Demon King of the Royal Class
Chapter 511 [Illustration]

Chapter 511 [Illustration]

After the twentieth time, I stopped counting.

I never once managed to overpower Ellen. The pain I felt in my mind was being amplified and was more excruciating than any real wound, yet it wasn’t enough to wake me from the dream.

After all, my state of consciousness was artificially controlled by Airi.

Rumble...

When I finally awoke, the morning sky outside was laden with dark clouds, and thunder rumbled ominously. It seemed a storm was approaching.

I could still feel Airi’s hand resting on my forehead, just as it had been before I’d fallen asleep.

“Did you sleep we—I guess the answer is no...”

Airi had probably been focused on maintaining my dream state, which meant she hadn’t slept herself at all.

She looked pretty terrible, likely because she had witnessed my repeated, miserable deaths in my dream.

I didn’t know if this was a good strategy or not, but upon waking, I discovered a definite side effect.

“I don’t feel like I slept at all,” I said.

“That’s to be expected...” Airi replied.

I felt more exhausted after waking up.

It was only natural. Dreams weren’t supposed to last for hours, yet I had been trapped in a nightmare for the entire duration of my sleep. No wonder my mind felt overloaded and dazed. It was as if my mind had been working overtime all throughout my sleep.

If we continued this, both Airi and I would be too exhausted to muster our strength when we truly needed it.

Doing this every day seemed too much. We probably needed to have breaks every other day or so.

Across from me, Harriet was asleep, hugging a large pillow.

“Mmm... Reinhart...”

Airi hadn’t interfered with her dreams, but Harriet mumbled and hugged her pillow tightly, as if dreaming of something.

‘Our little Thick-Skull... Sometimes she’s so cute it hurts.’

“Do you think this will be effective...?” Airi asked softly, careful not to wake Harriet.

I had been killed dozens of times in one night. The pain experienced in the dream had been horrific, much worse than any actual physical pain. However, having previously suffered the otherworldly spiritual agony of nearly being consumed by vengeful spirits, the pain still seemed bearable. Of course, just because I had suffered much worse before did not mean that it did not hurt at all.

Luna once said that if a person could heal easily, they might become careless about getting hurt. From Luna’s perspective, trying to endure this pain just because I’d been through worse was probably a mistake.

I knew that present pain couldn’t buy future happiness. I knew that well. But no other possibilities came to mind to avoid the future I had seen in the Preview, where Ellen ultimately killed me and then took her own life.

“I think it’s necessary,” I said.

“I see...”

I intended to die a lot while I could.

“Anyway, get some more sleep,” Airi said.

“Huh...?”

“You should at least get a little proper rest.”

Airi placed her hand on my forehead again. Since I felt like I hadn’t slept at all, she wanted me to get some actual rest.

She told me that it was painful to deliberately make someone she cared about have nightmares.

I could have resisted it, but I entrusted my consciousness to her touch once more.

“This time, I’ll make sure you don’t dream at all.”

In truth, both Airi and I knew that the best sort of sleep was a dreamless one.

***

The elite forces of the Demon King’s army began to gather.

The heads of the Vampire Council and their subordinates, priests and holy knights of the Holy Order, and some of the strongest demons all gathered into an army.

Though it was not a large force because of the need to maintain mobility through Mass Teleport, each member was incredibly strong, and so it could be considered an elite unit.

The Vampire Lords and their families, the leader of the Holy Order, Olivia Lanche, and Regent Charlotte were selecting the elite soldiers.

The Demon King would lead them and carve a path for the human army. An vanguard that would be unknown to humanity was being organized.

Rumble...

A sudden storm swept across Rajak. The waves rose high, making it difficult for ships to operate. People were bustling around the docks, securing the ships more firmly to prevent them from being swept away, and the mermaids who supplied marine resources had also become less active.

In a villa on the outskirts of Rajak, by the beach...

Duchess Yelena de Granz, now just Yelena de Granz, approached her daughter, who was sitting lifelessly in the rain on the beach.

“Daughter, why are you sitting in the rain like this?” she asked.

“...”

Her daughter, more famously known by the nickname Thunder Queen, simply stared blankly at the distant waves without saying a word.

Because of her mission at Port Mokna, she rarely saw her mother.

