Chapter 41 – Side Story. Emperor Rael Arhan.

“Ah, Dia. Thank you.”

The Emperor of the Arhan Empire, Rael Arhan, accepted the document from Minister of Government Affairs, Dia, with a deep frown.

“…This is.”

“My apologies, Your Majesty.”

“No, this is not something you need to apologize for, Dia.”

The document Rael picked up was a compensation proposal for the soldiers who had perished in the war.

Countless citizens of the empire had fallen in battle against the demonic race, and many measures were being prepared to honor their sacrifice.

“The council… rejected all of it?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“…I need to meet with Duke Triel.”

Emperor Rael scowled as he thought of Derman Triel.

He already knew the man was devoid of compassion, but to reject even this? How could he?

“Ah, Your Majesty. About that—”

“Hm? What is it?”

“The Guardian Duke has been waiting for you for some time now.”

“Ah!”

As soon as Dia mentioned the name of the Guardian Duke, Xian, Rael’s expression brightened.

“In that case, I’ll meet with Xian first, then speak with Duke Triel together.”

If it was Xian—the man who had fought alongside countless soldiers on the front lines—surely, he would be an ally in this matter.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Then…”

“Send word to Duke Triel that he is invited to the evening banquet.”

“Understood.”

“Then…”

Rael’s gaze shifted to the towering stack of documents on his desk.

As much as he wanted to rush off and meet Xian right this moment, there were far too many urgent matters to address.

Jer and Anon were greedily eyeing the empire’s lands, claiming merit for their contributions in the war. Daman was seizing the opportunity to siphon the empire’s wealth into his own country through every trick imaginable.

“…Hah.”

Ungrateful wretches.

Who do they think ended the war against the Demon King?

What right do they have to claim the glory?

If not for Xian, do they even realize what would have happened to them?

He wanted nothing more than to shout these words aloud, but diplomacy did not work that way. So, he swallowed his frustration.

“Can you summon Xian here?”

Even if he couldn’t get administrative help from him, just seeing his face would be a relief.

Just having him by his side would be enough to give him strength.

Hearing Rael’s words, Dia immediately left to bring Xian.

———————————————————————————

“You certainly turned the Holy Kingdom upside down.”

“Ah, well, they were so persistent. I had no other choice.”

The mansion of the Grepa Marquessate—one of the three great Marquess households and the dominant force in the western empire.

Sitting before its master, Fried Grepa, was his cousin, whom he hadn’t seen in quite some time.

“Hah...”

While Marquess Grepa  held authority outside the capital that rivaled even that of Duke Triel , he wasn’t sure how to handle the man sitting before him.

“Rios.”

“Fried.”

The two exchanged brief greetings, locking eyes in silence.

Rios was the first to break it.

“I heard that Daman sent a letter of protest to the empire.”

“...And how did you come by that information?”

“There is no place in this empire where Arhan’s eyes do not reach.”

Not Rael’s eyes, but Arhan’s.

“Since when did you plant people in the intelligence division?”

After the death of the previous emperor, Rios had been deposed by Triel and Rael, exiled to the Holy Kingdom in near-captivity. So when had he managed to infiltrate the empire’s intelligence network?

Rios chuckled at the question.

“Ah, I haven’t planted anyone in the intelligence division. But you do know there’s another place that shares their information, don’t you?”

“The Imperial Knights of the Sun.”

Rios nodded as if to confirm.

“Since I was a child, Frio  has been my man. The Imperial Knights of the Sun were practically Arhan’s private army from the beginning.”

Commander Giel had once served the late emperor, later pledging his allegiance to Rael.

The former vice commander, now dead, had followed Rael from the start. And Frio , then and now, served Rios.

Half of the Imperial Knights of the Sun, in essence, were still his.

“But that’s not what’s important right now. That someone like Daman dares to protest against the empire… In my father’s time, such a thing would have been unthinkable.”

“That’s true, but…”

Marquess Grepa  recalled the banquet that had recently taken place in the capital.

The current emperor was certainly intelligent, but his leniency gave too much room for fools to rise above their station.

For now, the imperial authority remained stable under the guardianship of the Holy Kingdom and Duke Triel, but discontent was brewing.

“I’ve even heard that a grand temple is being constructed in the capital. Tell me, is this still the empire, or is it becoming the Holy Kingdom?”

