Chapter 98: Delegation from the Lutein Kingdom (4)

A dark, murky figure stood in the center of the audience hall.

“You...!” Elene’s face contorted with anger. The very being that had swallowed her kingdom and driven it to ruin was now in front of her.

The Tower Master spoke first. “Pleased to meet you. We’d like to have a conversation—are you willing?”

“What reason is there to talk?” the figure responded.

It didn’t exactly refuse but seemed unable to grasp why there was any need to converse at all. Its shadowy shape, called Nano, turned its gaze to Elene and Aron.

“What are you doing? Why do you reject us?” Nano asked them.

That question, filled with genuine puzzlement, only fueled Elene’s rage. “How can you even ask that? Why would we reject you? Isn’t it obvious? You swallowed us up—you killed us!”

The Lutein Kingdom’s royal palace had perished without anyone realizing it. Some unknown force from who-knows-where had replaced them all. Elene’s anger was justified.

Yet, Nano didn’t appear to understand at all. “We made you perfect. Why be upset about that? I don’t see the problem.”

I see,

Ketal thought, nodding to himself.

So, that’s the kind they are.

“Y-you...!” Elene’s face twisted in fury, and she was about to snap.

Then, Ketal interjected, “Calm down for a moment, Elene.”

“Ketal...”

He turned back to Nano. “You want her, don’t you?”

Nano merely stared at Ketal with a discernible emotion in its eyes but did not answer. Ketal carried on unconcerned. “But I find it strange. If you wanted her so badly, couldn’t you just take her right away? Why aren’t you doing that?”

It was possible for these Nanos to swap places with one another. When Elene was running away, the Blue-Green Order of Knights suddenly disappeared, and Adamant showed up instead. It indicated they could exchange forms.

Above all else, each Nano possessed its own sense of self, so forcing Elene’s will aside wouldn’t be difficult. Yet, Nano didn’t resort to that.

“I see no reason to answer,” Nano replied.

“Come on now,” Ketal said, still smiling. “Humans do not act without reason. Depending on what you want from her, she might even agree to go with you.”

“W-what?” Elene’s eyes went wide, but the Tower Master cut her off.

“Be still for a moment,” he suggested. The Tower Master let out a low chuckle and turned his gaze to Ketal. “You’re surprisingly clever for a barbarian.”

“You want her, but as you can see, she won’t budge in her current state. If you explain your reasons clearly, though... maybe she’ll come around,” Ketal said, grinning. “I understand that she resents you for what you did, but that’s in the past. Right now, there are more pressing matters to focus on, aren’t there?”

Nano fell silent, as if contemplating something. Barbosa gulped hard, tension evident on his face.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

After a brief pause, Nano finally spoke. “We are individuals with independent consciousness.”

“So you don’t operate as a hive mind?” Ketal asked it.

“The moment she rejected us, she became a separate entity from us. She is one of us, yet she does not move with us,” Nano answered.

“I see.”

“Under normal circumstances, this would not be an issue. But she perceives us, recognizes us, and actively rejects us.”

“So, in order to turn Elene into one of you, her consent is required?” Ketal murmured, intrigued.

Elene had clearly recognized Nano and refused it. As a result, Nano within her had followed her will and rejected its own kind. It wasn’t all that strange upon reflection.

When rejecting humans, Nano fulfilled their hosts’ desires. Those who feared death were freed from it. Those who wished to lose weight no longer gained any. Likewise, because Elene rejected Nano, she did not merge with them.

It’s like a glitch in a computer code,

Ketal thought. A system that was supposed to function in a set manner was now acting unpredictably. To Nano, Elene and Aron were anomalies.

It seems they’re still tethered to the minds of the humans they replace,

Ketal analyzed. Then, he glanced at Elene. “They can’t replace you, Elene.”

“I see...” Elene looked conflicted. She wondered if she should be relieved that she retained her identity, or if she should grieve over the confirmation that she was no longer entirely human.

Silently listening, the Tower Master finally spoke. “Then what about Parman, the knight? Why haven’t you taken him? He doesn’t reject you, does he?”

“There is no need. He can return to us at any time. If necessary, we can contact him, exchange information, and retrieve him when required,” Nano replied.

“I guess you need to be in close proximity to exchange information,” the Tower Master muttered to himself, storing the information away. “ Fine, I understand. But I have one more question—why do you need

her

?”

Elene and Aron were just two individuals. There was no apparent reason for Nano to need them so badly.

“Are you trying to understand why she rejects you? Is this about understanding humans?” the Tower Master asked it. He wondered if Nano was trying to analyze why humans fear them or to recognize their flaws and change.

