Conquering The Novel

"...If you don\'t believe me, why don\'t you wait and hear it from the Hero Association themselves?" I replied with a smile.

"...."

"I don\'t think Ares is the type to make light of serious issues like this, so what he said might be true," Ziona stated.

"...Yeah, I believe in his words as well; he has no reason to lie on this matter in the first place," Diana added.

"...However, we have no reason to get involved with the demon lords for the time being because we are not strong enough.

So don\'t even think about something silly, brother," As she squinted toward Lucas, Ayla made a remark.

"W-What? I wasn\'t thinking about anything ridiculous; I was just curious because the demon lords had been sealed for centuries.

...And if their seal is indeed broken, the world is in for a huge catastrophe," Lucas explained.

"...."

"...The world has been at peace for too long; it\'s about time their tranquility was disturbed.

And we are now about to enter the Era of Calamities," Livia made a casual declaration before abruptly resting her head on my shoulder.

!?

There was a brief silence following Livia\'s declaration because we were all surprised by her remark.

"The power levels of the humanity were much higher at the time the demon lords were sealed, yet they still had to endure a great deal of suffering.

And In comparison to this Age, even the average human at that time would have been as strong as you.

You understand what that means, don\'t you?" Irethiel suddenly made a remark telepathically.

"...."

"...Yes, I completely understand what you\'re trying to imply," I responded to Irethiel telepathically.

"No, I don\'t think we\'ll experience any of the disasters we have in the past, that Livia mentioned," Diana suddenly spoke up while shaking her head.

"Oh, is that so? And what makes you believe that?" I inquired Diana inquisitively.

"...Because I once read the record of the Elven Hero, who was also responsible for sealing the demon lords along with others, and in that record, it was mentioned that even if the demon lords were to be released someday, their powers would not be at their peak.

And If we fight alongside each other before they regain their former strength, we should be able to defeat them," Diana elaborated.

"Are you certain that the records you\'ve read are trustworthy?" Ziona inquired, intrigued.

"...Yes, that seems about right. Because the same was also mentioned in the records left behind by one of the Human Heroes\' as well," Ayla responded.

"...."

"Wow, you stupid shitheads. Why do you think the earlier heroes chose to seal the demon lords rather than kill them directly?

And how did you potatoes miss the fact that the ancient Heroes sealed the demon lords using the language of the runes?" Livia spoke while her head was still on my shoulder and her eyes were closed.

Upon hearing Livia\'s choice of words, I couldn\'t help but chuckle, and there was a moment of silence as everyone at once understood the facts of what she had just said.

"...I\'m not sure I understand what you\'re saying, Livia.

Even though I admit that the demon lords were much stronger at the time, making it difficult for the Heroes to kill them, but now that they have just been released from the seal, they will be vulnerable, allowing us to easily kill them.

And even if we are unable to defeat them or find them to be too powerful for us to handle, we can simply follow the example set by earlier heroes and seal them away," Diana elaborated hurriedly with a twisted expression.

She didn\'t seem to like how Livia was speaking carelessly while her head was resting on my shoulder.

"...."

"Hey, cheeky Ayla, why don\'t you explain the mortals\' conundrum to this dumb potato?" Livia made a comment.

"...H-Hey, I\'m not a dumb potato or anything. Be mindful of who you are speaking to, Hmph, as I am the future empress of the Great Elven Kingdom," Diana replied in a frustrated tone.

"And if you think something I said was incorrect, why don\'t you explain it to me yourself? Why do you want that bitch — I mean, Ayla — to explain?" Diana expressed her dissatisfaction.

"...Because she believes she is the smartest person here," Livia said, lifting her head from my shoulder and staring at Ayla with a smirk.

!?

"...I don\'t believe I ever claimed to be the smartest person here, but it doesn\'t matter because I will have the honor of informing our Great Future Elven Empress about the challenges we are currently facing," Ayla reacted with a smile.

And as Diana heard Ayla, her face distorted.

"So, the first statement you made about how we can kill the demon lords easily because they won\'t be at the height of their powers when their seal is just released is accurate, however, if we continue to ignore them, they will regain their former powers over time.

And if you\'ve read the complete records of the Heroes, you should have figured out why they couldn\'t kill the demon lords but instead just decided to seal them." Ayla stated and paused for a moment to hear Diana\'s response, but when she saw Diana\'s blank expression, she shook her head and resumed speaking.

"... Because Killing higher beings such as demon lords or constellations will always have repercussions.

And no mortal can handle that consequences, as it can lead to self-sacrifice, or they can be cursed even after death, affecting their family or coming generations," Ayla expressed while gazing at Diana.

"...Of course, no one wants to sacrifice themselves and even if they are brave enough and is driven by their heroism, they still don\'t want their family to suffer the consequences because of them, after their death," Ziona abruptly remarked.

\'Well, they are partially right. But the constellations had allied themselves with the mortals to fend off the backlash they would face from slaying the demon lords.

Therefore, the chosen ones don\'t have to sacrifice their lives in order to kill the demon lords.

Though at the moment, not many people are aware of it,\' I thought to myself.

!?

"...So we\'re stuck with the second option, which is to seal them again, huh?" Diana said abruptly.

"But why though? As the benevolent future elven empress, you shouldn\'t mind if you have to kill the demon lord even if it means sacrificing yourself, right?" Claude remarked sarcastically.

"...."

"S-Shut it you! It is for the same reason that I must live, because I am the future elven empress and must lead the elves.

Why don\'t you sacrifice yourself then? As you are unlikely to be the ruler of your kingdom," Diana retorted sharply.

!?

We all held back our laughter when we heard Diana, while Claude was rendered speechless.

"...And it is not possible to seal the demon lords again, as you stated.

As the rune language has already been lost in time, and only a few people know it, but they are still not at the level required to seal demon lords," Ayla elaborated.

!?

"...T-Then how are we supposed to deal with them now?" Diana inquired perplexed.

When everyone heard her, they fell silent because no one had any response.

"We will figure something out after the deaths of a few million," Livia suddenly stated.

"...."

"What if you are among the few millions who will perish?" Lucas expressed disappointment because it appears he did not agree with Livia\'s previous statement.

"...No, that won\'t happen," Livia stated emphatically.

"We know you\'re strong, but don\'t overestimate yourself because you\'re not strong enough to deal with the demon lords," Lucas remarked.

"Yeah, I\'m aware of that as well,... But I have Ares on my side, so I don\'t have to worry.

And I believe he won\'t let me die as long as I\'m with him, isn\'t that right Ares?" Livia said, as she smiled and fixed her gaze on me.

"...."

Her response caught me off guard, and I was surprised because I hadn\'t expected her to have such confidence in me.

"...You are correct. I will not let anything happen to you as long as you are with me," I replied to her by smiling back at her.

As soon as they heard us, everyone just stared at Livia and me.

"...Oh, I heard Ares is good at deciphering rune languages, So perhaps that\'s why Livia has such trust in him," Ziona exclaimed abruptly.

"...."

"No, you\'re wrong; she has such faith in him because she loves him," Ayla said quietly to herself.

"Wow, are you serious? Will you protect me as well, Ares, if I stay by your side?" Diana inquired, intrigued with a smile.

"...No, he\'ll use you as cannon fodder and flee with Livia," Ayla retorted jokingly.

Diana\'s expression abruptly changed upon hearing Ayla, while I simply smiled at her without responding.

"Well, she\'s not wrong," Irethiel said telepathically and giggled.

***