Chapter 309: translated
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 309
Hilos watched the Emperor continuing his congratulatory speech.
His voice was rough, and in the middle, the sound of phlegm bubbling could be faintly heard. His skin was almost ashen, but since he couldn't appear lifeless in front of the people, he had drawn thick eyebrows and even applied makeup.
Nevertheless, time seemed difficult to escape, as the Emperor's deep wrinkles were deeply etched in the pale sunlight.
Hilos couldn't hear well what the Emperor was saying. It was because Hilos, as old as the Emperor, was starting to lose his hearing.
'It certainly took a long time.'
Hilos took out a handkerchief from his pocket and rubbed the corner. It was worn down from being touched so much.
Hilos brought the handkerchief to his nose and smelled it. A faint scent of blood tickled his nose. Hilos continued to keep the Emperor's face in his eyes. And he prayed.
Die struggling in the hell I created, losing everything and gaining nothing. Please suffer enough to satisfy the owners of the blood on this handkerchief. Hilos inwardly repeated a prayer-like curse while waiting for the right timing.
"...I, Michael Goldmile, supreme ruler of all people, declare that under my blessing, may you live long in this land."
The Emperor's speech came to an end. The military band played music as the Emperor slowly descended. Now it's time for the award ceremony.
"Viscount Caesar El Lindger, Raven Gale, please come up to the platform."
Caesar and Raven could be seen ascending to the platform with confident strides.
Hilos made eye contact with the captain of the honor guard. When Caesar was dispatched to the demon realm, his rank was Lieutenant Colonel. Though not a rank deserving of a salute, he was to be promoted two ranks with a star for his merits in protecting Luxhope and being the first to report and prevent Elijah’s betrayal.
Of course, the moment Caesar hands over the golden dagger, he leaves his military status, so he might be recorded as the person who wore a star for the shortest period in the history of the Empire.
"Viscount Caesar El Lindger prevented the early betrayal of the wicked Elijah Friedrich, who disturbed the Imperial Province and insulted His Majesty the great Emperor, and also worked with the hero to inflict a fatal blow to the brutal army of Elijah Friedrich..."
It was hard to tell whether this was an award ceremony to honor Caesar's merits or to criticize Elijah, as there was more content criticizing Elijah than praising Caesar's achievements.
"I heard Viscount Caesar El Lindger is receiving a star."
Hilos spoke without turning around.
"It's just a formality. When he hands over the golden dagger, he loses his command authority, so he automatically retires. Well, since he'll be processed for retirement, he'll probably receive a pension, but compared to what Caesar is earning, it'll be a drop in the bucket."
Hilos passed a small piece of paper backward.
"It's a map of the church. You'll need it."
The hand receiving the paper bore the crest of the House of Count Vex. The owner of the hand spoke calmly.
"When Caesar boldly made his proposal to me, I wondered who could be backing him. But when I thought about it a bit, the answer came quickly."
"Did you think it was me? Count Vex."
Count Vex stood beside Hilos and said.
"Who else but Your Excellency the Prime Minister would orchestrate such a thing?"
"That's true."
Count Vex handed Hilos a narrow rectangular box.
"What's this?"
"A gift. I thought you might need it."
Hilos immediately opened the box to check.
"A fountain pen?"
"The body is made from refined ironwood, and the nib is made of steel infused with magic. And the ink is premium, made by mixing the gallbladder of a Rune Bear with charcoal from a magic tree."
Hilos looked at the tip of the nib. It was so sharp that it seemed like it would tear the paper if pressed hard. But he did not touch it to his fingertip out of curiosity.
Mixing bear gallbladder with charcoal is an old method of making ink, but mixing Rune Bear gallbladder with charcoal made from burning magic trees is a different story.
The moment Rune Bear gallbladder and magic tree charcoal are mixed, an ink blacker than any other black is created, but it has the property of coagulating instantly when it meets blood.
He couldn't fail to understand the meaning behind the gift of such a poisoned fountain pen.
"I have no intention of getting blood on my hands directly."
"Still, you never know. I don't have experience either, but I know there's no cleaner method than handling it yourself."
Handling it himself. Count Vex’s subtle words fanned Hilos' greed. Hilos thought for a moment, then put the box in his pocket.
"I'll accept it as a gift anyway. Are you leaving right away?"
"No. I plan to move with Caesar."
"Then your timing will be late. You should leave now. I'll send him right after."
"I trust Your Excellency's desire for revenge, but I don't trust Caesar's greed."
"Do as you wish. But if problems arise, it's your responsibility."
"That won't happen."
