Chapter 154
At that moment.
In the deepest part of the capital, known as the ‘Empire,’ a woman with dark blue hair was praying in a place resembling a shrine.
“…….”
What lay before her was a statue of the goddess.
The goddess statue, crafted from marble, was so exquisite that it wouldn’t be strange to donate it to the shrine immediately, and the woman was praying with a sincere heart.
“I hope peace fills this land.”
However.
Excluding the fact that the face of the goddess resembled that of the woman, anyone could tell that the statue appeared holy and reverent.
“And may the glory of the Empire continue on.”
Indeed.
This goddess statue was modeled after the woman herself.
While it might seem somewhat ridiculous to create a statue of oneself and then pray to it like a goddess, who would dare say such a thing to her?
To the Emperor of the Empire.
“Your Majesty.”
“Have you arrived, Lord Arpes?”
Inside the private chamber, a woman with blonde hair and glasses stepped forward with a troubled expression.
“We received word from the Count of Scouder. It seems they plan to launch an attack against the Demon King’s army from the Anari Principality.”
“Do they have the capability?”
“It seems they believe they can manage it.”
“That’s nonsense. Overconfidence is a shortcut to destruction.”
The Emperor halted his prayers and turned his gaze.
His copper-colored eyes, distinctly different from his dark blue hair, were slit like a snake.
“The opponent is the Demon King. An actual Demon King. How do they plan to defeat him? Did that Magic King develop a technique that could sweep the entire continent? Ha ha.”
“The Saintess has appeared.”
Startled.
“…Saintess? Are you talking about the one I know?”
“Yes. Saintess Yan Diere of the Order of the Crescent Moon Goddess. She has entered the Anari Principality leading a party.”
“The Saintess, the Saintess… The one who disappeared for several months has appeared…”
The Emperor clapped his hands with a bright smile.
“Are they thinking of mobilizing Liriez?”
The Emperor picked up the sword placed before the goddess statue.
The sword, shining in the same copper color as the Emperor’s eyes, resembled one from a distant wasteland.
“The hero of the Order of the Crescent Moon Goddess. The one who awakened the ‘Demon God,’ which has long been a dream of the Empire. While the Order is keeping it hush-hush, we in the Empire are already aware of the existence of that powerful Demon God. If mishandled, even the Empire could fall to the Order. But the Order cannot recklessly touch us either.”
“Yes, that makes sense…”
“Because we have a Demon God on our side too.”
Flash.
Behind the goddess statue.
“…The sealed Demon God.”
A light illuminated what looked like a massive helmet.
The splendid helmet seemed to have transformed from a boulder, or perhaps it had originally been carved from rock, resembling something cursed by petrification, and the Emperor gritted his teeth.
Beneath this helmet.
Below the marble floor, a Demon God slumbered.
Only its head barely protruded, while its body lay quietly asleep in the earth.
The sealed Demon God.
Ancestors had said, “It shall appear when the Empire faces a crisis,” yet the notion of the Empire being in crisis was unthinkable.
What power is more meaningless than one that has been permanently sealed?
Especially if it relates to the Holy Sword.
Thus, one must understand.
Although it may not be of Empire origin, understanding how the Order of the Crescent Moon Goddess unsealed the Demon God is crucial.
“…If Liriez supports the Anari Principality, we should certainly be able to witness the ‘Water Demon God’ she wields. We must determine how she acquired the Water Demon God and how she can control it.”
“If that happens… she won’t sit idle.”
“Satan? Ha ha. If only we can unseal our ‘Earth Demon God,’ a mere Demon King would pose no problem.”
The Emperor ground his teeth.
“…The Demon God sealed by the Great Demon King 500 years ago. The long-held dream of our past Emperors. If we awaken the Earth Demon God, the Empire could surely unify the continent. A mere Demon King is nothing. Even Great Demon Lord Bel Phegor was defeated by the Holy Wind Sword.”
The process of the six Holy Swords’ defeat aside, ultimately, it was the Demon King who fell to the Hero of the Holy Sword.
“Therefore, we must ascertain how the Water Hero, Liriez Cesarcross, awakened the Demon God…!”
“I will contact the spies in the Anari Principality. …However, there’s a chance that Liriez may not go to the Principality.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“According to the intel, the party with the Saintess is primarily targeting the Demon King’s army…”
“Hah, that’s nonsense.”
The Emperor scoffed as if it weren’t worth a single word.
