Chapter 48

Chapter 48

At Sylvanas’s hollow murmur, Lawrence replied coldly.

“I told you many times. Alzahar is no longer a temple that serves the goddess. It’s just a gathering of greedy humans, indulging in filthy acts to satisfy their desires.”

“……”

“Arthur knew this… yet still, he didn’t refute their slander.”

“Why… why didn’t he…?”

Sylvanas clenched his face in anguish, struggling to breathe deeply. But Lawrence’s next words shattered him.

“Because Alzahar was holding you and Cyril as hostages.”

Drip. 

A tear, thick like dew long held back, finally fell. Though Lawrence’s voice was calm, his words were filled with pain and bitter scars. Even though Sylvanas hadn’t been there, he was still overwhelmed. For Lawrence, who had witnessed it all firsthand, the pain must have been unbearable.

Now, he understood why Lawrence had refused even divine healing. 

The hero’s death had been wretched. They said he lied, distorting the will of the gods and claiming to be a chosen hero. 

People hurled curses and stones at Arthur, and he died beneath them. The comrades who had fought alongside him longer than anyone else should have known the truth. For a warrior who fought the Demon King for the people, there could be no more pitiful end.

Yet, even though they knew he was the true chosen one, they could not speak up for him. And Arthur, he didn’t even try to prove himself.

No, he chose not to.

[“If I alone must be sacrificed so everyone else can have peace, isn’t that fine? Don’t look at me like that. I wish I could’ve lived long enough to defeat the Demon King, but… it can’t be helped, can it?”]

[“Arthur! Is this really the time to smile?!”]

[“Luckily, the Demon King I fought wasn’t so bad. So don’t worry. He won’t disrupt Tierra’s peace.”]

Even then, the hero never blamed the temple nor Alzahar. What Lawrence recounted of their final conversation was exactly what Sylvanas had come to know of Arthur.

“Cyril also knew everything… but could only stay silent. She was pregnant.”

“Hngh…!”

“And… Arthur couldn’t let even you, who knew nothing, be sacrificed. That’s why he made that choice.”

“Uhh… ugh…”

“And just as Arthur said… the Demon King brought death to the land, but he wasn’t a creature of mindless slaughter. He only responded to those who attacked first. The earth was soaked in blood… because humans challenged him first.”

Lawrence couldn’t hide his bitter expression. These facts had all come from Arthur himself, who had fought the Demon King many times. After the first battle, Arthur stopped fighting alongside others. 

He dueled the Demon King alone.

Though those battles were precarious, he always returned alive. And never once did he wear the expression of a defeated man. He didn’t look like a hero fighting for the world’s peace.

“I didn’t understand it then… but now I do.”

“…”

“Arthur politely asked the Demon King for a duel.”

“…”

“And every time… the Demon King let him live.”

“…”

“He… the Demon King, doesn’t kill without reason.”

The reason so many had died until now was because people acted rashly, trying to kill the Demon King without understanding. They were only receiving what they had tried to inflict. Of course, that didn’t make the Demon King’s slaughter just.

But what about the temple’s proclamation?

Did they not declare that the Demon King had come to conquer the continent? That if the chosen hero didn’t defeat him, the world would collapse?

“Do you want me to tell you what Alzahar gained by killing Arthur and using the Demon King as a scapegoat?”

Sylvanas pressed his forehead to the ground with a loud thud, unable to even think of wiping his tears away. What had he truly been looking at?

Just as the Demon King said, even though he had the eyes to see, he had chosen blindness. He had covered his eyes, refusing to see what was right before him.

The truth had always been so close.

“I’ve wasted… far too much time.”

It was agony.

His youth had left him with such a narrow view of the world.

But now, he understood. Better than anyone because he had spent so long within Alzahar. With the Demon King’s descent and the hero’s death, Alzahar had been able to build temples across the Tierra continent.

A long-held ambition finally realized. Alzahar’s influence spread like wildfire. It was during that time that they convinced two empires and numerous kingdoms.

Alzahar proclaimed that the Demon King was humanity’s enemy, and that with no true or false hero left to stand against him, all nations must unite in faith.

They must combine their strength and once again offer prayers to the goddess Tierra. His teeth clenched, and his nails dug into the earth. He couldn’t even feel the pain. The only thing that filled him now was rage.

