Rogue Villain-Chapter 365: Tidbit Of History

Ackster knocked away Shanshi’s rude finger.

"You’re using Ichor, aren’t you? Are you a demigod?!"

"..."

"But that doesn’t make sense!"

’D-E...’

"Why doesn’t it make sense?"

Ackster was intrigued. The others in his party knew what Ichor was, but they didn’t mention anything about demigods.

"Because gods hate humans and most other intelligent races! They would never visit Millmeria, much less give birth to a bastard. Besides, the last time that happened, the demigod tried to—"

Shanshi’s jaw clamped shut. He rubbed his cheeks with a grimace.

"Right. Well, I can’t tell you the details—Covenants and all that. But I can say that after a certain incident that je—"

Shanshi sighed after his jaw clamped shut with enough force to make cracking sounds again.

"...You aren’t a demigod, are you?"

Ackster shook his head.

"Not as far as I know."

He looked down at his body.

"I was a human until not long ago. I have two human parents, after all. But a while ago, some stuff happened, and I died, and when I resurrected, I was in this body that my...Honestly, I’m not sure about the details. But I died, and I think that’s when I acquired Ichor. That Ichor became the fuel for the creation of my current existence."

Since Shanshi was loyal, albeit through the world’s coercion, to him, Ackster didn’t mind revealing a bit more about himself. It wasn’t like the secrets about The Hero that could compromise his plans if they escaped into the wild. Besides, Ackster hoped that Shanshi could provide some valuable insight.

Shanshi tried to massage the furrows in his brow as he closed his eyes.

"Wait a moment..."

"..."

"Are you saying you developed Ichor on your own, and you did so by dying?"

Ackster nodded.

"Yeah. But I had a, I don’t know how to put it, but I had the flames of a dragon whose most powerful Covenant took effect and the skill of a past Calamity to help me. But as I said, I’m not sure about the details. Just that, all of a sudden, my Will, vitality, and mana had fused and turned into inferior-grade, G-rank Ichor."

Shanshi took a deep breath before letting out an even deeper sigh.

"...what the fuck...?"

Shanshi didn’t look like he was going to say anything useful anytime soon, so Ackster continued moving while thinking about what Covenants to put in place. The sooner he did it, the more useful they would be when he broke them.

"Ah, right!"

Shanshi hurriedly caught up to Ackster as he realized what they had talked about first.

"You’re using Ichor. How or why or what you are doesn’t matter. What matters is that you still have that Demon Sword stuck inside you. That shouldn’t be possible."

Ackster looked at his body. He took out his sword. He stuffed it back inside again. He looked at Shanshi silently.

"I know! I said it shouldn’t be possible. But if it is, it means that whatever demon is sealed in your sword is abnormal. Based on what I know about demons, it’s at least a duke."

"A duke? That’s pretty high, isn’t it?"

Shanshi nodded energetically.

"Yes. It’s like fourth or something. I’m not sure. But there are dukes, then archdukes, lords or kings, and then I think there’s one more. However, I’ve only heard about it in rumors. But that’s not the problem! Demon dukes shouldn’t exist on Millmeria! A demon powerful enough to endure Ichor as seamlessly as your sword while sealed is too powerful to enter this mortal world. It would be worse than a Calamity if they as much as tried to."

"Huh. That’s strange, then."

Ackster urged his bird to continue moving as he thought about what kind of existence he had picked up.

"Strange doesn’t even begin to describe it! But it would explain why that crazy fucker wanted this sword. If it’s a duke, even he would want to play with it."

"Are demons that powerful?"

Shanshi nodded with a grave expression.

"Oh, yes. Endless lifespan, functional immortality, bottomless magical and physical strength, cunning like the wiliest fox, and a society where the slightest weakness means eternal torment and suffering make every demon a force to be reckoned with. And the nobility are the ones who rose above others through hard work, power passed on through blood, or sheer talent and wit.

"The strongest I’ve fought was a marquess who somehow made his way here. Even when weakened, he was strong enough to make me eat dust when I was in my prime. If he wanted to, he could have basically ruled this world like his own playground. Well, if the Sw—If he hadn’t existed, of course. The world itself would have also done everything it could to stop the demon eventually."

Shanshi paused for a moment as his gaze grew distant, and he looked toward the horizon despite being underground.

"I don’t know if it’s some universal force about balance that created him in exchange for the disastrous fate of Millmeria. Without him, this world would have long been doomed."

Ackster had a feeling Shanshi wasn’t just talking about the Calamitous Cycles. But it didn’t seem like he would or could talk about the specifics. So, Ackster didn’t ask about that.

He stayed silent as he thought about Millmeria, the demons, and the celestial realm with the gods. He also thought about the existence of demigods, the Sword God, and the Alchemist. The world was so much bigger than the original story had made it out to be. Of course, an ordinary novel could never hope to encompass all of Millmeria’s history with a number of words that a normal human could read in their lifetime.

The world was just too ancient, and too much had happened in its lifetime, not to mention the worlds and existences connected to it.

Based on Shanshi’s words and way of talking, it seemed like the world was old even before he sprung into existence.

The realization of Millmeria’s age only put more weight on Ackster’s shoulders. If he didn’t stop it from happening, the world would end.