On the night Choi Hyun-seok departed for the demon realm.

An urgent report came to Abelson Mariette, who was working until late.

“An investigation team from the Deusis faith…?”

Once again, a large-scale investigation team from the Deusis faith would be dispatched to the kingdom.

The charge was collusion with the undead.

It was clearly targeting Sara Dunphy.

Abelson immediately met with Sara Dunphy to discuss this.

“It’s simple.”

After hearing the story, Sara Dunphy spoke as if there wasn’t anything particularly difficult about it.

“I just need to leave this kingdom, don’t I?”

“What…?”

“I know enough about the continent’s political situation. Though we’ve made peace with the demon race, nothing good can come from the kingdom being involved with demons, especially the undead.”

The war has ended.

A peace treaty was signed with the demon race.

However, this doesn’t mean an alliance with the demon race.

It will take much time for the wounds of the centuries-long war to heal.

Especially in the case of the undead, those wounds were even deeper.

The war with the demon race happened near the demon realm, so the victims were mostly soldiers and warriors.

In contrast, the recent undead incident occurred within human territory.

Naturally, the scale of the damage was overwhelmingly larger.

Even now, uncontrolled groups of undead are running rampant in various places.

In other words, the public’s hatred toward the undead was still ongoing.

In this situation, if the Mariette Kingdom became involved with the undead, they could be branded as an enemy of the continent.

“Don’t tell Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-a. Given their fiery temperaments, they might ruin everything.”

Sara Dunphy rose from her seat as if she had already made her decision.

“Wait a moment!”

Abelson grabbed Sara Dunphy’s sleeve.

Sara Dunphy turned to look at her with questioning eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you just leaving like this?”

“The answer is already clear. There’s no need to think about it further. Making things more complicated isn’t always right.”

“That’s not the issue! If you leave like this, you’ll surely be caught by the Holy Empire!”

Abelson knew well what kind of people the Gatren were.

Even for someone like Sara Dunphy, it would be difficult to escape from Gatren’s pursuit.

She was a being possessing powerful magic.

Unless she fled to the demon realm, she would eventually be caught.

No, even if she went to the demon realm, someone like Gatren would find her.

“Even if you run away, you’ll eventually be caught… Rather stay here and fight together…”

Sara Dunphy shook her head.

She placed her hand on Abelson’s shoulder and said, “Abelson Mariette. You are the monarch. As someone responsible for all citizens, you shouldn’t say such things.”

“But, abandoning a comrade…”

“Abandon me. You can’t protect me anyway.”

Sara Dunphy spoke in a firm tone.

“If I remain here, only destruction awaits. The moment I’m discovered, they’ll have their justification. Neighboring kingdoms will all turn their backs on you, and your people will be mercilessly killed. Is that the ending you want?”

Abelson Mariette lowered her head.

Though she wanted to argue against it, no words came to mind.

Sara Dunphy is right.

Abelson didn’t have the power to protect Sara Dunphy.

Because there were too many things she needed to protect now.

Letting Sara Dunphy leave like this is the best option.

Abelson felt disgusted with herself for thinking this might just be self-rationalization.

“Ah, could you tell Park Hyun-a to be careful? She’s not ready to fight yet. However, knowing her personality, she won’t stay still. She might even rage about storming into the Holy Empire.”

Sara Dunphy showed a faint smile.

“So, Abelson. I hope you can hold her back well.”

“I…”

“I should go now. I’m glad I could at least say goodbye to you like this.”

Sara Dunphy hugged Abelson and patted her back.

Abelson, overwhelmed by mixed emotions, found tears flowing without realizing it.

“Sara…?”

When Abelson came to her senses.

Sara Dunphy was already gone.

And the next day.

Abelson informed Park Hyun-a about Sara Dunphy’s departure.

As expected, Park Hyun-a shouted with wide eyes.

“What do you mean!? The undead left!?”

Park Hyun-a’s voice unconsciously grew louder.

