The story of one person overthrowing the Empire’s headquarters soon reached the higher-ups.

 

The Generals.

 

The ten pillars a level above the senior knights in the knighthood.

 

However, there is now one vacant position.

 

Today’s meeting continued in a heavy atmosphere. This matter was particularly serious.

 

The fact that most of the knighthood’s personnel were defeated by a single being was not something easily acceptable.

 

Among them were Eve, a senior knight, and Albert, the second general. By any measure, it wasn’t a force that should have been defeated by one person.

 

Especially Albert…

 

“You’re saying there’s a human in the Empire who can beat Albert single-handedly? Isn’t this misinformation?”

 

“If it were misinformation, Albert would be here too.”

 

Meetings of the generals were not frequent occurrences.

 

These individuals, who could be said to hold the highest positions in the Empire, were all busy with various duties.

 

Unless a major incident warranted gathering these busy people in one place, such meetings were generally not held.

 

The fact that the highest-ranking individuals were summoned already meant the incident was serious, so it was common not to be absent unless there were truly special circumstances.

 

Especially someone like Albert, with his meticulous personality, would have tried not to miss the meeting.

 

It had already been three days since the Empire was attacked, but Albert had not opened his eyes.

 

That’s why there was a vacancy in a seat that was thought to never be empty.

 

“Ahem, ahem.”

 

And the woman who had called them here cleared her throat to focus attention. She was the figure sitting in the center.

 

She was the former head of the knighthood and now the academy’s dean.

 

Her striking appearance was something that one could never get used to.

 

Her long black hair falling down was noticeable, but her differently colored eyes were especially eye-catching.

 

Red and blue eyes each emitting their own light, creating a cold impression.

 

Sertia.

 

That was her name.

 

“You all know why I’ve called you here.”

 

Sertia said this while scanning the faces of those seated. She was checking to see if anyone had yet to receive the information.

 

No one expressed doubt at her words. It meant everyone had been properly informed.

 

“Recently, someone infiltrated the Empire’s headquarters without permission. Many were killed and injured in the process. This probably wasn’t an ordinary intruder. After all, it was someone who achieved victory against Albert.”

 

Albert was one of the top figures among the generals.

 

Even among those gathered here now, only Freya the Sword Saint and Sertia could match him.

 

The intruder was capable of single-handedly taking down the Empire’s core forces. The possibility that this was the leader of a large criminal organization or perhaps not even human couldn’t be ruled out.

 

“To conclude, I suspect this incident was carried out by the remaining forces of the Demon King’s army.”

 

Sertia paused to organize her thoughts, then continued. All eyes were focused on her at that moment.

 

“After the Demon King’s death, the world faced unprecedented chaos. We didn’t expect the impact of their death to be this large. With the leader controlling the Demon King’s army gone, accidents occurred everywhere, and monsters that ate their fragments even evolved to the next stage.”

 

Those gathered here would know best how terrible the disasters caused by the Seeds of the Demon King and the remnants of the Demon King’s army running wild were.

 

This was because those gathered here were elite personnel who had accumulated countless first-hand experiences.

 

Therefore, she didn’t explain that part separately.

 

“After losing their head, the remnants of the Demon King’s army began gathering the scattered fragments of the Demon King. Probably to create a new Demon King by collecting them.”

 

“And what makes you say that?”

 

“In this incident, we lost the Demon King’s fragment hidden underground. They killed the monster and only took out the fragment from its body. They likely wanted the fragment from the beginning and planned this action in advance.”

 

It was likely a planned terror attack, which is why Sertia seemed to suspect the Demon King’s army was behind it.

 

They probably sent just one person because they were confident in their abilities. It would have been easier to clean up traces alone.

 

In any case, the important thing was that their forces were comparable to or even superior to the Empire’s.

 

Since the hero’s disappearance, the Empire had been shaken.

 

The world had become full of remnants of the Demon King’s army and Seeds of the Demon King. Still, there was a critically insufficient force to confront them.

 

Sertia was taking this problem seriously.

 

A hero was needed to maintain peace. And since the hero of the previous generation had died, they had to wait for the next one.

 

“Freya. What’s the current status of this generation’s hero?”

 

“……They haven’t even passed the hero’s first test yet.”

 

“They’re still in their second year, right? Please guide them to pass the test before graduation.”

 

The era when the Demon King and Hero existed was ending.

 

Now, there were more retired individuals than active ones, so expectations for the next generation were high.

 

She thought it was time to focus on cultivating talented individuals.

 

***

 

I woke up after a long sleep.

 

I don’t know how much time has passed. It felt like a very long time subjectively.

 

The bed was soaked with sweat I shed while sleeping. It seems I was unconsciously tense while having a long nightmare.

 

Since it was right after waking from a deep sleep, my head was throbbing.

 

I felt like I needed a little rest.

 

I raised only my upper body on the bed and held my aching head, trying to shake off the lingering effects of the dream that remained vivid in my mind.

 

“……Riana.”

 

Come to think of it, was there such a name?

 

To be honest, it was a name I had forgotten. It’s not like the people I’ve killed were just one or two.

 

It’s not like I remember the names of all humans.

 

It wasn’t a good memory after all. I wish I hadn’t been shown something like this.

 

Actually, not many of my memories were intact, so I felt bad no matter which part was shown.

 

In the end, I ended up eating two Seeds of the Demon King.

 

When I ate the first one, the changes in my body were so subtle that they were hard to notice, but this time it was a little different.

 

Unlike the first time, there was a more clearly noticeable difference.

 

First, the foreign energy felt inside my body became stronger. Probably the Demon King’s energy.

 

It seemed that the fragment didn’t digest in the body but settled and became a part of it. The multiple fragments in the body were pieced together into one.

 

It might be a good sign.

 

I could use the energy flowing from the fragment as a substitute for meals.

 

With this, I gained a grace period. The time I could endure without becoming a monster increased.

 

Of course, there weren’t only good things. There were also side effects of eating the Demon King’s fragment.

 

When you eat a fragment, you partially accept the Demon King’s power.

 

My body, which was already strong, became even stronger after receiving the Demon King’s power.

 

The more I absorbed their power, the more difficult it became for this body to meet death.

 

The body was turning into a monster to prevent the mind from being tainted.

 

I would need to think a bit more about whether this was really the ideal I wanted.

 

***

 

After some more time passed, the day came when I had to go to the academy.

 

Before going to school today, there were more things to check than usual because quite a lot had happened at the Empire’s headquarters.

 

First, I checked if there were any wounds on my body that hadn’t healed.

 

It would be troublesome if questions came about how these wounds happened.

 

Only after checking if there was any undissolved hair dye stuck in my hair and if I hadn’t forgotten to remove the contact lenses could I go to school normally.

 

It was a short holiday, but a lot happened.

 

I fought Albert, whom I thought was just my professor in charge, had my first conversation with a monster, and ended up having a long nightmare.

 

I found out belatedly that I had been asleep for three days.

 

“……”

 

It was tiring in many ways.

 

I learned the lesson that it becomes difficult when you make the Empire your enemy.

 

I also didn’t want to fight with people I was acquainted with.

 

Especially regarding Eve and Albert, it was just regrettable.

 

That day was so chaotic that I didn’t know if both of them were dead or alive.

 

I hope they’re alive, if possible.

 

Now, I was resting on a bench in the academy’s internal park.

 

Today, I was alone on the bench. No one came before me or came later to sit.

 

I may not have disliked Albert’s presence that much, as he used to chat in a calm voice.

 

I sat there for a while, feeling an awkward silence.