Chapter 406: Mature Thoughts
"...Hmmm" I stretch with a pleasurable groan as I feel my power, I’ve recovered 30% of my mana enough power to face almost any opponent on the planet again.
I also feel my arm recovering faster, I think in two days I’ll have my arm back completely as there’s just a little bit left of it, and several of my other injuries have already healed.
And soon my mana regeneration will stabilize, and I’ll regain all my power once more, becoming the strongest on the planet besides Delphina and Grimm.
"It looks like we’ve arrived, Elena," I say to Elena, seeing the first kingdom ahead of us. It’s not very large and has almost no defenses.
"Yes, Pandora. It’s time for you to start paving the way," she speaks while I nod in agreement. I’ve spent the last few days accumulating the shadows and creating the shark that will devour everything and carve our path.
I made it extra strong so that adventurers couldn’t kill it, giving this colossal monster a size of 1600. It soon emerges from the earth and begins to advance in a straight line.
My troops watch as the shark devours the wall and advances, consuming houses, people, and everything in its straight path. Quickly following suit, my army begins to advance, prepared to kill anyone who stands in our way.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself, Pandora," Freya says, and I nod in agreement.
"Of course, things are going very well... Probably if nothing dangerous gets in our way and with me here, we can reach the main kingdom in... 1 month," It’s a long distance, and we’ll be marching, so the time is high.
"A good estimate, though rather optimistic..." Freya says, and I can only agree that it is somewhat optimistic.
"It’s better to be optimistic, isn’t it? 1 month is quite a long time, and I’m here to block greater dangers, as long as the stops are few... Ah, that’s right... Since we’re in enemy territory, we’ll need to make some longer stops..." I say, disappointed.
"Well, probably 1 and a half months, as we’re going in a straight line, I think we’ll only have to deal with 4 kingdoms before reaching the main kingdom," This is the advantage of taking a straight path. We can cut through and pass through far fewer places, and I personally chose a point where we would only have to go through 4 kingdoms instead of 7.
"Pandora, what will you do after we’ve brought down the barrier of the kingdom?" Calypso asks curiously, and I think.
"I’ll use mass destruction magic to blow up almost all the human kingdoms," I won’t destroy the kingdom of Nymfara because we have one of Delphina’s copies leading there.
’...’ I stop talking as we enter the kingdom. From here, we’ll be attacked, so I immediately start generating various shadows of wolves, sharks, dragons, and other monsters.
"[THIS IS AN ORDER FROM THE DEMON KING! ALL MONSTERS IN THE AREA MUST JOIN MY ARMY, INVADE THE CITY, AND KILL HUMANS]" I shout, using [Abyssal Authority] to force the monsters to help.
Quickly, I see a cloud of dust in the distance from the nearby areas as monsters run to this place to join my army.
’That should be enough to deal with human soldiers and adventurers,’ I generate a large shadow dragon and mount it.
"Want to come up here with me?" I ask them. Calypso accepts, but Elena and Freya decline, while Kaelith also agrees to come with me, so the two soon climb onto the dragon, which takes flight.
I’ll stay up here to observe the movements of the enemies and provide some support with magic.
’How will you humans react to this?’
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...
"Master Thalruk, is this how it is?" Eclipsya asks me as she finishes drawing a magic circle, following the step-by-step instructions in the book in her little hands.
"Yes, but change that tip and erase that symbol. That symbol there is a limiter that will focus on multiple targets, and you want to focus on a single target," I say, helping her with her mission.
Eclipsya woke up yesterday and simply decided she wanted to create a magic from scratch. Pandora can easily create magic from scratch because she is talented and powerful, but creating magic is not an easy task.
So I’m helping Eclipsya, even though I know she won’t succeed yet. She doesn’t have enough magic to create something, and even if she manages to create something, she won’t be able to use it due to lack of magic.
"Master, where is mommy Pandora?" Eclipsya suddenly asks while fixing the magic circle, erasing some parts and retouching to repair what was erased.
