DKFTI 106

One side of the Demon King’s castle had completely collapsed, and Ramiel walked out slowly. When he had nowhere left to go forward, he looked down at the castle entrance that had turned into a wasteland, unlike the peaceful morning.

“God’s blessing is with us!”

“Waaah!”

The voices of the knights of the Holy Kingdom resounded loudly. How could God’s blessing exist in this place full of nothing but chaos?

Ramiel swept his dry gaze over the Demon King’s castle. It had been predictable. Ironically, when peace lasted too long, the ones who lost were not the demons but the Holy Kingdom. From the moment what they protected became the interests of their church instead of the people’s well-being, this outcome had been inevitable.

On the surface, they claimed to protect humanity from the demons, but in truth, what they wanted to convey was a warning to the surrounding nations not to forget that they were under their protection, and it was also a scheme to bind together those within who had begun to doubt their doctrine.

For them to become absolute good, evil had to exist. And in this world, defining evil had never been difficult. It was a prejudice whose beginning no one could remember. A convenient device.

“How dull.”

To Ramiel, the battle between demons and humans was not interesting at all. What caught his attention lay elsewhere.

His gaze turned far ahead, toward Sibel, who was bound in chains. Even among the countless crowd, it was not difficult to distinguish him. One could say he stood out or that instinct pulled him.

Sibel looked like he might be in danger, but Ramiel was not worried about him. Did those pitiful lambs of the Holy Kingdom know whose protection he was under?

“Ugh…”

Then, a large body staggered out from behind Ramiel. Ramiel turned his head and looked at him.

“Impressive. You regained your senses quickly.”

“What did you do to me?”

Aizen grabbed his head and twisted his face.

“It’s a sedative that could put even a bear to sleep for a full day.”

“You bastard…”

Ramiel’s words made Aizen’s eyes burn with killing intent.

“Ah, is it the Apostle’s detoxification ability?”

As if he had just realized it, Ramiel let out a small sound of admiration, and a deep groove appeared in Aizen’s jaw.

“I don’t understand why you hate me so much.”

“Because I knew you’d pull this kind of crap someday.”

“What did I do?”

“You knocked me out at a time like this.”

“Ahh…”

Ramiel smiled gracefully.

“It was protection.”

“What a load of nonsense.”

Aizen shook his head. His eyes swept over the ruined Demon King’s castle.

“Since you broke it, you’ll probably have a lot to think about.”

“Think about?”

“Your mission as an Apostle or your love, something like that.”

Ramiel smiled in an annoying way. He was enjoying the situation. Aizen could feel that too clearly, and it made him shiver with disgust.

“I knew you were a sly bastard, but you’re insane.”

“You mean me?”

“You… ha, damn… I’ll deal with you later.”

Aizen wanted to grab Ramiel by the collar and tear his neck open, but there was something more urgent right now.

“You’ve changed a lot.”

“You know me? Stop pretending you do.”

“Are you no longer being tested?”

At Ramiel’s words, Aizen snorted.

“That crap ended long ago, you weasel.”

Aizen raised his middle finger toward Ramiel. Then he jumped straight over the second-floor railing.

“My, there are stairs right next to you.”

Ramiel clicked his tongue as he looked at the stairs that were half destroyed but still usable. Aizen’s body soared and dropped through the air. The moment he landed, he stretched out his hand and drew his holy sword.

The holy sword shone with brilliance brighter than anything here, showing its majesty.

“How did it come to this… I wonder if there’s even a place for you to stand in.”

Ramiel quietly cheered for Aizen as he watched his back moving forward briskly.

***

“What did you just say…”

Kael’s face showed confusion. He opened his mouth wide as if he found Sibel’s words absurd.

“You destroy someone’s home and then start with introductions? Introductions? Are you a psychopath? Do you have no empathy? No brain?”

“Oh dear.”

As Sibel vented his anger, Ruru quietly moved closer to his side.

“In your Holy Kingdom, do you have some kind of manual for pretending to be cool? Every time you show up, you act like you exist and don’t exist at the same time, damn it! You’re just a whole bunch of psychopaths!”

