Ch.298Searching for New Blood

“Welcome, strangers from the outside.”

The voice, presumed to belong to the Omnipotent Demon Lord, seemed to come from all directions, as if riding the wind and circling around us.

It was deep and dignified like that of a tenor singer, yet there was something in it that made my skin crawl just from listening.

I deliberately ignored the cold sweat running down my spine as I responded to the Demon Lord’s greeting.

“Welcome? Us?”

“Of course. I have been desperately waiting for ones like you to arrive for hundreds of years.”

“That doesn’t sound like you mean as prey to kill and steal abilities from… Is there any reason to welcome harbingers of doom who bring destruction?”

When I spoke with a hint of protest about the treatment we received from the Third Eye tribe, the Omnipotent Demon Lord paused briefly before continuing.

“That must have been Kin=Ra=Dol. An individual with excellent prophetic abilities, but somewhat lacking in judgment when it comes to subsequent responses.”

“So the prophecy itself was accurate? Even though we have no intention of harming the Third Eye tribe?”

At Jessica’s point, Seti, Mina, and Phyllis all nodded in unison.

We came here only to learn the secrets of the Third Eye tribe, not to fight or spread the secrets of this hideout to others.

But the Omnipotent Demon Lord’s view seemed somewhat different from ours.

“Kin=Ra=Dol’s prophecies never miss. Because…”

“Because?”

“Because Type 4’s role ended the moment you arrived on this island. The original plan was to transform Svart’s body with a curse and bring him to this island, but if someone who can break Armedia’s taboo has come, we can advance the plan several stages without issue.”

Type 4’s role has ended.

We couldn’t fail to understand the meaning of those words.

The Third Eye tribe living on this island would face extinction at the hands of their creator, the Omnipotent Demon Lord, just as their ancestors did.

Without leaving a single one alive, to avoid repeating the mistake made with Type 2.

“I don’t know what plan you’re hatching, but is there really a need to kill all your followers who are living well?”

“Let me ask the opposite. What need is there to keep them?”

“What…!”

“The food and forest resources of this island may seem infinite at first glance, but there is a limit to the amount that can be harvested over a certain period. Keeping outdated models after they’ve served their purpose wastes resources and reduces the operational efficiency of the new models by that much.”

“Grrr… What do you think human life is?!”

Phyllis bristled and protested at the attitude that seemed to treat the Third Eye tribe as disposable, but the Omnipotent Demon Lord continued speaking in a calm voice, as if unable to understand her attitude.

“Why are you angry? Woman of Ryos.”

“After the passage connecting this island to the outside was discovered, I have acquired various information through individuals who travel through it. I know that the current Third Eye… Type 4 has not established friendly relations with either the new human race called pioneers or the descendants of various races that have continued since ancient times.”

“It’s more like we didn’t even know of their existence until recently.”

“Indeed. Moreover, you were adversaries of Ul=Ga=Han and Se=Tan=Hum. Based on universal morality, there is no reason to defend Type 4.”

“That’s… true, but still!”

Phyllis couldn’t find words to refute the Demon Lord’s seemingly reasonable argument, but I understood why she condemned the Omnipotent Demon Lord.

Even though our relationship with the Third Eye tribe wasn’t particularly friendly, anyone with normal sensibilities would feel revulsion hearing someone say, “I’m the creator, and I’m going to exterminate the creatures I made because they’re no longer useful.”

However, since persisting on this point seemed unlikely to yield any results, I decided to change the subject for now.

“OK, let’s put aside the Third Eye tribe… or as you call them, Type 4 for now. More importantly, isn’t there an issue that needs to be clarified between you and us first?”

“Speak.”

“First, I don’t understand why you’re so confident our visit will benefit you. Don’t you think we might have come to finish you off once and for all, like the trio who exiled you to this island long ago?”

This question wasn’t meant to provoke the Omnipotent Demon Lord but stemmed from genuine curiosity.

