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Nait awoke in a moving wagon, cheers going around him.
"Lord Arnold didn't forget about us!" one soldier screamed.
"We're saved!" a priest followed with tears in her eyes.
"His knights are crazy strong! Where did he even get them!?"
"No wonder Whitage city has no violent crimes anymore!"
The boy lifted himself, feeling a sharp pain on his neck. The last thing he remembered was a demoness in black armor taking two women as hostages. He wanted to be brave and save them, despite knowing he lacks the power to do so.
In front of the wagon were a crowd of people trailing behind towering red-armored knights that exuded fierce battle spirits. Any demon that jumped out of the alleys were turned to chunks of meat with one punch. It was like watching goblins trying to take on an imperial knight.
"Oh, you're awake." The priestess in the wagon noticed him waking up and smiled at him, "Look ahead, we're travelling behind Lord Arnold's army."
"Arnold…?" that's the former heir of the Berkley House and Luke's older brother.
When Nait came to the capital with Claudia and her daughters, he frequently heard the servants badmouthing him. Knowing he's not there to punish them, they didn't hold back. It got even worse when he got disowned and there were basically no one on his side when he threatened Hero Arthur and beat the Great Nobles.
But after news arrived that he stood up to the Kaiju Demon King, everyone said how they hoped he would return to lead the Berkley House.
This just shows how power can immediately change the opinion others have of you.
"Is he… here?"
Before going to the manor estate, Nait ran past multiple people on the street screaming and begging for help.
But now these people were smiling and cheering while shouting Arnold's name.
"Unfortunately, he isn't…" she smiled wryly, "Though I wanted to see him too, he's still recovering from his battle against Valtraak."
"Yeah, we can't always trouble him to help us." A knight said beside the wagon while riding his horse, "And yet he still sent troops to help us."
"Whatever sins he wants to repent for, I believe he's been forgiven by Melis a hundred times over."
Nait was astonished.
A single heroic deed made people revere someone this much. Granted, the evil he faced could've destroyed the world…
Nait felt a little jealous.
"Are you okay, Nait?" a familiar woman's voice came from beside the wagon, having matched her horse's speed with the wagon.
It was Adrianna, the first lady of the Berkley House.
"My husband found you near the villa on top of a building and brought you to one of the temples. What on earth were you doing on top of a building? There are flying monsters too."
'Ah…'
He thought the demon lady would kill him but it seems she wasn't interested enough to do that. He was certain he'll die and had a lot of regrets.
1. He wouldn't be able to grow up and become strong enough to challenge the Death God
2. Claudia wouldn't want him to die so early.
"Y… Yes, I'm fine… I-I don't remember what happened…"
Rather than admitting he couldn't defeat a demoness, he chose to pretend he didn't remember anything. Even at this age, he had some pride.
Adrianna made a small smile, "That's good. You must've been charmed by a succubus or something but its plans failed halfway through before it could take your soul."
He didn't know they could do that but he just nodded.
"Is this… Whitage city's army?"
"Yes. Al's wife came to the capital with his army. They went around the entire outer city rounding up the survivors so that everyone can go to the cathedral. More knights were dispatched to the other cities so their original number has decreased significantly but each knight is so individually strong that I don't think that's an issue at all. Even now they're going around gathering up more people holding out in stores or their estates. The temple's barrier couldn't hold us for much longer so we also had to evacuate to the cathedral."
"Mother-in-law." the pale white-haired woman who took lead in the army earlier, slowed down her horse's speed and appeared next to Adrianna.
"How are you holding up?"
"I'm okay… Say, are you already married to Arnold to be calling me that, Ms. Siana?"
"…Hehe…" she blushed, "We've already finalized everything."
She rubbed her belly, the implication clear. On her left-hand ring finger rubbing her belly was a diamond ring that sparkled even in this chaotic atmosphere.
A few girls whispered "so lucky~", envying that she gets to marry the hero who fought Valtraak.
"…" it came as no surprise to Adrianna but the fact that he managed to seduce even this snow-white beauty made her speechless.
"Let's have some tea and chat after all this is over, Mother-in-law. I also want to meet the family." Every man, and even the women, were starstruck by her gentle smile and ethereal beauty.
"…" Adrianna had a troubled expression on her face as she watched Siana move to the front again to lead the troops.
Even after disowning him out of fear from retaliation from other strong households, Arnold not only sent his troops to the empire that used to condemn him but his fiancée also showed such a kind attitude.
Troubled expression fading away, Adrianna noticed two people walking beside the marching army.
"Is that…?"
Nait looked up ahead to see who she was looking at. He instantly shot up, recognizing the two.
'They're the ones the demoness took hostage!'
He sighed in relief.
Despite his incompetency, they were saved in the end. Maybe Luke managed to save them and chase the demon lord away?
The earliest memory Nait had of Luke was four years ago when he bravely stood up to the mercenary group that tried to rob the villagers during tax season. Of course, he lost to the weakest mercenary but his bravery was well-known throughout the villages by that point at such a young age.
Now Luke is the world's new Hero.
