270 – The secret exchange between the Great Demon King and the Alcrem Duchy

The heroic spirits, familiar spirits serving the gods who were in charge of the fighting forces, could do nothing but watch as the grand farce took place.

“… I didn’t think that the Demon King’s adaptability would be so troublesome,” one of them said.

If the heroic spirits had a Rank like monsters, they would be around Rank 14, and each of them was capable of holding their own against a weaker evil god in single combat. There were over a dozen heroic spirits in this divine realm of the gods that were looking down upon Alcrem. If they all attacked Vandalieu with their combined strength, even Vandalieu would be unable to avoid struggling in battle against them.

However, this was not the Age of the Gods that had long since passed, when gods and their familiar spirits resided in the world itself. In order to wield their power on the world’s surface on their own, heroic spirits would need to expend a tremendous amount of energy.

Thus, even if the heroic spirits were to descend upon Lambda, they would only be able to fight for a few seconds. Even if they were able to give Vandalieu a difficult battle, it was difficult to tell whether they would even be able to deal irrecoverable damage during that short time, never mind defeat him.

That was precisely why, under ordinary circumstances, the correct way for heroic spirits to exert an influence upon the world was for them to descend upon heroes with the divine protections of the gods and lend them their strength.

However… at this moment, there wasn’t a single potential hero with the divine protection of a god of Alda’s forces in Alcrem. The gods had been on alert because of Vandalieu’s appearance in Morksi – one of the Alcrem Duchy’s cities of commerce – and instructed the potential heroes to evacuate.

“Being overly cautious has backfired. Of course, even if they were in Alcrem now, they have not been nurtured sufficiently to become vessels for us to descend upon.”

“Even so, we wouldn’t have had to let the Demon King do as he pleases and get away with all of this. It’s true that he saved the people of Alcrem from Zerzoregin. I will admit that. But to fool the people he saved, and to receive their worship through fabricated lies… How is he any different from Zerzoregin!”

“More importantly, what happened to Borgadon-dono? If he is still alive, there is no chance that he would overlook the Demon King’s transgressions. Has his soul been devoured like Zerzoregin’s after all…?”

“It is not certain that that is the case,” a heroic spirit with a spear on his back in response to this question. “It is possible that Borgadon-dono is alive and in support of the Demon King.”

“W-what?! You heretic, do you mean to ridicule Borgadon-dono?!” another heroic shouted, outraged.

“Calm yourself. I mean to do no such thing,” the heroic spirit with the spear replied with a sigh. “However, I only knew Borgadon-dono through his familiar spirits, which turned out to be familiar spirits of an evil god in disguise. None of us here, including me, know the real Borgadon-dono. Furthermore, it is unclear as to whether Borgadon-dono has memories of the time that passed while he was absorbed by Zerzoregin, but if he does not, then he would know nothing of the battle between Alda, the God of Law and Fate, and Vida. It would not be strange for him to feel a debt of gratitude towards the Demon King who saved him, and try to repay him for that. Do you disagree?”

The other heroic spirits couldn’t think of any way to refute his words.

“Borgadon-dono had extensive conversations with the ‘Fallen Champion,’ and he is a subordinate god of Botin-sama, Mother of the Earth and Goddess of Craftsmanship, who chose Hillwillow as her champion. It is possible that they thought in similar ways,” the heroic spirit with the spear continued.

“Perhaps so… Then at the very least, my blade shall reveal the true identity of those puppets to the eyes of the people!” said another heroic spirit, unsheathing his sword.

“Don’t; there is no use in doing that. You will simply be struck down during your descent,” the heroic spirit with the spear told him.

“That is true, but are we supposed to simply leave him?! If Borgadon-dono supports the Demon King as you say, there is no telling what will happen if he joins Vida’s forces!” the heroic spirit with the sword shouted.

The heroic spirit with the spear could understand what the sword-wielding heroic spirit was saying.

If Borgadon were to support Vida’s faction and joined them, he would not pose any threat to the forces of Alda, the God of Law and Fate, and his betrayal would not cause any large deficiencies in how Alda’s forces were run.

