Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 462

There was no need for me to watch this. I had seen enough to understand the reality of the empire. Yet, I found it difficult to leave. It felt like my responsibility to take in all these sights.

Even though merely witnessing these horrific events that resulted from my actions wouldn’t solve anything, it felt like something I had to do.

I passed by the endless, sprawling scene of broken lives. The further I approached the outskirts, the more severe the situation became. It wasn’t uncommon to see corpses between the shanties, swarming with maggots and flies.

In its current state, the empire lacked the capacity to support all these people. They somehow managed to save these people, but if those they saved ended up starving to death like this, what was the point of saving them?

Whether they were killed by monsters or slowly died by starvation, the result was the same. Just as I used mages to cultivate food in the Edina Archipelago, the empire had to be doing similar things. But then, the empire also had to expend manpower to protect its vast territory from monsters.

In addition to supporting the existing vassal states, they also had to allocate forces to bring an end to the Gate Incident once and for all. While the Edina Archipelago could focus all its resources to support its citizens, the empire did not have that luxury. Therefore, people were dying meaningless deaths in places where the empire could not intervene.

In excessively desperate situations, there was neither anger nor hatred on people’s faces. Those in the shadow of the specter of death sat haphazardly in the streets, lacking even the energy to resent the world as they slowly died.

As I approached the edge of the refugee zone, near the outskirts...

Bang!

Roar!

—Ahhhh!

—It’s a monster!

I saw a monster rampaging through the camp, tearing through and destroying the shanties.

A gate monster had wandered in from somewhere. There were no guards in this lawless area, and even if there were, I wasn’t sure whether they could handle it.

The monster had the face of a boar and the body of a gorilla, standing about four meters tall. It was just a single creature, and not a large group. It didn’t seem particularly powerful, but if left unchecked, hundreds of people in the refugee camp could die.

These civilians couldn’t handle even one of those.

Without any protection, even a single monster like that could cause hundreds of deaths.

There was no time to waste. I activated my mana throughout my body and ran towards it. It was quite a distance away, but with my speed, it was not an issue.

Thud! Crash!

—Run! Run away!

I ran into the midst of the people who were being mercilessly crushed and broken.

Gasp!

Thud!

As I threw my punch, I converted the mana imbued in my fist directly into destructive power.

Boom!

With a single mana-infused punch, the monster’s head exploded.

I hadn’t reached Master class yet, but I had become incomparably stronger than before.

***

Even though I hadn’t reached Master class, it didn’t mean my strength was lacking.

[Name: Baalier]

[Age: 20]

[Race: Archdemon

[Current Stats:

Strength: 26.4 (A+)

Agility: 23 (A)

Dexterity: 20.9 (A-)

Mana: 41.9 (SS)

Stamina 25.8 (A)]

[Talents:

Supernatural Power: Self-Deception

Supernatural Power: Incantation

Mana Domination

Weapon Mastery

Magic Resistance

Ability Resistance

Toxin Resistance]

[Traits:

Divine Spirit

Hero’s Lineage

Qi Sense]

[Abilities:

Control Demon: A

Self-Deception: S

Incantation: B

Mana Reinforcement: A]

[Overall Ability Evaluation: Demon King]

[Combat Level: S+]

I earned Achievement Points each time I defeated a monster, as though achieving experience points in a game.

During the two years away, as my responsibilities in Edina increased, the need for me to engage in direct combat had gradually diminished. Initially, however, I had to fight relentlessly, without a moment to breathe. Those were days of tearing through the flesh of monsters.

I invested the mountain of Achievement Points I’d accumulated into strengthening myself. Personally, I wanted to maximize my mana stat, but after reaching SS rank, further investment became impossible.

While I couldn’t purchase the excessively expensive top-tier talents, I was able to develop a few new talents. However, because of the need to focus on the duties of a king, once those intense battles of the earlier days were over, I spent more time on the throne instead. As a result, I couldn’t advance certain aspects of myself to the next stage.

Nevertheless, my basic physical abilities had developed to an extreme degree, and my mana stat had increased to an incomprehensible level, making my mana output comparable to any other Master.

