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[Editor — Angel is excited for more upcoming revelations.]
The Grand Duke asked with a puzzled face.
“Demon King… no, ‘this is because of Taura.’ What does that mean?”
Hearing the Grand Duke’s question, Duke Joseph looked at him. It seemed like he still disliked Kaliaf.
“Kaliaf, I have nothing to say to you.”
However, unlike before, he seemed fine with his presence.
Grand Duke Kaliaf shook his head.
“Duke Joseph. Even if I said I didn’t know you, it is a little too much if you consider our friendship in the past.”
Upon hearing that, Duke Joseph answered in an angry voice.
“Even if Larisha is now like this, do you believe I will speak to someone who acknowledged Taura as the King?”
“Sigh.”
The Grand Duke sighed.
It was then that he realized why Duke Joseph hated him. Duke Joseph was a loyal follower of the former Demon King.
“… we were at war at that time.”
Grand Duke Kaliaf tried to explain his stand, but Duke Joseph raised his voice.
“Then, after the war, why wasn’t Taura punished for breaking the law?!”
“Duke Joseph… listen to what I have to say.”
“I don’t want to hear it!”
In the end, even Kaliaf couldn’t stand it and also replied in a loud voice.
“Then, as you said, without recovering from the effects of the third war, should we have waged an internal war with the man who took the place of the Demon King?!”
Grand Duke Kaliaf yelled out his reason. The internal war couldn’t be waged unless the clan was safe.
However, Duke Joseph had a different idea.
“Justification. Reason… in this manner, when can you even catch that rebel traitor if you keep looking for such justifications….”
“Enough.”
Chun Yeowun, who had been silent, intervened.
Duke Joseph kept his mouth shut at the daunting voice. Then Chun Yeowun commanded him.
“Tell me in detail about everything you know.”
“What do you mean?”
“Larisha… no, tell me how I disappeared.”
Chun Yeowun wondered why Larisha had to go to Earth.
Duke Joseph began to recall it.
“I don’t remember exactly how many years had passed since I spent a lot of my time here. However, I do remember that it was during the 3rd war.”
Two clans were fighting for power on this planet: the Arisha and Talisha. They had led their clans to war for many years.
“Unlike the 1st and 2nd wars, it was a time when everyone was getting tired as the war lasted long. And Larisha told me...”
“About?”
Duke Joseph spoke with trembling eyes.
“He told me that it was pointless to wage war on this wasteland and said it would be better to find fertile land elsewhere.”
The Grand Duke nodded his head.
It was known that they went through a long 1st and 2nd war for thousands of years—turning the sky red and the planet dry. The shining civilization no longer existed.
‘That is so like Larisha.’
Grand Duke Kaliaf, who accompanied him, couldn’t hide the bitterness. He was indeed the best King he ever served.
“So?”
“Even during the war, Larisha would use the Gate from time to time and inspect other planets.”
“… so it was decided to move.”
Duke Joseph nodded his head at those words, and Grand Duke Kaliaf was puzzled by this unknown fact.
‘Why?’
He was the one who never heard Larisha mention it. As if noticing it, Duke Joseph said…
“It was a situation where the front line commander would be summoned after the plan had been finalized.”
“Then who else knew?”
“…who do you think?”
At that time, there were five Grand Dukes. Among them, Kaliaf and Taura were thought to be the next kings.
“Taura…”
“Larisha was looking for a suitable planet with our two Dukes and Taura…”
“And that was Earth?”
“You are correct. The creatures living on the planet had low strength, and there are few things that could be dangerous to us.”
From the viewpoint of the demon, the Earth was weak. Even if a lower-level demon came, they could wipe many of them.
Although he agreed to it, Chun Yeowun’s expression changed as humans were being mentioned this badly.
Duke Joseph was unaware of this and continued telling the story.
“Until then, that Taura bastard was also positive about moving to another planet.”
“What was the problem?”
There must have been some reason.
Duke Joseph grunted his teeth in anger.
“I didn’t realize at that time that he might be greedy for the throne.”
“Greed…”
“Please punish me for my incompetence.”
Duke Joseph banged his head on the floor as he sincerely asked for punishment.
Dismissing it, Chun Yeowun commanded him.
“Continue.”
“… specifically, around the time the migration was readied, Taura suddenly took a stance against it.”
The two Dukes at that time couldn’t understand the reason for it. As a result, the planned and prepared migration was halted.
Since it was in the middle of a long war, Larisha also didn’t want to lose power, so Taura wasn’t opposed.
“Why did Taura reject it?”
“It must be because he was greedy for the throne.”
