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EPISODE 204 – MERIT CEREMONY (7)
The damage suffered by the royal capital was truly enormous.
The Royal Guards in charge of the security of the royal capital incurred more than 500 deaths alone, and the number of civilian deaths was estimated to be at least 2000 to 3000.
It was not an exaggeration to say that there were more than 10,000 casualties, as the number of injured or disabled people also numbered in the thousands.
There were two main reasons why such a massive damage occurred in a short period of time.
One was that a lot of demon followers entered the royal capital too easily because of the Lord Protector and his subordinates, and the other was that most of the royal capital’s residents were gathered outdoors because of the founding anniversary celebration.
‘It would have been different if it was the usual royal capital.’
Most of the demon followers would not have been able to cross the wall in the first place.
There would have been fewer people who became zombies than there were now.
‘In the end, it’s the Lord Protector’s fault.’
It was the result of the betrayal of their national hero who received the king’s absolute trust.
‘But they managed to stop it well. As expected of the royal capital.’
First Sword was sitting on top of a horse and smiled as he read a newspaper detailing the incident on the royal capital.
He smiled because they really stopped it well.
‘If the Lord Protector had succeeded, the royal capital would have been destroyed.’
Saluzia and Koros were planning to summon a Hell Gate in the royal capital.
If it had gone according to plan, the content in the newspaper would have been very different.
‘I wanted to see it at least once.’
What a wide open Hell Gate looks like and what its consequences will be.
I’m also curious on what kind of hell will spread in the world because of that.
After First Sword folded the newspaper, he bit on the apple he was holding.
In fact, even if the Lord Protector had succeeded, there was also a possibility that things would not have worked out as well as they planned.
Because there was a true reason why the damage to the royal capital was ‘only this much.’
‘The five heroes of the Paragon Kingdom.’
Among those heroes was Velkian, a necromancer who specialized in large-scale summoning.
Without him, the damage to the royal capital would have been several times more than it was now, regardless of the presence or absence of the barrier.
‘They say that he was a monster.’
His death magic was so powerful and transcendental that it covered the sky of the royal capital and let him control over a thousand forces of undead.
He was a being so powerful that a high-ranking demonic human would call him a ‘monster.’
‘There are two people who are as strong as Velkian.’
Iron Man Landius and Ghostblade Kamael.
How strong are they?
Are they stronger than the empire’s Sword God?
I want to fight them.
I want to face their sword.
I want to defeat them with my own sword.
After First Sword took another bite of the apple, he turned his horse towards the direction of the royal capital.
“Congratulations from afar.”
At the center of the royal capital.
At the large plaza that was also connected to a part of the royal palace.
First Sword remembered the merit ceremony being held there, and he smiled as he lightly clapped his hands.
He lavishly praised Jude and Cordelia, who were said to be the main characters of this merit ceremony.
The two were now the kingdom’s heroes.
These two would now shine brighter than before.
How fun would it be to trample those two?
How much fun would it be to taint Cordelia, who was as clean and beautiful as the white snow, and Jude who shined like a jewel?
“See you next time.”
Until then, both of you stay healthy.
Say hello to the Sword Saint of Wind for me.
First Sword turned around while enjoying a more relaxed feeling than before, perhaps because he removed his mask called the Sword Saint of Light.
He went forward with his back on the royal capital.
***
Numerous people gathered in the large plaza located in the center of the royal capital.
Thousands, or perhaps even tens of thousands were gathered.
They all looked at one place. King Henry II stood on a high and large balcony connected to the large plaza.
Henry II stood in front of the people with a very tired and weary look.
Even from a distance, one could tell that his face had become thinner.
But he didn’t pass his work to other people. He stood in front of the people and told them what he had to say.
The betrayal of the Lord Protector and First Sword.
Their plan to overthrow the royal capital.
The deaths of the royal family members and the attacks of the demon followers along with the damage they caused.
“But we didn’t fall. We shall overcome this crisis too.”
Henry II’s voice spread throughout the plaza through a voice amplification magic.
He talked about the heroes in order to encourage the people who lived in sorrow and fear.
“There are those who have made great contributions.”
Seryu, the Seven-Killings Sword who blocked the high-ranking demonic human at the south gate.
GaĂŤl and Adelia who fought hard until the end at the west gate.
Count Chase who saved the lives of countless people by preventing the collapse of the royal palace, and Count Bayer who single-handedly stopped First Sword.
And it wasn’t just them.
The Royal Guards and Royal Guard Knights who fought meritoriously in the royal capital, and even the civilian heroes who did not have any special position but fought to protect the people around them.
Henry II promised to reward them properly as he called their names one by one, starting from the small ones, and he also promised considerable support to the inhabitants of the heavily damaged royal capital.
[Wow… they’re really being generous.]
Cordelia blinked her eyes and sent a <Message> magic as she waited behind the balcony.
She would say that because if one roughly calculated the amount of support and rewards to be given, it was enormous.
