Chapter 226: The Aftermath
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 226: The Aftermath
After defeating Parasite, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, what awaited the two Heroes and the Platinum Knight Order was the aftermath.
Bennet, the Commander of the Platinum Knight Order, had the injured treated and ordered the able-bodied knights to rest, setting up a rotating watch.
Once the situation was under control, Bennet intended to hold a funeral for the fallen knights.
Just because this was the cursed Demon Realm was no reason to forsake human dignity.
However, Cloud stopped the funeral and demanded a status report. Despite Bennet’s protests, he would not bend, and Bennet had no choice but to obey.
“In this battle, there were twelve injured and three casualties. The number of personnel immediately available for combat is seventy-two.”
Inside Bennet’s tent.
Bennet stood before Frillite and Cloud as he delivered his report.
After hearing it, Cloud asked, “What about the twelve injured? Is their treatment difficult?”
“No, sir. After treatment and a period of rest, they will be fully capable of returning to the front lines.”
“Then that means you have a total of eighty-four knights remaining. You started with one hundred… The losses are smaller than I expected.”
Several months had already passed since the Platinum Knight Order entered the Demon Realm. They had spent all that time in this land where humans could not survive.
Unlike Cloud, they had no guide, so they must have had to press on through unfamiliar territory.
With no certainty that the path they walked was the right one.
In such a place, this land of death must have thrown countless trials and tribulations at them, he thought. It’s impressive they managed to maintain order without collapsing.
“You must have gone through a lot, Commander.”
“Not at all. Lady Frillite suffered far more than someone like me. If she hadn’t been at the forefront, fighting the monsters, I never would have been able to preserve our forces to this extent.”
As Bennet spoke, he snuck a glance at Frillite, hoping his praise had improved her mood. Unfortunately, it was a fool’s hope.
Frillite’s gaze toward him was still cold.
He groaned inwardly.
Having served as her aide for the past few years, Bennet knew very well that nothing good came from getting on her bad side.
He had personally witnessed an apostle of an evil god, who had been committing disgusting acts, get bisected by Frillite’s enraged sword.
Of course, Frillite wouldn’t cleave him in two, but…
Fear does not stem from reason.
Bennet wanted to escape this terror as quickly as possible, but…
I need to know the reason to even begin apologizing and asking for forgiveness.
No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t come up with anything.
What on earth did I do wrong?
Bennet suppressed the sigh that threatened to escape his frustrated heart.
Just then, Cloud’s voice reached his ears.
“Commander? Are you listening to me?”
“Ah, yes. Sir Hero. I am listening.”
“I see. Then as soon as the injured are treated, prepare to return.”
“…Excuse me?”
Bennet’s brow furrowed at the unexpected command.
If he had said to prepare to leave, he would have understood. It would mean leaving this place to head for the Demon King’s castle.
But prepare to return?
The words carried the nuance of leaving the Demon Realm and returning to the Empire.
As Bennet tilted his head in confusion, Cloud sighed.
“I knew you weren’t listening properly. I’ll say it again. As of this moment, the Platinum Knight Order’s expedition is over. You will return to the Empire.”
“What are you talking about?!”
Bennet slammed his hands on the table and shot to his feet. Frillite spoke in a calm voice.
“Knight Commander. Calm yourself.”
“How can I possibly remain calm when you suddenly tell us to end our mission and return?!”
“Bennet.”
Bennet flinched. Under normal circumstances, Frillite addressed him by his title, not his name. It was her own way of showing him respect, as she put it.
But now, she had used his name.
His intuition screamed at him.
If he mishandled this, something very sad was going to happen to him.
Not wanting to be sad, Bennet cleared his throat and sat back down in his chair.
“It seems I got too excited. I apologize for the unsightly display.”
“It’s fine. If someone suddenly showed up while I was in the middle of a mission and told me to wrap things up and go home, I’d be upset too.”
“Thank you for your generosity. But may I ask the reason for our order’s return? Has an imperial decree been issued?”
“It’s not an imperial decree. Besides, this isn’t a situation where one could be issued.”
Frillite tilted her head at Cloud’s cryptic addition.
“What do you mean, it’s not a situation where one could be issued?”
“Ah, I didn’t tell you. A rebellion broke out in the Empire, and His Majesty the Emperor has passed away.”
“Hmm…?”
“…What?”
Frillite and Bennet froze like stone.
It was no wonder they were so shocked to hear such devastating news out of the blue.
Thinking a more detailed explanation was needed, Cloud recounted the circumstances of the vampire rebellion, the damage it caused, and the greedy gazes of the nobles now fixed on the empty throne.
When he finished, the expressions on their faces were grim.
“His… His Majesty…”
The deeply loyal Bennet was greatly agitated.
“That bastard Gis finally… If I had known this would happen, I would have broken my oath and killed him then and there…!”
Frillite reproached herself, thinking she could have prevented the tragedy.
Cloud comforted her.
“How could you have known he would go that far? Besides, if you had killed him back then, you’d just be remembered as a common murderer of a Hero.”
“I would gladly throw away my honor for the sake of the Empire’s security. No, I should have thrown it away long ago. If I had…”
“There you go again. Haven’t I told you to fix that habit of blaming yourself?”
“You did… you did. But this is—”
“This is?”
Cloud narrowed his eyes and looked at her. Her lips trembled a few times before she finally sighed and swept her bangs aside.
“…Never mind. I’m sorry. In my confusion, I broke my promise.”
