Did Alaric love this world? Definitely not.
After Medici's wake-up call last time, Alaric had adjusted his mindset, treating his friends with more genuine emotions rather than viewing them as beloved fictional characters. Still, that didn't mean he loved the world.
He wasn't that altruistic. Even before his transmigration, he hadn't felt much attachment to his world, let alone this world he'd been in for less than four months.
"…On that point, we're not so different." Medici said, glancing at Alaric with a self-deprecating smile. "I don't love those humans, at least not any one of them individually. If I didn't need a war, I probably wouldn't even be involved in what you're doing…"
Alaric looked at him quietly. "Yet you do love this world, and humanity."
"…Pretty laughable, right?" Medici didn't deny it this time, just tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Maybe it's the Sun God's influence, or because they're a race I once personally saved… I don't care about any single one of them, but I can't just watch them go extinct."
"Not laughable... just normal, I'd say." Alaric said with a smile, his expression turning nostalgic, his eyes carrying a rare trace of reminiscence. "I've seen a lot of people, so many. Some were downright terrible... villains, liars, scum who deserved to rot in jail forever. But in the face of doomsday, in the face of their race's extinction, they stepped up, sacrificing themselves one after another. Without them, I might not have made up my mind back then… Heh!"
Alaric chuckled, trailing off. He looked at Medici, pointing lightly at his chest with a smile. "Medici, you're already human."
"You may not have a human body, but you've got a human heart. That's good... really good."
Medici looked at him, not denying his words. Instead, he scoffed suddenly. "What about you, little monster? Do you have a human heart?"
"…I hope I do." Alaric said with a smile. "That's why I'm learning... learning what true humanity is, learning how to be human."
Medici stared at him for a long moment before curling his lip. "And you have the nerve to call Amon inhumane."
"Come on, I may have a lot to learn about humanity, but compared to Amon, I'm leagues ahead in that department!" Alaric protested, clearly displeased.
"Let's hope so." Medici said, glancing at him. Not a single word was overtly sarcastic, yet every syllable seemed to drip with it.
…
As the two in the pocket dimension teetered on the edge of bickering, in the real world, the battle between the War Angel and William I had concluded.
"Now do you believe I'm the real War Angel?" The War Angel adjusted his slightly mussed hair from the fight, feeling refreshed.
Nothing like beating up a fool to lift your spirits... courtesy of the War Angel.
"…Lord Medici, I never doubted your identity." William I said, his mood far less pleasant, sporting a bruised and battered face. He was inwardly bitter, unable to fathom why Medici was so volatile, starting a fight without warning. Was this a side effect of dying and reviving?
William I muttered to himself. In his memory, the War Angel was belligerent but not this quick to throw punches!
The real issue was that he, a mere Sequence 1 of the Arbiter Pathway, couldn't match a King of Angels of the Red Priest Pathway with its uniqueness.
Unbeknownst to William I, he'd simply caught the War Angel at the wrong moment. In any other scenario, he might not have taken such a beating.
Moreover… William I scanned the surroundings, confirming no one had come to investigate. Not even the Augustus family, let alone the churches. A flicker of confusion and wariness passed through him.
The commotion from their fight wasn't small. William I, fearing Medici might be there to kill him under the guise of cooperation, hadn't bothered to suppress the noise. By rights, the three major churches should have sent someone by now.
Yet no one came, as if the disturbance had gone unnoticed.
"Stop looking. This space was sealed long ago. The noise can't get out." The War Angel said, easily reading William I's thoughts and scoffing.
William I's heart sank, his confusion deepening. Sealing a space without his notice would require an angel of the Door Pathway, and not just any angel.
But the Door Pathway… wasn't Sequence 1 just Mr. Door?
William I knew well that Mr. Door had been corrupted by an Outer Deity in the Fourth Epoch and was sealed in some pocket dimension. How could he be here sealing this space?
"Heh!" The War Angel glanced at William I, guessing his thoughts and scoffing without explanation.
Of course, he wouldn't tell William I that a certain someone could summon projections from the past, having already brought Mr. Door to seal the space before summoning him for this negotiation.
With Mr. Door's prowess, a space he sealed would go unnoticed by even a true god, let alone a Hand of Order.
"Tch…" The War Angel's mind flashed to that fox-like figure standing beside his future self, always grinning.
What was his future self thinking, following a guy like that? Wasn't he afraid of being sold out again?
The thought soured his mood further. He looked at William I with impatience. "I don't have time for your games. You should know why I'm here."
"…The Augustus family has always been open to cooperating with the Aurora Order, but this is a major matter, so we've taken some time to consider…" William I forced a smile at Medici, wincing as it tugged at his wounds, making it look more like a grimace.
…
It turned out that in a world where might made right, negotiating with the bigger fist was remarkably simple.
At least, faced with the War Angel's fist the size of a sandbag, William I's capitulation was swift.
Of course, "capitulation" wasn't entirely accurate. As a Sequence 1 with the ambition and resolve to produce a Sequence 0, William I had leverage. If he chose, he could abandon the Black Emperor plan and align with the Churches of the Eternal Blazing Sun, the Lord of Storms, and the God of Steam and Machinery, becoming their close "ally" overnight.
With that confidence, William I's concessions were limited to smaller matters... resources, colonial territories, things important to the Augustus family but not critical. On principled issues, like the Black Emperor's emergence, forming an alliance rather than subservience, or matters of faith, he remained unyielding.
***
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