Soila Muesilrigo, Second Princess of the Muet Empire
History remembers her as Soila Muesilrigo, the Muet Empire's second princess. But there are five people in the world who call her by another name: the Hero, the Thief, the Mage, the Saint, and the Guide. Those five call Soila Muesilrigo the Demon King. The king of the demons.
An appearance that didn't look like anything from this world, black smoke billowing from its body. It was an unmistakable trait of a certain race, one whose lives revolved around fighting and dying in battle.
A demon. Once, the nightmare that devoured half the world.
Ellis easily blocked the demon's attack. The moment its claws met her sword, the demon's body froze.
"Puppy. You need to stay still."
Ellis stared calmly at the demon. When she withdrew her sword, it backed away. It looked like a frightened mutt.
The battle ground to a halt.
This was no time to worry about thief ambushes. A demon had burst from the carriage.
The other knights and mercenaries vaguely knew there was a creature in the third carriage. They also knew Ellis was the one handling it.
If it were just animal transport, there'd be no need for tension. An animal was an animal, no matter how impressive. Even a beast was just a meal for over a hundred superhumans.
But a demon was different.
The demons' most defining trait. The true reason they were so terrifying.
Anyone exposed to the black mist for too long turned into a demon.
And now, black mist was leaking out in every direction.
No one was ignorant of demons. The stories parents told their children just starting to understand words were tales of demons and the Hero.
People treated demons as symbols of terror, but no one truly took the threat seriously. All the demons were dead. That was accepted as fact.
But the danger had become reality. The black smoke spreading everywhere was no dream or illusion.
"D-Demon!"
"Don't touch the mist—run! Touch it, and you'll turn into one!"
Azenman Riantl's men began fleeing. Only a handful remained.
Even the best forces Azenman could muster were mercenaries driven by coin. He knew that, so he never ordered them to fight to the death, nor did he expect it.
This operation wouldn't have been that risky if the first trap worked as planned. But demons changed everything.
To most people, demons were completely unknown enemies. Monstrous, unstoppable horrors that terrified even in rumors alone. Bonds forged by money shattered pathetically in the face of death.
The same went for Yurel's carriage guards. Half were hired mercenaries. Expensive ones, more reliable than riffraff, but when lives were on the line, mercenaries were all the same.
Even Yurel's knights were swept up in the panic and running.
In that chaos, Marhal came face-to-face with Ellis.
Marin, who had been watching Marhal's mood from the side, instinctively stepped back.
Marhal was smiling as always. But to Marin, that smile felt like her body was burning in flames.
Marhal's lips parted slowly.
"Let me ask again. What were you planning to do with that thing in the West?"
"On the contrary, that's what I want to ask you. What's your connection to Lady Soila and Princess Bayola?"
"You know Sister Soila? Marhal?"
Bayola's gaze darted busily between Ellis and Marhal.
Ellis observed their reactions. Marhal's eyes never left her. They were fixed on Ellis and the demon behind her, unblinking.
The thickening smoke turned to mist, and the cowering demon began growling low again, baring its ferocity.
And standing before it was a single knight.
"Fine. Let's start simple. What's your name?"
"Ellis Alrobes, knight in service to Her Highness Soila Muesilrigo, Second Princess."
For the first time, an expression crossed Marhal's face, which had remained unchanged while watching the demon.
Marhal was surprised. Very surprised.
He hadn't expected to hear Soila Muesilrigo's name from an imperial mouth. And her personal knight, no less.
The flicker of shock was fleeting. Whatever she was about to do couldn't be forgiven just because she was Soila's guard.
"My turn now? Who are you?"
"Marhal. Mercenary."
"Such an obvious lie…."
"Also the guide who led Hero Basta on his journey."
"Guide…?"
It took Ellis time to process Marhal's words.
No one in the world didn't know the title of Hero. But very few knew the Hero's true name.
Hero Basta. A commoner, neither noble, knight, nor mercenary. A mutant monster who appeared out of nowhere.
The Empire, the Holy Empire, and the entrenched powers behind the current Union had buried his name. They didn't want the Hero becoming famous.
Those who knew Basta's real name were high nobles, their direct agents, and the Hero's close associates.
Which meant the man before her truly knew the Hero.
"First time hearing the Hero had a guide."
"Of course. Who'd be dumb enough to brag about that?"
It made sense. Even the Hero Party themselves kept their tracks hidden. They wouldn't reveal the fifth member.
"As Hero Basta's guide—and as one who stayed with him to the end—there's something I have to hear from you. You brought that thing all the way to the West. What were you planning to do with it?"
Murk clouded his colorless eyes.
Ellis staggered back.
Those eyes! That gaze!
