Chapter 255: To the Capital (7)

“Hero-nim! Hero-nim! Something terrible has happened!”

The soldier, who cursed the Hero every day, burst into the Hero’s room without even knocking. The Hero lay on the bed, a liquor bottle in his mouth. Several scantily clad women were beside him, and one was trying her best to get the Hero’s limp member to stand by putting it in her mouth.

Wolf glared at the soldier who interrupted his rest with displeasure, but then noticing the soldier’s unusual expression, he kicked the woman away.

“Kyaak!”

The woman’s scream wasn’t a big deal to either the soldier or Wolf. The soldier pointed outside, his face pale as a sheet, and seeing that urgent expression, Wolf’s hand instinctively went to his sword.

“M-monsters! Monsters have appeared!”

That explanation was enough. Wolf shrugged, thinking ‘it’s finally happened’. Since I held onto power and wouldn’t let go, the lunatics finally joined hands with demons. Wolf pulled up his pants and followed the soldier towards the ramparts.

With every step he took forward, the monsters were also rushing towards the castle at a mad speed.

“….What is that?”

Wolf stared at the center of the capital with a dumbfounded expression. This was because giant, hideous beasts resembling humans, with five pairs of legs, were charging down the desolate main street that Wolf had previously smashed to pieces.

“Ugh…! Uwaaah…!”

Soldiers with weak willpower trembled in disgust just looking at them and backed away, while even those bravely firing arrows began to flee one by one, unable to withstand the demonic energy and pressure emanating from the monsters.

It was only natural for the soldiers to run. Even in this situation, Wolf didn’t feel like scolding the soldiers for their lack of courage. To his eyes, those monsters were incredibly unpleasant and disgustingly designed.

If he didn’t have his strength, he probably would have run far away too.

Wolf gripped his sword tightly and looked at the monsters. He could see the monsters recognizing him and their eyes moving. They opened their mouths wide towards Wolf and let out monstrous roars.

Wolf felt nothing but pity for them, rather than seeing them as a threat. Why did those rebels make a contract with such pathetic demons? That question couldn’t help but linger in his mind. It was because, despite their imposing presence, their inherent magical power was abysmal.

Wolf raised his sword to the sky and shouted.

“Get out of my land. Demons!”

Light erupted from the Hero’s sword. The people, who had been trembling in fear at the appearance of the giant monsters invading the capital, focused their attention on the Hero. The sparkling light offered a dazzling radiance to the hearts of the people, like a lighthouse guiding those adrift on the vast ocean.

“Uwaaaaaah!”

The Hero let out a battle cry as he swung the shining sword downwards. Hero Wolf knew well how important this moment was. It was an opportunity to cover up the plummeting public sentiment with the truth that the Hero had killed ‘demons’.

Wolf believed that no matter how many people he had massacred, he could somehow win back public favor by appealing to the fact that he was the only one who could stop the demons.

“Kkuuaaaaaaah!”

The sword energy unleashed by Wolf burrowed through the ground like a mole and bisected the monster’s body. The monster, its body severed while still in a charging pose with its arms outstretched, couldn’t overcome inertia and slid forward, spilling its entrails.

All the monsters charging in a line met the same fate. The sight of the monsters, keeping pace with the leader, simultaneously having their bodies smashed and spraying blood into the sky was truly a spectacular sight. People who had narrowly dodged the monsters were drenched in blood, their faces dumbfounded as they tried to comprehend what had just happened.

The hideous dirt and bloodstains clinging to their thick hides felt even more gruesome against their pale skin. The monster’s eyes rolled around, it vomited a mouthful of blood, and then its head drooped.

Wolf wiped the sweat dripping down his forehead and exhaled.

He felt a tightness in his chest and a throbbing headache. Before, using this much power didn’t affect him at all, but it felt like his strength was waning more and more.

“Lo-long live the Hero!”

“The Hero defeated the monsters!”

At the brink of death, the soldiers who survived thanks to the Hero cheered, but that wasn’t important to Wolf at all.

Right now, he just wanted to rest for a bit.

People were looking at the capital with complex expressions. It was Hero Wolf who had massacred and tormented them, but it was also Wolf who had just defeated the demons. People who normally cursed him openly could only wear uncomfortable expressions at this moment, saying nothing at all. People began to gather one by one, from the collapsed ramparts to the place where the monsters’ corpses lay.