He assumed that Nano sought coexistence with humanity. It wasn’t an unreasonable thought since Nano had replaced the Lutein Kingdom but had done nothing beyond that.

More than a year had passed since the kingdom was consumed, yet they had caused no further disturbances. Diplomatic relations remained unchanged, and the people’s sentiments were stable.

They haven’t consumed anyone else since,

the Tower Master thought. He had met with numerous individuals who came in contact with the Lutein Kingdom over the past few days, but none of them had been consumed. Nano had stayed within the kingdom’s border.

From a human perspective, their actions were incomprehensible. However, they did not appear to be acting out of malice.

Nano responded in an indifferent tone. “Replication.”

“Replication...?” the Tower Master repeated.

“Our numbers are small. To replicate, we need more hosts. Even two—Elene and Aron—hold value.”

The Tower Master was momentarily taken aback. “And what do you intend to do after you replicate?”

“We will grant this world true freedom.”

“What...?”

“You are incomplete. You desire, yet you fear the consequences. You avoid the inevitable and tremble at things beyond your control. You are flawed and misguided.” Nano’s voice rang with conviction. “We will make you perfect.”

***

A heavy silence filled the air. Barbosa shook his head, thinking he had misheard.

After a brief pause, the Tower Master finally spoke. “What do you mean by making us perfect?”

“Why were you born?” Nano answered with a question. There was pure curiosity in Nano’s voice. “You are born, only to die in a fleeting moment. Were you created just to return to nothing? That cannot be. That’s why you fear death.”

It wasn’t a wrong statement. Every human faced death, and yet, they feared it. From ancient times, rulers and emperors had sought immortality, desperate to escape their inevitable fate. Living in constant fear of an unavoidable end—Nano could not understand this.

“Then why were you not born without the concept of death in the first place?” Nano asked the Tower Master as its gaze shifted to him. “You should have died long ago, yet you took on an unnatural form to avoid it. You, too, are proof of your own contradictions.”

“I can’t argue with that...,” the Tower Master replied.

A lich preserved its life by storing its soul within a vessel, defying the death that should have naturally claimed it. It was a rejection of the fate assigned to all living beings.

“And death is not the only issue. You humans are inherently flawed,” Nano continued. Even when humans desired something, they feared the consequences and hesitated to act. “A child born with illness who cannot live long. A person who desires food but fears gaining weight. You are a species full of contradictions.”

From Nano’s perspective, humans were inherently broken, an existence riddled with inconsistencies.

“And it’s not just humans. This world itself is flawed,” Nano said.

Everything in this world would eventually rot and decay. Life would wither with time. To Nano, the ever-changing nature of the world was nothing more than a series of contradictions.

“But you are not to blame. You were simply born this way, pitiful being shackled by your imperfections. That is why we will perfect you. You will no longer fear death. You will be able to act as you desire. You will not suffer fleeting lives—you will live for eternity,” Nano declared. Its voice was calm, void of any emotional inflection. “This world will maintain a perfect form.”

A thick silence settled over the audience hall before the Tower Master let out a dry chuckle. “So, in other words, you plan to replace this world entirely.”

“We will make this flawed world perfect,” Nano replied.

“And you believe people will accept that?” the Tower Master asked it.

“Why wouldn’t they?” Nano’s voice was filled with genuine confusion. “Your consciousness will persist. The fears that bind you will disappear. You will become perfect beings. There is no reason to reject this.

A malice-free malice,

Ketal thought as he spoke up. “So, you yourselves are free of contradictions?”

“We are perfect. And so, we will grant you perfection as well. This is our gift to you,” Nano replied.

“This is the worst possible outcome,” the Tower Master muttered under his breath. Of all the possibilities he had considered, this was the worst-case scenario. He let out a hollow laugh before speaking again. “One more question. Where did you come from?”

“We do not know. We exist in this place you call the Forest of Nothingness,” Nano replied.

“There were people who ventured into that place, weren’t there?” the Tower Master asked it.

“There were. We replaced them all. That was when we acquired knowledge of your kind.”

The Tower Master fell silent. The Forest of Nothingness was an empty, unremarkable stretch of land. However, anyone who entered never returned.

The Tower Master was certain now that Nano was the true ruler of that Demon Realm. Unconsciously, he glanced at Ketal. Ketal, too, was staring at Nano with an inscrutable expression.

“Until now, we were bound by some restrictions, so we could only replace those who came to us. But those restrictions are now gone.” For the first time, Nano’s voice carried a hint of excitement. “We will consume this flawed world. And in its place, we shall create perfection.”