Demon King of the Royal Class

Chapter 428

All efforts to find Akasha were in vain because it was already in my grasp. Only then did I understand everything.

Why there was only one mage in Cantus Magna, and what exactly Baalier, who had survived in the original story, had done.

[My son,]

[Every bit of magic in the world contains a certain degree of logic. The logic behind Fireball is the creation of flames. The logic behind lightning is the discharging of current. Homunculus research is about the logic of creating life. What about magic that deals with cold and heat, summons water, and makes trees grow?]

[Every magic and spell in the world contains a methodology to realize the world’s logic using mana as a material.]

[If one succeeds in gathering enough of the world’s logic so that nothing else is needed—if there is a magical tool that can do that—then through it, one could create a world.]

[A tool of creation to extract the world’s logic from magic and spells and concentrate all that logic and reasoning to construct a world.]

[That is what Akasha is.]

[Akasha’s origin is unknown. It could have been a shell created by the Five Gods for the sake of creation and then discarded and picked up by the mages of Cantus Magna, or an artifact created by the founder of Cantus Magna, passed down to future generations, in the hopes that it would be completed.]

[Of course, if they hadn’t coveted my own magic and foolishly tried to kill me, I wouldn’t have known about Akasha.]

[The process of deceiving them and seizing Akasha was complicated, but ultimately I succeeded. With that, I could dream a different dream than before.]

[Not peace achieved through the destruction of humanity, but reaching paradise through creation.]

[However, given the uncertainty over how this war will end, nothing is assured.]

[My son, if you are reading this, it means I no longer exist in this world.]

[As your father, I know your nature best, and I have made arrangements, but I cannot be sure if they will function properly.]

[My son, the knowledge of Akasha’s location and our true purpose is known only to me, you, and the Four Demon Lords. Do not carelessly speak of Akasha. Cantus Magna self-destructed after Akasha disappeared, but remnants may still be searching for it.]

[Moreover, if humans learn of Akasha’s location, it is only natural they will covet it. They will not believe whatever we claim we intend to do with Akasha. This situation, in which both sides wage war while claiming to desire peace, is proof that mutual trust cannot be established.]

[If I am dead and the Dark Land has fallen, walk the path of completing Akasha rather than seeking revenge through it. Humans have always been our greatest, most dangerous, and most powerful enemy. Destroying them would be more difficult than leading our surviving kin to paradise through creation.]

[The completion of Akasha is imminent.]

[We have always waged war for survival. Now that another alternative exists, there is no reason to desire war and destruction.]

[Though I am uneasy about entrusting Akasha to you, if I am dead, you will be the only Archdemon left. Only you can lead our lost kin.]

[Remember, if you recklessly activate the incomplete Akasha, destruction will ensue.]

[Do not be swayed by petty revenge.]

[My son, I beg you.]

[Complete Akasha.]

Those were the final words. I quietly closed the notebook belonging to the previous Baalier.

Eleris had read the contents as well and seemed dazed, as if doubting her own eyes.

“The previous Demon King... did not want war...”

The lost memories of Baalier already contained all the answers. This long and winding journey had finally led me to Akasha.

Akasha was a tool that recorded the world’s logic, and when all the world’s logic was recorded, it could be used to create a world.

There was no dimensional gate leading to another world. It was simply created through the tool of creation known as Akasha.

It was clear what Baalier Junior, who survived the Great War and fled to this bunker, had done in the original story.

It was impossible for the reckless and incompetent Baalier Junior to complete Akasha. Revenge and anger would not have given him the courage and intelligence to do so.

Baalier Junior, consumed by revenge, must have realized in this underground bunker that completing Akasha was beyond him.

And then, exhausted by a vague sense of revenge and his own incompetence, he had activated the incomplete Akasha in despair. As a result, a poorly constructed world, with its incomplete laws, allowed monsters to intrude into reality. That would lead to what was known as the Gate Incident.

[Event Completed - Murder Case Investigation]

[You have received 5000 achievement points.]

[Additional Reward - You have received 10000 achievement points.]

[Challenge Completed - Identify Akasha’s True Nature]

[You have received 50,000 achievement points.]

