Yaphenon was in chaos.

“The new Demon King is leading his forces straight to the capital!”

“All our weapon enchantments have been nullified!”

“His Majesty Utor has fallen…”

The Grand Marshal who had remained behind to defend the capital, Makal, furrowed his thick brows and rose from his heavy chair.

“Silence.”

He had known, deep down, that something like this would happen eventually.

Makal let out a long sigh.

‘Utor… in the end, you’ve led our nation to ruin.’

Utor had never listened to advice. He only did what he wanted.

Still, Makal knew this wasn’t just Utor’s fault alone.

In a nation that judged everything solely by strength, perhaps Utor was simply the ruler that matched the will of its people.

‘And I’m no different.’

He had kept his silence, convinced he alone could change nothing. Though he had voiced objections in the past, Utor had disliked him for it and left him behind.

And yet, entrusting the capital to him showed Utor still believed Makal would never betray the country—a cruel irony, indeed.

“Fortify the eastern gate—it’s our weakest point. Go to the guilds and gather every mercenary available. And make sure we prioritize mages for rear support.”

Whatever happened now, they had to prepare for the Demon King’s assault.

“For now, I’ll request assistance from Holy Krata.”

They might not send troops immediately, but if Krata would at least dispatch some Guardian Knights who held command authority, that alone would be a tremendous help.

He made his way to the conference chamber—one meant for Utor—and used the crystal orb to contact Krata.

“This is Makal, serving as Grand Marshal in charge of defending Yaphenon’s capital. I request aid from His Majesty of Krata on behalf of King Utor, who is currently absent.”

When the priest on the other end asked for the reason behind the emergency request, Makal explained.

Soon, a familiar figure shimmered into view above the crystal orb.

『You were told not to use this for trivial matters.』

Projecting both image and voice across space required an enormous amount of divine power. Unless personally summoned by the Emperor of Krata, using this communication method came with serious consequences.

“Your Majesty.”

Even so, Makal opened his mouth without hesitation.

“I can’t express enough my gratitude that you answered in person…”

『Enough.』

The heavy voice of Emperor Lutan of Krata bore down on Makal like a crushing weight.

『How utterly incompetent you Yaphenon fools are.』

A scathing rebuke.

『You dare request this of Us, simply because Utor was killed by the so-called new Demon King. Pathetic.』

There was fury in Lutan’s voice.

『Krata has matters of its own to tend to. We will dispatch forces to Yaphenon at an appropriate time.』

“Your Majesty?”

Makal looked stricken.

“But the Demon King’s army is already advancing directly on the capital—”

『Is this not the consequence of Yaphenon attacking the Saintess’ nation?』

The Saintess’ nation?

Makal flinched, his eyes lifting in confusion, and Lutan continued.

『It has been revealed that the Empress of Ezer is the Saintess. Because of your reckless attack on Ezer, the Saintess now leads an allied force up to Krata’s southwestern border in a show of force.』

The Empress of Ezer… is the Saintess?

The news stunned Makal, and Lutan tilted his head with disapproval.

『And now, you dare ask Us to send troops in the middle of this? How far will Yaphenon go to test Our patience?』

The Saintess of Ezer. The Demon King’s army on the march. Krata caught in between, unable to move freely.

‘What… what is happening…?’

Makal couldn’t keep up with the situation, but he had no choice but to speak up again.

“Y-Your Majesty… if we lose Yaphenon, the Demon King’s army will gain a direct foothold into Krata. Supporting us is in Krata’s best interest—!”

『Are you suggesting,』

Lutan’s voice now held something almost inhuman,

『That We will suffer defeat if We do not act immediately?』

“N-No, that’s not what I meant—”

『We will handle it Ourselves.』

Lutan cut him off coldly, not even letting him finish.

『The Demon King’s army will not last long on that soil anyway.』

Snap.

The crystal orb dimmed and died.

Makal urgently turned to the attending priest and asked for it to be relit, but the priest only shook his head with a troubled look—reconnection was impossible.

“D-Dammit…”

They won’t last long, he had said. What the hell did that mean? Makal couldn’t even begin to guess.

“If Yaphenon falls, Krata will be in danger too…!”

He slammed the table in frustration as he shouted.

“M-Marshal Makal!”

At his adjutant’s cry, Makal rushed outside and made his way to the walls upon hearing that the Demon King’s army was approaching.

“…Impossible.”

And there he saw it—with his own eyes.

At the head of the Demon King’s army stood the former Hero, Clay.

“So the rumors… they were true.”

As Makal muttered in helpless disbelief, the Demon King’s army began their assault, scaling the capital walls. Yaphenon’s soldiers fought back, but without the enchantments on their weapons, they were nothing more than dust left behind in the capital.

Even the mercenaries they had requested from the guilds never gathered. Instead, they fled the capital—heading in the opposite direction of the advancing army.

The gates were breached. Their forces were utterly swept away.

Makal, standing before the Demon King’s army, came face-to-face with the one leading the vanguard—a demon named Geshkafor.

