─It’s a plan. It does exist. Are you curious?
“Yeah.”
─If I tell you, are you willing to follow?
“Well, it depends on how you present it.”
I flinched.
The sword trembled slightly.
You could think it’s just the usual quivering, but the emotion flowing from the sword is different.
He looks at me in surprise.
─…That’s unexpected. I thought you’d refuse outright.
“I just prefer efficiency. That’s why I came here.”
Even though I’ve returned and everything’s over, I still want to kill Celestials when I see them.
Celestials and Demons have been my long-standing enemies, and Celestials, in particular, are the focus of my hatred.
But still, the reason I came here is to obtain the most efficient alternative.
“I can endure unnecessary things for my purpose. So don’t try to provoke me, just answer honestly.”
─…I’ll answer sincerely, but remember one thing. I’ve given up a lot and I’m still giving up a lot right now.
The reason the Empire’s ‘enemy’ can calmly attack the ‘heart of the Empire’—the capital—alongside the prince and duke is simple.
Duke Huangyeol, situated at the top of the Empire, has blocked everything.
Duke Huangyeol is considerably sacrificing the dignity and authority of the royal family.
But.
“That’s the same for me.”
I smiled bitterly.
Just like how I let the great Emperor go for the Celestial Duke Huangyeol right in front of me and for ‘another me’ trapped in the intervening dungeon.
I too am giving up a lot to be here.
“So, what’s the answer?”
─I’ll give you information and alternatives. How to act will be your decision. I’m rather busy over here.
“I’ll listen.”
─First, there are three disasters coming that we’ve figured out.
“I already know that.”
The Kraken monster and the Scorpio monster. And the demon that briefly appeared in the Siege War video.
There are those who think it’s the demon the Sword Saint summoned, but that demon was simply one sealed in the sealing sword.
Probably, even stronger demons will show up.
─You know well. Do you know which of them is the most dangerous?
“Of course, it’s the Kraken.”
Some might say that the demon could be more dangerous, but the Kraken I saw was nearly at ‘high-class’ level.
Deoen is crazy, so he wouldn’t release two high-class demons, meaning the demon would at most be lower intermediate.
The sword moves as if in agreement.
─That’s right. The danger classification is extreme, upper, and medium. The medium ones will handle themselves without any help, so we only need to deal with the remaining two.
“Is that classification based on World Boss standards?”
“Is that classification based on the World Boss criteria?”
─”It’s categorized according to the standards of the Outsiders. Isn’t it more convenient this way?”
“That’s true.”
“The Kraken is at the top tier.
The Demon Race is at the maximum tier.
Scorpio is at the mid tier.”
“The mid-tier World Bosses have been captured by the users over time, and with their growth, they should be able to take care of them.”
“However, the remaining two can’t be dealt with by the users’ level.”
“What’s the alternative?”
─”We’ll handle the maximum tier separately. You all just focus on the top tier.”
“I don’t think it’s just been decided that way. What’s the reason?”
“It doesn’t seem like it’s out of fear of facing the Kraken.”
“From what I’ve seen of Duke Huangyeol’s personality and actions, he values efficiency but isn’t the type to shy away from impending disasters.”
The sword replied calmly.
─”The top tier must meet certain conditions.”
“Oh.”
“Conditions.”
Right, this isn’t just about stopping an ancient beast like in the past.
Monsters are given a Quest called ‘World Boss Hunt’ under the name ‘Monster.’
Of course, there will be additional constraints and conditions to confront the Kraken, and it’s up to the users to meet those conditions.
Of course, since Birang came to the Academy without permission, she might intervene there…
But it’s still easier if the users do it.
─”I already have materials and plans regarding top-tier handling. However, this also means I have to take a loss, so I can’t interfere with the maximum tier. Is that okay?”
“As long as you only block the first damage, it’s fine.”
“If you can manage to block just the initial damage that occurs upon appearance, then it doesn’t really matter.”
“The Empire can handle the Demon Race while the users and I deal with the Kraken and Scorpio.”
But there’s one thing that bothers me.
“Do you know where the Demon Race is right now?”
─”That’s right. I’ve known about their existence for a long time. Why do you think Karia possessed magical powers?”
“…Karia?”
“Oh?”
Karia looks back and forth between the sword and me.
It may not feel evident now, but she once harbored a terrible amount of magic.
I thought it was just to avoid provoking me… but maybe there’s a more fundamental reason behind it.
─”Everything Karia did began from that source. The Spirit King’s corruption was just part of her experiments. It’s meaningless now, but…”
“She was hoping for something bigger? That’s not exactly a pleasant story.”
