Chapter 6

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Dungeon Defense: Volume 3 – Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Demon Lord

▯The King of Peasants, Rank 71st, Dantalian

People of the lowest cla.s.s who have had their desires castrated.

This King of Peasants, who has placed a peasant as his lover, set a peasant as his general, and made peasants into his royal guards, shall speak to you. I sympathize with you all. What are you?

—Please spare us.

—If not this humble one, then at least this one’s daughter.

—I will work as a hound for the rest of my life, so please forgive me.

Fire-fallow villagers. You were all weak and powerless so you prostrated yourselves like dogs and begged. Barbatos ridiculed and played around with the you, who were like that. When she had taken your lives, she did not bother to ask you all for your names. That’s because your names did not have enough value to be remembered even after death. Because you were pitiful, I had furtively sneaked in irrelevant remarks while interpreting Barbatos’ words.

“What is your name?”

“Do you have any last words you wish to leave behind?”

“Prepare yourselves for death.”

The moment I did so, you came to the realization that you were going to meet your ends soon and cried. Until your demises, none of your words reached Barbatos. Since you all did not have power, your words had no meaning. ‘Spare me, do not kill me.’ even these words, that are considered the most desperate in the world, had no meaning. I see that you all do not have authority. I feel pity for you all. What are you?

— For your honor’s mistress to be an outcast, general to be a human, and royal bodyguards to be witches, your honor’s good faith impales the sky. Indeed, it’s befitting of the King of Peasants.

— You must be very fortunate to be so popular with women, your honor! Please teach the people how to bed lowly harlots and spread the information throughout the world.

Witches. You had silently received the snow and mud that were tossed at us. The soldiers had scorned and jeered at you, who were like that. It is most likely impossible for a person to not even feel the slightest bit of guilt when throwing dirt at another person, but perhaps, you were not people to them. But how could you all not be people? They say that you all do not possess souls, but if that is so, who does? I see that your bare bodies have been torn, cracked, struck, and stomped upon, sullying your bodies with cuts and bruises. Because you were pitiable, I gave you my mantles.

“I vow, that I, Dantalian, shall never return thy advice with silence, and shall never return thy suggestions with scorn. If thou art to sweat and bleed for my behalf, then I shall repay thee the exact weight for every drop of sweat and blood.”

The moment I did so, you understood that I had acknowledged you all as people and thus cried. Was this a world where people shed tears when they are acknowledged as people? ‘I am a person, I too am a person.’, were even these words, which are considered as one of the most earnest desires in the world, not allowed to you all? I see that you all do not have authority. I feel sorry for you all. What are you?

— I’m sorry, Father. I won’t do it again……I’m sorry……

— My father to this young lady…… this young lady, repeatedly……

Slave. Your life was ruined because of a mistake that was not yours. People ignored and disregarded the you, who was like that. In order to make you into an existence that did not exist in the world, they had imprisoned and confined you. I see that since you are ignored and confined wherever you go, your body is your place of exile and the world is your prison. I understand that even if you were to find a lover and have a child, that child will certainly be the child of a slave, so your body itself is a d.a.m.ned curse. I have heard about the sad servants who had severed their reproductive organs on their own in order to not pa.s.s down their curse. To you all, there was no answer other than death. However, how could death be the answer? Because you were sad, I whispered to you.

“You are no longer the victim. You are the a.s.sailant. You are no longer a part of the weak who are offended, but a part of the strong who offend. If someone tries to take your life, then kill them before they can get to you first. It is simple. If that someone is your father, then kill your father, and if that someone is G.o.d, then kill G.o.d as well. All you have to do is take all their lives”

The moment I did so, you led the cavalry and slaughtered the enemy. Once I had given you authority, you were thus no longer a person who was killed, but a person who brought upon death. ‘The person who tries to kill me, I have no other choice but to kill them first.’, did you live while being unable to utter even once these words that are the most ardent in the world? In the end, I see that people will not kill you if you have authority. I feel sorrow for you all. What are you?

Fire-fallow villagers, witches, slaves.

Are you all pitiful, sorry, and sad people? Is that solely it? Is that why someone has to sympathize, pat your heads, and take care of you? Will you all eternally remain as kind, soft, and pure individuals if someone were to do so? Are those your true colors?