“We kept saying the Hero was crazy, crazy, but maybe he was actually the most normal output the Holy Kingdom had.”

Ruru quietly agreed.

“You’re about to kill me, so why ask my name? You planning to write your autobiography later, bragging that you killed a Demon King? Then at least give me royalties! You’re a damn thief!”

“Wow, that idea never even crossed my mind.”

Ruru clapped his hands. Kael’s face turned red.

“I wanted to be courteous, but it seems courtesy is a luxury for you.”

“You barge into someone’s home with a sword, and you talk about courtesy, what nonsense.”

“Then it seems there’s nothing more for us to say.”

Kael’s face was full of anger as he gripped his sword. He looked ready to stab him at any moment. But Sibel was not afraid. It was an uncharacteristic confidence.

“I’ll protect this place. You filthy bastards of the Holy Kingdom!”

Sibel stretched out his remaining hand. Then a massive stream of water surged out of it. The water spread with great force like a river overflowing.

Kael raised his hand in haste to block his face from the sudden torrent. The stream spread quickly.

“Ugh.”

The holy knights were startled. When the water crossed over the flames of divine light they had set, its power weakened slightly. It wasn’t an ordinary fire, so it didn’t go out immediately. The flood swept through the Demon King’s castle with such force that it even pushed people standing far away.

“Wow. Demon King, your magic’s gotten a lot stronger.”

Ruru admired Sibel’s spell. The holy knights panicked at the sudden surge of water. It was an agitation uncharacteristic of those who kept their formation even under bombardment.

“But wouldn’t fire have been better? The oil was spread well. Burning them all would’ve been easier.”

Ruru smacked his lips in regret. Then Sibel spoke.

“I told you. The plan changed. We’ll protect our castle. If it all burns, there’s nothing left.”

Their plan had been this: if things became really dangerous, they would ignite the oil they had already spread on the enemy, burn the castle, and flee.

But there was a gap between the imagined evacuation and the real one. Sibel realized that if he couldn’t take everyone from the castle safely, then nothing else mattered.

“Golem…”

Sibel picked up the fallen golem beside him and tucked it inside his clothes. The ice golem had shrunk a lot after parts of its body broke off, but it wasn’t dead. He heard a small grinding sound from his chest.

“I’ll do whatever the Demon King wants!”

Ruru jumped up and down. Sibel got to his feet. The chain still wrapped around his right arm.

“…You should’ve listened to that little demon.”

Kael shook the water off his body and opened his mouth. He brushed back his wet hair as if Sibel’s magic was bothersome.

“Just like a demon, cowardly and cruel.”

“Ptoo.”

Sibel pretended to spit on the ground.

“You are the cowards.”

Kael had been hit by water, but he wasn’t really hurt. He only wondered why Sibel was wasting time. He didn’t like the arrogance that came with wasting magic as if he could easily defeat the holy knights anyway.

“Why’re you doing this?”

Sibel asked Kael.

“Do I need a reason to act under God’s will?”

“You’ve no self, you just obey orders from above. Every time the temple bastards get cornered, they start babbling about God. It’s your all-purpose shield.”

Ruru added to Kael’s answer. He was talking to Sibel, but his voice reached Kael clearly.

Kael gritted his teeth and gripped his sword again.

“Yes, asking a lackey like you about purpose is pointless.”

Calling an Apostle a low-ranking soldier was inaccurate, but Sibel didn’t care about right or wrong right now. He needed to provoke the man in front of him, even knowing the risk. He had to use his tongue to make his opponent lose composure.

“If you don’t know either, go to the afterlife and ask your god yourself.”

Sibel sneered at Kael. Then Kael finally lost control.

At that instant, Kael kicked off the ground and jumped up. As his body lifted into the air, Sibel rolled his body swiftly as if he had been waiting.

Bang!

Sparks flew as Kael’s sword struck the chain that bound Sibel’s arm. The chain, connected to the relics of the holy knights, broke. But the distance between Sibel and Kael was too close.

If Kael shifted the sword’s path even slightly, it could reach Sibel easily. As he rolled across the ground in that instant, Sibel bit his lip and cast his spell.

Crack!