Chapter 62
Chapter 62
Chapter 62
Return
Authority to command legions?
The legions of the demon realm have various demonic creatures under their command, so each legion basically has a minimum of 30,000 or more troops.
With fourteen legions, that number would be in the hundreds of thousands.
Moreover, since the original master Leviathan had formally passed down the Seat of Envy, no matter how human Rudian was, they would show absolute loyalty.
To define in one word the authority that Leviathan had handed over...
'It's just dumping work on me!'
Rudian was furious.
The legions that were under the Seven Seats?
And if it was the force that Leviathan had hidden until the very end, it would certainly be tremendous elite troops.
However, to use that force in the middle realm would require opening something at least on the level of the Demon Gate that occurred in the original work, and such a thing naturally couldn't and shouldn't happen.
Even if they fought in the demon realm, it would be problematic, since fourteen legions were an ambiguous force that would be quickly swept away if just a few high-ranking Demon Kings united.
-Hmm, Leviathan's legions may not be as good as this body's subordinates, but they're quite valiant fellows.
"Ah, no, wait...!"
-You've obtained quite a useful card, youngling. What's gotten into that snake to bestow such proper favor?
Diablo was spouting such words without knowing Rudian's inner thoughts.
Leviathan seemed satisfied with Diablo's reaction and looked up at the sky, letting out a sigh close to lamentation.
-Hoot, then this body shall take its leave.
"W-wait a moment!"
-It's been a long time since I've slept since being born from the primordial sea...
"Hey! Wait, you bastard!"
Even as Rudian cursed and tried to hold him back, Leviathan rather turned away from Rudian's appearance and began to disappear beyond the sky like an ascending dragon.
'That bastard, this really is just dumping work!'
Looking at how he slyly averted his gaze, it's undeniably certain!
And not even the demon realm but another dimension!
At least tell me where you hid them before you go, you bastard!
-Ah, my lord...
As Leviathan disappeared, his retainers and subordinate demons who had been revived by his authority also began to disappear while praising Leviathan.
At the sight of them ascending without any regrets whatsoever, Rudian felt fury rising from within.
"This damn..."
-Why are you so upset? Leviathan entrusting his legions to you means he trusts you that much. With his authority and seal prepared, if you make just a little effort, you could aim for the position of a true Demon King, couldn't you?
"That's the problem."
Leviathan's successor.
If the other Demon Kings learned of this fact, they would immediately unite and try to kill him.
'To them, the Seven Seats have that kind of meaning. The bluff about Adora won't work either.'
This is why he deliberately proceeded with the story while hiding Diablo.
If Asmodeus had known about Diablo, regardless of the middle realm invasion or anything else, she would have gathered all her forces to kill Rudian.
'Damn, to be stuck with such a time bomb at the end.'
He had essentially achieved everything he had aimed for, but leaving such an unpleasant aftertaste was a blunder among blunders.
Rudian shook his head while collecting himself.
Since he had already received it, now he had to use it as a weapon rather than a weakness.
As long as he didn't get caught by them, he could use it as a decent force later, so Rudian tried to comfort himself.
'It's gradually collapsing.'
CRACK! CRACKLE!
As Leviathan disappeared, the Tower of Trials that had lost its master began to crumble like a sandcastle.
Rudian quickly swallowed the orb-shaped fragment he had received from Leviathan.
GULP!
The orb, perhaps because of its size, went down his esophagus with an uncomfortable feeling and entered his stomach with difficulty.
Then it changed into small particles like sugar and began to take root in Rudian's body.
Diablo watched Rudian's actions with considerable interest.
-Hmm? Do you intend to make Leviathan's fragment into a magic core?
"Not a magic core, just a core. The power I've built up isn't just magic."
-An interesting idea. With Leviathan's fragment, you'll be able to harmoniously mix the various powers within you. As a bonus, it'll increase your physical limits. Kek, you're gradually departing from being human.
