Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 647

The day I witnessed how the Immortals were being created with my own eyes, Vertus had said something. He said that someone had to take responsibility for everything that had happened.

After that, Vertus and I had a brief conversation.

“I’m not just talking about responsibility for the Gate Incident,” Vertus said.

“What responsibility, then?” I asked.

“The responsibility for the Great War as well.”

Everything had its roots in the Great War. Vertus seemed to believe that, if we were to discuss responsibility, it had to start from there.

In our discussion, it was clear what responsibility Vertus was referring to and who he believed should bear it.

If the true cause of the Gate Incident was the Great War, then who was responsible for the Great War? It would have to be humanity.

Yet, humanity as a whole was not taking responsibility. It was merely bearing the consequences. Someone had to shoulder the blame, and it had to be humanity, who was the beginning and root of everything.

Vertus argued that the Gradias imperial family, who had initiated the war, had to be held accountable.

“It’s not like you’re the one who started the Great War,” I objected.

Of course, it wasn’t Vertus who decided whether the war would occur or not. And was it truly the unilateral decision of the Gradias imperial family that had sparked the conflict?

Although the imperial family had initiated the war, the war itself had been an inevitability. If it had been a war that no one desired, not even the imperial family could have rallied such a massive force.

“Do you remember what I said a long time ago?” Vertus asked.

“What are you referring to?” I replied.

“I said that everyone below me is the same.”

Yes, he had said that. He believed he would rise to the top, which would make everyone beneath him essentially the same.

“But it’s not like I’m here because I actually accomplished something. I’m not denying that,” Vertus admitted, his voice carrying a hint of resignation.

“...”

“Just like you’re the Demon King because you’re an Archdemon, I’m in this position because I’m the previous emperor’s son.”

Vertus had claimed he was above everyone, but he had never meant it as a boast of his own greatness.

Power was inherited. Whether wise or inept, it was bestowed upon the members of the imperial family all the same. It wasn’t about right or wrong; it was simply the way things were.

“If you’re born into glory that has nothing to do with your own achievements, you must also shoulder the responsibility that comes with it, regardless of your merits.”

“...”

“If you bask in glory and wield power but refuse to accept the responsibility, isn’t that a bit absurd and rather pathetic?”

If someone refused the responsibility that came with it, they should not have embraced the inherited power and glory in the first place. After all, neither originated from them.

“Now is the time to take responsibility. Honestly, I can’t say I had no part in all of this.”

He had not been treated as a noble from birth because of his greatness, but because it was inherited. And so, it was only right that he had to shoulder the blame for everything that happened from the Great War, even though it had nothing to do with him.

If power was passed down, then it was only right that responsibility was as well.

Faced with Vertus’s solemn expression, I found myself at a loss for words.

If someone could bask in glory they hadn’t earned, they would also have to bear the burden of responsibility. Wasn’t that a truth that applied not just to Vertus, but to me as well?

I had enjoyed so much because I had created this world. Shouldn’t the responsibility for everything happening inside be mine, not Vertus’s?

No matter how much I tried to reason it out, it was me that caused Vertus to become a victim. After all, I was the one who had set all this in motion.

“You don’t have to make that annoying face,” he said.

I wondered what kind of expression I was wearing.

Vertus had just posed a thought-provoking question.

‘Is it harder to let go of the world, or to swallow it? Do you really need to compare the two to know?’ I wondered.

What Vertus faced was undeniably challenging. But did that mean my own task was simple?

“It’s funny to say this,” Vertus continued, “but just as I take responsibility for my actions, you’ll have to take responsibility for yours.”

Yes, that was true.

Letting go of the world, or swallowing up the world.

Both options were challenging, but the latter seemed even more daunting.

Vertus had his own way of taking responsibility, and I had mine.

He wasn’t offering me the world on a silver platter.

He was entrusting it to me.

If I could navigate the chaos left in the wake of the emperor’s violence, the world would be mine, and I would endure.

But if I failed, even if the world remained intact, everything I held dear—and I myself—would be lost.

“I thought this was supposed to be the time where you get angry at me,” Vertus said, chuckling as if puzzled by my bewildered expression.

“Strange,” he remarked, laughing at the moment, as if he couldn’t help but laugh.

I couldn’t bring myself to laugh in front of Vertus.

