Chapter 161: The Traitor of Humankind, Deon Hart (9)
Even knowing he was trying to sidestep a vital attack that had struck a nerve, they would have no choice but to let it slide. Because this statement, too, dangled a tempting opening ripe for the skewering.
Just as expected.
- ......Ha, how can we trust the words of a demon-race...!
- I, a human, promise you this on my name, as the representative of the Demon Realm.
At the sight of his easily baited opponent, Deon's lips curled up faintly.
Over the world that had fallen silent at that weighty declaration, a single voice rang out.
- In the first place, the rumor that the demon-race cannot be trusted was completely unfounded. Wasn't that rumor the very reason you couldn't even entertain the idea of negotiating with demons? Swayed by such absurd lies. Honestly, it's laughable.
- .......
- The Demon King accepted me, a human. He has extended me exceedingly generous treatment without any stab in the back, without ever going back on his word.
After news of Deon Hart's betrayal spread, rumors about him had circulated endlessly.
Mostly, they were rumors about his treatment in the Demon Realm. Since he had supposedly sided with the demons, it was truly strange that the name of a man who had once been an imperial Hero was never heard at all.
The prevailing rumor had been that the demons had stabbed him in the back and he was imprisoned underground or dead, but that, too, would be overturned as of today.
Stigma Primiro, who had been sitting upright with his sword planted in the ground like a cane and both hands resting on its pommel, watched the screen and laughed lowly. Contrary to his smiling face, his head was shaking from side to side.
"Wrong, junior. A promise staked on your name is no basis for trust."
Sure enough, a steady voice began to counter him, point by point.
- First.
- .......
- The weight of someone's name is determined by society's perception of that person and the value that the promising party places upon themselves.
As if registering the meaning of those words, Deon Hart's face on the screen cracked for a single moment. Though it instantly returned to its original expression, Stigma, who had been watching his junior intently, did not miss it.
Perhaps the detractor on the screen had seen it too.
- You are a betrayer of humanity. Society's perception of you is rock bottom. And you yourself....
The man, Paul, paused there and stared straight at the screen, as if to scrutinize Deon Hart's expression.
- ...do not seem to hold yourself in very high regard, do you?
- .......
- How can anyone trust a promise staked on the name of such a person?
That one hit home.
Deon Hart closed his mouth. Seizing the opening, Paul pressed his momentum and began to corner him.
- Did you say the Demon King accepted you, a human? That he treats you generously? Well, I suppose he would. Because you are closer to a demon than a human.
It was a fabrication.
- Red eyes, white hair, pale skin. An appearance ill-suited to a human, and a cruel hand to match! The demons must have felt little to no aversion.
He had to refute it.
Deon opened his mouth, but Paul was one step faster.
- Above all, are you not a betrayer of heaven's law who killed your own family and went so far as to murder your last surviving brother! Who would ever consider such a person human?
"......What?"
His thoughts ground to a halt.
"Who did I...."
Who did I kill?
It was a completely unexpected attack. Deon briefly stopped breathing.
......Right, in the human world, they know me as the one who killed my brother. Of course they would. I have to become the worst enemy for humanity to unite even more strongly. Those who know the truth must have all closed their eyes and mouths and pinned the blame on me.
'My expression. I have to manage my expression....'
Even as his mind was blanketed in white, a shred of reason recognized that the screen was still broadcasting.
In this situation, he couldn't even raise a hand to cover his face, so he had to collect his reason and calmly overturn that lie. But.
'The words won't come out.'
His hands under the desk were trembling. Straining to keep the vibrations from reaching his shoulders was his limit. He was certain his thoughts were calm, but his body's reaction was so bewildering that...
Afraid that even his voice would tremble if he opened his mouth, Deon had no choice but to stare straight ahead as expressionlessly as possible.
He opened his mouth just before people perceived his silence not as a breath taken before an answer but as 'silence' itself, right when Paul was about to reclaim the floor.
A calm voice befitting his expressionless face flowed out.
- There are so many absurd statements that I hardly know where to begin correcting them. You'd do well to realize where you are and what you're saying right now. Spreading falsehoods before all of humanity—you've got quite the nerve. You should have spoken at least some truth instead of fabrication.
- That's....
Before Paul could even get out the words that he was one to talk, Deon continued speaking as if to cut the conversation off here.
- I will say this once more, as the third Hero of the Empire and the current 0th Legion Commander of the Demon King's army. The Emperor is not a trustworthy man, and we have no choice but to clear away any obstacles to striking the Empire.
- ......!
- And let it be known that the Demon Realm is so free of prejudice that it will grant the rank of 0th Legion Commander even to a human. For any human who desires friendly relations, the doors of the Demon Realm are always open. That is all.
With a faintly smiling, pale face at the end, every screen vanished.
And across the entire continent, no—beyond the human world and into the Demon Realm, an uproar erupted.
* * *
"......It seems my junior was a far greater man than I thought."
The 0th Legion Commander, no less. Stigma laughed.
He had called the man on the screen audaciously bold, but the truly audacious one was his junior. The existence of the 0th Legion Commander had become known not long after the Eight-Year War ended. Which meant his junior had simultaneously served as the Empire's third Hero and the 0th Legion Commander of the Demon King's army for no short period of time!
His frequent departures to who-knows-where on the Emperor's orders were probably to travel to and from the Demon Realm as well.
'The remark that the Emperor is not a trustworthy man also implies that His Majesty knew Deon Hart's true identity.'
