Chapter 14 - The Beginning of the Ordeal
"Kardine, you said you act as the Demon King's Guardian Knight here."
In the Demon King's office.
Clay, having moved and sat in the chair in front of the desk, asked Kardine, who stood directly opposite him.
"You don't seem to be strictly a Guardian Knight, so could you tell me what your assigned position is?"
"Of course, Your Grace. However, it isn't truly a position that can be called a title."
"What do you mean?"
"I was the 'Shadow Blade,' active in the darkness."
The Shadow Blade.
A role that secretly took care of the Demon King's rear, performing special and dangerous tasks across the board without appearing on the surface.
"Including the previous Demon King, everyone called me only by my name, so I cannot say I had a special position."
"No position, you say."
Clay lowered his gaze for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face.
'Actually, the position doesn't matter much.'
Kardine looked at Clay, lost in thought.
'If I can be the sword the Demon King wields, that is enough.'
Humans defined demons as beings that should not exist in this world and mobilized all their resources to exterminate them.
While a strong political motive of some humans to gain power over others was deeply ingrained in this, the problem was that demons were treated like trash, regardless.
All demons in this world were oppressed by humans.
If it weren't for the existence of the Demon King, it was unknown whether effective resistance would have been possible in such circumstances.
'But can this man truly become the true Demon King?'
If he were merely the Demon King in name, he could not serve him as his lord.
For the sake of vengeance for his clan, slaughtered by human hands, the Demon King had to be able to wield cruelty as his weapon.
However, the man sitting before him was the hero, a hero of humans.
Even if the Pitch-Black One's proxy recognized him, he had not yet fully acknowledged him as his master.
On the contrary, he distrusted him.
'Even if it means losing my life.'
If Clay was not suitable to be the Demon King, he had to end him with his own hands.
Clay could not be made Demon King simply because he possessed talent.
For the future of all demons.
"...Kardine."
Just then, Clay spoke.
"Yes, Clay-nim."
"I want to know your skill."
"Pardon?"
Kardine looked slightly flustered by the sudden remark.
"My skill, you mean?"
"Yes, if it was to the extent that the Demon King could entrust his rear to you, it must be considerable. Furthermore, if you were prepared to act as a Guardian Knight upon the Demon King's arrival at the refuge, I judge that you possess immense skill."
"...I merely tried not to be a hindrance to my mission."
Creak.
Clay rose from his seat.
"If you don't mind, could you lend me a usable sword? It's impossible to call forth the Holy Sword from the Sanctuary right now, you see."
As he extended his hand, Kardine swallowed dryly.
'Is he sane?'
It was uncomfortable enough for someone about to become the Demon King to mention the Holy Sword, but asking for a weapon could only be interpreted as wanting to test him.
'Even if he just wants to see pure swordsmanship, it doesn't make sense.'
Clay, with his holy power restricted, was no match for Kardine, who could use magic.
So, it could only be a pure swordsmanship duel.
But even that was laughable to Kardine.
'The reason the hero could be a hero was because of his overwhelming holy power...'
It was certainly not because his skill surpassed all of the Demon King's army.
At least, Kardine thought so.
'Good.'
Beatrice's plan to raise someone who had once confronted the previous Demon King to be the next Demon King was already displeasing.
Now was the chance to teach him that the Demon King's position was not one to be taken lightly.
"Understood."
Kardine swept his hand through the air.
Then, the air shimmered black, and a sheathed sword appeared in his hand.
"A shared vault."
Clay murmured.
With a power passed down only to the hero, he could store and retrieve items from a secret place called the Sanctuary, which no one else could enter.
But demons were different.
Anyone could part the curtain and use the storage within.
Of course, there were limits to what they could take out depending on how strong they were, but essentially, everyone aimed to share their means of combat.
Thud!
Clay gripped the sword Kardine handed him and immediately drew it from its scabbard.
"Kardine, I ask for a match."
A duel upon meeting—Kardine almost let out a wry chuckle but managed to suppress it and pulled another sword from the shared vault.
"Is it alright if we use real blades?"
"Thanks for your concern. But it's just a swordsmanship duel, so it's fine."
He had asked to gauge if Clay would change his mind, but Clay simply replied softly.
"If you're ready, shall we begin?"
At his words, Kardine instinctively took his stance.
"...Very well, begin."
The sword in his hand glinted, reflecting the subtle light in the office.
Clay also stood straight, gripping his sword.
'What is it?'
Clay held his sword vertically in front of his chest, like a knight's statue.
This stance seemed to indicate an unwillingness to attack first, yet it didn't appear defensive.
'Is he putting on a show?'
Without holy power, he couldn't use swordsmanship that relied on it.
So, this was merely a trick to make him lower his guard.
'In that case...'
Kardine's eyes narrowed dangerously, and he lunged at Clay.
'I'll really teach you a lesson!'
Whoosh!
Hidden Blade of Shadow.
