Revel had arranged a proper spot. He had taken the messengers of the Racial Alliance out of the old tent and brought them to a place with sheer cliffs. Atop it was a pavilion.
With a clean wooden floor and ceiling, the centerpiece was a table made of stone. Revel naturally sat down, and Hans and the other members also found their seats.
In the middle, Clara and Helia had a showdown, but Cluna gave Clara a good whack to end the standoff. After watching the scene for a moment, Revel smiled and spoke up.
“Seems like it worked out well, huh?”
“Yeah, it turned out that way.”
“But who are you?”
“…….”
At Clara’s innocent question, Revel was momentarily at a loss for words. Despite helping out around here, he never thought she’d forget him. The shock was quite substantial.
Even Cluna nudged Clara in the ribs with her elbow to quiet her down. However, Revel quickly recovered. After all, they had been using each other all along.
In fact, Revel had hoped that the elf sisters would end up killing each other. Once this matter was resolved, the surviving opponents would need to weaken the Racial Alliance’s power to establish themselves.
‘But that’s over now.’
With a heavy heart, but without showing it on his face, Revel gazed at Hans sitting before him. Hans, one day, suddenly appeared and restored the fallen Royal Knights, becoming a hero of the Racial Alliance.
Not content to stop there, he successfully united the divided Racial Alliance and even launched a massive counterattack against the Blood Demons. But Revel thought he was dead.
No matter how much of a hero, once ambushed by the Blood Demons, he was bound to die. Yet for some reason, he had come back alive. How? Did some third party help him?
No, that’s not the point. The point is that opposing a hero of that caliber is extremely dangerous. So there was only one way to survive: to attach himself to him.
“Need anything? I’m willing to help.”
Having already finished calculating in his head, Revel showed the most favorable attitude he could muster. Heroes tend to be strict about both public and private matters, and they don’t easily betray.
It was rather more comfortable dealing with them than with the nobles of the Racial Alliance. Those guys were always scheming to stab you in the back for their own gain. Hearing this, Hans quickly spoke up.
“I know you were human in the past.”
“…….”
“What exactly happened for you to turn into a demon?”
“This is quite surprising. Where did you get such information?”
The fact that the demons were once human was kept extremely secret. There was no reason to even mention it, and above all, it had been so long that all related records or legends had been erased.
“That’s none of your business, right?”
“It’s relevant. I believe I have the right to know.”
“Protecting the source of information is also important.”
For just a moment, Revel and Hans glared at each other. Though it was just a look, the tension between them was no joke. It was so intense that even the members were left flabbergasted.
“Alright, I get it. I concede.”
In the end, it was Revel who surrendered first. He never thought he could win without any damage, anyway. Plus, now that he was attached to them, he had to show at least that much sincerity.
“As you said, we were once human.”
“Once human?! Really?!”
“This is quite astonishing.”
The elven sisters, along with Yuren and Bayard, were visibly shocked. But both Hans and Revel remained unfazed. Revel enjoyed their reactions while wearing a bittersweet expression.
“But now, we are completely different.”
“As demons.”
“We are Blood Demons. That’s how we decided.”
“Is there a difference between Blood Demons and demons?”
“There is. A significant one.”
Revel briefly explained the differences. While many words were exchanged, to summarize, those chosen by the Queen became demons, and those not chosen fell to the status of mere monsters.
“Blood Demons are those not chosen by the Queen or who were brought in late and treated as slaves.”
“Then conversely, that means the Blood Demons are the chosen ones.”
“Exactly.”
Revel spoke bitterly of stories from a very distant past.
*
There once was a kingdom.
It had been so long that even its name had faded into obscurity. But back then, it was a glorious kingdom that boldly marched forward, waving the flag of glory.
It was a kingdom that seemed as if it had come out of a fairy tale. There were strong knights and heroes, and the queen they served was the Queen of Benevolence, who loved all races equally.
Just as the dragons were called the Race of Benevolence, she embraced all races as the Queen of Benevolence. It was the paradise where those tired of discrimination could only go.
[Welcome! Our kingdom welcomes everyone.]
She believed that all races could coexist in harmony. It wasn’t mere idealism; she had the ability to back it up. She dealt firmly with sin, grew her power, and never weakened diplomacy. She was a monarch everyone trusted wholeheartedly. And in that kingdom lived a boy. Though lacking in talent, he sincerely admired the Queen’s ideals and wanted to help her. Or perhaps he loved her. But that no longer mattered. Everything was over now.
As the saying goes, “a square peg in a round hole.” Back then, the kingdom reigned as the strongest power on the continent. That was only natural; it had fused the strengths of all races and minimized their weaknesses.
[It seems the kingdom is becoming too powerful lately.]
[I see, a bit of constraint might be necessary.]
[It can’t be helped. Everything is for balance.]
For the sake of balance. If their power went unchecked, they couldn’t stop it. The justification was good, but in the end, it stemmed from envy and jealousy. Just yesterday, all dealings with the kingdom were cut off.
Outlaws from different races were excessively rampant. At first, everyone united and successfully fended them off, but as time passed, resources depleted, and everyone began to wear down.
The kingdom’s power was clearly weakened. It would have been good if they had put an end to it there, but regrettably, they did not stop. They greedily began to covet the land and resources within the kingdom.
[But the kingdom is still strong.]
[In this state, we can’t determine a winner.]
[How about this method?]
What they chose was sowing discord and incitement. Even if they failed, the risk was negligible, and if they succeeded, it would be good. However, the sowing of discord hit the already weary kingdom right in the gut.
[I’m sorry, Your Majesty.]
[The dukedom has agreed to accept me again as a craftsman. I apologize.]
[I heard something happened in the forest. I’ll go take care of it for a bit.]
Those who were swayed by persuasion or those already fatigued began leaving the kingdom one by one. In the end, those remaining were only those who truly followed the Queen and those left with nowhere else to go.
They couldn’t be blamed. After all, the kingdom was walking down the path of ruin. Until they turned back, they had all poured their efforts into protecting the kingdom together.
If viewed rationally, it seemed right. The Queen witnessed with her own eyes the ruin of her ideals laid bare before her. No omissions, all of it. Why? How did this happen?
[Why did this happen? Was my ability insufficient?]
No, her ability was not lacking. The kingdom had prospered to the peak of the continent just ten years after her ascension. Even now, it was enduring despite all races attacking it.
[Did I lack capable subordinates?]
No. She still had talented individuals who were enchanted by her ideals and had even dedicated their lives. Just the black knight protecting her had cleaved through thousands.
[Ah, now I understand.]
After thousands of days of pondering, the wise Queen finally reached her conclusion to stop the fall. Blood tears streamed from her eyes, yet she smiled.
“The problem was you.”
She hated it. She hated everything about this world. Yes, I will collapse as you wish. But I will never vanish. I will curse you all until I die. I will survive forever.
And this is the result of that curse.
Revel’s long story came to an end. No one could muster the words to reply to such an enormous tale. Cluna, too, was left speechless. While she knew the story of the once-prosperous kingdom, at that time, it had been quite some time since the first hero’s death, so she couldn’t care about it. All she knew was that the kingdom had fallen, and suddenly the demons began their invasion.
“This is the secret of the kingdom I can share.”
And thus, the once-glorious kingdom returned as a curse.
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