The Hero Has Returned
The imperial conference hall.
The Emperor and the Crown Princess sat at the head, surrounded by high-ranking nobles and the members of the Hero's party.
"They say the beacon was lit in Epaltelga."
It was Rinacien who broke the ice.
Normally, the Emperor should have spoken first, but now that she had officially begun her succession training, Rinacien took charge of the meeting.
Though her tone was calm, she could not entirely hide her anxiety, proving she still had much to learn.
"Epaltelga is indeed the kind of backwater where demons could easily hide."
"The beacon signaled the discovery of demons, and they lit it twice more after that. This means it wasn't an accidental signal."
The nobles first tried to grasp the situation.
A beacon warning of demons had been lit in Epaltelga, and it was no mistake.
That was all they knew.
"The Demon King is dead! The radiance of the Holy Coffin proves it!"
"Yet the beacons were lit. Three times, no less. It is certain that the Demon King is dead, but it is also certain that demons still exist."
"And they are scattered throughout our Empire's cities!"
"Good heavens, what are we to do?"
It was a repetition of already established facts.
A textbook example of empty academic debate.
"Did I not warn you that remote places like Epaltelga are perfect breeding grounds for demons, and that we needed to strengthen our border security?!"
One noble clung to the past, shifting blame.
"If demons are still alive, doesn't that mean the Demon King will return soon as well?"
Another stoked unnecessary anxiety with baseless assumptions.
"We must dispatch a subjugation force immediately! It would be stranger if the demons vanished the moment the Demon King died. Snow doesn't melt overnight. They are surely nothing but remnants."
"And how do you propose we capture those monstrous beasts?"
One wanted to resolve everything with brute force without a concrete plan.
There was no logical basis for any of their arguments, only voices amplified by status and power.
Despite the gathering of central nobles and regional lords, the discussion went in circles without making any progress.
"So what's the conclusion, you idiots?!"
If Lucy were here, she would have lost her temper and screamed exactly that.
For once, Nydrian wished Lucy were present.
The Hero would have grown sick of this wasteful meeting, shouted them down in a fit of rage, and brought it to an end in an instant.
"Um, everyone, please calm down. I think it would be better to discuss how to handle the demons in Epaltelga and our future plans..."
She mustered the courage to speak, but her naturally quiet, introverted voice was drowned out. No one heard her.
Embarrassed by her failed attempt to restore order, Nydrian caught the eyes of Rinacien and Arciel and quickly hung her head.
Arciel looked pitying and bored, while Rinacien wore a faint, superior smile.
"We are talking in circles."
It was Reinhold who silenced the room.
As the handsome, blonde-haired, blue-eyed young man stood up, the assembly fell silent and focused on him.
"No matter what opinions you offer, they are all useless without the approval of His Imperial Majesty and Her Imperial Highness."
Had he always been this overbearing?
His tone was polite, but the underlying message was incredibly arrogant.
Arciel, Nydrian, and the other nobles in the hall all felt a wave of doubt.
Reinhold, who was highly popular for his considerate and gentle manner, had just openly rebuked them, leaving them thoroughly displeased.
"You go too far, Lord Reinhold. The imperial family relies on the counsel of the talented individuals gathered here to adopt and execute the most rational plan."
"My apologies, Your Imperial Highness. I also offer my sincerest apologies to everyone present for my rudeness."
A well-rehearsed play.
Arciel clicked her tongue inwardly.
Rinacien was a woman who had always used theatrical setups to make herself look good since childhood.
Now that she was the Crown Princess, her acting partner had simply changed from Lee to Reinhold.
"First, let us establish a simple fact."
At Rinacien's nod, Reinhold stepped forward, taking an object from an attendant waiting in the back.
"That's...!"
Arciel's eyes widened.
What Reinhold held was the Holy Coffin sealing the Demon King's single horn.
"How dare you bring a holy relic under the Holy Kingdom's supervision here without permission!"
"We received the Pope's approval to borrow it solely for this meeting. We followed proper legal procedures, so there is no need to get excited, Saint."
Arciel ground her teeth at Reinhold's cold reply.
It seemed the Pope had made another under-the-table deal with Rinacien's faction.
