Extra 1: The Devil And The Rose

1435. 

Nearly two years have passed since the end of the war, and the damage caused by the war was being erased bit by bit by time. The Port of Koszoya, which had once suffered massacre, had gradually recovered with the support of the royal family in the past two years, and the number of merchant ships entering and exiting the port had begun to increase again.

Part of the port's recovery was due to new commercial policies, and part of it was related to the Legrand State Church.

After the Holy Army movement ended with Legrand's victory, a church reorganization movement led by Archbishop Anil quickly began. They revised the doctrine and completely swept the papacy out of the spiritual arena under the principles of the "Act of Sovereignty". At this time in history, the Holy See's faith was at its lowest point in Legrand. The war almost destroyed all the prestige of the Holy See, making this reform proceed more smoothly than ever before.

Based on the unique role of the church in stabilizing social order and alleviating conflicts, the King promoted the transformation of the Legrand State Church into a social relief institution.

Business was thus liberated from being labeled an act of “sin.”

In addition, the establishment of the Legrand State Church marked the complete abolition of "tithes" and "indulgences" that were burdens on the common people, and the social economy shifted from illusory salvation to real happiness in this world… As such, it provided better conditions for Legrand's economic recovery.

"Hey-yo!"

The sailors shouted and dropped the anchor.

Bressi's envoy ship stopped at the port of Koszoya, and the long waiting reception officials came over to lead the former enemy and now ally towards the embassy.

After the war, the border countries' ambition to take advantage of the opportunity to rise was in vain.

Legrand, Bressi and the Nujin Empire signed a five-year peace agreement, forming the "Three Kingdoms Alliance". These three nations formed a triangle spanning both sides of the Abyss Strait and became the cornerstone of a stable world order. Otherwise, the blank area of ​​world power caused by the decline of the Holy Court would have caused more turmoil in the future. Relying on the existence of the "Three Kingdoms Alliance", these issues were controlled within an acceptable range for everyone.

On Bressi's side, Ferri III was doing his best to rebuild the political institutions that Theolde had broken up. The Nujin Empire decided to build a city on the Gulundi Plain where nomads could settle. And as the home of the war, Legrand was fully engaged in reconstruction work at this time.

If he hadn't known in advance, it would have been hard for the envoy of the Nujin Empire to believe that the city he arrived at had suffered a devastating massacre two years ago.

The broken walls have been repaired, the scorch marks left by the fire had been cleaned, and people were walking on the street loudly discussing which chamber of commerce and which fleet would return when. The city rebuilt after the war looked different from all the cities the envoy had seen before. The streets were well planned, the houses were neat and equipped with a complex waterway system, and they did not look dirty even on rainy days.

The city was full of life.

However, the envoy still discovered something special.

Bright red roses were planted in front of almost all houses. Traveling ladies also seem to regard this flower as a customary decoration and wear it on their hats.

In the municipal square of Koszoya, there was a statue that had been erected recently.

——The dragon's majestic skeleton had its wings spread high, rose vines were wrapped around it, and large flowers bloomed on the dragon's bones.

In front of this statue, there were flowers and a long wall engraved with words.

"What is that?"

The envoy asked.

The city official took him to the long wall, pointed to the names on the wall and said: "These were the victims."

"It's unbelievable...I'm sorry, but my meaning is that I can hardly see traces of the suffering this city has endured," the envoy said.

"Because we all believe that being immersed in sorrow is not a show of respect for the deceased, but a failure to live up to their sacrifice. Only when we as survivors work hard to rebuild happiness will it be a true show of love towards them." The city official said as he approached the memorial wall and pointed to a name on it, "This was my father."

The envoy bowed his head in silence.

"Let's go."

The city official left the square with the envoy. After a rest, the envoy would make way to Kriya State in a carriage the next day.

At the present, the King was there.

………………

The mountains of Kriya were lush and green.

The King wore hunting clothes and walked with the Devil in the forest. The forests of Kriya were almost as old as the land itself, with towering giant trees, dim light that managed to filter through, and moss growing on stones and rotten wood. The path in the forest was paved with fine gravel, and there was a soft sound of footsteps as one walked up it.

