NOVEL NEXT Chapter 176
Chapter 176: The End of War!
Meeting Baldur was just a brief encounter.
But for some reason, it felt like it had been an eternity since I had last awakened.
Crack!
“Ugh!”
It was apparent that waking up after so long was not without its pains, as I tried to rise and heard that familiar sound of creaking.
Fortunately, the worst-case scenario I had feared during my fall never happened.
“Umm…”
It was most likely due to my long slumber, making me stretch my stiff shoulders and glance around.
The room was covered in magic circles, filled to the brim with all sorts of potion bottles.
The determination of the healers to be prepared for any situation was palpable.
Most importantly, just by looking at the coffin that was sloshing with potions, I could immediately tell how much effort had gone into saving me.
“Surth.”
The moment Kariel called out to Surth in the air, the fire energy within me naturally exploded outward.
– It’s been a while, hasn’t it?
In a manner that attempted to avoid putting strain on Kariel’s body, Surth appeared as small as possible, clicking his tongue.
“How long has it been?”
– Half a year.
“What?!”
Kariel’s eyes bulged at Surth’s words, confirming that six months had actually passed.
Was my voice too loud?
Suddenly, there was a loud clattering outside the door, and with a bang, the attendant barged in.
“Your Majesty!”
The aged attendant’s eyes widened upon seeing Kariel, causing everyone nearby to be startled as they turned to confirm his presence.
Moments later, word spread like wildfire, and soon, everyone—from the nobles to my younger siblings—crowded into the room to see Kariel.
Having anticipated this, Kariel hurriedly washed up and changed into a more comfortable outfit to greet them.
“Waaah! Brother!”
“I knew! I knew you’d wake up!”
My two younger siblings burst into tears, and behind them, nobles’ eyes glistened with unshed tears as they looked at Kariel.
Whether this was due to his awakening or because they could finally escape the paperwork hell, it was hard to say, but regardless, many congratulated Kariel for returning to consciousness.
As Kariel comforted his sobbing siblings and tearful nobles, a shadow approached.
“Mi…riel?”
Miriel, who had now grown up, walked over slowly, desperately trying to hold back her tears.
But perhaps because she was still quite young, the moment she reached Kariel, the tears she fought so hard to suppress flowed freely.
“Waaah!”
While comforting Miriel as she cried in his arms, Kariel turned to the attendant.
“How long has it been since I fell asleep?”
“Six months and fifteen days.”
“…That’s quite a while.”
After saying this, Kariel continued to soothe his sobbing siblings for a bit longer before finally standing up.
As he stumbled to his feet, everyone became anxious and rushed to help him, but Kariel firmly waved them away.
“First, I want to hear what’s happened while I was out…”
“Brother, you should rest…”
Rufiel spoke with a worried expression, but Kariel shook his head with a wry smile.
He wanted to hear the results quickly.
If he didn’t know what had happened with the Demon King and the Demon King’s army, he felt like he would be left in a constant state of unease.
Then, Rufiel and the others retreated, and soon after, Talion, the attendant, and the Chancellor, who had run over late, explained the situation after Kariel had collapsed.
“Is it certain the Demon King is dead?”
“Yes.”
When Kariel delivered the final blow and collapsed, Talion had personally confirmed it alongside the shadows.
The heart had definitely stopped.
The problem was why they had treated the corpse of the Demon King with such care.
“There’s still a possibility for the Demon King’s resurrection.”
Kariel voiced his suspicion, prompting Talion to continue.
After Kariel had been shifted to the rear, the Human Alliance launched a massive attack on the Demon King’s forces.
Despite this, they had to sacrifice many high-ranking demons and several Demon Legion Commanders to break through the encirclement.
In the process, humanity also suffered significant losses.
The only Sun Blade of the Church Nation was lost in this war, and Master Salvatore of Iron fell into a coma.
Additionally, the Mage of Roman lost his life as well.
Even under conditions of overwhelming superiority, the Demon King’s army inflicted severe damage on humanity’s forces.
“The Bull-headed Demon Legion Commander turned out to be way stronger than expected.”
The Bull-headed Demon Legion Commander had displayed unexpected strength.
And even more powerful was the Tiger Clan’s Demon Legion Commander.
