Kwarung!
A dazzling flash of light incinerated the wooden stump and blasted it to smithereens.
Wooreureureung!
As the expanding air created a sharp rumbling noise, Professor Epinhauser nodded silently.
"Lightning..."
Liana calmly observed the shattered remnants of the wooden stump.
It was an outdoor training ground usually reserved for testing large-scale destruction magic.
Although it was vacation time, Professor Epinhauser was assessing Liana de Grantz's condition and abilities.
Liana de Grantz's power was to manipulate electricity.
However, it had now evolved to a level where she could summon lightning from the sky.
While it wasn't nearly as instantaneous as usual, requiring mental focus and time, Liana had undeniably summoned the lightning.
"Your ability might have evolved into a Supernatural power related to weather. We still need to analyze it further, though."
Liana could still manipulate electricity. However, her ability had undergone some changes after the death of Duke Grantz.
"Don't worry about it for now, and try to unleash your existing abilities to their fullest."
"Yes."
Professor Epinhauser stepped back to watch Liana practice her powers.
As an electric field formed around Liana's body, it began to explosively discharge into the surroundings.
Kwarurururung!
As if trying to burn everything nearby, frantic currents of electricity danced around Liana, stretching out in every direction like living entities.
At the same time that she gained the ability to summon lightning, her existing power had also become amplified.
"That's enough, you've demonstrated plenty."
"Control is... difficult."
"It will improve over time."
While the output of her ability had greatly increased, Liana had lost the finesse in handling her powers, which used to be her strong suit.
Due to the sudden and consecutive thunderclaps, Professor Epinhauser had no choice but to stop the experiment, as it was causing chaos throughout the temple and the entire royal road.
Pajik! Pajijik!
In the center of the smoke-filled training ground, Professor Epinhauser silently watched Liana absentmindedly create sparks in her right hand.
Liana slowly walked out of the training ground and stood in front of Epinhauser.
"Is this not enough?"
Without asking what was lacking, Epinhauser knew exactly what she meant.
Revenge.
There was no need to ask who the revenge was intended for.
They discussed what was sufficient.
It was excessive, not just sufficient.
The current Demon King was only considered an absolute being in the exaggerated fantasies of people.
"That's true."
However, Epinhauser was not in a position to reveal such truth.
"But your power is already highly threatening. Use it with caution."
"Yes."
In response to Epinhauser's words, Liana silently generated a current from her fingertips.
"Professor."
"Speak."
Up until now, Liana hadn't given much thought to her supernatural abilities. She had never considered living a life of combat.
"It's the first time I'm glad for my abilities."
Lightning.
A supernatural power specialized for offense, far superior to any other ability.
In speed, destructive force, and range of slaughter, it was unrivaled.
For the first time, Liana was grateful for her powers.
Epinhauser quietly observed Liana, who seemed spellbound by the blue electrical currents.
Liana's abilities had experienced exponential growth.
But to face the colossal figure known as the Demon King, she could not be satisfied with just this.
More.
A little more.
She had to become stronger.
"Can I do Magic Body Strengthening too?"
It wasn't just about relying on her abilities.
She wanted to make the raw strength of her physical body her own as well.
"It's better to specialize in your natural talents. If you focus on Magic Body Strengthening, you'll end up neglecting other areas."
"But Reinhardt did it."
Reinhardt was a precedent, a supernatural being who didn't settle for just his abilities but also do Magic Body Strengthening. Although Reinhardt was a unique case in many ways, Liana didn't care for such details.
She had to become stronger.
To do that, she had to obtain all the strength she could.
Liana felt compelled to be blindly committed to strength in order not to be crushed by the name of the Demon King.
She had started late.
Having supernatural abilities was just another starting point. While others were making efforts, Liana had been complacent with reality and had spent her time without any concern for the future.
Now, she had to put in more effort than anyone else.
Epinhauser briefly said to her.
"It's not impossible."
Liana nodded her head, satisfied with the response.
"What do you want to do?"
In my dormitory room, I was discussing with Sarkegaar.
I had been used by Bertus. And also by Owen de Gatmora. However, Bertus had said, like we had discussed long ago, that the Empire needed an enemy.
The remnants of the Demon King's forces, plotting in the shadows.
