Demon King of the Royal Class

Chapter 367 [Illustration]

chapter 367 [illustration]

in the deep of night, after a short walk, duke granz sat quietly in his office. he sat there in the darkness, with the lights turned off, lost in thought.

he was recalling the conversation he’d had with owen de getmora during the guildmaster’s visit not long ago. it was rare for owen to visit. he only did so when an urgent matter arose, and duke granz agreed that it was indeed a pressing issue.

they had discussed a negotiation with the remnants of the demon realm.

.

.

“their condition is that all the leaders must be present at the meeting, not just a representative. they have good information on the leaders of the movement, so if anyone is absent, the negotiations could easily fall apart,” owen explained.

“this could be a trap,” duke granz said.

“in exchange for this, they are willing to allow us to have as much security as we feel we need,” owen replied.

“confidence, perhaps,” duke granz mused.

“indeed. after all, their forces massacred leverier lanche and the elite holy knights who were with him. they seem to believe they can fend off any possible attack,” owen said.

“as i’ve said repeatedly, joining hands with the demons is madness,” duke granz insisted.

“i agree with you, but the majority of the leaders have already reached a consensus,” owen responded.

“we don’t know what they’re thinking or what their intentions are. we know too little about them to join hands just because they hold power,” duke granz argued.

“i agree wholeheartedly with your opinion, your grace. we won’t be able to decide everything at that meeting, and the demon king won’t act rashly either. attacking us would be a grave mistake from their perspective,” owen assured him.

the discussion about whether to ally with the remnants of the demon realm and the next demon king had gone on, but due to the nature of their organization, it was difficult to gather all the leaders for a meeting, and so the debate was conducted through written communication or individual exchanges.

the organization had been thrown into chaos once news surfaced that the remnants of the demon realm had discovered the secret of the guildmaster of the merchants’ guild. no one even begin to understand where the demons had picked up that scent.

owen had testified that, when the demons contacted him, they had already gathered information on some of the leadership, and now, they claimed to know the identities of everyone.

“we have no choice, your grace,” owen said.

.

.

joining hands with the demons was the worst possible move. there would be questions asked about such a revolution from the start, and even if it succeeded, such a revolution could not be sustained.

however, the demons already had all the information about them. if they didn’t join hands, the demons could simply inform the empire about the revolutionary forces, and eliminate them without lifting a finger themselves. perhaps it was better to be grateful for the demons’ mercy, as they had proposed an alliance against the empire rather than eliminating them outright.

the choice was between dying at the hands of the empire, or embarking on a perilous journey with a dangerous ally.

they had to choose between the two. however, the moment the demons extended their hand, duke granz realized that the revolution had already failed.

their uprising could fail on its own, but if they managed to succeed by joining hands with the enemies of humanity, the future could not be guaranteed, and they would likely fail eventually. failure was inevitable no matter where they turned.

“is there no other choice...?” he wondered aloud.

according to owen, a significant portion of the leadership welcomed this situation with open arms.

was gaining additional power really a cause for celebration, given where it would come from? duke granz felt an overwhelming sense of unease.

had the revolution failed? had success even been possible in the first place? even within the movement itself, factions had arisen, arguments had erupted, and there was constant tension between those who were from the orbis class and those who were not. political infighting became so common that it was now accepted as the norm.

a revolution that had never been executed, and an age-old revolutionary organization... this group, which had only grown in size while rotting from within without ever carrying out a revolution... could it truly achieve one?

“...”

duke granz left his office and walked down the corridor. after much deliberation, the conclusion was already reached.

even without his consent, the organization had already made its decision. being part of an organization meant that sometimes one had to go along even when it went against one’s own will. this was one of those times.

—why does that even matter?!

a sharp voice pierced through duke granz’s thoughts as he walked down the corridor. he thought his daughter had returned to the temple, but it seemed she had actually come back home.

—i’ve told you repeatedly not to associate with those of lower status. and now, not only do you bring them over, but you also throw drinking parties with them? if this becomes a rumor...

—and what if it does?

duke granz sighed, recognizing the familiar sound of a mother-daughter quarrel. if he weren’t so particular about where he slept, he wouldn’t even set foot in his own house. his daughter disliked the main house, but had a hard time sleeping anywhere else.

—it might seem fine now, but don’t you realize this will leave scars on you? do you have to learn it the hard way? quit the temple now and come home! i’ll arrange for bridal lessons or a tutor, whatever it takes.

—ha. if these bridal lessons of yours leads to me living a life like yours, i wouldn’t want that even if it were given to me.

—w-what did you just say?

—if taking bridal lessons and living like you is the alternative, i’d rather live my life associating with commoners. at least i wouldn’t end up judging people all the time, like you do.

duke granz stood in the corridor, unable to intervene or ignore the conversation, listening from afar. the servants were usually tight-lipped, so these conversations rarely leaked outside, but even without rumors, there were those who knew. they knew that the granz household was in disarray.

—are you going to run away and marry a commoner like your father?

