Translator: Alpha0210

“Then what is the reason you all came looking for Agolet?”

Retip shrugged his shoulders as he spoke.

“It’s simply to find out whether he intends to participate or not. We heard that the White Knight is claiming neutrality, but we wanted to confirm the truth with our own eyes.”

“That guy in the back, does he have the same purpose?”

“This guy…”

An Absolute exuding the energy of a dragon.

Retip trailed off as he looked at him, then said,

“It would be better if you asked him directly.”

“…”

Judging by his expression, he didn’t seem like someone who would obediently answer just because he asked. Residue turned his gaze away from the Absolute and this time looked toward the Void Lords.

“What are your intentions for coming here? No before that, are you servants of the Half King?”

“…Such an insult is unpleasant. I do not serve anyone.”

“Then what are you?”

“I don’t want to speak of it to outsiders.”

Stubborn.

Residue had no choice but to bring up Agolet again.

“If someone like me, the master of the White Knight and one of the Twelve Void Lords, is considered an outsider, then what kind of people qualify as insiders?”

“…You’re one of the Twelve Void Lords?”

The Executor let out a scoff, as if she had just heard something absurd.

Has my appearance changed that much since then? No, come to think of it, I kept my mask on throughout the conference. It did get removed during the fight with the Half King, but she probably didn’t see that far.

When Residue pulled the Beginning Wizard’s mask from his chest, only then did surprise spread across the Executor’s face. She carefully examined Residue’s appearance and physique once again before muttering,

“You were the successor to the Beginning Wizard…”

“Just in name only. It’s a title I have no interest in, but nominally, yes.”

“…”

After thinking for a moment, the Executor looked at Residue and spoke.

“…There is a faction moving to stop the imminent full-scale war. They don’t care where anyone comes from, so powerful figures from both Worlds are mixed within it.”

“Is the ‘PeaceFinder Armlet’ also part of that faction?”

The Executor flinched.

“Not officially affiliated… but we are maintaining an alliance.”

“Then you were once under my command.”

“…Huh?”

“Nice to meet you.”

“…What?”

The number of cards he could use had increased.

Ignoring the Executor, Residue said,

“I need to think for a bit, so everyone shut up.”

…The current situation really is a mess.

Looking back, he couldn’t exactly blame the Rulers or the Four Knights.

On the contrary, if Residue were still the Lightning God, he would have naturally believed one of those seats was rightfully his. And if some worthless insects who didn’t even know their place tried to sit at the table, he would have gladly unleashed Thunder to kill them.

'Five.'

Five people…

Why five, specifically?

What does this number mean?

What is Lukas thinking? Could this be part of his strategy too? Or… is he trying to give us a chance?

The intention is too ambiguous. Because the premise isn’t clear.

Has the current Lukas fully become an enemy of humanity and taken the lead role in Destruction?

Or is he still risking his life for infiltration and espionage?

…For now, putting that aside.

Rather than the number five itself, focusing more on the idea of “limited seats” made him think, this is the seed of conflict.

A ticket that only a small number can obtain, and the only condition for obtaining it is simple: 'strength'. It’s no different from scattering it across the universe.

And considering the relationship between the Absolutes of the Three Thousand Worlds and the Void World, it can no longer be resolved peacefully. These people are innately filled with hatred and loathing for one another, and none of them possess the noble mindset to suppress or manage those hostile emotions.

Just as Retip said, it seems that a total war is about to break out Outside. And if both sides suffer massive damage because of it, then Residue’s grand plan will also be ruined.

'Fools…'

Another string of curses surged inside him.

Still, they didn’t seem like such fools. Why were they acting so emotionally? Could it be they still hadn’t fully grasped the situation?

“What are you doing?”

“I said I’m thinking.”

“In a situation like this?”

“Agolet. Is that woman always this noisy?”

“She does have a meddlesome personality.”

“Tell her to shut her mouth.”

“Yes.”

Residue spoke roughly, but in doing so, he realized that his thoughts had been accurate.

That’s right.

Amazingly, not a single one of those morons outside had a proper grasp of the situation.

Those idiots had no idea how powerful Destruction was, nor the scale of its forces. They couldn’t even make an objective evaluation of their own strength. Especially the Rulers, they were the biggest problem.

“Hoo…”

“What is it that causes you to sigh, Your Majesty?”

Agolet asked.

Thinking about the sinister nature that must lie beneath that gleaming face only made Residue’s chest feel twice as heavy, but for now, he answered.

