CHAPTER 31: 1000 YEARS AGO

Ard returned Galdorf’s greeting and signaled for Galdorf to raise his head. After that, Galdorf asked them to put their swords away again and stood up, walking to the window to open the curtains once more. Ard remained silent; he had a mountain of questions he wanted to ask Galdorf. He then turned to look at Eva, who happened to be watching him and smiling.

Galdorf returned to the sofa across from them. His face looked tired and tense. For a moment, the three of them were silent, not saying anything, which made the atmosphere in the room heavy.

"Alright, I’m going to tell you what just happened at the academy and what the secret of this academy is," Galdorf said.

Galdorf then explained that the entire complex of this knight academy was founded 1,000 years ago by the first Empress and the first King of Fredonia, who was Azroth, the Demon Lord. The academy’s purpose was to safely keep the two legendary holy swords which were the key to the Demon God’s seal, a seal put in place 3,000 years ago by the heroes named Ashton and Esmeralda.

"Those two swords were Exelion and Exgrandal, which later turned black because Ashton was taken over by the Demon God and became Azroth. The academy’s goal is to train new knights and heroes to anticipate the return of the demon race, as well as to guard what has been at the academy since it was first founded."

"Oh... so the academy was founded for a reason like that. But why is Exgrandal with me and Exelion with Eva? What exactly is locked up in this academy?" Ard asked.

"The immortal bodies of the first Empress Evelina and the first King of Fredonia, the Demon Lord Azroth—they were the true forms of Exelion and Exgrandal," Galdorf answered.

"Huh?" Ard and Eva were stunned to hear Galdorf’s statement. Suddenly, their bodies began to feel shivery and shaky.

"However, 15 years ago, the underground door opened, and both corpses disappeared. It all coincided exactly with the birth of Princess Eva and Prince Ard," Galdorf replied.

"I-Is that true?" Eva asked, finally finding her voice.

"It is true, but no one knows about it, not even the Emperor. Only I and a few instructors here know," Galdorf answered.

Ard and Eva fell silent. Unconsciously, they held hands because they were both trembling from Galdorf’s words. After that, Galdorf finally told them everything. Fifteen years ago, the academy was attacked by a demon army that came from who knows where. The demon army was successfully defeated by the instructors and students of the academy, but the underground door had been opened. The bodies of Evelina and Azroth, which were kept in a cave on the academy grounds, vanished. Not long after, Galdorf, who was just an instructor at the time, received news that Princess Eva had been born and had silver hair.

Shortly after, an instructor from Fredonia also received news that Prince Ard, the third prince, had been born and had black hair. The Headmaster at the time immediately sent people to check the gate where the Demon God was sealed, and according to their report, the gate confining the Demon God was slightly open, although not fully. Following that, two envoys were sent, one to the Orthus Empire and one to the Fredonia Kingdom.

The Fredonia Kingdom listened to the envoy’s advice and dyed Ard’s hair red to hide Ard’s true identity until he reached adulthood, but the Empire refused, believing it was a high honor that the first Empress had been reincarnated into the royal family.

"So that’s what happened," Ard murmured.

"As a result... this academy kept being attacked by demons because the academy is the front line of the Orthus Empire. But for the last eight years, the attacks stopped and the city around the academy was established. Right now, I need you both to be very careful because there’s a mysterious movement inside the academy that caused incidents like today’s," Galdorf warned.

"Yes, Sir," Eva replied.

"Just as my brother Abel said... a dark cult intending to free the Demon God... wait... something doesn’t make sense... me... the Demon Lord Azroth? This is hard to accept. I want to know about myself... I really want to know," Ard muttered in his head.

Ard looked at Galdorf, who was speaking seriously with Eva sitting next to him. Then, he let go of Eva’s hand, causing her to turn and look at him.

"Headmaster... am I truly the Demon Lord Azroth?" Ard asked.

Galdorf turned to look at Ard and smiled. He nodded slowly to answer Ard’s question, which, of course, made Ard even more confused with mixed feelings.

