The Trial of Corruption

In the wilderness, all Leon could do was walk.

"Whoa——"

Leon is a man with the heart of a lion.

The guardian of the Holy Grail, a demigod beyond saint who has his own holy power, a being of perfect vitality who never tires and an indomitable spirit that never gives in.

"Whoa——"

He clears his throat. Despite being able to survive decades without eating or drinking, he feels hungry and thirsty.

It's a sensation he hasn't felt in a long time, a sensation he's long since forgotten, after becoming a Holy Knight long ago.

The gods loved him, and his perfect body and noble mind made him invincible.

Night came, the hot, dry days of the sun are over, and the cold, chilly days of the moon begin.

There were no living creatures in the wilderness.

If he had been able to hunt, he would have eaten the meat and quenched his thirst with blood but there was nothing in this wilderness to satisfy Leon's needs.

And yet.

"Daylight."

As the sun rises, he resumes walking.

He walks without any preparation for the searing heat that stirs his hunger and thirst.

He can't help it, for it is not a knightly virtue to sit still and wait for the right time.

Leon does not stop walking, even if it is only a single, meaningless step.

Even on the obscure path of being chosen by the gods, he walks in silence. In a time when there was no faith in the world of Lionheart, he continued to walk toward a vague, imaginary future.

He sought out remote places beyond the reach of the gods, slaying monsters and rushing to save villages under attack by orcs.

He slogged through swamps gagging on soggy jerky and explored jungles drinking the dead blood of maggoty beasts.

His life never stood still, only went forward.

[Truly, how wonderful, for forty days and forty nights, neither eating nor drinking, nor stopping]

The shadow of an evil spirit appeared before Leon, and before he could say anything more, Leon's sword cut him down.

The shadow scattered and resumed its form, and a ghastly laugh spread through the wilderness.

[King Lionheart, you cannot hurt me here, for this is a place that cannot be reached by your power, nor by the gods]

Leon did not stop, but continued to slash at the shadow. If it won't cut, cut until it does. That is the life of a knight, the code of a knight, the way of a knight to victory.

Hundreds of times, thousands of times, until finally, at the end of the day, Leon caught his breath.

Even the demons had grown tired of scattering and regrouping in pointless attacks.

[You are hungry, you are thirsty, knight, if you are truly loved by the gods, why do you not ask for bread, why do you not ask for a drink of water]

Where are the gods in whom you believe so much?

The demonic shadow smiled a twisted smile. His hands were outstretched.

There was bread and water in them. Something so desperately needed by Leon, who had wandered forty days in the wilderness, fighting the demon's illusions day after day.

[I'll take care of your hunger and your thirst. You only have to do one thing]

Get down on one knee.

That's all you need to do.

Not to submit, not to abandon your faith.

Just one knee.

That is enough.

The demon watched Leon catch his breath with a look of anticipation.

By nature, a man cannot endure three days and three nights of starvation.

Even those with the noblest intentions can't last more than a week.

Leon had now starved for forty days straight. His body and mind are exhausted, and he's been fighting the illusion all day.

It is the most powerful physical pain that any saint can endure.

"——"

[Kneel down, and I will give you-─!]

The demon's words were cut short. The swing of the sword shattered his molded mouth.

The demon regrouped and tilted its head.

[I don't understand, one knee, just one knee and you'd be free of hunger and thirst]

"You're so loud. You always talked a lot."

Even through the hunger and thirst, Leon's voice was clear, his blue eyes clear and clean.

"You devil, you old fool, you think man lives by bread and water alone. My flesh is not only made of blood and flesh, but of faith and conviction."

That is what keeps me alive.

[——.]

The demon realized that hunger and thirst were not enough to break him.

-Poof!

With a loud crack, the world changed.

It was a vast universe with countless planets and other worlds beyond dimensions.

""Greatest knight—!!""

There were countless knights, cheering for Leon.

Kings of the world bowed to him, and even the gods looked up at him and smiled.

Here, he was the emperor.

The head of a great empire that had conquered many dimensions, the embodiment of a god.

Not a demigod who had been recognized and elevated by the gods, but a living god who had risen to the top himself.

An absolute wielding infinite power and might.

Worshiped and revered, the ideal that man's insatiable greed strives to reach, the demon whispered.

[Take my hand, be our ally, and you shall have all this]

Do you not see the possibilities of this infinite world?

You could be the master of countless dimensions.

You can be the most powerful being in the universe.

You shall be. Even the demons will serve you as lord.

The demon cunning hand reached out to Leon but Leon grabbed it by the wrist.

"Hush, Devil," he said, "do you think I want to make myself an object of worship? Even with great power, if I have no faith, I have only endless doubts to preserve my place."

There is no end to the fences around an infinite world.

Leon's grip snapped the demon's wrist.

-Snap!

The place was familiar to Leon, it was the royal castle of Lionheart.

