasn't suggesting they do it right here in the open — this was a declaration of what would happen once they reached an inn.
Irene...
Holding Rin against him, Jae-hyun thought of Irene. The image of that girl — more beautiful than anyone, wearing a smile of pure, untainted joy. He wanted to see her despair at the world, erupt in rage and hatred, and transform into a demon. He wanted it so badly. But he suppressed the urge. The Holy Kingdom came first.
He had returned to the Intermediate World as both Hero and Demon King. He would enter the Holy Kingdom as the Hero, destroy it, and then proudly reveal himself as the Demon King to the entire continent.
Despite those grand ambitions, Jae-hyun first pulled a brown robe over his head to conceal his identity. Ron and Rin followed behind him, similarly cloaked in brown robes.
Though his image as a swordsman was strong thanks to the Holy Sword and the Demonic Sword, Jae-hyun the Hero had been a mage who surpassed even Jason and Griffith. Now, as Demon King, he was the most powerful mage in existence, beyond anyone's reach. Ron and Rin, too, were 7th Circle black mages. Wearing the robes commonly favored by mages wouldn't draw any suspicion. Their black magic aura was concealed, but a pure mana presence still radiated from them. Any warrior of reasonable strength would recognize them as mages.
Jae-hyun's party had arrived at the gates of Lampas City, a settlement that had sprung up in the northern reaches of the Holy Kingdom of Astraea. It hadn't existed ten years ago, when Jae-hyun was betrayed. That was only natural. This land had once belonged to the Kingdom of Frank — a fierce battleground where the allied forces of the Intermediate World, commonly called the Army of Light, had clashed with the Demon King's Army, known as the Forces of Darkness. Jae-hyun himself had slain a considerable number of the dark forces here, and their blood had tainted the earth.
But ten years was enough to change even mountains and rivers, as the saying went. The lands polluted by the blood of demonkin and magical beasts — and the demonic energy contained within that blood — had been purified by holy power. Great cities had risen in their place, thriving and alive. It made sense. New land had become available, and development had begun immediately. The city's proximity to other nations also made it well-suited as a trade hub.
Of course, even as a city, the entire settlement was encircled by massive walls in preparation for a war that might someday come. Countless soldiers and paladins stood atop those walls, keeping watch. And true to the Holy Kingdom's nature, the ones conducting inspections were paladins as well — and their methods were different.
A wash of sacred light surged forth.
"Not a demonkin or a black mage. Identification checks out... pass!"
Jae-hyun's group was currently waiting in line to enter the city. The person at the front of the line was being processed in a manner quite unlike a typical identification check. They did verify identification, yes — but afterward, a paladin would drape them in holy power as a secondary verification. Anyone belonging to the darkness — demonkin, black mages, and the like — would writhe in agony the moment that holy power washed over them. And then they would be killed on the spot, without even the formality of an arrest.
They were screening with holy power, and Jae-hyun laughed at them inwardly. The moment he, the Hero and master of the Holy Sword, had become the Demon King, measures like these had become meaningless.
People continued filing through. At last, it was the Demon King's turn.
"Identification?"
The paladin asked the question, and Jae-hyun answered.
"I'm a mage from the former Iberian Kingdom. The name is Bright."
He produced an identification document — an ID from the long-fallen Iberian Kingdom. There had, in fact, been a mage named Bright in the Iberian Kingdom ten years ago, a man with black hair just like Jae-hyun. But when the previous Demon King Laylana had destroyed the Iberian Kingdom, she had killed him personally. He was no longer among the living. Laylana had taken note of that identification, and Jae-hyun, drawing on the memories she had left him, had perfectly recreated it through the Demon King's authority. In other words, the ID in his hand was a replica, a fake — and yet it was indistinguishable from the real thing.
"Hrm!"
The paladin's expression grew troubled at the mention of Iberian origins. The Holy Kingdom of Astraea's policy was to welcome the people of all three fallen nations. Population was national power, after all. The more people they accepted, the stronger the nation would become. And since the identification Jae-hyun presented listed him as a mage, the paladin decided to check a few things that raised his suspicions.
"It's been ten years since that wicked Demon King died. So where have you been, and what have you been doing, that you never even got a new identification issued?"
Citizens of the three fallen nations could receive new identification from whichever country they now belonged to. It was reasonable enough to be suspicious of someone still carrying an old ID a full decade after the Demon King's fall.
"The truth is, when the Demon King's Army invaded, I shamefully fled into the mountains with my young disciples. There, I discovered a dungeon left behind by an ancient mage. I spent my time studying the insights and grimoires he had left behind, deepening my understanding... and before I knew it, ten years had passed."
If someone from Earth had heard that, they would have said, What kind of bullshit is that? But the paladin nodded as if it made perfect sense. Mages were the type to lose all track of time when consumed by the pursuit of knowledge. And more decisively, Jae-hyun had quietly used his authority to make the man accept his words. The Holy Sword thoroughly concealed his energy, so no one could detect that he had used the Demon King's power.
"Then I'll have to test the disciples as well. For all I know, they could be black mages."
The paladin had no idea he'd been influenced by Jae-hyun's authority, but with so many people around, he continued the procedure of checking for black mages with holy power. He drew his sword, filled it with sacred energy, and released that holy power toward Jae-hyun, Ron, and Rin.
A surge of radiant light washed over them. Naturally, nothing happened.
"Not black mages. Pass!"
The paladin couldn't even imagine that the Holy Sword had rendered the Demon King and his subordinates immune to holy power. Seeing no reaction whatsoever, he concluded they weren't black mages.
And so the Demon King and a pair of 7th Circle black mage siblings walked straight into the city.