The Great Nobles left and soon after that, a crowd of nobles flocked the throne room, wondering why the emperor summoned them.
At first, they were told to come to the palace since Jurnick wanted to announce to them first that Arthur was the new Hero, and then inform the rest of the world. But that schedule was ruined by what Arnold did so now they had to give both the good news and the bad news.
After gathering in the war room, the nobles anxiously awaited the emperor to begin, but also curiously as they glanced at the demihuman princess and Arthur at the emperor's sides. The Great Nobles were also absent so they didn't know what to expect from this meeting.
"I would have liked us to gather at a more peaceful time, enjoying drinks and a buffet of exotic foods—" Jurnick started, "—Alas, this is an emergency and I must inform you all about it before it is too late."
He looked to the side, "Sir Arthur Tivurgian, please allow us the audience of the Divine Titans."
Arthur nodded then pulled out the sword in his sheathe. A blinding white light engulfed the room and a white divine aura radiated from Arthur's body. The nobles watched in quiet amazement, unable to fathom what they were looking at.
-"Champion, I am honored to receive your call." When the light vanished, a tall woman, one whose entire body was golden from the tip of her toes to the top of her head.
She turned to the crowd, her breasts captivating the crowd of men staring at her almost naked form covered only by a skimpy white dress.
"This woman is one of Goddess Melis' creations, tasked with protecting the holy sword. But now that the holy sword is in Sir Arthur's hands, she and her sisters, now serve him."
"D-Does this mean…!?" one of the nobles shot up from his seat.
"Yes, Sir Arthur Tivurgian is Promethius' successor."
Half the chamber stood in stunned reverence. A few dropped to their knees, clutching their chest or murmuring forgotten prayers. Tears streamed down one old noblewoman's cheeks.
"After all these years… it's real. He's real."
One general slammed his fist on the table, half in disbelief, half in awe.
"By the gods… we prepared for this day but—never thought it would come in our time."
"I understand how you must feel right now. I felt the same when I heard the news—unfortunately, the demons are not our greatest enemies right now so listen to what I am about to say."
The nobles gulped, taken aback by the emperor's serious expression. They contained their excitement.
"A demon lord walks amongst us. And that same demon is threatening to kill the very hero we have been searching for."
"We assumed the Holy Sword would subject the demon to an eternity of endless suffering, never again able to see light or know happiness." The golden-skin woman continued, "But this was no ordinary demon. Have you heard of a demon lord strong enough to even make the Death God avoid confrontation?"
"W-What kind of cosmic horror are we… facing?" all of them were pale after hearing this news.
"Oriel, the Failed King. He was a Greater Demon who sought the Demon King's throne." As if she recalled a horrifying memory, the titan hugged herself, "It took the Demon King Arsnoria, her three demon lords and several of her most high-profile commanders to defeat him when he tried to use the war as an opportunity to weaken her rule."
-"Eh? The Demon King is a woman?"
-"That is not what's important here, Lord Fixel…"
"Lady Titan, can you please explain how this Oriel came back to life?" Jurnick asked.
"Of course. While they succeeded in killing him, they did not succeed in destroying his soul. Had the Monarch Watcher paid attention to the battle, it would have ended differently since that entity is capable of soul manipulation. But unfortunately for us in the present, the Monarch Watcher and your Archmage of that era was too busy scheming together to focus on other things."
"The Archmage? What could Peulik want with that demon?!" Jurnick, as well as the rest of the nobles were obviously surprised by this revelation. Peulik was the third Archmage and Freya's predecessor from 250 years ago. No "official" records exist to explain what happened to him when he vanished after the great war.
-"Doesn't the Intermid Border keep us safe from the demon energy on the other side, preventing demon portals from forming in our world? How did that demon make contact with Peulik shortly before the war?"
The titan glanced at the person who spoke, "You are correct about that. I am curious why you have fragments of a whole truth… Your historians are quite unreliable. I shall answer your doubts as all of this circles back to Oriel still being alive."
Everyone listened closely.
