The Author's POV

[Alliance Headquarters]

―There's a sudden situation. This is the perfect time to strike the demons.

―I have just been informed that our forces and the demons in Idoania have engaged in full-scale warfare against one another. Even though there have been no requests for additional support, the situation appears to be rather grim. The Demon King is currently engaged in combat with the Leaders of our race.

―The mana on this planet also seemed to have drastically increased. Do you have any idea of what happened, Ren?

"One at a time, please…"

I massaged my head while I stared at the three projections in front of me. They were Gervis, Maylin, and Brutus. The heads of the three races on Earth.

The three of them had different facial expressions at the moment and were talking over one another, but I roughly understood what had occurred.

I looked at Maylin.

"So you're saying a war broke out on this planet called Idoania and that the Demon King is currently fighting against all of your race leaders?"

―That's correct.

Maylin, who was hidden behind the holographic projection, nodded her head. After staring at her for what seemed like an eternity, I eventually leaned against the back of my chair.

I had a sudden thought.

"There are seven Protectors, but as far as I can tell, there is only one on Earth. If I'm not mistaken, then it seems highly likely that the race leaders of the three different races are the other Protectors... right?'

It was a possibility.

If not, why would Jezebeth opt to move to them before heading down to earth? The more I thought about it, the more obvious it seemed.

… In the same manner, as on Earth, the Protectors kept a close eye on the three other races in order to ensure that they remained in their proper place.

Clean up and oppress those who have talent.

Their surveillance wasn't something that was exclusive to human beings alone, but it did affect the other races as well...

It was also abundantly clear that the Protectors placed a higher priority on the other races than they did on us, as evidenced by the fact that there was only one Protector watching over us as opposed to the two others for each race.

Not that I blamed them.

After all, mana was something that humans had only very recently begun to interact with. In addition, our population was noticeably lower than theirs.

It only made sense.

I turned to look at Gervis.

"Yes, the mana in the atmosphere did indeed become a lot denser. I don't know why, but I've received several reports from our side that many have broken through because of it."

―Oh? Is Octavious one of them?

"Yes."

I replied with a short nod.

Not even a day after my other self killed Waylan, a large phenomenon swept over the city, and Octavious broke through to <SSS-> rank.

The news of his breakthrough was met with a great deal of enthusiasm, and some news articles even suggested that he ought to take the reins as leader of the alliance in light of his recent success.

If only they knew...

"He's broken through to the next rank, and so have several other people. What about you?"

―Same for us.

Gervis heartily laughed.

―With Inferno gone, everything has been going quite smoothly for us. After the mana density rose, almost all of us experienced a large increase in our powers. Although I don't know what brought about this change, I'm all in for it.

"That's nice to hear."

I gave him a friendly smile before turning my attention to Brutus. Even though he was hidden behind a projection, I was still able to feel his breath from where I was seated.

With his sharp eyes focused on me, I sighed.

"You want to take advantage of this opportunity to attack the demons?"

―Yes. The residual demonic energy in the atmosphere has become noticeably less potent as a result of the significant increase in mana density that has recently taken place. Even though we orcs didn't go through any of what you humans did, we didn't lose any strength, in contrast to the demons. If we take advantage of this opportunity, we will be able to eradicate all of the demons at once.

"Hmmm."

His words had some reason behind them.

If there were ever a better time to launch an assault, that time would be now. Not only did a good number of us become stronger, but because the mana was so concentrated, the demons were put in a position where they were at a disadvantage.

Especially since the mana compressors needed to be tuned in order to convert the denser mana that had entered the atmosphere.

There was only one problem with this situation.

I looked toward the three of them, who were looking at me with expectant eyes. It seemed like they had already discussed the matter beforehand and were only waiting for my decision.

I massaged the bottom of my chin and muttered my thoughts.

"We just came off a pretty big war, and if we suddenly get into another war right now, the people will start to riot… The situation is rather sensitive."

Even though I couldn't say for certain that this was the case, it was safe to assume that the general populace would be anything but pleased with the news that another war was going to be declared.

I was already able to picture all of the articles that would be written about me, calling me a war-hungry tyrant and other such things...

Not that I cared.

I've seen much worse things said about me in the media, and I've become somewhat desensitized to it all.

As a matter of fact, I found them to be rather humorous. The vast majority of the time, all I would do to have a good laugh would be look at the news.

―Ren, we know that you've just gone through a war and that you're currently recuperating and mourning the losses, but this isn't an opportunity that can be wasted. There's no better time to strike now, and honestly, since we're the ones attacking, it shouldn't matter whether the citizens are happy or not. They won't be affected by all of this.

