Ch.166Echo – 6

“What… did you just say?”

The emperor, so shocked that he even abandoned his archaic speech pattern, asked with a trembling voice. Nika snorted and replied.

“If you want, I’ll say it as many times as needed. The Demon Lord Elysier is dead. I can declare this with everything I and my clan have at stake.”

“H-how…?”

“What do you mean, how? Did you all not witness it? The light and darkness that split the empire’s sky.”

The light and darkness that split the sky—that was when I dueled with Durahang. It seems they’ve decided to push the narrative that it was actually a battle with the Demon Lord.

Well, the situation certainly fit that description.

“After the Demon Lord’s death, great chaos descended upon the demon realm. Every demon is running wild, claiming they will fill that void. Even the demon sword has shattered, leaving no means to prove legitimacy. At this rate, there is no hope for demonkind. That’s why we’ve come to negotiate with humans, at least for our clan. If you choose to refuse, you should be prepared for the consequences.”

Nika fell silent as if she had finished what she wanted to say, but no one gathered here could easily speak up. The news that Demon Lord Elysier had died was that shocking.

Who was Elysier?

A being who left such trauma in the Sword Saint that he couldn’t properly hold a sword, who dragged out wars with humans for hundreds of years under the pretext of weeding out the weak, yet still received absolute support.

The fact that humans could fight evenly against demons or even push them back slightly, despite facing certain annihilation if demons used their full power, was simply because the Demon Lord never fought with full strength.

It was impossible for anyone to easily accept the death of such a powerful and mighty being.

“…”

In reality, he wasn’t dead but very much alive. The corner of Elysier’s mouth twitched with disbelief. He seemed to be forcibly holding back an overflow of words.

“No… no. That’s impossible…”

The Sword Saint’s voice echoed through the quiet central hall.

His condition was visibly serious. With his one remaining sky-blue eye wide open, he trembled violently like an aspen tree, continuously muttering something.

The Chairman and Leona beside him were no different. Especially Leona, who obviously knew the light hadn’t come from the holy sword, wore a face filled with serious doubt.

“…It can’t be.”

“—!!!!!”

The atmosphere changed drastically. A terrible killing intent filled the entire central hall. People who had been shocked began to convulse in a different way. Some were already wetting themselves or collapsing with foam at their mouths.

The source of the killing intent was the Sword Saint.

Continuously muttering that it couldn’t be true, the Sword Saint drew his sword with a half-crazed look in his eye and glared at Nika. It was probably the first time in decades since his encounter with Elysier that he had drawn his real sword.

“It’s a lie. It’s a lie… That Demon Lord couldn’t die so easily… It’s absolutely impossible… If the Demon Lord could die… then what does that make me… who was defeated by him…?”

The Sword Saint, who had been muttering like a madman, suddenly fell silent as if muted. Then, after chuckling with a “kkeuk kkeuk” sound, he opened his eyes wide. A smile that seemed about to tear his face appeared.

“You’re lying, Succubus Queen.”

“…”

Nika didn’t answer. She just maintained her silence, standing in the same position as when she finished speaking.

“You’re lying.”

The Sword Saint’s body lunged forward. I checked on Nika, wondering if she would dodge. Nika still hadn’t moved at all. As if frozen in place, she didn’t even twitch a finger.

She won’t be able to dodge like that. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, my body reacted first. I used body enhancement and acceleration to their limits, summoned Eternity by slashing the air, and kicked off the ground simultaneously.

Even in a world slowed to the extreme, the Sword Saint was moving at a terrifying speed. Fortunately, there was some distance between the throne and the center of the hall. Otherwise, even I would have been short on time.

I barely managed to block in front of Nika before the Sword Saint. The Sword Saint’s single eye had completely lost its sanity. I brought Eternity to meet the trajectory of his blade.

—KWAAAAAANG!

An explosion of sound that was hard to believe came from two swords colliding, enveloping the central hall.

“How is his condition?”

—He’s still suffering from madness. He seemed to calm down a bit, but now he’s sitting on the bed with a creepy sneer. Since the person who should be explaining is in that state, we haven’t even heard the cause yet. There’s still a mountain of work to handle, so I’ll contact you later.

Laura sighed tiredly and turned off the crystal ball. The light flickered and faded.

After I barely managed to convince the Sword Saint that he shouldn’t kill the Succubus Queen right now, the meeting ended abruptly. Almost everyone who had been touched by the killing intent had fainted disgracefully.

Even the emperor was no exception, and in the end, Rosaria, who had barely managed to stay conscious, had to forcibly draw out holy power to calm the surroundings.

‘I expected the shock to be big, but…’

I didn’t expect that kind of reaction. Not knowing the cause, reason, or solution, I didn’t even know where to begin.

I think the Sword Saint was muttering something before lunging at Nika, but the distance was considerable, and he was muttering too quietly and quickly for me to understand anything.

“Um… Master. I think I’m okay now.”

Nika tugged at my sleeve from beside me. I turned my head. There was Nika, dressed not in the baggy clothes that covered her entire body as she had appeared in the central hall, but in what seemed like her usual attire.