***

Gwoooarrr!

I swung my sword amidst a hellscape of flames, ice, and thunder. The battlefield stretched out across a vast and barren landscape.

I didn’t wield Tiamata or Alsbringer.

In one corner of the sprawling battlefield, a colossal weapon, towering as if it touched the sky, unleashed mana blasts upon the ground, tearing apart monsters with its fists.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of explosions rocked the earth and the battlefield every second.

Kyaaaak!

An amorphous liquid monster charged toward me, and I incinerated it with flames with the Flame of Tuesday.

On the battlefield, countless people were caught in the chaos.

They had no idea that everything began with me.

I grabbed a broken spear of uncertain origin and hurled it toward the enemy lines.

Thud!

The spear pierced the head of a giant monster that was trampling through the soldiers on the battlefield.

Kwoooarrr!

It did not collapse. As was often the case, what appeared to be a monster’s head was not its weak point.

Though I was not as skilled as Ellen, I had slain countless monsters myself.

I leaped across the battlefield, charging toward the giant monster that was still standing, and struck it with my fist.

Bang!

It was not the sound of my fist meeting flash, but the shockwave of mana that I unleashed the moment my fist connected.

My fist tore through the monster’s flesh, obliterating half of its massive body.

I caught sight of the soldiers’ stunned faces as they looked up at me.

There was one advantage to the emergence of the Immortals. If you wore a helmet with a faceplate, they would generally assume you were one of them. If an unknown soldier was cutting down monsters and pushing forward, ordinary soldiers would believe it was part of the Empire’s secret power, and not the Demon King himself. Instead of changing my appearance, it was more effective to simply wear a helmet.

Just as the soldiers did not suspect me, neither did the Immortals.

Amidst the explosions and roars of the battlefield, I watched as the Void Sword, a distance away, carved its path through the monsters, cutting them down as it moved forward.

I, too, sprinted toward the warp gate, a part of the chaotic battlefield.

I wasn’t alone. After all, there were powerful mages with the Immortals included as well.

Amidst the golden glow that bathed the battlefield, the result of Divine spells that healed the wounded and granted blessings, were spells cast by Olivia Lanche.

And then...

Zap!

Among the beams of light shooting toward the city from the rear of the battlefield, some were unleashed by Harriet, and some were summoned by Riana.

‘How does one bear the weight of responsibility?’

Just as one life alone could not shoulder all the responsibility, there had to be different ways to bear it.

Was this the right way of taking responsibility? Perhaps, perhaps not. But because I refused to accept responsibility through death, I wielded my weapon as if possessed, determined to pay the price in another way.

***

The Allied Forces had halted a distance away from the next major city in their path, Luvoten.

They waited until the Immortals had secured all the warp gates in the surrounding small and medium-sized cities before marching on Luvoten.

The battle was certainly more intense than the one at Wallon, and lasted longer. However, the Allied Forces still suffered fewer casualties than in Serandia.

The expressions of the soldiers as they gazed at the ashes of Luvoten were noticeably different from their expressions after the capture of Serandia.

This was a significant victory, with fewer casualties than before. It wasn’t sadness that cast a shadow over the celebration.

Only one enemy fortress remained. The end was truly in sight.

With that understanding, every member of the Allied Forces, from the lowest soldiers to the highest commanders, wore expressions of solemnity rather than outright joy.

The moment they had long hoped and wished for finally approaching. Instead of celebrating, the Allied Forces quietly organized themselves on the battlefield while blanketed in a somber atmosphere.

We left the handling of the aftermath of the battle to the Allied Forces and returned to Rajak.

“But did we really need to fight ourselves?” Riana asked with a shrug, her eyes glancing over at me.

“It’s better than doing nothing,” I replied.

“Well... I guess that’s not exactly wrong,” she said with a casual nod.

I felt a strong urge to join the fight directly rather than just observe from a distance. I could have used the Dreadfiend ring to transform and blend in as just another soldier of the Allied Forces at any time. But having an unknown and extremely powerful soldier in their ranks before this would have raised too many questions, so I’d held back.

However, with the emergence of the Immortals, the presence of a mysterious, powerful ally within the ranks of the Allied Forces no longer seemed out of place. Therefore, I decided to don a helmet and leap into the fray. As long as I avoided using Tiamata or Alsbringer, which were both highly conspicuous, I figured I’d be fine.