I now understood why the challenge was named “Identify Akasha’s True Nature” instead of “Find Akasha.” Akasha had already been found. I just needed to realize what Akasha truly was.

[Challenge Completed - Find Cantus Magna]

[You have earned 30,000 achievement points.]

Cantus Magna had already self-destructed. Unaware that Demon King Baalier had seized Akasha, they likely fell apart internally, trying to find the lost Akasha.

Rother Dwin, who had infiltrated the Imperial Magic Department, was a remnant of the now-defunct Cantus Magna.

There was only one reason that could explain why he had suddenly committed murder and went to the lich’s tomb. There must have been magical tomes within the ones Charlotte had taken to the Imperial Magic Department that existed only in Akasha.

He must have been driven mad after discovering magic that existed only in the long-lost Akasha.

Therefore, he had tortured the mages to find the source of the tomes, and when he could not discover it, he had killed them and headed to the lich’s tomb, which seemed the most likely place.

He wasn’t trying to secure the magical tomes and store them in Akasha, but to reclaim the lost Akasha.

In the blink of an eye, my Achievement Points had surpassed one hundred thousand, and I reached the end of everything.

The answer to everything was, ultimately, exceedingly simple.

“Did I not have to do anything...?”

Cantus Magna had long since disappeared, and at some point, Akasha had become the property of the ruler of the Dark Land.

The trigger for the Gate Incident had been Baalier Junior. So, if I did nothing, that alone would prevent the Gate Incident from occurring.

Eleris cautiously embraced me.

“Your Highness... Still, knowing the truth, even like this, is such a relief...”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

I had to stop everything before it happened, and it seemed doing nothing would be sufficient.

It was probably right to be grateful that I hadn’t learned this too late.

I held onto Eleris as she embraced me.

I had reached the conclusion to everything. To ensure nothing would happen, I just needed to continue living as I had been—without any schemes or plans. I could simply continue living my life at the Temple, the way I had been.

Once the issues with the demon god cultists and the followers of the Demon Realm were resolved, there will be no looming threats.

I would need to think carefully about how to handle Akasha.

The previous Baalier had intended to use Akasha to create a world where humans and demons would not be in conflict. He desired an eternal end to fighting. But just like humans did not trust him, Baalier did not trust them.

Humans would not have believed the claim of leaving for a new world by activating Akasha. Instead, they would have coveted Akasha and tried to take it.

Akasha was a magical tool that, if misused, would bring destruction to the world. Therefore, even until their deaths, the Four Demon Lords and Baalier did not speak of Akasha.

They trusted Baalier Junior, or perhaps believed in the resurrection of the Demon King through Charlotte’s body. And it was I, the son, who had prevented that resurrection.

Only Baalier and the Four Demon Lords knew the truth.

“Now I understand why the human Larken Simmernstait defected to the Dark Land...” Eleris said.

The First of the Four Demon Lords, a Grandmaster, and Sabioleen Tana’s mentor, Larken Simmernstait... For some reason, Baalier had either recruited Larken Simmernstait, or Simmernstait himself had sought out Baalier.

He agreed with Baalier’s plans of ending the fighting through complete separation, and so sided with the forces of the Dark Land since it would have ultimately been a better outcome.

However, the Great War had broken out, and the heroes had killed the Four Demon Lords and the Demon King.

The party of heroes might have heard the truth about Akasha from the Four Demon Lords, or they might not have. In the end, though, the battle still went on, and the hero and his party died, along with the Four Demon Lords and the Demon King.

Perhaps the hero and his party fought to seize Akasha after hearing about it—the details are unknown. Perhaps that was why the Four Demon Lords faced the party members one by one, trying to persuade them into joining forces.

However, the truth of that time was now unknowable, since that battle was beyond my perception.

What had happened was already in the past.

Akasha was in my grasp, but this place was not known only to me.

Charlotte and Tana already knew about this place, and Charlotte even intended to offer the tomes in this place to the imperial family.

Though Charlotte might not have realized it yet, she would eventually notice that this place was very peculiar.

What would happen if the imperial family learned about Akasha? That was uncertain, but I couldn’t just leave things as they were.

Now that everything was clear, there was no reason to delay any longer.

