Demon King of the Royal Class

Chapter 441

“Damn... That stubborn fool...” Vertus gritted his teeth upon hearing about Olivia Lanche.

The fact that Reinhart was the Demon King had not been disclosed to the public because of fears it could escalate into a religious issue.

Leaving Olivia Lanche unchecked posed too great a risk, since they did not know whether she was one of the Demon King’s accomplices.

Therefore, keeping Olivia under surveillance had been deemed the best course of action. However, now that Olivia Lanche knew the truth, she had begun to act recklessly.

“She’s not even trying to hide her intention to side with the Demon King.”

More than anything, Olivia’s talk of religious trials and doctrinal discussions clearly demonstrated her intent to buy time. It was evident that she had decided not to stay neutral, but to protect the Demon King.

If Olivia Lanche was not an enemy of humanity, she had at least chosen to become an enemy of the empire.

“Should we kill her?” Scotla Kelton asked.

Vertus gritted his teeth as he considered Scotla Kelton’s report and replied, “Even if we could kill her, it would be in the middle of the Temple. Her skills are formidable, so killing her without causing a commotion is impossible. There would be chaos.”

The main building was one of the central locations within the Temple. If a fight broke out between Olivia Lanche and the Shanapell knights when they tried to kill her, the commotion would surely draw many eyes.

At this point, Olivia Lanche was even more difficult to kill than the Demon King.

The Order of the Holy Knights and the Church of the Five Great Gods would surely hold the empire accountable for killing Ouen’s Champion, and such an incident would incite intense resentment towards the empire among the majority of the adherents of the Church of the Five Great Gods.

Announcing that she had to be killed because she had sided with the Demon King would be too much to accept. People would only accept the simple truth that “the empire killed Ouen’s Champion.”

Olivia Lanche knew very well how politically and religiously significant her life was.

Killing her would provoke conflict between the empire and the Church of the Five Great Gods even before the Demon King’s death.

And the Demon King possessed not one, but two holy relics. This made it not just an issue for the empire but also a religious matter. Therefore, the leaders of the empire couldn’t only discuss the Demon King’s fate among themselves.

The Church of the Five Great Gods had more than enough justification to involve themselves in this incident. If left alone, Olivia would escape the Temple on her own and head to the Order of the Holy Knights.

When that happened, Olivia Lanche would lead a large contingent of holy knights to the Temple’s gates, demanding a joint discussion about the Demon King’s fate. She would assert that deciding whether to kill or save the Demon King was a matter for the Church to decide.

She would warn that killing the Demon King recklessly would not be a smart idea.

Olivia Lanche would threaten the empire.

‘Real trouble is often caused by honest fools.’ Vertus had once said this to Reinhart. It was also something he had said when assessing Olivia Lanche.

A crazy fool who would declare in front of humanity that the Demon King should not be killed... that was Olivia Lanche.

All her talk about the Church of the Five Great Gods and such was just an excuse. This fool wasn’t on the side of the Church, but solely on the side of the Demon King. She wasn’t even trying to hide it.

Her logic would be clear. She would note that he had not one, but two holy relics. And if two of the five gods had chosen the Demon King, then he had to be righteous.

She would say something like, “Let’s not hate each other and find a way to coexist,” and fabricate all manner of nonsense with the sole intention of saving the Demon King.

“... This is really driving me crazy...”

She couldn’t be killed, nor could she be left alive. If the Church of the Five Great Gods started to intervene in an affair that the empire intended to handle quietly, the situation would become uncontrollable.

Above all, regardless of the Church’s intentions, Olivia Lanche was trying to prevent the Demon King’s death.

To sow great confusion among the public, she would likely spread the news that Reinhart, publicly recognized as the next hero, was the Demon King.

It’s often said that a loach can muddy an entire pond. But this wasn’t on the scale of a single loach or a single pond. Vertus felt like he was watching a dragon thrashing about, throwing the empire into chaos.

“Summon... Illeion Volten,” Vertus said.

“... Are you sure about that?”

“What choice do we have? It’s better to delay the Demon King’s execution a little than to see the empire split in two by killing Olivia Lanche, isn’t it? It’s a thousand times better to let the Demon King go and then wage war with the demons. If a war with the demons breaks out, the empire will only become stronger, not collapse.”

He was growing weary.

Vertus felt like the limits of his mental capacity were being tested over the past few days.

***

Illeion Volten entered the Temple with a few attendants to handle the issue with Olivia Lanche. Olivia Lanche was about to release information to the world that had to remain strictly confidential, information that would inevitably cause great chaos if revealed.

‘Humans, there is a Demon King chosen by the holy relics. What do you think about that?’

Olivia, who had been agitating for the Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights to be brought in for a discussion, stood up when Illeion Volten arrived.

