Chapter 501

Fortunately, there were no major events like martial arts competitions or dance festivals at this year's New Year's festival.

My colleagues and the citizens seemed somewhat disappointed (especially looking at me with longing), but the city is currently too busy to spare a moment.

Let's be satisfied with just having a good time celebrating the New Year today.

Anyway, after finishing a morning round of the neighborhood and returning to the mansion-

"Hmm. The stew from the south is quite spicy."

Father, casually seated in the dining room, was savoring the meat stew with a huff and puff... 

Emperor spotted.

He had been out of sight for a while, and now here he appears suddenly, enjoying a stew. I sat down next to the Emperor with a small laugh.

"How is it, just doing some cooking?"

"It's a bit rustic compared to the stews of the Imperial Capital, but it has its own flavor."

The Emperor, having neatly finished his bowl of stew, wiped his mouth with a napkin.

He looked like he was dining at a high-end courtly fine dining restaurant. In reality, it's just a complete serving of rice cake soup.

"Where have you been sneaking off to?"

"It's not easy for an Emperor to come to the southernmost lands, is it? I took the opportunity to check if the order of the country is properly maintained."

His words sound ominous, but it seems he's just been inspecting the southern regions.

"I've also roughly checked on how the Monster Front is going, so now I'm planning to head back to the Imperial Capital."

It's been a few days since I stubbornly kept the Emperor away from the Imperial Capital.

The central administration must be jammed by now. With the final approver here... it's time for him to return.

"I'll send troops and support supplies in order. The Empire, too, being a member of the World Guardian Front, will fulfill its role."

The Emperor said so, but I couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed.

The Emperor is the most powerful being among all humans I've met.

If he stays here at the Monster Front, it would be extremely helpful in fending off the monsters' invasions...

As if knowing what's on my mind, the Emperor gave a sly smile and said,

"If the monsters' invasions get more intense, I too will lead the army down here. But before that."

The Emperor glanced northwards.

"I intend to settle the other fronts left in the Empire."

"The Foreign Gods Front... You mean."

The Empire's northern front.

The war between the Emperor and the invading Foreign Gods unfolding in the Spirit Realm.

With the western Dragonblood Front having signed a peace treaty and the central Shadow Front exposing its conspiracy and failing.

Now, the only remaining fronts of the Empire are the northern Foreign Gods Front and the southern Monster Front.

The Emperor stretched and cracked his neck.

"It's about time for them to stir again. I will have to go there personally to settle it."

"...What will you do with the Foreign Gods?"

Even for the mighty Emperor, those four Foreign Gods couldn't be completely vanquished, only held at bay.

How does he plan to settle this front with the Foreign Gods?

"Do you remember why the Foreign Gods invaded?"

"To protect their respective guardian races, wasn't it?"

The four Foreign Gods are guardians of different races.

Dwarf, Elf, Werebeast, Mermaid.

The progenitors of these four races, facing persecution and near extinction of their kind, launched direct attacks to liberate their races.

"Yes. But, Ash, didn't you recklessly propose liberating these races as a condition?"

"Me?"

"Didn't you promise to accept the four races as equal members of the World Guardian Front, treating them equally and liberating them from their enslaved status?"

At the Emperor's words, I opened my mouth in realization.

"Oh."

"Oh? What do you mean by oh? Wasn't this all part of your plan?"

The Emperor smiled with his eyes, but no, this was a real stroke of luck. I hadn't even thought about it...

"So, that's right. Ash, you've already presented the negotiation card the Foreign Gods wanted. With that condition, I intend to negotiate with them myself. Of course, I'm not sure if we, who have only fought without a word for so long, can easily come to a good conclusion."

The Emperor crossed his arms and nodded his head.

"Abolishing the slavery of the different races and restoring their homelands, in exchange for stopping the fight with the Foreign Gods... Of course, it's not without loss for the Empire and humanity. But the gains overwhelmingly outweigh the losses."

The invasion of the Foreign Gods was marked as one of the destinies that could destroy the Everblack Empire.

Indeed, it was a front the Emperor had been struggling to hold back alone for years.

Stopping the war and finding peace in exchange for freeing the enslaved different races... it might be a very cheap price to pay.

"I don't know why I never thought of this before. Worrying about the fate of the Empire due to the invasion of the Foreign Gods, why didn't I think to eliminate the cause? Why didn't I think to listen to them and negotiate?"

The Emperor chuckled and tapped his head.

"Sitting in this absolute position for a long time, one tends to forget means like compromise and negotiation. As one gets older, pride gets more stubborn."

"..."

"The Foreign Gods are beings capable of communication and mutual understanding. So, I will leave to negotiate with them."

The Emperor pushed back his chair and rose from the dining table.

Suddenly, there seemed to be a flash of light behind him. His presence felt immense. Adjusting his robe, the Emperor smiled lightly.

"And I will join here again before it's too late. So, take good care of this place in the meantime, Ash."

"Just leave it to me, Father."

The Emperor gazed intently at me, bowing respectfully.

Then, he suddenly changed the topic.

"Ash. Do you know the concept of Divinization?"

I blinked in confusion. Of course, I knew it.

Divinization.

In the game, it was the opposite concept of Beastification.

"If one abandons humanity and walks the path of the beast, they become a beast. Conversely, acquiring excessive humanity leads to gaining divinity and ascension... That's what I understand."

"Quite accurate."

Aegis Special Forces' Mason and Lucas, who had been transformed into beasts after taking the serum, and Lucas who had abandoned that path...

I remembered Lucas's beast-like glaring eyes. Beastification was a power that traded one's humanity for strength.