“It seems it won’t be easy to stop a full-scale war between the two Worlds.”

“And why is that?”

“You know about the Rulers of the Three Thousand Worlds, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Their minds are hardened like iron. That’s because they haven’t even considered, for a second, the possibility that they could lose.”

Residue looked at Retip.

He wondered if the Lightning God might be watching developments here through Retip.

“Even after the world ended up like this, even after witnessing the havoc the first Destruction is wreaking Outside, even after laying eyes on the Half King, they remain unchanged. They probably still think all of this is some kind of game.”

“You don’t truly believe that, do you?”

“I guarantee it.”

Agolet fell silent.

Even though he was a Perfect One, it was only natural that a man whose foundation lay with the Four Knights would have difficulty understanding the mindset of the Rulers.

“Then what should we do?”

“We need to make those frogs in the well taste the bitterness of defeat. But we can’t just throw them at Destruction to fight head-on. If they die, the loss would be too great.”

“If you only give the order, I, Agolet, will teach them what defeat means.”

“You can’t beat a Ruler. You wouldn’t lose, either, but still.”

As he spoke that far, Residue looked around and realized that, at some point, all the various characters gathered here had turned their attention to his voice.

He wasn’t particularly conscious of it, so he simply continued speaking as if muttering to himself.

“Then, is it easier to persuade the Absolutes of the Void World? Not at all. Two of the four have already joined the Half King, one is a madwoman who’s completely out of control, and the last one…”

Residue’s gaze slipped momentarily toward Agolet.

Though they were currently cooperating, he couldn’t tell what Agolet was truly thinking… but there was no need to add that aloud. There was no reason to reveal their unstable alliance to the Executor, to Retip, or even to Destruction.

“…But the biggest problem is still the Half King. Agolet, you said you’ve never seen her directly, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then you probably don’t know what kind of person she is, either.”

“Only in rough terms…”

“The Half King is, in terms of beliefs, even more of a lunatic than the Rulers. She’s convinced she can stop Destruction on her own. And if anyone tries to help her, she’ll try to suppress them by force… Not just the Rulers, she won’t even accept aid from the Four Knights. In the worst-case scenario, she might try to fill all five seats by herself.”

To sum it all up, the situation was this.

Residue had to add a final word.

"What bullshit."

Even after sorting it all out, it still didn’t feel like it had been sorted. Maybe it was just that he’d recited a chaotic mess out loud.

[Ho, ho, ho.]

At that moment, the Negotiator interjected again.

[As expected, you are a dangerous existence.]

“…”

[One of the five seats will surely be yours. Ho, ho, ho.]

Would that really be the case, just because this bastard said so?

Residue was about to respond, but suddenly felt a sense of discomfort.

Why had he been rambling on so much in front of an enemy like Destruction?

“…”

He looked around, but it didn’t seem like anyone else had noticed anything off.

Except for one.

Agolet’s expression had darkened slightly. Residue gave him a subtle glance, signaling to stay quiet, then turned to the Negotiator.

“By the way, why are you here?”

[Because Iii am the one who will supervise this battleee.]

“Supervisor?”

[That’s right. I will also decide the order of the battleees, select the locationsss, and as my name implies, I will handle the negotiationsss-]

“What negotiations?”

[Things like favorable locations for youuu… information about usss… and even adjusting the number of participantsss…]

At this point, Residue was contemplating one last time. Still, it wasn’t something to judge rashly, so he gave it one more careful thought.

“……”

Even after that, he came to the same conclusion. Ignoring the Negotiator, who was chattering excitedly, he spoke.

“Agolet. Kill that bastard.” 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

“As Your Majesty commands.”

A sword shrouded in radiance sliced from the crown of Destruction’s head down to his groin. The Negotiator, cut cleanly in half, parted his mouth in confusion.

Crackle!

Before he could spew any more nonsense, Residue personally incinerated his body completely. Such cleanup required meticulousness. Vermin didn’t die just from being crushed or split in half, and the persistence of Destruction far surpassed that of any insect.

By the time the lightning from his hand reduced the Negotiator’s body to ashes, the Executor spoke in a dazed voice.

“What have you done…?”

“……”

“Why did you kill the Negotiator? He was-”

“You.”

Residue spoke in an indifferent tone.

“Try not to speak, if you can help it. It's infuriating for those listening.”

The Executor closed her mouth.