Disguised as Borgadon, Zerzoregin had pretended to have fallen into slumber in order to focus on protecting the seal on the evil god Forzajibal, so his familiar spirits had done little other than share information; they had not played any role in maintaining Alda’s forces.

On top of that, the current Borgadon had only been released from Zerzoregin, so he was missing the vast majority of his power, and it was likely that his current form was like that of a dead spirit… like a condensed, conscious mass of naturally-occurring Mana. Thus, even if he were to become an enemy, he would not pose any direct threat to Alda’s forces.

However, the damage in terms of the amount of worship he received was great.

Considering the world as a whole, Borgadon, the God of Mountains, was not a major god. There were likely many in the neighboring Amid Empire who did not even know his name.

However, he was the patron god of the capital of the Alcrem Duchy, the city of Alcrem with a population of a million people, where there were none who did not know of him.

Borgadon also had a large political influence. For example, the Title of ‘Knight of the Collapsed Mountain,’ which had been passed down from knight to knight, from generation to generation… This Title had originated from the myth that Borgadon had sealed away Zerzoregin and Forzajibal, collapsing the surrounding mountains and creating a barren wasteland in the process.

… In reality, these knights had been Mimic Humans, and it was uncertain as to what Duke Alcrem would do with the Title in the future, but… since the duke was participating in Vandalieu’s farce, there wasn’t any use in thinking about it.

If Borgadon were to join Vida’s faction, the influence on Alcrem’s people would be immeasurable.

Even so, the worship of the gods of Alda’s forces in other duchies of the Orbaume Kingdom would likely remain unaffected, but… the places in Alcrem where worship of the gods of Alda’s forces was strong would be stolen by Vida’s faction completely.

Considering the actual loss, the mental damage on Alda’s gods caused by this, and the fact that Vida’s faction would grow in strength, this could not be described as a small amount of damage.

“I understand how you feel. But even if all of us here were to combine our powers, the most we would be able to do is interrupt this puppet show. The Demon King is not the only one waiting for us down there. There is Gufadgarn, the incarnation of Vida, a countless number of the Demon King’s servants, and it is highly likely that more of them will arrive as reinforcements through teleportation. Do not forget that his stronghold is not in Alcrem, but in the area beyond the Boundary Mountain Range!” the familiar spirit with the spear reminded the others.

Even if the heroic spirits were not struck down during their descent, the Demon King’s forces were endless. Descending now would be equivalent to giving themselves up to become the Demon King’s after-meal dessert.

The heroic spirit with the sword who was on the verge of abandoning hope seemed to understand this; he gave a heavy sigh and stepped back.

“Still, how did the heroic spirits fight the Demon King’s army a hundred thousand years ago? Even considering that Vandalieu and Guduranis are different beings, if we could learn how our predecessors fought, then we could learn something…” the heroic spirit with the spear murmured.

“My master has told me,” said a heroic spirit holding a staff. “But I do not think his words would give us many hints. After all, the heroic spirits who existed in this world before the arrival of the Demon King Guduranis were not powerful. I was told that the power they possessed was not much different from that of familiar spirits who had once been other, ordinary humans.”

“Is that true?! I do not intend to say that strength alone qualifies one to become a heroic spirit, but there are certain standards!” the heroic spirit with the spear exclaimed in surprise.

Heroic spirits were those who had been respected by the people as heroes during their lifetimes, and even if they could not become heroic spirits on their own, they would become heroic spirits if their greatness was recognized by the gods. Thus, it was naturally common sense that heroic spirits were powerful.

However, that was the common sense of the current era.

“I said the same to my master, but he told me this,” the heroic spirit with the staff continued. “Before the Demon King Guduranis arrived in this world, leading an army of evil gods, there were no monsters in this world, not even a single Goblin. Naturally, there were no Devils’ Nests inhabited by monsters, no Dungeons, and as the people received blessings and teachings from the gods directly, they did not fight wars or kill one another. Even the Status System did not exist. There was no possible way for people to become powerful as they are capable of doing now. The heroes of the time were those who were more proficient at hunting than others or those who could run faster than average. It is only natural that such people ascending to become heroic spirits would not be as powerful as heroic spirits are today.”

