Chapter 77
Prophecy and the End
Damn it. I can’t shake off that thought. The damned demon… that he’ll end up in such a state. If His Majesty truly becomes like that, then I…
If his mate disappears before his thirtieth birthday, Rescal will no longer be able to control the demon’s blood.
Then what will become of Rescal? Will he turn into a demon?
What does it even mean to become a demon?
Would it be as Lian imagined—that he would try to destroy the human world? And why? Out of vengeance for his loss? Or is that simply the demon’s true nature?
I’ll be the one to stop His Majesty. Because there’s no one else but me.
That was Lian’s fear.
If he lost Lasilia, he might have to point his sword at Rescal.
That was why Lian had never reached the rank of Sword Master.
He was strong, but he could never cross the final threshold. He wanted to grow stronger, but at the same time, he didn’t. If he did, there would be no turning back. Then truly, there would be no one else left but him.
No one else to face Rescal.
“Sir Sigres.”
Peering into another’s heart meant sharing their emotions.
Lasilia’s heart was as confused and fearful as Lian’s own. And despairing.
You will eventually loathe humans. Distrust them, avoid them, and be sick of them. Just as all who once looked into humans’ hearts did.
The demon’s words from her dream resurfaced.
Lasilia quietly shook her head.
No. That’s not true.
She knew where Lian’s anxious and dark emotions stemmed from. He wanted to protect Rescal, and he feared his strength might not be enough.
“…Yes, Your Majesty. Please, speak.”
Lian answered, trying hard to push away the rising unease.
“You will never fail to protect me. I swear it in the name of the Prophet.”
“Mm… That is comforting, Your Majesty. But as I said, had Prince Delarta not been there today, none of us could have guaranteed anything—”
Lasilia’s next words made Lian freeze.
“It will be His Majesty who kills me.”
“… …? Wh—what?”
Lian nearly jumped up from his seat.
“What nonsense is this…! That’s impossible!”
“In the last dream I had as a prophet, that was the vision I saw.”
“No, that’s absurd…! His Majesty? Right now, His Majesty would starve himself if even a mosquito dared bite you!”
It might have been the kind of remark that could draw laughter, but none of them laughed.
“Not every prophecy is fulfilled. God shows us glimpses of the future to give us the chance to choose differently. Perhaps there are other deaths possible for me.”
“Mm… That’s a relief then… but still, why would His Majesty ever…?”
Lian faltered, unable to find the words.
Lasilia continued.
“And in that dream, His Majesty was in his unchanged form. So the thing you fear will not happen. Perhaps it was only possible because you managed to protect me until then. So you may grow as strong as you wish.”
“Huh, then that means I… Wait. Wait!”
Lian widened his eyes in disbelief and looked at Lasilia.
“What do you mean by that…?”
“It means your fears are illusions. Don’t torment yourself over things that won’t happen.”
“No, not that! How did you know… what I was worried about?”
“I saw it.”
“…Saw it?”
“It is the gift of being his mate—and also the power of the demon. By binding the demon’s blood, part of that power has been passed on to me.”
“Ugh… Then… wait! Does that mean if I ever lied, Your Majesty would know everything?!”
“Not always, so you may rest easy.”
“Ugh… That’s a relief, I suppose… but still—”
Lian clutched his head in embarrassment, then glanced up.
“Um… May I ask something?”
“You may.”
“Well, I might have, ah… occasionally told a few sly little lies… Would Your Majesty know those too? I swear, it wasn’t because I’m a rotten person, but because… well, I thought of you as someone like Lady Cartagena Pielion… Of course, it was hardly proper of me…”
By the time he finished rambling, his voice was barely audible.
“I sincerely apologize, Your Majesty. Truly.”
He bowed his head low.
It could only be sincere—otherwise, it would have shown at once.
“I know you’re an honest man, Sir Lian. Whatever resentment you held against me, it was born of loyalty to His Majesty. You needn’t apologize to me.”
“Still… isn’t Your Majesty being too generous? I even, well… stole a phoenix’s egg once. Though I didn’t know it was an egg.”
“Such a thing happened?”
“Ah, you didn’t know. I did, but it was snatched away by a crow right after. …I truly am sorry, Your Majesty.”
He still couldn’t raise his eyes.
He had been wrong earlier.
Looking into a human heart didn’t always mean seeing only the dregs.
And even if one did see the bottom, it didn’t necessarily mean one would despise humanity.
“I owe you a debt as well. I shall accept your apology as repayment.”
Lian blinked in confusion.
“…You owe me, Your Majesty? How so?”
