Chapter 101

Arc 13- Public Enemy No.1 - Part 4

Monarcity, Chias, Chochica Empire:

As the all-powerful king of the Chochica Empire sat on his red and golden throne, he spoke.

"Speak!"

His cold voice sent shudders through the audience.

"How is the situation?"

He had placed his elbow on the throne’s arm and rested his face on his hand lazily.

"Baros?"

With the corner of his eye, he lazily looked at the tall and muscular in a cyan coloured armour.

Before Baros could speak, a leader of the magical community stood up.

On this world, there is a sector of the empire called the magical community. Unlike most people of Chochica Empire, they still use magic regularly. Magic is everything to them.

Majority of the Chochica Empire population stopped using magic because they did not want their lives to end this quickly. But the magical community - which makes up 20% of the empire's population - still use magic without any regards for their lives.

Seeing the man in a white gown, Nazar lazily rolled his eyes.

"Why did you destroy us?"

Though he spoke in his own tongue, Nazar heard it in English.

"I didn't," Nazar replied in a stern tone, which made the man's body tense up.

"Then the face--"

"I am not going to talk about what happened that day, Krum."

Hearing the angry voice of Nazar, even more people fainted in the spot.

If this was the Duluria Empire, the weak would have been executed on the spot. But this Empire is different.

The magical leader, Krum, stabbed his cane into the ground and stood straight.

"Then what else do you want to talk about, if not about that day? We need to know. We have the right to know."

Nazar narrowed his eyes.

"Do you now?"

The old man gulped.

"Tch," Nazar clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Forget the past. Tell me what's happening around the empire. How is the defence holding up?"

"You can't--"

"Oh?"

Nazar raised his right hand.

In his palm, a small sun appeared.

It was the largest sun in the universe, but Nazar had manipulated the space around it, so it looked no bigger than a football.

He also made sure that these people before him die due to the heat from the sun.

"I am not in the mood to talk about that day. Let's talk about today's problems, okay?"

The old man looked around.

The generals and sub rulers were here to report on the current situation of the empire. Only a few - from the opposition parties - were here to question Nazar.

Nazar lowered his hand as the sun vanished.

"Speak!"

A high ranking general stood up.

He took a deep breath and swallowed his fear.

"So far, there have been no signs of any forms of attacks. We are keeping a close eye on surrounding planets and empires. With the help of the magical defence agency and Solace, we have blocked all forms of teleportation to any of our planets."

"Good. Next."

The high ranking general, although not finished, stopped talking and kneeled once more.

A man in a suit - which resembled a suit made on Earth slightly - stood up.

"I will be short, my lord."

Nazar nodded.

"Our economy is not looking good compared to our defence. Imports and exports with neighbouring systems have been halted."

"Damn it."

"The rest of the universe refuses to get involved with us economically."

"Planet Mial?"

The man thought about it before continuing.

"That is a possibility. I will look into that immediately. If you don't mind, sire…"

"Sure."

Nazar's finger twitched and the man was teleported out.

"Next."

"There have been some revolts from within the empire," said a tall woman. "Some of the sub empires are trying to fight for their independence."

Nazar glanced at the leaders of the magical community.

The magical community is the remains of the Church of Michael. These were supposed to be the "better" than the rest of the organisation.

Nazar always knew that they were dirty. However, he left them to be around because he didn't want to bring too many changes to an empire he started ruling over recently.

So far, they were not a threat. But things might be different from now on.

"Furthermore, you have been asked to come before the Galactic Council."

Nazar frowned.

"Next…"

She kneeled down once more.

"Although the High General said that there is no problem within the borders…"

Nazar stared at the head of the Space Exploration unit in a confused manner.

Ignoring him, she continued.

"Our ships have been under attack by unknown assailants."

Nazar scratched his forehead furiously.

"Why do they work so fast in situations like these?"

Nazar sighed.

"I will let Solace deal with that."

Seeing the annoyed look on his face, she concluded her report and kneeled down.

Nazar stared at the audience as he thought.

Noticing that, Baros spoke.

“Next.”

A man stood up and started talking, “Magic is dying.”

Hearing his words, everyone looked at him with alarming expressions on their faces.

