Chapter 161: Deon Hart, Traitor of Humanity

He knew he’d have to let slide the crucial, unexpected attack, even as he saw the tempting opening this statement offered for a counter-attack.

Just as he thought.

– Hah… how can you trust a demon’s word…!

– I, a human, representing the Demon Realm, swear on my name.

Deon’s lips curled slightly at the sight of his opponent taking the bait so easily.

In the silence that followed his weighty statement, a voice echoed out.

– The rumor that demons can’t be trusted was baseless from the start. Wasn’t that rumor the reason you never even considered negotiating with demons? To be swayed by such baseless gossip is truly laughable.

– …….

– The Demon King accepted me, a human. He treats me generously, without betrayal or going back on his word.

Since the news of Deon Hart’s betrayal spread, rumors about him had circulated endlessly.

Mostly, the rumors were about his treatment in the Demon Realm. It was strange that his name, once of an Empire’s hero, was barely heard after he supposedly sided with demons.

Rumors of him being betrayed by demons, imprisoned underground, or even killed were prevalent, but those would be overturned starting today.

Stigma Primiero, who had been sitting upright with his sword planted like a staff on the floor, his hands clasped over the hilt, chuckled softly as he watched the screen. Despite the smile, he shook his head in disbelief.

“You’re wrong, junior. A promise made in your name isn’t a basis for trust.”

As expected, a steady voice began to calmly refute him.

– First of all.

– …….

– Someone’s reputation depends on society’s perception of them and the value the promisor places on themselves.

As if understanding the meaning of those words, a crack appeared on Deon Hart’s face on the screen for a moment. It vanished in an instant, returning to his usual expression, but Stigma, who was intently watching his junior, didn’t miss it.

Perhaps even the one refuting on the screen noticed it.

– You are a traitor to humanity. Society’s perception of you is at rock bottom. And even you yourself….

The man, Paul, paused there, staring intently at the screen as if to scrutinize Deon Hart’s expression.

– …you don’t seem to think much of yourself, do you?

– …….

– How can anyone trust a promise made by someone like that?

Point taken.

Deon Hart fell silent. Not missing the chance, Paul pressed his advantage.

– You said the Demon King accepted you, a human, and treats you generously? Well, that’s understandable. You’re closer to a demon than a human, after all.

Lies.

– Red eyes, white hair, pale skin. An appearance that doesn’t suit a human, plus cruel hands! Even demons would feel less repulsion.

He had to refute it.

Deon opened his mouth to speak, but Paul was one step ahead.

– More than anything, aren’t you the betrayer of familial bonds, who killed his own family and even his last remaining brother! Who would consider someone like you human?

“……What?”

His thoughts froze.

“Who….”

Who did I kill?

It was a completely unexpected attack. Deon briefly held his breath.

……Right, in the Human Realm, it’s known that I killed my brother. That makes sense. I had to become the ultimate enemy so the Human Realm would unite. Those who know the truth must have shut their eyes and mouths and pinned the blame on me.

‘Expression, I need to manage my expression….’

Even as his mind went blank, a sliver of reason recognized that the screen was still broadcasting.

In this situation, he couldn’t even raise a hand to cover his face, so he had to regain his composure and calmly refute those lies. But…

‘Words won’t come out.’

His hand under the desk trembled. He was barely managing to keep the tremor from reaching his shoulder, and even though he felt like he was thinking calmly, his body’s reaction was too bewildering….

Fearing his voice would tremble if he opened his mouth, Deon had no choice but to maintain a blank expression and stare straight ahead.

He opened his mouth just before people would perceive his silence as ‘silence’ rather than a breath before answering, just as Paul was about to reclaim the floor.

A calm voice, befitting his blank expression, flowed out.

– There’s so much nonsense, I don’t even know where to begin correcting it. You should be aware of where you are and what you’re saying. To spout lies in front of all of humanity, you’ve got some nerve. At least you should have spoken the truth, not fabrications.

– That’s…

Before he could even say ‘you’re the same,’ Deon cut him off, as if intending to end the conversation there.

– I say again, as the Empire’s third hero and the current Commander of the 0th Legion of the Demon King’s army. The Emperor is not a trustworthy human, and we have no choice but to eliminate anything that hinders us from striking the Empire.

– ……!

– And let it be known that the Demon Realm is unbiased enough to grant a human the position of Commander of the 0th Legion. For humans who desire amicable relations, the doors of the Demon Realm are always open. That is all.

With a faint smile on his pale face, all the screens went black.

And chaos erupted across the continent, no, not just the Human Realm, but even the Demon Realm.

***

“……My junior seems to be even more impressive than I thought.”

Commander of the 0th Legion, no less. Stigma chuckled.

He’d called the man on screen bold, but it was his junior who was truly audacious. The existence of the 0th Legion Commander had been revealed not long after the end of the Eight Years’ War, meaning his junior had simultaneously held the positions of the Empire’s third hero and the Demon King’s army’s 0th Legion Commander for quite some time!

Perhaps his frequent trips under the Emperor’s orders were also to travel to and from the Demon Realm.

‘Considering his statement that the Emperor isn’t a trustworthy human, and Your Majesty knows Deon Hart’s true identity, it must mean….’

Just when it seemed his mind was collapsing at the last moment and he was about to lose helplessly.

