The Seventh Research: A New Fate (1)
Bellkan, having resolved the great drought, gained tremendous political authority. Thanks to that, he ascended as the Rosh'ran, the proxy of the Elemental Lords.
“What kind of position is Rosh'ran?”
“The chosen guide who leads all orcs.”
“How is that different from the Great Chieftain?”
“The chieftains respect the Great Chieftain, but they have no obligation to obey him. All major decisions are made through a council of the tribal leaders.”
In other words, it was like being the group project leader.
“On the other hand, the Rosh'ran does not hold meetings.”
“Oh-ho.”
“He simply listens to advice and takes it into consideration.”
He had been promoted to CEO.
“If we translate Rosh'ran into the common tongue, it would be Shaman King. You can call him that.”
Tens of thousands of orcs gathered on the vast plain beneath the pouring rain all bowed toward the Hill of Spirits at the center of the plains. At the summit of that hill stood a blind orc clutching lightning in his hands.
[You have freed us.]
[From the wicked Queen of the Abyss!]
[Now punish the wicked demons!]
[Our fury shall stand with you!]
A massive vortex had also opened in the sky, through which glimpses of the True Forms of the four Elemental Lords could be seen. The aura they emitted alone was enough to make even the mightiest mortal prostrate in terror.
“Hmm.”
Witnessed the Elemental Lords!
Experience +20
Lore Points +2
70/100 until Level 19
Lore Points: 32
But not to a Lore Master.
To him, it was merely another subject of observation.
[We grant you the Primordial Elements.]
Lightning and flames, frost and landslides poured down from the sky. The four elements enveloped Bellkan, transforming him into an even more powerful shaman.
“I shall punish the Abyss, O Elemental Lords!”
With a thunderous roar, the Elemental Lords returned to their realm and the vortex vanished. The endless rainy season came to an end, and the orcs who had been bowing slowly rose to their feet.
“The Elemental Lords of the Primordial World…”
The crimson-haired noble stroked his smooth chin as he gazed at the closing vortex. The Elemental Lords were beings equal in stature to his father. In terms of raw power, his father would undoubtedly overwhelm them, yet they were both Supreme Sovereigns who ruled over High Planes. Just as his father was the sovereign of the Seven Hells, the Elemental Lords were the sovereigns of the Primordial World.
“How did it feel to meet another Supreme Sovereign?”
Various High Planes surrounded the material world of Sinear. They were the homelands of the benevolent gods and malevolent gods, angels and devils, and elementals.
“It was a refreshing stimulus.”
If one were to compare it to the material world:
The High Planes were nations of immortals.
Acquired Dimensional Studies lore!
Experience +10
Lore Points +1
80/100 until Level 19
Lore Points: 33
“So you’ve met beings as lofty as Father.”
That was why the term Supreme Sovereign referred to the rulers of immortal nations. Just as there were differences in national power among mortal nations, the same was true for immortal ones.
“Yet their strength was disappointingly weak.”
“That makes sense. Elementals are no longer considered important beings in the material world.”
However, even the power of immortals was ultimately influenced by the lives of mortals. The dignity of a High Plane was heavily affected by the state of the material world.
“The era when elementals were at their strongest was the primordial age, when no life existed on the planet.”
But now was an age in which countless lives flourished and civilizations thrived. The central topic driving the current material world was the struggle between good and evil, order and chaos. The Elemental Lords, who only represented the four elements, were like aged sovereigns lying on their sickbeds, reminiscing about their glorious past.
Acquired Immortal lore!
Experience +10
Lore Points +1
90/100 until Level 19
Lore Points: 34
“I understand. However—”
Lucifeles clicked his tongue.
“No matter how much they have declined, they are still the Supreme Sovereigns representing the High Planes. To think they had fallen so far that they were deceived and imprisoned by the Queen of the Abyss…”
It was an unfair assessment. The Queen of the Abyss was the Mother of All Demons, an existence who rivaled the Hell Sovereigns that represented devils. Her schemes were beyond what even mid-tier deities could handle. For the Elemental Lords, who had already become relics of the past, she was an overwhelming opponent.
“Thanks to that, the material world nearly fell into complete chaos.”
When the Elemental Lords were absent from the Primordial World, abnormal weather phenomena occurred, just as they had. And prolonged anomalies would have collapsed civilization, ushering in an age of chaos and blood—the very thing the Queen of the Abyss loved most.
“But you prevented that.”
“It wasn’t me who prevented it.”
He lit his pipe.
His master came to mind.
I wonder if he’s doing well.
“It was Bellkan who did it.”
“…”
Lucifeles turned his head and looked at Bellkan with complicated eyes. The blind orc was delivering a passionate speech to his kin.
“…So he intends to reveal the secret of his race.”
The orc race.
A species created by the elves as slaves.
“He won’t hide their lowly origins.”
“…”
“You brought me here to show me this.”
His senses were sharp.
Was it because he was the youngest son?
“…I revealed the secret of the orcs’ birth during negotiations with Bellkan to gain the upper hand. Yet he remained perfectly sane! Even after learning that his entire race had been created as natural-born slaves.”
The Tyrant of Gehenna gazed at Bellkan with heavy eyes. The arrogance of devils shattered. The baseless contempt toward mortals blurred.
“Now I understand what kind of advice you were going to give me.”
At the same time, he realized.
That human blood was not a curse.
“…My mother was the princess of Erbonia, the legitimate heir of King Karl, and a saint who served the Sun God. At the time, all humans praised my mother’s mercy and devotion.”
However, his maternal grandfather, burning with the desire for conquest, and the court mage committed the sin of arrogance. They summoned the sovereign of the Seven Hells in order to destroy the last elven kingdom, believing they could bind him through legal clauses.
“It was truly foolish.”
