Athena's General Reincarnated in Another World

Adrihna Akonium:

The past few days had been spent locked inside meeting rooms, drowning in endless discussions that never led anywhere.

I hadn't slept in a week.

Under normal circumstances, my old routine would have allowed me to stay awake much longer without my body succumbing to exhaustion.

But this week had been relentless.

The shock of having put my charges in danger had probably shaved years off my life.

"How would you feel if it were your daughter?!"

King Bartholomew Olarion's voice thundered through the chamber.

He was furious.

And rightfully so.

His daughter, Princess Rose Olarion, had been attacked.

Inside that grand hall, only the rulers of the Four Kingdoms and their personal aides were present.

I stood beside King Haiten, who— like the others — looked utterly exhausted.

The royals argued endlessly, their voices sharp with frustration.

But these discussions weren't about politics.

Nor were they strategic decisions for the fate of the continent.

No—

These were raw, emotional outbursts.

For a brief moment, they weren't kings and queens.

Just people.

People who, for the first time, had set aside the weight of their crowns.

"How many times do I have to say I would never pull a stunt like that?!" King Charles shot back, his fury barely contained. "My family was also in danger in that place!"

King Bartholomew Olarion glared at him with undisguised contempt.

"Do you know who was really in danger? My daughter! When one of YOUR SOLDIERS tried to violate her!"

His voice thundered through the hall.

"If it had been your daughter, Melina, and the assailant had been one of my soldiers, what would you have done? I bet you would have sent those worthless winged horses of yours to attack me."

"Friends…" King Haiten rubbed his temples, his voice strained with exhaustion. "I know tensions are high, but we're going in circles. Beyond these walls, there's a line of people who think we're having a strategic meeting. When in reality… we've just been arguing for hours. None of us are to blame for this. We already know who is responsible… or rather, WHAT is responsible."

"Haiten!" King Bartholomew's rage burned even hotter.

"The conspirators were among the servants of the Teresian Kingdom. No other kingdom. Just his. How are we supposed to trust the men who serve that kingdom? How can we trust a king who can't even keep his own soldiers loyal?"

"Don't you dare blame my kingdom!" King Charles roared.

"How do you know there aren't traitors in your own kingdom, Bartholomew?"

"I don't."

Bartholomew didn't hesitate for a second.

"But for now, the only ones involved… are your men. Let's start from there."

King Charles clenched his fists. "Fine. You have a point. Your kingdom is too insignificant for its corruption to even be worth considering."

The air grew thick with hostility.

King Olarion rose to his feet, ready to retaliate—

But before he could even open his mouth,

Queen Garnora, the ruler of the Demi-Human Kingdom, stood from her chair.

For the first time in hours, she did something other than inspect her nails.

"Is the show over?"

Her bored tone cut through the tension like a knife.

She didn't even bother to look at the two kings.

King Olarion's anger flared hotter.

"What you told us… should have been known by the entire continent."

His voice was laced with bitterness.

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"The three of you always acted superior to us. Hiding information that could have changed everything. For centuries, we were called 'demons' by the True Humans. And all this time, you knew that real demons were out there."

He grabbed a bottle of liquor and drank straight from it before continuing.

"How do you think I should feel? My daughter doesn't want to see anyone entering her room anymore. She was forced to choose who would be tortured. And she had to watch it happen. Not a single student spoke to her at the funeral. She suffered more than almost anyone. And yet… she is the one being seen as a monster."

His gaze locked onto King Charles.

"And honestly? As a father—"

"Why should I even try to convince her not to be hostile toward your people?"

"It was one of your kingdom's soldiers involved in all this."

"If not for the border conflicts, I would never entertain a single word from your kind again."

The argument continued.

"By the way, what kind of bullshit name is 'Teresia' for a kingdom?"

Bartholomew muttered.

"No wonder you all just call it the 'Human Kingdom.'"

King Charles rolled his eyes, but his patience was running dangerously thin.

Then—

The doors of the hall swung open.

Every king turned, irritated by the interruption.

"What is it?!"

King Charles snapped, his frustration boiling over.

A soldier rushed in, immediately kneeling in the center of the room.

"Forgive me, Your Majesties! But I was sent here with urgent news."

He swallowed hard, his face pale with unease.

"William Halldam… said that a demon… has contacted him."

***

We walked through the corridors of the mansion—one of the largest in Apsalon, easily the size of a small castle.

As we moved forward, soldiers from all the kingdoms stood at their posts, alert to any suspicious movement.

Only the trusted men of the royal majesties were permitted to remain close to them.

William Halldam was not executed.

He had been found unconscious, as if he had been deliberately handed over to us.

A mistake?

Or an act of arrogance?

After all, we could have extracted every piece of information from him—the names of traitors, accomplices, the entire conspiracy.