“No matter how much of a Saintess the Order of the Crescent Moon Goddess claims her to be, no matter how much divine power she has, she cannot defeat Satan’s Demon King’s army. Even I would need the Empire’s Holy Sword and be prepared for mutual destruction to win against such a being. How can they possibly counter him?”
“They say there is the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus who has been active in Normans.”
“…She must be a fake.”
The Emperor shook his head while grinding his teeth.
“If she were the real Sorceress of Crimson Lotus from 500 years ago, she would have come to assist the Empire. She would have come to this palace to reveal her identity and request support from the entire Empire, just as she did back then.”
“But perhaps this time it could be different?”
“She is someone who could command all the strength of the Empire with a single word. There’s no way she would head to battle against the Demon King with the Saintess and her companions? Ha ha, that’s absurd. Yes…”
Creak.
“…Records and documents do not lie. If she is indeed the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus, she should have borrowed our Empire’s strength instead of merely tagging along with the Order of the Crescent Moon Goddess. She’s a fake.”
“Understood. Then, regarding the Anari Principality…”
“We proceed as planned.”
Clank.
The Emperor raised the brown-glowing sword with both hands.
“While Satan has turned his gaze toward the Anari Principality, we shall definitely unseal this Demon God to gain power against Satan. So… we must find those leading the Demon God. Whether Liriez emerges from the Papal Office to go to the Anari Principality or…”
“…find ‘that person.'”
The Empire’s dream.
The liberation of the Demon God.
“For the glory of the Arpe Empire.”
*
” cough.”
“Do you have a cold?”
“No, no. Just caught in my throat.”
Although there aren’t many people, their sparkling eyes make me a bit nervous.
The ones in the room are members of our party, and people from the Anari Principality.
The prince is absent, but the Foreign Minister, Borchu Anari, and the Supreme Commander and Court Magician, ‘Endymion,’ are present.
It’s barely even a meeting of ten individuals, but this is the command center for the subjugation of Satan’s Demon King army.
“First, the final operation to subjugate the Demon King is top secret to everyone. To prevent information from leaking, only I, the Magic King, and Lucius will know the final operation.”
It’s not even shared with the party members, and certainly not with the Saintess.
If they heard the method, they would all be horrified and try to stop it, and with such commotion, information would leak.
“Don’t be too disappointed. It’s one thing if we were just blocking a generic monster wave, but we’re facing a Demon King. I believe we want to put all our strength into taking him down.”
“I have a question.”
“What is it, Foreign Minister?”
“If the operation succeeds, will we be able to defeat the Demon King?”
“Beep.”
I waved my finger in the direction of the Foreign Minister.
“It’s not ‘if’ we succeed. We will definitely succeed. The operation we will formulate from now on only concerns ‘how much’ to improve the efficiency of success. Magic King, the map.”
“Yes.”
When Mammon snapped his fingers toward the wall, mana sparkled on the white wall, revealing a battle map.
“We need to occupy this place for the victory of the final operation. ‘Dragon Tail.'”
At the end of Dragon Lift, leading from the capital of the Anari Principality to the mainland, this is the place where the Demon King’s army is positioned, resembling the very tip of a dragon’s tail.
“Although it is currently occupied by the Demon King’s army, we must reclaim this place to increase our chance of success.”
“Um, I have a question. Increasing the chance of success isn’t the same as enhancing the ‘efficiency’ of success?”
“It’s a strategy where success is guaranteed; it’s just a question of time.”
Mammon supported my words.
“Will it be an easy win? A decent win? Or a desperate and frantic win? Winning is a certainty.”
“…Is that really true? Is there even a 1% chance we could lose? We’re dealing with a Demon King here…”
“Have you ever seen a Demon King win in human history?”
Ahh.
I said it, but my heart hurt.
Mammon closed his eyes tightly, not saying a word, but the corners of his eyes trembled as if he were barely holding back laughter.
“The Hero will always defeat the Demon King. That’s proven by human history. What do you all think? No matter the situation, in the end, the Hero triumphs.”
“…Certainly, that is correct.”
Lucius clenched his fist and raised his voice.
“The one who will defeat the Demon King is the Hero.”
“Exactly. That’s the right mindset. So everyone, think of reclaiming this Dragon Tail as a step toward the final operation….”
Flap.
“For [Excalibur].”
“…What does that mean?”
“Just the name of the operation. Nothing else. If we succeed….”
The final operation.
“We will strike a thick and beautiful pillar of light into the Demon King’s castle.”
