“So, what’s with your hair? Don’t tell me you came here directly after being awoken from a deep slumber.”

“Errr… Actually that was.”

The proctor’s very first greeting was a scolding. Maybe Morgianna had become too guilty with the joyride(not for me) we had descending from the tall tower of the castle that she tried to talk our way out of the proctor.

“Forget it. Let’s proceed to our main discussion here.”

It felt even more hopeless for me as the Proctor immediately brushed off whatever we had to say to defend ourselves with:

First, we’re late for about thirty minutes.

Second, I looked like someone unbecoming for my position.

Third, I looked like an unconcerned citizen.

“Bu-but auntiiieee.”

WHACK!!

She hit me with a steel wrench. For some reason she always had it, and had always hit me with it whenever I called her auntie.

“—Proctor Miriara.”

“But proctor Miriara, don’t you want to hear my excuse first?”

“No need. I understand the situation. Besides, I’m just imposing on you on your day off. But I really think this is important.”

The proctor’s name was Miriara de Fleur Carmilla. She was my aunt, my tutor, and my exams proctor. She have helped me a great deal with the Thelesmata incident and the Dragunov heist. She was one of the individuals I was truly grateful for my whole reign back at Mytherion. Even though she’s really uptight with regards to my studies when I was younger, she still did her task and guided me properly.

“Oh… Okay…”

I may sound dejected but I was still glad that I haven’t provoked her much.

“My, my, you’ve been ruling the demons for over few decades and you’re still acting childish at times?”

The one who spoke was Elrufus Dax, who at that time were already entitled as ‘General Orcas’, one of the highest generals that accompanies the Maou, at least one per generation.

“Guh—I don’t know you will be here. Morgianna had only told me it would only be Proctor Miriara.”

“Come on now, I’ve just got back from our capital by the request of Lady Miriara here.”

WHACK!

“It’s P-R-O-C-T-O-R.”

“Ugh Why are you so hung-up with the nickname?”

Dax were holding his head in pain due to the shock of suddenly getting hit by a wrench.

“Well kidding aside. This issue seemed very urgent. But I just want to ask, where’s your wife? Haven’t seen her for a while.”

At those times Dax and Mae were already husband and wife and they were already raising two children.

For a long time Dax had been caught between the war of love between the two sisters. At the end he still settled for a choice, and that was to choose Mae over Irish. It was a very wrong timing for Irish and I felt kind of sorry for her. Still, she chose to side with the humans and had put her sister in grave danger. That was the only reason I could think of as a basis for Dax choosing Mae over her.

“She had herself left at the capital, she said she had lots of things going on there so she wouldn’t be here for a while.”

“So irresponsible, what a husband you are. Well just make sure that she’s always safe there.” –I teased him a little, but it was half-meant.

“I’ve left one of my trusted guards with her. She also insisted that I go here and fulfill my duties from your side too.” –he retorted.

“Besides, I’ve got an item I’ve sent there using the proctor’s courier. Even though it’s just a test item, it’s still a better option than to have nothing to resort to in case of emergency. Besides… You know what happens if the peace we’ve worked so hard at to maintain at the capital were to be broken, right?”

“…Yeah, I still do…”

Jeez, this guy…

“Okay then.”

It was on the agreement that Dax, Irish and Mae, and both of the separate demi-human factions supporting humans and demons were to immediately pull out their support if in case any aggression within their capital were to happen and they will need to resolve the conflict themselves.

The past few decades had been really quiet and it seemed like they’re just brewing up an even greater storm that will stir up the whole kingdom once initiated. I had been thinking over and over if it was just that the demi-humans were too loyal to the ‘patron’ that even though they were at the opposing faction, his words were still absolute, or it was the prior statement. While it’s true that there had been no signs of activities with the opposing faction for the previous years and it’s safe to say that there won’t be something that would happen while Dax was away from his wife, having a last resort method won’t hurt.

It seemed that he’s still does not trust the elders there at the demi-human capital.

I did not talked any further about his circumstances, instead talked about my other general.

“How about Lord Fervus?”

“Well nothing beats his pride, so might as well just let him be. He said that he’s not interested in these things.”

