Vol. 4 CH. 10 — A parade of terror

PART# 1

Ambrosia is kingdom once was a ruined city filled with frowns and darkened faces. The despair of which hope had been lost after so many years of discrimination and persecuted filled the streets in the past as though it was a daily occurrence.

Smiles rarely appear on people's faces, much like a proper meal a human would have.

Now, as the festival begun, those frowns and faces filled with despair were changed with smiles of Hope and happiness.

Children played in the streets, giving flower crowns and flower necklaces to the guardians of the city, women dressed casually and neatly than before and men had mugs in their hands as they cheer for the future of the kingdom made for people like them.

This was Ambrosia. A new city for Demon-Spawns, a futuristic place made by the Black Hero, Kyoushiro Kagami.

—

One can guess what's the parade was for. A hero had helped the city flourished with his own hands and protected it from the Demon Lord Kakal. Alongside the hero that was recognized as the kingdom's king were the heroes who aided him during the battle.

However, one person was missing. Kyoushiro made rather unpleasant face as he was the one being paraded around the city.

"This isn't the type of festival I had in mind"

Kyoushiro grumbled as he only planned to go around playing around. Since this was a break he wanted for himself, looking around and buying things would have been the best thing he thought of doing during the festival.

However right now, he was seated on a throne with two women on each of his side. On his right was the new Queen of Travestin, Lucinda and to his right was the current Queen of Ambrosia, Arianne. Behind him were Mikoto, Edsel, Princess Lydia and Katsuto.

They were wearing smiles as they waved at the audiences at the streets throwing flowers at the float they were riding.

Kyoushiro had experienced being thrown trashed at him but flowers were a lot different compared to that.

"Isn't it fine? You deserve this much for helping the people this city"

Arianne smiled at Kyoushiro. This was worth the effort since Kyoushiro had done more for the city and it's inhabitants. Being respected like this was good every now and then after all.

"Haaaah.... I was planning on going out with you three while I'm here but I guess it can't be helped"

"!?"

The ears of the three girls twitched as they heard Kyoushiro was planning of having a date with all three of them.

"Kyoushiro-sama, is that true?"

"K-Kyoushiro-kun!"

"Ahahaha.... well, as fun as it sounds...."

It went to say that Kyoushiro's face didn't have that much credibility to what he said. He spoke teasingly and got the reaction he wanted. That much was enough for getting back at them for now— Kyoushiro thought.

"Well, I still have much to do later so I'll take a rest and spend the rest of the day with everyone"

It wasn't like he didn't enjoy the company of his family. Clara was with him as well so he didn't mind having this sort of experience. The little girl who had his eyes and her mother's hair was happily waving her had towards the citizens of Ambrosia.

Watching his own child happy like that made him smile. Experiencing something like this was a bliss. Was this the same thing his parents back when he was a kid? Kyoushiro wasn't sure but, he was glad to have a normal life like this. All that's left was the wedding and all would be set.

Is what he would like to do but there's still something he plans on doing before he gets married. Right, he would return to earth and fix what his relatives did. The money his parents left him and everything under his name. Kyoushiro wished to take it back.

There's also the matter about Taiga going rouge after running away from Travestin after joining with the 13th Demon Lord. Kyoushiro was worried if Taiga were attack his family and he was away.

Also.....

There's that matter with the Demon Lords as well...— Kyoushiro recall what happened in Calladium. He became a Demon Lord himself while fighting another Demon Lord under the aid of another Demon Lord.

Kyoushiro wasn't keen on being friendly with them but, he was worried they might be planning something this time. Furthermore, there's monsters appearing here and there in some parts of the world that he has yet to take care off.

So many things to do with so little time. Kyoushiro sighed and sank his back on the chair he was provided.

"So? What'll we do after this?"

Kyoushiro asked Arianne.

"We'll unveil a special gift to you and after that, is the grand party at the castle. Everyone is invited so we'll expect even the commoners will come"

"So even a party huh? Sounds you went all out with everything huh? Was that also why those merchants were there before?"

