The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 262

Everywhere was fire.

Every breath Count Pablo took burned his lungs. Hot air filled his nose and throat. No matter where he looked, flames danced and blocked every way out.

He felt like his head would break apart from the heat and fear.

He wished for a quick death like his soldiers. But Roman Dmitry had given him a choice, and now Pablo was trapped in confusion.

‘Can I survive this?’

It was impossible.

Or maybe… maybe if he lived, the cost would be too terrible to face.

In the Chronos Empire, success brought great rewards, but failure meant terrible punishment.

He was a defeated commander who had lost ten thousand men.

He was only supposed to guard Rascal until more soldiers came. Now, everything was burning because of Roman Dmitry. He knew he was in deep trouble.

The Empire would blame him.

The idea that his whole family could be killed made him squeeze his eyes shut. He wished it wasn’t real.

‘Even if I die, I must inform the Empire about what happened in Rascal.’

Roman Dmitry… He was a monster.

Anticipating his choice, he had destroyed the magic communication device right before his eyes.

Now, there was no way to send a message to the Empire.

Pablo knew Dmitry was getting away. He had to act fast. Ignoring the burning pain, Count Pablo ran back into the fire towards his building.

Whoosh!

Flames roared around the building.

The walls cracked and crashed. It was a terrifying scene, but Pablo couldn’t stop.

He stepped inside.

Brushing off the flames clinging to his clothes, he searched for the fixed magic communication device within the burning building.

Finally, he found it. With shaking hands, he started to record a message.

“This is Count Pablo, commander of Rascal. Urgent message! Rascal is burning! Roman Dmitry attacked about an hour ago. I tried to stop him, but… but he destroyed us. Ten thousand soldiers… all gone.

He took a breath.

His skin felt like it was on fire. He was close to passing out.

It wasn’t a trick or a trap. Roman Dmitry… he’s too strong. He defeated ten thousand of us alone. I don’t think I’ll live. But you must understand… this is serious. In all my time serving the Empire, I’ve never seen anyone like him. Even the First Sword… even he might not be able to beat Dmitry.”

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a wave of fire rushed into the room.

Count Pablo bit back a cry of pain from the heat. He knew he was dying. With his last strength, he shouted into the device.

“You have to stop Roman Dmitry! If you don’t kill him now, he will destroy the Empire later! You must… somehow…”

Boom!

Rumble!

The roof crashed down. Burning wood and stone fell on Count Pablo, cutting off his words.

Unaware of the disaster, people slept soundly in the Chronos Empire. Rascal was gone.

One hour before the incident.

Marquis Memphis, one of the key figures in the Chronos Empire, received a report from the Royal Knights.

“Sir Marquis, Roman Dmitry has attacked Rascal! He doesn’t have many soldiers, but he’s set the fortress on fire and is causing chaos. Count Pablo is fighting him.”

Clink.

Marquis Memphis put down his teacup.

He smiled slightly. Roman Dmitry’s attack didn’t worry him at all.

“Roman Dmitry is brave, I’ll give him that. Attacking us first? He’s certainly different.”

“……Shall we report to His Majesty the Emperor?”

“No, there’s no need.”

Chronos was strong. This was just a small problem.

“The Emperor is resting. Don’t bother him. I will take care of this. Send soldiers to Rascal. Tell the Shadows and the Third Knights to go. Make sure Dmitry cannot escape. No one attacks Chronos and lives.”

“Understood.”

The knight retreated.

About six hours until the main force arrived.

It was not a short time.

Dmitry could cause some damage in that time, but Memphis was sure he couldn’t win.

There were as many as ten thousand troops gathered in Rascal.

With so many soldiers waiting, Dmitry was trapped. He would be caught easily.

However.

After only an hour, the knight who had received the order appeared with a pale face.

“Marquis Memphis! Terrible news! Count Pablo sent a message… Rascal’s forces… they’ve all been destroyed!”

Annihilated.

Memphis’s calm face broke. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Ten thousand.

A huge number. Anyone who saw ten thousand soldiers would know how powerful that was. Lines and lines of men, stretching as far as you could see.

That’s why Memphis thought waking the Emperor was unnecessary. Ten thousand soldiers… it wasn’t a small thing, but it wasn’t a war either. He thought no one could defeat ten thousand soldiers in six hours.

Just one hour.

Count Pablo delivered shocking news.

Now that he knew Rascal was destroyed, Memphis couldn’t just sit and drink tea anymore.

Marquis Memphis spoke.

“Your Majesty… the news is bad. Rascal is gone. Burned to the ground. Pablo’s message is real. Rascal’s soldiers are all dead. We are sending soldiers to catch Dmitry. I am sorry. I should have told you earlier. I didn’t think… I didn’t think ten thousand soldiers could be defeated so fast.”

The Chronos Emperor.

He bowed his head towards him.

The Emperor, disturbed from his slumber, looked at Marquis Memphis with the same indifferent expression as always.