Most warriors or magicians transcend their physical bodies by understanding principles in their own paths, but Rudian had no intention of walking such an arduous path.
Since such a sufficiently fast shortcut existed.
"It'll take some time for the new core to settle in place, but this much is enough."
Now Rudian's heart would gradually change from a human heart to a spiritual body.
The more this happened, the more Rudian would gradually be reborn as a transcendent being rather than human, but that itself was exactly the goal Rudian desired.
RUMBLE!
As even the ground to stand on disappeared, Rudian quickly opened space and escaped.
With Leviathan's disappearance, unlike Rigos, Rudian could open an escape route very easily.
And Yev, who had been locking the door from outside, would also notice Rudian's presence and release the seal.
...Yev?
"Ah...!"
Only then did Rudian realize what he had been missing.
And as soon as he faced the sight of the ruined temple that seemed like he was seeing after a very long time.
"......"
Rudian was able to face Yev, who was glaring at him with very sharp eyes.
"......"
Around Yev, the demons and retainers who had been under Rigos were scattered as miserable corpses.
Yev's appearance with her eyes glowing blue in the midst of such corpses was living terror itself.
'I'm dead.'
Rudian closed his eyes softly, foreseeing the tragedy that was about to unfold.
***
The anger of Yev, who had been stood up, outside for a full 11 days, was not at a level that would easily subside.
Rudian put forth the greatest effort of his life to calm Yev's anger.
"A full course of desserts. Ones you've never tried before."
"Of, of course! You can look forward to it!"
One of the things that worked best was the promise to offer desserts that Yev had never tried before.
And ones that were much more delicious than anything she had eaten so far.
Of course, Kim Seong-jun, who was Rudian's true self, had earned a confectionery technician license in reality as a hobby and had delved into it quite seriously.
But even so, it was unknown how much his skills would differ from the professionals who had opened shops in the imperial capital.
'Having come to this, I have no choice but to trust Adi's database...'
It felt like Adi was gradually becoming Adiemon.
Only after somehow calming Yev down could Rudian set out on his return journey.
Rudian thought while feeling the gradually and subtly changing flow of the atmosphere.
'Come to think of it, the northern climate will change now too.'
Leviathan's authority, even with just its remnants, had fixed this northern climate to severe cold for a full ten thousand years.
But now that Leviathan had completely vanished, that cold climate would gradually change as well.
Of course, due to the northern characteristics, it would still be cold, and it would take at least a hundred years for it to completely return to normal...
It wouldn't drop to dozens of degrees below zero throughout the four seasons anymore.
Probably by next year or the year after, changes clear enough to feel with the skin would occur, and by then, the relationship with the Ergon Kingdom, which faced the northern border, would also change.
Well, as a result, it had become unavoidable that the lifestyle of people in this region would change, but if negative effects appeared, Rudian planned to somehow solve it even by drawing on the power of Delphione and Bellatrix.
The northern changes coming to the surface would be at least a few years later.
Having gained one homework assignment, Rudian pondered solutions to that problem while urging his return for now.
***
Due to unexpectedly dragging out time inside the Tower of Trials, they arrived at the capital a week later than the expected month.
'What's this?'
But for some reason, the atmosphere of the usually lively capital was considerably depressed.
'The atmosphere is bad enough to notice at a glance.'
There are few cases when a huge city like Nevan shows such an appearance.
Either a war had broken out, or problems had arisen in the city itself...
Or problems had arisen in the imperial palace.
"You've returned, Lord Rudian."
"Princess Luciella."
Rudian headed to the academy first to find out the situation.
When Rudian entered Maha Empire Academy, he could see Luciella busily running around here and there giving various instructions.
From her appearance, Rudian had a hunch that some accident had occurred within the capital.
"What happened?"
"Certainly... A rather troublesome matter has occurred."
"What is that..."
"Please come with me first."
Without any explanation of the situation, Luciella dragged Rudian along and put him in her carriage.
"P-Princess?"