Divinization, on the other hand, was the opposite. A being had to acquire a lot of humanity to gain this trait.

"Then, do you know how to excessively acquire this humanity?"

I shook my head at the Emperor's question. What even is humanity? I only know that abandoning it turns one into a beast.

The Emperor explained slowly in a more solemn voice.

"When a being takes on the lives, souls, and wills of many of their kind. At that moment, that being gets the opportunity to acquire divinity, and if they accept it, divinization proceeds."

Suddenly, I recalled what Aider once told me about the conditions for becoming the god of a race.

1. Being the progenitor of that race.

2. Being a great individual who saved the race from a crisis.

3. Lastly, being the sole remaining member of a race after all others have perished.

In all three cases, one undergoes the process of bearing the lives and souls of their kin... and through this, acquires divinity.

'In the end, divinization is about obtaining divinity and, literally, becoming a god.'

Suddenly, I thought of the human guardian goddess bound in the Spirit Realm.

What process had she undergone to become what she was?

Also, I remembered the massive Foreign Gods invading through the Spirit Realm. They, too, as progenitors of their races, had borne the souls of their kin.

Lastly, the face of Goblin God-King... Kali-Alexander, whom I met on the battlefield, also flashed through my mind.

He had the opportunity to obtain this divinity but refused it by his own will.

While organizing these concepts in my head, the Emperor slowly continued.

"I too accepted that power. Now, I have stopped at the stage of a demigod."

The Emperor's transcendent martial prowess.

It originated from this very process of divinization.

"I became a transcendent being myself, forcibly proceeding with divinization to face the Foreign Gods of the Spirit Realm."

"Forcibly proceeding... what do you mean?"

"What else could it mean, when one forcibly bears the lives, souls, and wills of others?"

The Emperor laughed bitterly.

"I made offerings. Yes, human sacrifices."

"...!"

I widened my eyes in shock.

Until the presentation of the magic stone in Crossroad, people were being offered as human sacrifices in the Imperial Capital to operate the dark waters of Everblack.

Different race slaves were burned, prisoners of war from enemy nations were burned, and those suspected of being spies were burned. People captured from all over the world were used as fuel.

Under the pretext of preventing destruction, the Empire had committed these horrific massacres.

And through this process, the Emperor had stolen their lives, souls, and wills.

"Literally, I burned the lives of my subjects to gain divinity. And with that power, I have sustained the Foreign Gods Front."

In the shadows, the Emperor smiled chillingly.

I felt a shiver run down my spine.

"Don't suddenly look at me like that. Didn't you know that this father is the world's greatest villain?"

"..."

"To protect the Empire, the guardians of the Empire swore to do whatever it takes, and indeed, they did so... But thanks to you, those atrocities have stopped."

Since I presented the magic stone and Serenade distributed it, human sacrifices in the Imperial Capital stopped.

The slaughter of innocents stopped.

But that doesn't erase the crimes of those massacres.

"As the offerings and sacrifices stopped, the divinity I forcibly acquired is also escaping. I am gradually losing my status as a representative of humanity."

The Emperor clenched and unclenched his fist. To my eyes, his power still seemed immense, but he said it was fading.

"...Why are you telling me this?"

I appreciated the explanation, but what next? What's the intent behind telling me this?

Not quite understanding, I simply asked, and the Emperor reached out his hand and-

Firmly.

He gripped my shoulder.

"If the world really does head towards destruction, you, as the leader of this front, will naturally have the opportunity to gain divinity. I'm telling you this in hopes that you make the right decision then."

Facing the golden eyes of the transcendent being, I felt cold sweat trickle down my spine.

Me, gaining divinity?

To have the chance to become a transcendent being like the Emperor...?

"When you attain divinity, you can see the ugly truths of this world. And you can never go back to how things were before."

"..."

"But if the world truly spirals into destruction, you will inevitably seize that power. It'll be a situation where you have to grasp at straws."

The Emperor slowly released my shoulder and then lightly patted it.

"You have already reshaped the world to your liking, united everyone under a single alliance, and are the commander of this front, leading them all."

"..."

"Now humanity will regard you as their leader. And as a representative of humanity, as a king among kings... you will have to make the ultimate choice."

The Emperor, with his characteristic fierce smile revealing his back teeth, said,

"Will you remain a Piece, or become a Player?"

He spat out the chess game terminology I had heard before.

"Ultimately, that's what matters in the world. Will you stay as a piece, or become the player yourself... Ha-ha, I look forward to the answer you'll choose in the end."

***

After spouting a series of inscrutable setups, the Emperor hopped onto Alcatraz and flew away.

"...What the heck was that all about."

Chewing over the Emperor's words, I let out an exasperated sigh and kicked at the ground in frustration.

Enough of these vague and distant talks. What I need is practical support to defeat the monsters right now.

'Not many days left until the next defense battle...'

Though the member nations of the World Guardian Front promised to send troops and supplies.

The world is vast, and Crossroad is stuck deep in the southern wilderness. It will be some time before all the troops and supplies arrive.

In the end, despite having set up a lot, the immediate next defense battle must be carried out with the existing forces.

'I just have to do what I can.'

Going on free exploration, crafting equipment, hiring new mercenaries, and training them.

Slowly integrating the forces arriving in turn from all around the world into one army.

Step by step, one stage at a time, the other seeds I've sown will start to sprout.

"Alright! Time for a change!"

Shaking my shoulders, I shouted.

"Let's hit the dungeons!"

After what felt like a very long time, it was time for free exploration again!