Thazmin stood up from his seat, took his long beard, and wrapped it around his wrist in the shape of a bracelet. Then, he placed that same hand on his left shoulder before bowing.
"Thazmin Stronghelm, 10,345th King of the Stronghelm Kingdom, offers its surrender to the mighty Arcane Emperor. May you protect our people and lead us to a better life."
Edward knew of dwarven's etiquette, so he knew what to do next and took things seriously. He also stood up from his and walked before Thazmin. He unwrapped the beard from the latter's wrist and wrapped it around his.
"Edward Bones, founder of the Arcane Empire, accept your act of surrender. I promise to treat your people as my people, leading them to prosperity."
The ceremony of surrender was quick and efficient. The other ministers did not object as they respected their king's decision. Furthermore, the idea of surrendering has been discussed for many years as a possibility of surviving the current catastrophe.
"Your majesty, is there anything we need to prepare?" asked Thazmin.
"No. But you said you had a traitor in your midst."
"Yes. Someone leaked the information about me going to find the Mana Mana Core. No, the core itself was used to lure me out."
"Then, let's deal with the issue first." Edward contacted Luna for her to come here. A few minutes later, her spaceship landed on Longbeard Planet.
"Let me introduce you: this is my wife, Luna Lovegood."
"Lovegood? I thought it was human's costume for the wife to take the husband's surname," asked Thazmin as he shook hands with Luna.
"It used to be as such. But now, it's not as common and is only a matter of preference," she replied.
"I see. Anyway, I'm grateful for your help."
Luna nodded before getting into action. An orb floated before her, and she began her divination. A few minutes later, she waved her hand to create a light prison around one of Thazmin's ministers.
"Yadmouth, it was you."
"My kind, don't believe them. I'm loyal."
"Did you really betray me?"
"I swear on the Emberguard's family name, I did not betray you. My king, will you believe me, who has been following you for countless millennia over these people you've only met? My family has proven their loyalty over countless generations."
Thazmin hesitated. Since its creation, the Emberguard family has been a noble clan of the Stronghelm Kingdom. Regarding loyalty, no one can compare to them. Thazmin then looked at Edward, who nodded.
"Reveal your soul," commanded Edward with a calm voice. Then, an imaginary version of Yadmouth came out of his body, revealing his soul. However, Thazmin's face changed after he saw two tiny wings floating above Yadmouth's head.
"You're a believer?"
"King, I know this looks bad, but it's not what it looks like. I'm a believer of Lord Isambard, not Guzznad."
Isambard, the God of Dwarves. A few of his people worshipped him, so Thazmin wanted to give his old friend the benefit of the doubt. However, the fact he lied or hid his faith was not a good look.
"It is easy to clear yourself of any suspicions. Say Guzznad's name in vain," commented Luna.
"Pardon me?"
"Guzznad has killed trillions of people in his madness for power. So, it should not be a problem if you profane his name–unless you're a believer," she continued. Yadmouth stared at her, not saying anything.
"It shouldn't be a problem, right, Yadmouth?" asked Thazmin, with hope remaining in his heart. Unfortunately, a deafening silence was\\ his answer. Usually, Yadmouth would have no problem blaspheming his Lord if it helped him remain undercover. However, with his soul exposed and on the line, if he did so, that would be an act of blasphemy and could lead to him losing his spot in his Lord's Divine Kingdom.
"Lord Guzznad is the ruler of death," roared Yadmouth. "He will free all races of the fragility of life; he will free our souls and offers us immortality."
As soon as he screamed these words, a black light descended from the sky, trying to take his soul away. Edward calmly activated his Arcane Spark to use a Tier 9 Spell. Then, countless runes appeared in the sky, blocking the black light.
After a few minutes of confrontation, the black light stopped, and two pairs of enormous eyes manifested above Longbeard Planet.
"Arcane Emperor," said a booming voice that echoed throughout the entire planet. "So, you have finally stopped hiding like a coward."
