Chapter 6: Proof and Rampage – 2

“General! The enemy is here! They are advancing toward the main gate!”

“Damn it! Those cunning bastards!”

An explosion erupted near the administration building.

The fact that an attack occurred not just anywhere but in the heart of Mevis Harbor threw the defenders into complete disarray.

Soldiers rushed toward the administration building in a panic.

However, moments later.

As if lying in wait, the enemy began to emerge from the darkness.

“Recall the soldiers who went to the administration building! If the walls are breached, it’s all over!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Already at a disadvantage due to their lack of manpower, holding off the enemy was impossible under these circumstances.

Though they didn’t know how many enemies had infiltrated the harbor, their immediate priority was stopping the main force advancing before their eyes.

But then.

Creeeeak!

“!? Wh-what’s that?”

“W-wait! Why is the gate—?”

Before their eyes, the main gate suddenly and inexplicably began to open.

Timed perfectly with the advancing demon forces, the sight sent a shock through General Iskal, as if he had been struck in the head with a hammer.

…

“General… look over there!”

One of his subordinates, his voice urgent, pointed toward the now wide-open gate.

What lay beyond were the corpses of Imperial soldiers who had been stationed to guard it.

And standing in the center of that grim scene was.

“K… Ke…sar?”

“T-The Demon Lord… The Demon Lord is here!”

The lone figure who had slaughtered the gate guards and flung the gates wide open.

One of the Free Races’ most feared enemies, second only to the Great Demon King in terror—Kesar.

The Demon Lord, Kesar.

Standing in the center of the wide-open main gate, his imposing figure froze General Iskal in place, a chill running down his spine.

At that moment, an instinctive thought began to rise within him.

…R-Run… I need to run! Quickly! I must get to the ship and escape, just as Leon said!

Leon Furcler.

Once a disciple of Mari, he had aspired to become a sorcerer.

However, confronted by the limitations of his talent, he left the Magic Tower and pursued the path of a warrior.

Yet, even after achieving a certain level of success as a warrior, an unshakable feeling continued to linger within him.

A resentment toward his peers who had outpaced him.

And, most of all, toward his mentor, Mari, who had risen to heights he could never hope to reach.

The summit of the mountain grew ever distant.

And above it, shining like the sun and looking down upon him as if in mockery, stood Mari.

To Leon, these thoughts manifested as a profound inferiority complex.

This complex became the driving force behind his obsession with climbing the ranks after becoming a warrior.

Though he justified his actions as following orders, his active participation in Mari’s purge was undeniably fueled by his jealousy and resentment.

Though he refrained from delivering the final blow, watching Mari’s demise with his own eyes had filled Leon with a twisted sense of satisfaction.

A monster, after all, is still just human.

No matter how extraordinary her talents, dying like a wretch rendered them meaningless.

In the end, the victor was himself, the one who survived.

This sense of triumph, born from his inferiority complex, had been a source of smug joy for Leon.

But now…

In stark contrast to the exhilaration he had felt back then.

An overwhelming, suffocating terror gripped his heart at this moment.

Before him stood someone he never should have seen alive again.

Mari.

How could this be?

Leon’s mind raced as he struggled to comprehend the impossible sight before him.

He had seen her final moments, certain there was no chance of survival.

And yet, there she stood.

This woman—no, this monster—stood before him.

Faced with the incomprehensible horror of the situation, Leon’s body began to tremble uncontrollably.

As if sensing his terror, the monster began to move.

Slowly, step by step, Mari approached him.

Her entire body was shrouded in blood-red flames, the same devastating force that had obliterated the administration building in an instant.

Watching her approach, Leon could do nothing but shake, seized by a fear so intense it felt as though his heart might burst.

At that moment.

“Ah…!”

Mari stopped, halting her steps just in front of him.

To Leon’s temporary relief, the scene he had envisioned—being incinerated into ash by those crimson flames—did not immediately come to pass.

But the fiery aura surrounding Mari still raged mere inches from his face. Frozen in fear, Leon could only look up at his former mentor.

Her voice, cold and cutting, broke the silence.

“I have one question for you, my former disciple.”

“! W-What… What is it, M-Master?”

The title, which he hadn’t used in so long, felt foreign on his lips.

But there was no room for awkwardness.

In this moment, Leon knew he had to cling to any shred of connection, no matter how small, with the monster before him.

As Leon groveled, desperation etched into his features, Mari spoke again, her voice sharp and chilling.

“Why did you betray me? Who gave the order for this treachery?”

“! Th-that… It was… Isk—”

CRACK!

“AAAHHH!”

Before Leon could finish his sentence, Mari’s blood-red flames surged forward, stopping just short of engulfing him.

The heat and pressure were enough to make him scream in terror, his words cut off as he stumbled back.

“Don’t even think about spouting nonsense like ‘General Iskal acted on his own.’ I know exactly what kind of man he is.”

Mari’s flames scorched a line across the ground.

The deep, glowing red mark carved into the floor served as a clear warning to Leon—it could just as easily be drawn across his throat.

“Ugh… ugh… ah…”

“Stop stalling and answer me properly. Who is it? Who gave the order?”

Leon’s breath hitched, his voice faltering at Mari’s demand. The one excuse he had prepared was now useless.

And with the metaphorical blade pressed against his neck, his mind went blank.

There was only one option left to him now.

The truth.

…

“It was… the Emperor… Emperor Hiren III issued the order. He personally instructed me and the others to… to purge you, Master.”

