TWEM Vol. 7 Chapter 16 Part 2
Not long after, Dillan returned.
“Haruto, we’re ready.”
I followed Dillan to the room used for the previous meeting.
When we entered the room, Dillan sat in a chair and waited.
Everyone took their seats, but Zero and Glatnis remained standing.
This was normal for Zero, so I didn’t pay him any attention and just waited for it to begin.
The crystal in the center of the round table glowed brightly, and the faces of the representatives of each country were projected onto it.
Now, I didn’t want to drag this for too long, but…
“So, the reason we’ve called this meeting together is… First of all, Haruto and the hero Tendo have returned from the Demon Realm.”
At Dillan’s words, the leaders of each country let out cheers of joy, “Oh!”.
Only one of them, Oskar von Galzio the Emperor of the Galzio Empire, gazed at me through the crystal without saying a word.
Noticing this, Dillan called out to Oskar.
“Emperor of the Galzio Empire, why are you staring at Haruto like that?”
Everyone was silent, and Oskar answered Dillan’s question.
“Haruto, first of all, I’m glad that you’ve returned safely.”
Oskar continued speaking.
“But Haruto himself doesn’t look happy. Did something happen over there?”
“…That’s true. However, first, we have already had our planned discussion with the Demon King. It seems that the Demon King Fran Vampir does not want war with humans and wants to be on good terms with us.”
“Can you be absolutely certain that’s the case?”
Oskar asked with a serious look in his eyes.
Even though we were looking at each other through the crystal, I could feel the tense atmosphere.
That’s how important this meeting was.
“I can assure you, the Demon King is friendly. As proof, would it be okay if I called her here?”
I felt the expressions of everyone in the room stiffen as I uttered those words. It wasn’t just my imagination.
Well, Tendo was the only one who didn’t show any signs of being surprised.
“Isn’t it dangerous?”
Oskar’s question was answered not by me, but by Tendo.
“Your Majesty, and everyone else, please rest assured.”
“Hero, what do you mean by rest assured? The other party is the Demon King. She is not someone you can let your guard down around.”
As if agreeing with Oskar’s words, Liebert, Ilmina’s father, spoke up.
“Hero. I am the Pope of the Holy Kingdom of Belifaire. I am Liebert. I am Ilmina’s father. As Emperor Galzio said, the Demon King is a threat to the world. You cannot rest easy there.”
Ilmina’s eyes met Liebert’s and she bowed slightly and greeted him.
However, Tendo looked at me and continued speaking.
“Even so, she is a trustworthy person.”
“If the Hero says that much… So then, Haruto. Is it correct to interpret the Demon King is friendly?”
“That is correct. Let me ask again. Is it okay to call the Demon King Fran Vampir here? Otherwise we can’t get to the main point.”
Several people reacted to my words ‘We can’t get to the main point.’
In other words, they understood that what I was saying now was not the main point.
Since no one raised an objection, I spoke up.
“I guess your silence means you’re okay with it. I’ll go and get the Demon King, so I’ll be off.”
I said with a casual tone, like, “I’m just going to a friend’s house for a bit!”
Then I used teleportation magic to disappear from the spot – and returned in just a few seconds.
The Demon King Fran was standing next to me.
She looked around and then asked.
“Haru, where are we? This is built differently from the Demon King’s castle, is it a castle?”
“Fran. This is the capital of the Kingdom of Perdis, and we are in a room in the royal castle. Sitting here is the King, Dillan Arclaidh Perdis. You can see the kings of each country through the crystal.”
“I see. I’m sure you’ve heard the story from Haruto, but I’ll introduce myself anyway. I’m the Demon King Fran Vampir.”
—The Demon King has appeared!
Everyone other than me and Tendo was on guard when the Demon King Fran Vampir appeared.
Well, that’s what happens when a being that has long been said to be the enemy of humanity appears before your eyes.
But this isn’t going to get us anywhere.
“Don’t be so cautious. If Fran gets out of line, I’ll deal with her.”
When I said that, Fran gave a wry smile.
“No, I’d rather not take on Haru. I can’t see a future where I emerge victorious. And I’m not even thinking about going on a rampage. Not with this big deal. Well, even if I did, it would take a lot of work just to deal with those two.”
Fran said, and turned her gaze towards Zero and Glatnis.
It seemed that Fran saw through the strength of those two in an instant.
As expected of a Demon King.
Zero snickered.
“Even if she’s a Demon King, she’s not my enemy. If necessary, I’ll deal with her on Haruto-sama’s behalf.”
“You’re right, Zero. And if she tries to do anything suspicious, I’ll kill her.”
Zero and Glatnis lashed out with murderous intent at Fran. With the murderous intent of the two aimed at her, Fran looked at me with tears in her eyes and a cold sweat.
