“You’re really kind.”
Lukas turned around at the sudden voice.
Letip was standing there. He sat at a small table in the corner of the room, reading a book with his legs crossed as if he’d been there from the beginning. There was also a packet of sweets opened in front of him.
After looking at him for a moment before finally opening his mouth.
“Why did you save Neil?”
The lightning bolt at the end had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. It was easy to guess who had intervened.
At that moment, when Neil was on the verge of death, it was Letip who had interfered and saved him. And it was probably him who’d saved Leo as well.
Letip replied with a smirk.
“First of all, I was simply protecting a friend. I couldn’t just watch him die.”
It was only then when Lukas finally realised why Neil had gone to face a Duke on his own. He seemed to have been driven by emotion, but he still would have been able to make rational decisions.
It turned out that Letip was Neil’s insurance. He had to have known that Letip would save him if worse came to worst.
“Then why didn’t you kill Rose?”
“If I did that, I’d have to fight the Demon King.”
“So you want to stay neutral?”
Tak.
Letip closed the book.
Then, he took a sip of cold water from a glass in front of him before getting up from his seat. Contrary to what he’d shown before, there was now a serious look in his eyes.
“Sedi is dead.”
Lukas knew. Or to be precise, he’d gotten a vague feeling.
The influence, the death of an Absolute had on a universe, was by no means small. Especially for a small and fragile universe like this one.
And yet, the reason he hadn’t been entirely sure was because of how sudden it was.
But now, Letip was telling him directly that Sedi was dead.
This meant that Sedi had truly died.
Perhaps within hours of their last meeting.
“She disregarded my advice, and now, she has disappeared from this [Weak World]. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you who killed her.”
“The Demon King.”
He didn’t say that it was Kasajin. Lukas wasn’t sure if it was his own stubbornness or for some other reason.
“The Demon King, Nodiesop, and me as well. We don’t care what happens to this universe. It doesn’t matter to us if it collapses if we use power that exceeds its capacity. You felt it, didn’t you? There are already a few cracks in the universe after the fight between Sedi and the Demon King.”
“You’re not usually this long-winded. What is it that you want to say?”
The corners of Letip’s mouth rose once again.
“Ruler.”
“…?”
“Lord, Manager, Assistant.”
From top to bottom, Letip listed the different levels of Absolutes.
Lukas remained silent because he didn’t know what he was trying to say.
“Only an Absolute who ‘rules’ more than one ‘concept’ deserves to be called a Lord. The same goes for you, Lukas Trowman.”
“…”
“In other words, among Lords, there are some who rule over more concepts than others. This is why there can be large power gaps between Lords despite them being on the same level.”
Lukas had a feeling that Letip was about to say something very important, and his hunch wasn’t wrong.
“The Demon King, for example, is the Black Horned Demon God’s right-hand man.”
“…right hand?”
The right hand of a Ruler.
This was Lukas’ first time hearing such a concept.
Whether he read Lukas’ expression or not, Letip continued to explain.
“It’s not surprising that you don’t know about it. Most don’t even know they exist. Personally, I call them Conquerors, but… Well, their title isn’t important. Just know that each of them is within the top five of all Lords.”
“…”
“The Demon King appeared like a gust of wind. One day, he suddenly appeared and killed the Absolute who used to serve as the Demon God’s right hand before taking his place. He’s an Absolute with mysterious origins, but his power is clear to all.”
This was the first time he’d heard any information about Kasajin since he disappeared.
With a strange feeling in his chest, Lukas continued listening to Letip.
“I am also a Conqueror.”
“…the Lightning God.”
“He’s my one and only Master.”
Letip nodded his head slowly.
“I received a call from God not too long ago. He probably wanted to give me a hint on how to deceive the laws of this universe. Do you know why I didn’t go?”
He answered his own question before Lukas could open his mouth.
“Because there’s no need to care about that at all. Lukas, stop paying attention to trivial things. The Demon King has begun to move.”
“You seem pretty wary. Are you afraid of him?”
Lukas asked, a hint of provocation in his voice.
However, Letip nodded with a scarily calm expression.
“Right. I’m afraid of him.”
“What?”
Then he said something that was even more shocking.
“Because at this moment, the Demon King is stronger than me.”
* * *
“Now, the Demon King has gone to Nodiesop. If my predictions are correct, then the two’s goals coincide and there is a high chance that they will work together. I don’t have to tell you whom they want to kill, do I?”
As if opposed to Letip’s assertion, Lukas refuted him.
“The Demon King might not be hostile towards me.”
“Why? Because you know him and the two of you came from the same world?”
“…”
Letip’s hoarse voice made Lukas’ head become cold.
Just a moment ago, he’d said that Kasajin’s origins were mysterious. It couldn’t be said that he lied… He said Kasajin’s origins were mysterious, but he didn’t say that he didn’t know them.
Letip had once again twisted his words to suit himself.
“Hahaha…”
Letip let out a hollow laugh. Then, he furrowed his eyebrows.
“That little friendship game you played back when you were both humans. I don’t know for sure, but I’m certain that it didn’t last more than a century. Human lifespans are the same regardless of the universe… It has been a long time since he became an Absolute. Do you think the memories of when he was a human, a period of only a few decades, would still be important to him now?”
“Are you trying to say that you know more about Kasajin than I do?”
“I don’t know anything about the human Kasajin. But I know the Absolute Kasajin better than you do. To become an Absolute is to say ‘goodbye’. Goodbye to the world in which you were born and lived. Goodbye to your fate as a mortal. Goodbye to anything you might have created. In order to rise to new heights, it’s necessary to empty your vessel.”
“…”
“I’m sure you’ve seen it before. Absolutes who have become completely different from their mortal days. Memories of the past are nothing more than bits of data for Absolutes. They are driven only by their mission, their responsibility, and their sense of duty.”
Letip’s eyes grew cold.
“You are the only exception.”
He spoke with certainty.
“Don’t try to generalise your case. You are the only special one. There was never and will never be another Absolute like you who is bound to their past, origin, and race. Can’t you see why all Absolutes are so hostile towards you yet?”
Letip’s voice was like cold daggers.
There wasn’t a single wrong word. Even before Lukas began acting as he pleased, there hadn’t been any Absolutes friendly towards him.
Among the Absolutes, who were extraordinary beings from all over the multiverse, he was the only exception. The only one who was different.
“…you’re unusually talkative today, Letip. What exactly is it that you want?”
“Help me kill the Demon King…”
That was a ridiculous request at this point.
Letip nodded expectantly when Lukas remained silent.
“…even if I say all of that, you will continue to trust him unless you see it with your own eyes. That’s fine, too. Sooner or later, you’ll get to meet the Demon King. Then you’ll be able to see for yourself and make your own decision. About what kind of being Kasajin is now.”