In the middle of darkness, a small orb of light suddenly manifests. The orb then gradually grows in size and so does the intensity of its luminosity. When it reaches the diameter of half a foot wide, a butt naked young man with red hair is found standing below it.

That man is a newly born monster named Azrael Demiurge, who is currently wearing the skin he just acquired from devouring the Kingdom of Roheazul’s hero.

"Finally, a human form." Azrael expresses his satisfaction with a smirk as he looks at his right hand before clenching it into a fist. "I really miss this feeling."

(You really did kill the hero, Azrael. Now the kingdom has no defense against the empire.)

The first thing Claire says after Azrael’s new milestone is her concerns about the fate of the kingdom. Although it was Azrael who finished him off, she felt responsible for assisting Azrael achieve his goal.

"With you and the hero out of the picture, the kingdom would be extremely vulnerable to the empire’s advancement." Azrael’s voice echoes in the hallway. "Will you hate me for the reason of your homeland’s destruction?"

(Honestly, much to my surprise, I don’t actually know what feelings I should convey.)

"What do you mean by that?"

(I spent all my hundreds of years of my life in the kingdom. I met many kinds of people, and I have been protecting the kingdom for centuries now. The kingdom has gone through drastic changes, and so do I...)

As the Great Sorceress, Claire has been the kingdom’s court mage for over two hundred years, protecting the nation from internal and external threats. The kingdom’s territory has never been reduced since she took the responsibility, and the people greatly appreciated her efforts.

However, the prosperity brought by the peace sprouted the deterioration of the kingdom’s integrity. Corruption became more frequent, and the power of power had become more prevalent. Before they knew it, external entities had crept through the kingdom’s foundation, further ruining the nation from within.

Claire had taken notice of the kingdom’s integral degradation decades after her appointment. She did not mind it at first, as she thought that the kingdom would take care of it, but it got worse the longer she stayed.

Political parties and factions rose and fell from time to time, disturbing the stability of the nation. Other nations took advantage of the silent chaos and orchestrated conspiracies in the kingdom’s internal affairs. In the current regime, a few nobles have been influenced by the Siafran Empire.

Witnessing the negative changes in the kingdom, Claire has slowly lost her will to protect the kingdom to the point where the king had appointed a hero to please the people when they started noticing that the Great Sorceress had been slacking lately.

For years, Claire stopped taking her position seriously. Even if she wanted to fix it, she had no political power to do so. She was tired of tending the kingdom and started doing things she thought were interesting, such as researching magic and exploring dungeons.

(...and that’s how I ended up here. I couldn’t care less for the kingdom anymore if the thing that would destroy it were the kingdom itself.)

"With the hero gone, the empire would begin its advancement into the kingdom. Is that right? Or are there any other trump cards the kingdom is hiding?"

(If I remember correctly, there are fewer than a dozen awakeners in the kingdom, including me. Amongst them, only the hero and I have awakened powerful abilities related to combat. Now that the hero is gone, I doubt they have the strength to match the overwhelming imperial army.)

"I see. So you don’t care at all?"

(For the kingdom, I hope it would be assimilated into the empire. The empire only wants to take back its former territory, so at least they would replace the lords and implement their fairer laws in it.)

"A unification, huh? How did the empire lose that territory in the first place? And why would it take them so long to take it back?"

(Well, it took place a very long time ago, so the details are quite vague. All I know is that the city, which is now Roheazul’s royal capital, had prospered so well that they declared independence from the then structurally weakened Siafran Empire. At that time, the empire was so unorganized that they didn’t have the military prowess to stop it. Hence, the establishment of the Kingdom of Roheazul.)

Claire continues to break down the kingdom’s history to Azrael. She answers his other questions, and Azrael learns a lot of things in this world.

"So the empire had become so weak that they could not assemble an army to take back the kingdom. I am surprised that they did not break apart."

(Even if the lords want to recede from the empire, they don’t have the power to incite a revolution, and they would have been trampled by the imperial army if they did so.)

"As you said, the empire suddenly underwent a big change when a marquis rose to power and took the throne from the imperial family around seventy years ago."

(Yes. Since his ascension, the empire has been improved in a drastic manner, and they have been slowly regaining their former glory. He was said to be a military and political prodigy. Many accounts stated that he was charismatic and his words could move people’s hearts. Currently, his grandson sits on the throne, continuing his grandfather’s legacy.)

"So he’s like the hero, but probably better," he mutters before realizing they are quite far from the topic. "Regardless, if you don’t care about the kingdom, then you can probably accept its impending destruction."

(I don’t care about the kingdom, but there are things in the kingdom that I care about.)

"Like?"

(Like my properties and my personal servant.)

"By a personal servant, your future vessel for your soul?"

(That’s right. If you don’t mind, can you at least take her away from the kingdom?)

"Does it really need to be her? Why not pick one from them?" Azrael then turns around and approaches a large chunk of ice where Agatha was frozen inside. "Like this one, or that support over there if you want," he says before twisting his upper body and facing it to the spot where Shirley died.

(They are not bad, but I’d rather have those awakeners from before.)

"No, you can’t have those. I want them for another purpose."

Azrael immediately rejects Claire’s request to use one of those awakeners for her vessel. Claire is taken aback by his quick reaction. She does not want to push it further, so she ultimately dismisses the idea.

(I understand, Azrael. I apologize for making such a request.)

"Don’t mind it. Anyways, even if you have chosen one of these, don’t expect me to grant it to you so soon. Do you get it?"

(I...got it. Please do as you please.)

"Alright. After this, I want you to teleport us to the surface. I think it’s about time for me to see the world."

For the first time after over a week of survival in this newly discovered dungeon, Azrael finally decides to escape this place and embark on a new journey in this new reality.