The world had been peaceful before the arrival of Guduranis. Weapons and armor had been used to hunt and fish, and the Status System with Jobs and Skills had not existed.

That was why the people had been at a heavy disadvantage against the Demon King’s army before Ricklent invented the Status System to strengthen the people and the champions were summoned.

“I see. In other words, individuals who are heroes among heroes, like the champion Bellwood, are necessary in order to defeat the Demon King. In that case, now is not the time,” the heroic spirit with the spear whispered.

But another heroic spirit spoke up. “I have just received word. The man who has the qualities to become such a hero among heroes, Heinz, has returned.”

Unaware of the heroic spirits’ conversation, Vandalieu was making an eyeball glow.

“It’s hard to bring it into focus. This is the opposite of its intended use, after all. Yes… This is good. The luminescent organs are working,” he murmured to himself.

The enormous eyeball he was holding in his hands was emitting light and producing an image on a blank, white wall.

“Wow, Van! That’s amazing! It’s just like the real thing!” Pauvina shouted excitedly. “Right, Juliana?”

“Yes! I feel like I’ll be able to hear sounds and the people’s voices any second!” said Juliana.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before!” said Braga. “I want to show it to my family!”

“‘Movies,’ amazing! Amazing, ‘movies!’” said another Black Goblin.

They were all excitedly watching the projected image. The footage that Vandalieu was projecting was of the grand-scale farce that had taken place that afternoon.

Although Braga and the rest of the Black Goblins had been unable to participate in it, they hadn’t said anything about it… But Pauvina and Juliana – especially Pauvina – had complained about not having been able to take part. Thus, Vandalieu had come up with the idea of at least showing them footage of it, and was now playing this screening of it using the fragments of the Demon King.

With the ‘Perfect Record Technique’ Skill, Vandalieu was able to perfectly record everything he saw with his eyes as images, and he was projecting them using the Demon King’s luminescent organs and the lens of an eyeball as a film projector.

“I’ll call this ‘Film Projector Technique,’ I suppose. There’s color, but no sound, so it feels quite old for a movie, though,” Vandalieu said.

He remembered the sounds he had heard as well, but there was nothing that he could use as speakers to reproduce them accurately.

“Then we’ll just need to explain,” said Darcia. “Pauvina, Juliana-chan, this is where Bravatiyu-san said, ‘As the leader of the Five Knights of Alcrem, my name…’ What did he say again?”

She was trying to describe the events that had taken place, but she quickly got stuck as she was unable to remember everyone else’s lines.

“Darcia-san, he’s right here, so we just need to ask the man himself,” said Privel. “Right?”

Bravatiyu had been staring in disbelief at the projected film and at Vandalieu, but was brought back to his senses by Privel putting a tentacle on his shoulder.

“Hmm? D-did you say something to me?” he said, startled.

“We would like you to tell Pauvina and Juliana what you said back then. Could we ask that of you?” said Gizania.

“I-I do not mind, but…” Bravatiyu said.

He nodded, but he stared at Vandalieu and the enormous eyeball that was acting as a projector for a few moments, as if hesitating.

“Well then, I’ll rewind the footage to before Bravatiyu shouts and sends a slashing attack at the Golem playing the part of the evil god… Since I can reproduce the image, I’d like for you to provide the audio,” said Vandalieu.

“Come on, come on!” Pauvina and the others said, urging Bravatiyu to say his lines.

Bravatiyu seemed to decide that he was in no position to refuse. “Back then, I shouted, ‘Incarnation of Borgadon, I shall aid you!’ and released ‘Sky Rend’ towards the evil-god-Golem. However, my ‘Sky Rend’ was entirely ineffective because of that ‘Demon King’s exoskeleton’ or whatever it is, and shouted, ‘Impossible! My martial skill!’ to act as if the evil god was a powerful being,” he said loudly and clearly.

“… But back then, you sounded completely monotone, like you were just reciting the script. It was worse than Van’s lines,” said Kachia.

Indeed, Bravatiyu’s acting at the time had been terrible.