The one we were talking about was Fervus Ulterio IV. He was the current leader of the Dragon-folk and the one currently holding the title of ‘General Minos of the Tallest Mountains’ title, one of my highest generals. It was a natural trait of the dragon-folk to be prideful beings. Their pride had always been told to even rival those of the four ancient races, but by that time I, too, realized that Lord Fervus’s pride was better than any other demon out there, might be even better than mine too.

But still, we’ve managed to convince him to support my campaign in exchange for I have to accept his duel requests until he finally beats me.

“He must be like, ‘If it does not help me get stronger to defeat Fredericus then it doesn’t interest me.’.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

We then gave a brief laughter.

“Okay, so going back to the main issue, I think all of the supposedly involved parties are here.”

Proctor Miriara confirmed our prescence.

“First of all, I would like get assurance that nothing happened here, nor not any single one of the items we’re developing here were to be exposed until completely developed and is safe to use.”

The tension rose up. What we went for at the small shed just a bit of distance from the castle was not a friendly chitchat and weekend gathering for usual recreational activities. We’ve been preparing as much as we could against the human race. That’s how we’ve always been for several decades after the Thelesmata incident.

Everyone nodded.

At least we should understand as much. We’ve been meeting in secret, besides those we’ve been conducting with the elder demon council. It was just me, my highest generals and my Aunt or Proctor Miriara knew of these activities.

“I’m not really fond of long explanations, but at least let me tell you how this thing works.”

Proctor Miriara opened the wooden sliding door of the shed. At first it only looked like it was some shed where horses were being housed and haystacks were being stored, but in reality there’s some hidden business, if not shady, that were being conducted there.

At first glance one would ask what the item being presented was. Anyone could wonder, but not us. We were not just normal civilian who happened to pass by an exhibition which we didn’t know anything of. Having a higher standing above the society we were also eligible of knowledge which were not normally being learned by others. I tried to break the deafening silence by joking about it.

“Well it looks like a portal. What are you up to this time? You’re not breaking the laws of nature aren’t you?”

“Hehe, well, I’ve been working on it using the same principle as to how ancient angel race have been using teleportation.”

“Hey… That’s…”

Dax was flustered. Morgianna kept silent, as if she’s trying to cope up with my composure too. I’m pretty surprised by myself too if I could just tell her.

As I have read on history books when I was younger, one of the ancient technologies that once existed within Mytherion was the usage of portals which could be considered as teleportation device. It had never been shared by the proud angels and only they were the ones to ever use it.

For some unknown reason a few thousands of years ago the Angel race vanished, leaving no trace of their civilization, nor ruins, artifacts, none. Their race lived at the ‘Far North’ which would require the longest expeditions just to get there. It was turned to nothing, and it was now named ‘The Place Nearest to the Void’. One could still travel for a long time, just to reach the exact location, and also just to see nothing.

“The theory is as it goes: the portal concentrates vast amount of mana on a single point, which is located in this circular portal-like material and then creates a distortion within space and time. It will then use a long formula to calculate and reduce the distance between the origin coordinate and the destination coordinate until it reaches zero.”

The theory itself was terrifying. After milleniums of study never did any other races came this close upon completing this technology, up until now. There had always been failed attempts which leaded to accidents, and multiple deaths. It was a very risky research that’s why almost everybody forgot about it in due time and got comfortable on using sureball means of transportation even if it takes a lot of time.

“What would it take to operate the portal?” –I continued to question

“Tem high magicians at least. And to keep the portal open it will continually drain mana of the casters. Once there’s not enough mana source to concentrate at the portal it will immediately be cut off.”

I looked at the portal entrance and asked myself if it was really worth the research.

By theory the portal could transfer a one-way ride towards the destination coordinates. A way back would be, to construct an identical device there and it would require manpower as she have explained to operate it from the other side too.

“So it would be a one-way ticket… for now, huh? Who will give a test to operate the machine? I guess it would be me, since you will be needing someone who would provide a huge amount of mana.”

