The lower class of the Empire speaks in unison.

They say the Emperor is a true believer in the concept of a chosen class, thinking the worth of people is determined solely by their bloodline.

Even when gathered in private spaces with acquaintances, it’s better not to bring up dangerous topics.

With that consideration, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the entire lower class views the Emperor with such disdain.

And honestly, this viewpoint isn’t strange at all.

Just look at his reign and the policies he’s pushing.

With enough technology and resources to make everyone happy, why does he stubbornly funnel everything to the privileged class?

He doesn’t even see common folks as human.

The number of lower-class individuals living lives worse than a noble’s pet is beyond counting, even if they dedicated their lives to it.

They’re treated not as individual persons, but as somewhat useful consumer goods. That’s how the Empire views ordinary people.

Of course, everyone naturally judges the Emperor to be a human steeped in elitism and noble supremacy.

But… reality tells a different story.

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, the Emperor isn’t a prejudiced person.

In fact, he might just have a more equitable perspective than anyone else in the world.

‘…It’s annoying.’

Whether it’s a wealthy nobleman basking in riches or a pair of orphans freezing to death on the street in winter,

To him, they are just the same bugs.

Who cares about how ants build their society or what class divisions exist among them?

He could squash them at any moment. It takes just a single stomp for those lesser beings to lose their lives.

What those bugs think, how they live, or what suffering they endure is irrelevant to him.

His treatment of nobles doesn’t come from believing they’re superior. It’s merely a pragmatic choice for utility’s sake.

Having already merged with the Archdemon of control—

The more people fear being subjugated, the more they treat others like mere possessions instead of individuals.

His power only grows stronger.

This has been methodically achieved. Over ten years, his schemes have embedded the concept of domination firmly within the Empire.

It’s now common to treat children as expendables and to exploit fellow humans like livestock.

Most people have come to accept this as normal.

The waiting isn’t long now. Just a little more, and reality will completely erode the concept.

Then, finally, humans will shed their shells.

With the culmination of long-held dreams right around the corner, the Emperor’s mind is filled not with joy, but with discomfort.

‘Every little action is infuriating.’

The source of that feeling is simple.

The Black Fangs.

That mysterious organization that suddenly popped up three years ago.

At first, it was dismissed as just another case of clueless moths flocking around the flame.

But these guys are different from the usual moths.

No matter how much of the Empire’s power is thrown at them, they can’t be caught.

Suddenly arising without any warning, each member’s strength utterly defies common sense.

Even strategies that employ the blessings of the goddess of victory result in continual defeats, which is utterly incomprehensible.

They’ve managed to grow at an astounding rate in less than a year.

Especially troublesome is their relentless mantra of equality.

Whether intentional or not, it’s an ideology that stands as a barrier to creating a world where dominion and subjugation exist without personal rights.

And they keep pushing that narrative.

I don’t want to waste energy on this. Getting involved directly with bugs like them would be beneath my dignity.

Even the Emperor, who hesitated to act himself, eventually had to take matters into his own hands; the Black Fangs have become an eyesore for him.

‘I’m sure I dealt with them properly last time.’

Those cockroaches are nothing if not stubbornly resilient. It feels like they’re back from the dead, something that shouldn’t be possible.

The overwhelming divine power, the uncomfortable aura radiating from him.

If he’s casually striding across the Empire with that presence, it’d be absurd not to catch on.

It’s obvious the head of these bugs is back at it, planning something.

Thus the Emperor instinctively furrows his brows, but…

‘Definitely irritating. It’s annoying, but… when I think about it calmly, it’s not that big of a deal.’

His expression quickly returns to its normal state.

The fact that such bugs influence his emotions is something he cannot tolerate.

Though it weighs heavily on his mind, it’s also true that he doesn’t care what schemes they concoct.

‘At this point, it’s too late for any tricks.’

Whatever tricks they’ve pulled, they seem to have acquired power vastly superior to what they had when I last saw them, but the Emperor hasn’t been idle either.

Even if he can’t annihilate them as easily this time around, he’ll likely win if he sees it to the end.

‘No matter the struggle, it’s useless.’