The Berkley House has the two strongest individuals in the entire world as their sons.
Knowing that one is five years older than him while the other one is just eight years older and he's still so ordinary and weak at this age made Nait clench his fists. From rumors, even ten year old Arnold could face off against knights since his aura awakened early.
"Lauran!"
Hearing her name being called, Lauran and Elizabeth stopped and looked back.
"Why are you back in the empire? You would've been safe at the camp." Adrianna hopped off the horse and pulled it by the reins.
The two looked deathly pale but Lauran managed to squeeze out an answer, "…We were attacked by undead…"
"What? I looked into that region and didn't find any evidence of a cult or necromancer living there."
"I didn't sense the necromancer until a few hours after we landed at the camp." Elizabeth said while following from beside them, "I think it revived itself from the dead somehow and is now trying to hunt down Lauran. We're going to Archmage Freya to tell her about this and plan ahead on what to do."
"…" Lauran nodded when Adrianna looked at her.
"…Why did that have to happen in the middle of all this? I'm curious why she's the target but this isn't the time to chat. I'll hear everything once we get to the cathedral so stay on guard."
"Yes."
"Okay."
**
After about ten minutes of walking, the cathedral's divine barrier came into view. No matter how much the flying demons tried to get inside, the barrier didn't budge. Besides the cathedral, there is a major temple in each city with the same barrier as its shield so not everyone has to come to the cathedral for shelter during all this.
It was a hefty fee to construct these barriers a century ago but the empire didn't spare any expense since these barriers would be the one thing protecting the humans if the Hero isn't there at all times.
Princess Ronia arrived at the eastern gate of the cathedral while the group Nait was in arrived at the southern gate. Immediately after arriving, the red-armored knights formed a perimeter around the cathedral and teams of two were sent into the city to look for survivors.
Adrianna, while pulling Nait by the hand, walked with Lauran and Elizabeth to Freya who was repairing the damage to the barrier generators.
Noticing them approaching, Freya glanced at them.
"Lauran? Whitage city's army just arrived so you came at the right time. More and more demons are showing up so being outside is very dangerous."
"Greetings, Lady Freya." Adrianna greeted, "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Stay here and protect the people while I'm outside. We can't rule out that mages are among the demons that can open portals into the barrier. Or they might be carrying anti-magic artifacts strong enough to pierce the barrier."
"Lady Freya, what about the spell we've been working on these past few months?"
"…It's not the right time to use it yet."
"Spell? What spell?" asked Elizabeth, "If you had a spell that can help repel the demons, why have you refrained from using it?"
"…It's not something that can be used so easily. I can guarantee it will help us close the portals but we need to get rid of all the demons first."
"A spell like that exists?"
No one would think an arcane spell would be able to break a demonic portal. In order to do that, you need the Holy Sword or the Oracle's divine magic exclusive only to her.
"It has a variety of uses but we can't use it yet with this many demons. And—" Freya stared off somewhere, "…I can sense two troublesome signatures approaching us."
Hearing that, everyone's faces paled.
"H-Has the demon lords decided to stop watching and intervene themselves?"
"Where's Hero Luke at a time like this!?"
"He's probably babysitting that bastard false hero Arthur who ran off without protecting us!"
"I can't believe that boy got blessed. Why couldn't it be Arnold instead? He could've been much stronger with the blessing of the gods."
Something suddenly crashed through the barrier at that moment.
Thinking it was a demon, Freya readied a spell but her eyes widened when she saw what was the source.
A woman with long red hair and a boy bathed in gold.
"T-That woman isn't wearing panties…" someone muttered.
"How could you focus on something like that in all this chaos!?" his female companion hit him on the head.
Luke and the woman descended to the ground.
The fact that they could fly…
"Luke reached the plane of demigods just like Arnold and Lancelot…" said Freya with a wry smile.
"Luke… he's carrying the Holy Sword." Muttered Adrianna before she ran up to Luke when he landed.
"Mother! You're okay!" he threw Arthur's body aside like a sack of potatoes and ran up to her, hugging her with a smile.
"How are you doing, sweetheart?"
"I'm okay but I can't rest now." He held his mother at arm's reach, his smile fading away.
"What's wrong?"
"…Norn, she…"
"…I'm sorry. That girl was a joy to have in the house. She used to play with Melina who had no friends…"
"S-She's not dead. Just… not here right now. But I know I can save her! Anyway, I'm glad you're also okay!"
Adrianna flinched from the tighter hug he gave her but she patted his back silently. His fingers trembled as he held her.
"Madam Guinevere, we meet again." Freya bowed respectfully to the Valkyrie who fought Valtraak alongside Arnold.
"I wish it was in better circumstances but victory is afoot." Guinevere glanced up at the divine barrier, "There weren't that many ground demons when we came here but the flying ones are quite the nuisance."
"Yes, Arnold's army handled them all… even the Greater Demons, haha…" Freya smiled wryly.
"Even such elite demons?" even the calm and collected Guinevere looked bewildered, "Who trained these knights?"