He had seemed on the verge of a mental collapse at the end, about to lose helplessly.
"Throwing an enormous bomb like that and leaving. That's my junior for you."
Placing the missive containing news that the Lofty Knight Order—the Murder Demons—had deserted en route to the Amiable territory onto his desk, Stigma recalled Deon Hart's face from the screen.
Yes, even leaving all that aside.
"I was worried he might be hurt somewhere, but he seemed alright. That's a relief, at least."
He couldn't be certain without seeing his face in person, but even if something was wrong, it would be fine now.
Those bastards would never stand by and watch their master die.
He didn't even entertain the possibility that they might fail to reach Deon Hart. Those lunatics would bark and claw their way to their captain even if they had to crawl out of hell, making the demons clutch the back of their necks in disbelief.
And the bastards who would make even those demons clutch their necks were currently crossing a mountain. More precisely, they were in a state of involuntary rest after the shocking news from the screen that had appeared in the sky moments ago had stopped them in their tracks.
After the screen went dark, a long, indescribable silence stretched on until someone barely managed to speak.
"......Wow, our Captain... was the 0th Legion Commander?"
"Didn't the 0th Legion Commander exist long before the Captain even went to the Demon Realm? Which means...."
"He was serving as both an imperial Hero and the 0th Legion Commander at the same time. Is that why he used to frequently disappear somewhere for long periods under the pretense of 'missions'? Which also means the Emperor knew and was shielding him."
"What?"
At Cleter's cold analysis, Milan's eyes went wide, failing to hide his astonishment. The other knights also stopped their individual exclamations and stared at Cleter.
"So that means he was deceiving everyone. That's really...."
"......."
"Insanely cool!"
"As expected of our Captain!"
"A life so pitifully distant from ordinary!"
"......Of course you lot would react like that."
Cleter quietly pressed his fingers to his forehead with a deep sigh.
"You bastards, this is no time for admiration. If we don't go now, we'll never get a chance to see the Captain. If we get caught here, it's all over. Done!"
"Ah, right. They'd keep us under strict watch, wouldn't they?"
"Will we be tortured?"
"Before that, wouldn't the Knight Commander kill us? We did run off leaving just a single note."
Sure, she was the commander, though they hadn't seen her often since they were constantly summoned and shuffled around for interrogations. With a mix of affection and a modicum of guilt, the knights of the Murderer Knight Order had left Rien Rainer a single note before fleeing.
[Commander sorry]
"You... godforsaken bastards...!"
They had no way of knowing the note had been mercilessly crumpled, yet the knights instinctively felt a chill and stiffened their backs.
"......I don't know for sure, but yeah, we'd probably die if we got caught."
"I've got a bad feeling about what's waiting for us if we get nabbed."
"Then if you don't wanna die, shut your traps and move, you damn bastards!"
In the time they'd spent yapping, they could've covered several more meters!
Frustrated, Cleter, who had been thumping his chest in exasperation, redirected his fists and smacked his comrades' heads to hurry them along.
* * *
The Empire's third Hero, Deon Hart, and the Demon King's 0th Legion Commander, Demon Arut, were the same person!
The Demon King revealed this fact the moment Deon Hart stood before the public. As shocking as the news was, almost all demons focused on it, but the chaos was less than expected.
[Demon-nim is Deon Hart.]
[Really?! ......But so what? He's on our side in the end.]
[I mean... yeah? So he was acting as a double agent.]
Whatever his past or true identity, at present, he was indisputably 'one of ours' belonging to the Demon King's army.
It was surprising but not negative, so there was no further reaction.
[I thought he was no ordinary demon, but to think he even served as a Hero in the Empire. He really is something else.]
[He became the 0th Legion Commander in a human body. There's no way he could be ordinary.]
More importantly, should they call him Deon-nim now? What would happen to the Demon Cult?
The uproar was brief; the demons soon fell into other concerns.
* * *
Even if they had used sorcery to interfere with the screen, the core issue was the magic stone on this desk. He should have turned it off immediately the moment he sensed the screen's control was being seized.
He never imagined they would drive in the nail so fast that he couldn't arbitrarily shut it off the moment control was taken.
[In the end, it's just the words of a traitor who sided with the Demon King.]
Because of that statement, Deon Hart became unable to cut the opposing screen at will.
A powerful entrance paired with a powerful statement. If he simply shut the screen off there, the man's last words would sear into the viewers' minds. And that wasn't all. Cutting the screen at that timing would signify having no counterargument, effectively admitting those words and conceding defeat. So Deon, whether he liked it or not, had no choice but to engage.
And so now, having calmly reached out and switched off both screens simultaneously, Deon silently drew out a black handkerchief and pressed it to his mouth.
Recalling his initial objective, he had at least avoided defeat. He had blocked the reverse propaganda, and moreover, he had thrown a powerful bomb capable of striking the Emperor, the alliances between nations, and even the Empire's internal affairs before switching it off. They would be scrambling on the other side.
But....
"Dvelania...."
Mentally, he had lost.
Someone's name was muffled beneath the black handkerchief as if grumbled. Even knowing he had to take the handkerchief from his mouth to call out to the other party clearly, Deon, instead of removing it, suddenly raised his voice in a shout.
A voice, ragged from excessive emotion, savagely scraped against his vocal cords and rang through the Demon Castle.
"Dvelania!!!!!"
Cough—. The black handkerchief was damply stained.
.......