Eldacrad's Memories
Eldacrad's past was nothing short of tragic.
His mother hailed from the Land of Destruction and had been a concubine to the family head.
He rose to become head of the Ashtar house only because the clan needed someone to bear responsibility during a time of chaos.
Thanks to that, Eldacrad—who had lived as the family's disgrace—ascended to the position of head.
Once in power, he fought tooth and nail in the imperial capital's political battles, drawing talent back to Ashtar. He promoted commoners, strengthened the territory's administration, and trained its soldiers.
At the same time, to build personal ties with the Kingdom—an ally of the Empire—he sent them all the specialty goods that were not required as tribute to the imperial court.
With the strength he had cultivated over several years, he began subjugating the demon tribes and reclaimed regions that had slipped from imperial control.
Around the time the central Empire was rebuilding its military by promoting officers, the Kingdom—which now shared a border with Ashtar—sent them a saintess.
"I am Saintess Bernoa, dispatched by the Kingdom to foster friendship with Ashtar of the Empire."
Saintess Bernoa possessed extraordinary holy power and was adept at performing miracles.
Whether in joint operations with the Kingdom or when Ashtar's army faced barbarians, she alone could restore thousands of soldiers.
Thanks to her, the once-settled and weakened Ashtar forces even surpassed Libelt in cavalry strength.
Yet even as Eldacrad advanced like a ship with the wind at its back, one problem remained.
Of all people, Saintess Bernoa had fallen in love with him.
To her, who had only ever been revered as a saintess, Eldacrad was the first to see her simply as herself.
He treated her as an equal, and that alone created discord between them.
"My lord, why is it impossible?"
"You and I cannot marry."
Eldacrad firmly rejected the saintess's confession.
"Why not?"
"First, I was already engaged to another woman before I met you. Second, you are a saintess. A saintess cannot marry."
Eldacrad already had a fiancée with whom he had pledged to support one another.
He loved her. Though Saintess Bernoa was a fine woman, a saintess could not marry, nor did he feel romantic affection toward her.
There was also the matter of relations with the Church.
By accepting Saintess Bernoa, Ashtar had improved its standing with both the Kingdom and the Holy Kingdom's Church.
If he married her for her convenience, those relationships would sour.
"If you would only decide, my lord, I would do anything! I can even abandon my position as saintess. Ashtar is already reaching its golden age under your leadership! So if it's only an engagement—"
Bernoa had forgotten her duties as a saintess and was begging Eldacrad to betray his fiancée.
Even so, Eldacrad shook his head.
"You are my advisor and like a friend to me. But I love my fiancée."
He could not betray the woman he loved.
"How could you—"
"I'm sorry."
Bernoa looked displeased, but seemed to accept reality.
Even afterward, she fulfilled her role as advisor.
Her holy power turned Ashtar's army into an undefeated force.
Watching the army he was so proud of subjugate the demons, Eldacrad made a momentous decision.
"I intend to strike at the Demon King's army in earnest."
If they acted now, perhaps humanity could completely eradicate the demons and remove the Empire's greatest threat.
"The Demon King's army, you say?"
The Demon King's army consisted of elite demons under the Demon King and the Four Heavenly Kings in the Demon King's territory.
Defeating them was a matter that required careful consideration.
"As human power grows, the Demon King's army has always interfered. Which force is currently rising the fastest? Our Ashtar house."
"You mean to strike first."
"With three of the Four Heavenly Kings quiet, this is our chance. We must thoroughly purge the demons from the Demon King's territory."
Eldacrad notified the imperial parliament that Ashtar would wage war against the Demon King's army independently.
Since the majority of parliament already supported Ashtar, there was no way to stop the independent campaign.
With the backing of the imperial military, Ashtar launched its own war and began exterminating demons in the Demon King's territory.
"Ashtar! Slaughter every last demon!"
At the time, only Seto's demon legion among the Four Heavenly Kings was active.
"Not bad, for a human."
The Heavenly King Seto commanded his army alone.
Yet he suffered repeated defeats against Eldacrad, who had gathered highly capable officers within his command structure.
Even when Seto tried to capture Eldacrad single-handedly, Eldacrad already possessed power comparable to a Heavenly King.
Eldacrad became the only lord in history to send an army all the way to the Demon King's territory, carving a new achievement into human history.
Then one day—
"We've advanced far enough."