Since she was not involved in organizing the army, Riana had nothing to do until she received further orders from the Demon King. Therefore, Riana was spending what could be considered a vacation at the villa on the outskirts of Rajak. One of the many villas once owned by Duke Granz across the continent, it now served as her mother’s residence.

During her first summer vacation in the Temple, Riana had brought her friends to this villa for a few days.

She couldn’t go back to those times. Too much had changed.

The word “vacation” felt unfamiliar to Riana. She couldn’t remember the last time she truly rested.

She had worked hard. She tried to apply herself diligently, believing she had to accomplish something, and that there was no time to rest.

She had had to make important decisions along the way, and she had made those decisions on her own.

And as a result of those choices, Riana had created another great disaster in a world already rife with sorrow, yet she had not been able to shoulder the consequences and take responsibility for her actions.

Olivia Lanche, Reinhart, and then ultimately Ellen Artorius had to suffer the consequences of the sins Riana had committed. There was nothing Riana could take responsibility for.

Yelena watched her daughter, who was staring blankly at the sea.

She had no title or authority in Edina, but by the Demon King’s command, she maintained a certain standard of living and even had her own security force, though it was not as substantial as what she’d enjoyed during her days as a duchess.

As a mother, Yelena knew at least what her daughter was doing and how important her role was.

Her daughter, whom she rarely saw, had returned home, only to sit outside and stare blankly at the sea.

Despite the heavy rain, she continued to sit there, getting drenched.

Yelena couldn’t know the extent of the guilt in her daughter’s eyes, but she eventually put down her umbrella. She sat beside her daughter, who was still unresponsive.

“Riana.”

“... Yeah?”

“Are you having a hard time?”

“...”

At her mother’s question, Riana turned slightly to look at her. “I don’t deserve to say that I’m struggling,” she said.

“...”

“I can’t dare to say that I’m having a hard time. I just can’t.”

Riana said this and turned her gaze back to the sea. Yelena gently placed her hand on her daughter’s wet shoulder.

“I see. I see that it’s hard enough that you have to say that.”

“...”

“If it’s hard, you can cry.”

It was already hard enough that she had to say that she didn’t deserve to admit she was struggling.

Riana shook her head. “You can say that because you’re my mom. Anyone else... They wouldn’t say that. I don’t even deserve to cry.”

Mother and daughter used to have a notoriously bad relationship. But after the death of Duke Granz and the Gate Incident, much had changed. They were now the only blood relatives left in the world, and they knew painfully well how sorrowful and yet how fortunate that was.

Yelena didn’t know why her daughter was struggling so much. She didn’t know what her daughter had done. But she could read at least one thing in her eyes. She could see the unmistakable guilt.

“Well, you’re right. I don’t know what’s going on exactly. I don’t know why you’re like this. But I can say this because I’m your mom.

“No matter what you’ve done, no matter how unforgivable it is, no matter how big a mistake you’ve made... I’m your mom, and you’re my daughter. You can cry in front of your mom.

“Even if you can’t forgive yourself, even if you think you don’t deserve to cry, you can cry in front of your mom. Because we’re family.”

Riana looked over at Yelena.

Riana believed she didn’t even deserve to cry. She would not allow herself to shed tears. She still couldn’t forgive herself, and she didn’t know how to make peace with the countless deaths and the damage caused by her actions.

She had killed multitudes with her own hands, and because of that, many more had died.

Rumble...

On the stormy beach, Riana finally broke down in front of her mother’s smile.

“Mom...”

“Yes?”

“I’ve committed... an unforgivable sin.”

“I see.”

“I thought it was unforgivable. But then, worse things than I imagined... things I couldn’t even imagine... happened.”

Yelena quietly embraced her daughter. Riana’s face crumbled, and she began to sob.

“I see...”

“Mom... I... I don’t know... what to do...”

Yelena couldn’t give her sobbing daughter an answer.

“I don’t even know if it’s okay for someone like me to hate something, to seek revenge for Dad...”

All she could do was hold her daughter, who was crying because of her deep guilt, and cry with her.

“I see... My daughter... So that’s what you’ve been thinking about...”

Holding her sobbing daughter, Yelena de Granz ran her hand down her daughter’s wet hair and her back. She couldn’t offer answers, advice, or anything else.

She could only hold her and cry with her. That was what family meant.

“Ugh... Ugh...”

The Thunder Queen, Riana de Granz, sobbed in her mother’s arms. The superhuman who could control lightning finally shed the tears she had been holding back.

