"I'm not asking that. You could have run away. If power was the most precious thing, you should have run away before anyone else instead of coming like this."
"... You're obsessed with useless topics. It looks like you want to somehow shake my mind by associating me with the emperor. If so, let me say something too."
You know what?
A quiet voice rang out, like a snake whispering. The Duke narrowed his eyes as he met bright red eyes.
"If you had died during the Eight Year War, I, the Emperor, your family, and Cruel would all have been happy. If it weren't for you, the human world wouldn't have been trampled by the demon world and innocent people wouldn't have died as a result."
"That's a counter attack too..."
An obvious sneer was heard.
The moment the Duke widened his eyes slightly, wondering if he had misheard, Deon rushed at him, grabbed him by the neck, pushed him down to the floor, and stabbed his shoulder with a dagger he had pulled out at some unknown time.
"Tsk!"
"I'm sorry, but thanks to someone else, my spirit no longer needs to be broken."
It didn't work at all.
He twisted the dagger like he was playing. A suppressed moan was heard from below.
Should he just kill him? Deon, who was quietly looking at him and thinking, asked softly.
"Let me ask you this. Why did you do that? Was there a reason why you had to make a contract with the Demon King?"
"Hehehe..."
A sneer was mixed in with the pained moan.
He said sarcastically, smiling brightly with his chewed up lips.
"Why did you expect a special reason or a desperate story? If it really is, what are you going to do? It's not like you won't kill me if things have gotten to this point, right? It will only make you feel uncomfortable."
"... There really is a reason?"
"No. There is none."
"..."
The facial expression was a masterpiece. He had the biggest laugh of his entire life. He felt like he'd had a lifetime's worth of laughter here. No, he was going to die today, so he couldn't say it was just a feeling.
"The contract with the Demon King was just a stepping stone to a higher place of stronger power."
After signing the contract, there wasn't much use for it. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have signed the contract.
Crack. Deon gritted his teeth at the Duke's shameless attitude and muttered as if he were chewing.
"... I hope you regret it."
"Oh my."
"That you regret it so terribly and so deeply, and I hope you die with regret."
It was a voice that seemed to ooze more pain from the speaker than from the listener.
The perpetrator, who was looking up at the victim with thick bloody tears, smiled.
"That's why I don't regret it."
His regrets will become his smiles.
A person must know when to leave. The moment he heard that the Emperor was alone in the palace, the Duke knew that it was now.
The Emperor would die. In that case, all that remained was the Duke himself. The targets of Deon Hardt's revenge were the Duke and the Emperor. As long as he lives, the top priority target of the Demon King's Army led by Deon Hart will be the Empire. He must die for the sake of the new Empire of the Crown Prince and Princess that will be established in the new Capital.
But he didn't want to die obediently.
'Why don't you live in discomfort for the rest of your life?'
Watching the Duke die without regret, he would felt defeated and stay like that for the rest of his life.
Deon Hardt drew a new dagger like lightning and pierced the back of his hand. He screamed from the dizzying pain, but the smile on his face still remained.
"Ha ha ha ha! And regret is like dominoes, once you start regretting it, there is no end to it. You can't regret your whole life, right?"
Deon, who was slowly shaking the dagger that pierced the back of his hand, looked into the Duke's eyes. He spoke with a snarl, showing his shiny red eyes filled with murderous intent.
"That means you've lived a crappy life."
"..."
The Duke closed his mouth.
As if he wanted to end the conversation for a while, he changed the subject and started talking.
"I wondered how you survived the mansion and became a hero."
He was showing off his beauty as if he was the only one shining the light, but it was impossible not to notice.
Normally, he might have been captivated by his appearance, but unfortunately, to the Duke now, Deon Hardt was nothing more or less than a cockroach.
'Anyway, it seems like a terrible name.'
At this point, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Deon Hardt's rope was stronger than a dozen thick ropes woven together. He wondered if there really is someone in this world who can stop that.
"Since you have become a warrior, you must have some immunity to magic."
"Why, are you trying to kill me using magic?"
"No. Magic is not omnipotent. Besides, I won't be able to even make a decent attack with this kind of magic power."
"Then?"
It's not like he'd been conserving his magic for no reason.
Even when the Demon King's Army advanced, the Duke did not use magic. Even if he tried to use it, it would be useless with just one gesture from the Demon King. Perhaps it may have been destroyed by another demon before it even reached the Demon King.
The only time he used magical power was to create a secret space in Salvation Church, to preserve Cruel Hardt's head, and to hide the traces of the poor man hidden in the Duke's mansion. Although a considerable amount of magical energy was consumed in the above process, there was still a usable amount remaining.
Therefore.
"I will put a curse on you."
"... Curse?"
Wasn't that the realm of witchcraft?
Deon frowned at the appearance of a word that was a bit far from magic.
"Yes. I am using all the magic I received from the Demon King to place a curse on you."
The strangely glowing eyes stared straight into the red eyes.
Soon, his lips moved slowly and an eerie voice came out.
"'You will not die an easy death.'"
"..."
"Well, I originally wanted it to be more, but this is the limit with the magical power I have."
