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I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 286
The definition of Homigraph.
Devil Slayer.
A great person designated by the Dre Order.
An honorable knight who hates devils and a righteous human.
For the holy knights who thought that he would be like a demon to devils but like an angel to the good ones, Caesar was a very difficult challenge. After a fairly long silence, one holy knight opened his mouth.
"......Lord Caesar, what is happening in there?"
"I don't have confidence to explain it properly. I'm sorry, but I don't think I can tell you."
The holy knights swallowed dry saliva in embarrassment.
"Lord Caesar, even if it's you, you cannot interfere with the sacred duty of Goddess Dre."
"I understand your sacred duty, but it's not time yet. When the time comes, I will open it."
"When exactly will that be?"
"I don't know either."
One holy knight pulled out a document and thrust it in front of Caesar.
"Do you see this? This is the Pope's seal. It means that His Holiness the Pope has ordered us to search this house and find the devil."
"Let me take a closer look."
Caesar examined the document carefully and then spoke.
"It certainly says to search the house."
"Yes. So please step aside."
"But it doesn't say until when to search."
"Are you saying you want to play word games with us?"
"It's not a word game."
Caesar neatly folded the document with the Pope's seal and handed it to the holy knight.
"Don't you think this is a final consideration to prevent unfortunate incidents between you and me?"
The holy knight bravely drew his sword.
"Step aside right now! Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to think you've colluded with devils!"
"Can you take responsibility for those words?"
"......Pardon?"
Caesar used intimidation. The holy knights froze at the impossible killing intent and charisma.
"I'm asking if you're in a position to judge whether I'm someone who has colluded with devils."
The holy knight rolled his eyes to look around. There were too many people gathered in front of Giggs' house.
If his rash words became the stance of the Dre Order, could he really take responsibility? The holy knight bit his lips hard and said.
"......I'll give you until morning. If you don't open the door by morning, then someone who can answer that question will come."
The holy knights left Giggs' house, making their way through the crowd.
***
Clang! Clang!
Caesar concentrated on the sound with his eyes closed.
The hammer sound was deep, resonating to the bone. The rhythm was consistent, and so was the intensity.
He had never heard in the game about purifying Nameless.
There are only two final fates for Nameless.
Either the hero dies and it shatters. Or it survives with the hero and remains as a demonic sword.
Moreover, a devil purifying Nameless?
That was impossible according to Caesar's common sense.
Nevertheless, there was only one reason Caesar accepted Pesson's unreasonable request. To remove Pesson from Shalibi and send him to Homigraph.
Clang! Clang!
"......The sound is deep."
What is Giggs' intention in engraving a name on Nameless?
A sense of responsibility to cover his wrongdoing?
Or desperation to protect his honor?
Or is he overcoming the thirst for blood and power emanating from Nameless?
Or is he being infected?
Although none of this can be known, Giggs' fate is easy to predict.
In this continent, devils cannot coexist with humans. Giggs will die.
"I heard the news."
Caesar slightly opened his eyes. Two women were standing in front of Caesar with the dawn sunlight behind them. It was Raven and Gloria.
"How is... Master Giggs?"
Raven asked despite knowing the answer. Perhaps because she was holding onto a thread of hope that begins with the word 'maybe'.
Clang! Clang!
Caesar savored the hammer sound that penetrated to the bone.
And he recalled Giggs' consistent fate throughout the Valent Saga.
Giggs hangs himself when Yan becomes a devil.
He dies without leaving a suicide note, so no one knows why he killed himself, but the current Caesar seems to understand.
It must be that he couldn't bear that the main cause of Yan becoming a devil lay with himself.
That's the kind of person Giggs is, strong yet fragile.
Raven gave such a person an opportunity to cover his wrongdoing.
Was Raven's decision a good one or a bad one? The judgment belongs neither to Caesar nor to Raven, but to Giggs himself.
"He's purifying Nameless."
"...Do you think he can purify it?"
It was difficult for Caesar to answer directly. There was an easy answer of 'I don't know', but hope mixed in without Caesar realizing it.
"If it's Master Giggs, he can do it."
Caesar felt like he could now understand a little why Pesson answered Caesar's question that way.
Just then, Caesar's ears caught the sound of heavy footsteps. Though they came from too far away to be seen, the footsteps sounded confident enough to shake the ground with their regular, strong rhythm.
Caesar said, looking at Raven.
"Don't get involved unnecessarily and go somewhere else."
"I'm also responsible for Master Giggs' situation."
"There's nothing good about a magician from the Gale Magic Tower getting involved in this matter. If you get involved, things will become much more complicated than you think, so go somewhere else."