It maintained the unity of humanity. In the past, the enemy had been defined as the Darklands, but now the Empire sought unity through a new concept, terrorism.
The approach of using the Demon King's actions as a disguise to deal with troublesome matters might not be the last.
Of course, I had no intention of touching Bertus.
But the Merchant Guild Master.
The traitor of the revolutionary forces, and the one who would ultimately devour them.
I had to decide what to do about him.
"I don't like it, but it seems the royal family sees us as a necessary evil. They probably think our forces will never be fully restored. It's truly arrogant."
Sarkegaar's tone was filled with anger.
As a fallen enemy nation, the royal family treated the Demon Realm as nothing more than a mask they could use at their whim. Sarkegaar seemed to be infuriated by this.
Owen de Gatmora.
He must know that his life is in danger. Even if we cannot touch the prince, it wouldn't be difficult for us to eliminate him.
The moment he decided to use us, Owen had essentially put his own neck on the line.
If we kill Owen de Gatmora, we can prevent the royal family from swallowing the revolutionary forces.
However, if the revolutionaries, plunged into chaos, then start to riot, that's not what I want.
Sarkegaar might prefer chaos.
Simply removing and controlling the leaders of the revolutionary forces is not Bertus's entire strategy.
I had a strong conviction that my response to Owen's death was also within the scope of Bertus's strategy.
To kill or to spare Owen de Gatmora.
It was clear that Bertus intended to gauge the disposition of the remaining demonic forces through which of the two decisions we made.
In the case of Riverrier Lanze, the royal family still had not gained certainty about my true intentions for killing Riverrier Lanze.
The empire would still be confused, not knowing what intentions had caused that incident, which had yielded excessively favorable results for them.
If I kill Owen de Gatmora and sabotage the proper consolidation of the revolutionary forces, the royal family will make a judgment about the remaining demonic forces. That the case of Riverrier Lanze was a mere coincidence, and the goal of the demonic forces was to overthrow the empire.
If I don't kill Owen de Gatmora, the royal family will reserve their conclusion.
Leaving the revolutionary forces, who have lost any chance of joining hands with them, untouched wouldn't be helpful if they assumed the intention of the demonic forces was to rebuild the demon world.
By sparing Owen, we could imply that we are not a group focused on causing chaos within the empire but have other hidden intentions. However, that could simultaneously raise suspicions about why we initially tried to join hands with the revolutionary forces.
"We cannot give our enemies certainty about our nature."
There's no reason to inform the royal family about what we are pursuing. The moment we decide to take Owen's life, the royal family's attitude toward us will be determined.
Bertus wants to use us. While our existence must be acknowledged by those who should be our enemies, there's no reason for us to make them certain that we are their enemies.
"Distasteful as it may be, we'll spare Owen de Gatmora. It wouldn't hurt to have some kind of connection with the royal family, accessible from the perspective of the demonic forces."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Sarkegaar nodded, as if convinced.
I cannot obsess over saving or taking someone's life based on personal feelings.
Such thoughts only serve to acknowledge that I have become someone who hangs another's life in the balance without a care. This realization suddenly weighed on me.
"How did they react?"
“Upon hearing that his name would be borrowed, he showed signs of displeasure, but he did not harm me.”
Bertus was quietly observing Owen de Gatmora, who sat on the sofa in his office, savoring his tea.
"I never thought you'd come back alive. Quite unexpected."
"I thought the same, Your Highness."
Owen de Gatmora.
One of the leaders of the revolutionary faction and a traitor. He was now poised to engulf the decapitated revolutionary faction. And slowly, he would wield the group disguised as a revolution and eventually sink them.
Although he was a traitor, he too had returned alive from a place where his life was in danger.
The greatest contributor to this operation was Owen de Gatmora.
Although Bertus had given the order, Owen had devised the plan, manipulated the letters, and skillfully controlled the messages to bring everyone together.
In reality.
In the revolutionary faction's leadership, there were more opposing opinions about joining hands with the demonic forces.
However, Owen had made everyone believe that the majority of the leadership had already agreed to cooperate with the demonic forces by manipulating the letters and messages.
Bertus had many thoughts.
What on earth did those people want?
When he heard that they had contacted Owen and wanted to join hands, he thought their goal might be to overthrow the empire.
However, now that their plan had been thwarted, they had quietly backed down at a moment when they should have at least spat on the ruined situation.