"Will you not finish off Seto?"
"Even we will struggle if the fatigue of war accumulates. Besides, we've already built a fortress for Ashtar inside the Demon King's territory. We can leave the rest to the next generation of heroes."
Though his retainers were dissatisfied, the accumulated fatigue of war was undeniable.
No matter how well Ashtar fared, the taxes and military supplies demanded from the people were becoming unbearable.
Moreover, as occupied territory expanded and the front lines stretched, supply routes grew longer.
Any demon attack would make things far more difficult.
In the end, Eldacrad decided to halt the war here.
But then a problem arose.
Bernoa had been kidnapped by Seto.
Ashtar's army desperately searched for her, yet Bernoa seemed to have vanished without a trace from Seto's camp as well.
Several days passed.
Saintess Bernoa returned to the Ashtar main camp of her own accord.
Her demeanor was markedly different from before.
The smile she had always worn for him had turned strangely cold and artificial.
Eldacrad sensed something was wrong, yet he listened as Bernoa spoke.
"The Demon King is currently sealed. That is why the demons' forces are weak."
"Is that so?"
"If we move now, we can reach the Demon King's castle and finish them off."
The more Eldacrad spoke with Bernoa, the more uneasy he felt.
A stench of blood emanated from her—the same woman who lacked the power to take life.
Perhaps something had gone terribly wrong during her escape.
"Your atmosphere has changed while you were gone."
"Forgive me. I was in such a hurry to escape that I haven't had time to collect myself."
Collect herself? He wondered if that was truly the case.
"If the saintess's words are true, shouldn't we attempt it?"
"If Ashtar achieves this great feat, there could be no greater glory for the Empire."
With the saintess's appearance, his retainers began insisting on a final assault against the Demon King's castle.
At first he tried to ignore them, but their persistent persuasion finally swayed Eldacrad, and he ordered the advance toward the Demon King's castle.
At last, Ashtar's army surrounded the Demon King's castle.
'From here, I should be able to see the Demon King inside the castle.'
Eldacrad used a telescope he had once received as a gift from the Mage Tower to peer inside the Demon King's castle.
The magically enchanted telescope allowed limited sight through the walls. When Eldacrad spotted something, his body trembled.
In that instant, he lowered the telescope.
"That… is the Demon King?"
Something was wrong.
It certainly lived up to the name of Demon King.
Yet it was utterly unlike what Eldacrad had imagined.
Could that even be called a living creature?
There was another problem.
No matter how he looked at it, the absence of demons before the final battle was strange.
Even as they stood before the Demon King's castle, the scouts he kept sending out reported no sign of the Demon King's army.
"Saintess, are the demons truly gone?"
"They truly are not here, my lord. Would I lie to you? Do you think I am colluding with the demons?"
"Honestly, I am suspicious. You have changed greatly. Your atmosphere, and that smell. A priestess reeking of blood—this was no battle during your escape."
"You are being far too harsh. Still, it is that meticulous nature of yours that has brought you this far."
Suddenly, her words made no sense.
"What do you mean?"
"If you must ask, that is the answer."
"What?"
A mad glint had appeared on Bernoa's lips—nothing like the benevolent smile of a saintess.
"Ahaha. Of course it is. Since I came to love the Demon King more than you, I received his blessing and his love. He is your true self, after all."
"The smell of blood? Naturally. To earn his favor, I slaughtered every human near the Demon King's territory. Kyahahaha!"
So it had been real.
The saintess had fallen.
Even the Kingdom's greatest saintess had been taken by Seto and corrupted.
"I see. It was a trap."
"Ah, but you've already achieved enough, haven't you? The first human to reach the Demon King's castle! Ahahaha!"
Shing.
Eldacrad's mana sword pointed at Bernoa.
"You conspired with Seto."
"Why are you doing this? You're scaring me."
"You fell in love with that thing in the Demon King's castle, corrupted yourself, became a demon, and turned against humanity. I will no longer regard you as an ally."
Eldacrad intended to kill Bernoa and retreat.
Even if this was a trap and Seto appeared, his current forces could still withdraw, albeit with heavy losses. So he thought.
"Eldacrad. I will wet my spear with your blood here and now!"
"All forces! Face Seto's Demon King's army!"
As expected, Seto's army appeared immediately. Ashtar's forces resisted, but they were not facing Seto alone.