If we go now, when will we return

Our villages are burning and our sons are burning

Aha, if we go now, then when will we return……

However, were your cruelly laughing faces, which you displayed while plundering and committing arson, not also your true selves? Was immediately slaughtering the other peasants the moment you received authority, not your bare faces?

Ah, you are all not merely kind, soft, and pure eunuchs. You are the same as I. The same kind. I am a man of influence, and you all are nothing more than people who have yet to obtain authority. That is it. ‘We are also the same! We also want authority!’ even these words, that are the most obvious outcry in the world, must be allowed to be said by you all.

Despite that, fellows like Rosenberg simply considered you all as poor subjects. Would that be better? Do you all wish to live naively for the rest of your lives? Do you not have desires? Do you not have any cravings for authority? Do you plan to be obedient for all eternity like castrated pets? I regard you all as my equal! Therefore, since I do not consider you all as mere kind, soft, and pure-hearted subjects, since I will not simply sympathize and stroke your heads, I will not take care of you all.

Rosenberg believed that he stood much higher than his subjects. Thus, that was why he had tried to pull his subjects into his arms, and tried to save his people till the bitter end. Since the words which he was caught by were old-fashioned, that old man was most likely in agony because of that threadbareness.

Peasants, I will take your lives if needed, and if needed, you all can take my life as well. That is what I mean by considering you all as my equal.

Is there a difference between the burnt corpses hanging on that black wall and the miserable lives that are attached to the rampart like clams?

If there is a separation in life and death, then there is only authority.

You all have the rights to desire authority and live for it.

The sight of you all struggling, bleeding, killing, and being killed for authority is beautiful to me.

If he is to see you roar out as you are drenched in the blood of your enemy, then all Demon Lord Dantalian can do is shed a tear.

What are you?

You all have been nothing until now.

What must you all become from now on?

Everything.

Stab your spears into the people who have stolen your words, deprived you of your souls, and castrated you of your aspirations. Take back everything that those people had stolen from you. By doing so, one by one, you all will become wonderful as people.

— Spare me, do not kill me!

— I am a person, I too am a person.

— The person who tries to kill me, I have no other choice but to kill them first……

— We are also the same! We also want authority……

However, listen. Your words are too messy.

What is this? Are you talking about this? These are not words. These are the grumbles of a newborn infant. It is a noise that is also static. I see, though I consider you all as my compatriots, you do not possess a language.

Before you all can take the lives of others, you must first learn words. I have gone through deep contemplations in order to determine what sort of words should be placed down upon you all. Since your language must be a language of struggle, a language of carnage, and over all else, a language of authority.

All of you who offered your taxes to the people in power, obediently faced invading enemies and died, and only knew how to resent others because n.o.body would help you, will forever be dead from now on. When the Black Death swept over the continent, your fates have died alongside you.

With the mere intention to congratulate you all on your long deaths and new births, I give you this royal message.

Listen, oh, peasants. In the stead of the already dead G.o.ds, a Demon Lord shall bestow upon you a language.

Scream with your respective mugs and respective traps.

Oh, humankind, listen

All of history until now has been the history of cla.s.s strife.

There are two wars in the world.

One is the war between humans and demons.

However, the fact that there is a more tenacious war than that,

a war that has been ongoing for the past 1,500 years without a single moment of rest, at that.

Do you, mankind, know what that war is?

That is the devastating war which lasts forever.

Compared to that, the war between the humans and demons is foolish.

The humans and demons have conflicted against one another merely 8 times since the beginning of the world, however, that ma.s.sive war has continued on every year, every month, every day, and every second.

Free citizens and slaves,

aristocrats and commoners,

barons and serfs,

the suppressors and the oppressed.

Are you all still unable to hear

the hoa.r.s.e voice of devastating war that is being fought by these people?

This is the eternal war, only this is the true war.

Even if the demons were to disappear from the continent

you will all still be at war.

As 1,500 years has already flown by, and even if another 1,500 years were to flow by once more,

the war of cla.s.s, the war of authority will continue unchanged.

To all of the sons and daughters being oppressed in the world, listen.

500 years ago, Demon Lords advanced onto the continent for the first time in history.