"Those barriers are not natural phenomena. They are called [Billion Year Walls], something constructed from a forgotten spell that the Progenitor was forced to teach the All-Father, Zephyros, after it was captured and imprisoned in the divine realm. What you said about the demon energy is correct because prior to the Demon-Human war, humans and demonkind used to live near each other, constantly killing each other upon confrontation. But those of you gathered here had ancestors who lived on the other side of a sea infested with magic beasts. Before that wall, you were protected by magic beasts but after most of them were killed by the Soul King, the waters became safe enough for the demons to cross. And while most drowned, too primitive to know the craftmanship skills required to create boats, they made it to your shores thousands of years ago and began killing your kind."
"H-How did our ancestors even survive that?" Arthur asked while trembling.
"Much like how humans of this era have brave adventurers who use their strength, either there since birth or gained through training, to save lives, back then there were also individuals whose sole purpose was to eradicate demons and save lives. Valkyries were also notorious for kidnapping human men from this world to have offspring in their realm so there were quite a few demigods to help you humans defend the land. They could not simply let the human men die out. Ultimately, you survived but the hordes of demons were almost never-ending, as if the shadows themselves breed the abominations. As such, the Valkyries had to seek the help of the gods."
-"I-Is this how the hero was born?"
"Not quite. There was an idea in the divine realm to select suitable humans who can withstand divine blessings long enough in battle, essentially becoming what you would refer to as suicide bombers. Humans could only withstand the blessings temporarily but it gave them the upper hand in the war during that time."
-"Oh! So the genes were passed on to each generation!?"
"No. Like I said, it was merely an idea that never became a final novel. There were many drafts but never a complete novel because the gods sought someone with the right body, soul and will to become their champion. The Sword Martial God's disciple, a half-human half-demigod, was the first. This disciple is the Promethius you know, our previous… master." The titan hugged herself yet again as her voice became soft and she looked to the side.
"…How is it that a human like Arthur is able to handle a blessing?" Jurnick asked what everyone was thinking.
"We can only tie this to how unpredictable fate is after what happened to the Fate Goddess. Before, it was impossible for humans to actually use blessings their whole lifetime, granting them eternal life and divine aura. But now there is a one-in-a-billion chance for a human with the right requirements to use a blessing and survive without combusting into pure divinity. I hope she forgives me for saying this, but her mysterious demise led to favorable outcomes a century later."
She looked at the nobles for a moment to gauge their reactions before continuing, "Unfortunately, the humans were overrun and the divine realm had to think of a different way to protect the humans. The All-Father used the barrier spell to seal half the entire world from the other. The spell itself weaves itself between atoms, making it impossible to even dig your way to the other side. However, your world's first three Archmages, through extensive research and studying off-world, found a way to weaken this barrier many centuries after it was erected. Fortunately, the first two knew the consequences and did not let their curiosity of the world far beyond their own, interfere with their moral duty to protect humans. It is only after their deaths that the last remaining great mage was persuaded into weakening the barrier."
"I don't understand." Jurnick said, "Why would he do this?"
"I remember his confession before your previous kings had him executed by his own will in a secret council, so I can tell you. The Monarch Watcher is a cunning and fiercely intelligent being, one trusted by all the Demon Kings before Arsnoria, the oldest and wisest demon. It was able to use the small crack that appeared above the clouds to set up communication with this Peulik man. it knew all the right words and how to grip a human's heart and soul to find out their greatest desires. Peulik desired power, the same kind of power to create phenomena like the barrier that can engulf a vast planet such as yours. He was told that all he needs is someone with a greater mind than even him to help him reach this pinnacle of magic, something only the Progenitor of Magic reached. Alas, he was a fool who was baited by sweet-nothings, he admitted in his final words."
-"Uhh, if all those portals didn't appear our world, would Promethius still have appeared to save us at that time?"
"Like I said, fate is now unpredictable to even the gods so I am unsure."
"...hmm…" Jurnick pondered what he heard silently.
The titan turned to Jurnick, "You must be worried about the cracks."
"If there are cracks, is it not possible for them to come to our world?"