I had achieved a form of abnormal growth, where my basic abilities were over-tuned without me having advanced to the next stage. Thus, while my output was not just on par with Master but exceeded it, I lacked precision and versatility.

In terms of mana stats alone, I was now on par with Sabioleen Tana. Of course, I wasn’t confident I could win if I fought her.

Thud!

The headless body of the monster collapsed to the ground. Although I was covered in the monster’s flesh and blood, it flowed off the mana barrier enveloping my body, leaving my clothes unstained.

In that brief moment, the monster had destroyed about twenty shanties and killed around fifteen people. Everything happened in less than a minute after the monster first appeared.

—W-whoa...

—Who... who is that...?

The fleeing people stared blankly at me, the one who had neutralized the monster in a single blow. I had disguised my appearance using Sarkegar’s ring so no one would recognize me, and so there was no need to explain anything or say anything.

Just as I was about to leave the scene...

Gurgle!

Something within the corpse of the dead monster began to bubble up like bloody foam, and from that foam, something started to emerge.

Sharp, needle-like tentacles hidden within the corpse shot towards me.

Gasp!

Clang!

I summoned Alsbringer and deflected the tentacles. The impact felt far too intense for the sound of flesh meeting a blade.

No matter how formidable my mana barrier was, these monsters were unpredictable. I had thought it was dead, but these tentacles had emerged from the corpse.

Whoosh!

Using the Flame of Tuesday, I burned away not only the monster’s corpse but also the writhing tentacles that had been flung away.

“...”

People were watching me.

—That’s...

—That sword...

Everyone was staring at my sword. It was usually the educated class that could recognize a holy relic. However, the two holy relics possessed by the Demon King, Alsbringer and Tiamata, had become as famous as Ellen’s Lament and Lapelt. Therefore, people recognized them right away.

One of the people trembling on the ground pointed at me.

—The... Demon King...

—It’s the symbol of the Demon King!

“The symbol of the Demon King” was the new moniker given to Alsbringer and Tiamata.

People began to panic and flee in terror.

—The Demon King has appeared!

I hadn’t done it without expecting anyone to recognize me, and I had already learned enough about Gradium.

I took out a scroll book and unfolded a teleport scroll. I quietly watched as the terrified people fled, until the light of teleportation engulfed me.

***

“What do you mean, the Demon King appeared?”

Just before leaving the capital, Ellen heard some strange rumors and immediately returned to the imperial palace.

The Demon King... As soon as she heard those words, Ellen felt as if her mind had gone blank. She couldn’t bear not knowing what was going on. So she had no choice but to go against decorum and suddenly visit the emperor, even though she was Ellen Artorius.

Although it was already about time to turn in for the night, Vertus, having heard about the rumor, was in his office instead of his bedroom.

Vertus, who was rubbing his temples with his right hand, let out a deep sigh.

“It’s not the first time nonsense has come out of the refugee zone...” Vertus said.

At those words, Ellen felt the strange heat in her heart slowly subside.

It was all nonsense. It was common for people to see hallucinations amidst fear and panic. Ellen felt as if her darkened heart was cracking. She couldn’t believe that she had been swayed by such stories.

“Strictly speaking, it seems they saw Alsbringer, not the Demon King. From the description of it, it seems certain that it was Alsbringer... If that’s true, then it must be the Demon King... Reinhart,” Vertus said.

Ellen’s lips trembled at those words. If they saw Alsbringer, then it couldn’t be anyone else but the Demon King.

“They’re saying strange things. That the Demon King brought a monster with him, killed the refugees, and disappeared...” Vertus continued.

Just in that short time, the story had been distorted.

Ellen shook her head vigorously.

“That can’t be true...” she said.

“Of course not. I don’t know why or for what reason he came, but a monster appeared in the outskirts, and Reinhart killed it before going off somewhere. But who would believe that the Demon King saved humans?”

The Demon King had killed the monster attacking the refugees and disappeared. First-hand witnesses had seen the Demon King kill the monster, but those who didn’t only heard that a monster was killing refugees, and that the Demon King appeared after that.

The truth that the Demon King had killed the monster attacking the refugees and vanished was buried under the other rumors that were spreading like wildfire.

Since there was no reason for the Demon King to save humans, people chose not to believe the truth. Thus, a believable lie would take its place instead.

