Ch.164164. President

Natural disaster.

The current Deus Verdi was truly worthy of being called a natural disaster.

The only difference was that he was clearly and precisely striking his enemies.

Through Horua’s flames, he guided the souls to prevent them from attacking innocent civilians.

Of course, this was merely a minimal precaution, as most of the ghosts were pouring toward the Republic’s soldiers who had made them this way.

“Salvation Corps members, form ranks and push forward!”

“The enemy is a mage! It’s over if we get close!”

“Snipers to positions! Fire all at once when I give the signal!”

Watching the soldiers move in perfect unison, Research Director Barkterus let out a hollow laugh.

The First Detention Camp had already disappeared from the map, and Deus Verdi’s footsteps were heading toward the heart of the Republic.

The disappearance of the Second and Third Detention Camps along with an entire brigade had happened in just a few hours.

“Truly ridiculous.”

Barkterus had no intention of doing anything. He merely shared his vision with other members of Dante.

Some of the more aggressive Dante members urged Barkterus to fight, but he remained unmoved.

How ridiculous indeed.

“How could humans stop a calamity?”

Chuckling and shaking his head, Barkterus stuck out his tongue as he felt the heat of the inferno rising from beyond the horizon.

“How can he use Horua’s power to such an extent?”

It was beyond surprising.

It was simply awe-inspiring.

Of course, compared to the firepower from when Horua was the guardian spirit of the Marias Great Forest, this wasn’t even half as powerful, but Horua had already become a soul. And a human was handling it to this extent.

– Perhaps because Horua is ultimately just a soul.

Barkterus couldn’t help but agree with the judgment offered by the heavy voice resonating in his head.

“Right. Absolutely right. Is it because he’s a spiritmaster too?”

– ……

The man called a spiritmaster did not answer. Instead, Barkterus asked with rising curiosity.

“What do you think? In your view, as the one who created the Dante organization claiming to save the world?”

– I cannot deny it’s an enviable talent.

“Hmm? Yet you don’t say you’ll lose.”

– He cannot be called a spiritmaster, so that’s natural.

An unwavering assertion.

Despite witnessing this scene, there wasn’t even the slightest change in the voice’s tone, suggesting he hadn’t even considered it.

At those words, Barkterus probed further.

“Right, I suppose this must seem like a drop in the bucket to you, Heralhazard, who carried out mass slaughter.”

A moment of silence fell.

The man didn’t express any emotion and naturally changed the subject.

– The woman called Dark Spiritmaster would have been much more troublesome to deal with.

“Hehehe, is she too lukewarm to have taught him from behind the scenes?”

– ……

Though he didn’t answer, it was as good as an affirmation. Barkterus stroked his chin with disappointment.

“Horua makes for a terrible match against me. I’ll just watch. Let’s see how far Deus Verdi can go.”

With that, the connection was cut, but Barkterus’s eyes would still be watching this scene.

Rising like the sun, the inferno revealed a whirlwind of fierce souls alongside it.

Even though it was quite far away, the ominous wind could be felt even here.

Deus Verdi wasn’t using the souls to create a whirlwind.

The souls were gathering on their own, becoming a single calamity approaching to destroy the Republic.

“How did he obtain such talent?”

The situation was beyond absurd. Heralhazard had said he could kill Deus Verdi, but…

Conversely, he hadn’t said he could recreate this scene.

Just as the same ingredients can produce different-tasting dishes depending on the chef…

This was a scene that could never be created with Heralhazard’s spirit magic.

Looking at the whirlwind of the dead, Barkterus suddenly recalled Princess Elenoa Luden Griffin’s warning.

“The weight of death, was it?”

The tower of death that the Republic had built was falling straight down. Certainly, one couldn’t deny that more than the permissible amount of blood had flowed on the Republic’s land.

“But what can we do? There’s a monster here that feeds on blood.”

If that truly was the weight of death coming to judge the Republic…

“It’s still not enough.”

Hehehe!

Barkterus turned around, leaning on his staff. Other soldiers around him were hoping for his help, but…

“It’s already too late.”

