Fallen Realm Online: Rise of The Fallen Monarch

******

Still in the dimly-lit meeting room.

Xylen, hearing the eight consecutive notifications that had just rang in his mind, couldn’t help but beam with exhilaration, his fists tightening at his sides.

Although none of the eight Demons’ Loyalty Scales had surpassed 35%, signaling they hadn’t only barely accepted him, Xylen didn’t mind.

He hadn’t even anticipated their loyalty scale to rise yet.

Although he had intended to raise it, knowing it was essential to achieving his goal, he hadn’t expected that the act of simply revealing his identity would increase the Demons’ Loyalty Scale.

He had simply revealed his identity because introducing oneself during a first meeting is just the most natural thing to do.

As for why he hadn’t feared betrayal or being sold away, it was because he knew it was unlikely—if they truly despised the power-hungry tyrant oppressing them, as they claimed, they would naturally support anyone who stood against him. And as expected, his judgment had been correct, even beyond his expectation.

After a moment of excitement, unaware that the real reason behind the increased Loyalty Scales was different from what he had assumed, Xylen quickly calmed himself and turned his attention back to the eight Demons.

At this moment, their eyes, which had been previously filled with suspicion and hostility, gleamed with curiosity and countless unspoken questions as they stared intently at him.

Without a moment of hesitation, Xylen pressed on, his voice morphing into a soft, sorrowful cadence.

"The reason I summoned you all here tonight, my loyal friends, is..."

He began a detailed explanation, addressing the Demons’ unspoken question by recounting how he had spent eighteen long years of his life in a coma, only awakening that very day.

At this, the Demons furrowed their brows, and the questions in their eyes shifted—all of them now wondering what had caused Xylen to wake up after staying in a coma for a good eighteen years.

Although Xylen noticed this, he deliberately withheld an answer because... how was he supposed to tell them he had only possessed their Lord’s body?

Even without testing it, he could already picture how quickly their Loyalty Scale would drop to zero—Lilith’s included.

...

"My handmaid, your mistress, has already recounted every detail of the atrocities committed since my parents’ deaths and my fall into slumber," he continued, suddenly changing the topic.

In the following second, the room’s temperature seemed to plummet, a sudden dense, suffocating tension wrapping around them like chains of ice.

The Demons clenched their fists — Lilith included, their gazes suddenly burning with seething hatred and strong murderous intent.

Seeing this, Xylen’s eyes flickered with satisfaction, his lips curving into a ghost of a smirk before vanishing.

This was exactly what he wanted, then suddenly...

Huffff!

He released a deep, mournful sigh, heavy with the weight of ’unbearable’ pain and ’shattered dreams.’

"I saw what had become of my once-beautiful village today... and my heart broke into a thousand pieces," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper yet laden with anguish. "I... I almost thought I had wandered into some forsaken pit of hell, but..."

He paused briefly, his teeth suddenly grinding fiercely against each other and his eyes glinting red as ’barely’ contained rage boiled beneath the surface.

"Never did I imagine that bastard! My uncle — the kind, honorable man my parents often spoke of during my childhood would have devolved into such a ravenous, power-hungry monster," he spat through gritted teeth, his voice heaily laced with venom and despair.

Another sigh, deep and soul-crushing, escaped him — a sound that pierced through the Demons like daggers to the chest.

Xylen’s performance was impeccable.

He seemed to genuinely grieve for the village, despise his ’uncle’ with every fiber of his being, and bear the weight of guilt as if he were Atlas himself.

Yet, beneath this sorrowful façade, Xylen inwardly complained about having to keep a flawless, straight face, making sure not to reveal even the slightest hint that could give him away, otherwise, all his effort would be for nothing.

....

Xylen continued speaking for what felt like an eternity, his voice weaving through the room like a haunting melody.

The only sounds apart from his voice were the Demons’ uneven breaths and the chilling wind whistling through the shattered windows and jagged wall crevices, all attention fully focused on him.

