The strong act wilfully, while the weak can only endure; as the strong retreat, the weak can only pray.
Mohe is accompanied by Elf and Ah Xion, looking ever so imposing.
"Mr. Doro and Miss Adriana have already begun their bonding, Elf. If I were to resurrect you, what kind of creature would you want to become? While I’m in a good mood, feel free to make some requests~"
"I... Miss Mohe, resurrection and the like, really..."
Elf showed hesitation.
Mohe looked at her with confusion, "You don’t trust my skills? In this world, except for me, no one can revive someone who’s been dead as long as you have."
"But I... I’m clearly different from how I was before."
"Do you think the resurrected you now is not the same as the past you?" Mohe understood Elf’s point, "But what are you worried about? The past Elf is dead; the one struggling to maintain sanity to see Doro again is you, the one who makes him angry is you, the one he’s willing to sacrifice for is also you — it’s unrelated to the past Elf."
Elf looked at Mohe blankly, "Is it really?"
"Yes, otherwise you’ll have to wait for him to return and ask him yourself."
"If Adriana were to really stimulate your horn, could she kill him?"
"Hmm... My horn essentially possesses the ability to ’harm’ the Hero’s body. Of course, Doro’s body wasn’t inherently indestructible; there are many means to harm it. Whether Adriana can kill Doro depends on her understanding of creation and destruction, i.e., whether she can imagine creating with the horn something that would kill Doro, and whether her understanding of destruction has reached a level capable of erasing Doro from the world — well, I can’t do it anyway."
She said these words confidently, without feeling any shame, after all, she had already been killed by Doro once. At this point, talking about pride and the like is completely unrealistic.
"In other words, unless our Hero really desires death, Adriana can only be laughable. Her plan is indeed perfect; following such a process, given Mr. Doro’s personality, he’ll reciprocate this favor, he’ll tough out her meticulous strategy prepared over a decade, and he’ll accept all her power." Mohe’s smile was so contemptuous, "Logically, I should commend her, as she has managed such results with great effort. However, it’s truly laughable. Frankly, I prefer people like Adeline."
Mohe did not hide her admiration for Adeline: "At least Adeline created the World Reflection and Adeline Metal herself. As for Miss Adriana, her mind is full of borrowing others’ power. She claims to want to kill the Demon King, the Hero, yet in reality, she is more timid and fearful than anyone else. It’s really hard to like her — perhaps someone would like such a girl?"
"Are you saying, timid?"
Despite Adriana having devised such a fearful plan, the Demon King claims she’s more timid than anyone?
Elf couldn’t understand.
"Saintess Charlette thinks she can reach the realm of me and Doro, and now she’s isolating herself, planning to charge into a domain like ours. Meanwhile, Adeline has crafted such a magnificent concept as Earthly Heaven; she believes she can not only reach but surpass us. Although, in some sense, their actions can be considered fearless ignorance, ultimately, they think they can win. As long as they try hard enough, as long as they have enough time, as long as their plans proceed smoothly, they believe they can win."
Mohe was already walking across the wilderness with the two girls, having reached the previous location where the Human Central Empire army had been stationed, although the Thunder Emperor had already retreated the army some distance.
"You should be able to understand that kind of thinking, right?"
Ah Xion and Elf both nodded.
"But Adriana is different." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel~fire~net
Mohe looked in the direction where Doro was, "She understands better than anyone that no matter how much effort she puts in, no matter how cunning she is, no matter how much external aid she borrows... she can’t win against me and Doro. The only outcome awaiting her is defeat."
Talking to this point, Mohe seemed to lose interest, appearing somewhat dispirited, "I dislike people like her. Doing something without hope of winning from the start — this we usually call suicide, or self-destruction — even though I am a terrifying Demon King, I don’t like people who don’t cherish their own lives. People can risk their lives for all sorts of things; it’s a spirit worthy of admiration. But that doesn’t include seeking death ."
The two still didn’t quite grasp Mohe’s meaning.
"Simply put... in the face of fear, some people choose to run away, to flee from fear, some choose to face it bravely, some are even able to overcome it... but Miss Adriana’s idea is... as long as I pretend to fight fear and then die... then I’m freed."
Even Ah Xion, whom Mohe thought somewhat mentally unusual, showed confusion at this moment.
"In the end, it might also relate to her constituents? The so-called nobility’s honor — from the moment she joined the Hero’s squad, she never thought the Hero’s squad, A·Gedora could defeat me, right? Her purpose, from the very beginning, was ’gloriously perishing in battle’ to preserve her last honor as a noble. It has never changed throughout these years."