In the end… the old king chose to yield.
Because he had no other choice.
Ainz Ooal Gown kept his word. The spatial seal was lifted, and he allowed the king and Captain Shirogane Genzou to withdraw safely.
Even after the war had effectively ended, Climb—now Kurogane Kurimu—and Brain Unglaus, reimagined as Kirishima Buren, were still locked in combat with Yuri Alpha, now Yurine Arisaka.
Yet despite Yurine deliberately holding back, the two of them were thoroughly battered—faces bruised, bodies aching.
For Buren, however, this battle brought clarity.
A harsh, undeniable realization of his own weakness.
After the fight, he asked Yurine to pass along a message to Ren—
He wanted to follow him.
To train under him.
Unlike Kurimu or Genzou, Buren held no real attachment to the Kingdom. He had once lived as a mercenary, drifting wherever strength could be found.
It didn't matter to him whether Ren belonged to the Kingdom… or the Empire.
All he wanted—
Was power.
The kind of power that would allow him, one day, to face that vampire again.
Even if he could only survive one minute longer than before… that would be enough.
The war between the Kingdom and the Sorcerer Kingdom came to an end.
And the news of that battle spread like wildfire across the continent, sending shockwaves through every nation.
What surprised Ren the most, however…
Was that despite his identity being practically exposed during the battle—
No one identified him as part of the Sorcerer Kingdom.
Kurobane Shizuka, barely alive, collapsed at the gates of the Theocracy upon her return.
Covered in blood, she was immediately taken in for treatment.
But when she finally spoke…
She only reported on Ainz Ooal Gown and the Sorcerer Kingdom.
As for Ren's oni transformation—
Not a single word.
Her reasoning was simple.
She had taken a liking to Ren.
If she openly declared her intention to bear his child, the rigid elders of the Theocracy would never approve.
They would call his blood impure. Claim it would taint her divine lineage.
So in her narrative…
Ren had to remain human.
And more importantly—
He had to be someone she could defeat herself.
As for the Platinum Dragon Lord—here known as Hakuryu Shirakane—
He, too, chose to keep silent.
And he had his own reasons.
He had heard Cocytus—Shiramine Genshiro—clearly in their final exchange.
And he trusted him.
A warrior like that would not lie.
More importantly…
Ren had incapacitated over two hundred thousand soldiers without killing a single one.
That alone spoke volumes.
Had Ren not stopped Ainz from casting a super-tier spell at the beginning of the battle—
The outcome would have been a massacre beyond imagination.
Which meant…
The Sorcerer Kingdom had two rulers.
One—Ainz Ooal Gown—cold, detached, and capable of disregarding life without hesitation.
The other—Ren Kuroda—
Still possessed restraint.
A line he would not cross.
Hakuryu had already grasped the terrifying strength of the Sorcerer Kingdom.
Between the vampire, the demon emperor Adabao—now Adabao, the demon overlord—and the figures revealed in this war—
Ainz, Albedo, and Genshiro—
That was already five beings of overwhelming, world-breaking power.
Against such a force…
The current world stood no chance.
But within that overwhelming darkness—
There was a sliver of hope.
Ren Kuroda.
If his principles differed from Ainz's…
Then perhaps he could be persuaded.
Turned.
Brought to humanity's side.
Which was precisely why Hakuryu chose silence.
Exposing Ren now would only force him into complete opposition against humanity—
And extinguish that final hope.
Thus, the two individuals who knew the truth…
Both chose, for their own reasons, to conceal it.
Genzou himself only understood fragments of Ren's identity—and having given his word, he had no intention of spreading rumors.
As for everyone else…
They still believed Ren to be aligned with the Empire.
And with the conclusion of this battle, Ren's name rose to unprecedented heights.
He surpassed even the Kingdom's greatest warrior, becoming known as the Empire's strongest knight.
When Emperor Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix—now Kisaragi Jilkarn—learned that Ren possessed the power to render tens of thousands of soldiers unconscious in an instant…
He was ecstatic.
Though Ren repeatedly insisted it had been due to a magic item borrowed from the Sorcerer King…
Jilkarn couldn't contain his excitement.
With Ren's strength…
Combined with the "Demiurge" figure he planned to subvert—Kurose Akihiko—
And with support from the Theocracy, the Holy Kingdom, the Dwarven Kingdom, and others…
The Empire's liberation from Ainz Ooal Gown's shadow—
Was only a matter of time.
Or so he believed.
Another who felt similar excitement was Remedios Custodio, now Saionji Remia.
To her, it didn't matter whether Ren had relied on a magic item.
The overwhelming magic power he displayed on the battlefield was undeniably real.
If someone like him came to aid the Holy Kingdom…
Then the demi-human hordes would be nothing more than an inconvenience.
As for the Kingdom's fate—
Few felt sympathy.
Instead, the sheer power of the Sorcerer Kingdom plunged neighboring nations into fear.
According to the intelligence brought back by Shizuka, the Theocracy had confirmed:
The True Ancestor vampire—Shalltear.
The demon emperor—Adabao.
Both were affiliated with the Sorcerer Kingdom.
Add to that Ainz Ooal Gown, Albedo, and Genshiro—
That made five world-class threats already known.
Faced with such overwhelming power…
Humanity had only one option.
Unite—or perish.
Thus, led by the Theocracy, a coalition was formed:
The Anti-Sorcerer Kingdom Alliance.
The newly crowned Golden Princess, Hoshikawa Rana, publicly declared the Kingdom's participation in the alliance—
A move meant to dispel rumors of her ties to the Sorcerer Kingdom.
Upon hearing of the alliance, Emperor Jilkarn was overjoyed.
Though events had repeatedly strayed from his plans…
The coalition he desired had finally come into existence.
Secretly, he reached out to the Theocracy.
Claiming that the Empire's cooperation with the Sorcerer Kingdom had been forced…
He offered to act as a double agent, feeding them intelligence.
Thus, the Empire joined the alliance as well.
The Theocracy had no reason to refuse.
Their knowledge of the Sorcerer Kingdom was dangerously limited.
And the Empire's military strength—especially its strongest knight, Ren Kuroda—was not something to overlook.
Meanwhile, in the Holy Kingdom—
Queen Calca—now Kalka Hoshimiya—received the alliance's invitation.
But her nation was in no position to respond.
They were already on the brink.
Compared to the distant threat of the Sorcerer Kingdom…
Her immediate concern was far more urgent.
When would the reinforcements mentioned in Remia's letter arrive?
Because the demi-human offensive had intensified.
The entire northern region of the Holy Kingdom had already fallen.
Her brother, Prince Caspond, now Kazuto, along with the High Priestess Kelart Custodio, reimagined as Aoi Kastera—
Had both been captured alive.
Now, the enemy was closing in on the royal capital of Hoburns.
The nobles, once loud and arrogant, had fallen silent.
Some…
Had already begun secretly pledging allegiance to the demi-humans.