While they were conversing, a star had been placed on Caesar's shoulder, and the Golden Eagle Medal was being pinned on Raven. Hilos looked at the captain of the honor guard again. The captain nodded and raised his baton high.
"It's starting now. Get ready."
"Already?"
"That's why I said it would be better to leave now."
Bang!
A Brigadier General receives a total of 13 salute shots.
In principle, they should all be blank shots, but the Prime Minister had made some modifications to the blanks they would use.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
When the ceremonial cannon was fired, hundreds of papers fluttered in the sky. The source of the papers was, naturally, the ceremonial cannon.
"What is this now?"
"Is this some kind of performance?"
"What does it say?"
People began catching and looking at the papers falling from the sky.
[We denounce Michael Goldmile. Michael Goldmile has abandoned human ethics and, in his desire for immortality, has committed cruel experiments that no human should ever do. He has kidnapped orphans, women, and helpless disabled people to continue his immortality research in the underground storage of the imperial palace and the basement of the Apsin Order. The fact that he even attempted to prolong his life by becoming a devil tarnishes the name of the first Emperor who founded this country.]
Bang!
With the final ceremonial cannon, the barrel that had been spewing fire fell silent.
"What? Is this real?"
"Is this really true?"
"No way... Even so..."
The Emperor's face turned crimson as he pointed at the cannon commander.
"How dare you insult me!"
The cannon commander immediately aimed his pistol at the Emperor.
"Michael Goldmile!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The cannon commander pulled the trigger toward the Emperor. But nothing reached the Emperor.
Ting! Ting! Ting!
The Emperor's personal guard, the Dawn Knights, appeared and deflected all the bullets. The Dawn Knights went beyond just deflecting the bullets, they returned them to the cannon commander.
"Kuh!"
The deflected bullet pierced the cannon commander's neck precisely. The cannon commander choked on blood as he was dying.
The Emperor, watching the dying cannon commander, exploded in anger.
"You... Idiots! Why did you kill him! You should have found out who was behind this!"
The Emperor's bloodshot eyes flashed.
"Block all entrances to Vexilla immediately! The accomplice must be here! Vexilla will remain closed until we behead everyone involved in this incident!"
"Yes, sir!"
Despite the Emperor's command, the venue turned into chaos. People, fearing there might be more assassins, tried to escape but tripped over each other, fell down, and got trampled.
"How amusing."
With everyone tangled and mixed up like this, it's hard to tell who is noble and who is commoner.
It's unbelievable that all this chaos erupted from just three bullets.
Hilos looked to the side. Count Vex was already gone. It's time for Hilos to leave too.
Just then, hooded figures caught Hilos' eye. They were in the middle of the venue as if they had been there from the beginning. People with faces hidden by hoods couldn't possibly be wandering around a ceremonial venue attended by nobles.
"Who are you?!"
The Dawn Knights' swords pointed at the suspicious figures.
"Us?"
The suspicious figures threw off their hoods. On their revealed heads were three black horns each.
"Ah, devils!"
The devils holding a sword threw the longsword. The heart of the spectator who had just shouted ‘devil’ was instantly pierced.
"Devils, you say."
As the devil flicked his finger again, the longsword flew back and settled in the devil's hand.
"We are the trumpeters announcing a new era."
The sword-wielding devil shook the blood off his sword.
"We are the devils of Niflheim."
He threw the sword into the air again. The sword split into 12 parts and sliced up the nobles who had fallen over each other.
Swoosh!
"Aaaaargh!"
"Ah, devils!"
"How can devils be here...!"
Soldiers fired their guns at the devils. The devil holding a spear swept it once, tearing space. And when the devil swept the spear in the air once more, space tore again and spat out the bullets it had swallowed earlier.
"Aaaah!"
The soldiers all collapsed, hit by their own bullets. The color drained from Hilos' lips.
What was this sudden talk about devils? Hilos saw the Emperor fleeing with the Dawn Knights. They seemed to be heading straight back to the imperial palace.
Though startled, Hilos' mind became colder than ever. What would Hilos do to overcome this situation if he were the Emperor?
If Hilos were the Emperor, he would deny everything, claiming the letter in the cannon was a false rumor and that all the evidence Count Vex had uncovered was actually a devil's plot.
Citizens who easily believe newspapers and rumors would believe the Emperor's words, and then the 30 years Hilos had waited would all be in vain.
Shudder!
Hilos' fist trembled. That can't happen. How long had he waited for this day?
To return with nothing gained?
Hilos felt the box inside his garment. A gift from Count Vex. Perhaps he would have to use it himself.
Hilos hurriedly moved toward where the Emperor had disappeared.
***
When devils appeared in the middle of the venue, Caesar gritted his teeth.
"Damn, I knew this would happen."
