The irritation among the Demon Lords was becoming impossible to ignore.
It made sense. The situation was heavy, and no one liked being told that the game itself was rigged against them. Still, order had to be maintained. If emotions ruled this room, then the war was already lost.
I let Guy step away first.
"Well then, I'll head over to Leon's domain," Guy said flatly. "Each of you, do what you must."
He turned and began walking out of the hall as if the matter were settled.
Karion frowned immediately. "Hey, hold on. That's it? No explanation for us?"
Frey followed up, her tone sharp. "I received a report from Mizeri, but I want to hear the plan directly."
They were right.
Guy had always been like this. Once he understood something, he assumed everyone else would simply follow. It wasn't arrogance—just habit. And I already knew he wouldn't stop to explain.
Nor would Milim, Ramiris, Dagruel, Leon, or even Luminas. None of them enjoyed the effort of laying things out carefully.
So I stepped forward.
"I'll explain," I said.
The room quieted.
"You've already been briefed on the enemy
forces," I continued. "You know that Velzard has turned against us."
Karion nodded. "Yeah. But not because of betrayal, right?"
"Correct," I said. "There was no choice involved."
I then summarized everything again—Michael, Feldway, the angelic forces, the imbalance of the battlefield.
If our strength decreased, the enemy's strength increased.
It wasn't symbolic. It was literal.
"It's like a shogi board," I said, my voice steady, "where only one side can reuse fallen pieces. Under those conditions, victory is never simple."
The expressions around me darkened.
"It's fortunate only Demon Lords were present earlier," I added. "If subordinates had been there as well, this discussion would never have progressed."
That, at least, Guy had understood from the start. His long experience showed itself in moments like this.
Frey sighed. "I knew something was off… but this is worse than expected."
Karion clenched his fists. "I've gained power, sure. Part of me wants to test myself against a True Dragon. But Velzard? I wouldn't stand a chance."
"Kuahahaha!" Veldora laughed loudly. "Well said! Even I have never defeated my sister!"
Before he could go any further, a sharp look from me stopped him.
Milim glanced at me and spoke more seriously than usual. "Velzard is dangerous. If she moves, she won't come alone. None of us should act on our own."
She was right.
"Exactly," I said. "If she appears, you must call for support immediately. Don't try to handle it alone."
Dagruel nodded grimly. "I agree."
Then he turned to me.
"Atem. In that case, send Veldora to my territory instead of Ultima. I know him well. It would be safer."
I answered at once.
"No."
Dagruel blinked. "Why not?"
"Because Veldora is not my subordinate," I said calmly. "He is my ally. My friend. I don't decide his movements."
I turned slightly.
"Veldora. You've been invited. What will you do?"
Veldora laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Kukuku… tempting, but no. I have my own duty. I will remain in the Labyrinth, guarding Ramiris' domain."
Ramiris looked like she was about to cry. "M-Master…!"
I ignored Veldora's obvious attempt to avoid
trouble. Still, his answer was correct. Keeping him close was safer.
Dagruel sighed. "That's unfortunate. If Velzard attacks me, it won't be easy."
Milim crossed her arms. "If that happens, we'll respond together. No exceptions."
Everyone agreed.
Then Frey spoke again. "All right. Then send Geld and the others to me as soon as possible."
"I will," I replied. "I'll brief them first. Then they'll move."
There was no need to rush blindly.
Before we ended the discussion, Louis raised another point.
"What troubles me is the enemy's true objective. I don't believe this is merely about ruling the world."
I answered without hesitation.
"It isn't. Michael and Feldway seek the resurrection of Veldanava."
The reaction was immediate.
"Haah?!"
Shock rippled through the room.
Milim nodded firmly. "It's true. Obera confirmed it."
Karion rubbed his face in frustration. "You're kidding me… I definitely didn't hear this before."
Milim frowned. "Didn't I tell you?"
"No. You didn't."
That only reinforced the problem. Communication among us was far from perfect.
Louis spoke thoughtfully. "A True Dragon is immortal. He should return eventually."
"That logic doesn't apply here," I said. "Michael is not a natural being. He is an ego born from a Skill. His way of thinking is not bound by reason."
Luminas shook her head. "I still don't understand it."
Guy, however, spoke calmly. "Veldanava hasn't shown any sign of resurrection. I can understand why Feldway would think the world itself is expendable."
Guy had fought Veldanava once. He spoke with certainty.
"But resurrection isn't perfect," I said. "Memories, personality… they change. That wouldn't be the same being."
Guy shrugged. "That's a matter of perspective. The soul remains the same."
I shook my head slightly. "I can't agree with that."
Perhaps it was because I had once been human.
