n

n

n

"What did you just say?!

" Jeah shot up from his chair. His reaction was only second to Consal, although obviously for different reasons.

"You can lower the barrier?!

" he shouted, proving which part of Mukken's announcement appeared to be more important to him.

n

"Your successor?

" Consal asked, ignoring Jeah's outburst.

"Wait, could it be that you are...

" he didn't finish his words, silenced by a Tytus' sudden gaze.

n

"How about you stop butting in when I'm talking?

" Jeah said angrily.

"Or could it be that you no longer care about your reward?!

" he shouted, unable to hold back his excitement and anger born out of it.

n

"To be fair,

" Consal said, squinting his eyes,

"right now, I do not. And I'm more than happy to kill you just to make you shut your crap!

" he replied, throwing the youngest Overlord of the group a deadly stare.

nFor a moment, the two of them glared at each other in the contest of stares. During this time, Tytus and Mukken simply sat in silence, as if the entire situation didn't bother them in the slightest. Between those two groups of two, only Faglar sat in confusion, not really sure how to react.

n

"Fine,

" Jeah finally gave up once he realized that he wouldn't achieve anything by getting emotional. Even though he was the highest being that all the people on the Star Continent revered, he was still the youngest and the weakest out of the five Overlords.

n

"Great, now scram,

" Consal said, pointing his hand at the door.

"There is some stuff I need to talk with Tytus and Mukken about,

" he added, not shifting his gaze away even for a second.

n

"I spared your face by backing down already. But I would advise you not to cross the line,

" Jeah said, his face darkening once again.

"I know that I'm weaker than you, but don't forget that I can change it with a single thought!

" he added, staring daggers at the first companion that he reeled in for the cause.

n

"And by doing that, you would lose all your chances at beating the guys you gathered us all to beat,

" Consal said, rolling his eyes.

"You ordered the army to march out. Now go and see it through,

" he added, keeping his arm in the exact same position as before.

n

"You...

" Jeah said, throwing a quick glance at the other people in the room. Yet, outside of Faglar, who had no idea where to look at, neither Tytus nor Mukken paid him any heed.

"Fine!

" he ended up shouting, only to burst out of the room in a fit of rage.

n

"Now, Faglar,

" Consal said, bringing up the name of the only Overlord that had no idea how to react. 'Well, it's given with how simple his personality is,' Consal thought, staring at the face of the only Overlord he could call a friend. Yet, instead of continuing, he moved his eyes on Tytus instead, eager to check for the man's approval.

nBut instead of nodding his head, Tytus shook his sideways, indicating that what he earlier stopped Consal from voicing out wasn't something that Faglar was ready or even allowed to hear.

n

"I'm sorry, brother, but I will need you to leave as well,

" Consal said, lowering his head in apology.

n

"Huh?

" Faglar looked around, only to raise his hand and point his finger at his own chest.

"Did you mean me?

" he asked, just as confused with Consal's request as he was with the entire situation.

n

"I'm sorry. How about you try to scout ahead and look if the enemy we are going against is willing to put up a fight in the first place?

" Consal asked, quickly turning the discussion from the matter of Faglar leaving to him heading into the fight. 'Thank God he is so simple,' Consal thought, staring intently at his friend.

nFor a moment, Foglar remained silent. He simply stared back at his old friend with a surprisingly serious expression on his face.

n

"So be it,

" the fight-crazed Overlord ended up saying as he raised up from his seat.

"Keep in mind, I'm not leaving because you dangled an opportunity to fight before my eyes,

" he said once he reached half the way towards the doors.

"I'm only leaving because I can tell there are some things that I'm not privy to hear here,

" he added before picking up the pace and leaving the room.

n

"Now, then,

" Consal said, moving his eyes back at Tytus' face.

"Can we discuss what Mukken announced?

" he asked, not daring to adopt any bit of arrogance or self-importance when dealing with those two.

n

"Yes, Mukken isn't an Overlord at all,

" Tytus said, finally opening his mouth.

"In fact, I'm not one either,

" he added after a short pause, looking up to the ceiling as if it was far more interesting than actually looking at the shocked expression on Consal's face.

n

"If he isn't an Overlord and can manipulate the barrier, is he a...

" Consal attempted to ask, only to be silenced by Mukken suddenly raising his hand.

n

"I'm not a God,

" he said in a silent voice. His face remained as calm and stoic as it always was.

"I'm just an overseer of this world, a manager positioned here by God. Nothing more but a guard-dog tasked with managing the world during its expansion stage,

" he said, revealing the shocking truths as if they were nothing.

n

"And you?

" Consal asked, moving his eyes on Tytus' face. Given the scale of the ongoing reveals, he dared not to even guess who that man really was.

n

"I'm not of the ancient origin; you don't need to worry about that,

" Tytus said with a rare smile appearing on his face.

"But as I said before, I'm not a true Overlord either. In a sense, you are the first Overlord born and consecrated as an Overlord by this world itself,

" Tytus said, sending Consal a glance of a parent full of pride due to his child's achievements.

n

"Then what are you?

" Consal asked, feeling how his perception of the entire world continued to crumble at a worrying rate.

n

"I was consecrated as an Overlord by Mukken,

" Tytus said, pointing with his hand at the stoic being sitting beside him.

"When the gateways started to diverge from their original paths, he decided that someone born from this world was necessary to help him maintain the status quo,

" he said with a gentle smile.

"Not like I ever found myself to be necessary or actually useful,

" he added as his smile soured a little.

n

"Then...

" Consal said, taking a moment to throw everything he just heard out of his head. Given the mood of honesty those two strange beings had, he couldn't waste this precious time on analyzing each of their words. 'Right now, I need to learn as much as possible. The time to figure out what it all means will come later,' he thought before swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

"Then, what is this entire successor thing all about?

" Consal asked, striking right for the core of the discussion.

n

"It's simple, yet strange.

" Mukken finally opened his mouth again.

"My job comes to an end once the holder of the progenitor's bloodline will descend upon this world,

" he said before adding,

"that's the simple part.

"

n

"Then what's the strange one?

" Consal asked, feeling as if he was about to touch the deepest possible level of secrets regarding the world as a whole.

n

"It's strange because one shouldn't appear for the next two million years,

" Tytus replied as a troubled look grew up on his face.

"That's why Mukken decided on this specific course of action,

" he added, biting on his lower lip.

"If that bloodline holder proves to be fake, you will succeed Mukken, who is now destined to die soon,

" he said before lowering his head and looking down on the floor, refusing to speak a word more.

n

"And what if he is a real one?

" Consal asked, feeling a chill run down his spine.

n

"Then it's not within our authority to decide or even know what the future holds for this world,

" Mukken replied, closing his eyes.

n