My objective in the Artificer Kingdom was achieved.
Having killed the inventor John Doe, I dismantled the enhanced armor and extracted the Sacred Stone from it.
It was a blue crystal that fit in the palm of my hand.
Just by touching it, I could feel the undulation of immense power.
I returned to the Demon Lord's army with the Sacred Stone, and teleported them all back.
Remaining alone, I proceeded to "borrow" the kingdom's weapons and development documents.
As I teleported everything I could get my hands on back to the Royal Capital, I was particularly thorough in recovering the tanks and enhanced armor.
These weapons had not yet been mass-produced.
They should have been deployed only in the Royal Capital, held in reserve against the Demon Lord's army.
By seizing them completely here, I could prevent their redevelopment by any third party.
Similar models would eventually be created, but it would buy some time.
Technology that advanced too far should not be disseminated early.
I also intended to use spies to check if they hadn't spread to other cities.
The fires of human conflict must not be allowed to spread further.
Of course, this was a plan for the future.
At the present stage, the Demon Lord's army had achieved total victory.
Things had proceeded roughly as planned, and all that remained was to return this Sacred Stone.
Teleporting away from the nearly demolished capital, I went directly to the Imperial territory.
There, in the midst of the wasteland, stood a blue humanoid light.
It was the Great Spirit.
True to her word, she was waiting at the place where we first met.
I approached, calling out to her.
"I've brought the spirit stone. I'd like you to verify it."
"Very well."
The great spirit turned toward me and extended one hand.
The spirit stone I was carrying then began to float.
And it landed in her palm.
The great spirit touched the spirit stone for a moment, confirming its identity.
Soon, she looked up.
"Without a doubt, this is my spirit stone. The magical power it contains is nearly depleted, but I will overlook that much. I am magnanimous, after all."
"My thanks."
It seemed the spirit stone had been heavily drained, having served as the power source for the giant golem.
It was fortunate it wasn't damaged.
The great spirit absorbed the stone into her own being.
She must have sent it to her true body via one of her divided forms.
"I felt the spirit stone's pulse from late last night. It seems retrieving it was quite arduous, but you have done well."
"I merely acted as promised."
"Few are those who can keep such a promise."
The great spirit declared.
There was a certain weight, an implication behind those words.
She is a being who has lived through what could be called an eternity.
There might have been various problems in the past.
"Depending on the outcome, I had intended to eradicate your domain completely, but it seems that will not be necessary. In a distorted way, the current Demon King is functioning as a mediator."
"I am the mediator?"
"Yes. You are moving the world as you wish you should have more confidence. You are walking a path different from all past Demon Kings."
The Great Spirit speaks quietly.
Her tone, if anything, held a hint of kindness.
By returning the sacred stone, it seemed she had acknowledged me in some way.
I will leave the topic of eradicating the Demon King's domain untouched.
There would likely be nothing good to gain from dwelling on it.
I know what a enraged Great Spirit is capable of doing.
The very place where we are having this conversation was once a city within the Empire.
It was no empty threat; the Demon King's domain faced the same risk of suffering that same fate.
I felt a renewed sense of relief that I had been able to return the sacred stone.
"As long as you remain the Demon King of mediation, the defensive mechanism will not interfere. Burn that into your mind."
"Understood."
I nodded readily.
There could be no objection.
"..."
The Great Spirit looked at me in silence.
Without doing anything, she simply fixed her gaze upon me.
No emotions could be discerned.
At least she wasn't radiating killing intent, but her intentions were unclear.
In the subtly awkward atmosphere, I broke the silence and addressed the Great Spirit.
"My business here is concluded. May I leave now?"
"Please wait. As a token of gratitude for this occasion, I wish to present something to you."
"What is it?"
When I urged her to continue, the Great Spirit suddenly closed in on me.
Stopping at a distance where a handshake was possible, she looked at my face and spoke.
"I present myself to you."
"...What do you mean?"
Upon hearing that, a sudden pain like a headache struck me.
From this outlandish proposal, I could only sense the coming of trouble.
This was not something that could simply be brushed aside.
Ignoring my state of mind, the Great Spirit continued calmly.
"Ah, my words were insufficient. To be precise, I offer you this split body."
"..."
I found myself again without words in response to her statement as she placed a hand on her chest.
I felt like sighing.
If her words were to be believed, it seemed I was to receive a Great Spirit, even if only a split body.
Honestly, it was not a welcome development.
Immense power is attractive, but it could also invite far more trouble than it is worth.
Our forces were not so critically depleted that we needed to accept such a burden.
On the contrary, refusing the gift of a split entity seemed far more prudent for maintaining peace.