On that day, the rulers of kingdoms lamented about the conservation of mankind.

Your ancestors went to war while risking their lives in order to protect mankind.

Despite that, even after the war was over, serfs were still serfs and

the subjects were still subjects.

400 years ago, the Demon Lords descended onto the continent for the second time.

Your ancestors fought against the demons once more and came out victorious.

How surprising. How impressive.

You are all truly the shield which protects humankind.

Despite that, even after the war was over, peasants were still peasants and subjects were still subjects.

If you all were not there, then the continent

would have already fallen into the hands of the Demon Lords.

For the past hundreds of years, you all were the guardians of humankind,

and are the owners who have carried the weight of civilization for centuries.

300 years later, on this day, the Demon Lords have arrived on the continent.

However, what is this? Oh, owners of the continent? You are all commoners who are still serfs, peasants, and slaves.

You are the weakest among the weak who are dying off to a plague!

What have you all died for until now?

You all have certainly defended the continent.

That continent was a land that remained the same before a war had occurred and even after it had broken out.

You are still in poverty.

You are so poor that your poverty feels like it will be eternal.

Even if your mothers catch the Black Death and die in your beds,

you all are impoverished to the point where you are unable to buy even a single herb.

You have all lived while making sacrifices.

What were those sacrifices for?

You have all lived while going to war.

What was that war for?

For the past 500 years, have you all scattered tens of thousands of lives and tens of thousands of tears in order to protect your poverty? Did you obey those rulers and people in power because all of you desired to forever be impoverished? For this scene of your mothers groaning, your fathers being whipped by aristocrats, and your siblings collapsing while plowing the fields, in order to protect this scenery, this continent,

Have you all died until now?

That is not so.

Humankind, the truth is like this.

The mankind that the monarch of kingdoms, the emperor of empires, and the aristocrats of domains cry out for is not you.

The continent that those n.o.bles want to defend is not your land.

Those authority figures have lived to this day not wanting to protect the lives of the people and the land of the people, but solely for the purpose of defending their own lives and their own fortunes.

Oh, humankind, listen.

The things that your ancestors had protected while shedding blood

was not something which belonged to the people, but something that belonged to others,

solely the possession of those false n.o.bles.

Ah, the war is over but you all are still in poverty!

That is obvious! Since all of you had helped those people in power!

In general, what type of fellows are those rulers? Even if monsters swarm to your villages, they do not dispatch their troops in order to protect you.

They have thrown you away, they have thrown you, humans, away. Despite that, the instant Demon Lords start to approach, those n.o.bles enforced you all to sacrifice yourselves this time as well.

For humankind!

Even though the Black Death circulated in your villages, those people in power did not provide you all with the cure. They had completely thrown you, you humans, away.

Nonetheless, once the Demon Lords drew near

those aristocrats are enforcing you all to sacrifice yourselves.

For mankind!

Now the mankind that those n.o.bles are referring to has become clear.

The humankind that they are talking about is the humans called aristocrats.

The continent that they are referring to is solely the land which those n.o.bles possess.

What were those humans for?

They were solely the humans for the suppressors.

What was this war for?

It was solely a war to preserve that suppression.

What were those 1,500 years of history for?

Continuing on from the past thousand and five hundred years, you have all died and continued to die in order to foolishly pa.s.s on your eternal poverty to your sons and daughters!

Oh, mankind, not the mankind that those n.o.bles say with honeyed words,

but you, serfs, peasants, slaves, and true subjects.

You, the owners of this land.

You, the subjects who must all become owners.

Is something not off? Are you all truly the peasants?

As all of you are the proprietor of this land,

and rather, those aristocrats the parasites

latching onto your skins and veins,

are they not the true peasants who suck on your sweat and blood?

Since they are the peasants, then would it not be appropriate for you all to become the lords?

Why are those n.o.bles embezzling the grains of wheat and corn that you have harvested?

Why do they not protect their subjects when they are attacked by monsters, despite claiming to be the owner?

In the end, why do they collect taxes even though everyone is starving to death?

That is because they are not the proprietors.

Oh, humankind, they are not the owners but they are thieves.

They are the bandits who steal everything that you must bask in.

The n.o.bles only deprive. By depriving, they live in the homes you make, wear the clothes you craft, and eat the corn you harvest.