“Marquis Memphis.”

“Speak.”

“What do you think about Roman Dmitry? He started a war. It makes sense he would attack Chronos land. But I think he’s saying something more. He’s acting like Chronos isn’t the boss of this continent anymore. He’s showing us that anyone *can* attack the Empire first. Dmitry was brave to attack Rascal. And he won completely.”

“I agree. Roman Dmitry isn’t just getting revenge. He’s saying the Empire doesn’t matter.”

Let’s remember what happened before.

Roman Dmitry always did surprising things.

Even when he was just a baron, he said ‘no’ to the Chronos Empire when they tried to control him. When he fought back with Marquis Benedict, he even tried to attack the Empire first.

Because of that, the Emperor said Roman Dmitry must be killed.

Most people would hide and be scared. But Roman Dmitry didn’t just fight off the killers. He was even brave enough to go to Valhalla.

He never backed down.

Instead, he always attacked and ruined the Empire’s plans.

“Sven died trying to attack Dmitry. The problem is, even without Roman Dmitry there, one of our best swordsmen, a Six Star, was beaten. The Chronos Empire always wins. But since Roman Dmitry came, our perfect record is getting ruined.”

His voice was calm, but Marquis Memphis didn’t dare look up.

The Emperor didn’t shout, but everyone could feel his anger. It was like a storm building up inside him.

“Mystic.”

“Yes, Emperor.”

A person in a long robe came from the shadows.

He walked stiffly, like his body hurt. He bowed low to the Emperor.

“Where are ‘they’?” the Emperor asked.

“They are gathering their armies and watching us closely,” Mystic said. “If we fight Dmitry, they will definitely attack. When ‘that creature’ showed up during the attack on Dmitry, it was clear. They won’t let us do what we want.”

“They.”

It was a secret no one else knew.

The Chronos Empire was waiting for the perfect moment to take over the whole continent. But Roman Dmitry changed everything. Now, it might be impossible.

Anger exploded in the Emperor. He couldn’t stand the idea of someone who dared to challenge the Empire going back to Dmitry, thinking he had won.

So, he decided.

“Prepare for war!” he roared. “Call the demons from the deepest darkness. We will destroy ‘them’ too, this time!”

“Understood!” Mystic said, his voice excited.

He smiled brightly and vanished back into the shadows.

The Emperor looked at Marquis Memphis.

“People believe the continent is balanced because of weak groups like the Kingdom Alliance. They are wrong. I will show them the truth. Call all Chronos knights, except the First Knights. Order all magic towers in the Empire to send their mages to war. It is war! We start with Dmitry, and then we will crush every kingdom on this continent and bring them under Chronos control!”

“I obey, Emperor!” Marquis Memphis shouted, his voice full of fire.

The great monster of the continent was waking up.

It was a hallway dripping with darkness.

The Emperor walked alone, pushing open a heavy iron door that looked like it never let anyone in.

*Creak.*

The air inside felt cold and strange.

He walked in like he knew the way. He lit a candle on the wall. The light pushed back the darkness, showing a room around him.

It was a big room, but empty and sad.

In the middle, on a stand, was a very old piece of paper. The Emperor read it, his face showing no feeling.

*[Long ago, a door to another world opened. Freezing cold came out and covered the world. This disaster has lasted forever. God said someone would come to take God’s place and fix the world. But if they are too late, the world will be lost in darkness forever.]*

From beyond the mountains that never end.

This prophecy had been passed down in his family for generations.

The Emperor’s face hardened.

“We haven’t been able to take over the continent because of those people who follow the prophecy,” the Emperor said to himself. “But things are changing. The second door is open. We have the power to fight them now. Waiting is over.”

Long ago, the Chronos Emperors learned a secret on their birthday when they became adults.

They learned about the people with holy power.

Even if the person from the prophecy appears, the Emperor would not ignore Dmitry’s attacks anymore. He would act.

People on the continent didn’t know the real reason Chronos hadn’t taken over yet.

It wasn’t because Chronos was weak. It was because they had to hold back because of secret enemies.

The Empire’s true power.

People would be amazed.

He was sure Dmitry would be destroyed easily. Rascal was nothing compared to what was coming.

The Emperor left the secret room, went to his bedroom, and lay down.

And he slept deeply.

The next day.

The sun rose.

But people woke up to shocking news.

“Roman Dmitry attacked Rascal, the Chronos Empire’s base! He killed ten thousand soldiers! Dmitry didn’t lose a single person! The Chronos Empire is angry and has ordered everyone to join the army!”

People couldn’t believe what they heard.

Dmitry didn’t just defend. He attacked first and killed ten thousand soldiers!

The Kingdom Alliance was in chaos because of this news.

People who thought Dmitry would lose were now shocked by his surprising move.

King Odelia sent a message, her voice excited.

“We need to talk about this now!”

Very early that morning.

Except for Redford, the three kingdoms of the Kingdom Alliance held their third meeting.