—do you think that’s why i’d run away? if i ever ran away, it would be to escape from you, not to marry a commoner.

his daughter’s sharp retort was even colder than the icy tone of the duchess.

—what... did you say?

—dad didn’t even get what he wanted. but despite having everything you ever wanted, you’re still not happy. so why do you insist i live my life like you?

—how... how could you say such things to your mother...

his daughter, who had been strong-willed since childhood, was not one to listen to her mother, but the duchess wasn’t weak-willed either. in terms of tenacity, she was one of the most formidable people duke granz knew. as their daughter had grown older, the conflict between mother and daughter had only intensified.

despite knowing her mother detested it, riana had brought her friends to the mansion. she was aware that her mother’s pride would prevent her from openly expressing her displeasure in front of commoners.

—if you keep saying things you shouldn’t to my friends, discriminating against them openly, and looking at them like that, i’ll show you what it’s like to lose the only child in this already unbearable household, so be careful.

—you... you! riana! stop right there!

swish!

however, the teleportation scrolls, which should have emitted light and transported them away, did not activate.

“spatial movement has been... blocked?” someone muttered blankly.

their teleportation scrolls were not activating. a barrier that could block spatial movement could not be set up quickly, yet it was clear that such a barrier was in place.

“it’s alright. the guards we brought with us can handle this. if we break through and get outside the range of the spatial barrier, we should be able to move freely,” someone said to reassure the rest.

the guards they’d brought, though few, were the elite of the elite.

bang! boom!

the knights and mages, who had rushed out to meet the sudden attack, engaged the red-eyed demons in combat.

though there were many demons, it would not be difficult to fend them off. the demons had miscalculated; there was no way they could massacre the entire leadership of the revolutionary organization with just this.

however, the sense of unease persisted.

a spatial magic barrier... the demons’ eyes glowing red, without showing any sign of focus...

gwoooarrr!

thud! thud!

they were swinging their weapons blindly, with nothing but brute force.

‘mind control...?’

the thought that these demons might have been subjected to some magical manipulation wouldn’t leave his mind.

the guards they had brought were not simpletons who would fall to such wild attacks. the attacking demons were slaughtered without leaving so much as a scratch.

“what did they take us for...?” the leadership murmured in disbelief as they watched the demons, who had launched a surprise attack, being utterly slaughtered.

none of them were fools. it was good that they were winning, but everyone knew that this was too sloppy for an ambush.

just then, duke granz soon found the real enemy amidst the flood of demons.

under the cover of darkness, there were others dressed in black and wielding swords.

“knights...?” someone questioned.

one of the swords glowed with a blue light.

an aura blade... it was the mark of a swordmaster.

this group with several swordmasters, who were individually considered powerful asymmetric forces even individually, began to crush their guards.

“are those demons... really that strong?”

“no.” duke granz muttered blankly as he watched the guards being swiftly cut down. “they can’t be demons...”

spatial movement had been blocked, and numerous veteran knights were cutting down their guards, who were falling like autumn leaves, amidst the swarm of demons.

duke granz, amidst the people in black, recognized a familiar face.

“sabioleen... tana...”

the leader of shanapell was there.

***

the guards were annihilated in an instant. once the guards were wiped out, the attacking demons collapsed where they stood like empty shells.

thud, thud.

it was the sound of footsteps approaching the meeting room. there was nowhere to escape to. the people in black gradually entered the meeting room and revealed themselves. despite the massacre, their clothes were impeccably clean, without a single drop of blood.

no one had managed to escape.

everyone in the room recognized sabioleen tana’s face. the leader of shanapell calmly surveyed the conference room before taking a seat in one of the empty chairs.

“did you think the empire was unaware of your existence?” she said calmly.

the demons hadn’t betrayed them.

this location, with its barrier that blocked spatial movement... the person who had arranged the meeting place... the one who had persuaded everyone to gather here.

“owen led us into a trap.”

owen de getmora...

everyone in the room belatedly realized that he had been lying from the very beginning.

then what was the demon attack all about?

duke granz gritted his teeth, glaring at sabioleen tana.

“are you trying to disguise this as the work of demons...?!”

the leaders of the movement were in the room, but the rest of the revolutionary forces were spread out everywhere. even if the leaders died, the spirit of the revolution wouldn’t die.

“yes. from this moment, your organization will come under the empire’s control. the guildmaster of the merchants’ guild will become the next leader of the revolutionary organization.”

duke granz didn’t know whose idea it was to create a puppet revolutionary force.

“internally, it will be reported that you were meeting with demon forces here to discuss an alliance, and after negotiations broke down, you were all killed. to the rest of the empire, your deaths will be reported as the result of an unexpected demon attack,” sabioleen tana explained as if granting a final courtesy to those about to die.

she signaled to the knights of shanapell, who were playing the role of assassins rather than knights.

“kill them all. we need to manipulate the bodies and causes of death, so leave no obvious external wounds.”

with that cold declaration, lives began to be extinguished one by one.