By the Creator"s will, we four Demon Lords gathered in one place and was seated on large, round table.
Shortly afterwards, the Creator himself showed up. This was actually my first time to see what the Creator looked like.
"Now, before we engage in our lovely talk, I will give you all some free time. I"ll just stay quiet and watch you Children of the Planet."
The Creator informed us so. But even then, there was no way we could speak thoughtlessly while he watched us on. As I thought that silence grabbed hold of my surroundings…
"Zagan, you"re horrible! You said this"ll be an easy win and the most reliable way to fulfill our quota so I cooperated! But you liar; I didn"t hear anything about this! Return them, return my monsters!"
[Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronove fired the first shot.
He looked tattered and was missing an arm. Even though the wound had closed with his capacity as a Demon Lord to recuperate, it was not enough to regrow his arm. A monster with a high-ranking healing ability might be able to do so but with his crystal broken, all of his monsters were gone as well.
"Shut up! If you were just a little more helpful, I would have won! But because you were defeated so early, I was attacked by that fox monster and that dwarf in strange armor! If only that didn"t happen, I would have been able to catch up to Byakko and supported him. And if that happened, I would have surely won! So as you see, I lost because of you, you incompetent fool!"
Zagan returned fire.
I doubted though that him supporting the Byakko would have been enough to turn things around.
To begin with, we still had the third dungeon room—an absolute defense area. If that wasn"t enough, Stolas was also on standby farther in.
"You"re the incompetent one so shut up. You"re the incompetent fool that dragged me and Morax into this stupid war! [Creation] sortied all his monsters out and yet you still failed to conquer that empty dungeon! You"re the most inept, good-for-nothing, pathetic, incompetent fool there is! You should go and change your name to [Incompetent] Demon Lord Muzan(pathetic)!"
"I let you speak and this is what you say, you dullard!? If I hadn"t taken you in-"
"If I didn"t team up with you, [Incompetent] Demon Lord Muzan, at the very least, I could have better protected my crystal!"
It was a terribly ugly fight. It seemed that at any moment Zagan would lash out and attack Ronove but a force compelled him to sit and stay where he was.
This force affected me too. Out of the worry that Zagan and Ronove would act due to their resentment, I tried to ready myself in various ways but to no avail; it seemed that aside from preventing me to move away, the force had also sealed every single skill and magic I had.
Perhaps this was to protect the Creator himself.
Speaking of the Creator, he was grinning as he watched Zagan and Ronove. He probably considered even their bickering as entertainment.
"Stolas, right when I thought you simply rejected my offer, here you are as [Creation]"s dog, his b.i.t.c.h! Even though I would have taken better care of you!!"
His ugly argument with Ronove finally over, Zagan bared his fangs toward Stolas.
Originally, he had offered Stolas to join the alliance that was founded to defeat me but was rejected. He must have been aggravated to see her helping me out instead.
Through all of it, Stolas kept an unconcerned face.
"I am no dog and certainly no one"s. I only came here as a friend helping out a friend in need… But then, you were so weak, that proved unnecessary."
Those words must have sorely wounded his pride.
"I am not weak; if [Viscosity] and [Evil] hadn"t dragged me down, I would have won!"
"Is that so? Tell yourself what you must but can you please stop talking to me already? I have no interest in someone like you."
"I really, really could and should have won, I tell you! It wasn"t my fault I lost!"
"Don"t make me say the same thing again. It is a waste of time to a.s.sociate myself with a loser like you."
"Did, did you just call me a loser!?"
Zagan screamed but Stolas didn"t even deign to give him a glance; he was completely ignored.
But then, Stolas probably felt that even if she said anything to him, whatever it was, it would have been useless.
And so, Zagan screamed and screamed until he looked anemic and about to cry. He then cursed and pounded his hands on the table.
After a short while of silence, Ronove murmured something
"Morax… Where"s Morax?"
There should have been another Demon Lord present here. In search for that Demon lord, Ronove repeatedly shook his head left and right but in the end failed to find the said Demon Lord.
No one answered his query. I could have but it was a little unpleasant so I decided not to as well.
After a while, the Creator opened his mouth.
"[Evil] is dead and has already returned to me. For the war among new Demon Lords, as a means of relief, I was willing to give a new crystal by the time they got independent to the Demon Lords that got their crystals broken. There is nothing that could be done about deaths though."
[Viscosity] held his breath.
The other Demon Lords had predicted as much so they weren"t as surprised.
Even though there was a means of relief offered, it didn"t mean it would extend to everything.
"Morax died? But that guy, that guy was the only one kind to me."
Tears dropped from his frog-like, round eyes.
It was only a little but I did feel guilty. That said, this war was either kill or be killed so I didn"t regret this outcome.
Ronove reproachfully glared at me but that was all he did. He probably understood that voicing any complaints was misplaced.
And so, the surrounding once again began to fall into silence. After that happened, the Creator nodded in satisfaction.
"Children of the Planet, it seems you have deepened your friendship with one another so shall we get into the task at hand?"
We all looked at the Creator.
As I did so, a doubt welled up within me. I wouldn"t have thought the Creator was this unreliable-looking old man.
