The news that Reinhardt was the Demon King had thrown the entire Imperial Capital into chaos, but the most confusion, naturally, was at the Temple.
Once the students of the Temple learned the cause of the recent unrest, their faces turned pale with fear.
They had thought the Temple was the safest place after the Imperial Palace, but the Demon King himself had been attending the Temple.
And now, he was discovered and imprisoned.
It was only natural that there were many students who, amidst the chaos and fear, were hurriedly packing their belongings to leave the Temple.
In the midst of the confused Temple, there was the Royal Class.
"No... What went wrong? Even if it's Reinhardt, that guy..."
Erich de Lafaeri stared blankly, shaking his head in disbelief.
The faces of the other students were also drained of color.
The atmosphere had been strange, and Reinhardt had been suspiciously absent. When they discovered the truth, it was far bigger than they had imagined.
Even though they weren't close friends, they had shared the same roof with the Demon King.
Regardless of their shock, they simply couldn't believe it.
Reinhardt was a person with a filthy temper, somewhat sinister, and now chosen by a sacred artifact, making him seem to be on another level.
That Reinhardt was the Demon King.
"What on... what on earth..."
Heinrich von Schwarz was also in disbelief.
"Isn't there some kind of misunderstanding? This... can this be true?"
It was Kono Lint who spoke.
"..."
Cayer, who had picked a fight with Reinhardt during their first year, was trembling.
"Isn't there some sort of mistake?"
Ludwig was discussing the situation with the students of Class B.
"No, Reinhardt couldn't have done it. He's human, after all."
"Maybe he used some kind of transformation magic..."
At Delfin's words, Ludwig furrowed his brow and shook his head.
"But how did he get into the Temple?"
Ranian Sesor's question made Christina tilt her head.
"I don't know, maybe there's some kind of magic that allowed him to do that. He is the Demon King after all... But it's still hard to understand..."
Class B was also shocked and confused by the news that Reinhardt was the Demon King.
Scarlett walked past her classmates who were discussing the matter. She had found out earlier than them, but she too couldn't accept the current situation.
"So, everything related to the Demon King up until now was... Reinhardt's doing?"
The massacre of the Knights Templar.
The attack on Rajeurn.
And even the resurgence of the Demon God Cult.
Upon hearing that all these events were orchestrated by Reinhardt, everyone was stunned.
Reinhardt, whom they thought was just an outstanding classmate, turned out to be the Demon King who even committed civilian massacres.
Everyone could only feel fear and betrayal.
"Why... why did Reinhardt...?"
At the funeral of the Duke of Grantz, Ludwig had seen Reinhardt.
Was his somber expression then all an act?
In reality, had he killed his friend's parents under his own orders and even attended the funeral?
Why did he have to do it?
Just for despair?
Ludwig could not understand the connection between all these events.
As they continued to discuss the matter, something sinister began to emerge.
Students who were chatting in the hall soon noticed a dark, ominous presence creeping up from somewhere in the corridor.
"Wh-what is that...?"
The identity of the shadow spreading throughout the corridor was unknown. All students were startled and stood up from their seats.
A sinister and dark energy, as if trying to consume the world, seemed to surge from somewhere.
While everyone was frozen in place, only Ludwig made his way towards the corridor.
An unidentified black energy blanketed the entire hallway.
Although he could not be certain, Ludwig deduced that it came from Dormitory B-1 at the very end of the corridor.
Soon, he realized that the energy was emanating from Charlotte's room.
Something had happened to Charlotte.
"Charlotte!"
Without hesitation, Ludwig pushed through the dark energy and flung open Charlotte's door.
-Thunk!
The door was not locked.
"Ch... Charlotte...?"
In the middle of the dormitory room,
Charlotte, her body shrouded in black energy, was sitting motionless on her bed.
Not only Ludwig, but other students as well, could see that Charlotte was engulfed in this ominous energy.
Sitting blankly on the bed, Charlotte gazed at her classmates, including Ludwig, through her red demonic eyes.
"Leave... "
In a voice barely above a whisper,
"Leave me be..."
Charlotte de Gardias spoke those words.
The students at the temple became aware of Charlotte's condition.
Charlotte was promptly escorted to the royal palace by the royal family.
The students did not know exactly what it was, whether it was Charlotte's supernatural powers that had been kept secret until now, or something else entirely.
