The Executed Sage Reincarnates as a Lich and Begins a War of Aggression

She was wearing pure white clothes which were getting drenched by the rain.

It seemed to be mere clothing at a glance, but it was actually made of magic power.

It was sturdier than armor.

She looked at me from a distance.

Her appearance was the same as I remembered.

It was certainly not a phantom.

She was definitely there.

However, there were some noticeable differences from that person's past self.

Her body now contained an overwhelming amount of magic power.

Much beyond the possible realm for humanity.

Since she contained the Will of the World, the hidden power was so enormous that it couldn't be gauged.

It was as if the world itself had taken a human form.

Indeed, strictly speaking, what I had performed wasn’t resurrection.

It was more of installing her personality and memories into the humanoid form that was created out of an unprecedented method.

There was a high possibility that a bit of her personality and memories had changed due to the defect.1

As I began feeling nervous, I gathered my resolve and talked to her.

“Hero-sama…”

“Dwight, it’s been a long time. I never thought I'd get to meet you again.”

She spoke quietly.

Her dignified atmosphere felt exactly the same as that time.

It made me recall the days of my journey with her, when I was still a human.

At that point, I realized that her personality hadn’t changed.

Despite having incorporated something as absurd as the Will of the World within her, she hadn’t lost sight of herself.

She stood there as an individual with a solid foundation.

I was about to explain the series of events to her.

However, she raised her hand and stopped me from doing so.

“I already know of the situation. You resurrected me, right?”

“…Yes. I wanted you to see the state of the world today.”

Due to the spell's structure, she had a close connection with the Will of the World and the keepsake sword.

Through them, it seemed that she had grasped the information she hadn’t personally seen or heard.

This wise woman had accepted her resurrection and the fact that decades had passed since her death without much confusion.

“When we were executed in the Valley of the Dead, I felt deep regrets, sorrow — and the strong resentment that came from you. I never thought it would turn you into a Demon Lord, but I guess it is just how you are.”

She talked while looking at me.

Even though I was standing in front of her in the form of a black immortal, I couldn't sense any feelings of displeasure from her.

She neither mourned nor rebuked me for falling into the darkness.

On the contrary, she even stated that it was just how I was.

Her sensible gaze was filled with wisdom as she looked at me. 

In response to that gaze, I lowered my head slightly.

“…I'm terribly sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for?”

“I have denied your intention. I couldn’t accept being executed there obediently and chose to embrace the power of the taboo.”

“But you didn’t become a Demon Lord just for the sake of vengeance, did you?”

She asked as she asserted that.

She didn’t seem to doubt her own guess.

Although I had never revealed my true purpose to her, she seemed to have seen through it.

It wasn’t something that could be understood just by flipping through the records.

It was a guess that had taken my personality into consideration.

I guess I couldn’t hide it from her…

We were comrades who had entrusted our lives to each other.

We could understand and guess each other's thoughts to some extent.

In particular, her insight was as sharp as her tongue.

The more I tried to hide it, the more she tried to dig it out.

There was no need for deception or lies.

I decided to reveal my true intention.

“I wanted to maintain world peace. It might have taken a different shape than the ideal future you had envisioned, but it is the result of my own search for an answer.”

I didn’t specify that I had no thoughts of vengeance against humanity.

It was a fact that I had escaped from the Valley of the Dead only out of personal grudge, and had attacked the kingdom soon after.

My disappointment and resignation towards humanity still remained, which was why I had chosen to reign as the Demon Lord.

On the other hand, it was true that I desired for the realization of world peace despite that.

I wanted to succeed in doing what she couldn’t accomplish.

By changing the course of the process, I had tried to lead it to success.

I was sure it wasn’t the best possible result, but I had done everything I could until today.

As she heard my confession, she revealed a friendly smile.

It was a nostalgic expression.

“You are always serious and do things very thoughtfully. Anyways, you are actually both more idealistic and realistic than I was.”

“…So, what do you mean by that?”

“I don’t mean to deny the world peace you have envisioned. It is the answer you have reached at after decades after all. You can be proud of it.”

As she affirmed that, she touched the handle of her sword.

She slowly drew her sword.

She pointed her sword toward me and declared with a calm voice.

“—And despite understanding all that, I choose to confront you.”

“So it is going to end up like this after all.”

“I can sympathize with your thought, but I can’t agree with it. Therefore, I will have to stop you as the hero.”

She said so without hesitation.

Diella had already reminded me earlier, but she had a mentality that was worthy of a hero.

The person I admired the most had revealed her unfading nobility.

At that moment, I understood.

There was a huge significance to this reunion.

It wasn’t as if I had revived her for the sake of her sympathy for my purpose.

Of course, it was also not because I wanted to be destroyed by her hand.

—The only purpose was for the current generation of the Demon Lord to overcome the world’s greatest hero.