The NTR Hero Knelt Before the Demon King – Chapter 178

A little while after the failure of the Forbidden Dreamland by Hero Ellen,

the Magic Kingdom was occupied by the Alliance Army led by the Falcon Empire, which stormed into the Capital Rehi.

Due to the massacre of the leadership by God Amun, the Falcon Empire army effectively entered without resistance.

Among them, there were those who believed that a simple invasion was not enough; the failed attempt at unleashing magic that could have brought destruction to the whole continent demanded the downfall of the Magic Kingdom.

In relation to this, the leaders of the Alliance, including Cassandra, Pope Julius, the Beastman Kingdom’s Great Chief, and the Demon King, convened and decided that the scheming leadership would be eliminated, and most citizens, being innocent, would bear minimal responsibility and move on.

In reality, the ones responsible for initiating the Forbidden Dreamland—the Magic King and his close aides—had all become corpses, disappearing without a trace, making it too harsh to hold the innocent accountable.

Thus, the Alliance decided to maintain the form of the Magic Kingdom while placing it under the governance of other nations.

Finally, a long blood-stained history that began with the war between the Racial Alliance and the Demon Kingdom came to an end.

However, while the war had ceased and peace arrived, the wounds left on the continent were far too deep and deadly.

The immediate worst-hit entities were the leadership and the population of the capital, which had all but vanished, while the few surviving witches formed a government in the Magic Kingdom.

The situation for the other nations was equally dire.

The Elf Church Country, which had overextended itself in a series of wars due to dwindling national power, had effectively bankrupted itself, while the Falcon Empire faced devastation, losing nearly half of its territory and countless citizens along the way, making the nation teeter on the brink of collapse.

Thanks to Cassandra managing things relatively well, the country hadn’t fully crumbled, but it was forced to focus solely on internal affairs for at least the next few decades.

And given the resulting economic downturn in these neighboring nations, the Beastman Kingdom, already suffering from chronic shortages, naturally found itself equally constrained after extensive war expenditures.

Hence, the nations of the continent, in tatters, found themselves entirely unable to think of anything other than their internal administration as they lay on the ground like sick patient.

The term “glorious with nothing but wounds” fitted perfectly in this situation.

At the same time, witnessing the downed states of these nations,

there was one that had uniquely managed to take a breather amidst the continuous wars and enhance its national strength.

This country, while covertly helping many others across the continent and tying them up with various unequal treaties to gain absolute advantage, was none other than the Demon Kingdom.

As the true last victor of this prolonged war, it could now smile across the sea.

*

“Alright, for a while, there shouldn’t be anyone crazy enough to provoke our Demon Kingdom.”

The Chancellor of the Demon Kingdom, Beelzebub, wore a delighted smile as she received her final report.

There had been many more variables than she had anticipated, and at times she worried if the plans might collapse, but in the end, she found genuine relief and satisfaction in how smoothly everything had concluded.

“To be honest, when I first learned that the Magic Kingdom was preparing the Forbidden Dreamland, my heart sank. It’s truly a relief that the Hero handled it well.”

From launching an attack on Port Town Rob to handling the affairs of the Magic Kingdom, the Hero’s contributions were immense.

Initially, when Beelzebub had seen him, she had suspected he might have ulterior motives, but over time, she recognized she couldn’t help but acknowledge him.

For the sake of the Demon Kingdom… more accurately, for the Demon King, whom he swore loyalty to and shared love with, Hero Ellen Savior had been devoted to doing his utmost.

And now, having formally become the Demon King’s partner, Beelzebub felt a sense of respect and gratitude towards him.

“Well then… the only remaining step is just one, right? To officially declare the relationship that we’ve been tacitly recognizing until now.”

With that thought, Beelzebub began undertaking a task as the Chancellor of the Demon Kingdom—a small gift that she intended for the Hero and the Demon King.

That was, simply put…

*

“Umm… I never imagined I’d return here like this…”

Now reduced to nothing more than a mere witch, Shude felt a strong aversion as she walked through the splendid castle interior.