Souls suddenly rushed at Barkterus, engulfing him and exploding.

That wasn’t all.

The Salvation Corps members who were scheduled to charge at Deus Verdi felt something squirming inside their protective gear.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Explosions erupted from inside the protective gear. The gear itself remained intact, but the members inside were charred black and rolling on the ground.

“It’s because they’re souls.”

Barkterus, who had somehow reappeared, clicked his tongue.

“What?”

At the question from Oskoff, who had lost his protective gear but was still acting as commander, Barkterus let out a small laugh.

“No matter how invincible the protective gear is, there must be at least one gap. Souls enter through that gap and transform into magic inside.”

“B-but, Deus Verdi is still far away…”

Indeed, that was correct.

The massive whirlwind was still at a distance where it could be covered by a single thumb.

Yet even from there, it was displaying such power?

“Well, what can we do? This is reality.”

Looking at Barkterus shrugging his shoulders, Oskoff fell into deep thought.

If that’s the case…

What would happen if that whirlwind came closer?

Such fear began to rise.

A radio message came in saying the snipers had been hit. The snipers had been killed by the souls’ magic from a point far beyond sniping range.

[The Republiiiiiic!]

[This is hell! This place is hell!]

[President! Hateful name!]

[What did I do wrong?!]

[I’m not a traitor! I’m telling you I’m not a traitor!]

The screams of souls rampaging through the military echoed. Unlike the Griffin Kingdom, the Clark Republic was naturally prepared against Black Magic.

They had taken various measures, such as setting up a massive barrier to block Black Magic entirely, or creating white flames to prevent souls from approaching freely.

But…

“Ah…”

All of that was useless because…

The weight of death that the Republic bore was truly enormous.

It was impossible to handle the amount of souls pouring down.

“Is this the end of the castle we’ve built?”

Oskoff asked in a hollow voice, seeking an answer. Barkterus, who had been watching him closely, burst into laughter.

“Hehehehehe! You’re trying to make me die of laughter! Hehe!”

Laughing harder than he had all day, Barkterus pounded the ground with his staff while cackling.

The insects jumped around as if responding to his laughter.

“Who? Us? Are you saying that you or I helped build this Republic?”

“T-that’s…”

Isn’t it obvious?

Oskoff is a soldier.

One of only three superhumans in the Republic.

And Barkterus is one of the main contributors who made the Republic a technological powerhouse.

Most notably, the protective gear of the Salvation Corps members is his masterpiece.

But Barkterus wiped the tears from his eyes and let out a small laugh.

“This Republic was built by one person from the beginning, what are you talking about?”

“What?”

“Or maybe not a person?”

As Barkterus shrugged his shoulders…

Vrooooom!

A harsh sound spread.

With a speed incomparable to the carriages of the Griffin Kingdom, a vehicle propelled by the magic engine installed inside moved forward, and all the soldiers immediately stopped what they were doing, stood straight, and saluted.

The hunched Barkterus only raised his hand, but he could feel the presence inside the black window watching him.

“Hehehe! You’ve arrived!”

The only black vehicle in the Republic. It could be considered the culmination of Republic technology, boasting a strength that couldn’t be penetrated by any bullet or magic, and a speed several times that of an ordinary carriage.

There was only one being who would drive such a precious item toward the whirlwind.

“The master of the Republic has arrived!”

The master of this land fearlessly advances toward the approaching calamity.

* * *

It was killing intent pressing down on my skin.

But what’s important is that this murderous intent wasn’t focused solely on me.

It would be more accurate to say that I happened to be hit by the killing intent that was being spread.

It was simply there.

Vroom.

A faint white light visible beyond the whirlwind approaches.

Then a strange phenomenon began to unfold.

The souls that had been swirling and spewing their grudges began to flee in fear of it.

I had already realized that the emotion wrapping around my skin with a tingling sensation was fear.

Trembling hands.

But I recognized that it wasn’t my body trembling, but the Lemegeton I was holding.

Pushing back the whirlwind on its own, even Horua’s inferno couldn’t stop it.

