Chapter 219
Chapter 219
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 219
Chapter Title: Famous Person (2)
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A few days later, an invitation from the Emperor arrived at the mansion.
“H-Hyungnim! It’s here! It came!”
“De-Demian! Clothes! You have the clothes prepared in advance, right!”
“W-Wow, is this a letter from the palace? It’s nothing special.”
Everyone else was making more of a fuss than the man himself, Demian. And understandably so—it was an invitation from the Emperor.
‘Finally, I can obtain Hemera.’
Hemera.
The magic armor Demian had used in his Death Knight days.
As far as Demian knew, there was no armor on the continent superior to Hemera.
Not just armor—even among legendary treasures throughout history, it ranked in the top five.
However, no one knew of Hemera’s existence right now. It had been sealed away the moment it was created.
Even in its sealed state, Hemera was tough enough to deflect aura and light as a feather.
It far surpassed the works of master smiths, worthy of storage in the imperial treasury.
‘How did Dorgo end up getting Hemera again...? I think Pandemonium acquired it from some knight who had received it?’
The Empire had given the sealed Hemera to one of its knights. Later, while on a mission, that knight was killed by Pandemonium.
Pandemonium, sensing something unusual about the armor the knight wore, investigated and ended up breaking the seal.
Afterward, Hemera was presented to Dorgo and fitted onto Demian.
‘Truth be told, I’d prefer a fragment of Erebos over Hemera.’
The Empire possessed not only Hemera but also a fragment of Erebos.
However, Demian couldn’t just have it because he wanted it.
It was hidden within the sacred sword passed down through generations of Emperors.
‘How did Dorgo get it in my past life...? Oh, right—from the First Prince.’
He’d heard that when the First Prince went to the battlefield in the Emperor’s stead, he’d received the sacred sword to borrow its authority.
The problem was that the First Prince kept making blunders and ended up captured by Dorgo.
As a result, the Erebos fragment hidden in the sacred sword fell into Dorgo’s hands too.
“Then I’ll be off.”
Demian finished preparing to go out and headed to the palace.
‘Who’d have thought I’d return here.’
Standing before the palace gates, Demian looked up at it and thought.
In the final stages of the War of Ruin.
Having succeeded in killing even the Empire’s Greatest Swordsman, Dorgo had advanced on the capital with Demian in tow.
There, after massacring all the Empire’s citizens in the capital, he captured the Emperor alive.
That was the very day Demian had regained control of his body and exacted revenge on Dorgo.
“I’m Demian Haksen. I’ve come at His Majesty’s invitation.”
Demian said to the soldiers guarding the gates. They opened them wordlessly.
‘Even coming back, it’s astonishing.’
Once inside, Demian couldn’t help but marvel.
As the heart of the Empire, countless spells protected the palace.
There were so many that even Demian struggled to identify them all.
‘Even Dorgo, who attacked the capital, couldn’t breach the palace’s spells.’
In the end, Dorgo had no choice but to send Demian ahead to break through them.
“Lord Demian, I presume.”
A bit further in, a middle-aged man greeted him.
“I’m Head Chamberlain Balzac Jansen. I’ll escort you inside.”
Demian followed the chamberlain deeper into the palace.
“His Majesty awaits you within.”
Demian walked the corridors with the chamberlain until they passed through a grand door into the audience chamber.
The Empire’s audience chamber was grand enough to suit the word perfectly.
The ceiling soared high, the space vast—expansive was the term that came to mind.
The walls were adorned with golden tapestries. The floor was laid with priceless marble.
A red carpet stretched from the entrance to the opposite end, where the Emperor sat upon his jade throne.
The audience chamber wasn’t just for the Emperor. Numerous nobles stood in attendance.
“Demian Haksen, approach.”
The Emperor spoke. Though his voice was soft, it echoed through the entire chamber. Likely some magical effect.
Demian stepped forward along the long carpet toward the Emperor.
As he walked, he scanned the faces of the nobles in the chamber one by one.
Among them was First Prince Kael Adelaite. Kael stared at Demian with a stoic face laced with hostility.
‘Stop where the soldiers are standing, right?’
Demian halted where the soldiers stood, about eight meters from the Emperor, following the etiquette Rachel had taught him.
He knelt on one knee and awaited further words.
“…….”
But the Emperor’s voice didn’t come for a while.
“……Come closer.”
Then suddenly, a command.
Demian awkwardly rose and took a few more steps, stopping about seven meters away.
“……Closer still.”
The Emperor made the same demand. With no choice, Demian drew nearer.
He stopped five meters away.
“……No, never mind. Come right before me.”
Then a man who appeared to be an imperial guard knight spoke to the Emperor.
“Your Majesty, not that I doubt Lord Demian, but...”
“Demian Haksen, come before me.”
Puzzled but obedient, Demian stood before the Emperor.
The Emperor was a man of impressive build. Had he trained with the sword, he might have made an excellent knight.
