Chapter 226

“The mood just won’t lift, huh.”

A long, long time ago.

He was once called the Military Deity.

Now, he was truly a god of war, and also the sole Legion Commander of the Demon Realm. But even now, as someone who had stolen the rank and dignity of a god and stood at the peak of malevolence, he often found himself drowning in a foul sense of ennui just by indulging in such trivial worries.

“Doesn’t matter.”

Back in the day, he would’ve probably gone berserk right away.

But now? Is it really necessary?

When situations change, your position changes.

Everything changes accordingly.

“Hmm.”

That’s why, wasn’t it?

Without much ado, he formed a new throne made from scorched skeletal remains and settled his body there. He scanned the members of the Demon Realm emerging through the dimensional portal one by one and issued commands to them.

Do whatever you want—riot, die, struggle.

Handle it yourselves.

“What are these insignificant beings?”

Anyway, he was nothing more than an unwelcome guest here. No matter how hard he tried, some kind of force would intervene anyway.

Great power always comes with its own brand of unreasonable consequences. His whole life, shackled by absurd chains that bound his ankles, he wandered upon the ground like this.

“Look at that.”

Before he could finish his thought, gray dust began to accumulate in the air, spreading out until it formed an army of undead numbering in the hundreds.

From those with exposed bones to ones covered in intact flesh and skin, various warriors equipped themselves and clashed immediately with the members of the Demon Realm.

“Einherjar. Yeah. This is why the world isn’t boring. Even forgotten things make a comeback. Things are getting lively around here.”

Even a single plant will desperately fight for survival if you break its branches or tear its leaves. Not to mention insects and beasts.

“The world has always been like this.”

Even if territories turn to ash and millions perish,

It’s all meaningless.

But when the world itself senses its impending doom,

It will flail about in some form or another.

So the place we stand on, the world itself, is ultimately no different from a living being.

Those followers of Irene’s Doctrine who prattle on about rocks having no soul and vermin and beasts lacking spirits—they’re truly morons. They don’t know anything but act arrogantly and jump to conclusions.

“But does that really matter?”

Over there, someone who was once the Demon King but is now something far stranger sits. The Sacred Grand Tree must have chosen that pathetic woman because of him.

“He must be powerful enough… to burn the Sacred Grand Tree. Very intriguing. Though it’s laughable too.”

Cripes! I’m not a poet or an actor, yet I keep talking to myself. My state must be pretty bad.

“…”

Just do your best. Anyway, this is all just part of the plan.

===

“Who are they?”

The queen followed the entities forming in her peripheral vision and widened her eyes.

Standing against the rushing demon army.

Or rather, correcting that—it’s completely opposite. They were smashing and shattering everything that emerged from the Demon Realm.

“Undead?”

While an elf archer muttered aimlessly,

“…”

Alesia was catching her breath, exhausted from the effort.

Even within the corruption zone, the only ones left standing were the savage warriors created by the sword. Their bodies forming a wall gave everyone some relief.

“We managed to breathe easy for a moment, but that’s not the main issue.”

Then Diares gestured toward the rear.

Over there.

Though the dimensional gate spewing out creatures is problematic, what truly stands out is the entity that suddenly descended before the Sacred Tree—a completely different dimension of existence.

Elves sensitive to divine energy, summoned spirits, Alesia the Holy Maiden, the Queen of Elves, and Diares the Southern Guardian—all felt an overwhelming pressure as if they were plummeting into the heavens.

Even that pitch-black figure sitting on a horrifying throne far away seems unusual, but compared to this presence, it feels like a firefly.

“But is our current strength enough to assist Carriel?”

To begin with, stepping outside the barrier Alesia created means that neither Diares nor the queen can fully utilize half their abilities. And Alesia can’t go running around while maintaining the barrier.

The most serious problem is…

All reinforcements and support are now useless. Not only is this area doomed, but the outside world is also in danger.

“Your Majesty, how is the situation developing? You didn’t hint that things would get this bad, did you?”

“…”

What could the queen possibly say? She could only cling to her rationality to keep herself steady.

That’s when it happened.

Caw!

A crow pierced through the barrier and entered inside. It circled around a few times, then perched on Alesia’s shoulder, flapping its wings.

“…”

The crow then flew over to the queen nearby after saying something.

[Carriel requests a brief update on the external situation.]

Should she be impressed by this communication? Or should she worry more? The queen frowned slightly, lost in thought.

===

“Leader.”

When Delica turned her head, Cain was already behind her.

“What in the world is going on?”

Since becoming a demon, Cain’s complexion has become unreadable, but now he clearly showed his confusion.

“You… Were forcibly returned after losing?”

“No. I couldn’t even be sent back… It was over.”

Some random elf finished me off in one go.

“So… Does that mean…”

The same thing happened to Delica. When she looked up, there…

“That’s… Is that an angel? Why does our lord look like that?”

“…”

I don’t know. All I can vaguely guess is that my decision somehow led to this situation.

“And look over there.”

Following where Cain pointed, although it wasn’t clear, the entire area seemed to be eroded, turning into a Demon Realm landscape.

“If things are like this, maybe… the situation was resolved long ago?”

“…”

It wasn’t easy to continue speaking. The tide had completely turned. Truly miraculous.

“…”

In the midst of all this, I inadvertently glanced over and saw him standing there—the one who relentlessly pursued Lucesia.

‘Carriel.’

Delica instinctively realized. Plus, she had overheard part of their conversation.

Meanwhile, he raised an unusually long spear-like weapon from somewhere unknown.

BOOM!

BOOM!

