The moment the sun came up, we left the valley of Hot Springs and crossed over the border. There was a group of frost giants waiting for us, but I obliterated them with my ice dragon's freezing breath. Nothing remained of them but shattered ice fragments that were originally part of their frozen tombs.
"Your majesty!"
"Oh, hey. You guys are here."
I finally caught sight of Stella, Larson, Billy and Doug. The prowlers loped forward before transforming back into their human forms, padding through the snow. I saluted them.
"Good to see you guys."
"You're a hard man to track, my liege," Billy grumbled. "Where have you been?"
He then sniffed the air around me and frowned.
"Sulfur. You've been in a hot spring? The both of you? No wonder I couldn't find you. The smell of the hot springs and volcanic deposits blocked out your scent."
"You two…something happened, didn't it?" Stella was regarding us suspiciously. As Silvia said, a woman's intuition was unusually sharp. I couldn't help but perspire nervously, but I maintained a calm façade. On the other hand, Silvia merely smiled.
"Oh? What makes you think so?"
"You're absolutely glowing, Lady Silvia. Something good must have happened."
"Perhaps."
Stella sighed but didn't say anything else. She recognized her position, after all. She was an aide, and the personal relations of her lord were none of her business. All she could do was offer some advice of propriety.
"Just try not to make it too obvious."
At least she wasn't mad.
We got out of the mountains and over the border, where the Havan Kingdom awaited. Everyone looked around, wondering if there was any enemies lying in wait, but I raised a hand and shook my head. Smiling, I strode forward confidently.
"There's nothing to worry about. They are all allies."
"Huh?"
"It took you a while, Klein."
Rafaela emerged from a forest at the valley, her huge claymore slung over her back. Accompanying her was Harold's party. One of the Heroes, Harold had worked alongside me before, and I had a favorable impression of them. He was a much better Hero than Herman, that was for sure. They hurried over, staring at my retinue in disbelief.
"That's really Silvia Winters!" The mage in Harold's party, Maria, was gaping at me.
"You really did it. You convinced the demons to join your side." Harold was shaking his head in disbelief. He didn't recognize Larson and the prowlers, but everyone recognized Silvia. They had fought against each other before.
Indeed, in the communique I sent, I had informed them that I had a powerful ally on the side of the Demonic Empire, and Silvia's presence convinced them that I wasn't making empty talk.
"But…but she's a demon…" The priestess, Priscilla, murmured.
"Not just any demon, but a Divine General of a legion," Arnold, the archer, told her.
"And she has a good reputation even among the humans." Pierce's replacement, Steve the spearman, nodded. "She is a benevolent and honorable opponent who has shown mercy to our troops and let many soldiers go before. My regiment was among those spared by her."
Yeah, I had heard of her reputation long before I met her in actual combat. I wasn't surprised to see that her fame reached across the humans. The northern garrisons in particular respected her highly. Not just the humans, but also the demons liked her. She wasn't among the strongest, but she was known for being the most compassionate.
That reputation seemed to be helping our cause.
"As we discussed over the long range communication spell, I'm here to propose a strategy." I bowed politely.
"Ah, yeah. Follow us. Your friends, Chris and his mage squad, have set up camp not far from here. They are waiting for you."
"That's great to hear!"
Chris Redfield, Wilson Willard, Rose Gardenia and Lance Turner were among those I could trust in the humans. And they were aware of my other identity – that as the ruler of the demons. I had no choice but to fill them in during the battle against the League of Shadows. It was a risk, but one I was willing to take.
After all, nobody was going to take me seriously if I was going to be dishonest and hide my real identity. In fact, I had decided to tell Harold as well. Priscilla didn't seem to be handling the truth well, but I left that to Harold to handle.
Especially since I had something to offer them. World peace. Well, continental peace, at least, but it was better than nothing. The humans were tired of war. So was I and many demons. Therefore I needed something to shut the warmongering factions among my forces up.
"How do you plan on doing that?" Harold asked when we settled down in the camp. Fortunately, the camp wasn't too far away. Chris and the others had set up several tents outside a forest about fifty kilometers away from the valley (or the border). An entire army had set up camp here, but only those we felt we could trust were allowed into the command tent, where we held a strategy meeting. My retinue was there, along with Harold's party, Rafaela, and Chris's mage squad.
"Deterrence," I replied as I took a sip from the steaming mug of pseudo coffee. "We need an opponent so powerful that the other party will think twice before attacking…otherwise it would result in mutually assured destruction."
"That's mad!" Chris exclaimed. Everyone stared at him and he simmered down. "Sorry."
"I mean, Chris isn't wrong," Wilson said with a chuckle. "Mutually assured destruction is certainly mad. And only a madman will risk that just for his ambition."
"Will it work, though?" Rose sounded concerned.
"With Lord Klein in power, you won't have to worry about it," Stella assured them. "He's the bridge between both human and demons. And he has no desire to invade his old home, the Havan Kingdom."
"There are many among the demonic factions who are weary of war, and I doubt they would be happy to sacrifice their lives for some ambitious overlord's desire of conquest." Silvia offered something from her perspective. "Not to mention, it will benefit many of those currently in power to keep the status quo. They stand to lose everything if they blunder into a war where colossal losses are inevitable."
