"Congratulations Heroes! You were Splendid! The wave did not stand a chance against you. Even the dispatched knights were unnecessary. All thanks to you, the true heroes. CHEERS!"

"CHEERS"

The sun had fallen and night had come. The three heroes were currently in a feast. The top brass from all over the country had arrived to celebrate the victory against the wave. The celebration was grand, as expected from the royal family.

Where this was a celebration for the heroes, they themselves were not in the mood to celebrate, at least two of them weren't. Itsuki and Ren's self-esteem had taken a huge blow. Just when they thought they had surpassed the Devil of the Shield, Momon, it turned out even his companions were stronger than them. The simulated smile pasted on their faces conflicted with the dark emotions whirling within them.

Motoyasu on the other hand seemed to be trying his best to celebrate. He was his cheerful self going around hitting on girls. His party members too celebrated along with him. They were, as usual, surrounded by hordes of women trying to charm the Spear Hero with Myne telling them off.

A guard approached the crowd and whispered something into Malty's ear. Upon hearing the message her smile widened and she excused herself.

X-X-X-X

He saw the two people going through dark passages and hallways without any guard. After five minutes or so, they arrived in the king's personal chambers. Normally there would be guards present but by his order, they were all busy with the feast. They entered the room and sat down on two of the three chairs set up around a table. They spoke quietly and did not speak until the second party arrived.

Not even two minutes had passed and a man excused himself into the room. He wore black long-robes that covered all the skin on his body except his face and hands. He wore a pendant with the representation of three weapons.

Upon entering he bowed in the front of the king but then immediately stood up on their cue. He sat in the only free chair in the room and began to discuss something with the two people.

Unfortunately, the Mirror of Remote Viewing did not capture sound. But there was no problem for now as the conversation would be reported to him afterward. They continued talking for some time without moving from their position.

The king suddenly jolted up and slammed his hand on the table. He had a furious expression on his face whereas the others did not move an inch. He seemed very frustrated about something. He turned around and moved towards the only open window in the room with his hand massaging his forehead.

He looked upon the crescent-shaped moon as his mind probably wondered about many things. As calm returned to him and he was turning around, his eyed widened as they turned into a complete circle. He slowly moved his head to look down to see two bastard-swords impaling his gut and passing through the back. As blood sputtered out of his wounds his eyes followed the hands holding both the swords.

He already recognized those hands but did not want to. He wanted to deny that possibility with all his heart, but the truth didn' t change. His dear daughter Malty held one of the swords with a large grin on her face whereas the other one was held by the robed person who had a similar expression.

"Proceed!"

"Yes!"

Demiurge along with his three demon servants and two doppelgangers teleported to the room. He continued observing them through the mirror.

X-X-X-X

As they passed through the gate, they reached the room. The king tried to stabilize his breathing and comprehend what had happened. His eyes looked heavy and his throat was trying to get out words. The robed man bowed in front of him and Malty went to the side not bothering to do the same.

She was chuckling at the side and probably was celebrating her victory in her mind. Upon seeing the ever so happy Malty, Demiurge's smile could not help but creep upon his face. She finally spoke apparently to thank Demiurge for the "Deal".

"I thank you for helping me gain the throne. Those church people would have taken too long anyways. I now have to take care of Melty only."

"Fufufu. Do not worry about it."

"Wha-agh!" The king lost blood at an alarming rate. His body weakening by the second. On top of the blood loss and organ damage, the blades were poisoned as the cherry on the top.

"Go on."

*Thump*

The king's head fell down clearly detached from his body. This was the work of two hanzos. His body glowed for a second, then fell opposite the direction of the head.

He turned towards the doppelgangers and-

Their appearance twisted, the whole body distorted and they took on the appearance of Malty and the king. Seeing this, Malty's smile froze and she had a bad premonition. The deal had said that the king's body would be replaced with a copy. There was nothing said about there being any copy of her.

"The people shall get the news that Aultcray Melromarc had passed away and in his stead, his esteemed daughter Malty Melromarc will rule until the true heir returns. At least for now."

She understood now! Upon hearing the devil's cold words, all of the hope accumulated within her shattered into small pieces.

----------------------------------------

Earlier That Day

It was noon, and the entrance to the castle was surrounded by the royal knights. All of them were saluting the tired parties coming back after fighting the waves. The three heroes in the front with their respective parties following them. It would be an understatement to say that the knights as one were stunned by the heroes' power. They were not even required. The heroes and their parties alone had handled the entire wave without many casualties.

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A few hours had passed since the wave had ended and the heroes had rested on the battlefield itself for a few hours after the wave. They were finally making their grand return to the castle. It was written on their faces that they were dead tired and did not want to interact with anyone for now.

As such, all the formalities were pushed back to later on. Everyone was pleased with the fact that the Shield Devil had not created any problems.

All the parties retired to their respective rooms in the castle. They decided on a later time to meet up and then split. They were supposed to meet up for a feast that the king would hold later at around 9.

Malty entered her room. She too felt an insane amount of fatigue. She removed her armor and headed straight towards the comfy bed. She was not even one step away from it when she was alarmed by a voice from behind her, ie, near the door. She twisted her head quickly and she saw a lean person with neatly combed black hair and a high-end suit. Her eyes saw through the glasses he wore to see a pair of crystals resting where the eyes were supposed to be. There also sprouted a tail with metal-like spikes from his back.

He was indeed not human. What he had spoken had surprised her even more.

"How is your plan of usurping the throne following through?"

"Huh! Y-you! Who are you? |Zweit Fire Bullet|"

A ball of fire appeared above her head and reshaped itself into a pointed bullet. It attacked Demiurge but before reaching him, it was stopped by an invisible barrier. Her mouth agape at the sight in front of her. Her magic didn't work, so she could only do one other thing. At the top of her lungs...

