Chapter 634

I had returned to Lazak with Eleris, not to the royal castle but to a quiet place nearby.

"Well, that's quite... a difficult situation to comment on..."

Even though I had done my job well, I had to explain why I was in such a state. Eleris's eyebrows twitched as she listened.

Adelia liked the Archduke.

However, the Archduke regarded Adelia as a daughter-in-law.

And Adelia was liked by Harriet's third older brother.

"It seems like I'm being punished..."

"Do you mean the Archduke is being punished?"

"No... not him..."

It felt as if not the Archduke, but I was the one being punished!

In my previous life, I had written too many trashy dramas. Now, I had to witness an even worse drama in the midst of a war!

It felt like I was the one being punished, not the Archduke!

I couldn't bring myself to say anything to the Archduke, who was struggling with this situation.

"I don't know, what can I do about that?"

"We can only watch..."

That's right. It wasn't something I could interfere with. I was merely curious, and it only caused me to suffer.

Somehow, it would work out! Right?

As long as everyone survived safely, who cared about a trashy drama? Even rolling in a dung heap, being alive was the best thing. After all, you needed to be alive to experience a trashy drama.

For the sake of the next episode of this trashy drama, I would protect the world, somehow.

Although it made me feel somewhat like a dog.

I didn't want to watch that drama anymore.

"By the way, it seems the dukedom has agreed to cooperate?"

"Yes... It turned out that way. It didn't go as smoothly as I thought."

"It didn't go as planned?"

"I thought the Archduke would treat me like a thief who had kidnapped his daughter, but he didn't. Instead, he seemed to feel guilty towards me."

"Ah..."

It was the one situation I knew the least about myself.

To be precise, others could think of things I couldn't because I wasn't Valier.

"Once he learned that the Great Demon War was a meaningless war, it seemed to affect him even more."

The story of the former Demon King Valier creating a new world through Akasha and attempting to migrate there.

The Archduke was the most shocked by the truth.

If it hadn't been for the Great Demon War, the demons would have quietly disappeared from this world.

However, humans invaded Darkland and slaughtered the demons.

As a result, the Demon King died, but the prince, Valier, survived, leading to the Gate incident.

The idea that if nothing had been done, everything would have been fine applied not only to me but also to the humans.

The Archduke seemed to think that humans had received their just retribution.

Eleris's expression was understandably dark.

"If we could go back to before the Great Demon War, could we undo everything?"

Could we make it so that there were no wars, no fears, and no invasions?

Knowing that the Great Demon War would lead to this, could we go back to the past and prevent everything?

"I don't think so."

I was pessimistic.

"Even if the Demon King or someone else said they were migrating to another world and not to interfere, who would believe that? No one would believe it, even if the Demon King said it."

Akasha was a powerful artifact in and of itself.

For instance, it was like trying to convince someone that a nuclear weapon was being developed for peaceful use, and they should rest assured. Anyone who believed that was a fool from the start.

Rather, the moment humanity became aware of Akasha's existence, war would break out to either steal or destroy it before its completion.

That's why Valier kept the existence of Akasha a secret.

The Great Demon War was ultimately a result of fear and hatred reaching a critical point.

As long as the accumulated history of fear, distrust, and hatred didn't disappear, nothing would change even if they returned to the past.

The expression of Eleris, who once bore the brunt of that fear, distrust, and hatred, couldn't possibly have been good.

Eleris was the ancient demon king who had been betrayed by her own son and was exiled with her horns severed.

Eleris had personally activated Akasha.

Hence, she couldn't help but feel the greatest sense of responsibility and guilt for all that had happened.

Eleris had traded the entire world and her own life for me.

Because she loved me that much.

I couldn't even begin to fathom how much Eleris cherished me.

"The time when everything comes to an end is approaching."

"..."

Even if the Gate incident came to an end, the responsibility and guilt would not disappear.

However, it was clear that the time when everything would come to an end was approaching.

"Let's think about everything else after that."

"Yes... Your Majesty."

Meanwhile, after having a dizzying conversation, the Archduke had said such words.

"Do you remember the events at the Lich's Tomb?"

"Yes. I remember."

At that time, Antirianus and Archlich had fought.

I was astonished to find the Archduke suddenly at that place.

"There was a very strange person among those we saw then."

"Ah..."

I knew who the Archduke was talking about.

Because I, too, had seen someone for the first time that day.

Someone I couldn't have even imagined I'd see.

"Do you know?"

"Probably... Ellen's mother."

"...I thought they looked alike."

Chronologically, the Archduke would have noticed Ellen after meeting Luna.

That's why the Archduke would have been surprised that a girl who resembled the strange person he had met during the Lich's Tomb incident was a hero.

The Archduke hadn't seen me fighting Luna at the time.

He would remember that she had suddenly disappeared.

There was no doubt that the Archduke had also received a strong impression from Luna.

"The hero is a hero, but I think that person called Luna has an even stranger background. I wanted to seek her help if I had the chance......"

It seemed that, just like I thought, the Archduke had been considering asking for help from Luna, who was clearly not an ordinary person.

"In fact, I've already received her help."

"...What?"

