“Did you betray me?”
“…Weren’t you aware that you were going to lose from the start?”
The day after the ‘Red Rain’ incident, in the Pharaoh’s empire, Deseritum.
The Pharaoh, lying in the recovery room of Deseritum, glanced at me and murmured.
His body had somewhat recovered, but due to his battle with Lasty, his soul was heavily damaged, leaving him unable to move.
Still, he wasn’t in a life-threatening situation, so I suppose he would need to recuperate for a while.
“I thought you’d hold out better.”
“…Ha, right.”
“Even with some enhancements, your strength should have been similar. Was it still too much? There was also the compatibility difference.”
“What’s the use if our strengths are similar… I was fighting in a game meant for that little brat…”
“Hmm.”
Well, it makes sense.
In a world where blood could be drained endlessly, it was only natural to be at a disadvantage.
There were many troubles, but still, the Pharaoh did his part.
I sighed as I cast Holy Magic on the Pharaoh, still groaning beside me.
Standing next to the giant bed supporting the Pharaoh was a masked woman.
She had been standing still, trying to maintain a static posture, but it was clear that she was anxious.
“Serrek.”
“…Ah, yes?! Yes, what is it…”
“You don’t have to worry too much. He has a sturdy body, after all.”
As long as a high-level celestial or demon race doesn’t mess with him, there’s no need to fear losing him again.
‘Sure, he lost an arm and a leg and had his heart ripped out, but…’
It was unavoidable, considering the opponent was Lasty.
In the end, he didn’t die, so isn’t that what matters?
Serrek bowed her head, going “Ah…”
“…I’m not worried. The Emperor is great, so such thoughts are absurd—”
“So where did you two get to?”
“Ugh?!”
Whoosh.
As the Door of Blood opened behind Serrek, a little girl jumped out.
The root cause of this incident, who had gone around the continent eliminating all the ‘Red Rain’ the day before.
“L-Lasty! You suddenly came from behind…”
“Sis set up a household and made sure to check his feelings. There should be some progress.”
I’d heard a few stories, but…
Lasty said that while smiling softly.
Though her body and heart had always been cold, she occasionally felt interest, and at those times, she would show a faint smile.
And now was one of those rare moments of ‘interest.’
“How far have you gotten?”
“…I will remain silent.”
“Why, speak.”
“Speak.”
“The information about the Emperor is classified…”
“What do you mean classified? Aren’t you just embarrassed?”
“Silence! I’ll do it!”
Serrek suddenly turned his head away as if he didn’t want to hear anymore.
Though her face was hidden by the mask, everyone here likely knew what she looked like.
“…Stop torturing me.”
Rashti nodded at the groaning Pharaoh.
“These damn things… doing useless things…”
“Are you upset because I’m bothering your lover?”
“……”
“Then you should have won. You couldn’t even buy time as sister asked, what is this?”
“Me?”
“If you had bought more time, you would have asked those beasts a few more questions.”
That’s true.
If the Pharaoh had stalled Rashti for just five more minutes, she would have used that last question, but it didn’t happen.
A somewhat disappointing outcome, but there would be more opportunities later.
As I nodded, the Pharaoh looked at Rashti as if he couldn’t believe it.
“…From the start, wouldn’t it have been better if you hadn’t lost your mind?”
“Isn’t it a problem that you just stay locked up at home, doing romance stuff?”
“R-romance stuff?!”
Serrek turned to Rashti as if having a seizure.
But the Pharaoh continued to look at him, ignoring her completely.
“Even when invited, you never come. It’s infuriating that only when everything is taken away, you finally show up. Sister, let’s just take everything away.”
“…Aren’t you also getting quite a bit? That’s absurd…”
The Pharaoh sighed, but Rashti’s words weren’t wrong.
Despite being a prisoner bound to me, the Pharaoh received a lot.
I began to enumerate the things the Pharaoh had received one by one.
The Emperor’s Seat, the vast territory of the Desert, the lost Power and Body.
Moreover, he succeeded in a romantic endeavor that hadn’t progressed for over thousands of years…
“Y-you’re really not talking about a romantic endeavor!!”
Whoosh!!
A Sandstorm spread out from the center of Serrek.
Compared to the Pharaoh, who had regained his Body, she still had an incomplete form made of sand, but she had her own Power.
I raised my hand to block the Sandstorm, and Rashti with the Veil of Blood.
“Hmm.”
The Pharaoh released the storm naturally, as if accepting his own.
