Demon King of the Royal Class
Chapter 540

Chapter 540

▒▒▒▒!

The meteors struck the earth, releasing a deafening explosion that no words could do justice to. The ground was quaking so hard that it was impossible to maintain balance, even for the monsters, while winds from the tornadoes whipped past us, almost strong enough to tear off skin.

The shockwaves, ground quakes, falling meteors, and lightning storms made it difficult for the monsters to move properly, and I found myself in a similar predicament.

Harriet was accompanying me for a simple reason: she could use a dimensional portal to redirect any meteor that might directly harm us, and in case we required an emergency evacuation.

Gwoooaaaar!

Unfortunately, the largest and most massive monsters were unaffected by the ground quakes, gales, or shockwaves.

Boom! Crash!

Lightning from the sky struck a monster with a lion’s head and a snake’s body, but it only flinched slightly.

Harriet cast an explosion spell in front of the monster’s face, but it merely recoiled slightly, unscathed.

Fire, lightning, and magic were ineffective against these monsters. The more the situation intensified, the more monsters seemed to develop immunity to magic.

Woooom!

I thrust Alsbringer, enveloped in a blue aura, into the massive snake’s body and tore it apart. Monsters immune to physical attacks were rare, especially against an aura blade. Thus, close combat remained the best and most effective means of fighting.

Once.

Slash! Tear!

Twice.

Slice!

Thrice.

Kwoooaaaar!

I severed the snake-creature’s body at the waist, and it began to thrash wildly. Its upper body, like a broken tree, began to topple due to its own weight.

The monsters swarming about us were being swept away by the explosions triggered by the meteor shower while flying monsters plummeted to the ground all around us. Those struck by lightning turned to ash, yet the overwhelming number of monsters that were still alive screamed and charged at Harriet and me, intent on killing us.

Harriet, surrounded by a barrier to protect herself from the storm, ran alongside me.

Flash!

Shockwaves, explosions, and flames ignited by fire magic. We aimed to break through the wave of monsters and destroy the warp gate.

The world in its original state couldn’t be called a paradise. It was just as prone to misery as anywhere else. But even if that world wasn’t a paradise, this world, where the scenes that we were witnessing were routine, was surely hell.

Even if we ended this hell and brough the Gate Incident to a close, paradise would not come. The world could never be the same again. Still, despite knowing we couldn’t achieve paradise, we could at least do all we could to pull ourselves out of this hell.

Kurururung!

A dragon-type monster, capable of flying even in this fierce storm, shot a stream of fire at Harriet and me.

“Reinhart!”

Harriet’s barrier protected us from the fiery breath, but everything outside the barrier’s radius melted instantly, and the monsters charging at us were incinerated.

This was just the beginning. More formidable monsters would appear, and eventually, we would have to fight the last monster.

Kururururung!

Harriet and I looked on, dazed, as the ground turned into molten lava, and monsters melted away under the fiery breath.

Kwakang!

The seemingly endless stream of fire ceased. Harriet and I saw the dragon, which had cast a massive shadow over the land, lose a wing after being struck by a meteor and plummet to the ground.

A meteor had hit a relatively larger monster instead of the warp gate, but the resulting shockwave was a bonus.

Kyaaaak!

Kuuuuung...

The monster fell, almost in slow motion, sending up a massive cloud of dust as it crushed hundreds of monsters beneath it.

Disaster was dealt with by disaster.

“Not much left.”

“Yeah.”

Harriet froze the molten ground with ice magic, clearing a path, and off we ran.

Our target was not far away. Soon, our first objective was in sight.

Kurururu!

Was it correct to say that the monsters were coming out of the gate? No, “pouring out” was more accurate.

Monsters flowed out of the red glowing warp gate like liquid being poured out of a jug.

The monsters poured out of the opening in a wave of flesh, and most were crushed to death without even finding their feet. However, out of the ever-flowing wave of monsters, some took form and, as if recognizing an enemy upon birth, charged at us.

The wave of overflowing monster flesh formed a wall we had to break through before we could reach the gate itself.