“What is it, Olivia?” Illeion Volten asked.

“Let’s go outside first, Commander.”

Now that someone had come to see her, Olivia had no intention of staying confined in the main building any longer.

The Shanapell knight who had been monitoring Olivia blocked her path.

“Miss Olivia! You can’t!” the knight exclaimed. “You must have the conversation here. You cannot leave.”

The Shanapell knight’s response to Olivia’s attempt to leave seemed excessive. The Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights and the other attendants sensed that something unusual was happening.

The Order of the Holy Knights knew that something was happening in the Temple, but they had no idea about the details.

Olivia approached the knight with a sardonic smile.

“Who are you to tell me what to do? My personal affairs are not under the jurisdiction of the empire, but rather the Order of the Holy Knights and the Church of the Five Great Gods. The Temple? I could care less about it. The empire has no right to dictate where I go or what I do,” Olivia stated calmly.

“...”

“Blocking my path will be seen as a challenge to the Order of the Holy Knights, and will soon be considered an anti-religious act, clearly going against the will of the Church of the Five Great Gods and its followers across the continent.

“Step aside. How dare you stand in the path of a Champion?”

With the Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights by her side, Olivia did not need to rely on her personal strength alone, but on her symbolic and political standing as well. Thus, Shanapell had no choice but to step aside.

The knights of Shanapell could only watch with gritted teeth as Olivia Lanche walked out, carrying a bomb that could shake the entire continent.

***

Olivia Lanche explained the situation to Illeion Volten, the Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights. She conveyed not only that Reinhart possessed Alsbringer, but also that he shared mastery over Tiamata with Olivia.

Reinhart, who had been chosen by two holy relics, was the Demon King. Therefore, a meeting of the highest ranks of the Church of the Five Great Gods needed to be convened urgently.

Whether it be a meeting to discuss doctrine or the setting up of a religious trial, something had to be done about this matter.

Illeion Volten was understandably shocked upon learning about all this. That alone was enough to show the gravity of the situation.

The task of handling this matter within the Church was left to Illeion Volten. The revelation that the Demon King was the master of two holy relics would send a massive shockwave through the entire Church.

Priests and holy knights would also be divided in their opinions on this issue. Therefore, Olivia moved before any decision from the higher-ups was made. Taking action was very easy for Olivia.

At the headquarters of the Order of the Holy Knights, she gathered priests and believers together for an impromptu sermon. Since it was a sermon given by Ouen’s Champion, many showed up to attend.

Olivia didn’t say much.

“The gods are always right, aren’t they?” Olivia declared, and the gathered crowd nodded.

“The gods arrange and plan everything, don’t they? Therefore, the choices of the gods cannot be wrong, and cannot be denied. The blessings the gods bestow upon us are evidence of their righteousness and a sign of their love for us. Thus, beings who receive the blessings of the gods are worthy of love and must be affirmed, just as we, the chosen ones, are loved by the gods.

“The most powerful of these blessings, and one that serves as evidence of the gods’ love... Holy relics.”

Olivia summoned Tiamata into her right hand and held it high.

—Whoa...

A gentle holy light flowed from Tiamata, drawing a reaction from her listeners. Some were in awe, some were moved, and many were overwhelmed by the grace of witnessing the holy relic.

“As a being chosen by such a holy relic, I dare say that I am someone who can claim to represent the will of the gods.

“Everyone, listen to me. The Demon King, who has caused such a stir, is currently held in the Temple.”

—Whoaaa!

Her words caused a great stir in the hall. In a time when everyone feared the name of the Demon King, the news that he had been captured was enough to evoke shock, awe, and relief among the audience.

“You may have heard of the new hero, Reinhart,” Olivia smiled. “It turns out that the hero chosen by the war god Alse is actually the Demon King, who has infiltrated the human world.”

It was only natural for the awe in the hall to turn into shock.

As the crowd murmured, Olivia continued, “Of course, we don’t yet know the full details. However, the important thing is that even if he is the Demon King disguised as a hero, the fact that he was chosen by Alsbringer does not change.”

The audience, overwhelmed by the sudden storm of shocking information, struggled to regain their composure, but the key message was clear. The Demon King had infiltrated the human world under the name Reinhart, and he had been chosen by Alse.

“Of course, it’s possible that the Demon King used some evil trick to be chosen by Alsbringer.”

‘An evil trick.’

The people, who had quickly become confused, began to regain some clarity at the mention of that phrase. It was something Olivia, who was trying to save Reinhart, shouldn’t have said, yet this statement was crucial.

“The Order of the Holy Knights and the Church of the Five Great Gods hold the sacred duty to prove whether or not the Demon King was truly chosen by Alse.

