Chapter 116
―― The next day
We traversed through the underground passages once again, finding ourselves standing in the desolate ruins of the city covered in gray.
Everything was either straight or smooth curves, without a single distorted object. In the skeleton-like remains of the once gigantic buildings, I felt something akin to dizziness.
And so, we walked along an eerie path composed solely of straight lines and curves once again.
After walking for a while, Lute stopped in front of a certain building.
「We’ve arrived?」
「Yeah, this is the facility we’re aiming for… the Defense Ministry’s military research institute.」
「What’s with the metal mesh surrounding the perimeter of the building?」
「That’s a fence.」
As I touched the fence… hmm, this is adamantite, or could it be mithril considering the level of refinement even at this thinness?
I casually placed my hand on the hilt of my sword.
「If it’s just a test cut—stop it.」
「Huh?」
「If it’s not a test, with your Hinokagutsuchi, slicing through it would be easy. Originally, it’s a fence to keep out unauthorized personnel, not to stop rioters’ charges.」
「But why can’t I cut it?」
「Even though it’s decaying, this is an ancient world military facility. I think it’ll be fine with just a fence that’s off-limits, but we don’t know what kind of security measures they have.」
「I see.」
I clapped my hands together.
「I’m saying this lightly, but there’s still a possibility that something like an Outer God might appear, you know? If something like that shows up, it’s not just a matter of Moses or whatever—it’s total annihilation.」
Hmm… I’ve never seen the real thing, so even if they say Outer God, I don’t really understand.
Anyway, if there are hundreds of beings that Lute can’t even handle one of them, it’s obviously dangerous.
If something like that enters our habitat and goes on a rampage like a genocide… it’s beyond catastrophic.
「Anyway, there’s a proper entrance, so let’s go in from there, okay? Security is still active inside. Except for those invited by the facility’s master… the goddess, no one else can enter.」
With that, Lute led us, and after walking for a while and turning a corner, we continued walking.
「But, will they let us in through a proper entrance…? And isn’t the security still active?」
「Hey, Cordelia? What do you think the Dragon Tribe is?」
「Why are you suddenly asking?」
「…This world is protected by the twelve Demon Kings. Manipulating major disasters from the shadows, or directly intervening, well… it’s the Demon Kings’ duty to exterminate those who use ancient relics, I guess.」
「Demon Kings… there haven’t been any sightings of them for hundreds of years, right?」
「There was an insanely dangerous guy among the reincarnators with broken abilities who single-handedly exterminated all of them. It’s said that the number of bonus skills they had was absurdly high… There were various other entities tasked with protecting this world, but over a long period of time, the succeeding reincarnators managed to hunt them down or neutralize them.」
「Huh? But I didn’t know anything about that at all? Even if it was confidential information not disclosed to the public, there’s no way I, as the hero, wouldn’t know about matters related to maintaining world peace.」
「So, it’s a hidden history. Wait, seriously, you didn’t know?」
「I didn’t know… know what?」
「There’s a profession called ‘Human-Demon Emperor.’」
「Jinmakou…?」
At that point, Lute shrugged as if to say, ‘This is hopeless’.
「It’s the pinnacle of human evolution according to the system. It’s considered the ultimate combatant of humanity against the Outer Gods. Apparently, among the creators of this system, there was someone with various thoughts, who seemed to have embedded such bug-like hidden tricks. Probably… to leave humanity with a last choice of resistance.」
「I see, and?」
「Well, if it can counter the Outer Gods, why not use it to challenge and defeat them in the outside world? It could solve the population issue too, right?」
「Ah…」
「What’s wrong?」
「Nothing, forget it. Anyway, even with the power of the Human-Demon Emperor, you can’t defeat the Outer Gods. It’s said that while in a one-on-one confrontation, with an ordinary Outer God, then they could win, but it’s a different story when there are hundreds of them.」
「Yeah, I heard there are hundreds of them.」
「That’s right. It’s a case of overwhelming numbers. So, past reincarnators considered using the power of the Human-Demon Emperor to destroy the world.」
「Why go through such a roundabout way?」
「First of all, reincarnators aren’t unified. Unless they’re extreme radicals, they don’t want to commit genocide against humanity. Normally, unless it’s absolutely necessary or urgent, they’ll put it off, right?」
「Well, that makes sense.」
「And then, there are strong individuals among the people here, like the Dragon Emperor. They can’t just do as they please.」
「I see, I get it. So, secretly… not to counter the Outer Gods, but to create the Human-Demon Emperor as a weapon for humanity itself, right?」
「That’s right. The Ark Project seems to have been around since then, but there’s never a shortage of idiots who’d allow such a thing. So… the past reincarnators also had a really hard time meeting the conditions to unlock the Human-Demon Emperor. Starting with the Four Great Guardian Sacred Beasts in the polar regions, and ultimately even contacting Gaia, synonymous with the planet itself, by descending into the great underground labyrinth.」
「It all sounds like legends or fairy tales.」
「Yeah, that’s why all of it becomes conditions to unlock the Human-Demon Emperor. And then, there are conditions for the vessel to become the Human-Demon Emperor… conditions for humans themselves.」
「Conditions for humans?」
「First, you need the blood of the Demon King from a rough lineage… basically, you need the blood of a delinquent family.」
「The blood of the Demon King?」
「Yeah, the inherited trait of the Demon King known as the Vampire Princess… you need to have burning red hair.」
「I see, I see.」
「And then, simultaneously… you need to have the vessel selected by the world system as a hero. This is also quite tricky, so it was necessary to contact Gaia, who governs the heroes. Holding the power of both a hero and a Demon King… it’s inherently impossible, a bug in the system. Therefore, that power can also reach the Outer Gods.」
At that point, I stopped and looked at Lute with a tense expression, and he laughed.
「A hero with burning red hair… could it be…?」
「Yeah, that vessel is… you, Cordelia.」
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