Reincarnated as a random race, of course I got goblin.

Chapter 110 - Dirge of Progress

I'm unable to sleep. Frustration, annoyance and anger swirls in my head. I keep revisiting last night, pondering, analyzing. Was there anything we could have done differently? Should I have been more aggressive? Was there a Skill or Spell I should have used instead?

The Body Double I'm fighting loses its cohesion as I lash out a bit too hard. It's the safest thing to take my anger out on, but if my focus isn't on point... I sigh before melding my body with the gelatinous residue, reabsorbing the mass into myself. 

I don't feel like making another one...

Millibelle is still sleeping. The moment the Control Diadem was off Argon's head, she completely lost it. It was just luck I was able to keep her from leveling the castle. Once again, trauma has made the safest choice to just sleep. I don't think either of us can take much more.

Once the Demigods are revived, the goal will be to Evolve. Once we're Evolved, we can take care of our brother... And then we'll shut ourselves away from the World. That's the plan, anyway. The less interaction with the World, the better. 

I'm so tired of this...

I- We. Millibelle and I. We just want to live in peace... Play house with our Servants... Those two weeks waiting for the snow to thaw, those were some of the nicest times we'd had since before becoming the Little Monarch. Even despite the looming anxiety about the conflict ahead. 

I sense Matron Kantarra enter the room I'm in. I stole into a training room within the barrack section of the castle. It would be open, but not at this hour of the night. The Ayvin woman pauses as she sees me standing in the middle of the room, glaring a hole into the ground. 

"Great Monarch- Millibelle. I sensed a fierce aura coming from here, and I was worried, but it was just you..." Her voice is calm. 

"I couldn't sleep. I'm..." I sigh. Do I really want to tell her how I feel? 

"Are you nervous about tomorrow? I know I am. This plan of yours, to revive the Demigods of Heat, Cold and Lightning... Are you sure it's a good idea?" Her voice wavers. 

"They were once a part of this World. Perhaps not intentionally created, but a part of it nevertheless. And they were all wiped out by what we now know as the Malice." I look at her, fighting the desire to make her mind mine, to make it just a bit easier to control what happens next. 

"D-do you know what the Malice... What it once was?" She sounds almost afraid to ask. I would probably be too. This malignant, diffuse yet ever-present threat that everyone fears. There's a reason abusing a monster carries a higher penalty than even murder of a fellow humanoid. You're exposing everyone around you to the risk of the Malice making an appearance.

"It was a Demigod of a now dead Element." I state bluntly. "I'm sure news of what's happening in Illomen has reached Eyslef by now. A Dungeon Heart has been infected with Malice, and it's creating abominations as we speak. The Divine have even gone as far as to call upon their Champions."

Kantarra's expression becomes complicated. "One of my... I mean. An Ayvin that hails from my tribe is among them, yes? Do you think they have a chance?" 

"I doubt it. Humanoids are so much weaker than monsters... And no monster can safely aid them in the fight, unless I revive the Demigods. With their combined power, I'll be able to avoid becoming tainted by the Malice." I feel my anxiety loosen its grip. A determination is building in my chest. 

Kantarra's eyes go wide. "So, you're saying, unless the Demigods are revived..." 

"Then this World is done for." I sigh. "I'm going to try to get some sleep. And know, I was going to tell you all this at the meeting tomorrow. Too much is at stake to play cloak-and-dagger." I leave Kantarra to her pondering.