They joined hands with the revolutionary faction because their goal was to overthrow the empire.
In that case, they should have killed Owen. At least, a ruined plan should have caused chaos.
But Owen de Gatmora returned safely. Had they known about the contingency plan for absorbing the revolutionary faction after Owen's death?
No, Bertus was certain that the probability was very low. If they had known that Owen was a traitor, they would have had no reason to contact him in the first place.
"I don't know what the hell they want."
Chaos or stability? If stability, why on earth would they want stability for their enemies?
Bertus had solved a big problem but felt like he had fallen into an even bigger labyrinth.
"By the way, tell me now."
"What do you mean, Your Highness?"
Owen smiled faintly at Bertus's words.
"Why did you betray them?"
Owen was not a spy that Bertus had planted from the beginning. After the Rotary Club incident, he suddenly appeared and divulged everything.
Owen looked at his teacup with narrowed eyes.
"The merchant had a dream."
"A dream..."
"Yes, it took quite a long time to realize that the dream would not come true, but once I knew it was a dream, I tried to wake up."
"It seems you were quite serious about the revolution."
"Is there any doubt?"
Owen had dreamed of revolution earnestly. In front of the greatest beneficiary of the caste system, he calmly admitted that he had sincerely denied it.
He was an old man who had risked his life to meet with the remnants of the demonic forces alone. Thus, in front of Bertus, he could not help but be audacious in his own way.
The old merchant dreamed of a world where everyone was equal. He was serious about it.
"What's the point of talking about what's already gone? They seem to be more obsessed with discussing what a revolution is, rather than dreaming of the revolution itself. And within that, based on whether one is from the Orbis class or not, and to what extent the internal logic of the revolution has been developed, the hierarchy is divided and the way they are treated differs... I realized something else."
"Something else?"
"Yes, that's just how humans are, by nature."
Human nature is discrimination and distinction.
Owen realized that even those who dreamed of equality tried to distinguish each other based on their background.
"In a new world, people will still be distinguished and try to distinguish, and among those distinguished, someone will be considered noble, special, and others will be despised and scorned. If that's human nature, if the distinctions don't disappear but only the indicators change, then why do we need a new world?"
The old merchant realized too late that there is no reason to destroy the existing stable distinctions if we can't get rid of distinctions themselves, and no reason to spill blood while replacing one distinction with another.
Bertus quietly watched Owen de Gatmora as he spoke.
He had dreamed of a revolution, but after a long time experiencing the revolution organization, he knew that it didn't remove discrimination and distinction, but only created new ones.
That's why he decided that there was no good in such a revolution, and he sought out Bertus.
He didn't try to replace the pyramid, but met the person at the top of the pyramid now.
Bertus gave Owen de Gatmora a sarcastic smile.
"Your words sound reasonable, but isn't it just resentment or betrayal born from the fact that you, not being from the Orbis class, couldn't become part of the leadership?"
He had been loyal to the organization like a dog, but he couldn't become part of the leadership because he wasn't part of the Orbis class graduate faction.
Owen de Gatmora laughed at Bertus's malicious words, which asked if it wasn't simply resentment because he had to be satisfied with being an executive.
"Ha, is that all? There was also the reason that I was a lowly man who only cared about money, and the reason that I wasn't a noble, Your Highness."
"Ha, haha! Ha, ha. Ha. Hahaha!"
Bertus couldn't help but burst into laughter at Owen de Gatmora's tragicomic and bitter joke.
The very reason Owen couldn't become part of the leadership in the revolutionary organization demonstrated just how contradictory the group was.
Bertus laughed for a while, then wiped the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief and chuckled.
"Alright, anyway, you did well this time. I'll call you again when there's work."
"Please call me anytime, Your Highness."
Bertus quietly watched Owen as he respectfully took his leave.
He dreamed a dream, and he knew that it was a misguided dream.
So, was Owen de Gatmora a betrayer or a resolute man, who pushed all those who shared the futile dream with him into the abyss of hell?
Owen de Gatmora had dreamed a dangerous dream, but he abandoned it earlier than others, and in exchange for betraying those who had once shared the dream with him, he obtained absolution.
Bertus had no interest in such matters.
All he did was watch the old merchant's back, which wasn't so straight anymore.
