"The... destruction I bring?" Isaac froze, his expression turning to one of shock. "Don’t tell me... I’m the one who kills the Emperor?!"

"Impossible. You’re overthinking it." Caesar looked at Isaac, speechless.

He had to admit, Isaac’s rate of growth was fast, even for a Mad Witch. But the Emperor was a Demigod. A prophecy that could make even him this anxious couldn’t be too far in the future, and no matter how fast Isaac advanced, he couldn’t be *that* fast.

Besides, the outcome of a real battle was never decided by Magic Power and Life Level alone. Combat Skill Magic and practical combat experience were all crucial, and those things took a great deal of time to accumulate.

Especially Magic!

For a Wizard, a rich arsenal of Magic was even more important than combat experience!

Magic Power and Life Level could be raised quickly, but there were no shortcuts for Protective Magic. ’It’s not like I can get everything from the Outer Gods, right?’

"True..." Isaac nodded. He also felt his own guess was a bit too ridiculous.

’Besides, if I were the one who killed the Emperor, then the Emperor shouldn’t have been able to see me destroy the Empire,’ Isaac thought. ’It’s far more likely that my future self simply took advantage of the situation after learning of the Emperor’s death and finished off the Empire!’

’After all, there would be plenty of reasons to make a move. The most direct one being: If the throne of the Emperor is a seat you of Terra can take, why can’t we of Solomon?’

"Then let’s reconcile," Isaac said, nodding decisively.

For one, Isaac and Philo never had a major feud; it was just a petty squabble between young people. For another...

...he couldn’t exactly refuse.

This concerned the very survival of the Terra Empire. They had come to negotiate peace for two reasons. First, they were wary of the Solomons behind Isaac—or rather, the Border Nobility the Solomons represented. Second...

...they were worried that the future the Emperor had seen was one where they *did* try to eliminate Isaac, only for him to escape.

It sounded a bit absurd, but that was the reality. Even an Existence as powerful as a Demigod couldn’t see every possible future when performing an Observation—only fragments.

Furthermore, in most cases, you couldn’t even be sure if the vision was real. And even if you were certain it was, you couldn’t act on it, because you had no way of knowing if your actions were the very thing that would cause that future to come to pass...

This was one of the reasons why Prophet Mages were becoming increasingly rare.

So why was the Emperor so certain that he would die in the future?

This touched upon another major pitfall of Prophetic Ability. While the veracity of visions about other events was difficult to determine, if the vision was of one’s own death...

...it was absolutely real and utterly unavoidable!

From the moment you witnessed the prophecy of your own future death, anything you did was futile. All you could do was wait to die!

This was why the Empire, despite knowing that a future Isaac would bring about its downfall, chose to seek a reconciliation first instead of trying to kill him preemptively.

Of course, there was a chance that paying for a reconciliation would only accelerate Isaac’s rise in power, thereby giving him the strength he needed to destroy the Terra Empire.

But reconciliation was currently the most cost-effective and safest option. It was the only move they could make.

However, that didn’t mean they were afraid to get their hands dirty. When the very survival of the Empire was at stake, they wouldn’t hesitate to be ruthless.

So, in reality, Isaac had no choice. If he refused to reconcile, the Terra Royal Family would move against him.

Fortunately, Isaac wasn’t too upset about it. After all, the Terra Royal Family was offering a *lot*!

"Mm." Caesar nodded. He wasn’t surprised by Isaac’s choice. Unless Isaac wanted to fight the Royal Family to the bitter end, reconciliation was his only option. After all, the Terra Royal Family was offering a *lot*!

"Still... to think the Emperor of Terra will die... and that he’ll likely be murdered... It’s just unbelievable!" Isaac mused.

Caesar nodded silently. He was just as shocked, but a sliver of excitement followed close behind. "But this also proves that the current Demigod Level isn’t the limit, doesn’t it?"

There was something else Caesar left unsaid: an era of chaos might actually be better for the Solomon Clan.

Under normal circumstances, there were few ways for the Nobility to advance their titles. Most had to rely on grants from the Terra Royal Family, a practice that was becoming increasingly rare as the Royal Family’s own lands were finite. If they kept parceling them out, it would inevitably lead to problems.

Thus, at present, there was one and only one way to raise one’s title: expand one’s domain!

In most cases, a noble’s title was directly tied to the size of their domain. As long as your territory was large enough and your strength and achievements met the requirements, you could be granted a higher title.

But developing the Wilderness...

...was delicate, slow work. You wouldn’t see a glimmer of hope in just three or five years. To see any real results would take at least thirty to fifty years. The Solomon Clan’s domain, for instance, was the fruit of several generations of labor.

’If nothing unexpected happens, the rank of Count will be the highest the Solomon Clan can achieve under my leadership!’

’But if something unexpected *did* happen...’

’...well, that was a different story.’

’From my perspective,’ Caesar thought, ’the Terra Empire simply vanishing might not be such a bad thing after all...’

Compared to the cynical nobleman, Isaac the Mad Witch’s thoughts were far purer. He was genuinely concerned about the future of the Terra Empire, especially how many years the Emperor had left...

After all, he was bound to offend many Outer Gods in the future. Even with rituals to conceal him, it was only a matter of time before he caught their attention. If the Emperor of Terra was still alive when that happened, he would be much safer.

Most importantly, there was another Mad Witch within the Empire—and it was none other than Princess Philo, who was even crazier and more audacious than Isaac himself!