“It was indeed. It was a perfect example of a third-rate actor. Any ordinary person would have at least shouted melodramatically, even if it wasn’t required,” Ralmeya remarked.

“I’m sure you’re not supposed to be conscious of the fact that you’re acting. Either your nerves got the better of you despite your age and experience, or you were mentally shaken by the evil god despite knowing it was a fake,” said Baldiria.

“Ralmeya! Baldiria! You traitors, you are talking as if you are completely on their side –” Bravatiyu began, outraged that his fellow knights were watching the film with a friendly attitude towards Vandalieu and his companions.

“Oh, look, next is the part where Serjio-dono’s specialty lightning attacks were also ineffective, and his spells had little effect as well,” said Gizania, interrupting him.

As Serjio began reciting his lines, Bravatiyu had no choice but to shut his mouth and fall silent.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s my turn, huh. I said, ‘Get back, old man!’ then raised my spear and cast the ‘Lightning Strike’ spell, but the evil god’s surface just got burned black a little, and there was no damage. I clicked my tongue, and said, ‘It’s no good. It’s repelling both martial attacks and spells. What are we supposed to do against a guy like this?’”

Seeing his trusted knights’ interactions with the others, Duke Alcrem stared at Vandalieu and his companions in a daze. However, he was surprised.

The film that Vandalieu had created was not so astonishing – the same thing could be accomplished with spells or Magic Items.

With light-attribute or wind-attribute illusion spells, it was not difficult to project scenes from the caster’s memory. Mages who created such performances were often employed at large theaters.

Time-attribute magic could also be used to create images of the past, although this was more difficult. With this method, sound would also be reproduced.

Magic Items such as crystal balls that recorded events of the past had been made since long ago.

Of course, only true masters of magic would be able to recreate scenes of the past with such detail, and even if they used all of their Mana, they would not be able to project more than thirty minutes’ worth of footage.

As for Magic Items, the longer the footage they could record, the bigger the crystal balls were, and thus the cost of creating them would increase sharply. The upper limit of their recording duration was considered to be just a little over ten minutes.

Considering that, what Vandalieu was doing was indeed amazing, but… what Duke Takkard Alcrem, Bravatiyu, and Serjio were surprised about was the fact that he was doing so using fragments of the Demon King.

In the distant, ancient past, the Demon King Guduranis’s body had been unstoppable by anything other than arms made of Orichalcum wielded by the legendary champions and the heroes they led, and if not Orichalcum, then arms wielded directly by the gods themselves.

To the people of this world, the fragments of that body were considered to be spiritually taboo, and more importantly, extremely dangerous.

If a fragment infested a person, it would enter a frenzy and cause enormous damage to everything around it, and it would be impossible to remove from the host until they died.

Demon King Equipment was made of fragments of the Demon King, and when a piece of Demon King Equipment was destroyed, the fragment would infest a nearby host and destroy its surroundings in its search for other fragments, seeking to resurrect the Demon King.

The Demon King fragments were such terrifying objects, and yet, they were currently being used as a film projector. It was only natural for the duke to be dumbfounded. Although fragments of the Demon King were used in peaceful ways every day in Talosheim, it was the first such occurrence in a human society.

To begin with, the very concept of using fragments of the Demon King this way would never be thought of in human societies. At most, people would use materials created by the fragments… such as using the crystal masses that Zerzoregin released with the Demon King’s crystals as materials for equipment and as alchemy ingredients.

“What am I to say… I feel like everything I thought I knew is being broken down around me,” Takkard Alcrem murmured to himself.

But at the same time, he reaffirmed to himself to never make enemies of Vandalieu and his companions.

This was a decision that he had made after learning that Braga and the Black Goblins were the true ‘Face-tearing Demon’ and Vandalieu was the mastermind commanding them, that Juliana was the reborn form of Juliana Alcrem, and of the existence of the Demon Empire of Vidal… something that was more terrifying than the existence of Zerzoregin and the Mimic Humans.

It had been less than five years since he aligned his duchy with Alda’s peaceful faction, but he was now aligning it with Vida’s faction. It was likely that he would need to grant Ghouls human rights, and once the temple of Borgadon was rebuilt, it would need to be decorated with sculptures of Vida rather than Alda.

