12 A Tale Of Past

"So, what did you mean when you said that you are the 'True God'?" Haruto asked as he sat on one of the thrones Aki had summoned there.

"Exactly, what I said," Aki replied; he was sitting on the second throne in front of Haruto.

Haruto stared at him with a look on his face, like he wanted Aki to say more about it.

"Alright alright, I will explain everything," Aki said with a sigh and crossed his legs.

"By the term, 'True God' means that I am an omnipotent multiversal being, nothing exists after me. I observe and keep an eye on the Gods just like they observe the lower races."

"And what business does this omnipotent multiversal being have with me?" Haruto asked sarcastically.

"You remember how you died in your previous life right?" (Aki)

"Yes, somehow my virtual world got mixed with your so-called *Realm of Gods* thing and a stupid goddess destroyed my world which crashed the program causing my death. I think this is the most complicated way someone has ever died with."

"Exactly!" (Aki)

"So what about it?" Haruto said.

"It was me who planned the whole damn thing, about your death and reincarnation."

"What!" Haruto said as stood up from his throne in shock.

"Why are you acting like you had no clue? You knew that your virtual world is connected to an unknown place through a portal in space-time."

"Huh?"

"That thing, you had found out why there is no storage limit in that server right?"

"So I was right." (Haruto)

"Seriously!, Now sit down and listen without interrupting!"

"The person who indirectly killed me is saying to sit down and listen," Haruto said and sat back on the throne.

"You wanted to know why Hanako killed the king right?"

"Yes"

"It's connected with the war which happened three-hundred-nineteen years ago—"

"Wait for a second, what war?" Haruto interrupted and asked.

Aki stared at him badly, he just said not to interrupt, and yet.

"Don't tell me you never tried to learn about the history of this world."

"No, I didn't." (Haruto)

Aki slammed his palm on his head with the amount of dissatisfaction he had just now.

"Okay, now listen I am going to tell you everything from the very very beginning, and if you interrupted again! I will be sending you directly to hell."

"Okay." (Haruto)

"Around three-hundred and nineteen years ago from now, a war broke out between the demons and humans. It was a great war that continued for thirty years. What's surprising is that no one knew the actual reason behind it; the soldiers were fighting just because of the feeling of nationalism and the orders which came from their high command. It really was a great war, magic spells were used which were far more destructive and deadly compared to what they use now. Some fights even changed the land geographically. The war continued and the population of both the races decreased drastically; that was the time when dragons interfered in the war to stop this blood-shed—"

"Wait dragons?"

Haruto tried to ask something but stopped when he received a death glare from Aki.

"This war was causing problems to other races and nations as well. Then dragons, as the strongest race tried to form a peace alliance between humans and demons, but every time they held a meeting fights occurred between the representatives of both the races."

"But what is the connection of Hanako from a war of past?" (Haruto)

"You will understand soon."

"That was the time when the Demon Lord and the Legendary Hero of that time came in contact which each other outside of the battlefield, they meet in a conference arranged by dragons. The Demon Lord and the Hero were the ones who led the army of their races, after a long time they also realized that there is no reason to fight if they don't the exact cause behind it. They also wanted to stop this war but were unable to do anything directly because they were carrying the hopes of the people of their races, the anger of families whose members got caught in the flame of war, will of people seeking revenge"

"I somehow understand that; If you see it from the people's point of view then forming an alliance with the enemy will be more or less seen as an excuse for surrendering because you can't win." (Haruto)

"But that meeting changed everything, when they talked with each other they came to know that they really were fighting for no reason and neither of the parties knew the reason behind the war."

"Eventually they came up with a plan to stop the war, few days after that conference they meet in an unknown place without telling anyone and decided to kill each other. The reason being that after losing the strongest person who led the force, both the armies will lose coordination and somehow the war will end. They meet and stabbed each other, and just like they had planned; the war ended."

"So where did it get wrong? Killing themselves for others is a great sacrifice but what does it have to do with Hanako three hundred years later?" Haruto asked.

"I know how things played out because I was watching them from above, none of the races know how their strongest troop perished and they still blame each other for this. The demons think that the Hero invited the Demon Lord alone in a meeting and assassinated him there and that same goes with Humans as well."

"So what you are trying to say is that this is a sort—of revenge? But why does she want revenge for a guy who died several hundred years ago?"

"Think about it a little," Aki said; he wanted Haruto to figure it out by himself.

Haruto started thinking for a reason, putting his hand on his chin while carrying a serious look on his face. This thing 'was' important for him, the reason behind this also carried the reason for the death of his friends.

[Why she took the revenge on a king instead of a hero? What will she gain from this? What connection does she has with the demon lord?] All these thoughts were coming into his mind but then— suddenly something clicked in his mind.

[Connection with the demon lord? When she revealed herself in front of me she mentioned that she is also a demon lord! This could be it, maybe I found the reason.]

"Are demon lords immortal?" He hurriedly asked Aki.

"Hmm, well that's a tricky one. They indeed are immortal and mortal at the same time."

Haruto gave him a confused look, asking for the details.

"To put it simply, a demon lord and hero are both immortal. A demon lord can only be killed by a hero and a hero can only be killed by a demon lord, their aging stops after a certain period and they can't be killed by any other means."

This was it; this answer cleared all the confusion he had.

"So Hanako is the daughter of the demon lord who got killed?" He said, not fully sure but this was the only reason he could think of.

"So you got it," Aki replied with a grin on his face, it's like he knew Haruto will find out. But the reason he wanted Haruto to find this out by himself was something else, something bigger. The kings' assassination and the death of his friends were just the tip of the iceberg.

"I guess now you also know the reason why she went for the king." He asked Haruto with the grin still on his face.

The tension on Haruto's face grew, he had discovered the whole plot behind this assassination and it was terrifying. The roots of hate and revenge were much deeper than he thought.

With a fake smile on his face, he said—

"I guess me and my friends got ourselves involved in someone's master plan."