254
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake
Chapter 254
When Rose secretly left the Allied Forces, she had to choose between two options.
"There is one path that is fast but easily detected by thieves and others, and there is another path that is somewhat rough and slow but draws less attention. Which way do you think would be better?"
Rose's answer was wise.
"Please guide us along the path that would be most effective for you to carry out your mission."
After a brief discussion, the White Knights chose the slower path that drew less attention.
The reason was valid.
The Allied Forces' soldiers might dispatch a tracking team after noticing Rose and the White Knights' disappearance, and they had already encountered an attack from thieves during their escape. The thieves, composed of deserters, were more meticulous, cunning, and systematic than expected.
They guided Rose along the slower, less conspicuous path because she could get hurt if they encountered those thieves again, as she was their highest priority for protection. Since the slow path was through the mountains, they had to abandon their horses. They had no attachments to the horses anyway since they were hastily acquired during their escape.
They only took the trouble of cutting the horses' throats to prevent the thieves from using them. The White Knights and Rose moved along the mountain path. Finding the path wasn't difficult since one of the knights could track the trails used by mountain animals. Although it was challenging for Rose to keep up with the knights' pace through the rough mountain terrain, she managed to follow along reasonably well.
The Redfield family was originally a swordsmanship family. Though Rose wasn't an Aura user, she had sufficient basic physical strength from sword training. There was just one problem. They encountered an enemy they absolutely didn't want to meet along the way.
"How did the Steel Lions even get here..."
Slash!
With those final words, the head of the White Knight protecting Rose flew off. The White Knights fought valiantly. Not a single knight wore armor since they couldn't receive proper supplies after the recent battle with Elijah.
In contrast, the Steel Lion knights were equipped with proper armor and greatswords. Although they detected the ambush beforehand, the power difference was significant with 17 Steel Lion knights against 8 White Knights.
The White Knights' inevitable strategy was to have 6 members sacrifice themselves by holding down the 17 enemies while 2 members escaped with Rose. However, the power difference was too great to overcome even with such heroic sacrifice. A Steel Lion knight slowly approached Rose while shaking the blood off his greatsword.
His eyes carried a faint madness.
Blind loyalty. A clear and distinct obsession, like a fanatic yearning for their god. It was nearly perfect virtue for a knight serving their lord, but Rose could physically feel how terrifying the consequences could be when that virtue was directed toward an enemy rather than oneself.
"...How did you know to come here?"
Rose tried to act as calm as possible, but her legs had already given out and wouldn't move. These legs that hadn't given out even among her power-crazed brothers now wouldn't listen to her muscles, paralyzed by the fear of possibly dying and the helplessness of having no means of protection.
"We didn't know. We were just lucky."
The Steel Lion Knight roughly grabbed Rose's collar and lifted her up.
"This too shall be proof that His Excellency will become the king who rules the world."
Rose fainted as a fist was driven into her abdomen.
At that moment, one Steel Lion knight brought a White Knight whose right arm had been cut off.
"Did you take care of everything?"
"Yes. The message is prepared too."
The White Knight was more distressed by seeing Rose unconscious and slung over a Steel Lion knight's shoulder than by his severed right arm.
"Aaaaaagh! Cursed bastards! Release the lady right now!"
"It's not for you to decide whether to release her or not."
The Steel Lion knight said while choking the White Knight.
Now run to Luxhope. And tell Yan there this message:
"If he wants Rose back, come to the Steel Fortress."
The Steel Lion knight gave a bloody smile while looking into the despairing White Knight's eyes.
"And tell him to bring an answer about whether he can love Rose enough to turn his back on the world."
***
He had bad luck.
This was all Caesar could say after hearing the whole story. The choice made by Rose and the White Knights wasn't bad. Like how they immediately packed their belongings and left the allied forces as soon as they heard the news that Yan and Mitchell were departing.
It was also a wise decision to move along the path taken by mountain animals to avoid the attacks from thieves. The world simply treated Rose and the White Knights unfairly. Of all things, they happened to encounter Steel Lion Knights who came to rescue their fellow Steel Lion Knight that Caesar had captured.
Although they say such absurd things happen on battlefields, it gave him a headache when it actually occurred.
"That knight..."
