Chapter 169 – The Meaning of Strength (9)
“Are they hesitating?”
“Yeah. I heard they suddenly stopped attacking like crazy and turned around. Everyone’s avoiding them in the meantime… It must be because of that, right?”
Right before departure, it seemed Aria had heard something from the local commander, as she approached me with a somewhat vacant expression. The report was that Razak’s legion soldiers, who were mercilessly attacking in all directions, had changed to a defensive stance.
“So they got scared of the tentacles that removed the nuclear bombs?”
“Yeah…”
I mentioned the tentacles nonchalantly. I had to sound natural to avoid getting caught for what I did.
“Well, I guess that’s possible. It’s a good thing. We—no, you needed a break. Reinforcements will arrive soon. You should rest in the meantime.”
“Rest? How on earth can I take a break in this situation?”
“Don’t be silly. You can’t fight anymore. You know that, right?”
Aria flared up, but I shook my head. While Aria was definitely not weak among the magical girls, she couldn’t just keep fighting indefinitely.
Her mana, stamina, and now mental energy were all depleted. She needed to revert from her transformation and rest.
“Above all, you have a daily life.”
“That, well…”
“Don’t forget your place. Just because that girl next to you keeps flattering you as the ‘Hero’ doesn’t mean you’re really a hero. Your essence is just an ordinary student.”
Though a bit pointed, I genuinely tried to dissuade her. While I wanted Aria to become a warrior with zeal and continue to grow, I needed to avoid the risk of her getting too bogged down and suffering the consequences.
Nevertheless, it seemed she understood my words well, as Aria bit her lip in embarrassment and let her shoulders droop.
“Contact Frontier Director Lee Min-hyung. Tell him to come pick you up. You probably don’t even have the strength to cross the sea now, do you?”
I heard that armies from various countries would soon invade this land, where the command structure was completely in ruins anyway. The locals had no choice. Razak’s rampage was a crisis not just for this land but for the entire world.
The Korean Forces were also coming here. I told Aria to contact them and let them know to return home.
“What will you do?”
Saint Elysia—now Magical Girl Shia—had captured me at that moment.
“You still look lively. Even if the ‘Hero’ goes back, you’ll keep fighting, right?”
“You figured it out.”
I asked her back, and Shia nodded confidently as if it were obvious.
“The villains are here. I have no reason to run away.”
“Right. Fight well. I’m heading home now.”
“…Are you serious?”
When I waved my hand with a chuckle, Shia slightly furrowed her brows. I felt a little pricked by her question. The truth was, I didn’t really intend to leave just yet.
But it was also true that I needed a moment to regroup.
“Why do you look at me like that? I’m not the type to just step into this.”
“That might be true. But in my view, you absolutely don’t want the world to end.”
Shia’s eyes sparkled as if she knew something. I felt uneasy, as if my true feelings had been exposed.
“No matter what I do! That’s none of your business.”
I shouted as I floated into the air. However, she didn’t really contradict me and just kept looking up at the sky. Tsking my tongue, I soared up into the clouds and flew toward the destination I had sort of planned.
It wasn’t Korea. I opened a Dimension Gate to the Demon Realm, and once again opened a Dimension Gate to arrive in a city in the northern part of the continent, already devastated by Razak’s soldiers.
There was no trace of living people. Only remnants of grotesque monsters remained scattered everywhere.
They began as biological weapons constructed of humans, but now they were evolving into various forms, shedding their original state.
[Come forth, Ashburn.]
I opened a Dimension Gate in that state and called someone from within.
[What! This is completely unexpected. I only heard rumors…]
“There’s no time. Just get to the point and do what I tell you.”
[What a beautiful voice, Demon King. It definitely looks better from my perspective.]
The presence that revealed itself through the Dimension Gate immediately began evaluating my face as soon as it saw me. It was probably the first time they had seen my face like this. Usually, they stayed in their own territory and didn’t come to the Demon King’s Castle.
“Feeling good that I look much better? I guess this troublesome work isn’t pointless. But right now, we don’t have the luxury for that.”
[What task do you wish to assign?]