How could this nonsensical conduct have continued for the past 1,500 years?

Humankind, the reason is this.

It is because they are holding weapons.

There is no other reason than this.

If you pet.i.tion for the taxes to be lowered, they raise their swords.

If you plead for them to grant you herbs, they stick out their spears.

If you skip labor in order to nurse your own mothers, they lash their whips.

Only with swords,

only with spears,

and only with whips.

If that is the case, then humankind, what must you do?

What must you all do in order to protect what is yours?

What must you all do in order to not pa.s.s down your poverty!?

Will you be sliced by a blade and die?

Will you be stabbed by a spear and scream?

Will you be lashed by a whip until your bones are weak?

There is one answer! Only one answer!

There is no other choice but to fight force with force!

Raise your axes. Grab your crossbows. Arm yourselves.

Use your farming equipment and stab their heads.

Make it so that you are the ones to harvest the things which you have cultivated.

Make things that are natural, run in a reasonable manner.

Do not continue to be fooled that you are peasants.

You all are the ones who own this land.

You are all the ones who are truly human-like humans.

Everything in this continent is rightfully yours!

You must go to war only for yourselves!

Fight!

Since no one will get back the things that are yours in your stead.

Fight!

Since no one will live your lives in your stead.

Fight!

Oh, humankind, what are subjects? They are everything!

Only you can justly be referred to as people.

Throughout history, what were commoners until now?

They were nothing!

And now, from this point on

what must you, the peerless mankind, become?

Everything!

The war to kill the demons for the n.o.bles is now over.

Know that the true ma.s.sive war has arrived.

You must solely fight for your own lives and for your own authority.

Let those parasites, who pretend to be lords, know who the true owners are with your spears, arrows, and pickaxes.

Yearn for a world where everyone simply lives as owners.

Realize the history where everyone struggles with everyone.

Make those rulers shudder before your power as subjects.

Other than your false shackles,

you all have nothing to lose in this devastating war.

Only the world that you must obtain, the everything that you must acquire, is spread out before your eyes!

Fight back, humankind!

♦

This is the language of peasants that I have pa.s.sed down.

As they are urgent and desperate, you must only speak in these ardent screams and speak solely while wailing.

The Margrave of Rosenberg and I are different. I do not expect myself to become tame towards you all, and I do not want to only be protected by you. The va.s.sals I love the most are the ones who know how to betray others. Therefore, I can only love Lapis Lazuli. I can guarantee that Lapis will one day gift to me a poisoned chalice. I cannot wait for that day to arrive.

On the other hand, Humbaba’s betrayal was disappointing. As one must not be caught if they had betrayed another, they should also, at the very least, reap all the benefits they are able to obtain when their betrayal is revealed. Even if I were to a.s.sume that Humbaba allowed herself to be caught by me on purpose, to have lost money! How could they have only received half the price of betrayal!? That is why they are lost. I have no other choice but to cater for these lost children. What can I do? They are shameful fellows.

……Imperial Princess Elizabeth is the same as me.

We both know the fact that words are nothing more than tools. However, we also know that words are useful tools of authority.

The Imperial Princess is a girl who will rip off the entire face of a human who goes around with a bunch of makeup. She enforces everyone to go around while displaying their naked faces. Indeed, there is no other technician who is as outstanding as the Imperial Princess in peeling the skin off of faces.

But, Elizabeth.

You have only lived as the Imperial Princess who was born in the Empire.

You have no other choice but to forever live as the Imperial Princess of the Empire.

That is your depth and limit. You will forever go around while leading a group of n.o.bles.

But I am different.

After having fallen into this world, I have constantly contemplated about how I was going to defeat you. I am an obscure rank 71st Demon Lord and you are a person of influence in the most powerful Empire. I was low and you were high. I was inept and you were adept.

In order to drag you down from that high position and shove you into the mud, I formulated a grand plan.

The first was Lapis Lazuli.

— I, Lapis Lazuli, born from a succubus and raised in the back alleys of towns and cities, a person to have worked as a third-degree merchant for the Keuncuska Firm for 10 years, shall forget her past and live solely for the purpose of being Demon Lord Dantalian’s subordinate. This heart. This head. This soul shall forever be in the possession of your highness.

