SSS Demon King System: The Rise of a Dying Extra-Chapter 22: The death of Lloyd Kaitos.

The fireplace crackled in the room, warming and illuminating the space.

Dancing shadows were projected by the movement of the fire; Bernard had always liked witnessing that flaming spectacle.

Bernard didn’t need a complex system of elemental spirits.

He never liked those "magical artifacts."

From his first ancestor, Radin Sargas, an explorer who earned the title of baron by discovering the abyss of Kokytus, to his father, Tomas Sargas, none used such expensive and sophisticated pieces to withstand the cold. It wasn’t necessary.

Why would he spend on that strange technology?

For him, winter was never a big problem.

Even the most cold-sensitive could simply wear more layers of clothing.

"I don’t have as many layers of fat as you Bernard; I’m not a seal with cold resistance." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Those words still echoed in his head.

His wife, Roberta, used to use Bernard’s appearance against him when she was losing an argument.

However, Bernard didn’t care that much.

For him, that was a victory: it meant he could withdraw from the conversation and stop listening to her.

He didn’t act offended, though he projected that.

It was just a resource to get out of unnecessary arguments.

Bernard had been insulted all his life for his fatness, so much so that he developed a kind of immunity to that type of attack.

His wife also wasn’t possessed of extraordinary beauty, so being insulted by her didn’t make him insecure.

His thick fingers tapped the table, as if playing a piano.

His fingers were so chubby they looked like sausages; sausages dressed with ostentatious rings.

The only artifacts Bernard needed were those that could save his life.

The baron leaned back in his seat.

Lately, his moments alone didn’t bring him good thoughts.

He had everything to succeed and yet, he could lose it all.

"These bastards... always taking what isn’t theirs."

Years ago, he had been informed that someone from a more powerful family would come to take charge of the territory, with the objective of conquering the abyss of Kokytus.

Bernard still remembered the startle to his poor heart when reading that, though perhaps his pain was more due to rage.

Cocytus had been built up thanks to seven generations of Sargas.

And now they came with that story?

Bernard knew it: those lands never really belonged to them, but this was the worst time for them to be taken away.

Bernard understood as soon as he saw them.

The bastards of the Dark Society weren’t a game.

He had always had a gift for intuiting people’s nature, and for him, those weren’t people to deal with, but under whom to bow.

However, his father and brothers didn’t think the same.

They believed themselves heroes and rejected their proposal.

Bernard knew he did well to be the one to contact them himself, ensuring he was willing to collaborate.

When his father and brothers disappeared during a hunt, he understood he would have met the same fate had he not submitted.

It wasn’t out of malice; it was pure survival instinct.

But he didn’t do everything out of selfishness or cowardice, in his eyes, he also did it for his people.

If the Dark Society completely took over Cocytus, the territory’s inhabitants wouldn’t fare well.

However, if he ruled, the society members would be more controlled.

It was a necessary evil.

The Dark Society also benefited: it wasn’t convenient for them to take Cocytus by force, as Avalon was an enormous power.

If the kingdom found out what happened, it would act to recover what belonged to it.

However, it would do nothing if things seemed to remain the same.

That’s why Bernard was just what they needed.

The baron was clear about that dangerous organization’s intentions.

First, they wanted Cocytus as a base: it was a perfect place to establish their members.

That also benefited Bernard, as they would make generous donations in exchange for being able to settle there.

Moreover, they wanted to explore some ruins in the beast-men’s territory.

That implied recovering the Erasil forest.

A beneficial agreement for Cocytus.

That’s why Bernard didn’t object when they proposed their plan: kill the mages in charge of agriculture and blame the beast-men.

The people would feel resentment toward the tribe and, when Bernard took care of "solving the problem," he would be seen as a hero.

Although the plan required the sacrifice of some people, it was still a necessary evil in his eyes.

However, everything went to hell with Baltazar Kaitos’s arrival.

Bernard knew it as soon as he received him; that idiot’s face gave him away.

Baltazar proclaimed he would conquer the abyss; he saw a bright future where there never was one.

