Time passed. William had long grown used to that. If he had actually been a twelve year old child, then each year would have felt like an eternity, but he was not. Instead, he was something like 150 years old, so another few years didn’t feel particularly impactful. However, the years were quite useful.

After a year, Dong Xin left on business. Much of the initial excitement after the death of the Archmage had died down. William was safe… and there were other things that needed to be done. He had plans in Ustil, the country on the south end of the continent. Both the desert terrain there and the wildlife could be deadly… to say nothing of the natives, if they chose to be. Since William wasn’t any more familiar with that area than Dong Xin himself, there was no need for him to go. So, William stayed behind at the Cyril household.

During the next few years, William spent most of his time training his ki abilities. It was quite useful for his own safety's sake, though he was not particularly planning to have to escape from any wizard’s towers anytime in the near future. In addition to that, he had a particular purpose for ki training to be the area he focused on now. It was the only solution to the problem of the Demon King. William didn’t have to be the one who destroyed him, but since he had the capacity, he would certainly want to be involved. Even as just one of many. After all, it was impossible to say if those capable of performing Shattering the Soul would die before they got to the Demon King, or perhaps they might die when they got to him. They might even die in other battles entirely. In addition to that reason, William found training to be rather relaxing, unlike getting involved in politics. As he practiced with Chris, he also found that he didn’t need to tell him what he was going to do, and they could work together, combining their ki. This was much more convenient than magic, where he had to tell Chris what to do verbally.

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William also spent time talking with Lorelei. He didn’t do so very often, because they could easily spend a large amount of time discussing various magical theories and experiments. While William enjoyed that, it wasn’t particularly an efficient use of his time, since it didn’t contribute toward the future war. Still, William didn’t dedicate all of his time to training, since time off was necessary to not go crazy, even though ki training could be very relaxing. During one conversation, William was talking about battle tactics. “In the worst case… if we lose, as long as we keep the Demon King away from the wizards, the number of wizards available for the next time would be just as many, in theory.”

“How would keeping them away help?” Lorelei tilted her head. “Oh, I see what you mean. I might not have explained it properly. You see, that ki technique, Shattering the Soul, isn’t what he uses. He has some strange form of magic… or something he conceals as magic. I’m not sure which. I know he didn’t come up with it on his own, but as for where it came from or how exactly it works…” She shrugged. “Regardless, it can be used at a distance. It is still somewhat limited in range, however, so perhaps wizards could indeed be kept away from him. However, that would only be true in the case of a pitched battle, where they would be most useful to have present. Not all of them will be able to avoid him. In addition to that, he spends special effort to capture wizards during the course of the wars.”

“Capture them?” William nodded. “So he needs to be present, correct? They also need to be alive?”

“That’s right. Presumably, the soul leaves the body after death.”

“Hmm.” William thought for a few moments. “I don’t like the solution I thought of. I’d really rather just win this time and destroy him.”

“Of course. It doesn’t hurt to plan for the worst, though. Let me guess… suicide?”

“How did you know?”

“Your mind always thinks of the most morbid and efficient solutions to problems.”

“Ugh…” William frowned. “Is that true? I suppose so, but I’d never do any of those things.”

Lorelei shrugged her shoulders. “While I admit some of my actions in the past have been morally questionable, I’d like to point out this particular solution is the best one. After all, they’ll be dead either way. If they kill themselves before capture, at least their soul will live on.”

William grimaced. “I’m not even sure how to bring something like that up. It’s a rather unpleasant idea.”

“So is having your soul destroyed. That’s why I’d personally like to destroy him in this war. That, or I’m killing myself before the Demon King can figure out I’ve now publicly betrayed him, or at least before he can do anything about it.”

William nodded. “I’m not personally in danger of having my soul destroyed… unless he decides I’m a wizard, which he might. Or umm… possibly if we win.”

“Why if we win?”

William’s eyes widened. “You don’t know? Hmm, right. Well, here’s what happened…” William explained his ordeal with destroying the bee, and how devastating the explosion was for just that. “I’m almost positive that other creatures will have stronger souls and thus… more devastating explosions.”

Lorelei nodded. “The Demon King’s soul is definitely quite strong. If it is destroyed at all with that technique, it will definitely result in a catastrophic explosion. Can you repeat the procedure? I’d like to see it myself.”

“Destroying a bee’s soul? That’s umm… both dangerous and possibly quite unethical.”

“Just once? Please?” The illusion on her face fell apart as her facial expression changed. If asked, William wouldn’t have said that a demon was capable of making puppy dog eyes… but he discovered he was wrong. “After all… something different could happen.”

William sighed. “Once. Just to make sure the results are consistent.”