Chapter 194 : The Demon King’s collars
As if to show his submission, Zerceas still kept his head down.
While doing so, he must’ve been desperately trying to formulate a plan to get out of this predicament.
But no matter what he would attempt to smooth things over, it was far too late for him.
Since he himself had told me every single detail about his misdeeds.
“Raise your head.” (Anos)
Zerceas was shuddering.
He was merely kneeling, but cold sweat dripped from his pale face and soaked the floor.
“Zerceas, are you going to make me repeat myself?” (Anos)
As I uttered this, Zerceas looked up, his body trembling.
I shot a glare at him, causing him to stiffen in fear.
“If you have anything to say in your defense, make it brief.” (Anos)
He was firmly grinding his teeth.
The look on his face was full of frustration.
Zerceas was desperately racking his brain.
But, as if realizing that there was nothing he could do, he finally spoke up as if he had made his decision.
“Th… There is no way the Great Demon King would be here…!!” (Zerceas)
Zerceas stood up and drew a magic circle.
“There is no way the Great Demon King would be alive in this era! The real Demon King of Tyranny died for the sake of peace two thousand years ago! This man is a complete impostor created by the Unitarians! And now is the time for us, his descendants, to bring down the hammer of justice in order to protect the honor of our late Demon King!!” Zerceas ordered his men.
“Gather up! Gather up, my brethren! Let’s give this treacherous misfit a taste of our noble, royal pride! This cause is ours!” (Zerceas)
As they roared in response, the other Royalists, who were stationed everywhere else, descended one after another to the lowest level.
I believe there were about two hundred of them.
“Kill hiiiim!! Kill him with fire!!” (Zerceas)
With a shout, Zerceas fired a dozen of <Black Burning Flame Griad> projectiles in rapid succession.
His men also shot a hailstorm of fire spells.
I watched them, then I sighed.
All the fireballs before my eyes vanished without a trace.
“Wha…?! What the…?!” (Zerceas)
Zerceas looked utterly shocked.
“With nothing… but a sigh… he dissipated our spells…?” (Zerceas)
“Drop your weapons and surrender—” (Anos)
My sharp glare pierced through them.
Everybody in the room was frozen in fear.
“—Were you hoping I’d say that? Then no. Since you pointed your blades at me, you’d better be ready for the consequences.” (Anos)
I gently raised my right hand, and lightly pressed my thumb and middle finger against each other.
As I concentrated my magic power into my fingers, Zerceas shouted.
“D… Deploy your anti-magic to the fullest! He’s going to fire his <Hell Flame Annihilation Mortar Jio Graze>!” (Zerceas)
Zerceas and the others channels their magic power into their anti-magic to defend against my spell, and deployed it in front of them like a wall.
“Have a taste of death.” (Anos)
I lightly snapped my fingers.
A soundwave filled with magic power echoed throughout the entire lair, passing through the ears of the demons and shaking their brains.
“Gah…! Ack….!” (Soldier A)
“Agh…! Gah…! Gah…!” (Soldier B)
“Ugh…! Bgh…!” (Soldier C)
With blood dripping from their ears, the soldiers collapsed on the ground one after another.
If left alone, it would only be a matter of time before they died.
“I… Impossible… With nothing but… a snap of his fingers… All the elites of the Angart household were…” (Zerceas)
Zerceas, who just barely managed to survive that with his anti-magic, then Ramon, who was behind him, and a handful of soldiers were staring at me with a look of horror on their faces.
“Let me ask you a question. That dragon from earlier, who gave it to you?” (Anos)
“…What are you talking about…?” (Zerceas)
“Two thousand years ago, dragons, who fed on humans and demons, were a threat to the people. The Demon King’s army exterminated most of them and nearly drove them to extinction. Even if they survived, they would be few in number, and most of all, they’re so powerful that none of the demons of this era could ever stand a chance against them. I don’t think you would be able to find any of them with your Magic Eyes, much less capture them.” (Anos)
Zerceas looked dismayed.
Hmm. I seemed to have hit the bull’s-eye.
That dragon from earlier was weakened. That was the work of someone else.
