David stepped out of the portal and was greeted by the sight of Grivendal's main military base, seeing it again after such a long time since leaving for High Heaven with Johann. Before him, nearly every soldier of The Graendall was kneeling before David. Gruzhnil and Glynpatra approached him.
"Lord David! We've obtained the raw materials we needed! With these, we can restore the Grivendal Empire, My Lord!" Glynpatra said enthusiastically. He nodded.
Suddenly, three people approached them. David recognized Grelmure and Thebes, remembering the old man greeting Johann during the festival back then. However, he did not recognize the third person, who was a soldier of The Graendall. Gruzhnil smiled as he welcomed them.
"Lord David! I'm truly delighted that You've returned here once again! I'm also deeply saddened by what happened to Johann over there! You're planning to save him again, aren't You?" Grelmure said, bowing first.
Gruzhnil smiled and introduced the other two, one of whom was named Marcillus.
"Lord, allow me to introduce Mr. Thebes and Marcillus. The two of them assisted Grelmure by taking over Glynpatra's and my duties while we were away in your world."
Marcillus then knelt before David.
"Oh, Great Lord David! I am Marcillus, merely an ordinary soldier who only helped these honorable man defend and rebuild Grivendal. Please forgive me if Sir Johann ever mentioned me to You. I've already apologized to him for shouting in front of him during the Judgment Arena earlier back then, my Lord..."
Gruzhnil explained that he also knew this soldier through Johann, particularly during the funeral ceremony for the soldiers who had fallen in the great invasion. Thebes also bowed and thanked David for his immeasurable contributions, expressing his hope that David would be able to bring Johann home again. David simply looked at him.
"Grandpa Thebes, why are you working so hard to help all of us? You should be resting at home!" Glynpatra became worried.
"I can't simply stand by while my homeland lies in chaos, Princess. Consider this my final effort in my old age. I also wish to repay the kindness of Young Johann and Lord David."
Everyone except David was visibly moved by his words. They thanked Thebes sincerely.
"My Lord, we've received word from the Research Center that the Element of Desire production test will be conducted tomorrow. They're currently preparing the massive machine beneath the ground." Mendicore told David. He nodded.
"What else needs to be done?" he asked Gruzhnil and Glynpatra.
"Oh... for now, nothing, Lord David! All we can do is anxiously hope that we'll successfully produce the Element of Desire again. If we succeed, then all of our plans to restore the Empire will finally proceed smoothly!" Glynpatra replied.
"Would You like to rest first at Your temple? We'll take You there immediately." Gruzhnil offered.
David looked toward the foot of the hill, where his old house still stood. "I'd rather go there..."
Gruzhnil smiled and personally drove him there in a go-kart. When they arrived at his old house, David found himself reminiscing about the first time he had lived in Grivendal. He remembered Johann visiting his home several times. David looked toward the riverside and recalled the moment when he had nearly killed Johann there.
Upon entering the house, the atmosphere was quiet, but everything was immaculately clean. Someone had likely been assigned to maintain it every day. David walked straight to the kitchen sink, where many stones were still scattered inside. Apparently, those had never been cleaned up. He then remembered what had happened after the incident by the riverside. When he had run back home, David had immediately vomited up every stone he had swallowed. After that, he had spent the entire day silently trying to understand all the strange things that had happened between himself and Johann.
David walked outside toward Johann's old house. He looked at the front yard and remembered the moment when he had asked Johann to tell him everything he knew about him. At that time, David had still refused to believe that he himself had come from a game. Upon entering, he found the house quiet but well maintained. He walked into the bedroom marked with Johann's name. David sat beside the bed and remained silent for a while.
"Wait for me. I'll be there soon..."
Afterward, he returned to his own old house and rested.
The following day, David traveled with the others aboard a shuttle to the Grivendal Research Center in the northern region of the planet.
"Oh, by the way, Lord David. I once brought Johann here before. It might feel unfamiliar to You once we arrive." Gruzhnil said. David again nodded.
When they arrived, they were welcomed by the Research Center's senior officials and scientists. Everyone immediately proceeded into the main underground facility. The same director briefly explained to David the gigantic circular machine that would produce the Element of Desire. David was slightly surprised upon seeing the appearance of the energy itself, as it reminded him of Prime Desire's power during their battle in the Primordial Plane.
