Chapter 74: This World Must Be Saved (7)

"Ask whatever you wish," the old man replied.

"It's nothing serious, but where do you think the Empire will strike first?"

The old man responded without hesitation or even a tilt of his head. "That would be Ember."

I was surprised.

He knew?

I asked, "Isn't that where your headquarters is located?"

The man answered nonchalantly, "Of course. Naturally, Ember is aware of it too."

"And yet..."

"Ember tried to prevent the war."

"And?"

There was a subtle shift in the old man's expression. "Their efforts failed."

I remembered that the slime had mentioned something about a response.

"There was a strong and vicious response, but that ended in complete failure. Afterward, the preparations for war accelerated, almost as if the royal family had awakened to their resolve."

"A failed response to stop the war? Then..." I asked the old man, "Were you the one who thwarted it?"

At that moment, the old man bent over and burst into laughter. "

Ha ha ha ha!

"

His booming voice seemed to shake the moonlight. Some people snickered from the spiral staircases where they stood and looked down at us.

Then the old man said, "Apologies. That was such an absurd statement... What do you think Ember's response was, anyway?"

Of course, I had no way of knowing. I stayed silent.

"Someone like me could never stop such a response. Even if everyone here joined forces, it would be impossible. If we could stop it, wouldn't the Empire be able to as well? If it were something so trivial, it wouldn't even be called Ember's response."

"Then who stopped it?"

"No one stopped it. It simply failed."

I couldn't make sense of his words.

"The response wasn't something anyone could stop. In the end, the royal family continues preparing for war, don't they? Then you must call it a failure." The old man's tone grew more solemn as he continued, "Perhaps it was the will of the world. Fate. War is destined to happen, and we are merely riding the current. It doesn't get any simpler. Join us. You too can gain power."

"Are you talking about guild authority?"

"Of course. But I'm also offering true power..."

Suddenly, a thick black mist-like aura emanated from the old man.

Whoosh!

His clear, sunken eyes turned pitch black. The presence he exuded multiplied dozens of times instantly. Around us, the other people's eyes began to darken, and their forms started to shift.

Are they revealing their true forms?

The old man's staff dissolved into smoke and disappeared. From the spot where his antlers had been severed, long brown antlers shot upward, far longer than his hair. The antlers curved slightly backward before arching forward in the middle, forming a bent shape resembling the number seven. The antlers' tips flared like wings, covered in dense runes.

A sound like laughter and wailing echoed.

Weeee!

The old man's face elongated, and white fur spread over his entire body. He stood on four legs, and turned into a large deer about the height of an adult man that was over four meters tall. The white fur gleamed under the moonlight, creating an almost hallucinatory effect. Black markings adorned his neck.

Purson's emblem, perhaps?

The other people began transforming one by one.

Crackle, crackle!

The man towering over two meters tall burst as his muscles expanded explosively. His body grew larger, and long gray fur covered him entirely. His nose and mouth extended forward, revealing blade-like teeth.

The man howled toward the moon.

Awooo!

The red scars around his eyes deepened, and long silver claws sprouted from his fingers.

Flap, flap!

There was even a harpy, a monster with a woman’s torso and an eagle's lower body. Though naked, her thighs and forearms were cloaked in feathers. Her sharp teeth and fierce demeanor suggested a savage nature.

Ssshhh! Ssshhh!

Nearby, a woman's lower body extended several meters into a serpent-like tail covered in scales. Some individuals didn't transform much—some exhibited only slight muscle swelling or the appearance of a few black veins on their faces.

Regardless of whether they were human or not, their eyes all turned pitch black. A shadowy aura surrounded them, swirling like mist or crackling like electricity. The pressure around us seemed to multiply several fold, as though the space was closing in from all sides.

Pathetic.

These were subordinates far below the Demon Kings themselves, who would be cut down like insects by heroes. Despite my multiple revivals, I felt disgusted with myself for feeling intimidated by such beings.

As if to demonstrate something, the deer raised its front legs high. Thick black mist swirled around them as he brought his legs down forcefully.

A massive tremor reverberated.

Crash!

Crack, crack, crack!

The seemingly sturdy stone steps fractured into dozens of pieces like thin glass shattering. Through the cracks in the ground, black lightning crackled and sparked.

"..."

This was merely a fragment of the Demon King of Lightning’s power. Compared to the actual Demon King, it was nothing, but this power was enough to make me feel immense pressure.

After striking the ground, the deer looked at me confidently. Its pitch-black, hollow eyes gazed at me intently.

His voice echoed, "This is the King's blessing. I can amplify the power you possess many times over. It's not enough to overturn the world, but it's more than sufficient to prepare for the King's descent."

I replied, "Is that so?"