"That's right. I asked Kuro to handle the formalities so they provided us with everything we could buy from them"

Arianne had planned to have the festival go for about three of four days. That way, everyone would be able to celebrate the festivities without losing anything. What's more, thanks to the merchants from other kingdoms flooding in, business in Ambrosia was booming. Even the empty buildings were sold out just from Rich Merchants wanting one for themselves.

With this many people coming in from different places, it was bound to give more yeild than loses on Ambrosia side. There was even no need for security detail since Magic Iron Knights we're spread around the kingdom. Even Kuro was using the [God's eye] magic artifact like a surveillance security camera to look around the kingdom.

All was well. There was no need to worry about things going wrong during the festival.

"Hm? What's that?"

But not everything could go as smoothly as they planned.

A man was kneeling right in the middle of the street. The onlookers weren't doing anything, they too didn't know what to do. It wasn't like it was a threat as well, so the Magic Iron Knights didn't moved and merely watched the scene until something happened. As for the Black Knights, they quickly rushed to the scene but seeing how ragged the man's clothes are and how thin he looked, they were scared they might hurt him. With so many visitors from other places, a Demon-Spawn hurting someone else who wasn't a Demon-Spawn might cause things to go bad.

Arianne sighed and stood up. She walked to the end of the float and raised her voice with magic.

"You there, please vacate the premises or you will get hurt. Kneeling in front of this parade will only result in your injuries. Please get back"

"Black Hero-sama!!"

The man raised his head and called out to Kyoushiro.

"My... My town was destroyed by monsters! Please! Save us! My people need your help!!"

Tears rolled down the man's eyes and mixed with the dirt on his face. The Black Knights looked at the man and picked him up gently.

"Hey, old man, this isn't the place to do that"

"Let's go, it's dangerous here"

The Knights spoke softly to the man and slowly dragged him away. However, the man pushed the two knights away and went back to prostrating on the ground.

"Please!! I beg of you!!"

Arianne, looked at the man with pity. She glance back at Kyoushiro, hoping that this wouldn't make him angry. However, behind her was Kyoushiro looking at the man with no emotion at all. What he was looking at was like an insignificant bug not worth stepping on.

Arianne sighed and turned back.

"Ambrosia will do it's best to aid those who are being endangered by the monsters in their area. However, as it is, the Black Army doesn't have much numbers to further expand out area.... I hope you understand"

Arianne felt so sincerely sorry that she couldn't provide immediate help. If anything else, her kingdom was the only place with hardly any monster attacks anymore. If this sort of thing was possible even in other places, she would gladly help but....

"Liar!!"

The man yelled in anger then point at the grandoise float with two heroes on board.

"Aren't that hero just lounging around.... pretending to be king!? If he's a hero, shouldn't he be helping us from those monsters!!?"

Those words pointed at Kyoushiro. Everyone knew who he was looking at. Lucinda stood up, Mikoto stopped her and Princess Lydia glared at the man. Katsuto sighed and held his held while Kyoushiro was just looking down on the man.

The crowd was slowly getting rowdy. With the people from Travestin's sides slowly joining the man's demand. Help us! You're a hero aren't you!? Their words became louder and louder with every single citizen outside of Ambrosia demanding Kyoushiro of his aid.

"You're just playing king!"

"Stop being an ass and help us already!"

"You're the strongest hero right!? So help us!!"

The citizens of Ambrosia didn't made the situation better. Some kids were trying to protect Kyoushiro from the condemning protests of the people outside of Ambrosia. Some adults started fighting, some elderly begun pacifying the situation while the woman were trying to protect their children or their husbands.

"These people are just....."

This time, Katsuto saw what this world truly is. They were heroes in the eyes of the many but in their minds, the heroes were just convenient tools to save this world from destruction. Their adoration was merely for the sake of praising the heroes that save them.

After all, a tax-paying citizen would always complain about how the government fails to provide them with their needs....

Katsuto then recalled the words he heard from the mercenary he fought in the past. “Hah!! Does being a hero give you that much authority to hound us down?! It’s funny to see a guy like you act like a hero!!”

