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“Our king, do you still require more food?” Titan 12138 appeared before Lilith without even being noticed.

Lilith stared at the dark colored jerky on Titan 12138’s plate that was accompanied by a few unknown fruits. It was not much, but it was considered a delicacy in the titan village.

“It’s alright, I’m full.” Lilith shook her head.

She felt guilty as the entire village was not able to have even a piece of jerky due to her appetite for fresh meat. But she knew that she could not decline the offer as well, as it might make the titans feel that she would abandon them.

“Oh really? Please do not be so modest with us. We might not be rich, but we have ample food.” Despite her words, Titan 12138 visibly relaxed.

The tribe was barely able to hunt, this meant that their stock of food was drastically reduced. Meat given to their king was the last shred of fresh meat the village had.

“Can I sit here, Your Majesty?”
“Please do.”
“Thank you.”

Titan1213 sat cross-legged, but due to her age, the simple action seemed so hard for her. She had to set down her plate, cross her legs, before finally picking her plate up again.

Titan 12138 picked up a green fruit, wiped it against the cloth given to her by the king a thousand year ago, and took a bite. From the slight frown on her face, one could tell that the fruit did not taste good.

At least it was way worse than the ones Lilith had.

“Titan 12138.”
“I’m here.”
“I have a few questions for you.”
“Of course. I shall answer them to the best of my abilities.”
“That’s great.”

Lilith set her stone plate down on the sand, sat up straight, placed her hands on her knees, and stared straight into Titan 12138’s cloudy eyes.

Her serious expression was made even more pronounced by the dim lighting.

“Do you… really think that I’m the king a thousand years ago?”

Titan 12138 jerked in a sudden movement. A fruit rolled onto the ground, and into the fire pit nearby. Flames licked at the fruit, giving out a pungent smell.

“What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?” Titan 12138 had no time to worry about that fruit.

“Oh it’s nothing, but I’ve had some suspicions about some things.”

Lilith pulled out a black rod-shaped object. It was an artifact left behind by the overpowered transmigrator from a thousand years ago, the Imitation Holy Sword known as Blackie.

“This thing was left by your king. No, according to you, I was the one who left this behind a thousand years ago.”
“That’s right. Are you doubting its legacy?”

“It does belong to that king. There’s no doubt about it.” Lilith swung the Imitation Holy Sword around. With a low hum, a terrifying aura rose from the black object. But the aura was limited to a two-meter radius around Lilith, limited by a magical circle that appeared below Lilith. “But why did you only remember this thing only now, especially when you can tell what oolong tea is?”

Titan 12138’s face grew pale. Her frail old body could barely withstand the raging aura, “Y-your Majesty… What are you saying? Are you implying that I was trying to take the sword for myself?”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Lilith fiddled the Imitation Holy Sword with her fingers, “I just have a feeling that you knew that I’m not your king. The reason you brought me here was because the black devils are attacking, and I’m an outsider. You were desperate.”

“Of course not. I’ve been telling the truth. Why would I lie to Your Majesty?” Titan 12138’s voice was filled with sorrow as she prostrated herself before Lilith and began kowtowing. Tears poured down from her eyes as she spoke, “I did not hand the Imitation Holy Sword to you right away because I forgot about it. Please believe me.”

Lilith moved half a meter to the side away from Titan 12138 while remaining expressionless, “Then what about the changes I observed among the people here?”

“What sort of changes?” Titan 12138 was taken aback.

“The way they treated me. I can feel myself turning into the thing I hate the most. They’re worshiping me as if I’m some sort of deity?” Lilith narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure this is not a trick you’re pulling off so that I’ll stay and help you defeat the black devils?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. They’re probably treating you as such because they’ve heard about your exploits at the black devil camp from me. There’s no trickery involved.”

Titan 12138 began kowtowing even more vigorously. There were traces of blood on her forehead. “I disobeyed the queen’s command and spread the news to keep morale. If I didn’t do that…”

Titan 12138 stood up and pointed at the villagers nearby with a trembling finger.

“Will they still be like this?”

Lilith tilted her head to the side. The atmosphere was lively. Two titans had started fighting because of their boasting. The two men had torn their flimsy clothing made from tree skin during the fight. It was like a wrestling match between two men in their birthday suits.

But none among their neighbors were willing to stop them. Many were even cheering them on. Some were even betting who the winner was. To the titans, this was a rare chance for entertainment.

Lilith could still remember the despair of the titans when they found out that the Day of Darkness was not over yet. If despair was all they know, would they still be having fun like this? Would they still squabble among each other for something so trivial? They wouldn’t be.

“I know I’ve disobeyed an order from the queen. I’m willing to accept any punishment. But please don’t harm others.” Titan 12138 prostrated herself before Lilith again.

Lilith scratched her head. Was I… Being too paranoid?

“Forget about it. Perhaps I’ve thought too much.” Lilith helped Titan 12138 up and healed her with a Minor Healing Scroll obtained from Diana, “I do not like the feeling of being used. I don’t care if this is all a show to guilt trip me into helping you, but since I’ve decided to help you, then I’ll help you to the best of my abilities. So you don’t harm yourself just to appease me. There’s no need for that.” Lilith pointed at the empty plate.

Titan 12138 was greatly touched. Tears poured out from her eyes like the opening of a floodgates.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I’m weak, but I’ll do my best to serve you.”

Lilith slapped herself on the head. Fine! She didn’t even listen to me!

Just then, Titan 12138 leaned closer to Lilith. “I can make sure that the entire village covers their ears at night. They won’t hear you no matter what you do.

“Why would you make them do that?” Lilith’s eyes widened, but she pretended to get mad at Titan 12138, “What if the black devils attack? How will they be able to discover them in time? Cover your ears for only four hours alright? And do it only when I send the signal. This will reduce the risk of falling to a sneak attack by the black devils.”

……
……
……

“What are they?”
“Monsters! Those are monsters!”
“Run! Take the children with you!”

Flames were everywhere. So was the flashing of steel. Shadows with grotesque shapes covered the land. It was like hell. Cries, angry shouts, howls of beasts, were intermingled with the sobbing of children.

But the monsters had no feeling. A race that was thousands of years old would finally be driven extinct by the skeletons of these ‘giants’.

“Chief, we have nowhere else to go!”

The dwarves were met with despair at the edge of the world. They were looking at the middle-aged man at the head of their group.

It was the chief of their tribe. He was the one who led them from slaughter many times. He was the one who gave them hope. They were confident that he would deliver from disaster once again.

But hope was not granted to them.

With all eyes on him, the chief patted the head of the little girl standing by his side, “Everyone, let’s make our stand.”

They knew that they were cornered. In a world where borders between worlds exist, they were like rats trapped in a cage. There was nowhere for them to run. Thus despair turned into courage. Fighting back was their only chance.

But the disparity of their strength was too great. No matter how many creatures their spears fell, many more would take their place.

They were left with nothing but despair. Until a tiny figure descended from the sky. The little girl who had just learned how to wield a spear was shocked.

“She’s… pretty.”

The tiny girl had blond hair and a pair of blue eyes. Her features were just like that of a doll. She was clothed in white dress, wielding a staff as tall as her height. Countless monsters were obliterated with each swing of her weapon.

A beast that attempted to sneak up on the girl was annihilated in the mere fraction of a second. The young girl blinked at the little girl.

“What’s your name?”

But the little girl was in shock.

“Eh? You do not have a name yet?”

The young girl rolled her eyes and immediately came up with a great idea, “You’re short… Why don’t I call you titans? As for you… I shall name you Titan 12138. Why, you ask? Well it’s because that’s a nice number.”