Become the king of the nation.
Lark fell silent as he carefully considered His Majesty's offer.
He'd been offered similar positions before, back in his previous life—to rule over some of the annexed nations of the Magic Empire—and he refused every single time.
But this time was different.
This kingdom's military power—its soldiers and magicians—were far too weak to defend against the demon's attacks. The army stationed in the capital aside, the king himself held very little military might. Had it not been for the three ducal houses, this kingdom would have been long annexed by the empire.
Lark believed that there was a limit to what he could achieve on his own. Currently, he did not have enough political sway over the nation. He needed a higher status in order for him to move all of those nobles, particularly those belonging to the other factions.
The nobles of this kingdom have been given too much power, thought Lark.
The royal family, the three ducal houses, and the other nobles were maintaining a delicate balance in power. Lark was certain that with the fall of the Kelvin Duchy, the scale would finally tilt to one side.
With bated breath, everyone waited for Lark's answer.
"I dislike the idea of being tied to a nation," said Lark.
King Alvis's head drooped upon hearing this. The duke looked dismayed. Lady Ropianna gazed at Lark with eyes filled with understanding, the retired General Carlos knitted his brows, while Farsight remained as expressionless as usual.
Everyone held different reactions to his answer. Lark realized that King Alvis and the duke wanted him to ascend the throne the most.
Lark added, "Becoming the king is impossible, it's too cumbersome.
But if it's something temporary—like, say… a regent." Lark looked the king in the eyes. "I believe that such a position is the ideal for me right now."
King Alvis's eyes lit up.
A regent.
Indeed, it was also a viable choice as of this moment.
"Of course!" the king said in a voice louder than usual. He was clearly excited that the idea had not been completely rejected by Lark. "What do you think, Carlos? Ropianna?"
The retired General Carlos grinned at his lifelong friend, "I believe it'll work, Your Majesty."
Lady Ropianna smiled. "I believe so too, Your Majesty."
For the first time in several years, King Alvis and the duke smiled upon locking eyes with each other. Although it was temporary, the status of the Marcus family would be elevated with this.
Moreover, the king was too old. The duke believed it was only a matter of time before he finally stepped down from the throne. When that time came, the current regent would have the highest chance of becoming the next monarch of the kingdom. If by chance Lark declined, Lui would be more than qualified to take his mantle and rule over the kingdom.
The king said in a voice filled with excitement, "Then, three weeks from now, we'll formally appoint Lord Lark as the King Regent of this kingdom. It should be more than enough time for the other nobles to arrive at the capital."
The king gazed at Lark and waited for his approval.
"Three weeks," said Lark. "My preparations should be done by then.
Alright."
King Alvis heaved a sigh of relief. A tremendous burden had been lifted off his shoulders. As much as he wanted to protect this kingdom, he knew there was a limit on what an old man like him could do. The war that was about to come far surpassed anything they'd seen so far. King Alvis doubted if even his father—the so-called Tyrant King—would be able to properly command the soldiers to battle against the demon race. The enemy this time far surpassed them not just in strength, but also in number.
The king silently thanked the Gods for the presence of Evander Alaester.
"Duke," said Lark.
"My son," the duke shamelessly replied.
Lark placed a small vial on top of the table and slid it toward the duke.
"It's the cure for parasitization. Take it."
"Parasitization?" said the duke, his eyes gazing curiously at the vial. He took the vial and looked at the dark green fluid sloshing inside.
"Humans who become like rabid beasts after being struck by the demons," said Lark. "As long as their bodies are still alive, it should be possible to return them to normal. This potion will force the parasitic demon egg to leave the host's body. Please let those that have been affected drink this medicine."
The duke's eyes widened. They'd been killing everyone who'd been turned into monsters. He'd never expected to have his hands on a cure this soon. Had he known, he would have ordered his soldiers to capture those people instead.
Lark seemed to have read his thoughts. He said, "Your decision to burn all the demons—the parasitized humans included—was not wrong. At the time, it was definitely the best course of action."
The duke nodded bitterly. "I know." He raised the vial and said, "How much medicine can you make?"
"A thousand at most," said Lark. "If we include the remaining ingredients back home, we can probably make enough for five thousand people."
"A limited supply," said the duke.
The parasitized humans from the Kelvin Duchy alone surpassed the ten thousand mark.
"We'll be able to increase the amount eventually, but it'll take several more months. Until then, please make sure that only those whose bodies are still alive will be given this medicine."
Lark handed the duke a paper containing the medicine's recipe. "It's a pretty straightforward method. Even the servants should be able to concoct it."