“I wondered if you might be holding him as a prisoner, but that wasn’t it either. All of you were just being manipulated by that bastard’s tongue. Has the entire group gone mad from Destruction’s invasion? No… probably not. It’s because you all got caught up in the strange aura he gave off.”

“What do you mean?”

It was Retip, likely the one among them who held the most respect for Residue, who asked.

“I mean, maybe his ability is to wrap nonsense in seemingly plausible logic. When you break it down, it’s all absurd talk. He compressed the power of Destruction into five entities? And then proposes a 5-vs-5 fight over the fate of the world… What, is he trying to start a martial arts tournament with rules and regulations?”

“…Even so, the Negotiator held many important clues. The reason we hadn’t killed him was because the longer we kept him alive, the more we could learn about the unknown space called the ‘Outside’…”

“The ‘Outside’ is not a concept we can understand within our scope. You must not try to force comprehension. Fine. I get your attitude. When someone you thought was beyond communication suddenly shows reason and asks to talk, it’s not strange to be caught off guard.”

Residue reached a rough conclusion.

No matter what Lukas’s intentions were out in the Outside, the Destruction that had revealed itself to the world was a thorough enemy. Their actions might feel ambiguous on the surface, but in the end, what they sought was annihilation.

“Setting aside the others… You two, who call yourselves Void Lords, your response is disappointing. If the Everlasting Plum Sword had been here, the response would’ve been far better.”

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to say, friend.”

Death Worm, who had remained silent until now, finally opened his mouth.

“Hey, worm. Are you part of the same faction as the Executor?”

“We are cooperating temporarily, for the sake of my goal.”

“Yeah? Do you think sticking with them is more helpful than when you were working with me?”

Though he was foolish, he was certainly useful, so Residue said that. But the Death Worm looked offended.

“I do have a complaint about that, friend. Why, after I did as you said, did the Blue Knight not choose me? She even looked angry and attacked me. No, before that… It’s like she didn’t even acknowledge my existence.”

A disturbing sound, like insect shells scraping against each other, was mixed into his voice. Was there a swarm of tiny cockroaches writhing in his throat or something?

“If you deceived me…”

“You idiot!”

Residue cut him off with a roar.

“You foolish, stupid, moronic bastard!”

Even as he cursed, more words poured out as he kept thinking.

“Don’t you realize we’re right on the verge of the final summit?”

“The final summit…?”

“That’s right. There’s truly not much time left now. The Blue Knight is likely so preoccupied with thoughts of you that she can’t sleep, day or night.”

“You’re lying…”

“It’s not a lie. Look at this.”

Residue pointed to Agolet.

“I already secured the White Knight using the ‘Four Knights Strategy’. You know about Agolet, don’t you?”

The Death Worm answered with a blank expression.

“…I heard he’s a Knight who has no interest in anything Outside. Also that he doesn’t recognize anyone as his king.”

“Correct. In that sense, he was an even more troublesome opponent than the Blue Knight. But how is it now? Hey, Agolet. You answer yourself. To you, what am I?”

In moments like this, Agolet was extremely useful.

Because he was extremely quick-witted, he immediately assumed a posture of obedience and bowed his head.

“Of course, His Majesty is the one and only king of this world to me, and the sole being who can issue commands to Agolet.”

“Did you see that clearly, Death Worm?”

Looking at the Death Worm, who was blankly watching the scene, Residue lowered his tone slightly.

“The opponent is one of the Four Knights. They can’t be won over using normal methods. So if the reaction wasn’t ordinary, that’s actually a good sign. If, at that moment, that crazy bitch…”

Residue slightly rephrased his words.

“…If the Blue Knight had blushed or acted shy, that would’ve actually been a worse sign.”

“……”

“Hey, worm. If you still think I deceived you, go ahead and say it.”

The Death Worm bowed his head.

“Sorry. I think I misunderstood.”

This time, Residue put on an angry expression.

“To doubt a friend… it breaks my heart.”

“H-how can I earn your forgiveness?”

“Hmm.”

Residue posed as if thinking for a moment.

“There’s something I need your help with. If you willingly cooperate, I might feel a little better.”

“I will. I’ll help with anything.”

“Good. Come over here.”

The Death Worm came to stand beside Residue.

“Mm.”

Thus, on the left stood one of the Four Knight, and on the right, a Void Lord.

With his forces now significantly reinforced, Residue’s chest swelled with pride.

*****

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