“Have you calmed down?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, Master. Thank you so much…”

I wondered why she didn’t do anything when the Sword Saint charged at her, but it turns out she couldn’t. She fainted standing up as soon as she received the Sword Saint’s killing intent. I thought she was trying to look imposing, but Nika was still just Nika.

I carried the unconscious Nika to Laura’s room, and after she woke up still trembling, I shared my energy with her until she was completely filled and overflowing, then stayed with her for a long time.

The fact that she couldn’t resist her instincts, went into heat, pounced on me, and got hit once was just a bonus. According to her, her survival instinct combined with her succubus nature amplified her excitement several times over.

“Why did you suddenly pull this stunt?”

“Eventually, the Demon Lord’s disappearance would have been discovered anyway. So I took the initiative. If humans and we had to fight each other later, your position would become difficult, Master. Besides, there was convincing evidence that the Demon Lord had died.”

As she said, if Nika had to fight humans, it would have been awkward for me. It would be strange to ask her to avoid fighting only the succubi.

“I understand your reasoning, but couldn’t you have discussed it with me first?”

“But…”

Nika hesitated for a while, and after a long time, she finally spoke haltingly.

“I, I wanted to show you my impressive side, Master. I thought if I showed you a side of me worthy of being a Queen, you might see me differently… heh, hehehe…”

Nika ended with an embarrassed laugh and began to gauge my reaction again.

So, she secretly went ahead with this to create a new impression on me by showing her Succubus Queen side.

“…ugh, uuuugh…”

Nika’s already hesitant demeanor shrank even further under my incredulous gaze.

“I fully understand your reasons, and the process makes sense too. As you said, it would have been discovered eventually. But first—”

—Knock knock.

“Mira, are you in there? I asked the Royal Guard, and they said you were here.”

Leona’s voice came with a knock. Nika hurriedly transformed into the maid Yustera. But when I covered the surroundings with distortion magic, she sheepishly stood against the wall, as if she hadn’t thought of that method.

I opened the door. Leona, who had been standing with a somewhat gloomy expression, gave me an awkward smile. Aria was also with her, wearing a similarly somber smile.

“Hello, Miss Mira. It’s been a while.”

“Hi, Mira. I didn’t expect to see you again like this. May we come in?”

“It’s not my room, but I don’t think it matters. Come in.”

Leona and Aria stepped in hesitantly, perhaps because it was the Crown Prince’s room. Then they looked around.

“Were you alone? I’m sure the Crown Prince is busy, but what about Senior Priscilla, the Saint, and Ciel?”

Priscilla was briefly called to the Duke’s mansion, and Rosaria is currently providing mental and physical stability to the nobles who fainted under the Sword Saint’s killing intent.

Elysier saw the trembling Nika and decided it would be better for her to have some time alone with me to calm down, so he temporarily left.

“They all had things to do. What about you, Leona?”

“…Well, I have something to tell you. It’s not something to discuss standing up…”

Leona glanced at the sofa.

Understanding her meaning, I guided them there. Aria and Leona sat on the same sofa, and I sat across from them. A very disappointed look briefly crossed both their faces.

Nika was staring intently at the two of them.

“What’s so important that you’re being this formal?”

“Well… you see. I’m not sure how you’ll feel about this…”

After hesitating for a long time, Leona carefully gauged my reaction.

“…I’m not sure how you’ll feel, but the Goddess keeps whining about wanting to talk to you. So I came to see you, and then suddenly got dragged to the imperial palace.”

“The Goddess? With me?”

I frowned reflexively. After constantly avoiding me all this time, I wondered what was so urgent that she was now whining to talk. If she wanted to talk, she should have appeared earlier.

“Yeah. She sounded really desperate. What do you want to do? If you say no, I’ll refuse on your behalf.”

But I couldn’t refuse either.

Though I frowned, I also had my own reasons. If our relationship ended like this, I would have to live with my curiosity unresolved.

“…Let me see it.”

“Here.”

I took the holy sword. As a faint golden light leaked from the blade, a voice I hadn’t heard for quite some time flowed into my mind.

—Hello, you…

It was the softer voice, not the stiff one I had heard just before our communication was cut off.

“I haven’t been well. I have mountains of things to say, but someone has been deliberately avoiding me.”

—I’m… sorry about that. But… have you perhaps met with the Evil God?

“Is that why you wanted to see me?”

Judging by how she jumped straight to business after a single apology, she must have been quite desperate.

As I responded with a slightly raised voice, Leona and Aria’s expressions also turned unpleasant, probably guessing that some unpleasant conversation was taking place.

—I’m… sorry.

“You don’t need to apologize. It’s obvious that later you’ll appear whenever you feel like it, apologize as you please, and say whatever you want first. And if you’re trying to misunderstand, let me clarify that he came to me, not the other way around, so I preemptively reject any unnecessary misunderstanding.”

—Yes… I know… I won’t deny the rudeness I’ve committed against you…

A more melancholic voice flowed in. She seemed to have more to say, so I waited silently.

—So, if I allow you to come up to the celestial realm to meet me directly for a conversation… would that help ease your mind even a little…?