The Seventh Year the Demon King Captured the Holy Monarch

For the soldiers on the watchtower, the realization that something was wrong probably started when they saw General Gernard desperately trying to catch that arrow with their own eyes.

At that time, several soldiers had already pinned Abel to the ground, “Old man, you’re crazy, you dare to shoot an arrow without orders!”

Abel’s face was distorted by the pressure on the floor tiles, and he was still roaring fiercely. “It wants to hurt the General! Didn’t you see it, it wants to hurt the General!”

Suddenly someone shouted, “What’s going on, below…something is wrong below.”

The soldiers hurriedly climbed the city wall to look down.

A strange scene occurred. The highly respected General Gernard was actually kneeling next to the fallen demon, his hands raised high, as if he was cursing something at the sky, or begging for something.

Then, the old general, as if cursed, suddenly started beating his chest and crying, tearing at his own hair, and even slapped himself in the face twice.

The army brought by the general also began to be in chaos, as if a shocking news was spreading, the team began to disintegrate from the front row, it would not be an exaggeration to say it was a complete mess. Many knights rolled off their horses, crying and running forward, several lieutenants were desperately waving their flags, but they could not restore the order of the army.

Too far apart, the soldiers on the watchtower couldn’t hear what was being shouted below, they could only look at each other in horror.

“What’s going on,” someone panicked, “what happened, what did that demon that Abel shot do?”

Footsteps thumped, the captain rushed up from the bottom of the city tower, his eyes blood red, looking like a demon crawling out of hell. “Who shot the arrow, which damn beast shot the arrow!?”

Also rushing up was Gernard’s lieutenant, “Medic, where’s the medic!? Quick, quick!!”

A confused medic was grabbed by the lieutenant and ran down. The captain was panting heavily, glaring at Abel who was pinned to the ground. “It was you… beast, it was you!”

Abel stiffened his neck, his veins bulging: “Yes, it was me, but it first——”

He had only said a few words when the captain held the back of his head and smashed his face against the wall!

“Bastard, damn it, do you know who you shot, who!!!”

The captain was almost mad, “Bastard, I’ll kill you!!”

The soldiers around were scared and pale, they wanted to persuade but dared not. Abel’s face was full of blood, his nose was broken, he simply roared defiantly, “Who did I shoot!? I shot the demon! What good can a demon do, especially when it suddenly wanted to attack the general, I shot it dead with one arrow! I shot it dead!”

The captain kicked him in the stomach. Abel groaned and vomited acid water, tears streaming, “Damn it, why don’t you believe me, why!!”

“Seven years ago, I was captured by the demons. I know better than any of you how brutal those creatures are!! Back then, I… I watched, watched my father die under the scaly claws filled with demonic breath…”

“That was clearly a demon…a demon…”

The anger on the captain’s face disappeared, replaced by another kind, a very complex look mixed with disgust, pity, and sorrow.

He sneered and asked Abel, “You said you were captured by the demons back then, how did you come back?”

“Captain, what do you mean by that? Everyone in the kingdom knows that it was the Holy Monarch back then…”

A soldier next to him suddenly elbowed him. Abel glared, but saw his colleagues’ pale faces.

Dead silence flowed among the soldiers on the city tower, they all realized a terrifying possibility, but they dared not believe that there would really be such a tragedy in the world, so they dared not speak.

But in the end, someone swallowed twice, and finally muttered, “Captain…”

“You said, the demons, are they really transformed from humans?”

Langmuir vaguely heard the noisy voices.

Many people surrounded him, many people were running, screaming and crying. General Gernard was howling and calling him “Your Majesty”, that voice seemed to want to vomit all his internal organs.

Ah, it turns out that there are still people willing to acknowledge his former identity as the Holy Monarch, people willing to shed tears for him.

It turns out that not only the Demon King…even his former homeland, his former subjects no longer hated him.

That’s good. Langmuir thought, he felt that he was not in pain anymore, and he was not sad anymore. The breeze in the mountains blew his silver hair, the sunlight danced on his closed eyelids, sending his consciousness to a higher and farther place.

The front of the watchtower was in complete chaos.

“Medic!! Why isn’t the medic here yet!!”

Gernard’s voice was already crying. He knelt between the mountains, holding Langmuir’s cold right hand tightly, stroking those scales, “Ah, Your Majesty, Your Majesty…”

The medic came, he was rolling and crawling over, he just looked at the Holy Monarch’s chest and froze, looking helplessly at the general, not speaking.