It was likely that he would face some opposition from the nobles who supported the Alcrem house. He didn’t even want to imagine the reactions of the other dukes’ houses, Marshal Dolmad or Prime Minister Tercatanis of the royal capital.

There would naturally be opposition from the Church of Alda, and it was even likely that there would be opposition from the Church of Vida as well – most of the clergymen of the Church of Vida welcomed the peaceful faction of Alda.

As a result, some of the nobles might revolt, and it was possible that those in the royal capital would decide that Duke Alcrem had lost his mind and send assassins after him.

But even considering all of these dangers, Takkard would not change his mind.

Compared to the risk of making an enemy of the Demon King… the Great Demon King Vandalieu, the rebellions of other nobles and the danger of assassins are but a small matter! he thought.

Vandalieu had created an enormous Golem that was over a hundred meters tall simply for the reason that it had been necessary for the fabricated show for the people. Turning that one Golem against the city would result in enormous damage.

The city’s walls were several dozen meters tall, but they would be like plywood against such an enemy. Magical barriers would also be futile against the sheer, overwhelming volume of Mana that Vandalieu possessed.

And naturally, there was also the fact that Vandalieu’s fighting forces were so overwhelmingly powerful that the entire army of the Alcrem Duchy would not be able to defeat them. Even if Vandalieu didn’t create any enormous Golems… No, Vandalieu was stronger when he hadn’t created any.

Of course, I owe him a debt for saving the capital. He is a virtuous enough person to have saved our city without any promise of reward. If we respond to that with sincere gratitude, it is almost certain that he will harbor more goodwill for this city and the Alcrem Duchy, the duke thought. However, I will have to ask him to stop the ‘Face-tearing Demon’ business and have the knights’ order act based on the information he provides.

The public story was that the acts of the ‘Face-tearing Demon’ had been carried out by servants of the evil god, so it would trouble the duke if the ‘Face-tearing Demon’ were to continue being active. The activities of the ‘Face-tearing Demon’ also harmed the authority of the duke’s house and reduced the people’s trust in the city guards and knights’ order.

Thus, he intended to have Vandalieu and his companions provide information, and put that information to use in official investigations. It would be best to put Ralmeya and Baldiria in charge of that.

… The two of them were in complete admiration of Vandalieu, and Baldiria referred to Darcia as ‘Goddess-sama’ with no hesitation, but Takkard didn’t intend to do anything about that.

People were free to admire and respect whoever they wanted to. The two of them had sworn loyalty to the Alcrem house and knights, and it seemed that their loyalty had not changed.

If the object of their admiration was the emperor, a famous knight, or a general of the Amid Empire, an enemy nation, it would have been a matter of great concern. But because their admiration was directed at individuals with whom the Alcrem house would be establishing friendly relations with, it wasn’t much of an inconvenience. The duke would have the two of them act as mediators for proactive exchange with the Demon Empire of Vidal in the future.

The problem is the duchy’s nobles, but I’m sure Earl Morksi will understand. I’ll need to do some work on convincing the other nobles… the other dukes, the prime minister and the marshal can come second!

“It seems that you’ve been deep in thought for a while, is something the matter?” asked Vandalieu.

“Huh?! N-no, nothing at all!” Takkard said hastily, jumping in surprise.

However, he was under excessive stress; his face was pale and his already-thin hair looked even frailer than before.

Even Vandalieu, who was terrible at guessing what others were thinking, didn’t believe him.

However, Vandalieu was the only one who had been frank and revealed various secrets. It would likely be a hasty move to use ‘Youth Transformation’ and reverse his age.

Still, he didn’t feel good about simply ignoring Takkard’s state of poor health. And if he were to suddenly collapse and perish now, he would need to start discussions all over again with a successor to the duke’s house who didn’t know anything.

Even if Vandalieu’s relationship with the duchy couldn’t be made public, he wanted Takkard to remain its duke until the relationship had progressed to a point where it could be stably maintained long-term.

“… Take this,” said Vandalieu after some thought, producing an antenna from his forehead and using it to take out a cream-filled container from his pocket.

