Ch.177Total War. (1)

With confidence, Olivia immediately called Kiel to inform him of her plan.

“I figured out what Aria is thinking. I need your help to counter it.”

“I’ll cooperate however I can.”

“When the full-scale battle breaks out, I need you to take the vanguard.”

Asking Kiel, who was once a Duke of the Empire, to face imperial soldiers was certainly a harsh request. But Kiel nodded without the slightest hesitation, as if he had already prepared himself for this much.

“I was prepared for that much.”

“I’m not asking you to fight. Your role is to control the ‘Seeds’ so they don’t run wild, and to intimidate the imperial army so they don’t charge in.”

“…You mean not to kill enemies on the battlefield?”

“You can do it, can’t you?”

At those words, Kiel fell into thought for a moment.

Subduing enemies without killing them on the battlefield wasn’t something that could be done simply by being strong.

It wasn’t impossible, but he needed to ask the reason at the very least.

“Is there a reason? If you’re doing this out of consideration for me, I’ll have to decline.”

“If my guess is correct, the Demon Lord will likely descend during the war. If you don’t control your power, there will be at least thousands of corpses, which would only strengthen the Demon Lord. It’s better to keep them alive.”

After thinking for a moment, Kiel asked.

“Even if I subdue them, the soldiers will try to kill each other. What then?”

“You’ll have to prevent the two sides from clashing at all. You know, that thing you’re good at.”

When Olivia made a gesture as if swinging a large sword, Kiel smiled slightly.

“Understood.”

Swoosh.

Olivia unfolded a map. Kiel narrowed his eyes as he checked the deployment of imperial and holy nation forces.

“The deployment is a bit different from what I knew. It seems not fully updated.”

“This is correct. I just confirmed it myself.”

“…If that’s the case. I’d like a copy when this is over. The Saintess should also know this level of information.”

“…Sure.”

She wanted to call Livga to this meeting as well, but the fewer people who knew about the “plan,” the higher the probability of success, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Please also inform your disciples separately. Tell them to use their abilities only to block approaches, except in unavoidable situations.”

“But Livy. If that’s the case, how do you plan to deal with the other Returnees under Aria?”

In fact, that was what Kiel was most concerned about. Subduing thousands of people wasn’t a problem. But if Returnees attacked, that would be a different story.

“I have a plan for that too.”

Olivia fingered a purple crystal ball from her pocket.

It belonged to Aurelia.

“I have a friend who will join us soon. That friend will handle up to two of them.”

“…Then what about the remaining five?”

“I’ll handle Aria myself. This way, both sides will have four each, so the balance of power won’t be disrupted.”

This would allow them to keep Melina and Kiel as reserve forces, making the battle unfold more favorably.

Of course, if they considered details like troop numbers and supplies, it would be an even match.

“I’ll go inform my disciples in advance.”

Melina rose to her feet.

“Already?”

“With only two days left, I need to teach them as much as possible from now on if they’re to survive.”

“Haha…”

Her words had a sharp edge to them.

Melina disappeared outside the tent. Kiel, who had been quietly watching her leave, spoke up.

“May I ask what the ultimate goal of your ‘plan’ is?”

“It’s nothing complicated. To preserve humanity’s fighting strength as much as possible until the Demon God descends. That’s the primary objective.”

“…Didn’t you say Demon Lord just now?”

Olivia nodded.

“After defeating the Demon Lord, the Demon God will descend not long after.”

“…The scale suddenly becomes too large. Did you know things would turn out like this from the beginning?”

“To some extent.”

“But Olivia. For your plan to work, you absolutely need the princess’s cooperation.”

Kiel’s gaze turned cold.

“War is not a game. Ordering mercy in a life-or-death battle is impossible without agreement from the highest authorities.”

“I know that. I also know that the Empire has many capable commanders who will quickly realize we’re showing mercy.”

Olivia gave a dry laugh.

“They might even try to end it in one swift lightning attack.”