“Damn it. Is this how Reinhart felt...?”

“...”

Ellen and Vertus were experiencing the frustration that Reinhart must have felt in real-time. There was no reason for Reinhart to attack. And even if he had truly intended to attack the outskirts of the refugee area, he wouldn’t have brought just one monster.

People selectively choose what truths they want to believe out of fear. They didn’t believe that, if Reinhart had intended a proper attack, an entire section of the refugee zone would have been engulfed in flames.

They didn’t believe it because they simply couldn’t.

The truth could not reach the masses, who had been driven mad by fear and hatred.

How could they possibly trust the Demon King?

With that belief firmly planted within the minds of the wider populace, Ellen and Vertus had to watch as a believable lie spread as fact among the masses, feeling utterly stifled by the situation.

“Setting that aside, why on earth did Reinhart come here...?” Vertus wondered.

Vertus’s question was shared by Ellen as well.

The Demon King, who had fled the capital and about whom no news had been heard since, had appeared in the capital again.

Ellen suddenly recalled the earlier sensation, as if someone had been watching her. The strange feeling that she thought might have been just a delusion of hers.

‘Could it be? No way...’ Ellen thought.

The sudden thought that it might have been Reinhart filled Ellen with self-reproach.

She hadn’t been able to trust Reinhart, and yet here she was, indulging in the fantasy that Reinhart might still be thinking of her.

The idea that Reinhart might have been watching her seemed so absurd and ridiculous that Ellen almost laughed at herself.

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What reason would Reinhart have to do that? Wherever he was, Reinhart had gone there with the people who believed in him. There was no reason for him to seek her out again or to watch over her.

Two years had passed. In the midst of this miserable devastation, Reinhart would have long forgotten any feelings he had for her.

Reinhart had done nothing wrong to Ellen. The only one who had done anything wrong was herself. Therefore, Reinhart was free to forget her. Because he was the one who had been betrayed.

Ellen couldn’t forget Reinhart. Because she was the one who had betrayed him.

There was no way Reinhart would remember or reminisce about her, or that any tender feelings would remain. She didn’t even have the right to hope for that.

“Why... Why did he come...?”

Then why had he come to the capital, where he had never been before?

Why had he suddenly appeared?

Neither Ellen nor Vertus could understand the reason.

***

I returned to the royal castle overlooking the main port city in Rajak in the Edina Archipelago.

Harriet helped me remove my robe and neatly folded it over her hands.

“How is the empire?” she asked.

“... I can’t say it’s good, even as a joke.”

“How bad is it?”

“The population within the capital has long surpassed what the city itself can support. People keep pouring in, and they all have to worry about starving to death. The outskirts are practically lawless. If a group of monsters happens to pass through, thousands could die in ten minutes.”

Harriet let out a deep sigh at my words.

“And a monster appeared on the outskirts, so I had to summon Alsbringer. There will probably be reports spreading that I appeared in the capital... Nothing major will happen, but I can roughly predict what kind of rumors will spread... I don’t know what impact this will have later on.”

“You used Alsbringer?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t a big deal, but it was still a slightly dangerous situation.”

“Well, anyway, I’m glad you’re not hurt.”

Harriet and I walked side by side down the corridor of the royal castle.

The Demon King had appeared in the imperial capital. I hadn’t done anything particularly significant, but the mere fact that I had appeared could have a massive impact on the entire capital.

Now, the majority of the populace knew that the Demon King could appear in the capital at any time. People might begin to fear me more and fall into panic.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have summoned Alsbringer, despite the danger of the situation. However, plenty of monsters could penetrate Aura Armor—after all, Swordmasters were still killed by monsters.

I didn’t know how much or how far the fear would spread through the capital because of the Demon King’s appearance.

‘Perhaps I should have left the monster alone instead of intervening directly.’

Realizing that I’d had that thought sent a chill down my spine. I was afraid of how casually I was having these thoughts recently.

I had heard about the unsettling situation in the capital from Antirianus, but seeing it with my own eyes made it all the more real. The Edina Archipelago was also struggling to feed its people, but compared to the capital, it was like a paradise. While there were certainly people going hungry, at least no one was starving to death.