“Had it not been for you, I would have kept refusing to accept my power. Now I know I need not.”
“You mean… thanks to me? But I don’t recall doing anything.”
“You just did.”
He still looked puzzled, but then nodded.
“It’s hard to believe I played such an important role… but I am honored, Your Majesty.”
After looking a little embarrassed, Lian suddenly grew serious.
“I will grow stronger, Your Majesty. So I can prevent your death.”
“If you mean protecting me from His Majesty, that would contradict the duty of the Imperial Guard.”
“I believe that would still be the way to protect him in the end. And even if it weren’t, the strength I gain from now on belongs to you. That is what the chivalry I swore upon demands.”
Lian knelt on one knee before Lasilia.
“When I attain aura, please become its master. Since you already hold my sword, it is only right that your mate be the master of my aura.”
“….”
How could she refuse a vow made with eyes like that?
And perhaps, she would indeed need Lian—if only to escape the death foretold.
“In that case.”
Lasilia placed her hand over his, resting on his knee.
“I entrust my life to your hand.”
“It is my honor, Your Majesty.”
“And so, there is something you must know.”
Her voice was softer than usual. Perhaps that was why Lian’s expression changed.
“What is it…?”
“Another demon once approached me.”
“What? Another demon…? And you kept it secret?”
“It wasn’t in the flesh. Just a shadow on the surface, and then it vanished. It seemed only to deliver a message.”
Lian swallowed hard.
“Tell me, Your Majesty.”
“It said this: that His Majesty would bring about my end.”
“Wha—what…? Then your dream…?”
Lian couldn’t finish.
“Perhaps.”
No one knew why another demon had appeared.
What it wanted in the human world, why it was so fixated on her.
But when she thought of her dream, she felt she understood at least one thing.
“Perhaps my dream foresaw what that demon intends to do.”
“You mean… it will make His Majesty kill you?”
“Yes.”
“…Then it’s simple.”
At first Lian looked stunned, but then his eyes hardened, and he nodded.
“Before it can do such a thing, we’ll just kill it. That mad demon.”
The ducal manor soon returned to its usual quiet, no further intrusions disturbing it.
Yet the knights never lowered their guard, watching the darkness with sharp vigilance.
But none of them knew.
They didn’t know the true reason why a monstrous creature had appeared at the ducal manor.
Nor did they realize those things were not living beings at all, but summoned entities. Which meant death held no meaning for them. As long as the summoned vessel did not vanish, they would persist.
Even the half-burned corpse Lian had left behind for investigation.
“Ah, what’s this? So that happened?”
Hasdeya blinked in surprise into the air.
He was in a very good mood. He had succeeded in summoning lesser demons through the corpses of the Malik knights.
By inscribing a summoning circle somewhere within a knight’s body and sending it to the desired place, that body became a doorway through which monsters could be called.
Today, as a test, he had sent one to where that woman was, and it seemed to have frightened her enough.
Of course, a human body used as a gate to the demon realm could never survive intact—but that wasn’t his concern.
Humans were everywhere, countless as pebbles beneath his feet, and breeding endlessly. Even if he used hundreds as gates and killed them, the next day more would come swarming. Humans were so foolish—rushing into the flame like moths, drawn only by the power they could see before their eyes.
And that power was nothing more than the fuel of their own life force.
Still, that was why he quite liked the human world. There was no need to drag Bahamut back to the demon realm. It might be fine to simply become the god of this world instead, ruling over humans.
But either way, he still needed Bahamut’s power.
To reclaim Bahamut’s magic, bound within a human, he would have to break the binding spell first.
“Tch. What a pain. If killing alone solved it, it would be easy.”
But today, there had been progress.
By chance, a lesser demon had overheard the woman’s secret. Those fools, even seeing a demon with their own eyes, couldn’t grasp what it was.
“So she dreamed that Bahamut would kill her, huh… Well, yes, I am planning on making that happen. But how did she know?”
Annoying as it was, it seemed her power was considerable. Luckily, she hadn’t realized even half of it yet.
“Well, fine. She knew. But still—she had that dream and yet clings to him? Has she lost her mind?”
To be foolish was one thing—but to be that foolish?
Hasdeya twisted his lips in distaste—then suddenly brightened.
“Ah, but I can make them dream too, can’t I? I’ve regained at least that much power.”
Not her, of course. Infuriating as it was, she already had the strength to repel him.
“Well then, let’s see.”
Wearing the face of the saint Malik, Hasdeya smiled a smile as pristine as if it had been painted on.
