I gave a faint smile as I and everyone else turned to look at the man who had just spoken out. It was the judge who had been sitting idle this entire time with his eyes closed. He got up out of his seat and walked over to me, putting his hand on my shoulder. It was now his turn to take the stage. "What Baroness Cyrilia said just now is what a noble of this kingdom should be saying in such a situation. Hiding behind your titles, doing nothing to contribute to this kingdom. What use are you if you are not even going to commit to your duties and follow the laws of this kingdom!?"
"Who are you to speak about laws!? You have the same status as us judges!" The lead judge yelled out.
"Because I am the law!" The old man's body suddenly began to flicker as if he was a broken tv set. In an instant, the whole court went silent. What stood before them was the king himself under the influence of my illusion magic. King Gravos, the king of this kingdom, turned his eyes on the judges. "You three have been doing as you pleased while taking kickbacks from the nobles. You are no longer fit for your duties and are no longer fit to be a noble. Your noble titles are hereby revoked, and you will be imprisoned to work the mines from this moment on until the day you die! This same punishment goes for every noble in his courtroom who has ties to dirty dealings!"
"You dare!? You are nothing without us! We nobles are the backbone of this kingdom! Right now, we outnumber you! What good is a king who is unable to see past his own ideals!? You want to abandon us? Haha! Do you even have the ability to!? Now is the time to stand up and reform this kingdom to the ideals we nobles have so longed for! Brothers and sisters, take up arms!" The lead judge suddenly yelled out. I watched as half the hall stood up, ready to fight, and chuckled.
"Hehe…. Hahahahahahaha!" My laughter overpowered the yells of revolution that was about to occur. They all looked at me in confusion. I could understand. They were probably expecting me to quiver in fear. But these nobles…. They were just so stupid…..
"What's so funny!?" The lead judge finally asked.
"What is funny? You dare threaten the people I care about? You want to usurp the throne? That means killing those I care about, does it not?" I asked with a crazed smile on my face. It was happening again. No matter how much I tried to suppress it, it was still rising its ugly head. My ancient will. The will that was chanting for me to kill every noble here that dares to harm what I cherish.
"For change, those who hold the top must topple!" The lead judge replied without hesitation.
"Hehe…. Haha…. Then so be it. Those who stand up will no longer have a head." My eyes lit up, and a sword made of flames appeared in my hand. I took a step forward, unable to contain my bloodlust. "Wind Rush, Acceleration…."
The lead judge had no chance to even react before his head flew through the air. I turned and looked at the other two judges, my eyes bloodshot as I swung my sword once more. "Hahahaha! This day! This kingdom! Will soon be reformed under His Majesty's rule! Diablo! Every noble here who has stood up is an enemy. Kill without restraint!"
"Faith, wait!" I heard King Gravos yell out as I turned and looked at him. My expression, I am sure, was in a crazed state. But his yell caused both me and Diablo to stop and look at him. "There is no need to kill everyone. We can just sentence them to do hard labor for the rest of their lives."
"Why?" I asked while tilting my head to the side, my eyes wide. "Why would you even let such scum take up more of the people's taxes? Their meals all come from the taxpayers, the same people they have been abusing this entire time. This doesn't seem like a good solution. If I kill them… they will all be sent to hell where they can be tortured for all eternity."
"But if you kill them, you are no better than them, are you not?" King Gravos replied to me in a calm voice, but I still did not understand.
"These people wish to kill you, but you want to show them mercy? They wish to harm those I care about, but you want to let them live? Your Majesty, there are times when people should be kind, and there are times when people should become a demon. I will be the demon this time. I will make sure this kingdom no longer has to worry about an uprising again! For the love of my kingdom, I will turn into a demon." I truly loved this kingdom. But it was filled with filth. We now had the chance to fully clean this filth out. I may be in a crazed state, but I still had some of my rationale.
King Gravos looked at me and was about to say something when multiple figures suddenly arrived in front of him. They all knelt not to him but to me. "We will assist you." This was Sally, Sophie, Grace, and everyone else in my team. Even Sei was kneeling to me and not him.
"Adel you!?" King Gravos called out as he looked at his daughter down on one knee.
"Father…." Adel called out without raising her head. "We shall clean this kingdom up in your stead so you can give the people of this nation a brighter future. You may not realize it because it is not clearly seen, but many are suffering. The reforms that should be passed are blocked at every turn by corrupt nobles who wish to keep the status quo and line their pockets with the taxes they take from the people they should be helping. I can no longer allow this to happen. We now have a chance we can not pass up. Because we never know what will happen in the future. They could easily break out of the confinement camps and take up arms. This I can not allow."
