"……."

The Demon King, Clay.

He silently climbed the steps of Barungenia alone.

Slide.

He paused for a moment, resting a hand on the wall and grimacing.

'As expected, it won’t let this pass easily.'

The divine power he used did not belong to him.

It was the power bestowed upon him as a Hero.

Its source, naturally, was Elhaen—the supreme deity of mankind.

Now that he was converting that divine power into magia, he could feel Elhaen’s touch probing at him.

‘She’s not cutting off the power.’

For reasons unknown, Elhaen was not severing the flow of divine power. Instead, Her hand was rummaging through Clay’s body, as if suspicious of how the power was being twisted and used.

But that was all.

Snap.

Clay, in turn, used magia to seize that probing hand. The divine trace, which had been tracing the pulse of his power, faltered as if shackled.

"You can't read anything, can you?"

If Elhaen had known what he was thinking or how he was manipulating the power, She wouldn’t have let Her touch get caught so easily.

Elhaen was now no different from a blind god.

"In that case, let me read you instead."

Clay extended his magia to trace the divine power back to its source. Through his inner sight, his vision soared from the mountainside into the sky.

After streaking past the stars, he found himself face-to-face with a vast, dark expanse.

There, golden threads of divine power stretched toward something unseen.

"!?"

Suddenly, his legs gave out and he staggered.

A splitting pain tore through his skull.

"Kh…!"

As he collapsed on the stairs, golden eyes appeared before him.

『The box is closed.』

『It is not empty.』

『Incomprehensible.』

The eyes spoke among themselves. The radiance they exuded was so intense it was blinding, but Clay soon realized something.

‘They can’t see me.’

Shut eyes.

Lids completely covering the irises.

They wandered aimlessly, unable to perceive anything.

『It must be emptied.』

『This defies all order.』

『Are you still there, Hero?』

Hearing himself called, Clay remained silent. The eyes continued to murmur.

『You defy causality.』

『Regurgitate your soul.』

『Divine judgment shall fall upon you.』

None of it made sense.

Gritting his teeth under immense pressure, Clay still refused to speak.

『No one reaches our mark.』

『To the anointed king… ■■■■■■.』

『Silence.』

Abruptly, the eyes went quiet.

As if they feared that saying any more would let Clay discover something he shouldn’t.

『Your soul is cursed.』

With that harsh declaration hurled at him, his vision plummeted downward.

"Khugh!"

Tumbling between the stars, past the heavens, and crashing toward the earth, Clay stumbled violently.

Thud!

He barely managed to catch himself, avoiding a fall. Regaining focus, he stared again at the stairs leading up the fortress.

‘Were those Elhaen’s emissaries…?’

He had seen them once, long ago, when he was chosen as a Hero. Back then, their forms had been completely indecipherable—such was their overwhelming power.

He clenched and opened his hand. The divine power still flowed.

‘So there are constraints.’

Otherwise, there was no way Elhaen wouldn’t simply reclaim the power now that he had outright rejected Her touch.

‘Cursed, am I?’

Whatever it meant, Clay could only let out a hollow laugh.

Curses meant nothing to him anymore.

‘The anointed king…’

Recalling those words, Clay’s expression hardened.

‘Were they talking about Lutan?’

There was no one else who fit the title of an "anointed king."

‘There’s something there.’

A secret that existed only between Elhaen and Lutan.

"Demon King!"

A voice called out, and Clay turned his head.

There stood Syltanaro, who had just rushed up to him.

"Are you alright?!"

She helped steady Clay, who was still swaying.

"Shall I call for Lin?"

"I'm fine."

Despite his reply, Syltanaro's concern didn't waver.

"You said you were just going for a walk, and yet you even left me behind… What happened?"

"It’s nothing you need to worry about."

"Demon King." Syltanaro looked directly at him, "I am your sword. If there’s something that threatens you, I must know what it is."

"It was Elhaen’s touch."

"What?!"

She gasped, eyes wide.

"Elhaen—as in that Elhaen?! Did She try to harm you?!"

"Don’t panic. If She had, we wouldn’t be standing here having this conversation."

He had learned enough to know: for a god beyond this world to descend into it again would require an immense drain of power. Elhaen couldn’t directly harm him now.

But forcing an out-of-body experience and placing him before Her emissaries to shake his mind—that was something else entirely.

‘Still, this confirms one thing.’

Elhaen could not sever his divine power.

She suspected something was wrong, but lacked the certainty—or perhaps the ability—to act.

If the constraints that bound gods were truly in place, then even Elhaen was shackled by them.

A blessing and a curse.

‘What’s binding Elhaen?’

Another thorny mystery to add to the pile.

‘For now, I suppose I should be content with the fact that She can’t touch me.’

Elhaen’s touch was something Clay had prepared for—he was wearing the ring Yuru had given him. If necessary, he had planned to release a massive amount of magia all at once to sever the divine power from his side.

‘I’ll need to wait and see a bit longer.’

Losing that vast divine power would be troublesome for him too. Though it left a bad taste in his mouth, Clay decided to maintain the current state for now.