"My lord, now that you know I have fallen, I will tell you. My Authority is the Authority of Corruption. It infiltrates people's wicked hearts, corrupts them, and turns them into my subordinates. My holy power has also turned to darkness, allowing me to wield curses and black magic. I have already experimented on countless humans."
"Surely not."
His body suddenly grew heavy.
A curse.
A curse that dragged people into the abyss—cast by a woman who had once been a saintess.
Eldacrad had not been prepared for the saintess's attack.
But that was not the end of it.
"My lord! Thousands of our allies have betrayed us!"
So that was the Authority of Corruption.
She was a far more terrifying woman than he had imagined.
He could not leave her alive. At the very least, he had to send the remaining troops back.
"I have been betrayed by the axe I trusted. I will hold this position! Retreat!"
"But—"
"Go!"
His retainer Kyle led the still-sane soldiers in a hasty retreat.
What remained were Eldacrad, Ashtar's forces facing the corrupted army, and the two Heavenly Kings.
"Can you truly face both me and Seto?"
"You lunatic."
Bernoa and Seto sneered at Eldacrad.
"If it is to slay the enemies of humanity, then I have no choice."
Eldacrad fought desperately against Seto's hellfire spear that melted everything it touched and the fallen saintess's curses that had once illuminated the world.
In the end, he struck Seto down with a single blow.
Now all that remained was to kill Bernoa and ensure the saintess would not leave behind the disgrace of becoming a fallen saintess.
Eldacrad spoke to Bernoa, who was backing away in terror.
"To think you would regard that as the Demon King. How pitiful."
"You are the one who never loved me, my lord! You are the fake! The Demon King who loves me is the true lord!"
Blood-soaked, Eldacrad advanced toward Bernoa with his trembling mana sword raised.
"Even in that state—stay away! Stay away from me!"
Was this truly the result of her corruption?
Eldacrad, who had already resigned himself to death, felt profound disappointment at the sight of the fallen saintess.
The Bernoa who had once been a saintess would never have spoken such words.
She would have begged him to kill her before she fell.
But the corrupted Bernoa was different.
Having slaughtered countless people and sworn loyalty to the Demon King, she had become no different from the demons Eldacrad had slain.
"I kept you by my side until now, but your sins have reached the heavens. Even if it costs me my life, I will take your head."
Bernoa's crimson eyes, wide with fear, lost focus and trembled.
Facing death, she desperately opened her mouth in a bid to survive.
"No. No, no. My lord. I must have been bewitched all this time! Please, just once—forgive me just this once!"
"Die."
Eldacrad raised his sword to execute Bernoa.
And then—
Thud!
Seto's spear pierced through Eldacrad's stomach.
"Guh—!?"
Eldacrad screamed and collapsed.
"Ha… haha… hahaha. See? You are the fake! If you were the true lord, you would not die like this!"
Bernoa, who had narrowly escaped death, laughed madly.
As if overjoyed to have slain an impostor.
"How truly pitiful."
With Seto's spear still embedded in his body, Eldacrad coughed up blood and looked at Bernoa with pity.
Survival was impossible here anyway.
Nor could he eliminate this fallen saintess to remove the threat to humanity early.
No—this case was different.
The corrupted Bernoa, who had lost her former kindness, seemed far too pitiable and heartbreaking.
That was precisely why he could not forgive her.
"You seem to be under a misconception. The Demon King is the true lord! I pledged my love and loyalty to him of my own will! You are nothing but a loser. That is why you will die here by my hand! The only true lord within me is the Demon King!"
What a pitiful woman.
Perhaps if he had accepted her, this outcome could have been avoided.
But what use was there in dwelling on it now?
From the very beginning, Bernoa's heart had contained enough evil to fall to the demons, and Seto and "that thing" had recognized it.
Bernoa picked up the sword that had fallen to the ground and slashed Eldacrad's body with all her strength.
Slash!
As his body was cut, Eldacrad glared at Bernoa and at Seto, who had appeared beside her, through his fading consciousness.
"Even as you die—ha… haha. Just you wait! When the time comes, I will kill every last member of your fake bloodline and send them to you. Ha… haha… ahahaha!"
Yes. That one would never find salvation short of death.
"I may die here today, but Ashtar will never forget this grudge. My descendants will surely stop you."
That was the end.
The hero of Ashtar, Eldacrad, met his death through the betrayal of the saintess he had cherished.