Suddenly, the sky began to clear. The dark clouds parted, and brilliant sunlight poured through, as though heralding a miracle.

The storm had been created by her true tears, the tears she had been withholding within her mind. It had been a manifestation of her supernatural power.

The storm, conjured by her powers, disappeared as Riana sobbed.

Yelena and Riana could only watch the miraculous scene unfolding through their tears. Riana de Granz had learned how to control lightning in her anger, and this time, her sorrow and guilt had taken her abilities a step further.

***

“Uh... What?”

Riana’s words had left me somewhat dazed.

“The storm... the one that stopped suddenly?”

“Oh yeah. It seemed like that, right?”

The storm had come out of nowhere, caused a commotion for a few days, and then suddenly cleared, the clouds parting and disappearing as if the sky had been torn open. It was such a strange phenomenon that it caused a stir in all of Rajak.

Riana had come to me after that, making some wild claims.

“So, I think the storm ended and perhaps even started because of me...”

“...”

“I know it sounds crazy. I know,” she mumbled, her face turning red as she noticed my skeptical look.

“But the timing... What can I do about that?”

“What about the timing?”

“Well... Um... It’s just...”

Riana hesitated and began to explain the events of the past few days to me. Despite everything that had happened, she couldn’t erase the guilt she felt towards me, and eventually, her eyes reddened, and she sniffed.

Riana had to have been miserable all this time. She had to have been in agony, wishing she could just die. It was quite painful to see Riana, who was usually strong and fierce, in this state.

Riana’s explanation was a long one, but the conclusion was this: she had cried in her mother’s arms, and the storm had immediately stopped.

“I know... I know it sounds really strange, but what can I do about the timing?!” Riana said, her voice growing into a shout at the end, and then she suddenly shrank back, her eyes still red and her face flushed.

“S-sorry... I didn’t mean to get angry about it like that...”

“Just be yourself. I don’t want to blame you for anything, and I don’t want to see you changed in any way,” I said.

It was more uncomfortable for me to see Riana so subdued.

“Hmm... So we need to test whether you can control the weather or if you’re just a delusional person who thinks they can,” I concluded.

“Do you have to say it like that?”

“Well, the fact that you’re getting angry and then trying to stop yourself shows that you aren’t in your usual mental state. Come on, let’s go. We need to test your abilities.”

“Test...?”

“You heard me.” I grabbed Riana’s arm and started walking. “If you can really control the weather, do you really want to do it here?”

People would go crazy if the sky suddenly went wild.

***

There was a possibility that Riana was just delusional.

She claimed that the emotional turmoil within her had manifested as a storm, and the weather had cleared because she had resolved that turmoil.

If someone else had told me something like that, I’d introduce them to Airi, as they clearly had some kind of mental issue and needed counseling.

But it wasn’t just anyone who’d said it; it was Riana de Granz.

In the original story, she specialized in creating lightning and electricity manipulation, but because things had developed differently from the original story, Riana’s abilities had evolved into something beyond just controlling electricity. She could now summon lightning from a clear sky.

Lightning was essentially electricity descending from the sky, so it wasn’t impossible that Riana’s abilities had evolved into something related to the weather.

Riana herself seemed to sense some correlation between the weather and her abilities, which was why she’d mentioned it.

If Riana’s abilities had truly evolved to the point that she could cause changes in the weather... I didn’t know exactly how we could use that later on, but for the moment, we needed to test that hypothesis first. We needed to know if she really could manipulate the weather, and if so, to what extent. Since we couldn’t test it in Rajak, we needed to go to an uninhabited area.

I took Riana to find Lucinil.

“You want to go to an uninhabited island?” Lucinil asked.

“Yes. There’s something we need to test,” I replied.

***

The Edina Archipelago consisted of many islands, and there were plenty of uninhabited ones. We chose one of the nameless islands far from the inhabited ones.

The mermaids gave us the information about these uninhabited islands and confirmed the coordinates, and Lucinil cast Mass Teleport to take us there.

“Nice view.”

This island was known for the emerald seas around it. We had even visited it during that one summer vacation. The white sandy beaches and scattered palm trees made it look less like an uninhabited island and more like a perfect summer getaway spot. All it needed was a bungalow.