The Hell Sovereign who descended upon the earth easily slaughtered the elves. Then he demanded payment for his service. Everyone’s faces turned pale.
“For humans to attempt deception against the King of Devils… they should have challenged an Ancient Dragon instead. At least that had a non-zero chance of success.”
Lucifeles recited in a sorrowful voice.
“It was such a stupid thing to do…”
The people of Erbonia had expected the sovereign of the Seven Hells to demand an unbearable price. The sovereignty of the kingdom, the souls of all its citizens… or something so horrific that human imagination could not even fathom it.
“But Father made a surprisingly modest demand.”
Without stating what the price would be, the Hell Sovereign knelt on his right knee before the holy and beautiful princess. Then, confessing his true love, he offered her a ring of brimstone fire.
Acquired Historical lore!
Experience +10
Lore Points +1
Level Up!
0/100 until Level 20
Lore Points: 35
“…Mother had no choice.”
If she refused the proposal, the Hell Sovereign would carry out the price. No one knew what that price would be. That uncertainty stirred the princess’s heart.
“Other than abandoning her faith.”
A grand wedding was held in the royal capital. At the ceremony attended by Devil Lords and cultists as guests, the princess—who had been destined to become a nun of the Sun God—kissed the Hell Sovereign of her own will. Thus was born a mortal kingdom that had become in-laws with Hell itself.
“That’s why the devils call me the byproduct of spoils of war.”
But.
It was a facade.
The ultimate mockery.
“It’s an undeniable truth.”
The wounded eyes of the cambion burned like molten lava. On the surface, the devils of the Seven Hells treated his mother as the Queen of Hell and himself as the youngest prince with utmost respect. But deep down—
“…How ridiculous must we have looked to them? A piece of loot and the slave born from that loot pretending to be queen and prince.”
Devils.
Loved absurd theater.
“…So you’ve suffered from that truth your entire life.”
But.
Even the orcs had cast off their past.
Then what about himself, who ruled Gehenna?
“Father must have created me to make me everyone’s clown! But I will defeat my great father and inherit his throne—”
He stopped speaking.
It was time to tell the truth.
“No.”
“I will definitely give you ample reward for your assistance! So stop spouting nonsense about destroying the Seven Hells and help me with the usurpation, mortal!”
He shook his head.
“You are neither a clown nor a slave, Lucifeles.”
“…If you can’t explain yourself, I will kill you.”
“Your father marked you as his true successor from the very beginning. Because he could find no expectation that any of the other princes would ever surpass him.”
?
??
“What kind of sophistry is that?”
“I will tell you about your predetermined fate.”
In the original world line.
The Archduke of Gehenna defeats his father.
“…What?”
The cambion’s pupils trembled.
That it was truly possible?
“And then you will meet your mother.”
“…”
“But Mother will condemn you.”
Why?
Mother?
How much have I done for you—!
“The Queen of Hell loves the Sovereign of Hell.”
“…What?”
“A human mind is finite, and a devil’s malice is not infinite.”
Whether a saint.
Or royalty.
They were still only human.
“Because of that, you go mad.”
“…”
“And so, on top of your father’s corpse, you forcibly violate your mother. And from the womb of your screaming mother, a new life will be conceived.”
It was.
The essence of the Hell Sovereign.
“Stop!”
Stop it!
Please!
I don’t want to hear any more!
“The son and brother born that way will tear open Mother’s womb, crawl out, devour you, and then violate her again.”
There.
The eyes open.
The ultimate evil.
“And thus, the Sovereign of Hell finally manifests in a human body. As the ultimate evil who has mastered the method of breaking human goodwill.”
It was an absolute evil that mortals could never oppose. A being that would bring about the destruction of all things.
“A perfect game over.”
“…”
Lucifeles’s entire body trembled violently.
“That… can’t be.”
It’s Father.
It’s Father.
A father shouldn’t plan something like that!
“It’s something that should never even be imagined!”
“That is precisely why he is the Sovereign of Hell.”
No demon cherished their children more than subordinates. Likewise, no child respected their parents more than superiors.
But.
Lucifeles longed for affection.
Because that was what made him human.
“That is why you have a chance.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Your brothers.”
If they heard Father’s plan.
They would give a standing ovation like madmen.
“…”
“But you feel horror, don’t you?”
That.
Was the slender thread of hope given to you.
And the only key to destroying the Seven Hells.
“I will help you escape your predetermined fate.”
O prince of a cursed fate sentenced to ruin. As the Lore Master who perceives all of creation, I declare: follow my guidance! Thus shall you obtain a new fate. If you defy it, the only future awaiting you is one marching toward predetermined destruction.
Research Subject Updated: Lucifeles of Gehenna
Research Topic: Create a New Fate.
Research Reward: Removal of the Devil-triggered Apocalypse Flag
＊＊＊
A short while later.
Inside Bellkan’s tent.
“Thank you, Gray-Eyed Seer.”
“I should be the one thanking you for following my advice.”
“Then we should both be grateful to each other.”
Bellkan’s eyes were completely blind and his entire body was covered in burns. His hands, which had grasped lightning, were charred pitch-black. Yet his voice remained powerful and the aura he emitted was formidable.
“The Elemental Lords took away my eyes that looked upon matter, but in return they opened eyes that look upon the soul. Thanks to that, I can see.”
He had also become stronger.
Truly, overwhelmingly so.
— Blind
— Lord of the Wastes
— Absolute Charisma
— Peerless Strategist
“I saw what kind of future you witnessed before coming to find me.”
“Is that so?”
“Since you have saved our race from its predetermined destruction, I must offer appropriate compensation. But first, let us share the future we both saw.”
Only then.
Could they create a proper plan.
To stand against the coming apocalypse.
New Research Topic: Those Who Stand Against the Apocalypse