Or perhaps it was because I valued choice.
In the end, I understood one thing clearly.
Power without restraint leads only to ruin.
That was the path Mariabell had feared.
And it was a path I would never walk.
I may act according to my own will—but never at the cost of others' happiness.
That was my oath.
As I was silently asking myself whether everything was truly settled, Guy spoke again, as if a forgotten piece had just surfaced in his mind.
"By the way, Atem," he said casually, "there's something I've been wondering."
I turned my gaze toward him. "If this is about hidden information, I've already said everything that matters."
"I doubt that," Guy replied without malice. "But that's fine. What I want to know is this—back when he still existed, what exactly was Michael's plan to revive Veldanava?"
He was pressing me for an answer.
For a moment, my honest thought almost slipped out: How would I know?
But then a fragment of memory surfaced.
"…Now that you mention it," I said slowly, "he did talk about something like that."
Veldora, who had been listening quietly, nodded. "Yeah. I remember hearing it too."
Before either of us could finish, Diablo stepped forward, his smile sharp and composed.
"Kufufufu. Their idea was rather simple," he said. "They believed that by absorbing the power of the three True Dragons, they could revive Veldanava-sama with all Dragon Factors united. A complete reconstruction."
He tilted his head slightly.
"I consider it foolish—but can we say with absolute certainty that it would never work?"
That was it.
I remembered now. I had dismissed the idea back then because it sounded crude and desperate. I never believed it could succeed.
After all, the key was the Dragon Factor.
Solarys—Sovereign of Wisdom—spoke calmly within my mind.
«If the topic is Dragon Factor, Master also possesses one.»
Of course.
I had already crossed that boundary.
But mine was different.
Velzard.
Velgrynd.
Veldora.
Even if someone gathered the Dragon Factors of all three True Dragons, it would still be meaningless without the most important element of all—Veldanava's own essence.
A body without the correct soul is nothing more than an imitation.
Guy scoffed. "That theory is nonsense. Even if you recreated the body, it would be a shell. Skills can be copied. Power can be forged. But the soul? That's the core."
Diablo answered calmly. "Perhaps. But a perfected vessel might draw the soul back on its own."
Guy frowned. "Veldanava was a complete spiritual lifeform. His soul shouldn't have scattered like Rudra's… I don't like it, but I'll admit the possibility exists."
Even so, the logic felt fundamentally flawed.
Solarys responded instantly.
«There is no reason for Veldanava to return. If he wished resurrection, he would have regenerated his body himself.»
Exactly.
With that assessment, my doubt solidified.
Michael's plan—whatever it had been—was flawed from the start.
Then Luminas spoke, her voice cutting sharply through the discussion.
"…In that case, their real objective might have been Veldora."
The room froze.
"Fuah?" Veldora muttered, clearly not following.
But Luminas was right.
If success didn't matter—only possibility—then every available Dragon Factor would have been a target.
Milim crossed her arms. "Obera said something similar. Michael had already taken Velgrynd's Dragon Factor. With Velzard compromised at the time, the only one left would've been Veldora."
Guy's expression darkened. "Hold on. Are you saying Velzard could've lost hers too?"
I answered calmly. "That would be the logical conclusion."
For once, Guy looked genuinely unsettled.
"Velzard can fight me evenly," he said. "But if her Dragon Factor were stripped… she might not survive."
Luminas shook her head. "In Velgrynd's case, only one parallel existence was absorbed. Less than ten percent of her total power—and even that was barely sufficient."
Guy exhaled. "Right. A True Dragon's power isn't something you can take all at once."
I nodded.
Velgrynd had taken massive damage back then, yet she still retained enormous reserves. Even so, Michael had never been able to absorb her completely—only a fragment, taken through indirect means.
That led me to the real conclusion.
"Michael wasn't just stealing power," I said. "He was avoiding backlash. Taking too much—especially Skills tied to the angelic system—would destabilize everything. A counterstrike was inevitable."
Solarys confirmed it.
«Affirmative.»
Guy frowned. "Then why strip their power at all? If he had absolute control, wouldn't it have been better to keep them as puppets?"
Dagruel answered instead of me.
"Unless he believed Veldanava's revival required collecting only the pure Skills—those the creator originally wielded."
Luminas followed smoothly. "Not demonic or derived Skills. Only the originals."
Guy laughed. "If that were the case, then their plan was doomed anyway. With Leon here alone, they could never gather everything."
I didn't share his confidence.
Because the truth was even worse—for them.
The Skills they sought were already gone.
Not destroyed.
Assimilated.
Solarys spoke again, her tone steady and assured.
«Master has already integrated multiple foundational authorities. Recreation of identical Skills is not guaranteed.»
