Everyone in the room was shocked by the sage's words.
"What are you talking about?"
The girl scoffs "Don't play dumb, Demon King. Or should I call you by a more fitting name, Alaric, the Grand Mage of the Mage Tower?"
"...!"
The group of heroes stared in shock at the girl's revelation.
Some muttered, "This must be a joke," under their breath.
"..."
But the girl ignored the voices behind her, continuing to stare straight at the Demon King, determined to hear the truth.
And at that moment,
"Bwahaha! Hahahaha!..."
"...?"
The Demon King suddenly burst into laughter, as if recalling something.
"Ha ha ha... Alaric, is it? What a nostalgic name. Yes, a name that brings back memories."
"...Why? Why did you betray us? You, who was once called the Great Sage... You, hailed as the greatest talent of the Mage Tower, praised by so many. Why did you betray humanity and side with the demons?"
"...Betrayal?"
"...!"
Suddenly, the Demon King's expression darkened. His burning eyes radiated death, and the girl's face turned pale under the weight of his gaze.
"Sage!" The one who stepped forward to protect the girl was none other than the blonde female knight. She used a scroll, seemingly prepared in advance, to shield the girl.
"You vile bastard!"
"Betrayal, you said?"
"...?"
"That's funny... really funny. You claim I betrayed humans... Haha! I betrayed humans, is that it?"
"...Ugh!"
At that moment, the demon king's body began to writhe. The form that had resembled a human started to swell, becoming more like a beast.
"Be careful, Sage!"
Seeing the change, the knight shouted as she shielded the girl.
Then, looking at the girl and the knight, the demon king yelled,
"That's funny!"
"...?"
"I betrayed humans and the Magic Tower and sided with the demons, you say? Ridiculous!"
"...!"
The demon king's voice boomed like a wild beast's roar.
"It wasn't me who betrayed them! It was the Magic Tower that sought to kill me to steal my research!"
"...!"
At the demon king's words, the girl's face turned ashen. The demon king continued to shout at her.
"I toiled tirelessly to repay the Magic Tower that nurtured me, ultimately uncovering a fragment of knowledge about the stars. But who was it that coerced me into surrendering the results of my research? And when they failed to obtain what they sought, who turned their threats toward my disciples?"
"...!"
"And when I escaped the Tower to save myself, who dispatched assassins to hunt me down? Ultimately, who betrayed me, stabbing me in the back and leaving me to die in the Dark Forest after I uncovered the truth that my closest friends were the ones orchestrating it all?"
"...!"
'Boom!' The demon king slammed his fist into a nearby pillar, shattering it to pieces. His large horns gleamed as his beast-like red eyes flashed.
"Listen well, girl! Let me answer your question!
It wasn't me who betrayed humanity. It was you and the filthy pawns of the Magic Tower who betrayed me!"
"...!"
At the demon king's cry, the girl staggered, letting out a groan. The blonde knight stepped forward, protecting the girl and shouting back.
"Shut that vile mouth of yours, demon king!"
"...Hmm."
"Everyone knows your words are nothing but lies. You can't hide the truth with those filthy words!"
"Heh, is that so? But... it seems the girl over there knows what the truth is."
"...!"
The demon king muttered, causing the knight to glance at the girl. The girl avoided her gaze, not meeting the knight's eyes. The knight's expression twisted in frustration.
"Even if what you say is true... even so, it doesn't erase your crimes!"
"...Crimes? What crimes are you talking about?"
"Are you pretending not to know? How can you be ignorant of the crimes you've committed? You led the demons out of the Demon Realm to seize the peaceful world above! Do you realize how many people died because you attacked the human kingdoms from this Dark Forest?"
At the knight's outburst, those around them began to focus on the demon king.
Everyone gathered there had lost someone dear to them, a friend or a family member, because of the demon king's invasion.
They recalled the ones sacrificed in the demon king's attack.
"..."
As the group approached the demon king, filled with hostility, the demon king suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, Bwahaha!, ahahaha!"
"...!"
The knight frowned as she shouted at the demon king who was laughing.
"What's so funny, demon king!"
"Hahaha! So that's what it was! Thank you, girl! Thanks to you, I've realized something I hadn't thought of before. I should be grateful."
"What nonsense are you spouting..."
"Hehehe... Hahaha! The demons started the war? That we came out of the Demon Realm to invade the surface?"
"..."
"...Nonsense. We didn't come to the surface to invade. We came because we needed land to survive."
"...!"
"That's all. We couldn't sustain our growing population in the cramped Demon Realm, so we came to the surface in search of land to live."
"...!"
"And we deliberately avoided conflict with humans by settling in the Dark Forest, which humans had designated as a forbidden area."
"What... what are you saying!"
"And we even sent an envoy to the humans, seeking cooperation for the future. But..."
The demon king's eyes, which had been calm, flared red with anger. His enormous body trembled, his voice filled with suppressed fury.
"...It was you humans who killed her, wasn't it? The envoy, the dark elf elder Margarita, who went to negotiate for peace, saying we should forget the past and create a future together, she was executed by your hands, wasn't she!"
"...!"