The scenery was calming, but it seemed strangely dissonant, since my mind was occupied with the real tasks I had to do and the events happening on the continent.

“So, what are we testing on this uninhabited island?” Lucinil asked.

Lucinil had come along because I asked, but she seemed puzzled about what we were going to test. I looked at Riana.

“Riana’s supernatural power might have evolved. We’re going to find out if it has,” I said.

“Evolved?”

Summoning lightning was already an incredible ability, and Lucinil seemed puzzled as to how much more it could have evolved.

We were on an uninhabited island, but it was as sunny as any beach resort.

“Whatever it is, let’s give it a try.”

At my words, Riana scratched her cheek with an uncertain expression.

“Uh... You know...”

“What?”

“I mean, don’t you think I would have tried it myself before telling you...?”

‘Ah. I think I understand what the problem is.’

“So, you don’t know whether your abilities have evolved or not because you don’t have any idea how to access this new power?”

“Yeah.”

Riana had some awareness that her abilities might have evolved, but she didn’t know how to access this new power. Moreover, it was also possible that it was just a coincidence.

“Hmm...”

Riana focused on the shimmering emerald sea.

Flash!

Hundreds of lightning bolts streaked across the sky, striking the sea.

And then...

Rumble!

After a delay, a thunderous sound ripped through the air and reached my ears.

Riana could summon hundreds of lightning bolts with just a short moment of concentration. The offensive power of her abilities was excellent, bordering on apocalyptic.

“This isn’t it,” I said.

“... I know.” Riana nodded with a sullen expression.

It was impressive, but what we needed was not summoning lightning, but weather manipulation.

“It feels like I can do something, but I can’t... It’s a really strange feeling.”

The origins and workings of supernatural powers were unknown, even to the superhumans themselves. Although Riana felt like she could do it, she couldn’t grasp how to do it.

Lucinil inclined her head, confused. Despite being a great mage, she did not know anything about supernatural powers.

Flash! Flash! Flash!

Riana spent a long time striking the sea with lightning. It seemed she was trying to summon something other than lightning, but no matter how hard she tried, nothing other than lightning appeared.

Rumble!

After about twenty minutes of this...

“Hey, Archdemon,” Lucinil called.

“Yes?”

“Even though lightning striking the sea doesn’t cause too much trouble, what if our mermaids pop their heads out and get struck?”

“Uh, y-you’re right!”

There’s always a chance, however small. Lightning striking the sea would not kill all the fish, but if a mermaid happened to pop their head out, they might get electrocuted.

In the end, the three of us sat down on the beach.

“Was it just a delusion...?”

Riana began to seriously consider whether she was a delusional person who believed she could alter the weather.

Lucinil, of course, was at a loss for words.

“You know... Thinking about when you acquired the ability to summon lightning...” I said.

“Yeah?”

Riana had learned the ability to summon lightning in the midst of grieving over her father’s death. If Riana had truly awakened a new ability, it was possible that new power had been triggered by a certain emotional state.

“If a new ability requires a certain emotional state...” I continued.

“Are you saying that she needs to be in a similar emotional state?”

It wasn’t Riana who continued my thought, but Lucinil.

“If supernatural powers respond to emotions, and you’ve gained the ability to alter the weather, then you just need to be in a similar emotional state, right?” Lucinil said with a bright smile. “If that’s the case, let’s try to get you into that mood.”

‘Uh... But isn’t it quite distressing to deliberately put yourself in an obviously unstable mental state?’

Riana’s face turned ashen. She was probably still not in the best mental state, and now she had to deliberately put herself in that state again.

If she had indeed caused that change in the weather while in the grip of strong emotion, she had probably been in a depressed state, or some similar state. And making Riana fall into a pit of depression was actually quite easy.

After watching Riana struggle determinedly for about five minutes...

“Hey,” I called her.

“... Yeah?”

“Need help?”

Riana tilted her head at my sudden offer.

“Help with what?”

“Never mind the details. Just tell me if you want help or not.”

Riana seemed to have no idea what I was talking about.

“Whatever it is... If it would help to confirm if my abilities have grown.... I’d appreciate it...”

“Alright.”

I grabbed Riana’s shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes.

“What I’m about to say isn’t what I truly feel. I’m saying it to help you, so don’t misunderstand. Got it?”

“Huh...? What are you going to sa—”

“It’s all your fault.”

Riana broke down.