CH 351

A suffocating silence filled the vast plain.

The army of dark soldiers, who had been created by their enemy, Berber, broke the silence. The undead that the Avalon Empire had been planning to use to conquer the continent began kneeling one by one. The ferocious monsters that had been ready to rip apart the humans in front of them were long gone. Even wraiths, which didn’t have physical bodies, bowed low.

Over two hundred thousand living human soldiers were completely dumbstruck, such that they immediately stopped fighting. None of them could fail to notice the giant figure prostrating himself to a man standing alone in the wide sky.

Although the prostrating man’s appearance had changed completely, there was no way for anyone in this place to not recognize him. He was their revered idol and commander.

“Grand Duke Lucifer?” one of the Swallow Empire’s knights murmured, voicing the question everyone was thinking. “But he looks…?”

He didn’t look like a human in anyone’s eyes. In fact, he looked like a demon from old books, so more and more soldiers started to talk among themselves.

“The Grand Duke has lost?”

“The prideful Duke voluntarily bowed to somebody else…?”

“Wh-what will happen to our Empire from now on?”

Their fortress’s gates had fallen, and their commander had lost the battle. Nevertheless, too many monsters still stood. No one could have known where those monsters had come from and why they were attacking humans.

“Sir Cain!” Iceline turned to look at Cain. “Now is the time!”

“M-Miss Iceline?” Cain stuttered. “What do you mean, ‘now’—?”

“You really can’t tell what Joshua wants you to do? Why would he have bothered to give the Auxiliary Battalion an order as strange as to not join the battle?” Iceline shouted.

Cazes also stole a glance at Iceline.

“…Yes,” Cazes mumbled, “he’s trying to show that he’s not on the same side as the undead…”

“Quickly, get out there and attack a ghoul, come on!” Iceline instructed.

Cazes nodded. “I think you’d better listen to her.”

“What in the world am I doing…?” Cain grumbled as he reluctantly came forward. Just as Iceline instructed, he approached a ghoul.

-Krrr?

The ghoul instantly raised its head.

After hesitating for a moment, Cain kicked the ghoul.

-Kyaaaaaa!

The ghoul’s eyes lit up with red light.

“What do I do now? It got angry.” Cain scratched his head.

“Of course it became angry. Someone suddenly attacked it when it was standing still,” Iceline said as quietly as possible.

“What shall I do next?”

“Let it attack you!” Iceline answered under her breath.

Cain’s eyes widened.

Right after Iceline finished speaking, the ghoul’s long fingernails clanged against Cain’s armor.

“Now! Roll!” Iceline signaled.

“Argggh!” Cain rolled around on the ground, interrupting the suffocating silence that still filled the plain. The nearby people quickly turned their heads to see what was happening.

Just then, they heard Joshua speaking; his voice was loud and carried an unfathomably deep amount of mana.

“…All soldiers of the Swallow Empire, raise your swords.”

The soldiers flinched.

“Are you going to give up fighting just because your commander lost? I thought the Swallow Empire’s army was the best army on the continent—is this really all you’ve got?”

The soldiers bit their lower lips.

A rookie knight of the Swallow Empire close to Cain flinched and subconsciously pulled out his spare sword, but he belatedly realized his mistake and was obviously baffled.

“Damnit, rooki—!”

The vice commander of the Swallow Empire army was about to chew him out; however, he had to stop when he saw what happened next.

The clear ring of metal continuously echoed in the air. Some were picking up the swords they had dropped; a number of people drew the spare swords hanging on their backs just like the rookie had done.

The first step was always the hardest. Although there were only a few people at the start, more and more people took hold of their swords, and the soldiers at the rear soon joined in, filling the quiet plains with a cacophony of metal.

“Vi-vice commander…” The rookie’s face crumpled up; he seemed to have finally realized his mistake.

The vice-commander looked at him and sighed. It wasn’t the rookie’s fault. The vice-commander just didn’t want to accept the fact that their master was actually a demon. Who would want to do that?

“As you can all see, your commander, Grand Duke Lucifer, is a demon, and he dared to take over the continent using undead!” Joshua shouted.

The soldiers gripped their swords more tightly.

“Is that what you all truly wish to happen to this continent?” Joshua asked. “Can’t you see the truth? It will be your turn to meet your demise once he completely takes over the continent.”

The soldiers were still a bit confused. Naturally, they had been feeling uneasy about their master’s bloody red mana, but it was their first time meeting undead. Yet for some reason, it was difficult to not listen to the voice that spoke to them from the sky.

“You can already see what would happen from these undead. They attack humans without caring if the person they’re attacking is their foe or friend and they no longer have the ability to think rationally,” Joshua reminded them.

