After my conversation with the Great Spirit, I returned to the castle.
Grom and Luciana were waiting for me in the audience room.
“Demon Lord-sama, you’re not hurt, right?!”
“I felt something unbelievable come over here, are you okay?”
Grom and Luciana rushed over.
I held them back and asked.
“What happened to the two of you?”
“What you ask? We’re worried about you. I’m glad it didn’t end in combat.”
Luciana sighed in relief.
Although they weren’t there when the Great Spirit came, as expected, they did notice it.They seemed to have panicked when they saw me go with her.
“The Great Spirit only came for a talk. There was no particular problem.”
“I see…”
As I told them that, Grom patted his chest in relief.
Meanwhile, Luciana sighed in dismay.
“Demon Lord-sama sure is bold… you were much more charming as Dwight-kun.”
“I see.”
Logan had also said something similar.
Apparently, my mental transformation was clear for those who had known how I was as a human.
It wasn’t bad to be bold as a Demon Lord.
I decided to take that as a compliment.
Grom corrected his posture, stretched his back, and gave me a salute of the deceased kingdom’s style.
“Demon Lord-sama, the organization of the army is completed. We can move the army immediately.”
“I understand. You two are to stand by the army. I’ll go there right away.”
Grom and Luciana replied and then left the room at my command.
Those two were familiar with what needed to be prepared.
They would carry out their respective duties without asking me about what they had to do.
Although both of them quarreled a lot on a daily basis, they were both very capable.
They also cooperated well when the situation called for it.
“…”
Left alone in the room, I looked at the side of the throne.
A floating crystal was placed there, which contained the remains of that person, and a keepsake sword was leaning against it.
They hadn’t moved ever since I had placed them there.
The laboratory was researching on resurrecting the dead, but there hadn't been any useful discovery as of the moment.
That made them painfully realize what kind of impossible task I had asked of them.
However, it couldn’t be helped.
I knew that it was a difficult thing to realize.
I had no choice but to be patient and persevere for a long time.
Fortunately, I had no time constraint.
I could push forward without worrying about growing older or reaching the end of my lifespan.
I could just keep researching about it during my long lifetime.
I would never give up.
The transformation of the world was steadily progressing.
The future she wanted was approaching.
I wished to show her that.
“— Please lend me your strength again.”
I walked to the pedestal, paid my respects, and picked up the keepsake sword.
I anticipated that I would need to bring it with me to the battle tonight.
The last time I had used this sword was during the battle against Saint Makia.
It had already been some time since then, but my swordsmanship hadn't diminished.
The sword that had once struck down the demon lord, would slay countless people yet again.
I wonder what he’ll do…
The person I was thinking of was the technician of the Magic Kingdom, John Doe.
It was still unknown whether the World's will intervened for him too.
Just to be on the safe side, John Doe should be killed.
He was merely a technician.
Unlike Heroes or Saints, his direct combat capability was low.
According to information from the spies, he wasn’t much different from a commoner.
At best, he could use some magic, but it wasn’t at the level of a professional magician.
Therefore, killing him should be easy.
The problem would be whether it was okay to kill John Doe.
His inventions led humanity to a better life.
I was hesitant to crush him.
One could deduct that John Doe signaled towards the fact that he possessed eccentric ideas through the invention of his weapons.
He was a genius, without a doubt.
If he were to use his creativity in other fields, it would reap many benefits for the people.
It was desirable for me to have a highly convenient world when I reached my goal of true world peace.
However, I couldn’t ignore the current Magic Kingdom.
They had heavily sinned by using imperial nobles to steal the mystical stone of the Great Spirit.
It was a movement that was against world peace, and would lead to unnecessary conflicts.
“…Fumu.”
After thinking for a while, I decided to withhold my conclusion.
I would decide what to do with John Doe after I talked to him once.
I could even invite him to work for the Demon Lord's Territory in some circumstances.
That would remove him as a threat to humanity and would instead utilize his intelligence.
I would judge it only after I personally saw how he was as a person.
If he harbored dangerous ideas or if there was no room for reconciliation, I would kill him without hesitation.
I thought about it, and concluded that the well-being of the world was the most important thing.
Anyone who dared to threaten it would be eliminated immediately.
The Demon Lord's Territory alone was sufficient as a threat.
Everything else was to be eliminated.
As I decided on my plan of action, I transferred myself in front of the castle.
The Demon Lord's Army was lined up in the darkness.
There were dots of magical light sources shining upon them.
The army was composed of undead, demons, humans, and elves this time as well.
There were about 10,000 strong warriors, and many of them could use magic, more than what was the norm.
It was because our enemy this time excelled in using long-range attacks.
The rest of the forces would be procured locally as usual.
Once additional undead would be added to the Army, it would become a battle of a reasonable scale.
“Hi Commander, are you ready to go?”
Henry called out to me in a relaxed manner.
He still acted as usual despite the tension.
“I’m ready to go. What about you?”
“Of course, it’s perfect. Doldar has also gotten better.”
As he said that, Henry bumped shoulders with Doldar, who was beside him.
Doldar, who was pulled in, moved his old wolf neck.
“Neck… I, will, hunt…”
“See, it's perfect, right?”
“…You’re right.”
I nodded and replied to Henry who had confidently spoke.
The subordinates seemed like they were about to say something, but they wisely kept their silence.
“The enemies are likely to use unknown weapons. Be very careful.”
“Roger that. I’ll teach them which weapons are superior.”
Henry played with his bow while laughing in response to my cautious words.
He didn’t proudly declare that for nothing.
He said it while knowing the strength of his enemies.
It would be encouraging to have both Henry and Doldar at the frontlines.
They could easily destroy those golems.
Due to daily training, cooperation with the other subordinates also went smoothly.
After that, I went towards Logan who was stationed at the edge of the Demon Lord's Army.
“Are you really good to go? I thought you were still recovering.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Logan awkwardly apologized.
It was probably about the fact that he pushed me to talk with the Great Spirit alone.
I shook my head and answered him.
“Don’t worry. I understand how you feel about it. Rather, I’ll ask for your help this time as well.”
“Leave it to me.”
Our battle today was meant to be a short-term decisive battle instead of a long one.
I would quickly reclaim the mystical stone and contact John Doe.
That was the purpose of this invasion.
Apparently, the mystical stone was in the capital of the Magic Kingdom.
I needed to go to the site to know the precise location, so I had asked for Logan’s cooperation.
The spies had also made a list of possible locations, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
I flew into the sky and took a position overlooking the Demon Lord's Army.
Then I raised both of my hands in an easy-to-understand manner.
The subordinates took their stance altogether at my signal.
I could feel the swirling heat.
The field was dominated with a high moral.
—Not bad.
After I confirmed that, I used transfer magic.