0.0000001% Demon King - 0DK Chapter 36: The Holy Land (2) (Part 2)

Collecting her emotions, she spoke.

“Pope, I have a question.”

“Speak.”

“When I visited the branch of the Sun God you designated, they said it was being attacked by bandits.”

“…”

The Pope’s expression hardened. Sinclair, who had not seen his bowed head, continued.

“But that was not the case. They were mercenaries. And they were hired by the branch.”

Karos was not her concern. He was the Demon King.

But she intended to save the mercenaries. They were just ordinary people caught in the middle.

“What’s going on? Why are they being called the Demon King’s minions?”

“…Hero, lift your head.”

Sinclair looked at the Pope. He still smiled kindly.

“They have been with the Demon King from the beginning.”

“What?”

“They tried to lure you to the side of the Demon King.”

“They were? from the beginning?”

“Yes. Blasphemous beings. To think of siding with the Demon King as humans.”

“…But.”

Sinclair remembered the confusion of the people of the branch. She opened her mouth to question further, but the Pope interrupted.

“Hero, what is our first doctrine?”

“…Those who believe in the Sun God shall not speak falsehood.”

“Yes. We do not lie. Because we are believers of the Sun God.”

The Pope spoke as if soothing a child.

“But they do not believe in the Sun God. So they lie. Hero, are we, the followers of the Sun God, to be doubted?”

A subtle pressure lingered in those calm words. Sinclair stepped back in confusion.

“Pope?”

“We are righteous. No. We are the only ones who are righteous. We are the good of this world.”

The Pope raised his hand with crazed eyes.

“This is the evidence.”

Bang.

The door opened. No one should have been able to enter the audience with the Pope, causing Sinclair to turn in surprise. Her pupils dilated immediately.

The people of the Holy Land were looking at her with dazed eyes from outside the door.

“The great Hero!”

“To capture the Demon King for us!”

“Truly, you are our savior!”

Petals fluttered. The scattered petals soon covered the floor. They approached the hero, showering her with all kinds of praise.

Sinclair looked at them. As if looking at a distant place, as if watching a play.

**** ****

“Ugh.”

Barely making it back to her room, Sinclair suppressed the urge to vomit. Her head was spinning. Her limbs trembled, and she felt numb.

“Ah…”

What should I believe in?

She poured out her emotions inwardly.

Now she understood. The praise from those people was not true. It was merely a pre-arranged act.

She had believed in the Sun God. In the church, in the Pope. She had no doubt their emotions were all genuine, but she was just a clown. Just an actor swayed back and forth in a play.

She had believed in Vain. The first person she saw who was not a believer, someone from the outside. Although a bit strange, having never seen people from the outside, she considered all his actions normal. She liked Vain, who was completely different from anyone she had ever dealt with.

But Vain was not a human but the Demon King. Humanity’s enemy.

“Ugh.”

Everything she had believed in and trusted shattered. The platform she stood on cracked, and she was engulfed by a sense of falling. The girl who lived in a fairy tale could not withstand the reality that crashed in.

“What should I believe in?”

The girl who had always believed in others asked.

No answer came from anywhere.

“…”

Sinclair staggered to her feet.

**** ****

“So, you’re a Demon King, right?”

“What now?”

Karos frowned at the voice that didn’t match its gentle tone. The rugged man tried to smile.

“I heard every Demon King possesses a unique ability. Do you have one?”

“…I do.”

Not that it’s of much use. Karos swallowed the rest of his words. The rugged man swallowed his saliva.

“You’re going to use that ability to escape, right? That’s why you were captured? Then maybe us too…”

“Sorry, but my ability isn’t for that.”

“This useless thing!”

The rugged man immediately burst out in anger. At the swift change, Karos let out a chuckle.

“Such a fickle creature.”

“Hero! Save us! We don’t want to die!”

“There’s no reason to save you, is there?”

The slender man, who had been quiet, spoke indifferently. The rugged man shook the slender man’s shoulder at his apathetic attitude.

“Hey! Say something too! We can’t just die because of this damned Demon King!”

“We were dead either way.”

“What, what?”

“Think about it, brother. The Demon King interfered after the Hero got involved. If it wasn’t for the Demon King, we would have died right there.”

“…But!”

The rugged man knew that too. But he was frustrated for a reason.

“It’s still unfair! What did we do wrong!”

“It was just bad luck. As always.”

This time, the luck was exceptionally bad. The slender man turned away, saying that.

“You’re Karos, right?”

With unshaken eyes, Karos affirmed.

“Yes.”

“It’s my first time seeing a Demon King. You don’t look much different. I have a question for you.”

“Go ahead.”

He probably wants to ask about a way to survive. Karos thought so and twisted his body.

But the slender man’s following words made him freeze, still twisted.

“Why did you reveal your identity to the Church of the Sun God yourself?”

Hyung_Otaku

I'm currently Translating the following novels: Pick Me Up! | A Frontline Soldier Awakened as a Gamer In The War! | The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!

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