They then headed toward the main operations room to witness the synthesis of the Element of Desire firsthand. Halfway there, David suddenly stopped and looked toward an enormous chamber where Azkerath's corpse was still being kept. He immediately remembered what Mendicore had told him during the festival. The others also stopped for a moment and looked in the same direction. Gruzhnil, Glynpatra, Sherubiel, and Mendicore all seemed to sense the same uneasiness after what they had experienced in Hell earlier.
"Lord David, this is the body of Demon King Azkerath. We originally intended to use it to create a gateway to the Realm of Terror and launch a counterattack. But after everything that happened to our Empire, that plan had no choice but to be abandoned, my Lord." the director explained.
"Continue to the destination room!" David ordered.
Everyone resumed walking. David beckoned Gruzhnil to come closer.
"Don't spread what you witnessed in the previous realm! Tell your people the same thing!" He ordered quietly. Gruzhnil nodded.
David and the others arrived at the main operations room. The scientists and staff immediately began the process of creating the energy. During the first synthesis phase, the scientists erupted with excitement because three out of the four detector chambers of the machine successfully produced the Element of Desire. After the staff collected the energy from each detector station, the second synthesis trial began and successfully produced two more of it. When the third synthesis trial once again succeeded in producing another two Element of Desire, David walked to the main control panel.
"That's enough!"
The coordinator chief ordered the process to stop in accordance with David's command and initiated the cooling phase of the gigantic machine. Everyone in the room immediately knelt before David.
"Oh, Great Lord David, I've never witnessed such a tremendous success in producing the Element of Desire before. Thank You so very much, for now we can restore the Grivendal Empire once again..." the director said.
Afterward, David and his companions left for the shuttle to continue their journey to the Capital. He called Gruzhnil and Glynpatra over once more.
"I don't want to hear of any more chaos in the future because of this! Whatever happens, if it involves that realm again, I must know!" he ordered. Gruzhnil and Glynpatra nodded again with smiles.
Upon arriving in the Capital of Grivendal, they observed the reconstruction of buildings and other facilities that had been damaged during the great civil conflict. Gruzhnil explained that the Element of Desire would be added to the primary power generator to increase the capacity for restoring infrastructure across the entire planet.
"And we're also beginning construction of a dedicated power plant to restore the military strength of The Graendall, Lord David!" Grelmure said proudly.
Suddenly, David glanced at and walked toward a soldier named Marcillus. He immediately fell silent, his body trembling, while everyone else simply watched.
"What did you say to Johann back then?"
"U-U-Uh... P-P-Please forgive me, G-Great Lord David... I-I truly d-didn't know who S-Sir Johann was back then. I-I only shouted at h-him to shut up and c-called him a 'slave,' M-My Lord..." Marcillus stammered.
"Say the same thing again when you meet him later." David replied with a flat expression.
Everyone immediately burst into laughter upon hearing his response. Marcillus stood there with his jaw hanging open, unable to say another word, completely caught off guard by David's unexpected reply.
They continued their tour from the Capital to the smaller cities across Planet Grivendal until the following day to inspect the reconstruction efforts. Afterward, a formal funeral ceremony and the construction of a monument were held to commemorate the tragic historical event that had befallen the people of Grivendal, an initiative led by Glynpatra.
During his stay in Grivendal, David spent his days observing the restoration efforts, both among the civilian population and within the military of The Graendall. Thanks to the Element of Desire, the recovery progressed much more rapidly and even dramatically enhanced the empire's military technology. The military order was also planning to construct a colossal space fleet powered by the Element of Desire. However, Gruzhnil admitted that their personnel numbers were nowhere near what they had once been, and he hoped that the people of the other planets who had broken away would one day return to the central world.
"They'll come back, sooner or later," David said. Gruzhnil smiled, hoping that would indeed come true.
Weeks turned into months, and David watched as the people of Planet Grivendal worked tirelessly side by side to rebuild their empire to its former glory. The Graendall's military equipment was already being produced beyond the minimum targets they had expected. David felt that his responsibilities in Grivendal were nearly complete, and he began thinking of a way to reach High Heaven, whose access had been completely severed by Geriel.
One afternoon, as usual, Gruzhnil came to report on Grivendal's reconstruction progress to David. He was seen standing at the edge of his yard overlooking the steep hillside below. When David turned around, Gruzhnil noticed that his face bore the expression of someone who had just experienced great happiness.
"I can see through my clone... My son has finally been born!" David said.