"She had her own circumstances, so she couldn't help me directly."

The Archduke couldn't help but be surprised by the fact that I had already sought Luna's help and received it.

Since I couldn't give a detailed account without Luna's permission, I glossed over it. However, it seemed that the Archduke had accepted that the strange person was even stranger than he had thought.

Well, that's true.

She was someone who could create this world with her own hands and control its spacetime.

An incarnation.

Not just one, but the incarnation of gods.

Although my visit to Rezaira wasn't an incredibly long time ago, it felt like a distant memory from the distant past.

For instance, Luna and the people of Rezaira - I wondered how they were doing.

That thought crossed my mind briefly.

I had received enough help from Rezaira, and I didn't expect anything more from them.

I told Eleris about the conversation I had with the Archduke.

We had discussed various things, but the result was simple.

We had secured the support of three major powers.

The Holy Knights and the Five Great Religions.

Kingdom of Kernstadt.

And the Saint Owan Duchy.

"With just a few words, we've managed to gain control of half the world," I mused.

It was too easy.

"Too frightening, really."

It was so easy that it felt like my blood was drying up.

Swallowing them was easy.

The important thing was whether I could digest it all. If I couldn't, both I and the world would die.

Eleris cautiously embraced me.

"Everything will be alright."

"…Really?"

"Of course. Didn't the Archduke say so?"

As Eleris hugged my head, she said,

"You are the greatest and most perfect Demon King in history."

"…"

"I think so too."

Greatness and perfection.

I, who had once been furthest from such attributes, was now closer to them than ever before.

The cold body temperature of a vampire, as always, seemed to bring a measure of peace to my fear-stricken heart.

Eleris really was the best.

"Thank you, Ancestor."

"…Just call me Mom."

"Ah!"

Eleris pulled my ear.

The Saint Owan Duchy wasn't a large nation in terms of scale, but it held significance as a pillar of the empire's power.

In an uncertain future, being able to blockade one of the empire's main weapons, the Titan, held immense value.

If we managed to capture Adelia as well, we could even turn the Titan to our side.

Losing control of the Titan was a simple matter for the empire.

Could this have been Bertus's intention?

I couldn't be sure of that.

I convened a council of the Elders.

All but Sarkegaar, who was stationed with the allied forces, and Liana, who was recovering, attended.

Five Vampire Lords.

Olivia Lanze.

Harriet.

Charlotte.

Airi.

And myself.

"Now that we have Kernstadt and the Saint Owan Duchy under our control, we can effectively dissolve the allied forces whenever we wish," said Luvien, the Lord of Thursday.

Yes, although it was impossible to take control at this point, we could dissolve the alliance immediately.

We could simply withdraw Kernstadt and the Archduke, as well as the Holy Knights, from the allied forces.

The allied forces would fall into panic, and a panicked army wouldn't function properly.

"However, even if we were to dissolve the allied forces, the Immortals remain the backbone of the war. As long as they remain unscathed, the empire's forces will hardly suffer any losses," said Gallarush.

As Gallarush pointed out, we couldn't affect the Immortals, who could be considered the empire's ultimate power, under the current circumstances.

"Of course, we're not saying that we'll dissolve the allied forces. We're just saying that we can if we want to," said Lucinil.

As Lucinil said, Luvien mentioned that it was possible, not that we would do it. It was merely a way of confirming our influence.

Control was impossible, but dissolution was possible.

And the allied forces represented the combined armies of humanity, with decision-making power held by the remaining leaders of humanity.

In effect, we had gained control over half of humanity.

Assuming the war ended as it was, we would have been able to divide the continent in half.

Antirianus wore a chilling smile.

"It's not just the Allied Forces. We currently have control over the major forces in the Imperial Capital, including the Five Great Religions, the Demon God Cult, and the Hero Religion. This means that everyone who believes in 'something,' regardless of the type, is under our control."

All humans related to faith were under our influence. Most of them didn't even know that we were above their heads.

"You already rule over half of humanity, not just within the Allied Forces. A truly great existence."

Whether humans accepted our rule or not.

Whether they tolerated it or not.

I had already become their ruler.

"How is the United Holy Church doing?"

"We're teaching selected individuals from the Five Great Religions in the Imperial Capital how to use the power of the Demon God. It's difficult to see the effects in a short time, but the important thing there is faith, not power. We should consider the effects to be ongoing."

The converging of the Five Great Religions and the Demon God Cult was steadily progressing.

A few words.

A few conversations.

Was that all it took to rule the world?

However, laying the groundwork itself could only be easy.

What mattered was the moment when conflicts and collisions became apparent.

"If we could only find a surefire way to deal with the Immortals, we wouldn't have to fight the Empire."

It was Lucinil who spoke.

There was still no need to use the countermeasure even if we had one.

But if we reached the end of the Gate incident without knowing it, many difficulties would arise.

"Right, about that countermeasure."

Not long ago, new information had arrived through Rowan.

To be precise, it was information that Bertus sent through Rowan.

"Do we have a sacrificial method?"

Since the most important issue at the moment wasn't any other project but dealing with the Immortals, our expressions couldn't help but become serious.

