1100 times. Knights do not compromise with evil.
To Fabian’s question, “Are you asking me not to cross the rift?”, Elio replied with a natural look.
“You should try it. You have to get down to make money.”
“Viscount. Didn’t you say that ‘right and wrong’ is more important than ‘coexistence’ earlier?”
“It did.”
“Is it okay to coexist with the evil tribe itself?”
“Is this symbiosis the symbiosis?”
“Is it different?”
“Not different. The symbiosis I mentioned earlier was pointing out that we go together without filtering out the bad guys, and now we are not crossing the line and living in our own territories.”
Despite Elio’s explanation, Fabian did not back down.
“What’s the difference between having a demon by your side and having a bad guy by your side? Do you think it would be more dangerous to live with demons next to you?”
Elio looked at Fabian with frustrated eyes.
The perception of the demons of the people of this world was extreme, so it was difficult to have a conversation.
“look. Are bad guys all over my life like shit? But where are the demons? Are you beyond the rift? don’t you know the difference? I don’t care if the shit is in the backyard. If they bite and tear each other like the demons in Tamion, who will say what? that’s the difference Fabian, even if there is shit in front of your house, won’t you clean it up while coexisting?”
“If you say that, demons are shit too. But why…”
“Hey you bastard! Demons live in Tamion. Are you going to clean up the shit in the backyard? Tameion is behind the scenes.”
Unable to bear it, Elio threw out his anger.
I don’t know why I keep biting down on the demons living in Tamion when I don’t even have the ability to fight them.
Perhaps it was because he was being cursed at, or perhaps the extreme analogy worked, Fabian didn’t argue anymore.
Elio added a word to his old age.
“The bad guys go to the backyard, the demons to Tamion. That’s what I mean by ‘symbiosis’. okay?”
“Yes…”
“Isn’t the answer very cool?”
Fabian, aware of Elio’s persistence, quietly changed the subject.
“By the way, will you be able to talk to the demons? Isn’t there a difference between communicating and negotiating?”
“If it doesn’t work, it should be done.”
“how?”
“I will ask you. If you don’t want to die, negotiate.”
“What if I still don’t respond?”
“What do you think?”
Elio gently pushed the permal (weight at the end of the handle) of the Thousand Sword hanging from his waist with the palm of his hand.
“Ah yes, I think I know it even if you don’t say it. I like that it is simple and clear.”
“Truth is inherently simple. A lot of embellishment means you’re cheating on your eyes.”
“Is the sword the truth?”
“I don’t know the truth, I told you before. The sword is the road and the key.”
“Will it work for demons? Knowing Moloch’s fate, but seeing him come, he must at least be a stronger demon than Moloch.”
“The way to know long and short is to look at it. You will know when we meet.”
“I wonder if the northern kingdoms will agree with the Viscount.”
“If you want to fight demons, I won’t stop you.”
“What about the Viscount?”
“What am I?”
“If the northern kingdoms fight the demons to the end, what will the Viscount do? Are you going to stay in Hirhera and continue fighting?”
“No, I will go to Jedo Island.”
“why? Should we keep the North? Didn’t you say you came to keep the peace?”
Elio stared at the puzzled Fabian and said,
“So you offered a compromise. If you reject that and fight their way, then I will fight mine too.”
“Is going to Jedo a fight? Are there demons in the north?”
“We have to find the Magnum Ops that brought the demons to the continent. Because he might create another rift.”
“…”
Fabian couldn’t refute it because it was a valid argument.
“The northern kingdoms will not allow the Viscount to go to the Isles.”
“doesn’t care. Do I look like someone who moves with someone’s permission?”
“You may hear the sound of a traitor or a traitor.”
“Either that or not. It’s good if you don’t get killed by the demons before you say that.”
Instantly recalling Glazes Fortress, Fabian trembled.
If Viscount Elio Lagoa hadn’t been there, everyone would have died.
“If the Viscount leaves Hirhera, the northern part will be trampled by demons. A great sacrifice will follow… Are you still going?”
As Fabian repeatedly asked, Elio frowned.
“Fabian.”
“yes?”
“That’s why I’m offering a compromise. It’s my best to go there. If the nobles of the north choose war, who will be held responsible? is it me Are they the nobles of the north?”
“A noble from the north of Boo.”
“But why do you keep putting the responsibility of the war they chose on me? Am I a puppet of northern nobles? Do they make the decisions and I have to clean things up?”
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
“It sounds like that to me, so think about it and say it. men and horses.”
“sorry.”
Fabian knew that Viscount Elio Lagoa’s words about leaving Hirhera were sincere.
He really intends to stabilize the rift area and leave.
He would kill the opposing demons, but since he couldn’t kill the nobles of the north, it was clear that he would just leave it alone.
“Did I tell you why I came to this world? It’s good to protect Hirhera, but catching the one who caused the rift is far more important than that. For the sake of the whole world, I have to go to the island. I hope all northern nobles aren’t stupid like you.”
“…”
That was Elio’s sincerity.
No matter how the northern nobles turn out, he will leave Hirhera.
***
Ahead of the demons’ re-invasion, the Hirhera Garrison was turned upside down.
It’s because of Dylan Dunford, a warlock captured alive by Viscount Elio Lagoa.
As a result, the secret that the Meteor Swarm fell on Hirhera five months ago was revealed, and the allied nobles savagely criticized the Escatos Kingdom for hiding it until now.
Hirhera Kingdom Alliance Command Headquarters.