From the sky descended radiant women clad in silver armor with pure white wings, landing near him.

“…”

He handed the spear to one of them. On its shaft was a curved bird-like pattern seemingly encircling a sun-like object.

On the dark green leather base, golden patterns adorned the strange spear. Its twisted parts, likely bronze-plated, bore inscriptions in an unknown language.

The women accepted it respectfully and took flight again.

“Valkyrie?”

Cain—or rather, the two-headed shadow beneath him—shook violently, making a fuss. Warrior collectors and messengers of death.

“Valkyrja?”

Delica understood roughly what the two heads meant and responded. Her gaze then shifted elsewhere.

“Already…?”

Warriors of unmatched power, appearing from nowhere, began driving back the demon forces.

“Tch.”

Cain laughed hollowly, his face pale with astonishment.

“They really have… no idea how deep their resources run.”

And that wasn’t all. Suddenly, a wooden statue of Carriel rose.

Simultaneously, part of the surrounding area corrupted by the Demon Realm transformed into something else entirely.

“…What is this?”

“…”

Divine Power? Divine Magic? A barrier?

It was definitely something different. Given that Cain is still fine, it doesn’t seem related to Divine Power.

“What’s happening?”

For Cain, who had just awakened, this rapid development was confusing. Moreover,

“Kiyaah! I don’t want to come out here! This is the loathsome domain of ancient gods and guardian deities!”

The demons hiding in Cain’s shadow were wildly thrashing about.

“Guardian deity?”

The only change was the appearance of this statue. Careful observation revealed it resembled a small obelisk.

From the bottom to the middle section, long snakes coiled around the four-sided obelisk. Atop it rested a delicately carved statue resembling an ancient goddess holding a spear and shield effortlessly.

One of the struggling demons screamed in agony.

“I remember now! That’s a palladium! Athena’s realm-guarding divine statue!”

“…”

Palladium? Athena? Nothing makes sense.

“…”

“Probably referring to Athena,” Delica murmured, recalling something.

“So what’s the palladium?”

“Not sure about that, but…”

Regardless, it must be connected. Seeing demons react like this, it clearly repels or suppresses demonic entities. But why is it here now?

At that moment, Delica’s thoughts flickered and she turned her head.

“Then…”

Coincidentally, the Valkyrie who had received the spear suddenly dived and plunged it deep into the ground. Another transformation occurred in that area as deep green mixed with the red corruption zone.

It’s not an illusion. As the region expanded, the demons became weaker while the warriors’ momentum grew fiercer and more brutal.

“Got it. Now I understand.”

Both Cain and Delica grasped the general idea.

The difference between the Demon Realm and the Middle Realm boils down to which force dominates. If magic rules the Demon Realm, mana governs the Middle Realm. But now, that’s changed.

Although the essence of mana remains the same,

Its attributes, nature, and character have partially altered.

For instance, this area where the obelisk topped with a Palladium statue stands…

“Aether, wasn’t it?”

Back in the Creek era, they didn’t call it mana; expressions varied widely. I heard they used the term ‘Celestial God’ literally to describe its power and origin.

Later known as Ether, named before or sometimes as an alternative to mana in certain regions.

Many familiar old terms originated from there.

And over there…

Where the Valkyrie planted the spear, creating a new domain…

“Similar.”

Extremely similar to the Middle Realm, yet fundamentally different.

People from the Middle Realm wouldn’t feel any particular discomfort. After all, the elves are dismantling the sacred barriers they had set up.

‘So, the elves and those races… yeah. There shouldn’t be any problems. It’ll be effective.’

However, for the inhabitants of the Demon Realm, this represents the exact opposite domain.

The fundamental reason the Demon Realm and the Middle Realm couldn’t merge lies in the differences in air and atmosphere.

The root powers they wielded were perfect opposites.

The biggest obstacle to the Demon King’s invasion wasn’t heroes, vast lands, or rugged terrains.

It was simply the world itself.

“…”

Still, there’s no need for excessive anxiety. After all, the situation hasn’t reversed completely. Even though they’ve employed a stratagem to transform the domain, it only affects part of the area.

Lucesia.

Her presence still governs the entire visible world.

‘To put it in terms of war…’

This is merely their process of reorganizing, refining their morale, and setting up their camp.

However, just by regrouping their disordered forces,

It signifies that the situation has flipped 180 degrees.

From being destined to be trampled and killed,

They’ve gained another chance to counterattack.

“…”

All thanks to him.

The dark and ominous one.

Carriel approached slowly, leaning on a familiar wooden staff in his left hand. So, Lebathein… is in that guy’s possession?

Draped in a pitch-black cloak, he arrived here, alternating his gaze between Delica’s group and Lucesia. Then, beside him,

“…Is it really okay?”

Minette joined.

“Leave it to him.”

Minette’s concern was brushed aside by Carriel.

“At least now, the situation is different from before.”

GRRRRRR-!!!

With a thunderous roar,

The snow-white giant transformed into a black behemoth, violently tearing apart the colossal tree monster.

Things were definitely different from before. The massive trunk ripped from the World Tree floated lifelessly in the air like a hollow log.

KUUUUNG!

The shockwave from the giant’s fall shattered the ground, not as a warning or call, but rippling subtly across the battlefield.

Also,

-…

Luthesia, who had been blankly staring into the sky,

Suddenly opened her eyes wide and gazed down upon the world.

And in her eyes,

The dark and ominous tyrant filled with menacing flames.

And the young man cloaked in darkness yet shining with gold.

Both simultaneously etched deeply into her crimson, brilliant eyes—where gold and blood mingled.

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