I had learned firsthand in the war against the Machination Country how dangerous unmanageable power could be.
There was no guarantee I wouldn't repeat John Doe's mistakes.
Meanwhile, the Great Spirit was peering into my face.
"What is the matter?"
"A gift of a Great Spirit's split entity is far too generous."
"You retrieved the lost secret stone. This seems an appropriate reward."
The Great Spirit stated this as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
She had intended to offer the split entity as a reward from the very beginning.
I was now certain of that.
"I will imbue the split entity with a pure personality before transferring it to you. It will be like a daughter to me, in a way. Its nature will be close to that of an infant, but I trust you will treat it well."
The Great Spirit added these heavier words.
This was no longer just a reward.
For some reason, she was trying to press this upon me.
The reason was unclear.
At the very least, it was certain she had taken a liking to me.
"Well? Will you accept it?"
"…I shall gratefully accept this."
Unable to endure the Great Spirit's gaze any longer, I reluctantly gave my consent.
It was all I could say.
If I refused, I risked upsetting her.
Since no trouble had actually arisen yet, the best course was simply to agree.
"That concludes our discussion. I will take my leave now."
"Wait. There is one last thing I wish to ask."
I called the Great Spirit back.
She looked at me with an air of curiosity.
"What is it? If it is within reason, I shall answer."
Having obtained permission, I began to speak.
The main subject was what had occurred since I became the Demon Lord.
Among that, I touched upon the Hero, the Saintess, and this inventor.
I enumerated the perplexing aspects I had observed or heard about.
"I have been calling these phenomena 'the world's push,' or 'the world's will.' They feel overtly deliberate. Is this perhaps a kind of defense mechanism?"
"No. We, the defense mechanisms, manifest as powerful entities. We do not take the form of vague phenomena."
The Great Spirit denied it flatly.
It was an answer I had somewhat anticipated.
I had felt their natures were slightly different.
"Then what is this 'world's will'?"
"It is something other than the will of the world. The world does not favor humanity."
"You won't tell me clearly, then?"
"This is advice, but you should reach the answer with your own strength. It concerns how the Demon King should be in this age."
The Great Spirit spoke with solemn gravity.
This wasn't mere evasiveness.
Her words were deliberate, considered with me in mind.
"What you call the world's will is far more illogical than even the defense mechanism. One might say it is fate itself. There have been past instances where even the defense mechanism was obliterated. However, you, who possess a power that is both identical and opposed, can contend with it."
"A power that is both identical and opposed..."
"So long as you remain an enemy of humanity, you will eventually understand what that means."
With that, the Great Spirit concluded the topic.
In the end, I obtained no clear answer, but touched upon the edge of the mystery.
For now, that would have to be enough.
No matter how persistently I pressed, I doubted she would respond.
"Are there any more questions?"
"No, that was helpful."
"I am glad to hear that."
The Great Spirit made a gesture that might have been a smile.
She rose into the air, looked down at me, and spoke her farewell.
"Demon King, I await the day we can meet again."
As she finished speaking, light radiated from the Great Spirit, piercing upward toward the heavens.
Eventually, when that faded, what remained was the blue-lit clone.
The clone that had fallen to the ground sat up.
Compared to just moments before, its power had clearly weakened.
The radiance of its light had also diminished.
It looked as if it had dropped several grades in status.
This was likely because the main body had escaped.
Slowly, the clone raised its head.
And then it stared intently at me.
"Magical power and miasma response detected—Master authenticated. I look forward to working with you from now on."
"...Likewise, let's work well together."
I managed to respond to the emotionless voice.
The remaining clone apparently wasn't receiving magical power from the Great Spirit's main body.
It was independent as a complete entity.
Though weakened, I could unmistakably feel the Great Spirit's power within it.
Given its nature, it wasn't the sort of thing I could just ignore.
Since I had accepted it, I had no choice but to take it back.
(Something feels like a swindle.)
I thought this, but didn't say it out loud.
I didn't know from where the Great Spirit might be listening.
Glancing at the still clone, I gave a slight shrug.
At the brutal end of a fierce battle, the inventor of the Magitech Nation died.
From this event, he realized that excessive technological advancement is poison.
Though his own existence may be a root cause, it was something that could not simply be overlooked.
If a world arrived where golems and their advanced variants were mass-produced, the nature of warfare would surely change.
Battles like this one would be endlessly repeated.
Without question, it would not end with a simple composition of the Demon King fighting humans.
Would he welcome such an era and strive to maintain a perilous balance?
Or would he stagnate civilization through destruction?
He would have to decide eventually.
He would surely be forced to make various other judgments as well.
The fate of the world rested in his hands.