The lieutenant roared. “What are you dazed for, save people, save people!!”

The medic shook his head blankly.

Gernard let out a desperate roar, he hunched his back, waving his blood-stained hand vigorously. “Go find a carriage!! Quick, carriage, send His Majesty back to the royal city!! There must be a way, there must be…”

Suddenly, the old general felt a weak force coming from his other hand.

The silver-haired, purple-eyed demon slightly opened his eyes, panting weakly, a small puff of white mist came out from his blood-stained lips, as if he had something to say.

Gernard quickly lay down, leaning over to the Holy Monarch with his ear, he heard Langmuir say word by word. “I don’t…blame…the person who shot the arrow…”

Gernard was struck by lightning, his expression blank.

The sound of horse hooves came from behind, it was His Majesty Aiden.

The monarch of the kingdom was helped by the knights, or rather, carried over.

He had already heard the chaotic crying of the soldiers on the road, and he almost fell off his horse. It was not easy for his boots to step on the ground, but his body was trembling, and he couldn’t take a step.

“Quick, help me over…help me over…”

Aiden was sweating profusely, his eyes in a daze, and he murmured, “Brother, brother is back, he must want to see me. Quick, hurry up…”

When Aiden saw the demon from afar, all his strength gushed out of his body along with his tears.

“No, no…”

Tears streamed down his face, he shook his head, broke free from the knight’s support, and helplessly held the silver-haired demon’s fingers.

“Brother, brother, my God, how could it become like this…”

“I’m sorry, Aiden is late…Brother, don’t be angry, it’s okay, it’s okay, hold on a little longer, we’re going back to the palace right away, the royal city has the best doctors…”

Langmuir was quietly resting on the rocks, his eyes drooping, and there was no response.

Aiden called him anxiously. “Brother, brother? Don’t sleep, hold on…Where’s the carriage, isn’t it ready yet!”

Next to him, the always silent General Gernard, put his hand on Aiden’s shoulder.

“Your Majesty…”

“His Majesty the Holy Monarch…he…has fallen asleep…”

Aiden suddenly raised his face, his eyes almost vicious. “Shut up!!”

His lips were already pale.

“Brother, don’t listen to his nonsense, you can’t sleep…”

Aiden lifted Langmuir’s face with his trembling palm.

But the latter still had no response.

Upon closer inspection, it was found that those pupils were gradually dilating. After speaking to Gernard just now, the last breath that the Holy Monarch was holding also ran out.

“No, brother?..Brother!!”

Aiden, like a madman, pressed on Langmuir’s bleeding wound on his chest, “No, brother, look at me, don’t sleep, don’t…”

“Don’t go, don’t go, you haven’t said a word to me, you haven’t seen the royal city after seven years, please don’t leave like this…”

Aiden murmured in collapse, tears dripping down. Blood gushed out from between his fingers, he quickly stacked another hand, as if this could lock the life of the Holy Monarch.

But it was useless. Langmuir’s pupils completely dilated, his breathing stopped at some point, there was no heartbeat, only the corners of his eyes seemed to contain a little sad nostalgia, which was also gradually dissipating.

Gernard began to cry, the medic and the lieutenant also began to cry, as well as the soldiers behind them like mountains and seas. Aiden roared. “What are you crying for, don’t cry! Don’t cry!!”

He held Langmuir up, but his body was trembling, not knowing where to run for help.

All around were the sounds of soldiers sobbing or crying loudly, the sky was bleak, and the clouds were lamenting.

Aiden was stunned for a while, his cheek muscles twitched, as if he was instantly defeated.

He knelt down on both knees, his neck veins bulged, and he cried out in pain: “Ah… help, help!! He just came home, he clearly came home, it can’t be like this…”

The young monarch’s voice echoed miserably, Aiden buried his face deep into his brother’s silver-gray hair, his shoulders sobbing.

But his always gentle brother could no longer open his eyes, and comfort him softly like when he was a child.

The body of the Holy Monarch Langmuir was finally enshrined in a glass coffin, passing through eighteen cities, and was personally escorted back to the royal city by His Majesty Aiden.

Four years have passed since the monarch publicly revealed the truth about the demons, yet there were still a large number of soldiers and civilians who refused to accept the fact that the demons were transformed from humans. Because there was always a lack of the most direct and impactful evidence.

So Aiden thought to himself, if his brother was alive, this must be what he hoped for.

