Chapter 80: Rejecting Moth to Fire
Mu Continent, Fuyuan City, in the presidential suite on the top floor of the First Hotel.
The necromancer propped himself up with one hand and lounged lazily in a luxurious leather chair.
Through the magical projection floating in the air before him, Moros leisurely watched the amusing scene of the Moth to Fire agents outside the hotel, their minds muddled by Mind Control magic until they looked like fools.
As for how he knew those sharply dressed men came from Moth to Fire, one would have to ask Fuyuan City's powerful elites.
In order to use Moth to Fire's influence to pressure Moros, those elites naturally revealed the agents' origins and Moth to Fire's formidable power to him.
"Heh."
With a derisive snort, Moros shifted his attention and no longer watched the farce outside the hotel.
He believed his spell had clearly conveyed his attitude toward Moth to Fire.
Unless they wished to tear away all pretenses and go to war outright, neither Fuyuan City's elites nor Moth to Fire would make any rash moves again.
With Moros's exceptional intelligence, the moment Fuyuan City's elites told him that Moth to Fire's envoys had arrived, he immediately saw through the Moth to Fire Council's true intentions—they wanted to recruit him.
However, Moros had not the slightest interest in joining Moth to Fire.
Moth to Fire might have been the official organization of the Pre-Collapse Civilization fighting against the Collapse, but it was no good place.
Moth to Fire was rife with internal power struggles.
One could see it from Sakura's attempted assassination of Dr. Mei before she became one of the Flame-Chaser Warriors.
The fact that they could deploy assassins against opponents at the slightest disagreement showed just how brutal Moth to Fire's internal power struggles were.
Even if Sakura's assassination attempt could be attributed to the actions of an individual Human Supremacist Councillor, the existence of the Poison Pupa Unit exposed Moth to Fire's dark side even more directly.
From the moment it was founded, this unit had served Moth to Fire's upper ranks, a blade aimed directly at human society.
Moth to Fire had only truly replaced the United Nations after the Pseudo Black Hole created by the Ninth Herrscher: Herrscher of Rock swallowed the entire Mu Continent.
The Poison Pupa Unit had been established almost alongside Moth to Fire's military forces, and the implications were obvious.
Even if all those dark deeds could be blamed on the era before Dr. Mei took power, the fate of Sakura's younger sister, Ling, completely tore away Moth to Fire's final veil of decency.
Moth to Fire could be so cold and merciless even toward the families of heroes who had fought and bled for it. That alone was enough to reveal its rotten nature.
From the perspective of civilization's continuation, Moth to Fire's existence was necessary.
However, from an individual's perspective, judging Moth to Fire required a more nuanced analysis.
After all, an organization's worth did not depend solely on its contribution to civilization as a whole, but also on its respect and concern for individuals.
Moreover, Moros had not forgotten that the Ocean Miracle, which he, Elysia, and Eden had once traveled aboard, had been attacked by Moth to Fire.
The mercenaries slaughtered by spectres and the California attack nuclear submarine—those alone gave him more than enough reason to teach Moth to Fire a profound lesson.
Now, he had merely turned a group of Moth to Fire agents into idiots instead of storming one of their bases and unleashing Destruction Magic. In Moros's eyes, that already counted as forgiving Moth to Fire.
If they could come for him, then he could go for them.
It could not be that Moth to Fire, merely because it represented the official authority of the Pre-Collapse Civilization, could act without restraint while he had no right to retaliate.
With that understood, Moros's disgust for Moth to Fire was easy enough to understand.
Just as Moros had foreseen, once he clearly expressed his unwillingness to receive Moth to Fire's envoys, Fuyuan City's elites never brought the matter up again.
Although Moth to Fire had already demonstrated power and influence unlike that of ordinary United Nations subordinate organizations, in their eyes, it was still merely an international organization.
When that international organization could not bring them tangible benefits while Moros could offer them the coveted Vampire Transformation Ritual, Fuyuan City's elites naturally would not choose to oppose Moros for Moth to Fire's sake.
