Chronicles of Demon Exorcism (除魔傳記).
Here was a work that looked old just from its title.
As the title suggested, it was an utterly predictable story depicting the life of a hero who fought against the demon race.
Though it had been called a mass-produced work, it had its own share of popularity.
A story progression as stable as a bowl of gukbap.
Even a cast of characters with their own distinct personalities.
Long ago, I, too, had once followed it every day without fail.
But mass-produced was mass-produced.
Unfortunately, it could never become a masterpiece.
Because in the latter half, the power balance completely fell apart.
The hero had grown too strong, so the final mastermind meant to oppose him, the most terrible Demon Dragon, had also been set with a power balance that was utterly screwed.
└Is this for real? Everyone except the protag gets wiped out?
└Balance restored in just one chapter lololololololol
└This is right. The hero can split the sea with one sword strike, so a mastermind at this level had to show up.
└Honestly, to balance it properly, the continent should’ve been erased the moment the Demon Dragon breathed fire lololol
└Still, even the protagonist being rendered unable to fight is a bit……
The comment section had been in an uproar back then.
Even so, the work continued toward a total annihilation ending.
Because the setting had collapsed beyond even the author’s control.
And that forced story progression eventually—
[[Hiatus Notice Alert]]
- Due to the author’s personal circumstances, this work will be on hiatus for the time being……
A hiatus notice that was practically no different from an indefinite discontinuation was posted.
Naturally, no miracle of serialization resuming ever happened after that.
And what was even more fucked up than that was the fact that I had possessed someone in this hopeless world with neither dreams nor salvation.
A world where an ending of total destruction was basically guaranteed.
‘Did I leave a comment too?’
…Fuck, I don’t know.
I don’t remember anything like the cause of my possession.
When I opened my eyes, I was in the world of Chronicles of Demon Exorcism, and I took up the sword to avoid dying a dog’s death somehow.
That was all.
‘…Just one more step.’
Whatever the reason, it had already happened.
With survival as my goal, I had climbed all the way up to the Imperial Guard.
So that I could personally deal with the most terrible Demon Dragon.
If it was the Demon Dragon before its awakening, then “this” alone should be enough to handle it.
Clink. I groped inside my clothes and checked my armament once more.
My fingertips touched a hard metallic object.
“Armand, are you listening?”
At that moment, a man’s voice rang out.
“Ah, yes. Captain Darkan.”
“Haha, even someone like you gets nervous when guarding Her Imperial Highness, it seems.”
“To be honest, I do.”
Darkan, the captain of the Imperial Guard, whose bald head left quite an impression, scratched his brown beard and chuckled.
“You must never let go of that tension. Her Imperial Highness is no ordinary person.”
“May I ask what you mean by that?”
Before being assigned as the Imperial Princess’s escort knight.
I was currently being briefed.
And not by my predecessor, but directly by the captain of the Imperial Guard.
That was quite an unusual occurrence.
“Do you happen to know what happened to your predecessor?”
“I do not. How would I know, when I only recently joined the Imperial Guard?”
“He was dismissed from his post along with a harsh punishment.”
“……?”
“It was only natural. He dared to harbor feelings for Her Imperial Highness beyond his station and ended up committing an impropriety. Not only your predecessor, but the one before him as well.”
“Is that really true?”
“One of them was executed, if I recall. That’s also why I’m handling your briefing myself.”
“Huh……”
It was absurd.
The Imperial Guard was the elite of the elite.
They were knights armed not only with skill, but with loyalty down to their very minds.
For men like that to not only harbor ulterior motives toward the person they were guarding, but also fail to control those feelings?
Even if they were executed, they would have no excuse.
“In any case, do not look into Her Imperial Highness’s eyes for more than three seconds.”
“Three seconds…? What is the reason? I was under the impression that looking directly into the eyes of a member of the imperial family was itself discourteous.”
“A person’s gaze naturally turns toward a beautiful flower without realizing it. Once captivated by that beauty, you will not be able to look away.”
“Are you saying I might be enchanted?”
“That is correct. Your predecessors went that way as well.”
“Hah, no matter how beautiful Her Imperial Highness may be… That joke is going too far.”