The Sälen royal family had great financial resources as it ruled one of the continent’s two biggest powers, but if the royal family gave such an amount of money, wouldn’t their position be shaken?
At Cordelia’s question, Jude replied with a smile.
[Because they’re planning to confiscate the Lord Protector’s properties. Including the nobles under his command.]
[Still, they’re being generous.]
[That’s true. After all, they’re giving away the money they earned from their royal properties.]
Certainly, if one looked at that aspect, Henry II was a good person.
He was inwardly driven to do so.
[Wasn’t he seriously heartbroken?]
[He’ll overcome it. He has a lot of good people around him.]
Jude looked at the backs of Princess Daphne and First Queen Justina who were next to Henry II. He turned his gaze to Cordelia afterwards.
He stared at her wearing a snow-white dress and impulsively touched his lips to her head.
“Eh?”
As the startled Cordelia flinched and turned around, Jude smiled and this time, he pressed his lips to her white and smooth forehead.
It was really light and fast, as if it was just passing by.
[Mr. Black Cloak? What are you doing?]
But instead of answering, Jude once again touched his lips on her forehead, and the flinching Cordelia quickly looked around.
Quite a few people were present, including those who were waiting to receive their award.
Did they see it?
What if they saw it?
And why is he suddenly like this-
It was at that moment.
Cordelia met eyes with Seryu, the Seven-Killings Sword, who was standing far away by the wall and had turned her head away as she blushed.
Their eyes meeting wasn’t just a coincidence because Seryu had been looking at them for some time.
‘Did she see it? Did she really see it? Is that why she’s smiling a bit?’
But it was at that time.
A kiss again.
On her head again this time. Or on her hair to be exact.
Cordelia quickly turned her head to look at Jude, and as she faced him, Jude kissed her on the forehead again.
‘Hey! What are we going to do if others see us!’
Wait, isn’t Seryu already watching us?
In fact, it wasn’t just Seryu. Cordelia didn’t notice because she was too preoccupied with the current situation, but there were a few more people who were looking at them.
Nevertheless, Jude did not seem to care as he kissed Cordelia’s forehead again.
Kiss, kiss.
Kiss, kiss, kiss.
Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss.
T/N: The kiss here is supposed to be ‘chu’, which is the sound of a kiss. But if I write ‘chu, chu’, it sounds like a train’s choo-choo, so I just wrote kiss instead of chu. Though Jude, you sly bastard, you kissed her nine times, hahaha
‘Hey! Jude! You’re ruining my makeup, okay?!’
Wait, that’s not the problem!
Cordelia got angry and looked up at Jude, but she couldn’t fight back.
Since they had a height difference of around 20 cm, she couldn’t even touch her lips on his cheek or chin.
And if she did more than that…
She would have to hug his neck and lean her body towards him as if she was hanging on his neck, but such a big move was sure to catch the attention of everyone around them.
‘Argh.’
She was seriously getting annoyed.
It was such a one-sided deal.
She couldn’t do a free deal on his face.
T/N: ‘Deal’ and ‘free deal’ are Korean gaming terms. Deal stands for ‘dealing damage’ while ‘free deal’ means being able to deal damage without anything obstructing you.
And in the meantime, she got kissed again.
Eventually, Cordelia couldn’t stand it and glared at Jude.
[Hey, just you wait and see when we get back, okay? Just you wait and see!]
[Oh, yes. I’ll be looking forward to it.]
However, he welcomed it.
When Jude said that with a sly smile, Cordelia felt that she had lost and frowned again, but now wasn’t the time to argue with him. Because she heard a voice calling them.
[Let’s go, Princess.]
[Ah, seriously.]
You’re so cheeky.
Resisting the urge to punch his chest, Cordelia held Jude’s hand and looked straight ahead as they slowly began to walk.
They headed out to the open balcony.
And saw countless people who were standing beyond that balcony.
Her heart was pounding.
As they passed through the door and entered the balcony, it felt like they had entered a completely different world.
“Jude Bayer and Cordelia Chase.”
Henry II’s call brought Cordelia back to reality. She followed the hand of the cheeky but reliable Jude and stood in front of Henry II before they slowly bowed in courtesy.
“The two of you made a really big contribution. Without you, me and my family would have lost our lives.”
Henry II spoke a little casually as if to calm the nervous Cordelia, and he soon turned around and faced the citizens of the royal capital again. He explained Jude and Cordelia’s meritorious deeds to the numerous people looking up at them.
‘I can’t hear anything.’
She was so nervous that she couldn’t even understand what the king was talking about.
Tens of thousands of eyes seemed to turn into tens of thousands of arrows that penetrated her entire body.
Cordelia continued to swallow hard. She couldn’t help but breathe roughly as her feet trembled and her smile became stiff.
And she heard Henry II’s voice again.
“I will bestow to you two the title of count, and from now on, the two of you will be known as Jude A. Bayer and Cordelia A. Chase.”
A newly added middle name.
To be exact, it was a name bestowed by the royal family themselves.
Jude August Bayer and Cordelia August Chase.