At that time, it was just one bandit, pointing his fingers at Katsuto for being a useless hero. Recalling that person made Katsuto realize that what he had experienced wasn't grand at all. Rather, what was happening before him, to one hero, Kyoushiro, was like that day in the Travestin.

Everyone points their fingers, without even thinking of what happened or if the crime was real or not. They only needed to force their own desires on one person in order for their wishes to be granted.

This time, Kyoushiro was being ordered by the people who doesn't even know what he has done for the mast 4 months, inside the place he built up by himself....

"Oi... Kagami..."

Katsuto wanted to ask if Kyoushiro was alright about this. However, when he saw Kyoushiro's expression, he stopped.

"Stop pretending to be a king and act like a hero and help us!"

A stone flew after those words were said. And just like a motion picture playing slowly, the stone flew parabolically and....

"Nh...!!"

Hit Lucinda on her head.

"Lucy-chan! Are you alright!?"

"I-I'm fine Mikoto-sama..."

Mikoto rushed to Lucinda's side and helped her out. The wound made by the sharp rock didn't wound Lucinda thanks to her defensive magic accessories given by Kyoushiro. She was saved from receiving a wound on her head that might affect her duties as the Queen of Travestin.

"........."

However, the person everyone was demanding from stood up silently. Everyone was silent as they saw something above Kyoushiro's head. A flickering golden flame shape like a crown.

It wasn't just that. The air grew thick, and became hard to breathe. Everyone present around Kyoushiro, even in the streets felt something horrible rumbling in the air. That was then Kyoushiro jumped off from his throne down on the street.

"........."

His right eye shined dangerously red and lightning began to crackle at his feet.

"Who threw that?"

Then slowly he spoke, asking everyone to name the person who dared to hurt Lucinda.....

"I said.....WHO THREW THAT!!?"

*GOU—!!!!!*

A wave of pure magic power swept across everyone. The ground shook and made everyone around fall on the ground. The buildings trembled, the windows shattered and the decorations burned as the crackling lighting sparked at the light posts.

No one knew about this power one hero held. No one realized that the person they were trying to order around was far different from any hero they had come across.

He was the Demon Lord of Chains.....

"I've had it with you all"

Kyoushiro raised his right hand slowly as if picking up something with his hand.

"Agh!?"

A man wearing a shawl over his head flew above the ground and held his neck, trying to remove the thing that was choking him.

"You ask me to help you but you do these kinds of stunts just to rile me up? How long do you all wish to test my patience....?"

"AAAAGHH!!!"

The man screamed on pain. His shawl came slid off his head as he struggled in the air. It was one of the merchant he saw back in the castle before with Arianne. He was probably a starting merchant since he did this on his own. He didn't even had pawns to instigate this whole situation. Or maybe he does and Kyoushiro just doesn't know about it.

Regardless, Kyoushiro didn't care who was calling him a hero or a demon. Right now, he was pissed off beyond his limits.

"If so, then I'll make sure all of you to remember this"

Kyoushiro slowly took a step forward, walking to theman kneeling in streets. The man slowly lowered his head, kissing the ground on his own, trying to avert his gaze to the monster right in front of him.

"Pull this stunt again and I'll destroy everything"

*Splat*

It was a dull sound. Something they didn't expect to hear in a happy occasion like this. However, instead of a rain drop from the clouds above, what came down was blood from a crushed corpse beyond recognition.

Slowly, Kyoushiro lowered his arm.....

"Kyaaaaaaa!!!"

And the chaos began the time Kyoushiro's arm was relaxed.

PART# 2

They witnessed it right before the holographic billboards. Kyoushiro caused a panic by killing one person right in front of a whole crowd.

The Black Army soldiers were rushing to the scene, helping the people to evacuate while the Magic Iron Knights we're pointing their magic cannons at the most dangerous person present.

Elyria, Corralia and Finnick we're speechless from they had just watched.

"........"

"........"

"..... Nii-chan...."

The broadcast was immediately cut right there and the screen turned black. The three who watched the parade at a special seat in the palace were lost for words by what happened.