“Wh, what’s that…? Haru, he’s really scary…”
Hey, this is the Demon King, right…?
Well, it’s only natural that even a Demon King would be helpless when glared at by two of the strongest.
I heard Fran whisper, “Help.”
I sighed.
“Leave it at that, both of you.The world is in danger right now.”
“I’m sorry.”
The two immediately bowed their heads and apologized.
The murderous intent they had been radiating disappeared, and Fran was visibly relieved.
But I told them off.
“You should apologize to Fran, not me.”
“Demon King Fran Vampir, I’m truly sorry for my rudeness earlier.”
Zero bowed his head to Fran, and Glatnis bowed in the same way.
“I can’t say I don’t mind, but I’ll forgive you.”
It was a scary experience, so it’s impossible to tell her not to mind.
While they were having this exchange, the emperor Oskar spoke up on behalf of the people on the other side of the crystal who had been left out of the loop.
“So, you are sure that the one there is the Demon King, Haruto?”
“Yes.”
“Then let me ask. What do you mean by the ‘world crisis’ you mentioned earlier?”
Oskar asked.
“That’s right… I’ll leave it to Fran from here on out.”
When I turned to look at her, Fran nodded and spoke.
“There’s a reason why Haru called me here this time. And that’s—”
Fran started by saying that, and told them the whole story, starting with the betrayal of the Four Heavenly Kings.
She added a little about who Tendo and I had fought, but the story ended soon after.
Maybe because she’d mentioned the Evil God and the resurrection of the First Demon King, everyone fell silent.
Then Liebert seemed to confirm it somehow.
“Haruto, what she’s just said is true?”
“Yes, it’s true.”
I could feel the tension in the air at my words.
“In that case, the Demon King Alogis is also there, but isn’t he an ally of the demons?”
Oskar’s reasonable statement made Fran tell him that Alogis was a follower of the Evil God, and was trying to destroy humans for that god.
And so I decided to add more about Alogis.
“I fought the Demon King Alogis, but he had just been resurrected and was still weak. However, he escaped when it seemed like we were about to defeat him, so he will be in a complete state by the time he attacks again. In addition, there is not only the Demon King on the other side, but also an apostle protected by the Evil God. We must cooperate and face those who are trying to destroy the world. If we win, the world will be saved, but if we lose, an era of chaos caused by the Evil God awaits.”
I paused and then spoke.
“Now, make your decision. Will you save the world or not?”
Silence reigned.
But there was only one answer to choose from.
“What good is asking for something so obvious? There’s no way we’d abandon our world.”
All the kings agreed with Dillan’s words.
“So, the kings of each country are here. Let me make a proposal.”
After a pause, Oskar made a proposal.
“We are going to fight against the Evil God, the enemy of the world. Let’s make an allied army.”
“An allied army, huh? I see. That’s a great idea.”
Dillan nodded at Oskar’s suggestion.
He probably thought that forming a union would bring them together as an organization. That seems reasonable.
Everyone in the room nodded in agreement with Oskar’s suggestion.
Then Fran raised her hand and asked.
“Does that include the demons?”
Everyone looked at Fran’s question with a look that said, “What an obvious thing to say.”
“Of course it does, and I look forward to working with you.”
Dillan said that and asked Fran for a handshake.
Fran was confused, but shook his hand.
Oskar then asked Fran.
“Is the Evil God on the side of the demons? Or are they enemies?”
Fran looked at Oskar and declared without hesitation.
“They are enemies. Some of our compatriots who are believers have switched sides to the Evil God, but if they are enemies, we will defeat them.”
“I see. Will the battlefield be the Demon Realm?”
The other kings asked.
Everyone’s eyes turn to me, Tendo, and Fran.
Well, I haven’t heard specifically where, but the enemy would probably target the Demon King first.
In other words, the Demon Realm will be the first to be attacked.
“Probably. What do you think, Fran?”
When I asked Fran what to say, she put her hand to her chin, closed her eyes deeply, and answered.
“I agree with Haru. The battlefield will probably be the place where we fought before. Many people will die, though.”
Everyone was silent when Fran said, “Many people will die.”
Indeed, the enemy was that powerful.
“For now, let’s start preparing the army for a month from now. Inform everyone in the castle about the contents of this meeting. Inform the heroes of this information and prepare them.”
“I understand. I will share this information with the heroes.”
Mariana, who is the representative of Glicente, replied to Oskar’s words.
Even so, I had an image of Mariana being more talkative, but she didn’t say much… Perhaps because she was being watched by Aegan and the other elves.
“Thank you, Mariana-sama… So Haruto, do you have any information on the Evil God?”
“I don’t know much, but… Zero, Glatnis, please tell everyone here what you know.”
