Chapter 274. Last Chance
A night of thunder and lightning.
Tilpitz climbed the steps cut into the steep mountain slopes.
After reaching an altitude where mana was barely felt, Tilpitz looked up and found a huge pillar.
It was a magnificent ancient temple.
Till Fitz took off the hat from his head and stepped his foot inside.
A small thump echoed inside.
“Tirpitz! You’re here!”
“Alexia. Traveler…”
There were passengers inside.
Mine Alexia and Mine Traveler.
But one person was missing.
If it was normal, just being in sight would have bothered me, but right now, there’s one person I want to see ignorantly.
“This Mine Meeting! Did Tilpitz convene it?!”
“No. I’m not. A traveler…?”
“Neither do I.”
None of the three demons gathered here called a meeting.
That must mean that one person who hasn’t arrived yet has been summoned.
Tirpitz sighed and decided to sit down and wait.
“The madman again! What did he call the meeting for?!”
“Well, I’ve been worried because I haven’t been able to contact you recently.”
I have completely lost contact with the madman for the past few days.
I heard that the marsh he was using as a base was attacked and wiped out by the Imperial Army.
Then did the madman die there?
No. It couldn’t have been.
Because the authority flowing through this heart hasn’t increased in the slightest.
If the madman died, his power would have been divided equally among the living demons.
It was proof that the number of demons was still 4.
“From what I hear! Looks like the madmen were also in the war! I heard they ambush Schluss Heinkel! Did they declare war before the attack?!”
“There’s no need to follow human rules like a declaration of war.”
“Hmm! But I heard Schluss Heinkel came back alive! The madman’s skills must have rusted!”
“What?”
Tirpitz’s eyes narrowed.
Schlus Heinkel is back alive?
It couldn’t have been.
It was clear that Alexia was talking because she didn’t know what to say.
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Because the madman said that he apparently grabbed Schluss Heinkel’s heart with his own hand and burst it.
No matter how advanced humans’ medical skills were and even if there were saints who were well versed in recovery magic, there was no way to compensate for the absence of a heart.
Forcibly prolonging life was possible, but it was impossible for Schluss Heinkel to walk out unscathed a second time.
“Nonsense, that is.”
“According to my sources, various powerful people from the Empire were mobilized for the swamp raid. Shall we send such talented people to wipe out the remnants of fanatics who are just hiding in a troublesome place?”
“What do you mean, Traveler?”
“It could be that it wasn’t some kind of fanatic that they went after.”
“·······.”
The traveler helped with a meaningful smile.
Till Fitz shook his head and clicked his tongue.
I couldn’t do that.
Never.
Kwaaang······!
At that moment, there was a deafening sound of thunder as the lights flashed all over the place.
As Till Fitz frowned in surprise, she widened her eyes.
A dark figure stood at the entrance of the temple.
She was a young man, judging by her large build.
But she knew right away that she wasn’t a lunatic.
“Schlus Heinkel?! How did you get here…!”
A man in uniform with a sword at his waist, Schluss Heinkel.
She was that abomination.
Surprised for a moment, Tilpitz immediately took a combat stance and grinded his teeth.
“Are you going to join us here, Tilpitz?”
“There is no reason not to stick.”
“It would have been obvious what the outcome would be.”
“·······.”
Schlus Heinkel was relaxed as if he had a corner to believe in.
Where does that leisure come from?
A weak human being who would not be able to resist even if he ran right away and slit his throat and killed him.
Til Fitz suddenly looked around and noticed that Alexia had gotten down from her chair.
“Alexia. Are you sure you want to protect that human?”
“Ah, ah! I mean! That’s… Um! I’m still an educator! I can’t pretend I don’t know that you’re trying to harm a student right in front of me!”
“Alexia!”
Does this make sense?
Maines prioritize contracts with humans over loyalty to their fellow countrymen.
Despite Tilpitz’s shouts, Alexia could only avoid her gaze.
Even so, Alexia’s stiff body was preparing to jump out at any moment and attack Tilpitz.
“Traveler! Do you have anything to say?”