In the end, Moros was the one holding the initiative in his cooperation with Fuyuan City's elites.
After offering two slots for the Vampire Transformation Ritual to placate Fuyuan City's elites, the "accidental injury" incident at the Xinke City Collapse Energy Research Institute was casually brushed aside.
That was easy enough to understand.
In the eyes of those elites, the lives of the researchers and guards at the Xinke City Collapse Energy Research Institute were utterly insignificant compared to their dreams of immortality.
After properly dealing with the aftermath of the minor Collapse incident in Xinke City, Moros calmly cast the adventure spell Summon Creature.
Amid the chanting of an arcane incantation, a terrifying colossal beast with a wingspan of over twenty meters—a Spectral Dragon—appeared before him.
Roar!
With a low growl, the Spectral Dragon's enormous body sprawled across the ground, allowing the necromancer to climb onto its head.
Riding such a giant beast was neither easy nor comfortable, but its unparalleled majesty and overwhelming presence made it all worthwhile.
More importantly, Moros did not possess precise teleportation coordinates for the Far East.
If he chose commercial aviation, not only would safety be difficult to guarantee, but it might not even be faster than the Spectral Dragon.
Since that was the case, why would Moros not ride the Spectral Dragon and fulfill the wish of being a necromancer?
As for the Death Mana emitted by the Spectral Dragon, along with the freezing cold and fierce winds at high altitude, they were merely minor problems that someone of Moros's caliber as an Ashan spellcaster could solve with a little magic.
Because Moros had not used illusion magic to conceal his movements, every capable nation on the planet learned of his journey.
Who else could travel while commanding an undead dragon besides Moros, the Collapse Energy-adapted individual who called himself a necromancer?
Yes, thanks to the appearance of the Herrscher of Reason, the Pre-Collapse Civilization had developed an extremely unusual understanding of the abilities that could be achieved by enhancing the human body with Collapse Energy.
Thus, even now, Earth's rulers had yet to realize that Moros's supernatural abilities were not a variant of Collapse Energy.
Because every nation had confirmed the existence of the Spectral Dragon and Moros, the countries whose airspace he openly crossed chose to turn a blind eye.
That was the advantage of establishing the image of someone who always sought revenge over even the smallest grievance.
Based on what the nations along his route knew about Moros, if they dared to attack him with anti-aircraft missiles, he would certainly not hesitate to cast Curse of the Underworld upon their cities.
During the Xinke City incident, Moros had already set a precedent by casting Curse of the Underworld without regard for survivors.
Therefore, every nation understood that Moros would not compromise in the slightest for the sake of civilians.
Chapter 81: Arriving in the Far East and Seeing Elysia Again
The nations whose airspace Moros openly crossed while riding the Spectral Dragon could turn a blind eye to his existence, but the government of the Far East, as Moros's destination, could not take the same attitude.
Yet the Far Eastern nation did not have the courage to intercept the Spectral Dragon.
There was no helping it. Moros had already displayed destructive power comparable to nuclear weapons during the Collapse incident in Xinke City.
Under such circumstances, the Far Eastern nation's politicians could only hold meetings.
No politician dared shoulder the responsibility of allowing an obvious danger to move freely within the country.
Yet by the same logic, no politician dared speak up and call for intercepting Moros.
After all, if they proposed it, if the interception was truly carried out, and if something went wrong, they would be held responsible as well.
Clearly, the Far Eastern politicians were unwilling to take a risk that could directly end their political careers.
Thus, even after the Spectral Dragon landed on Honshu, the emergency meeting held by the Far Eastern politicians had produced no substantive results.
However, such delay might have been the Far Eastern politicians' strategy, because by then, whether to intercept the Spectral Dragon was no longer the focus of discussion.
The issue facing the Far Eastern politicians had become how to handle Moros's arrival and whether to make contact with him.
That was the effect of Moros dropping the fifth-tier dark magic, Curse of the Underworld, on the Xinke City battlefield.
Faced with such a powerful individual who had already proven his strength, no one truly wished to provoke him.