The war was going to happen anyway. With power like that, inciting escalation wouldn't be difficult.

I asked the deer, "What's the price of this power?"

"You simply have to believe and have unwavering faith that he will descend."

Faith wasn't my thing. I remained silent.

The deer continued, "The King's power will flow into your body as soon as the mark is engraved. Can there be anything clearer than that?"

The deer gestured to his neck with his front leg. "All you need to do is open the channel to him. Perform the designated rituals on the night of the full moon. The ceremony is..."

The deer began explaining the ceremony in detail. A sudden curiosity struck me, and I looked around before asking. Now was the only time to ask this question.

"Aren't you all just humans?"

A few individuals in the group hadn't transformed. The only change was their pitch-black eyes. One of them blinked, his eyes flickering between a clear gray and black. A man in a black robe stepped forward and removed his hood. Though gaunt, he was surprisingly handsome, with long, soft hair cascading down from beneath his robe—enough to be mistaken for a woman.

"Yes, I am just a human."

"Then why join a group like this?"

The man shrugged. "Self-loathing among one's kind is quite a common way of life, isn't it?"

"And that kind includes you, doesn't it?"

"Self-hatred is an even more common way of life." The man shrugged again and put his robe back on. "I'm constantly apologizing for being born human. I’m always thinking about it for all of you."

What an odd character.

However, after the rise of the Demon Kings, about one in ten, or even one in twenty, humans sided with the Demon Kings’ army. Some joined because it seemed advantageous to follow the tide. Others were already studying dark magic and had no choice but to serve the Demon Kings.

However, about one in ten thousand genuinely hated humanity, believing that humans should be eradicated from this world, attacking their own kind.

The man in the blue robe stepped back a few paces, and the deer stepped forward. "You too should accept the mark. It's for balance and to create a proper world."

The conclusion had been clear from the beginning. I had no intention of associating with this doomed troupe of clowns.

"You go ahead and enjoy it yourself." I raised my voice while looking around at the others. "I'm not going to stop you. Do whatever you want. Entrusting your life to a failing king is your choice."

The harpy flapped its red wings violently and shouted, "Blasphemy!"

I sneered. "Blasphemy?"

The harpy snapped, "You're nothing right now! We opened the door willingly because we saw potential!"

At the very least, the first part was true. I was nothing. I probably couldn't even handle the harpy before me. My growth had already reached its limit.

They claimed to have opened the door for me, seeing potential. Then, I had even less reason to join them. Watching my slow pace of growth would only disappoint them, and they would brand me as weak.

Amplifying power itself wasn't a bad offer, but the possibility that the mark they would engrave might persist into my next life was something I wasn't willing to accept.

Who knows how many more times I’ll be reborn?

I had no intention of living my life enslaved to Purson. No matter what power they offered, I would decline it.

The harpy kept shouting, "Impudent fool! Submit and accept it!"

I ignored its angry outburst and turned to Rena. "What are you going to do?"

"Do you want me to do it?" she asked back.

Her question gave me pause. If she joined them, the scenario could be completed easily, and my curiosity would be satisfied.

But what about her remaining timeline?

She'd live as Purson's slave and, after his fall, she’d meet a miserable end, stripped of all power.

I said plainly, "You might enjoy it for ten years, but after that, it'll all collapse. You'll lose everything."

Rena crossed her arms and shot me a sharp glare. "A prophet, are we? Really, do you think I don't know? Even if I thrive for a hundred years, I wouldn't do this alone. If we're together... I don't care if I die today."

The deer gestured toward the humans nearby with its snout. "To think you would refuse... unexpected, but fair enough. Our goal is not to turn all humans into livestock. If it were, these people wouldn't have joined us."

I nodded slightly. "I have no objection to your cause. I just... don't want to fall under the command of a losing side."

At that moment, the harpy shouted the same word again as if it were her favorite. "Blasphemy!"

Thud! Thud!

Enraged by my attitude, she flew toward me swiftly. Her long, sharp talons crackled faintly with black energy as they emerged from between her feathers. She looked fast and strong.

Can I block this?

Rena shouted, "Stop! If you don't let us leave peacefully..."

She dropped her large backpack onto the ground with a thud. In one swift motion, she grabbed the bag, and its opening automatically unfurled, revealing rows of densely packed firework launchers.

Rena exclaimed, "These are all set to shoot into the sky. Imperial Army signal flares!"

The harpy froze mid-air.

When did she steal something like that?

Murmurs, curses, and mocking laughter rippled through the crowd.

Rena, undeterred, firmly continued, "If I launch these here, it won't be long before they start searching this area, investigating the disturbance. You hate inconveniences, don't you? Why not just let us leave?"