247
I Killed the Demon King. It was a mistake
Chapter 247
When Agatha heard that Caesar had lived as a spy during the Demon Realm war, she roughly estimated it must have been quite difficult. At the same time, she thought it was not as significant as one might imagine.
The Demon Realm war was horrific for everyone.
Even Agatha herself had lost her mother, lost friends, became a prisoner, and suffered all kinds of humiliation, had she not? Therefore, while Caesar must have had his own hardships, she thought that was one of the responsibilities he had to endure as a spy.
But now, facing Yan's pressure demanding the truth, she realized this was not something an ordinary person could endure. In fact, for Agatha, it would be simple to just say ‘no.’
After all, only demons possess the most definitive way to prove that Caesar is a doppelganger. If Agatha just lied, the matter would end quite easily, but... Agatha was too furious.
'Without even knowing...'
That man has no idea what thoughts led Caesar to oppose Elijah and save Yan and Mitchell. Caesar could have chosen the easy path at any time. But Caesar chose neither of the easy paths, instead selecting the most difficult and challenging one—the path of coexistence between demon race and humans.
Agatha, too, wanted to kill Yan in her heart. Was he not the one responsible for driving her mother to death and forcing them into the shameful shipwreck island? Agatha had barely suppressed her blade of vengeance for the peaceful era Caesar spoke of, not wanting to shed any more blood...
Yet this so-called hero was focused only on the betrayal before his eyes, unable to see the blood of comrades that would be spilled because of his words. This made her so angry that she could barely breathe.
Agatha exhaled sharply and said:
"...What difference does it make if Caesar is a doppelganger?"
Agatha's eyes became bloodshot. She couldn't understand why tears were forming when anger was rising to her throat.
"Caesar saved you. He saved Mitchell and prevented the allied forces from being dismantled by Elijah. He was loyal to the human emperor's orders and fought Elijah until death."
"And tell anyone who has survived more near-death experiences in the Demon Realm than Caesar to come forward. Do you think if you were Caesar, you could have been so devoted to all of you?"
Agatha took one step closer to Yan.
"And if no one else, you shouldn't speak that way to Barre, Hero. Even if Barre were a doppelganger, how many times has he saved your life, and who was it that embedded an axe in the previous Demon King's head?"
Was it the earth and sky acknowledging her as the true master of the Demon Realm? Agatha's demonic power made the land and sky of the Demon Realm tremble. The magical power flowing from Agatha's feet caused a strange phenomenon in Luxhope, which had been thought to become barren land.
Beautiful flowers bloomed abundantly around Agatha, grass grew, and fireflies played around them. Both Caesar and Yan, though novices in magic, knew instinctively and rationally:
This beautiful scene was an illusion created by the succubus. No magic can make seeds sprout without seeds, and no magic can create life. Nevertheless, one's eyes are drawn to the flowers and grass swaying in the wind because they are beautiful.
"Being fake doesn't mean the feelings aren't sincere. Being fake doesn't mean it isn't beautiful. Who someone is matters, but what they have dedicated themselves to and how they've done so is equally important."
Yan couldn't understand why Agatha was defending Caesar so strongly. He couldn't believe that the Demon King was trying to prove Caesar right by appealing to emotions, especially to the hero who had killed the previous Demon King. Was it because she was a succubus?
No.
If she had approached as a succubus, she would have cast a charm spell on Yan long ago.
"Caesar was willing to die for you, yet you doubt him because of this devil's wedge? What insane doppelganger would die for you, a human?"
Agatha wanted to shout at Caesar right then to abandon these ungrateful people and live together in the Demon Realm. But knowing Caesar's goal too well, those words remained stuck in her throat.
"Fine. You asked for an answer, didn't you? Whether Caesar is a doppelganger or not?"
Agatha wiped her tears and looked at Caesar. Caesar's feelings seemed complicated.
Agatha knew that Caesar strongly disliked lying. Nevertheless, when a moment came where he couldn't bear to speak the truth, Caesar always conveyed his sincere feelings. So Agatha decided to fill her response with heartfelt sincerity rather than mere truth.
"Caesar is a friend who would gladly die for you."
Agatha's words pierced through Yan's contradiction.
Yan treasured Caesar. He had admired Caesar as a comrade who saved his life, though younger, and as a brilliant commander. That's why he deliberately ignored the rumors surrounding Caesar.
It was too difficult to accept that someone he admired was a demon race, a race he had hated for nearly 20 years.