I was not trying to boast or anything. We are conducting researches that isn’t being recorded by the royal palace so we have to do it quickly so we could avoid suspicions as much as possible. And to do that, I nominated myself as a benefactor / tester / guinea pig of whatever project Proctor Miriara had been doing. At first they were hesitant at first place, but there wasn’t much other choice. There were very few limited and trusted person that were knowledgeable of the activities we were doing.

“Here’s the catch. We won’t let you operate the portal. That’s why I’ve called your three highest generals here too, but since we’re missing Lord Fervus too, it would be too dangerous now.”

“What? But why?”

“Here’s the catch. The concentration of mana that will be gathering at the center of the portal will be compared to that of a black hole. By theory even a slightest gap of the individual’s mana affinity versus the amount of mana being concentrated at the center will lead to a suction. Then a burst on the individual’s mana will follow. It could be compared to a popping bubble.”

“But that’s…”

I looked at the expressions of Morgianna and Dax. Of course they would be worried. Morgianna was a given, but even Dax looked too concerned about it. He wouldn’t want somebody he served in for too long to have a tragic end due to a failed experiment.

“Yes, it is far too dangerous. An individual with a lesser mana affinity towards the generated mana at the portal will burst out, like an inflatable balloon picked with a needle. That’s the theory. The mana concentration should only be dangerous at the initial stages of opening the portal. Still, the one that would be using the portal should stand at the middle. Imagine it as a beaker that would contain all of the mana being concentrated while the computations are being made. That would prevent any mana leak which might result to explosion. That would be your role. Besides…”

There was still more.

“The distance between the source and destination coordinates determines the amount of mana to be used in maintaining the portal open. By logic it would be best to test it with the setup which you will be the transported and the ones will lesser mana affinity will be the transporter.”

“My master… You don’t have to if it’s too dangerous.”

Proctor Miriara had been gone for the past years and I did not knew what kind of thing she had been researching for herself up till that moment. It really was a top tier innovation and discovery but it’s still at its testing stage. It only on pure theory basis and accidents might happen too. But it was one of the hazard I’ve signed in as the core man of this research team. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

“Somehow I get the feeling that this will be a success, Morgianna. Nothing to worry about. Besides, if an accident were to happen I will do my best to at least keep the damage to minimum while keeping all of you here safe too. Count me on that.”

Morgianna looked at me like she was a kid about to cry being left out at the house because her mother was going to go shopping. She must have been concerned too much for me which at some point I’ve found irritating. It really felt like I she’s belittling my abilities.

“Morgianna I’m telling you, if the initial phase succeeds there won’t be anything more to worry about.”

Proctor Miriara tapped Morgianna’s shoulder.

Letting out a sigh, Morgianna managed to calm down and regain her composure.

We then completed the preparations for starting up the portal. I stood at the middle and looked at the circular metal-plated rim colored in silver and gold. Proctor Miriara sure loved to make her experiments look presentable just as much as making it work. If she had that free time it means that she could think up of other innovations too.

The setup was as followed:

>Morgianna and Dax will act as a main mana source for activating the portal

>Proctor Miriara will act as a support and overseer for the two sources. She had the switch to immediately shutdown the portal if she sensed anything went wrong.

>I will be the one to enter the portal and confirm if the test was a success.

The three should keep the portal open so I could return. The test should run for about a few seconds because I didn’t want to drain out the three too.

All preparations were complete. The next step we had to do was to start the test. I was standing at the very front of the circular portal when Proctor Miriara went towards me. I thought she might give me final advises or such.

“Say, you might want to close the lid with Morgianna. I know you knew how she feels about you.”

It was a sudden love talk.

“I’ve already done it several times, auntie. She just don’t know how to back out. It might be because she’s a succubus.”

“You’ve got it all backwards. Well anyways, if you couldn’t stop it why don’t you try the other way around? It’s not like you’re blood related. In fact, there had been instances too in which royalties make their slaves as concubines.”

“Shush with the idea!... That’s not funny.”

Considering the age span of demons compared to my current age, I was at the very peak of my manhood and it could be considered as a proper age to marry somebody and raise a family, royalties not an exception. Proctor Miriara was only talking sense: I should consider raising a family at my age already before it’s too late.

