Chapter 282 - Disaster (8) |
There was only one rule for the places I turned into the Abyssal Sea. They had to be uninhabited.
That way, I wouldn’t have to worry about whether someone had failed to evacuate and been left behind. But if I wanted to drown the entire world, eventually I’d have to turn inhabited places into the Abyssal Sea as well.
I supposed it was only natural for resentment to build among people who had watched the homes they’d lived in their entire lives sink beneath the ocean.
"Uuugh, sorry…”
"It’s fine. I just didn’t expect them to pull something like this.”
I lightly patted Linmel on the head as she stood there covered in dust with a miserable expression.
Not every nation had obediently nodded along to Sharmia’s orders and cheerfully marched into the underground city.
Some would rather die than watch their cities disappear beneath the sea.
And some went even further—
—and decided I was the enemy.
An open plain with nowhere to hide, not even a single tree.
The Knights all had their swords drawn. Not at me. At the throats of other civilians standing beside them, their expressions set with grim determination.
A pathetic threat. The fact that even the hostages were on their side made things slightly more troublesome.
From Linmel’s perspective, there probably wasn’t much she could do against lunatics like these. She might be a Knight, but she was still young.
"That won’t work on me. If you have something to say, make it quick.”
Naturally, I had no intention of allowing a mass suicide to happen right in front of me.
The Knights hadn’t realized it, but from the moment I arrived here, even the very breath passing through their lungs had been in my grasp.
Knocking them unconscious and tossing them into the underground city would have been easy—but if they started causing trouble once they got there, that would become a headache, so I felt it would be better to make a few adjustments first.
An elderly man who appeared to be the leader of the Knights stepped forward, his entire body tense with caution.
"I know you are a transcendent being. But do not toy with us any longer. At the very least, we will not be deceived!”
"I have absolutely no idea what you think I'm deceiving you about.”
"You’re lying. Ever since your descent, the world has done nothing but sink beneath the sea. The sky has shown no changes beyond that scar. And even that scar appeared before you revealed yourself.”
"So you’re saying this is all my doing?”
"Exactly. Is this not simply a scheme to devour the world without interference from us?”
I let out a long sigh and rubbed my temples.
Great Void had done nothing.
No matter what I did, he simply remained still. As unsettling as that was, it also meant everything had been proceeding surprisingly smoothly.
However, the problem was that, from the perspective of ordinary people like these, things could look rather different. As a result, situations that could only be described as rebellions kept occurring.
Honestly, this was already the 9th this week.
"In the end, this world will become an ocean, and we’ll all drown in those underground cities. We have no intention of willingly climbing into our own graves. We’d sooner die fighting!”
The sword that had been aimed at the civilians’ throats swung toward me instead. The Knights’ eyes blazed with a fierce, desperate resolve, as though they had already accepted death.
If I were the Demon King facing a band of heroes, this would probably be the part where I let out an evil laugh, but I’d gone through this too many times already. So instead, I simply used the solution that had proven most effective during the previous 8 rebellions.
"First, let me clear up one misunderstanding.”
"I know you’ve sweet-talked the Emperor of the Empire into doing your bidding! No matter what lies you tell, our resolve will not waver…”
"Yes, yes. Of course. I’ll gladly fight you if that’s what you want. But let me ask a few things first. If I’m trying to drown the world, why would I bother evacuating all of you?”
"Obviously because it would be inconvenient if we resisted!”
"And that’s where the misunderstanding starts.”
-Snap.
The moment I flicked my fingers, every Knight who had been charging forward froze in place, as though seized by invisible hands.
"...!"
"These days, all I do is sleep, wake up, fight Outer Gods, and then go back to sleep again. Do you have any idea how miserable that is? Just look at these dark circles. They’re worse than my master’s.”
"Wh-what are you even talking about…?”
"I win in the end because we’re fighting inside the Abyssal Sea, but do you know how violently they resist? It’s enough to make a man want to die. Seriously…”
I scratched my head and rolled my stiff neck.
I wasn’t exaggerating. To prepare for the final battle, I spent nearly every waking moment hunting down Outer Gods.
Even weakened, an Outer God was still an Outer God. Fighting them drained both body and mind. If anything, conversations like this were my chance to catch my breath.
"I'm not trying to belittle you, Knights. But compared to the things I’m fighting, dealing with people isn't difficult. The reason I’m asking you to evacuate isn’t because I need you out of the way. It’s because I want to save you.”
Despite my calm explanation, the old Knight’s face turned bright red, as though he had taken it as a personal insult.
"Uugh…release us! Right now!”
"If that’s what you want.”
-Snap.
The moment I snapped my fingers again, the Knights who had been struggling were suddenly released and immediately face-planted into the dirt, kicking up a cloud of dust.
I looked at the bewildered group, then causally sat down on the ground.
"Go ahead. Keep trying until you’re satisfied. I’ll take a little break while you do.”
"..."
The Knights stared blankly for a moment before gritting their teeth and charging again.
One of them swung his sword and slashed directly across my neck, but no blood flowed. The blade passed through as though cutting empty air, emerging from the other side without meeting the slightest bit of resistance.
"What…?!"
"It’s not going to accomplish much. These days I’m closer to the Abyssal Sea than I am to a human being. Cutting me with a sword is…”
"Move aside! I’ll do it myself!”
