The Former Hero Began To Be Re-Evaluated

12 – The Second Hero (11)

After thinking about it, Lia asked me about the Demon King.

‘Hmm… He’s the devil…’

You’re definitely curious about the Demon King.

You may be able to find out some information about the warrior party by looking at newspapers and such.

However, the information about the Demon King is different.

No information about the devil can be found in newspapers or anything like that.

The empire is preventing such information from flowing out.

Because there was no need to tell much about the demons from the empire’s perspective.

So, of course, it was a question that Lia, an ordinary girl, would be very curious about.

It’s definitely not a common opportunity to hear it directly from a hero, let alone someone else.

“Strong.”

“Wow… You’re strong. And again?”

“That’s the end.”

“…? Yes?”

But, I don’t have anything to say about the Demon King?

I told Lia about the Demon King.

Lia’s expression, which had been looking forward to it, turned bitterly cold.

Lia looked at me as if asking if it was natural for the Demon Lord to be strong. She probably didn’t expect an answer like this.

I don’t know that either, but…

“There’s nothing special about me other than being strong.”

But really, that was all I had to say.

As someone who has met the devil, I did not feel anything else from him other than this.

I don’t really remember anything else.

As soon as we met, we argued and fought all day long.

“But the Demon King was quite strong. To the point where I admit it. I feel like it would be rude to say anything other than that he was strong…”

However, I think this is the word that best describes the devil.

In front of the Demon King’s strength, her beautiful appearance and other such features were truly secondary.

For someone who has never thought of anyone as strong in my life, meeting the Demon King was surprising.

To think that there was such a strong being in the world, meeting the Demon King felt like it had introduced me to a new world.

“Hmm. I’m not sure, but if the hero is strong enough, he must be very strong. Even the hero could be defeated by the Demon King…”

At first, Lia was disappointed by such simple words, but when she saw me talking and thinking seriously about the Demon King, Lia nodded her head.

I’m not sure, but it seems like I understand a little bit.

“What?”

I was defeated by the devil?

At Lia’s words, I felt as if the strings of reason were slightly loosened.

“What are you talking about? I’m much stronger. It’s just not settled yet!!!”

It is true that the devil is strong.

Her presence will never be considered weak.

That fact was acknowledged by me, a former warrior, and no one else.

But that doesn’t mean the Demon King is stronger than me.

The battle with her has not been concluded yet.

This is not a basis for saying that I am weaker than the Demon King.

It was Lia’s words that touched my pride in many ways.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you would be so angry… I saw that you lost with the newspaper…”

When I got angry, Lia quickly apologized.

She said she was sorry for misunderstanding.

“… No. I was too excited. I’m sorry.”

I stopped getting angry when I saw Lia like that.

What are you really doing?

Ria must have said that after reading a newspaper published by the Empire.

She only drew with the Demon King, but she saw the Empire’s newspaper saying that she was defeated by the Demon King.

An empire like a dog.

I wasn’t angry at Lia. Clearly, she was angry at the Empire.

At that time, it was an incident that traumatized me in many ways.

Leah and I reconciled as we apologized to each other.

‘Whew… Now that I think about it, she said she would decide the match.’

Driving the carriage again, on the way to the Kingdom of Artes.

I suddenly remembered what happened with the Demon King.

When I and the Demon King first met, we fought continuously for days without sleep.

However, the final result was not reached and the match had to be postponed to a later date.

I will visit the Demon King’s Castle again. After making that promise, I broke up with the devil.

‘Now I can’t fight the devil again.’

But after that, I was stripped of my title as a warrior.

Of course, since I am not a hero, I will no longer have to meet the Demon King.

It wasn’t my intention, but I ended up not being able to keep my promise to the devil.

Should I at least say that I couldn’t keep my promise…? I also thought about it.

‘Ah… Well, I wouldn’t think of it as such a big deal anyway.’

There was absolutely no need for that.

What kind of promise do you make with the devil?

I don’t think there’s any need to give it that much meaning.