"Everyone, there will be time to talk later." Princess Ronia approached with Siana and her two knights, "Sceptim surveyed the sewers where the first group of demons came out of and found a demonic portal that spat these demons out in large numbers."
"H-How could this be!? Don't tell me we're going to experience another war like 250 years ago!?"
As expected, the people began to panic even in this safe haven.
"I will deal with the portals myself. In the event a general-rank Greater Demon comes through, I'm afraid the knights won't be able to handle them." Guinevere offered, "I sense a strong familiar signature approaching the cathedral so Luke will stay here and confront him."
Luke smiled after having even this powerful warrior give him her trust.
"Could you be more specific as to who this signature is?"
"…It's been hundreds of years since I last sensed it so I can't be too sure but I think it's a demon lord."
Before the words could register, a sharp pain assaulted Nait's chest and a powerful voice boomed in his mind.
-Boy, my corpse is nearby. TAKE ME TO IT NOW!
The pressure being emitted from that voice was even stronger than that demoness who he tried to fight.
It felt like it came from within him, shaking his body with an echo.
"Nait? What's wrong?" noticing him clutching his head, Adrianna asked.
-I won't challenge the Death God for you but I shall grant you incredible power if you can take back my corpse!"
"I-It hurts!" it felt like his head was being split apart.
Freya, frowning, placed her hand on his forehead. The moment she sent her mana into his head, her eyes widened then she looked up.
"Something is connecting its subconsciousness with this boy."
"Could a demon be trying to invade the barrier using this boy?"
"I'm not sure." Freya answered Guinevere, "But I can sense it right above us."
"…Me too."
Hearing that, everyone looked upwards.
Three powerful signatures made the demons' march halt.
The flying demons suddenly began to shout, "Lord Malzorath is here!"
"Lord Malzorath is here!"
"Lord Malzorath is here!"
"Lord Malzorath is here!"
Their cheers boomed throughout the capital as a white gargantuan skeletal figure floating down from the clouds, revealing the shape of a dragon whose wingspan stretched a kilometer in either direction.
Above this skeletal dragon, that glowed in Nait's eyes for some reason, were two figures—a tall demon in black armor, radiating black energy and a skeleton mage who dressed himself in a robe made from the shadows itself.
Black heads floating around the armored figure's head, one above to his right and the other above his left. The black skeletal heads had faces identical to his.
"T-That's him… The undead!" Lauran's pupils shook and she gritted her teeth, stepping back as her body trembled.
"Just one troubling thing after the next… When will this end." Freya readied her spell, making a magic circle appear behind her.
"—These humans haven't changed in hundreds of years. Only a select few are strong while the rest are as fragile as porcelain." The demon lord spoke, his voice booming across the entire empire.
He noticed Ekterina over Guinevere's shoulder.
"You are a disgrace to the position you were given, little girl. How can you not handle one Valkyrie? Even the Watcher's disciple is now the human side's captive. Utterly pathetic." he swung his arm lazily, causing a black energy to strike the barrier, instantly breaking a section apart like it was nothing.
The people panicked and ran towards the church building while the priests readied their spells.
Luke, unshaken by evil incarnate, levitated upwards, his body engulfed in golden aura.
He flew through the cracked barrier and struck Malzorath, a sharp clank reverberated like an echo, breaking every window in the vicinity.
"Hoh? You've awakened at this age? Impressive. Something must've happened~"
"You!" fury ablaze in his eyes, Luke pushed out more golden aura and sent aura blasts at Malzorath, "I'll kill all of you!"
Mumulbur gained distance from them and cast high-tier magic, summoning menacing specters and a giant skeleton with horns and a demon's mask.
"A soul reaper." Said Guinevere, "He intends to harvest the souls of the dead which will make him stronger so he's preparing for something big."
Guinevere unsheathed her sword, "Freya, can you handle Mumulbur while I clear the portals? I'll summon angels to the protect the barrier with the red-armored knights. Once I'm done sealing the portals, I'll come help you."
"Wait, you can seal demonic portals?"
"Only temporarily, with an artifact I obtained through my service in the divine realm. Luke will have to use the Holy Sword to permanently reverse what the demons did. Until then, we'll have to hold out."
"Alright," she nodded then looked at Lauran, "Lauran, since you're Mumulbur's objective, you should stay down here."
Siana suddenly placed a hand on Lauran's shoulder, "As my sister wife, it's my duty to protect you while our darling is resting. Ah, you count too, Ms. Elizabeth."
"W-Wha? S-Sister wife?" that flustered Lauran and she whispered something no one could hear in the midst of this chaos, "I-I didn't even go on a date with him yet…"
Ronia stepped forward and addressed everyone.
"Then it's settled. We're counting on all of you to save the Eulia Empire—no, the world. As the princess of Eulia, I promise to reward you anything that's within my power, whether it be artifacts we've kept in our family for generations or a lifetime income. Everyone, head to the cathedral building! We will activate the secondary divine barrier should the first one fall."
And thus, the demon lord's confrontation with Hero Luke began.