I had brought this cold-hearted half-breed, who was treated as an outcast, to my side on purpose and made her into my fiancee. It was not simply because she was competent. It was because she was useful to my grand stratagem. I got engaged with a peasant.

Next was Laura De Farnese.

— Laura De Farnese. As the third daughter of the Duchy of Parma and the rightful heir of Piacenza, on this night, continental calendar 1505th year, 9th month, and 10th day, with all the G.o.ds here as witness, I hereby vow: If your lordship orders for this young lady to be your sword, then she shall become your sword. If ordered to be your head, then she shall become your head. If ordered to be your legs, then she shall become your legs. This young lady’s will, this young lady’s knowledge, and this young lady’s efforts shall eternally be devoted to your lordship.

I had brought this illegitimate child, who was born as the child of a slave and isolated from the world, as my retainer and made her into my acting general. She, too, was useful to my grand plan. I appointed a peasant.

Finally, the witches.

— Us Berbere Sisters, born without a home, raised in the back alleys of towns and villages, and individuals who have spent our lives as mercenaries for decades and centuries, wish to now forget our pasts and find value in our lives as solely Demon Lord Dantalian’s followers. Our hearts, our heads, our souls will forever be a part of your highness’ possessions. Therefore, your highness, please take care of our lost hearts, heads, and souls.

I accepted these witches, who were scorned into a place of oblivion because of their lack of souls, as my subordinates and appointed them as my royal guards. The witches were indeed incredibly beneficial to my great stratagem. I embraced peasants.

Oh, Elizabeth.

This is my groundwork.

With these children, who were enshrouded in darkness by the flames of the world and had their minds burned, I shall overturn your n.o.bles and commoners. I shall burn everything. As the pure white and detached Imperial Princess, remain at the summit till the very end. And then, be choked by the smoke that we raise and be burned to death.

From now on, the peasants of the lowest cla.s.s shall be my black stones.

Aristocrats? You can take all of those. Take everything that are like white stones yourself. I will have the initiative anyway.

Oh, peasants, my groundwork who are also my dead stones, what are you? What must you become?

Each stone that is placed on the board is a stone that will kill the enemy and will be killed by the enemy. If your lives are going to break apart like stones, then there is a need for you to become as firm as a stone first. Whenever you are struck and you are striking down others, a hard noise must resonate.

I see that your sound is still too soft. I am hearing all of your noises. Speak once more. I shall grasp and raise back up the words that were buried in the background.

— Spare me, do not kill me!

— The person who tries to kill me, I have no other choice but to kill them first……

Your voices are limp. They are weak. Do not remain with simple cries and add the form of words. Threaten the ones that try to take your lives. Show off that even you have the slightest amount of strength. By doing so, instead of throwing up cries, you will be able to spit out words.

“We are one. We shall unite by countering against our enemy. If a person of influence hangs the life of one, then we shall become a thousand and retaliate. Let us see if you can handle the weapons of a thousand.”

Oh, peasants, what are you? Will you escape from being pitiful, sorry, and sad people? I have been turning my ear towards your noise. Speak once more.

— I am a person, I too am a person.

— We are also the same! We also want authority……

A magnificent voice. Let us add a form to that. Since words are authority, and as people fall into ruin if they use their authority thoughtlessly, people will collapse if they use words carelessly as well. In order to not allow others from approaching, build a fortress and ramparts with words.

“All humans are equal. The right to murder the person who tries to murder me is equally in my and our possession. If authority is the ability to kill others, then we as well shall become people in power.”

Good. That is a rampart with a well-structured foundation. An impregnable formation. Continue to remain here.

If you all are to make a fortress, then that will thus be my fortress.

If you all are to wave flags, then my army will advance there.

If you all are to establish a world, then my world will be there as well.

Rightfully desire all you want. I shall tell you how.

Rightfully become something that is feared. I shall provide you all with weapons.

I sympathize with you all. I shall be your desires, your fears, and your deaths.

I am Dantalian.

The king of you peasants.

▯Blood Relative Killer, Imperial Princess of the Empire, Elizabeth von Habsburg

Empire Calendar: Year 1506, Month 4, Day 3

Polles, Bruno Plains, Human Alliance

—Oh, humankind, listen.

