The Demon King had felt it back then.
Something that no one else had probably noticed.
Buried beneath the endless noise of war and magic, a subtle distortion appeared in the worlds flow.
Not something with an eruption of power, but something more unnatural.
Something that did'nt belong in this world.
Countless losses have occurred during this time of endless war.
The Hero of the South had taken out three of his demon sages of destruction before he fell.
Currently, a group was making its way to his location, looking for his end.
The Demon King sat on his throne.
Standing infront of him were the four remaining Sages of Destruction.
Aura
Böse
Macht
Grausam
They all listened in silence to the demon in the throne room with them.
He was clearly a bit shaken at the amount of powerful mana in the room, but his voice and face remained calm.
"A number of outlying settlements have fallen silent in the Northern Lands," the demon said.
The Demon King listened.
His thoughts went back to what he had felt back then.
The subtle distortion in the worlds flow.
"No survivors?" the demon king said.
"No remains were found," the demon said. "It was as if all the humans in the villages had disappeared, while some villages were completely erased from existence."
Those words confirmed it.
"...So it has begun to move."
He knew this wasn't something a human could do, and they had been keeping track of most of the remaining elves.
He knew none of his demon underlings were capable of such a thing, and he didn't need to even consider the dwarves.
His thoughts had aligned.
This was something completely different that he had never experienced before.
His curiosity peaked at what this thing was.
The Demon Kings gaze lowered slightly towards the four sages.
A deep, commanding voice echoed through the chamber.
"Find and destroy this group of adventurers," he said. "Böse...this task is yours."
The command came without any hesitation.
Böse bowed his head.
"As you command."
The Demon King did not watch him leave.
His attention had already shifted.
Slowly, his gaze turned toward Macht.
"There is another matter," he said. "Something has begun to move in this world. Something that doesn't belong."
His words weren't a warning, but an observation.
"It does not belong to humanity...nor does it belong to us."
"You will find it."
Macht looked at the demon king with his expression unchanged before slightly bowing his head.
Though his eyes sharpened with a bit of interest and curiosity at his words.
"As you command."
The Demon King's gaze lingered for only a moment longer.
"When you find it...bring it back to me."
"As you command," Macht said.
Macht left the chamber.
He walked through the halls in silence, his thoughts already going over the command that was given to him.
...Something that doesn't belong.
The words repeated in his mind.
He had spent centuries studying humanity, but this...this was something different.
This thing wasn't human nor demon.
It was something completely outside of what he has come to understand.
That alone made it worth finding whatever this thing was.
As Macht continued walking, he noticed her.
Leaning lightly against one of the stone pillars, as though she had been waiting, not for him specifically, but for something inevitable to pass her way.
Solitär.
"You took your time," she said, her voice carrying a faint, amused lilt.
Macht regarded her calmly.
"I was not delayed."
"Mm," she hummed softly. "No…you wouldn't be."
Her gaze drifted past him briefly, toward the direction of the throne room, then back again.
"They gave you something interesting, didn't they?"
Macht didn't answer.
This just confirmed her suspicions even more.
"I can always tell," she said. "You only look like that when you've found something new to think about."
"There have been reports," Macht said. "Villagers disappearing without a trace, some villages being erased. Humans and Demons alike have been suffering casualties."
Solitar's expression shifted slightly.
Not to surprise, but to something sharper.
Recognition.
"…Ah," she said softly. "So it's reached him."
Macht's eyes narrowed just slightly.
"You are aware of it."
"I've seen it," she replied. "Or rather…I saw what it leaves behind."
She straightened from the pillar, her posture relaxing as she stepped closer.
"It's not destruction," she said. "Not really. There's no struggle."
A faint tilt of her head.
"It's… removal."
The word lingered.
Macht considered it.
"…Consistent with the reports," he said.
Solitar's gaze settled on him again, more focused now.
"And what did he tell you to do?"
"Find it," he said. "And bring it back."
A small smile appeared on her face.
"Bring it back?" she said. "That means he doesn't understand it yet."
"Nor do you," Macht replied.
"No," she admitted easily. "But that's the fun part, isn't it?"
Silence passed between them for a moment.
She pushed herself off the pillar completely.
"I'll come with you."
It wasn't a request.
Macht did not object.
"You believe it will provide insight," he said.
"I believe," Solitar replied, turning slightly as she began to walk past him, "That something capable of making even him hesitate is worth seeing up close."
She paused just long enough to glance back at him.
"And you agree."
Macht said nothing.
Which was answer enough.
Solitar's expression softened into something almost playful.
"Good," she said.
Then she turned forward again.
"Let's go see what's been…removing things."