Her mystery was extraordinary. It stopped her body's time, preventing aging. A clue to true immortality beyond human desire, which was why she received significant interest and support from the mystery trackers despite not being one herself.
Ellis had seen many mages. Those who inherited mysteries for centuries might not split the earth or summon storms like Mar Silanatiell, but they wielded powers beyond mortal imagination—miracles made real.
Extraordinary people had extraordinary gazes from the start. Old mages' eyes held madness and purity toward mysteries, colored by the magic they wielded.
But eyes like this man's? Never.
Utterly murky. Darkness symbolized foreboding, but absolute void-like darkness inspired awe.
His eyes were the same. So polluted that nothing in the world could cleanse them. A murkiness transcending cognition evoked an eerie purity.
It was beyond comprehension.
Ellis wasn't afraid of death. She was prepared to sacrifice herself if it meant finding Soila.
Yet fear bloomed deep in her chest.
Death was a light word. Peering into those eyes, what lay at the end was something far worse.
"Answer me. What were you going to do in the West? If I don't hear it, there'll be no more conversation."
"The order was to release it in a pioneer village at the West's edge. I don't know beyond that. My role was just controlling the thing."
"Who gave the order?"
"Yurel. The Emperor's fifth child."
"You accepted that, knowing what might happen after the mission?"
"The thing said if I joined this, I'd get a clue to Lady Soila's whereabouts."
"A future-seeing mage, huh."
Night Dew was facing off against Strekl.
When the demon appeared, both stepped back, halting their fight to glare at each other warily.
"That bastard's magic is real. I've known him for years—I can vouch. So, do you know Lady Soila?"
"She's dead."
"What?"
"Over a decade ago. Died doing the same thing you are. Pretty stupid, falling into the exact same trap as her liege."
"What the hell does that mean? Answer me!"
Ellis refused to accept reality. She had some inkling of her own role.
Release a demon in the West. When demons reappeared, the Empire would have its pretext. A justification to intervene in the West independently, free from the troublesome Union framework.
From there, Yurel could expand influence faster than rivals, gaining the upper hand in the succession struggle.
She was the bait for that plan. Expendable in death, hopeless even in survival. Her tracks were already exposed. Waiting for her were the obsessive attentions of power-mad royals and nobles.
And at the end, only a wretched death after being used up.
"I risked my life to come this far! I don't care if Lady Soila's gone! I just wanted the truth—that's how I've lived! But the same trap? Lady Soila fell into a trap, and I'll die the same way?! Answer me!"
"Yes. She might get some leniency as an innocent victim, but if you knew and did it anyway? No mercy."
Marhal looked up. The sky was visible. The sun had vanished.
Hidden by the demon's black smoke, he hadn't noticed, but storm clouds blanketed the heavens. The bright wasteland darkened.
Raindrops began to fall. Winds howled, lightning cracked from the sky.
The clear weather had turned to a typhoon's fury.
This wasn't his power.
History was raging. The wrath of the West's lives slain by demons. Fury at history's repetition, half the world threatened again.
In the downpour, Ellis screamed until her throat tore.
"What does that mean? Answer me! Please, just answer…!"
Her voice dissolved into sobs.
She couldn't believe it. Soila was clever. No one who'd fall for a trap like that. Unlike a fool like her.
"The same trap? Demons didn't even exist back then!"
"But they appeared not long after she vanished."
"…!"
She'd never considered it. Who would link the princess's disappearance to the demons' emergence?
The demons' rise shook the world. Soila's vanishing went unnoticed partly because it coincided.
No way. It couldn't be….
With clues laid this far, no special deduction was needed.
Ellis voiced the truth.
"Someone created demons and sent them to the West with Her Highness? That's impossible. No, who would even…."
"Only the parties involved would know."
"Parties?"
"I only saw the result. Not the process."
"Lies. If Her Highness was in the same situation as me, you'd never have met her."
Because by then, Soila would already be a demon.
Humans turned demons lost their reason. Even rational demons had no records of retaining human memories. Mystery trackers who captured and studied them deemed it impossible.
"Ah. I see what you're getting at. But every rule has exceptions. Couldn't the most powerful demon retain its form and reason even after turning?"
"The most powerful demon?"
A dreadful premonition flashed through Ellis's mind.
It couldn't be. It mustn't.
"When we arrived before the Demon King, it rose from the throne and gave its name."
"Don't say it. Don't you dare say another word!"
Ellis screamed, and Bayola, who had been listening, covered her ears.
Winds howled, thunder roared. Gale and lightning buried other sounds.
But superhuman hearing pierced through, catching the cruel truth.
"Demon King Soila Muesilrigo. That's the name of the one who destroyed half the world."
Ellis wailed. She collapsed to her knees, clawing at her scalp with her nails.
Her soul's scream took the form of silence.