Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 429

Some time before, during the daytime...

Charlotte and Ellen slowly approached Radia Schmidt, and Radia Schmidt slowly retreated.

“...”

Radia was not aware of the situation. She recognized the princess’s face, but did not know Ellen’s. However, she knew they were Reinhart’s classmates.

The two had suddenly appeared at the place where the Vampire Council met.

Radia’s mind was racing. She could not understand what purpose had brought them to Epiacs, or what evidence they were after. Moreover, Radia Schmidt was the only one left in Epiacs.

The two girls, who seemed to have a certainty about them, approached.

“Do you know Reinhart?” one of the girls approaching her asked.

At those words, Radia Schmidt clenched her teeth.

The fact that Reinhart was the Demon King might be revealed.

“It seems you know him,” the girl said.

The girl’s voice held a note of despair as it echoed pitifully in Radia’s ears, as if she had already gained some certainty from Radia’s inability to answer.

Reinhart’s identity would be exposed. Eleris’s lord and the Demon King Reinhart...

If Radia asked for help, these two would surely rescue her from this situation.

She had been kidnapped by the forces of the Demon Realm and was isolated in this polar region, unable to leave.

And through them, she would finally be able to return to where she came from.

But what exactly was she hoping for there?

There was nothing precious to return to, and with a heart that wanted to deny her faith, what would she hope for and live for in that world?

Living here, with even a small bit of warmth, seemed better.

Radia could not understand why she had to leave.

However, these two would inform the world of what they had seen. Reinhart’s identity would be exposed, and Eleris would also face a miserable fate.

Radia did not serve Reinhart as her lord. However, she had survived a situation in which death had been inevitable thanks to Eleris’s plea.

And if Radia, whom Eleris had spared, became a liability, leading to Reinhart’s identity being exposed and his death, what sort of guilt would that kind vampire feel?

Eleris would eventually realize that her clumsy mercy had led to her lord’s death, and Radia could not imagine the pain of that realization.

If Radia’s existence posed a threat to Reinhart, Eleris would blame herself and reproach herself for it.

That face that always held a smile would be distorted with sadness, despair, and pain.

‘If my existence brings about Reinhart’s death and Eleris’s despair, then I must prevent that from happening,’ Radia thought.

Radia did not know why those two girls had come to this place or how they had found it.

However, they could not be allowed to return.

Wooong!

Radia Schmidt’s body became enveloped in holy light.

She said nothing, since anything she said could become a clue.

“I’m sorry, girls.”

Radia only offered those words and closed her mouth.

Srrrng.

Flap!

The girl who was approaching her held a silver sword in her right hand and wore a sunlit cloak over her shoulder, as if she had expected Radia’s response.

‘A holy relic? Not just one, but two?’

Radia clenched her teeth.

‘What kind of person is she to possess two relics?’

Before that question could be resolved, Radia witnessed an even more unbelievable sight.

The princess behind her was enveloped in a black aura, and quickly took on a bizarre form, as if shrouded in darkness.

The princess raised her index finger to the sky.

Ssssssk!

A spear of darkness, as if forged from the shadows, appeared in the air above the princess’s fingertip.

The princess pointed her finger at Radia.

‘This is dangerous.’

Kwakwakwaang!

As Radia leaped away, dozens of those dark spears struck the floor of the ancient castle with a thunderous roar.

Not only was she facing the bizarre and ominous power of the princess, but a girl with two holy relics as well.

“...”

Radia stared at the two girls.

They were not opponents to be taken lightly.

‘Is this going to be my grave?’

The white light enveloping Radia’s body gradually turned red.

Kururung!

A special power used only by the holy knights of Alse... Berserk.

Radia Schmidt was burning her life... for Eleris.

***

Radia Schmidt was the champion of the previous year’s Open Tournament.

Updat𝒆d fr𝑜m freewebnøvel.com.

Of course, her victory had only been gained because Olivia Lanche had forfeited in the finals, but Radia Schmidt’s skills were not to be underestimated.

Although she had not attended the graduation ceremony, she was still a graduate of the Temple Royal Class.

Among the handful of carefully-selected talents, she was at the top of her class.

In other words, her skills were already comparable to those possessed by the upper ranks of active holy knights.

Her prowess had surpassed Ellen Artorius’s long ago, just like Olivia’s.

Moreover, she wielded the Divine Power of Alse, which was specialized for combat, and she had also enhanced herself with the power of Berserk, burning her life force rather than using ordinary Mana Reinforcement.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

Ellen was flung back by the force of a bare fist colliding with Lament. She rolled across the floor of the ancient castle.

Kwakakakang!

Radia dodged the dark spears Charlotte summoned with near-acrobatic movements, relying solely on her vision. Simultaneously, she charged forward and threw a punch at Charlotte.