“You don’t have to be sorry.”
Cloud patted her shoulder and turned his gaze to Bennet.
“With His Majesty the Emperor gone and no legitimate heir, the Empress is currently holding the throne. I don’t need to say more for you to grasp the current situation in the Empire, do I?”
Bennet thought of the court nobles.
Lacking their own lands, their greed far surpassed that of the landed aristocracy.
They would surely see the weakening of imperial authority as an opportunity.
Bennet’s brow furrowed sharply.
“…The old, ugly snakes will start to move.”
“Exactly. I made sure Her Majesty’s safety would be guaranteed, but that’s about it. That’s the limit of what my threats can do while I’m away. The Empress is probably being pushed around as we speak. She’s not a weak-willed person, but she’s likely outmatched in many ways by the old men who have survived for decades in the Imperial Palace.”
Bennet pictured the Empress being manipulated by the silver-tongued court nobles and ground his teeth. His clenched fists trembled as if he wanted to smash their heads in that very instant.
“Do you now understand why the Knight Order must return?”
Bennet nodded.
To protect the authority of the Imperial Family.
That was the founding purpose of the Platinum Knight Order and its most important principle.
When the Imperial Family was in crisis, the Knight Order had to be by their side, no matter what.
“I understand. We will prepare to return as you command, Sir Hero.”
“A wise decision. Don’t worry about things here. Go back and support Her Majesty the Empress.”
“Yes. Don’t worr… Excuse me?”
Bennet caught the awkward part of the conversation and questioned him.
“What do you mean, ‘don’t worry about things here’? Surely you don’t intend to remain in the Demon Realm, Hero Cloud?”
“That’s right. Is there a problem?”
“Of course there is!!”
Bennet slammed the table and stood up. He was louder than before, but this time, even Frillite didn’t stop him.
“Having come this far, you must know how terrible the Demon Realm is. You could be thrown anywhere on the continent, and it wouldn’t be as harsh as this place. The master of such a realm is the Demon King. For you two Heroes to face him alone… it’s impossible! Please, finish your business in the Empire and come with us.”
“That would be too late. We’ve gone to the trouble of taking down all the Four Heavenly Kings. We can’t give them time to choose new ones, can we?”
“That’s…”
He wasn’t wrong.
It wasn’t as if there was no precedent for someone else taking the place of a fallen member of the Four Heavenly Kings.
Bennet pondered for a long time before speaking as if he had no other choice.
“Understood. In that case, half of our Knight Order will remain.”
“That won’t be necessary. The Platinum Knight Order will return to the Empire. That fact will not change.”
“Hero Cloud… why are you being so stubborn? Isn’t it better to have more allies?”
“That’s because…”
Because you wouldn’t be any help.
In the game, his character had died the moment he entered the Demon Realm, so he hadn’t known, but this place was quite rough.
It was on a completely different level from the continent.
In other words, even the Platinum Knight Order, renowned across the continent, wouldn’t be of much help here.
They probably only made it this far thanks to Frillite.
Having just crossed swords with her, Cloud had no doubt about it.
As he wondered how to persuade Bennet, Bennet spoke first.
“You believe we are not enough.”
“…”
Cloud didn’t answer. But in this situation, silence was as good as an affirmation.
“Very well. If you insist, then show me. If you can convince us that we would be of no help to you, I will return to the Empire without hesitation.”
“Fine.”
It’s better to let him experience it firsthand than to persuade him with words.
Cloud drew his sword as he rose from the table. Bennet, tense, also drew his.
I can’t win.
As the commander of the Platinum Knight Order, the pride of the Empire, it was a considerable blow to his ego, but he had to admit what was true.
Cloud possessed the skill to free Frillite, who was stronger than Bennet himself, from one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
Bennet’s defeat was a given.
But what mattered now wasn’t winning or losing the fight.
What mattered was proving his strength and showing that he wouldn’t be a hindrance.
Bennet steeled his resolve and raised his sword aura.
Though not on the level of Cloud or Frillite, an incredibly dense sword aura bloomed around the blue blade of his Orichalcum sword.
An aura that could be proudly called the greatest on the continent, save for the two Heroes.
Gripping the sword that could tear through magically protected castle walls like paper, Bennet tried to move with composure.
But before he could make a single move, Cloud was already in front of him.
He had closed the distance in the brief moment it took to blink.
Worse, he had somehow completely concealed his presence, so Bennet couldn’t react at all until Cloud was right upon him.
Cloud’s sword flew toward Bennet’s neck.
Bennet was startled but swung his own sword just in time. It was too late to dodge or block completely, so his plan was to clash blades and buy himself a single breath.
Slice—
Bennet’s sword was cut in two.
“What?!”
In the brief moment of shock, Cloud’s sword touched Bennet’s neck.
“This should be answer enough.”
Cloud sheathed his sword and left the tent. Frillite approached Bennet and placed a hand on the shoulder of the dumbfounded man.
“You are by no means lacking. Please do not lose your confidence over this.”
She patted his shoulder a few times and followed Cloud out of the tent.
Long after the two had left, Bennet stared at his bisected sword.
Then, noticing the impossibly clean cut, he let out a hollow laugh.
“And here I thought we were at least the same species… what a foolish thought.”
Human, yet not human.
Only then did Bennet truly understand the meaning of a Hero.
“Well, I’ll be… haha…”
The laughter that echoed inside the tent was empty.
Bennet.
He felt as if his entire life had just been invalidated.