“I am not sure if you have noticed, but for the last few months, magic has been dying slowly in our people. We are losing more and more magical power as time goes on.”

“What do you mean?”

Seeing the concerned look on Nazar’s face, Baros realised something.

“Ah!”

Nazar, still lazily sitting on the throne, glanced at Baros next to him with the corner of his eyes.

“The third attack by the Church of Michael-- Ahem. The Cult.”

Noticing the magical leaders of the empire, Baros cleared and changed his wording.

Though the “bad” side of the Church is gone and they have no control over the Empire, the Church still remains. Its followers still exist. So, Baros did not want to consider every one of them a terrorist.

“There was a ripple effect we all felt. Every Chochican in the universe felt it.”

“And since no one was hurt, I did not take it too seriously,” Nazar added in a gloomy voice. ”I assigned a team to take care of it. I remember now. I should have--”

“Bah,” said Krum, cutting off Nazar. “Of course, a mere outsider would not care about us. Magic is part of us. Magic is essential to us. Without magic, we will be in the same league as the humans of Urth.”

Nazar narrowed his eyes.

“And there is a rumour of your relationship with a human woman. First a pretender on the great throne and now a human woman?”

Feeling the malice from him, Baros’ sword materialised in his hand.

“Bah, how much will--”

Shooting out two beautiful white wings like from his back, he shot himself towards Krum.

Holding his Excalibur-like sword to Krum’s neck, Baros spoke in a cold voice.

“Don’t you dare!”

Krum smiled thinly in return.

“Look at how far you have fallen, O Lord Baros. A dog of a mere human? Bah, you were the great--”

“Disrespect the king again and I will slaughter you on the spot.”

Krum sensed the killing intent within him, so he back down as he smiled.

“I am not your enem--”

“Silence!” Nazar said out coldly as he stood up abruptly. “I don’t have time for your useless shenanigans at this moment, Krum.”

He was angrier, so naturally, the pressure he was giving was off was intenser.

“If I was such an evil man, I would have destroyed this empire in an instant. If I was such an evil man, I would have left you to dust when Annihilator nearly killed you."

Nazar walked towards Krum slowly.

“If I were such an evil man, I would have collapsed the multiverse on itself and killed everyone.”

One by one, people from the audience were being forcefully teleported out by Lian.

“If I were such an evil man, I would kill you moments ago. I merely displayed my power as a warning. Anger me once more...”

Having Nazar glare him down, Krum felt his soul leaving his body.

“I will kill you.”

Nazar placed his hand on Krum’s shoulder.

He felt like giving up and collapsing on the floor.

“You like a child who just wants attention from the elders, Krum.”

Baros’ sword vanished into thin air.

“I have seen quite a few children like you. They tend to take longer to learn manners.”

Nazar brought his face closer to Krum’s ear and whispered.

“I hope you are a fast learner. If not...”

Hearing his cold laughter in his ear, Krum’s vision flickered.

“I will have to teach you personally.”

And so, the old man fell to the ground, unconscious.

Nazar took a few deep breaths.

"As for you, Lian…"

Her body jolted in fear.

"I heard you wanted to leave this life."

Nazar looked back and smiled gently.

"Being created for a single purpose… I know how that feels. I wanted to talk to you for so long about it. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to leave this life behind."

"I…"

She wanted to speak but Nazar continued, so she kept quiet.

"I just wasn't sure if I was the right person for it. So I am glad you are leaving it behind. The constant war and battles get tiring."

Lian inhaled sharply.

"You chose well."

"But--"

Nazar raised held out his palm, stopping her.

She wanted to say, how can she leave everything behind when things are so wrong.

"If you want to, you can help differently. But don't do anything that you don't want to do. Got it?"

Lian nodded.

"You are my precious friend, Lian. I don't wish to see you suffer in any way."

Lian let out a sigh before smiling.

"I am not leaving you guys in this situation. What will you do without my guidance?"

"Then take your position as my advisor. Well, full time anyway. I don't need a bodyguard, anyway."

"Sure."

Nazar let out a sigh of relief.

"Don't worry too much. We can get through this."

He looked at Baros next to him and then Lian.