He hoped that his death would sound the alarm of fratricide; he hoped that his transformed body would completely end this war full of errors and sins.

Aiden also revealed the truth about the battle of the royal city seven years ago, telling his kingdom everything the Holy Monarch had done that year.

Now all the miasma in the abyss had been purified, and people no longer had to worry about the harm caused by the poison gas erosion when the Demon King tore the barrier.

The glass coffin was full of flowers and cool pearls to protect the body, and the arrow that took life was also placed next to it. Langmuir’s remains were cleaned, and he lay there, as if asleep.

People came like a tide, regardless of men, women, old, young, rich or poor.

They cried and prayed, reached out to touch the glass coffin, and put more flowers into the coffin.

“Your Majesty the Holy Monarch…”

“Your Majesty the Holy Monarch…”

“Don’t go, don’t go, Your Majesty the Holy Monarch…”

“Goddess, give him back to us!..”

Some people sobbed while desperately sending their meager mana into the coffin.

The monarch always said that unity can create miracles. Maybe there really are miracles, maybe His Majesty the Holy Monarch can also resurrect like the Goddess?

Soon more people began to imitate. But they were all civilians who didn’t even know healing spells, those mana gathered around Langmuir like fireflies, making the Holy Monarch’s eyebrows and eyes more sacred, but they couldn’t wake up the sleeping person.

Aiden rode his horse in front, his eyes red, and he murmured sadly with a smile, “Brother, can you see it? You’re home.”

…….

The cries of the world, Langmuir could no longer hear.

His soul, ethereal and elusive, as if wandering in a very warm place.

Gradually, a ray of golden light fell in front, where it shone, flowers bloomed, and sweet springs flowed. The winding long steps and the stone pillars entwined with vines appeared in the clouds one after another, surrounded by a snow-white glass-like realm.

Where is this?

Langmuir looked around in a daze, the sunlight always gently enveloped him, and there were flowers and sweet springs wherever he went.

Suddenly, many, many “existences” appeared in front of him.

They were all young, vibrant souls, without specific forms, regardless of race, but each was incredibly beautiful.

“Lord Son of God.”

“Lord Son of God.”

They smiled, reaching out to Langmuir one after another, their eyes bright and serious, “You’ve worked hard, you’ve worked hard, Lord Son of God.”

“I’m sorry, you are…”

Langmuir was even more confused, the endless light made him dizzy, he could only be surrounded by these friendly souls and move forward.

The souls made innocent and pure laughter like children, some draped him with a white silk scarf, some put a colorful flower wreath on him.

They said, “Come, come to us.”

They said, “We’ve been watching you here for a long time, waiting for you for a long time!”

Soon, Langmuir had a movement in his heart and recognized a particularly beautiful girl. She had a pair of passionate and stubborn eyes, looking at him affectionately.

My god, isn’t this the old woman who revealed the truth to him in the dungeon?

Behind the old woman, a laughing boy and his family were arm in arm, each holding a small trinket sold by the royal city merchants in their hands–this must be the grandfather mentioned by the old woman, it turned out that the grandfather’s gifts finally reached the hands of the people they should be given to. All the beautiful souls were gathered here.

Langmuir seemed to understand, and a faint comfort and joy appeared in his eyes.

He quietly asked those souls. “Is the Goddess…also here?”

The souls all nodded solemnly. “She has been waiting for you for a long time!”

Suddenly, Langmuir heard the sound of a harp.

It seemed to be an eternal tune, guiding the souls who had arrived here. The scales on his body turned into pink petals and were blown away by the wind; the horns on his head turned into sunlight, and the scales on his tail turned into snow fog; the last scale under his eyes turned into a water droplet and fell, and his silver hair gradually turned back to a deep gold color…

It was as if all the scars of his life had turned into beautiful things.

A platinum figure appeared in front of Langmuir, the sunlight was brilliant and soft, and countless souls surrounded her.

The Goddess bent down, personally took the hand of the golden-haired boy, and asked him. “Do you want to come with me?”

Langmuir hesitated and looked back at the way he had come.

He asked. “Can I not go?”

The souls all started to make a fuss, saying things like “No, no” “It’s time” “It will hurt a lot if you go back now”.

The Goddess touched the top of his head, picked a white flower, and gently placed it on Langmuir’s heart. “Do you still have attachments?”

Langmuir suddenly felt very painful, it was a kind of struggling pain that only the living could feel.

He took the flower in pain and said, “Yes.”

