I head to the castle library.
I pick out the books I'm after and stack them on a nearby table.
Every so often, I sit in a chair and read through them.
Then, as a break, I browse the shelves.
As I repeat this in the empty room, Luciana appears at the entrance.
She takes a light leap, dancing through the air, and lands near me as I read.
Then, she peeks over the book from behind.
"Demon Lord, what are you thinking about this time?"
"A way to kill the world's will."
Hearing my answer, Luciana freezes.
She presses a finger between her brows and repeats her question.
"Um, could I have misheard you? What did you just say?"
"You didn't mishear. I intend to kill the world's will. I'm searching for a way to do it."
I state it again.
At that, Luciana leans in closer.
She looks at me seriously, as if to confirm.
"You're really going to try that?"
"Of course. My future policies won't change, but I'll research it in parallel."
When I say that, Luciana lets out a sigh.
Smiling wryly, she perches on the edge of the table and grumbles.
"Quite the grand plan. Would be best if you actually succeeded, though."
"It's difficult, but not impossible."
"When you say that, it sounds worryingly achievable..."
Luciana murmured with a mix of exasperation and awe, then fell silent in that posture for a time.
Her gaze was fixed on me as I read.
Eventually, she rose to leave the library.
As she departed, she gave my shoulder a light pat.
"Well, if there's ever something I can help with, just say the word. I'd gladly lend a hand."
"I will."
Hearing my response, Luciana smiled and walked out of the library, looking rather pleased.
Now, what had she come here for, again?
I wasn't quite sure, but it was good to see her feeling better.
I picked up another book and let my thoughts wander as I read its contents.
(The method to kill the world's will, huh...)
The most straightforward way would be to exterminate humanity.
The world's will is an aggregate of people's desires.
If the source of supply vanishes, it will naturally perish.
Needless to say, such an atrocity is unthinkable to execute.
I strive to bring peace to the people.
To unleash unbridled destruction would be a complete perversion of that goal.
Of course, but I must prepare an alternative means.
To state my objective in broad terms: it is the destruction of laws.
Reflecting on it, this was not my first undertaking.
If anything, it could be called something I am accustomed to.
Magic is the act of interfering with the world through a formula.
By using magic power as fuel, a specific phenomenon can be generated.
Concretely, this allows one to spout flames from one's hands, or travel instantly to a distant location.
Magic is, without question, a form of law-breaking.
Applying this from a direction different from before, I believe, will lead to the murder of the world's will.
Fortunately, I possess various abilities.
Shortages of materials will not occur.
For the purposes of experimentation, I should be able to proceed with almost no restrictions.
I wish to try even the slightest possibility, however small.
(And even after resolving the matter of the savior, a new problem will arise.)
It has always been thus.
Even if a hero appears and is defeated, eventually another hero will awaken.
This cycle will continue for eternity.
If something were to truly annihilate me, the demon lord, it would surely be the world's will.
Until now, I have dealt with problems as they arose.
I intend to continue acting in the same manner.
But if it were possible to do something about the world's will, that would change everything.
If its existence could be erased, my activities would no longer be threatened.
(I should consult with the great spirits and Gwen soon.)
They knew much about the world's will.
I could expect effective advice from them.
Incidentally, I wanted to commission the Director as well.
Her intuition and creative thinking were not to be underestimated.
As a being who could split herself, she had the luxury of time.
While proceeding smoothly with other duties, I would conduct this research in the gaps between.
The sooner it could be realized, the better, but it was not something that could be achieved easily.
On this point, I had been considering aiming for the long term.
At worst, even after the Savior incident would be fine.
The optimal outcome would be to realize it in a way that prevents the next problem.
If quick results were possible, I wouldn't have gone through such hardships from the start.
Having organized my thoughts, I transferred to the audience chamber, clutching my books.
Before the next task began, I wanted to list specific experiments right away.
I had to produce results, however painstakingly.
At that time, I still thought I had leeway.
I believed the world's will's targets were basically only Demon Lords.
I had the confidence to physically prevent any great catastrophe, and there were no urgent issues to resolve.
However, beneath the surface, circumstances had begun to stir in unexpected ways.
The irrational and nonsensical phenomenon had shifted to a method unlike any before.
—Three days later, every savior across the world died without warning.