Chapter 637
Two days after the fall of Wallen.
"At this rate, all the Immortals will be restored within five days."
In the underground laboratory of the Temple Magic University, Christina slowly nodded as she watched the damaged bodies of the Immortals being slowly restored at the port.
The most terrifying aspect of the Immortals was not their strength, but their automatic recovery.
They were like golems, machines that could be reactivated with just some repairs.
Thus, the true power of the Immortals came from their resurrection.
An army that could not die.
The only living being in that army was Ludwig.
Naturally, Ludwig participated in the battle of Wallen as a member of the Immortals, wearing a helmet and a face guard.
Although all the Immortals had outstanding strength, Ludwig was particularly exceptional among them.
He had to endure even more powerful dark magic and undergo Chimera procedures to resist dark magic. That was why Ludwig was inevitably stronger than the other Immortals.
As a result of enduring the unbearable, he was stronger than the other Immortals.
The coalition forces had only fought once since the Serandia battle, but Ludwig, who moved with the Immortals, had hardly any time to rest.
As long as Ludwig fought alongside the tireless dead soldiers, he had no choice but to be deployed on even more battlefields.
Occasionally, seizures would occur due to the rejection response, but his condition after the Wallen battle was relatively good.
"Ugh..."
Ludwig clenched his mouth shut as he gulped down the dark liquid.
"Ugh! Ugh!"
After retching for a moment, Ludwig barely managed to swallow the liquid and let out a deep sigh.
Even Ludwig, whose only strength was endurance, had sunken eyes from experiencing countless exhausting battles.
By his side, Louis Ancton and Anna were checking on Ludwig.
What Ludwig had just drunk was an alchemy potion to alleviate the rejection response.
"It's definitely effective. But I'm sorry to say this... Why does it taste so bad...?"
Ludwig covered his mouth while trying to steady his breath, as if he was about to throw up.
Ludwig was not retching due to the rejection response but because of the terrible taste.
"I wouldn't mind if it was just bitter, but there's something nauseating about the smell... The taste is just as bad, it feels like my tongue is rotting..."
Ludwig, who had endured pain that would have shocked ordinary people, shuddered as if he couldn't bear the taste of the sedative.
Seeing Ludwig look even more miserable because of the terrible taste, Christina shrugged her shoulders.
"Actually, there's no reason for it to taste so disgusting."
"...Huh?"
"I made it that way on purpose."
"What?"
At that remark, not only Ludwig, but also Louis and Anna, who were checking Ludwig's condition, looked shocked.
She had deliberately made it taste disgusting.
"If it tasted bearable, you'd keep seeking it out. So I made it that way to ensure you'd only drink it when you really need to."
"...So, is this bad for my body?"
"Of course it's not good."
Although the sedative was preventing Ludwig's body from collapsing or causing a rejection response, it was ultimately a very dangerous substance.
"Even if it's fine now, it won't be good to drink it often."
So when she said she had deliberately made it taste disgusting, Ludwig nodded with a bewildered expression.
"Anyway... People saw the Immortals during this battle. Is that alright?"
Louis Ancton cautiously brought up the topic.
Up until now, the Immortal had operated in secret, but in this battle, it revealed itself to the entire allied forces.
Everyone knew that the atmosphere was becoming more unstable by the minute.
"The situation is bound to get complicated, but it's not our concern."
As Christina said, politics was for those who played political games.
"If people find out about the true nature of the Immortal, things will get really... complicated."
"It's good if it gets complicated."
Christina looked at the bodies undergoing reconstruction from a distance and spoke.
"As things get more complicated, the hidden ones will start to crawl out one by one."
"…Ah."
"Once everything is over and they've gone into hiding, we'll never be able to find them. They'll show their faces one by one."
Christina had no interest in politics, nor did she care about how things unfolded.
But chaos inevitably bred opportunities.
Opportunists would always appear when opportunities arose.
Those who had been hidden and could not be found so far would also poke their heads out among such people.
That was all they needed to know.
There was no need to know more.
Those who caused chaos.
Those who exploited chaos.
"All we have to do is wait."
And those who waited for everyone to gather amid the chaos.
With different thoughts in mind, the Gate Incident was heading towards its end.
"Let's start heading back."
There was no need for them to stay in this already automated facility.
In the end, they all had a single goal.
They would all go there together.
There were those who conspired with the Demon King.
As the allied forces continued to move toward their next destination, they whispered among themselves, and fierce mind games unfolded.
"How could this be possible? We must find and judge the evil ones who conspired with the betrayers of humanity as soon as possible."
Some insisted on this.
"The weapon of the Empire is too dangerous. Of course, conspiring with the Demon King is a serious matter, but blindly supporting the Empire is also very risky."
There were those who disliked both sides.
"…"
There were those who swallowed what they wanted to say and said nothing.
In the absence of the Emperor, Louise von Schwarz quietly watched the influential people from various places gather at the Kernstadt Army Headquarters and discuss.