Macht stepped forward.
Together, they left the inner halls of the Demon King's domain.
.....
The forest had not yet recovered from what Ulric left behind.
Ulric stood where he had stopped, looking at the two who had just descended from the sky.
Of course, he knew who these two were.
Macht and Solitar.
Macht stepped forward first, his gaze lingering on Ulric.
"The Demon King is aware of you."
His words were calm, but they carried weight.
Ulric looked at both of them.
Of course, he had to run into these two first.
If the Demon King noticed me, he wouldn't send anything less.
"You have been moving through both humans and demons," Macht continued. "Without conflict or resistance...without survivors."
Ulric tilted his head slightly, his voice going into a calm tone.
"They are no longer required."
Solitar's lips curved faintly at that.
"…You say that like it's obvious," she said.
"It is," Ulric said.
Her eyes sharpened just a fraction.
"That's interesting," she murmured.
Macht did not react outwardly, though his gaze narrowed ever so slightly.
"You remove them without force," he said. "And they do not resist you."
"Some do resist," Ulric said.
Those words caught Solitar's attention.
"...So that explains the erased villages," she muttered to herself.
Solitar stepped forward slightly now, closing part of the distance between them.
"You're not human," she said. "Not a demon."
"No," Ulric said.
Her smile widened just a little.
"…Then what are you?"
Ulric did not answer immediately.
His thoughts flickered for a moment.
Should he tell them that he was from another world, a man who got swish cheesed trying to save a girl, and now he was stuck with the task of this world's end?
He was someone who had already seen this world's end.
But none of those things could he say to them.
After a moment, Ulric finally spoke.
"I am nothing...only the end of what remains."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Solitar was the first to react.
A soft breath escaped her, almost a laugh, though no humor followed it.
"…That's new," she said.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, studying him more closely now.
Not just his form, but the way he spoke, the way his presence settled into the space around them.
"You don't sound like anything I've encountered before," she added.
Macht remained still.
But his gaze sharpened.
"You define yourself as absence," he said. "And yet you act with intent...That is inconsistent."
Ulric regarded him.
"There is no inconsistency," he said. "Intent is simply the process by which the end is reached."
Macht did not respond immediately.
Solitar tilted her head slightly, her interest deepening.
"So you're not destroying things because you want to," she said.
Ulric said nothing.
She continued anyway.
"You're doing it because you think it should happen."
A faint smile touched her lips.
"That's worse."
Ulric did not react.
"Something like that," he said.
That answer lingered.
Ulrics thoughts did not remain as steady as his voice.
He knew this was not what he had once intended.
There had been a time when the world still held weight.
When its ending was something distant.
Unthinkable.
Now that distance no longer existed.
Since the moment the Endblume had burned something into him…something that did not belong had appeared within him.
A thread...pulling him forward down a certain path.
It wasn't forcing him forward, it only made every other direction feel less certain.
It didn't matter what direction he went...in the end, he would end up in the same place that the thread was pulling him towards.
So he continued to walk forward.
Solitar's smile didn't fade, but something beneath it shifted.
Macht spoke again.
"You remove both humans and demons," he said. "Without distinction."
"Yes."
"And you believe this to be… necessary."
"Yes," Ulric said.
Macht's gaze remained steady.
"You are aware this places you in opposition to all existing structures within this world."
Ulric's response came without delay.
"It doesn't matter."
Solitar exhaled slowly.
"…I see why he's interested in you," she said.
Macht stepped forward slightly.
"The Demon King wishes to see you," he said.
This time, the words carried more weight.
Ulric already understood.
This is exactly what he wanted for the next step of his plan.
To reach the Demon King's territory, where almost all of the demons in this world reside.
"For what purpose?" he asked.
Macht held his gaze.
"That is not something I was instructed to explain."
He continued.
"You will come."
It wasn't a question.
Ulric looked at them both for a moment longer.
"Very well," Ulric said.
Macht didn't say anything else as he walked up to Ulric.
He stood behind him as he wrapped his arms around Ulric.
Both Macht and Solitar moved at once, their wings spreading wide as they lifted from the ground in a single, effortless motion.
The forest fell away beneath them.
Ulric had to admit the view from up there was amazing.
The clouds drifted past them in slow, endless layers, the horizon stretching farther than the world below ever allowed.
He allowed himself to take it in.
There was something…freeing about it.
If this world had not already been set on its course.
He might have chosen something like this.
Being able to fly freely among the clouds made him think.
That if he was ever to be reincarnated again...he hoped it would be as a bird.
A simpler existence.
After some time soaring through the clouds, Ulric saw it.
The Domain of The Demon King.
.....
End of Chapter 17