Bernard felt disgusted every time that man talked about "fighting against adversity."

He treated his situation as a punishment.

The arrogant man posed as a martyr, when he had been sent to direct a territory with abundant resources, had a wife clearly of much higher level than him and a butler whose strength even Bernard could recognize.

Bernard wasn’t surprised when Baltazar rejected the Dark Society and its plans.

He said he wanted a prosperous future for his heir, a tomorrow that wasn’t built on corruption and plots.

Bernard also had a son, and knew that, above all, the best thing was that he remained alive, regardless of the means.

But Baltazar overestimated himself, and the baron wasn’t surprised when that arrogant noble disappeared in the abyss.

Baltazar would never get to know his son. It was the price to pay for his naivety.

After that, everything was easier.

Baltazar’s wife died in childbirth and his son was born defective.

It was a simple situation: they only had to wait for the child to die on his own while they continued with the plan.

They had taken measures so the abyss wouldn’t be conquered; if that happened, Avalon would become more interested in the territory.

They had also sent an assassin to eliminate the mages without raising suspicions, and blame the beast-men.

But then the Church arrived.

When Bernard was notified that the cardinal of the White Faction wished to see him, he believed it was his end.

But it wasn’t.

Apparently, the Church wasn’t aware of the Dark Society’s conspiracies, or perhaps they simply didn’t care.

They came with another intention: to find a hero.

Heroes usually receive sponsorship from a faction and, above all, become valuable pawns in their power struggle.

The White Faction is, so to speak, the main organ of the Church, the representatives of Mara.

They are the most important, but had gone a long time without getting a hero.

Their power was beginning to falter, or so Bernard deduced.

Perhaps that’s why, when the oracle announced that a heroine would appear in the remote territory of Cocytus, the White Faction acted immediately so no one would beat them to it.

But there was a small problem with that plan: if the hero appeared in Avalon’s territory, it was only fair that they belonged to the kingdom.

Normally, the Church offered generous donations to take the hero under its guidance.

However, if Bernard simply didn’t report their activities, that wouldn’t be necessary.

The cardinal was very generous, and aware of the baron’s situation.

If Bernard helped them, the Church would support him to keep the territory definitively.

They would give him a generous payment for his discretion and even ensure the Dark Society didn’t take too much control of Cocytus.

It was too tempting an offer.

All those years of hard work by his ancestors, all the threats from the abyss, all the sacrifices... and Avalon had only sent them a clown.

However, the Dark Society and the Church now supported Bernard, and he barely had to lift a finger.

They were much more help than the "Kingdom of Heroes," Bernard no longer had any patriotism left.

He wouldn’t reject the opportunities given to him.

Everything was perfect, except for one thing: that brat wouldn’t die.

At first, the baron didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of assassinating him.

Anyway, the boy was going to die; why worry? But he seemed to resist too much, so the Dark Society had to take measures.

At first Bernard felt some guilt.

He had witnessed the death of relatives and civilians without remorse, convinced it was for a greater good.

However, the idea of killing that lonely child left a bad taste in his mouth.

He remembered reading once that it was easier to accept the death of thousands than that of a single person whose story you know.

The reason was because you can identify with them, and that makes the loss more real.

But, knowing how necessary his sacrifice was for Cocytus’s good, Bernard began to hate that little cockroach.

He no longer felt any pity; rather he wished the child would perish soon.

"Well... I’m already taking too long," he muttered, stretching his fingers to take an envelope that was on the table.

It had no seal.

He hadn’t seen anyone deliver it. That only meant one thing: it was a message from the Dark Society.

Trembling, he took a letter opener and tore the envelope.

It was always difficult to open those letters; you never knew if they contained good news or notice that you and your family were sentenced.

The baron slowly took out the contents, with trembling hands. But upon reading it, a wave of relief invaded him.

His chubby cheeks flushed with emotion, and a hoarse laugh escaped his throat.

His only obstacle, Lloyd Kaitos, had died.

Now nothing could stop him.

It was news that had to be celebrated.