Gloria saw the group of holy knights approaching from far away.
"Master, I..."
"You go with Raven too."
"I'm your disciple. I have the right to stay with you."
"It's not you that's the problem, it's the sword at your side."
Gloria was carrying Flawless. Even if the blade and handle were covered with cloth, someone might recognize Flawless.
It would become extremely troublesome the moment it was discovered that she possessed Flawless, especially in the middle of Dre.
"Keep it safe so it doesn't get taken by the Dre Order."
"But..."
"No time for long talks."
Caesar whispered into Gloria's ear.
"Search the drainage near the river carefully. There's a secret passage that leads inside, so enter through there. Tell Pesson that I let you in. If there are any intruders, deal with them as you see fit."
Gloria nodded slightly.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
Gloria and Raven disappeared through a spatial movement spell.
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
The sound of military boots stomping the ground was now heard nearby.
Giggs' disciples and blacksmiths from the Hampton family stood in front of the holy knights with hammers in their hands.
"No one can go in there!"
Caesar looked at the man standing at the front of the holy knights. Thin eyes with slightly upturned corners of the mouth. Judging by appearance alone, he had a very cunning snake-like face, and from a character analysis perspective, he was a typical narrow-eyed character.
"On what grounds?"
"Master Giggs ordered us not to let anyone in!"
"Really? I came here on the Pope's orders."
The man was holding his sword in a very peculiar way.
Instead of hanging the sword at his side, he was slinging it over his shoulder upside down. It was a delinquent posture more like a neighborhood thug than a knight.
"Step aside now. Otherwise, you'll regret it."
"We won't move even if we die!"
"This is troublesome... With so many eyes watching, I can't really kill them... I have no choice."
Whoosh! Click!
The sharp sound of cutting through the wind was heard first, and the sound of the sword moving in its scabbard was heard almost simultaneously.
"Huh, what?!"
The hammers in the blacksmiths' hands fell to the ground. The hammer handles had been cut off in an instant and fallen to the ground.
"Arrest them all and put them in the forge. How can blacksmiths be playing around like this during such a busy time?"
"Yes!"
The holy knights began to arrest the blacksmiths who had lost their hammers.
The blacksmiths tried to resist somehow, but they couldn't overcome the physical strength of the holy knights.
In the chaotic situation where blacksmiths and holy knights were tangled together, the narrow-eyed man slowly walked toward Giggs' house.
Although it was difficult to notice where his gaze was directed due to his small eyes, it was clear who he was looking at.
"It's a bit sad to meet like this. Nice to see you."
The narrow-eyed man extended his hand to Caesar.
"I'm Nel. You're Caesar, right?"
Nel.
There was no way Caesar wouldn't know him. His alias was Nel the Swift.
He was the fastest knight on the continent and a member of the Pope's personal guard, 'The Baptized'.
Caesar looked at the sword Nel was holding. Judging by the size of the scabbard, the sword didn't seem very thick, and the handle wasn't long, fitting perfectly in one hand.
And the most impressive thing was the emerald embedded in the center of the guard. The emerald was bright enough to shine through the warm morning sunlight.
That emerald was the second piece of the Baptism Sword.
Caesar used psychometry while shaking Nel's hand.
"I'm Caesar."
-He seems dull.
-Even if I cut his neck now, he probably wouldn't notice that he's dead.
-I want to cut him.
-I really want to cut him.
-But I have to hold back.
-I can't kill Caesar here.
-Somewhere more secretive...
To describe Nel's personality in one word, he's a psychopath.
Speaking of psychopaths, Christina suddenly comes to mind, but Nel is a psychopath with a slightly different texture.
Christina is quite well-socialized and has strong patience, but Nel is not like that.
His sadism and cruelty boil up not only when facing devils but also easily rise when facing humans who are more famous and have higher reputations than himself.
So from a gaming perspective, if you meet him after your fame rating has increased, he will definitely pick a fight with you. Like this.
-Ah, I can't hold back.
Clang!
Sparks flew near Caesar's neck.
Screeech!
Nel's sword was blocked by Caesar's lefty, causing sparks to fly.
Nel's eyes widened as if truly surprised.
The color of his pupils revealed between his narrow eyes was light purple.
"Hooo, You blocked this?"
"What's the meaning of aiming for my neck without saying anything?"
"It was just a joke. A joke."
Nel's scabbard fell to the ground with a thud.
"For a joke, your killing intent was too strong?"
"To know how great a person you are, shouldn't I try something like this?"
"Then shall I try a joke too?"
Caesar strongly squeezed Nel's hand that he was holding.