They could have given them a new surname, but this was Princess Daphne’s consideration for Cordelia who was attached to the ‘Chase’ surname.
“Count August Bayer and Countess August Chase. Go ahead and face the people of the kingdom.”
Cordelia did not respond immediately despite Henry II’s order, but fortunately, Jude was next to her.
As he gently led the absentminded Cordelia, she finally came to her senses.
And a few steps later.
Cordelia passed by Henry II and reached the spot just before the balcony railing before she nervously looked down at the plaza.
And Jude whispered into Cordelia’s ear.
“These are the people we saved.”
If we didn’t stop the Lord Protector.
The barrier would have been destroyed and the Devil’s Hand would have committed the same atrocities in the game.
“We were able to protect this many people. So you can be proud of it.”
Don’t blame yourself for not having saved more people.
At least for this moment, let’s rejoice together with the people we have protected.
Jude strengthened his grip on her hand, and Cordelia took a deep breath. She faced everyone in the large plaza again.
People were rejoicing.
They were cheering and enthusiastically waving their hands.
The people cheered, either because of Henry II’s inspiring speech or because they were grateful to Jude and Cordelia for saving them, as Jude had said.
The two didn’t know.
It was impossible to tell which of the two was it.
In fact, it wasn’t that important.
‘What should I do? I’m about to cry.’
At the time when I first heard that the royal capital was attacked.
I thought that it was my fault.
I was afraid that I had done something wrong.
If we hadn’t hindered the Black Moon’s plans… If we had just let them commit acts of terror…
If that had happened, would the damage have been less?
Then, was it because of us that the damage worsened?
No, it’s not that.
It isn’t like that.
Our desperate efforts paid off and we stopped the Lord Protector.
Just like what we did in the wild lands, we were able to prevent the fated catastrophe by changing history.
Nevertheless, it felt uncomfortable.
Because so many innocent people had died.
My chest had felt heavy for the past five days.
As if I was carrying a huge rock.
But I feel better now. The heaviness in my chest seem to have been lightened and relieved.
Everyone’s rejoicing.
They’re cheering as they look at us.
There’s so many of them, and they number in the thousands, no, perhaps even in the tens of thousands.
These are the people we protected.
Cordelia smiled with tears in her eyes, and Jude slightly tightened his grip on her hand. He saw Emma Ficus and the people of the Blue Moon among those cheering in the crowd, and he let Cordelia know about it.
‘Jude, Jude.’
‘Yes, Cordelia.’
‘Let’s work harder.’
Let’s make a perfect happy ending by stopping all the tragedies in the game’s storyline.
Let’s save more people.
At the pure eyes of Cordelia that was like that of a child, Jude smiled. He kissed the forehead of Cordelia who was looking up at him, and this time, Cordelia didn’t let herself be beaten. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Jude on the cheek.
“Oooooh!”
“Oooooooooh!”
People’s cheers exploded. And laughter spread throughout the plaza.
Among those in the crowd, Maximilian gazed at the balcony with a smile, while Velkian grinned behind his mask.
And Jude and Cordelia looked back at the people.
As they widely smiled with red faces, they raised their clasped hands.
***
Time passed.
First Sword escaped the royal capital and reached the base of the Devil’s Hand located near the kingdom’s border with the Argon Empire, and he faced the leader of the Devil’s Hand again after almost a decade.
A mysterious woman with long blue hair.
No matter how many times he met her, she seemed to be in the beginning of her twenties, and First Sword was slightly thrilled when he saw her face.
She still looked the same compared to the time when he faced her ten years ago.
‘Immortality and eternal youth.’
First Sword’s desire was similar but different to the Lord Protector’s desire.
The Lord Protector was afraid of death. He did not want to die, so he desired to be united with a demon.
But First Sword was different.
Rather than dying, he could not stand the fact that he would get older.
Because he did not want to be weak.
Because he wanted to keep getting stronger.
Because he wanted to walk on the path of the sword forever and ever.
“Rhun Froud.”
The leader called First Sword’s name, and at her low voice, First Sword unconsciously knelt on his knees.
He respectfully bowed to the being in front of him.
“Originally, your fate was different from what it is now.”
First Sword should have joined them a little later.
He should have stood before her with a broken body and soul, and not in his good condition now.
But fate had changed.
As a result, the foresight of Overlord Asmodeus was also twisted.
“The devil Carthago was originally your destiny.”
A powerful demon who specialized in deadly poisons.
But not now. A new fate was given to Rhun Froud, known as First Sword and the Sword Saint of Light.
“Fortissimo.”
A sword demon.
A mighty being who was one of the seven swords of Overlord Asmodeus.
No one knew on what the result of this twisted fate would be.
The leader did not decide on his demon.
She just followed the will of Overlord Asmodeus. She then helped First Sword stand up and led him to the room where the ritual would be held.
A new high-ranking demonic human-
No, it would be the birth of a true ‘Sword Demon’ who wouldn’t stop at becoming stronger.
The leader of the Devil’s Hand moved. She awakened the demon’s soul.