After being forced to step down, the once-annoying nun eloped with me.

"...Alas. I killed the last Titan demon in this world. Alas."

The demon servant sighed heavily once again.

Although the death of Ice Calamity was something he had anticipated... as expected, the demon servant still felt a deep sense of powerlessness after Ice Calamity actually died.

He didn't have time to dwell on the deaths and injuries of his companions. But at least he could remember them—even if the Ice Calamity was a fellow Titan he had never met. The bonds between Titans and demons don't vanish just because they haven't met.

...He nodded slightly in the direction of the Ice Calamity's corpse. Then, the demon servant saw cracks appearing in the distance of the Demon Realm.

Here we go again—the demon servant mused. Roman the Demon was up to his old tricks again.

Since the death of the Ice Calamity, he has confined all the primal demons to the area surrounding the Roman capital, forbidding them from leaving.

On one hand, it was to protect the two core elements of the Primal Demon and the Roman Demon Realm: the Heart of the Demon Realm and the Royal Capital's Mother Nest. On the other hand, he also hoped that by adopting such a "low-profile" approach, he could help the Roman Demon, who had regained a sense of security, calm down as much as possible.

However, the harsh reality told him: you're overthinking it.

Roman the Demon fully demonstrated to his demon servants their uncontrollable and chaotic nature.

If the Primal Demon could at least make things easier for both sides out of consideration for being "fellow demons," then the Roman Demon is the type who would love to crash into any car he sees to make a quick buck.

If Yang Hao were here, he would probably say—aren't these just those professional medical malpractice extortionists on Earth?

That's exactly how it is.

Under the watchful eyes of the demon servants, the Roman demons waged their civil war day after day.

It might be for food.

Perhaps it's for the sake of living space.

It may have been due to an accidental physical altercation between one member and another during the activity.

It's also possible that they simply felt the other person had a grudge against them, so they started a fight.

Or perhaps they had nothing better to do, so they started a war.

In short, after the establishment of the Roman Demon Realm, there were as many as 70 civil wars in the eyes of the demon servants alone—the Roman Empire didn't even have 70 countries after it split up, what were you thinking after you became demons?

The demon servant was astonished, but he soon realized that the bigger surprise was yet to come.

During the war, Roman the Devil fully realized the importance of logistics.

They cannot fight or move on an empty stomach.

Therefore, the dozens of collective consciousnesses that Roman the Demon split off from all at once made the same decision.

That is to treat the weaker demons on one's own side, as well as the corpses of enemy demons, as "food".

It must be said that this is an extremely effective change.

This not only relieved their own logistical pressure, but also made the Roman demons stronger than the original demons.

In a sense, many of these well-fed Roman demons could have evolved into higher-level demons—but perhaps they had figured out a pattern from eating their own kind, or perhaps they were worried about being eaten if they got injured.

Many Roman demons could have evolved to a higher level.

But they made the first evolution.

It involves filling one's body with toxins—toxins capable of killing demons. This is unprecedented in demonic history, something that would have virtually no meaning or value to primal demons...

But it must be acknowledged that...

Living in an environment like Roman demons where they prey on their own kind, it is essential for them to evolve poisonous bodies to protect themselves.

However... conflicts are no big deal for demons, a race capable of evolution.

Under the exhausted observation of the demon servants, the Roman demon, who had evolved toxins, hadn't even enjoyed his freedom for a few days before being completely devoured by his fellow demons who had evolved [anti-toxin feeding organs] after being wounded.

Subsequently, these Roman demons, who had eaten their poisonous brethren, wasted their precious evolutionary potential by evolving into bodies that were either thorny or acidic... But why didn't the other demons evolve organs specifically designed for this purpose?

After a dozen or so rounds of eating and drinking, these juveniles that could have become high-ranking demons all turned into something that even the demon servants couldn't describe.

A lump of slime that is neither tasty nor nutritious, takes a lot of time and effort to fight, and may even spread plague and corruption throughout the entire species.

This is the ultimate form of Roman the Demon, who was initially favored by the demon servants.

Because they didn't taste good, the picky Roman demon hardly paid any attention to them.

Because all the evolutionary potential was used on the point of "decaying physical value", these slimes have no value as food at all, so even the lowest-level Roman demons are unwilling to go and make use of them.

Because fighting them would be time-consuming and laborious, the Roman demons would generally avoid the areas where these slimes were active.

Because they brought plague and corruption with them, the demon servants had to let the primal demons deal with the mess—that is, create a cesspool in the demon realm and then find a way to divert these slimes there.

Thanks to them, the primal demons, who had previously suffered no casualties, were ambushed by the Roman demons during this operation... The demon servant was in a real bind: he couldn't possibly let these slimes corrupt the entire Roman Demon Realm, could he?

So, in desperation, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and drag his wounded body onto the battlefield... After a fierce battle and once everything was settled, he quickly led the primal demons to flee—but shortly after returning to the vicinity of the royal capital's mother nest, they witnessed the Roman demons launching an attack on the heart of the demon realm and the royal capital's mother nest...

The demon servant was truly desperate.

Fortunately, there was Prince Garsen in the capital.

He meant that Prince Garsen was a complete waste, but the high-ranking demon lady-in-waiting who loyally cared for him was not.