More importantly—
Michael himself had already been eliminated.
The mastermind was gone.
The authority erased.
The endgame collapsed.
Then Solarys addressed the lingering doubt.
«Velgrynd, once deprived of her Dragon Factor, could not maintain existence. Master released her core prior to dissolution, allowing full reintegration of remaining energy.»
Which meant Michael's decision to banish her hadn't been strategy.
It had been fear.
«He feared resurrection,» Solarys continued. «Even stripped of control, Velgrynd's soul would have returned—free, aware, and hostile.»
That explained everything.
Michael had never been confident.
He had been desperate.
I let out a quiet breath.
Then I spoke, my voice steady, authoritative.
"There is something else you all should understand," I said. "Even if they had succeeded in gathering every True Dragon Factor, it still would not have worked."
All eyes turned to me.
"Because what I possess is not a True Dragon Factor."
The room stilled.
"I am the first and only Pharaoh Dragon," I continued. "My Dragon Factor predates theirs. It is of a higher order—fundamentally different."
Solarys affirmed it.
«Pharaoh Dragon Factor is unique. It cannot be sensed by True Dragons, nor substituted. It exists outside their system.»
That was why none of them had ever sensed it.
Why no one had understood what I truly was.
Michael never accounted for it.
And that was why his plan—no matter how many permutations he imagined—was never viable.
The silence lingered.
Michael was gone.
His theory was broken.
His resurrection fantasy invalid.
I straightened, resolve absolute.
Whatever remnants still moved in the shadows no longer had a god to chase—or an endgame to believe in.
As Atem, King of Games, ruler of Eterna, and the first Pharaoh Dragon—
I would ensure the world never again stood on the edge of a hollow resurrection.
The game was over.
What remained—
—was nothing more than cleanup.
Once my thoughts had settled, I stepped back into the discussion.
"I'll make this clear," I said, my voice steady, carrying authority across the hall. "Gathering Skills may have value, but it has nothing to do with reviving Veldanava. If there is anything we should be focusing on, it is the Dragon Factor."
Dagruel narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to change the subject?"
I met his gaze without flinching.
"No. I'm ending the uncertainty," I replied. "Michael never mentioned Skills as a condition. That idea came later. Which means it was never central to his objective."
The room went quiet.
Luminas tilted her head slightly. "Then continue."
I didn't need her permission, but questioning it now would only drag things out. This meeting had already gone on long enough. Conclusions mattered more than pride.
"If Skills truly mattered," I continued, "then there are individuals besides Leon who already possess them. Yet nothing has happened. That alone proves they are not the key."
I paused deliberately.
"What does matter is preventing Veldora from falling into enemy hands. That is the only scenario we cannot allow."
Guy studied me closely.
"You sound certain."
"I am," I said. "I know my earlier explanation caused confusion—especially when I mentioned Skills being taken. But set that aside. That has nothing to do with the enemy's real goal."
Guy clicked his tongue.
"Hmph. I still don't like that we don't know why Velgrynd's authority was targeted. But fine. I'll take your word for it."
That was more trust than I expected from him.
With that, the direction was decided. Some might argue that we had simply returned to an earlier conclusion—but now, it was reinforced by clarity, not assumption.
"So then," Guy said, folding his arms, "we must ensure Velzard and Veldora never come into contact under hostile conditions. I'll leave that to you, Atem."
It sounded like responsibility being pushed onto me—but digging into that now would be pointless. I gave a short nod.
At this point, exhaustion weighed heavier than disagreement.
Then—
"I knew it," Veldora said proudly, completely missing the gravity of the moment. "I really am important, aren't I?"
I ignored him.
The situation was clear. We were behind, yes—but not cornered.
Veldora was independent of the angelic system and beyond Regalia Dominion's reach. The enemy knew this. Which meant subtlety was likely over.
The next move would be direct.
If that happened, it would be open war.
Which meant our first priority was simple: keep the angelic authorities from uniting, and deny the enemy access to Dragon Factors at all costs.
Solarys—Sovereign of Wisdom—quietly confirmed my judgment.
«Probability of enemy convergence increases if Veldora is isolated. Preventing contact remains optimal strategy.»
If it came down to it, there were extreme measures I could take—such as dismantling
Leon's control circuit—but I would avoid that unless absolutely necessary.
For now, caution was enough.
"Well then," Guy said, turning away, "we're done here. If anything happens, make contact immediately."
With those words, the gathering came to an end.
The Walpurgis had been strained, fragmented, and lacking any real unity—but at least one thing was clear now.
The enemy's path was narrow.
And as Atem, King of Games and ruler of Eterna, I would ensure they never reached the end of it.