Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 676

We had won. From that, we had gained much, and would continue to accumulate more. Yet, even in victory, there were things one had to let go of. That was inevitable.

There were still many mysteries I couldn’t unravel. I had no clue what had become of Antirianus after he absorbed the vengeful spirits. I didn’t understand how I had survived.

Ellen had left. She surely had her own reasons for leaving me. She was something I could no longer hold on to.

The end of everything signaled a new beginning. The responsibilities I faced would only grow. I had to truly embrace the role of becoming the ruler of the entire world. I couldn’t fall apart over the loss of one person. Someone who did would not be fit to rule.

I got out of bed and straightened my clothes.

I wasn’t superhuman, but I had to walk the path of one. If that was the case, I had to at least pretend as best I could.

Harriet looked at me as if I had become a completely different person. She had stopped being especially surprised or saddened by Ellen’s departure. There was no time to indulge in self-pity.

What was regained had been regained, and what was lost had been lost. I wouldn’t dwell on it.

“Thick-Skull.”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s go see Charlotte.”

From this point forward, I needed to become someone entirely different from who I had been. So different that I might even forget who I once was.

I would become the conqueror of the continent.

***

Charlotte was handling all the affairs at the Allied Forces headquarters in my absence. She was compiling damage reports, sorting out treatment for the wounded, and managing all the activities near Diane. As a result, the upper brass of each individual contingent were constantly coming and going from the main command tent.

It felt surreal that I was now the highest-ranking person in the Allied camp, a place I had once had to sneak into just to look around.

I pulled Charlotte aside to get an update on the current state of the Allied Forces.

“The damage is extensive,” she said, her voice steady but laced with concern. “The chaos is still overwhelming. Most of the common soldiers aren’t even aware that we’re now in control of the Allied Forces. If they find out, it could lead to even more disorder. For the moment, we’re trying to keep the lower-ranking commanders within each army in the dark.”

Many of the commanders on the ground were still unsure about what had truly happened to the Empire, or where to channel their anger. It would be absurd to suddenly announce that the Demon King had assumed command of the Allied Forces and expect them to just accept it. An uproar was inevitable, but there was no need to stir the pot unnecessarily.

“So we need to decide whether to make a big show of it or handle it quietly... Is that it?”

“If you look at the big picture, yes.”

Was it better to openly declare that the Demon King’s rule had begun, or to obscure it as if it never happened? If we hid it, the eventual reveal could be terrifying; if we revealed it now, the immediate chaos would be daunting.

“More importantly, the Allied Forces need to return to their home bases. This force was based in the capital, but had been gathered from all corners of the continent. The time and resources needed to make a safe return to the capital is a significant issue. Moreover, reaching the capital isn’t the end of it; sending those forces back to their respective regions would require even more time and consume enormous amounts of resources.”

Indeed, it had taken tremendous effort just to gather humanity’s total strength into a single army. While the final battle might have been over, the war couldn’t truly be considered to be over until this army returned home safely.

We had to make sure they all got back. But how would they make the journey, and how would they disband? Just getting the Allied Forces back to the capital, the final common waypoint, would take almost a year. We would need to sustain the army throughout that entire time.

Even thinking about just one of these issues was enough to make my head spin.

“Um...”

As Charlotte and I delved into these overwhelming issues, Harriet hesitantly spoke up.

“I think... I might be able to help with that.”

“Oh?” I exclaimed.

I suddenly remembered that Harriet had invented a new warp gate system.

“But didn’t you mention it requires a nexus or something like that...?”

If it was still a physical structure, then we would need to construct a warp gate. Moreover, we couldn’t just create one here that connected directly to the capital. We would have to rebuild many of the other destroyed gate facilities, which would take an enormous amount of time as well.

“No... If I can create what we need here, I can send the entire Allied Forces anywhere in the world, not just to the capital, in an instant.”

‘This girl... What kind of trouble has she stirred up now?’

***

I had not been paying attention to all the other battlefield developments during the Battle of Diane. I had used all my strength and focus just to escape from the Immortals.

This was the first time I was hearing about the mysterious magical star that had appeared at the rear of the battlefield. It was magic that harnessed the mana of nature and used it to manifest spells. In essence, it was magic that harnessed the mana in the atmosphere.

