The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 373

Two figures stood in the shadows.

The first figure, his face hidden in darkness, began to speak.

“Because of the Roman Dmitry situation, Duke Vieto is now gathering people. The people support him. If we push things a little more, it will quickly become a civil war.”

Then, the second figure spoke.

“The Valhalla Emperor is reacting strongly. He is not listening to the people. If he orders the rebellion to be stopped by force, Valhalla will face a disaster it cannot recover from.”

This report sounded familiar to Roman Dmitry.

Roman Dmitry had witnessed mysterious scenes through the World Tree, one of which was the figure of Isabel, the Queen of the Luna Kingdom, and another.

In a space dyed with darkness, Alexander was plotting something, receiving a report with exactly the same content as now.

Suddenly, Alexander laughed.

“Ha!”

He found it very funny how things were going, especially who was giving him this report. It was the Valhalla Emperor and Duke Vieto themselves!

These two men, with serious faces, acted as if they had nothing to do with the chaos. They were telling Alexander about the fighting between the Valhalla Empire and the rebels, even though they were the ones who started it all.

The world was wrong about what was happening.

People thought Duke Vieto started a rebellion because he couldn’t stand the Valhalla Emperor’s cruelty. But the truth was, from the moment Stern Valhalla became Emperor, he and Vieto were secretly working together.

Alexander felt like he held Valhalla in his hand.

Trying not to grin too much, Alexander told the two men, “Our plan is going perfectly. Roman Dmitry is just a small problem, not even worth worrying about when we get what we want. In fact, he has given us a chance to speed things up. Make the people angrier. Provoke them even more. When Valhalla is at war, we can finally do what we have been waiting to do.”

‘Trivial’ was the right word.

No matter how skilled Roman Dmitry was with a sword, he was just a pawn in Alexander’s game, moved around in the chaos of the rebellion. Alexander wondered how funny it would be if Dmitry knew this. He almost wished he could show Dmitry this scene, just to laugh at him.

Alexander thought about his past life. This life was so much better.

Just as he leaned back, feeling satisfied, Alexander suddenly stopped. His eyes snapped open, staring into the empty air.

He turned his head slightly.

“…The power of the World Tree?” he murmured, recognizing it instantly.

Alexander knew Roman Dmitry was there, listening to everything through the World Tree. But instead of being worried, he smiled.

“Roman Dmitry,” Alexander said, his voice filled with amusement. “If you had come into this world a hundred years ago, you might have caused us real problems. But not now. We are almost finished. No matter how hard you try, you cannot change what is going to happen. So go ahead and struggle. The harder you fight, the more fun it will be for me in the end.”

In the dark space, Alexander laughed again, his body shaking with amusement. The two men with him remained bowed and silent.

Suddenly, Roman Dmitry was back in the present.

The memories of Alexander’s words rushed into his mind. Alexander had vanished, and now, the Valhalla Emperor stood before Roman Dmitry, a smile on his face.

“Heh heh heh, isn’t this interesting?” the Emperor chuckled. “You were right. Stern Valhalla was our puppet. We used him to weaken Valhalla from the inside, making the people hate the Emperor. Those foolish people who care so much about pure blood! They think they are only living for Valhalla. Just like they accepted you to get rid of Stern Valhalla, who they saw as a common enemy. But our real plan was to take over all of Valhalla and then conquer the continent!”

It was a huge plan. And now was the time for it. Stern Valhalla was just meant to be sacrificed for this plan. He knew his fate.

To everyone else, he seemed like the all-powerful Emperor of Valhalla. But really, he knew he would have to die whenever Alexander ordered it. He had wanted a normal life, but he was forced to be Emperor. And he couldn’t even choose when to stop being Emperor.

That’s why he went crazy. He lost his mind. If he was going to die anyway, he decided to enjoy the power while he could. He killed anyone who annoyed him, finding a twisted relief in it, like when he killed Jesus Valhalla.

That’s how he became known as a cruel tyrant. People hated him. And because he knew it didn’t matter, he didn’t care about running Valhalla well. Being Emperor was just an empty role for him.

That was the truth about Stern Valhalla. When he was executed, he showed his true weakness. The way he grabbed the rope, desperately trying to live, that was the real Stern Valhalla.

The Valhalla Emperor continued, “It’s really too bad. Because of you, we had to get rid of Stern Valhalla, and we had to change our plans. Just then, Sanchez suggested a rebellion to me. We were going to remove Stern Valhalla and put me in his place, while making you trust me. You are very clever. How did you figure out our plan? I thought it was perfect. I never thought you would find out so easily.”

What Roman Dmitry had suspected was now confirmed. Alexander. He had been preparing for years.

But what Dmitry had learned was only a small part of the whole plan.

“I will ask one last question,” Roman Dmitry said, his voice calm even though everything was shocking.

He needed to know more, no matter what the Emperor said.

“If you wanted to hide the truth, why did you let me go to the Tomb of the South?”

Actually, the Valhalla Emperor only had some doubts about Roman Dmitry. He had ordered people to investigate him because Hernand wasn’t recovering as expected. But it would have taken time to find out the truth.

Yet, the Valhalla Emperor allowed Dmitry to enter the Tomb of the South. He knew Dmitry might find clues there, but he didn’t try to make weak excuses or avoid the question.

The Valhalla Emperor pointed up at the sky.

“For amusement,” he said.

“Amusement?” Roman Dmitry repeated, confused.