Corralia covered her mouth in shock, Elyria merely showed a scowl and Finnick was filled with terror, shaking on his seat, scared of the expression on Kyoushiro's face.

A cold, cruel and fearsome monster. Almost like a Demon Lord depicted in every children's stories.

None of them could believe that Kyoushiro would murder someone right in front of the masses like that.

"I thought.... he was revered as a hero?"

Corralia heard of the news from the ships passing by Oceanus. That there was a hero that could rival a Demon Lord on his own. Protecting those who are weak and giving safe haven for those in need.

Koizumi even defended Kyoushiro when no one even believed a Demon-Spawn was capable of being a hero.

However, the scene they saw was far from heroic. It was cruel and horrible. Only a monster could do such a thing.

"I'm defending that man. However, outside this kingdom, people see him as a criminal rather than a hero"

Banished from Travestin in the crimes of attempting murder of all the heroes, trapping them in a Monster house in order to become the only hero. Not only that, there was even rumors floating around that Kyoushiro raped the new Queen of Ambrosia just to get himself in power.

Recalling the news from 4 months ago, Elyria understood how much anger was boiling up inside Kyoushiro. Then that happened.

The people who threw stones and called him criminal was now asking for his helped. That action of their was beyond being rude. That was just plain stupidity. They asked to be saved by the guy they chased out. Furthermore, they went so far and ruined a festival aimed to make the populace recognize Kyoushiro as a hero and not as a criminal.

However, now that Kyoushiro killed someone right before the eyes of many people, it could only be said that the reputation Kyoushiro had built up had only came crashing down to nothing.

Elyria sighed.....

"I don't know who started that instigation but, it was obvious aimed to make the Black Hero angry"

There were a far shorter list of candidates that could do such a thing but Elyria wasn't even sure if there was even someone sane enough to do that.

"...What do you.... What do you mean by that?"

"Just like I said, someone wanted this to happened"

Elyria left the room. Corralia wasn't even sure what's going on and who was good or bad in this incident. However, she couldn't just stay silent at the fact that Kyoushiro might even endanger Oceanus because of his own power.

So as fast as she could, Corralia chased after Elyria.

"Nii-chan....."

Leaving Finnick at his chair with his head down. His image of the hero Kyoushiro was in his mind, just disappeared like a popped soap bubble.....

—

No one would imagine Kyoushiro would do such a thing. The parade was forced to end and Kyoushiro voluntarily left with the Black Army.

Lucinda, Arianne, Mikoto, Katsuto and Kuro were all present in the command room. They were trying to understand what happened in the parade and what lead that to end so gruesomely.

"Kyoushiro-sama..... got angry for me"

Lucinda was the first one to talk.

"Because someone threw that rock at me that Kyoushiro-sama got mad. This is my fault, I need to—"

"Stop, your highness"

Kuro stopped Lucinda from leaving her seat.

"What happened today was due to my short comings. I was watching through the [God's Eye] artifact yet I couldn't prevent that from happening"

Kuro sighed and held his temples with his fingers. This incident was a headache. After all they had done to connect Travestin and Paracellumn with Ambrosia, with the hopes of gaining allies, such a thing happened.

They had just lost the trust of the people. Even those who lives in Ambrosia. None of them couldn't prevent that from happening.

"Just was that? I've never seen Kyoushiro so angry before?"

Arianne couldn't forget Kyoushiro's expression when he got off from his makeshift throne. She never had witnessed Kyoushiro act so violently before even when they had spent so much time together.

"The only time I've seen Kyoushiro-kun got so angry like that was back in Travestin...."

"Yeah, at that time, we were all against him as well"

Mikoto and Katsuto both recalled how Kyoushiro acted when he was being trialed for some ridiculous crime he obviously didn't even do. However, this time was more severe than before. They never saw Kyoushiro kill someone so violently and coldly like that.

"I have"

Suddenly, Elyria cut in the meeting and. entered the room without knocking.

"This is private place. No guests are allowed here"

"Forgive me but I came here with the Black Hero. I'm sure he wouldn't mind me being here"