Chapter 145: Victory
Chapter 145: Victory
A month had passed since Veled, Lena, and Jaejin shared their intimate night together. Returning to the present, on the terrace of Capia Castle during the festival of Walpurgisnacht, Amir Werner, the Captain of the Royal Guard, was locked in a desperate struggle against a lunging purple demon.
Clang!
Amir broke into a cold sweat as he barely managed to parry the pitch-black and blood-red demonic sword. His confidence—the belief that he could hold his own even against an Elder-level demon with his current strength—withered with every clash of their blades.
As the sword came crashing down once more, Amir abandoned any thought of blocking. He threw himself backward, rolling across the floor to evade the strike. Seeing his desperate struggle, the demon began to mock him.
"For the supposed top knight of a kingdom, you're doing a lot of rolling around on the ground... Well, I don't mind. There are times in a fight when you have to cast aside every shred of pride."
It was the relaxed composure of the strong looking down on him. Amir realized there was a massive discrepancy between the information he possessed and the reality before his eyes.
"Just what kind of power... Did you sell your soul to the Reaper, demon?!"
Based on her appearance and personality, the woman standing before him was Veled of the Jaun tribe. She was a powerhouse among the Demon Race, though she had previously been ranked slightly below the Elder-level.
She was known for being ferocious and tenacious, a skilled warrior who had survived even on battlefields where the Sword Saint was present. However, according to the records, she should have been roughly his equal.
Demons were long-lived beings, but their growth was slow. It was a fact so consistent it could be called divine providence—the only lifeline for humans, with their finite lives, to stand against them. It was why geniuses who appeared like comets in their respective fields could overcome the vast gap in years and fight effectively against the mighty Demon Race.
But the being standing before him now shattered that absolute belief. It hadn't even been a year and a half since the war ended. Why was she twice as strong as the recorded data suggested?
Amir, a seasoned veteran, began to adjust his strategy in real-time and barked out orders.
"All units, change of plans! Priority one is protecting His Highness! Target the demon Veled as the primary threat and eliminate her!!"
At his command, the guardsmen began to rally. Fortunately, while some were injured, there were no fatalities yet, and his force of thirty remained intact.
With these numbers, it was feasible to protect the King while engaging the enemy. In truth, aside from Veled, the rest of the enemy forces were mostly Lust Demons, none of whom were particularly formidable.
By now, the remaining forty men and the two vice-captains stationed outside must have noticed the anomaly, so they were prepared for any contingencies.
"Whew~ Impressive. I guess even in a rotten country like this, the Royal Guard is cut from a different cloth. To think you've protected everyone we could have used as hostages."
Veled offered a sincere compliment. It was unexpected that not a single casualty had occurred despite her sudden onslaught and the subsequent ambush by the Lust Demon Guard under Jaejin’s command.
Of course, part of it was because the Lust Demon Guard was still relatively weak, but it was only right to praise the guardsmen's strength and organizational skills.
"But I don't plan on losing either. If I or these girls get hurt, there's someone who’ll be very sad."
That was the end of her sentiment. She had gauged their overall strength. Their power was certainly 'not bad.' For a country whose talents had all fled, they were putting up a good fight.
But that was it. They were no match for demons who had already extracted every piece of internal information.
Tramp, tramp.
Two swordsmen and a mage walked out from the inner part of the castle. Their faces wore somewhat ecstatic expressions, and they were figures Amir remembered well.
"Weapon Master Sein... and is that the Sage's Disciple, Annie, beside her? But those outfits..."
Their faces were unmistakably those of the Hero's Party, with whom he had occasionally interacted.
However, Sein was dressed in bikini armor that exposed her midriff and thighs, while Annie wore a brown-skinned, provocative nun's habit that was riddled with cutouts.
Amir instinctively raised his sword, recognizing them as enemies, but King Epen Lugins, who spotted them from a distance, called out to them.
"Sein! Annie! Have you come to help me? Thank you so much!!"
As the King waved and expressed his gratitude in his usual slow-witted manner, the two women waved back and smiled. Seeing the newfound sensuality and allure in their demeanor, King Epen turned red.
"His Highness is as cute as ever. Honestly, it’s a shame I can't lay a hand on him."
"We have the Hero, don't we? When we get back, let's tie him up in the monastery courtyard and train him... Hehe."
Their conversation was too quiet for King Epen to hear. However, Amir and the surrounding guardsmen, who were facing them, heard every word clearly.
The sheer level of their explicit remarks was a world-shaking revelation. If it were true, the fact that the Hero had been captured and his party members corrupted was an incident significant enough to restart the Human-Demon War.