Caesar hurriedly grabbed an imperial official and said.
"Give me my axe now."
"Ah, Lord Caesar, the axe is not here right now!"
"What? What do you mean?"
"That axe... His Highness the Crown Prince took it..."
"What?!"
Ha, this bastard is trolling me till the end. What was he thinking when he took it?
"Then what about my wand?"
"T-that too..."
Raven's expression also visibly crumpled.
"What was he thinking taking that wand? A wizard's wand is like an extension of the wizard herself. Do you know how much I suffered to make it...!"
"Raven!"
Space tore open and a spear-wielding devil popped up next to Raven. Caesar picked up Raven and moved her back.
The imperial official ran away for his life as soon as he saw the devil.
"You are..."
The devil's mouth split wide.
"Die, Caesar... Keck!"
The devil buried his head as an ice spear fell straight onto it. Caesar strongly kicked the devil on the forehead.
Clang!
But even while this was happening, the devil blocked Caesar's kick with his spear. The devil slid backwards and raised his spear toward Raven.
"Oh, the green-eyed wizard. You were here too."
The devil spoke with a smile as if he had found an interesting toy.
"It seems that I've finally found a worthy opponent who can break my limits."
As Raven began to chant a spell with bare hands, the devil immediately thrust his spear. It was clear that the spear would never reach them given the distance, but Caesar pulled Raven away as she was chanting.
Whoosh!
The spear blade tore through space and emerged at the point where Raven's head had been, piercing the empty air.
"Ho, you dodged it?"
Although the devil didn't explain his identity, Caesar could tell who he was by his unique ability. His name was Spear, also known as ‘The Spear That Reaches Anywhere.’ He belonged to Mugeuk. As his name and alias suggested, he was skilled in handling spears.
Despite using a spear, he could manipulate space, specializing in thrusting his spear at angles and directions that should be impossible to reach.
However, his characteristics were that his first attack always aimed for the head, and despite being able to attack from a distance, he was an eccentric who enjoyed close combat.
Rip!
With the sound of space tearing behind Caesar, Spear popped out. A spear flying toward Caesar's head.
Whoosh!
Caesar, already knowing the devil's attack pattern, simply tilted his head slightly to avoid it and grabbed the devil's wrist.
"Huh?"
Caesar immediately executed a shoulder throw on the devil.
Boom!
With a thunderous sound, the ground cracked in a spiderweb pattern.
"Ahh!"
Despite the tremendous impact, the devil immediately counterattacked. He thrust his spear into seemingly random empty space, but his spear came through between Caesar's legs.
However, Caesar already knew where the devil would attack through psychometry. Caesar easily avoided the devil's spear and trampled his head.
Boom!
Though it was almost crushed to pulp, the devil wasn't dead.
"Damn it!"
If only he had his axe, the devil would have been sent to the afterlife with a single blow. The face of that damn Crown Prince flashed before his eyes.
Rip!
The space distorted and the devil disappeared like a mirage. The place where he reappeared was quite far from Caesar.
"...Indeed, you are as formidable as I've heard."
The devil blew out a nosebleed and cracked his neck.
"Come to think of it, Lord Eligos mentioned it. He said not to approach within 3m of you. He said all attack patterns would be read if I did."
It wasn't hard to guess how the devil knew that information. That bastard Elijah must have told the king of Niflheim.
"I won't be careless anymore."
"Careless my ass."
"Ha, what can you do without your axe in this situation?"
"Am I the only one here?"
Raven's green eyes flashed.
"Bloom."
Dozens of green magic circles surrounded the devil. Ice flowers containing flames bloomed from the magic circles. The devil instinctively sensed danger and tried to teleport.
Rip!
But his feet wouldn't move. His feet had already been consumed by the ice flowers and couldn't budge at all.
"Aaaaarghhhh!"
The devil writhed in pain as if every cell in his feet was burning. Though trapped in ice, his feet were turning into black charcoal. The ice flowers then devoured his arms and torso.
"Aaaaargh! Help me! Aaaaa!"
As soon as the ice flowers touched him, his arms and legs turned to charcoal and burned away, eventually consuming his head.
His body became charcoal, preserved inside the beautiful ice flower.
Caesar exhaled deeply and looked outside the venue.
There, a devil handling 20 swords was struggling alone but was being subdued by the holy knights and Dawn Knights.
"Raven, it seems we need to meet the Crown Prince. Do you know where he is?"
"I don't know. But if I were him, I would go to the imperial palace."
"Yes. You're right."
Caesar grasped the spear that the devil had dropped.
"Let's go to the imperial palace."
I will definitely shove this spear up that bastard Crown Prince's ass when I get there.