"...What exactly do you want to know?"
"I know she’s at war... but where? And why?" She asks mature questions, but in a very childlike way.
"She’s currently somewhere near the human kingdoms. I’m not good at sensing someone so far away, and the reason she’s at war is because she’s the Demon King," Eclipsya stops what she’s doing and looks at me strangely.
"..." She seems to think deeply while holding the book, and after some time, she opens her mouth to speak.
"Do they want to kill mommy Pandora just for a title? Isn’t that... unfair?" She makes an interesting point, and it’s not entirely a lie. They don’t want to kill Pandora because she’s a monster who has killed many.
They want to kill Pandora because she’s the Demon King, and that’s exactly why they’re after her.
"Yes, if you think logically, it’s unfair. They want to kill Pandora just because she was born as the Demon King," I agree with her. It’s not exactly fair, from the perspective of many races, Pandora is a terrible being.
But ironically, she’s considered that way since birth, and she would still be considered a being that must die even if she had never done anything "wrong" solely because she is the Demon King.
"...And me? Will they want to kill me too?" She asks the kind of question I think children shouldn’t ask, but as a master, I like her curiosity, so I continue to answer.
"Yes, they’ll want to kill you too. You’re the daughter of the Demon King, and that alone makes you someone who must die in the eyes of races like humans and elves," She doesn’t seem shaken when I say that.
"Why are humans and elves like that? I’ve never done anything but exist, so why should I have to die just for being mommy’s daughter? Why can’t they just leave mommy and me alone? Will they want to kill Azazel too?" She asks several questions, completely stopping what she’s doing.
’Hmm...’ Honestly, there are plenty of reasons to kill Pandora right now. Pandora is a genocidal who delights in the suffering of others and fortifies monsters and demons simply by existing.
But Pandora’s daughters really have absolutely nothing to do with it, and targeting them is "unfair" after all, no being should be judged solely for existing.
"Humans are like that because they are selfish and think they are above all others. The elves... they are very tied to their stupid religion and believe that other beings are generally impure."
"As for you having to die just for being Pandora’s daughter, that’s really unfair, considering you’ve never done anything and don’t affect the world in any way, although that will change in the future."
"And yes, they would probably also kill Azazel, and any other person connected to Pandora in some way," I tell her, watching her reaction.
"That’s so... stupid. Why do humans try to go against mommy Pandora? Mommy Pandora doesn’t even have an interest in it. If they just left her alone, she wouldn’t do anything," Eclipsya expresses her point with conviction.
"Perhaps..." Considering what I’ve seen of Pandora, I also think that Pandora is not the type who likes to "waste time" on things that don’t interest her.
"Are you worried about Pandora?"
"...Yes, but I know mommy Pandora will win. She always wins. She’s strong, and she promised to help me conquer Azazel. She said we’d talk together. I trust her," Eclipsya says, turning her attention back to the magic.
’Trust, huh...’ I look at this child who is more intelligent than many adults out there. It’s even surprising that she’s Pandora’s daughter with this maturity, as Pandora is quite childish.
Very childish, in fact. She is indeed brilliant, but her actions are generally driven by pure desire and caprice, exactly like a child who still doesn’t know how to think outside a small area of action.
The difference between Pandora and a child is that Pandora understands far beyond her own area of action, influencing others to follow her desires as if they were their own.
However, apart from that, Pandora is the most childish being I’ve ever known. Of course, considering her age, it’s natural for Pandora to be immature, and that’s why I’m surprised Eclipsya is so mature, even being Pandora’s daughter.
"It’s lunchtime. Your mother is probably waiting, so it’s time to put the lessons aside for a moment," I tell Eclipsya, who puts everything down and stands up.
"Okay... Mommy Tsukuyomi must have finished... I’m hungry, so I’ll stop for now. Master Thalruk, can you look at it later and tell me where I went wrong?" She asks politely.
"Yes, of course. I’ll stay here and see what needs improvement," I say, approving her request. She has become much more talkative over time, as she has well-defined desires.