Sword of Salvation-Chapter 84: - Neither Hero Nor Villain (3)

Lergen finally arrived on the outskirts of one of the major cities in Neiracia Empire after nearly four days of nonstop travel. He had no particular goal in this land. The doctor had merely stopped by to rest in one of his long-unused secret laboratories.

Lergen’s true destination was the Kingdom of Turrakha—a kingdom that upheld neutrality, much like Mangolla. To reach that land from Mangolla, the doctor needed to pass through Neiracia Empire and the Kingdom of Urakhna. This meant that after leaving here, he would once again make a stop in Urakhna.

As soon as he arrived at the lab, Lergen cleaned himself up.

Although he had not visited it in a long time, the lab was still well-maintained. His two assistants who managed the place were dedicated enough. They centered their lives around the lab. Unfortunately, neither of them could compare to Livera. They were of little use to the doctor. Mere lackeys that could easily be replaced.

Getting rid of them and letting Great Human Council deal with them wouldn’t be a problem.

After washing up, Lergen immediately lay down in a room he had never touched before. His body sprawled on the bed, legs stretched out. He rarely felt tired, but now, fatigue weighed on him. He truly needed to rest.

However, before he could even close his eyes, dark blue flower petals filled the ceiling. Seeing them, Lergen immediately let out an annoyed growl. He was exhausted and wanted to sleep for a day or two—could that damned demon not have chosen a better time to visit?

Lergen wanted to throw that question right in the demon’s face, but unfortunately, he wasn’t ready to die just yet. So, he swallowed his frustration and gave Levia, who had only half of her body materialized, a questioning look.

"Good job, Doctor Lergen. I didn’t watch your fight, but I know you lost. I had higher expectations, but I can’t say your efforts were terrible. So, well done, Doctor."

"Kukuku. If you came just to mock me, you’d best leave now. Those two had troublesome powers. Even you would have had a hard time."

Recalling his battle with those two made Lergen irritated again. But at the very least, he had managed to kill one of them. Levia didn’t seem upset, so it looked like she didn’t care about the loss of his former experiment subject.

"You’re not wrong, but you’re not entirely right either." Levia paused, her gaze seeming to pierce straight through the doctor’s eyes. "Let me ask you something," she continued. "What do you think makes Nessthanovla so extraordinarily strong, Doctor?"

"Kukuku. How about you tell me?"

"I could, but that’s not why I’m here."

Lergen scoffed. If she wasn’t going to answer, she shouldn’t have asked!

"Doctor Lergen," Levia went on, "once you’re done with whatever business you have here, go to Maxesonia. Nessthanovla has prepared a special demon for you to use in your experiments. Use its heart to create a half-demon human. The human subject has already been chosen. A special facility has been prepared. All you need to do is meet up with Prime Minister Ishgal."

Lergen immediately sat up. "Did you tell Maxesonia that Great Human Council plans to sacrifice them?"

He couldn’t think of any other reason. Under normal circumstances, Maxesonia wouldn’t listen to anyone. However, if Levia had provided them with information about Great Human Council’s plans, they would act. To oppose them, Maxesonia’s only option would be to seek help from the Council’s enemies.

"Nessthanovla gave me instructions. Maxesonia will be an obstacle to Great Human Council’s efforts to strengthen their control over this continent." Levia’s expression turned serious in an instant. "Will you comply? If you refuse, Nessthanovla has ordered me to eliminate you, Doctor."

As soon as those threatening words were spoken, Levia’s petals instantly formed dozens of spears. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

-----[ ooOoo ]-----

Under the morning sun, a few hours after sunrise, Mariel and Celinee walked side by side toward the city gate.

Today, they would part ways for the first time since they had been together. Celinee would stay in Iresvilea for two to four months, depending on how quickly the princess progressed. Mariel would continue his search. He would visit other cities in Mangolla before moving on to Moskvallha.

Convincing Celinee had not been easy. However, the ninja understood that the daughter of King Maggio was the key to making this land a place open to half-demons. Celinee’s role in training the girl was crucial. But what truly made the ninja agree was Mariel’s promise to visit once a week.

If Celinee had not yet been able to use spirit unification mode, Mariel would not have left her alone. However, now Celinee was stronger than before. The ninja would be able to protect herself. If her enemies were too strong, she could escape. Mariel did not need to worry about her.

Besides, after hearing Lergen’s words that Moskvallha was one of the three nations destined to dominate the Western Continent, Mariel felt the need to take drastic action. He could not try to control them through subtle means. That would not be enough. If he wanted to subdue this nation, he needed total commitment.

That was right. If he were honest, the main reason he did not bring Celinee along was that Mariel would not hold back. He planned to use one of Moskvallha’s princesses to gain complete control over the nation. He would incite internal conflict, exploit their plans, and create even greater chaos.

Celinee would not like that. She might not care about conflict or war, but she would not stay silent if she saw him getting close to another woman. That was why Mariel wanted Celinee to stay here—that was why he wanted Maggio to ask Celinee to train his daughter.

Did this make Mariel a bad man?

Mariel did not think so. He did not see himself as a bad person. However, even though he often claimed to be good, Mariel also understood that he was not truly good. He was neither black nor white—Mariel was gray.

If this were a fantasy romance story, Mariel would never take the role of the hero. But he would not be the antagonist standing in the hero’s way either.

Mariel was Mariel; he wrote his own role. He would do whatever he wanted. Whether it was good or bad... those two opposing ideas did not matter. It was all just a matter of perspective.

That was right. Mariel approaching another woman was not a bad thing. His desire to turn Moskvallha into a puppet nation was not bad either. Neither was his ambition to control the world—it was not bad. But it was not good either.

The end always justified the means—that was a fairly popular phrase.

"See you next week, Celinee."