Swish!

Charlotte, who had hidden herself in the darkness, reappeared about ten paces away.

Radia had been surprised by the sudden visitors for a brief moment, and although Ellen and Charlotte wanted to talk, Radia Schmidt was trying to kill them without saying a word.

Ellen, who had been thrown to the ground, staggered back to her feet.

Radia Schmidt charged at her with almost lightning speed, delivering a spinning kick with her full weight behind it.

“Hup!”

Thud!

Lapelt’s defensive mechanism blocked the blow, but Ellen couldn’t completely absorb the impact, so she was pushed a few steps to the side.

Even though the flames from Lapelt deflected the blow, the recoil only sent Radia a few steps back. She readjusted her stance.

The upperclassmen of the Royal Class were all monsters.

Even with the assistance of two relics and working together with Charlotte, who was using an unidentified power, Ellen was being pushed back.

There were too many things Ellen couldn’t understand.

It was a fact that Reinhart had taken Radia Schmidt to Elena’s scroll shop. And Radia Schmidt was now at the place that had what she presumed to be Elena’s statue.

However, this same Radia Schmidt was now suddenly trying to kill them.

There were too many things that didn’t make sense.

She couldn’t understand the situation, but one thing was certain: Reinhart was not something like a hero of humanity.

Kurung!

Ellen charged at Radia, swinging Lament, and Radia deflected the divine sword with her upper arm and drove her fist towards Ellen’s solar plexus.

Kwakang!

However, a dark spear flying in from the side altered the trajectory of that fist.

Radia Schmidt twisted her body, wrapping Lament under her arm that she had used to deflect the initial strike.

Wielding Alse’s Divine Power, Mana Reinforcement, and Berserk, Radia’s physical abilities were impossible for Ellen to match.

Swish!

In a single twisting motion, Ellen, along with Lament, was pulled into Radia’s reach.

Bang!

“Ugh...!”

Radia drove her fist into Ellen’s solar plexus again as she was pulled in. Ellen lost her sword and was flung away by the blow. Radia leaped toward her with the intent to crush her head.

Whoosh!

Bang! Kwakang! Kakakakang!

A wave of dark spears materialized and targeted Radia’s side, bouncing her away.

“Argh... Ugh... Ugh...”

Ellen staggered as she tried to get up and retched. She couldn’t even stand properly.

Radia Schmidt, who had been sent flying into the ancient castle’s wall by the impact of the dark spears, rose again, covered in stone dust, as if she hadn’t taken any damage.

“This is crazy... What a monster...” muttered Charlotte, who was wrapped in darkness, momentarily forgetting her own state. Radia Schmidt was overwhelming both her and Ellen.

Two relics, and the power of the Demon King...

Charlotte couldn’t wield the Demon King’s power as destructively as she had during her mindless rampage, and given the nature of her power, which became stronger at night, she was definitely not at full strength.

Still, it was the power of the Demon King, and a single elite graduate of the Royal Class was overwhelming it.

Charlotte was experiencing, in a way she never wanted to, the sort of monsters the empire was raising at the Temple.

The power of the Temple, the empire, and the greatness of humanity... She was momentarily lost in awe of it all, but not for too long, as that power was trying to kill her right then.

“...”

Radia remained silent, as if she didn’t want to give anything away by uttering any words.

If she couldn’t kill them and ended up dying, anything she said could potentially stir up trouble.

The silent crusader approached them like a terror.

Ellen staggered as she got back up. She had Lament for attack and Lapelt for defense.

With the assistance of those two relics, she essentially had the two characteristics that defined a Swordmaster.

Was Radia just too strong, or was she just not capable of fully utilizing the power of the relics?

Ellen Artorius didn’t know.

She didn’t know that Radia Schmidt was burning away her life force to fuel her power.

But if Ellen died, she wouldn’t know the truth.

Why things happened, why they had to happen, who exactly he was.

Why he cherished her so much.

She didn’t know, and she would die without knowing.

“No...” Ellen said softly.

She didn’t know why Radia Schmidt was trying to kill her. But at this rate, Ellen would die.

Even with two relics, she would die without being able to do anything about the crusader in front of her.

If she died, everything would be over.

“I... I can’t die here.”

Ellen gritted her teeth as she watched Radia Schmidt approaching.

What did she have to do to defeat such a powerful opponent as Radia Schmidt? Even with Mana Reinforcement and two powerful relics, she couldn’t defeat that monster.

Ellen gripped Lament tightly, staring at Radia Schmidt, who was enveloped in a red aura.

With her skills and her usage of Berserk, Radia Schmidt was beyond what even Olivia Lanche could easily handle. If the fight between those two had continued on, no one could have predicted what the outcome would have been.