All the comrades, subordinates, or military forces they’ve gathered are nothing more than a rabble.

They won’t make any difference when it comes to deciding victory or defeat. So there’s no need to worry.

‘This is just the final hurdle before achieving great things. It wouldn’t hurt to enjoy it lightly.’

Isn’t it true that when you talk about a tiger, it appears?

That wretched divine power is nearby, echoing ominously.

Even without using clairvoyance, it’s obvious what’s happening outside. Isn’t the leader the one chanting about a hypocritical world of equality?

He’s probably gathering his comrades for some friendly games, bringing in useless revolutionaries to display their power.

‘Still, it seems they’ve worked hard in their own way.’

I can feel the mana.

The Empire’s weaponry, previously hidden away, along with equipment they seem to have developed, is now all being activated at once.

‘But unfortunately for them, none of those weapons can even scratch him. It’s just a waste of time.’

The ordnance coming down from the ground, targeted at the Emperor’s underground facility, all simply comes to a halt with a flick of his hand.

Instead, it turns back to collide with the Black Fangs. Those gathered rabble get obliterated, and their foolish leader loses his subordinates in despair.

…No, he should have been despairing.

“……?”

The Emperor’s once-cold expression suddenly shifts to confusion. His mouth drops open as if torn for the first time in decades.

What a disgraceful reaction, completely lower class.

However, the Emperor has no leisure to care about such things right now. If he did, that would be even stranger.

Considering that those lunatic revolutionaries—

Aren’t they raining down orbital bombardments indiscriminately on the Empire as a whole?

*

Didn’t it seem a bit odd when you think about it?

The Emperor dropping meteors while taking his people as hostages, and here I am, the leader of a terrorist organization, throwing myself into meteors to save those same people.

At that moment, I was too caught in the urgency to think about it, but what an absolute contradiction.

But what can I do? He doesn’t care about his own people. What can I do?

In the end, despite my annoyance at that fact, I had to shove it into the recesses of my mind and try to forget.

It was all I could think.

‘But… the Empire that returned was too intact.’

The apparent disregard for the lives of its citizens. But still, the sight I witnessed defies explanation.

Aren’t the remnants of the Black Fangs still lingering?

If I were the Emperor, a sociopath unbothered by killing people, such a situation would surely not have arisen.

No matter how well hidden the Black Fangs are, if you just burn down the forest itself, everything becomes worthless.

If the Empire’s citizens were completely annihilated, the Black Fangs would naturally fall with them. Then there’d be no need to ponder an outcome prior to achieving great things.

But the Emperor didn’t do that.

Why?

Does he still possess a shred of conscience?

No. That can’t be.

There must be a reason. A reason he can’t afford to kill that many people indiscriminately.

And if I had to guess, that reason is something like this.

‘If he too, like me, derives strength from people…’

If he’s accumulating power in the same way as using the gathered divine power, he would need that strength to ascend to the throne of the Archdemon.

He can’t afford to kill people.

He might kill one or two, but he can’t wipe out an entire population.

If the people of the Empire faced total extinction, the Emperor would have to do whatever it takes to stop it.

Realizing that fact, I immediately sprang into action.

I prepared protective scrolls for the civilian revolutionaries to distribute throughout the nation.

I had the dwarves prepare equipment.

Ransacked weapons from all corners of the Empire.

It may seem like it wouldn’t be much help, but I also managed to gather some Empire troops who knew how to handle mana to fill the fuel portions of the weapons with heavy mana stones.

This might sound complex, but really, what I did was very simple.

Normalizing the abnormal.

I was just returning the abnormal situation to its original state.

‘I never liked it in the first place.’

I didn’t charge in shouting Allahu Akbar for a suicide attack. It wasn’t long since I became aware I belonged to a secret organization.

Hasn’t the Empire always called us vicious terrorists?

This is slander of the highest order.

So let’s normalize that.

If someone dislikes me without reason, I’ll give them a reason to dislike me. That’s just putting it into practice.

I looked at the hundreds of gigantic airships floating in the sky and grinned.

…It was time to become a terrorist.