However, when I mentioned going alone, Harriet had insisted on going along. Then Olivia and even Riana decided to join us as well.

On the battlefield, they could easily conceal their identities with helmets or robes. And since the Order of the Holy Knights was on our side, it was easier for someone like Olivia to move ab out freely.

Even Eleris and Lucinil had joined in the fight. While their contributions weren’t massive, every bit helped. The quicker the monsters fell, the better.

I wasn’t sure if anonymously participating in a battle that the Allied Forces were destined to win held any real significance. Victory didn’t come without a cost; there were always casualties. Someone was bound to be injured, or worse.

Riana and Harriet had likely claimed the most monster kills that day, not me.

Harriet stood silently, gazing down the hill from the open field in front of the royal castle of Rajak with a tense expression, the night sky stretched out above her. She seemed deep in thought.

—Eek! Eek...! Eek!

Olivia sat on a rock ledge in front of the royal castle, wrestling with her full plate armor, which was drenched in monster blood.

“Ugh, this is so annoying!” she grumbled as she finally managed to toss aside her shoulder guard with a loud clang.

Riana chuckled as she watched Olivia’s frustrated antics. “You know, she really acts like a kid sometimes,” she mused to herself.

From that distance, Olivia shot me a glare sharp enough to cut through steel.

“Reinhart! Stop standing there like an idiot and help me! I can’t get this off by myself!”

“Alright, alright,” I replied, moving closer to assist her with the tangled knots of her armor. “Why didn’t you just wear something simpler, like a breastplate, like I did? Why go for the full plate armor?”

“Rowen wouldn’t stop nagging me about it, so I finally gave in and wore it,” she grumbled.

It seemed she had paid a visit to Rowen, the commander of the Order of the Holy Knights, just before the battle had begun.

“It’s consecrated armor, so it’s effective. Do you think the holy knights wear this for no reason?”

Olivia sighed deeply as she explained how such armor benefited the holy knights, who could bless their bodies and sometimes use Mana Reinforcement.

Just as I had disguised myself as a soldier, Olivia had taken on the guise of a holy knight, which made plate armor a necessity.

Her platinum hair was matted with blood and tangled in places, giving her an almost ghostly appearance. It was an unavoidable fate for those who had to engage in close combat.

Riana and Harriet, who cast lightning and magic from a distance, looked slightly tired, but were still fresh and clean.

Eventually, Olivia managed to remove all of her armor, leaving her in just her leggings. Naturally, since she had to wear armor, her inner attire was much more spartan than usual.

“...”

“...”

“Uh...”

“If you’re going to look, then take a good and proper look,” Olivia barked, skewering me with a cold, piercing gaze. “What’s with the half-hearted glances? That makes it even more lecherous.”

“I-I wasn’t looking... I mean, I did look, but not like that...!” I stammered, trying to defend myself.

“And I smell like blood right now, so don’t come near me,” she added sharply.

“Hey, you’re the one who asked me to take off your armor!” I blurted out, confused by the mixed signals.

“That was one thing, and this is another.”

It was true, though. As Olivia had pointed out, the air was thick with the scent of blood.

Olivia rose to her feet, feeling envious of Harriet, who stood to the side, still gazing down the hill.

“If I get another chance at life, I’ll learn magic too... This is so frustrating... Damn it...”

Olivia trudged into the royal castle, leaving the scattered bits of plate armor behind.

I made a mental note to take care of the armor, though I was unsure if Olivia would ever wear it again.

Just as Olivia disappeared inside, Charlotte emerged at the castle gate.

“So, I heard the battle ended well,” Charlotte said.

Our regent, despite her impressive combat skills, was wearing a pristine dress, as her duties kept her away from the battlefield.

“Well... fortunately,” I replied.

Though we were involved, Titan and the Immortals played the most significant roles.

Charlotte crossed her arms and took a deep breath. “Now... only Diane remains.”

“Yes,” I said, feeling my palms grow clammy at the thought.

The end was finally within reach.

The Immortals had already dealt with every other location.

The capital of Rizeln, Diane, was all that remained.

This was truly the last battle. All that remained was the final push.

The atmosphere in the Allied Forces’ camp was somber, and we all felt it too, whether we had set foot on the battlefield or not.