Ch-209. **Why Wilhelm Is the Strongest**
—
Raiga’s expression changed instantly.
He had not expected that answer.
Not even remotely.
Who was he?
He was **the Sword of the Empire**.
The man who believed there was no equal under the heavens — that was Raiga.
Not once in his life had he ever been compared to anyone.
He had always been so overwhelmingly superior that comparison was meaningless.
And yet—
…in spite of that—
With his expression hardened, Raiga asked once more, voice heavy:
“Wilhelm is stronger than I am?”
“Yes.”
…Once again, the same.
Isabella nodded without the slightest hesitation.
A firm conviction.
A gesture more akin to faith than belief.
But Raiga still could not understand.
The difference was obvious — *he* hunted the Fragments, while *Wilhelm* fell to a Fragment.
*Absurd.*
And above all, they stood within the heart of the Empire.
With the full assembly of the Reaper Cult executives and the Fang Knight Order gathered here!
What Isabella said was no small matter — it was an assault on Commander Raiga’s pride.
And Isabella was merely a squire of the Fang Knights.
It was as if a trainee knight had drawn a blade at the Knight Commander himself.
“What is your basis for thinking so?”
If she had spoken on nothing more than a hunch, if her words held no convincing reasoning — then she would pay for them with her life.
Under Raiga’s gaze, Isabella’s eyes trembled faintly.
…Naturally.
Isabella had never met Wilhelm.
In reality, she simply regarded me as Wilhelm’s successor — she likely spoke for *my sake*, trying to preserve my honor.
Yet the words that followed were something no one had expected.
“Wilhelm killed the Demon King.”
“The Demon King is alive. The Great Crusade failed, and the invasion continues.”
“He only failed to withstand the Fragment. He simply lacked the knowledge and the ‘blessing’ required. It has nothing to do with being weak or strong.”
“Even if he did kill the Demon King, that alone cannot serve as proof he’s stronger than I am.”
Still arrogant.
Raiga fully believed he could kill the Demon King too.
But Isabella viewed the Great Crusade from a completely different angle.
And truthfully, I couldn’t help feeling the same question:
*How do Raiga and Isabella know what happened back then?*
The only ones who witnessed Wilhelm kill the Demon King and then fall to a Fragment were **Serengeti**, the Demon King, and myself.
Serengeti would never reveal that truth — which meant only the three of us should have known.
“…No, there was another.”
Suddenly I remembered — it might not have been only three.
*The one who sent Serengeti back alive.*
Yes.
There was someone — someone who placed Serengeti, whose lower body was severed, on a horse and sent her toward her territory.
Someone who saved Serengeti when death was guaranteed.
But I had no clue who it was.
Only Serengeti and I reached the Demon King’s castle beyond the eight hells.
Two hundred thousand soldiers and five hundred knights — every single one of them died.
Even all demons and the Lords of Hell died — only we three should have remained.
If counted strictly, there was also the Goddess Pina — but she burned her body to save Wilhelm’s Star and me.
So—
*we three were not alone.*
There was someone else.
Someone no one saw.
Who was it? Why save Serengeti while hiding from both Wilhelm and the Demon King?
Someone so skilled in concealment that not even those titans noticed him — who risked his life to return Serengeti alive.
It couldn’t have been simple compassion.
He must have had a reason to send Serengeti back.
And most likely—
*to bring Serengeti and me together.*
To make sure I learned the truth directly from her — the true series of events, what happened when Wilhelm faced the Demon King.
Without Serengeti, I would have never known that Wilhelm truly killed the Demon King, that he fell only to a Fragment afterward, or that the Goddess Pina perished.
Which meant that unknown individual knew I was a **Player**, and that if Wilhelm died, I would restart the world in the Player state.
A headache pounded behind my skull.
I couldn’t make sense of it.
There was someone outside everyone’s field of awareness — someone still watching.
Who is he? Who…?
“Goddess Pina threw her body for a reason. If Wilhelm had been absorbed by the Demon King in an intact state, a new ‘Destruction’ would have been born. Goddess Pina knew that no one would be able to stop him. Because Wilhelm is the strongest man alive.”
Right before Wilhelm offered his body to the Demon King—
Goddess Pina sacrificed her own flesh to rip Wilhelm’s life away and scatter the Star across the continent.
Because she knew — if Wilhelm were absorbed, there would be no future.
The Goddess of the Sky perished willingly.
That alone was proof that Wilhelm was the strongest.
“Isabella. I don’t remember ever giving you permission to say such things…”
Raiga’s expression grew even darker.
He clearly knew the truth already.
And then—
“Wait. The Goddess Pina threw her body? You mean she *perished*?”
The Golden Mask asked in a grave tone.
Members of the Reaper Cult hated the Goddess.
If Goddess Pina had died, they should be celebrating — yet his voice faintly trembled.
Raiga nodded.
“That is the topic I planned to bring up in this meeting — the death of Goddess Pina, and our countermeasures going forward.”
