318. Choice (2)
318. Choice (2)
- 1 -
Wepar floated silently inside the tank, where blue light flickered.
The bed was shaped like a giant clam, and her sleeping form with closed eyes within it carried an air of mystery.
If her body hadn't been mangled, it would have looked like a scene from a fairy tale.
'It must be because of Dantalion's power.'
Even though she had absorbed the otherworldly power dwelling in those wounds, Wepar's body remained in ruins.
"How are you feeling, Wepar?"
When my voice traveled across the water's surface, her eyelashes trembled faintly.
I already knew her consciousness had returned.
— ... Libertas...
A faintly echoing voice.
When I placed my hand on the crystal-like tank wall, a hazy voice transmitted through it like a wave.
"You've gone back to that form of address."
When I spoke with a hint of amusement, she roused herself and looked at me.
Before she could fully rise from her spot, I gestured for her to stay seated.
"Don't move. Your body needs time to recover completely."
Wepar's eyes wavered.
Her gaze held complex emotions.
Fear and relief, loyalty and guilt — it was an utterly pitiful look.
"Today, I'm scheduled to meet your former master."
Wepar's eyes grew round, then slowly closed.
Her lips twitched. As if she had something to say.
"If there's something you wish to say, I'll convey it. Tell me."
A brief silence passed through the room.
Wepar's eyes shifted here and there, and finally her voice echoed faintly from within the water.
— ... There is nothing, my lord.
Contrary to her words, her eyes looked as though she had a great deal to say.
There was no way the more than one hundred years she had spent with Dantalion could be easily erased.
"Remember that you can speak with me at any time through the rosemary planted in your body. Whenever you wish, at any time."
The rosemary planted in Wepar's body was meant to strengthen her power and the bond of fate connecting her to me.
Her body and mana, long exposed to Dantalion's otherworldly power, had become twisted.
'Purifying' that would require considerable time.
— ... I pray for your success.
Wepar's eyes closed, and her breathing grew quiet.
I turned at the sound of footsteps from behind.
"Master. A herald sent by Her Highness Bellastella has arrived."
Saya spoke, bowing deeply.
She had returned to the dungeon with her subordinates the moment additional enemy forces — the true Soha and adventurers — were detected heading toward the dungeon.
That was how she had been able to appear before Shue and Yuran, who had been struggling against Botis's attack.
"How is your body?"
When I asked, she lowered her head once more with a joyful smile.
"Thanks to your concern, it has improved. Shue and Ran are the real problem, not I."
"That's a relief. So, a message from my sister?"
"Her Highness the First Demon Queen asked me to inform you that she has prepared a meeting within the palace. You must arrive within two hours from now."
"Understood."
I looked at Wepar one last time.
Her sleeping form appeared far more at ease than before.
The fact that she was in my hands would be a great shock to Dantalion, and surely not something he could officially acknowledge.
Which would make it another bargaining chip.
"Let us prepare."
I spoke as I turned, and my handmaidens followed behind me.
The sound of the door closing rang out behind me.
- 2 -
My sister's garden, which I saw for the first time in two weeks, was even more beautiful than before.
Irises at the center, lilies and carnations surrounding them.
Countless flowers in a variety of colors caught the eye at the edges, but when one drew near, the three flowers seized the gaze, charged with the mana that demons could not help but feel acutely.
That was what Stella's mana was like.
"There is no garden more befitting the phrase 'the flowers have run riot' than this one."
At Libertas's words, Stella smiled with her eyes.
"Even though it's the same phrase, it pleases me that you say so."
Bellastella, just as she had done during her time as Second Demon Queen, still tended this garden herself.
The position had changed, but the person had not.
Realizing that, Libertas felt her affection for her deepen.
"Talk of you has been spreading quite a lot among the demon realm nobility."
Stella murmured as the two began to walk through the garden.
Libertas watched her profile.
Even among the flowers, Stella shone with an even more beautiful light.
The horns that had grown atop her head gleamed with a light more beautiful than even Tia's, and the white skin revealed beneath them was as lovely as polished jade.
The violet eyes that brimmed with the light of various emotions when looking at her, and the hair that slightly revealed her forehead, were also exceedingly lovely.
'... Perhaps I'm just completely smitten.'
Libertas coolly assessed herself and inwardly shook her head.
No matter how much she tried to be objective, her feelings for Stella only deepened with time.
"A dungeon lord who was born less than a year ago has achieved victory against a demon realm archduke on the level of Dantalion."
Stella's violet eyes flickered with complex emotions.
"Right now, the entire demon realm is buzzing with talk of you. You are a scandal incarnate."
"I am aware."
Libertas answered calmly.
The defeat of Botis.
But everyone in the demon realm knew that Dantalion lay behind it.
'Dantalion for over two hundred years. Botis for over one hundred fifty.'
No matter how indifferent demons often were to surface affairs, Botis and Dantalion had lived too long.
Worry flickered in Stella's eyes.
"Yes. That would be so. But do not forget that you are about to rise to a high position today. That status comes with responsibility. ...I hope you will not act too hastily."
Libertas raised the corners of her mouth and smiled.