The vice commander and the knights agonized over the decision, and they weren’t the only ones.

“Huh, I thought the Hero King controlled the undead.”

“Ah, I heard in Avalon that Joshua Sanders was related to the undead…”

“Which one is the truth?!”

‘Shit!’ On the other hand, Lucifer, the main cause of this confusion, was about to go nuts as he hung in the sky. ‘What are you doing with my body, you bastard?!’

-I am only following the natural order.

‘Natural order?’ Lucifer angrily shouted back in response. ‘Don’t be ridiculous! How is me, the Grand Duke of this empire, bowing to a greenhorn “following the natural order”?’

-Don’t you humans have unwritten laws? Nobles and commoners—no, is it the difference between a king and a commoner in this case?

‘What?’ Lucifer asked.

-The family you’re born from matters to you humans, and you created ranks and social classes to distinguish yourselves from one another. This is the same thing.

‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Lucifer growled.

The voice’s response, on the other hand, was calm.

-It’s simple. You’re destined to submit to the being before you.

‘Do you think I’ll just sit idly by and let that happen?’

Lucifer began to draw up his power. Although he had lost his strongest power, it didn’t matter anymore because he was going to also use his true mana, the root of one’s life, all at the same time.

But his mana didn’t react, no matter how hard he tried.

‘Wha-what is happening…?’ Lucifer mumbled, perplexed.

-Are you baffled?

Lucifer’s eyes widened in surprise..

-The top one hundred demons each have a title just like yours, “Crimson Sky”...

Lucifer was confused.

-I told you that my name is Lucifer, but my true name is the “Predator,” Azazel.

Lucifer stayed quiet.

-I’d already consumed all of your power long ago.

Lucifer gaped blankly in response.

-And now… I’ll also eat your ego.

The voice had power that Lucifer couldn’t defy. Unbelievably, Lucifer was unable to even move anymore. The phrase, “One person does all the work and someone else gets the credit,” was perfect to describe the current situation—but Lucifer had thought he would be the one benefiting, not the one doing all the work.

“Arggghhh!” Lucifer screamed in pain.

Azazel’s power had been dormant inside Lucifer for dozens of years, so it didn’t matter if he was called the Crimson Sky among humans. He couldn’t stop what was happening right now because that was how a contract with a demon was.

Lucifer quickly stopped screaming.

“…I heard a lot about you,” he mumbled. He seemed like a totally different person.

Since Joshua had been quietly watching the entire processes that Lucifer had gone through, Joshua knew that the man before him wasn’t the Lucifer he knew. It was Azazel, who had successfully incarnated into this land using Lucifer’s body.

“I heard you met Asmodeus,” Azazel said to Joshua. “Even by humans, you’re constantly getting betrayed. It’s truly tragic to see you, the one I respected most, in this state…”

Joshua stayed silent despite the shocking implications of Azazel’s statement.

“The Demon Spirit’s curse is scary because it’s practically a god’s imprint on your soul,” Azazel bitterly muttered.

If other people had heard what Azazel was saying, they would have been bound to wonder. All the citizens of the demon realm and the high-ranking demons respected the Demon Spirit, the ruler of their world. The law of the Demon Realm was survival of the fittest and nothing else mattered, so the fact that the Demon Spirit was strong was enough to earn the other demons’ respect.

However, that didn’t apply to Azazel. He hadn’t been born as a citizen of the Demon Realm. Just like the “shining darkness,” he was a fallen angel. He used to be an angel before he was a demon.

“So,” Azazel suddenly declared with a grin, “I’ll assist you from now on.”

As if it was his job from the start, Azazel stood up without waiting for Joshua’s answer.

“Will you go straight to the Demon Realm just like the day you disappeared from the human world three years ago?”

“...I have a job for you,” Joshua slowly said.

Azazel gave Joshua a questioning look. He wondered what Joshua was going to ask him to do.

Joshua pointed at the ground. “I need you to become a true devil for them.”

“My, my…” Azazel chuckled as he belatedly realized what Joshua meant. “You’re the only one who would use me, Azazel, like this.”

“The Demon Spirit’s fragment is still in the Human Realm,” Joshua explained.

Azazel’s eyes bulged. “Wh-what are you talking about…?”

Joshua didn’t seem to think he needed to explain further, so he descended to the ground without waiting for Azazel’s answer, just like Azazel had done to him. Joshua needed to sort things out right now.

On the top of Einberg, Cubar had been patting the man in her arms, but when she saw Joshua, she licked her lips.

“Oh my, he’s coming to you.”

The man stayed silent.

“Or maybe, he’s coming to me?” Cubar stroked her chin when Joshua came closer.

