Acting as a Slit-Eyed Villain Perfectly

Chapter 298

Chapter 298. Yulian (1)

Abigail was frightened as she saw Yulian walking towards her.

Corpses of demons and humans were mingled together, making it no exaggeration to call this place hell on earth.

No one was unscathed, and both the interior and exterior of the emperor's audience chamber were so filthy that they could be called ruins.

Yet.

In that hellish landscape, Yulian looked unscathed.

'... He's smiling?'

He was approaching Abigail and Eulsis with his usual smiling face.

He was like the moon rising in the night sky.

A moon that seems close enough to grasp when it shines brightly in the dark night, yet never truly reachable.

Such a 'moon' was now on the ground.

'Can I reach... it?'

Gazing at the moon fallen on the earth, Abigail thought. Could she bring down this 'moon' with her 'sorcery'?

The moon is a mysterious realm in this world.

No one knows why it's in the sky or how it emits light.

Thinking of dimming that light without knowing its principles was absurd.

"Eek...!"

Despite this, Abigail began to gather all her mana, overcoming the wounds on her body.

Her task now was not to resist the disaster. It was to get the dying Eulsis out of there somehow—.

"Stop."

Abigail quickly turned her head towards the voice. It came from somewhere beneath her, at the edge of where she cradled him.

"Y-Your Highness Eulsis!"

"That's enough."

The 'Demon King' she was holding spoke in a human language.

"You are free, Abigail."

Eulsis' trembling voice became clearer.

"Our contract to remain together until the Empire is destroyed. There's no longer a need to uphold it. Leave now."

"B-But...!"

The clarity of his 'human' consciousness meant that his power as the 'Demon King' was diminishing.

However, although he accepted the demonic energy of the 'Demon God' during the process of becoming the 'Demon King', his body was not intact.

Abigail checked Eulsis' chest and abdomen.

The areas supposed to be filled with organs and bones had collapsed.

"I am not staying by your side because of the contract, Your Highness. It's simply because of you..."

"Abigail."

Eulsis silenced Abigail, who was trying to say something. The bracelet on Eulsis' wrist began to glow faintly, and he showed it to Abigail.

"My final command. Disappear from here."

Hearing that, Abigail began to move like a doll.

She chanted a spell with tears in her eyes and soon vanished from the audience chamber in a flash of white light.

Simultaneously, the bracelet on Eulsis' wrist shattered.

"Unexpected. I thought you would ask her to stay with you until the end."

Keheuk, cough.

Instead of answering, Eulsis coughed. As he opened his mouth, not blood but some kind of mucus seeped out.

"If I resist, I'm sure to die. Not showing mercy in this situation is your strength, isn't it?"

"For someone who knows that, you sure came all the way here."

"That's why I tried to recruit you as much as possible."

Eulsis coughed once more.

"Not all the plans succeeded, but there's no regret."

"I suppose so, given the state of the Imperial Palace."

"Even without regrets, it's a pity. Although damaged, the Empire will remain."

Eulsis directed his hazy gaze toward the center of the audience chamber, where the imperial crest was engraved.

"What will you do, Yulian?"

His gaze shifted to Yulian.

"The Emperor is dead. Two princes died here as well. The only survivor, despised by the world, is you."

Yulian knew what that meant. Eulsis thought so, and continued speaking.

"Proving your innocence will be difficult."

"Indeed. It's not surprising if the imperial army or the people place my head on the execution block."

"What about running away?"

At the unexpected suggestion, Yulian tilted his head slightly.

"If you flee from here, abandon the Empire, you can survive."

Inwardly, Eulsis hoped he would accept this suggestion.

Unlike him, Yulian, who carried impure blood mixed with that of an outsider, had also been despised, treated as a tumor in his family.

Having walked a similar path, Eulsis understood Yulian more than anyone.

If Yulian agreed to flee from the Empire, it would at least bear fruit in this event as well, Eulsis thought.

"Unfortunately, there's no such plan."

"Really? That's a pity."

Disappointment settled in Eulsis' eyes. As time passed, life was draining from Eulsis' body.

Due to a posthumous sorcery left by Milena, Eulsis, having lost his power as a 'Demon King', was left with a body so corrupted by demonic energy that it would be unsurprising if he died immediately.

"While we were talking, you missed the chance to kill the Demon King and the prince, Yulian."

Eulsis spoke with a cool voice, devoid of any regrets.

Then, with a "Do your best," his gaze shifted to the shattered statue of the 'Empereror Adratan.'

"Pathetic."

