Chapter 457

There were hardly any intact countries. The special forces led by Ellen Artorius succeeded in restoring the Lambator province. Berthus nodded slowly in the throne room. The previous emperor, Neliode de Gradiaus, had died. Berthus inherited the throne without a proper coronation ceremony. He was waging a war for the fate of humanity against monsters that were killing humans indiscriminately. There was no negotiation or diplomacy possible, only mutual destruction. Everyone had some responsibility for this situation, including the demon king himself, his subordinates who activated Akasha to save him, and the empire that did not believe the demon king's words. Only a few people knew the full story. Despite the desperate situation, there was progress. Savioleene Tana's special forces succeeded in destroying the warp gates in the ruined city of Hashpel in the Highg Kingdom. Ellen Artorius was leading a special forces unit to eliminate monsters in a ruined city, while Savioleene Tana was carrying out a more dangerous mission to destroy the warp gates and escape. Both were playing important roles in restoring the region. They were the two strong pillars supporting humanity in despair. Ellen Artorius was believed to be the savior of humanity, and some members of the Yongsagyo believed in her as a prophet. The empire's power had declined, and many vassal states had collapsed. Translation:

Maintaining their lineage, only a few key cities and capitals were barely protected in the remaining intact countries. All warp gates across the continent must be destroyed and the monsters from the other world that have scattered throughout the continent must be eliminated. The reconstruction of humanity begins after this. But will that day ever come? "Reinhardt..." Berthus gritted his teeth. "Yes, I was wrong. I was wrong about everything, from the beginning to the end." He couldn't believe it, but he had to stand at the crossroads of humanity's downfall and reconstruction every moment. The imperial capital, Gradium, was full of shantytowns filled with refugees from vast areas. Those who survived the monsters' clutches and the rescued people couldn't be left behind, so they had to be brought to the capital first. They had to survive somehow in various parts of the capital. Relief supplies were insufficient, and inevitably, criminals emerged because there was no bread to give them. The shantytowns outside the capital's borders were therefore a vast criminal zone. They could suddenly turn into bandits, and it was uncertain when they would attack the palace. What could powerless people do by gathering at the palace? If they killed all those bandits, where could the empire find its legitimacy? After the gate incident, the size of Gradium had more than tripled since the refugees had gathered there. Monsters that had come out of the gates and roamed the land had frequently attacked the outskirts of the capital. And that was not the only problem. The refugees in the shantytowns were any refugees who had flowed into the capital in any way, and most of them had received help from the empire. Soon, many of them had experienced Ellen Artorius's leadership firsthand. Many of those who were rescued by Ellen after she defeated hundreds of monsters believed in the Yongsagyo. "The persecution of the followers of Tu'an and Al's is... getting worse." "Yes." Tiamata and Al'sbringa had chosen the demon king. Therefore, the followers of the Yongsagyo treated the followers of Tu'an and Al's as if they were followers of the demon king, even though they did not like other major religions. It was common for the followers of these two religions to be hit by stones and killed, and it was not uncommon for them to insult the Tu'an priests who were dispatched to treat the wounded. The intangible faith was gradually taking root in the public, thanks to Ellen Artorius's strong presence. And another problem arose from the faith of the Yongsagyo. "Your Majesty... I know this is a sensitive topic, but..." Berthus narrowed his eyes as if he knew what the topic was. "Has there been another protest demanding the release of Charlotte?" "Yes." The enraged followers of the Yongsagyo wanted a sacrifice. Charlotte de Gradiaus, who was clearly cursed by the demon king. The followers of the Yongsagyo are demanding the death of Charlotte de Gradiaus, believing her to be a collaborator of the demon king. The followers of Tu'an and Al's are being persecuted as well. Ellen Artorius's strong presence is causing the intangible faith to take root in the public. Berthus realizes he must stand at the crossroads of humanity's downfall and reconstruction. In the next part, Berthus visits Charlotte de Gradiaus, who is cursed by the demon king. Charlotte is unable to leave her room due to her appearance as a demon. Berthus explains to her that the situation was not entirely the demon king's doing and that Linehart truly wanted to help humanity. "That wouldn't help Charlotte," he said, but ultimately, it was his biggest mistake. It was as if he regretted some of the words he had spoken. Charlotte lost consciousness while sobbing without even being able to properly breathe. Since then, Charlotte began to act as if she had lost her ability to speak, except for the minimum words, possibly due to the sins she had committed with her words. However, Charlotte could not come out of the bedroom in the Spring Palace and did not even try to come out. Berthus could guess that it was because of her regret for the many curses she had uttered to the demon king, feeling betrayed by him. The crowd wants Charlotte's death. As hatred towards the demon king grows, so does the hatred towards Charlotte. If the threshold is reached where the people cannot kill the demon king, Charlotte may really have to become a sacrifice. Berthus held Charlotte's hand, which had become thin and weak. He was weak. "Brother..." "...". He was a hated rival to the point of wanting to kill him, but at some point, he became pitiful and could no longer hate him. Two years after the Gate incident. Berthus now wanted to protect Charlotte somehow. But. Someday, Berthus may have to hand Charlotte over to the crowd with his own hands. Even though he no longer wants to kill her, he may be forced to make the decision to kill Charlotte with his own hands. Charlotte and the Empire. If he weighs the two, Berthus is in a position where he must choose the Empire. The Emperor must be protected. "I'm having a hard time these days too..." Berthus left those words and left. After Berthus left, Charlotte was looking out the window of the Spring Palace quietly. Even if the world is destroyed. Even if the fate of humanity is at stake. Even if the dark clouds cover her heart and try to swallow her. The sunlight was brilliant. * * * While Ellen takes on the role of humanity's hope and fights monsters, other Temple students were also deployed for various missions in battle. -Kyaaah! "Hup!" Ludwig dodged the attack of the three-headed snake rushing towards him, slipping on the ground, and swung his sword towards the snake's head. -Squeak! Translation:

