After Maledrakas lost his mana and the demons their immortality, the Allied forces pressed their advantage.
– Krrrrrrrr!
– Run, run away!
The screen, which had been illuminating the center of the Demon King’s castle, was now visible to the demons as well.
They weren’t fools. Demons are selfish and driven by instinct.
As the mana suppression faded, demons began to flee. The more likely the Demon King’s defeat seemed, the higher the rate of desertion became.
The Allied forces pursued the fleeing demons, dealing with the remaining pockets of resistance.
Thus,
Only countless corpses and Alheim [a type of demon] remained on the plain.
And at its center stood the towering Demon King’s castle.
“Ha, haha… We won. We won….”
Rain sat down on the spot and began to laugh.
Beside him, the knights also collapsed onto the ground one by one.
Even though the plain was still saturated with mana, even the mana that stung the body felt pleasant.
“Ah…”
유리 [Yuri, Empress of the Empire] looked down at her hands.
Her body, which had been at the forefront to a degree that was hard to believe for an empress, was covered in demon blood.
Her sword had broken long ago, and she had been picking up fallen swords or even resorting to punches.
Quite undignified actions for an empress.
“Your Majesty! Are you alright?!”
The officers of the Allied forces approached and began to attend to 유리.
“…I’m fine.”
유리 looked up at the sky.
The murderous intent that had filled her body was gone.
Was it because she had cut down demons to her heart’s content? Or was it because that person was carrying her murderous intent instead?
At this moment, 유리 just wanted to see that man’s face.
“Hah, Grandfather. Are you alright?”
“Kyle… Tch. Such embarrassment in front of my grandson. I’m getting old.”
“Grandfather… Hngh.”
Kyle Belmos.
He, who had been in charge of a small squad in the Allied forces, teared up and hugged the Sword Dragon.
Besides him were 벨렌 [Belen] of the Carmen Knights, the Jeongcheon Alliance Lord, Marco of the Silver Cross Knights, Inquisitor Amadeus, representatives of the various races, and the wizards of the Magic Tower, Saint Cecilia and the priests, and all the other members of the Allied forces.
Everyone blankly stared at the ruined Demon King’s castle.
“It’s time to become true heroes of the era.”
Fortunately, Tia hadn’t lost her mind amidst all this.
The screen magic she had readjusted was showing the entrance of the Demon King’s castle.
When 라엘’s [Raelle’s] 천살신검 [Cheonsal Sacred Sword, a powerful divine sword] erased the existence of Maledrakas,
As Maledrakas’ mana was erased, the screen magic illuminating the Demon King’s castle naturally disappeared as well.
Tia had restored that magic and was showing the entrance of the Demon King’s castle.
“I wonder if he’ll remember how well I’m doing this for him.”
Tia smiled and looked at the entrance of the Demon King’s castle.
She was just like the other humans. She was waiting for the heroes of this war.
At that moment.
The heroes appeared from under the collapsed Demon King’s castle.
“Waaaaaah! It’s the 용사 [Yongsa, meaning ‘Hero’]!”
Zenith, who had been watching the Demon King’s castle more intently than anyone else, shouted at the top of her lungs.
At Zenith’s voice, the beggars also began to cheer together, and the cheers quickly spread to the Allied forces.
Everyone on this plain was looking at the heroes emerging from the Demon King’s castle.
“…Do I deserve this kind of treatment?”
Carlson, who was walking behind 라엘, blinked.
For the record, they hadn’t been able to dissuade 레이나’s [Reina’s] stubbornness, and only 레이나 was walking alone beside 라엘.
“Since Sir 라엘 said it’s okay, straighten your shoulders. Besides, it’s not like we didn’t do anything.”
루카스 [Lucas] was confident in his own way.
His dream was to become like 라엘, but for now, he was willing to settle for this much.
The four of them had defeated the Demon King Mistra.
This was also a tremendous achievement.
“That’s true, but….”
Carlson looked ahead.
“Damn it. I’m so tired. All the stairs are broken too.”
라엘 descended from the Demon King’s castle, leaping from floor to floor while holding the corpse of the 천살검주 [Cheonsal Sword Master, Raelle’s master].
When you think about it, it was amazing that the Demon King’s castle still had some form left after withstanding such tremendous attacks.
“라엘, how do I look? Do I look like an elf representing the Elven race?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t worry, 레이나. Humans can’t distinguish the appearances of elves anyway. Even elves who look like you will all look beautiful.”
“겐트 [Gent]. What does that mean? It feels weird when a giant whose standards of beauty are a mess says that.”
“…”
Carlson smiled faintly as he looked at the three of them.
Seeing them, he wondered if he was worrying for nothing.
Waaaaaaah-!
Waaaaaaah-!
A tremendous cheer reached the heroes.