“Th-this is some kind of ointment, is it?” said the duke.

“Yes, it’s a medicine used in the Demon Empire of Vidal called ‘V Cream.’ It improves the skin… and if applied to the scalp, it promotes hair growth and restoration,” said Vandalieu.

Takkard made a surprised noise. He had been shrinking away in fear of Vandalieu’s black antenna, but upon hearing the words ‘hair grown and restoration,’ his eyes lit up, and he reached out and took the V Cream.

And so began the relationship between Vandalieu, Emperor of the Demon Empire of Vidal, and Takkard, head of the Alcrem house of dukes.

“Kühl, you’re even cooler than the real one!” said Privel’s voice in the background, followed by a happy wobbling noise from Kühl.

In the scene projected on the wall, Kühl, who had disguised himself as the ‘Knight of the Collapsed Mountains’ Goldie, stopped the attacks of the Golem acting as the evil god with his own body.

Now! Kill it, even if you have to kill me with it! the image of Goldie shouted silently, before being turned into dust in a spectacular fashion.

The day after the farce that covered up the truth, Vandalieu and his companions headed for the Job-changing room in Sam’s carriage. The reason for that was, of course, because his Level had reached its upper limit after the previous day’s battle with Zerzoregin.

It was thought that Job changes should be done as quickly as possible, with the exception of some situations such as when one was undecided on what path they wanted to take, or when there were no Jobs available to change to.

Once one’s Level reached 100, their current Job would not increase in Level any further, and even if they changed to another Job, the effects and bonuses to Skills of the previous Job would still permanently be in effect.

However, Vandalieu had been tired after yesterday’s performance, and he had been busy with various things after it as well. After he took care of those things, more time had passed than he had expected, so he had gone to sleep without changing Jobs.

“I told you that you could go to bed if you were tired, but you insisted on staying awake until the parade was over,” said Darcia.

“You fought Mimic Humans and an evil god, and after that, you had to control Golems in the show for the people. It must have been greatly tiring even for you, Van-dono,” said Myuze.

“And even after that, you projected that film with ‘Film Projector Technique’… You worked too hard yesterday,” said Gizania.

“Mom, Myuze, I couldn’t miss seeing everyone’s moment of triumph, and the film projector was just an idea I had so I wanted to do it,” said Vandalieu.

After the… ‘battle’ with the evil god, Vandalieu and his companions had returned to the city, and the sides of the road to the castle had been lined with people who were fanatically celebrating victory, creating a small parade.

Even though the sun had gone down, the road had been lit up with light-attribute magic, and with smiles and cheers, the people had welcomed back the heroes who had fought the evil god alongside the God of Mountains Borgadon.

Darcia, Myuze and the others had told Vandalieu to rest, but he had wanted to see the people praising them.

However, he had indeed been tired, and creating and controlling enormous Golems that were over a hundred meters tall had used up more Mana than he had expected, so the parade had been a battle against the urge to sleep.

“I am unable to find the words to thank you for all of your effort. Despite sacrificing the mountains, I failed to seal him away, and not only that, I was used by him and allowed him to get away with so much. My honor deserves to be covered in mud and buried, and yet you did so much for me,” said Borgadon.

Indeed, as a result of yesterday’s farce, the people had renewed their faith and worship in Borgadon. He had been nothing more than a soul, but he was looking considerably better now.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Vandalieu. “It was more convenient for us for the truth to not be spread. And if the capital of Alcrem were to descend into chaos, it would have a large negative effect on Morksi as well.”

One of the Five Knights of Alcrem had actually been a monster, a Mimic Human who served an evil god. On top of that, that evil god had turned out to be the ‘Borgadon’ that had been worshipped in the ‘Sacred Wastelands.’

If that truth was revealed, it would likely cause panic among the people. They would lose the beliefs that served as their anchors, begin baselessly suspecting that their neighbors might be Mimic Humans, or wonder if the gods they worshipped were actually evil gods. Naturally, this would negatively impact the authority of the duke’s house as well.