“What? The Emperor gave the order himself?”

The mention of someone far higher—indeed, the highest authority among humans—stopped Mari cold.

Her expression hardened into one of shock and disbelief.

“Why? Why would the Emperor order my death? After all the years I’ve spent serving the Empire with absolute loyalty… Why?”

“I… I don’t know either. But… but he did say that if we succeeded in eliminating you ‘discreetly,’ we would be richly rewarded. Immense wealth, vast lands… and even noble titles. H-he even gave us this directive…”

With trembling hands, Leon produced the imperial directive and held it out to Mari.

Mari took the document and examined it.

Her eyes lingered on the Emperor’s seal, pressed prominently into the parchment. For a moment, she said nothing.

She had already suspected the involvement of high-ranking officials in the Empire.

But seeing proof that the order came directly from the Emperor himself left her momentarily speechless.

Most nobles had always looked down on Mari, a commoner who had risen to power.

Naturally, she had assumed this betrayal was orchestrated by the aristocracy, with the Emperor merely being manipulated by their schemes.

But now, the truth stood stark before her.

The instigator of this treachery was none other than the Emperor himself—the very symbol of the Empire.

This was the same Emperor who had shown her trust, the one she had deeply admired and to whom she felt genuine gratitude as a commoner.

And yet, he had ordered her death.

Not only that, he had promised one of the highest rewards the Emperor could grant—noble titles—along with wealth and land, as incentives for her assassination.

The realization shattered the last thread of faith she had clung to in her heart.

“P-please spare me! I… I only followed His Majesty’s orders! I never truly wanted to betray you, Master!”

Leon groveled before Mari, his voice trembling as he begged for his life. His face was a picture of desperation as he looked up at her hardened expression.

But his thoughts told a different story.

‘Good… just a little more… just a little more…’

Hidden behind his pitiful exterior, Leon allowed a sly smile to flicker in his mind.

No matter how monstrous she might be, everyone had their weak points.

Even this woman—this overwhelming force of destruction—had once been vulnerable enough to be stabbed in the back.

No matter how powerful she was, a blade plunged into her unguarded back could still end her.

‘All I need to do is create that one moment of carelessness.’

His thoughts raced.

The explosion caused by Mari’s entrance into the administration building had been loud enough to draw the attention of nearby soldiers.

It wouldn’t be long before reinforcements arrived.

While they wouldn’t stand a chance against Mari directly, their presence would create a distraction.

And in that fleeting moment of chaos, he would strike.

If he succeeded, the glory of this mission’s primary achievement would be his—and with it, the chance to finally bury the inferiority that had haunted him.

‘When the others arrive, I’ll seize my chance… I’ll drive my blade into her back and take her head.’

Leon’s heart pounded, not with fear but with anticipation of the opportunity to redeem his pride and secure his ambition.

Leon had poured all his efforts into buying time, even revealing the truth, for one singular purpose.

“Master, I completely understand your anger. But I was just a victim caught up in this conspiracy. Please, I beg you, grant me mercy just this once!”

He bowed repeatedly, his voice laden with apologies as he groveled before Mari.

And then.

“…I will forgive you.”

“Ah!”

Leon’s face lit up with a feigned expression of relief.

The words were exactly what he had been waiting for.

This would lull her into letting her guard down even further.

And judging by the noise from earlier, reinforcements would be arriving soon.

All he needed to do now was wait for the right moment to strike and sever her head from her shoulders.

“Thank you! Thank you, Master! I will never forget your kindness—”

“Kh…arghhh!!”

Suddenly, Leon’s words were cut off as flames enveloped his entire body.

The crimson fire, blazing like a serpent, coiled around him and devoured him in an instant.

“Ghaaaahh! Wh… What is… this…? You said… you said you would spare— GHHAAAAHHH!!”

Leon’s screams echoed in agony as the fire consumed him, his entire body succumbing to the unbearable pain of being burned alive.

Amidst his anguished cries, Mari spoke in a voice devoid of warmth, as cold and merciless as ice.

“This is your forgiveness. In exchange for your life.”

“Th-this… is insane… I… gh… AAAAAAHHHH!!”

With a final scream, Leon’s voice was silenced as the flames swallowed him whole.

His charred body crumbled to the ground, reduced to little more than a pile of ash and blackened bone.

The remnants of her former disciple were barely recognizable as human.

Staring down at what remained of Leon, Mari’s voice dropped to a whisper, her tone heavy with quiet disdain.

“It was so obvious… how foolish I must have been.”

Even as he groveled, Leon had been plotting, waiting for an opportunity to strike with a hidden blade.

But Mari, no longer the woman who once trusted those around her, saw through his intentions as clearly as if they had been written on his face.

At that moment, Mari felt it again—the true nature of humanity.

The duplicity of beings who bow their heads in submission while sharpening their blades behind one’s back.

From Leon, who had just been groveling at her feet, to the Emperor seated high on his throne, looking down on the world with arrogance—they were all the same.

The realization twisted her insides with disgust.

As she processed the bitter truth, Mari sensed new presences approaching. Slowly, she turned around.

“Captain Leon! What on earth is going—”

“W-wait, who are you?”

“M-Mari? H-how… how is this possible?”

The soldiers, recognizing her, froze in place.

Their voices quivered as they stared at her in disbelief.

Mari met their panicked eyes, her expression unreadable.

Slowly, a dry, hollow smile crept onto her lips.

“As I thought… the only thing to do is destroy them. Humans, that is.”