Duke Joseph was sure that it was because of ambition. At that, Chun Yeowun spoke in disappointment.
“So you don’t know.”
“Uh?”
“You don’t know the reason why he was against it.”
“That…”
At that, Joseph shut his mouth.
As Chun Yeowun stated, he didn’t know the exact reason. There was only one reason he could guess.
“Speak.”
“… during a discussion, Taura rejected it at one point.”
“And?”
“Larisha frequently visited Earth to check it, and one day at a meeting, we were briefed about cooperating with humans.”
“Cooperating with humans...”
“Yes.”
From what he heard, they were supposedly migrating to Earth and colonizing it. However, cooperation was unexpected for Chun Yeowun.
“Larisha often said that humans on Earth are savage but rapidly developing, so working with them will help the clan. However, most of the demon's attitudes shifted after that.”
“What about it?”
“… ‘what kind of cooperation would we need with livestock?’ was what Taura said.”
Chun Yeowun’s eyes narrowed at those words. The current Demon King, Taura, treated humans as livestock.
From the perspective of humanity, it is incredibly unpleasant.
‘But why did Larisha insist on cooperating with humans?’
This was strange too. Larisha was in the same position as other demons. Whatever happened, something changed Larisha’s intentions.
“So, he started the rebellion because of that?”
“Probably.”
“Probably?”
“It didn't take long for him to move.”
The migration to Earth was postponed, but the war was still happening. Small and large-scale wars were being fought each time, and Larisha, the Grand Dukes, and the Dukes would step in depending on the situation.
Duke Joseph suddenly spoke to Kaliaf.
“Duke Kaliaf… do you remember that day?”
“That day?”
“The day Talisha came to attack from the north.”
“… that day.”
Grand Duke Kaliaf’s face turned heavy. Chun Yeowun asked.
“What do you mean?”
“In the 3rd war, five wars were happening in different locations when Talisha suddenly came from the north.”
The head of the clan is needed to be in the battle. However, it was rare for Larisha or Talisha to bump heads directly since if the leader falls, so does the clan.
“When the northern front collapsed, we received a message saying that Talisha had stepped up, and Larisha and the two Dukes went there.”
It was a clash of the leaders of the clans. It was a battle that could determine the victory at once.
Thanks to that, more than 40% of the clan’s power was sent there.
“Did you win?”
“Larisha and Talisha fought for three days and nights.”
That was a long time. Hearing this, Talisha seemed like a strange one too.
“And the result?”
“Larisha induced a strong wound on the other.”
“Nice.”
“But… Larisha had consumed too much of the power and suffered serious injuries, so Larisha had to return to the castle from the front line.”
Chun Yeowun thought.
‘Both sides gained nothing but injuries.’
Rather than winning, they were both injured.
Perhaps the other side was also happy that Larisha was injured. That would help boost their clan’s morale.
“Our clan couldn’t miss the chance where Talisha was wounded, so we led the army and marched north.”
“And Larisha was sent to the castle?”
Thud!
Duke Joseph banged his head again.
“It was disloyalty of mine! No matter how many people were there, I should have stayed back with Larisha.”
In the end, that was what happened. And Chun Yeowun asked Grand Duke Kaliaf.
“What were you doing then?”
“… blocking the southwest front.”
Talisha was able to cross the northern front because of the sudden attack. As the large army suddenly rushed south, the Grand Dukes went there.
“I see.”
He could guess what had happened. In the end, the seriously injured Larisha was left in the castle.
“Taura targeted Larisha that time.”
“Yes. Neither Kaliaf nor I could see that man in charge of the eastern front.”
Duke Joseph banged his head in guilt. He truly regretted it. If he had stayed back, maybe the situation would have been different.
Shh!
Chun Yeowun stopped him from hitting his head with internal energy.
He understood the situation, but he couldn't punish him since he wasn’t Larisha.
“The story isn’t done yet.”
Block smoke came from the forehead of Duke Joseph, and he continued.
“When we came… came to the castle, it was all done.”
There was a message sent to the Dukes at the northern front. A statement that said Larisha acknowledged Taura was the Demon King.
Duke Joseph couldn’t believe it and escaped from the front line and ran to the castle.
“I didn’t believe him, so I questioned him.”
The current Demon King, Taura, insisted it happened according to law. But Duke Joseph couldn’t deal with Taura, who was now the Demon King and had Arisha’s Armor.
“So what happened?”
“I investigated the clan which remained in the castle that day to know the truth.”
“It must have been dangerous.”
It was the Demon King’s castle, so Duke Joseph took the risk to uncover it.