Nel swallowed a groan at Caesar's tremendous grip that was crushing his radius as if it would crumble.
His knees were about to buckle from the pain, but due to his pride, he absolutely couldn't kneel. Nel squeezed Caesar's hand with all his might.
"This is fun...?"
"Really?"
Caesar applied more force to his hand.
"......!"
Nel momentarily felt dizzy. It felt like his hand was being ground away.
Nel finally couldn't endure it and swung his sword.
Clang!
Caesar blocked the sword aiming for his wrist with lefty.
"What......?!"
"If you move so predictably, I can see it."
Caesar applied even more force to his hand.
Crack!
Finally, the sound of bones breaking came from Nel's hand.
Nel was a typical technique-type knight. Being confident in his speed, he was sure he could dodge almost any attack.But his physical durability was just as poor.
He swung his sword again.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
But Caesar blocked all of his attacks with slight movements.
-Im, impossible!
-He can see all my attacks?
Nel's emotions all entered Caesar's mind. It was a fight Nel couldn't win as long as he was caught by Caesar.
Because the direction and target of his attacks were coming through his hand. Of course, if Caesar were a pure tank-type knight like Barre, he wouldn't have been able to block Nel's attacks like this.
But Caesar was a hybrid-type knight combining technique and tank. No matter how fast Nel was, in a situation where Caesar could read all the attack directions and timing, and especially in this close-quarters situation, there was no way he couldn't block Nel's attacks.
Crack!
The sound of Nel's bones grinding came again. Nel's vision went white.
"Apologize. If you apologize, I'll let you go."
Clang! Clang!
Nel gritted his teeth and swung his sword. Beyond aiming for the wrist, he thrust his sword at various places like Caesar's neck, ankle, and thigh, but Caesar blocked them as if he already knew.
Crack!
Nel's finger bones were crushed.
The bones broke through the skin and blood leaked out. With this much damage, he won't be able to use his right hand for the rest of his life.
"Ugh!"
Nel almost fell to his knees for a moment. Caesar pulled Nel forward and growled in his face.
"Apo.lo.gize for attacking without saying anything."
"Shut uuuup!"
Nel's attacks became even faster. It was the highest speed he could achieve with his hand captured. But Caesar blocked all of his attacks while simultaneously stomping hard on Nel's instep.
Crack!
With the sound of instep bones breaking, Nel fell to his knees.
"Kuh!"
Nel looked up at Caesar while trembling.
"Apologize."
Nel found this situation of looking up unfamiliar. He was always accustomed to looking down on others from above.
And he was more used to giving pain than receiving it. Nel's lips trembled.
"I'm, sor–"
"That's enough."
At that moment, a large-bodied man walked through the holy knights with heavy steps.
He had a large greatsword on his back, and his armor was well-maintained and gleaming.
And decisively, his fierce tiger-like eyes and the scar on his lips indicated that he was no ordinary knight.
"Don't make this situation any bigger, Caesar. This is the final warning."
"The territorial behavior here is quite severe. Someone tries to cut my neck without saying anything, and someone dares to give orders to me, a nobleman."
Caesar applied more force to his hand.
Crack!
The sound of finger bones breaking spread in all directions.
"Aaaaargh!"
"Who are you to speak to me like that?"
The man walked heavily and stood in front of Caesar.
"I am the Pope's first sword, one of the Baptized, Luca."
"So?"
"Release Nel immediately."
"If he apologizes."
"The Baptized do not easily ask for forgiveness."
"I think attacking someone's neck suddenly deserves an apology."
Luca already knows. Nel is a hundred percent in the wrong, but there are too many eyes watching.
If the Baptized were to be humiliated and then apologize publicly, the reputation of the Baptized would plummet. This incident had to be Caesar's fault, not Nel's.
"Don't make this situation any bigger, Caesar. You are currently suspected of devil worship."
"Then let's make it simple like this."
Caesar spoke while looking at Nel, who was slumped like a puppet with cut strings.
"Let's ask the Goddess Dre who was wrong."
"What?"
"I'm proposing a duel. The Goddess Dre will be watching, so she will also preside over this duel. If you win, I won't require an apology from him, but if I win, you and Nel must officially apologize to me. How about it? Simple, right?"
Luca is as taciturn as his stoic expression suggests, and as much as he is taciturn, he's a person who thinks a lot.
This situation itself is not pleasant at all, and he knows that he's playing into Caesar's setup.
But Luca had no choice but to accept this duel.
Because Caesar challenged one of the Baptized to a duel while mentioning the Goddess Dre.
"Fine. The Goddess Dre will be the presider of this judgment."
Luca drew his greatsword. He must win this duel at all costs.