Chapter 450: Chapter 450

The plaza has become a scene of utter chaos.

Citizens and soldiers groan in agony, strewn across the path trampled by the two siblings.

Crater-like holes have formed throughout the area, and thick pools of blood flow around the corpses. Barely two minutes—no, perhaps not even a full minute—have passed. And in that brief span, hundreds have already become casualties…….

I unconsciously brush my right hand. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel•fire.net

The spot where Daisy had kicked me still throbbed. But the pain that stung even more wasn’t in my hand. It was in my heart.

I had always suspected something would happen someday. Ever since the day I chose to spare Daisy’s life instead of killing her, a part of me had envisioned a scene playing out. I was born a Demon Lord and yet I didn’t kill the hero……. In the end, this was nothing more than the natural consequence of my actions.

Daisy had done nothing wrong.

And neither had Laura.

“Ehh. They got away in the end, huh?”

Gamigin whined from behind. I turned around and looked at her. Not just me, but the key Demon Lords, including Marbas, also turned their ears toward her.

“Ran away? You mean they escaped the pursuit?”

“Yeah. As soon as they left the city, they used a teleportation spell and vanished. They escaped right before my wyverns swooped down. I guess that was their plan from the very beginning.”

Vassago clicked his tongue.

“Tsk, cunning bastards. Let’s organize a pursuit squad centered around magicians. If nothing else, we should be able to trail them.”

“Hmm. If they’re clever enough to think that far ahead, they’ll probably teleport multiple times to scatter their tracks. Sounds like a pain to me, so personally, I don’t recommend it.”

“That doesn’t mean we can just let them go,”

Vassago sighed, as if the thought disgusted him.

“We’ve lost Barbatos. And the location couldn’t be worse. This happened in the heart of Niflheim. We let a bunch of human brats make fools of us right in demonkind’s own backyard. Just imagining the ripple effects makes me dizzy.”

“Dantalian. I blame you.”

Vassago glared at me. At that, the other Demon Lords all turned their attention to me.

Even in this situation, or perhaps because of it, I was able to calmly assess Vassago’s actions. He was deliberately taking the helm.

Right now, there are very few Demon Lords who can openly criticize me. Only four: Marbas, Sitri, Gamigin, and Vassago. Gamigin and Sitri are blatantly on my side, so they wouldn’t rebuke me. That leaves only Marbas and Vassago due to their positions.

What would happen if Marbas scolded me? It would immediately be seen as a political attack. Worse, it could give the impression that the Neutral Faction was trying to seize the initiative and take control. That was precisely why Vassago stepped in before the Neutral Faction could. It was a way to naturally support me.

Vassago spoke in a chilling voice.

“Those traitors are your foster daughter and foster son. A child’s wrongdoing is the parent’s fault. You’re not seriously planning to make excuses and claim you’re free from responsibility, are you? If your silver tongue still thinks it has something to prove, go on and defend yourself.”

This was the perfect opportunity.

I needed to offer a clear, decisive apology here. Say that I failed to properly manage my foster daughter, express my regret. That way, no one could come back later and drag this issue out again. If I wanted to minimize the political damage, now was the time to act.

Thank you, Vassago. I will never forget this favor. I swear it. Even if you betray me someday, I will overlook it once, without question.

“I have no excuse to offer.”

I calmly parted my lips.

“I was the one who carried out Barbatos’ execution. I was the one who made a spectacle of myself after being betrayed by my own foster daughter. It’s all due to my lack of virtue. There is no room for disagreement.”

“Oh? That’s unusually obedient of you.”

Vassago sneered. Thanks to his forceful stance, the other Demon Lords remained silently observant.

“Then it’s time to take responsibility. How do you plan to atone for this mess?”

“Please hand me an axe.”

Vassago furrowed his brow and swept his gaze around the area. One of the guards responded to his glance and stepped forward. The soldier respectfully offered a hand axe with a gleaming, razor-sharp blade. Vassago received it and handed it to me.

I slowly knelt down on the ground.

From far across the plaza came the low murmur of a restless crowd. Most of the citizens had already left. Only the wounded and those helping them remained, cleaning up the aftermath of the chaos. The four Neutral Faction Demon Lords who had been ambushed by Daisy had more or less recovered and were being supported by their subordinates.

I drew a shallow breath.

Then I raised the axe—and brought it down on my left thigh in one swift motion.

Someone gasped. It was probably Gamigin and Sitri. I wordlessly raised the axe again and struck my thigh once more. Crimson blood splattered from the axe blade onto the ground. Cutting through a thigh was no easy feat. Once, twice, three times—eleven mechanical swings later, I finally succeeded in severing it.

I had not once changed expression during the entire ordeal.

It was quite painful, but that was all. Ever since I’d taken an arrow to the left thigh during the Chrysanthemum War, the sensation in that area had dulled to the point of near numbness. Just like the muscles of my back, it was one of the parts of my body that had lost sensitivity. Something heavy had been cut off—at most, that was all it felt like.

But from the other Demon Lords’ perspective, it must have looked very different.

When I lifted my head and looked at the other Demon Lords, I was met with a series of rather strange gazes. Without exception, they were staring at me with shocked expressions, as if they had just witnessed some horrific monster.