“Demon King?”

When he didn’t respond, Syltanaro pressed again. Leaning on her for support, Clay said,

“Syltanaro, can you pretend you didn’t see what just happened?”

“Huh…?”

“Right now, it’s important to have full control over the demons. I don’t want unnecessary rumors spreading.”

Syltanaro raised her brows.

“Demon King!”

She shouted, as if he’d asked something completely obvious.

“You don’t need to worry! I’ll never tell anyone about seeing the Demon King’s… weaker side!”

“Weak… side?”

“Ah! I didn’t mean it that way, I just…”

Seeing her fluster, Clay let out a dry chuckle.

“It’s fine. Even if you meant it that way, it doesn’t matter.”

Clay had never once considered himself a perfect, invincible being. He had always stood before mountains he needed to overcome.

If he had any true strength, it was in always finding a way to climb those mountains—no matter what.

“How is it… being by my side?”

At his sudden question, Syltanaro flinched.

“Staying with you, my lord?”

“Yes. Is there anything that makes you uncomfortable?”

“Th-There’s nothing like that!”

“Then that’s good.”

Clay let out a quiet sigh.

“Right now, many talented individuals are gathered here in Barungenia. It feels like a waste to keep them all in one place. Soon, I’ll be assigning people where they’re most needed.”

“If that’s the case…”

“But the one I will definitely keep by my side—is you.”

Though it was a strategic decision, Syltanaro didn’t seem to interpret it that way.

“I’m honored that you think of me so highly.”

“Whether it’s an honor… I’m not so sure.” Clay murmured, “Though I’ve become the Demon King, I’ve always been someone who moved with a small group. I’ve done more things alone than with others. I’m just warning you now—there’ll be a lot to handle.”

“If you say that much… I’m a little scared, honestly,” Syltanaro said with a sheepish smile. “But you know how I used to charge around recklessly when we first met…”

“Are you trying to joke?”

“Ah! N-No, I meant I’ll do well!”

When she had belonged to the previous Demon King, Syltanaro had only ever seemed like a cursed sword that not even Excalbren could shatter.

But now, to Clay, she was just someone who needed a leader.

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Clay looked up.

“Syltanaro, can you help me climb the rest of the way?”

“Huh? Oh—yes!”

Syltanaro supported him as he ascended the stairs.

At the top of the spire, Clay looked out the window. The sky was covered in thick darkness—none of the stars he had seen earlier were visible now.

Elhaen.

The god who could be said to have triggered all his ruin. Clay didn’t know what She had wanted, but—

‘I hope You regret it.’

Even Clay’s indifferent eyes reflected the darkness now.

‘For choosing me… and then abandoning me.’

♧

BOOOOM!

The palace wall exploded. Trees in the garden were ripped from their roots and flung into the air, while the fountain shattered and sprayed mist everywhere.

Screams rang out as maids fled in all directions. In the midst of the chaos, two people continued their battle, fixated only on each other.

“You… What are you?”

Yuru, her face dirtied and scowling, glared at the other.

“Did you make a deal with Elhaen or something?”

“A deal?”

Tia replied flatly.

“No.”

She stepped forward toward the distant Yuru.

“If I could have even made a deal, none of this would have happened.”

“What?”

“The power I possess isn’t governed by Elhaen.”

Unlike Heroes, the Saintess was inherently divine.

“I don’t even know the exact source of this power. Nor do I know what dangers might come with using it.”

“You…”

Yuru’s expression twisted into something vicious.

“And you let my brother die even with that power?”

“You don’t understand the situation I was in. Had I realized earlier that this power could be used apart from Elhaen’s will, maybe I could have done something. But I only realized it after Clay died, when I finally used it.”

A power that could block Elhaen’s voice.

That meant it was a power outside of Elhaen’s control.

“So keep your mouth shut.”

Tia stared at Yuru without blinking.

“Because now, I intend to do what must be done.”

“Ha!”

Yuru let out a breathless laugh.

“Now you want to do what’s necessary?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t make me laugh.”

Her lips twisted upward.

“You know nothing. My brother’s death—it was for me.”

“What did you say?”

“When he died, I finally reached this level. And he—he was finally freed from his duty.”

Her voice rose.

“It was all a trial. For both of us.”

“You’re insane.”

“Nope.”

Yuru grinned.

“I’m perfectly sane.”

“You’re mad.”

“No—you are.”

A magic circle bloomed beneath her feet.

“I’ll grow even stronger for my brother. If anything gets in the way, I’ll tear it apart, burn it down, crush it—until I’ve paved the path for him.”

She pointed at Tia.

“So you’d better think it through.”

It was an absurd proclamation.

“If you really care about him, then ask yourself—who really deserves to be by his side?”

“……”

“Good luck fixing the palace. Later.”

With that, a flash of magic rebounded her away to some unknown distance.

“……How foolish.”

Tia, who had stood frozen for a moment, finally moved and muttered,

“I will be his Saintess.”

It was the moment her twisted heart turned wholly toward him.

(End of Chapter)

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