Lucinil had a style of minimal interference.
Even if I were to engage in activities unrelated to the reconstruction of the Demon Realm, Lucinil wouldn't mind. It was not only due to a lack of interest in my endeavors, but also because Lucinil was willing to help when possible.
"Look, Archdemon, isn't it a child's duty to try and revive their father or something, even in such a situation? I mean, I'm not sure if it's normal, but even a Homunculus Vampire like me knows that much."
But this time, it seemed too incomprehensible.
It was perverse to say that one wanted to eliminate a soul that had entered another person's soul, including my father's.
Lucinil stared at me intently, as if trying to read something unreadable.
Would I have to tell an unbelievable story like I did to Eleris?
"I don't think you're worried about not being able to eat if the Demon King is resurrected... Well, I guess you have your own reasons."
Lucinil crossed her arms, as if she was not curious.
"Anyway, I don't know who implanted a part of their soul into another, but I agree with you. If we separate the soul again, they will become two mixed together, and it won't be possible to return to the original state. Of course, I can't guarantee whether the two separated will be sane or not."
It's impossible to return to the original state.
So, is there no other answer besides coexistence?
"Then, who will become the owner of the body, or rather, the owner of the soul... Is it impossible to determine?"
"Hmm... I don't know what you're talking about, but are you curious whether the person with the mixed soul will have control over the body, or if the Demon King will?"
"Yes."
Can't we do something about the fact that Charlotte's body is occasionally crushed by the power of the Demon King, being devoured or losing its sanity?
"It's inevitable that a collision will occur. It's like a side effect. However, as time goes by, it gets better. It's a common symptom when different souls merge."
It gets better as time goes by.
Is it really going to be okay?
"I'm not sure if that's the right expression, but as it reaches a stable phase, those symptoms will gradually disappear, and everything will be fine. Moreover, it's not a matter of who has control in the first place. They just become one. It's like they're simultaneously two and one... something like that?"
Charlotte's soul and the Demon King's soul have already become one.
Time will heal.
Becoming complete while mixed with the Demon King.
"Eventually, as time passes, the Demon King's ego and the ego of that other person will become a fully integrated state. As you said, it's impossible to eliminate the Demon King's soul and ego."
It cannot be stopped.
As long as Charlotte does not die, the Demon King will be resurrected.
Charlotte's current symptoms are the result of merging with the Demon King's soul.
But since they are already mixed, separation is also impossible.
"By the way, you seem to know that someone quite well. It seems like you even witnessed such a struggle for dominance."
"Yes... Well."
"Hmm, have you ever had a direct conversation with the Demon King?"
No.
We fought, but undoubtedly, that day the Demon King had gone completely mad.
"I tried to communicate, but it didn't work. The Demon King didn't even recognize me."
Indeed, I showed the Demon King who had possessed Charlotte's body the image of the former Demon King, Valier, but it didn't recognize me at all. Hence, we had no choice but to fight.
At my words, Lucinil tilted her head.
"Hmm, so the separated part lost its reason. The conversation didn't go through at all?"
"Yes."
"Then the separated soul of the Demon King went mad."
Is that how it turned out?
What about next time?
"What happens then?"
"Hmm..."
Charlotte's condition cannot be reversed.
"Over time, it'll get better. Souls also adapt to survive. The madness will gradually subside."
With time, it'll get better.
An unexpectedly simple solution appeared.
However, Charlotte realized that she could no longer live as just Charlotte.
Is she to become a being that is both Charlotte and the former Demon King, Valier?
Lucinil tilted her head.
"By the way, if such outbursts become frequent, the complete fusion would be nearing its end, and the Demon King's consciousness will emerge. Any signs of that? Like behaving like a Demon King, or recognizing you... something like that?"
Becoming one with the Demon King means becoming one with the Demon King's ego.
As the madness of the Demon King, driven mad by the effects of the soul-splitting, subsides and the fusion stabilizes, Charlotte will absorb the Demon King's consciousness.
Soon, she will have the memories too.
"Nothing... nothing at all."
However, the Charlotte I've seen so far showed no signs of that.
If the Demon King's memories had returned and the egos had merged, Charlotte wouldn't have tried to resolve this situation in the first place.
The tears, anger, and sadness that Charlotte showed me were all real.
I cannot believe that Charlotte has concealed everything while possessing the memories and consciousness of the former Demon King. Lucinil crossed her arms and frowned.
"Well, it's not uncommon. Sometimes a split soul goes mad and loses its consciousness altogether... Hmm. But the Demon King's soul shouldn't be that weak."
One soul merges, but one side is so weak that its consciousness disappears entirely.
But seeing Lucinil's reaction that the Demon King shouldn't be like that, something came to my mind.
The Soul Speech.
Certainly, I had used the Soul Speech.
The Soul Speech is not magic.
It's clear that the Soul Speech I possess somehow affected Charlotte's condition and the Demon King's soul that had been lingering within her.
"Recently, there was an episode... but there was no madness."
Charlotte's power had an outburst once recently.
"Uh-huh... Is that so? Did you try talking? Was it the Demon King's side?"
"No, the original owner of the body maintained their ego."