"I know this must be hard to accept, but the prophecy says so, and the demon attack 15 years ago confirms it," Galdorf said.

Eva slid closer to Ard, who was silent and looking down with clenched fists. Then she whispered to Ard,

"You... don’t remember what happened 1,000 years ago?" Eva asked in a whisper.

"No... I don’t remember anything at all. I admit I’ve had dreams about my life on Earth as a World War II soldier, being reincarnated as Ashton, and knowing that Esmeralda was Edith from Earth, my enemy who eventually became my lover... and then... the tragic event that happened to Ashton and Esmeralda... which turned Ashton into a demon... but that’s it... the last one was probably last night... I dreamt I woke up in a city... my hands were covered in blood and I was holding Exgrandal... I don’t understand," Ard whispered.

"Good... I understand, and I’m going to make you remember," Eva replied.

Immediately, Eva cupped both of Ard’s cheeks with her hands and, "Mwah," she kissed Ard directly on the lips. Ard was, of course, shocked, and Galdorf also flinched seeing it, but suddenly Ard’s consciousness faded. Before his eyes closed, he managed to see Eva’s face change slightly, becoming mature like a different person whom he recognized. Finally, Ard’s consciousness was completely gone, his eyes fully closed, and he fell into Eva’s embrace, who instantly held him.

"After this... you will understand," Eva murmured in Ard’s ear.

***

"Thump... thump," "thump... thump," Ard opened his eyes. He once again saw the scene of a burning city around him. Suddenly, a winged demon, wearing black armor and horns, landed in front of him and knelt on one knee.

"Your Majesty Azroth, the human forces are pushing us back on the front line, we beg for your assistance," the demon said.

"Fine, let’s go there," Azroth replied.

["Huh... my... my mouth is speaking on its own?" Ard’s consciousness wondered.]

Suddenly, Ard felt something emerge from his back and move. Then he flew toward the city gate. As soon as he passed the fortress, Ard landed. He saw the human knight army, led by a woman in white armor, holding Exelion and riding a white armored horse, ready to attack the city with her troops.

Azroth was stunned looking at the figure of the woman in white armor. He stepped forward, approaching the human army. The woman also dismounted her horse and walked towards him. Step by step, Azroth began to remember who he truly was. His head became intensely dizzy, and he shoved away the evil voice inside his head.

His eyes focused on the woman who was getting closer to him and holding the beautiful sword named Exelion. When they faced each other, they were silent, just looking at one another. The woman glanced at the sword Azroth was holding.

"Exgrandal... but black... are you... Ashton?" the woman asked.

"Esmeralda?" Azroth asked.

"How are you, Ashton? I’m sorry I made you wait for 2,000 years. My name is Evelina now. I am the human hero, and I have come here to reclaim this city from the hands of the demons," Evelina replied.

"So... you were reborn... forgive me... I couldn’t save you that time," Azroth said.

"It’s all in the past, Azroth. Now I represent humanity, and you represent the demons. We are once again Ace and Edith from Earth," Evelina said, raising her sword.

Azroth observed Evelina’s beautiful, silver-haired face beneath her helmet, then looked at his own hand once more and finally back at Evelina. He could see that even though Evelina’s face was cold and ready to attack him, her eyes looked sad. Finally, Azroth stepped back and raised Exgrandal forward.

"Alright, let’s finish everything today... Evelina," Ashton said, ready to attack.

"Let’s begin, Azroth," Evelina replied.

They both smiled, and then, "Clanggg," the sword Exgrandal clashed with the sword Exelion.

"You know you can’t defeat me, right?" Azroth asked.

"Of course I know, and you won’t be able to defeat me either," Evelina answered.

Finally, they fought as representatives of demons and humans, even as tears streamed down their faces and smiles graced their lips.

"Attack!"

The armies of demons and humans began to advance, supporting their respective rulers, and the great war between demons and humans commenced.