In response to Gervis's statement, I tilted my head back to take a look at the other two. From the looks on their faces, it appeared as though they were all on the same page.

I realized that I was the only one who held a contrasting viewpoint, and I adjusted the position of my chair accordingly.

My office was completely silent for a brief period of time, as no one spoke at any point. I turned on the chip in my head and rapidly drummed my fingers across the surface of the wooden desk.

Well over a hundred distinct scenarios began playing over and over again in my head, and I went through each and every one of them very carefully, analyzing the benefits and drawbacks of each one.

As the leader of the Alliance, I had many things to consider, and knowing the scope of the attack, I knew I couldn't go alone with my mercenary unit.

It went without saying that I needed to bring most of the human domain's forces.

What I needed to take into consideration was…

Who should be left behind to defend the domain in the event that the demons decide to launch an assault when the situation deteriorates?

Who to bring alongside me?

Whether there was a trap set up by the demons.

What the citizens would think of the situation and how to calm down the panic and riots that may ensue from the decision.

When it came time to make a decision, there were a lot of factors that I needed to take into consideration, and just thinking about all of those factors made my head throb in pain.

Thankfully, with the aid of the chip, I was soon able to come up with a decision.

"Haa…"

I let out a long breath.

'I can already tell that this is going to be a pain in the ass…'

But what wasn't? At this point, everything was a pain in the ass. Literally.

―So, have you made your decision?

Maylin's pearl like voice reverberated through my office, and I looked at her. Staring at her for a good couple of seconds, I nodded my head.

"Yeah."

I stood up from my seat.

"…Let's get ready for war."

***

"Here."

"What's this?"

Raising my head to stare at Ryan, my gaze fell on the small bottle he placed over my desk.

Ryan abruptly entered the room and placed a small bottle on my table as I was preparing a series of documents regarding the upcoming war for a general assembly with all the rankers present.

"This is the thing you asked me to analyze and replicate. With a little help from Melissa, we were able to alter its properties a bit."

"Uh?"

Faint recollections of a conversation I had a while back started to surface in my mind, and my eyes lit up.

"Isn't this…"

"Yup."

Ryan smiled.

"It's the serum used to create the supersoldiers from the Monolith. I figured you'd want to know about this."

"You're damn right."

I picked up the bottle and carefully examined the liquid contained within. It was clear and resembled water, and as I shook the bottle from side to side, I observed how the liquid mirrored my movements and moved in tandem with the movement of the bottle.

'Rather smooth.'

Unlike the serum I took, which was rather viscous, this substance was rather smooth.

"How are the effects?"

"Pretty good. If you inject it into someone, they'll follow your commands, but in a limited manner since it takes several dosages to completely take control over them."

Recalling something, Ryan's brows jumped up.

"Ah, right. They also apparently work on demons and those from the other races."

"Good."

Pleased with what I was hearing, I slid the potion over the desk.

Ryan looked at me with a confused look.

"Hm? Don't you want it? I worked quite hard for it."

"I'm good."

I shook my head while carefully observing the serum.

While it was indeed good, I had no use for it. [Memory Manipulation] was just as good, if not better.

"You keep it. I'm sure it'll come in handy… eventually."

"Eh… sure."

With a skeptical look, Ryan took the serum away. With some hesitation, he looked at me again before slowly putting it away.

"Are you sure you don't want it?"

"Sure."

"…Okay then."

After storing the serum, Ryan placed another object on the desk. It resembled a tooth, and I was taken aback.

"This is?"

With a proud smile, Ryan nudged the tooth forward with his finger.

"A dimensional space."

"Ah?"

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed a dimensional space. Fiddling with it, I was surprised to see that the space within it was quite large.

"What is this for?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Ryan placed the dimensional space directly in his mouth and clenched his teeth multiple times. The sound of his teeth grinding together rang throughout the room.

"An emergency dimensional space. You know… just in case something happens."

"Oh…"

That…

It was actually quite a neat invention. Scanning him with my eyes, I really couldn't detect the dimensional space inside of him. That was rather surprising.

'If I had back in my Monolith days…'

I could only sigh while thinking about the past.

"Not bad."

It really was a useful tool.

"Is there anything else that you want to report to me?"

"Ah, yes."

Ryan suddenly smacked his hand on his forehead.

"The assembly is full, and you're going to be late if you stay here any longer."

I abruptly stood up from my seat.

"You fu―"