“…”

“That’s why your role is all the more important.”

They just needed to hold out until the Demon Lord descended.

Between the defensive Eastern Alliance forces and the demons and monsters tearing apart their comrades, it was clear which the imperial army would prioritize.

The Holy Knights would naturally exterminate the demons first.

“Before we know it, the two forces will naturally be mixed together.”

“…And then?”

“We’ll have to face the Demon God.”

By then, the imperial army would realize it too. What it means to face a god.

How meaningless it is for mortals to continue fighting each other.

Olivia patted Kiel’s shoulder.

“Alright. I’ve told you everything, so you can go now.”

“…”

When Kiel’s gaze didn’t waver, Olivia narrowed her eyes.

“What?”

“Make me one promise.”

“…What promise?”

Kiel sighed and moved closer to Olivia.

“Don’t die.”

“…Why? Do I look like someone who’s going to die?”

Kiel carefully nodded. His face quickly became haggard, as if recalling memories from the past.

In his eyes, he could still vividly see Olivia from that day.

The image of her falling, broken and battered from the Returnees’ attack.

The scene of her powerlessly falling, when she had always worn a confident smile, was still etched in Kiel’s mind.

“You… left us every time you said such things.”

Kiel murmured, pressing his aching chest.

“Unnecessary worry.”

Olivia grinned.

“I’m Olivia. I absolutely won’t die until I kill that Demon God bastard. No, I can’t die even if I wanted to.”

Olivia stood proudly before Kiel, wearing her characteristic smile.

“So stop worrying needlessly and take care of yourself. If you make a mistake, we all go down together.”

Kiel stared at Olivia for a while, then nodded.

“…Alright. I understand.”

Once to the Archdemon Belphegor. And once to the Returnees.

Losing a friend twice was enough.

Kiel stayed by Olivia’s side for a long time, only leaving the tent when night fell.

*****

The deepest part of the imperial palace. The path leading to the Labyrinth of the Sun.

Aria was walking down that corridor.

Perhaps because it had been forgotten for ages, only the sound of dripping water echoed.

Despite the pitch darkness, Aria’s steps were unwavering.

[This doesn’t seem like a place for an evening stroll.]

A voice from behind her.

The owner of the voice did not exist in this corridor.

They merely sent their shadow to convey their consciousness.

[You seem to have recovered from your collapse yesterday. Carthian was worried.]

“…Somewhat.”

Aria nodded and silently continued toward the end of the corridor.

A massive door.

On its handle were three different keyhole shapes.

Keys that could be obtained by clearing the Labyrinths.

Like the Labyrinth of the Moon, keys were needed to open the Labyrinth of the Sun.

But Aria had only one key.

She needed two more to obtain the Empire’s elixirs and treasures.

[…Can you open it?]

Instead of answering, Aria slowly drew up her magical power.

To retrieve the “keys” she had stored in an imaginary dimension, transcending the constraints of space and time.

Crackle…

The keys she pulled out buzzed with intense noise, as if they didn’t belong in this world.

It was natural. These keys were objects brought from other worldlines.

That’s why even maintaining their form was difficult, but…

For a short time, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

[…If you had such an ability, why did you send us to the Labyrinth?]

“Because I needed to find out if Olivia had visited the Labyrinth of the Moon.”

[The Labyrinth of the Moon…?]

“Hehe. Such a thing exists.”

Cutting off the Master of Dark’s question, Aria silently opened the massive door.

The Labyrinth door opened wide, and brilliant golden light poured out.

Aria entered as if familiar with it and took out elixirs matching the number of people.

Each elixir emitted a brilliant light. They were treasures that couldn’t be obtained even for vast fortunes.

Of course, they were meaningless to her current self.

“Go and deliver these to the others. They contain considerable energy, so it will take quite a while to absorb them.”

[And you…?]

“I’m fine.”

A faint smile appeared on Aria’s lips.

“I’ve already completed all my preparations.”