The construction of a grand temple wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

All the temple did was offer prayers to Kiria and provide healing for the wounded and sick among the empire’s people.

Before the temple, nobles with grave illnesses or injuries had to travel to the Holy Kingdom themselves. In a way, one could even argue that bringing the temple here was an achievement.

But Fried deliberately ignored that fact.

There were nobles in good health, like the prince before him, who saw things differently.

“And to top it off, there are even talks of ceding the eastern lands to another country.”

“That...”

It was true—Jer and Anon had both demanded control over the eastern territories.

The emperor had been outraged, and the council had even debated war, but Rael had insisted that continued war was unacceptable, saying he would “consider” the request.

Of course, no one actually believed he would relinquish the land.

But the fact that he had entertained the idea instead of outright rejecting it had given rise to such rumors.

“Because of that, our friends in the Lute family are extremely displeased.”

“So the Lute family is joining as well.”

Though they had lost much of their forces and territory, the Lute family remained a prestigious noble house.

The weight of a single noble house taking action was vastly different from two of them standing together.

“Even so, you know it’s still not enough.”

Even with two noble houses on their side, the opposing faction had the Holy Kingdom, Duke Triel, and the Fael family.

The Marquessate of Gior would likely remain neutral until they found an advantageous side to join—essentially making them a potential enemy.

The Imperial Knights and the northern Grand Duke would also be against them.

“That’s fine. We only need justification.”

“What? Do you even realize how vast the power gap is?”

Rios interrupted Fried, raising his hand. A black flame ignited above his palm.

“That is...”

Even just looking at it sent an ominous chill down Fried’s spine, and instinctively, his hand moved toward the sword at his waist.

“What… is that?”

Instead of answering, Rios grinned.

“There’s no need to worry about the power gap. Because I am here.”

————————————————————————————

“Your Majesty…!”

“Dia...?”

As always, Rael was in her office, reviewing documents when Dia suddenly burst in without even knocking. Startled, Rael turned to her.

“What’s the matter? Calm down first and—”

“A rebellion has begun.”

“...What?”

“The western and eastern regions have completely fallen. After Marquess Gior declared neutrality, he was slaughtered, and now even the southern nobles have joined the rebels.”

What…?

If the western, eastern, and southern regions had all fallen, then that meant everything except the capital itself was lost.

“Why am I only hearing about this now?!”

“I have no excuse, Your Majesty. It’s because Vice Commander Frio  and his faction within the Imperial Knights of the Sun suppressed the information at the source.”

“Frio …?”

Frio  had betrayed them? But why would he…

No.

No, it couldn’t be.

“And… we’ve just received word from the Holy Kingdom. Prince Rios Arhan escaped from the Holy Kingdom several weeks ago.”

“My brother...”

A civil war.

Those two words flashed through the princess’s mind.

“We don’t have time to sit around. What happened to Frio ?”

“He fought against Commander Giel and was ultimately defeated but managed to escape.”

So they lost him.

“Summon Lord Feltz, Duke Triel, Duke Fael, and Xian.”

The rebellion had to be stopped.

Rael didn’t know what her brother’s true intentions were, but even if he had gathered the western, eastern, and southern forces, he still fell far short of the capital’s military power.

They needed to organize their troops and—

“Your Majesty… the Guardian Duke has already left for the south.”

“What?”

“He said… the only way to end this war was to cut off its leader, and so he went to face Rios, the rebel prince, himself.”

————————————————————————————-

“Oh, Xian. You’re finally here.”

“...Do you know me?”

Xian stood face-to-face with the rebel, Rios.

Had he expected Xian’s arrival? From the moment he entered the outer barracks, not a single soldier had tried to stop him. Instead, they had guided him directly to Rios.

Did he actually believe he could sway him?

“...Rebel, Rios. I came here to cut you down.”

On his way here, Xian had witnessed the ruins of the southern region.

It was a sight all too familiar—one he had thought he would never see again after the Demon King had fallen.

The devastation of war.

As those memories resurfaced, his grip on his sword tightened.

“I figured as much. If you’re the Xian I know, this is exactly what you’d do.”

What was he talking about?

Why did this man act like he knew him so well?

As Xian was still processing his words, he suddenly sensed a presence behind him. Without thinking, he instinctively drew his sword and swung.

Boom!

A deafening explosion rang out as the assassin who had attempted to ambush him was sent flying.