“We who serve our master know he dislikes a boring fight. The more you resist and the more fiercely you struggle, the greater the thrill when he finally brings you to your knees. And I didn’t want to leave any room for doubt. I thought that if I, who should be entirely on your side, didn’t allow you to enter the southern tomb, it would certainly arouse suspicion. From what we’ve learned, you understand things quickly.”

He grinned.

“Of course, you couldn’t have figured out the truth with just that much information. The records of Canellas Valhalla speak of Chronos’s involvement, and the records of Cortes and Stern speak of the unfairness of the succession, but even if you knew all that information, it wouldn’t be easy to guess that I was behind it all. Canellas Valhalla is very special in this way. They made it impossible to destroy the records in the archives, and we couldn’t remove them beforehand.”

Roman Dmitry had already figured out the truth.

So, he deliberately told him the truth.

Why?

Because now was showtime.

The Valhalla Emperor spoke, his face full of smiles.

“Roman Dmitry, you have arrived at the truth. You’ve found out who I am, who is above me, and even that Stern Valhalla was just a puppet. So, what do you intend to do to me? The people watching us now probably think we’re just having a casual conversation. But if you kill me before their eyes, you will become a villain who killed the Emperor of Valhalla.”

He walked around.

To the people, it seemed like a kind gesture, but in Roman Dmitry’s eyes, the Valhalla Emperor was acting like a madman.

“Look at the people who can’t take their eyes off me. Thanks to you, I have become a hero of Valhalla! The true Emperor who has restored the glory of Valhalla, worthy of Valhalla’s history! We are grateful to you. Starting from the small territory of the Dmitry family, you have grown incredibly fast. But, you see, the moment you kill me, you will surely fall into the abyss. I have already told my people that your explanations will not be accepted, and all the people of Valhalla who praised you will demand revenge on Roman Dmitry, their voices full of anger. From then on, war will be unavoidable. The Kingdom Alliance armies, which are not very strong, will have trouble fighting against Valhalla, and in the meantime, the Chronos Empire will finish its big plan.”

The price of murder was very deadly.

Even knowing his plan, killing the Valhalla Emperor in front of everyone was foolish.

“But you can’t not kill me either, can you? If you let me live, I will build a base to attack Dmitry, to attack Dmitry someday. Right now, people like you, so I can’t openly make you angry, but people’s feelings can easily change. It’s easy to change the reputation of someone like you who is not from here. Now, choose. Will you kill me, or will you not kill me?”

He stretched out his arms, as if telling him to kill him. His face was full of playful smiles.

“Let me tell you beforehand, the land we are standing on is where Valhalla began, the Southern Jungle. Killing me, the Emperor, here and escaping, I promise you, will not be easy.”

He was sure that in this game led by Aleksandr, Roman Dmitry would never be safe.

He could feel the gazes of the people, the people of Valhalla, the warriors of Valhalla. They had come a long way to see Roman Dmitry, and they watched the trial with eyes full of awe.

They were certain that Roman Dmitry, who had saved Valhalla from evil, would become a great warrior in the future. Therefore, they tried to remember him even more.

Their strong desire meant that if he did something that betrayed them, their desire would turn into intense anger.

That was the game the Valhalla Emperor was planning.

He prepared for any possible situation. He came out to meet him first, blocked the sound, and watched Roman Dmitry’s thoughts closely.

Suddenly, memories of his past life came to mind.

In the burning flames, in the ruined village, a woman holding a baby glared at Baek Jung-hyuk and cursed him.

“You devilish bastard! Are you even human! Why! Why do you Demonic Cult bastards go around harming people!”

Not just the woman, all the villagers pointed their fingers. At their words, shouted with the determination to die, Baek Jung-hyuk stared blankly at them.

A few days before, the righteous martial artists had wiped out the families of the Demonic Cult members first. After killing all the people who begged for their lives, they showed off their bodies as if to brag. It was revenge for that.

But people closed their ears and did not see the truth, trapped in the idea that the Demonic Cult was evil, and screamed. People said that the Demonic Cult was always wrong, and their anger could not be calmed by anything.

That day, Baek Jung-hyuk realized the way of the Demonic Cult.

People always thought the Demonic Cult was evil. Because the law of the jungle was always wrong in their minds, they blamed the Demonic Cult even if the righteous sect had done something wrong.

It was truly unfair. The righteous people who shouted for justice also did many evil things.

It was not an excuse to say that the Demonic Cult was right, but in the end, the lives of humans were all the same, whether it was the Demonic Cult or the righteous sect.

Both wanted their own benefits. However, people decided what was justice and what was evil based on whether they showed it or not.

At that time, with people accusing him, what kind of life would the Heavenly Demon Baek Jung-hyuk have chosen?

He approached the Valhalla Emperor. In front of the watching people, the Valhalla Emperor smiled kindly as if to say, ‘Go ahead and try.’

At that moment, he grabbed the Emperor’s head.

The bewildered Valhalla Emperor widened his eyes as Roman Dmitry tilted his head back and looked down at him.

“You seem to be greatly mistaken about something.”

People called Roman Dmitry the hero of Valhalla, the one who saved Redford, and the brave warrior who defeated the Chronos Empire. They used all sorts of flattering words to describe him.

As long as he acted like a human, people would always defend Roman Dmitry no matter what he did, just like the righteous sect had done.

‘He wouldn’t do that.’

Like the people who defended the hero of the righteous sect, who seemed good but tortured and raped people in secret, people would praise Roman Dmitry in that way.

But, “I am originally a person who is used to playing the villain.”

He twisted the Valhalla Emperor’s head off.