Lord Shadow

The sigh is long and hard, containing many deep emotions that are hard to verbalize.

The breezy wind of the ocean passes them by as their robes and hairs moves a bit, blown by the wind.

The wind has just enough of strength and just enough of coolness to give it that breezy cold.

Raymond could not help but thought of Hirate words.

'Controlling the Ten Seas'

He knows what it means and the whole world knows what it means.

Anyone who could truly control the current ten seas would shake the dominance of Pandemonium as the top world power.

Though, Raymond doesn't know if that is good or bad for the world.

He looks at Hirate

Raymond could understand Hirate feeling of wanting to once again rose to the top. Before Pandemonium existed, there is only one behemoth in the world and that is the World Government

The vision that Hirate created connected people and they link up with each other. Say what you want about him but it is true that because of him, Japan did not fall into a civil war.

At that time with Hikigaya and Oreki splitting Kanto and Kansai, the feud between west and the east.

Hikigaya mediate between the two, uniting Japan and putting them under the World Government.

From that, he controls the Emperor and uses the Emperor to legitimize the power that he held while stabilizing Japan

then he began contacting people in the world, creating an alliance of strong people.

In the beginning Hirate even contacted people in Norway, Sweden, the European nation to join.

And those who join is aided by the people of the World Government, eliminating monsters and quickly stabilizing the region. If there is no World Government, the initial years after the Fall would be even more chaotic

And for a moment, the World Government is the top force in the world. And then there is the Republic, with Boris uniting the former Russia creating a confederation of allied states.

It is the answer against World Government. Unity or freedom. That is the question they asked the world.

Bu even then the World Government was still at the top, having the advantage of being the first and having a peaceful and safe environment in Japan compared to the rest of the world

Japan is one of the nations who were not affected that much with monsters as most monsters that spawned in Japan was not that dangerous or impossible to kill like the one that appears in China or Australia.

But then, Death Monarch appears. And the moment, he was recognized as the strongest man in the world

Since then a new force appears.

And when Pandemonium was created, it became the most powerful force in the world, owing to one person.

Still, World government is still on the top, number two, second only to Pandemonium. And for years it stays that way.

But now, it is not even the third

The world now recognizes the changing influence between the world powers.

Everyone acknowledges that the number one spot for the most powerful force in the world still belongs to Pandemonium

Many people believe as long as Death Monarch did not die, and the world power did not gang up against him that spot would always be his

However, this state of dominance by Pandemonium is not all bad.

After all, because of it, there is stability in the world and if there is a war between the great powers, they could plead to Pandemonium to mediate the issue

Raymond was lost for words for a second. On how to console Hirate.

His old friend. In the end, he could only sigh and tell him his honest thought

'I know how you feel, Hirate. But, right now, it is not too bad. If we learn anything from the past few years, is that our enemy should not be the other world powers. There are beings outside the sky that began looking at us. And their gaze is not particularly comforting'

Raymond chose not to say too much about Pandemonium dominance.

Hirate nodded.

'I know. But we still have to possess speaking right. I just could not help feeling that we lost a great opportunity'

Raymond smiles as he takes a sip of the milk tea and put it down.

'I will not be too sure about that. I think we still could make a comeback' There is a confident smile on Raymond face

'You're going to meet Death Monarch?' Raymond nodded.

'What do you think he wanted to talk to you about?'

Raymond smiles, closes his eyes and lean back on the chair and said

'I have a pretty good idea what he is going to talk about.' Raymond then explain his thought to Hirate and Hirate frown for a moment before there is a smile on his face.

'I didn't think of that. There is a great possibility that is what he would do. But, are you sure that he is that generous?'

'he helped Hikigaya didn't he? He did not mind it that much. As long as he still sits in the position of the strongest person in the world, there is not many things that would make him wanting. And I believe that Death Monarch of today is more about balancing the world powers'

Hirate nodded. He could see from the previous plan that Death Monarch brought up that he seems to want to settle the affair of the world

It almost feels like he is rushing. But, after talking with Raymond, it seems that Raymond might understand Death Monarch better than him

It might be because they stand at a higher position than him. The position of power. Hirate is different from Death Monarch and Raymond.

They seek different peaks and this is inevitable because they have different aspiration.

'There is many problems' but before Hirate could speak again Raymond held up his hand.

'Wait'

'Wait?'

'For what?'

'There is no reason for us to be so anxious to solve the world problem. Since Death Monarch wanted to settle the world, he must have his own plan. This time, it is better to just go with the flow'

Hirate eyes narrowed.

Raymond is a smart guy, yes, he knows this.

But politics of the world and the complicate relationship between forces and factions, if he could see through it all during his time in the Quorum Council how could he be manipulated by those old foxes and would rather be the Supreme General of the World Government.

It is because even though he is smart, he did not like administrating.

He seems to share the same trait as Death Monarch and the other powerhouse.

Jean is also like this.