“He dropped a massive bomb and left. Typical junior.”

Placing a letter on his desk about the Killer Knights… the Lofty Knights, having deserted while en route to Amiable territory, Stigma recalled Deon Hart’s face from the screen.

Yes, even putting all that aside.

“I was worried he might be injured, but he looks alright, thankfully.”

I can’t be certain without seeing his face in person, but even if there were problems, he should be fine now.

Those bastards wouldn’t just stand by and watch their master die.

He didn’t even consider the possibility that they wouldn’t reach Deon Hart. Those fools would bark about needing to get to their captain even in hell, making demons clutch their necks and collapse.

And those bastards who would make even demons clutch their necks and collapse were crossing a mountain. To be precise, they were taking an involuntary break, momentarily stopped by the shocking news they had just heard from the screen floating in the air.

In the unspeakable silence that followed the screen going black, someone finally broke the silence.

“……Wow, our captain… was the Commander of the 0th Legion?”

“The Commander of the 0th Legion existed long before our captain went to the Demon Realm, didn’t it? That means….”

“He was simultaneously holding the positions of the Empire’s hero and the Commander of the 0th Legion. Was that why he frequently traveled somewhere for extended periods under the guise of ‘missions’? Since it was under the ‘mission’ pretext, the Emperor must have known and been protecting him.”

“What?”

Milan’s eyes widened, unable to hide his surprise at Kleter’s calm analysis. The other knights also stopped their exclamations of admiration and looked at Kleter.

“That means he was deceiving everyone. That’s really….”

“…….”

“That’s unbelievably awesome!”

“That’s our captain for you!”

“He’s pathetically far from living an ordinary life!”

“……You guys would think so.”

Kleter sighed deeply and quietly touched his forehead.

“You bastards, this isn’t the time to be impressed! If it’s not now, we won’t have another chance to meet the captain. If we’re caught here, it’s all over, finished!”

“Ah, right. We’ll be under intense surveillance.”

“Won’t we be tortured?”

“I think we’ll be killed by the captain before that? We just left a note and ran.”

Though they hadn’t seen him often because they were constantly being summoned and interrogated, he was still their captain. Out of past camaraderie and some guilt, the Killer Knights members left a note for Lien Riner before they fled.

[Captain, sorry]

“You… damn bastards…!”

Even though they couldn’t possibly know that the note had been crumpled miserably, the members instinctively felt a chill and straightened their backs.

“……I don’t know for sure, but yeah, we’ll probably die if we get caught.”

“Something terrible is waiting for us if we get caught. I have a bad feeling.”

“So if you don’t want to die, stop yapping and move your asses, damn fools!”

We could have gone a few more meters in the time we’ve spent talking!

Frustrated, Kleter, who had been pounding his chest, changed the direction of his fist and smacked his comrades in the back of their heads, urging them on.

***

The Empire’s third hero, Deon Hart, and the Demon King’s army’s 0th Legion Commander, Demon Hart, are the same person!

The Demon King revealed this fact just as Deon Hart appeared before the public. As shocking as the news was, almost all demons focused on it, but the confusion was less than expected.

[Demon-nim is Deon Hart.]

[Really?! ……But so what? He’s on our side after all.]

[R-right? Because he was playing a double agent.]

Whatever his past or identity, his current self is clearly ‘on our side,’ belonging to the Demon King’s army.

Although surprising, it wasn’t negative news, so there was no further reaction.

[I knew he was extraordinary, but to think he was even a hero in the Empire. He’s really something else.]

[He became the Commander of the 0th Legion in a human body. Of course he’s not ordinary.]

More than that, should we call him Deon-nim now? What will happen to the Demon Church?

The commotion was brief, and soon demons were lost in other worries.

***

They interfered with the screen using sorcery, but the real key is the mana stone on this desk. He should have turned it off immediately when he sensed the control of the screen slipping away.

He never imagined they would nail down the control so firmly that he couldn’t just switch it off as soon as they seized control.

[In the end, it’s just the statement of a traitor who sided with the Demon King.]

With that statement, Deon Hart could no longer arbitrarily turn off the opponent’s screen.

It was a powerful entrance and a powerful statement. If he had simply turned off the screen there, his opponent’s last words would have been strongly imprinted in the minds of those watching. Moreover, turning off the screen at that timing would mean he had no rebuttal, acknowledging those words and admitting defeat, so Deon had no choice but to engage, even if he didn’t want to.

And so now, Deon, having calmly reached out and turned off both screens simultaneously, quietly took out a black handkerchief and pressed it to his mouth.

Recalling his initial objective, he hadn’t lost at least. He had prevented reverse propaganda, and further, he had dropped a powerful bomb that could damage the alliance between the Emperor and the nations, and even the internal affairs of the Empire, and then turned it off, so they must be in disarray too.

But….

“Develania….”

Spiritually, he had lost.

Someone’s name mumbled out from under the black handkerchief, slurred as if crumpled. Even knowing he had to remove the handkerchief from his mouth to call out his opponent clearly, Deon roared instead of removing it.

His voice, cracked with overwhelming emotion, harshly scraped his vocal cords and echoed through the Demon King’s castle.

“DEVELANIA!!!!!”

Gush. The black handkerchief became damp with tears.

…….