That’s how big the shock was.

“She was perfectly fine until yesterday, why did she suddenly leave?”

“There was no choice. It was Sara Dunphy’s own decision.”

Abelson sighed while sitting in her chair.

“That’s why I’m asking, why did she make such a decision!?”

“The Holy Empire is pursuing Sara Dunphy.”

“Gatren…?”

“To be precise, the Deusis faith says they’re sending an investigation team to our Mariette Kingdom. On suspicion of collusion with the undead.”

“What does that matter?! The war with the demon race is already over!?”

Park Hyun-a couldn’t understand.

Yes, having connections with the demon race might not look good to others.

But hasn’t the war already ended?

The Demon King even appeared in the Kingdom of Chersi and signed a peace treaty directly with the monarch.

“In this situation, is being connected to the demon race such a big deal?”

“To be precise, it’s not about the demon race but collusion with the undead. That’s why it’s more problematic.”

“What do you mean?”

“In recent times on the continent, who do you think suffered more casualties? Those hurt by the demon race, or those hurt by the undead?”

“That’s…”

Obviously, the damage from the undead would be overwhelmingly greater.

“I get what you’re saying. But aren’t demons and undead basically the same thing?”

Park Hyun-a was puzzled.

After all, the undead were created by the demon race.

So what was the point of distinguishing between the two?

“As you mentioned, we’re in a state of peace with the demon race. Even Gatren, who already has a bad reputation, would be hesitant to antagonize the demon race again.”

“But the undead are different?”

“Yes. The undead are purely objects of hatred. To the public, undead are just corpses mad with bloodlust.”

“But they were still created by the demon race. Shouldn’t people hate the demon race then?”

“You’re right. It’s contradictory. But what can we do? That’s how people really think. Gatren is exploiting this public psychology.”

Suddenly, Park Hyun-a let out a strange cry and messed up her hair.

“Aaargh! Cut all this nonsense! In the end, this is just Gatren finding an excuse to attack us!”

“That’s the essence of it, yes.”

“Then why does Sara Dunphy have to leave!? We should fight back! We should have protected her! At the very least, shouldn’t she have talked to me before leaving!?”

Their first meeting wasn’t pleasant.

She was an undead.

Park Hyun-a was a hero who came with Choi Hyun-seok to eliminate the undead.

But as time passed, Sara Dunphy changed.

The inevitable desire for slaughter that comes with being undead.

She developed ways to suppress it and live a normal life.

After that, they spent a long time together as comrades.

She had actually saved Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-a’s lives several times.

Gradually, in their hearts, they acknowledged Sara Dunphy as a comrade.

After Ultimoon Fess collapsed.

Because all the people she knew had died.

She wanted to stay with her current comrades until the end.

“It was all Sara’s will…”

“You call that an excuse!?”

“I didn’t want this either!!!”

Suddenly Abelson’s voice grew louder.

Then, as if realizing her mistake, she clenched her fists and lowered her head.

“I didn’t want this ending either… But what can I do…? There’s nothing I can do…”

Abelson trembled.

She too was genuinely sad.

She wanted to stop Sara Dunphy from leaving.

But she couldn’t.

The weight she carried was pressing down on her, preventing her from making any rash moves.

“Haa… Shit!”

Park Hyun-a cursed and left the room.

Actually, she knew too.

From the start, this was a problem where Abelson had no choice.

Abelson had done nothing wrong.

‘This is really messed up.’

The reason Park Hyun-a was angry was simply because she felt ashamed of being unable to do anything in this situation.

Yet she was only angry at herself for being pathetic enough to berate Abelson.

***

At the same time.

Choi Hyun-seok was meeting and talking with Sidriel.

Wearing a Gothic dress, Sidriel sat cross-legged in an antique chair, looking quite captivating.

Choi Hyun-seok stared blankly at Sidriel.

“You must know that after the war ended, the humans withdrew.”

“Ah? Yes, that’s right.”

