161 Roots

Unable to keep up with the combined assault of Jean and Eula, especially with Paul and the others nearby, Regas eventually took a knee and asked, "What is it you people hope to achieve by assaulting the fortress? Even if you're able to take it over, it will never recognize you as its master..."

Stepping forward under the watchful eye of Ei, Paul answered, "We're not here to take over and occupy the fortress. We just didn't feel like running away after your people attacked us."

Though he had already assumed as much, Regas narrowed his eyes in response to Paul's words, stating, "You must be Paul Greyrat..." in a cold, almost accusatory tone.

Noticing an excessive amount of hostility in the man's gaze, Paul frowned as he asked, "What's with the hate? I get that humanity probably fucked you over in the past, but those people died hundreds of years ago. While humans in the present aren't much better, hating people who have never wronged you is just stupid..."

In clear disapproval of Paul's words, Regas spat out a mixture of blood and saliva before stating, "Humans are a pox upon this world, a pestilence that will not cease until it has consumed everything..."

"..."

Closing his eyes, Paul resisted the urge to massage his forehead as he exhaled through his nose, shook his head, and asked, "And? What would you do? Unless humans abruptly ceased to exist, any efforts to cull them would result in the very destruction you abhor. Instead of bitching about broad and esoteric issues, you should be living life to the fullest or looking for non-destructive solutions. Hatred without focus is just bigotry..."

Opening his eyes, Paul stared directly into Regas's blood-red eyes as he stated, "No species is perfect. So long as there is even a remote disparity between the status, wealth, and power of individuals, there will always be conflict. My group is actively trying to oppose corruption and improve the relations between all races. You've had hundreds of years to do the same, but you've wasted your time resenting others rather than trying to rebuild your people and protect them...do you honestly believe you have any right to lecture others?"

With an expression that bordered on madness, Regas venomously replied, "You despicable human knave...you dare spew platitudes before me!? You have no idea what I-what my people have endured because of people like you...!"

Unable to contain his ire, Regas promptly sank into his shadow and darted toward Paul at an extreme, nearly imperceptible speed. Among humans, he hated so-called Heroes more than any other. More often than not, they were singularly responsible for the deaths of countless people, so, even if it cost him his life, Regas was willing to sacrifice everything to prevent the rise of another human Hero.

Unfortunately for Regas, Ei had been on full alert. Paul barely had time to tense his body, but Ei was able to manifest her sword and slice off both of Regas's arms the moment he emerged from her Master's shadow.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...!"

Though he expected to receive an attack, Regas had never thought it would come before his own. Ei's speed was unlike anything he had ever experienced, and he had once fought against Almanfi and Clearnight, the Ancient Spirits that governed Light and Thunder.

Forced to his knees as a result of the pain and the Electro Energy coursing through his body, sweat covered much of Regas's brow and body as he glared up at Paul and stated, "Even if you fight against the corruption of this world...it's only a matter of time...before you become the very thing you swore to destroy. Humans are frail of heart and mind. Once you reach your breaking point...countless...people...will suffer..."

Succumbing to blood loss, Regas collapsed face-first into the ground. Drow Elves, similar to their forest-dwelling cousins, possessed a form of biological immortality that allowed them to endure for thousands of years so long as their core, a seed-like growth near the center of their brain, wasn't destroyed. They could be incapacitated, but they could even regenerate from apparent death so long as there was an abundance of Mana in their surroundings.

Staring down at the man, Paul found himself wondering whether or not it would be for the best to put the man out of his misery. Immortality was a curse if you simply lived from one moment to the next without direction or hope. Regas had clearly succumbed to his hatred of humanity, so even if he lived for another four centuries, he was more likely to get in the way of progress rather than support it...

Shaking such thoughts from his mind, Paul turned to Ei and said, "Thanks for the save." before turning to the rest of his group, forcing a smile, and adding, "We should hurry. I'm not sure how much time has passed, but I imagine Atofe will be on her way momentarily. If we're in the middle of our siege when she arrives, I doubt she'll just let matters lie."

Unaware of the peculiarities of Drow Elves, Xinyan took it upon herself to ask, "What about this guy? Are we just going to leave him here...?"

Nodding his head, Paul's expression softened ever so slightly as he said, "If a member of the Four Heavenly Kings could be done in by something as mundane as the loss of a limb, they wouldn't have survived the war. So long as we don't destroy his brain, he'll eventually make a full recovery. If you look closely, you'll notice he has already stopped bleeding."

Though she had been trying to avoid looking directly at Regas's injuries, Xinyan ultimately followed Paul's gaze. Doing so made her feel more than a little queasy, but she was able to confirm that Paul was telling the truth. In fact, despite only a few minutes passing, Regas's arms resembled the stumps of a recuperating amputee rather than someone who had just lost their limbs.

"Whoa..."

Nodding his head a second time, Paul explained, "According to the history I've read, Regas was defeated and slain no less than six times during the Laplace War. Despite that, he would invariably appear a few months later, fully recovered and ready to keep fighting. As a result, he was eventually given the moniker Regas, the Undead King."