Holding out his fist, he said, "Together."

လလလ

Inside a library in the castle, the three of them sat around a small round table.

Lian had a notebook in front of her. She was taking notes.

"The empire is under fire, to say the least. We are not just talking physically. The public image of the empire has been tainted because of me. The economy is in a pinch too."

"Economy is the easiest one to solve. This empire has unlimited resour---"

"No," said Lian, cutting off Baros, "trade with the outside worlds is important. An established import and export system is absolutely needed."

"She is right, Baros."

When Baros ruled over the empire, he never had to deal with these kinds of crisis. The Church of Michael had potent people who did it for him.

To begin with, he did not have a lot of control. He was the beautiful face sitting on a beautiful throne. A king without power.

"We need an established import and export system. We might be able to survive with what we have or use our powers, but in the long term, it can hurt us."

"Exactly! Trade isn't about physical goods. It's about keeping close economic and political relationships with other worlds. It's beneficial in many ways."

In return for being lectured, Baros smiled stiffly.

"Moving on…" Nazar said in a heavy tone. "Defence is another problem."

"With our powers, it shouldn't be a big problem, honestly."

When it comes to power, Baros won't be left behind and get lectured.

"I can keep the while empire safe without even lifting a finger."

Though it sounded like he was boasting, his tone suggested otherwise.

"But due to this unknown enemy, I am not sure if I can be here all the time."

"Solace and I should be more than enough then," Baros said with a smile to reassure Nazar.

In return, he nodded and said, "Thanks, I will be counting on you."

“What if we contract outside forces?”

Baros and Nazar looked at Lian.

“I was thinking of that. But can the Jabalot Empire really be trusted?”

(When my other self went to the Chochica Empire, he did something. My memory is fuzzy but I wonder what he did. I did ask him but he never told me.) Nazar thought.

“No, I have something better in mind.”

Seeing the corner of her mouth curl up into a smile, Baros and Nazar tilted their heads in a confused manner.

“The inter-dimensional team of mercenaries. Their price is high but payable. And their services are unmatched.”

Nazar and Baros glanced at one another.

“You don’t mean...”

“The Silent Shadows,” Nazar sounded unpleasant as he recalled a certain old memory.

“You are not wrong. They are trustworthy and strong. But...”

“You are worried they will backstab us?”

Baros nodded.

“They care about their image more than anything,” Nazar said. “I have dealt with them in the past. They are powerful and trustworthy.”

“I know that,” Baros still sounded worried. “We can’t take chances at this time. Even the most loyal could turn against you.”

Nazar leaned back into his chair.

“Mm.”

He clasped his palms together and tapped his fingers with each other as he thought.

“I can take care of that. I will force a pact upon that will prevent them from harming us in any form or shape.”

“Oh right.”

“Luckily that’s solved… Kind of, I guess,” Lian said. “We are done with the defence part.”

“We should worry about internal conflicts. That’s a major issue.”

Both Nazar and Lian looked at Baros with a cynical smile on their face.

“Oh, you would know about that, wouldn’t you?”

Nazar nodded in confirmation.

Baros frowned.

“I have had a lot of lows during my rule. But I had people who dealt with it.”

“Yeah, I might leave it to them too,” Nazar slowly stood up. “I am not sure if I will be able to do it myself.”

Nazar started to stretch his arms as the room fell silent.

In the silent room, Baros recalled something, so he started to speak.

"About your…"

Baros looked down with a guilty look on his face.

"I didn't tell them about her. I don't know how they--"

"I know," Nazar said quickly. "They have spies."

Lian looked at Nazar and then Baros with a confused look on her face.

"I have felt their presence following me for a while now. I could get rid of them… But I try to pretend they are not around."

"Ummm… What are you guys talking about?"

Nazar looked back at her and smiled.

"His companion," Baros said. "Or a lover. I think a lover is more fitting."

Lian's eyes widened in surprise.

Nazar used to be extremely anti-social and kept his feelings hidden. Most of the time, he appeared emotionless. So, seeing that he has someone special like that, Lian was extremely surprised.

"You? And a lover?"

Nazar nodded.

"I don't know why either. It just happened," he said in a flat tone.