He clearly has the power to simply bulldoze all opposition and sit at the highest seat of the Senate yet he keeps his position and did not overstep his position

Yes, some people said that Jean fear Death Monarch.

But, Hirate knows that is not true. Jean might not be as powerful as Death Monarch in terms of explosive power.

But, if push comes to shove and if it is something Jean deemed important enough, he would fight

A coward will not become an Emperor.

Jean before he mellowed down nearly conquered all of Europe.

Many people outside Europe does not know how they come close to being dominated entirely and this is at a time where monsters still roam the Earth wantonly.

Jena not only conquer states and nations, but he also pacifies the nation and states he had conquered by defeating the monsters there, bringing stability and much needed safety.

That is why even though he tore through Europe at that time, and many people hated him, there is also many people who supported him.

To defeat him and halt his advance many European nations banded against him together.

If not for that and the fact that the monsters are all over Europe, Jean advances through Europe would be unimpeded

Hirate knows a lot about Jean deeds because before he joined the Republic, he was a member of the World Government.

Yes, the World Government also works with other European nations to contain him.

That kind of person who fought against the world afraid of someone? Hirate doesn't think so.

And there is also the fact that Death Monarch owes Jean a lot of things.

And they share a secret.

Hirate also knows that the one responsible for the Multiversal Convergence is not Loki.

After all, he made a deal with Loki and he is the one that inform the world that Loki is the culprit.

It was him that made Loki a scapegoat.

Of course, this is a deal between him and Loki. Loki told him to make him a scapegoat.

And Hirate did it.

Not because he wanted to protect Death Monarch.

He always dislikes Death Monarch and he would never do something that intentionally would make Pandemonium stronger

But he did it.

Because for once, he did not do something for himself, or for the World Government but for the world.

Hirate accepted Loki request because Death Monarch must not be the villain of the world. It would make the world unstable and the world would not have been like it is today.

And because of that he very much admire Loki.

With the sacrifice of one person, the whole world is now peaceful like this.

There is no major war between the world powers and while there is hundreds of problems on Earth right now, it is still something that could be resolved and did not affect the world that much

Hirate sighed suddenly

Raymond asked

'Why the sigh?' Hirate laughed and said

'I was just reminded of some past story' he said a she takes a sip. He looks at Raymond, thinking who is instructing him from behind

Jean could not

Jean confronted both Will and Death Monarch. And he even tries to stop them from using the Time Space Tunnel to see the future

So, Jean shares something with Death Monarch. Even though he knew what had happened, he shuts his mouth because he knows to protect the world

And Loki also owes Jean because he shut his mouth.

The world also owes him.

These three points alone would make Death Monarch to hesitate to act against him unless necessary.

Even if Jean took the high Chancellor position, as long as he did not kill Katarina, Death Monarch would overlook the matter because the matters of the Republic is not exactly the matter of Katarina.

So, there is no basis to the rumors that Jean is afraid of Death Monarch.

It is just that these people when they reach the position that they are in, there is no need to conflict with each other when there is nothing worth fighting about

Not to mention there is entanglements of Karma between them.

And as for the reason he did not take any position of power after becoming the Left Chancellor, that is something that puzzled him also.

Hirate admit that he does not understand how these people think of power.

It is the same for Hikigaya.

If he kills the Emperor and take his place and proclaim himself Emperor, it is not like anyone would ever try to contest that position from him

For some reason, these powerful people really does not treat the world powers peak position as something that is desirable.

They seem to seek something else, pursuing something that Hirate does not understand

But, it is because of this trait, that he now looks at Raymond differently. Raymond is the same as them

But today, he is speaking world politics like a seasoned politician

Hirate is frowning and then said

'This is not something you think for yourself did you?' Raymond look at Hirate, his old friend and sighed

'I thought I wanted to act a bit. It seems my acting is not that good if it could easily be seen like this'

Hirate however is not in the mood to joke around

'Who told you this?'

'Our old acquaintance' Raymond did not let the buildup continue as he spits pout the name

'Loki'

Hearing Loki name Hirate clench his fist and his aura inadvertently spills out a bit

'You seem to be angry at him'

Hirate harrumphed

'He deceive me.' Raymond look at him, not understanding what he is talking about

Hirate sighed and then said

'The one giving me the news about the trident was Loki. He clearly knows what that trident could do but he said to me that it is  a simple replica of a divine artifact and that it could help you breakthrough to Divine Comprehension. He clearly could tell me the true power of that trident.' Hirate is basically fuming right now.

Raymond hearing this look at Hirate and then laugh

'Well, you already know that he never speak the full truth. Why would this occasion be different?'

Hearing this Hirate was silent for a few second before he shakes his head and chuckles, he nodded and continue sipping his drinks.

'I really should have known better' and he laughed at himself. The morning in Arturia is peaceful, full of light and hope

Even after all the shocking events yesterday. Because, the world still has Death Monarch.

The morning ended like this as the Sun is getting higher

>>.