I tried to simply laugh it off. I thought it was some kind of initiation meant to tease a newcomer.
“Listen seriously. This is no joke.”
“Pardon?”
“Now that you are a proper escort knight of Her Imperial Highness, I suppose it is time to tell you.”
Darkan’s face grew quite serious.
With a stiff expression, he strode closer.
Then he carefully whispered into my ear.
“Her Imperial Highness is currently suffering from an illness.”
“An illness, sir?”
“Yes. No one knows what kind of illness it is. In any case, because of it, she spends more than half the day in bed. And from what I suspect, it may be because of that unknown curse-like illness that anyone who meets Her Imperial Highness’s eyes becomes bewitched.”
A curse-like illness, huh.
It wasn’t an illness, but a sign just before awakening.
I didn’t know how the Demon Dragon had somehow become the emperor’s daughter, but I could roughly guess.
It was probably hiding its identity and waiting to reveal its true form the moment its power recovered, intending to devour the world.
“…Ah, and one more thing.”
“What else is there?”
“Perhaps because of that illness, there are many times when she is not in her right mind.”
The captain of the Imperial Guard glanced around and whispered cautiously. As if he were wary of the Imperial Princess’s gaze, even though she was not present here.
“By not in her right mind—”
“The briefing ends here. I will take no further questions.”
“…….”
“Armand, you only need to remain by Her Imperial Highness’s side. The moment a knight begins to doubt his lord, he is no longer a knight.”
‘Tch, you were the one who made me suspicious first.’
I swallowed those unnecessary words and nodded.
The Imperial Princess was not entirely sane, huh… If anything, that suited the title of the most terrible Demon Dragon.
And none of that mattered anyway.
Because she was destined to have her breath cut off by my hand.
“I will keep that in mind.”
Clink.
I checked inside my clothes once more and rose from my seat.
✧
The Imperial Princess of the Holy Empire and the most terrible Demon Dragon, Violetta.
For me, who only remembered the major points of the original work, that was not particularly special information.
However, today was my first time properly facing her human form.
And alone with her in the same room, no less.
“Would you lift your head a little?”
The woman seated across from me gave the order in a languid voice.
Because of Darkan’s warning not to meet her eyes, I could not examine her closely, but even at a glance, it was clear that she possessed beauty worthy of being called nation-toppling.
Mysterious violet eyes peeking through her silver hair swept over my face.
“It’s a face wasted on remaining a knight. Blond hair and blue eyes—”
Someone might mistake you for royalty. The Imperial Princess added those incomprehensible words and tilted her head.
It felt as though she was trying somehow to make eye contact with me.
“Royalty? That is an outrageous thing to say.”
“How cute. It seems you were well educated.”
When I desperately avoided her gaze, the Imperial Princess let out a small pfft of laughter.
“How could I dare face the exalted imperial family carelessly? Such a thing is unthinkable.”
“Even if I permit it and say it’s all right?”
Violetta suddenly leaned her face closer. At the same time, a sweet fruity fragrance tickled my nose.
Even the Imperial Princess’s pheromones were trying to seduce me.
“Yes. I wish to remain by your side for a long time.”
“Not because you don’t want to die young like your seniors?”
“To be honest, that is true as well. I wish to live long, after all.”
…Because I’m going to deal with you somehow and return safely.
“Is that so? You’re surprisingly honest.”
For a moment, the Imperial Princess’s indifferent eyes sparkled.
I only confirmed it from the corner of my eye, but deep interest was dwelling in her eyes.
There was nothing good about attracting the interest of the most terrible Demon Dragon.
“That way, I can devote myself to the Empire for a long time, can I not?”
I quickly added a trite answer.
“Hmmm. It’s a predictable answer, but… there’s a somewhat interesting scent coming from you.”
At some point, the Imperial Princess had risen from her seat and circled around me. Humming through her nose.
Suddenly, goosebumps rose all over me. For an instant, the Imperial Princess felt enormous.
She had merely looked at me with her eyes, and yet the pressure was no joke.
As expected of the mastermind of a world whose power balance had been shattered.
She should clearly still be in the stage before awakening, so how could she have this kind of aura—
“Don’t be afraid. I don’t want to be alone anymore either. Stay by my side for as long as possible.”