"Be quiet, you two. They can hear everything. Let's clean this up first, and then I'll see about giving you a reward."
""Yes, Lady Veled~.""
The blades that had once cut down countless demons were now pointed at the Royal Guard. The staff that had once aided the Hero's party was raised toward the sky, aimed at fellow humans.
As the unthinkable unfolded, Amir resumed his desperate exchange of blows, his sword clashing against Veled’s in a shower of sparks as her blade lunged like a flash of dark lightning.
*
Erdia quietly stepped out onto the terrace and met with Jaejin and Lena, who were waiting on the floor above.
"Good work, Erdia. Everyone fell for it perfectly, just as planned."
"It's because everyone helped so much with the preparations. Besides, I never imagined you would even win over the Hero's party. You truly are amazing."
Although Erdia had been in charge of executing the plan, she hadn't known the details of who would be facing that powerful Royal Guard. She never expected someone capable of overwhelming the Captain of the Guard single-handedly, let alone having the Hero's party as reinforcements.
"Um... a lot of people will get hurt, right...? I-I know it can't be helped, but..."
"Yes, but Lady Annie over there is a renowned specialist in healing magic. Moreover, since our side is so overwhelming, I believe the death toll will be extremely low."
At Lena's explanation, Jaejin breathed a sigh of relief. Even though he was in the position of a Demon Lord, Jaejin disliked seeing people sacrificed for his sake. Since this was a matter between the Demon Race and the nation of Anzence, casualties were inevitable, but his inherent kindness made him worry nonetheless.
"How is the situation elsewhere?"
"It's going very smoothly. Vivian, who was resting, joined Lady Florence, and it seems almost everything has been settled."
The forty guardsmen under the two vice-captains outside were currently being picked off one by one. No one could have imagined that Vice-Captain Florence, who was always perfect in her duties, was actually a traitor leaking all their information.
With near-perfect execution, the tide of battle was overwhelming. However, a single question remained in the minds of Lena and Erdia.
"Bagoas. What on earth is he aiming for? Even in this situation, he hasn't moved an inch."
The eunuch Bagoas. Favored by the former king and effectively acting as regent, his origins and goals remained a mystery. Shrouded in secrecy, he existed in a realm of the inexplicable that even the word 'mystery' couldn't fully describe.
Despite being an ordinary human, his stoic, detached demeanor in the face of everything felt strangely chilling.
"We should clear out the obstacles first. It looks like things are wrapping up over there."
The two looked down at the terrace. There, Veled had just snapped Amir's sword in two and inflicted a large wound on his body.
"Urgh... Is this the end..."
"Well, you fought well, Captain. You're weaker than that useless Hero, but you were much more persistent and tenacious, which gave me some trouble."
Veled withdrew her chilling demonic energy and looked around. Her Lust Demon Guard, who had been pushing forward, easily subdued the broken Royal Guard the moment Amir fell.
Just then, a messenger crow circled the sky and dropped a piece of paper, carrying the news that the suppression of the forces outside was also complete.
"I-Impossible. Florence... a traitor..."
As Veled read the message aloud, Amir seemed more shocked by his subordinate's betrayal than his own defeat. From the moment Sein and Annie appeared, he knew victory was impossible without reinforcements, but this was the worst possible outcome.
Realizing it was a fight they could never have won from the start, he dropped his sword. A total defeat. It was a bitter end, marked not just by loss but by the sting of betrayal.
"So, where is this Bagoas guy? I was asked to find that eunuch first."
"Bagoas...? If it's him you're looking for, he's right over there...?"
Amir expressed confusion at her request to find the eunuch rather than the King. While it was undeniable that the eunuch held the real power, that was only because he enjoyed the King's favor.
Veled walked through the terrified Royalist nobles to find the eunuch Bagoas. Even though he was cornered, the unpleasant smile still plastered on his face was revolting.
"Is it you? The one called Bagoas? You've got a disgusting face."
But beyond the disgust, she felt a sense of oddity. As she stepped closer, she gave him a light shove with a burst of magical power. He toppled backward, that same foul expression frozen on his face.
"Huh...? This is a doll...?"
Even as he fell, his disgusting face didn't change. He—no, it—was a doll crafted to look remarkably like a human.
The aftermath of the battle was handled in an instant. Since the castle had already been corrupted by the demons, only Amir, the guardsmen, the Royalist nobles, the merchants, and their families were detained.
The external reinforcements were handled by Florence herself, who went out to meet them, claimed it was a false alarm, and sent them back.
And the last Jaejin saw of King Epen Lugins was him leaving the terrace alone with Karin.