Chapter 877: The Traitor’s Plot
Turning over the file and pointing at a report, Stelan continued, "Around that time, Demon King McEnda II suddenly sent a massive contingent of forces to use Nienope as a stopover before leaving the galaxy, and his son was leading those forces."
Hearing this, Arthur scoffed. "That’s just a pretext. McEnda definitely figured them out."
Stelan nodded silently, having come to the same conclusion.
Gozonian operatives were on Nienope because of the deal between the two planets’ Rulers, and among those forces were naturally spies who fed information back to Gozon.
Arthur was pretty sure McEnda II even had spies among the traitors.
Whichever it was, McEnda had realised that the Kyrexi were planning something with the traitors and had intentionally sent McEnda III to Nienope.
If the Kyrexi tried anything while McEnda III was present, it would be the equivalent of declaring war on Gozon and, by extension, the entire Demon race across the universe.
The Kyrexi wanted to deal with the godslayers, not wage war against all Demonkind, especially under the combined might of Gozon’s 72 Demon Kings.
Because of that, they withdrew their support from the traitors and stayed quiet for the decades that followed, taking no actions beyond the small-scale attacks executed through scapegoats, expendable pawns they could easily dispose of, to probe Nienope’s security, see how many Gozon forces were deployed on the planet, and gauge how quickly Gozon would intervene if needed.
"But there’s something else you need to know. The Kyrexi may not actually be aiming to wipe out the godslayers. I believe it’s the other god Kings who want us destroyed, while the Kyrexi seem to have a different goal," Stelan said, flipping the files to show Arthur some results from an investigation into the Kyrexi.
"Based on the information I extracted from the one we recently caught, their plan years ago wasn’t to eliminate me, but to capture me.
Why would they need to do that? Were they planning to use me as a hostage? Either that, or they had some other plan entirely."
Pointing at the data on the file to draw Arthur’s attention, Stelan continued, "45% of the time, the Kyrexi avoid outright destruction and go for ’control’ instead. They could be attempting something similar with us."
Hearing this, Arthur sighed, pressing his forehead to his temple as he considered the level of the gods who wanted to crush or control them.
"Resisting them would force us to rely on Gozon even more, which would give Gozon additional power over us. Fucking hell."
Looking up at Stelan, he asked, "You just said you caught one, didn’t you?"
Stelan nodded and glanced at the window behind Arthur as he replied. "Yes. That’s why those two came earlier. They were suspecting me after noticing his disappearance and were trying to probe me for information on his location. All pointless, since he isn’t on Nienope anymore."
"Huh? Where did you take him?"
To Arthur’s question, Stelan pointed at one of the two globes in the corner of the office. "Shoisan. The Council holds no power on Shoisan, so they can’t find him there."
godslayers were absolute on Shoisan, so Nienope’s Councilmen could do nothing if Stelan moved the captured traitor there.
"Then what about the information you received earlier?" Arthur asked, referring to the transmission that had come right after he’d introduced Esna and Elaine.
"There are six traitors in total, and the three left besides the captured one and the ones who came here were holding a meeting on the other side of the planet.
Those two likely weren’t here just to find the location of the one in our custody, but also to distract me so I wouldn’t notice the meeting. However, I have a spy among their ranks, and that spy reported that they suddenly ended their meeting, packed up all the supplies and weapons they’d gathered for war, and attempted to relocate."
Arthur nodded, understanding that one of the two he’d crossed paths with outside the Complex must have tipped the others off about his return.
"Trying to relocate somewhere else on the planet would be pointless since I’m the Planet Lord, and they know that. If that’s the case, they’re trying to relocate off the planet."
Coming to that conclusion, Arthur sighed for the nth time and got up as he spoke.
"I’m not the brightest nor the best at political manoeuvrings, which is why I like to keep things simple so I can handle them the way I know best.
I gave them chances.
Last time I was here, I could have leveraged McEnda II’s support to completely eliminate all of them. Demon King Malorum also warned me about them and told me to eliminate them, but I only warned them and took no extreme action since that would have affected the public opinion of the godslayers on Nienope at the time, as we were still rising."
Stelan’s expression darkened at Arthur’s sudden monologue, his instincts warning him that something big was about to follow.
"But now, yeah, fuck it," Arthur said, looking up at Stelan before asking, "Where’s the location?"
Stelan stayed silent at this request, and Arthur, narrowing his eyes, asked again, "Where is the location, Stelan?"
"Don’t tell me you’re planning to—"
"Yes, I’m planning exactly what you think I’m planning," Arthur said, cutting him off.