"We plan to hold a funeral for the fallen knights. They died fighting bravely."
It seemed Yan couldn't bring himself to record 'suicide' as the cause of death for his disciple who took his own life in the medical unit.
"If you give me the will, I will deliver it to the family."
"Thank you."
Yan silently drank water.
Usually, he would have drunk alcohol, but it seemed Yan's determination to quit drinking was still holding strong.
'As much as I'd like to tell him to just forget about it...'
If someone told Caesar to just forget about Agatha, he was confident he could slap them back and forth four times with a stern face. Although he wasn't sure about Rose, since Yan's feelings for Rose were genuine, it was difficult to offer any advice.
'Rose, this one is truly Yan's unexpected obstacle.'
Originally in the Valent saga, after the demon war ends, Rose goes around using Yan here and there to build her support base. Rather than loving Yan, Rose loved Yan's influence, and eventually, when Rose was caught meeting another 'man' behind Yan's back, Yan became truly furious and turned into a devil.
Of course, while there was intervention from 'Niflheim' during that process, Rose played a major role in turning Yan into a devil.
'This is why you need to meet the right woman.'
This was just Caesar's personal opinion, and for now, Yan needed two things.
First, F-style appropriate consolation.
"When the Steel Knights launched their surprise attack, I should have chased them down and killed them... I'm truly sorry, Brother."
"...No. It's not your fault."
Next was T-style countermeasures.
"First of all, Rose will definitely be safe. Since Elijah will be conscious of the Hero, he won't carelessly torture or treat Miss Rose roughly."
Raven's opinion was the same.
"What Elijah demanded from you was loyalty to him. So he would probably ask if you love Rose enough to turn your back on the world. Someone who demands such things wouldn't treat Rose carelessly."
Raven and Caesar reflexively looked at Mitchell. Strictly speaking, wasn't Rose Mitchell's youngest sister?
Mitchell must be extremely worried about Rose.
However...
-If Yan wavers because of this, we won't even be able to attempt the plan to strike Elijah.
-At this time, rather than worrying about Rose, we need to emphasize hostility toward Elijah more.
Mitchell was of the same serpent faction as Elijah. More than Rose's kidnapping, he was more worried about Yan becoming unstable because of it.
More precisely, he was probably worried that if Yan wavered, the soldiers they had gathered would scatter. Raven noticed that Mitchell was 'worried.' However, she couldn't tell if Mitchell was worried about Yan becoming unstable or if he was worried about Rose. Having dealt with Mitchell extensively, even Raven couldn't believe that Mitchell would purely worry about Rose. Mitchell remained silent, preoccupied with thinking about how to manipulate Yan according to his will.
Of course, even staying still allowed him to portray the image of an extremely angry brother, so he kept his mouth shut for now.
'It's your fault for being close to such a person.'
First of all, there was no answer to this problem. Rather than offering opinions hastily and getting stoned, staying quiet would be the proper course of action.
However...
"Raven, may I make one request?"
"What request?"
"Give back Nameless."
Caesar felt his chest tighten.
Nameless was a cursed sword that ate away at Yan's mind. Although Yan knew this well, he probably thought Nameless was absolutely necessary to save Rose.
In a normal situation, Raven would never have returned it. Because Raven, like Caesar, would know how terrifying a sword Nameless was.
However, having felt Yan's pain in real-time through magic waves after losing Rose to kidnapping and all his disciples, it was awkward not to return it.
'This will be ruined if we do this.'
The conditions for Yan becoming a devil were Rose, Niflheim, and Nameless.
Honestly, since Nameless was a sword that ate away at Yan's mind, even without just that one thing, Yan would probably almost never become a devil, but...
"Are you really okay with this? Don't you remember why you entrusted me with that sword?"
"I know. But I absolutely need that sword when facing Elijah."
Elijah, this bastard is really spreading trouble until the very end. There is absolutely no thought of suggesting that we all stay in the demon realm together to think of ways to defeat Elijah.
Caesar currently has the critical mission as a diplomat to secure the Demon King's autonomy from the Emperor and procure the workforce and funds to develop the magic stone mines. In this situation, it makes no sense for Caesar to remain in the demon realm.
However, one cannot afford to upset the truly angered Yan's mood. Raven eventually nodded with a sigh.