To begin with, for the Creator to even age was strange. I couldn"t believe a transcendent being that gives life to Demon Lords to have aged this much.
"[Creation], is my appearance so strange?"
"No, nothing like that."
I was convinced my facial expression didn"t show what I was thinking but even so, he read through it instantly. Such sharpness.
"You don"t have to hide it. But that"s weird, hmm… My appearance should have been what everyone here wanted me look like… Then, is this form any better? How about this?"
The Creator then became a young man, then a baby, then a boy, then an old woman, then a beast, then a spirit, and then even a dragon. In the end, the Creator returned to his initial form.
"In the first place, I have no fixed form and I only prepare a body when I need to. I am a being not as bound and limited as you Children of the Planet."
Unearthly. That word flashed through my mind.
He was something I should never think of opposing. That realization made me see him in a new light.
"Hmmmm. As I thought, [Creation] is wise. I hope you illuminate the world with your radiance as a Child of the Planet and accomplish your role."
"I thank you for your praise."
I didn"t even have anymore the willpower to retort on having my mind read.
"[Creation], you have always surprised me. Aside from the reward for this [War], I am going to grant you one additional reward. Ask me what you would like to know about and I will try to answer it whatever it is. This is your chance to get close to the world"s truths."
What I would like to know about? There were myriads of them.
For example, was there any kind of trap behind the [Rebirth] I used on Wight?
What was the as-of-yet unrevealed role of a Child of the Planet? For that matter, why are Demon Lords called Children of the Planet in the first place?
Was there a way to be free from our 300-year lifespan?
But most of all…
"Just who am I?"
That was my greatest question.
Why do I know such things as guns? That was not all either. I also knew of way too advanced tools and of things that didn"t exist.
I was of the thought that I was a reincarnation of someone. If my [Creation] allowed me to make certain things in my memory, then I was convinced I had interacted with those certain things at some point in my previous life.
"That"s a rather philosophical question, [Creation]. To which, there is only one answer: [Creation] Demon Lord Procell is none other than [Creation] Demon Lord Procell."
"That"s not the kind of thing I want to hear. Just who was I before I became [Creation] Demon Lord Procell? I want to know of the memories I"ve lost. Who the h.e.l.l am I!?"
I unintentionally became emotional. I was always afraid to have a part of myself that I didn"t know.
I was afraid that I would change into something else because of that part of myself.
In order to quell these worries, I asked this question.
"You have not lost any memories. You had no past life. Those are the answers. To start, I will address a misunderstanding. Whatever is needed to form a Demon Lord"s personality and knowledge are carefully selected from the Planet"s memoryAkashic Records. It"s just that in your case, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, due to your ability, the span of knowledge needed is vast. So as you see, it doesn"t mean that a specific person"s memory and soul is given to a Demon Lord upon birth. This is also the reason why Demon Lords are called Children of the Planet."
It clicked within me upon hearing that explanation but I still had some doubts left.
"Then what about the guns I use, the laptop, the apples, did they all exist in this planet? I don"t think that"s likely."
"But they did. In a civilization that had fallen a long time ago, a civilization that no one except the planet remembers. In a sense, we can say [Creation] truly is a Child of the Planet. Whereas other Demon Lords indirectly accomplish their role, [Creation] does so directly."
I didn"t fully understand the Creator"s words but I had accomplished my goal: I had cleared the clouds of doubt that had plagued my heart ever since.
It felt good. From that point forward, not anymore did I have to be afraid of the shadow of someone I didn"t know.
"Thank you very much for answering my question. Knowing that I am who I am and no one else gives me piece of mind."
"Hmm, that response is not interesting… oh well. Then, let"s now get into the real topic."
Upon saying so, the Creator glance at [Steel] and [Viscosity] in order.
"[Steel], [Viscosity]. This war is not only about winning and losing; it"s also about showing your radiance and power as a Child of the Planet. Relying completely on your parent"s generation is not an act I would praise. Showing off the strength of the monsters you"ve borrowed held no meaning and did not entertain me."
Zagan and Ronove twitched and trembled, perhaps in fear of a severe punishment.
"Nevertheless, I have no intention of faulting you. You are young and are naturally mischievous. If I am to fault somebody though, it will be the older Demon Lords that gave you those monsters. They should have the good sense to not do so and yet they still did. I cannot forgive that. I will be giving them some stern punishment. I look forward to what kind of face they"ll make, especially [Darkness] who is at the point where his ambition is burning the most."
The Creator gave a sinister smile.
We were not the ones that smile was directed at and yet we sweated still.
Basically, the Demon Lords closest to the end of their lifespans are the ones elected to be parents to newly born Demon Lords like us. However, just the Demon Lords in their last year as parents would not be enough to take care of newly born ones; less than 30% of all Demon Lords ever manage to live close to 300 years after all. Due to that, Demon Lords born 3 generations after Marcho"s generation, the current oldest generation, or in other words Demon Lords with 30 years left in their lifespan became parents. For these Demon Lords, once the older ones were no more, it was finally their time. To be punished now must hurt.
I can"t act like none of these affect me; I have to speak here.
"Creator, I have a request."
