An Aura Farmer's Guide to Another World
Chapter 67: The Royal Council

Chapter 67: The Royal Council

Third PoV

Location: Queen’s Palace

Hours after the funeral, Queen Violet convened an emergency meeting with the five heads of the Demon Army.

The dark room was lit by a single chandelier suspended above a round table, its white walls adorned with intricate gold flower leaves.

The Queen sat upon a majestic throne, wearing a crown embellished with colorful pearls. Her red lips and crimson eyes starkly contrasted with her silver hair, which glowed with a faint, white aura.

Around the same round table, the five generals of the Demon Army sat in silence.

Zaza, the head of the House of War and chief commander of the Demon Army, a four-star general, was seated opposite the Queen.

Beside him sat Michael, the Head of the House of Beast, a three-star general in charge of beast folk.

Lana, a two-star general and the head of the House of Sinners, overseeing intelligence, was seated beside the Queen, clad in a green Kimono.

Next to her was Susu, a one-star General and the Head of the House of Lust, a Succubus in charge of Teleportation.

The last person seated around the table was Jonathan, a one-star general and the head of the House of Greed, responsible for the Demon Economy.

Queen Violet surveyed the presence of her Generals, her hand resting on a large map that covered the entire table. She picked up a pen made of white feathers and tossed it to the center of the map.

The pen hovered above an uneven circle marked ’Demon Empire’, rotating slowly as all the Generals watched. "A crusade led by two hundred nations attacked the Demon Kingdom one thousand years ago," the Queen began, her voice a low thrum. "They took everything from us and murdered the first creation to ascend to Godhood."

The pen moved in a slow circle on the map until it touched ten massive islands. "The ten families who led the crusade massacred our kin and consumed the heart of the Demon King, ascending to Godhood afterward."

The pen then drifted over a red ocean that separated the eleven massive continental islands, eventually returning to the demon continent at the map’s center. "The Queen cried rivers of blood after the Demon King’s death. Her tears, red like wine, covered the entire world, carving it into eleven separate islands. Her grief elevated her to Godhood, and she disappeared as the Nameless God. Until now, her tears have protected the Demon Empire from the rest of the world, preventing outsiders from landing on our shores."

Queen Violet unchained the necklace from around her neck, placing the beautiful, tear-shaped purple pearl, cracked at its center, onto the round table.

"After a thousand years, the time for revenge has arrived," the Queen declared, her voice hardening. "We will conquer the world and unleash the wrath of our fury. The Ocean has gone into slumber with the birth of a new Vessel."

Zaza, seated across the table, stroked his short beard, his gaze fixed on the cracked pearl necklace before the Queen. "Your majesty, are you telling us that this human is truly the vessel?" he asked.

The Queen glanced at Zaza, then tossed the necklace toward him. "It cracked earlier today during the funeral," she explained. "The soul of the Demon King temporarily possessed Liam Becker when the combined aura of all the nobles seeped into his mana heart. His blue eyes, I have no doubt, belong to the Demon King."

Zaza observed the cracked pearl, then passed it to Michael. The pearl made its way around the table before returning to the Queen. "Do you think we can truly revive the Demon King in a human vessel?" Zaza questioned, a hint of skepticism in his tone. "I have doubts whether his body can handle such immense power."

"According to the intel I received, his body is already falling apart from using level one skills," Lana interjected, her voice sharp.

"Why don’t we just kill him and find a better vessel afterward?" Jonathan chimed in, orange light reflecting off his bald head.

The Queen tied the necklace around her neck, tucking the pearl beneath her attire. "We waited a thousand years for the demon vessel. We don’t have time to waste."

Susu leaned in, her forearms resting on the table. Her beauty was unparalleled, rivaled only by the Queen herself. "Liam is a Succubus," she purred, "he should have been placed under the House of Lust. I would train his body and soul to perfection, turning him into a perfect host for the return of the Demon King."

Michael interlaced his fingers and rested his elbows on the table, revealing rows of sharp, beast-like fangs. "There is no cause for concern," he stated. "Liam must be fed the fragments of the Demon King stolen by the Gods—ten fragments scattered across the empires. Once these ten vessels left by the Gods in this realm are eliminated, Liam will ascend to Godhood, and his body will be claimed by the true Demon King."

The Queen gestured, and the levitating feather above the map swiftly returned to her hand. "We have agreed," she stated, her voice resolute. "We will avenge ourselves upon the Gods. We will slay their vessels, feed their cores to Liam to awaken the true Demon God, who will tear reality apart and lead us into the Realm of the Gods."

The five Generals nodded their approval to the Queen. A wave of silence then settled over the room as Lana gracefully took the feather from the Queen and dipped it into red ink.

She stood up and drew ten ’X’ marks on the map, each positioned over one of the ten empires. "Over the years, I have visited these Empires in secrecy, establishing intelligence bases at their capitals. What I’ve observed is that they have all been transformed into lost cities. The average lifespan there is forty years; something is slowly draining the mana of the residents, causing their early death. Outside the fortresses of the Royal Capitals, villages and towns are affected by the plague and turn into monsters overnight. Within the Royal Capitals, we must find and eliminate the ’key.’ Doing so will reveal the true nature of the lost city and enable us to find the fragments of the lost Demon King’s heart."

Zaza stood, his veins pulsing as he clenched his fist, and stared at Lana. "Are you telling us we must first find and kill the ’key’?" he demanded. "You know very well that when the key to a lost city is killed, all inhabitants with low mana will immediately undergo mana reversion. Each capital city has a minimum of ten million inhabitants! What makes you think we can find the person who is the key?"

Lana’s feather landed on a small island adjacent to the Demon Empire. She looked at the mark, then lifted her chin to meet Zaza’s gaze. "The Demon King can see through the illusion of the lost city," she explained. "Liam, with his ’Ocean Eyes’, should be able to locate the key. To test this theory, I will lead the Night Squad to Fish Island. If Liam succeeds in finding and eliminating the key, it will simplify our task immensely, far better than a widespread killing spree. For the Royal Capitals, preserving our combat power and focusing solely on our target—the vessel of the Gods—will be essential."

Zaza returned to his sitting position, ruffling his white hair. "The order has already been given to clear all the inhabitants of Fish Island before they turn into monsters," he stated. "A battalion of 5,000 soldiers has been dispatched. I will give you only a week to locate and kill the key. Once that time has passed, my troops will move in to do the job."

Lana returned to her seat, placing the feather on a small rectangular piece of wood. A grin spread across her face as she shot a glance at Zaza. "You should be thanking me for my genius idea," she began. "If Liam can locate the key to a lost city, we won’t have to start a war every time we go after the capitals. All we need to do is kill the key, and much of the city will turn into monsters. We simply locate the person stealing mana and eliminate him; he is most likely to be a vessel of the Gods."

The flickering candlelight drew the generals’ attention back to the Queen. "We will meet again in one month to finalize our plans," she announced. "By the beginning of next year, our first target is the Forest Empire."

In unison, the Generals bowed their heads, their voices a synchronized chorus of "As you wish, Your Majesty." Then, with a rustle of movement, they rose and exited the meeting room.