The Omnipotent Demon Lord had lost his physical form and been driven to this island by Deidric Asmad, Anastasia, and a girl swordswoman named Armedia in the past, and he harbored such strong resentment that he had engraved it with Arcane Words.

How could he welcome intruders from the outside again in such a situation?

To my question, the Omnipotent Demon Lord answered:

“That possibility doesn’t exist. If you had intended to destroy me, you would have already known about the Third Eye. But from what I heard about your first encounter with Ul=Ga=Han, there was no such indication.”

“That’s a reasonable deduction. But isn’t it too hasty to declare that our visit will benefit you and therefore the current Third Eye tribe is no longer necessary?”

“Not at all. Cooperating in my journey toward omnipotence will bring you enormous benefits, and I, having lost my physical form, have neither a way to return to the outside world nor any intention to reign as a threatening presence there. Unless you let temporary emotions cloud your judgment, you have no valid reason to refuse cooperation.”

Hmm, what confidence.

Of course, I couldn’t trust someone who aimed to achieve omnipotence by killing other creatures and stealing their abilities, but I was curious to hear what grounds he had for making such claims.

“Why don’t you tell us about these enormous benefits you mentioned?”

“Will, there’s no need to listen to such blasphemy. He has neither responsibility nor respect for life. It surely won’t be a proper conversation.”

“Phyllis is right. But that’s precisely why we need to hear him out. To understand what kind of mindset this ancient demon lord has, and to learn how much he understands and knows about us.”

If he were operating under the anachronistic delusion that we should feel infinitely honored to be of service to a great being like a demon lord, we could easily dismiss him.

But if this ancient being, imprisoned here for so long, could offer a proposal aligned with the interests of current pioneers or natives, that would not be something to take lightly.

For that reason alone, it was worth hearing him out, and fortunately, Phyllis conceded to my reasoning.

“…I see. Information gathering is the foundation of an adventurer’s work. Making decisions based on uncertain preconceptions would be unwise.”

“Thanks for understanding. Now then, Mr. Omnipotent, let’s hear your story. What exactly is this plan of yours, and how would cooperating with it bring us great benefits?”

At that, the Omnipotent Demon Lord began speaking as if he had been waiting for this moment.

Perhaps it was my imagination, but his voice seemed to have softened slightly compared to before.

“I was planning to introduce new blood for the first time into a plan that had thus far been carried out solely with the Third Eye.”

“New blood… you mean…”

“You intended to bring in other races?”

“Correct. Type 4 has achieved excellent results and remains stable, but no new abilities are manifesting anymore. Unlike Type 3, which had structural problems, I determined that there is a limit to the variation of abilities that can be created with the Third Eye race alone.”

So he succeeded in acquiring various new abilities by experimenting thoroughly with Type 4, but he’s reaching the limits and wants to try a different breed, huh.

“However, there was no guarantee that other races could be effectively controlled and managed like the Third Eye, and I thought that recklessly abducting other races might lead to the formation of subjugation parties and the destruction of the dungeon currently serving as an entrance. Therefore, it was necessary to select targets whose abduction would not cause problems.”

“Are you stupid? A kidnapping incident by the demon race? What race would sit still if something like that happened?”

In response to Mina’s objection that this made no sense, the Omnipotent Demon Lord replied:

“There is one. Those who are pioneers by birth but are outcasts from their society… those called outlaws or desperados.”

“Huh…?”

And the moment I heard those words, what came to mind was the activities of the Gentleman who had been spreading drugs to the Blackheart Gang as part of some conspiracy.

“Don’t tell me Gentleman… what Ul=Ga=Han was doing was…?”

“Correct. Ul=Ga=Han’s first mission was to transform the bodies of outlaws with the curse drug, to verify whether they could be brought to this island as experimental subjects to replace the Third Eye.”

It was the moment when the full picture of the drug case, which had been shrouded in mystery, was revealed.