But nothing worked.

For days, they had tried to extract information from William Halldam in every possible way.

Torture.

Deprivation.

Magic.

Nothing worked.

He had been mutilated.

Limbs severed.

One of his eyes gouged out.

Parts of his body burned.

He screamed.

Begged.

Fainted countless times.

But he never spoke.

It wasn't resistance.

William WANTED to talk.

But something prevented him.

A magic—etched into his very blood—made it impossible for him to reveal anything.

Every time he tried to speak, the pain became unbearable,

Leaving him screaming for hours, unable to say a single word that would expose a secret.

"We're almost there," said the prison warden.

Due to the political sensitivity of the situation, William was being watched by trusted men from all four kingdoms.

The warden in charge of him was from Apsalon—an attempt to maintain neutrality in his custody.

"Maintain maximum security!" one of the royal commanders ordered.

The door to William Halldam's cell was opened.

It was located in the basement, inside a structure more like a massive metal vault than a prison.

Seals and magical barriers covered the entire room.

Inside, William was immobilized.

Special enchanted restraints cut off the flow of mana in his body,

Completely neutralizing his Mana Gem,

Preventing him from casting even a single spell.

An enchanted belt, layered with the same suppression magic, reinforced his containment.

No unnecessary risks would be taken.

"Hello… Your Majesties…"

His voice was low and hoarse—but there was still mockery in it.

Despite his swollen face, his broken teeth, and the deep wounds covering his body,

William Halldam still managed to smile.

"You will answer every question here,"

A commander grabbed him by the hair and threw him to the ground.

The chains rattled as his body was dragged,

Colliding with the cold metal floor of the cell.

I looked at Bartholomew.

There was no doubt—

He hated William the most.

A large portion of the prisoner's wounds had been caused by the king himself.

"What do you want with the Majesties? Speak, William. You have no idea what you've done. You've condemned your entire family to execution."

One of the guards spat.

William laughed.

"I never loved anyone in that family anyway…"

That was all it took.

King Bartholomew's fist crashed into his face.

Some soldiers moved to intervene—

But Olarion's soldiers blocked their way.

The tension spiked instantly.

No one knew what to do—

After all, he was a king.

The other Majesties stared at Bartholomew, waiting for him to compose himself.

"Fine," King Olarion growled.

"I'll control myself and let this piece of shit speak."

But his face was still twisted with hatred.

"I have a message from the Great Lord… for all of you,"

William rasped, spitting blood onto the floor.

"How?"

King Haiten's eyes narrowed.

"How did your 'Great Lord' contact you? You've been locked in this place for a week, completely isolated."

William chuckled.

"When I sleep… He's there. In my dreams. That's how he reached me. That is the power of the Great Lord. The Almighty."

Queen Garnora stepped forward.

For the first time, she lowered herself to William's level, crouching in front of him.

She stared directly into his bloodied, swollen face.

And then—

With an icy, detached voice,

She asked:

"You still serve this 'Great Lord'… even after he betrayed you?"

"But of course!" William said. "The Great Lord is a god. There is no choice but to serve him. If he discarded me, then I simply need to prove my worth again… exactly as I am doing now."

Queen Garnora sighed and stepped away from him.

"As I see it, this 'Great Lord' failed," King Charles stated coldly. "If he thought this attack would instill fear in us, he was mistaken."

William lifted his head, fixing his swollen gaze on the king.

"The Great Lord does not fail. He is always many steps ahead of everyone. This is the message he ordered me to deliver to you: 'The shadows have already covered your land, and nothing that lives will escape the darkness. Soon, your peace will rot… and crumble into ruin.'"

The Majesties exchanged glances.

"Then let him try!" King Bartholomew's voice boomed through the chamber. "I will be waiting for him with an army!"

"You still don't understand, do you?" William smirked, shaking his head.

"He has already won. Even I have come to understand his true goal. The fact that I am here… It is because he wanted it. You are already suspicious of those who serve you. But have you stopped to consider the hidden message in his actions?"

"What message?" King Charles demanded.

William's smile widened.

"A message he delivered to the nobility… through the students of this academy. And when he sends the next sign of his coming… Do you really believe no one will turn to him? He has already revealed a fraction of his power. That was the message. Do you see now? The very foundation of this continent's nobility has already been corrupted—whether by loyalty or by fear. And when he reveals even more of his power… More people will flock to him. Right now, you no longer know who you can trust. Imagine the future—when the crisis tightens, when he presses you even harder, and the world finds itself cornered by his power."

He paused, letting his words sink in.

Then he looked up again, locking eyes with the Majesties.

"He has already achieved what he wanted. Killing all the students? That would have only united you. But what he truly desires… is chaos. And chaos… is what he does best."