Everyone was looking at 라엘, shedding tears of joy.
“…This is something.”
라엘 shook his head and looked around.
레이나, who had been right next to him, had already stepped back, and 겐트, Carlson, and 루카스 had also stepped back and were staring at 라엘.
This was 라엘’s turn.
“Uh… um….”
라엘 looked at the Allied forces cheering his name.
용사. 라엘. Hero. Legend. These were all pleasant words, but in reality, 라엘 had a headache.
Endorphins? Or was it dopamine?
The power that surpasses human limits that comes out in extreme situations.
It had been a long time since he had learned about it, so he didn’t remember well, but anyway, 라엘 had long surpassed his limits.
He had been drinking mana imbued with divinity like water and had used 천살신검, which put a strain on his body even when used once, several times.
He had even summoned the Holy Sword at the end and wielded 천살신검 in both hands.
As the tension was released, the aftermath of forcibly squeezing out strength was hitting his body like crazy.
If he were to lie down on the ground now, he might fall asleep right away.
“The Demon King is dead. Everyone. This war is over.”
But. In the end, only 라엘 could end this war.
As 라엘 opened his mouth, a huge cheer erupted from the Allied forces.
“…As promised at the beginning, we have become legends.”
– 용사! 용사!
– Waaaaaah!
– We won! We won!
– The 용사 did it!
라엘 scanned the Allied forces once more.
In fact, they probably wanted to collapse as well.
But, they were standing up for this moment.
He knew the habits of medieval fantasy people who liked festivals well.
So, 라엘 had to join in too.
“You all did it. My dead comrades and my master, 천살검주, did it. Not just me alone, we are all heroes!”
라엘 said that and clenched his fist tightly.
The plain was filled with the sounds of the excited Allied forces.
It would be maintained in that state for at least ten minutes, so he was planning to take 천살검주’s corpse to a safe place in the meantime.
“Well, even if I look at it objectively, I suffered the most.”
My head hurts like crazy.
라엘 turned around with that thought.
“…?”
루카스, who had been clapping and shedding tears of emotion behind him, blinked.
What did Sir 라엘 just say?
Fortunately, the Allied forces seemed to be too caught up in the excitement to hear 라엘’s words.
They were still celebrating the victory.
The war ended like that.
*
Several days had passed since the end of the war, but the excitement hadn’t cooled down and had become even more intense.
The continent was filled with a long, long festival for the first time in a while.
– For the 용사 라엘, the hero of the Great War!
– Let’s pray for 라엘!
The Gaia Order, which was the largest religion on the continent, was gradually becoming a group that worshiped 라엘.
It was only natural since the priests themselves were praying for 라엘’s name.
The Alheim, who had been their threat for life, had been destroyed.
Some demons had survived in various parts of the continent, but they would no longer be able to act openly as they had in the past.
“The empire will probably have a lot to worry about. It’s good that you’re there, so the unity within the empire won’t be a problem… but there are many incidents and accidents all over the continent.”
During that time, Zenith sat in the orphanage and looked at the hero of the continent.
라엘, who was being called out by the people of the empire as well as the entire continent, was holed up in the orphanage resting as soon as the war ended.
“Really? Why are there incidents and accidents when the war has just ended?”
라엘 lay on a chair and yawned as he replied.
He had been living too hard recently, so he was planning to enjoy his leisure for the next few days.
“It’s not like all the troops on the continent participated in the war, and there are also guys who are trying to profit in the meantime.”
“Can’t those bastards be taken care of by 배거스 [Beggars]? They’re not beggars anymore.”
배거스, who had been active in the war, had grown even larger with Zenith at the center.
As evidence of that, 배거스 was no longer a simple information guild.
They were now the 배거스 Knights.
In the first place, Zenith was as strong as a knight, and there was no need to worry about being pushed back by force since 투신 [Tooshin, God of Fighting] was there.
There were those who tried to question the legitimacy and the raison d’être of the knights, but since the 배거스 Knights had 라엘, a strong backer, they were able to get over it like a snake slithering over a dam.
“…It’s not that easy either. 배거스 can collect information from all over the continent, but it can’t exert influence over the entire continent.”
“What is the Gaia Order doing? They should have branches all over the continent.”
“The Gaia Order will be quite chaotic as 교황 [Gyohwang, meaning ‘Pope’] changes to 베르난도 [Bernando].”
“베르난도 is the 교황?”
“Yes. 천마 [Cheonma, meaning ‘Demon God’] went to prison. Cardinal Angelo refused the 교황 position. Saint Cecilia also said that she wasn’t interested in the 교황 position, so the opportunity went to the next in line.”
“Huh…. Finally, the Gaia Order is showing signs of collapsing. Should I create a religion in my name soon?”
