Chapter 225 : Alforam (9)
Chapter 225: Alforam (9)
♠ ◆ ♥ ♣
Overturning the royal family of a kingdom.
It was an incident significant enough to affect other nations as well.
Even with the risk that the identity of Karl Leipzig might be exposed, Carl did not hesitate.
“Everything must be over before morning comes.”
NOX made a strict distinction between those who needed to be killed and those who didn't.
Anyone directly colluding with devils or members of the demonic race was sentenced to death without exception, and the rest were put on hold for later judgment.
“Block them!”
“It’s a rebellion! Which faction dares to rebel…?!”
The Royal Guard Knights and soldiers, who belatedly noticed the disturbance, began locking down areas of the palace to defend it.
But NOX had already swept through the demons at the banquet and spread throughout the palace.
“Damn it.”
Royal Guard Commander Hate bit his lip, his face marked by dismay.
Important guests were visiting the kingdom at this very moment.
To have such a disturbance within the palace under these circumstances.
It was an international disgrace, and in the worst case, all the planned ventures with the Madeira Trading House might collapse entirely.
“It’s highly likely they’re targeting the Madeira delegation. Secure the royal family at all costs, and the rest of you, find the culprits targeting Madeira!”
He didn’t much care whether the nobles lived or died.
They were like cockroaches—sure to survive somewhere.
“…They're coming!”
At that moment, Commander Hate sensed a group aiming for the royal family’s quarters.
He drew his sword and slashed through the darkness, blocking an attack as someone appeared.
Boom.
The palace shook violently.
Commander Hate narrowed his eyes at the figure that emerged before him.
‘Which faction is this? There’s no insignia. Judging by the unfamiliar aura, they must be foreign mercenaries.’
There were too many nobles who could potentially stage a rebellion to even begin guessing.
Thinking that made him realize just how far Alforam had decayed.
“As long as I’m here, the Royal House of Alforam will never fall.”
“Well, we’ll see about that.”
A distorted voice came from behind a mask.
Judging by her physique, it was a woman—and the fact that she blocked his sword barehanded was proof she wasn’t an ordinary fighter.
‘Who is she?’
Someone of this level would be quite well-known, even in the underworld.
But even so, Commander Hate had a duty to fulfill.
Seeing his subordinates being pushed back, he gripped his sword tighter.
Clang!
The Aura Blade, symbol of a Sword Master, surged upward in a brilliant light.
Second, who had been blocking the sword, immediately disengaged and stepped back.
At the same time, she extended her hand into the air and caught a white spear that flew toward her.
Whoosh.
Spinning the spear in a smooth arc, Second assumed a ready stance.
“Where are you from? I’ve never heard of a female spear-user with your level of skill.”
“It’s better if you don’t know. You're not one of our targets.”
“…I’m not one of your targets?”
Commander Hate frowned.
He assumed they were some force attempting to overthrow the palace.
In that case, they would naturally be aiming for the King of Alforam—so why wouldn’t they intend to kill him?
“Are you just foolish, or pretending not to know? Surely you’re aware that Alforam has been corrupt for a long time.”
“…That…”
“Devil-aligned Demon Humans radiating demonic energy were everywhere at the banquet. There’s no way a Sword Master like you wouldn't notice.”
Commander Hate remained silent.
His duty was to protect the royal family.
Beyond that, there was no need to see or hear anything else.
He pushed away his wavering thoughts and gripped his sword again.
“A sword only cuts down the enemy that appears before its master.”
“How foolish. What good is guarding only the front when your master’s back is already torn to shreds? And besides…”
Second stepped slightly to the side with a smile.
“Our master doesn’t throw subordinates forward to be used as shields.”
Clang!
An immense attack burst from the shadows and struck.
Hate, already tense and prepared, swung his sword to deflect it—but the power difference was so overwhelming that he was thrown back.
“…Kuh!”
“Commander!”
“Damn it! Protect Sir Hate!”
Commander Hate crashed into the palace wall and coughed up blood.
All he’d done was block the attack, yet his insides were in turmoil, and his arms gripping the sword felt as if they were broken.
Splash.
A man stepped into view, his foot landing in the puddle of blood Hate had vomited.
Carl, wearing a NOX mask, glanced down and clicked his tongue.
“You're weaker than I expected. So the Demon Humans had gotten to you too.”
“…What?”
“Can’t you see this?”
Carl deliberately showed the bloodstain on his shoe.
Amid the bright red blood, black thread-like strands squirmed.
“A Sword Master is mentally complete, so it's not easy to brainwash or mislead one. Especially not someone who swears blind loyalty to another.”
Tap.
Carl dashed in and grabbed Commander Hate by the throat.
“So they tried to eat away at your body like this instead. Judging by your condition, they were planning to make a move soon.”
Fwoosh.
Holy power surged and entered Hate’s body, cleansing the lingering demonic energy and curse.
“…!”
Hate wasn’t so dull that he couldn’t sense the changes in his own body.
The constraints that had been silently strangling him disappeared, and Hate widened his eyes, staring at Carl.
“Y-You, who are you…?”
“There won’t be a second chance. Protect the next king well.”
Carl struck his pressure point and put him to sleep.