The influential people tried to find a focal point in this chaotic situation.
Unable to gather under the Emperor, who had tampered with an excessively dangerous power, they chose Louise as an alternative and gathered in front of her.
Noise-canceling had been deployed, so the conversation would not leak outside the barracks.
However, the Emperor had said something that should not have been said in a place with too many people.
Too many ears heard it, and too many mouths knew of it.
The story of the Demon King's conspirators within the allied forces.
The story that the army that appeared in the Wallen battle was actually made from the corpses of war heroes would soon spread throughout the entire allied forces.
The secret would only be kept temporarily.
The whole world would learn of the Empire's madness and the existence of numerous human traitors.
And Louise was one of those traitors.
Louise watched those who believed they should be wary to both sides, those who were excited to slaughter the Demon King's conspirators, and those who silently observed the situation.
In the end, not everyone was needed.
"What do you think, Commander?"
There were commanders from various armies present, but the only person who could be called the Commander in this gathering was Louise. After all, she had the largest army.
Everyone looked at Louise von Schwarz.
The current number two of the allied forces.
Her words carried considerable weight. That was why the Emperor had sought her out, not someone else.
Surprised by the sudden downpour, they had gathered to find shelter.
Knowing that the great tree, named the Empire, which had protected them until now, was on the verge of rotting and collapsing, they flocked to the shade of the relatively healthier-looking tree named Kernstadt.
The Demon King, the Emperor, the Empire.
Wondering how it had come to this.
Saying they should kill the traitors of humanity, yet still uncertain.
Louise closed her eyes, feeling the attention focused on her.
"Hmm..."
The Emperor had thrown the dice.
"I..."
It was a signal.
A signal that she, too, must now throw the dice.
"I support the Demon King."
Should she have expected cold water to be thrown on her?
Or should she have expected to be frozen?
Despite the situation, the sight of the people turning to stone as they sat was quite amusing to Louise.
What people had hoped to hear from Louise's mouth was an analysis of the current situation, a prediction, and the direction humanity should take.
They had been waiting for her to show them the way.
Whether there was still a future for the Empire.
What attitude to take toward the Demon King's collaborators.
Whether to take action right away or not.
They had expected such a discussion.
They had hoped for some insight or prediction.
Of course, in their minds, there was no scenario where the commander of Kernstadt would say she supported the Demon King.
There was certainly no one who had predicted that she, of all people, was the collaborator.
"What the hell...?"
For a long time, numerous people were frozen in place, unable to say a word, and when they finally opened their mouths, that was all they could say.
"It's not that difficult to understand, is it? I am the Demon King's collaborator."
The people's faces turned ashen at her next, even more explosive declaration.
Supporting him, and beyond that, saying that she was the collaborator.
None other than her.
The commander of the second-largest army, excluding the Empire, had boldly declared her support for the Demon King.
There was no one in the room who could stand up, drag out the traitor of humanity, and hang her.
There was only one thought in everyone's mind.
Since when?
Had Kernstadt, not another country, been in collusion with the Demon King?
Why had no one known until now?
Those who had been shouting until their throats were raw that they had to punish the Demon King's collaborators would have rather bitten their tongues and died right there.
The rage of those people gradually turned to terror.
They had been shouting to kill the Demon King's collaborators in front of one of them.
"Do you think I'm the only collaborator?"
In the blink of an eye, the great power of Kernstadt had fallen into the hands of the Demon King without them realizing it.
Do you think it's just Kernstadt?
Can you even guess how many forces have fallen into the hands of the Demon King without your knowledge?
Louise thrust another thought into the confused minds of those present.
What should one do if there were numerous collaborators of the Demon King?
Should they join their side to survive?
Louise didn't reveal everything.
She didn't say that the Holy Knights and the Five Great Religions were on the Demon King's side or that the Archduke of Saint-Owan had sided with the Demon King.
She didn't reveal everything.
There was absolutely no need to.
"Think carefully about why I said this. Where my confidence comes from. Why I chose to support the Demon King."
If they were to imagine on their own, fueling their inner fear, they would inevitably build even larger delusions than reality.
Fear grows uncontrollably.
"Those who will join my cause, stay."
"Those who won't, leave."
"But I can't guarantee that the door to my headquarters will be open next time."
Just as the name of the Demon King once created a more significant infamy than the actual power he possessed.
This time, the fear within them would make them submit to it themselves.
"I'll give you 10 minutes."
A mere 10 minutes.
It was an excessively short time to determine the fate of the world.
But the pressing time brought anxiety, and the mention of no next opportunity plunged humans into fear.
The words "no next chance" were nothing short of coercion.
When those anxious 10 minutes had passed, there were empty seats in the headquarters.
Certainly, some had left their seats.
But there were far more seats that remained occupied.
"…"
In the end, even when adding all the rage and hatred, did it collapse before the absolute desire to survive?
Louise could not feel any satisfaction in the sight before her eyes.
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