Even after listening to the explanation, I couldn’t grasp the specific principles behind it. But I realized that Harriet had somehow made sense of the nonsense I had once uttered and turned it into something practical.

The crucial part was that she could harness this magic to perform spatial teleportation on a massive scale, transporting the entire Allied Forces directly from their current camp to the capital.

“I don’t know what to call it... but I can use that kind of magic now,” said Harriet in wonder as she nervously toyed with her fingers.

“You, you really are...”

As if suddenly understanding the gravity of the situation, Harriet’s face turned pale, and she slowly backed away from me.

“You’re my favorite Thick-Skull!” I exclaimed as I pulled her into a hug. “I knew it would turn out like this!”

This magical genius had managed to slash astronomical military expenses with just one spell! It was incredible.

Harriet, as usual, looked thoroughly unimpressed as I embraced her tightly.

While I clung to Harriet, who seemed unsure of what else to do, Charlotte observed us with a lukewarm expression.

“In all seriousness, if that’s the case, then it’s really a relief,” she said calmly. “Just thinking about sending this army back was overwhelming... So, what’s our next move?”

The most brilliant, noble, and undeniably adorable thick-skull in the universe had solved all our problems in one fell swoop.

Would we complete our conquest through power? Or subterfuge? None of that mattered at the moment.

“The Allied Forces will withdraw fully. Make sure it is completely disbanded.”

The last human army, which had left the capital without expecting to ever return, would now have the chance to return home safely. In an instant, all the soldiers would be back with their families.

It did not matter who ended up ruling the world or who held power over me. What mattered to the soldiers was their survival and return. They couldn’t resent us for providing them a way back to their lives.

***

The Allied Forces were withdrawing.

I wandered through their camp, bustling with the efforts of post-war recovery, driven by a need to witness certain things for myself. Eventually, I reached the place where the Temple’s Royal Class was garrisoned.

As I stepped inside, I couldn’t ignore the shift in expressions and the change in atmosphere among those who recognized me.

Those of the Royal Class must have already been aware that the Demon King had assumed command of the Allied Forces. Yet, encountering me face-to-face was an entirely different experience.

Shrouded by a tense silence, I met the fearful eyes that were fixed on me. But among them, there were a few who met my gaze without fear.

“You’re here.”

It was Connor Lint. He walked up to me and offered his hand.

Without a moment’s pause, I took it in a firm grip.

“Yeah.”

Without him and Scarlett, the Allied Forces might have been wiped out.

In truth, Scarlett and Connor Lint had done more crucial work than I had.

The Royal Class had suffered casualties, but none of the people I knew had died. Adriana, Scarlett, Erhi, Cliffman... Everyone else was safe.

It was, quite literally, a miracle.

Even so, it was something I had anticipated.

Despite the drastic changes in the overall situation, humanity’s forces had grown much stronger than in the original timeline. As a result, the number of casualties was remarkably low compared to what had happened before.

“Where are the others?” I asked.

“They’re all... just in a daze,” came the reply.

Connor Lint’s expression, however, was grim.

“And Kaier?” I asked.

There was some hesitation. “He still hasn’t woken up.”

“I see.”

Everyone else had remained safe, but he was the exception.

Kaier Vioden had slipped into a coma.

***

As I stepped into the tent, a familiar face greeted me.

“Ah...”

“It’s been a while.”

Rudina, who was no longer the little senior I remembered, stood up abruptly at the sight of me. She seemed to want to say something, but the words wouldn’t come to her.

Her mouth opened and closed as she struggled to find the right expression. Even if no one openly opposed me, most people were still afraid of me. Only a few, like Connor Lint, dared to approach me first.

“I just came to see how things are,” I said softly.

Rudina lowered her head in response, her silence speaking volumes.

Kaier lay on the makeshift bed in front of the chair where Rudina had been sitting. It was a relief that everyone was safe, but someone still had to bear the brunt of the battle’s toll. Still, Kaier did not fight on the front lines.

Rudina clenched her teeth as she slowly explained what had happened. Since the Immortals had taken over the role of vanguard, she had promised Kaier to use the Arc Crystal sparingly in the final battle.

“When the Immortals disappeared... I had no choice but to use the full power of the Arc Crystal,” she said.

