Demon King of the Royal Class
Chapter 514

Chapter 514

Ellen was asking Tana and Vertus to kill her after the Gate Incident was resolved.

“I can’t do that.”

“There must be another way, Ellen.”

Of course, neither of them intended to grant Ellen’s request. It wasn’t because Ellen was humanity’s hope and needed to remain a symbol of hope for humanity’s reconstruction after the Gate Incident. It was because they didn’t believe it right for Ellen to die in such a manner.

Vertus promised to find a way to avert the disaster, whether it involved gathering the full strength of the Church of the Five Great Gods to perform a purification ritual or something else. He was determined to do whatever it took to restore Ellen to her original state.

Vertus immediately arranged a meeting with the popes of the Church of the Five Great Gods, who were inspecting the garrison.

“Are you saying the hero is possessed by spirits?”

“While the exact reason why is unclear, it cannot be denied that these spirits are eroding the hero’s consciousness. We must gather all available priests immediately for a purification ritual.”

Vertus did not mention that Ellen had willingly accepted those spirits into her. There was no need to share that detail. The Order of the Holy Knights, the strongest army of humanity, consisted mainly of priests and holy knights.

The combined power of these priests of the Church would be used to purify the spirits inhabiting Ellen’s body and soul.

Whether it was possible or not, they had to try.

“Is there really a need to do that?” said the pope from the Alse Order.

Vertus furrowed his brow. “What did you say?”

“If those spirits are beyond even the hero’s control and ultimately erase her consciousness, then wouldn’t that mean she would be reborn as an even more suitable hero?”

This time, it was the pope from the Ouen Order speaking. The one who worshipped the God of Purity was actually supporting the hero of humanity being consumed by impure spirits.

“I hear the hero has awakened new powers and has become even stronger than before. If that’s due to the spirits within her, and if the hero has become stronger, what could be more right for humanity?” added the pope of the Alse Oder.

Vertus gritted his teeth.

The holy relics of Ouen and Alse had chosen the Demon King, and so these two orders were looked upon poorly compared to the other three. It was natural for the masses to shun these two orders, and the priests and holy knights had to endure being disgraced even within humanity’s army.

Ironically, the ones who most desired the Demon King’s death were the popes of the Ouen and Alse Orders. Only with the Demon King’s death could they dream of rebuilding their orders and revamping their image.

While the Hero Cult enjoyed the most support at present, the Orders of Mensis and Shalam, whose holy relics had chosen humanity’s hero, also received significant public support.

The Order of the God of Courage, Riter, was neutral in this respect, but even that was preferable.

Thus, the more power the Demon King gained, the more support the Riter, Shalam and Mensis Orders received.

In spite of their gods choosing the Demon King, the popes of the Alse and Ouen Orders had no choice but to wish for the Demon King’s death. Therefore, regardless of the circumstances, they believed it was better if only the shell of Ellen Artorius remained, while her core resonated with hatred for the Demon King.

Just as the popes of the Ouen and Alse Orders wished for the Demon King’s death, the popes of the other three orders also desired the Demon King’s demise, although the degree to which they felt it could be slightly different.

Only after the Demon King’s death, when the hero fulfilled her role and lost her symbolic status, would the Hero Cult, a mere facade of a religion, disappear.

Only then could the Church of the Five Great Gods once again reclaim it status as the pinnacle of faith on the continent.

All the popes of the five orders wished for the Demon King’s death.

“You all know what the Demon King intended,” Vertus reminded them.

Above all else, though, the popes of the Church of the Five Great Gods were among the few who knew the truth of the Gate Incident. They had been present at Reinhart’s interrogation, and therefore they knew that Ellen Artorius couldn’t truly kill the Demon King.

The pope of the Riter Order glanced over at Vertus. “Wasn’t the Gradias imperial family’s distrust of the Demon King the greatest factor behind this Gate Incident?”

“...”

“Now that you know the Demon King is a benevolent being, do you feel an obligation to prevent the Demon King and the hero from suffering any further sorrow?”

Vertus gritted his teeth, unable to say a word.

The words of the pope of the Riter Order were horrifyingly true.

“Your Majesty, there’s no meaning in regret for things that have already happened, or trying to atone for them. Whether the Demon King is good or evil no longer matters.

“If we had believed him about two years ago, before the Gate Incident, many things would have been different. But the Gate Incident happened, and it’s too late to believe the Demon King’s words now. Even if we trust him now, nothing will change, and even if we consider it, nothing will change.

“Since the Gate Incident, good and evil have become meaningless. The only justice is survival. That’s all there is. What meaning does good and evil have in the face of a fight for survival?

“The Demon King must die. Not because it’s good, but because it’s necessary for the survival of humanity, the empire, and the Church of the Five Great Gods.”