Viscount Meto Robert, Chief of Staff of the Kingdom of Escatos, covered the thick file folder in front of the nobles of the Northern Kingdom.
“…This concludes the report on the findings of the investigation into Dylan Dunford. Any questions?”
Then, Duke Iskra Raminof, the enemy of the Raminov Kingdom, spoke.
“I won’t question why the Kingdom of Escatos kept the important incident in Hirhera a secret. To keep the troops stationed in Hirhera… it would have been inevitable. If the Escatos kingdom army hadn’t been stationed in Hiruhera, they would have cursed at them…”
The duke looked at the reaction of the crowd for a while.
Seeing that everyone shakes their heads, it seems that they are of the same mind.
“Aside from everything else, I think we need to know who was behind the order to Dylan Dunford… Is there any way to find out?”
“All we know is that the background has gone to the Celestial Star.”
“You mean the Celestial City, known as the abode of the sun god?”
“That’s right.”
“It sounds like there’s a sun god behind it… are we to believe the words of the warlock, Dylan Dunford?”
At his words, the great nobles were lightly agitated.
Unable to commit disrespect to the sun god, they whispered to the person next to them, ‘I can’t trust black magicians’.
However, at the words of Viscount Meto Robert, the great nobles shut their mouths.
“The court sorceress Sir Carlos confirmed Dylan Dunford’s words to be true with the ‘Eye of Truth’.”
The great nobles did not say anything for a while.
Duke Escatos stood up from his seat and gave Viscount Meto Robert a chin gesture as if telling him to step back.
Viscount Meto Robert, who had been standing there with a puzzled face, quietly slipped back.
Eventually, Duke Escatos opened his mouth.
“First, I apologize for keeping Hirhera’s Meteor Swarm a secret until the end. I would appreciate it if you could understand that it was for the morale of the soldiers stationed in Hirhera. We also inform you that Dylan Dunford has completely destroyed the Altar of Terminus installed in Tamion. With this, Hirhera is completely freed from the danger of the Meteor Swarm.”
Only then did the faces of the great nobles of the Northern Union, who had been hardened, open up.
This is because, to them, the Meteor Swarm is not a tragedy of the past, but a cataclysm that can happen in the present.
There were also nobles who inadvertently clapped their hands at how happy they were.
When the applause subsided, Duke Escatos continued.
“Continued investigations will have to be made as to who is behind the return to Perforation. But there are more urgent things than that. As you know, the dark ether is gathering in Tamion again. It’s bigger and bigger than Moloch’s Legion ever spewed. A re-invasion of demons is seen as an imminent phenomenon. It’s bigger and stronger than Moloch’s legion… It must be an incomparable army.”
“…”
The northern nobles listened to the words of the Duke of Escatos without breathing.
“Met Viscount Elio Lagoa, who captured Dylan Dunford alive this morning. As you all know, he is the hero of Hirhera, who killed Moloch at Glaches Fortress during the last demon invasion.”
When the name of Viscount Elio Lagoa was mentioned, the atmosphere became strange.
It was uncomfortable to plant a swordsman from a barbarian as a hero in front of the great nobles.
However, since they knew the result of the duel with the mercenary king, no one openly said anything.
“I had many conversations with Viscount Elio Lagoa about the re-invasion of demons. Then he made an unexpected offer. It was ‘Asmodians will keep trying to come over the rift, but if they fight each time, the damage in the north will be great. How about negotiating mutual non-aggression with the demons?’ It was to do.”
Then the great nobles immediately rebelled.
“Negotiations with demons! This cannot be!”
“Are you trying to compromise with absolute evil?”
“Do you think the demons will keep their promise? Because they are from wild people, they don’t know the reality, but they don’t seem to know too much.”
“Asmodians are beings who feed on human misfortune. Negotiation is not possible. Even if you negotiate, it is false.”
“There are rumors that Viscount Elio Lagoa is using black magic….
“We need to bring Viscount Elio Lagoa to court.”
“Negotiating with demons is against chivalry! You want me to join hands with absolute evil? Is that what a knight should do!”
The accusations against the demons soon turned into accusations against Eliro Viscount Lagoa.
As if they had been waiting for it, they attacked Viscount Elio Lagoa.
When the resistance of the nobles was stronger than expected, Duke Escatos looked around with a puzzled face.
In fact, the story of the great nobles was not wrong.
Because to humans, demons were the very evil that humans shouldn’t associate with.
Seriously, would they kill the traders as soon as they found them?
In such a social atmosphere, negotiating with the demons, the source of evil, is enough to turn the great nobles upside down.
When Duke Ulrik Lundgren, the enemy of the Kingdom of Tallinn, rose from his seat, the great nobles kept their mouths shut as if they had promised.
“Does Duke Escatos agree with Viscount Elio Lagoa?”
Duke Escatos, a swordsman and seasoned politician, distanced himself from the radical proposals of Viscount Elio Lagoa.
“I just introduced that there is such an opinion in consideration of the merits of Viscount Elio Lagoa, who established it in Hirhera, but I do not agree.”
Then Duke Ulrik Lundgren nodded with a satisfied face.
“Viscount Elio Lagoa’s swordsmanship may be the best among sword masters, but his thoughts are inferior to those of a shepherd. Even children will know. That the demons are not the subject of negotiation, but the subject of slaughter. A knight makes no compromises with evil. Death rather than compromise with evil!”
As he shouted, the great nobles of the north stretched their fists into the air and shouted.
“Death!”