In truth, killing Commander Hate to silence him would have been the cleanest solution.
But the reason he went through such trouble was because of Laysis.
‘Commander Hate was one of the rare ones who didn’t fall for the Demon Humans’ manipulation.’
Stiff and single-minded, he had remained unmoved by countless attempts at persuasion and bribery.
Even if Laysis became king, he would still risk his life to protect her.
“I’ll leave the cleanup to you.”
“Yup.”
At Carl’s words, Second nodded and retreated while carrying Hate’s body.
Now, there was no one left to block the path leading to the royal quarters.
Carl stepped onto the familiar path he had already visited once during the day.
Fwoosh.
A barrier flared up in front of him, but unsurprisingly, it could not stop his advance.
He passed through the barrier as if it were never there, as the path opened on its own.
“……”
Carl slowly looked around.
Had he been the king of Alforam, he would have placed his strongest force here—but it seemed Commander Hate had been the final shield.
Creak.
He reached the royal quarters and opened the door.
Only a small candle was lit inside, and the King of Alforam sat silently in his seat, as if aware of the chaos outside.
“Curious. There shouldn’t have been any missteps in the way Alforam was run.”
The voice was nothing like the one he had heard before—it belonged to someone else entirely.
Carl realized the King of Alforam had been dead for some time and replaced by another.
‘Because he was wearing the shell, I didn’t notice the demonic energy.’
He had suspected the mastermind might not be the king.
He was almost disappointed by the predictably honest outcome.
Then the one mimicking the King of Alforam turned their gaze toward Carl.
“No, it was the Madeira Trading House. Things felt off ever since they were brought in. Am I right?”
“Even if you are, what difference would it make?”
“A lot, a whole lot. I just need to kill that fledgling noble and the dim-witted mage, then clean up the Madeira folks who came to Alforam. Should’ve done it from the start. Affairs of state and such—those never suited me. I should’ve stuck to what fits instead of exhausting myself with all this…”
He talked too much.
Carl tilted his head slightly, then slowly drew his sword and aimed it at the man.
“I dislike distractions. If you’ve got a hidden card, bring it out now. I’ll wait so you can prepare.”
“Prepare? You’ll wait for me?”
The King of Alforam grinned.
No, the corners of his mouth split all the way up to his forehead, warping into a grotesque shape.
“Fine…”
Slice.
Before the creature could finish speaking, Carl’s sword slashed downward.
From the crown of the head to beneath the chin.
A clean line appeared over the grotesque face.
Just as it was about to split diagonally, the creature held its face together with both hands and muttered complaints.
“This is why I hate humans. They're worse than us. How do they lie so fluently without even wetting their lips?”
“I told you. I hate distractions. From my standard, I gave you quite enough time.”
Even as he replied, Carl kept a close eye on the creature.
Even though he had struck with divine power infused in his blade, it had no effect.
Up until now, enemies would at least writhe in pain or have their regeneration stalled.
‘Which means…’
This one was on a whole different level than anything he had faced before.
It was no surprise, considering this being had taken the place of a kingdom’s king.
“Hmph. At this point, I suppose it doesn’t matter. You’ve probably already killed all my subordinates.”
“Everything will be finished before dawn. Including you.”
“Sorry to say.”
The creature raised its head and stared at Carl with pitch-black, hollow eyes.
“This kingdom will never see the dawn again.”
As his tone shifted, a tremendous surge of demonic energy burst forth and flooded the room.
Carl lifted his robe to shield himself and pushed off the ground, retreating backward.
It was so intense it made his head spin.
Even the palace, protected by powerful blessings, began corroding and melting almost instantly.
Carl cloaked his robe in divine power and furrowed his brow.
‘Astounding. So this one isn’t ordinary.’
Even when fighting Kylos, who had been corrupted by demonic energy, it hadn’t been like this.
Could it really be a high-ranking demon of the upper echelon?
The creature continued spewing dark demonic energy without pause.
It spread instantly across the area, devouring everything in its path as though it intended to engulf the entire palace.
“Queen.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Withdraw the forces. Evacuate everyone else. Looks like we’ve stirred up something nasty.”
“Understood. Please be careful.”
The decision came swiftly.
Realizing that no one but himself could handle it, Carl withdrew all personnel.
Fwoosh.
As Carl raised his sword, radiant divine power surged forth and pushed back the demonic tide.
But it was only temporary—as the next wave of demonic energy burst forth with overwhelming force once more.
‘Tch.’
Carl frowned.
Compared to his divine power, the enemy’s demonic energy was too vast.
He wasn’t a Cardinal or Paladin, nor had he formally learned how to wield divine power.
Just as he stepped back to widen the distance again, a face emerged from within the demonic fog.
—Even without struggling, it was bound to end like this.
The face in the darkness was Carl’s own.
It was ghostly pale like a corpse, with its eyes closed and lips moving unnaturally.
Of course, Carl wasn’t shaken by the provocation.
He calmly pointed his blade at his own face, but the taunting didn’t stop there.
—Or how about this?
Whoosh.
Carl’s face in the shadows transformed.
It changed into the blood-streaked face of Laysis, then Cloaren as disguised by Yuria.
“……”
At that moment, flames flickered within Carl’s eyes.