She didn't care what the deal was, but it infuriated her that it had been done without even notifying her, the Saint.
Rinacien flinched slightly at Arciel's harsh reaction, but quickly composed herself. She took the Holy Coffin from Reinhold and held it up for everyone to see.
"As you can see, this coffin glows because it is containing the Demon King's demonic energy. Therefore, the Demon King has not been resurrected."
How unrefined.
Nydrian, keeping her head down, silently nitpicked the Crown Princess's phrasing.
She didn't have the courage to say it out loud, of course.
"Lord Reinhold, the sword as well, please."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The next object brought out was the Holy Sword, Hnoni, which had lost its light.
"Your Imperial Highness, why is the Holy Sword here...?"
"Lord Reinhold and I have agonized over the current situation. However, despite the time we spent, we could only come up with several hypotheses rather than a clear explanation."
"Hypotheses, you say?"
Rinacien stood at the forefront, delivering her speech with the Holy Coffin and the Holy Sword Hnoni on display.
Arciel's stomach churned with rage.
The Holy Sword was also under the Holy Kingdom's custody.
They had brought not just one, but two restricted items without saying a single word to her.
It was a clear sign that the Empire was crossing the line with her.
"One of the many hypotheses, which has already been mentioned, is that the demons in Epaltelga are simply remnants. If so, they must be subjugated. The Hero's party will take action."
This time, Nydrian was startled.
She snapped her head up, her expression making it obvious she had received no prior warning.
Arciel felt the same, though she had expected this much since they were the Hero's party.
Of course, that didn't change the irritating fact that they hadn't been told beforehand.
"Is the Demon King still alive or resurrected? Since the Holy Coffin—a relic of the Holy Kingdom and proof of the Demon King's defeat—has not lost its light, we can all confidently deny that."
Arciel and Nydrian glanced at their last resort, the mage Tigria.
But the mage merely looked on with her usual expressionless face.
She seemed completely indifferent to whatever was being discussed in the hall.
"However, the Holy Sword here has lost its light. Ever since the Hero, Luciena Estelle, perished along with the Demon King."
"Your Highness, forgive me, but we are discussing the existence of the demons and the Demon King, and how to deal with them. What connection does the Holy Sword, which has already fulfilled its role and become a mere symbol, have to do with this?"
It was a sharp point, but the noble who raised it had already been bought by Rinacien and Reinhold.
It was a classic setup: during a chaotic debate, someone challenges the Crown Princess with a seemingly logical point, only for her to easily crush it and showcase her brilliance and wit.
It was pure theater.
"It is a distasteful subject to speak of, but demons are not born through reproduction. Rather, they are created when humans fall to corruption amidst impure emotions."
The room began to murmur.
Those quick on the uptake realized what hypothesis the Crown Princess was about to present and gasped in shock.
"It may be hard to believe, but we must prepare for every possibility."
"Your Highness, surely you don't mean...!"
"Yes, indeed! I, Rinacien Carlun, and Lord Morgan Reinhold, propose the hypothesis that the Hero, Luciena Estelle, has fallen—or is falling—to corruption as the new Demon King."
Slam!
"What kind of absolute nonsense is that?!"
"Saint, such rudeness to Her Imperial Highness..."
"It is fine, Lord Reinhold. Yes, Saint. I know it is a difficult hypothesis to accept."
"Your Highness...! I admit it is a shocking hypothesis, but there is absolutely no evidence to support it. It is nothing but a forced narrative."
When it came to having a foul mouth, Arciel was no less than Lucy—in fact, she was worse.
But unlike Lucy, Arciel knew how to read the room.
"Tigria! Say something!"
"Since it has already been declared a hypothesis, there is no need to refute it."
"So you're saying this hypothesis actually makes sense?"
"Inevitable. It is merely a hypothesis. Despite witnessing the Demon King's death, demons still exist. We are now in the realm of assumptions and theories."
"The Hero is dead. We saw it with our own eyes! How could she fall to corruption and become the Demon King?!"
"Demanding answers from me will only yield theoretical explanations."
"Then give me those."
Tigria shrugged.
