Demon King of the Royal Class
Chapter 542

Chapter 542

While we had been discussing the future of humanity, Connor Lint suddenly brought up the cross-dressing contest, which had almost faded from memory.

‘When did this guy start suspecting that?’

My delayed response made him certain that it was me.

“I-it was you! It was you, you bastard!” Connor Lint’s face turned pale as he recoiled. “I always thought you were weird, but it turns out you were just a crazy freak!”

“W-what, no! No, no! What are you even talking about? I have no idea what you’re saying!”

“Why do you have such a perverted hobby...?”

“It’s not a hobby! I swear!”

“Oh? So you do know what I’m talking about, right? So it was you, wasn’t it?!”

I was caught in a trap. I hadn’t intended to fall into it, but I was caught.

‘When did this guy start suspecting it? And why does he still remember it?!’

“Give me back my innocence, you bastard!” Connor Lint shouted desperately, his face white as a sheet.

“What innocence? You knew it was a cross-dressing contest from the start!”

“I don’t care! Give it back, you crazy bastard!”

‘Why are we even having this conversation?’

In the end, I summoned Alsbringer into my right hand, and Connor Lint’s face turned even paler.

“You’ve learned something you shouldn’t have,” I said.

Why was I only resorting to threats now?

“I’m sorry. You have to die.”

However, Connor Lint wasn’t afraid at all, even after seeing Alsbringer in my hand.

“Try laying a finger on me. I’ll spread the word that the Demon King cross-dresses.”

I was speechless.

‘Why... Why was it coming to this?!’

“No one would believe that over today’s events, you idiot!”

Who would believe that the Demon King entered and won a cross-dressing contest? Even though it had actually happened, no one would believe it.

‘I really should kill him. This can’t go on.’

Whoosh!

I swung Alsbringer, and Connor Lint teleported to the other side of the room. His face turned a deep blue.

“Y-you psycho! You really swung it! I’m telling Ellen, you crazy pervert!”

I felt the blood in my body run cold.

It was too late. He had already found out everything.

The knowledge of this incident went beyond Vertus; even Connor Lint knew.

“If you don’t let me go safely, starting tomorrow, everyone in the allied camp will be singing about how the Demon King is a cross-dressing pervert, you freak!”

Snap.

The last thread holding my sanity together snapped.

“I’m a pervert?”

“Of course you’re a pervert. What else could you be if not a pervert?”

I could argue with Connor Lint. I had good reasons for it, and I had done those ridiculous things out of necessity.

In the end, wasn’t it because of those ridiculous things that I was where I was now?

I had to admit it.

“Yes, I am a pervert,” I admitted calmly.

Connor Lint’s face turned even bluer. “W-what...?”

“But do you think that’s all there is to it?” I said.

Connor Lint looked confused. “What?”

I smiled coldly. “Do you think my perversion only goes that far?”

Connor Lint, who had pressed himself against a wall and was preparing to flee, froze.

“You. At the beginning of our first year... Didn’t a girl confess her love to you while you were eating dessert with the other guys at a cafe?”

Connor Lint’s face turned white. “H-huh?”

“And that girl, she ghosted you, didn’t she?”

His face began to turn white.

I drew on the power of Sarkegar’s ring.

“Didn’t that girl look something like this?”

“Huh... Huh???”

There was a moment of silence.

Honestly, there was no need to bring this up. I knew that perfectly well.

“You, you... You bastard!!!”

But since he had shattered my mental state, his should be shattered too.

***

“Why... Why did you do that to me...?”

“Hey, you’re the one who said I was a pervert. So yeah, I did it because I’m a pervert. What other reason could there be?”

“B-but... Because of that incident, I actually thought maybe I was appealing to someone for once... and lived the rest of my life thinking that!”

“Nope, not at all! There’s no way that can be true. You were just fooled by me, you idiot. This conversation is over. Now quietly return to the allied camp!”

“You devil... No, you’re worse than a devil!”

“I’m the Demon King! Being worse than a devil is actually true, so it doesn’t matter! Hahahahaha!”

“What did I ever do to you...?! I’ll curse you forever, Reinhart!”

“Go ahead! There are plenty of people doing that already! Hahahahaha!”

Connor Lint, whose mental state had hit rock bottom, could hardly keep himself together.