"It's not a sacrificial method. Absolutely not."

Such a thing could not be called a sacrificial method.

"The ones controlling the Immortals are Christina and her two partners."

Everyone knew this because I had already told them.

Christina.

Anna.

Louis.

Those three were the core.

Harriet, who had already heard the story with me, didn't look very good.

"If we interfere with them carelessly, the Immortals will become indiscriminate slaughter weapons that can't identify their allies. They'll go berserk, quite literally."

Silence filled the room at that statement.

This was not a sacrificial method.

Only Antirianus faintly smiled and tilted his head.

"If I understand correctly, it sounds like the controller will eventually disappear."

"…I suppose so."

Yes.

This wasn't a sacrificial method, but the fact that it was still a way was the most horrifying thing.

A madman with a rabid dog wants to kill me.

If I kill the dog's owner, the rabid dog will not come after me.

Instead, it will bite and kill everyone it sees.

If I don't want to die, I can kill the dog's owner.

If I can ignore others being bitten to death, I can do that.

"Although it's an easy choice, the moment we choose it, everything we've done so far to end the Gate incident becomes meaningless, and it would even mean that we, with our own hands, bring an end to humanity."

As expected, Antirianus.

The mad old man began to laugh as if he were ecstatic.

We had been claiming to save humanity all this time.

But the moment we killed Christina, Anna, and Louis out of fear that the Immortal would hunt us down, the rampaging Immortal would wipe out humanity instead of monsters.

The rampaging Immortal wouldn't be able to reach Edina Archipelago. Soon, the continent would be shattered, humanity would be destroyed, but Lazak would be safe.

Claiming to protect humanity all this time, in the end, we would destroy humanity just to save ourselves.

Antirianus seemed to chuckle, imagining me choosing the option of trampling what I tried to do with my own hands.

There were times when I really wanted to kill that crazy old man.

This was not about stopping the Immortal.

It was possible to make the Immortal unable to kill me or my people.

In fact, it was too easy.

It wasn't that there was no answer.

There was an answer, but I just couldn't choose it.

As if he knew I would never choose it.

No, perhaps he even hoped I would choose it.

If I chose it.

Of course.

In the end, isn't your life the most precious?

Laughing while saying such things, did he plan to die?

Dying at the hands of the Immortal led by them wouldn't be revenge.

The moment I killed Christina, Anna, and Louis just to save my own life and the lives of those I loved, revenge would be complete.

That would be a greater hell than death.

"I'm telling you this now," I said, looking at everyone.

"The moment you touch Christina or those kids to save me, I'll slit the throat of the bastard who did it and then kill myself."

The Gate incident happened to save me.

This time, I couldn't let it be.

It wasn't meant to blame Eleris, but seeing her lower her head, I couldn't help but bite my lip.

It was something I had to say.

"Your Eminence, why not bring those children here and try tampering with their brains? As long as you don't kill them, isn't that fine? Or there's the method of torture."

"In a situation where we don't know the extent of 'touching,' we should be cautious about acting hastily. You couldn't have not imagined that much."

Antirianus laughed, as if he liked my cautious attitude.

Really.

What was it with that old man?

He seemed happy when I struggled.

Yet, he didn't play any tricks, and he only did what he was told.

"Don't do anything. We'll deal with it after the Gate incident is over."

Antirianus, who would surely be up to something, surprisingly wasn't, making it hard to suspect him.

Rather, there was a possibility that someone else would cause trouble in order to protect me.

A prime example would be Sarkegaar, who was not here.

And the new lunatic, Rowan.

I had to talk to both of them as well.

"Right, it's not like there absolutely has to be no other way."

Harriet also spoke, as if to say that there wasn't only one path to take, looking at me.

"That's right, there's no such thing as an absolute magic in this world. Just as there's no absolute barrier magic or sealing magic, there is a way to break them. We just haven't found it yet."

Gallarush nodded in agreement.

However, Gallarush's expression wasn't as hopeful as Harriet's.

It was surprising to myself that I could now read the expression of an orc.

Gallarush's nuance wasn't about finding another way.

"If we had time, we could find another way, but I don't think we have enough time for that."

"..."

That's right.

Time always held us back.

Surely, there must be a way to neutralize the Immortals without resorting to force.

But could we avoid a confrontation with the Immortals until we found that method?

I didn't think so.

There would be a way.

But it would take time to find it.

Would that time be enough?

Harriet seemed to have a sudden idea and raised her head abruptly.

"Right. The Immortals are golems in the end."

"...Technically, yes?"

"Maybe... my father might know something?"

The Immortals were golems.

And the Archduke of Saint Owan was an expert in golems.

"Even if he doesn't know right now, my father might know something more."

The situation had changed from before.

Now we could gain the cooperation of not only the Saint Owan Duchy but also the Archduke.

So, we could rely on the possibilities of the Archduke of Saint Owan, who had mastered the same field of magic.

That's right.

The Archduke of Saint Owan.

"Yes, speaking of which, there's something I need to ask."

A problem I couldn't decide on alone.

"I'd like to show the Archduke this place once. Is that okay?"

At those words, Harriet jumped up, startled, on the spot.

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