Before long, at the center of the storm stood Serrek, who was grinning.
Though not as much as Rashti, she was quite a cold woman; I wondered how she ended up like that.
“So, what is it?”
“…Um, that! Uh…”
“There must be something significant happening since you’re so busy, right? You hardly come out, and I’ve handed everything regarding Elbrite to Besk and Black Cloud.”
“Something big must be happening, right? They’re so busy that I had to hand everything over to Besk and Black Cloud regarding Elbrite.”
“…W-What?!”
“What?!”
“Just…”
“Just?”
“Just?”
……
“Sh-Share… It’s about sharing our hearts and understanding each other. You know, the process that strengthens the Empire…”
“Aha.”
“I got it. Sharing. No wonder things felt a bit more lively.”
I nodded, and Lasty did too.
Serrek, unable to control his emotions, was shaking his shoulders uncontrollably.
Even without seeing the face behind that mask, I could guess well.
“Didn’t you synchronize your mouths?”
“…! What are you talking about…”
“From your reaction, it seems like you did.”
“Get out right now!”
“Why are you denying it? Strange…”
“…..!”
“Stop it already, Bloodsucker!”
Lasty laughed unexpectedly while Serrek was in chaos, and Pharaoh mumbled something while lying down.
It was quite a funny sight for a conversation among monsters that could turn a continent upside down.
‘If other monsters were like them…’
Then the world might have been a bit more peaceful.
Of course, even if that were the case, with the demons around, it was doomed anyway.
Lasty, who was effortlessly blocking Pharaoh and Serrek’s sandy attacks, moved lightly and approached me.
“Sis, isn’t it about time to bring them back?”
“Bring them back?”
“The monsters. Were you not gathering them?”
“Not exactly gathering, more like…”
In the past, we were in the middle of a war, and we needed every bit of strength we could get.
At that time, I had sealed numerous monsters, and there were two kinds.
One was those trapped inside the ‘Space of Despair’ within their souls, like Pharaoh and Lasty.
And the other was those trapped in specific ‘mythical artifacts,’ like Karabus.
Sealing monsters within souls was a rather advanced method, and since I only learned that later, most were sealed within weapons or accessories.
If I had sealed them all inside the soul, there would have been countless monsters after the return.
Unfortunately, except for Lasty and Pharaoh, who were sealed in souls, the rest had all disappeared.
And I learned that those monsters had scattered across the world when Karabus’s hammer was discovered.
“Well… since I collected them, I guess I need to gather them again. I don’t know what they might do if they regain control…”
“Then starting with the cat?”
“The cat. Myeosin?”
“Yeah.”
A cat beastman with pink fur.
God.
She was the god of the Beastmen in the past and an NPC known as the Representative of Kiki Island, sealed within a weapon called ‘Clo.’
After the seal was broken, she supposedly became an NPC at the behest of the raccoon.
One of the five strongest monsters I acknowledged.
Rasthy, Pharaoh, and Kraken have already entered my soul, and since I can’t pinpoint the exact location of the Griffin, the remaining one is Myeosin.
But bringing Myeosin here…
“I wonder if I can cut the connection with the Administrator.”
“Isn’t your sister strong enough now?”
“Hmm…”
I have indeed regained quite a bit of power compared to then.
However, the level of the seal that was on Myeosin back then was at least upper level.
At the time of sealing, it was around intermediate, but after experiencing the war, its intensity increased, and by the end, most of the monsters’ seals had reached upper level.
“But Myeosin said the seal was released upon awakening.”
In a state where the connection with the weapon is severed.
Releasing a high-level seal and contracting with her to turn her into an NPC indicates that she at least carries the rank of ‘highest.’
It won’t be easy, even if I give it my all.
“Rather than forcing it open, using the game system might be an option.”
“The system?”
“Why? Didn’t we just experience it recently?”
Black Lily, treated as a boss, utilized a ‘variable’ called Piarro to intervene in the episode, and also used the system to turn Rasthy into an NPC, showcasing various applications.
She displayed enough technique to leave me and Rasthy quite flustered, and although it seemed like a failure, if she truly managed to whisk away ‘Blodia’ as I anticipated…
‘It should be considered a success.’
“I’m not incapable of doing it. If I just use the system, I can definitely bring Myeosin here.”
“How?”
“The method Black Lily used was a variable. She created a gap using an ‘unintended’ variable and then exploited that gap.”
And that variable has already taken root in Myeosin.
▶ Yena
Awakening complete.
It’s time to meet Yena.
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