He admitted it without hesitation.
“!!!”
“…What did you just say?”
“But the Church of the Goddess made no announcement—!”
Goddess Pina.
Her flawless, complete death.
*
*
Her body was first discovered beneath the underground of Cramdel.
The first Lord of Hell, the King of the Fallen “Ahram,” resurrected using the eyes of the Goddess Pina, wielding far greater power than before.
If not for the Giant of Ruin and the many Star Guardians, stopping the advance of King Ahram would’ve been nearly impossible.
But except for the White King, the main pillars, and the Star Guardians, no one else knew.
*Even the Church of the Goddess showed no significant response.*
Did the Church not know?
Or did they know — and pretend not to?
Regardless, the result was that even the Empire remained unaware of Pina’s death.
Even the Reaper Cult executives didn’t know — proof that no one knew.
“…Goddess Pina is dead. But the exact reason is unclear. Isabella’s claim that she killed herself to prevent Wilhelm from being absorbed is merely her theory. Probably.”
The banquet hall — the place where they sat together.
Raiga sat shoulder to shoulder with the Seven Knights, facing the Reaper Cult executives — myself included — and continued:
“Most likely, Goddess Pina chose death herself. Only then would the Abyss and the ‘Fragments of Destruction’ begin stirring.”
She killed herself.
Raiga spoke with certainty.
Half right — half wrong.
The real, decisive reason was to make sure I could be reborn as a Player.
*So they don’t know that part.*
They have the broad outline — but not the depth.
Two opposing interpretations of the same event — proof that their knowledge was incomplete.
“Who told you that Goddess Pina chose death?” asked the Golden Mask.
I listened closely as well.
If I knew who had given Raiga the information, I could prepare.
But Raiga shook his head.
“I cannot say. However, what matters is that her death has given us an opportunity.”
“Opportunity?”
“Yes. The Fragments of Destruction are naturally drawn toward becoming one. Knowing that Pina has perished, the Demon King and all Fragment bearers will attempt to absorb one another. It’s the same reason the Four Calamities are awakening one by one.”
“So the proposal is…?”
“We should empower King Friedrich — the bearer of a Fragment and the Demon of Pride.”
“More than now?”
“Better the Demon of Pride than the Demon King. At least that one can talk, trade, and is motivated purely by ‘amusement.’”
“If he grows too strong, he’ll threaten the Empire.”
…What kind of madness were they speaking?
The newly crowned king of the Iron Kingdom —
King Friedrich was both a Fragment bearer and the Demon of Pride?
And knowing that, the Empire chose to cooperate with him?
This was insane.
The Seven Deadly Sins — what kind of monsters were they?
And the devil worshippers who followed them?
…Of course, I *am* the Devil of Greed myself, but still—
“Do not worry. I hold the weakness of Pride.”
Then Raiga pulled something from his breastplate — holding it up.
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
The Reaper Cult executives stared wide-eyed.
“That is…?”
“A heart?”
Raiga nodded.
“The heart of Pride. A trophy from a bet I won against him. As long as this remains in my possession, Pride cannot draw his sword against the Empire.”
“…Very well. If you are that confident, then we will put the proposal to a vote.”
The Golden Mask accepted and looked around the table.
“The proposal is to empower the Devil of Pride, King Friedrich.
If even one person objects, it will not pass.
Those who accept — raise your hands.”
For the proposal to pass, all must agree.
The Golden Mask raised his hand first.
Then one by one, the other executives raised theirs.
Eleven approvals.
The Golden Mask nodded, as if the result had been obvious from the start.
And then—
“I oppose it.”
…I simply could not agree.
After fighting the Devil of Jealousy, Sansha, in the Tower of the War God — I understood.
Souls must never engage with demons.
Demons exist only to corrupt.
Sansha had corrupted War God Karas, twisted the War God’s Tower, and toyed with every challenger who stepped into it.
Devils never defile openly — they do it subtly, from the shadows.
No Devil would be different.
“…”
Instantly—
The temperature in the room dropped.
The Reaper Cult executives stared at me, eyes sharp.
Even Raiga and his knights gave me the same cold glare — as if asking whether I had no sense, no understanding of my place.
*I threw cold water on the gathering.*
It seemed clear they had long agreed to accept each other’s proposals in principle.
This meeting was merely a formality — a confirmation ritual.
*So this is what people call a predetermined vote.*
The answer was already chosen — and I was simply meant to nod along.
But I wouldn’t.
No one ever told me that — and even if they had, I would not obey.
“You said you oppose it?”
No surprise — the Golden Mask asked again.
A silent invitation to withdraw my objection.
To change my answer while there was still time.
Perhaps smoothing things over would have been wiser.
No need to antagonize them.
This was a gathering of both the Reaper Cult and the Fang Knights —
It would be smarter to use them to secure greater benefits.
I took a moment, organized my thoughts — and then clearly spoke again:
“I oppose this proposal.”
—