Harriet teleported the limp, ragdoll-like Connor Lint back to the allied camp. Harriet noted Reinhart’s slightly deranged mannerisms, and could not understand what had happened.

In the end, Lint did not get even the slightest hint of where he had been all the while. He only remembered being inside some building.

Seeing the vast allied encampment, filled with the tension of war, suddenly brought Connor Lint back to reality.

As he listened to the sounds of the forge and saw the soldiers coming and going, preparing for the march, Connor Lint doubted whether he had really been with the Demon King.

Everyone hated the Demon King. But if he told them that the Demon King was actually fighting desperately against the Gate Incident, few would believe it.

Connor Lint thought that Sabioleen Tana and the upper echelons of the empire knew this truth.

But that didn’t matter. None of that mattered.

Even if it was insignificant when it came to the bigger picture, a greater truth had deeply embedded itself in Connor Lint’s mind—namely, what had happened in the cross-dressing contest.

A suspicion that had lingered in his heart had become a reality.

On top of that, just knowing that Reinhart could transform into such a figure left Connor Lint frozen like a statue, his mouth agape.

Reinhart was surely a pervert for cross-dressing. But why did he do that? And what had he been thinking when he toyed with him? It was chilling just thinking about it.

Connor couldn’t understand what malice could drive him to do such things. Reinhart didn’t want anything from him, nor did he intend to use him. It had been solely to tease him. Solely to mock him.

‘That crazy bastard...!’ Connor thought.

Connor Lint could no longer discern whether the Demon King was good or evil.

But the Demon King was a pervert. That was all there was to it.

Using his ability to jump through space, Connor Lint quickly returned to the Royal Class camp, which was also bustling. Everyone was preparing for the march.

Ellen, fully armed and armored,was also moving quickly through the camp. It did not take long for Connor Lint to see her.

Did Ellen know the truth about Reinhart? Connor Lint couldn’t be sure. But he wondered if she knew the “other” truth. He figured she probably never would have imagined such a thing—not in a million years.

“Uh... Ellen?” Connor Lint called softly.

“Yeah?” Ellen said, looking at Connor.

She had been rather down for quite a while, but her mood had improved a little lately, perhaps because she had something to focus on.

He could not bring himself to tell Ellen that Reinhart was actually a cross-dressing pervert who changed his appearance to tease classmates.

He couldn’t say it. He could denounce Reinhart as a scoundrel to the rest of the world, but he couldn’t tell Ellen this.

“No, it’s nothing. I thought I had something to say, but I forgot.”

Ellen tilted her head in acknowledgement, then looked around.

“By the way, have you seen a cat?” she asked.

“A cat...? No, I haven’t...”

“I see.”

She hurried off, seemingly in search of that cat.

‘A cat... A cat...?’

Connor Lint stood there for a while, looking confused.

Fortunately, his mind did not reach the thought that Reinhart might be able to transform into an animal.

***

A few days later, the prepared Allied Forces began their march.

The road to their destination, Serandia, was long, but unlike the other marches, there was nowhere safe to rest.

They were entering the heart of enemy territory, and monsters constantly appeared.

The march itself was already a battle.

Boom! Boom!

Flash!

Rumble!

The vanguard was already engaged with the monsters ahead of the army, and the rest of the army was on alert for monsters attacking from the flanks.

There was no rest at the end of this march, only an even greater battle. The army would have to face its toughest fight when it was at its most exhausted.

The march through enemy lines was one long, continuous fight, and the noises of battle went on day and night.

The army had to advance while fighting, and fight while sleeping. The only relief was that the harsh winter had lifted somewhat, and the soldiers did not have to fight the freezing cold as well.

Though it was not as hot as midsummer, it felt as though they were in a rather cool autumn, which was ideal for marching. Even so, the fatigue of the march and the continuous battles were unavoidable.

—It’s a relief that the weather is so nice...

—Imagine if it had snowed...

—The heavens are helping us.

In this march, constantly punctuated by battle, just the thought of how much damage a snowstorm could cause if it had hit was overwhelming.

As they neared the main target, the city of Serandia, the number of monsters inevitably increased.

“The small strike units under the command of the empire have already destroyed one large, one medium, and one small warp gate in a series of preemptive strikes. This will make the Serandia campaign somewhat easier.”

General Headquarters had already confirmed the achievements of the Demon King’s forces.