"You must be Guzznad?" Edward replied calmly. "I cannot wait to have you on my dissecting table as a specimen."
"Hahaha, I finally understand why all these Arcanists are so arrogant and have no respect for any authority of the Divine; they got it from you."
"And why would we respect a parasitical civilization with a superiority complex?"
"Parasitical?"
"Isn't it correct? Without Faith, what are you, gods?"
Guzznad became quiet as he agreed with this statement, hence why he wanted the Ancient Gods' Divine Spark to walk the same path; he did not want to be too dependent on faith. Of course, he would not admit this before his enemy.
"Why are you acting so smug? Everyone knows your Empire developed quickly because of the Magus race's inheritance."
"There is no need to project your insecurities into me. I've built the Arcane Empire from scratch with many like-minded individuals. We did not know about the magus race until your arrival and had never relied on their knowledge. The only thing we inherited from them is their spirit of pursuing knowledge and the truth."
"Whatever helps soothe your ego," declared Guzznad before disappearing. He wanted to test whether he could receive some information from the Arcane Emperor about the magus race, but he failed.
He suspected the Arcane Empire had an inheritance that would explain their rapid development. However, he could not find definite proof. He observed the Arcanists and analyzed their technology based on the wreckage, and it was a unique system utterly different from the magus race.
So far, the only connection he discovered the Empire has with the magus race was the faint bloodline some of them had, and as the Emperor stated, their love and spirit for knowledge and the truth.
"You just scared Guzznad away!" said Thazmin.
"Not really. He knows this is not the time for an all-out battle. What's wrong?" asked Edward as he looked at Luna. However, she did not answer. Instead, she was dazed. Her eyes suddenly turned white as she muttered: "Danger, Dwarves, Blood."
"What does that mean? Does the dwarves' blood have some sort of danger?"
"I don't know. But, when Yadmouth said the name [Isambard], I sense something."
Edward frowned as he began to think deeply. He connected to Morgana's calculating power to accelerate his thoughts. "Many Higher Species can control their races through their bloodline. Isambard is the most potent God related to dwarves, and it's not unheard of for him to be able to control the dwarves through the bloodline.
"If that's the case, the dwarves might become a source of danger instead of help."
"Are you implying our surrender is a ploy to harm your Empire?" commented one of the ministers, already sad and angered by Yadmouth's betrayal and fate. After all, he has been their companion for so many years.
"No. I'm saying you could be controlled against your Will to harm the Empire."
"This is nothing but your theory. Not even that, it's just your conjecture."
"It doesn't matter if there is no basis for my worry. As a ruler, I have the duty to consider my citizen's safety and prevent possible danger."
"So, what does this mean? What is going to happen to us?" asked Thazmin, who was still processing the information that their races might not have any free will.
"For now, your people need to be isolated from the rest of the citizens. As for a solution, I might have one. I've brought a few dwarves from another dimension, and their bloodline should have no connection with Isambard.
"After comparing their Life Code with yours, we should be able to find ways to sever your bloodline connection with the Dwarf God."
"Will that work? Or will there be consequences?"
"You don't have to worry. I will gather the Empire's best bloodline scholar for this project. One of the Empress is also a master of this field and will supervise this project."
"In that case, I feel relieved."
Edward negotiated with the dwarves for a while before departing. He used a spell to shrink the entire star systems where the Stronghelm Kingdom was once located before bringing it back to a location closer to the Empire's borders.
Their Star System was integrated into the Grand Arcane Shield Protecting System while simultaneously isolated to prevent possible danger. Then, Edward mobilized a bunch of scholars to study the bloodline of the dwarves from Konosuba and Black Clover and compare them with the HP Universe dwarves. He also had Fleur participate in this project.
A few months later, it was the final time, and all the Empire citizens received a notification that a grand update happened to the Arcane Library. And when people saw the changes, the world went insane.
(Next chapter will be Chris Tiu's POV. Be prepared, it's a long one.)