Vertus couldn’t say anything in response to the pope of the Riter Order. He couldn’t refute the piercing truths.

They should have believed the Demon King earlier. Believing in him now wouldn’t change anything.

Everything he’d said was true, and Vertus could only remain miserably silent.

“Everyone here knows that the hero had a very close relationship with the Demon King, and that she knows the truth of all these events. Everyone here knows she can’t truly harm the Demon King.”

The facts that were kept hidden from most of humanity were known to those present. Those who knew the truth understood that the hero could never fulfill the wish of those who put their faith in her. They knew she couldn’t grant the people their wish for the hero to defeat the Demon King.

However, this new development changed everything. If the spirits consumed her, the hero, who could not find it in her to hate the Demon King, would lose her sense of self, her conscious existence. If that happened, she would be able to do what needed to be done.

The popes had no reason to purify the spirits inhabiting Ellen’s soul, regardless of whether it was possible or not.

“Therefore, isn’t this situation actually good for humanity, Your Majesty?”

Vertus and Tana looked at the five popes.

None of them intended to help.

Ultimately, the Order of the Holy Knights only took orders from their commander, Illeion Volten, and the popes of the Church of the Five Great Gods.

Was this situation truly bad for humanity? Vertus couldn’t refute that argument.

Moreover, he was practically the one who had caused all this by failing to trust Reinhart when he should have. The popes of the Church had practically been bystanders at Reinhart’s interrogation. The real responsibility lay with the Gradias imperial family. That wasn’t a provocation by the popes, but a simple fact. Vertus knew better than anyone that he had no right to criticize them.

In a fight for survival, there was no room for good and evil.

The popes of the Church were no longer followers of the gods.

They were fighting solely for the survival of their orders and their authority, and were unworthy of being called popes.

However, in a fight for humanity’s survival, was it right to pity the hero and the Demon King, to prevent their predetermined future, and to seek an impossible coexistence with the Demon King? Was it right to seek something beyond the survival and hope of humanity?

Was he worthy of being called the emperor of humanity?

The popes weren’t popes, and the emperor wasn’t an emperor either.

***

After the emergency meeting with the popes concluded, they resumed inspecting the garrison to boost the morale of the members of the Order of the Holy Knights.

Vertus sat on one of the scattered wooden crates near the command tent on the hill, overlooking the garrison.

“Your Majesty...”

“...”

Sabioleen Tana observed Vertus with concern.

Vertus continued to gaze stiffly at the garrison without saying a word.

The popes had not said anything wrong. Problems often came about because of a variety of factors, and it was impossible to pinpoint a single true cause. However, Vertus couldn’t deny that the Gradias imperial family deserved a significant portion of the blame for this one.

What the pope of the Riter Order said about not believing the Demon King when they should have was correct, and Vertus knew that better than anyone.

It was better for humanity if the Demon King died. And if he were to die, it was better for him to die at the hero’s hands.

Humanity would find renewed hope in the Demon King’s death. No matter how dire reality was, it would prove to the people that only prosperity lay ahead for humanity.

Hope and despair were laughable concepts—neither of them had any practical use in saving lives or ending them. In reality, though despair could kill, while hope would keep them alive.

Should two people, Reinhart and Ellen Artorius, be allowed to fall into utter despair, just to achieve that hope? Was it right for them to bear that unfathomable despair for the sake of the survival and reconstruction of humanity?

One would lose their existence, and the other their life.

Both were idols.

The hero, the idol of hope, and the Demon King, the idol of despair...

Sacrificing those two idols to pacify the people with false hope while plotting the reconstruction of humanity and the Church of the Five Great Gods was the right decision for an emperor to make.

There were no passersby.

The area near the command tent had been cleared of people, and with the popes gone, only Tana and Vertus remained.

“Dame Tana,” Vertus said.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I thought I had the qualities of an emperor.”

“...”

“I may not be the greatest emperor in history, but I thought there was no one like me in this era.”

Vertus chuckled. “When Charlotte returned alive, I had many scenarios in my mind.”

“Scenarios?”

“Scenarios for how I could become emperor.”

Vertus looked at the distant sky.

The clear blue sky was pure and clean, seemingly oblivious to the world’s tragedies.

Despite the smoke from cooking fires and the sound of weapons being forged on the ground, despite the unending funerals for fallen soldiers... The sky knew nothing of that.

“When Charlotte returned, I felt a great sense of crisis. While an emperor isn’t elected by popular support, it also can’t be ignored. The position of the First Princess, who had suffered hardships and returned from the Demon King’s captivity, possessed inherent influence.”

The return of Charlotte de Gradias made her a formidable competitor for Vertus.

“When she somehow managed to draw the Temple, and even the Royal Class, to her side, I thought, ‘I might really lose this.’”