Ludwig, who was wrapped in burning blue magic all over his body, gave his arm to the snake that tried to bite him when he knocked out one of its heads. He put his hand into the snake's mouth and pulled out its tongue with his burning blue magic while cutting off the other remaining head. The three-headed snake's body began to wriggle on the ground, and Ludwig stepped back, sweating coldly. Meanwhile, Temple students like Ellen were fighting monsters on various missions. As Ludwig dodged the attack of a giant snake, a flying monster with sharp claws began to fall from the sky to catch him. However, just before the monster's claws touched Ludwig, flames struck the monster's head. Due to the explosion and shock that followed, the monster crashed into the ground to Ludwig's right and writhed in pain. Ludwig immediately stabbed the monster's head with his sword, and the monster stopped struggling. Ludwig looked around, wiping the blood and oil off his sword. Although not all Temple students were assigned dangerous missions like Ellen, they were all deployed on the battlefield. Ludwig commented on the strange creatures that were neither ghosts nor monsters, but rather spirits floating next to Delphin Isard. A new form of spirit with flames surrounding it had just struck the flying monster. During the Gate incident, Delphin, who was originally a talented archer, participated in the battle using a bow. However, when Ludwig was in danger of losing his life to the monster, Delphin summoned a spirit to protect him from the attack. Neither Delphin nor the Empire knew what spirits were. They could only speculate that it was a power similar to supernatural abilities that could not be explained. Delphin did not know why the spirits were helping him. The Empire was interested in spirit magic, but they did not have time to research it. Delphin Isard, the only spirit user in the world, summoned spirits of wind, fire, and lightning to fight. Ludwig headed to the next battlefield with his sword in hand, passing over the ruins of buildings and the corpses of dead soldiers. He gritted his teeth, thinking of Reinhardt. There are still many who do not know the controlled truth. Therefore, the world is overflowing with those who hate the Demon King. Meanwhile, masts began to rise one by one on the horizon. "How many were there last time I saw them?" "Probably... around 800 people?" Harry replied, shaking his head in response to my question. The Temple students were fighting monsters and rescuing civilians on various missions. The Empire was interested in spirit magic but didn't have time to research it. The refugees were being escorted to the port of Port Mokna and then sent to the Edina Islands. The continent was filled with displaced people and refugees, and the army was rescuing them and sending them to the Edina Islands. The Edina Islands were not a normal place, with demons and monsters living there. However, the people of the islands were used to the sight of demons and monsters. The refugees had heard rumors of the hellish continent they had fled from, so they were grateful to be safe on the islands. Ludwig and Harry were waiting at the dock in Lazark, overseeing the arrival of a large refugee ship. They saw a mermaid who informed them that the food they had requested was ready on the west coast. The mermaids were not hostile towards humans and were willing to help Ludwig. In this situation where food is always scarce, they were responsible for collecting marine food resources, which was much more efficient than fishermen, and were essentially responsible for the food situation on Edina Island, especially in Lazark. The mermaid with red hair in the form of a woman quickly disappeared into the sea, swimming through the water like an arrow. Harry stared blankly at the sight of the mermaid slipping into the sea. "Mermaids...they're really pretty," he said. The mermaids were even more beautiful creatures than I had imagined. Of course, they always appeared half-naked and I had to nag them to cover up even a little when I met them. They had just appeared with something like seaweed on their chests. Anyway, it's true that mermaids are pretty.