The execution date for the Demon King Heathcliff had been decided.
It drew enormous public attention—whether positive or negative.
“The Demon King is finally disappearing!”
“Feels like pulling out a rotten tooth—what a relief!”
To some, the Demon King’s death was the first step toward lasting peace.
“He was abandoned by that damned Holy Nation in the first place!”
“He even destroyed it—so he did us a favor!”
To others, he was nothing more than an unfortunate victim.
The two opinions sharpened their blades at one another and clashed.
But both sides had reasons that held some truth.
At least from Ludger’s perspective, they did.
Supporters of Heathcliff came out waving placards.
The opposing faction also marched, refusing to be outdone, and the police and knight orders had to intervene to prevent the two sides from erupting into violence.
But no matter how loud the commotion outside became, once a decision was made, it never changed.
All eyes were fixed on the Imperial Family.
The execution date had been set, and the location would be the Central Plaza.
Even if he was a criminal, was it really acceptable to execute him in front of everyone?
But to put an end to the ongoing controversy, drastic measures had to be taken.
And although peace had returned, this era still had many shortcomings compared to the Earth of the 21st century Ludger had lived in.
It was better than the old days, when they cut off heads on a guillotine and dipped bread in the blood afterward, but...
People were still eager for the execution of a villain.
“Extra! Extra!”
A young boy wearing a newsboy cap ran around waving newspapers.
People turned their attention to him.
Newspaper boys were always noisy, but today his energy was unusually high.
“They say the Demon King is being executed today!”
As expected, people who hadn’t yet heard the news widened their eyes.
Accepting that the inevitable had finally come, crowds rushed to the plaza—only to freeze in shock at the sea of people already gathered.
The swarming masses buzzed restlessly, waiting anxiously for the moment when Demon King Heathcliff would be executed.
Some shouted in approval, others cried out in protest.
But in truth, most people didn’t care either way.
They only wanted to see which direction this spectacle would go.
The method of execution was hanging.
A man wearing a hood over his face was led onto the gallows by the knights.
People instinctively realized he was the Demon King Heathcliff.
WAAAAAAAH!!!
A massive roar shook the entire execution ground.
Some overly excited citizens tried to push closer, but the knights had built a perimeter around the gallows, making approach impossible.
“Show his face!”
“Kill the Demon King!”
In the midst of the pandemonium, Johann Okeas, the commander in charge of the site, frowned uncomfortably.
“I was hoping for a day off... How did it come to this?”
As the captain of Stella Siren, even he couldn’t believe he was here.
Beside him, his vice-captain, Doria Imiron, scolded him.
“Please focus. We only need to push through this execution quickly and end it.”
“Shouldn’t the Night Crawler Knights handle this? Or the Imperial House directly? This isn’t work for us—our job is guarding the seas.”
“That’s what you get for slacking off until Captain Lutus caught you.”
Yes—Johann Okeas was here entirely because of Lutus.
More specifically, during a meeting he had been fooling around, which irritated Lutus, and so he was given the assignment—“You handle the on-site command yourself.”
“Why me? Reinhardt was there too! He even fell asleep!”
“But he wasn’t talking. He didn’t hold a rose in his mouth, and he didn’t take his shirt off.”
Did she really need to say it so plainly?
Doria’s cold gaze implied that she very much did.
But if Johann were the type to shut his mouth after reasonable criticism, he wouldn’t have done such ridiculous things to begin with.
“What’s wrong with that?!”
He genuinely believed it was stylish and perfectly acceptable.
Knowing this, Doria sighed, realizing there was no hope of reforming him.
“Enough. Just maintain security.”
Johann and Doria were present for one reason:
To prevent something from happening.
Of course, many other knights and police officers were also stationed around.
Anyone who caused trouble here would face a far harsher punishment than usual.
So anyone with common sense would stay quiet and simply watch the execution.
‘Anyone with common sense, that is.’
Doria sighed.
“Captain.”
Normally, she would call him idiot, hey you, or similar—but in serious moments, she spoke properly.
Johann also answered with his usual frivolous expression erased.
“Yeah. I didn’t expect actual idiots to try something.”
“There are all kinds of people in the world. Like men who flirt with women day and night.”
“Now that’s a man worth learning from.”
Johann deflected lightly as he drew his sword.
The knights around them, sensing his action, also drew their swords.
Seeing them unseasonably unsheathe weapons, the citizens grew confused.
They sensed something was wrong.
Up on the gallows, the rope was being placed around Heathcliff’s neck.
All that remained was to pull the lever.
But not everyone planned to sit and watch.
“Protect the Demon King!”
Hidden among the citizens, several people sprang into action at once.
Their movements were fast.
And simultaneously—whether prepared beforehand or not—explosions erupted from stalls and buildings surrounding the plaza.
“Stop them all!”
Screams and blasts threw the Central Plaza into chaos as the Demon King’s followers clashed with the knights.
* * *
“My, my. Nothing ever goes smoothly in this world.”