“Currently, the Demon King is in the custody of the empire. However, this issue is ours to determine. The duty to determine whether the Demon King was chosen by the gods, and the right to decide his fate, do not belong to the empire. They belong to us.

“Determining whether the Demon King was truly chosen by a holy relic or if he deceitfully stole a holy relic that should have belonged to another is not the empire’s prerogative, but ours.

“From this moment, I intend to go to the Temple to take custody of the Demon King. I firmly believe that confirming the Demon King’s legitimacy or exposing his deceit is the sacred duty bestowed upon me by the gods.

“In the name of the Five Great Gods, in the name of Ouen, the God of Purity, I will judge whether he is noble or not, under the name of the gods.”

A political maneuver to take custody of the Demon King... Olivia Lanche was beginning to stir up a major incident.

The seeds of confusion were being spread among the masses. Those seeds would soon sprout everywhere, bringing with them tremendous chaos.

***

Olivia did not recklessly claim that the Demon King, having been chosen by the holy relics, had to be a righteous being. Such extreme claims would only provoke backlash from moderates within the congregation.

However, it was undeniable that the Demon King had been chosen by the holy relics. Therefore, a discussion to determine his righteousness or expose his wrongdoing had to proceed, and it had to be the Church that led that discussion.

Olivia’s assertion that this was an issue for the Church and should be handled as such was not an extreme position, but something that seemed perfectly natural.

The shocking message she had delivered to the believers sowed confusion among them, but Olivia prioritized action.

Olivia Lanche returned to the Temple about five hours later. She was not alone. She was accompanied by approximately two hundred elite holy knights from the Order of the Holy Knights.

The atmosphere among the holy knights was tense. They were not only shocked that the Demon King had been chosen by the holy relics but also furious that the empire had attempted to handle an important matter concerning a champion of the gods secretly, without informing the Church.

All the holy knights agreed with Olivia Lanche’s opinion that the Church of the Five Great Gods had to be the one to determine the Demon King’s fate.

Standing before the guards and the knights of Shanapell at the entrance of the Temple with her entourage, Olivia stepped forward.

“We are performing a sacred duty. Let us through,” she said.

“The Temple is imperial territory. It’s not a place where the Order of the Holy Knights can come and go as they please,” one of the guards responded.

“Since the gods created this continent, all lands are under the grace of the Great Gods. Therefore, the true masters of all lands are the Five Great Gods, and as executors of their commands, there is no land we cannot enter,” Olivia said fluently and persuasively, as if she had never turned her back on the gods.

“You are interfering with a very important religious matter concerning the Order of the Holy Knights and the Church of the Five Great Gods,” she continued. “Step aside. We will be discussing the Demon King’s fate.”

“I repeat, you cannot enter.”

“I will take that as permission to use force.”

Shring!

Olivia deliberately drew Tiamata from its sheath threateningly.

The holy knights, seeing Olivia draw her sword, cautiously drew their own swords with tense expressions. They were also on edge due to Olivia’s sudden actions.

Ouen’s Champion, Olivia Lanche, was dangerously close to crossing a line.

If they clashed with the Temple’s guards, the incident would escalate uncontrollably.

Regardless of whether Olivia’s actions were right or wrong, it would officially lead to a conflict between the Church of the Five Great Gods and the empire. This clash at the Temple’s entrance could go down in history as the starting point of a religious war.

Not just the Temple’s guards but the holy knights who followed Olivia were overwhelmed by her display of fanaticism.

No one had expected her to go this far.

One of the holy knights who followed Olivia swallowed hard and tried to dissuade her.

“Champion, this is too much...”

Olivia’s eyes turned to him. “Are you doubting my will now?”

‘Opposing my will is opposing Ouen’s will,’ her fierce gaze said. ‘Even if you are a fellow member of the Order of the Holy Knights, if you go against my will, don’t believe for a moment that your head will stay on your shoulders.’

Olivia Lanche was demonstrating the recklessness that only a Champion of the Gods would resort to, something that could plunge this tense situation into chaos.

The Church of the Five Great Gods, holy relics, the confusion of the believers, and religious wars—Olivia was just pretending to care about them.

This incident could lead to a religious war, causing the empire to fracture, and the conflict between these holy knights and the imperial army could become the flashpoint of a great war and massacre that would shake the entire continent.

Olivia didn’t care about any of that. The world, humanity—whether they fell or not, it didn’t matter to Olivia.

Olivia Lanche intended to save Reinhart. Therefore, she would remove anything that stood in her way, even if it were the gods themselves.

“Move aside if you don’t want a war.”

At Olivia’s chilling words, not only the guards but the holy knights who had followed her could only hold their breath.

Pure fanaticism...

The worst-case scenario that such madness could lead to was about to unfold.