With those words, the pressure crushing me was sealed away.
“…Haa.”
My breathing opened up all at once, and I naturally took a deep breath.
It felt as though some kind of power I still did not know was circling around the Imperial Princess.
“You look tired. Rest a little. I’ll go take a nap too.”
“Understood, Your Imperial Highness.”
“Hmmm. We’ll be seeing each other for a long time, but that title is so stiff. When it’s just the two of us, could you simply call me miss?”
“Pardon? How could I dare—”
“If I tell you to do it, then you just do it.”
“But……”
“I don’t need an escort knight who talks back to me.”
“…Yes, miss.”
“Heh, good. Don’t let anyone into the bedroom. Then, see you later?”
I could not look into the Imperial Princess’s eyes,
but I could picture her face full of mischief.
I had no idea what exactly had piqued her interest, though.
With those words, the Imperial Princess turned around and headed toward her bedchamber.
With no horns, tail, or wings, she truly looked almost identical to a human.
‘I thought she’d have a purely wicked personality—’
It was just as I was blankly staring at the Imperial Princess’s back and muttering to myself.
“…Haah?”
The Imperial Princess suddenly collapsed on the spot as if she had fainted.
‘What is this all of a sudden? Don’t tell me……’
She had not even reached the bed yet.
It must have been the manifestation of the signs of awakening called that “illness.” I almost ended up being too late.
‘This works out perfectly.’
To think such a golden opportunity would come the moment I was appointed to the Imperial Guard—
The heavens were clearly helping me.
✧
“Your Imperial Highness..! No, miss! Are you all right?”
Armand immediately moved the Imperial Princess to the bed.
By principle, he should have called her attending physician at once, but there was no need.
Because he intended to deal with the Imperial Princess… the most terrible Demon Dragon, right here, and use the reward, his return.
“Haaah……”
The Imperial Princess let out a low moan.
There was no particular other reaction.
She merely lost consciousness and tossed about.
In other words, she was defenseless. It was the optimal timing for Armand, a human, to deal with the still immature Demon Dragon.
‘I’m finally using this.’
Armand took out a silver cross about the size of his palm from inside his clothes.
—Shing.
It was not an ordinary cross. The base of the cross slid apart, revealing a sharp blade.
It was a dagger in the shape of a cross.
And not an ordinary disguised dagger, either.
It was a holy sword containing a special power.
Originally, it was a holy relic the protagonist of the original work obtained from an abandoned cathedral just before the final battle, but Armand, who knew the original story, had been able to acquire it easily in advance.
This holy sword was a weapon that had inflicted a fatal wound on the Demon Dragon just after it molted. Though, as the power balance collapsed further and further in the latter half, the meaning of its existence had faded considerably—
‘…They said there was a reverse scale near the heart.’
When Armand poured aura into it, the holy sword emitted a pure white light.
That light soon transformed the holy sword, which had been smaller than a dagger, into the shape of a greatsword.
It was proof that the holy sword was resonating with Armand’s pure aura.
‘I bear you no ill will. Please go in peace.’
Armand recited inwardly and drove the holy sword straight down.
He intended to pierce her Dragon Heart in one blow.
—Thuk!
The sword made of light easily dug into the left side of Imperial Princess Violetta’s chest.
A heavy sensation reached his fingertips.
It seemed he had properly stabbed her heart.
However, the Imperial Princess’s heart……
—Thump! Thump! Thump!
was still beating regularly.
If anything, even more violently than before.
Not a single drop of blood splattered.
He could feel a healthy pulse all the way to his fingertips.
‘What the…?!’
And that was not all.
“Haaah—”
The Imperial Princess regained consciousness.
Her violet eyes turned toward Armand.
With a smile that seemed much more at ease.
And the words that followed.
“…You saved me.”
“???!!”
Far from suffering after being stabbed by the holy sword, the Imperial Princess smiled brightly at Armand.
‘…Fuck, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go.’
It was the moment his expectations crumbled completely.
On the other hand—
“Thank you. I mean it.”
A smile bloomed in full on the Imperial Princess’s face.
Like a single flower freshly blossomed.