Chapter 905: Infernal Deceit
Elaine was the first to rush to the unconscious Knight once the storm of energy finally subsided, and when she reached him and saw how drastically his body had changed, shock washed over her.
Confusion followed just as quickly, as she couldn’t immediately understand how he’d suddenly gained dragon traits, but after recalling the former Mage’s words and the things Arthur had taught her, the answer fell into place.
"Atavism," she muttered.
Arthur had taught her that what decided a person’s race were the Race Factors they possessed, and that even when someone belonged to a specific race, they didn’t always possess 100% of that race’s factors.
In cases where the blood of another race had entered a family line, those foreign factors might dilute over generations, decreasing as time passed, but they wouldn’t necessarily disappear entirely and would continue being passed down.
Sometimes, centuries or even millennia later, those recessive factors could suddenly manifest, especially if the individual possessed an ability that synergised well with them or experienced something that forcefully awakened them.
Knight was one such case.
He’d always possessed draconic factors, as had every generation before him, though none of them had ever been aware of it.
Their statuses displayed their race as ’Infernal Devil’ because those factors made up over 95% of their composition, but the draconic factors in their blood never vanished.
Now, Knight had gone through something that caused those latent traits to awaken, turning him into what could only be described as a ’Draconic Infernal Devil.’
In any other world, he would have been fine.
But in this world, where infernal devils ruled, where dragons were considered enemies, and where he happened to be a candidate for the Hero of the infernal devils, it was the worst possible outcome.
It was even worse because it happened publicly, before tens of thousands of civilians gathered in person and hundreds of thousands to millions more watching through screens in distant locations.
Right before their eyes, one of their Hero Candidates had revealed draconic power.
That alone was enough to throw the upper echelons of the infernal devil hierarchy into disarray.
Those with the highest authority present, the Regional Capital’s Mayor and the former Heroes, understood the implications, and the former Knight reached a decision faster than the rest.
"Soldiers, arrest the false Knight and imprison him immediately!" he ordered.
The sound of his voice snapped the nearby high-ranking soldiers out of their shock, and they moved almost immediately to carry out his command.
A deep-seated hatred for dragons burned in many of their hearts, making them even quicker to act.
Magic-sealing cuffs were brought out, and before Elaine could fully process what was happening, she was shoved aside as the soldiers seized the unconscious Knight and locked the cuffs around him.
Immediately, the Hero Candidates rushed forward to stop the soldiers from restraining their leader, but their predecessors and the Regional Capital’s Mayor intervened.
"What are you doing?! Focus on calming the populace down!" the former Knight shouted.
Archer tried to argue, but his predecessor grabbed him by the shirt, pulled him close, and scolded him.
"How have you not understood the situation yet?! He’s done for! The civilians are the ones you should be focusing on now!"
With that, the man pushed Archer back and quickly rushed to join his comrades in dragging Knight away, almost as if they were trying to hide him from the public eye.
Left with no choice, the Hero Candidates had to follow the orders they were given and focus on managing the civilians, who were already making a ruckus and demanding explanations.
By the time they had managed to prevent things from erupting into a riot, it was well past noon, and the Hero Candidates hurried into the main administrative building where Knight had been taken.
Elaine, of course, wasn’t allowed inside since she held no official position granting her entry, so she had no choice but to stay outside, anxious.
No one emerged until the following day, and during that time, word of what had occurred spread across the continent, even reaching the Continental Capital.
The stories were distorted along the way, and by the time reports reached other Regional Capitals, it had somehow become Knight supposedly being an undercover dragon agent attempting to seize the Hero title from the devils.
It went without saying that the Infernal Devil Lords were far from pleased with this news.
A Hero Candidate with dragon blood was something that could undermine the trust built among Heroes over several dozen generations and could lower the morale of soldiers fighting on the frontlines against the dragons.
How could the infernal devil soldiers feel if they learned that one of the Hero Candidates who had led them into battle countless times was actually a dragon in disguise?
The Infernal Devil Lords were displeased with the chaos, so they quickly issued a verdict, which was revealed to the world the following morning.
Once again, citizens gathered in the centre of the Regional Capital, though this time, the atmosphere was heavy and sombre.
Soon, the Regional Capital’s Mayor, the former Heroes, and the Hero Candidates appeared, and behind them was a handcuffed and chained Knight.
His draconic traits were fully visible, his head hung low, and his eyes were completely vacant.
In front of everyone, he was made to kneel in the same spot where he had received the Hero mantle the previous day.
Then the former Knight cleared his throat and, using magic to amplify his voice, began to speak, delivering the prepared speech that explained the events of the day before.
"Citizens of this Continent, hear this clearly.
What you witnessed yesterday was not an accident, nor was it a blessing. The one who stood before you as a Hero Candidate was, in truth, a deception.
He was an infiltrator planted among us by the demonic dragons, hiding his true nature while walking among our soldiers, fighting beside our people, and standing upon this stage with the intent to steal the Hero Title itself, to corrupt it from within, and to turn it against those it was meant to defend.
His draconic blood, revealed before your eyes, is proof of that betrayal.
Such an act cannot be forgiven. To preserve the order of this world, to protect the trust placed in the Hero Cycles, and to ensure the safety of our people, judgment has been passed.
By decree of the Infernal Devil Lords, the false Knight is condemned as an enemy of the world, and he will be executed."
The reactions to the speech were varied, but none of them registered to Elaine.
She’d only known Knight for barely three weeks, but the claim that he was a dragon spy? That was obviously a huge, blatant lie.
It was clearly a cover-up.
From what Arthur had told her and what she’d learned in the past three weeks, Elaine understood the power dynamics of this planet, so she understood just how much trouble Knight revealing draconic power could cause.
But execution?!
Didn’t they consider imprisonment? Or even making him use that draconic power, which had obviously made him stronger, for their benefit? Have him fight on the frontlines against the dragons he’d been raised to see as enemies?
That made far more sense than killing him outright, as far as she was concerned.
Elaine hadn’t even finished processing the shock of the declaration when the two soldiers standing behind Knight raised their spears, the tips forged and coated with anti-dragon materials.
Without hesitation, they stabbed the spears into Knight’s back, the tips bursting out of his chest.
Not a single groan escaped his lips, and not a single reaction crossed his vacant eyes as before Elaine’s eyes, Knight’s life quickly drained away.
The former Knight began to speak, but Elaine’s brain didn’t even process the sound her ears were picking up.
By the time she, or anyone else, realised it, she was already standing in front of Knight’s slumped body, her hand slowly reaching out to touch him.
"...hey..."
The sound that escaped her lips was what finally alerted the former Knight to Elaine’s sudden presence behind him.
The man spun around, eyes wide with shock, and the other former Heroes, along with the Candidates Elaine knew, did the same.
"When did sh—?!"
**BOOM!!!
A wave of death energy erupted from Elaine’s body, the immense force shattering the shields the former Mage tried to raise and sending everyone flying off the elevated platform.
The executioners scrambled to their feet, attempting to throw their spears at her, but they, along with everyone else, were instantly overcome by an overwhelming weakness, collapsing to their knees as Elaine’s conscious limiters on her powers were removed.
Her Drain Field indiscriminately sucked the life forces of everyone within 50 metres of her position, converting it into death energy that erupted from her body in wild bursts, constantly knocking back everyone and infecting their bodies.