When Lokan and Asheltar had pushed the Demon King’s army to their limits, it was these two that had inflicted massive damage.
Ultimately, due to this battle, the main forces of the Demon King’s army had managed to cross the Demon Gate with the Demon King.
“In the end, we couldn’t confirm the Demon King’s death.”
“I’m sorry.”
Talion bowed his head at Kariel’s words.
“Ha… What good does it do to dig up the past? I’d rather hear about the state of the Empire…”
This prompted the Chancellor to step in.
“Still haven’t retired?”
“…Now that Your Majesty has awakened, I truly plan to retire.”
Watching Winston, who still hadn’t retired, Kariel laughed and listened to his report.
Since the main forces of the Demon King’s army had crossed the Demon Gate, the situation on the continent had spiraled into chaos.
The King of Golan had begun to swallow up the northern part of the East Continent, while Roman and Sandria merged to be reborn as the Desert Empire.
As things got urgent, the kingdom alliances had rallied around the Knight King.
Thus, the East Continent had consolidated into three major nations.
The reason they could move like this was that Ignit had been unusually quiet.
“They stopped after swallowing the Giant Mountain Range and the western territories of Roman and focused on stabilizing the Empire…”
Had their judgment been mistaken?
Watching Kariel lost in thought, the Chancellor and Talion gulped.
“Well done.”
“Excuse me?”
“Good job. Trying to devour the East Continent would have only led to trouble.”
Even though Ignit was a great power, the consecutive warfare had pushed the Empire to its limits.
In such a situation, why expand territory?
It would only increase things to manage and cause further aggravation.
Having occupied the area around the Giant Mountain Range and halted there was the best decision.
“By the way, the war hasn’t ended yet?”
“Yes. The citizens of the Empire and those of the East Continent wish for Your Majesty to personally declare it now that you’ve awakened.”
At the Chancellor’s words, Kariel chuckled lightly.
While it was true for the Empire, there were hidden motives on the East Continent’s side.
Since the war hadn’t ended, they were likely trying to absorb the territories that had been devastated in the meantime to create a new nation.
Golan would certainly be at the center of that, and the Knight King likely intended to unify the southern part of the East Continent by absorbing the destroyed nations.
Kariel, who had little interest in the matters of the East Continent, had no intentions of doing anything more than consolidating the old western territories of Roman into fortresses.
“I guess it has progressed quite a bit while I was gone.”
“Thanks to the help of the New Faction, including Luther.”
Winston strongly advocated for his retirement now.
As he said, while Kariel was absent, the Empire had made remarkable progress.
The efforts to gather and develop the technologies lingering from the Empire’s dark ages bore fruit.
The specifics of war had imposed sacrifices on the citizens, and all those funds were funneled into technological advancement, making it impossible not to improve.
The crazy saying by ancient scholars, “War pushes humanity forward!” rang true.
However, that’s all in the past now.
With war conclusively over, it was time to focus on stabilization and development, so Winston’s retirement wouldn’t matter.
‘On that note, I should think about retirement myself.’
Even if it was tough for now, I could hope to start planning for it soon.
Rufiel was still in the position of Crown Prince, so I could ‘delegate’ work to him and gradually slip away until my complete retirement.
“Hmm! The pace of development isn’t bad. While rushing reforms caused some issues here and there, this is still a fairly decent level.”
After saying this, Kariel turned to Talion and asked, “Is this the end?”
“That is…”
Talion hesitated to respond.
Kariel frowned at his expression.
“What is it?”
Under Kariel’s sharp inquiry, Talion reluctantly answered.
“Uh… The Leader of Dark Mages has been captured.”
“…The Dark Mages?”
“Yes.”
Talion nodded at Kariel’s question.
“Did they not cross into the Demon Realm?”
“Most of them did. Only the Leader of Dark Mages remained behind.”
Hearing this, Kariel’s brow furrowed.
“Just one left?”
“After blocking Your Majesty’s magic, he’s been half a wreck. He used up his vitality just to buy time.”
He had sacrificed himself to buy time for the Dark Mages and demons to escape.
“Is he still alive?”
“Yes. He’s been kept alive.”
Kariel tilted his head at Talion’s words.
“Why would they bother?”
“I thought Your Majesty would want to deal with him personally.”
