ALL NOVEL Chapter 214
Demon King Satan, deceased.
A day has passed.
The Demon King who possessed the Three Holy Swords fell, and the Empire regained hope.
The Demon King’s Army, which followed Satan, perished with his death.
The remnants of the Demon King’s Army not aligned with Satan numbered as many as a hundred thousand, but they were soon suppressed by the arriving Holy Knight Order and Spartan warriors.
The exploits of Hero Lucius.
The Wind Hero returned with powerful strength and saved the Empire from destruction.
His achievements surely saved the Empire from the brink of ruin, and perhaps it saved not only the Empire but the whole continent.
Indeed.
The Empire, humanity was saved by the Hero.
But as always, even after salvation, humans must strive to live again.
Post-war recovery.
Countless lives were lost, and many things crumbled and shattered.
The Empire has now reached a point where it can no longer be called an Empire.
Thus.
The surviving citizens of the Empire began to fervently express a certain claim.
“Make Lucius the Emperor!”
…A new era began with the proclamation of making Hero Lucius an emperor.
And.
“The Arpe Empire has fallen! The Lucius Empire is the answer!”
That seemingly absurd statement quickly spread among the citizens with overwhelming support, akin to a rampage.
And the Hero.
Now, after defeating Satan’s Demon King’s Army, was troubled about how to handle the aftermath.
*
Bride Ship, Bridge.
“The battle with Satan has dragged on for so long that we have so much to sort out.”
Currently, only I—Belerze—and Lucius remain on the bridge.
The Bride Ship, having landed from the Sky Island, concealed its appearance with optical camouflage, while the others disembarked and are now working on the Empire’s recovery.
Yet, the reason Lucius and I are taking the time to talk here is that we need a quiet space away from those searching for Lucius no matter where we go.
“Lucius. This is a synthesis of the information I received from you and what I confirmed myself.”
“Understood.”
“You need to listen closely. For now.”
“For now.”
Lucius seemed completely oblivious to the things before him, but I had to tell him what I needed to.
“The Anari Principality.”
The Anari Principality has become the winning nation.
The Spartan warriors rampaged and showcased the strength of the Anari Principality, successfully repelling the Demon King’s special forces that appeared at the border with the Empire.
It is a situation filled with favorable conditions, so much so that it would be apt to call it a kingdom rather than just a principality.
Requesting post-war compensation for their joint effort against the Demon King’s Army from the Empire isn’t easy, but it remains an undeniable fact that the Anari Principality has gained the most from this war.
What was lost.
Magic King Endymion.
“The Mobile Fortress Mamon was destroyed, and Magic King Endymion is dead.”
“May he rest in peace.”
“Yeah. He was a good guy.”
Endymion is dead.
The Magic King, treating the wounded from the rear, was attacked by one suspected to be an officer of the Demon King’s Army and died.
“Everyone run away! I’ll protect you!”
“But….”
“Where are you running? You’re coming with me to hell! Mamon, self-destruct!!”
He executed a grand self-destruction in front of the Holy Knights and Mercenary King Bearnes.
Truly, it was a great explosion that could be described as “if he resurrects and comes back here, it would be a miracle from the gods.”
Endymion’s corpse has vanished.
It would be fair to say he is essentially dead, as his soul found refuge within the half of the Magic Core he entrusted to me.
In essence.
Endymion lost half of his magical power and became as good as dead.
Similar to Beelzebub and Leviathan, his soul remains but he has entered a state where consciousness cannot be retrieved.
In other words, I could transform into a new form known as Vermamon if the original, Belphegor, is present.
“To summarize, the Anari Principality gained the opportunity to develop into a kingdom but lost its Magic King.”
They lost the driving force behind their advancement, but they have built a foundation so it is important how they move forward.
Will they become merely a principality that survived by chance, or will they rise as a kingdom based on this situation?
That is the choice of the Anari Principality.
“Now, what’s next…?”
“What about the Empire?”
“It’s the worst.”
It’s the place with the most to discuss.
“First, are you aware of the situation?”
“Yes. People are trying to make me the emperor of this new nation based here. Or they want me to marry the current emperor.”
“Correct.”
The Emperor of the Arpe Empire was defeated by the Demon King.
An emperor who cannot protect himself is of no use.
Thus, the sentiment among the citizens is to kill the emperor and create a new one!