"Friend? What an absurd statement."
Belial sneered.
Agatha's words were so inadequate that Belial himself didn't think he could express such complex emotions.
"The conclusion is that he has been deceiving you all this time, Hero. Whatever his intentions, if he considered you family or a comrade, he should have revealed the truth."
Agatha wanted to tear out Belial's cunning tongue.
"Shut up! Before I throw you into the sea and kill you!"
"Since I won't die anyway, I must add one more thing. When Barre initially approached you, do you think he approached you with pure intentions? Didn't he approach you to steal military secrets and hand them over to the demon race? What I'm saying is that Barre deceived you and contributed to the deaths of your comrades."
"That's...!"
"No matter how nicely you put it, Caesar and Barre were spies, loyal servants to the Demon King. If war breaks out again between humans and demon race, the side they'll take isn't yours, but the Demon King's. That's why they can speak so comfortably like that."
Yan's sword, which had been pointed at Belial's neck, slowly lowered.
"They may call you a friend now, but if time passes and war breaks out with the demon race again, is there any possibility you won't meet as enemies? Do you think they will still consider you family then? As you know, Caesar will certainly–"
Yan cut off Belial's words and provided his own answer.
"He will find a way."
"...What?"
Yan had not yet received a clear answer. Whether Caesar was a doppelganger. No, whether Caesar was Barre. But at this moment, it didn't seem particularly important.
"The Caesar I know will find a way for everyone to smile."
Belial was so dumbfounded he couldn't speak. How could such an unrealistic, idealistic statement come out? Without clear evidence, just saying that Caesar would somehow manage.
"I don't need to hear your answer. If Caesar hadn't existed, this absurd situation where I fight alongside the Demon King wouldn't have happened either. Five years ago... No, even just one year ago, I wouldn't have imagined this nonsensical story of fighting alongside the Demon King to kill devils."
Yan sheathed his sword.
"So now, die. Belial."
"Aaaargh!"
As Belial tried to pounce on Yan, Agatha moved. Agatha extended her hand and cast a charm spell on Belial. Belial's eyes became hazy, and he hung his head.
"Now go to sleep."
Belial staggered to his feet and walked toward the shore. There was no dock, no rope to secure a boat, no lighthouse to guide, nothing remained. There was only the setting sun, the orange scales of water, and the sea of unfathomable depth.
Belial threw himself into the empty shore without hesitation. Belial's body quickly began to dissolve and disappear. Belial's fingertips, ears, nose, and toes melted away first, followed by his arms and legs detaching.
By then, Belial was able to break free from the charm spell. Belial tried to escape from the sea somehow, but it was beyond his strength. The sea was too deep, too heavy, and too cold. He saw an unknowing fish timidly nibbling at his severed right arm.
Belial recalled the time he met the King of Niflheim. That brilliant emerald hair and amethyst-like purple eyes proving he belonged to the chosen race. He thought all of it contained a sorrowful feeling, like picking up an abandoned puppy.
-What do you desire?
-I desire nothing. You are the king who suppressed and awakened me, so please use me as you see fit.
-That won't do. You are not a tool, but my subject. As my subject, shouldn't you have a fitting vision?
At that time, Belial truly desired nothing. Revenge?
To speak of revenge, he had already transformed into a disaster and burned every person involved to death without exception. There was no one left to take revenge upon.
Life?
There was no meaning in placing will into a vessel with holes that could never be filled. After much contemplation, Belial reached an answer.
-If that is the case, when you achieve your dream, Your Majesty, please grant me death.
-Is life painful for you?
-No, it is not.
-Then why do you desire death?
-I have a body that cannot die even if I wish to. I seek to obtain what I cannot achieve on my own.
Belial watched as his body crumbled piece by piece, setting off on a journey to the distant sea. One piece might become fish food, another might enter a clam's mouth, and another might wash up somewhere on a beach.
Yet it was not death. It was merely that Belial could no longer control them. Belial's will and soul would drift eternally in the empty sea. Belial could not see. Because his eyes had melted away. He could not hear. Because his eardrums had disappeared. He had long lost his sense of touch and taste. He could feel neither the cold nor the dampness of the sea, only pitch-black darkness and numbness remained.
'Is this what they call divine punishment?'
If hell exists, he thought it might be a place like this.
Loneliness, thoroughly isolated from the world.
He believed that he, experiencing the extreme of that loneliness, was truly in hell.
'...Does it matter?'
