Chapter 472
The state of Lament, as if projecting the universe of the night, demonstrated an absolute cutting power.
Even if I were to become a Master Class who can use Aura Armor, it wouldn't change a thing.
It can be defended against by using a sacred relic, but that's it.
Firstly, Lament's attack power was extraordinary, but that's not the essential problem.
The biggest issue was that my swordsmanship originated from Ellen.
In the temple, and later from Saviolin Turner, I learned swordsmanship, but the root of my skills lies with Ellen.
I learned everything from swordsmanship to physical combat and suppression techniques from Ellen.
I learned the sword from Ellen, who possessed a level of talent incomparable to mine. Thus, in terms of swordsmanship, Ellen is my overwhelmingly superior counterpart.
We have clashed our swords innumerable times over a long period.
Thus, Ellen knew how I understand and use my swordsmanship, what my habits were, and which sword techniques I primarily use.
To be precise, Ellen knew me better than I knew myself.
So, in today's staged duel, we were able to perform such an extreme battle without seriously injuring each other because Ellen read all of my sword moves.
Of course, in the end, I purposely allowed her to stab me in the chest in an action close to suicide, but naturally, that was beyond Ellen's anticipation.
That's why, today's fight with Ellen – while it plunged me into a miserable state personally – allowed me to reconfirm a fact I had somewhat guessed.
I am still weaker than Ellen.
Even without the absolute offensive power of Lament, I wouldn't be able to defeat Ellen.
Ellen's swordsmanship is specialized for opponents stronger than herself. So even if my physical abilities were stronger than Ellen's, using a sword that only relied on my ‘Master Class’ strength to suppress her wouldn't work.
The Demon King fled because he was weaker than the Hero.
We staged a situation to make people believe that.
However, in reality, it wasn't much different. Even without the two sacred relics, Ellen could defeat me.
If Ellen, armed with Lament and Lapelt, sincerely tried to kill me, I would certainly die.
Ellen knew me all too well.
Like the saying "a pupil surpasses the master," as a disciple, I might be able to surpass Ellen, my teacher, but that only happened in certain worlds.
The talent of my teacher far surpassed mine.
There's no way an inferior disciple like me could surpass Ellen.
She has been watching over everything I've done.
That's why I can't defeat Ellen.
"..."
I gaze at the darkness of the street and the torches driving it away, even if just a little.
Someday.
There might come a moment when Ellen and I have to fight each other in earnest.
My defeat would be almost certain.
I don't know in what situation or how we would try to kill each other.
But if Ellen sincerely tries to kill me, I will lose, and that will result in my death.
I don't want to kill Ellen.
I don't want to die either.
In that case.
I must become an existence that can defeat Ellen.
Moreover, I don't want to use Alsbringer in the final battle to destroy the last gate.
I don't want to use Alsbringer by offering my life as a sacrifice.
I don't want to die in a fight with Ellen that might happen someday.
To do so, I must become stronger.
I must find that way.
I must find it.
—---
Ellen sat blankly on her bed in the temple's dormitory room.
"Take a few days to rest. With everything that happened today... there're no urgent matters to attend to."
Even though Bertus' suggestion wasn't an order, Ellen was in no condition to do anything at the moment.
The Demon King appeared in the Imperial Capital, was attacked by those suspected to be the secret society, the Black Order, and defeated them, and then Ellen repelled the Demon King.
As always, stories would beget stories, and rumors would give birth to rumors.
The initial story of the hesitant hero would fade, replaced by the tale of a great hero who saved the people in the face of the Demon King's attack when all hope seemed lost.
Ellen was indifferent to such things.
Today, Ellen realized various truths.
Among them, the most painful truth was singular.
There would never be a future where Ellen would be together with Reinhardt.
It was not a matter of forgiveness.
Like Reinhardt had duties to fulfill, Ellen had tasks to complete as well.
Not a matter of emotions but of necessity, Ellen had to live as an enemy of the Demon King.
That's why Ellen realized that there would be no chance of recovery in this relationship.
Above all, those cold eyes.
The relentless actions of Reinhardt, who attacked without hesitation.
The frosty gaze and expression, devoid of any emotion, had brought Ellen sadness, despair, and fear.
Unlike Ellen, who couldn't control the trembling from the emotions, Reinhardt's ironclad expression and unwavering actions were terrifying.
Ellen didn't deny that it had to be done.
Ellen fully understood that Reinhardt had to act this way.
But it hurt too much.
The ruthless violence of the unyielding grip was just as painful as the physical agony, not fearing to hurt Ellen.
Even towards the violence inflicted upon himself, there was no mercy.
After choosing to allow her to pierce his heart without hesitation, he feigned defeat and fled.
As he hadn't feared harming Ellen, he hadn't feared harming himself either.
Ellen looked at her right hand.
Countless times had something been cut down by this hand.
However, the eerie sensation today had left Ellen with no choice but to be terrified.
Too easily.
Too simply had the sensation of Lament pierced through Reinhardt's heart, instilling fear in Ellen.