“Lucius. I don’t know what you think, but the emperor did his best. It’s just that Satan was stronger.”
“I know. If it weren’t for me, Satan would have completely destroyed the Empire, including those shouting over there.”
“Exactly. They ought to be grateful that they survived, yet they keep insisting Lucius should be emperor and gallivant around talking about marrying the Empress to become the consort of the Arpe Empire.”
Lucius’s expression began to darken.
After confirming his face and eyes, I immediately spoke up.
“Marriage is out of the question.”
“…What?”
“I won’t allow any marriage with the emperor. No matter how beautiful she is, I can’t allow myself to marry such a woman.”
“…Is that so?”
A grin spread across Lucius’s face.
I hope the original comes back soon to deal with this.
Since the moment I realized Lucius looked at me not as a ‘master,’ I felt a tension similar to when I first met him.
Just in case.
Worrying about whether my identity as the Demon King would be revealed.
“Yeah. Think about it. How precious the original has treated you. Would you really send you off to marry such a woman?”
“…….”
“If you’re going to arrange a marriage with such a woman, I’d rather marry the original myself.”
“That’s right?”
Lucius’s expression fluctuated between rigidity and relaxation repeatedly.
This feeling of having to sacrifice the original, the original must surely understand.
Because.
The original is not here right now.
“The Empire is a bad check. If you recklessly accept something like that, you’re just setting yourself up for disaster. But we have to stay on the Empire’s land for a while.”
Beep.
I changed the display on the Bride Ship.
There, Liriez, who had arrived controlling the Spirit Device, was seen conversing with Saintess Yan, both of them wearing serious expressions as they looked over the lake.
“As you can see, Liriez has created a lake from the water she expelled. And down there is the Earth’s Spirit Device, the Demon God Bahamut.”
Due to the lake, it’s barely visible to ordinary people, but the Earth’s Spirit Device—the Demon God Bahamut—was discarded by Satan and is lying at the bottom of the lake.
During the battle, Satan chose to fight alone, forsaking the Spirit Device.
Had Satan advanced to the level of using the Spirit Device wholly like Liriez, it might have been a different story, but he merely swung the Holy Sword.
That was certainly more powerful.
“We’re currently investigating the Earth’s Demon God in the Order of the Goddess, but it’s highly likely that the original won’t show up.”
“But didn’t the emperor testify that the real master locked himself in the cockpit of the Demon God?”
“Right. That was the case.”
A problem has arisen.
Before Satan could seize the Spirit Device, the original endured while locked away in Bahamut’s cockpit until it could reclaim its presence.
However, Satan boarded the Spirit Device.
The original has vanished.
“Now, where has the real master disappeared to?”
“…Indeed.”
The disappearance of the original.
It’s clearly a crucial issue.
Yet the current situation is not looking good.
“For now, Lucius. If we investigate these three Holy Swords, we might find leads on the whereabouts of the original.”
“The Holy Swords?”
“Yes.”
The three Holy Swords obtained after defeating Satan.
Right after Satan fell, Lucius was assigned to collect the Holy Swords, or else the people might spark another war over them.
Lucius.
The Wind Hero.
And wielder of the Flame, Earth, and Sword of Darkness.
Because he wields one Holy Sword directly and possesses three Holy Swords, the citizens are even more eager to make Lucius their new emperor.
“Find any traces of Satan from any one of the Flame, Earth, or Sword of Darkness. Then compare those with the traces in the Demon God. At what point did Satan board the Demon God, and where did the original vanish to?”
“If the real master was killed by Satan… I will not rest until I’ve dealt with Satan and the remaining underlings, even the Demon World itself.”
How frightful.
No, it’s genuinely frightening.
Seeing him seriously talk about avenging the original, who typically seems so serious, is even more chilling.
“Yeah, yeah. That’s a good idea. Finding the missing original is the top priority, and finding the clue is crucial. So first, let’s take care of one thing.”
I pointed upward.
“…I need to bring back Leviathan left behind on the Sky Island.”
“…Just between you and me, the blue-haired master seems quite different from the original.”
“I’m the same too, aren’t I?”
“That’s true.”
Lucius looked at me in confusion before bursting into laughter.
“Well, it’s interesting to see this side of the master. Anyway, I will find it. Without fail.”
Lucius began to fiddle with the ring.
“No matter what the Empire says, no matter what the citizens say, I will definitely bring back the real master.”