The old Knight shoved past the stunned soldiers and pulled out a bow and arrow that looked ancient enough to belong in a museum.
It seemed oddly out of place for someone with such a rugged, brawny physique. Curious, I watched as he proudly declared,
"Let’s see how far that confidence of yours goes!”
-Swish!
The bowstring was drawn to its limit. The arrow shot forward and pierced straight through my head.
Naturally, it accomplished nothing. The arrow simply continued onward and buried itself in the ground behind me. Considering swords had fared no better, the result was more than logical. But the old Knight’s face immediately filled with despair.
"Th-that’s impossible…! This bow and these arrows are supposed to…”
"I think we’ve reached the point where you should understand that I’m not forcing you to relocate because I lack the power to do otherwise. Have you changed your mind yet?”
"...Not a chance.”
The old Knight gritted his teeth once more and glared at me.
"Even if you truly intend to save us, in the end all we’ll be left with is an ocean without even a patch of land to stand on. If my children and I are destined to spend the rest of our lives drifting on boats, I’d rather choose death.”
"I told you, I’ll drain the water once Great Void is defeated.”
"If that’s true, then you’re a transcendent being whose only goal is to save us, with no ulterior motive whatsoever. Do you honestly expect me to believe that?”
"Ugh, seriously."
This was exactly the problem with acting out of pure goodwill.
Thankfully, Sharmia had already prepared for situations like this.
"I’m not doing this for free, you know?”
"...What?”
"The one who summoned me was Princess Sharmia. She promised to offer the Empire and half of all children born within it for the next 100 years as sacrifices to me.”
"H-how horrific!!"
The old Knight’s face twisted in horror and disgust. He looked at me as though I were something less than human.
Since I wasn’t human, I couldn’t really complain, so I just continued calmly.
"According to the contract, I’ll be receiving the Empire’s children as sacrifices for centuries to come. Why would I kill all of you? You’re the ones who’ll be provided my future sacrifices.”
"You think we’ll just nod along after hearing something like that?!”
"I’ll only be taking people from the Empire, though. Those were the terms of the contract.”
"...?"
The old Knight looked completely lost, unable to understand where I was going with this, so I continued in a soothing voice.
"Since you keep gathering Imperial citizens here and reducing the number of my sacrifices available to me, let’s make a deal. When all of this is over, leave the Empire. If you do, I won’t consume your descendants.”
"You’re telling us to betray the Empire?”
"It’s better than having your descendants devoured for a hundred years. Though there is one more condition. It sounds like there’s some kind of alliance of nations resisting relocation. Tell me which countries are involved, and I’ll guarantee that your bloodline will never be taken as sacrifices.”
"..."
I caught the slightest bit of hesitation flickering across the old Knight’s face.
That made me breathe a sigh of relief. He was a proper leader. The kind of man who could become endlessly selfish when it came to protecting his own people.
"You’ll need time to think it over, so I’ll leave for now. It’s not as though you could kill me even if you spent the next hour chopping me to pieces. When I return, I hope to hear a favorable answer. If not, well, we’ll have the slaughter you seem to want. Be ready for it.”
"...”
The old Knight kept his head lowered until the very end, offering no reply.
He’d probably reach the same conclusion as the other nations.
Stretching my arms, I returned to the capital through a puddle alongside Linmel, who had been waiting behind me.
"Man… I’m exhausted.”
"You worked hard. And sorry…for calling you over something this trivial…”
"It wasn’t trivial. Seriously. If anything comes up again, call me right away.”
If Linmel had simply killed everyone back there, that would’ve been far worse. The remaining nations might have become even more determined to resist.
On the other hand, now that the rebellion had been dealt with and my excuse to avoid work had disappeared, the thought of returning to hunting Outer Gods made me feel utterly miserable.
The worst part was that I had no idea how strong Great Void really was, which meant I couldn’t afford to rest. Just as I was about to head back into the Abyssal Sea, Linmel grabbed my sleeve.
"Um, Jern. Are you going to hunt those Outer Gods again?”
"Hm? Yeah. Why?”
"...Can’t I help?”
"Huh?"
Looking into Linmel’s bright, earnest eyes, I was reminded once again that she’d never met an Outer God beside me. I gave her a small smile.
"I appreciate the thought, but this is something I have to do alone. Otherwise, I won’t get any stronger. Think of it as training, just training.”
"I see..."
Linmel nodded, then fidgeted for a moment before asking another question.
"Then, when that guy Great Void finally comes down, can I fight alongside you then?”
"..."
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
Linmel was absurdly strong as a Knight, of course. Strong enough that it was hard to believe she was human. Even by my standards, she was an absolute monster. In a good way, obviously.
But Outer Gods existed on an entirely different level.
"...Of course.”
Even so, I nodded.
"It’ll be dangerous, but if you keep training hard, I’ll definitely call for you when the time comes. Just wait for me.”
"Okay! Got it!”
It was an unavoidable lie.
The more Outer Gods I defeated, the wider the Abyssal Sea became, the more clearly I could feel just how high the sky truly was.
'If someone’s going to die, it might as well be me alone.'
Somehow, it felt like my final battle was going to be a very lonely one.