Well, seeing someone dispassionately hacking away at their own thigh would indeed be disturbing. Maybe I should have pretended to be in a little more pain. Still, what mattered now was seizing control of the atmosphere. I believe I made the right choice.

“I, Dantalian, swear before all the goddesses that from this moment on, I shall live the rest of my days as a cripple, forever without one leg.”

I placed both hands on the ground and bowed my forehead to the floor.

“I shall never use my regenerative powers to reclaim my leg. Considering the weight of my sins, the loss of a limb—no, even the sacrifice of my life—would still not be enough. But I hope to atone for the rest of my crimes by laying bare the truth of who I am. I ask for your mercy.”

A heavy silence settled over the crowd.

Since I kept my forehead pressed to the ground, I couldn’t see what kind of expressions the other Demon Lords were making. But shortly afterward, I heard Sitri’s flustered voice, as if she had just snapped out of a state of shock.

“What are you talking about? There’s no need to go that far! That human girl was the one at fault! Why do you have to take the blame?”

“The traitor’s guardian was Dantalian. Of course he must take responsibility.”

Vassago spoke in a strangely drained tone. He sounded utterly incredulous.

“Dantalian’s apology is perfectly justified. I’m willing to forgive him with that. However, as he himself said, this incident must be fully resolved under the condition that he alone takes responsibility for it.”

“Heh. From the sound of it, you’re just making up whatever story suits you.”

Gamigin cut in. She didn’t even try to hide the irritation in her voice.

“Was Dantalian even in charge of security today? If I recall correctly, he wasn’t. Even if you want to blame Dantalian for that stray girl or whatever betraying us, who was it that let her get away like a winter fish slipping through their fingers? Wasn’t it your house’s people? Marbas. Weren’t you the one overseeing security today?”

Gamigin let out a scornful laugh.

“Even with four Demon Lords surrounding her, you couldn’t subdue a single human brat and got taken down in one blow. It’d be great if you reflected on how pathetic you guys looked.”

Just now, Gamigin pretended to condemn Vassago, but subtly shifted the blame onto the Neutral Faction. She had picked up on Vassago’s intention and discreetly played along.

Vassago and Gamigin only appeared to be at odds, but in truth, they were taking turns attacking and stealing the initiative from the Neutral Faction. Sitri stepping in between them was also well-timed. Sitri probably hadn’t caught on to the political maneuvering and was acting out of pure anger, but thanks to her, the coordinated assault by Vassago and Gamigin wasn’t too obvious.

This is the new balance of power in the Demon Lord Army that I’ve devised.

On one side is the Neutral Faction. On the other side are the Mountain Faction and the unaffiliated Demon Lords.

And in the middle—just like always—I will adjust the balance. The role the Neutral Faction used to play will now be handled by Vassago.

Though still unstable, the fact that the fierce antagonism once seen between the former Plains Faction and the Mountain Faction no longer exists may even make this a more stable balance. It is a structure stripped of ideology, left with nothing but political maneuvering.

Neither Marbas, nor Vassago, nor Sitri, nor Gamigin—none of them possess the kind of passionate ideology that Barbatos or Paimon once pursued with fervor. What remains is only personal relationships and political calculation.

This, in the end, is my final destination.

“……I acknowledge my mistake. Dantalian’s apology is more than sufficient.”

Marbas finally spoke.

“Just as holding someone accountable for the incident is important, so too is resolving it. And there is no one more suited to that task than Dantalian. Dantalian, raise your head. We accept your apology.”

“Your generous clemency, my comrades.”

I slowly raised my upper body.

“I am truly grateful.”

“You vowed to live the rest of your life with a limp, but as Sitri pointed out, there is no need for such a thing. Before you are a Demon Lord, you are the face of the Empire. How could you choose to remain crippled?”

“Once again, I thank you for your gracious words.”

I looked up at Marbas.

“However, I have already made a vow to the goddesses. Reward and punishment must be clear and just. I cannot in good conscience let my responsibility slide. Please, I ask that you accept my apology.”

This was all a performance for Vassago.

It was Vassago who demanded an apology from me, and it was also Vassago who first agreed to accept it. If I were to immediately accept Marbas’s offer here, it would undermine Vassago’s standing.

From now on, Vassago’s role in the newly formed Demon Lord Army will become increasingly important. There was no one besides Vassago who could freely voice their opinions without concern for faction affiliation or independence. Precisely because of that, I had to bolster Vassago’s authority as much as possible.

Vassago holds the authority to punish Dantalian. That kind of appearance was what mattered.

“That’s ridiculous. Dantalian, you can’t possibly—!”

Sitri tried to shout something, but before she could, Marbas let out a sigh and spoke.

“If that’s what you prefer, then I have no right to oppose it. But know this, should you ever change your mind, we will never blame you. Please keep that in mind.”

I once again prostrated myself on the floor and showed my respect.

“This disgrace…… I will surely repay it.”

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I’m writing this quickly before going to bed, so I’ll keep it short. Work kicked up again with a lot of small projects just piling on top of each other, so I just constantly felt scatterbrained this past week. I ended up just relaxing last weekend cause I didn’t want to stress out my brain. Things are better again, but yeah, really annoying that work just fluctuates randomly .

Things are also settling in this arc and it feels like there’s going to be set up for the next huge event again. We have that to look forward to.

I’ll see you guys in the .