Chapter 18: Things Needed to Break the Hero

Here.

There is a knight.

He is clad in jet-black plate armor.

Yet, his build is relatively small.

He is more than a head shorter than Lueld, who stands right before him.

And yet, why is it?

The Hero, who had reached his prime after awakening the full potential of the Holy Sword, was—for some inexplicable reason—struggling to push himself up from the ground, having been knocked flat on his backside the moment their blades clashed, his face a whirlwind of conflicting emotions.

A sword as dark as midnight, matching the jet-black armor.

Nothing about it seemed overwhelming; not a single shred of intimidation emanated from it.

And yet.

“Here I come.”

Immediately after refining his breath and steeling his resolve, the Hero charged with an unbelievable speed, like a released arrow.

But with a single shift in posture and a short, concise slash delivered as a counter, the Jet-black Knight sent him tumbling across the ground once more.

“Your spirit is commendable, but your waste of strength is excessive, Hero of Radiance. Such power is useful when facing massive beasts, but it is problematic to mistake it for overwhelming performance in interpersonal combat. Those blinded by your sheer power would readily admit defeat, but it is a different matter when facing a master of Sword Aura like myself. Be grateful that we were not enemies fighting for our lives.”

As if indulging a spoiled child, he continued to strike down Lueld every time he rushed back.

Using his sword, knees, elbows, and even kicks, the Jet-black Knight unilaterally tossed him around.

“You still have a long way to go. Come back when you have grown more.”

Leaving those words behind, he calmed his rearing jet-black warhorse and mounted it.

The sight of Lueld, watching the departing rider’s back with vacant, devastated eyes…

====

“That knight… could it be Grandeus?”

“Do you know of him? I thought rumors of the Hero’s shame hadn’t spread that far.”

“…I’ve heard rumors of a legendary knight who defeated the Hero in swordsmanship.”

The rumors were abundant.

However.

“In the end, didn’t he lose his life in a duel with my father?”

“That happened just before I encountered you.”

Lueld—at a time when he had awakened the Holy Sword and Holy Relics, and when his skill and capacity were at their absolute peak.

“Why did my father duel him? They couldn’t have had a grudge deep enough to risk their lives over.”

Was there some circumstance he wasn’t aware of?

Did his father seek revenge out of narrow-mindedness?

Kariel himself might hate his father, but he did not deny the man’s fairness and integrity.

…Which was exactly why it was so infuriating.

That impartiality—treating everyone, including himself, equally without bias.

“Sigh.”

By defeating Grandeus, his father had effectively put an end to the rumors, making them seem like exaggerations or lies.

“Because he was one of the Demon Realm Generals.”

“Hm? …What?”

What on earth was this…?

“Though the only things he actually did were the sorts of things you’d find at a Relief Center.”

That was why the name of the knight order he led was the Order of Relief Knights.

“The Order of Relief Knights… aren’t they a group that still operates as a secret society? Surely…”

“Initially, it was under the pretext of providing relief to the weak amidst the chaos of war.”

A damn General on the invading side practicing relief work.

It was absolutely ridiculous.

“Your father didn’t know at first, either.”

“Then how did he find out?”

“Hehehe.”

Should I tell him or not?

“The foolish fellow requested it. He claimed that while it was only nominal, since they had become former comrades and lord and vassal, a knight cannot ignore the lord he is meant to protect. So, he personally set the stage so that he could face your father.”

In a way that was as dishonorable as possible.

“Your father must have found it quite distasteful.”

“……”

A lord.

“Why is there a knight from the Demon Realm in the first place?”

“It’s because of a novel written by the Great Demon King.”

“…?”

“It’s just how it is.”

Setting that aside.

“He was probably the first to outclass your father, who had reached his prime in swordsmanship and skill. Your father lost as easily as breathing when he was inexperienced, but once he fully awakened the Holy Sword, he had almost no rivals—excluding his own comrades or our core forces.”

“Weren’t there Heroes and legends in other countries as well?”

The Demon King curled the corners of her lips.

“That is why your father survived.”

The Demon King smiled blandly, as if speaking of someone else’s business.

“And that is why I ended up in this state.”

“……”

For example.

Because she was busy slaughtering other Heroes and legends…

…Was she saying that his father was given the time to grow?

“Your father wasn’t the only one with a Holy Sword or Holy Relic. I destroyed or broke at least a dozen of them.”

Thanks to that, the Religious Order must have shed tears like waterfalls from the stress of those losses.

“And there were many who were more threatening than Lueld; at the time, there was no reason to fear a mere young brat with a single Holy Sword.”

When facing an organization of a dozen Heroes armed with Holy Swords, Holy Spears, and various other Holy Relics, the Demon King herself had to take the front lines to minimize troop losses, even if she wasn’t the primary combat force.

