Konrad"s pill refining had barely come to an end, that Krann"s voice echoed within his mind.
"Master, we"ve just completed the operation. However, I dare not comment on the result. Please give your appraisal."
Krann requested in a mental message while filling Konrad"s mind with the events that unfolded following his arrival in Talroth"s palace. By the time the transmission ended, Konrad"s eyes widened in disbelief.
"He didn"t dare."
Konrad muttered, unable to believe his eyes.
"He dared! Initially, Master wished to determine a simple fact: whether Talroth had emotions or not. If he did, the investigation stopped there. If he didn"t, I was meant to figure out the cause.
On that topic, I have mixed feelings. Talroth most likely misses a lot of the average person"s emotional spectrum. More accurately, he doesn"t have the negative parts. Anger, sorrow, fear, disgust. I can say with 90% certainty that those do not inhabit him. But things such as joy, amus.e.m.e.nt, and surprise do reside in him, if only in small amounts.
I"m sure that even in his wildest dreams, Malkam would have never expected his father to castrate and offer him as eunuch!"
Krann replied. And indeed, those were the facts. Following his soul-breaking thras.h.i.+ng at Helmut"s hands, Malkam couldn"t resist the contract and was forced to offer not only his consorts but his brothers. But thinking himself clever, he planted self-destruction seals within them all, ready to detonate the bombs when they left the Royal Palace. The move didn"t escape Krann"s vision. But before he could act, Talroth not only stopped Malkam, but gelded him on the spot!
The move sent the royal palace into an uproar! Little did they know that Talroth was only getting started. Right afterward, he summoned the Bastet, the Primogen whose demon race bore her name, and suppressed her within the throne room. Throughout the Higher Realms, all knew of Bastet"s eternal devotion toward Talroth. Never did anyone expect that such would be her fate.
Talroth then gathered his daughters, the Zenith Ant Primogen, Slivaz, alongside hundreds of consorts and thousands of maids to present in a grand offering! At that time, to say nothing of the demon princes, even Krann was scared out of his wits, not knowing how to handle the situation.
Talroth"s words still echoed within his mind.
"This is but a starting gift. So long as Konrad wants something, he can have it. If he gives the order and I can crusade against the other Demon Kings to rob them of their consorts. My only request is that he leaves me some face, and lets me keep my wife. After all, even an old goat such as I need someone to keep me company."
Faced with such words, Krann didn"t know how to be more excessive. And with two Primogens alongside thousands of succubi, maenads, and lilims to offer, how could he? At the end of the day, robbing beauties was just an excuse. If Talroth was sincere in his surrender, but they insisted on persecuting him, they might as well drop all pretense and behead him where he stood.
Of course, Konrad never cared for Talroth"s sincerity. He didn"t even care for his plots and planning. Only one thing worried him:
"Is Talroth somehow related to Celestial Slaughter? Yes, or no?"
This was the critical issue. An issue that could fill even Konrad with headaches. Talroth"s desire to destroy h.e.l.l"s Will had long since become evident to Konrad. That by itself was nothing inconceivable. However, if Talroth possessed the Conqueror"s Will...or rather, if the Conqueror"s Will possessed Talroth, then it was a whole other matter.
Celestial Slaughter and the Conqueror"s Will were one; the latter born from the former"s mastery of the Supreme Conqueror Sutra. Both existed within Nothingness. Tracing them was a task that left Regretless"s best efforts stumped. The only thing they knew for sure was that on his rebirth, Celestial Slaughter would either return on the place of his birth or his death.
Although the Realm Geography experienced drastic changes, both Konrad and the Firmament"s troublemakers knew the locations of those two places: Heaven or h.e.l.l. Heaven and h.e.l.l"s Will were so much different from the previous Mortal Realm because they were chains. Regretless" preventive measure to keep Celestial Slaughter shackled should he be reborn as a demon or deva.
The scheme could work because those two were Flawed Races with their roots in Regretless" Heaven and h.e.l.l"s Wills.
For the few Nature Spirits and humans, that was more complicated. For humans and Nature Spirits, Regretless left a lure: The G.o.d Executing Immortal Sword.
Only those ancient races could claim the sword. The likes of the demons and devas were too flawed to have the qualifications. However, Nature Spirits craved peace and harmony. If one ever sought the G.o.d Executing Immortal Sword, Regretless didn"t doubt that that one would be Celestial Slaughter"s reincarnation.
As for the humans, he only had to examine the emotional spectrum of those that sought the sword to make his judgment. The G.o.d Executing Immortal Sword was one of the three Supreme Artifacts of the Omniverse, the one born from Infiniteness. Even a Nothingness Supreme could fall to its might. But as a result, the blade would shatter.
Alas, its sentience and hatred for Regretless made it impossible for him or his kin to ever wield it in battle. Regretless didn"t fear Celestial Slaughter"s incoming strength. He feared another reincarnation. If he could never raise an Indefiniteness Supreme, plan B was to use both the threat and appeal the sword represented to lure Celestial Slaughter and seal him for good.
Konrad held the same concerns. Even if the reincarnation of his past self"s father stood before him, he couldn"t kill him. It was a pointless endeavor that would bring back a stronger enemy. Either he sealed him, or destroyed him once and for all. Preferably the latter.
Talroth"s eagerness to get rid of h.e.l.l"s Will forced Konrad to consider the possibility that perhaps, just perhaps, he was both his present and past father. Fortunately, the result was negative.
"If he were Celestial Slaughter, he wouldn"t just have an incomplete emotional spectrum. As long as the Conqueror"s Will stands, emotions and desires vanish to make place for an ent.i.ty driven solely by logic and the need to conquer. Talroth...can"t be him."
Konrad rationalized with his eyes shut close. And back in h.e.l.l, Krann nodded in approval.
"But that doesn"t mean they aren"t related. Have the State Protectors keep Talroth under close watch, and bring me his gifts. Since he dares offer them, I dare accept them. Let him some breathing s.p.a.ce for now, when the Three Realms are pacified, we shall pluck her."
Konrad ordered, and without delay, Krann executed the orders, first dispatching a State Protector to spy on Talroth from the shadows before bringing the two princes back to Yvonne, Else, and Gulistan"s side. That done, he vanished to reappear by Konrad"s side, this time startling both Heide and Cacillia.
"Master, please receive the haul!"
Krann exclaimed while extending an amethyst ring toward Konrad. And as he swept its content, although he already knew what lay therein, Konrad was still impressed by the legions of beauties awaiting.