Cuber started to call out to him immediately after he landed lightly on the ground.

“Ma—”

“Count Theord,” Joshua interrupted.

“…Well, there is still a lot of time.” Cubar pouted, upset that it wasn’t her who her master had business with. She grumbled for a minute and took a step back, but she didn’t forget to growl at Joshua. She wanted to remain a perfect actress until the end.

“Why did you betray me?” Joshua asked.

The man, Count Theord, stayed silent.

“Answer me,” Joshua demanded.

Count Theord seemed to completely give up.

“It was for my country,” he bitterly answered.

“Don’t you think you’re contradicting yourself?” Joshua tilted his head.

“I can’t blame you even if you think so, but the land behind me isn’t the Avalon I used to know.” Count Theord wore a hollow smile. “You’ll never know how I felt as I watched what happened to Avalon until now. I risked my life for dozens of years to protect this country, and yet, it’s collapsing because of an internal conflict, not the invasion of an enemy country.”

“The method you chose was wrong,” Joshua said.

Count Theord flinched.

“My method…?”

“You should have tried to change this country, instead of betraying it.”

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“I was wondering what you were talking about.” Count Theord smiled coldly. “...Are you seriously saying that I needed to lead an army and overthrow the Empire? Wouldn’t I be truly committing treason then?”

Joshua stayed silent.

“Ahh, yes, you’re already the worst traitor to this Empire, Joshua Sanders.” Count Theord chuckled.

“Traitor…” Joshua quietly mumbled. “Who decides that?”

“…What?” Count Theord narrowed his eyes.

“No one was born noble, so it’s only natural for someone to step down from their position if they’re incapable.” Joshua shrugged.

Count Theord’s jaw dropped slightly.

“If they don't know that natural way of the world, then wouldn’t it be better to drag them down by force?” Joshua asked.

“That’s a traitor’s sophistry!” Count Theord roared.

At that moment, another person, Cain, stepped in.

“Even if we’re called traitors, isn’t it better than selling your country?” he sarcastically retorted.

Count Theord’s eyes widened.

“Selling my country?”

“From what I’ve heard, the Swallow Empire has promised you a seat, so selling your country would be an accurate description.” Cain shrugged.

Count Theord’s face flushed red.

“If I were you,” Cain continued, “I would have tried to protect my country even if I were betrayed—because that’s what my country means to me.”

Count Theord flinched, but remained silent.

“You’re just a traitor who sold out your country,” Joshua quietly stated. “Don’t try to sugarcoat your sin by saying it was for the country.”

Joshua’s voice echoed in Count Theord’s ears, making him tremble weakly.

“Atone your sin for the rest of your life, and…” Joshua trailed off.

Count Theord silently kept his eyes on the ground.

“...watch everything from here,” Joshua finished.

Count Theord quickly raised his head, startled.

“See how this country which you concluded was impossible to be saved will change from now on.”

“D-does that mean…” Count Theord stared vacantly at Joshua, speechless. He wasn’t a person who was incapable of understanding what Joshua meant when he had explained that much.

Joshua watched Count Theord’s head slowly droop. He raised his head and looked around and saw some soldiers of the Swallow Empire stealing fearful glances at him, forgetting their situation.

Joshua knew that unless he was going to kill all the soldiers there, he couldn’t use undead anymore. The rumor about how he was a black wizard who could control undead would spread throughout the entire continent, so…

-Azazel, begin.

-…I don’t really like this, but roger that, Grand Duke.

Azazel inhaled deeply.

“Listen, my proud subordinates! The time is now. Kill all the humans in this place and take their flesh! Toast with their blood!!!!”

-Argggghhhh!

Azazel released a storm of demonic energy, and undead everywhere roared. The human soldiers flinched and slowly edged backward.

“Do not retreat!” Joshua shouted.

The soldiers stopped moving.

“You promised to send the undead back to the Demon Realm… but you’ve broken the promise you made with me,” Joshua menacingly accused Azazel.

The soldiers’ faces brightened up.

Joshua turned back to the soldiers. “I already defeated that demon, so what are you afraid of?”

The soldiers bit their lower lips.

“I’m with you,” Joshua declared. His mana carried his charismatic voice in every direction, quickly spreading it throughout the entire fortress.

“The He-Hero King!”

“All soldiers, raise your swords!”

“Yeahhhhh!”

The nearby soldiers began shouting without realizing. All of them were soldiers of the Swallow Empire’s army.

The war had changed from a battle between the Swallow and Avalon Empires to a battle between humans and undead. Naturally, the human commander was…

“The mighty Hero King, Joshua Sanders, is on our side!” a knight vigorously yelled.