The head maid seemed to have given everything to Prince Garsen, doing everything she could to provide him with the best—naturally, when faced with the Roman demon who might harm her master, the head maid, also a Roman demon, would show no mercy...

The superior demon's crushing power over the demon larva was undeniable. Thanks to her efforts, the Roman capital and the heart of the demon realm were successfully defended, and the Roman mother nest finally received nourishment from the demons—something that should have been available daily to every demon realm after it began operating normally, much like a human's three meals a day.

Now, the Roman Mother Nest has finally had its first meal... and this meal, eaten only in desperation, is the corpse of its own kind... Although the Roman demons are not primal demons, they are still, after all, of the same kind...

Even the demon servants could feel the intense self-destructive tendencies and unease emanating from the mother nest as it absorbed those chunks of flesh... How could this Roman demon so calmly devour its own kind?

He doesn't understand... he really doesn't understand!

But soon, another wave of despair appeared before the demon servant.

Perhaps it's because they feel...

Fighting ordinary wars like this is just too inefficient.

The collective consciousness of Roman demons has evolved a new war mentality—if we destroy the environment on which the enemy depends for survival, won't the enemy perish on its own?

They were very enthusiastic and began to evolve their weapons specifically to suit the enemy's survival environment.

But the demon servant had something to say.

"Don't you realize... the environment most suitable for the enemy's survival is also the most suitable environment for your own survival?! You've polluted the enemy's territory, haven't you considered that they might also destroy your own environment?! Why?!"

Thousands of years ago, even the centaurs and minotaurs who ran naked across the grasslands would not lay a hand on the grasslands they lived on.

Even in the wars between the Bayerns and the barbarians, they were extra careful to avoid environmental damage.

Even the demons themselves will try to avoid damaging the battlefield environment unless absolutely necessary—after all, those plants and animals can coexist with demons! In a sense, there are even specialized demon subspecies called "Shepherds" and "Growers" in Purgatory... Therefore, the original demons will not interfere with the environment. They will preserve the original ecology as much as possible.

The result is now.

It's one thing for the Roman demons to fight each other and devour their own kind in the Demon Realm.

You people, you don't even spare your own homes?

At that moment, seeing more and more cracks appearing in the sky above the Roman Demon Realm, and watching the mental fog that protected the demons' survival gradually disappear, the demon servants were utterly desperate.

He racked his brains but couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation. But finally, he remembered—hadn't the Romans dismantled the steam factory left by the regent in the same way? But that shouldn't be happening...

You can make money by dismantling a steam factory, but what can you do by dismantling your own homes?

I don't understand!

The demon servant let out a desperate wail.

But the Roman demon will not stop its actions because of the wails of its demon servants.

Soon, Roman's Demon Realm changed.

If, in the beginning, Roman Magic Domain was at most a rough and uneven cog in a machine, with an annoyingly unsightly outer border but a relatively intact interior, then...

Now.

It's like a moldy sandwich, or a beehive damaged in every way.

Holes were visible everywhere, cracks were visible to the naked eye, and a thick smell of blood filled the air, along with what appeared to be... a replica of the "mother nest."

Roman demons are demons too. After a brutal war that destroyed the environment and caused their population to decline drastically, they naturally had the need to reproduce.

Although the demon servants felt that these "mother lairs," simply constructed from countless female demons, were ridiculously weak in both production efficiency and quality, at least the Roman demons had finally shown a positive side to the Demon Realm...

At least they know that they need to reproduce when the population declines.

A final glimmer of hope arose within the demon servant, and on that very day, weakened by a series of events, he sent a message to the Ice Calamity...

And now?

...It's all over.

He sighed.

Ruined.

But there is still a glimmer of hope...

If the Roman demons can continue to multiply and grow stronger in the Roman Demon Realm... then as long as I confirm that the Great Rift of the Demonic Calamity is located in the north of the continent of Elusia and the north of Ysgard, then there is still a possibility of victory.

...The demon servants sighed in the Roman Demon Realm.

Meanwhile, in Constantinople, in Bayrez.

After happily retrieving her custom-made dress from Fingel's side, Nia was communicating with her best friend and boss, Miss Margarita, to confirm Yang Hao's upcoming business trip to Isgard, while also finalizing the elaborate trap they would set specifically for him.

“So… Nia, let’s be clear about one thing—when he comes, the title of Regent definitely can’t be used… I mean, Isgard will preserve the powers that a Regent should have for him, but the title will have to be changed.”

"After all, we are a democratic country."

"Yes, the problem lies in the system—after all, our country is a democratic country with a referendum system. No matter how much the opposition party and the ruling party let me act willfully and recklessly, we still have to deal with the superficial aspects."

"It's like you're a local tyrant, but you still have to vote every four years?"

"almost."

Many things are only put on the agenda for discussion after they need to be faced in practice.

Take the present as an example.

Yang Hao's business trip to Isgard was a done deal—but when he was actually about to arrive, everyone realized that the title of "Regent" needed to be changed in Isgard...

After all, Isgard is a democratic country that has broken away from the imperial system. Although Margarita is indeed the de facto local tyrant, even she must abide by Isgard's constitution and be elected every four years to continue serving as "President".

If Margarita was like this, then Yang Hao was even more so—so this time, figuring out how to give Yang Hao a title that was appropriate for his status but wouldn't make him angry became a small problem during their meeting.