As Demian observed him, the Emperor suddenly rose from his throne and approached.
“Y-Your Majesty!”
The guard knight cried out in alarm. But the Emperor didn’t stop. He halted close enough for Demian to hear his breathing.
‘What’s going on? Why is he doing this?’
Demian looked at the Emperor in confusion.
The Emperor slowly reached out toward Demian. For some reason, his fingertips trembled.
He grabbed it.
The Emperor clasped Demian’s hand. And just like that, tears began streaming from his eyes.
“Your Majesty!”
“You bastard! What have you done to His Majesty!”
The nobles cried out in horror. Demian felt utterly wronged. What had he even done?
“Enough...... Everyone, be silent......”
At the Emperor’s words, the chamber fell quiet again.
“Nothing...... It’s nothing...... Lord Demian has...... done nothing wrong......”
Even as he spoke, tears kept flowing from the Emperor’s eyes.
“I...... don’t know why these tears are flowing...... I don’t know...... Why do tears flow like this just looking at you......”
In the next moment, everyone in the audience chamber was stunned.
The Emperor had knelt before Demian.
“Y-Your Majesty!”
“H-How could you...!”
The Emperor of the Empire kneeling before another? It was unthinkable—impossible.
Yet the Emperor’s eyes were fixed solely on Demian.
“I...... hereby declare you the winner of the Helian Tournament and bestow upon you the title of ‘Heavenly Sword.’”
Heavenly Sword.
Even for the winner of the Helian Tournament, it was an excessively grand title for Demian, who had only just entered master class.
“Y-Yes......”
But Demian had no mind for the title. The Emperor was kneeling before him.
“It is our custom to reward those who accept our invitation...... Speak your desire. I shall grant anything.”
“Your Majesty!”
The guard knight cried out in shock.
Demian Haksen’s achievements were great, but no limits was too much.
But the Emperor ignored the guard knight entirely, gazing only at Demian.
“Uh...... I’d like some armor.”
“Armor? Very well. You shall have our finest.”
“I’d like to go pick it out myself.”
“Very well. It shall be so.”
The Emperor granted Demian’s request without a moment’s hesitation. Demian’s bewilderment only grew.
“You ask for so modest a thing. This does not ease my heart. Speak if there is more you need.”
“Uh, then......”
At that moment, Demian hesitated.
Hemera would be nice, but he wanted the Erebos fragment more.
The problem was that it was hidden in the Emperor’s sacred sword.
He’d planned to avoid rashness and seek another way, but the situation was turning surreal. Maybe? Just maybe?
“I’d like Your Majesty’s sacred sword.”
Demian blurted it out. As expected, the audience chamber erupted.
“Have you ever seen such a madman!”
First Prince Kael Adelaite’s reaction was especially fierce. He shot to his feet and shouted.
“You’ve lost your mind! Your Majesty! We cannot let this man live! Cut off his head right now...!”
“First Prince, be silent.”
“We cannot! The sacred sword symbolizes the Emperor’s authority! This man mocks Your Majesty!”
The Emperor turned to the First Prince. His eyes blazed fiercely.
“Does my word not register? Shall I have your tongue ripped out to make you see sense!”
At the Emperor’s roar, the First Prince startled and shut his mouth.
“The sacred sword...... I don’t know why you want it, but...”
The Emperor rose. He drew the sacred sword from his waist and offered it to Demian.
“It’s nothing special. Take it.”
In that instant, the audience chamber flipped once more.
* * *
Afterward, Demian went to the treasury, selected his armor, and returned to the mansion.
“Hyungnim!”
“Demian!”
No sooner had he entered than Michael and Rachel rushed over, faces full of urgency.
“Did His Majesty really kneel to you?”
“I-It’s a lie, right?”
At their questions, Demian scratched his cheek and replied.
“It’s true.”
The two froze on the spot at his answer.
“Hyungnim, if I may be so bold...... Is the rumor true?”
“What rumor?”
“That you’re the Emperor’s illegitimate son?”
Demian scowled at that. What nonsense for a man with perfectly living parents?
“What kind of ridiculous talk is that?”
“But...... that’s the rumor spreading through the streets. That you’re the Emperor’s bastard son, and that’s why he teared up with joy.”
Demian looked at Michael in disbelief.
“Don’t believe such absurd rumors.”
“Then why did the Emperor kneel...?”
Demian felt at a loss for words. He had no guesses himself.
“......Must be menopause.”
Demian chose his words carefully.
“More importantly, Demian, we have a guest. Someone you should meet personally, so I left them waiting.”
Demian headed to the drawing room with Rachel.
“Ooh...... Demian Haksen! Knight of the Heavenly Sword!”
The Sword Saint, thoroughly drunk, awaited Demian Haksen.
“What brings you here?”
At Demian’s question, the Sword Saint gulped down his liquor and spoke.
“Last time, you seemed interested in the Demon Extermination Corps.”
His eyes gleamed as he said it.
“We’re off to kill Georak. Wanna come along?”