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That was my first thought as soon as I realized that Asher, Kaen, and Rigon were safe.

After relief, the next emotion I felt was anger.

A demon with four eyes. Among the archdemons, there was only one with such an appearance.

He was probably Oxytodus, ranked 8th among the archdemons.

I teleported next to Asher in an instant. She was lying unconscious, holding Caan in her arms.

Kaen seemed to have lost consciousness, but she didn’t appear to be seriously injured.

Asher, on the other hand, seemed to be pretty badly injured, but fortunately, her life didn’t seem to be in danger.

“…Sir Ron!”

Asher shouted as she staggered to her feet.

I unfurled my floating veil without looking back at Oxytodus.

But before the veil could intercept the demon’s surprise attack, the Thunder Lord shot a lightning wave and blocked it.

“Let’s play!”

The Mad King then leapt in. Oxytodus stiffened and began to deal with the combined forces of the two lords.

“I’m sorry, Asher. You’ve been through a lot.”

“It’s not… your fault. I apologize for showing you such an unsightly sight…”

Blood seemed to have pooled in Asher’s throat as she struggled to speak and choked. The blood stained the ground.

I let out a deep sigh and hugged Asher and Kaen together.

I set them down and walked over to the Chief of Staff, who was watching the battle from a distance.

“Protect my subordinates’ safety during the fight, Chief of Staff.”

“Yes, Seventh Lord.”

And Rigon. Rigon still stood there like a stunned man. As I approached, he looked up and muttered.

“…Seventh Lord.”

“Rigon. Are you injured?”

“No. But… it’s because of me, my friend…”

Friend?

It was only in hindsight that I noticed the scattered ashes in front of Rigon. These were the traces of Oxytodus’ power.

Wait, did that mean Lea…?

“For now, stay back over there. I and the other Lords will deal with him.”

With Rigon off the battlefield, I turned my attention to Oxytodus.

The battle was fierce.

Oxytodus was a Level 95 archdemon, like the Mad King and the Thunder Lord, but even among the same level, there were differences in power.

I remembered that even among level 95s; he had quite a bit of combat power.

Even against the three of us, it won’t be easy.

A hail of giant thunderbolts rained down on Oxytodes’ head.

He spread a gray aura and annihilated all of it.

At the same time, the Mad King swung her greatsword, seemingly to cut his body in half from the side.

Oxytodus blocked the greatsword with his bare hands, but it seemed to strain him.

Once again, the gray aura surged, covering the Mad King, but she didn’t avoid it.

The crimson mana surrounding her body blocked the penetration of the demon’s energy.

“Lowly vermin!”

“Vermin? Keep babbling! Before killing you, I’ll rip that tongue out!”

Although we had the upper hand, Oxytodus was holding up quite well.

There was no need to drag out the battle. He wasn’t putting up any defensive barriers.

While he engaged in battle with the Mad King and the Thunder Lord, I waited for him to reveal a significant opening.

And the moment it did, I leapt through space, shrouded in blood mist. Right next to him.

“……!”

Oxytodus gasped and suddenly shot his ability towards me.

I erected a floating veil to block the gray mana and instantly teleported again to put some distance between us.

My actions caused confusion and made the three paused their attacks.

“Oxytodus. Why did you attack this city?”

I already had a suspicion, but I still asked him.

He smirked.

“Calderic’s Seventh Lord, do you really need reasons for crushing insects?”

“……”

“Too bad. I thought I found some interesting prey, but I wasted time on useless pests.”

I did not reply.

“Well then, let’s see this through to the end. Since it turned out this way, even if it takes time, I’ll have to kill all of you before returning…”

“That’s enough.”

I turned my back.

“Just die.”

And as soon as I uttered those words, Oxytodus’ body fall over.

From the moment he was even slightly exposed to the blood mist, he was no longer among the living.

“What, did you kill him?”

With an astonished expression, the Mad King sheathed his sword.

The Thunder Lord and the Chief of Staff looked at his corpse in surprise. I walked towards the collapsed entrance.

Outside, I saw a city in ruins.

The air was thick with blood and ash.

I stared at the scene for a long time, feeling my heart sink.

Although I dealt with another one of the archdemons, that was the only relief amidst this dreadful disaster.

***

I organized the situation. First, I treated Asher.

Her physical wounds were completely healed with potions, and her internal injuries were also somewhat recovering.

After she regained strength, I asked her to explain exactly what had happened.

From what Oxytodus did to Rigon, to how Lea died.

Listening to the story, even though it had nothing to do with the current situation, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Reef and Rigon, the demon that would have corrupted Rigon into ‘Refrigon’ if I hadn’t saved their lives.

Now that I thought about it, Refrigon’s abilities in the game were quite similar to Oxytodus.

Perhaps the demon that gave strength to Rigon in the game was Oxytodus.

Of course, it wasn’t essential now.

…More importantly, Lea is gone.

It was a tragic event. If I had been a little faster, maybe I could have prevented her death.

Regretting it now wouldn’t make any difference.

Rigon and Kaen both seemed to be deeply affected emotionally.

Kaen had been staring blankly into space without saying a word since a while ago.

“Asher, please take Rigon and return straight to the Lord’s Castle.”

For now, I sent Asher and Rigon away.

The Mad King, the Thunder Lord, and the Chief of Staff also left, their tasks finished.

Most of Herwyn’s castle and the city had been destroyed, and there was no point in cleaning up the mess.

Lea’s brother, Cyan, was alive. He was upstairs in the castle when the incident happened and had barely escaped with his life.

I relayed the situation to him, who had a stunned look on his face, along with several knights and vassals.

“Ah, ah…”

Upon hearing about Lea’s death, Cyan remained still, frozen in place.