No hesitation.
It was apparent that Lark did not care if the recipe for the cure spread among the masses. It seemed that he was handing him this recipe out of goodwill. The real Lark would never do something so benevolent. That brat would probably extort people before handling them the medicine. The duke was truly glad that Evander Alaester was now residing in that demon spawn's body.
"I'll instruct the servants well. If needed, I will also coordinate with the Alchemist Guild," said the duke as he pocketed the paper. "What do you plan to do next? Will you be staying here at the Duchy?"
Lark glanced at the bracer on his right arm. "No. I need to go somewhere after this. But once I return, I'll cast a barrier on the entire Duchy."
The duke remembered the barrier he'd seen at the capital. It was surreal that a single person had managed to create a spell so colossal. A part of him still couldn't believe that the magician who'd cast that spell was his very own son.
The duke felt that there was no one as reliable as his second son right now. It was a strange feeling, since just a day ago, he abhorred the very thought of being involved with him.
"A barrier," said the duke. He remembered the phenomenon they'd seen a day ago. The unknown figures that flew over their territory.
"Yesterday," the duke carefully said. "We witnessed several golden creatures fly over the Duchy. They massacred all of the demons in the nearby territories. Those things… Were they also your doing?"
Lark nodded.
As expected, those mysterious creatures were associated with Evander Alaester.
"It's a spell I created myself," said Lark. "Although they're not capable of following complex commands, they're intelligent enough to kill any demons on sight and protect the caster from any harm."
A spell he created himself. The duke felt chills down his spine upon hearing this.
He added sentience to magic?
Even the founder of the City of Magic shouldn't be capable of such a feat.
The duke heard from a reliable source that those golden creatures appeared not only in the Marcus Duchy, but also at the Leonard School, Rock Castle, Tranta, and Quasan City. They were so absurdly powerful that all of the demons in those key territories were annihilated in a single night.
A spell capable of annihilating all enemies all over the kingdom.
This reinforced the duke's belief that Lark should remain a member of the Marcus family, no matter what.
Seeing the duke's dumbstruck gaze, Lark added, "It's not a spell I can cast on a whim. It consumes a lot of mana, you see."
The duke broke out of his stupor. In embarrassment, he cleared his throat. "Of course."
Lark glanced at the door. He found it unfortunate that Lui left the banquet this early. If he was not mistaken, that man treated the real Lark as a precious member of his family.
Hopefully, the man would have the courage to confront him after enough time passed.
Lark sipped his wine. There were so many things he needed to do.
*** The next day, after exchanging several words with King Alvis and the duke — mainly about the looming threat from demons—Lark left Gryphon City.
He flew toward the Scylla and landed on top of its body.
"Lord Evander!" the Scylla squeaked loudly.
The soldiers on top of the walls were stunned upon hearing this. The colossal monster, who'd made them sleepless from sheer terror, was acting like an overeager puppy. Its tail wagged several times as all its seven heads started panting.
Was it really the same monster who nearly annihilated the royal knights?
"I need to refill the sword with mana," said Lark.
The Scylla roared, "Of course! Leave it to us!"
Lark smiled in amusement. "To the Forbidden Region."
On cue, the Scylla jumped toward the sky, unfolded its wings, and flew south, in the direction of the labyrinth.
With the Scylla flying at top speed, they eventually reached the Forbidden Region's labyrinth after several hours. The Scylla swooped down and entered through the hole it previously made, before landing on the lowermost floor—the floor where the golden statue was formerly located.
Lark walked toward the large hole where the Scylla previously slept, where the Dragon Vein was located. He jumped down, and upon landing, stabbed his sword in the ground.
"Time to eat, Morpheus," said Lark.
Upon activating the Sword of Morpheus, the artifact started sucking in clumps of mana from the Dragon Vein below. From a translucent sword, it slowly turned into a glimmering white sword.
Lark hadn't expected to need to replenish the mana within the sword this soon.
"I need to increase this body's mana pool," he muttered to himself.
Once given the chance, he planned on increasing the physical training of his body. At least until the point where he wouldn't have to worry about dying from backlash, once he started forcefully expanding his mana pool using the pinnacle-grade mana stones.
This body still has a long road ahead of it, he thought.
After filling up the sword with mana, Lark left the labyrinth and went back to the Forest Border. He entered the castle, took several items from the treasure room in the golden statue, and flew toward the Lake of the Full Moon.
As he'd previously promised, he had returned to give the high demon core to the Arzomos.