I don’t think the Demon King would consider my promise that important either.

I think I can just pretend it never happened and live my life as I am.

# # #

‘Is this the inside of the Demon King’s Castle?’

After sending the party members away, the Herald opened the gates of the Demon King’s Castle.

He was determined not to be shaken no matter what came out.

Even if countless demons attack him.

However, it seems there was no need to make up your mind like that.

He opened the door to the Demon King’s Castle, but there were no demons in particular to welcome him or attack him.

The Herald felt strange for a moment in this situation, but actually, if you think about it, it wasn’t that surprising.

The former warrior Lee Han-soo said that he had subdued almost all the demons, so there would be no demons inside the Demon Castle that could welcome him.

‘The devil is over there…’

Except for the Demon King, of course.

Lee Han-soo failed to defeat the devil.

Even if it was a deserted Demon Castle that seemed to be empty of anyone, the owner of the Demon Castle was still alive.

The indescribable eerie energy spreading from inside the castle proves it.

I wonder if it is possible for a single energy to be this eerie.

The devil may be scarier than you think.

But still, the Herald slowly walked towards the place where he could feel the magic energy.

He was a warrior now. He had come here to defeat the Demon King.

As a hero, I slowly walked forward, determined to defeat the Demon King.

‘I can win.’

To be honest, just because we were Herald didn’t mean we weren’t afraid of this situation.

It was a tense moment for the Demon King, the king of the demons, the strongest enemy the warrior had to face, and Herald, who had fought many battles as a knight for decades.

Furthermore, since there were no party members, I had no choice but to be even more nervous.

Considering that originally the Demon King had to be defeated by a warrior with party members, the fact that there were no party members by his side was quite bad news.

But still, Herald instilled courage in himself.

If you think about it, didn’t you say that Lee Han-soo fought with the devil on equal terms?

Given that fact, the Demon King’s skills could be said to be at a similar level to Lee Han-soo.

However, he is confident that he is now stronger than Lee Han-soo.

Because I had the experience of beating Lee Han-soo in the past.

Of course, quite a bit of time has passed between then and now, and he cannot say that neither he nor Lee Han-soo are the same as they were back then, but this was still sufficient evidence.

He has grounds to believe that he can defeat the Demon King.

Also, among the warriors of all time, there was definitely a warrior who defeated the Demon King alone without any party members.

If you ask me if I’m as great as those past warriors, I don’t know, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

It’s okay to have positive thoughts.

‘I don’t let down my guard.’

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll ever let down my guard.

As a veteran of battles, he knows how much of a poison being careless can be in battle.

How many skilled knights in the world lost their lives because they fell into the trap of carelessness?

The Herald will never give the Demon King an inch of room.

From the beginning, use all your might to defeat the Demon King without giving him any chance.

Herald calmly came up with a strategy and continued walking toward where the Demon King was.

Slowly, slowly… He walked out like that, and he was finally able to face the devil.

“Hmm…?”

Herald faced the devil, and he could not help but be dumbfounded.

What on earth is this?

Were you surprised because the devil’s appearance was so scary? No. If it had been that way, I wouldn’t have been so embarrassed.

The horned demon in front of me that is emitting strong energy is probably the demon lord.

There was nothing special about the Demon King. Except that it’s a female demon.

However, the demon king was now doing something he had never expected.

“What…? Food?”

It was the devil who had prepared a dinner and was sitting down.

It was as if he was waiting for a guest.

“Demon King. What is all this?”

Why on earth did the devil make these preparations?

The hero and the devil were unmistakable enemies.

But preparing a dinner like this for such an enemy?

I have never heard of a case like this.

I wondered if the Demon King had ever met him, but Herald had never met or talked to the Demon King.

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand her behavior at all, so she had no choice but to ask.

“Rather, I’d like to ask you something.”

But it was the same for the Demon King.

She asked the Herald back, as if she couldn’t understand the situation.

“We have made grand preparations to welcome the hero, but who are you?”

Where is Lee Han-soo?