Chapter 69 - Whose is the Bond of the Demon King (2)
"Demon King?"
Naiad looked at the soldier with a baffled expression.
"The Demon King is alive?"
"Aaaahhhhh!"
Regardless of Naiad's reaction, the soldier charged directly at Clay.
"Dieeeeee!"
His eyes were already so filled with rage that he couldn't see anything else.
Clay dodged the sword he swung from top to bottom and lightly tripped him.
CRASH!
Unable to overcome his momentum, the soldier dropped his sword and tumbled onto the floor.
"Wh-what was that?!"
Naiad shouted in a startled voice.
"Clay! Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
Clay quietly looked down at the fallen soldier.
"What on earth is going on! Is he really crazy?"
Even though she didn't know the situation, Naiad was furious that the Yafenon soldier had attacked Clay.
"Attacking the hero! I'll teach him a lesson!"
"Naiad."
Clay stopped her with his hand as she was about to fly away.
"It's fine."
"What? But…"
"This is something I have to take care of."
He turned his gaze to her.
"So, you should just go back."
"Clay?"
She opened her mouth with a flustered expression.
"Did something happen? What happened while I was gone?"
"Yes."
Something had happened. A very big something.
"But I don't want to explain it to you."
Naiad didn't know anything. Clay didn't want to get her entangled in this.
"Go back, Naiad. Otherwise, you'll regret it."
"Regret?"
Naiad, who had been staring at Clay with a hardened expression, flew over and swung her small fist.
Plink!
While Clay stood there with a stunned look, as if he had been hit by a nut thrown by a squirrel, the soldier who had been groaning on the floor got up.
"Demon King, you bastard…"
Muttering as if chewing the words, the soldier charged at Clay again.
"Just dieeeeee!"
As if to shield the reflexively outstretched hand of Clay, Naiad flew in, held her breath, puffed up her cheeks, and opened her mouth.
RUUUUUMBLE!
Starting from Naiad's mouth, a very powerful stream of water spread out in a fan shape and collided with the soldier's entire body.
CRASH!
The soldier, who had fallen backward, was pushed by the sudden current and flowed down the hallway, crashing into a window.
『Cataracta.』
Naiad's eyes, which were raised, shone a brilliant blue as if resonating with nature.
CRACK!
Without using her mouth, Naiad used the vibration of a water drop to use the incantation and manipulate her power.
The stream of water, which began to rage like a waterfall, finally shattered the window and sent the soldier falling outside.
"You idiot, Clay."
Naiad turned her head away and spoke.
"What is it that you can't explain?"
Seeing Clay's wide eyes, Naiad jumped up and down in the air.
"Are you trying to bear the burden alone again? You said we would do everything together!"
The past came to mind.
The image of Naiad getting furious and clinging to his side whenever he tried to solve things secretly by himself.
Caught off guard, Clay let out a small breath, then eventually slumped his shoulders and let out a hollow laugh.
"We can't do everything together, Naiad."
"What, did you become the Demon King or something?"
At that question, Clay could only fall silent again.
"…Ha."
Naiad ran her hand over her forehead.
"Clay."
She flew right up to his face.
"If you don't tell me, I won't know anything."
"It's better for you not to know anything."
"Ugh!"
She grabbed her own hair and pulled at it.
"Please don't do this! I've been away from you for too long already! I couldn't help you with anything you went through!"
"Whatever happened to me isn't your fault."
"You blockhead!"
She shrieked.
"I like you!"
At the confession that seemed to have been pushed out by her surging emotions, Clay flinched.
"How many times have I confessed to you! Just let me bear some of the burden! Let me feel what it's like to have complicated emotions!"
"...What?"
"Like the person I like has fallen into darkness! The feeling of not knowing what to do because they are different from before! I've already decided what I'll do when that happens!"
She, who had shown a way of thinking outside the norm for a spirit who communes with pure nature, spoke her feelings honestly, perhaps too honestly.
"I'll do it!"
"Do what, exactly?"
"I'll designate everyone who hurt you as my enemies from now on."
Naiad raised her hand.
"If you don't want to tell me, then don't. I'll just pretend I heard it. After all, I know what kind of person you were. And it's clear that you are someone precious to me."
It was also a declaration toward Clay.
"I, Naiad, the Queen of the Water Spirits, make an unbreakable oath in the name of the sacred fountain, Vdaneu. Clay, who stands before me, is the one with whom I have promised an unending bond, and that is the same as promising an eternal alliance…"
"Naiad!"
"I promise that we will always be headed to the same place."
Instantly, a blue light enveloped her body. It meant that the fountain, which the water spirits considered sacred, had accepted her oath.
"You!"
Clay spoke as if scolding her.
"Do you know what that means?"
Her oath was recorded in the Akashic Record. And not just recorded, but engraved as a rule.
She was now unable to betray Clay. If she did, the worldline would reject her, and she would lose her spiritual power.
"I know."
Naiad crossed her arms and let out a hmph sound through her nose.
"That's why you should have just told me. Before I did this."
