Dimensional Travels: World at War-Chapter 92: Destroy them

Mithrael sat in his office. Mana simmered around him, the air shimmering as he held his wedding ring. He glowered as he looked out past the skyline. What was left of the Esponia mountains hung against the sky. The air heated up as his mana exploded around him. Tears quietly fell down his face. "You would throw away our entire existence to be with mortals?" He pounded his hand against the desk, shattering it. Another pulse of mana flashed out before he looked at himself in the mirror. As his mana raged around him, he realized he was destroying the room. He grabbed onto the armrest, his fists clenching as he released the mana around him. After calming down, he looked out past the mountains. "Very well, Trephania. You will know. You will learn the height of your own folly."

Sighing, he called for his assistant. He took a deep breath to compose himself as Misao walked into the room.

"You called, my liege?" The woman said as she kneeled.

"Yes. Call for a meeting with Hoaz and the other Generals. Tomorrow, we will meet with the heroes and discuss plans to attack. I am tired of waiting. We must crush the pagans and finally overtake that tiny nation."

Misao nodded as she stood up. "By your leave, sire."

She left the room, leaving Mithrael alone with his thoughts.

While waiting for Misao to return, a guard ran into the room. "Sire! Urgent report."

Mithrael reclined in his chair as the man kneeled. "What is it?"

"Sire! The bodies of Hero Janea and Hero Fred have been found."

Mithrael stood up, his eyes cold as he looked down at the man. "Retrieve the bodies and bring them to a medical examiner. I want to hear the cause of death as soon as possible."

The soldier gulped as Mithrael stood over him; he stayed in place while feeling the pressure emanating from Mithrael. "Yes, sire."

"Dismissed."

After the soldier left, Mithrael looked down at his destroyed desk. His eyes flickered with mana before he got up. He walked down the hallway and saw Misao. "Have someone clean my office of the debris and bring me a new desk. I am going to go visit General Hoath."

The assistant nodded, hiding her confusion behind a smile. "As you wish, sire." She said while leaving to carry out his orders.

Mithrael continued his journey, finding General Hoath’s office and walking into the room. The two heroes and Hoath were standing over a map, discussing strategy, when Mithrael entered. "My liege?" Hoath said, looking up at the emperor.

He kneeled, the heroes doing the same.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Mithrael waved his hand.

"I do not want you three to kneel for me in private."

They stood. Mithrael sat at Hoath’s desk, looking at the map. "I apologize for taking your desk, General Hoath. It seems mine needed some reconstruction. I hope you do not mind me taking command of it for the time being."

Hoath nodded. "It is of no matter, my lord. I am merely on this earth by your mercy. I am yours to command. Whenever you- "

"Cease the flattery. I need your tactical knowledge, not your worship."

The general looked down, sighing. "As you wish, my lord."

Mithrael then turned to the heroes. "I hope your stay in the Empire has been to your liking. If there is anything that you need, request it from your personal assistants."

Josh spoke up. "Yes, these past few days have been quite enjoyable. Thank you not only for saving us but for giving us luxury. I grew up poor, so being able to eat whenever I want is quite new to me."

Justin agreed. "I wasn’t expecting to be treated so well. I apologize for my disappointing thoughts. Back in our world, Empires were known for their evil proclivities. Especially empires with brutal histories of conquest. I came here with the expectations of finding all sorts of vile acts, but after having some interactions with Empire soldiers and civilians, I see that is not the case."

Mithrael smiled as he looked at the two men. "I am happy to know that you are enjoying your time in my empire. Enjoy your free time for a little while longer. My men have informed me that in ten days from now, they will be ready to begin the assault. I trust that you both will be ready for the operation by then?"

The two heroes nodded. "Yes, sir. I have heard tales of what the other soldiers have done here in the empire. Some of those stories make me shudder. It is hard to imagine someone from our world acting so heinously, but it does make sense if I think about it."

Mithrael paused, side-eyeing the General. "What do you mean, Justin?"

Justin looked up, his eyes glowing with red mana as his fists clenched. "General Hoath took me to see the villages on our side of Esponia. All those dead bodies and charred remains of the villagers will forever churn my stomach. I could never imagine doing such barbaric acts."

Mithrael sighed, crossing his legs as he studied the map. "Yes. Human depravity, when given power, knows no bounds. That is why God steps in. Unfortunately, your world had never received such guidance. I am sure if a God were there on your planet, all the warring and chaos would have been erased."

Mithrael took out a bag of coins, handing it to Justin. "Go to the bar. Drink. It is on me. I am sure that after you have seen such horrible things, you will need to relax. My General never should have taken you out there."

Justin shrugged. "Apologies for the disrespect, your majesty. I would just like to say that both Josh and I were soldiers. Even though our world is not like that, there are still pockets of people who act with that same level of terror and evil. We were in the middle of fighting one such group. While we are not monsters that can look away and feel nothing, we also know how to compartmentalize loss of life."

Mithrael chuckled while throwing the bag between the two men. "Regardless, I believe it would be best for you two to explore city life before heading to the front lines. You have not yet had any time to relax or enjoy yourselves."

The two heroes sighed and looked at each other before nodding. "We’ll take you up on that offer then."

After the heroes had left, Mithrael turned to Misao. "Follow them. Ensure the soldiers act friendly and kind. Make sure their assistants are tending to their every need. We cannot afford to lose the only strategists capable of going up against these otherworlders."

As Mithrael was giving Misao instructions, a guard came into the room, kneeling. "Sire, the bodies have been brought to the medical examiner." Mithrael nodded, standing up. "Good. Take me there. I want to see their bodies for myself."

Misao left to follow Mithrael’s orders, while the guard led him to the medical examination room. Once inside, Mithrael noticed a few guards. "Everyone except for the medical examiner, leave."

The guards left without question, while the examiner remained kneeling, waiting to be addressed. Mithrael walked over to the bodies. There was no indication of violence or struggle. They seemed to be sleeping. "Stand. What caused these two to perish?"

The examiner stood, exhaling as she handed Mithrael a note. "Milord, I didn’t show the others this, but it appears these heroes took their own lives."

Mithrael read the note with a stone face, his eyes cold as he looked over the note. "This information does not leave the room."

The examiner nodded. "As you wish, sire."

Misao walked into the room, and Mithrael handed her the note.

"It seems prince Heith overstepped his bounds again." Mithrael growled as he pulled the sheets back over the heroes’ bodies. "Using these children to massacre Empire villages... How despicable. I am loathe to call that wastrel my son."

Misao read the note and shook her head. "They took their own lives after realizing they were simple pawns." She whispered as she looked at the examiner. "Has anyone else read this note?"

The examiner shook her head. "As far as I am aware, none of the guards that recovered the bodies knew of the note. They were merely concerned with getting the bodies to me for my examination."

"Good. Burn the bodies and the note. I want this evidence erased from existence. These heroes suffered enough due to my own inadequacy. I will not allow this information to taint their legacies." Mithrael said as he looked at the sheets one last time.

"Come, Misao. We have a war to prepare."

Mithrael walked into a new room he had prepared in the castle. After hearing from Justin that in their world there was a small room with a select number of leaders gathered to make decisions, he decided to mirror that. Inside the room, General Hoaz, and the other Generals waited. They remained seated as Mithrael sat down.

"The Heroes will not be joining us today. Let us discuss the preparations for our new warpath given all that they told us over this last week. These otherworlders and Riemskin have been allowed to exist for too long. We must make them submit. We will destroy them."