Hasty action and her — what an ill-fitting combination of words.
Stella liked her enormously, but that did not mean she knew her well.
Since they had known each other for less than a year, it could not be helped.
"I understand your concern, sister, but this meeting is a necessary process."
Stella let out a sigh.
The position of First Demon Queen, for all its importance, was one with little guaranteed power.
Yet it was unusual for her, who now occupied an unrivaled position in the demon realm, to take on the role of mediator.
That alone meant countless eyes would be upon her.
Stella, who had taken her seat today as the official mediator, would serve as a safety measure capable of suppressing any sudden actions by the opposing party.
Even so, the worry did not leave her face.
"Dantalion has lost two marquises. One suffered a downfall near death, and one was even taken from him by you. I cannot be certain that he is of sound mind."
"It will be fine."
When Libertas answered in a confident voice, Stella furrowed her brow.
"Dantalion possesses a very strong pride. Do you have a reason for your certainty?"
"Those who lose their convictions and become rulers cling all the more fiercely to that power."
"... Convictions?"
Stella asked back, as if she did not understand.
"Yes. Convictions."
What Libertas recalled as she answered was the 'young' Dantalion she had seen in the game.
[Right now, there are too many hidden truths in this world. And there are many who die, or suffer fates worse than death, simply because they 'do not know.']
His eyes had been clear then, and he had possessed a mindset as admirable as those eyes.
Where he had gone wrong was in his 'choice.'
[I will uncover every secret of this world. Especially the outer planes. For his sake as well, I cannot lose here.]
"How do you...?"
Stella's expression shifted subtly.
It was strange for Libertas to know so much about Dantalion.
As far as she knew, Libertas had appeared in this world as a dungeon lord only about a year and a half ago.
But she soon shook her head and spoke.
"No, I suppose you could know. It's not a story that cannot be found if one seeks it."
"In any case, he lost his original purpose and changed. Such people inevitably cling powerfully to what they now possess. The wise Dantalion will know that he can no longer step into the forefront himself. And besides..."
"Besides?"
Libertas smiled faintly.
"You are here, sister."
Surprise flickered through Stella's eyes, then soon turned to warmth.
"You really are something."
She placed her hand on Libertas's head, lightly pressed her lips to her forehead, and whispered.
"Yes. I will help you with all my strength. No matter what happens."
"Thank you."
Libertas embraced her waist and buried her face in her chest.
Stella's slender fingers slowly combed through Libertas's long hair.
A moment later, a bell rang out in the distance. The time for the meeting was approaching.
"It is time to go. Are you fully prepared?"
"Yes."
Libertas nodded.
With eyes full of certainty.
- 3 -
The conference chamber where we took our seats was deep within Stella's palace, in an absolute neutral zone impervious to any magical interference.
Magically created light descended upon the round table, and the constellations of the demon realm were drawn upon the ceiling.
There were no other beings present.
Every word and action exchanged here would become an absolute secret that only I, Dantalion, and Stella could remember.
"'Secret,' huh..."
A chuckle escaped me at the irony of this confrontation, destined to begin with secrets and end with secrets.
At that moment, a sound came from across the table.
When I lifted my gaze at the sound of a heavy chair being pulled back, eyes sharper than ever were fixed on me.
"We meet again. Dantalion."
With the corners of my mouth raised, I addressed him.
"You look far worse."
The eyes visible beyond the mask narrowed for an instant.
Cold eyes, carrying a heterogeneous light of indefinable color, turned toward me chillingly.
The fury and killing intent rising from that gaze seemed to engulf the entire conference chamber.
I nonchalantly lifted the hem of my dress slightly and made my way to my seat.
Noble and serene, as always. But with a blade honed in my heart.
"Are you mocking me?"
"I merely stated a fact."
Amid the icy silence, Stella, the First Demon Queen, opened the door of the conference room and entered.
"From this moment, the meeting shall begin."
She announced the start of the meeting as the mediator, taking the final seat.
"This session pertains to the dispute between Dantalion, Archduke of the Eastern Continent's Demon Realm, and the newly risen dungeon lord Libertas. As First Demon Queen, I have assumed the role of mediator in this session by legitimate right."
Dantalion's sharp gaze turned toward her, then returned to me.
"Both nobles of the demon realm. Please acknowledge that all that occurs in this session is bound to the honor of the mediator, and swear that you shall not harm the honor of the Supreme Being."
"I swear."
"I swear."
The 'Supreme Being' here referred to the Demon King.
This place was Pandemonium, the capital of the Demon King's domain, and its central citadel, Corona Tenebris.
To oppose a mediation conducted here was tantamount to opposing the Demon King.
Attempting mediation here in the first place required great power and extensive, deep connections.
Therefore, Dantalion could now be certain of one thing.
That one of the rumors circulating in the demon realm — that the First Demon Queen was aiding Libertas — was true.
"I, Bellastella Lillis, also swear upon my honor and that of the Supreme One that I shall apply impartial standards to all that occurs in this session."
After my sister's oath ended, silence returned to the room.
But that was brief.
"... What do you want?"
Dantalion spoke first.
It was effectively a declaration of defeat.