Clay couldn't say anything. He didn't know what kind of emotion he was feeling right now.
"Did you hope I wouldn't get swept up in this? Or were you afraid of the version of you that I couldn't accept?"
Naiad spoke calmly, as if this was not a light matter she had committed.
"Whatever it is, I won't lose you. So don't lose me either."
A sudden encounter.
He couldn't explain anything, and she didn't get any understanding.
But, despite all that, Naiad had chosen Clay. Even though it might bring about immense regret.
"You might despair over the choice you've made."
"Then I'll despair."
"You won't be able to run from my ugliness either."
"I won't run."
Naiad took hold of Clay's cheeks.
"I already made all my choices a long time ago."
That with the companionship of time past, she would share all the pain of the future, and that even if it were to break her, she would not resent it.
"Because I fell for you that much."
Naiad drew a pure smile.
"…I."
Clay clenched his fist.
At the moment he lost everything, what he wanted most was exactly this ridiculous belief. And it had now found him, who had become the Demon King.
"It's stupid, right?"
Naiad scratched her head.
"What's so great about a guy who won't even accept a confession. Ugh."
And yet, she spoke with a face that was more radiant than anyone else's.
"So show me."
The unavoidable truth.
"For my sake, who took on all of you as soon as I returned."
It was a sweet, but far too late, reunion.
Part 2
Yafenon had fallen.
Uthor was dead, and half of the capital was destroyed.
The news of this major event soon spread throughout the continent.
"The, the Demon King has appeared?" "Even Yafenon was defeated without any power." "Is it going to be like that time again?"
The appearance of the new Demon King was revealed to everyone. And that fact once again awakened the fear of war that remained in people's hearts.
"Fuck, you're telling me a Demon King could appear again?!" "The hero is dead, too! What do we do now?" "Th-the Holy Kingdom Alliance has to do something!" "But why did Krata just stand by while Yafenon was being defeated?"
Amidst the chaos spilling out of the broken eggshell, suspicion toward Krata spread like wildfire. Why didn't they save a nation that belonged to the alliance, and why were they still silent afterward?
It was something that even Clay himself, who had caused such a stir, didn't know. But regardless of that, one fact was established in the Demon Realm.
The era of the Demon King had begun again.
The stories about the new Demon King, which had only been rumors until now, rapidly became a topic of great interest among the demons.
"I heard the new Demon King destroyed Yafenon and took all their weapons with him." "Those human bastards must have been caught completely off guard. Heh heh heh." "Do you know Barugenia? They say he's in the Fourth Castle, so I'm on my way there too."
Most were excited, predicting a revival of the demons, but,
"Hmph! Isn't that just propaganda for the public?" "Beatrice probably did it all."
There were also those who didn't fully believe the story and were suspicious.
But regardless of affirmation or negation, there was one single phrase that silenced the commotion of all those opinions.
"But I heard the new Demon King is a human."
And the former hero, at that.
The content was that the hero, who was known to be dead, had appeared as the Demon King.
The story was that he had been resurrected and was taking revenge on humans as the Demon King.
This could have been an uncomfortable truth for the demons. Still, the demons didn't disparage the new Demon King's qualifications based on his race; they only found the facts hard to believe.
"That bastard was incredibly strong." "If we're just talking about strength, whether he's a Demon King or whatever, he can do whatever he wants, and we can't say anything about it."
The demons only needed someone with the strength and motivation to lead them. And if that was the former hero who had been killed by the hands of humans, there was nothing they couldn't accept.
It was much better than being trapped in the Demon Realm and perishing.
"Well, I'm going." "Me too."
Some of the demons left for Barugenia,
"I will watch a little longer." "Someone who is no longer the hero couldn't possibly be handling our power properly." "I can't acknowledge him as the real Demon King until I see it with my own eyes."
While others continued to live in seclusion or showed a lukewarm attitude due to their unsuppressed suspicions.
"Heh heh heh, forget all that, I just want to have a fight with the new Demon King."
Of course, there were also those who harbored a competitive spirit toward him.
All kinds of emotions, such as hostility, suspicion, and euphoria, settled among the demons. It was the first time there had been such a commotion since the former Demon King died.
Whatever the case, it was clear that the continent would become noisy from now on. The demons would move to find their roles.
In such an atmosphere, Barugenia was filled with cheers.
"Long live the Demon King!" "The demons can finally fight properly again…!" "It's all thanks to the Demon King!"
All the demons gathered in the plaza in front of Barugenia's castle were praising Clay. However, Clay himself was not present there.
"…You really have a talent for causing problems in the strangest of places, Clay."
Beatrice, who was there instead, put her hand to her forehead.
While she was still having a hard time managing Barugenia during the demons' battle with Yafenon, Clay, who had returned, was sitting in the chair of the office, looking across from him.
There, Naiad, who had followed him all the way here, was sitting on the desk with a dazed expression.
"Ha, haha. This is really something."
She looked at Clay with an awkward smile.
"This will be a difficult journey."
Clay sighed and muttered.