─”I’m just being honest. Isn’t that how things get done efficiently as you say?”
“……”
BAM!!!
I smacked the sword with a hammer.
The sword flew and embedded itself into the wall.
It seemed like Karia realized the attack wouldn’t work and didn’t stop me.
─…Ugh. What the hell are you doing?
“You’re speaking so confidently, it’s infuriating. Do you want to get hit?”
─You already touched it, huh?
“Well, that’s true.”
You really shouldn’t provoke me like that.
Why do you keep trying to make me a bad person?
The sword glared at me in disbelief.
─…It’s been like this for a while, but I don’t understand. Is there really a reason to be so angry about the spirit’s affairs?
“I don’t like the experiments. Be it the magic-utilizing experiments or the celestial ones.”
While Lasty hates the experiments more than I do, I can’t say I like them either.
Those damn experiments played a huge role in leading the world to destruction.
Especially the ones conducted on spirits, I loathe them even more.
“Anyway, let’s organize this. When the first damage occurs, we all block it together, and afterward, the demon race will be dealt with by the Empire, while we handle the Kraken and Scorpion.”
─Let me make one thing clear, blocking the damage only applies to the Empire’s territory. We don’t need to worry about any other areas.
“You said they were going to be the Empire’s subjects, didn’t you?”
─They will be.
“Hm.”
Is this how it’s going to be?
It’s not hard to understand.
The Empire has its own matters, and judging by past tendencies, playing the role of a guardian isn’t one of them.
Rather, the more kingdoms that fail to block the damage, the more justification there will be for the Empire to swallow the continent.
If it were an equal relationship, I might be able to tolerate it to some extent.
“Let’s do this.”
I didn’t come here to negotiate for a friendly relationship.
In front of me, a full map of the continent was drawn out.
Using blue mana as my quill, I drew straight lines, unifying the kingdoms and the Empire.
The continent was divided into four major parts.
“From here to the south, including the Empire’s territory, block it. I’ll take care of the east. As for the north and west, well… there should be strong users around to handle that.”
To the north is the Eden Federation, which belongs to the Angel Guild.
To the west, high-ranking guilds are positioned, so they’ll manage somehow.
In contrast, the south and east are weak on both user and resident fronts, so either I or the Empire need to step in.
The sword voiced its discontent.
─Is there really a reason to take a loss?
“Yes. Please take a loss.”
It’s the least you should do to repay the favor of saving you.
─…
“Just kidding. Well, not exactly a joke.”
─Is sarcasm your specialty?
“It’s not so much a specialty as it is something I’ve learned to do out of necessity… Ah. That was unnecessary to say. It won’t be much of a loss for the Empire anyway.”
The enemy of the kingdoms and the instigator of the continent’s war.
If the instigator were to willingly extend a hand to protect the south, the influence of the Empire over the south would surely increase.
That would help the Empire in swallowing the continent, even if just a little.
─…This doesn’t make sense. Didn’t they not want the Empire to grow?
“That’s just a cost. A cost birthed from various grudges and this and that. Of course, I have no intention of letting them truly benefit, so don’t get your hopes up.”
If they tried to really benefit, they’d witness a spell that makes the territory of the Empire vanish in proportion to what they eat.
─…
“Then I’ll take it that way.”
All business was concluded.
As I tried to leave immediately, words from behind caught me.
─Why didn’t you push Birang away?
“Birang?”
Cloud Envoy Birang.
A student who enrolled at Eli Academy and intentionally approached me under the orders of Duke Huangyeol as one of the Empire’s Six Swords.
She, too, was unaware that the reason for her approach was to build rapport with me and heap emotional baggage on me.
The more important Birang became to me, the more solid the Empire she trusted and followed would become from me.
I turned back while gripping the doorknob.
“She has decent skills. She’s got talent.”
─Just for that reason?
“I don’t know what you think of me, but the Academy accepts anyone with talent who won’t cause problems. That applies to the Six Swords as well.”
Whether Birang becomes an important person to me or someone I don’t care about, my choice remains unchanged.
If she meddles enough to cause the Empire to crumble, no matter how much Birang tries to stop it, it will fall.
Even if Birang wishes for the Empire’s downfall, unless it’s to the extent of actually collapsing, I won’t interfere with a single fingertip, as long as it doesn’t lead to a massacre.
Once a target for ‘elimination’ is set, it doesn’t change lightly.
“That’s good. Send Nea to school as well.”
─Why that kid?
“I’ll give her some education.”
Now’s my chance to straighten out her mind a bit.
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