“Taura didn’t fully embody the power of the Demon King, so there were no other better chances than it.”
Duke Joseph took advantage of it. After several days of investigation, he found an informant.
The person who was a member of the Demon King’s escort, and even though he wasn’t on duty that day, he happened to listen to the voice of the Demon King and Taura.
“What was it?”
“Taura said this.”
[If the Earth is that good, then rot on Earth for the rest of your life.]
That was what the escort heard.
After that, he said he witnessed the current Demon King coming out and slaughtering the others in the castle.
Luckily he survived as he fled from the castle and hid in fear.
“I asked him to testify, and I tried to bring down the current Demon King.”
The current Demon King broke the law and rebelled. To execute him, Duke Joseph contacted the high-ranking demons on the front lines and gathered forces.
However.…
“I took him too lightly.”
Naturally, Taura’s aides were watching him.
It is said that Duke Joseph, who was caught before even contacting them, was imprisoned under the Demon King Castle.
“He didn’t kill you.”
“He was trying to convince me.”
A war was going on, but the Demon King was replaced. As a result, the power was weakened.
In such a situation, Taura couldn’t hastily kill strong people.
If he were killed, the people who were Arisha’s aides would also resist, and new problems would arise.
“While I was imprisoned, I tried to gain more demonic power.”
Unlike the first, because of the war, his surveillance was neglected. Duke Joseph didn’t miss the chance and escaped.
“After escaping. I hid to recover my body fully.”
It was indeed a coincidence.
It didn’t take long for him to recover. However, the third war was finished when he came out, and the clan was on the verge of stabilization.
“In the meantime, Taura firmly established his position.”
Duke Joseph couldn’t let it go. So he started to spread the word about what he knew to change the public opinion of the Demon King.
“I thought that at least the loyal ones of Arisha would respond.”
He looked at Grand Duke Kaliaf as if asking why he didn’t respond.
Chun Yeowun knew one thing from this.
“Kaliaf. The truth behind the rumors you spoke is here.”
Grand Duke Kaliaf thought and said.
“It was you. The one who made the rumor.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was doing inquiries to find someone who knew the truth.”
“Inquiries?”
Duke Joseph thought Kaliaf had bowed to the current Demon King.
Duke Joseph couldn’t understand it. In the end, they were at odds with each other.
“How can this….”
If only they had met, the present situation would have been different.
Considering the power of the Demon King, it was a low chance now.
Then Chun Yeowun asked Duke Joseph.
“You were captured by Taura and imprisoned here?”
“… No.”
“No?”
“I thought the only place I could hide was Bamut.”
Bamut is known to be the worst prison. Who would think of running here?
Duke Joseph decided that the pursuit would stop then, so he came here.
“I wanted to survive… by gathering strength of the prisoners, somehow punishing those who rebelled against my Larisha!”
With a feeling of holding onto something, he chose the lesser evil. When caught, the result would be death either way.
“Duke Joseph…”
Kaliaf felt deeply moved by his loyalty. He never dreamed someone sacrificed their lives so much for Larisha.
Kaliaf felt pathetic for the way he moved till now.
“You are the true loyalist of Larisha.”
Duke Joseph said in a voice that said that the sincerity was understood.
“… I did doubt the Grand Duke’s loyalty.”
The hostility disappeared, and so did the misunderstandings. Duke Joseph looked at Chun Yeowun and said,
“Still, seeing Larisha like this, all this is a penance for….”
Whisper!
A commotion could be heard from outside. Not long after, the one-eyed demon under Duke Joseph brought someone in.
“Marquis Aruso?”
It was a demon under Grand Duke Kaliaf.
Unable to adapt to the conditions here, he struggled to move.
“What is it?”
“Y-your… Highness, we have a problem.”
“Problem?”
The fact that he, who was guarding outside, had to come into the prison meant something terrible had happened.
Then Marquis Aruso answered.
“The long-disappearing Demon King has reappeared.”
“What?”
Grand Duke couldn’t hide his shock. He was sure that the Demon King suffered a loss of life, but for him to suddenly appear in public after two thousand years.
But that wasn’t the problem.
“Right now… he is heading towards the Gate.”
“Gate?”
The Grand Duke was puzzled. He disappeared till now and suddenly heads to the Gate?
He couldn’t understand the reason behind it.
“Why?”
“I-it is strange. According to the informant. The Demon King said he would head to Earth right away.”
Chun Yeowun got up from his seat.
“What did you just say?”
“H-head to Earth…”
Head to…
It's probably to destroy and conquer it.
“Ha!”
Chun Yeowun’s eyes turned cold.