Chapter 2397: Face over blood

"...Ugh?!" For a brief moment, Sakar completely forgot about the bones still cracking and breaking throughout his body, his mouth falling open in genuine shock at what he had just heard.

Ever since receiving the summons, he had come filled with anticipation and hope that the Lord would finally give them orders to ascend into the Mid Sectors and launch an attack against a Millennial Empire, or perhaps even unleash them upon an entire galaxy. He had been overflowing with excitement ever since hearing that the Lord had publicly broadcast his experiments on the Crimson Plague, immediately believing that the time for their long-awaited emergence was finally approaching!

Then he had witnessed those dense, heavy memories the Lord personally sent into his mind, and his excitement and expectations only rose further. After seeing everything contained within them, he became even more certain that the coming period would require the overwhelming strength of the demons, that the time had finally come for them to emerge openly, fight against the Tyrants themselves, and expand the True Beginning Empire’s sphere of influence across even greater territories!

But this...

The Lord’s words just now had shattered all of those expectations in an instant.

"To tell you the truth, Sakar, I had already begun preparing the groundwork for your emergence. My original intention was to concentrate the First and Third Armies around Sector 100, Sector 99, and the rest of the eastern direction, while pushing you forward beginning from Sector 102 and through the rest of the western sectors. Especially since, during that period, I had already begun losing confidence in just how useful Hedrick would actually prove to be, and I hadn’t obtained my Seals yet."

"...But that would have placed me under a tremendous amount of scrutiny and raised far too many questions about me. I’ve already been following what the Soul Society has been saying against me throughout the recent period. The rumors are multiplying by the day, and Qarun is funding a massive campaign specifically intended to smear my name. It’s supposedly being conducted from the shadows, but with even a little tracking, it’s painfully obvious who’s behind it... and that campaign will undoubtedly become far more vicious if you suddenly appear and begin fighting openly throughout the Mid Belt."

Then he chuckled softly as though he could already imagine exactly what would happen. "At that point, even if one of you merely kills an armed soldier from an enemy army, they’ll photograph the scene, spread it everywhere, and present it as proof that he attacked life itself, that I’m exterminating entire sectors and have allied myself with the devil... I assume you understand what I mean."

"..." Sakar clenched his teeth hard, partly to suppress the pain still coursing through his transforming body, before forcing himself to answer, "With us... you would control the sectors more easily... faster... and with less bloodshed. Our conquests throughout the Young Sector have given us extensive experience in taking control of planets quickly and then handing them over to the humans. We fight only armed enemies, and we neither attack civilians nor kill so much as a single tree, exactly as you ordered us."

"I apologize, Sakar... The Cosmic Elder once said that I love attention and fame, and perhaps he was right about that. I won’t allow myself to rebuild the universe, strengthen it, shoulder its burdens, and constantly worry about its survival, only to eventually become the greatest devil of all in everyone’s eyes because of you guys." Robin waved his hand lightly. "You’re right. Your presence would reduce the amount of bloodshed considerably, but at the same time, it would ruin my reputation... so I’d rather leave the blood to flow as freely as it wants."

"...." Sakar maintained his heavy silence for some time, the disappointment in him impossible to conceal despite his mask. "What fault of ours is this? We have never disobeyed a single order you’ve given us. We have never failed you even once. Are we destined to remain buried in the depths of the Young Sector forever?"

"You were born a plague." Robin shrugged slightly, speaking as though he were merely stating an unavoidable fact. "Don’t speak as though I’m mistreating you, Sakar. Since the events of the Abyss of Annihilation, has any plague outbreak ever received even a fraction of the advantages you’ve been given? You have a hunting ground spanning an entire sector, supported by vehicles and gates, weapons and identity-concealing armor, and even the blood of space beasts... These kinds of advantages weren’t granted even to the Dominators of the Abyss of Annihilation themselves. Have I ever failed to provide for you?"

"...." Sakar clenched both fists with tremendous force, remained that way for a few moments, then slowly loosened them again when he found no answer he could reasonably give. "No..."