With a soft tap, Ludger set down his cup and looked out from the second-floor terrace.
People were scrambling in panic, bumping into one another as they fled.
Black smoke rose in several places, and near the gallows, fighting had already broken out.
Ludger watched with a touch of regret.
They wouldn’t even let him die peacefully.
“At this rate, I wonder if I shouldn’t have come.”
A new beginning was proving to be a difficult thing.
As Ludger murmured with an air of lament, he remained strangely calm, completely detached from the chaos below.
“You look awfully pleased with yourself.”
Unable to hold back any longer, a voice criticized him.
The air across from him rippled, and a woman concealed by a watery veil revealed herself.
Casey Selmore.
She had been hiding by distorting light through a curtain of water, but she finally stepped out.
Even though she had appeared out of concealment, Ludger didn’t flinch.
He responded as naturally as if they met like this every day.
“What do you mean?”
“Ugh. Why do I even try.”
Casey shook her head and sank into the empty seat across from him.
She scowled at the coffee set before her.
Since Ludger wasn’t about to drink two cups by himself, it was clear he had been waiting for her.
“Didn’t I tell you? I’d come to catch you.”
“And here I am, waiting.”
“This isn’t what I imagined. Shouldn’t you be teasing me and running away like usual? Hiding your identity, hiding your appearance?”
“How long do you plan to keep playing hide-and-seek?”
“Says the man who started it.”
“I didn’t start it.”
“You did.”
“Fine, let’s say you’re right. But it’s been three years. Isn’t it time to stop these childish games?”
“Childish games? Oh, really?”
Casey flicked her hand.
A surge of water rose, swirling around the plaza, catching people who were about to fall.
She extinguished every fire set to cause chaos.
“H-Huh?”
The terrified citizens, who had been fleeing, froze at the sight.
Not in the middle of the ocean, but here in the plaza—massive currents were flowing.
Worse—or rather, impressively—the water was gently lifting or supporting those who had stumbled.
Some of it transformed into water sprites, guiding people toward the edge of the plaza for safety.
Without even glancing down, Casey easily suppressed the chaos.
“So why are you out here drinking coffee like nothing’s happening?”
“I received permission to go out.”
“Weren’t you being held prisoner? Why do you look like you’re on vacation? And how did they permit it?”
“If you knew how I’ve been living inside, you’d be even more surprised. Didn’t you hear from Terrina Lionhowl?”
“Terrina’s been busy.”
Casey drank her coffee with a sulky expression.
“So why did you come out here?”
“To watch myself say goodbye to my identity.”
“They really allowed that? Well, I didn’t believe the execution from the start anyway. I figured they’d use a double.”
“With a new beginning ahead of me, I came to say goodbye and watch. But of course—something like this had to happen.”
Ludger pointed his finger at the plaza.
A flash of light burst from his fingertip, blue mana shooting like a bullet.
A Demon King follower trying to cause trouble dropped like a cut marionette.
In less than a second, more than ten had been subdued.
It all happened so fast they didn’t even know what hit them.
“Hmph. You didn’t expect this? Aren’t you undervaluing yourself?”
QUAAANG!
A tidal wave erupted in the center of the plaza.
The knights and the Demon King’s followers stared in shock.
But the quicker knights realized the wave was friendly and charged in.
The wave swept across the plaza.
Amazingly, the civilians were untouched—only the Demon King’s followers were left drenched and sprawled.
The guards quickly restrained the fallen attackers.
“I didn’t think I was this popular.”
Ludger didn’t stop.
He flicked his finger, and a beam of white light shot into the air.
It burst like fireworks, scattering into dozens of strands.
The lights curved beautifully and shot down toward the followers facing the knights.
“Gah!”
“Keugh!”
Even though their tension was raised to the maximum, and they moved quickly at the sight of the approaching light, they couldn’t evade it once it changed direction mid-chase.
Hit by the light, they collapsed with groans.
They were brave and strong enough to fight knights—but they were nothing before Ludger’s magic.
“I wonder if they know. The Demon King they’re trying to save is actually a fake, and the real Demon King is up here—watching them and knocking them down.”
“Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.”
Judging the situation mostly resolved, Ludger quietly drank the rest of his coffee.
Casey watched him with dissatisfaction.
“So, what did you do for the last three years?”
“In a Hollow Space where nothing exists... I simply waited. For someone to come save me.”
“......Well, you did manage to come back alive.”
“And you? How have you been?”
“Me? I... well...”
Casey hesitated.
Ludger spoke before she could.
“You look more exhausted than the last time I saw you. As a mage of color, didn’t you awaken your true power?”
“Well... yes.”
“Then being exhausted means something happened that was too much for you to handle?”
Casey abruptly changed the subject.
“Ah! Looks like they’re starting again.”
The chaos in the plaza was surprisingly quick to subside compared to the initial mess.
All thanks to Ludger and ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Casey—though the knights had done their part too.
The Demon King’s followers were arrested as terror suspects, and the execution ceremony, paused due to the disturbance, resumed once more.
