Ch.140140. Massacre

The Imperial Palace.

The atmosphere in the Court Department, which assisted the Emperor’s rule, was gloomy as usual.

Naturally, the ugly brawl that occurred in front of the sales office had a significant impact.

Over 50 Academy students divided into factions and engaged in a physical fight.

They were a group united by their desire for lottery tickets, regardless of year or department. Since the first round, they had formed an agreement for “fair distribution of prize money.” The promise was to divide winnings equally among all participants, no matter who won.

But with a real winner emerging in just the second round, the Academy was about to descend into chaos. This was because the winner tried to honor the agreement only with certain people (children of influential families).

“At this point, it’s hard to tell if it’s an Academy or a garbage dump.”

“…Your Highness.”

“I apologize. Please continue.”

“After consulting three circuit judges, they concluded that verbal agreements between multiple parties have valid legal effect. The prize money distribution agreement made by John Gilford, the eldest son of Viscount Gilford, and 44 other students was formed through voluntary consensus among the parties…”

Right. Dividing the prize money would resolve the issue.

After all, the book left by the Hero contained information about distribution conflicts.

Dividing the 5,507,100,000 Lyra prize money might disappoint the winner, but it would set a precedent for lottery buyers. The Court Department had already decided to appoint a judge to handle the prize money dispute.

The real problem was the brawl.

Nineteen people were injured during the fight. Among them, two suffered serious injuries that would likely leave aftereffects even after receiving treatment from clergy.

While this was something the participants had to bear, the key issue was civilian casualties.

“A student named Kyle caused an accident. He’s quite a peculiar student. I heard he filed a disciplinary petition with the dean’s office claiming he was unfairly discriminated against right after Professor Weaver left. During the brawl, he fired a light bullet that injured a passerby.”

“…The victim?”

“An employee of the Claudine Trading Company. Though the injury is minor, the nature of the offense means he cannot avoid expulsion and punishment.”

Though simply stated, it essentially meant his youth would be erased. Or to be honest, his life would be erased.

The fortunate thing was that the case didn’t warrant setting up a stake for burning.

It was somewhat positive that the matter could be resolved at the administrative level instead of the Hero making an on-the-spot judgment with his hammer.

Nevertheless, the expressions of those attending the meeting were extremely dark.

There were concerns about the misconduct of Academy students who had either tasted victory or witnessed it.

Another problem was that rumors had spread among the nobility that “the royal road to winning is buying as many lottery tickets as possible in a single round.” Despite purchase restrictions, there were ways to circumvent them.

Even worse.

“The lords whose vassals abandoned their territories due to Iclit’s real estate fraud are looking for compensation. They seem to believe the Hero will provide comprehensive compensation upon returning from the Demonic Land. …This is why we didn’t make an official announcement.”

“The Duke of Arknight’s family is showing keen interest in how the lottery funds will be used.”

How should they deal with this?

Prince and ministers alike fell silent, unable to continue speaking.

After a long while, one minister finally said, “We really need the Hero to return…” but no one particularly agreed.

After all, not a single person failed to feel the Hero’s absence.

***

“Die!!!”

…

It was the third day since entering the Demonic Land, or maybe the fourth. I couldn’t tell.

A fortunate journey flying directly to the Demon Lord’s castle on a wyvern. Except for being attacked by a cockatrice midway, there were no obstacles until arrival.

Unfortunately, the Demon Lord wasn’t waiting for us alone.

As soon as we approached the Demon Lord’s castle, which had a structure similar to a fortress city, magic fired from the ground threatened our wyvern.

After the frenzied wyvern landed, practically crashing to the ground, an army immediately charged toward us.

From then on, it was just a continuous slaughter.

Without exaggeration, for days we could do nothing but kill. That’s why my sense of time had become vague.

Thud!

“Aaaaargh!”

How many more did I need to kill before I could see the Demon Lord’s face?

It was a question that suddenly occurred to me as I executed a demon with green-red skin with my bare hands.

“Ugh… gaaah!”

With a cracking sound, the demon writhed in horror, staring at my forearm deeply embedded in its solar plexus.

I couldn’t tell if it was pleading to die by the holy sword rather than bare hands, or if it was simply in pain from my hand roughly tearing through its entrails.

Perhaps it was begging for a quick death.

Yes, that must be it. Just as life is painful, demon life must also be difficult and agonizing in many ways.

“I understand.”

“…!?”

In the next moment, I yanked my hand out of its solar plexus while simultaneously kicking its body.

With a crushing sensation, the large figure collapsed without even screaming, and I stomped on it once more, after which it didn’t move at all.

Just hitting, tearing, and trampling was enough to kill them quickly. Some fought back and managed to wound me, while many died without even screaming.