A girl’s voice echoed vastly throughout the plains.

It was an elegant and refined voice. It was a voice that reminded one of winter because the emotions contained in the tone were thin. It was a voice that was firmly trained and stood upright in the center. It was most likely taught to her by a good teacher. Just hearing a person, who had properly learned how to speak, gave a beautiful form.

With a pair of binoculars in hand, I observed the girl standing on top of the boulder. Is that girl Laura De Farnese……? I muttered out loud. It was the slave that Dantalian had gone all the way to the Kingdom of Sardinia in order to airlift. Certainly, that was an individual with many uses.

— All of history until now has been the history of cla.s.s strife.

What is she talking about?

I gazed through the binoculars. The girl had no emotions on her face. She was a girl who possessed the beauty of snow and frost. Surely, with that appearance, it was a given that the wild rumor, that Dantalian had brought in a human harlot because he was captivated by her looks, would arise. As her speech continued, the n.o.bles around me started to whisper among one another.

“The start of the declaration of war speech is quite eccentric.”

“No matter what they rattle on about, the unity of us humans is unbreakable……”

Each n.o.ble had a pair of binoculars placed against their eyes. The content of the speech was completely different to what they had predicted. Certainly, the captains and soldiers started to stir. No one has ever heard or learned about the ma.s.sive war that came close to the holy war of the Crusaders.

— This is the eternal war.

However.

As the girl’s words continued to firmly strike the air.

As the girl’s voice continued to flutter and echo throughout the sky.

— To all the people in the world who are being oppressed, listen!

The n.o.bles’ faces contorted with rage and the faces of the soldiers twisted into astonishment. There were no bounds to the aggressive words that came out of that girl’s pretty mouth. They were not words of refusal, nor were they words of persuasion. They were words that pounded and broke apart the ground that was hiding something underneath its frozen earth, until finally, pulling it out.

— What were those sacrifices for? What were those battles for!?

The girl shouted out without reserve. Her words were easily terrifying. As they were words that cleaved and caused division, they were words that divided and generated incitement and were also words that weaved and manipulated. The girl slashed at the humans with words that were sharper than blades.

“……”

Aah.

Aaah!

I realized the other party’s intention. The girl’s intention, the intention of Dantalian who was hiding behind that girl and spreading his venom. That Dantalian, that Demon Lord does not intend to fight against the humans. He is luring the humans into fighting each other!

— Humankind, listen. What must you all do in order to protect what is yours? What must you do in order to take back what is yours from those thieves!?

The soldiers were already wavering. That girl’s voice was spitting out a poison. Infected by that poison, the soldiers looked around at the faces of the other soldiers. The n.o.bles were unable to regain their composure and shouted.

“T-That! That, that, what, my word!”

“I already knew well about the shortcomings of those demons, but to say such thoughtless words!”

What foolish people.

They were unable to even smell the scent of poison that was approaching us from all sides. I felt as if I was suffocating. Only the thought of preventing that speech went through my mind. ……That’s right. We must stop those words of division no matter what. I had to block it in order to prevent the irrevocable chaos and calamity that will engulf the continent. I quickly stood up from my chair and rushed towards the mages.

“Immediately activate the spell for our speech.”

“Your highness?”

“Did you not hear me? I’m ordering you to activate the spell.”

The mages looked at me with troubled faces. An old man with wrinkles on his forehead lowered his head.

“My apologies, your highness. The preparations are not yet complete.”

“Not complete?”

“Since we were notified by your highness that our forces will be giving our speech second, we had prepared to activate the spell exactly at that time.”

“It will be fine with just sound enhancement magic. I know how to speak the language of demons. Right now……”

“Your highness, although sound enhancement magic is not an incredibly difficult technique, advance work is essential in order to raise the volume to the point where it can resonate throughout the entire plains. Please generously understand that magic is not universal.”

“If that is so, then how long will it take before preparations are complete?”

“At the fastest, it will take 10 minutes.”

“10 minutes……?”

A cold sweat went down my neck.

It has been such a long time since I had last felt a cold sweat. Was it perhaps the time my brother had dragged me to his room and forced me to watch him have intercourse with my sisters? Was it the first time since then? Just like that day, which had ruined my life, a cold sweat deeply slid down my neckline. I could feel the drop of sweat slide down the line of my neck and down the outline of my chest.