Then, abruptly, he clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and then... to the Demons’ utter shock, bent at the waist.

"I beg for your forgiveness," he rasped, his voice fractured by remorse.

"This..."

The eight Demons and Lilith froze, their minds abruptly blank with disbelief.

But before they could fully process the sight before them, Xylen’s voice echoed again, now laced with unrelenting bitterness.

"If I hadn’t been so weak... if I hadn’t stayed so long in that coma like a useless corpse... none of you would have endured these endless years of torment, agony, and merciless cruelty!" he spat, self-loathing dripping from every word.

For a breathless moment after this, time itself seemed to halt.

Then—

"What are you doing, my Lord?!" Lilith cried out, her voice instantly breaking as she scrambled toward Xylen to lift him back up.

The other Demons also snapped back to reality, bowing in a frantic chorus of distress, daring not to accept Xylen’s bow.

"My Lord, you are the Baron of this barony... You must not bow to us!"

"My Lord, please... rise!"

"My Lord, please don’t put us in a difficult position!"

"My..."

The Demons cried out one after the other; however, despite their desperate pleas, Xylen stubbornly remained bowed, his shoulders trembling with fabricated sorrow.

Only after a prolonged bout of urging did he finally relent, rising slowly, as though the weight of guilt chained him to the floor.

"Thank you all... for forgiving me," he whispered, his voice raw.

The eight Demons became relieved and then, after a second, exchanged furtive glances, their hearts suddenly hammering in their chests.

’So... so respectful to even low-class Demons like us?’

The realization crashed over them like a tidal wave, all of them finding it difficult to believe.

For nearly two decades, they had been stripped away of their dignity—constantly slaughtered like vermin, always robbed of their homes, their wealth, their women, and their very existence.

They, like the rest of the villagers, had been lesser than slaves, constantly needing to kneel before every high official and step over like rags.

And yet, the highest authority in the barony had just bowed to them.

He had apologized.

And he had just shattered the iron wall between nobility and commoners.

Thinking this, one of the Demons suddenly sniffed hard, and just then...

[Rendmaw’s Loyalty Scale for you has increased to 45%. He now has Conditional Loyalty toward you, and as long as your actions align with his values and goals, he will follow you.]

[ Rotgulk’s Loyalty Scale for you has increased to 47%. He now has Conditional Loyalty toward you, and as long as your actions align with his values and goals, he will follow you.]

[ Duskhollow’s Loyalty Scale for you has increased to 49%. He now has Conditional Loyalty toward you, and as long as your actions align with his values and goals, he will follow you.]

[Venomspite’s loyalty scale for you has increased to...]

One after the other, the announcements from the game system echoed through Xylen’s mind, and hearing them, his eyes gleamed like molten gold, strong adrenaline coursing through him.

’Success!’ he inwardly cheered.

But before he could fully revel in his triumph...

[Lilith’s Loyalty Scale for you has increased to 80%. She now has a faithful devotion toward you. She will trust your decisions and stand by them even in difficult situations. But she may question them privately. ]

Xylen, "..."

He suddenly froze, his thoughts grinding to a halt as the latest announcement repeated itself in his mind.

’Ninety-five?!’

He instinctively shot Lilith a stunned look, and what he saw made his skin prickle with unease.

Her gaze was intense, unwavering, and brimming with an emotion he couldn’t quite place.

Devotion? Adoration? Respect?

Xylen couldn’t tell.

He, however, quickly shook his head, dispelling the discomfort.

To be fair, he hadn’t had time to check Lilith’s stats yet, but he was certain it wouldn’t be low—especially after her reaction in the forest earlier that day when she thought he had died. But... 80%?

Xylen wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry, so he simply sighed inwardly and turned his gaze back to the eight Demons.

’Now that their loyalty scale is enough, I should strike while the iron is still hot,’ he thought, abruptly straightening his posture.