These lies would grow increasingly more obvious. Even those unaware of the truth would gradually realize that there was an unseen force aiding them in this war that the empire did not control, and they would soon recognize that it was the Demon King’s army.

It was akin to holding hands with the devil, and if it were revealed, it could cause a rift within the Allied Forces.

However, this was a temptation too sweet to resist. The silence and small white lies allowed the Allied Forces to preserve their combat power and save many lives.

Everyone was gradually realizing that Emperor Vertus and the high command were hiding an important truth, but no one tried to uncover it.

It was clear that whoever was helping, it was making the war easier.

Louise von Schwartz, who held a position in the mobile general headquarters, was one of those silent mouths. _{free we\bnove(l).com}

***

Is music necessary for war? Perhaps music is subjective, but it definitely needs sound.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

The resonant sound of the war drums inherently stirred human instincts.

It is said that every drum contains a soul.

Drums are made from the hides of living things, so perhaps that’s where that belief came from. Whether the sound of a drum truly had a soul was unknown, but there was no doubt that it infused the human spirit.

On other battlefields, it might not matter, but on this special battlefield, the sound of the drums was even more necessary.

Kyaaa!

Growl!

Screech!

It was needed to drown out the cries of the massive wave of monsters surging up from the hill below.

A different sound had to be used to push back the fear that inevitably rose from hearing those inhuman cries.

The Allied Forces, having completed their long march to the battlefield, looked down at Serandia, which they had to attack and occupy.

The monsters, their numbers already replenished, swarmed about within the craters created by falling meteors and the long gouges in the earth created by the passage of the tornadoes.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

The drummers beat the drums until their hands were torn. It was as if drowning out the cries of the monsters would actually make them retreat.

They would drive away the swarming monsters and destroy the warp gates. And once they accomplished what seemed impossible, they had to move on to the next battlefield.

It was their fate to keep moving from one battlefield onto the next, and the next, and the one beyond, where they could be torn apart by the teeth and claws of monsters at any moment.

This army of death would eventually face the despair that awaited it.

But any thoughts were unnecessary, and despair was worthless.

They had to forget it all and fight.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The sound of the drums numbed the soldiers’s feelings, dulling away everything but the will to fight.

Surrounded by the echoes of the drums which stained their souls red with anger, the eyes that were filled with despair, fear, and the premonition of death were simultaneously filled with a surge of anger.

There was no place to retreat. Behind them, beside them, and in front of them, there was only death.

Humanity had no place left to retreat, so they moved forward. If death awaited everywhere, there was no choice but to head in the direction that was closest to survival and victory. Wasn’t that the purpose of this advance from the start?

If death awaited regardless, they would choose to embrace their killing intent over a passive death. Anger over sorrow. Madness over despair.

Embrace the chaos.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

That was what the war drums said.

And then...

—Almighty and great and noble Great Gods, grant us your blessing... Bless us... Protect and guard us, and grant us all peace and safety...

Countless soldiers shouted the names of the gods like madmen.

—To our enemies...

The eyes of soldiers intoxicated with fear and despair shone strangely.

—To the enemies of humanity...

Amidst the despair, amidst the incomprehensible, they had no choice but to seek the absolute.

—May death fall upon them...

They sought blessings.

Not everyone, however, was lost in a drunken haze, calling out the names of the gods.

—May Alse protect us!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

In response to the cries of the paladins of the God of War, a red haze began to pour down from the sky over the entire vast allied army.

—O God of War, who chose the Demon King. Make our steps light today.

Thump!

The drumbeat of death, drummed out by the drummers of despair, resonated across the entire battlefield as the soldiers surrendered their souls.

The commanders of each army raised their swords. It wasn’t that they wouldn’t break or fall.

—All forces!

They broke.

—Charge!

They fell.

—Waaaaaaah!

But they fought. Because they had to survive.

***

Humanity swept like a wave down the hill, and monsters surged up the hill and across the sky.

Rumble...

From the open sky, a rain of death began to pour down.

Atop the massive red crystal tower, a small girl reached out toward the wave of monsters.

Rudina, standing on the Arc Crystal, spoke.

“We can do it.”

Kaboom!

Hellfire rained down like lightning on the wave of monsters.

“We can survive.”

The little mage was summoning calamity from the sky.