“……”

I slowly turned my head and examined the soldiers once more. They were all serfs, slaves, and peasants. Unrest spread across each and every one of their faces. Ah, 10 minutes would be too late. If 10 minutes were to pa.s.s, then it will forever be too late……

Am I only able to listen silently?

Like the time I had to simply watch my brother and sisters mix together.

Must I suffer like this, while being unable to do anything, once more?

— Oh, humankind, what are subjects? They are everything! Only you can justly be referred to as people. Throughout the 1,500 years of history, what were commoners until now? They were nothing! And now, from this point on what must you, the peerless mankind, become?

— Everything!

As if intoxicated by a drug, the soldiers gazed up at the girl. Even though they should be unable to see the girl’s face since they did not possess binoculars, with the grandiosity of her voice, the girl was emitting a powerful presence. I shuddered.

So that is Dantalian’s sword.

So those are Dantalian’s words.

……That speech was most likely written by Dantalian. Aah, there is no doubt. I could hear that man’s voice within that girl’s voice. I could vaguely feel Dantalian’s outline in the words and sentences that the girl was reciting. Regardless, why was Dantalian not proclaiming the speech himself, and had instead, sent that girl as his replacement?

The reason was articulate.

The words that Dantalian had uttered, while we were shaking hands today, pa.s.sed through my brain. Dantalian was grinning widely.

— Oh dear, Elizabeth! I am Dantalian. Dantalian, I say.

— If you shine like the sun, then I will always be hiding in the dark moon. You will one day run out of vitality and collapse, however, I am unable to do so. I will never reveal myself, after all.

My heart trembled. It was difficult to admit the truth itself that my heart trembled when coming to the realization of fear and terror. Aah, so Dantalian is planning to hide. He plans to remain as the behind-the-scene manipulator and never reveal himself!

By placing Farnese as his stand-in, Dantalian will hide. The person to stand in the front to swing their blade and give orders will most likely be Farnese. Therefore, all the people of the continent will revere and despise Farnese. Even though the true culprit to incite them was Dantalian. While Farnese becomes that Demon Lord’s horse and spreads that Demon Lord’s words, Dantalian himself will be covered by the curtains of the performance and be caught by no one, allowing him to freely destroy the continent without being hindered by anything.

On the other hand.

I am unable to do so.

As the Imperial Princess of the Empire, that is impossible for me to do. I have to spend my time with hundreds of n.o.bles surrounding me at all times. As there were always ears around me to hear the words I say, if I were to take action, then there will always be eyes to see the things that I do. Until now, I had treated my destiny of having been born as the Imperial Princess with grat.i.tude. Not even for an instant, have I ever thought that my standing as the Imperial Princess could possibly become my weakness……!

The girl’s speech had reached its zenith. She unsheathed her longsword from her waist and raised it to the sky. Every single one of the soldiers held their breaths and were absorbed in the girl.

— I, Laura De Farnese, born as a human and branded as a slave, as a single peasant who is here now to struggle alongside you all, shall hereby declare! Be they humans, demons, commoners, or peasants, I shall struggle for the people without discriminating borders!

— You as well, fight back alongside me! Discard all the boundaries that oppress you all! Become free on your own, mankind!

That girl……So that child is Dantalian’s successor.

People were shocked by the news that that girl was a human. That was the effect that Dantalian was aiming for. Dantalian had utilized a human girl as his orator on purpose.

If the person to give the speech were, perhaps, a Demon Lord or a demon, then the soldiers would not have stirred. If the person to stand there were a n.o.ble, then the soldiers would have scorned the speech. However, Laura De Farnese, who was standing on top of that boulder, was not a Demon Lord or a n.o.ble and was simply a freeman with the blood of humans. She was a human. Since they were the words of a human, they naturally seeped into my subjects who were also humans.

“……Ha.”

Did laughter come when despair deepened?

I ended up unintentionally letting out a smirk.

Abruptly, who I was and where I stood became clear.

I was the Imperial Princess of the Empire. Until now, I have proven that I was the one and only Imperial Princess.