"So tell me, Stelan—"
Arthur’s black irises glowed with a faint light, the obsidian in his left eye changed to blue and the right to red as he repeated,
"Where is the location?"
Stelan sighed, removed his Bluetooth, and pressed the button on its side to project a hologram of the planet, a beeping dot marking the source of the last transmission.
Arthur then activated his Spatial Authority, sweeping his cosmic energy across the planet to pinpoint the coordinates.
Using the Cosmic Teleporter, he generated a gate, cracking his knuckles as he said,
"I’ve been away from this planet for a while, and dust and dirt have gathered. It’s time to clean things up."
◇ ◇ ◇
Unknown Hotel
Trefon Continent
Prime World Nienope
June 8th
Year 1137
The hotel lobby was bathed in warm light and filled with soft music, clusters of well-dressed guests moving through the space, their voices blending into a gentle murmur while glasses clinked as servers drifted among them.
The doors parted slightly, and a lone young man slipped inside, pressing himself into the nearest corner as if hoping the shadows would swallow him. His shoulders were slightly hunched, trying to make himself smaller, and his eyes darted from one group to another with a mix of uncertainty and barely hidden apprehension.
Anyone watching could immediately tell he was new, unfamiliar with the event, its purpose, or the people filling the room, all of whom seemed to know why they were there and what roles they had to play.
From the opposite corner of the lobby, an elf engaged in casual conversation noticed the newcomer’s behaviour, his gaze narrowing with interest before he broke from his group and crossed the room.
When he reached the anxious young man, he tilted his head and asked, "Hey, why are you acting like that?"
The human flinched, his breath catching, and turned quickly.
"Um, hello. Sorry. I’m kind of new here and not exactly sure..."
His voice tapered off toward the end, doubt threading through his words.
"Not exactly sure about what?" the elf pressed, one brow lifting.
The young man took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking again.
"Well, my father brought me here. For the longest time, he told me we were working toward a ’great cause’ for our world, but he never explained much, not until today, when he said he would finally tell me. But we arrived late for this..." He glanced around the room before continuing, "...event. He rushed in with some others for a meeting and told me to socialise with those here and learn more."
His explanation earned a nod from the elf, who then smiled.
"Ah, I see. So you are a newbie."
He reached over, took a drink from a passing server’s tray, slipped an arm over the young man’s shoulder, and added, "Very well. Since I’m a kind senior, I’ll explain everything you need to know about our great cause."
The young man stiffened at the elf’s arm around him but stayed silent, listening as the elf raised the glass slightly and said, "Our great cause is to remove the blight that has stained our world and continues to spread."
"Blight, you say?" the newcomer echoed.
"Yes. Those upstarts calling themselves godslayers. Migrating into this world from other planets, strutting around as if they own the place because the demons favour them. They’re foolish enough to follow the demons’ bidding without realising they’re only being used.
They are the blight we need to remove."
The young man blinked, confusion spreading across his features. "But aren’t they the ones who helped us win the war against the divines?"
That statement made the elf’s expression contort with visible anger.
"Helped? No. We helped them. When the divines nearly wiped them out, we took them in, gave them work, and placed them in our armies. They were strong against the divines, sure, but their numbers were so small that they barely affected the outcome compared to the battles fought by our own men.
They were only at a few warfronts. The majority of the war was fought by us.
And even if their leader hadn’t dragged demons into our world like he did, we would’ve won anyway. We were already pushing the divines back. We had the advantage.
But that Adrovach brought demons here and complicated everything."
Clicking his tongue, he took a sip of wine before continuing, "In the years since the war, they’ve been strutting around like they own the place, even monopolising resources meant to be shared equally.
They have no history, no roots long enough to matter, and they rely entirely on demonic backing to stay relevant. And still, they act like they can control this world. Ridiculous. They need to be erased, even if we have to borrow the hands of those who despise them the most."
The young man’s eyes widened as realisation dawned on him. "Despise them the most? Wait, but that...! Collaborating with the divines?!"
"No, no, no," the elf said, waving casually. "It’s not collaboration. We’re simply using the divines to remove their enemies. That’s all."
"And the other races from other worlds? What about them? Why not work with them?" the man asked, his brows furrowing.
The elf shook his head with a sigh. "It’s unfortunate, but our brethren on other worlds don’t feel the godslayers are a threat the way the divines do. The divines are the ones most threatened by them, so they’re the easiest to use."
Hearing this, the human heaved a deep breath, lowering his gaze as he shook his head and muttered, "Really? That’s it?"
