"THERE!!" Cerille cried as she and her father, Nickelson, rode atop the Pegasus. "The two demonic energy sources are coming fast from the south! I'd reckon they'll be here in no more than two minutes!"
She then turned to her father. "SIR, WHAT WILL YOU HAVE ME DO?" she called enthusiastically.
But Nickelson remained silent, his gaze fixed on the south.
"Sir...?" she muttered, noticing his unusual silence.
"Sir, what's our plan?" she urged.
"... There is no plan, Cerille," he muttered softly, signaling the Pegasus to turn to the side. "We're leaving the Capital for good." His voice was steady as the Pegasus began moving away from the impending battlefield.
Cerille's face tensed at his words. "SIR!!" she called, noticing his lack of response as he focused on guiding the Pegasus away.
"FATHER!!" she cried, clutching his sides, causing him to flinch slightly. "THIS IS NO TIME FOR JEST! YOUR... YOUR KNIGHTS, YOUR CITY... EVERYONE TRUSTS US TO PROTECT THEM!"
"Cerille," Nickelson interjected calmly.
"NO, FATHER! I KNOW IT ISN'T MY PLACE TO QUESTION YOUR ORDERS, BUT WE SWORE AN OATH TO PROTECT OUR—"
"CERILLE!!!" he screamed, his voice echoing across the plains, silencing his daughter.
Cerille's face paled as she sensed his suppressed distress.
"Do you even... fathom... what a Mythical Rank is?" he asked gently.
Cerille remained silent, her expression shocked.
"Arutol, the Dragon King's offspring, was L. Legendary. With a single breath, he could have destroyed our Capital if the Goddess hadn't intervened."
"B-but," Cerille stammered reluctantly, "Y-you'd have protected us! You're almost an L rank yourself, and—"
"DON'T BE NAIVE, MY DAUGHTER!!" he shouted, silencing her again.
"The people need something to believe," he continued. "With Magus Veil's death, all they had was me... and that PARTY of his."
"But the truth is, my strength peaked a long time ago, at S. I can feel it in my bones. I'm... too old, and my magic power will not grow any stronger than this. I was never close to L Rank. Magus Veil, however, was on the verge of Mythical before he died."
"I... Father... I-I get it! I get it! You exaggerated your strength! I GET IT! I DO!!" she cried, her voice cracking, tears streaming down her cheeks. "YOU DID IT SO THAT THE PEOPLE WOULD HAVE FAITH IN YOU, IN OUR KNIGHTS!"
"But... This... This...!! This is just a mere two-rank difference! If... IF ANYONE COULD DO SOMETHING TO SAVE US... IT'S YOU!!!"
Nickelson turned to his daughter as he remained seated atop the Pegasus.
And that was when Cerille's heart sank. The moment she gazed upon her father's expression as he tightly grasped her shoulder.
"A-ah... F-father... You're hurting... me..." she squirmed slightly as he held her close.
"My foolish... foolish daughter..."
"...?" She gasped.
"I was once like you. Naive. I believed there was such a thing called 'the right thing to do,'" he said.
"But that was before I witnessed the power of a Mythical Rank threat, during the Great War," he murmured, and Cerille could feel his palms shaking.
"It wasn't even a fight..." he murmured, recalling the Demon Lord, lounging bored atop her mighty bone dragon as her demons laid waste to a village Nickelson had sworn to protect.
YOU ARE READING
Betrayed, I Met The Demon Lord
FantasyVan and his friend Magus had reincarnated in another world with magic. Tasked to kill the demon lord, they set forth. Van was granted very rough skills that made life for him in that world a living hell, yet he muscled through. Magus however, was be...