Instead, the vassals moved to organize the situation.

They, too, had lifeless expressions. I decided to leave immediately.

There was nothing more I could do here.

I stood firmly on one side and approached Kaen, who was looking at the ruined city.

“We’re leaving, Kaen. Let’s move together.”

I knew her, not only as Ran, but as the Seventh Lord as well. When Kaen didn’t answer, I spoke again.

“There’s a possibility that the demons attacked Raphid City. Let’s go quickly.”

“…!”

In the game’s story, Raphid City was one of the areas that demons invaded.

Only then did Kaen react to my words. Her father, Ben, lived there.

“Y-yes, let’s go quickly… Hurry…”

With Kaen in tow, we moved to Raphid City, where the Academy was located. I left Ti-Yong in a nearby forest and proceeded towards the city.

When we arrived, the city was just as I had expected it.

Bodies were scattered on the streets, and soldiers were forming lines to carry the wounded.

…How many people died? How many had perished in this attack?

Seeing Kaen’s face turn pale, I refrained from saying anything.

I couldn’t tell her if her father was alive or not.

Whatever words I would utter, they would be reckless.

On the way to find Kaen’s house, we encountered the hero.

As soon as the hero spotted us, a sense of relief appeared on her face.

It seemed that she had taken care of all the demons that attacked the city.

“Kaen!”

Kaen hurriedly ran towards her.

“Oh, what about Father? Del. Where is Father?”

Seeing Kaen trembling uncontrollably, the hero looked at her with pity and turned her head.

“He’s safe, so don’t worry.”

A man could be seen trudging through the crowd toward them. It was Ben.

“Kaen.”

“…Father!”

Kaen rushed into Ben’s arms and finally burst into tears of sorrow.

The hero and I watched them without saying a word.

***

“Six areas, including the capital, have been attacked. Their objective is…”

“I suppose figuring out your condition exactly is the most important.”

The hero nodded. I sighed and looked out the window.

Raphid City had suffered relatively less damage because the hero arrived early. Among the attacked areas, it was the least affected.

“The Emperor is dead, Santea is in chaos, and the resurrection of the Demon King is imminent.”

“…”

“Everything is going crazy, warrior. What are your plans for the future?”

While she was in the Holy City, I explained everything that the Emperor had done in the Great Forest.

I felt a sense of gloom that I hadn’t felt since I arrived in this world.

The situation was truly hopeless to turn back. And there was still no progress in the succession.

The hero replied with a slightly weary expression.

“Seventh Lord.”

“Speak.”

“While I was in the Holy City, there was a change in the Holy Sword. Two of the succession conditions were fulfilled.”

“……!”

Those words startled me. The succession conditions were fulfilled? Two out of the four?

Ah…!

I immediately realized. At that time, the power of the Holy Sword that Kaen used at the Demon Worshipers’ base.

Could it be that Kaen fulfilled the conditions of the succession and momentarily connected with the power of the Holy Sword?

[The sorrow of losing a loved one.]

[The despair of being betrayed by someone you believed in.]

[The ugliness of human greed.]

[The doubt that arises from what is believed to be just.]

Given the situation at the time, Kaen probably fulfilled the third and fourth conditions.

Witnessing the ugliness in human greed and doubting her own sense of justice. And overcoming those things.

I promptly informed the hero about it.

“So, that happened. As you said, Seventh Lord, the conditions fulfilled are those two.”

…In the end, as the Holy Sword said, it wasn’t entirely meaningless, was it?

Everything I had done so far. I muttered, feeling a strange sense of relief.

“I guess we’re halfway there, then.”

“That seems to be the case…”

The hero’s words trailed off. It seemed as though shadows had fallen upon her face.

Without saying anything further, I leaned back in my chair.

Losing someone precious. And being betrayed by someone you trusted.

Now, if those two conditions were fulfilled, Kaen could inherit the Holy Sword.

But how? I couldn’t help but think it was cruel all over again.

…Was Lea’s death not enough to fulfil the condition?

Apparently, Lea wasn’t important enough to Kaen to fulfill the conditions for succession.

Which was natural, since they had only been close for the last month or so.

The depth of friendship didn’t always depend on time, but still, it was too short…

…Shit.

I felt disgusted with myself for having such thoughts, but I was desperate as well.

The recent attack by the demons made me face reality once again.

The Demon King would soon be resurrected. And if Kaen didn’t inherit the Holy Sword, this world would be doomed.

What should I do? What was I supposed to do now?

The [Soul of the King] quickly calmed my confused mind].

I sneered at my own mental state.

Yeah, somehow things would work out.

There’s no use panicking alone. I would do what I could for now, as I had always done.

“If you have no other plans, I will continue to take care of Kaen’s safety, hero.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“You have many things to do.”

Amidst the chaos caused by the demon’s attack, even the Emperor perished.

The hero had to stabilize the imperial court, which would be the first to fall into chaos.

“If there’s any conflict with Adessa, I believe I can somehow help to mediate.”

“Thank you, Seventh Lord. It seems I always burden you with my problems.”

With her academy life now over, Kaen would continue living with her father here for a while.

Lost in thought, I spoke to the hero.

“And change me back to Ran’s appearance. It would be more comfortable for Kaen to have Ran by her side rather than the Seventh Lord.”

***

The situation in Raphid City was starting to recover, as it was semi-blockaded.

During this time, Kaen never once left Ben’s house.

On the third day since the hero’s departure, I decided to stop wandering around her house to watch over her.

Knock, knock.

When I knocked on the front door, Kaen opened it.

Her eyes widened upon seeing me.

“…Ran?”

I offered an awkward smile and waved my hand.

“Hello, Kaen.”