“I don’t think so with Alexia.”
“As expected!”
“Educator and all that doesn’t apply to me, I just keep my fellow countrymen from being attacked.”
“Brothers? Traveler, what are you talking about?”
“Can’t you feel it? The power of demons from this guy.”
“·······?!”
Tirpitz’s mouth fell open.
He didn’t notice at all.
From the beginning, what filled this place was the reverberation of power.
Schluss Heinkel was clearly exuding the scent of a demon’s power that could only be felt from a demon.
She could distinctly feel the reverberation overflowing from that heart, which she couldn’t fully contain.
I could tell without looking closely.
That wasn’t just part of it, it was complete power.
It was obvious who took it from.
A horse that has recently gone missing…
“Schlus Heinkel! What did the madman do?!”
“You don’t have to worry. I didn’t kill her. It’s just that she’s suffering as a body no different from the human she despised and insignificant.”
“·······!”
My teeth were grinding.
A madman was beaten.
No she came back alive even after her heart was destroyed than that.
It was full of things I didn’t understand.
However, instead of Schluss Heinkel kindly explaining, she just walked past Till Fitz with a laughable expression.
Even though it passed right in front of it, Tilpitz couldn’t budge.
It wasn’t because of the traveler and Alexia who were glaring at each other.
For a moment, my body didn’t listen.
‘Fear? Fear?’
No way.
My body must have stiffened with fear.
It’s just that I’m not feeling well right after recovering from my injury.
Til Fitz shook his head at that thought.
Meanwhile, Schluss Heinkel sat on the seat of honor at the end of the temple and smiled.
This was the place where the person who called the Mine Meeting would sit.
“Alexia. You look good. It’s hard to see her face these days.”
“Ahahahahaha! I’m sorry! I’m busy with work…!”
“Traveler. Damian, the duke of the desert frontier, will no longer seek your life. Rest assured.”
“Huh… But I have no intention of stepping into the desert frontier.”
“I understand. You don’t want to go back to where the anti-mancer weapon was completed. I’ve already disabled it, but you’re free to believe in it.”
You knew about the obelisk.
I thought no one knew about the true purpose of the pagoda among humans.
The traveler was dumbfounded and burst into laughter.
“Tirpitz. I didn’t know you could recover from being beaten up like that. You can beat me one more time.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. It won’t happen again.”
“Let’s stop the greetings and start by talking about the reason for the call. Biologically, I’m a demon now, but actually, I don’t feel like seeing you guys for a long time. The reason I summoned you is to end the war.”
“End of war?”
“Yes. We gathered these busy bodies to end the war caused by the four Tilpitz.”
It’s over.
Is this human talking about understanding what this war is like?
There was no way I could finish it.
It was a war that had no choice but to continue until either the humans or the demons were destroyed.
Unlike thousands of years ago, this time it is a war in which both sides are prepared for destruction.
“Although I am a demon now, I created this place to propose negotiations to end the war on behalf of mankind.”
“This war cannot end. I do not intend to end it.”
“That’s your idea. What about the other demons?”
“Hmm! It’s hard for me to answer! Although it’s a war between demons and humans! I’ve never participated in a war and I don’t plan to!”
“That’s the same for me. I don’t think I’m qualified to join the negotiations.”
Alexia and her traveler drew a line in an instant and got out.
Suddenly, Schluss Heinkel’s empty eyes were looking straight at Tilpitz.
With this, the Mine side was narrowed down to one Tilpitz.
The madman is already dead.
“Then the negotiations will be one-on-one.”
“No. No negotiations.”
“Do you listen to the conditions?”
“I’ll just listen.”
“As a condition for the end of the negotiations, the conditions that the Panhuman Alliance will put forward are as follows: The Great Mine Sage must directly order the Asylum followers to surrender. And the Mine Great Sage must voluntarily give up the power of the Mine.”
“What, what?! You’re saying that right now! We will never end the war!”
Tirpitz was enraged and inadvertently raised himself.
At that moment, finding Alexia and her traveler about to run towards her, Tilpitz had no choice but to gnash his teeth and sit down again.