By the way, I was curious about something else. Where were my holy sword and warhammer?

After wiping out a few more by releasing a massive amount of aura without a sword, I suddenly longed for a weapon. After all, I didn’t particularly want my hands covered in the flesh of these minions.

‘First, the hammer is… Ah. Right.’

I belatedly remembered throwing it after smashing dozens of Demon Lord’s army heads.

I didn’t throw it because I’d developed a taste for throwing, but for good reason. At that time, my junior Katie was about to be devoured by a two-headed magical beast. If I hadn’t provided support, Katie might have really become its meal.

My hammer would still be embedded in that beast’s corpse. I had thrown it thinking I could use the holy sword if I didn’t have the hammer, but…

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the holy sword either.

I hadn’t thrown it, but while swinging it wildly, it got stuck in the particularly sturdy skeleton of a demon, and I hadn’t managed to retrieve it. I had planned to kill a few more and then recover it, but there was no opportunity. Or perhaps I simply forgot.

Anyway, I’d been fighting bare-handed since losing the holy sword as well.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a major problem.

If there was one thing that had become easier since becoming the Hero, it was that I could kill all interfering creatures even without a weapon in hand.

The downside was having to be covered in blood, but I had already given up on cleanliness from the moment I entered the Demonic Land.

‘…Still, I need a weapon.’

As I looked around for something to hold, I noticed a sword in the hand of a demon fighting Lord Ordellon.

The one holding the sword appeared to be a particularly strong demon. A weapon used by such a specimen would be sufficient until I recovered my holy sword.

Yes. I’ll take it.

I immediately charged and pounced on it.

“Aah! Stay away!”

I avoided the sword it desperately swung by simply twisting my upper body, then grabbed the wrist holding the hilt and slammed it down in one fluid motion.

I had learned martial arts at the Academy for situations when I lost my weapon, but with no time to spare now, I simply twisted the wrist forcefully and ripped it off.

“Huh…!”

The demon’s face contorted dramatically as it lost both hand and sword. It stared in disbelief at its spurting wrist.

Regardless, I focused on securing the weapon. Thankfully, Lord Ordellon finished it off, giving me some breathing room.

“…Hero.”

“Let’s go again.”

I gripped the newly acquired sword and looked straight ahead.

Now I could fight more cleanly. While I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to rest, I wasn’t in a position to complain. Even the knights, who were much weaker than me, were fighting non-stop while protecting those in the rear.

I hadn’t expected this to be easy anyway. Just reaching the Demon Lord’s castle so easily was already a blessing.

Kill them. As I chanted this to myself while looking at the demons, strangely, they didn’t charge at me. No, they didn’t charge at any of us.

The reason soon became clear.

“Huh….”

“Grrrr.”

Whether they looked somewhat human or were dog-like creatures with three heads, they all timidly hesitated.

They all flinched whenever my gaze fell on them.

Compared to the beginning, their fighting spirit seemed greatly diminished. Their numbers also seemed significantly reduced.

Still, they showed some enthusiasm by pushing each other or concentrating magical power, but that didn’t last long.

“Veil of Radiance.”

As the divine power bestowed by the Saintess enveloped my body, deeper despair settled on the faces of some demons.

In a way, it was understandable. They must have known that the reason I could endure without tiring during days of non-stop fighting was thanks to holy magic.

A momentary silence fell over the fierce battlefield.

The haggard Professor Weaver desperately gulped down a potion that helped restore magical power, while the knights, covered in blood, chewed on preserved rations or drank water.

I also chewed on something. It wasn’t an appropriate environment for dining, but I had no choice since not eating meant death.

At that moment, the Beast King muttered in a gruff voice, “Many have fled.” He said they probably escaped to prepare for after the Demon Lord’s death.

Indeed, including the time of Gwon Heejin, the Demon Lord had pathetically lost six of the Tetrad. It seemed unlikely anyone would want to protect such a Demon Lord with their life.

‘It’s impressive that even this many remain.’

Did they want to protect the Demon Lord so desperately? Or were they, as soldiers, simply unable to break ranks?

Either way, it didn’t matter. If they wanted to sacrifice their lives to protect a cunning Demon Lord, I’d have to kill them.

Shortly after.

“Hero. Over there.”

“Yes. I saw it.”

About twenty paces away, the holy sword abandoned in a puddle of blood and corpses began to emit a brilliant light.

It seemed like it was protesting against being abandoned, or perhaps warning that the moment to face the Demon Lord was approaching.

‘Right. I need the holy sword.’

After roughly shaking off what might have been demon entrails or fascia stuck to my armor, I quickly darted out to retrieve the holy sword.

The faces of many demons contorted hideously. There was no doubt that this was due to sorrow and fear.

Though I had no evidence, it felt like the conclusion wasn’t far off.