SWDnovel Chapter 404
Chapter 404
Chapter 404
Rumors spread throughout the capital that a second attack by the demon god cultists, followers of the Demon King, had occurred in Raziern and caused a tremendous number of casualties.
The news intensified public fear, since these demon god cultists, in league with the remnants of the Demon King’s forces, were living among humans.
Stories of the curse of the Demon Gods causing the dead to rise and devour the living, with those who were killed rising again to consume more of the living, filled people with terror.
Although the witch hunts and other extreme situations in Raziern did not occur in the capital, people trembled in fear just knowing how terrifying the demon god cultists could be if they chose to attack.
The tales of Death Knights—just their name was terrifying enough—appearing in cities where people lived further heightened the fear. However, not all stories were of despair. Alongside the chaos, stories spread of two heroes appearing at the scene, each wielding holy relics.
A man wielding Alsbringer and a woman wielding Tiamata... The story of the apostles of Alse and Ouen appearing in despair-ridden Raziern to slaughter the resurrected corpses, demon god cultists, and Death Knights spread alongside the tales of slaughter.
It was true that Reinhart and Olivia had done these deeds, but it was the imperial support troops and Shanapell that had proved decisive in resolving the situation. However, the empire exaggerated the achievements of Reinhart and Olivia beyond reality.
—Alsbringer... that’s the hero’s sword!
—And Tiamata too...
—The Great Gods haven’t abandoned us!
As fear spread, hope followed closely behind.
If the previous attacks by the remnants of the Demon King’s forces had caused fear to spread, the appearance of the two champions of the gods in the Raziern attack instilled a hope stronger than fear in the public.
A hero had appeared to face the Demon King. Two, in fact. Their exact identities were not widely known, but rumors spread gradually. Some knew that the man was Reinhart, a second-year student of the Temple’s Royal Class, and the woman was a sixth-year student of the same class.
This truth, first known to a few, soon became known to all. While panic threatened to overtake people’s hearts, the sudden appearance of the two champions held them steady. The rumors of the distant Raziern attack brought more relief than terror.
The attack by the demon god cultists was even being received as news of hope rather than disaster. After all, faceless people had died in an unknown and faraway place.
The rumor that adversaries to the Demon King had appeared would quickly grow into the rumor that the Demon King would soon be vanquished. However, those who knew the reality understood that no matter how strong Reinhart and Olivia were, the two of them could not possibly be a match for the Demon King. Of course, even this was not the truth.
However, whether hope was false or true did not matter. If a false hope could sustain peace, it was not that different from true hope.
Just as the Hero Cult prevented people from falling into despair by providing a belief that would never be realized, the idea that adversaries of the Demon King might not actually be able to face the Demon King was irrelevant. The belief that they would defeat the Demon King was enough for people to endure the present.
And so, a few days passed.
.
.
Within the Winter Palace...
“...”
Vertus sat in his office, deep in thought. Although the emperor had approved of the attack on Raziern, Vertus was the one who had orchestrated it. He was fully aware that there would inevitably be civilian casualties. However, he had not anticipated the subsequent damage, especially not in this manner.
The Demon King was an enemy of the imperial family. It was almost expected that he would become enraged after failing to make a connection with the Revolutionary Forces, and even being used by the imperial family.
On the face of it, the demon god cultists had appeared to finish the job that the Demon King had started. However, since the first Raziern attack had not been orchestrated by the Demon King, the claim that they were there to finish the job was nonsensical. If the demon god cultists were truly part of the Demon King’s forces, they should have known that the Raziern incident had not been part of the Demon King’s plan.
Therefore, the demon god cultists likely had no direct connection with the Demon King.
‘Are they truly unrelated?’ Vertus wondered.
Perhaps the Demon King, angered by what had happened previously, had deliberately orchestrated this event.
The first Raziern attack had been disguised as the Demon King’s doing, but the actual damage done was insignificant. Although some important figures lost their lives in the event, the death toll among the civilian population was not very high, and so the Raziern attack was seen as a failure on the demons’ part.
The Demon King might have been angered by the fact that the damage from the attack that had been disguised as his doing was insignificant. He might have believed that his forces would be laughed at for failing to destroy a small provincial capital.
Therefore, he might have orchestrated this event to demonstrate what would happen if the demons mounted a serious attack in force. He would not want people to underestimate him and believe that his forces could only manage to mount a modest attack.
Perhaps the claim that the demon god cultists were carrying out the Demon King’s orders was not entirely unfounded. They could have been instructed to appear at the site of the disguised attack and wreak havoc on Raziern to warn Vertus about what could happen when the imperial family used the image of the demons recklessly.
The Demon King had spared Owen de Getmora, but took revenge by destroying Raziern. If this was indeed the Demon King’s doing, then Vertus had paid the price. If this was the case, though, the problem became much larger.