Charlotte came to me, trembling with fear as her power surged. However, she clearly wasn't insane, nor did she feel as if she possessed another's ego.
"Hmm... What is that?"
Lucinil seemed to not understand my words at all.
"Did his ego truly vanish? He's capable of soul fusion, yet he didn't care about that?"
I thought that Lucinil's understanding of the magic skills and soul fusion of the previous Demon King couldn't possibly be that limited. But in reality, Lucinil could only think that the Demon King had misused soul fusion, causing this outcome.
No, that's not it.
The Demon King used soul fusion correctly.
There must have been a surge, but gradually, Charlotte's soul would have fused with the Demon King's, becoming one.
The day I first awakened the Word Magic.
The very first Word Magic I used.
Disappear from Charlotte's body.
I had clearly said that.
Although Charlotte's power surged once more afterward, it didn't erode her sanity.
The souls of the Demon King and Charlotte cannot be separated.
So, did my supernatural power make the Demon King's ego vanish, not his soul?
"How strange..."
If that's the case, I no longer need to struggle to save Charlotte.
I already saved her at that moment.
The Demon King's insane ego has disappeared, leaving only his power.
What Charlotte must do is not to separate the souls, but to adapt to the remaining power of the Demon King.
That was all she needed to do.
"Anyway, it seems like he's more concerned about the mixed souls than the Demon King."
Lucinil shook her head in confusion.
"Such a weird person."
Of course, Lucinil didn't ask any more questions.
Instead, I became curious.
"But how do you know so much about it?"
"Soul absorption?"
"Yes."
Lucinil shrugged her shoulders.
"I've conducted a few experiments."
Ah, that's why her expression was like that.
The Vampire Lords were all madmen, weren't they?
—---
When I heard from Lucinil that the mixed souls couldn't be separated, I felt like the sky was falling.
However, as we continued to talk, I realized that Charlotte no longer needed any intervention.
Despite being consumed by the power, she came to me with her sanity intact.
That in itself was evidence. The power itself tainted Charlotte, but her mind remained unaffected, as the Demon King's ego no longer existed.
The situation itself was evidence that Charlotte was fine.
Soul absorption couldn't be a clue, but that didn't matter. Charlotte would be fine from now on.
However, even though I knew Charlotte was fine, it was uncertain if others would accept it.
In the end, the problem was whether Charlotte could accept that her power was no longer a threat, and how the royal family would accept it once she fully adapted to it.
At first glance, the ominous power she possessed was a weakness for Charlotte.
It was a vulnerability that Bertus could attack at any moment.
Lucinil was a master of soul manipulation.
It seemed she had conducted many experiments with souls to gauge possibilities. Imagining Lucinil handling test subjects with such an innocent expression, using magic to manipulate their souls, sent shivers down my spine.
Wouldn't the openly sinister Antirianus be a better choice?
Though Lucinil and I weren't particularly close, during our various conversations, Eleris had brought several books from the library.
"There are so many unfamiliar grimoires that it took me quite some time to choose."
Eleris explained that it took a long time to determine what kind of magic each book contained, and whether or not they were suitable to take, as many of the spells' names were indecipherable. Even so, I thought she was quite fast.
Eleris seemed not to have heard the conversation about Charlotte, as she was so focused.
"That must be the accumulated knowledge of the Darklands over a long history."
The long and storied knowledge collected by demon kings or demon magicians. Lucinil muttered, looking towards the library.
"But wouldn't it be better for you to either retrieve or burn all of these books? You came here with the princess, didn't you?"
Lucinil looked at me as he stopped speaking.
I had come here with the princess, and I had discovered the bunker beneath the demon king's castle. I told Lucinil as much.
Why did I come here with the princess?
And the conversations we'd just had.
The grimoires containing the magic of the underworld.
Stories of soul manipulation and the like.
Her expression showed that she had caught on.
"Oh, don't tell me the soul of the demon king or something was the princess."
"...Yes."
"You don't care about rebuilding the demon world at all, do you?"
From what I'd said so far, she would know that I was trying to save the princess, which contradicted all the superficial goals I had mentioned.
"I can see why Eleris is helping you."
Lucinil sighed, as if her doubts had finally been resolved. Eleris seemed slightly embarrassed, perhaps because she had thought Lucinil would eventually figure it out.
I had no intention of hiding it.
They wouldn't believe it had come to this anyway.
"So, what do you want to do? What exactly do you want?"
"World peace."
Lucinil furrowed her brow.
"...Are you asking me to believe that?"
"It's true."
Lucinil looked at Eleris, as if she didn't want to even bother talking with someone who spouted such nonsense.
"That's right, Lucinil."
Eleris smiled brightly and confirmed it.
"It's even more frightening when Eleris says it too."
Lucinil looked back and forth between Eleris and me, as if telling us to stop joking around.
"...No, what does world peace have to do with this? I'm even more confused now."
As Lucinil saw that neither Eleris nor I seemed to be joking, she mumbled with a flustered expression.
"Just accept it for now, then."
It was something Lucinil had once said to me.
"Alright."
As if deciding not to try to understand what was difficult to comprehend, Lucinil readily nodded.