Thus Rudian was dragged by her hand all the way to the Delphione main house.
Even during the carriage ride, she kept her mouth shut after saying it would be better to go and talk about it clearly rather than talking now.
At the Delphione main house they arrived at, for some reason, not only Duke Vincent Delphione but also Duke Sonya Bluephil Bellatrix and the great nobles of count and Viscount rank who had formed factions with them were all gathered together.
'What's this?'
"Ah, you came. You said a month would be enough, but you're late."
Sonya waved her hand brazenly, welcoming Rudian.
It would have been quite nice if there hadn't been a wine glass and cigarette between those waving fingers.
"What's the matter? It's not because of me that you've gathered."
Obviously, Rudian didn't yet have enough political influence to make such great nobles participate in meetings.
Probably these people had been having such gatherings frequently recently, and it just happened that the timing coincided when he arrived.
"Viscount Rudian Belstad, it's true that we were waiting for your return."
Count Soronen, an ally of House Delphione, spoke quietly.
"It seems it would be good to hear the viscount's opinion about this matter as well."
"This matter...?"
It seemed that while he was briefly away, a super-sized bomb had dropped on the capital.
When Rudian quietly sat in an empty seat, Duke Vincent spoke as a representative.
"You must have guessed from the atmosphere, but a big incident has occurred in the capital."
"I'm curious what kind of incident it is that has brought all of you together for a meeting."
It was Sonya, who had been sipping alcohol alone at this gathering, who answered Rudian's question.
Sonya ground her teeth and spoke.
"The 3rd Prince... That damn bastard caused an accident."
"...What?"
"A big one at that."
The 3rd Prince caused an accident?
Now that he's completely fallen politically, he shouldn't be able to cause accidents even if he wanted to, right?
Did he commit something like regicide?
"The 3rd Prince has brought in mysterious forces and is ruthlessly purging opposing factions."
Ah, that story?
Only then did Rudian understand the situation.
"Are the damages severe?"
At Rudian's question, Duke Vincent shook his head.
"No, for some reason we haven't been hit. Only the 4th Prince and 1st Princess factions, who were openly hostile to the 3rd Prince, have suffered fatal blows."
"......"
"His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the 1st Prince are remaining silent about this situation, and the two factions have requested our help."
Following Vincent, Sonya continued.
"According to what you said, it means the 3rd Prince wasn't bringing in mysterious forces but was in cahoots with them from the beginning, right?"
"Yes, that would be correct."
The fact that Delphione and Bellatrix were still safe meant that Asmodeus hadn't crossed the line yet.
'But why did she instigate the 3rd Prince to make such a big deal?'
From what he heard, it seemed like they were going beyond simple hostility to unilaterally crush opposing factions while expanding their power.
Sonya held her forehead and sighed.
"Are demons really behind the 3rd Prince?"
"D-demons!"
"If not, there's no other force that could support the 3rd Prince from behind right now. At most it would be the Kingdom of Rohans, but according to the viscount's words, it seems they're behind the Kingdom of Rohans too."
Despite the keyword of demons being mentioned openly, surprisingly the reactions of the other nobles weren't very dramatic.
It seemed that Sonya and Vincent, highly valuing the reliability of the information Rudian had provided, had already spilled everything to their subordinate nobles.
Duke Vincent muttered seriously while clasping his hands.
"The atmosphere in the capital is already ominous. Citizens are trembling in anxiety as several notable nobles have been murdered."
Duke Vincent said this while casting a glance mixed with subtle expectation.
There was no way Rudian wouldn't understand that meaning.
"I'll look into it once. Why the 3rd Prince and Sitri Belstad are running wild."
"Oh, would you do that?"
Immediately the other nobles brightened up with shining eyes.
"Yes, it won't take very long."
Whatever the reason, he didn't want the surroundings to be noisy.
Just thinking about the tribute to offer to Yev was enough to make his head feel like bursting, and they dare cause such trouble?
Sitri... No, Asmodeus, you're dead.