Click—clack, clack—
The sound of mechanisms turning came from deep within the corridor overhead. Tanaka guessed that someone was clearly about to enter the underground space of this Great Anti-Magic Array.
"The Demon King... has already won?"
Although he had already heard the outcome from Kiro, this struggle ended much faster than he had anticipated.
"Hey." He nudged Kiro beside him with his elbow. "What should we say when we see the Demon King in a bit?"
"Cough, cough cough!" Kiro frowned, as if enduring something, but still explained, "The Demon King is a smart person. There's no need to specifically say anything; he will understand as soon as he sees us."
Saying this, the fox-man supported himself on the stone pillar and tried to stand up. Tanaka took a step forward, intending to help him, but before his fingertips even touched that balding arm, Kiro suddenly fell heavily to the ground.
Tanaka immediately stepped forward and supported his head. "You're...?"
Kiro's pupils trembled. He seemingly hadn't expected to collapse at a time like this either, and could only grip Tanaka's sleeve tightly.
"Tell the Demon King..." His voice was already hoarse, sounding somewhat slurred. "Do not... attempt to investigate... the sea..."
"What? Do not investigate the sea? Kiro? Kiro?!"
However, Kiro was already unable to respond, and the arm gripping his sleeve slumped down.
He wasn't dead. In Tanaka's eyes, the status panel of this balding fox was still there, but the use of his ability had indeed severely overdrawn his body.
[Comatose]
[Vitality Depletion - Medium]
"Kiro? Kiro!" Tanaka tried calling out a few more times, his voice growing louder, bouncing around in the empty underground space.
No response.
Tanaka quieted down, the concern on his face also withdrawing. The hand originally resting on the fox-man's chest slowly moved to his neck, applying force little by little...
In all fairness, the two years acting together with Kiro hadn't been too bad for him.
Although the torture of his clones going to die and transmitting pain back was indispensable, overall, the fox's precognitive simulation ability also meant he didn't have to fear encountering unforeseen events like the Vampire ambush back then, making him relatively stable psychologically.
If compared to working a job, Kiro was like a boss who arranged everything. Although he didn't know the full picture of the orders, as long as he did the work at hand well, he didn't need to worry about anything else.
However, all of this was only on the surface.
Before transmigrating, his nearly thirty-year career as a corporate slave made reading the expressions and nuances of people around him an ability engraved in Tanaka's bones.
Tanaka was well aware that the look Kiro gave him was identical to the look he gave that bunch of discarded pawns from the Iron Jaw Mercenary Group.
To change the future, this fox-man cared absolutely nothing even for his own life, let alone Tanaka's.
And Tanaka was almost certain that he was also one of the chess pieces meant to be sacrificed in his plan.
Tanaka did not want to become a sacrifice, even if it was to "save the world."
In this world, he had no ties or attachments, no existence worth him risking his life to save.
The only reason he had followed Kiro up until now was simply because his abilities were completely hard-countered by [Temperance].
However, Kiro's precognitive simulation clearly also had considerable flaws; draining vitality was just one of them.
Just like right now, he seemingly hadn't anticipated his own coma. Tanaka guessed this was because his simulation was conducted based on the state prior to simulating; in the simulation, he hadn't been weak enough to fall into a coma.
Regardless, right now, the power of choice had returned to Tanaka's hands after a long time. As long as he used a bit more force...
The sound of the mechanisms in the corridor was drawing closer, the clacking of interlocking gears mixing with a series of footsteps.
Tanaka raised his head, glanced in that direction, then lowered his head again, looking at his hand resting on the fox's neck.
He slowly released his fingers.
The final mechanism was opened. The Demon King walked in first, with Mofrey following behind, her head lowered.
If a human or a dwarf had sneak-attacked and killed the Emperor, then the Empire's factions would inevitably kill the assassin first, and then plunge into a struggle to reshuffle power.
However, the Demon King was different. As the founder of the Empire, he himself possessed a legitimacy that even surpassed Mortis's. This was also why Mortis had only dared to mobilize forces with guaranteed loyalty to deal with the Demon King.
And now, Mortis had suddenly died.
Under the general trend of events, those willing to remain fiercely loyal to Mortis were ultimately in the minority, aside from those Blood Guards whose very wills had been twisted.
After the suppression was complete, the Demon King was in no hurry to sit back on the throne. Instead, he had Mofrey lead him down to the underground space of the Great Anti-Magic Array first.
The battle with Mortis had gone exceptionally smoothly. The Demon King naturally perceived that someone was helping him from the shadows.
Coming down at this time was to investigate exactly what had happened.
He had originally only wanted to find some clues, but he didn't expect that the instigators actually hadn't left, and were simply sitting not far away, looking in this direction.
"Who are..." Mofrey originally wanted to interrogate them subconsciously, but then immediately recalled her current situation. Realizing these two were highly likely the Demon King's subordinates, she hurriedly shut her mouth.
The Demon King, however, raised an eyebrow, immediately recognizing Tanaka as the strange Hero who had initially released him.
Upon seeing the status panel of the fox-man Kiro beneath Tanaka, he quickly guessed the inside story for the most part.
Tanaka, however, looking at the Demon King's status panel, experienced twitching eyelids and a face full of disbelief.
Compared to their first meeting, the blurred portions on the Demon King's panel had reduced significantly. Now, he could see roughly half of the information.
And among the visible contents—
[Pinnacle of Magic]
[Honesty]
[Immortality]
[Envy]
There were three more special abilities than at the beginning, among which [Envy] was, for some reason, grayed out.
But this still shocked Tanaka.
He couldn't help but look at those pieces of information that were still blurred. How many more special entries would there be among them?
From just the panel alone, Tanaka developed a sense of powerlessness, feeling completely at the mercy of others.
The Demon King approached step by step. Cold sweat slid down Tanaka's forehead as he looked up, nervously awaiting his fate.
"You've worked hard," a soft, boneless hand gently patted Tanaka's shoulder, and the Demon King comforted him. "No need to be nervous. You are safe now. Come with me, and tell me why you helped me do these things."
Under the Demon King's instructions, several Demon-kin quickly stepped forward to carry the comatose fox. Tanaka followed behind the Demon King, recounting Kiro's plan in full detail—that plan about stopping the mushrooms from destroying the world.
The Demon King didn't interrupt the whole time, merely listening quietly to Tanaka's narrative. It was only at the end that he had some doubts about the fox-man's words before falling into a coma: "Do not investigate... the sea? I know there are Keith and the Mist there, but it shouldn't be so dangerous that it can't be investigated."
Tanaka pointed to Kiro: "Wait for him to wake up and ask him."
The Demon King could only nod his head. Since it was a warning from [Temperance], he would naturally handle it with caution.
Moreover, right now he still needed to deal with the turmoil caused by his return to the Empire. He wouldn't be coming into contact with the ocean in the short term, so it wasn't a hindrance.
(End of Chapter)
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