Shields with lion crests adorned the castle, and officials lined both sides of a golden carpet where only the Lionheart King and his royal family could walk.

The throne upon which the Lionheart King and his queen sit is empty.

"Your Majesty, why?"

There was a woman on a golden carpet.

The Grand Duchess of the North, with black hair like her mother's and intense red eyes from a dragon's heart, also the king's daughter.

"You could have saved my mother. Was the cause you chose over the one and only Empress so important?"

It was Leon's bitter past.

"You shouldn't have done it. You shouldn't have accepted it, even if the whole world said you were right."

The demon whispered through the painful memories. He tempted in a hushed voice.

[You are the only human who can reach the paradise of the gods. You are the only one who can reach the world of the dead]

Bring your wife back to life.

How can the gods refuse you?

Leon could do it. Leon deserved it. He could ask the gods to fulfill any wish but instead of asking the gods, Leon grabbed the whispering demon by the scruff of the neck.

"Demon, don't tell me to defy order, to forsake the nobility of life, the sublimity of death, with thy words."

This King is the knight of the gods, the mother of all people, the keeper of order.

The nape of the demon's neck drooped sleepily but the demon continued to test the Lionheart King.

He led him through endless oceans of gold and jewels, but he never picked up a single coin.

In beautifully decorated banquet halls, celestial orchestras and splendid dancers danced, but he never gave them a glance.

There was a great white bed and maids singing with sweet voices beside it, but he took not a handful of rest.

His wrists were snapped, his mouth was torn open, his legs were broken, as he rushed forward to resist the temptations of corruption.

[——]

The demon grew tired of watching the blond knight's unyielding journey.

How could a mere mortal possess such a resilient spirit?

How could he be so unyielding, so uncompromising?

Does he have no desire to survive, no desire for self-respect, no desire to exist?

No, it can't be. As long as it is a living being, as long as it is a living being, it cannot not exist.

This is a fundamental space made of the essence of pleasure and corruption.

This is the place where any desire can be fulfilled, and therefore any being can be corrupted.

[Why—-?]

"Do you want to know?

For the first time, Leon spoke. High and mighty, as if he were a victor, his gaze looking down on the demon.

The demon's voice twisted in contradiction, as if the positions of the tester and the tested were reversed.

[Here you are not the Lionheart King, here you are a mere mortal, and all you have is your body and a useless sword!]

But within you is the fundamental power of all life. Demons are the source of existence, a collection of emotions that can only desire and hope.

The violence of the creatures creates the Lords of Destruction,

The insatiable appetite for knowledge creates the Lords of Wisdom.

From incomprehensible turmoil, the Lords of Chaos emerge.

From stinginess and greed, the Lord of Greed is born.

"No, all you have is a meaningless tongue and the hope that I will fall."

Leon walked forward while the demon stumbled backward.

Countless urges were overcome, countless desires passed through him.

[Why. Why do you not fall?]

Why–why don't you fall?

"Because this king is a Lionheart."

A knight with conviction, a believer with faith and the will of all freemen, nobles, and knights.

Leon has a saying.

"Strength is a nation."

It was a declaration not made out of any arrogance, not out of showmanship.

Lionheart is a kingdom of gods and their followers.

One that embraces the honor of chivalry, the nobility of nobility, and the service of freemen.

On horseback, his eyes shall watch the vast battlefield,

Sitting on a throne, looking out over the kingdom and the world beyond,

He must stand before the altar and defend the pantheon with his sword and spear.

Thus the burden on the shoulders of the Lionheart King is heavy, and thus it is noble.

[No, you are only a man after all, a mortal!]

The immortal demon did not recognize the immortality of mortals.

How could they recognize that the existence of a mortal, who had only lived three hundred years, who was no more than a newborn baby compared to the highest demons, was greater than their world?

[Indulge, indulge, indulge in pleasures, indulge in pleasures, indulge in pleasures, indulge in pleasures, indulge in the most powerful desires, and you will succumb!]

[Realize what it means for you to become the Lord.]

A place where boys and girls, so beautiful and sensual, danced half-naked in purple smoke.

At the end of the palace, where the primal instincts of sweet flesh are stirred.

"Your Majesty."

There was a bewitching woman who seemed to personify the word 'beauty' with her lilting voice.

Beatrice Alighieri Spero.

A woman whose dizzying beauty made even Leon find himself unwittingly drawn to her——.

"Hmm."

Leon briskly pushed past the dancers and made his way to her.

A look of despicable satisfaction crossed the demon's face, but only for a moment.

-Thud!

He pointed his holy sword at the floor, leaning on the hilt, and stared down at her.

His clear, strong eyes met hers, blurred and hazy.

[What are you up to?]

Leon simply stared at Beatrice until she shook herself out of the dream.

"Awake from your dream. For you are the master of your dreams, not their slave."