“What’s wrong? You seem unable to focus.”

“No, I’m listening. Continue.”

Sidriel looked at him while tilting her head slightly.

Choi Hyun-seok backed away, slightly flustered.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I was checking if there might be a problem. But you seem fine.”

Sidriel continued speaking.

“Anyway, that’s when Dorithugs made his move. As soon as the threat of war disappeared, he began gathering his forces.”

“And then immediately declared independence?”

“He didn’t exactly declare independence. When he had fully consolidated his forces, he came to me with a proposal.”

“What proposal?”

Suddenly Sidriel’s expression darkened.

“He said if I didn’t want the demon race to split apart, I should quietly give up my position as Demon King. Otherwise, he would break away and create a new kingdom.”

“Hmm… Is that possible? You became the new Demon King officially, right?”

Choi Hyun-seok was puzzled.

Sidriel was elected as Demon King through the votes of the demon race delegates.

From a human perspective, legitimacy was on Sidriel’s side.

He didn’t think the situation would be different just because they were demons.

“That’s right. I am the Demon King. In this situation, the normal course would be to kill Dorithugs and suppress the unrest. But I… Unfortunately lack the power. Though I’ve become stronger since becoming Demon King, I’m still not sure if I can defeat Dorithugs.”

Sidriel hung her head low.

Her face was flushed red, seeming both angry and embarrassed.

Perhaps it was both.

“Can’t you ask others for help?”

“That could potentially lead to civil war.”

“Civil war… How large are the forces following him?”

“About 20% of the total demon race forces. Moreover, those forces are absolutely loyal to him. Whereas I…”

Sidriel let out a deep sigh.

“Though I’m the Demon King, I have no one on my side. No subordinates I can trust.”

Sidriel appeared suddenly like a comet.

She has no connections with the delegates who could be considered the established powers within the demon race.

The Legion Commanders also don’t completely follow her.

She is still young and being tested.

“Even now, many are dissatisfied with the peace treaty I initiated. If I ask for help in this situation, even those who followed me will doubt my qualification as Demon King. So…”

Sidriel bit her lip and looked at Choi Hyun-seok.

“Though it’s shameless of me, Hyun-seok, I have no choice but to ask for your help again.”

“Ugh…”

Choi Hyun-seok sank deep into his chair.

‘This situation is more complicated than I thought.’

He naturally recalled Dorithugs whom he met during the demon race’s grand council.

Like other high-ranking demons, he had good looks and a large build.

His demonic energy was also at an extremely high level.

It was immediately apparent that except for Hemis, he possessed the most overwhelming power there.

‘Even though Sidriel has gotten stronger, her combat experience hasn’t increased. It would be difficult to win in a fight.’

Sidriel’s biggest problem is her lack of practical experience.

Having only trained alone, she is like a greenhouse flower compared to Dorithugs, who had fought wars for hundreds of years.

“I’m sorry. Because of my inadequacy, I’m making things difficult for you too.”

Suddenly Sidriel stood up.

“If you can’t think of any other way, you can leave now. I’m already grateful that you came here and listened to my story.”

“No, wait.”

Choi Hyun-seok stopped Sidriel as she was about to leave.

“What are you planning to do?”

“I suppose I’ll have to meet him separately and settle things. Whoever survives becomes the next Demon King.”

“You have no chance of winning.”

“I still have to do it.”

“No. Wait. I have a good idea.”

At this point, there was no other choice.

Choi Hyun-seok decided to use humanity’s greatest advantage.

“Sidriel. Demons can’t defeat beings stronger than themselves, but humans can defeat beings stronger than themselves. Do you know why?”

Sidriel blinked.

Her expression showed she had no idea what he was talking about.

“Why?”

At that moment, a wicked smile appeared on Choi Hyun-seok’s face.

He pointed to his head with his finger.

“Because humans are devious.”

Inside the legendary hero’s mind, a very human-like plan began to form.

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