By the time it arrived before my eyes…

It resembled a sedan I had seen on Earth.

A round, black body.

Eight wheels.

Though much larger, it still gave the impression of a luxury sedan.

Because of that, there was already some agitation in my heart.

Click.

The door opened, and a man appeared from the back seat.

A round, balloon-like protruding belly and broad build.

Multiple layers of chin fat and a balding head, even without lowering his head.

No matter how kindly one tried to describe him, he looked like someone who had never run in his life.

But contrary to that…

A nauseating, foul energy. Something that couldn’t be considered human was contained within the man.

Thinking about it, the answer finally came to me.

“Ha.”

A laugh escaped me, beyond disbelief.

The Clark Republic is a place that rarely appears even in the game.

So information about the President is extremely limited. Almost non-existent.

“I am President Magan of the Republic. Spirit Mage Deus Verdi.”

Contrary to his outward appearance, his eyes held intelligence and wisdom.

However, that didn’t mean they were benevolent.

They were very evil.

Just making eye contact gave the chilling feeling that one’s heart was being corrupted.

“Impressive.”

That’s why I was even more certain.

“I never thought the so-called President would be a great demon.”

Despite my words hitting the mark, Magan’s expression didn’t change at all.

As if to say, so what?

“Let’s stop here, shall we? You’ve destroyed three out of five detention camps and crushed one brigade. That’s quite an overreaction for attacking a baron’s territory.”

He didn’t seem to have any intention of negotiating, but he mentioned negotiation.

I probed slightly with my response.

“I’m just helping the dead find peace.”

But the reaction was downright violent.

“You’re not leading them? It’s just a simple memorial service? Then would it matter if I ate all of these?”

Snap.

Magan pointed his fat finger at the whirlwind. The souls fled in unison, terrified of even being pointed at by him.

Gradually, the whirlwind was losing its shape, and even Horua’s inferno couldn’t cause him any harm.

“It would be troublesome if more came to my table in such a delicious state. I might eat them without even realizing it.”

“……”

Table.

The man in front of me—no, the great demon—had simply referred to the Republic as his table.

“The guardian spirit of Marias Great Forest, two Black Mages of Dante, a great warrior… and then.”

Slurp.

Could the sound of swallowing saliva sound so creepy?

It was as if I was hallucinating that his massive mouth and teeth were biting into my nape.

“The Saintess of Starlight and a deformed great demon. Oh, so delicious. It would taste so good.”

“……”

Magan’s upper body began to lean forward, as if he couldn’t hold back his pooling saliva.

In this tense situation where any relaxation could be dangerous, the driver’s door of the sedan opened.

It was a woman.

With emerald hair, the skinny woman brought a long case that could have contained a precious sword and presented it to Magan.

“Ah, right. I must endure. It’s not ripe yet.”

The gaze directed at me was full of anticipation. Magan swallowed his saliva, unsealed the case, and put his hand inside.

What would come out?

The scene that unfolded was so shocking that such a concern seemed ridiculous.

It was an “arm.”

Thin and snow-white.

A very beautiful left arm.

Magan began to lick it here and there like a child with candy in his mouth.

As if it was incredibly delicious.

As if it was irresistibly tempting.

And simultaneously…

My chest began to ache.

A kind of scream erupting from within violently enveloped my entire body.

“Ah.”

Now, I realized.

Who that hand belonged to.

Eyes gouged out.

Legs rotted and collapsed.

Left hand cut off.

“Stella.”

At the name I unconsciously uttered, Magan’s mouth corners stretched into a long tear.

“The woman chosen by God had quite special hands.”

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even sigh.

My emotions, which had been growing cold in the midst of incomprehensible fear, suddenly heated up.

“I see.”

The Lemegeton and Horua in both my hands simultaneously surged. Unconsciously, my entire body tensed, and all my mana poured out as if being vomited.

Responding to me, the nearby spirits also spewed hatred and once again created a whirlwind.

“I’ll tear you to pieces.”

The negotiation had broken down.