For a long time I’ve known Morgianna’s feeling towards me grew more and more as a man, not a sibling. She had just been making her lousy confessions and real talks look like she’s joking but I sensed the heavy sincerity behind her words.

She really must have meant them.

Most of the time I acted like I was buying the joke but in truth, I was slowly conveying her that I’m serious too. That I just wanted her to stay the way she’s always been:

“She should always be my little sister… She have too… As my sweet little sister.”

She was the main reason I’ve kept myself the same all through these years of my reign as the Maou. I thought that if ever I succeeded on my main goal to stop this everlasting war between us demons and the humans, then maybe I could start thinking about my own love life too.

Well Dax and Mae are now living their lives as parents for two children, and Lord Fervus had been married even before I met him. Should I consider Morgianna as a candidate? For now I really have to push to her the role of a pillar that keeps my sanity intact. I’m sorry about that Morgianna but maybe I’ll consider your feelings if the time comes. Silly thoughts though.

“Well let’s go back to main topic. I don’t want to delay this much longer. Are the preparations ready?”

I decided to stop the topic before it got out of hand.

“Yeah, we’re good to go.”

“Say… Proctor Miriara… How have you acquired such technology? Where, and since when?”

Proctor Miriara just appear and disappear for as long as I could remember. Then when she appears she have this new product or experiment which needed testing, and requires us, trusted individuals of hers to attend the testing.

The thing bugged me. It’s not like I didn’t trust Proctor Miriara but some of the details were too vague. You could really and literally find nothing at ‘The place nearest to the void’. Did some ancestors of an old clan here at the Royal Palace actually have gone towards the Angel’s old city and kept a book or knowledge as a possession to be passed down through generations? The very single one clan I could think of would be the Distancia’s which would be my mother’s.

“Well it just really came up to me. Hehe~~”

A straight up lie. It was the same as saying to me “What would it bother you to ask? You better not pry in any further because it won’t gain you anything.”. I felt the need to investigate it later after we finished the test.

But it was then an incident happened.

There had been several experiments, we had test retries, failures, and lots of trials and errors. But the chain of incidents that were to happen were the very worst on we had experienced.

“Three, two, one. Start generating mana into the core you’re touching.”

I was not looking at them but from the sound I could only surmise the amount of mana being generated and compressed in front of me. It was still not comparable to the maximum I could contain, but at least it was enough to blow up the whole city. The royal palace won’t be an exception. With that I sweated cold droplets. I needed to do this right if I don’t want all of the people living under my reign die without knowing why.

“Hoooh. Counting Proctor Miriara out, it seemed that you two have gotten stronger too.”

“We-well I’ve been training.”

“For me it was Mae’s bottomless well of love.”

I tried to hide my anxiety with a joke which they bought. I needed to keep my focus, but they needed it too, especially Morgianna, who’s emotionally unstable whenever I deal with something new and dangerous.

For a few more seconds the light of compressed mana suddenly scattered slowly in thin air, like magical granules of snowflakes being blown by air. Then suddenly a small circle suddenly started expanding while taking shape of the circumference of the circular portal, until it reached the gold and silver colored metal frame.

What reflected on the other side was an entrance to a forest. It seemed like the test coordinates was a grassland which I couldn’t recognize where.

I was amazed.

It was just a test, but if I could really step out at the other side of the portal I would be teleported to the destination they’ve set up. I need to do it, but I was anxious. I asked myself what I was chickening out for? I signed up for this so I needed to see it through the end.

Amazed as I was I could only hear faint traces of voices and arguing behind me as I was bewitched by the success of an experiment that we did.

One step

two steps

I began walking straight through the portal until I’ve set my foot out of the grassland that I was just looking at the other side a moment ago.

I felt the cool breeze, and smelled the dew of the leaves. It was a sight that will make you laze all day.

It was then I was pulled back at the reality and had to tell them that I succeeded. The portal was still open so they should hear me at the other side if I shouted a little.

“Hey!! Did you see? I crossed the other side! The experiment was a succe—”

Nothing.

The portal was gone.

It was just vast plains at my back.