The blue light in the white skull’s eyes flared up. It seemed filled with more excitement than I anticipated. Considering his nature, years of peace had likely been a poison to him.
Thus, I called him here to give him a reward.
“The reason I called the Arch Lich is simple. Ashburn, you are going to wage war here.”
[Oh… So the Demon Realm’s army that was just a name is finally going into action.]
“I understand how you feel, but I think it’s going to be a fun opponent.”
He mocked me but I let it slide. No matter how I thought about it, he was the perfect fit for this kind of job. It wasn’t a coincidence that I sent Gabi away to call him here.
“Look below. This is the spectacle created by the monster named Razak. He commands countless armies and calls himself the Lord of Evolution.”
[Are you referring to those monsters?]
He removed the hood of his black robe and gazed down with his blue light burning brightly. It seemed he was already antsy, as I could see his mana stirring.
“Local humans are fighting against him. But I can assure you, if I don’t intervene, they won’t win easily and will end up getting pushed back. So you need to balance things out. Don’t push them too hard or let them lose. The real goal is to help the humans overcome those monsters on their own.”
[Demon King, do you mean to say that you want me to fight for those humans?]
“Does it really matter? This is a different world. The humans living here are not like the ones you think. And it’s not like I’m asking you to fight for them to be saved, you know?”
[Ugh… Your twisted logic and wicked tongue are still the same. The hypocritical Demon King who trampled on the duties and pride of the Demon Realm with the angels. But I will follow. You are the strongest in the Demon Realm, and that is the law of the Demon Realm.]
Ashburn pointed a finger at me, then politely bowed and saluted. I casually nodded my head in acknowledgment.
The residents of the Demon Realm also held various tendencies and ideologies. Many opposing factions viewed the current peace and internal development I pushed for with disdain.
“I appreciate it.”
However, no one could defy me. This is why the law of the Demon Realm is convenient. Once I smash things up, unlike humans, they don’t overthink it and just follow orders thoroughly.
“So, you’re planning to leave it to your subordinates and go home?”
“Do I even need to tell you what I have to do? I just need to wait until Ashburn or the humans find Razak, and then charge in to slay him.”
I chuckled at Ren’s words.
Mobilizing the Arch Lich Ashburn, the lord of the army of the dead, might appear risky, particularly since Saint Shia might go haywire, but I thought I was handling the situation rather appropriately for now.
“If only you’d taken a more proactive stance from the beginning…”
“Did you think it would turn out this way? And how many times do I need to say it? I don’t want to work. But the kids can’t do their jobs properly, making me go through all this trouble.”
As I soared through the thin air, the familiar shape of the Korean Peninsula came into view below. I flew straight toward that place.
“Now it’s your turn. Just so you don’t forget, if you guys don’t clean up your act this time… I might get really annoyed.”
“Eek! D-Don’t worry about that! We are already planning a hearing targeting the heads of the Fairy Company operating in the China region! The situation is too big for lobbying or anything else to work!”
I picked up Ren, who was clinging to my head, and brought him close while glaring at him. Despite that, his response was quite satisfactory.
Well, at least if the fairies had some sense of common decency, they would do something.
“Then it’s really all over. What the heck! I went on a vacation within a vacation and ended up doing nothing but work. It feels like I’ve done a century’s worth of work in one go; I really need to rest now.”
“Got it…”
The moment I passed through the clouds, I disappeared. Now, I could see the familiar city and its buildings.
I landed on the roof of the facility where I lived and reverted from my transformation for the first time in a long while.
“Huh?”
“Yeah?”
Then I came face-to-face with someone. Caught off guard, I’d lost my sense of presence and didn’t notice it.
On the opposite side of the roof was Jeon So-hyun, coming out from the corner by the stairs. Apparently, she had been hiding there. I instinctively frowned at the strong smell of cigarettes wafting through the air.
She clearly hadn’t kicked her bad habit and had been secretly smoking, despite being underage.
“What are you doing here!? I’m pretty sure I locked the door!”
She, who was even more surprised than I was, hurriedly shoved the lighter and cigarette into her pocket. It seemed she must not have seen me land on the roof or my transformed form.
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