Muttering in a fading voice, Eulsis' once bright eyes no longer reflected any light.

"It's over."

Confirming Eulsis' death, Yulian muttered. The 'demonic energy' that was faintly present around him vanished without a trace.

With the 'Demon King's' death, abnormalities appeared among the demons in the audience chamber.

The demons, pure byproducts of the 'Demon King's' power, disintegrated into ashes after their central figure died.

Even the horned demons struggled to maintain their form, becoming weak enough to vanish with a mere flick.

'He's coming.'

In a situation where relief should have been felt, Yulian slowly turned his head toward the noise coming from outside the audience chamber.

Are they entering?

No matter what, considering the situation—

While such conversations were ongoing, someone flung open the door of the audience chamber.

The first to rush in was Abisha.

"Kaldrach!"

She hurriedly ran to Kaldrach, who was collapsed on the floor.

Following Abisha were the imperial army, nobles, and citizens caught up in the commotion, slowly entering the audience chamber.

Faced with the demon and human corpses sprawled everywhere, people grimaced.

"Such a horrid incident in His Majesty's audience chamber..."

"Who on earth could have done something like this?"

As their lamentations poured out, their gazes shifted to Yulian, standing at the center of the audience chamber.

Among the wreck and bodies, Yulian's attire remained unblemished.

Although splattered with some blood, Yulian appeared the least affected among those present.

"Ugh, ugh."

Looking at Yulian, everyone thought. The perpetrator of this incident must be him.

Though there was no clear evidence, everyone gathered here thought that way—the infamy built around the name 'Yulian'.

Even if it was contrary to the truth, it had indeed ensnared him.

"That bastard!"

One of the nobles spoke.

"He's the culprit!"

Another noble shouted.

Although terror of Yulian had been ingrained into their bones, the crowd's mentality began to overwhelm it.

"It's certain that Yulian unleashed the demons into the Empire and assassinated the prince!"

"Right, right!"

Without concrete evidence, unaware of what happened in the audience chamber, the nobles chose the simplest and most convenient option in the chaos, where many, including a prince, had died and even the emperor's status was uncertain.

"Kill him!"

"Take him to the gallows!"

"Wait!"

As the crowd's shouts engulfed the audience chamber, a man emerged from among the nobles' group.

Covered in blood and mucus, it was Pintel.

***

He had been battling a tri-horned demon at the third gate, using all his magic to defeat it.

Indeed, Pintel took some damage in the process, barely supporting his bleeding, wavering body with his staff.

"What are you saying to Sir Yulian, the one most instrumental in this ordeal!"

Stepping forward, he cried out as if in agony.

"The appearance of demons in the imperial palace was the act of the 4th Prince Eulsis! And to stop it, Sir Yulian came here...!"

"What nonsense is that!"

Despite Pintel's plea, the crowd remained unmoved.

Pintel scanned the area.

Initially, he thought this, everyone here had experienced a dreadful incident, and because of that experience, they had made a 'simple' decision that shouldn't be made.

But he was wrong.

The nobles sought Yulian's death. Regardless of what had transpired in the imperial palace, they were uninterested.

They merely needed a scapegoat for this upheaval.

"Wretches."

Pintel gently cursed, tightening his grip on his staff.

He had expended most of his mana defeating the tri-horned demon, but still had enough for a spell or two —.

"Let's stop, Sir Pintel."

The person hindering Pintel was none other than Yulian himself.

The clamor demanding his death surely pierced his ears, yet Yulian remained utterly calm.

In fact, there was even a sense of transcendence about him.

"There is nothing that can stop an angry mob. Any attempt to protect me will merely be swept away by the tide."

"... Sir Yulian."

Cautiously, Pintel addressed Yulian.

"I'll try to make a way. You should leave this place first...."

"If you do such a thing, Sir Pintel, you won't survive."

Indeed, Pintel lacked the energy to run.

While he could still cast a few spells, his trembling legs clearly showed they wouldn't withstand the onslaught of the knights.

'I failed to foresee this situation.'

Pintel reflected on his oversight. Though a situation hard to predict, as a supporter of Sir Yulian, this too should have been considered.

"But if you leave yourself to them, without a miracle, you won't survive...."

"I learned one thing in this world."

"Pardon?"

Pintel turned his head at Yulian's words.

"Miracles aren't things that happen; they're things to make happen."

His curiosity over Yulian's words was momentarily quelled as a path through the crowd at the entrance of the audience chamber appeared.

Soon, a figure at the center became visible.

A Black Knight was walking their way.

Clacky's Corner:

2 Chapters left.