Thus, after intense debate, the Far Eastern government reluctantly reached a consensus: as long as Moros did not cause any major trouble, they would pretend not to see him.
It was not the first time Far Eastern politicians had buried their heads in the sand.
To them, if they could not see a problem, then the problem did not exist.
Of course, the Far Eastern politicians had also considered the possibility of Moros causing a major incident.
It was just that...
Did they not still have their all-purpose bowing craftsmanship?
At worst, they would bow!
If one bow was not enough, then they would bow again!
To become a politician in the Far East, one absolutely could not lack the spirit of bowing craftsmanship.
Moros did not care in the slightest about the Far Eastern authorities' thoughts.
In the eyes of a Legendary mage, the attitude of a nation without even nuclear weapons was not worth paying attention to.
Even if Moros, this Legendary Rank necromancer, was admittedly a bargain-bin Legendary mage.
Against a nation with the Far East's level of strength, he could still handle matters with ease as long as he possessed a Demiplane.
Therefore, after sending the Spectral Dragon back to the Demiplane, Moros continued at his own pace toward Osaka City, where Eden was about to hold her personal concert.
At the same time, he did not forget to release over a hundred spectres and scatter them throughout the towns and cities of Honshu as anchors for the Demiplane's passageways.
Although Eden was still somewhat inexperienced compared to the superstar who would come to embody the word art in the Pre-Collapse Civilization, her personal concert caused an enormous sensation beyond Moros's expectations.
Fanatical fans from across the Far East and even around the world flocked into this historic city, bringing it unprecedented prosperity and greatly boosting its fiscal revenue.
However, Moros could understand the craze.
Not only did Eden possess flawless beauty and a dreamlike singing voice, but more importantly, she was untouched by any scandal.
Such an extraordinary image naturally earned her widespread affection and adoration.
Standing before the grand entrance of Osaka Dome, Moros looked at the orderly fans brimming with anticipation, and the corners of his lips could not help but rise into a knowing smile.
As Eden's close friend, he was sincerely happy for her tremendous success.
"Hi, Moros, over here!"
Just as he was immersed in that joy, a familiar and sweet voice pierced through the crowd's noise and caught Moros's attention.
He turned and saw a beautiful woman with long pink hair standing nearby, smiling as she waved at him.
At that moment, the Pink Fairy Lady wore an ivory dress and delicate high heels. Graceful as a blooming tulip, she looked incomparably beautiful and captivating.
"Ely, why are you here?"
"Mm-hm."
A flawless smile bloomed across Elysia's sweet, lovely face as she cutely blinked at him.
"Of course I came to pick you up~"
Hearing Elysia's answer, Moros's heartbeat involuntarily quickened.
He gazed deeply into Elysia's blue eyes, feeling the Pink Fairy Lady's sincere and pure affection.
Moros knew that his feelings for this adorable pink-haired girl had long surpassed the boundaries of friendship.
Not yet. I'm still not strong enough.
Legendary mages were indeed powerful, but for Moros, who had only advanced into the Legendary realm through the Hero Panel, he possessed merely Herrscher-level strength at present.
In this era fated for destruction, strength of that level was still far from enough.
Suppressing the stirrings in his heart, Moros smiled and spoke.
"This is truly an honor."
At his words, a proud smile spread across Elysia's face as she replied arrogantly.
"Of course it is. I'm the Pink Fairy Lady, after all!"
Then, she elegantly extended her hand in an inviting gesture, her voice soft and sweet.
"Eden's concert is about to begin. Let's go inside."
The Pink Fairy Lady's movements carried an air of nobility and elegance, as though she were inviting Moros to a grand banquet.
"Mm!"
Moros accepted Elysia's offered hand without hesitation. Feeling the warmth of her palm, a warm current surged through his heart.
As Eden's close friend, Elysia naturally had concert tickets in hand, no matter how sought-after they were.
Moros, having arranged matters with Eden in advance through magical communication using a Spectre Jar, likewise obtained a ticket with an excellent seat.
In fact, given Moros's current strength and status, even without a ticket, the bureaucrats of the Far East would have rushed to offer him the best seat.
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