“... I see.”

“But then, what do you know?” Vertus grinned. “Ellen Artorius, Ragan Artorius’s sister, was in the same class as me.”

If Charlotte hadn’t returned, Ellen’s name would have been of little significance to Vertus.

But with Charlotte around, Vertus needed a symbol that could threaten Charlotte’s political position.

Sabioleen Tana seemed to understand what Vertus was implying.

“One of my plans was to marry Ellen Artorius.”

“I see...”

A political marriage... It would secure a solid political position, especially since his partner was the sister of humanity’s fallen hero.

“But she saw me as nothing more than a pebble on the roadside.”

She hadn’t particularly ignored him, but she hadn’t particularly cared about him either.

Ellen Artorius was that kind of person—equally indifferent to everyone.

“Well, I only saw it as a political maneuver—I did not have any personal interest. It was just a plan for if things didn’t go well, so it didn’t mean much.”

“...”

“But at some point, she started hanging around with that beggar Reinhart.”

While in the first-year Class A of the Temple’s Royal Class, Ellen began to spend time with Reinhart, who had no talents.

Ellen, who was indifferent to everyone, showed an unusual interest in just one person.

At that time, Ellen hadn’t known who Reinhart was. And whether Reinhart knew who Ellen was, Vertus couldn’t tell.

The hero’s sister, who showed indifference to everyone around her, and the powerless beggar, Reinhart, who hid his identity as the Demon King... Those two were drawn to each other and grew close.

Even though there was no reason for them to become close, they did.

“All the plans I had made became useless, and I never got to put them into action. All the scenarios I envisioned disappeared. But, in the end, I still became emperor.”

Stress had killed the previous emperor, and the princess was unable to inherit the throne.

Vertus became emperor in a way he’d never wanted, without ever implementing the many plans he had devised to become one.

The idea of a political marriage with Ellen became meaningless.

Of course, looking back, he knew Ellen would never have accepted it anyway.

“I feel like there’s some sense of inevitability when it comes to those two.”

They were the first to grow close, and now, they were the furthest apart.

They cherished each other, but because of what they were or symbolized, they had to oppose each other.

There was a sense of inevitability behind such a malicious scenario.

Everyone was a part of this inevitability, each playing their own role.

Vertus quietly observed the vast garrison spread out before him.

“An emperor should do what the mind understands rather than what the heart dictates, that’s what I think.”

“...”

“Even more so in times like these.”

One had to follow the path that reason laid out, and it was even more necessary in difficult times like these. It was foolish to choose the path that the heart desired. In a situation where even following the path of reason might not yield good results, the outcome of making an emotional choice was all too obvious.

“Those wretched popes’ words may have been dirty and vile, but I know they’re not wrong. And I know I have no right to criticize them.”

The decision of the popes of the Church might be cruel and vicious, but he could not deny that it was the rational move in the current situation.

Vertus knew better than anyone that the Gradias imperial family bore the greatest responsibility for this disaster.

Sabioleen Tana quietly watched as the emperor showed vulnerable side.

“What is the best course of action... Dame Tana?”

“...”

The emperor’s question was short but exceedingly difficult.

The best course of action was simple. Leaving Ellen as she was and allowing her to kill the Demon King.

But that was only the best for now; whether it was truly the best decision was unknown.

“When I learned Reinhart was the Demon King, the best option was not to trust him. There were too many lies, and trusting the Demon King then would have been madness.”

“... It was.”

“The best decision that my rational mind could accept back then was not to trust Reinhart.”

The best choice then had, in hindsight, been shown to be the worst.

Even now, his rational mind still believed it was the best decision. In that situation the Demon King could not be trusted, so he didn’t trust him. However, that choice had brought about the worst disaster the world had seen.

The best choice had led to the worst outcome, and in the midst of this Gate Incident, many were bearing collective responsibility for the choices they had not made.

“If the best thing to do now is to leave Ellen as she is, is it an overreach to think that this best option might become the worst one later?”

“...”

Tana was silent.

“It has to be an overreach,” Vertus said.

Tana didn’t answer, but Vertus seemed to know the answer. He smiled bitterly.

There had been a time when the best option had led to the worst outcome.

But fearing that the best option now might lead to the worst outcome later on and not choosing the best option now was overreaching.

Vertus now knew that what seemed best now could easily lead to the worst outcome later.

A choice was just a choice, and until time revealed the outcome of that choice, one couldn’t know if it was the best or the worst.

There was no best or worst. There were only choices.

“I can’t leave those two like this.”

Vertus couldn’t leave Ellen as she was.

He didn’t believe it would be revealed to be the best choice later on. He simply chose to do it because he wanted to.

It seemed he didn’t possess the qualities of an emperor anymore.