Now he understood why Lawrence trembled at the very mention of Alzahar, why he even rejected the healing that drew from divine power. Even the power running through his body felt repulsive now.

But he couldn’t abandon it. It wasn’t a power that could simply be cast aside. After all, this power was a blessing from the goddess and not something given by Alzahar.

He wiped away his tears with the back of his hand.

“I’ve made up my mind.”

“About what? You going to summon the Demon King to get the girl back? Or offer your soul in exchange for revenge?”

Lawrence sneered, as if he’d expected this. He didn’t seem pleased that Sylvanas was getting angry only now, after ignoring everything until it was too late.

Or maybe… Sylvanas looked like a moth rushing into a flame.

“No. Bella… she’s safer by the Demon King’s side. Alzahar won’t be unaware that the hero had a child. They’ll be searching with blood in their eyes.”

“Well… I figured as much from the moment we found signs of a break-in.”

“That’s why the human world is dangerous for Bella. Anyone can see she’s Arthur’s daughter.”

Lawrence quietly nodded. Her striking resemblance was undeniable, but her eyes, those sky-blue eyes exactly like Arthur’s, were proof enough. If the Demon King cherished her as his daughter, then no place would be safer.

It wasn’t a choice Sylvanas liked… but there was no alternative. If she were discovered in the human world, Bella would never be safe again.

They could use her as a puppet hero… or fear she’d become a threat in the future and have her killed.

Sylvanas now saw what he needed to do.

“From now on… I must become a true heretic.”

“What?!”

“Alzahar has temples across the continent. The power of the Holy Empire already surpasses that of the two major empires. And now that the Demon King has descended again… they’ll use the fear to grow their followers even more.”

“…So? What are you going to do?”

“I’ll become a heretic… and increase the number of people like me.”

Lawrence’s mouth opened slightly. It wasn’t what he expected, and even he looked a bit taken aback.

“What are you planning to do?”

“What else? I’ll do exactly what Alzahar did. I’ll bring them down… so that one day, if Bella ever returns to the human world, she can live in peace.”

Sylvanas’s bloodshot eyes gleamed as he swore it. He would devote his life; avenge the two who died unjustly and protect the family left behind.

“If a heresy grows large enough to be impossible to ignore… then is it really heresy anymore?”

This was now a war of faith.

***

Derion knew instantly that they had arrived in the human realm the moment he fell into the spring. He’d often overheard Regnator ranting while educating Bellatrix. Always nearby, Derion had passively absorbed those rants.

One thing he remembered: the human realm’s mana concentration was significantly lower than the demon realm’s.

Naturally, the mana that would be inhaled and exhaled with every breath had thinned, making the air feel murky. His body felt heavy, so breathing was harder. In fact, it was claustrophobic.

And if he was struggling this much, what about Bellatrix? 

He hurriedly checked on her.

She was still so young, and had passed through dimensions without preparation. He feared something might’ve gone wrong.

Unlike him, Bellatrix had a human body.

[“Wake up, Bella. Wake up.”]

Though she was breathing, she seemed to have swallowed too much spring water. He shook her awake. Recalling how often he’d been beaten, his grip unconsciously tightened, but her body wouldn’t be harmed so easily, so he slapped her a bit harder.

Thankfully, Bellatrix coughed and spat out the water.

But even then, her mind didn’t clear.

[“What’s wrong with her…?”]

Just passing through dimensions shouldn’t have caused this. Her reaction was strange. Her half-lidded blue eyes were dazed and unfocused. She looked like someone half-asleep.

It took Derion far too long to notice her body temperature was unusually high.

Since his own body temperature as a magical beast was far higher than a human’s, he didn’t realize it immediately. Her labored breathing and steaming breath made it obvious, Bellatrix was burning with fever.

[“Humans shouldn’t have high fevers…”]

He remembered Regnator’s constant nagging, how Bellatrix had to stay warm after baths to avoid getting sick. Derion pulled Bellatrix close again.

The hands that usually gripped him tightly were now limp. He stared down at her sleeping like the dead, only realizing something was wrong with his own body at that moment.

“Khak! K-Kuhk!”

His heart pounded erratically, his body burning even hotter than usual. It felt like the blood in his veins was boiling, like he’d explode any second.