After a moment of silence, contemplating Talion’s words, Kariel thought back to how he had suffered because of the Dark Mages throughout both lives.
Thus, he wanted to see the despicable Leader of the Dark Mages in person and talk with him once.
“Where is he?”
“With Your Majesty’s current condition, it would be difficult to visit the prison…”
“Where is he?!”
When he asked again, Talion sighed and helped support Kariel.
Even so, after stumbling a bit, they ultimately brought a mage with them to float down to the lowest level of the prison.
“…Is that the Emperor?”
The Leader of the Dark Mages, appearing like a white-haired wreck, looked up at Kariel.
“Stand back.”
“…Yes.”
As everyone, including Talion, retreated, Kariel approached the Leader of the Dark Mages.
“I came to ask one question.”
“…”
The Leader stared silently at Kariel, who quietly asked, “What the hell were you so displeased with that you caused all this chaos?”
The damage inflicted upon the Empire and humanity because of the Dark Mages was unfathomable.
Even though the Demon King and hell were predestined, the damage caused by the Dark Mages was not predetermined.
Without them, the Empire would have been able to prepare for destruction with fewer losses.
More than anything, thinking back to how he had to crawl through both lives because of those Dark Mages still made his teeth grind.
“Speak. What was your grievance?”
At Kariel’s question, the Leader of the Dark Mages smirked.
“It’s about fairness being distorted.”
“Do you expect to find that in a classist society?”
“Yet, there are limits to it. The Empire has long surpassed those limits.”
With that, the Leader of the Dark Mages opened up.
The reason the Dark Mages had grouped together was simple.
Those who had talent but were trapped within the framework of class distinctions, unable to rise further.
An unstable society that cruelly threw even children, who should be cared for, out into the world.
The worthless merchants who sold even the most minimal human rights.
All of these aspects became the prey that allowed the Dark Mages to persist.
During the Empire’s dark ages, the societal injustices had intensified.
Having personally endured this, the Leader of the Dark Mages had been subjected to biological experiments by the Magic Tower and later reduced to being a plaything of the nobles.
His family had already perished long ago, having lived a life similar to that of slaves.
The issue wasn’t just the Leader of the Dark Mages; most of the Dark Mages had lived similar lives.
“It would have been better if it were the demons. Their logic of power is cruel, but at least the strong can enjoy freedom.”
Observing the Leader of the Dark Mages as he spoke, Kariel remarked quietly, “How about now?”
“…”
“Is it still unfair as you said?”
At Kariel’s question, the Leader of the Dark Mages fell silent.
Like the Revolutionary Forces, a world he had always dreamed of was being opened up.
While there were still some unjust aspects, a reasonably plausible world was forming, and at its center was the Emperor of the very royal family he had loathed.
“Shall I tell you where you went wrong?”
Kariel murmured softly, seeing the Leader of the Dark Mages’ eyes tremble.
“Every single grievance you mentioned surely was a problem. However, the Empire was improving and striving to develop into a better place. Your mistake was trying to clip those wings.”
After saying that, Kariel seemed to have heard enough and turned away.
“Do you think your subordinates would be happy to return to the Demon Realm?”
“…”
“Had you surrendered and repented, you would have lived a happier life here. Fortunately, the Revolutionary Forces didn’t make a foolish choice like yours.”
A single tear fell from the dazed eyes of the Leader of the Dark Mages.
As Kariel said, the Revolutionary Forces had clung tightly to the hand Kariel extended rather than rebelling against the Empire.
That’s how they had grown into the key talents of the Empire.
In contrast, what about the Dark Mages?
“If only a ruler like you had appeared a bit earlier…”
Leaving behind the regretful white-haired man, Kariel exited the prison.
Now, the Dark Mages had vanished from this world.
So had the demons.
It was uncertain if they would open the gates and invade again in the future, but that would be something for future generations to handle.
For the present Ignit Empire, all threats had been eradicated.
Consequently, as Kariel stepped out of the prison, he issued a decisive order to Talion.
“I’ll declare the end of the war. Prepare it.”
“Yes! Your Majesty.”
As news of Kariel’s awakening began to spread throughout the Empire, a massive headline appeared in the public newspaper.
「Declaration of War’s End!
We hereby declare that all threats to the Empire have been eliminated.
– Kariel Friedrich von Blazer -」