The King looked similar to the Devil walking beside him——his skin was extremely pale, and his scarlet cloak failed to give him a trace of healthy flush, as if cold air was seeping from his bones. The King knew why, and so did the Devil.

In the final war two years ago, the King fell from the sky and almost died like that, disappearing from heaven and earth.

But the Devil had arrived.

The conditions of the contract were met.

From that moment on, the King ceased to belong to this world.

The reason why the Devil failed to get what he wished and immediately took the King back to hell had something to do with Theolde. Theolde sealed the rift between hell and the human world with his Laws. The Devil was able to come to the human world with the help of the ingenious connection between the dragon bone skull of the Blackstone Royal City and the dragon bones on Legrand, as well as with the help of the special circle of magic.

It would be at least seven years before the two resonated enough for him to take the King back to Hell.

The Devil didn't mind waiting another two years on earth.

In front of a thousand years, two years were as short as a flash.

The King handed a parchment scroll to the Devil.

The Devil looked at the parchment but did not reach out for it.

In the Blackstone Royal City In hell, on that cold moonlit night, the Devil said to the King, please help me get my name back when that day comes. What the Devil asked with a smile, the King promised him.

"When did you get it back?"

The Devil took the parchment but did not open it.

He vaguely knew why in the last battle, the King had the power to save his life, but still fell from the sky and almost died. Once Theolde died, there would be no more gods in heaven and earth. The name that had been seized by the gods reappeared in the world in the turmoil of that moment.

The King caught it and brought it back.

"I won't forget what I promised."

The King said.

The Devil laughed softly, black fire ignited from his hand, and the parchment engraved with the name he had lost for many centuries turned into ashes.

He gave up that name.

The King looked at him in confusion.

"The nameless devil and the abandoned monarch, wouldn't this be more in tune?"

The Devil smiled and stared into the King's eyes.

Like the gods, his name pointed to the authority he symbolized. And he was the epitome of the deepest and craziest of hell. The reason why he was banished to the end of the world by the gods was precisely because of the chaos and evil he symbolized. The King didn't know what happened at the beginning of the Age of Gods, but he knew it clearly.

Once he got his name back, he would become like that again… chaotic, violent and crazy.

This was what hell was like.

The Devil thought, but said in a frivolous manner: "You see, we are made for each other."

The sunlight fell through the gaps in the leaves and landed on the King's hair.

"After you, there will never be another devil in this world."

The King said slowly.

The Devil was stunned for a moment before he realized what the King had done.

The King conferred him the identity of "Devil", and only he would own it from then on. From then on, he was the only Devil in the world. He didn't have a name, but at the same time he also had one.

"I don't have the energy to deal with a second Devil who wants nothing more than to see the world in chaos."

The King said lightly.

He had only one knight who was both Devil and contractor.

The Devil laughed, he reached out and clasped the back of the King's head, lowered his head to kiss his contractor, his monarch, his soul and his eternal other half. This was not what a knight should do, but a Devil born in hell, even if he acted as a knight, was not at all like any proper knight.

His King always had a way of making him helpless.

In this way, he would not be able to take him away from Legrand now.

How cunning, Your Majesty.

The Devil thought.

"You know, you will be abandoned by the world one day."

The Devil said, gently biting the King's earlobe.

"Aren't you my last knight?"

The King asked rhetorically.

"Yes, I am."

The Devil let go of him, took a step back, and knelt down on one knee.

Just like before.

The King stared down at him.

What everyone knew was——the wheel of time rotated, rose and fell, and the winner was destined to become the past. Heroes would eventually become stories of old, and the King who was surrounded by thousands of people today would become a new tombstone.

The only thing that would not change was the oath made long ago: 

——I am your first knight, and I will be your last knight.

A long time ago, the monarch who had nothing and the devil who was exiled from the world met on the desert beach. They signed a contract.

That contract was eternal, even if the world ended.

The King finally smiled.

He leaned forward to kiss his knight.