The souls all stopped talking, they looked at him with heartache.

The Goddess listened quietly and said, “There are many people holding you back, is it for those voices?”

Langmuir’s pain became more and more severe, as if he was being cut by millions of sharp knives.

“It has nothing to do with others…” he said with difficulty, “It’s my own selfishness. It’s me…I still have things I can’t let go of.”

The Goddess looked at him peacefully.

When the long night was about to end, the carriage carrying the Holy Monarch’s body rode on the snowy wilderness.

There used to be a Temple of Light here, enshrining the golden statue of the Goddess.

Seven years ago, the army of the demons passed by here, smashed the statue inside to only half a body left, and threw it outside.

In a blink of an eye, the power of the temple was destroyed, and no one cared about the half statue of the Goddess. It just lay crookedly by the side of the road, rusting in the wind and sun, in summer it would be covered with thick moss, and in winter it would be frozen by the snow.

When people were crying and chasing the carriage in front, not a single believer even glanced at this broken statue.

People came, passed by here, and left.

When the earth became infinitely quiet, the broken statue was still there, only the moonlight fell on it.

It seemed to be there forever. Whether it was gilded and offered on the altar; or smashed and broken, falling into the dust.

She, and some wills that she symbolizes, will always only be silent and lonely…there.

Crack.

A long crack suddenly appeared in the corner of the rusty Goddess statue’s eye

It might just be that the weather was too cold, and the statue was frozen and cracked. But that position, that form, just happened to look like a tear mark.

In the center of the distant carriage, the glass coffin filled with flowers, the mana from countless people had gathered to the extreme.

The sun rose from the other side of the mountain. The faint morning light shone on the glass coffin, and a faint light lit up in the coffin.

With a sharp crack, the entire glass coffin exploded, petals fell like rain, and hundreds of people around were blown away!

The horses neighed, and screams broke out among the soldiers and civilians, not knowing what had happened.

His Majesty Aiden turned his head, and the bottom of his deathly gray eyes suddenly burst into light.

He saw that the mana was flowing down like a golden waterfall, merging with the breaking dawn, illuminating that glass coffin. Countless white birds flew from nowhere, fluttering over the screaming crowd——

And the Holy Monarch, who was supposed to be sleeping in the coffin, slowly opened his eyes in such brilliant light, and sat up among the flowers.

A snow-white, nameless flower fell from his chest, and the arrow wound that had pierced his heart had astonishingly disappeared.

……..

“Alright, that’s it for tonight’s story.”

The night was deep, and the stars hung outside the window. The father closed the thick storybook, sitting by the wooden bed with a smile, “The rest of the content will be continued tomorrow night…Oh, no, the story of His Majesty the Holy Monarch is over, it seems we need to change to a new storybook tomorrow night.”

A pair of siblings lay on the bed. The brother had short horns on his head, and the sister had three scales on her face. They were both half-bloods of the human and demon races.

The little girl’s eyes were bright, clearly still immersed in the story. “Daddy, daddy, is there really a Goddess in the world?”

The little boy said loudly. “Fool, there is no Goddess in the world. I asked the teacher of the magic class at school before, and the teacher said that it is the result of people’s Mana gathering.”

“You think about it, if there really is a Goddess, why are there bad guys like the elder prophet in this world? Why does His Majesty the Holy Monarch have to die once?”

“But,” the little girl said thoughtfully, “if there are only happy things in this world, and no sad things, then even the bad soul of the prophet, after death, can go to heaven, I don’t want that!”

The bedroom door was opened, and the mother stood angrily with her hands on her hips, her tail slapping against the door frame with a pop. “Hey, it’s so late and you’re still not letting the children sleep?”

The father quickly apologized with a smile, hurriedly stuffing the book into the bookcase, and didn’t forget to comfort the two children. “What story do you want to hear tomorrow?”

The siblings raised their hands together. “We want to hear the story of His Majesty the Holy Monarch and the Broken Horn Demon King getting married!!”

The parents looked at each other, smiling helplessly yet lovingly.

The demon mother quietly approached two steps, asking her human husband. “Tell me, is there really a Goddess?”

The husband thought for a moment, hugged his demon wife, and said with a smile. “If you believe it, there is, but it’s not in the temple, it’s above your head and in your heart.”

The night was boundless, and the lights of thousands of households in the royal city lit up, reflecting each other with the starlight in the sky.

At that time, many, many years had passed since the war had completely disappeared along with Gasuo’s barrier.