Even if we summoned a meteor shower, conjured a tornado, or unleashed a lightning storm, the area would still be covered in monsters once again unless we destroyed that cursed warp gate.

We had to destroy it. We had to erase it completely from this world to break the curse that had befallen it.

Paradise would not follow, but we could at least escape hell.

Blue mana lines began to surge along Harriet’s entire body. The Power Cartridges on Harriet’s necklace emitted a blue light that quickly turned into a near-white glow.

Just once. We only needed to break through once.

Only Harriet and I were tasked with destroying the gate. The rest were to provide long-range support. We were enough on our own.

Faced with the wave of flesh, Harriet focused mana on her fingertips. She compressed and compressed the mana, gathering it to a single point, and launched it in one direction.

There was no name for this spell. It was simply an offensive spell based on Harriet’s understanding and control of mana, refining and compressing it to a single point and releasing it.

It was a straightforward mana discharge, nothing more.

Kukwakwakwang!

The mana discharge from Harriet’s fingertips was a storm of energy. Even monsters with magic immunity were swept away and annihilated by the storm of power.

In an instant, a path opened. The warp gate, wrapped in a red barrier, remained intact despite the concentrated energy storm.

How could it still be intact after such a powerful energy storm? I knew that a reinforced warp gate couldn’t be destroyed from a distance, but was it impossible even with this much power? Would a direct strike from a meteor be useless?

There was no time for despair. If the first method didn’t work, we would fall back on the second, and if not the second, then the third, the fourth. We would keep trying until it was destroyed. There was no time to hesitate.

I instinctively ran through the opening.. Running and running, I poured all my mana into the Alsbringer as I approached the warp gate that was still spewing monsters.

As I thrust the Alsbringer into the warp gate’s barrier, I commanded. “Break... apart!”

With that, I was able to bring one gate down.

***

Somewhere on the outskirts of Serandia...

“What... is this...?”

Connor Lint’s mouth fell wide open as he witnessed the scene before him.

Thud... Thud...

Flash!

Kurururung...

Three incomprehensibly large tornadoes were raging near Serandia, and hundreds of bolts of lightning were raining down from the sky each second, striking down monsters. Meteors were pouring down from the heavens.

Anyone witnessing this scene would declare that the end of the world had finally arrived.

It was an apocalyptic sight. Holding his position high in the sky, Connor Lint watched the disaster unfolding in Serandia in real-time.

Connor Lint wasn’t there on a reconnaissance mission. He was there on his own accord. He had initially been sent out on reconnaissance missions because of some strange situations, but after that, only a few select units were deployed for frontline reconnaissance.

High command had provided no explanation for the bizarre occurrences at the front lines.

Some in the Allied Forces were aware that something strange was happening, and Connor Lint, having witnessed the phenomenon, was one of them. Something too vast and incomprehensible to be the Empire’s power was aiding them.

Connor Lint had ventured out on his own, hoping to witness that very something with his own eyes, especially with the Serandia campaign approaching.

The sky opened, raining meteors and lightning.

Woooong!

“Ugh!”

Though his body was in the air, wind still whipped past his face, threatening to blow out his eardrums. Although it was hard to keep his eyes open in this storm, Connor Lint tried to capture everything in his line of sight.

A battle was taking place on the ground.

The army was merely a tiny speck against the wave of monsters. And yet, they somehow held their ground. They were capable of combat. Despite being clearly weaker than the Allied Forces, they were fighting nonetheless.

He was too far to discern their features. Though he could approach them at any time, he refrained from doing so.

A battle on the outskirts of the city, and within Serandia...

Flash!

Connor Lint clearly saw one of the warp gates flash and get destroyed.

Connor Lint remembered it clearly. The day the sky had opened... Since that day, all these disasters had begun, as if the world had been cursed.

Connor Lint was aware that the Demon King was the catalyst for this Gate Incident.

But if that were the case, then why was the magic wielded by the Demon King’s minions being cast in Serandia, and why was a warp gate being destroyed?

Connor Lint found it hard to keep his eyes open while being buffeted by the wind, and so he couldn’t clearly see who was fighting. But he could make assumptions based on what he could see.