Charlotte had been kidnapped by the Demon King, and she had spent considerable time in close proximity to the Demon King's successor.
Rumors circulated amongst the students that the princess had received a curse similar to that of the Demon King.
Rumors beget rumors, creating fabricated truths.
Technically, Charlotte de Gardias, the primary victim of the Demon King, was now under a completely different cloud of suspicion.
Could it be that the First Princess was actually an accomplice of the Demon King?
Her safe escape from the Demon King's castle was suspicious to begin with.
And it just so happened that her closest classmate was the Demon King's son.
It could all be part of a plan, with the First Princess not being a victim but a willing accomplice.
Most people did not know that Charlotte and Ellen played a crucial role in tracking down the Demon King's trail, and even if they did, it wouldn't have made a difference.
People tend to draw conclusions and fit circumstances accordingly.
Suspicious events intertwine and create non-existent truths.
The First Princess is suspicious.
The spreading rumors were already trying to create new truths and find their next target.
The First Princess was too high-ranking to be sacrificed to such rumors.
However, it was uncertain how long her status would protect the First Princess.
Holy Knight Order Headquarters, Conference Room.
Due to an urgent religious matter, people who would not normally gather in the conference room were all present.
From the Holy Knight Order's leader, Eleion Bolton, to the Popes of the Five Great Religions– Tu’an, Mencis, Als, Riter, and Shal’am – as well as the two Champions, Olivia Lanze and Ellen Artorius, were all in attendance.
Representatives of each religious order, those representing the combined forces of those orders, and the Champions chosen by the gods.
It was rare for these individuals to gather in one place, and among them, Olivia and Ellen sat side by side at the highest seats.
Such is the authority of the Champions of the Gods.
Even if, like Ellen, they are not actual believers, Champions possess immense religious authority and symbolism in and of themselves. Therefore, both Olivia, who was originally a believer and a priestess, and Ellen, received precedence over the Popes.
However, silence enveloped the conference room.
For generations, the gods of the Five Great Religions had been perceived as gods for humanity.
For they had always granted relics only to humans.
The demon race, under the name of the Demon Gods, separated themselves from the rest, claiming to have their own faith.
But the War God Als chose the Demon King.
The War God, who had once bestowed a relic upon a hero to slay the Demon King, had now strangely chosen the son of the slain Demon King.
That was why the high priests could not speak hastily.
They couldn't understand what was happening.
Olivia was the first to speak.
"The choice of the gods is correct. Therefore, I believe there must be some intention behind Als choosing the Demon King. That intention may be beyond our understanding, but I believe this matter will eventually lead to great righteousness and justice."
Olivia had no interest in the will of the gods, but pretending otherwise was easy for her.
The reason the Demon King was chosen must be due to an intention too great for us to understand; thus, it is ultimately a long-term and absolute good.
Therefore, Olivia's argument was that they should accept the existence of the Demon King.
The high priest of the Tu'an order reacted to Olivia's words.
"Champion. The demons have always been the enemies of mankind, and the abominable Demon King is undoubtedly the ultimate enemy of mankind, possessing an incomprehensible and immense power. Thus, there is a possibility that the relic has been negatively influenced by that unfathomable power."
"Doubting the sanctity of the relic is doubting the sanctity of the gods. Are you now questioning the choice of the gods?"
The high priest of the Als order refuted the words of the Tu'an order's high priest.
To claim that the Demon King had negatively influenced Als's relic and stolen it was to deny not only the Als order but also the War God's will.
That's why the Als order had no choice but to react sensitively.
Olivia faintly smiled at the high priest of the Als order's statement.
In reality, it was not Olivia, but the Als order that had to absolutely defend Reinhardt.
Due to the hero using the Alsbringer to defeat the Demon King, the Als order currently had the most followers among the Five Great Religions.
In such a situation, the followers and priests of the Als order were the most shaken.
Therefore, it was a situation where they were most reluctant to have Als's authority questioned or doubted.
If they were to affirm the Demon King, they had to do so wholeheartedly, and if they were to deny the Demon King, they had to do so extremely.
"…That is not what I meant. I just wanted to say that since we do not know what power the Demon King possesses or what kind of nefarious acts he can commit, it is premature to wholeheartedly accept him."
At the words of the Tu'an order's high priest, everyone slowly nodded their heads.
They were aware that the situation was escalating into a massive religious conflict, and that a huge conflict had already begun. The decision made here could very well become the spark for a massive war.