“Someone must be pulling your strings. Tell me who.” (Anos)
“Th-There is no such individual! We’re the ones who found that dragon!” (Zerceas)
“Oh really?” (Anos)
“If you’re going to kill me, do it! We Royalists have no fear of death! But what sort of king slaughters his people for merely disagreeing with him? You think you can rule a nation like that? You may take my life, but you will never take away our noble convictions!” (Zerceas)
“Interesting speech you’re giving me. Then here’s what I’ll do.” (Anos)
I carefreely pointed my finger at them, and cast the <Contract Zekt> spell.
“Those who sign this contract will be spared if they tell nothing but the truth. If what Zerceas just said is true, then nobody says anything. That way, I will guarantee the survival of everybody present here.” (Anos)
“Kuhaha! You fool. What you just said doesn’t even amount to a threat. All we have to do is not sign this contract, and that’ll be the end of it!” Zerceas loudly declared, as if to warn his men at the same time.
Indeed, all they had to do was remain completely silent.
And yet, tension was really high among the soldiers.
They didn’t even look at each other, and the atmosphere was odd, as if they were keeping each other in check.
The tension was growing by the minute.
Then someone lightly scraped his foot on the ground.
The next moment, it was Ramon who shouted.
“I-It was a strange man who approached us! He asked if we wanted power, and lent us that dragon! He was wearing a ring I’ve never seen before, one that was neither from Dilhade nor from Azesion…! Not even Zerceas-sama knows who he was! I’m sure of it!” (Ramon)
Ramon signed the contract.
If this was a lie, he would’ve died, but seeing as he was unharmed, it seemed to be the truth.
“Y-You blasted fool!” (Zerceas)
Zerceas widened his eyes and grabbed Ramon by the throat.
“Gugyah…! S… Sto…!” (Ramon)
“All you needed to do was keep your mouth shut! You incompetent cretin!” (Zerceas)
Ramon was engulfed in black flames.
“GYAAAAAAAAAHHH!…!” (Ramon)
Ramon suddenly collapsed on the spot.
He somehow managed to put up anti-magic, and was trying to extinguish the <Demon Flame Gresde> flames.
“You’re the cretin here, Zerceas.” (Anos)
At my words, he turned around and stepped back.
“Sure, this guy here is shallow, but it’s not that he failed to understand that keeping quiet was the best decision for all of you. He was simply suspicious that someone else might betray the rest of you and sign the contract.” (Anos)
As I spoke, I quietly walked forward.
“Once he gave in to paranoia, he was inevitably going to be the first one to sign it. Ramon was the fastest to do it, but it was only a matter of time before the other four decided to sign it as well.” (Anos)
When Zerceas turned to look at his men, they looked panic-stricken.
At their fingertips were the residue of magic power they used to sign the contract.
“…This can’t be true… You bastards… Were planning to betray me, the head of the Angart household…?” (Zerceas)
“That’s the sort of reasoning that makes you a cretin. Did you really think any of them would risk their lives for lineage or pedigree? It’s only for the sake of others that anyone would risk their own life. You like to say that you Royalists don’t fear death, but you have no noble convictions whatsoever.” (Anos)
I stopped and hit him with the facts.
“You’re nothing but a bunch of vermin who want to line each other’s pockets. You fear for your own lives more than anything else, and this is proof of that.” (Anos)
Zerceas gritted his teeth.
“…You’re the one… who made us…” (Zerceas)
As if squeezing the words out of himself, he went on a rant.
“If you’re the Demon King of Tyranny, that means you’re the one who gave birth to us! The one who left nothing but his glorious legend as a legacy and gave birth to the Seven Demon Elders, who in turn gave birth to countless descendants who fully inherited his blood! And for what?! Just so you could reincarnate!” Zerceas shouted, as if to blame me.
“You despise us and call us vermin, but it was your own actions that started it all! If the royalty system never existed, the royal faction would’ve never existed either! If you had never reincarnated, none of this would’ve happened in the first place!” (Zerceas)
“No matter the era, there will always be hypocrites like you all.” I said while drawing a magic circle with my finger.
“You’re right, if royalty never existed, neither would the Royalists. But if they didn’t exist, would you have devoted yourself to the well-being of the world and others out of virtue and goodwill instead?” I asked Zerceas straight away.
“No, you would never have. You’re just using the Royalists as an excuse. What would’ve happened if the royalty system was never a thing in this world? You would’ve simply been born under a different name. You would’ve still found some major cause that suits your needs, and used it to line your own pockets while blaming someone else for it, I’m sure.” (Anos)