"MOTOYASU-SAMA! SAVE ME! SOMEONE! SAVE ME!"

"That attempt is useless. No voice escapes this room."

She was getting reckless by the second. She started using magic spells one after the other.

|Zweit Fireball| . |Zweit Fire Squall| . |Zweit Power|

All attempts, utterly useless. The whole furniture in the room was turned to ash or was in flames. The person in front of her, however, was unaffected by all the ruckus and watched with an amused expression. He wiped off some dust from his suit in a dramatic way and commanded-

"Stand up straight and stay still."

She felt a force tug on her body for a second trying to force her to move. That only lasted a second and all the force disappeared.

"Ho. You are above level-40 it seems. Interesting. Ainz-sama was correct about that too as always.

Too bad. I am afraid we will have to do this the hard way. Hanzos, please restrain her."

She was immediately pinned to the ground by some kind of monsters. Every part of her body seemed to have been locked away and moving them was impossible.

The one standing in front of her then spoke in a cold and content tone.

"Let's make a deal, shall we?"

----------------------------------------

Present

Malty was flooding with sweat. Her body trembling in front of the cruel and powerful devil. She did not like the taste of her own medicine.

"Bu-but, What about our deal?"

"You believed a devil's sweet and hollow promise over the bitter truth. What did you expect? You understand too well, don't you? A hollow promise that is..."

"N-no. Don't do this. SOMEONE! SAVE ME!"

"I told you, didn't I? No voice escapes from within this room. Still, our deal would be fulfilled. In your own words, 'Malty Melromarc shall be declared the ruler of the country.' I am sure you haven't forgotten."

"NO! NO! PLEASE! DEMIURGE-SAMA! SPARE ME! PLEASE! I WILL DO ANYTHING! PLEASE! ANYTHING!"

By now, she was sobbing and begging endlessly by his feet. Her cries for help reached deaf ears.

"After what you had done to Ainz-sama, even repenting for your entire life in hell would not be enough to get you forgiveness. Aah, forgive me... You know him by the alias of Momon, don't you?"

All color drained from her face as she realized there was no way out of this. She continued begging and after the devil had proclaimed the name of the Shield Hero as someone superior to him, she even went as far as to offer her body. Her selfishness knew no bounds. She had realized that she had put herself into matters she should never have had. She was just a playtoy to him. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Now, now. I believe it is time to go. Now you either have the chance to come of your own accord putting up a graceful appearance in front of the supreme being and beg for forgiveness. Or I will drag you there by force myself."

Her eyes got one last tint of hope. She immediately stood up straight and prepared herself to once again ask for mercy. There was no other way out of this.

[Greater Teleportation]

As Demiurge said those words, they were teleported away from the castle to Nazarick. That was the last time she ever saw the world outside.

----------------------------------------

The Next Morning

*Knock. Knock.*

...

*Knock Knock Knock Knock*

...

*Thump Thump Thump.*

"Spear Hero! Wake up!"

"Ugghh!"

Motoyasu rolled in his soft silk sheets. His head hurt like hell. He had probably passed out drinking and this was this hangover was the result. He wondered why had he drank that much after a horrible wave. Probably to forget about it. Maybe Malty recommended it. Whatever...

He looked over the surroundings. These were his chambers in the castle. His chainmail and the spear was carelessly placed beside him on the bed.

*Thump Thump Thump*

"Who is it?"

"It is the royal knights. Spear Hero, your presence is required in the throne room."

"Yes. Yes. I understand. I am coming."

He heard their footsteps fade away. His body relaxed and he went back to sleep for another quarter.

After waking, he reluctantly dragged himself into the washroom. He splashed water on his face to fend away the drowsiness. He removed his clothes and went for a shower. While in the shower, he looked down and he got filled with hatred once again. He was reminded of the monster he had sworn to take revenge on.

He wiped himself and put on fresh clothes from the closet. Because of the headache, his mood was even worse. He wore his chainmail over his clothes and then his full equipment. He moved through the halls but there was deadly silence. The halls were strangely empty and even the food stalls were empty. On the way, he looked outside through a window and the royal garden was filled to the brim with people. The streets in the town were empty and it seemed like the whole population had arrived.

There were large floating screens like holograms in front of them displaying the scene of the throne room. Everyone was standing still in the room. Some had sad expressions, some grim, some impatient, and some furious. The other two heroes were already present and had similar expressions.

Crap I'm late!

He fastened his face and arrived in the throne room. As he entered many eyes turned towards him but he was unfazed. What was more astonishing was the person sitting on the throne.

Usually, the king, Aultcray Melromarc would have been sitting on the throne, but today the one sitting on his place was his teammate, Malty Melromarc, the daughter of the king. She had hands folded on the armrest and head buried in them. She was shaking uncontrollably and she did not look to be in the best condition.

The atmosphere was grim. The tension in the room was so thick he could cut it with his spear.

He lined up with the other heroes. Within a minute a person came ahead from the seats. He was the new advisor of the king. His face had a terrified expression and he struggled to keep his tears back. He spoke with a heavy voice, that just worked to deepen the impact of the news given.

"Friends, Family, Countrymen, the Heroes,

Life isn't perfect. There is good in every bad yet bad in every good.

Today, W-we suffer the loss of someone who found that good in everyone and everything.

The one to have been known as the wisest.

The one who held this country together under any and all circumstances.

The strongest at heart that I have had the honor of knowing.

Today, we must stay strong and hold ourselves, for the honor and respect left in our hearts.

It is to my great misfortune to announce that-

Our Esteemed King, Aultcray Melromarc XXXII, aka, the Wise Sage, p-p-passed away yesterday."