Chapter 37 - The Forgotten Myth

Chapter 37 - The Forgotten Myth

The Yapheon Gorge.

In a place where all the soldiers had been swept away, a single knight stood, clad in heavy armor.

Maial.

A Guardian Knight of the Holy State Alliance.

One of the strong individuals known to be able to carve a path through a river with a single swing of his sword, now stood rigidly in place.

THUD.

Only a trace remained.

THUD-THUD-THUD.

As if instantly rusted, his armor slowly crumbled.

Ankle, knee, waist, back, shoulder—it disintegrated in sequence as the wind brushed past, revealing Maial's form within.

A horrified expression.

Maial was twisted, frozen like that.

"Impossible..."

He could still utter words, but that was all.

"How... that power."

Maial couldn't understand how the mage before him had reached a realm that only the first sages who founded the magic towers had achieved.

But a natural disaster was not something humans could comprehend.

One could only be crushed and destroyed by the calamity that befell them.

"D-damn it."

Without receiving any answer, Maial finally collapsed to the ground.

CRACK!

His mouth stilled, and cracks appeared on Maial's body, which had hardened.

CRASH!

Soon, Maial's body shattered like pottery, scattering everywhere.

THUD.

A flying fragment stopped, caught by someone's foot.

"..."

There stood a mage, unmoving.

Yuru, the Tower Master of the Blue Magic Tower and a member of the Hero's party, herself.

"I... did it."

Her body covered in blood, she looked down at her hands.

A forgotten ancient magic had reawakened within her.

That power, which she could not summon even after reading every book in the magic tower and attempting every possible method, had now resided within her.

"I see."

She had never pushed herself to the limit, using magic power until it was completely depleted.

Even when fighting the Demon King, she was confined by the limits she set for herself, only able to exert power up to that point.

But only after experiencing loss for the first time in her life, was she able to empty everything and contain everything.

"It was a trial."

A bitter smile appeared on her lips.

"Everything was meant to unfold this way."

The wheel of fate was turning, allowing her to reach places she had never reached before.

"I can get him back."

Clay too, was merely a victim of this fate.

She believed that his revival was ultimately due to a plan designed so that she would never truly experience loss.

"It's all just a trial."

Madness gleamed in her eyes.

"Wait for me, Clay."

Dragging her battered body, she slowly began to walk.

"I'll end all the trials."

♧

"Maial's resonance has disappeared."

The Holy State Alliance.

A massive Round Table where the Guardian Knights gathered.

Three Guardian Knights were seated there.

"Has Maial fallen?"

"Hmph, incompetent fool."

A blind man with his eyes closed, neatly holding a long sword, and a woman who was clearly a vagabond, spoke respectively.

The man who had announced Maial's disappearance, clad in gigantic golden armor with an enormous hammer beside him, nodded his head.

"This is not a joke."

He sat at the head of the table.

"Take this a little more seriously."

"Yeah, yeah~."

The woman, displaying her vagabond nature, interlocked her fingers, leaned back in her chair, and replied.

"Still, it's not like we got hit, so let's not make too much of a fuss."

The Third Seat.

She held the third position among the Guardian Knights.

"Nevertheless, he was also a comrade. Is it not sad that he met his end alone?"

The Second Seat.

The blind man shook his head with a dejected expression.

"Raby, Kardis."

The First Seat of the Round Table spoke, calling the names of the Third Seat and Second Seat.

"Do you know why the other Guardian Knights were not summoned to this meeting?"

It wasn't that seats were vacant.

The First Seat had simply not asked the other Guardian Knights to come to this meeting.

They hadn't intentionally avoided it.

"Well, I guess there's something important to discuss."

Raby, the Third Seat, shrugged.

"Is there a bigger problem now than the issues with Yuru or the Crown Prince?"

"I see nothing either."

"That's because you can't open your eyes."

Raby, after taunting Kardis, the Second Seat, turned her gaze back to the First Seat.

"So, why did you call us, Valuel?"

Valuel, the First Seat, was not directly blessed by a god like the Hero, but was born with a body capable of containing an overwhelming amount of Holy Power.

Based on that power, he reigned as the leader of all Guardian Knights and communicated directly with the Emperor of Kratia, the head of the Holy State Alliance.

And now, he revealed a shocking truth.

"The Hero was sighted."

The Hero, Clay.

The imperial family had informed them that he was sighted by a spy planted in Iser.

"It seems Beatrice has him."

"What?"

Raby's eyes widened.

"What do you mean? The Hero is alive?"

"Is he really alive?"

Valuel said softly.

"He was clearly dead, so Beatrice must be controlling his corpse."

"This is crazy."

Raby frowned.

"I expected Beatrice, that crazy bitch, to be alive. But what kind of insane stunt is this?"

"I don't know her objective."

It was unlikely she could incite people by claiming the dead Hero had been resurrected, and even if she could, it wouldn't necessarily help in re-uniting the Demon King's army.

"Regardless, it's clear she intends to do something unpleasant to our Holy State Alliance. There were also rumors of another Demon King's castle, so we cannot stand by idly."

