Chapter 52 The King's Lie

She reached out, tapping the crystals with a brittle smile.

 “I was planning to run away with Kael… to leave this cursed kingdom behind, to live quietly, just the two of us. So, I made sure I’d have something for myself. A reassurance. I was planning to threaten Arthur exposing him if he tried to go after us. I have Recordings. Secret meetings with Arthur. This one—” she slid the crystal closer, “—was the day I returned from the demon plains. The day I gave him my full report of Aura the Hero’s death. The day the world swallowed a lie.”

Rein picked up one of the crystals. The moment his fingers brushed its surface, light shimmered and flared into the air—forming a small, wavering screen.

There was Liora, standing beside the throne. Arthur lounged in his seat. The conversation was clear, damning. Piece by piece, the recording unfolded exactly as Liora had claimed.

When the light finally faded, Rein set the crystal back down on the table. 

“…No. This—How could this be true? All of it… it can’t be. This can’t be real.”

“It is real. All of it. Stop pretending you don’t see the truth, Rein. From the moment you heard her voice, saw her face, the way she spoke—even if she didn’t look like Aura you remembered—you started to doubt Arthur’s lie. You had the chance to kill Demon Lord at the peace meeting, but you hesitated. You faltered. That was when the cracks began to show. Since then, you’ve carried those doubts. You didn’t let them show, you buried them deep. But you knew. Deep down, you knew the Demon Lord was Aura. You just refused to admit it to yourself. How long will you keep running from it, Rein? How long will you hide behind that mask? You and Mira both. How about facing reality for once—stop laying to yourself.”

 “Mira? What does Mira have to do with this? With any of this?”

“This girl—this Mira, she calls herself—has more to do with this than you realize, Rein. Mira… that was Aura’s mother’s name. The story she told you—about her village being torn apart by monsters, about her being trapped in a basement beneath the wreckage? That wasn’t her story. That was Aura’s. That’s how Aura survived, hidden away until the orphanage took her in. Do you see it now? Do you understand where I’m going with this?”

“This is getting ridiculous. No—this can’t be true! It can’t be!”

But then, a gentle hand rested on his shoulder. Warm. Familiar.

“Rein…” Mira’s voice was soft, almost fragile.

 “Everything Liora told you… is true.”

He turned, desperate for denial in her eyes. Instead, he saw sorrow.

“I am... Aura.”

Her words echoed like a curse. Then, lines of static rippled over her body, her image glitching, breaking apart. The gentle face of Mira dissolved, piece by piece—until what stood in her place was not the girl he knew, but the very figure he hated the most.

The Demon Lord.

Rein gasped, his breath stolen from his chest. His chair toppled as he staggered back, crashing to the ground. 

“No… No, it can’t… it can’t be you…”

Aura knelt down and reached out, taking Rein’s arm, and helped him back to his feet.

“It’s me, Rein. Not a Demon Lord. Not a monster. Just me. Aura. My face may have changed, my body may not be what it once was—but I’m still the same person you knew.”

Before he could speak, she pulled him into a gentle embrace. Her arms wrapped around him with a warmth that pierced through every doubt, every fear. The touch was real. The heartbeat against his chest was real.

And in that moment… he knew.

The disbelief shattered. His body trembled as tears welled in his eyes and spilled freely down his face. His voice broke apart.

“How... how could I be so blind? So stupid? At first, I didn’t believe it was possible. But when Arthur said the Hero’s blessing had returned to him, when he showed his power, I… I believed him. I’m… sorry… Aura. I'm so sorry. What he did to you… what Arthur did… it’s unforgivable. I’m sorry, Aura. For every cruel word I ever threw at you. For every strike I landed. For every wound I carved into you… every ounce of pain I caused. I’m sorry.”

Aura’s arms loosened slightly, though she did not let him go. Her voice came out dull, mellow—stripped of warmth, as though only an empty shell spoke in her place.

“You are not to blame, Rein. You have nothing to be sorry for. I know what you feel—I lived it myself. Just like you, I was fooled by Arthur. Just like you, I trusted him. And just like you, I refused to believe the words of the one branded Demon Lord before me. Not a word. Not until the traitor’s blade carved deep into my back at my weakest. Only then… only then did I finally believe the truth about Arthur.”

Liora’s voice cut in, “Arthur planted his own men in Aura’s party. When she was worn out—after she fought and defeated Vex Rion—they struck. They didn’t fight fair. They waited until she was weak, then turned on her while she rested. And Rein… that Hero’s blessing Arthur bragged about? It never existed. It was a lie from the start. All of it. What he gave Aura—the elixirs he made me deliver—they weren’t gifts, they weren’t blessings. They were poison. The same mix he gives to everyone he exiles. A potion meant to speed up the demon transformation. He never planned to raise a Hero out of her. He only wanted to break her.”

Rein’s hands clenched into fists, his mouth opened, but no words came out at first—only a rasp of air.

“It’s not fair, Liora. For all the lies you fed me, for everything you did—I want to hurt you. I really do. You betrayed me. You lied about things that cost people their lives. But after everything you just told me about Arthur—what he did to you—I can’t raise my hand. You were his victim too. That doesn’t make what you did okay, I won’t pretend this is easy. I’m angry. I’m hurt. But I won’t punish someone who’s already been used and broken by him. We have bigger things to do—stop Arthur. I’ll hold you to the truth you just gave me. That’s all I can do for now.”

Liora’s face didn’t flinch at the words.

“Cut me down. Burn me if that will make it any easier. Do what you must to ease your anger. But not yet. Not until Arthur answers for everything he’s done. There are too many lives he’s ruined, too many secrets left to unbind. He has to pay first. After that… you can do what you think you need to do.”

“How much more is there, Liora? How much more have I been blind to? Everything I knew, everything I fought for—it was all a lie. And now… now I don’t even know about the one thing that mattered most. My parents. Their deaths. I always thought it was monsters—controlled by Demon Lord. But now… Who do I blame? Who sent them? Who controlled those creatures? Was it Arthur too? Did he take them from me as well? Tell me! Was everything I ever believed in… everything I ever lost… because of him?”

“Rein… back then, no one controlled the monsters. Not the Demon Lord. Not Arthur. What happened to your village… it was an accident. A tragedy. Nothing more. But Arthur… he knew something like that would happen one day. He always did. That’s why he kept a squad ready to move for years, waiting for the chance. He didn’t cause it—but he used it.”

Liora let out a slow breath as she chose her next words.

“But that was then. Now… things are different. I believe Arthur can control them. The proof is right in front of us. The monsters that ambushed you and Mira—they weren’t wild. They were sent. And Arthur was the one who sent them.”

“Liora is right, Rein. The same thing happened in the Demon Plains… at the ruins. The monsters that attacked us weren’t wild—they moved like trained soldiers. Coordinated. Using strategy, formations. Arthur must have known that my teleportation magic could only repel humans. Not monsters. He must have found a way to control them. To bend them to his will. And he sent them to destroy the teleportation circle.”

Rein’s hands clenched into fists, trembling. 

“All this time… every step, every battle… Arthur was pulling the strings. Using us. Using me. He poisoned you, Aura. He killed Kael. He hurt Liora. He turned the kingdom into a lie. And now—monsters? I don’t care what lies he hides behind anymore. Arthur will answer for this. I’ll make him answer.”