This was a highly dangerous artifact with infinite utility, and it might be the key to ending all conflicts between demons and humans.

I might have to complete the dream that Baalier couldn’t achieve, and the wish that Baalier Junior abandoned in the original story.

If Charlotte, unaware of Akasha’s details, accidentally meddled with it, it could lead to an absurd situation in which she triggered the Gate Incident.

“There must be a way to move Akasha to another location, but I’ll have to figure that out later...” I said.

My disappearance from the lich’s tomb would already have caused chaos.

“For now, I need to return to the capital.”

The longer I delayed my return, the more uncontrollable the situation would become.

***

“A tool of creation, huh...”

On the outskirts of the battlefield, Antirianus stood facing the archlich as he listened quietly to the story.

“Yes. It seems your side is in possession of Akasha without even realizing it.”

Archlich Lucren had gone to the lich’s tomb because some of the tomes he’d discovered contained magic developed independently by Cantus Magna. Once discovering traces of Akasha, Lucren thought it was the last chance to reclaim it.

Now Antirianus understood why Cantus Magna had been impossible to find, and why Lucren had gone to the lich’s tomb alone.

Cantus Magna had been destroyed, self-destructing after suspecting each other of stealing Akasha, since no one knew who had taken it.

It was not an insider, but the previous Demon King Baalier who had stolen Akasha. The current Demon King was unaware that what he held was Akasha all along.

“If you cooperate with me in reclaiming Akasha, I’ll forget what you’ve done. Tell me, Antirianus, where is Akasha?” Lucren said.

If Antirianus cooperated in finding the lost tool of creation, all past transgressions would be forgotten.

Antirianus tilted his head slightly. Whether or not to believe those words was another matter.

“Lucren, why do you want to become a god?”

“... What?”

“Do you think becoming a god would be fun?”

Antirianus narrowed his eyes, as if he didn’t understand Lucren’s aims.

“Becoming a god means becoming an absolute being, where everything in the world functions according to your will, and you can adjust everything to your liking. Why do you assume that would be fun?”

Antirianus smiled quietly.

“The joy of life and the world lies in its unpredictability,” he continued.

“Do you think a world where everything moves according to your will, where everything returns to dust with a single gesture of yours, and where your omnipotent power is the only thing functioning in that world, would bring you joy?

“Sure, it might be fun for a very short while. But soon, you’ll lose interest.

“What remains at the end of the process of erasing and recreating, erasing and recreating, over and over again, if not boredom?

“What remains other than ennui?

“If the wish that Cantus Magna has nurtured all this time is the delusion of the joy of being a creator... It’s exceedingly disappointing.

“The world is enjoyable when lived in as a creature, not as a creator. No matter what world you create as a god, even if that world is perfect, if you experience it from the perspective of a creator rather than a creature, what appreciation can you gain other than admiring the technical solidity of a well-made artifact?

“Without despair, sorrow, pain, anger, hatred, and dislike, there can be no joy, delight, ecstasy, pleasure, happiness, or love.

“Lucren, the world is chaos, and I love that chaos. Becoming the overseer of that chaos will ultimately be a very uninteresting task.”

Antirianus’s words left Lucren stunned.

“You madman! Are you saying you’d refuse the path to becoming a god?” Lucren rebuked him.

“If you intend to use Akasha for such a boring purpose, I can’t allow you to have it,” Antirianus said with a smile. “I told you, Lucren, I was curious about what Akasha is, but I never wanted to possess it.”

Antirianus raised his staff.

“At least the boy I know would use Akasha in a more interesting way than you.”

“Antirianus... you crazy old man...”

Lucren, who had still not recovered from the aftereffects of casting large-scale magic, was no match for Antirianus at the moment.

The only reason the old vampire gave for refusing the path to becoming a god was that it would undoubtedly be boring. Lucren saw the gleam of madness in his golden eyes.

“Lucren, would you show me despair one last time?” Antirianus said.

The incarnation of madness beyond good and evil...

“Show me the pain, despair, and misery of having your long-held desire end in this petty place.”

A mad mage seeking despair and bloodshed...

“After such a long wait, you’ve shown me such a dull wish. You should at least show me a proper scream.”

Antirianus raised his staff.