I Became The Tyrant Of A Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 710

Crossroad Square.

Although rapid restoration is underway, it’s still mostly ruins here.

Zenith and Hannibal were walking side by side on the main street.

“Hehe, everyone’s so young…”

Zenith chuckled, reminiscing about what happened at the Crossroad Young Heroes meeting today, then turned to Hannibal.

“Come to think of it, Hannibal, aren’t you dating?”

“Huh?”

“I bet a lot of girls like you? Any good news?”

Zenith grinned mischievously. Hannibal scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

In fact, Hannibal had a very colorful dating history for his young age.

He was popular even within the mixed-blood community, and the number of lovers he had brushed past was easily in the double digits. It’s just that he hadn’t found a suitable match since coming to Crossroad.

…Somehow, it felt awkward to say that, so Hannibal changed the subject instead.

“What about you, Father?”

“Huh?”

“Any good news?”

Hannibal asked with a bright smile, and Zenith was even more flustered.

“Well… I wouldn’t have any such news. I’ve been a priest my whole life…”

“But priests of the Goddess Church aren’t restricted from marriage, are they?”

“…I’ve been excommunicated now.”

“Then you’re even freer, right?”

“Ahem. Ahem.”

Finding himself at a loss for words, Hannibal cautiously asked Zenith.

“What about Priestess Rosetta? You seemed close to her, how is it?”

“Cough!”

Zenith coughed loudly in surprise and waved his hand.

“Rosetta and I aren’t like that.”

“You’re not?”

“Yeah. We’re like sworn siblings. Rosetta is my childhood savior… It’s not a simple man-woman relationship, but a much deeper spiritual connection…”

Hannibal interrupted Zenith, who was trying to explain, with an innocent tone.

“Father.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“I wish I had a mother.”

“Cough-!”

He tried to ask about his son’s dating life, but ended up getting hit back. Zenith wiped away the cold sweat and barely managed to answer.

“I-I’ll try my best…”

Whether it was a problem that could be solved by trying was another matter…

Hannibal smiled contentedly and ran ahead, and Zenith crossed his arms and groaned.

‘Dating? Me? Well, I’ve become a layman, but still, now?’

Then, a word Ash had said a long time ago suddenly came to mind.

– In the rest of our lives, we are all the youngest today.

He also remembered what his son had said before.

– How do you want to live your life, Father? You can do anything now.

“…”

Zenith’s stiff lips loosened into a smile.

That’s right. Today is the youngest, and I can do anything from now on.

If there’s a good match, there’s no reason not to.

“If there’s a good match…”

That’s the hardest part, though.

Zenith smiled wryly and quickly followed after his son, who was running ahead.

***

Crossroad. Back alley.

“Hey, Kuilan! Get a grip! You can’t even handle your liquor, why did you drink so much!”

Chain was supporting a drunken Kuilan, trying to get him back to the barracks.

He was still injured and having trouble moving, and now he had to carry a drunkard, making it a nightmare. Chain dragged Kuilan along, shuddering.

After a few hours of struggle, they finally arrived at the barracks. Chain was able to shove Kuilan into his room.

“Wow, that was close to death. You’re buying me dinner later, got it?”

Chain pointed at Kuilan, who was slumped on the bed, then turned around. That’s when it happened.

“Chain…”

Kuilan, completely drunk, mumbled from under his pillow.

“Go home…”

“…”

“I’m younger than you, Chain, so I shouldn’t be saying this… but it’s good to be with the people you love.”

Chain pursed his lips. Kuilan’s voice grew more slurred.

“They’re all waiting… Tell them how you feel before it’s too late…”

Soon, Kuilan started snoring loudly and fell asleep.

Chain sighed, closed the door, and returned to his own room.

The barracks room he used to share with Nobody was empty. Chain, leaning on his crutches, entered the room and slumped onto his bed.

“…”

Chain took out a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it.

It was a letter his wife had sent him a while ago.

Kate was Chain’s daughter’s name.

The letter said that his daughter had given birth to a son, meaning Chain had a grandson.

A smile spread across Chain’s face, but it slowly hardened as he reached the next sentence in the letter.

“…”

Chain’s face gradually darkened.

“…”

The letter ended there.

“…I was a shameful husband and a lacking father.”

After carefully folding the letter and putting it back in his pocket, Chain let out a low sigh.

He missed his daughter. He missed the son-in-law he had never met, and his newborn grandson.

And more than anyone, he missed his wife’s face.

But he didn’t have the courage to face them.

“Where should I go now?”

Chain ran a hand over his face and asked the empty room.

“What should I do, Nobody…?”

***

Crossroad. Lord’s Manor.

After chatting with the main party members in the reception room, it was late at night.

It was too late to send them back, so everyone decided to stay at the Lord’s Manor. Actually, Lucas and Evangeline already lived here, so all they had to do was give Junior and Damian a guest room each.

So, after putting the kids in their respective rooms, I returned to my office.

“What a mess, what a mess…”

They say the hardest thing in the world is understanding people’s hearts.

This is as difficult as conquering monsters. Ugh.

As I grumbled and returned to my office…

“Huh?”

I saw a familiar gray-haired man sitting on the guest sofa in my office. I called his name in a daze.