“Just tell me if you need it. I’ll use all the power of 배거스, no, the 배거스 Knights, to help you.”
“It’s okay. It’s just annoying. What’s the point of creating a religion when there’s no Demon King?”
라엘 waved his hand.
Divinity was still accumulating in his body.
He refused to do anything big anymore.
“…”
And, Zenith, who was talking to 라엘, felt something strange.
For some reason, his words were short….
“…라엘?”
“Yeah?”
“Did you decide to stop using honorifics?”
“Don’t you know who I am? I’m 라엘, the 용사, the hero of the continent, why should I use honorifics to a beggar?”
“…”
Zenith lowered his head gloomily.
Even now that he was the commander of the knights and doing well, being a beggar was his trauma….
“Ehey. I’m just kidding. I just did it to give you a sense of alertness since you became the commander of the knights and are doing well. Don’t forget the hungry spirit. Zenith 아저씨 [Ajeossi, a respectful Korean term for ‘uncle’ or ‘middle-aged man’]. Just make the 천살검주 statue I asked for well.”
“Haha. Hahaha… I understand.”
Zenith had no choice but to laugh at 라엘’s uninteresting joke.
He was making a living thanks to 라엘….
“Anyway, if you see any bastards who didn’t participate in the war acting cocky, tell me right away, I’ll go directly to wherever they are on the continent and destroy them all.”
“…I understand.”
Zenith nodded as if relieved.
If 라엘 said that, 배거스 would be able to exert even more influence.
“Oh my, you were here. 라엘 님 [Nim, a Korean honorific].”
At that time, a woman approached 라엘 and offered him honey tea.
라엘, who received the honey tea, stared intently at the woman with the tanned skin.
“Oh, so your name is… Princess 스카리아 [Skaria]?”
“That’s right. I’m honored that the 용사 remembers me.”
스카리아 grabbed the hem of her skirt and bowed her head.
She was the princess of the desert kingdom Nagor and the de facto ruler of Nagor.
The reason why she was here was because 스카리아 was one of 루카스’s girlfriends.
“Uwaaaaaaah. Carlson 형 [Hyung, a Korean term used by males to address older brothers or close male friends]. 루카스 형 hit me!”
Just in time, voices were heard from around.
“Ehey. 루카스. Are you going to do that again?”
“Carlson 경 [Gyeong, a Korean honorific]. I’m innocent. He asked me to teach him swordsmanship, so I just taught him the most basic of basics, the downward strike.”
“Tch tch. Look, that’s not how you play with young children.”
라엘 drank the honey tea that 스카리아 gave him and approached Carlson and 루카스.
“Ah, 라엘 형님 [Hyungnim, a more respectful version of Hyung]!”
“Why did you guys come again? Aren’t you busy?”
“What would I be busy with? The only person higher than me in the Silver Cross Knights is the commander.”
“I don’t really belong anywhere. The swordsmanship department of the academy is doing well even without me.”
“…. Is that so?”
라엘 looked at the two and nodded.
For the record, 루카스’s relationship with his girlfriends became rapidly closer as soon as the war ended.
He said he had to compensate the friends he couldn’t meet because of Carlson and 라엘.
Thanks to that, when 루카스 came to the orphanage, other women were with him as well.
‘One was a prodigy of the Magic Tower… one was a female knight of the Carmen Knights?’
To be honest, I don’t remember well except for 스카리아.
When 스카리아, who had just given 라엘 honey tea, approached 루카스 and naturally linked arms with him, a female knight and a wizard who appeared from somewhere started chirping.
It was a common sight in the orphanage.
“…라엘 형님.”
“Why?”
“It’s really sad to see that situation from the side. I’m jealous! Why can’t I live that kind of life?”
“What’s there to be jealous of? Carlson. It’s all dog-tiredness later.”
Love triangle or cat fight.
It’s not like those words exist for no reason.
Love must be careful and cautious.
“형님.”
“Yeah?”
“That’s not something 형님 should say.”
“What the hell is that?”
“Eing… I should quit being a paladin.”
Carlson sighed and left the spot.
He naturally went into the children and started playing.
“Why is he being so melodramatic again? Did he lose money gambling or something?”
라엘 shook his head and drank the honey tea.
The tea that 스카리아 gave him was not as good as Teacher Sarah’s.
“루카스 님 [Nim, a Korean honorific]! Please participate in the next swordsmanship department research meeting together!”
“The Magic Tower’s research meeting too!”
루카스 chatted with the women he had met after a long time and looked at Carlson and 라엘.
The two knights hadn’t changed at all even now that they had become heroes of the continent.
Still, they were the same as when they first met.
“…Carlson 경 may not be, but 라엘 경 must have a lot of sins.”
However, Sir 라엘’s surroundings will be a little different.
Maybe it’s worse than himself.
루카스 smiled faintly.