The Extra Wants To Live

Carl needed to appear to be acting according to the other person\'s intentions.

To do that, he needed to act \'strategically,\' as if advancing towards the real Ishul.

There wasn\'t much time. For now, he had no choice but to believe that Harmon would do well.

***

"Oh, yeah, that\'s right. It\'s not over yet. Not yet."

Garten waved his hand and gave a vague nod. There was no threat, not even if there was a Master. However, unlike Garten, the unidentified entity seemed to be observing the situation very carefully.

"Carl Feld Hardion was not in the plan. Part of the plan has already fallen apart and is out of our hands, and now…."

"That\'s why we\'re here now. To solve that unplanned problem."

"It\'s not us, it\'s you. I won\'t interfere."

"What a bad guy."

Garten clicked his tongue and pulled his hand out of his eye socket. A single black eye suddenly appeared and swiveled around, piercing through the darkness.

"…."

But when Garten opened his eyes, the being had already disappeared.

"...Shit."

Garten muttered softly, as if spitting out his displeasure.

That really made him feel bad.

He didn\'t even know if the entity was a person in the first place. Garten got up, grumbling. Before he knew it, his eyes had disappeared again and his drooping eyelids were sunken.

Although Garten had no eyes and was in pitch-black darkness, he acted as if he could see everything clearly.

He put on the robe he had taken off and pulled the hood down. His flowing black hair obscured his unsightly, sunken eyelids.

"It\'s time to go breed those stupid pigs."

Garten touched his face, grumbling with amusement.

The door squeaked open, and light cut through the darkness like a sword. Garten\'s smooth, white chin and delicate hands, covered in a robe, sparkled in the light, and as he stepped out the door, the room was briefly illuminated.

The shadows that had been huddled in the dark corners of the room dispersed in all directions the moment light hit them.

Hundreds of eyes that had been hurriedly running away from the light, their nerves twitching, gathered together in a corner again as the door closed and darkness fell.

After waiting quietly in the room where Garten had left, they started to wake up one by one, crawling up the wall and escaping through a small gap.

The target, the 4th Prince of the Empire and the closest legitimate bloodline to the throne after the 1st Prince Aric, had walked into the trap of his own accord.

They were originally aiming for Aric, but Carl wasn\'t bad either. Anyway, they wanted someone fit to become emperor.

"Prophet."

Garten stepped outside, his pure white robes fluttering as he walked, and as he passed, people bowed their heads and prayed.

"Those evil beings are rushing towards us with swords drawn to disrupt our great undertaking."

Garten raised his head, his hands hanging down, and spoke solemnly. As he opened his mouth, the believers of the Church of Universal Equality hastily took out parchment and charcoal to transcribe the words of the Prophet Garten.

Expensive items such as good quality paper and pens were the objects of the aristocracy and should be condemned.

"For Duren said that the most wicked demon, who disturbs the world\'s laws, will come and test us himself. This is surely the devil of Hardion, who lines up all equal beings and greedily devours the wretched ones who have been thrown from the highest to the lowest, has sent forth his hungry children."

The faces of those who were transcribing Garten\'s words froze stiffly. Did that mean the prince of the empire came in person?

Aric would not have stepped forward himself, and he would not have sent out Adrian without any basis.

Besides, princes who were too young would not have been sent out for such work. In that case, the only ones left were Ias, who became a Master last year, or Archduke Carl, who was praised as a hero in the eastern part of the empire.

"The children of the devil who ate the flesh of corpses and licked their blood from the east are rushing towards us."

"The one who plants laurel trees…."

The believers of the Church of Universal Equality groaned in fear. But at the same time, they were also confused.

There was no one in the Empire who did not know Archduke Carl, the \'Laurel Planter.\'

It was both a tribute to the laurel wreath, a symbol of the invincible victory of Carl, and applause for his heroic actions in saving the suffering subjects of the empire.

In the Church of Universal Equality, fighting against such a Carl as an enemy was difficult both in battle and mentally.

As the most noble member of the imperial family in the empire and yet caring for the common people, Carl\'s mere presence served as a suppressor to the cries for the Equality of All People.

"Do not be afraid. Do not doubt. All things are equal before Düren, and Düren\'s love embraces everything without shadow. Düren believes that we will be able to overcome this test."

Garten said this, then smiled gently.

"Also, no matter how evil a being may be, in the face of Düren\'s love, he is just a child yearning for his mother\'s embrace. When he too faces himself naked before Düren, he will realize that he is just one of the many humans in this world."

"Prophet."

"Düren…."

At Garten\'s words, the believers knelt and prayed.

Yes, if Archduke Carl were truly a hero who cared for the people of the Empire, he would be able to realize that he was just a shameful sinner like them when he stood before Garten, the prophet of the Equal Rights Church.

There was no need to be afraid.

Did not the prophet Garten of Düren accompany them?

\'It\'s fun, but I won\'t be able to do it for long. I\'ll get sick of it. After I turn Archduke Carl into a puppet, I\'ll just throw it all away and go play in the palace.\'

Garten muttered to himself as he looked at the believers of the Church of Universal Equality kneeling and praying before him.

\'You stupid pigs and dogs. Düren doesn\'t even care about the likes of you. No, it\'s of no interest to any of us. A vile and cruel being. A being that carelessly throws away what it has, leaving one lonely and alone. That is the evil being, God.

God does not save humans.\'

Garten knew it very well.

Therefore, Garten, who sought to save himself even by selling the name of God, was the being who most resembled God in the true sense.

Garten truly thought so. The unidentified entity that gave him this power and opportunity was repulsive, but later, he would devour even that.

Since it was a being that could so easily give you this kind of power, if you chewed on it, you would surely gain tremendous power.

\'I will become a god, a being that surpasses Düren.\'

Garten smiled and looked through his \'eyes\' at Carl riding his horse in the distance.

First of all, he needed to control Carl and place him on the throne. Then this great empire would be in his hands.

\'Okay, come quickly. Isn\'t there someone who is waiting for you so desperately?\'