“Aither?”

“Ah, my Lord.”

The Director, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, waved his hand with a carefree expression.

“Have you been well?”

“Hey, you! Where have you been hiding again, and why are you only showing up now!”

I shouted urgently and sat down in front of Aither, then paused.

In Aither’s hand was the item I was going to check last during this loot inspection…

The Royal Scepter of the Lake Kingdom.

“Seeing this scepter…”

Aither, who was examining the scepter, made an awkward expression and suddenly said something out of the blue.

“It reminded me of my unrequited love. I was lost in memories.”

“…”

What? Unrequited love?

Seriously, are you also caught up in ‘Love on the Monster Front’?

Just date, everyone, just date! The whole world is a couple, kyaaaak!

***

A little later.

“Unrequited love…”

I poured two cups of warm tea and handed one to Aither as I asked.

“Then, is the other person… Nobody?”

Aither smiled faintly as he accepted the teacup.

“I’ll have to decline to comment on that for now.”

“Seriously, even at this point, you’re still declining to comment, you jerk.”

We’re at the end game now, just give me some spoilers! How long are you going to keep it a secret!

“My boring love story will be revealed soon anyway. What’s more important right now is…”

Aither lightly shook the scepter in his hand.

“This, isn’t it?”

“…”

I stared at the scepter and then looked at Aither. Aither slowly explained.

“This scepter was originally a symbol of the Lake Kingdom’s royalty. It was originally a beautiful staff with a pure white body and a blue jewel on top…”

Now, the jewel at the end of the scepter was completely tainted black, and black energy was rooted in the staff’s body like blood vessels. It was amazing that it still maintained its dignity.

“After the Nightmare swallowed the Lake Kingdom, the Demon King imbued this scepter with his power. He often left his position to explore the Nightmare, so he needed someone to act as his proxy while he was gone.”

“So, this scepter is…”

“Yes. It’s a symbol of the proxy, allowing one to use the Demon King’s power.”

Aither floated the scepter in the air and placed both of his hands on it.

“It has many functions, but the most representative one is related to the ‘game’ we’re currently playing… the ‘Game of Destruction’.”

“…!”

“Specifying the timing of the stages, the monster legions to deploy, and the Dark Events.”

Crack, crackle!

Magic power formed complex formulas at the tips of the Director’s fingers and burrowed into the staff.

Then, system windows like the ones I was used to popped up around the scepter, then disappeared again. Aither flicked his fingers as if he was typing on a virtual keyboard in the air.

Click!

The next moment, all those system windows were sucked into the scepter as if by magic. It might have been my imagination, but the color of the jewel at the head of the scepter seemed to have become a little clearer.

“Here you go.”

Aither held the scepter with both hands and politely handed it to me. I took it in a daze.

“Huh? You’re giving it to me?”

“Of course, it’s yours, my Lord. It’s loot, after all.”

Aither nodded.

“Whatever the process, you’ve seized the enemy commander’s symbol. You should get that much of an advantage.”

“So, I can use the scepter’s functions…? So, I can specify the timing of the stages, the monsters that appear, and the Dark Events?”

“For now, yes.”

Aither continued his explanation.

“The Demon King is not in reality right now. He’s still exploring the Nightmare. In the meantime, you can use that scepter to organize the stages to your liking.”

“…!”

So, that means I can make the stages easier by choosing a time that’s convenient for me, using the weakest monster legions possible, and applying the most unimpressive Dark Events?

“But when the Demon King returns and reclaims his authority, the scepter will lose its power… and return to being an ordinary staff.”

Aither smiled wryly.

“A worn-out, faded staff that symbolizes the lost royalty of an already destroyed kingdom, with no power or authority.”

“…”

“So, it’s best to make the battles easier while the scepter still has its power, before the Demon King returns.”

I focused my consciousness on the scepter.

Then, an attack interface from the Nightmare side appeared in front of me, in a familiar form like the existing system windows.

[STAGE 41]

> Safe Period: 3 weeks from now (penalty for violation)

> Select Deployment Legion

> Dark Event List

“I’ve made it easier for you to use. It’s like a game.”

“You’re a bit like a director at times like this…”

After quickly reviewing the contents, I hesitated for a moment and asked.

“What if I don’t specify a monster? What if I skip or nullify a stage?”

Aither shook his head slightly.

“Don’t forget who the game we’re playing, the ‘Game of Destruction,’ is for. This world is basically a playground for those Outer Gods… the ‘Observers.’ Unless we can make them understand, we can’t do that arbitrarily.”

“…”

“If you try to skip a stage for no reason, or if they think a stage is too easy, they will intervene directly.”

“Intervene directly? What do you mean?”

Aither gestured to me with his eyes.

“A long time ago… do you remember the Dark Event during Stage 3?”

“Of course, I remember.”

Early in the first year. During Stage 3.

Suddenly, the remaining time for the stage decreased, the monsters attacked from all sides, and it was a complete mess. Evangeline almost died there.

“That Dark Event back then was the Observers directly intervening.”

“…?”

“Look at the old records. Now that you’ve gained divinity, you’ll be able to ‘see’ it.”

I quickly opened the system window, turned on the ‘Dark Event Tracker,’ and looked at the old logs. Then,