Such a situation wouldn’t be a good thing for Vandalieu. It might be useful for Darcia’s propagation of the word of Vida, but… it would also be a little troublesome if the people began worshipping Vida too much and Darcia became unable to leave the Alcrem Duchy.

The farce and fabricated lies were more convenient for Vandalieu and his companions.

“Even so, I give you my thanks,” said Borgadon. “You could have saved yourself much trouble by simply devouring me along with Zerzoregin…”

“No, that’s not true,” said Vandalieu.

“He’s right, Borgadon-san. I know that you’ve lost your power and feel disheartened, but don’t abandon hope. We need you to do your best moving forward,” said Darcia.

Borgadon seemed to be in quite a fragile state of mind. Even though Vandalieu and Darcia offered words of encouragement while they waited for their turn outside the Job-changing room, he didn’t seem to be gaining much motivation.

Just then, the room’s door opened. Miriam came out, apparently having finished changing Jobs, and walked towards Vandalieu.

“Vandalieu-san?! What is the meaning of this?!” she demanded.

“Is something the matter? Also, we’re friends, so please call me ‘Vandalieu’ or ‘Van.’ I don’t even mind being called ‘Vaa-chan,’” said Vandalieu.

“‘Is something the matter,’ my foot! Your divine protection has appeared on my Status – What is the meaning of this?! You’re not only an emperor, but a god as well?!” Miriam exclaimed, looking shocked and almost panicked.

“Calm down, Miriam-san. I’m sorry my son surprised you like that. But he doesn’t give people divine protections consciously, so there was no way to tell you in advance that he would be giving it to you,” explained Darcia.

This seemed to help Miriam regain her composure.

“I-I see. I guess it can’t be helped, then. Well then, next time… Huh, it’s not really something to get angry about, is it? Didn’t I just do something really rude?” she said, coming to her senses and turning pale upon realizing what she had done.

Everyone gave an understanding nod, telling her not to worry about it.

“Well, we should have explained properly yesterday,” said Darcia.

“It’s only natural to be surprised. But the divine protection is a real divine protection, so don’t worry. It’s not a curse, and it doesn’t have any strange effects,” Privel said reassuringly.

“So, stay calm,” said Myuze. “Well then, I shall explain ‘Familiar Spirit Demonfall’ to her, Van-dono, so you can go ahead and change Jobs first.”

Incidentally, a little while after this, Arthur and the others would also be surprised to find that they had received Vandalieu’s divine protection, and Miriam would end up having to explain it to them later after hearing the explanation from Privel and the others.

“Thanks,” said Vandalieu, managing to escape Miriam’s grip. “Well then, let’s go right ahead…”

He stepped into the Job-changing room.

《Jobs that can be selected: Vengeful Berserker, Dark King Mage, Fallen Warrior, Insect Ninja, Destruction Guider, Chaos Guider, Hollow King Mage, Eclipse Cursecaster, Demon Ruler, Creator, Pale Rider, Tartarus, Wild Spirit, Dark Battery Cannoneer, Magic Staff Creator, Soul Fighter, God Destroyer, Qliphoth, Dark Beast User, Spirit Therapist, Artisan: Transformation Equipment, Hollow Shadow Caster, Balor, Apollyon, Demigorgon, Great Demon King, Soul Devourer, God Devourer, Nergal, Ravana, Shaitan, Chi You, God Spirit Mage (NEW!), Ouroboros (NEW!)》

Seeing the list of Jobs available in his consciousness, Vandalieu noticed two new Jobs: ‘God Spirit Mage’ and ‘Ouroboros.’

‘God Spirit Mage’ was likely to simply be the superior version of the ‘Dead Spirit Mage’ Job. But ‘Ouroboros’… What was this Job?

TLN: The ouroboros is an ancient symbol of a serpent or dragon eating its own tail.

“If I recall correctly, it’s a symbol of eternity… Could it be related to the design that eats its own tail, since I learned cannibalism-related Skills?” Vandalieu wondered.

Demon King Familiars were extensions of himself, so when he used ‘Cannibalism,’ it could be considered to be eating himself.

“Well, I’ve already decided which Job to choose this time. I select ‘Great Demon King,’” he said.