“Yes.”
The two took a step forward and spoke.
“One day, several hundred years after I and Glatnis were born…”
With that introduction, Zero began to tell the truth of history that no human had ever known.
“In the battle between the hero and the Demon King Alogis, both were injured, but then the Evil God Chronos appeared. As a result, the hero died, and the Demon King was resurrected by the power of the Evil God. They both tried to destroy the world, but naturally, there were those who did not approve of this…they were the same Gods as the Evil God. The Evil God Chronos was weakened in the battle, so the Gods sealed him away in a floating castle. And the Demon King Alogis, who had once been resurrected, was also sealed away by the hands of the High Humans, a species superior to humans.”
After Zero finished speaking, Glatnis spoke next.
“Chronos’s Authority is darkness, shadow, and space-time.”
“What is Authority?”
Everyone, including me, tilted their heads at the word I heard for the first time.
“Authority is the power that a God is born with, and it is the ability to interfere with the world. You can think of Chronos’ Authority as the most advanced version of space-time magic. And the name of the Authority that Chronos has is called the ‘Authority of the Time God.’”
“Authority of the Time God…”
That sounded like a pretty troublesome name.
Let’s check with Ellis to see if there’s any other information.
《Regarding Chronos, information has come out that he is “Chronos, the God of Time and Space.”》
Hmm.
《He was originally a god worshiped by some people thousands of years ago. That’s all the information we have. It’s possible that the information about the Evil God Chronos was erased by the Gods.》
I see. Thank you.
After thanking Ellis, I turn back to the others.
“That’s tricky, facing a god…”
I continued, “But well,
“It doesn’t matter. We just have to defeat them.”
“Haruto, it doesn’t matter…”
Tendo and the others looked annoyed, but somehow they seemed to understand.
The only laughter I could hear through the crystal was from Oskar.
“You don’t even fear god? But I see. I understand about the Evil God. But do the Gods who sealed them away not want to lend us their power?”
“I don’t know. If they do, they’ll make some kind of contact. Or maybe they’ll just stand by and enjoy watching us humans reduce our numbers.”
I remember the God who saved me when I was on the verge of death.
That old man was the only one, but there must be more Gods out there.
Well, we have Saintess Ilmina, so if anything happens, she should be able to give us a divine message.
Anyway, I have to decide what to do from now on.
“For now, securing military strength is the priority. Who will have command of the allied forces? I think Oskar is the best choice. What do the others think?”
In response to my words, the kings of other countries muttered through the crystal, “But…”
Well, if he took command of such a big battle, his influence after the war would be something that couldn’t be ignored.
Looking at Dillan next to me, he looked a little annoyed. Same for Oskar.
I understand how he feels.
I sighed openly.
“Sigh, how pathetic.”
The one who responded to that was the king who looked very portly.
“…What? What are you doing, adventurers—”
“I brought this information.”
“Huh…?”
“If I hadn’t brought this information back, there’s a chance that humanity would have been wiped out without any countermeasures in place.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“If that’s the case, will you take command? What will you do? Can I hand over the overall command to another king, Oskar?”
I look at Oskar through the crystal. Oskar laughs happily as he answers, looking at the king.
“No problem. If you can command the entire army, I’d be happy to leave it to you. You’ll probably be held accountable, though.”
“Ugh… but commanding means you’ll have a say afterwards—”
Oskar interrupted.
“Besides, this wasn’t the time to be arguing about something so trivial. Am I wrong?”
“…I see. The survival of humanity is at stake. I’m sorry. Please take command.”
He backed down much more easily than I expected. That’s what you’d expect from the king of a country, huh?
Then Oskar declared.
“There’s one thing I want to decide. This is a battle that will decide the survival of humanity. No matter who takes command, I think we should strive to maintain the same level of say after the war as we do now. What do you think?”
“Emperor Oskar is right. I, King Perdis, agree.”
The kings of the various countries who attended agreed with Dillan.
Fran also joined us and we discussed what to do, from preparing the army to reviving the evil god.
I’m no expert on strategy, so I just watched quietly.
Then Fran tugged on the hem of my clothes.
“Hmm?”
“What are you going to do, Haru?”
“What am I going to do…?”
Everyone’s eyes were on me.
“I’d like to say that I’ll act on my own, but I’ll prepare everything in a month. Leave the apostles to me.”
“Okay. But the problem is…”
“Evil God, huh…”
That’s what I said in response to Dillan’s words.
However, even if it was the Evil God, there’s nothing we could do when we’re up against a God. We decided to make all the preparations we could, and the meeting ended.
Soon after, it was reported in countries around the world that the Evil God had been resurrected and would attack the Demon Realm.
At the same time, humanity declared that they would unite with the demons and oppose the Evil God.