"I feel like the end of the world is coming."

"Oh, come on now..." Nazar frowned.

"Why did you not tell me about it before?"

"I didn't find the right time."

"I see how it is..." Lian put on a disappointed face to tease Nazar.

လလလ

Bradley Island - Earth:

It was evening. Solace and Laura were standing near the beach and talking.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Laura glanced at Solace who was looking down.

"Supposedly, a godlike being gives you an option; do you want eternal happiness?"

Solace looked back at Laura.

"Would you take it?"

Confused, Laura wondered why she asked such a question.

But even then, she gave an answer to Solace.

"Of course. Who wouldn't?"

Laura chuckled.

"Let me tell you about humans. We ultimately want nothing but happiness. Even if we want to see others happy, it's for our own sake. If you want to do something good, it's for our own sake. Everything we do is for one thing."

"Your happiness."

Laura raised her index finger.

"Exactly!"

She smiled.

"So, of course, I will take it."

"I see…"

Solace looked down once more.

"What if there was a certain condition?"

"Hm?" Laura tilted her head to the right in a confused manner.

"Would you take eternal happiness in exchange for the eternal despair of another person? Nazar, in this case?"

Laura sucked in a breath.

"Would you curse him to eternal despair for your own happiness?"

Without thinking too hard about it, Laura gave Solace an answer.

"Yes."

"I see…"

Solace smiled softly.

"That's good."

Laura, unsure of what she said but didn't inquire further.

However, Solace continued.

"He would have hated if you "sacrificed" your own happiness for his."

Laura smiled stiffly.

"But a deal like that sounds fishy. So, I would rather not take it."

Solace laughed.

But in return, Laura sighed.

"A-anyway, forget that," desperately, she tried to change the topic. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Hm? Sure."

"It's gonna sound weird but…"

Laura was hesitant to continue asking the question, but Solace said, "If you don't want to, then don't."

"Oh, it's not that. I really do want to."

"Then ask."

Laura took a deep breath.

"Do angels have sex?"

"..."

Solace looked her at her blankly.

"..."

"I-I warned you it's a weird question, haha," Laura laughed nervously.

"Of course they don't," Solace decided it was time she stops staring at her and answers the question. "The angels and the Gods don't have sex."

For some reasons, Laura let out a sigh of relief.

"I mean, a few of them did have sex but most of them - in fact, almost anyone with enough power can get rid of their sexual urges."

"Must be nice."

"I guess, so," Solace looked somewhat depressed at the thought of her not having such urges.

"Wh-what about Aarin?"

Solace smiled thinly as she realised what was going on, but she answered her question.

"Oh, yes."

Laura's body stiffened.

"With…"

Laura's throat went dry, so she swallowed her saliva.

"With who?"

"Lucifer."

She relaxed her body upon hearing that.

"Oh. Go--"

But then…

"Huh?"

"Yeah, it was her way of revenge."

"What do you…?"

"Lucifer had tortured her so she wanted to get her revenge."

"Why did he to that to her?"

"It was his way of getting Nazar involved in a war."

Ignoring the worried look on Laura's face, Solace just let out a sigh.

"It was in the old timeline. I am sure he told you about his fight against Michael."

Laura's mouth opened as she recalled a moment from the old timeline.

"Right. Of course. I do remember Nazar mentioning something like that. I thought he was joking."

"Anyway, why do you keep asking me these questions?"

Embarrassingly, Laura averted her gaze.

"I was wondering if Nazar had slept with an angel."

"Oh, he hasn't done it with an angel. But he did it with a succubus."

"Oh, he said it was a female demon?"

Not getting an extreme reaction from Laura, Solace seemed disappointed.

"Well, it was a female demon. They have succubus "features" - for the lack of a better word. So, you can call them that too."

"I see…"

"Either way, you don't have to worry about anything," with her left hand, she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "He is loyal to just you."

"I-I know that," Laura said embarrassingly. "I just wanted to know about his past."

"I see… Just so you know, you were the only person he loves and ever harboured these feelings for."

Laura smiled softly as she felt a warmth within her.

"But be careful, I might snatch him from you," Solace said while giggling.