However, because Dantalian had suddenly appeared in that spot, he had defined what kind of fate lied behind me being the Imperial Princess. He was an existence that defined me.

“Dantalian……”

If I am to survive as the Imperial Princess, then I must take his life.

If I am to survive until the very end, then I must also take the life of that girl.

If I fail to do so, then the life that will fall will be mine.

“Demon Lord……!”

A certain ooze of emotion flowed out from my heart that was tightened by fear. Aha, I am certain that I am insane. Although there were existences that I must kill in order to stay alive in front of me, I felt pleasure in life from that.

“So you are my destiny……!”

He will most likely hide and not come out.

People will most likely never find out who he is.

But I know.

Only I am looking at you.

The universe is a meaningless crowd and if it were a solitary ocean, then a single island will drift on top and we will be seated there facing one another. Like the time we had faced the other with black and white stones, while in the center of today’s shower, our future from now on will be spent facing the other. Demon Lord, you are my destiny and I will surely be your fate as well.

Agitated, the n.o.bles shouted. They browbeat the soldiers while striking their cheeks.

“You fools! What are you staring at absentmindedly!? Are you all unable to shout and prove to them that you are the subjects of the Empire!?”

“Do you want to become a traitor and die!?”

The soldiers quickly got down onto their knees and obeyed the n.o.bles. However, I was aware. The other soldiers around them were glancing at the n.o.bles with cold gazes. Was this the scenery that the Demon Lord had drawn in his dreams?

The aristocrats shouted and the officers and men remained silent. Since the angry scoldings were burly, they surged upwards to the sky, but quickly dissipated, however, the silence was cast down heavily and spread out widely. The air that was separated into two layers felt like the world that was soon going to be split into two sections. I, Elizabeth, will fall into the gap between that tear.

But what is the issue?

My life has become a single bliss. At last, my tomorrow was not going to be the repet.i.tion of today, and instead, be the day after today. Today, Dantalian had already fulfilled the promise that he had made me.

— Demon Lord, could you die here together with me?

— I am fine with that, but is there a need to die right this instant?

— What point is there to live any longer when the light will fade after today? If it is now, then I can lightly depart.

— I promise you that the number of occurrences more pleasant than this will increase from now on.

How beautiful.

A beautiful voice. So these are the words of Dantalian.

So destiny was something that was so radiant and splendid that made even destruction into something that was blinding.

“……Ah.”

I shed a tear for the first time in my life.

On the 4th month and 3rd day, it seems I was born for the first time.

While joyously accepting the definition of my life to kill and be killed with that man, I closed my eyes. Since there was a single strand of melody in the world that was dark, it felt as if that girl was going to continue that melody forever. I, for a long time, while dwelling on that feeling, listened to that girl’s music that consisted not of melodies, but with words……

— You all, rage in everyone’s stead, and solely rage as mankind. Enlighten the people in power about who the original owners are. We shall sing. The song we sing shall be the song of vows where we swear that we will no longer descend from being owners and into slaves. The moment you raise your cries and hold your spears, the G.o.ds will thus bring down upon us the glorious life with the name of tomorrow!

— Make them shudder. Make those authority figures tremble before the revolution of all. Other than your false shackles, you all have nothing else to lose in this revolution. Only the world that you must obtain, the everything that you must acquire, is spread out before you—

—Oh, humankind, fight back!

FIN.

(TL NOTE: DO NOT READ ON THE SITE READINGLIGHTNOVEL)

(THEY TAKE MY TRANSLATION WITHOUT PERMISSION AND PUT IN ADS)

TL note: As a side note, this speech got its own Korean wiki page once volume 3 was released. People referred to it as ‘The speech of Bruno Plains’.

Anyway, once I’ve translated the intermission and afterword, volume 3 will be completely over! It shouldn’t take me too long to do both, so it should come out within the week, probably.

I will be starting another character poll once I put up the afterword. The characters will be strictly limited to the ones that have appeared in volume 3(sorry Ivar), and this time, I will also be putting up the characters that have died. Furthermore, I’ll also be uploading a gallery with all the HQ ill.u.s.trations from volume 1 to volume 3.

I wonder if it’s too late to consider donations… I should probably ask the author soon…

Ehem. Anyway, see you guys in the intermission.

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