A meteor shower was falling, and lightning was being summoned.

It had to be the Demon King’s magic and Riana’s supernatural power, one of those who had disappeared with the Demon King.

‘Reinhart...?’ Connor Lint thought.

Why?

Why were the ones who had caused the Gate Incident desperately trying to destroy the gates?

‘Was it Reinhart who has been clearing the path for the Allied Forces all this time?’

Connor Lint didn’t know the full story behind these secret events. But if these people were part of the Demon King’s forces—and if they were trying to destroy the warp gates, which could have been turned against the Allied Forces to annihilate humanity—then wasn’t something important being deliberately kept secret?

Wasn’t this a truth that people needed to know but didn’t?

Something was not right. There was a mismatch between what was common knowledge and what was the real truth.

As Connor Lint pondered this...

“You little rat...”

Connor Lint’s eyes widened as the air in front of him distorted, and an old man appeared in front of him.

“There you are.”

‘Damn it...!’

The old man’s hand reached for Lint faster than he could teleport away.

***

“Reinhart! We need to get out now!”

“Just one more, just one more—”

“No, time’s up! Everyone’s retreating now! We’ve done enough!”

“But... There’s still one left... Just one mor—”

“No!”

We were able to destroy one large, one medium, and two small warp gates

It was a miraculous achievement, enough to significantly aid the Allied Forces.

It was fortunate that Harriet was there. Otherwise, I might have recklessly tried to destroy one more gate and undermined the entire operation.

The main force supported me for the designated time and then returned to Edina, and I, after being scolded by Harriet for my stubbornness, finally retreated.

Yes, it was true that it was a miraculous achievement. And it was also true that I was able to retreat and avoid any losses to our forces thanks to Harriet’s intervention. However, I couldn’t help but frown when I saw a body with a familiar face draped across the shoulder of a vampire clan mage.

“What’s this?”

“We captured a spy. O Great Being.”

Antirianus had secured an unusual trophy named Connor Lint.

***

After conducting the preemptive strike in Serandia, the plan was to regroup at the designated assembly point and then return to Edina together. However, Antirianus had captured Connor Lint, who had been observing the situation from somewhere.

His eyes were sharp.

‘How did this old man even spot and capture the guy amidst this chaos?’

Connor Lint had definitely seen everything. I wasn’t sure if he had clearly seen us fighting or identified the people in our unit, but he probably knew that it was my forces, including me, in Serandia.

I didn’t know what Connor Lint thought after seeing that. However, he was someone who did not know the truth, and he had seen what he shouldn’t have.

I couldn’t just send him back to the Allied Forces, assuming he’d handle it on his own. If he spoke carelessly, it could lead to a major incident.

Therefore...

“...”

“...”

I was facing Connor Lint, who had just woken up in Rajak.

As soon as he awoke, he froze, his mouth agape, as if he couldn’t believe he was seeing someone he never expected to meet, even in his dreams.

He couldn’t say a word, and his eyes flicked about nervously.

‘Planning to run?’ I asked.

Connor Lint flinched.

‘This guy is just so easy to read.’

Given his abilities, Connor Lint could easily escape from me if he wanted to.

“Running is fine, but do you even know where you are?”

“Oh, uh... right...”

He did not know that we were in Rajak, located in the Edina Archipelago, below the southernmost tip of the continent.

If he tried to wander the continent using his teleportation powers until he found an allied camp, it would take him years.

His supernatural power could be used continuously, but it was not made for long-distance travel.

‘It may feel like a long time since you last saw me—but for me, it hasn’t been that long.’

Connor Lint wasn’t that unfamiliar to me, as I technically met him recently.

On the other hand, his eyes were darting all about. He did not know what was going on.

“If you stage a clumsy escape, you’ll end up a lost soul on the continent, and eventually be found as a skeleton. Do you get what I’m saying?”

“Uh... yeah.”

“I don’t plan to treat you roughly, nor do I have a reason to. Let’s just talk. After a few words, I’ll quietly send you back to the allied camp.”

Connor Lint’s mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. He seemed unable to handle the situation.