The frustration contained in Sakar’s voice and every movement of his body had reached its absolute peak, to the point that there was no longer any attempt to conceal how thoroughly disappointed he was.

"Hmmm." Robin rubbed his forehead with an awkward smile as he watched Sakar sink into such obvious dejection, then finally asked, "Can you stand on your feet yet?"

"...?" Sakar clenched his fangs hard and began forcing himself upright despite the condition of his body. He could still hear the faint cracking sounds of tiny fractures continuing inside him as the transformation proceeded, but after some effort, he nevertheless managed to stand properly on his feet. "I’ll take my leave now and allow the Lord to rest."

"Hmm? I’m not so cold-hearted that I’d actually force you to leave and drag yourself away in this condition." Robin stood up with a laugh, then Bzzzt opened a small blue gate beside him and gave Sakar a firm slap on the back. "Come with me."

"...?" Sakar immediately felt his entire body become noticeably lighter. The transformations inside him were still proceeding at exactly the same relentless pace, and the tiny fractures and changes had not stopped, yet his body itself suddenly felt almost completely weightless, making movement far easier than it had been moments ago.

With surprising ease despite his current condition, he took two steps forward and entered the gate directly behind Robin. Bzzzt.

"Hmm?" The instant Sakar emerged on the other side and looked around, he immediately recognized exactly where he was...

He had been standing at this very spot only an hour ago, so there was no possibility of mistaking it... They were directly in front of the gate leading beyond the Wall!

"What do you think of what’s happening here?" Robin was standing right at the edge of the gate, so close that its surface nearly touched the tip of his nose, calmly staring toward the other side with both eyes glowing golden as he observed everything taking place beyond it.

"A massive killing ground. Satisfying." Sakar spoke calmly after taking in the scene, then moved forward another two steps until he was standing directly behind Robin.

"But it doesn’t really interest you all that much, does it?" Robin immediately understood what Sakar’s brief answer and subsequent silence meant without needing any further explanation.

"Beast blood fills my stomach and grants me momentum and sustenance, but it doesn’t raise my level," Sakar replied immediately, stating the important distinction without hesitation. "An open battlefield somewhere in the Mid Belt would provide far better returns for us."

Then he continued while spreading his spiritual sense through the gate and examining what lay beyond it, "Secondly, the Imperial Guards and the Cosmic Academies already have complete control over the situation here. They aren’t in need of us."

"Hmm, your love of battle hasn’t made you forget your original goal of ensuring the survival of your own kind, and you understand that only human blood will allow you to accomplish that. I understand." Robin nodded slightly, then continued at a noticeably slower pace as though deliberately leading the conversation somewhere, "What if I brought the human blood and corpses to you instead?"

"...?" Sakar immediately turned his head toward Robin, somewhat confused by the proposal. "Do you want to replace the Imperial Guards here with us that badly?" Then he turned back and carefully examined the battlefield and surrounding area once again. "This place isn’t large enough to accommodate the entire demon race. Amon could only send one or two divisions to take care of it..." Then, after considering the matter briefly, he nodded. "If this is important to you, then leave it to us. We’ll find another way to feed ourselves as well."

Whoosh At that exact moment, a human who had just emerged from the gate flew past above Sakar’s head. His skin had turned blue, while his eyes looked as though they were on the verge of bursting from their sockets. The moment he reached a relatively safe location, he immediately began breathing heavily and hurriedly pulled out treatment kits and food to recover himself.

And almost as soon as he moved away, another person entered through the gate to take his place.

"Take care of this place?" Robin shook his head slightly. "That’s easy. Even without the Imperial Guards, Caesar or Aro could take care of everything here without much trouble. I want you for something else entirely... something much bigger."

"....?" Sakar looked at Robin in obvious confusion, unable to immediately understand what greater task he could possibly be referring to.

"..." Robin continued staring into the gate before him for several more seconds, his golden eyes examining whatever lay beyond it, then finally took a step forward and floated around the gate until he reached its other side.

Then, without explaining anything further, he simply raised his hand and gestured for Sakar to follow him.

Without the slightest hesitation despite his confusion and the ongoing changes inside his body, Sakar took two steps forward and followed. Hummm.