"The barrier is certainly weak and prone to collapse but I know the current Archmage of this era is able to strengthen and seal these cracks temporarily, after going through the research of her predecessors. While there are cracks even she might not be aware of, forming demon portals that lead to this world is still impossible and the demons could be trapped inside the portal after it loses its stability. This is because the World Tree still stands and provides enough divinity to destabilize demon portals not created in this world."
"There have been many demon sightings recently. Should we not be worried the demons found a way to get here?"
"You can treat those similar to regular monster encounters because nothing stronger than an Imp will come out."
"How is it that the portals that form on this side don't collapse?"
"Mana. Due to the abundance of mana in this world, it can keep demon portals stable even with the divine tree's interference. The other side is the exact opposite. I cannot say for certain if the demons found a way to bend space-time to their will to allow them to come into this world without the help of someone from this side. My knowledge extends to the great war era only."
"I see…"
"To conclude my history lesson, if the Monarch Watcher could reach Oriel's body in time, he could have destroyed the Failed King's soul and prevented our current dilemma. That dilemma being a human with his soul, corrupted by power and demonic nature."
Unrest grew in the room.
-We're facing a demon lord stronger than the Demon King…?
"Not quite. Oriel has not yet taken full control of that human's body. In order to do so, he would need to make the human use his power constantly, stripping away from the human's soul and making his own dominant."
"This means we still have a chance against him." Arthur said as he gripped the Holy Sword.
-"C-Couldn't Sir Arthur take it down now!?"
"Until he is able to utilize the Holy Sword's sealing abilities, we cannot send him into battle with a demon. The fight would also be pointless as the demon can return after death, as you all just heard."
-"Who is going to stop the demon?"
"I sent a transmission to the Pope, asking him to lend us Lancelot and his Inquisitors as well as send the Oracle. If they hear the enemy is a demon threatening the Hero's life, they will make haste to prepare a subjugation party." Jurnick sighed, "If circumstances were favorable, we could have announced Sir Arthur's succession at my 60th birth year. From then on we could declare the Promethean calendar over and create the Arthurian calendar."
"Uh, what's that?" Arthur asked.
"The birth of a new hero," Jurnick said, "marks the beginning of a new age—a fresh chapter for all of humanity. Days, holidays, months… everything is reset to align with the legacy of the hero."
"When the world acknowledges a true hero, it doesn't just follow him… it reshapes itself around him." the titan finished added.
"…I'm that important?"
"Surely you jest." Jurnick chuckled, despite the weariness in his eyes. "It is our duty to protect you in your infancy… and follow you into battle, should you choose to lead. You are not just a symbol, Sir Arthur—you are the axis. The world tilts itself toward your shadow, whether you ask for it or not."
Arthur blinked, stunned into silence. He could feel the stares of the nobles, the reverence in their eyes—not as men looking at a person, but at something more.
A living turning point.
"When a true successor appears," Jurnick continued, "the laws of history bend. Peoples migrate. Nations rise in your wake or fall in your absence. Even gods reconsider their silence when the hero leads the battle."
Arthur's hands tightened slightly.
'So I really am the one they're all waiting on… The one who defines what comes next.'
He looked down at the floor, but his thoughts were already rising.
'Then I must be the only one who knows what must be done.'
He never had any guilt for killing Arnold because he knew Madilith would thank him for seeking revenge on her behalf.
With people's hope resting on him alone, how would it look if he began to doubt himself? They would lose an anchor protecting them and he would lose their faith.
He told himself he would listen, that he still needed others. And yet, somewhere in his mind, certainty began to settle. Not confidence, not arrogance—just a quiet, creeping belief that perhaps the others wouldn't always understand, just like Castacia who refused to look at him the same way since he saved them from Arnold.
He wouldn't blame them for not understanding.
He'd simply move forward without them. All that matters is that they were alive and still had faith in him.
After all, weren't heroes meant to lead the world, not be held back by it?
But with his inexperience using the Holy Sword, he could only rely on others to deal with the threat that is Oriel.
However, his time to lead without opposition will come.