Belial was surprisingly calm. Belial's sense of feeling emotions was faint. After his body decomposed into powder, it became even more difficult to feel emotions. Thinking rationally, it was nearly impossible for the ashes to naturally gather and form Belial outside the water.
So naturally, Belial's dream of helping the king achieve his dream had also vanished. What use is will without goals and emotions? No, how should this state be described?
'Death...'
Yes. Caesar had said he would give him death.
Isn't this state of having neither the will to live nor the sense death?
'I never thought of dissolving myself in seawater.'
Belial smiled. Though no smile formed, he thought of it as smiling. And so time passed on and on. Belial ceased to think anything at all… And the pieces of his body scattered and disappeared to the deepest parts of the sea. Belial felt as if he had become the sea itself.
***
Borden inserted his fangs into the devil's nape.
"Aaaah...!"
The devil flailed its hands, wandering somewhere between ecstasy and agony. The other two triangular devils were also completely subdued by vampires and wizards. Vampires wouldn't leave such prey alone. The rest of the vampires rushed to the devils and sucked their blood.
"...Ugh."
Some soldiers retreated with disgust at the grotesque scene. Although they fought together and owed their lives in this battle, the inherent revulsion toward the species overwhelmed the soldiers. Borden stopped drinking blood as his injured right arm returned to normal.
"As expected, it tastes bad."
Rich in magic but filthy. If he wanted to drink, there were many fresh blood containers here... But he remained still because of Agatha's order to never harm these individuals. Borden severed the neck of the withered devil and surveyed the battlefield.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Although Borden's fight had ended, Gloria and Spell eater were still fighting. He heard that the black blood devil controlling the revived corpses had its head removed by the Red wolf Knights and Gideon.
Nevertheless, Spell eater was pressing Gloria, trying somehow to kill her.
"Shouldn't we help?"
"It's almost over. Look."
Blood was flowing from Spell eater's body. Spell eater could recover his body with aura absorbed from magic. The fact that recovery wasn't happening meant he couldn't waste energy on restoring his physical form.
"But why is he still fighting? Because he shouldn't use magic?"
"That's part of it, but..."
"He's getting used to it."
The soldiers were startled by Gideon's sudden appearance among them.
"Yes, yes?"
"She received new armor, didn't she? So she needs to break it in. Where and when would she find a better opponent to get accustomed to her new armor?"
Spell eater swung his greatsword down at Gloria.
"Uooooooooh!"
Spell eater's sword strike was crudely strong and fast. However, unlike before, its sharpness had dulled even further. He lacked precision to begin with, and now with even less of it, for Gloria, who was receiving all kinds of buff spells from Raven, it was like being told to go ahead and kill him.
Instead of blocking the greatsword, Gloria received it with her shoulder plate. Rather than taking the direct impact, she deflected it at an angle. Gloria executed this delicate technique perfectly, causing Spell eater's greatsword to bounce off and embed in the ground. It was a basic armor utilization technique that any classic knight would learn.
Gloria slashed at his waist.
Swoooosh!
Purple blood poured out as he fell to his knees.
"Aaahhhh!"
Spell eater's worst weakness, as Caesar had mentioned:
He lacks combat intelligence. Of course, as his horns increase, so does his intelligence, and he learns swordsmanship to some extent, but there are limitations. Gloria didn't understand at first what it meant to lack combat intelligence, but now she completely comprehended. Even when she showed the same pattern, he would fall for it repeatedly. Since his attack patterns were also identical, it felt like fighting a wind-up doll.
As he writhed and tried to swing his greatsword, Gloria offered her shin to his blade. Although his strength made it difficult to withstand, she could handle a swing from such a fallen posture with ‘rooting.’
Clang!
"...?"
Gloria felt another strange sensation. Was it as if the armor automatically cushioned the impact? It felt as though the armor was moving on its own.
'Must be my imagination.'
Having created a significant opening, Gloria cut his neck. Flawless that came at an angle impossible to avoid severed his head in one stroke.
Slash!
Gloria savored the flowing sweat refreshingly.
Victory.
And against a hexagonal devil at that. Gloria looked at Raven.
Just as she was considering whether to express gratitude for the support, she noticed Raven looking elsewhere. Raven was looking at the coastline. Other soldiers were doing the same. Gloria naturally turned her gaze toward the coastline.
"...Ships."
Ships were approaching in a line, breaking through the coastline.
The long-awaited supply ships had arrived.