Everyone had gathered to see the demon corpses. Curiosity is unavoidable, even in a ravaged world.

“Everyone! Please step back! You must not touch the demon corpses carelessly!”

And everyone turned their heads towards the booming voice stopping those people. The people faced a woman dressed in splendid white attire. She had neat, golden bobbed hair, scanned her surroundings with her shimmering blue eyes, and boasted a full pair of breasts that couldn’t be hidden even by her baggy priestess robes.

Ernrich Lumia was walking towards the monsters’ corpses, leading the priests and Alice and Lorena. No one dared to block her confident stride. Someone recognized her face and spoke her name, and those who knew the name naturally made way for her.

One interesting point was that at the end of Lumia’s procession, a man was being dragged along, having been beaten, his face resigned as he bowed his head to the ground.

The priests pushed away the people clinging near the corpses, and as Lumia reached out her hand, a holy magic circle appeared with white light swirling around the corpses. Ernrich Lumia finished the ritual by making the sign of the cross over her chest and reciting an incantation, then looked around.

As if waiting for her to look at the people again, someone knelt before her and asked.

“Ah! Priestess-nim! Why have demons invaded this land again? The Hero-nim defeated the Demon King, so why have demons come back to this capital?”

Lumia looked at the disheveled man with a sympathetic expression and helped him up. She held his hand and prayed briefly, then turned her head, sensing the eyes of the crowd.

It wasn’t just that shabby man who wanted an answer to that question. Everyone wanted an answer from Lumia. Lumia had a duty to answer the questions they posed, and she was thoroughly prepared for it.

Lumia spoke.

“Everyone. Through our independent investigation, we have discovered who instigated this demonic invasion incident.”

She hadn’t investigated at all. Alice and Lorena behind her were preparing documents, but those documents were fake orders Alice had created by copying the handwriting and signature from the Hero’s official documents all night.

“Wh-who on earth committed such a terrible act? Who summoned demons to this world again!”

“That name is, Hero Wolf!”

Lumia presented ‘evidence’ that Hero Wolf had personally ordered the summoning of demons under his own name. Her words, having personally executed Alexander as a priestess, carried immense influence.

“Wh-why would the Hero-nim! I believed he wouldn’t do something like that, no matter what!”

“Th-then did the Hero-nim summon and kill the monsters with his own hands! Wh-why? Why would he do such a thing?”

Lumia shouted.

“Everyone! That wicked Hero Wolf, fearing his position was becoming unstable, summoned demons himself and drove them into the capital to solidify public support! Here! These are the proofs that Hero Wolf commanded the followers of the Demon Church! And here! We have a demon worshipper!”

He was indeed a demon worshipper, a special asset Lumia had received contact about from another temple. He had succumbed to Lumia’s persuasion and promised to testify falsely in exchange for his family’s safety.

“Now! Demon worshipper! Confess your sins in detail right here!”

The worshipper gazed intently at Lumia. Having glimpsed the demonic aura flickering on one side of Lumia’s face, he could smile. The worshipper nodded with a satisfied expression and began to repent his sins in a sobbing voice.

“He-Hero Wolf-nim…! He contacted us and ordered us to summon demons to the capital…! If we didn’t summon demons and drive them into the capital! He threatened to kill me and my entire family…! Heuheuheu…! Huk…!”

His feigned sobbing echoed.

People widened their eyes, unsure how to process his testimony, gauging the shock they had received. Lumia continued speaking.

“Everyone! Right now! To defeat Hero Wolf! There is a brave man who stands with us! His name is Evan! Now everyone! Join us! Let’s push out that wicked Hero! Everyone! We can do it!”

“Th-that’s right! We can do it!”

“We can win! Hero, step down! Step down!”

People shouted, their blood boiling.

They couldn’t trust the filthy Hero who collaborated with demons. Sophia and Isabel, who had subtly joined Lumia’s group, stood beside Lumia, shouting the same slogans.

“Step down! Step down!”

“We can do it! We can do it!”

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“Have you been well?”

“Thanks to you, I have. It’s truly the end now.”

A glimmer of hope could be seen amidst the quiet conversation.