His swordsmanship relied on extreme speed to eliminate the opponent swiftly and secretly, as if the sword had never even been swung.
It was only natural for the blade to reach the opponent's neck the moment it was extended, but,
Clang...!
They collided.
Sword against sword.
'What?!'
Clay's reaction was clearly slow.
He hadn't even had time to make a move to swing his sword.
Slide.
Clay, who had merely twisted his body to make their blades collide without lowering his sword, now took a step towards Kardine.
In his upright stance, he couldn't win a struggle of strength against Kardine, who had a lower center of gravity.
For a fleeting moment, Kardine didn't retract the sword aimed at Clay's neck, believing this.
Hoping Clay would lose balance and fall backward, distracted by the trajectory of his un-retracted sword.
"!"
However, from the moment Clay took a step, no, just before that, he sharply lowered his stance and reversed his grip on the sword, aiming for Kardine's instep.
Clang!
Kardine immediately pulled his foot back, swinging his sword downwards to hastily parry Clay's sword.
But that was a mistake.
As if anticipating his action, Clay rotated his body, using the resulting momentum to kick Kardine's remaining support, his other foot on the ground.
Thwack!
Kardine plunged his sword into the ground to avoid falling and landed on both feet again.
"Urgh!"
As if in defiance of his surprise, Kardine immediately rose and swung his sword with impatience.
'Impossible! He's this good?!'
Because Beatrice had suppressed the sealing circles, Clay would be able to draw out some of his original physical abilities.
But even so, that wasn't an answer to how he could keep up with his swordsmanship's speed.
This was because Kardine's sword was always striking first, ahead of Clay's movements.
In other words, unless Clay predicted the attack direction beforehand, it would be impossible to parry this easily.
"I see."
Clay spoke.
"You admired the previous Demon King after all."
"!"
"Even your swordsmanship isn't much different."
At those words, Kardine gasped and retreated.
Clay still looked at Kardine with a serene posture.
"...You knew?"
"Knew what? That you'd imitate the previous Demon King's swordsmanship? Or that you didn't want to recognize me as the Demon King?"
Kardine's face distorted.
Clay said softly.
"Of course, I didn't know the latter from the start. I only found out by clashing swords. It seemed you wanted to verify me."
"...My apologies."
"No, it doesn't matter."
Clay spoke again, as if it were nothing.
"Rather, thanks to you, I learned something. That this position isn't something I can get for free."
Thwack!
He plunged the sword he had been using into the floor.
"It's rather fortunate."
He looked relieved.
"This way, my purpose will become clearer."
"Purpose, Your Grace?"
"The complete destruction of the place I came from."
But Clay also knew that gaining the means to do so wouldn't be easy, and even if it were, it would be difficult to shed the burden on his conscience.
"Just like when I became the hero, there needs to be a proper ordeal for my path to feel as justified as destiny."
Seeing him, Kardine gasped.
'Surely not...'
He uttered words Kardine could not have imagined.
"So, keep testing me. As long as it's not an obstruction, I'll consider it merely an ordeal."
For a moment, Kardine glimpsed something in his eyes—his savage fury, born from human betrayal, which he intended to return in the worst possible way—and felt goosebumps crawl across his skin, making him sink to the ground.
"I have dared to be rude to the one recognized by the Pitch-Black One! Please mete out the appropriate punishment!"
"Punishment, I was already thinking about that."
Clay approached Kardine and extended his hand.
"From now on, be the Captain of the Shadow Moon Knights that I will create."
"Pardon?"
"Honor and status are quite important, you see."
Clay smiled and said.
"To win, we need a system."
A system capable of destroying the enemy's vital points, a system capable of countering each of the weapons the enemy possessed.
Seeing Clay add that, Kardine finally realized.
Who Beatrice had brought.
Humans had made an enemy of someone who should not have been made an enemy.
♧
"...To everyone who has attended this Rabit's banquet! My sincerest thanks!"
The border between Kratia and Marpein.
More precisely, the banquet was being held in Logram, the northernmost territory of Marpein, facing Kratia.
"Thanks to all of you, this Holy War is on the verge of victory! It means the time to sweep away the demon remnants who insult our god is just around the corner!"
Marquis Rabit, the lord of Logram, smiled, spreading his arms.
"At this banquet, we have the honor of hosting revered individuals whom I dare not easily mention! They are here to support this Holy War that Rabit is waging!"
Rabit stretched his arm to the side of the dais where he stood and shouted.
"Our next guide who will grace today's banquet! We welcome His Highness, the Crown Prince, the legitimate son of His Holiness Kratia Lutan!"
As the Crown Prince of Kratia, the central nation of the Holy State Alliance, was mentioned, all attendees below the dais raised their hands and gave a thunderous applause.
"Huh, what's that?"
At the outskirts of the banquet, a soldier on guard duty spotted something flying like a meteor and questioned it.