Radia Schmidt took a step forward.

She wasn’t preparing to leap.

Zzeok!

The force generated just by Radia’s stomp caused cracks to spiderweb across the ground, and the walls of the ancient castle began to crack as well.

Crack... Crackle...

The walls of the ancient castle, which had developed cracks, started to collapse.

Rumble...

With a single stomp, the floor and walls of the ancient castle began to crumbler. The ceiling collapsed, causing large chunks of stone to fall.

Bang! Crash! Bang!

The dark ancient castle was bathed in white light.

Whooosh!

A cold, harsh blizzard swept in, turning everything white.

‘Did she instinctively realize that my power weakens in the light...?’ Charlotte thought.

Charlotte gritted her teeth, hiding in the darkness as she watched the collapsing ceiling.

Amidst the fierce winter wind let in by the partial collapse of the ancient castle, Radia Schmidt charged at Ellen.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

Bang!

With a single punch, Ellen was flung into the rubble of the collapsed ancient castle.

“Ugh... Argh...”

Their opponent was too strong.

She charged in and delivered a barrage of attacks without even giving Ellen a chance to respond.

Bang! Kwakang! Kang! Clang!

If it weren’t for Lapelt’s protection, the fierceness and intensity of Radia’s attacks would already have reduced Ellen to a bloody mess.

Kwakang!

Radia flinched as she was struck by the dark spear Charlotte shot, but she wasn’t forced aside by it like before.

The ceiling’s collapse had driven away the darkness, significantly weakening Charlotte’s power.

Bang!

“Argh!”

Ellen rolled to the side, barely dodging the punch that had been aimed at her face, then quickly retreated and assumed a stance.

If she stalled for time, Radia’s life would soon run out, but Ellen didn’t know that.

Since she did not know that, she only sensed that, if things continued the way they were going, both Charlotte and she would meet their deaths at the hands of Radia Schmidt’s unexpected hostility.

At the rate things were going, they both would die.

She didn’t want to die. There were so many things she needed to know, so many words she needed to hear, and so many questions she wanted to ask.

She would have to die with all those things left incomplete.

She didn’t want that.

She feared and hated the idea of dying without knowing the truth.

Ellen gripped Lament once more.

If she didn’t want to die, she had to win.

And to win, she had to be strong.

If she was going to lose and die because her opponent was stronger than her, she had to become stronger.

Ellen Artorius steadied her breath and recalled Sabioleen Tana’s words.

“Get used to concentrating Mana Reinforcement around the entire body, then to increasingly smaller units, until you can concentrate it at an extreme point. Precisely.”

She repeated those words to herself as she faced the glowing red crusader approaching her.

Woooooo!

The fierce northern blizzard blew around her, threatening to tear her skin apart.

“Focus.”

She concentrated all her mind.

“Eventually, you’ll be able to reinforce only your fingertips with mana.”

She didn’t know if she could do it.

But she didn’t want to die.

There were things she needed to know, and words she needed to hear.

Forgiveness and revenge, or perhaps understanding—she had not reached the point where she could do any of that.

She couldn’t die without knowing where the end of all the stories led and where all the truths flowed.

If she didn’t want to die, she had to win.

And if she couldn’t win as she was...

“Once you surpass yourself.”

... she had to become someone who could win.

With a deep inhale, Ellen calmed her breath and focused her mind to perceive even the smallest fragments of mana within her body.

If she didn’t want to die, she couldn’t afford to lose, and to avoid losing, she had to become stronger than her opponent.

Ellen had only one path to become stronger than her opponent.

To break through the wall and take the next step.

Beyond using and getting used to Mana Reinforcement, she had to achieve the next stage.

“When you reach the extremes of mana manipulation, such things become possible.”

The burning aura of Mana Reinforcement flowing through Ellen’s body gradually stabilized.

The blue light became so faint and thin, as if sustaining Mana Reinforcement had become impossible.

It transformed into a weak glow that seemed just about to be extinguished.

It hadn’t disappeared.

It was being compressed.

The mana, compressed to the extreme, stopped its unnecessary fluctuations, focused solely for the purpose of defense.

And then, blue mana flowed along her sword, as if Lament itself had caught fire.

Radia Schmidt stopped in her tracks.

“What is this...?”

Something impossible was happening right before her eyes.

The mana flames on Lament quickly engulfed the entire blade.

Another breath.

White mist from Ellen’s mouth dissipated in the winter wind.

It wasn’t the girl’s body that was burning with mana; it was the sword she was holding.

“That is the condition necessary to become a Master.”

Swoosh!

“...!”

Ellen Artorius thrust Lament towards Radia Schmidt’s heart.