Ellen had almost killed Reinhardt.
Because of that chilling sensation, Ellen's right hand trembled violently as if afflicted with convulsions.
No matter if Reinhardt had deliberately allowed the attack, Ellen had almost killed him.
Ellen buried her face between her knees, shaking silently.
"Ugh... Sob..."
Would there be more of this in the future?
Like today, when Ellen had been forced by the people to fight Reinhardt.
Would they one day have to fight to the death, driven by the demands of others?
Ellen didn't want to prepare or resolve for such a thing.
She feared dying and killing him was even more unthinkable.
But today, despite not wanting to fight, Ellen had been forced by the people to stand before the Demon King.
And Reinhardt had cornered Ellen, saying that he too had to fight.
It seemed Reinhardt had already accepted that fate.
Reinhardt had grown stronger.
Ellen didn't know about other things.
But from that cold expression.
From that stern gaze, Ellen felt it.
Reinhardt's heart had become too strong.
To Ellen, that was utterly sad.
And frightening.
Once upon a time.
During the early days of the Gate Incident.
"Ellen."
"…Mom?"
There had been a time when her mother had suddenly appeared.
On a day when Ellen felt so exhausted that she thought she might collapse and die.
Her mother, who had appeared out of the blue, had said:
"Shall we return to our hometown?"
"Return...?"
"If you want to forget about the world and return to our hometown, let's do so."
Ellen found it hard to accept her mother's words.
She didn't know what kind of place her hometown was or who her family members and the villagers were.
"My daughter, from now on, there will only be difficult times."
"There will be pain and sadness that's hard to endure."
"It will torment you, hurt you, and might even kill you."
"So."
"Think of this as your last chance, my daughter."
"If everything becomes too hard to bear."
"Before the future, which will only become more and more difficult, swallows you up."
"You can leave all the pain and sadness behind."
"Keep the things that haven't happened as things that haven't happened."
"Without even having to know what you have yet to experience."
"Then you'll distance yourself from all the sorrow and pain, eventually forget them, and find peace."
"You'll be able to forget all the responsibilities, guilt, and sadness."
"So, shall we return to our hometown together, now?"
Ellen didn't understand what her mother was saying.
Her mother's words were so unfamiliar and mysterious that Ellen felt like she was encountering some absolute being for the first time.
If she wanted to turn away from all of this and leave, she should do so.
Ellen didn't say much to her mother.
Her mother asked if she would turn away from this.
Why was she acting so indifferent to everything in the world?
Who were they, really?
Ellen didn't ask anything.
She just shook her head.
"No, I can't."
"..."
"Because it's my responsibility. I can't."
Her mother's expression remained gentle.
"It's not right."
"All of this happened because of me, and I made the situation like this."
"I can't just abandon people and forget about them. I can't."
"I can't go. I can't do it."
"I believe."
"There's something I must do, something I have to take responsibility for."
"I don't know how to do it, but there's someone I need to meet again."
"I don't know what I'll do when I meet them, but... there's someone I have to see."
"I'm sorry, Mom."
"I can't go."
She couldn't turn away from everything and run.
She had to save at least one more person.
Even though she knew it was impossible to fully pay for her responsibility and sins, she thought she couldn't just run away and end everything like that.
Her mother didn't say much.
"I see."
Just like before.
Like when she had draped the cloak of the sun god over Ellen's shoulders.
After lightly kissing Ellen's forehead and smiling, just like that time.
"Goodbye, my beloved daughter."
"May the blessings of the moon and sun be with you."
Leaving those words behind, she disappeared with the moonlight.
Her mother had said there would be pain too difficult to endure.
And Ellen felt that time was now approaching.
Although it had been an abstract thought, there had been such a time.
She had seen with her own eyes, felt with her body, and read from Reinhardt's expression that they had become a relationship where they had to kill each other.
She had thought she must take responsibility for something.
But if that responsibility entailed fighting for her life alongside Reinhardt, and if it meant accepting that they must kill and be killed by each other...
Neither dying nor killing was something she could bear.
Should she have fled instead?
They thought that such a choice shouldn't be made, but now the unbearable things were rapidly approaching.
Ellen was afraid.
Afraid of people, of herself, and of Reinhardt.
She was terribly afraid.
Ellen gazed at the moonlight streaming into the dormitory.
The cold, pale moonlight offered no answers to her.
—---
The next day.
Everyone had to get used to it, including me and the Council of Elders.
And...
The Four Heavenly Kings.
Airi, Liana, Harriet, and Olivia as well.
I gathered these core members for breakfast.
With Lucinil joining, the Council of Elders was now complete.
Sarkegaar was also included in the Council.
In a way, Sarkegaar had helped me since I had nothing.
So it made sense for him to be part of the Council, which could be considered the founding contributors.
The actual powers were the Four Heavenly Kings.
The contributors were the Council of Elders, that kind of feeling.
In fact, all the powers of the reconstructed Edina Archipelago version of Darkland were gathered here.