Since additional reinforcements and supplies had to be managed locally.

…The reality was that even small losses were difficult to tolerate.

However, because the invasion force was so powerful, the enemies could not easily perceive such weaknesses.

Information disruption.

Stratagems of discord.

The establishment of thorough strategic tactics for a perfect victory.

“All old stories now.”

The Golden Demon King licked her lips as if savoring the memories.

“……”

A being who had practically toyed with the continent.

One who burned the world, treating the wails of blood and death as a song of amusement.

That villain, whom any human should naturally regard as an enemy.

In the end, was she merely a living witness to history?

But the souls of the countless innocent people who were unfairly killed by her… who on earth would cleanse them?

…It would be impossible.

To Kariel, she seemed to feel neither regret nor guilt.

She did what she did.

It’s a shame, but this is where it ends.

It would be strange to call it a sense of relief, but what could he do if that’s how it felt?

Furthermore.

Even in this isolated world where she could communicate with nothing other than Kariel himself.

She did not seem miserable or unhappy at all.

By the standards of the Religious Order, such a being should have been cast into hell, into the deepest depths of the abyss, long ago.

“You seem to have the leisure to look into the lives of others.”

Kariel flinched at the Demon King’s sudden remark.

“Do not pity others, nor despise them. No matter how wretched or filthy they may be, that is the life they entirely chose for themselves.”

“Aren’t there those who ended up that way… even though they didn’t want to?”

“That is their own fault. Their neglect and indulgence toward their own lives reached a natural conclusion; why do you, a stranger, lament it?”

“……”

“The ignorance of those who do not even know why they stand where they are. The incompetence of not even trying to find out. I have never lived a life so complacent as to spare sympathy for such things.”

It wasn’t because she was arrogant.

Nor was it because she was exceptionally distinguished or superior.

“Life and death are one. Do you think closing your eyes and plugging your ears allows you to avoid it?”

It cannot be avoided.

Then why do people neglect and indulge in life as if they will live for ten thousand years?

Even when one puts in every effort with desperate resolve, achieving something is uncertain.

At the very least, even if one does not challenge themselves, should they not know why they were born into this world, what they originated from?

As an intelligent being, if one does not know that…

They are essentially worse than a beast.

“An intelligent being who wishes to be a mere common wildflower is, in itself, a sin. A sin against whom? Not against the world or us, but a sin against that person themselves.”

“Why is that a sin?”

“Because they were born.”

“……”

Nonsensical words.

Who could dare guarantee that her standards were absolute?

One could pretend to agree because she possessed power.

But accepting that deep within one’s soul was a separate matter.

“Is that not arrogance?”

“Naturally, an Awakened or a Guide must remain awake. If a king is not awake, the state of that kingdom will become dire.”

“So, were you a successful king?”

“At the very least.”

The Demon King paused there.

She remained silent for a long time.

“I achieved my purpose. Though it was more the role of a vassal or a servant than a king.”

“…Vassal? Servant?”

“There are such things.”

As if she no longer had the obligation or the mood to answer, she asked back.

“So, how was his swordsmanship?”

“……”

One thing was clear.

The Demon King did not regret anything.

At a glance, it seemed like a temperament that was beyond arrogant and proud—excessively stubborn.

But Kariel did not bother to apply any prejudice or define his own feelings toward it.

…Unless he heard it directly from the person.

This was not something that could be judged or determined arbitrarily by anyone.

“I don’t know well. Not yet.”

The Demon King was eventually defeated by the Hero.

And now, I am trying to defeat my father, the Hero who was the Demon King’s greatest nemesis.

The only thing that matters.

…Is that single fact.

How I think of her or how I accept her is a problem for later.

Whether she was the enemy of the continent, a nemesis, or a villain in history.

Why should I care?

I only need to become strong.

All this time.

I realize I have been fallen into a deep pit.

No, I realized it too late.

Only when I was sick and rotting away.

I realize it all the more desperately.

Therefore.

Past or future,

Good or evil.

What does it matter?

Let such things be whatever they will be.

I will escape this cold and dark pit.

If I must become strong for that.

So that I can be honorable before anyone.

I will become stronger than anyone else.

As long as the process is honorable.

As long as it is not wretched, cowardly, or miserable.

The rest is none of my business.

Because I.

…Am not something like a Hero.

There is no way I could be.

Maybe it was different in the past, but not now.

I have already.

Formed an Alliance with the Demon King.

I have no intention of denying or rejecting that fact.

Therefore.

This is entirely my choice.

Consequently.

All the regrets, all the despair, and even all the frustrations that may come in the future.

…Must be entirely mine.

Belonging to no one else.