If Vandalieu acquired the ‘Great Demon King’ Job, surpassing ‘Demon King,’ perhaps he would become able to control the Demon King fragments better and perhaps acquire a beautiful, bodybuilder-like physique with the Demon King’s muscles?

Vandalieu succumbed to the temptation of this possibility and selected the ‘Great Demon King’ Job.

《You have changed Jobs to ‘Great Demon King!’》

《The Levels of the ‘Monstrous Strength,’ ‘Super Rapid Regeneration,’ ‘Deadly Venom Secretion: Claws, Fangs, Tongue,’ ‘Strengthened Attribute Values: Reigning,’ ‘Surpass Limits: Fragments,’ ‘Labyrinth Creation,’ and ‘Abyss’ Skills have increased!》

《‘Demon King’ has awakened to ‘Great Demon King,’ ‘Thread Refining’ has awakened to ‘Demon Thread Refining,’ ‘Bloodwork’ has awakened to ‘Blood Rule,’ and ‘Surpass Limits: Fragments’ has awakened to ‘Transcend Limits: Fragments!’》

“… I awakened various Skills and the Levels of others increased, but I didn’t hit the maximum level right away like last time,” murmured Vandalieu. “Well then, checking my Skills can come later. The Demon King’s muscles come first.”

He raised his left arm and activated the Demon King’s muscles, picturing his ideal, thick, log-like arm in his mind.

With a creaking sound, his arm split. His muscle fibers leapt out from beneath his skin and swelled up, enveloping it.

“… My arm did indeed get thicker and longer, but I think it’s not quite right,” Vandalieu said with a sigh as he looked at his arm that had been lengthened and thickened by his bizarrely-growing muscles.

It looked powerful, but there was no beauty in its appearance.

Just as this thought ran through Vandalieu’s mind, his arm split once more, his muscle fibers branching out. Each of them then condensed together and transformed into the ideal arm that he had pictured.

“… They are what I pictured, but why are they tentacles?” Vandalieu wondered, looking at the six newly-formed bodybuilder-arm-shaped tentacles with his eyes half-closed. “Maybe because the Demon King was a being from another world, his muscles won’t take the form of the muscles of a human bodybuilder. It’s doubtful as to whether Guduranis was even a mammal, after all.”

Just as he gave up, he heard a notification in his head:

《Your Level has reached the maximum Level!》

In the end, ‘Great Demon King’ had reached Level 100 immediately, just like ‘Demon King’ had.

“After all, I do have more fragments than when I took the ‘Demon King’ Job… My next job… I select ‘Vengeful Berserker.’”

He had thought that this Job might be closely related to the ‘Scream’ Skill, so perhaps he would be able to add audio to yesterday’s unfortunately silent film, but… there weren’t any further changes.

“Well, if all else fails, let’s just hope that there’s a fragment like the Demon King’s vocal cords or something,” Vandalieu told himself as he left the Job-changing room.

The public believed that the evil god had been sealed away, but the crystals in the wastelands had been created and left behind by him. Specialists from the Mages’ Guild and the various Churches were scheduled to investigate them, and while they were doing that, Vandalieu and his companions would be restarting their discussions and coming to agreements regarding their future relationship… the secret diplomatic relations that they would establish.

A few days after that, a funeral was held for Goldie and his family, and various other functions were held, such as the bestowing of awards and announcing the construction of a new temple of Borgadon. Thus, Vandalieu and his companions’ stay in Alcrem ended up being extended for another ten days.

Job explanation: String User

A Job that excels in allowing the user to use threads that they themselves create. It provides bonuses to a variety of things, such as sewing, weaving, combat using specialized threads, and musical performance using stringed instruments.

It can be acquired by those who can create strings and possess an affinity for the death attribute.

Job explanation: Great Demon King

A Job that can be acquired by those who possess the ‘Demon King’ Skill and fragments of the Demon King, and have previously acquired the ‘Demon King’ Job.

Overall, it is the same as the ‘Demon King’ Job, but it generally provides bonuses to more Demon-King-like things, such as the mutation of living creatures and the creation of monsters and Dungeons.