In the past, she had come here bravely together with her former Hero Party, armed with staves and various magical items to fend off rampaging demon races.

The heart of the Demon Kingdom, the Demon King’s Castle.

However, at this moment, the irony was that despite being here again alongside the former Hero Party members, Shude was receiving completely different treatment from back then.

Unlike before, she had lost all her powers as a witch, and the other companions had similarly lost valuable things, but now, they were absurdly being treated as guests by the demon races.

“Moreover, the replacements for Torare are anything but normal. From a high-ranking former warrior of the Demon Kingdom to our successor Hero Party, and not to mention the sex-swapped strongest warriors of the Elf Church Country and Falcon Empire…”

Realizing that this shift had decisively handed the political initiative over to the Demon Kingdom, Shude couldn’t help but feel a bitter pang as one who once aimed to eliminate the Demon King as part of the Hero Party.

“In the end, this is how it turns out… because of my foolish mistakes… we ended up kneeling before the evil Demon King.”

Perhaps if they had focused all their efforts on defeating the Demon King at that time, the outcome might have been different, but such thoughts were now utterly meaningless.

Thus, once again,

the Hero Party faced the fact that they had utterly failed, concurrently regretting that it would have been better to attach themselves to Hero Ellen at this point.

Shude silently trailed behind them as she entered the Grand Conference Room of the Demon King’s Castle.

Unlike the time when they battled the Four Kings, the returning hero was met with a welcoming atmosphere.

And at the center of it all, just as she expected, stood the Demon King clad in Black Armor, exuding a wicked aura…

“…Huh?”

However, there was no sight of the Demon King.

“What… what’s this? That’s clearly the Demon King’s throne… so why is there…?”

At this moment, the figure sitting on the throne caught her eye.

Seeing it, Shude began to feel that something was intensely wrong.

No, this feeling was shared by Lich Eileen, who stood beside her.

“…U-um. Amelda? Who on earth is that person?”

“Hmm? Oh, I see. Eileen and Shude, it’s the first time you’re seeing this, right? That person is exactly who we fought against… or rather, that person… is Your Majesty, the Demon King.”

“The… Demon King? That… that’s…?”

“Ah… no way, the Demon King was a woman…? I never noticed that at all.”

The being once perceived as a monster shrouded by a grotesque appearance in Black Armor was, in fact, a woman possessing an even more beautiful complexion than theirs, leaving both of them momentarily captured by deep shock.

However,

they still didn’t know.

The shock they would receive at this moment was only just beginning.

“Welcome, Hero.”

“I have returned, Your Majesty.”

The Demon King greeted the leading Hero with a radiant smile, and in response, the Hero bowed respectfully.

Their actions, as a retainer representing the lord, was wholly natural to behold.

The troubling matter followed soon after…

A scene that even Amelda found shocking.

“Now, go on and give him a hug, Hero.”

“! …Your… Your Majesty?”

The Demon King accepted a small bundle that the attendant had been holding.

Then she presented it to Hero Ellen, speaking in a voice filled with profound joy.

“This is… our child, Hero’s baby.”

“Ah… Ahhh…”

In response to the Demon King’s words, the Hero accepted the child with heartfelt emotion.

Witnessing this, the Demon King let tears of happiness flow down her beautiful face as she spoke.

“It’s a daughter… and her name is Chris. Chris Savior… please take good care of me and this child as her father. And this nation.”

Approaching the Hero while holding the baby, the Demon King embraced him without a shred of hesitation.

The Hero, overwhelmed with emotion, shed tears as he held her close.

“…Y-yes, Your Majesty. I… I will definitely do so. Truly… thank you so much, Your Majesty!”

As the Hero made his vow, the sound of applause erupted from the demon races.

Thus, amidst expressions of glory for the returning commander and celebrations for the public declaration of their relationship, the Hero and the Demon King became the center of everyone’s blessings.

And watching this scene,

the hearts of the former members of the Hero Party were seized by profound shock and utter disillusionment.