The ritual's additional effect—the Demon King transformation that merged the three into one—had also taken effect.
But under the influence of various abnormalities, that effect underwent an extremely subtle change.
An hour later, the dust had yet to settle outside.
What Charles had done inside the cave had not been completely exposed.
His crime of conspiring with the Demon Race had been confirmed, but there was no conclusive evidence that he had attempted to awaken the "Demon God."
Forced into a corner, he revealed that he had already been reincarnated by the "Demon King," immediately turning himself from perpetrator into victim.
That fact was simply too compelling. He could shift all blame onto the influence of the "Demon King's" soul.
Thus, Charles had not fallen into the worst possible situation.
More importantly, all the remaining Demon Race members were dead, while the fallen ones were in an unspeakable state.
Even if the fallen ones had been normal, they would not have been able to say anything. Charles had never disclosed any crucial information to them from beginning to end. Once he realized that escape was impossible, he began doing everything he could to reduce his culpability.
Under the old king's intimidation, he confessed everything that could not be hidden and concealed everything that could.
He secretly used his own power to prevent mind-reading from taking effect, allowing others to perceive only the madness and corruption that had eroded him.
And what most needed to be concealed was undoubtedly his attempt to "awaken the Demon God."
[Demon God], the god of the Demon Race.
He absolutely could not let anyone else know that the god he intended to awaken was the Demon Race's god. No excuse could save him then.
So the entire affair became this: under the influence of the