"The humans of the West, the Monster Kingdom of the East."
Damien rubbed his temples, a slight headache forming. "We also need to guard against the dwarves in the North and any potential moves from the Eastern Empire."
However, long-term pain is worse than short-term pain.
These forces were ones Damien would have to confront sooner or later.
The only question was which fool would be the first to be crushed by him!
"Also…"
Damien looked up, slightly tilting the straw hat on his head as he gazed at the azure sky. "I'm somewhat worried that the changes here might attract other forces."
"Other forces?"
Ogerpon blinked her starry eyes in confusion. "What are those?"
"When you're unrivaled in the world, enemies always come from out of nowhere!"
Damien recalled that in the original story, the angel race was the antithesis of human civilization.
Whenever a world birthed a flourishing civilization, the fallen angels, now known as the Phantoms, would descend to purge the mortal realm.
And the leader of the Phantoms, Feldway, along with Emperor Rudra of the Eastern Empire, whom he supported.
No, more accurately, it was the archangel Michael controlling Rudra's body.
"At this point in time, Rudra's soul within his body is nearly depleted."
Rudra's ability, Lord of Justice: Michael, shared the same divine true name as Damien's ultimate ability.
However, his ability differed from Violet's.
Rudra's Lord of Justice ultimate ability, Regalia Dominion, could dominate others, particularly holders of the Seven Virtues.
In theory, even Damien could be subject to Rudra's domination due to possessing the Lord of Wisdom: Uriel.
Of course, that was merely theoretical.
With the protection of dual divine ultimate abilities, as long as Damien maintained his mental defenses, he could ignore Rudra's control.
He had previously asked Velzard about the relationship between Velgrynd and Rudra.
Velzard's answer surprised him.
Though he wanted to recruit Velgrynd, he wouldn't turn her into a retainer if she was loyal to Rudra.
"Now isn't the best time to wage war against the Empire."
With his potential for infinite growth, Damien saw no need to clash head-on with the Empire right after evolving.
Especially since exposing Rudra's true nature could draw the angels into the fray, potentially reigniting the Great Tenma War.
The Great Tenma War... the conflict between angels and daemons... was a catastrophe for the entire Cardinal World, one that all should unite to face.
"Let the one who sticks out get targeted. Leave those concerns to Guy."
Dealing with Rudra had always been Guy's responsibility.
The same went for the Great Tenma War.
Guy tolerated Demon Lord seeds like Clayman becoming part of the Ten Great Demon Lords because he was waiting... waiting for Frey, Carrion, and Clayman to awaken.
Each additional ally bolstered their chances against the angels.
If Damien, out of impulsiveness, attacked the Eastern Empire and clashed with the angels without knowing the full picture, wouldn't that make him Guy's unpaid lackey?
"What are you thinking about?"
Unbeknownst to him, Velzard appeared at Damien's side.
"Why are you here?"
Damien asked, "Where's that guy Veldora?"
"That slime has come up with quite a few interesting things."
Velzard, unbothered, sat down beside Damien, shoulder to shoulder.
For some reason, the scene felt oddly like a family of three.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot about that ability of his."
Damien recalled that Rimuru could analyze and replicate materials he had seen or consumed.
Thanks to this power, Rimuru had "spat out" a flood of manga and light novels from his memories.
How could Veldora resist such fascinating novelties? He fell for them in minutes.
Now, that dragon was a full-fledged shut-in, constantly muttering cringe-worthy, chuunibyou phrases that were painful to witness.
In fact, it wasn't just Veldora... many monsters, especially the cute girls at the academy, treated Rimuru like some kind of Santa Claus figure.
"Well, as long as they're happy."
Damien said this aloud, but inwardly he thought, I didn't expect Rimuru to have the free time to spread otaku culture.
Clearly, he wasn't being worked hard enough!
Alright, double his workload tomorrow and test the limits of Rimuru's endurance.
"I'm thinking about how to lure Velgrynd away from the Empire."
Setting aside Rimuru's antics, Damien shared his concerns with Velzard, hoping for her insight.
"What's this about?"
Velzard asked, "Didn't you reject my suggestion before?"
"Circumstances change."
Damien thought of Velgrynd's situation.
Unbeknownst to herself, she had already fallen under the influence of Michael, the Lord of Justice.
Controlled without realizing it, she still saw Michael as her companion, Rudra.
Damien explained Velgrynd's predicament to Velzard.
Her expression darkened upon hearing it.
"Are you serious?"
Velzard was well aware of the dynamics between the Eastern Empire and Guy.
The two had been playing a chess game across the Cardinal World for tens of thousands of years, with countless majins and humans as their pieces.
They had an agreement not to intervene directly, relying instead on their pawns to settle the score.
Velzard and Velgrynd were the most powerful pieces in their respective arsenals.
"That guy!"
"How dare he do such a thing!"
The thought of her sister being manipulated by Rudra was unbearable for Velzard. She immediately wanted to storm the Eastern Empire and raze it to the ground.
As for the agreement between Guy and Rudra?
That was irrelevant now.
She was Damien's dragon and had no obligation to aid Guy any longer.
Besides, for the sake of fairness in their game, if Guy lost Velzard, Rudra should lose Velgrynd as well.
"Calm down."
"Michael's condition isn't great either... he's asleep far more than he's awake."
"So there's no need to worry about Velgrynd's safety."
Damien soothed Velzard, then laid out the stakes in detail.
"Michael, Feldway…"
"I see…"
So, the Great Tenma War, spanning countless years, had such origins.
Velzard didn't ask how Damien knew these things.
Was it strange for someone who could traverse worldviews at will to have unique sources of information?
***
Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well. I just wanted to let you know that right now I'm working on a really good and promising fate fanfic. If you're interested in reading it, feel free to give it a try:
[Fate/Max Level Returner]
Synopsis:
What if you took your max-level account and replayed the entire story from the beginning?
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