His weapon lost, Makal grappled with both hands, trying to match strength with the demon. But he was overpowered.

Geshkafor forced him to his knees with brute strength.

“Kuahahah! This is power, human!”

To a nation like Yaphenon, where everything was measured by strength, Geshkafor embodied the true meaning of power. Makal’s arms twisted grotesquely as he screamed in agony.

Then, into his blurred field of vision walked Clay.

Once, he would have rushed to the aid of a suffering human faster than anyone—solving every situation with unwavering resolve. But now, he walked slowly, seemingly indifferent to screams like these.

“Makal.”

He still remembered Makal’s name.

“This is the fate of the powerless.”

The Hero who had once said that courage and determination mattered more than strength… now spoke a line crueler than Utor ever had.

“Heh… haha…”

Despite himself, Makal laughed. He didn’t even know why.

“I owe you… an apology.”

His voice barely emerged, vision clouded by pain.

“For everything… that drove you to say such things…”

It was all he could say as a final confession. His vision went black, Clay’s silhouette vanishing with it.

“You wouldn’t know.”

Clay’s voice drifted into the dying man’s thoughts.

“How many people in this world can’t even bring themselves to say those words.”

There was sorrow in that voice—an emotion one would never expect from the enemy of the world.

And only then did Makal understand.

‘So that’s what it is… The Demon King isn’t born from evil…’

As the city walls crumbled, so did his final thoughts.

♧

“P-Please return at once!”

Southwestern border of Krata.

A Kratan officer shouted from atop the walls, staring down at the Ezer Alliance forces who had camped directly in front of them.

“If you continue this any longer, it could escalate into real war!”

His voice betrayed his panic.

If Ezer’s show of force continued, there was no telling how Emperor Lutan would respond.

‘Damn it… What is going on…?’

Unbelievable news had shaken them. Ezer’s Empress was the Saintess. And now, the Ezer Alliance had bypassed Marfane, which controlled most of Krata’s southwestern territories, and instead cut through nearby elf forests to reach Krata’s gates.

The elves had joined Ezer. Even the Blue Tower had lent its strength. This was no ordinary mobilization.

“Turn back!”

All the officer could do was shout repeatedly.

The very fact that they’d come this far meant Ezer had committed everything. Even the smallest spark could ignite irreversible consequences.

“If His Majesty has to intervene, you know what that means! Please, I beg you, turn back!”

To his desperate plea, someone stepped forward from the Ezer Alliance.

『We are only here to report that Yaphenon attacked us. Our lives were in danger—so we brought forces to ensure our safety.』

Using an amplification spell cast by a Blue Tower mage, Empress Tia of Ezer addressed the Kratan commander directly.

『If you can offer a resolution to that matter, we will leave peacefully.』

“Ugh…”

The commander grimaced.

Who was he to negotiate with Krata’s Emperor? Even if she was the Saintess, it wasn’t within his authority to promise anything.

“Message from His Majesty the Emperor!”

Just then, a soldier ran up with news from Lutan.

“His Majesty orders that the Ezer Alliance is not to be confronted! He says to send them away peacefully!”

“W-What?”

Weren’t they already trying to do that?

“And furthermore, since King Utor is dead and Yaphenon’s capital has fallen to the Demon King, there is no one left to punish. His Majesty says to request a later date for proper discussions.”

The follow-up made the commander’s eyes widen.

“W-What did you say?”

King Utor was dead, and the capital under siege? The cascade of shocking news left him speechless.

“…”

Staring blankly, the commander could no longer form words. Even if he passed on the message as ordered, would the Ezer Alliance even believe him?

Swallowing hard, he could only stand there, stunned.

“You have to tell them!”

The soldier who had delivered Lutan’s message shouted urgently.

“We’ll be in danger if we stall any longer! His Majesty has taken a conciliatory stance—we must send them back while we can! If we delay, we’ll all get caught up in it!”

The desperate plea finally shook the commander into action.

He slowly stepped forward, looked down at the Ezer Alliance, and opened his mouth.

“T-To Her Majesty the Empress of Ezer! King Utor is dead! Yaphenon’s capital is currently under attack by the Demon King!”

He clenched his eyes shut and shouted the rest.

“There is no longer anyone left to punish. His Majesty Lutan of Krata requests that you return for now and await a proper time for discussion!”

『…A request from His Majesty Lutan?』

“That’s correct! So please, I beg you, return!”

『Understood.』

She might not believe it. He was prepared for that.

But Tia responded as if she’d known it all along.

“…What?”

While the commander stood in disbelief, Tia raised her voice.

『We’re leaving! Everyone, prepare to move out!』

With that single command, the entirety of the Ezer Alliance turned and began to withdraw.

As the confused soldiers of Krata looked on, Tia walked between Nael and Yelena, murmuring softly.

“Clay… it looks like you’ve done it.”

A faint smile bloomed across her lips.

(End of Chapter)

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