The Immortals had vanished without warning. Left with no other option, Kaier, who had been on standby, had been called upon to charge the Arc Crystal immediately. He did so, pushing himself beyond its limits so that the Arc Crystal could be used to its fullest extent. Before the battle reached its conclusion, Kaier had already slipped into a coma.

Harriet’s spells could not cover the entire battlefield. The immense mana that the Arc Crystal provided and Rudina’s ability to harness it had been crucial to the battle. Thanks to these two, many lives were spared. However, the cost was steep—Kaier lay in a coma, with no sign of waking up anytime soon.

Rudina began to sob, her voice trembling with emotion.

“You must... You must... promise.”

Silence hung in the air.

“Promise to create a world where everyone can be happy...”

‘A world where everyone can be happy...’

What a childish sentiment. It was childish because even children understood that such a thing was impossible.

Even children knew that, yet there was Rudina, no longer a little girl, crying and pleading with me for exactly that.

A world where everyone was happy did not exist.

I couldn’t promise something like that.

But there I was, standing in front of Rudina, her face messy with tears.

“I will definitely... make it happen.”

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything else.

***

“It’s all over now, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Adriana’s expression seemed heavy, more burdened with futility than filled with relief.

We had been racing toward this moment, driven by the singular aim of ending the Gate Incident. That had been our ultimate goal, our absolute good. And now, that absolute good had been achieved.

Adriana and I, who had vowed to each other to survive, stood together once more, unharmed. With that goal behind us, there was no longer a singular path to follow.

This was the time for choices and decisions. In this new chapter, we might make mistakes, choices that could lead to irreversible consequences. There were those whom we would never see again. In fact, some had already died, whether in battle or otherwise.

But Adriana and I had survived.

“Are you planning to become the Emperor of the Continent now?” Adriana asked, her smile tinged with curiosity.

Emperor of the Continent... Yes, that was my goal.

“Probably,” I replied.

“Hmm...”

“Why do you ask?”

Adriana looked unimpressed.

Slap!

Then she hit me on the shoulder.

“Hey, why’d you hit me?” 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

“If you’re aiming for something as grand as that, using uncertain words like ‘probably’ won’t make others, including me, see you as reliable. Can’t you say it with more confidence?” Adriana demanded angrily, her eyes blazing with fierceness and a good amount of charm.

That was when I understood. I had to stop using vague words. People in positions like mine often relied on ambiguity, but I did not have to follow that path.

“Alright, then. Yes, I will definitely become one.”

“That’s more like it,” she replied, her smile showing she was pleased.

***

While strolling through the Royal Class encampment, I encountered a few familiar faces.

Those who didn’t know me well but had heard of me watched from a distance, their eyes filled with a mix of fear and curiosity. They didn’t approach me, yet they weren’t openly hostile either.

Before I reached out to Scarlett and Connor Lint, it was Cliffman who held everything together.

I heard he had somehow reached Master class and played a crucial role in protecting Riana and Harriet.

He had a natural talent for battle, but Cliffman didn’t seem to have any strong feelings about it. He was simply grateful that he could protect Riana and Harriet.

“You did well,” I said to him.

“You too,” he replied.

Even though it had been quite a while since we’d last seen each other, that was the extent of our conversation.

But then, it had always been that way with him. We never exchanged many words, but somehow, it always felt like that was enough. It was amazing how such a thing never changed.

As I wandered around the encampment, meeting people, I realized something.

“Reinhart... Have you seen Ludwig anywhere?” Scarlett asked.

Ludwig was nowhere to be found.

“No,” I replied, “I haven’t.”

“I see...” Scarlett murmured, lowering her head with a look of despair.

The Immortals’ rampage likely meant Cristina had perished. And Ludwig had been with her.

Then again, I had seen Ludwig in the heart of the battlefield, and had confirmed with my own eyes that he had been moving with a different purpose than the rest of the Immortals.

Cristina was probably gone, and I had no idea what had become of Anna and Louis. Perhaps Ludwig had joined them after the battle, but there was also a strong chance he was dead. Given that he had been fighting in the most perilous part of the battlefield, it seemed reasonable to assume he might have fallen.

But could Ludwig have died so meaninglessly?

I couldn’t be certain about any of it.

Even after quite some time, there was no news of Ludwig’s body being found on the battlefield, nor did anyone claim to have seen him.