"The Demon King is both a power and a concept. In theory, if the Demon King dies, the power vanishes, and demons cannot exist. If demons remain despite the Holy Coffin sealing the horn, a comparable existence must be maintaining that demonic power."
Did she coordinate with them too?
Arciel began to suspect everything.
"The probability of the Demon God's involvement is extremely low. By treaty, the Demon God does not intervene directly unless punishing their own creations, much like the Goddess. Practically impossible. Therefore, the only remaining possibility is that the demonic energy settled in the Hero's body. Since she suffered mental collapse at the end, the likelihood of her being corrupted by demonic energy after defeating the Demon King is high. It is the most logical explanation."
"Why do you keep framing the Hero?"
"No other mortal could withstand, maintain, and awaken that demonic energy as a power itself."
A bitter taste filled Arciel's mouth.
She had brought Tigria in to refute the Crown Princess, but it had only lent credibility to the theory.
As she racked her brain to find another counterargument, she felt less like a Saint and more like a politician.
The Arciel who used to charge forward with loyalty, faith, and stubborn honesty was nowhere to be found.
What would Lee say if he saw her like this?
"I didn't leave you behind for this..."
Arciel fiddled with the cheap hairpin in her pocket.
Right. To hell with the mind games.
That was never my style anyway.
I'll just go back to being the person who trusted nothing but her own fists.
"Either way, we have to go to Epaltelga to confirm the demons."
"Oh, have you finally come to understand?"
"I don't understand the hypothesis. I'm just going to verify it."
"...Very well. We will form a subjugation force. It will be led by the High Elf Nydrian and Saint Arciel of the Hero's party."
"Are you telling us to face demons without our shield knight and mage?!"
Nydrian raised her voice in protest for the first time.
It was practically a shriek.
"It cannot be helped. If the entire Hero's party leaves for the subjugation, the capital will be left defenseless. If the demons attack the capital in the meantime, we will have no way to defend it."
"The same goes for the Elven Forest! Especially now, the forest is...!"
"Nydrian! Stop!"
"Arciel!"
Arciel shook her head.
It meant it was useless.
Both of them felt a heavy weight in their chests.
They had committed injustices to achieve a greater cause, yet they had gained nothing. Now, they were on the verge of being discarded like useless dogs.
In the end, the Goddess was punishing them.
It was a rather belated self-reflection for a Saint.
"You should know when to stop, bastard."
With a resigned expression, the Saint spoke to the shield knight.
"If you push it too far, you'll receive a greater punishment."
"I have no idea what you mean."
But the shield knight feigned innocence, shamelessly lifting his chin.
"Whatever. We're leaving. Since the two of us aren't needed here anymore, we will take our leave, Crown Princess."
"Yes. Rest well until the subjugation force departs."
Arciel didn't even have the energy to get angry at their pathetic smirks.
As Arciel and Nydrian swallowed their sighs and turned around—
"I dream of it."
A voice that should not be heard,
a voice that could not possibly be here,
echoed through the entire hall.
Rumble!
And with a deafening roar, the Holy Sword Hnoni burst into a brilliant red-gold light.
"Aaaaargh!"
The attendant holding the Holy Sword threw it aside in sheer panic, but Hnoni floated in midair, its radiance growing even more intense.
"A peaceful day with him... Please... Goddess...! Save him."
The voice, weeping and deeply sorrowful, was filled with grief and desperate longing.
The voice belonged to Lucy.
While everyone stood frozen, Hnoni vibrated violently before shooting upward, piercing straight through the ceiling of the imperial palace.
For a brief moment, a trail of red-gold light marked the path of the Holy Sword before vanishing into the sky.
Arciel was the first to snap out of it.
She looked at the Crown Princess, who was staring up at the sky with wide, unsightly eyes, and asked the mage.
"The Hero fell to corruption as the Demon King?"
"Correction. The Holy Sword emits light reflecting the characteristics of the current generation's Hero. The Hero of this generation, Luciena Estelle, is red-gold. The light of the Holy Sword just now was also red-gold. Therefore, the hypothesis of the Crown Princess and the shield knight is proven false."
Tigria declared flatly, her face as expressionless as ever.
"Conclusion: The Hero has returned."
Their original plan had failed.