At the breakfast table, of course, the vampires did not eat.
The Council of Elders, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the Demon King.
And the newly joined member, who would become another key figure.
Charlotte.
Charlotte still couldn't raise her head.
Everyone here was my person, or even if they weren't, they were people who believed in me and came this far.
So it seemed that she couldn't even lift her head in front of those who had accomplished what she couldn't.
Charlotte was, in a way, the most demonic-looking human in this gathering.
No, strictly speaking, should she be called a half-demon?
Since the soul of an Archdemon had mixed in, Charlotte was neither fully human nor demon.
Her body no longer emitted darkness, but her hair was pitch-black, not reflecting any light, and her eyes were red.
She looked exactly like a devil.
Nevertheless, her original appearance seemed to give her an odd allure, an odd charisma.
If only her despondent demeanor could change somehow.
"Charlotte will inherit all my authority as the Demon King and take responsibility for Edina's internal affairs."
"...?"
The most surprised person at that statement was Charlotte herself.
I looked at Charlotte, who was bewildered and rolling her red eyes around, not knowing how to hide her surprise.
"Well, what else did you think I'd have the Imperial Princess do here, other than rule?"
"..."
I couldn't let her live a life where she couldn't even raise her head, consumed by guilt forever.
There's a lot that a wise ruler must do in this place, where the throat is filled with grape juice.
If she lacks confidence and self-esteem, I must forcibly raise them.
I have much to do.
Not just managing political affairs, but truly addressing the Gate incident.
There's not much time left.
I can't care for Charlotte's mental state forever, so she must stand on her own.
Too much thinking won't create anything beyond that.
People only move forward when pushed by something.
Usually, when reality catches up, there's no time to wallow in grief.
Just as I have been until now, Charlotte will also be like that.
"I can't do that," she said, "I'm not qualified, how can I possibly do that?"
I didn't give Charlotte time to argue. After conveying the most important fact, we had breakfast.
Charlotte ate half-heartedly, but when I glared at her, she reluctantly took bites.
I seemed to know how to handle Charlotte, who had been broken by her plummeting self-esteem.
Rather than gently comforting her, I simply ordered her around, and she mostly complied.
If I suggested she eat, she hesitated, but when I told her to eat, she ate reluctantly.
If I had tried to persuade Charlotte to take charge of the Edina Archipelago, she would have firmly refused, saying she wasn't qualified.
So, I just softly told her to do as she was told, and she nodded.
The once arrogant and proud princess had become someone who, in two years, would do anything I told her to.
If only it wasn't out of guilt.
Charlotte, who should have been used to giving orders, had become a person who was only used to receiving them from me.
Charlotte was not immediately involved in state affairs.
She seemed to already know that Sarkegaar was the culprit behind the kidnapping of the princess and the queen. It was inevitable since Sarkegaar and Lucinil had spent time in the palace.
However, Charlotte seemed to have no energy to spare for such things because of her guilt toward me, rather than her fear and anger toward Sarkegaar.
Her guilt was so overwhelming that she didn't even have the luxury to hate her mother's enemy.
The Council of Elders didn't usually interfere much in state affairs, so Charlotte and Sarkegaar's paths would hardly cross in the future.
Charlotte began receiving information on the overall situation of the Edina Archipelago and what she needed to know from Harriet, who could be considered a secretary.
Harriet didn't seem to have any particular emotions toward Charlotte.
Airi, however, was different.
The soul of the demon king that had entered Charlotte.
Whether she could sense it or not, Airi seemed to feel a strange fear when she looked at Charlotte.
Charlotte may be a proxy for the demon king, but she is not merely a proxy.
Charlotte is, in fact, the demon king herself.
Simultaneously human and demon king.
As both a human and a demon, she might have been more suited to rule this new Darkland than me.
Charlotte also clearly possessed, albeit not fully, the ability to control demons.
Of course, not everyone was happy with this situation.
"What can she accomplish with such little power?" Liana, who longed for the empire's destruction, asked me in a worried voice as she prepared to return to Fort Mokna.
"In the long run, she won't even compare to me."
"Tsk... I don't like it."
It was inevitable that Liana wouldn't like the situation of the imperial princess becoming the deputy ruler of Darkland.
In reality, it was Bertus who killed Duke Grantz and destroyed the revolutionary organization, but Charlotte found out about it afterward.
"Anyway, I'm leaving."
"Prepare the base relocation well. I'll make my own preparations."
"Understood."
Liana headed for Fort Mokna.
And there was the person who was most likely to dislike this situation.
"Will she manage on her own?"
Surprisingly, Olivia showed no anger or resistance to the situation.
"All we need to do is convey what we know."
Olivia looked at me with a chilling smile.
"The next time she causes trouble, don't try to protect her."
With a stern expression, Olivia looked at me.
"Even if you try to protect her then, I'll find a way to kill her."
Olivia simply gave me a clear warning of what I should be prepared for if the person who had already betrayed us caused problems again.