The Duke smiled brightly, as if he could kill as many people as he wanted. Deon looked at him with a frown.
It was not because of the curse. An uncomfortable death?
Rather, it was welcome.
Just wondering why on earth this bastard can't stop bothering him like this.
"... I know that?"
He opened his mouth slowly.
"The day I was taken to the battlefield, I was a month away from my birthday."
"..."
"And my older brother Cruel died a month before his birthday."
"..."
"You are such a terrible bastard."
The Duke laughed.
"Do you know that now?"
Slash!
More red dye was added to the red uniform.
***
General Nemeseus, the first hero of the Empire and the first sword of the Emperor, ran back to the collapsed palace with his legs broken as soon as he could get the Prince and Princess to safety.
He knew that hoping for the Emperor to be alive was too greedy, so he prepared his heart when he came. He just hoped that at least the body would be intact.
'It's intact...'
There was not just one body, but two. He lifted his eyes from scanning the floor. What came into view was the Emperor's body, the Duke's body, and the blood-stained Deon Hardt standing in front of them.
He was looking down at the Duke's body with an expression that did not tell what he was thinking, but as if he recognized the presence of Nemeseus, he slowly turned his head and looked his way. For a moment, Nemeseus turned his gaze to face the eerie red eyes and looked at the Emperor. A sigh came out of his mouth.
"... Your Majesty."
Complex emotions become a small whirlpool and oscillated in his heart. There was a clear sadness in it.
The first person that Prince Eduardo recruited before he took the throne was Nemeseus. In order to make money, he poured all of their small amount of money into sponsorship to attract men from commoner backgrounds who were active as gladiators in gladiatorial arenas.
In other words, their relationship was by no means light, and the time they spent together was more than that. There was no way he would not feel anything after seeing the body.
'What is your name?'
'Nemeseus? It's a grand name, but it has no real meaning.'
'I'm not being sarcastic. There is no meaning in the name itself, but I think I understand the feelings of the parents. In the hope that his child would grow up, they must have combined things they picked up here and there to make it look believable. That in itself has a lot of meaning, so you do, too.'
'Do you have any plans to become as big as your parents' wishes in your name?'
"... This is why I told you that he's dangerous."
There was no way the spirit of a person who ignores the guilt he should have been able to bear was that strong. You never know what a guy like that will do if he loses his mind.
Nemeseus muttered bitterly and picked up the sword lying not far from the Emperor's body.
He must have held the sword like this too. Even if he died, he won't give up his pride. He would have crossed swords with that traitor until the very end. And he thought so too.
'His Majesty may have wanted me to serve those the Crown Prince and Princess... but he didn't directly order it.'
It was okay to be stubborn like this.
He knew as soon as he saw Deon Hardt that he had become a hero. Aside from worrying that the future of the human world, not the Empire, was dark, Nemeseus made up his mind. It didn't even shake in the first place.
He grabbed the blood-covered handle and aimed the blade at Deon Hardt.
"I thought you didn't look like a human before, but now you've turned into a monster."
Deon tilted his head and took a step forward. Even in that simple act, there was an unprecedented elegance, and Nemeseus raised an eyebrow.
"Are you not running away?"
"... Isn't the Emperor the end?"
The Emperor was only the beginning. He'll probably have more blood on his sword in the future. Even though he knew this, he had no intention of leaving it as is.
Because he was a general of the Empire, he had power, and he had a duty to protect the innocent.
"Come. This is my grave."
Your grave is also here.
'... Why.'
Why do people keep doing this even though they know they will die? Deon, realizing that he could not avoid this, took out his dagger. A sighing voice came out like a mutter.
"... Why are there so many foolish people in the world?"
"..."
"Of course, I am no exception."
A neat gait quietly touched the ground with a certain stride length. Deon spoke as he walked straight towards Nemeseus.
"I will do my best to kill you because it has already come to this."
"This is the most welcome news I've heard recently."
***
So many people were killed in one day. No, correction. So many big guys were killed in one day. The feeling of stabbing someone again remained in my hand, and I rubbed my palm on my clothes.
'Why the fuck did everyone die without any regrets?'
I don't know why it makes me feel so uncomfortable.
Until the end, I thought about the eyes that were shining in their own way, and eventually I couldn't overcome the dirty feeling and took out the cigarette pack from my pocket. As I sat down on some nearby debris and lit a fire, I felt like this place was some kind of ant hell.
"... Ah, really."
What on earth were the demons at the main gate doing? Are you guys having a chicken fight?
I stood up with a freshly lit cigarette in my mouth.
Who else will it be this time? I wish they would just step away. I'm not physically tired, but I'm mentally tired. The moment I turned around with a dull and bored expression on my face, I froze in place when I saw the other person's face.
"I heard that the Demon King's Army was rapidly advancing to the Capital, so I came quickly, but it seems it was already too late."
"..."
"Why aren't you saying anything? It's been a long time since we met again, so I should at least say hello."
"... Senior Stigma."
"Yes, Junior. It's been a while since I last saw you."
The Empire's second hero, Stigma Primero, was smiling softly.