"Alright. If that's what you want......"
"Wait."
Caesar stopped Raven's words for now.
"What's wrong?"
Damn it, I need time to think. No matter what, we absolutely cannot give Nameless to Yan. Wasn't it just a month ago that Yan, when psychologically cornered, almost became a devil while fighting Elijah?
"Does it absolutely have to be Nameless?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Wouldn't any sword as good as Nameless be sufficient?"
Yan shot back at Caesar with an uncharacteristically sharp tone.
"Nameless was the most perfect sword among all the swords I've handled so far. It's a masterpiece that Master Giggs spent half a year making solely for me. Do you think there could be a sword that could match that?"
Nameless doesn't have any particularly visible effects.
First, being made of solid 'For Honor,' it won't break or lose its edge no matter what happens. And when Yan channels aura into the sword, it flows stably as if his arm has been extended?
Of course, since it has the baptismal sword fragment with the blessing of growth attached, it has the privilege of 'infinite physical growth,' so if he continues to train more and more from now on to kill Elijah, he will certainly become stronger. But the more that happens, the faster Yan's mind will be corrupted.
'Another sword. Isn't there another sword?'
Caesar recalled all the swords of the Valent family. If one were to look for a sword suitable for Yan on the continent, they could find plenty. But the demon realm is a different story. The swords and weapons used by the Moon Knights and those in the Demon King's storage have all been presented to the Empire.
The demon realm is no different from a warehouse emptied by thieves.
'A sword suitable for Yan....'
At that moment, Caesar's eyes fell on Agatha.
More precisely, on the white horn protruding from Agatha's head.
"......There is one."
"There is? Where?"
Caesar debated whether to say this or not. If he says it, he'll probably get cursed out in every way possible, but he decided to go for it anyway.
"There's the sword that the Demon King used."
At Caesar's words, it felt as if the surrounding air had frozen. The sword used by the Demon King. That other 'nameless' sword, which was so unknown that not even its name was recorded in writing, was worthy of being called a masterpiece among masterpieces. Agatha immediately responded to the mention of the Demon King's sword.
"......You're saying you'll give 'Mercy' to the hero?"
Caesar gave Agatha a meaningful look. Pleading for her to let it slide just this once. Agatha eventually swallowed her anger at Caesar's desperate gaze. By the way, so that nameless sword was called 'Mercy.'
But why Mercy?
The naturally curious Raven immediately responded.
"That sword's name was 'Mercy'? I couldn't find its name in any book I looked through."
Agatha seemed reluctant to talk about Mercy, but at Caesar's pleading look, she finally opened her mouth.
"I don't really know exactly why it's called 'Mercy.' But that sword has been called Mercy, and the first Demon King forbade the use of the sword's name. That's why the vampire butlers who have served successive Demon Kings haven't written even a single line about it."
Mitchell spoke up for the first time.
"Fine, let's say we use that sword. But can we even use it?"
The abilities of 'Mercy' are truly tremendous. First, its basic passive ability is complete magic nullification. This is why Raven honed her supporting magic. If you possess that sword, you won't be affected by any attack magic or debuff magic.
This alone is already overpowered, but an even more overpowered ability is that it can create a barrier that can block any physical attack. There isn't even a particular cooldown, so you can create another one as soon as it breaks.
The method that Mitchell, Yan, and Barre devised to kill the Demon King was for Barre to throw his axe to break the barrier, and in that gap, Yan and Mitchell would land their attacks. If the barriers could have been stacked, it would have been even more overpowered.
"That sword is still stuck in the second floor of the Demon King's castle where the Demon King died. Trying to pull it out with magic doesn't work, and when Yan tried to pull it out directly, it naturally wouldn't budge. Even when we tried to dig up the surrounding ground to take it, we were bounced back as if there was a barrier like the one the Demon King used."
Yes. That's right.
Honestly, even Caesar doesn't know how to pull out that sword. Because no matter how hard he tried in the Valent Saga, he was unable to pull out the Demon King's sword. But now the story has twisted quite differently from the game, and the witness to that is right in front of Caesar.
"How would we pull that....... Wait a minute, could it be......"
Everyone's attention focused on Agatha.
"If it's the Demon King, you should be able to pull out that sword."