"If we cannot stand by idly, what do you intend to do?"

Kardis raised an eyebrow, holding his sword vertically.

"Just give the order if he needs to be cut down."

"Hey, hey, stop it. You'll get your mouth burned off by Beatrice."

Raby clicked her tongue.

"If that bitch is plotting something, she wouldn't be doing it carelessly. It's the perfect way to fall into a trap."

"That's right."

Valuel nodded once.

"There will be a stratagem. The Emperor  speculates that Beatrice is trying to create a new Demon King's army."

"A new Demon King's army?"

"He probably believes she's aiming for something beyond merely gathering defeated soldiers."

Valuel finally brought up the core issue.

"So, His Majesty has given us an order."

"An order?"

To Raby, who tilted her head in confusion, Valuel stated abruptly.

"To annihilate the new Demon King's army."

"Annihilate?"

Raby let out a hollow laugh.

"That's nothing new. It's obvious we have to eliminate them if they appear."

"Raby."

Valuel's voice grew heavy.

"Although the Demon King is dead, the demons' resilience is unparalleled. They have no fear, and their malice is strong. Their numbers will swell in an instant."

"Well, that's true. But what's different about it this time?"

"Yes, the problem is that nothing is different."

Humans had suffered greatly from the war with the demons.

They might have even been defeated if not for the Hero.

"This time, we don't have a Hero."

As the possibility of a new Demon King's birth could not be ruled out, more thorough preparations were needed this time.

"What do you want to say?"

Raby asked, puzzled.

"We just do what we can, right? Is there anything else we can do?"

"His Majesty has issued a command."

Valuel handed over a scroll that he had placed on the table. Raby, who received and opened it, her eyes widened as if they would pop out.

"What is this? Seriously?"

"Everything written there is His Majesty's sincere intention."

Raby turned her gaze back to the unfurled scroll.

"Hey, this is..."

After carefully re-checking the contents, she finally smiled.

"This is gonna be f***ing fun."

"Raby."

"No, you saw it too, didn't you?"

Raby chuckled.

"Ever since I became a Guardian Knight, I haven't been able to rampage properly because I had to be mindful of those damn followers. His Majesty finally realized that brute force is the answer~."

"I'll read it too."

Kardis took the scroll and lowered his head, reading it from top to bottom.

"Hmm."

Even without opening his eyes, he had absorbed all the content and let out a sigh.

"This goes against the faith of us Guardian Knights."

"It is His Majesty's order."

Valuel dismissed his objection.

"We must act according to what is written there. We swore loyalty to His Majesty."

"But..."

"Hey, if we're gonna do it, let's just do it."

Raby nudged Kardis with her elbow.

"Anyway, we just need to trick all those who didn't show up and quickly make them help us, right? So just do your part and leave the rest to me."

Kardis turned his head to Raby, who spoke with confidence, and pondered.

'A storm is brewing.'

Watching the two, Valuel recalled the command written on the scroll.

-Awaken the ancient gods and let them rampage in the demon territory.

Those words meant to reawaken the gods of the old era, who were enemies of the chief deity Elhaim and whom he had personally sealed long ago.

♧

Ancient Gods.

They were six indigenous deities who assisted Elhaim, the chief deity of humans, and primarily operated around the continent of Pandea.

However, unlike themselves, who had always protected Pandea, they harbored resentment towards Elhaim, who had appeared with commandments from outside.

They had merely been suppressed and subjugated by Elhaim's immense power.

Thus, it wasn't long before they rebelled against Elhaim.

The battle lasted for seven cycles of sunrise and sunset.

In conclusion, the ancient gods were defeated.

Creation, Omnipresence, Blood, Sacred Body, Eternity, Immortality.

Elhaim only managed to seal these ancient gods, who had demonstrated immense destructive power through the primal forces from which they originated.

Afterward, Elhaim disappeared from Pandea, and only manifested his presence by bestowing power upon humans.

"Ancient gods, huh."

Clay, who was examining the demon's historical records brought by Kardine, mused upon reading the story, which was passed down as a myth.

He was well aware of the contents.

But...

'It's a little different from what I knew.'

On the human side, it was said that the ancient gods were annihilated by Elhaim.

'I might need to be wary.'

The ancient gods were also human gods.

Although they were hostile to Elhaim, the chief deity of the Holy State Alliance, it was unknown how they would treat demons if they returned.

'No, they would definitely be hostile to them.'

In both human mythology and demon records, the ancient gods tended not to acknowledge "divine beings" other than themselves.

The Demon King was a deified demon.

Even if they claimed otherwise, there was a high probability that the ancient gods would not listen.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

A knock was heard.

Clay put down what he was holding and turned his head to the door.

-Clay*, are you alright right now?*

It was Beatrice.

-You said you're having a coronation, right? Then we should check your sword for the ceremony, shouldn't we?

The story of the demonic sword.

Clay walked over and opened the door, his eyes falling upon Beatrice and the demonic sword Shiltnaro, who looked tense.

"Y-Your Majesty, the Demon King."

Whatever had transpired in the interim, Shiltnaro spoke politely.