‘That was close.’

Even though he had been engaged in conversation, the fact that someone had gotten this close without him noticing meant he had let his guard down.

“You should greet them properly. After all, you might have once fought alongside some of them.”

“What are you talking about?”

‘Once fought alongside…?’

Wait. Them?

At that moment, a barrage of curses rained down upon him, and a swordsman wielding a bloodstained demonic sword strode toward him.

“Assassins, sorcerers, and a demonic swordsman.”

Each of them was powerful enough to be recognized across the continent.

Where had Rios found warriors of this caliber?

But even so—

Not enough.

“My name is Xian, Guardian Duke of the Empire.”

With a light touch of his aura, the curses dissipated.

With a single horizontal slash of his sword, both the assassin and the demonic swordsman were sent hurtling backward.

“And the warrior who slew the Demon King.”

Without hesitation, Xian charged toward Rios.

The three warriors who had fallen scrambled to block him once more.

————————————————————————————

Clap. Clap. Clap.

“Magnificent. You truly live up to your title, warrior.”

Rios applauded as if he were truly impressed.

He had trained them with great care, armed them with the best artifacts he could obtain, and yet they hadn’t even managed to wound the warrior, let alone defeat him.

“I had high hopes for the demonic swordsman, but I suppose it still wasn’t enough?”

Rios’s lighthearted remark received no response.

Xian continued stepping forward.

The fact that Rios had managed to conceal warriors of this caliber was surprising.

But now that they had fallen, this was the end.

With the prince— the rebellion’s focal point—eliminated, the civil war would cease.

Or at least, that’s what the warrior believed—until a sudden sense of foreboding made him halt.

A chill ran down his spine.

There had been no energy emanating from Rios before, but now, something utterly terrifying seeped from him.

“Your instincts are as sharp as ever.”

Rios snapped his fingers.

Black flames ignited over the fallen sorcerer, assassin, and demonic swordsman.

And then, despite their lifeless bodies—bodies whose deaths Xian had confirmed—one by one, they began to rise.

“Undead…?”

Rios smirked.

“Now then… Phase two begins.”

With that amused remark, he watched Xian intently.

And for the first time—just for a moment—the image of Rios overlapped with the Demon King himself.

————————————————————————————

“Hah…”

He had lost a lot of blood.

How many hours had he been fighting? He had no idea.

He had tried to ignore the undead and go straight for Rios, but the strange black flames surrounding him acted as a shield, preventing his sword from reaching its target.

If he had enough time, he could have gathered enough strength for a decisive strike that ignored the flames entirely.

But he didn’t have time.

“Tch.”

The stifling poison from the sorcerer—no, the lich—was making it harder to breathe.

He had long surpassed the stage where he could be merely poisoned, but in a place that had become completely saturated with deadly toxins, even breathing required a significant amount of aura.

He had managed to completely annihilate the assassin, ensuring that he wouldn’t rise again.

But the demonic swordsman—now reborn as an undead—was a different matter.

He was strong enough to remind Xian of the Demon King’s generals.

The situation was dire.

He had to retreat.

He needed to inform them that Rios had become a dark sorcerer, request aid from the Holy Kingdom, and return with allies.

Just as he made up his mind, Rios—who had remained seated in his black throne until now—finally stood up.

“Tsk. Struggling against mere trash? Looks like Rael has no talent for nurturing warriors.”

“...What?”

“How did you even defeat the Demon King? At this rate, you’re weaker than him.”

What nonsense was he spouting?

The Demon King had been defeated through the combined efforts of his allies.

The Saintess’s light had weakened the Demon King’s darkness.

The Elven Princess and the Beastkin heir had blocked his deadly attacks.

The Imperial Knight had paved the way forward.

The Demon King was not a being one could defeat alone.

Yet, the man standing before him—

He looked genuinely disappointed.

Why?

“Enough. Let’s end this little game.”

“What the hell are you—”

Before Xian could even finish his sentence, darkness consumed his vision.

Sensing something terrible, he tried to leap away in the opposite direction—but the darkness repelled him, sending him flying backward.

He immediately drew his sword and attempted to cut through the encroaching void, but—

“Halt…”

The lich’s curse froze his movements.

“...”

The demonic swordsman’s blade came crashing down.

“It’s over.”

Xian managed to deflect the strike—only for black flames to engulf him entirely.

That was the last thing he remembered.