That's why they all understood that making hasty decisions would put everyone at risk.
Recklessly denying the Demon King would shake the foundation of faith in the Five Great Religions.
Recklessly accepting the Demon King could lead to a war between the Empire and the Five Great Religions.
Thus, the prevailing judgment was that they had no choice but to observe the situation for now.
And everyone was wary of Olivia Lanze.
Although she speaks in accordance with the situation and doctrine, Olivia does not hide the fact that she is entirely on the side of the Demon King.
The champion of Tu’an is a stubborn fool, trying to wage war.
That's why everyone had to grit their teeth whenever Olivia opened her mouth.
And the high priest of the Tu'an Order was the most affected by this.
The saint, once a promising leader of the next generation of the Tu'an Order, or the future commander of the Holy Knights, had become an extremist.
Why did Tu'an have to choose someone like that...
Inevitably, such thoughts flooded their minds.
"The high priest of the Tu'an Order seems to be a little pale."
Naturally, Olivia was not one to miss that.
She had already explained it to Eleion Bolton, but there was still one fact that the other popes present did not know.
"Well, I'd like to share an interesting fact with you."
Olivia summons Tiamata with a smirk.
"Actually, I share Tiamata with the Demon King."
"What?!"
There was only one order that must advocate for the existence of the Demon King.
The Als Order.
"So, in this great battle of Tu'an, there are not one, but two champions."
And now, the Tu'an Order had been added as well.
Ellen and Eleion Bolton, who already knew the truth, remained silent.
But the high priests of the Five Great Religions could only be appalled.
The Demon King had not only been chosen by Als but by Tu'an as well. Everyone had no choice but to react with disbelief.
However, they couldn't prove it conclusively, and there was a chance that Olivia was lying just to support the Demon King's side.
"If you doubt my words, you can ask the champion of Mencis."
Olivia gestured to Ellen with her chin.
The sister of the hero and the only person with the authority to stop Olivia's misdeeds.
Everyone looked at Ellen Artorious, as if hoping she would deny it.
"It's true."
Ellen had no intention of lying.
"Oh, gods..."
One of the high priests let out an ambiguous exclamation, neither cursing nor praising the gods.
Not only the Als Order but also the Tu'an Order.
The high priest of the Tu'an Order was going mad with frustration.
The champion was a lunatic siding with the Demon King, and on top of that, even choosing the Demon King.
"Since I became the champion of Tu'an last year, I was the first to be chosen, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
The high priest of the Tu'an Order felt like his own house had burned down while he was looking at someone else's.
Not one, but two.
They did not know that Ellen currently possessed Lapelt, the relic of Shal’am.
Thus, the Demon King now held two relics, making him the most powerful religious symbol at the moment.
It was already a headache with one, but now there were two.
It was difficult to claim that they had intercepted Alsbringer with some scheme, let alone intercepting two relics. It would be tantamount to admitting the incompetence of the gods themselves.
That was fundamentally impossible.
So, could they accept the existence of the Demon King?
Psychologically, it would be impossible for most of the crowd, as well as many within the Orders who could not understand it.
It could lead to a rift not only with the Empire but also among the religious people gathered under the name of the Holy Knights.
In the long run, the Tu'an and Als Orders could be branded as no different from the worship of the Demon King.
In the long run, the demise of the religious order itself; in the short run, a religious war.
A calamity.
Or perhaps an even greater calamity.
They were faced with the worst possible choices, and no matter what they chose, disaster was the only outcome.
"First of all, we can all agree that it's appropriate for us to make a decision regarding the Demon King's issue, right?"
At Olivia's natural remark, not only the Holy Knights' commander but also the five High Priests of the Divine Faith were on the verge of losing their minds.
If the Demon King fell into their hands, she would claim his innocence through a fair trial, and she made no effort to conceal her intention to eventually release him safely.
However, they could not disagree that this issue must be resolved in the hands of the five religious orders.
This was a matter concerning the authority of the Divine Faith.
The high priests of the five religious orders looked at Ellen, who had a similar right to speak as Olivia.
Hoping that at least she would be reasonable.
Desperately wishing that she would somehow put a brake on the crazy champion of Tu’an's statement.
"Regarding Rein... no, regarding the Demon King..."
Ellen Artorius opened her mouth.
"I believe that we should give him a chance to explain everything that has happened so far."
This one was not to be underestimated either.