To end the war, I have to give up being a demon.
Isn’t that actually saying to die?
It wasn’t even worth listening to.
“Then I can’t help it. I have no choice but to keep going until one of them dies.”
“Everybody, wake up! Do you think Schluss Heinkel has an identity as a demon? Will he laugh with you after he kills me? No thanks! That human will try to stop the seed of a demon! He alone is the only one. He will become a demon and try to obtain omnipotent power!”
Tilpitz shouted in frustration.
It was clear that Schluss Heinkel’s purpose was to exterminate the demons.
Shall we really kill only the Tilpitz and stop all acts of violence just because the only opponent in the war is the Tilpitz?
Tilpitz knew very well that this couldn’t be the case.
For Schluss Heinkel, Alexia and her traveler are also potential dangers that can threaten humans like Tilpitz at any time.
It’s too much to turn into an enemy right now, so I’ll leave it alone, but it was obvious that he would try to get rid of it at any time if he had enough energy.
However, Alexia and her traveler were standing arm in arm without any response.
“The negotiations are broken. I’ll end the mine meeting with this. But I have to say one thing.”
“Can’t we just shut up and go on our way?”
“Do you know why the magician died, Tilpitz?”
“You dare to use the names of compatriots indiscriminately…!”
“He must have thought he was murdered. You must have thought so. One of the demons killed him. But he was wrong. The magician killed himself.”
“That’s bullsh*t.”
“It was a magician who spread power among humans and raised the power of Asylum. He decided to die at the end and pulled the trigger of the war. Tilpitz, you clearly predicted that you would intervene innocently…”
“·······.”
It was a ridiculous speculation.
Of course, given the circumstances, all the evidence was correct.
The magician’s powers were consumed enough to be suspicious, and he had only three years left in his lifespan.
And indeed, the magician’s death was the trigger that made Tilpitz decide to attack humans.
However, it was only a plausible story, and it could never be true.
There’s no way I could have been playing around on the board the magician had laid out.
“It’s a pity. If I had accepted this condition, I would have tried to live even if I lost my powers. I guess I’ll have to kill you from now on.”
“·······.”
Trumbling.
The heavy footsteps of Schluss Heinkel passed in front.
At the sound, Teal Fitz flinched and trembled slightly.
‘Nothing changes. You tried to fight from start to finish. There is nothing to regret…’
The road leading to peace has completely disappeared.
Maybe all of this was my mistake.
But none of that mattered.
Because nothing changes.
Just like when I didn’t know the truth, I just decided to fight until the end.
Obviously it should have been, but opportunities that had already disappeared kept flashing in Tilpitz’s mind.
There was no way to bring back a missed opportunity.
No, even if there was, the devil’s pride wouldn’t allow it.
“Schlus Heinkel······.”
“What happened.”
“Speaking of negotiations······. Again, could you reconsider…”
It was not the time to show her pride.
When I came to my senses, Tilpitz caught up with Schluss and grabbed him by the sleeve.
Without any hostility, just longing for him to stop.
“Stock.”
“If you review the conditions again… I don’t think there’s anything I can’t accept…”
“There is no downward revision of the conditions. There is only an upward revision. This time, I will offer you four years of freedom. If you give up all of your physical and mental freedoms for four years, I will spare your life.”
“Now, freedom…!”
You’re going to take away my freedom.
Doesn’t that mean that they will torture you openly?
Doesn’t that mean that he will make fun of the body of a girl who has lost her power and is helpless?
Human beings were a race that was good at torture.
There was no way a mere human body could withstand such a thing.
“Well, if you promise not to destroy my spirit-“
“Are you asking for conditions in reverse? It seems you still haven’t grasped the subject. This is the end. I will never propose a peace treaty again.”
“Ah…”
Schluss Heinkel jerked away his hand and turned away.
Leaving the temple, his steps did not stop again.
Till Fitz just sat there and stared blankly at the back of his once-human man.
“It’s over…”
I put down my pride, but it was useless.
There really was no other way.
We have no choice but to fight until one of us dies.