Vertus had assumed that the remnants of the Demon King’s forces were few in number. He had estimated that while there were strong individuals, they were not numerous.
‘But if his forces also include demon god cultists...’
The number of demon god cultists could not compare to followers of the Five Great Gods. However, they included priests who commanded top-tier undead like Death Knights while believing in the Five Demon Gods.
Given what had transpired, it meant there was a powerful high priest within the ranks of the Demon God Cult capable of casting a curse over an entire small nation’s capital.
A terror attack on the scale of a small city... It was simple proof that the remnants of the Demon King’s forces were ready for war.
If the Demon King was able to command the Demon God Cult, then he had gained an army. If the curse of the dead rising to kill the living was used in the middle of a battlefield, it could turn the tide of battle no matter the scale, because of the damage it could do to the soldiers’ morale. It could cause soldiers to turn and flee from battle.
‘Whether or not they had orders from the Demon King isn’t important.’
It did not matter what this Demon God Cult really was. The Demon God Cult already posed a significant security threat to the empire and had to be eliminated.
Vertus did not feel guilt because this had occurred due to his own misjudgment.
‘Rather, it’s fortunate. It’s better to know that such forces exist somewhere in the empire before it’s too late.’
It was fortunate to discover that an anti-empire force aligned diametrically opposite to the Church of the Five Great Gods, one that was capable of such actions, was hiding somewhere within the empire, before their power grew even stronger.
The current situation on the continent was one in which rumors were spreading that the Demon God Cult was expanding their influence everywhere thanks to the Demon King’s disturbances. Because of this, people who were engulfed by fear were turning to a belief in the Demon Gods and the Demon King and seeking salvation from them.
A tumor that would have grown larger if left alone had revealed itself. It was not a crisis. It was an unprecedented opportunity. It was time to seize the exposed tail of the Demon God Cult and uproot the whole cult entirely.
Knock, knock.
—That’s...
—Yeah... He’s Alse’s Champion...
I was doing classes related to my major in internal Royal Class courses, and while Ellen and I were taking lessons from Sabioleen Tana, I was, of course, also attending general classes.
With the name Reinhart clearly on the attendance list, I couldn’t help but attract the attention of many people.
The way the general class students looked at me changed completely, and both the boys and girls, as well as the teachers, looked at me with eyes full of reverence.
It wasn’t just within the classes.
“...”
“Hey, you’re quite popular...” Riana mumbled absentmindedly as she walked with me down the street.
I wasn’t out for a stroll or anything; I was just on my way back to the dormitory after finishing a supernatural power training class.
Murmur, murmur.
As Riana and I walked together, a crowd of students followed us, whispering behind our backs.
—They must be dating.
—Even heroes need to have relationships.
—They could just be friends.
—You think so?
—No, I’m pretty sure he’s dating last year’s Miss Temple. I’m sure of it.
—Really?
.
.
“...”
It felt indescribably like being an idol dragging around a fan club, with a crowd trailing behind us at a distance.
I felt utterly pissed off in real time.
Riana’s face seemed to be turning pale from all the attention, and she was looking increasingly bewildered.
‘Why are they following us? Why? There’s literally nothing you gain from following us!’
—Sir! Mr. Hero! Please look this way!
Being called a hero in person made my skin crawl.
I finally exploded.
“Hey, you bastards! Go home, take a shower, and go to bed! Why are you following us and making a fuss, huh?!”
‘Looks like a comment about the hero’s awful personality will be added to the rumors.’
Once we returned to the dormitory, Riana declared that she couldn’t walk with me anymore.
***
People casually calling me a “hero” was more than just cringe-inducing—it was downright horrifying. I never expected to take this kind of mental damage.
It was incredibly hard to endure the people hovering around me all the time, now that their expectations had turned into actual interest. I even ended up with stalker-like fans who followed me around despite not having any connection to any of my classes.
And even worse...
“Let’s duel for Alsbringer.”
I even had crazy people coming up to me, filled with baseless confidence, and challenging me to duels.
“I’ll test if you’re worthy of being Alsbringer’s owner.”
Whether they were attention-seekers or just overly confident, I couldn’t tell.
“What the hell are you saying, you dumbass?”
Whack!
“Ugh!”
“If you’re craving attention, go take a dump in the Main Street fountain, you crazy bastard. You’ll get all the attention you could ever want.”
Smack!
“Ugh!”
Apparently, since I didn’t look particularly intimidating like some human tank, there were always people around trying to see if they could take me down.
“Ahh! So cool and charismatic!” some girls cried out from behind me.
‘... I want to kill myself.’
I was realizing in real-time that being a “hero” was a profession in which mental strength was crucial in a different sense.