"That's right." I nodded. "I intend to create a society where it's more profitable during peacetime than wartime."
"Oh, you mentioned that before," Lance piped up. "Industrialization? Modernization?"
"Yeah."
"That sounds good on paper, but how practical will it be in reality?" Rafaela asked skeptically.
"Before that," Harold cut her off. "How do we even begin to muster up this deterrence? We only have two Heroes left, especially after Herman's death. I know the Demonic Legions have been reduced to maybe nine after the destruction of several, but we are still outmatched."
"They took heavy losses during the last war, so many of the Legions are not back up to strength," Silvia informed them. "We still need to rebuild and rearm, so it'll be far more advantageous to us not to have war."
"But after that?" Harold pressed.
"Not to mention, it's not just the demon side. The human side too…we have suffered catastrophic casualties during the last war. We're in no shape to defend ourselves if the demonic legions were to attack now, even at less than half-strength." Maria also raised a good point.
"From what you said, it also seems that the only reason why the demonic legions have yet to launch a concerted attack is because of the civil war…and you've just clearly won that civil war." Rafaela regarded me gravely.
"What's going to stop the demons from invading us now?!" Priscilla cried, sounding hysterical. Everyone stared at her, wondering if she was going mad. Then again, I supposed that a normal person would go mad when faced with despair.
"The Heroes," I replied. "They are our nuclear deterrent."
"Nu…clear?" Chris repeated incredulously. "What's that?"
"I've never heard of that before," Wilson admitted.
"Neither have I." Rose shook her head.
"Sounds like a magical spell," Maria mused. "An ancient spell, perhaps? Or something you just created, Klein?"
"No, no, no!" I waved both of my hands frantically. "It's not magic. I meant…uh, Heroes are like walking weapons of mass destruction, right? Each of them is practically equivalent of a Divine General in the Demonic Legion."
"Even though they were outnumbered about two to one when compared to the Divine Generals, they were still able to drive the demonic legions back. And that wasn't even including the Demonic Emperor." Lance was nodding in agreement. He shuddered. "Honestly, I have no idea how they were able to do it back then."
"The blessings," Harold replied, holding up his hand and his weapon. "And the holy sword. The holy weapons, I mean."
"Even so, we took massive losses," Arnold remarked, glancing at Rafaela, who lowered her head. I recalled that Rafaela was in a Hero party too, one that was wiped out when they fought Tiamattra. The Hero she served alongside had perished in that tragic battle.
"That's right," Rafaela finally said. "The Heroes might be powerful, but they are not invincible. And now there are only two of the original seven left. So how…?"
"We just need to recruit more Heroes. Get them back up to seven, and have them display their power in skirmishes. When the demons witness their might, they might think twice before recklessly invading again."
"Huh? How do you propose we do that?" Harold demanded. "It's not as if Heroes grow on trees, you know? Not everyone can become a Hero. Where are we going to find five other Heroes?"
"Only the gods can choose the Heroes," Priscilla added, her expression angry. She was probably annoyed at what she perceived was blasphemy. "Furthermore, to be a Hero, you'll need the blessings from the gods. You can't just choose any random person and declare them as a Hero."
"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about," I explained. "We'll have to track down the people chosen to be Heroes and request them to come forward."
There was a silence as everyone stared at me.
"What? How?!"
"Do you even know what you're talking about?!"
"That's impossible!"
"No, it's not," I cut everyone off while they burst into angry and disbelieving protests. I gestured for them to fall silent. "Listen to me. There's a way to find them."
"How? How are you even sure that they exist to begin with?" Chris asked skeptically.
I took off my glove and revealed the Demonic Emperor's crest on my right hand. Everyone stared at it, and for a moment, there was nothing but awestruck silence filling the room.
"Shortly after the previous Demonic Emperor, Viledoofus, was killed, this crest appeared on my hand. The gods didn't seem to want to waste any time choosing a new Demonic Emperor. I ended up being their choice…for reasons unknown."
"I say you're a great choice," Silvia declared, with nods from Larson, Billy and Doug. Stella remained still, but she was wearing an expression of approval. I cleared my throat, trying to conceal my embarrassment.
"Be that as it may be, my point is that there's no reason for the gods to hurry with their decision of a new Demonic Emperor, and then dilly-dally when it comes to the Heroes. I have reason to believe that the gods have already made their choices and selected new Heroes to take over those who have bravely given their lives for the human kingdom."
With one exception, of course, but I had designated Herman as he-who-shall-not-be-mentioned.
My smile widened and I leaned forward, intertwining my fingers as I continued, much to the consternation of my allies.
"All we need to do is find the Heroes who have already been chosen…and train them to be intimidating deterrents. That way, the demons will back off, especially those who want to maintain the status quo."
"How do we find these new Heroes?" Harold asked, puzzled. He glanced at his hand, which was bare. "Unlike you or the Demonic Emperors, we Heroes don't have any crests and whatever."
"That, my friend…" My smile expanded. "…is a very good question."