"What is it, [Creation]?"
"As you may be aware, I have under my control a monster that once belonged to the [Time] Demon Lord. However, this monster has been acquired through a fair trade. I hope you do not punish the other party for transferring the right of control over to me."
It was a fair deal through and through. We both benefitted from our deal so it fell through. I who imposed myself upon his domain could not let this trouble befall him.
"No need to worry. I am aware of that deal. Moreover, I believe it to be impossible for [Time] to do something as stupid as what we are discussing."
I felt relieved. With this, I have not troubled him.
"[Steel] and [Viscosity], having lost your powers and dungeons, just living will probably be hard for you. In light of that, I give you three choices: you may take shelter here in the Demon Lord Palace; you may also choose to be under the care your respective parents; or be daring and set out on your own, possessing nothing. Now, choose."
In regards to those choices, Zagan immediately spoke.
"I wish to take shelter in the Demon Lord Palace!"
Well, it was natural.
His parent was going to be punished by the Creator. As the cause of that, I could imagine he was going to be extremely unwelcomed at his parent"s dungeon.
On the other hand, being thrown out without any possessions was frightening.
If those were the case, then being under the Creator"s protection was the most comfortable choice.
When I looked at [Viscosity]"s direction, he was deep in thought.
And then, after some deliberation, he had come up with a decision.
"I choose to live by my own strength. I have decided to stop depending on others. I am going to think and act for myself so I will not ask for Creator-sama or my parent for a.s.sistance."
Those words were filled with strong conviction.
Although it was only a little, I thought of him in a better way.
"[Steel], [Viscosity], I shall respect your wishes. Now, as for you. [Creation], good work on winning and most of all, on entertaining me. I am going to give you a reward."
The Creator cut off his words and put on some airs.
Even though he called it a reward, I could not let my guard down and so, I tensed up.
"And that reward is…"
I had received the reward. It certainly had terrific power but it was also hard to use.
But then again, compared to [Rebirth], since the disadvantages were obvious, it seemed I didn"t have to be as guarded.
◇
"Oto-san, welcome back!!"
"Master, you"re late. I was worried."
"We"re already done with the preparations, master."
After I received the reward, I was transferred back into the crystal room of my dungeon… of my city of Avalon.
The three girls—Kuina, Rorono, and Aura—came to greet me.
When I looked at the state of the city through the crystal, the city was already back to its usual routine, with farmers and adventurers busily moving about. Just before the Creator transferred the population of the city back, I hurriedly switched floors but not one of them seemed to have noticed.
Watching that scene, it registered to me that all the fighting was over and that regular life had resumed.
"Everyone, sorry to have made you wait."
"Oto-san, let"s hurry and go to Wight"s bread factory; everyone"s waiting!"
"Together with Aura, we have made a lot of cuisines. We have also prepared plenty of master"s favorite: tomato stew."
"Fufufu, there"s also the apple pie made from the First Tree"s apples! It will get rid of your fatigue."
Kuina continuously tugged at my arm.
From now on was the party at the bread factory; a celebration.
The preparations had been done before the [War] but it seemed that while I was meeting with the Creator, they had finished it all up.
"How about it, Stolas? Won"t you join us in our party?"
Yes, I wasn"t the only transferred here; [Wind] Demon Lord Stolas was also with me.
"I guess I"ll impose on you, then. I"m looking forward to the fruit called the apple that you"ve written in your letters. Also, I want to enjoy your city."
"Please do. Afterwards, I"ll give you something for your help."
"I"ll be looking forward to that as well, then. Also, this had been on my mind for a while but that beautiful elf there, could you perhaps used [Wind] to make her?"
"Yes, she"s a monster I was able to make thanks to you. She turned out to be very strong and outstanding. She"s also a good kid. So, I"m really grateful to you, Stolas."
"Could you have perhaps also used [Creation]?"
"I did."
"Oh. So she"s my and Procell"s child."
Stolas"s face became ever so slightly red as she whispered so.
"Fuh-What was that? Although you can certainly say it like that, it"s a strange way to put it."
I unintentionally laughed.
As I was like that, Kuina and Rorono each took an arm and strongly pulled it.
"Oto-san, how long are you going to talk!?"
"Master, hurry. Everyone"s hungry and the food will get cold."
As usual, these two were jealous. They were probably thinking their father was going to be taken away. I smiled wryly as I walked away.
"Shall we go, Stolas?"
"Yes, let"s"
"I didn"t hear it clearly back then but Procell, what was the reward that you got from the Creator?"
"Oh yeah, that… No, let"s reserve that talk for another time. For now, let"s party."
The reward from the Creator was indeed useful but careful deliberation was needed on when and how to use it.
I chose to leave it for another time, though. I wanted to focus first on praising all of my monsters who worked hard.
Thus I along with my important monsters relished the satisfaction from having protected our city of Avalon.
Note 1: Ronove referred to Zagan as Muzan which can mean pathetic or pitiful.
Note 2: Memory of the Planet is noted as Akashic Records which very inaccurately means an archive of all things. For those that have read or watched Rave Master, Memory of the Planet uses the same words for Stellar Memories.