Finished with the impromptu history lesson, Paul reiterated, "We should make our way to the throne room." before taking the initiative to lead the way...

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After fleeing to the opposite side of the keep, Bhathia took a few minutes to collect herself before locking on to her Mistress's energy signature and teleporting to her side. She found it suspicious that the enemy didn't even attempt to pursue her, but she ultimately didn't care. Her foremost priority was tracking down her Mistress and apprising her of the situation back at the fort.

Upon reaching her destination, Bhathia nearly crumpled to the ground when she set her sights on Atofe and Moore. It wasn't the first time she had seen her Mistress in such a diminutive form, but the storm overhead and the fact Moore was missing his dominant arm were tell-tale signs that she wasn't just playing around.

While Bhathia was staring at her in disbelief, Atofe craned her head to the side and asked, "Bhathia? What the heck happened to you...?"

Resisting the urge to repeat Atofe's question back at her, Bhathia took a knee, lowering her head as she replied, "Fort Necross is currently being assailed. We reacted as quickly as we could, but the enemy was able to eradicate our Elite Guard in an instant. I attempted to gather information from the sky, but they had a powerful Fire Mage on their side, potentially even an Emperor..."

Since Ei was clearly at the level of a God, Atofe didn't immediately dismiss Bhathia's claim. The latter had a habit of exaggerating things, especially if it was to cover her mistakes, but the injuries on her body lent credibility to her story. As a half-blooded descendant of the Infernal Demon Tribe, she was nearly impervious to ordinary flames and Fire Magic.

Contrasting Bhathia's expectations, though she admittedly should have expected it, Atofe's response to her report was to burst out laughing. She had initially thought that Paul and his Party had run away, so she couldn't help laughing at her oversight.

After restraining her laughter a bit, Atofe exclaimed, "How interesting! It's been hundreds of years since I encountered such an audacious man! This is going to be fun...!"

With bat-like wings manifesting from her armor, Atofe kicked off from the ground with enough force to leave a sizeable crater in her wake. Asking Bhathia to teleport her would have saved a lot of time, but she was too excited by the prospect of a second round to consider sticking around to discuss a plan of action.

Seeing their Mistress take off, leaving several sonic booms in her wake, Moore and Bhathia exhaled near-simultaneous sighs. They knew Atofe wasn't the type to listen to reason, so, without a word, they took a seat and decided to focus on recovering from their injuries. They wouldn't be of much help in their present conditions, so they would allow Atofe to run rampant for a few hours before arriving to clean up the mess she would invariably leave in her wake...

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After making their way through the entrance, a large banquet hall, and ascending a flight of stairs, Paul and Party eventually found themselves in a large, dimly lit chamber lined with stained glass murals and dominated by twelve pillars. Everything was made of the same black material as the rest of the castle, but a thick red carpet had been laid out in the center of the hall, leading to a black and gold throne that looked better suited to a giant than an ordinary person.

Instead of making his way over and sitting on the throne, Paul took a moment to inspect the stained-glass murals running from around waist height and extending nearly five meters to the ceiling. Each depicted a battle and, more often than not, a member of the Immortal Demon Tribe as the central character within the scene. The only exceptions were the three largets murals at the back of the hall, the centermost depicting a voluptuous woman with goat-like horns and violet purple hair, while the left and right showed two different men, the first possessing obsidian-black skin and two prominent horns while the latter showed a man with emerald-green hair and luminous golden eyes.

Raising his brows, Paul remarked, "I'm guessing the person in the center is Kishirika. That makes the person on her right Necross Lacross and the person on her left...Dragon God Laplace? If people genuinely cared about history, this place could become a world heritage site..."

Nodding her head in agreement, Jean commented, "This place reminds me of the interior of Mondstadt Cathedral. Let us hope that Demon Lord Atoferatofe doesn't immediately unleash one of her attacks. It would be a shame to see this place destroyed..."

"Hmmm..."

Walking over to the closest mural, Paul knocked against its surprisingly warm surface as he said, "Unless we attacked them directly, I don't think we have to worry about destroying them. There's no way simple stained glass could endure for thousands of years without fading, and I seriously doubt Atofe has hired anyone to maintain them. If I had to guess, these panels are the same as the rest of the fortress. Even if they're destroyed, they will slowly repair themselves over time..."

Retracting his hand, Paul turned back toward his group and added, "If she does attack, our priority will be subduing her. I imagine she'll be pretty pissed after getting slammed by lightning for half an hour, but she should eventually calm down if we explain the situation regarding her troops. She might be a muscle-brained idiot, but she's still the General of the Demon King's Army. Since we went out of our way to spare her troops, she'll have no choice but to compromise with us..."

Though he doubted things would go smoothly, Paul wanted to believe that Atofe could be reasoned with. In the original novel, she eventually became one of the foremost allies of the main cast. She even went out of her way to summon the other Demon Lords and coerce them into lending a hand, so she was inarguably one of the most powerful and influential allies they could have amongst the Demons.

She was also pretty hot...

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