I Have 10,000 SSS Rank Villains In My System Space

Chapter 444: The Real Way

”Who are you?” Nyssa’s gaze did not waver as she asked it, her dark eyes fixed on him with a precision that no longer carried just suspicion, but intent she wasn’t asking out of curiosity anymore, she was dissecting him, trying to place him somewhere within the structure of the world she understood... and failing. That failure was what made the question necessary.

Razeal did not answer immediately.

He stood there, still, as if the silence itself was part of his response, his eyes drifting briefly across the room once more not hurried, not uncertain, just... measured.

And yeah they all seems to want the same answer now.

Then his gaze returned to Nyssa.

”You’re asking the wrong question,” he said at last.

His tone wasn’t dismissive, but it didn’t carry the weight of something he intended to explain either. It was simple. Direct. And that alone made it frustrating.

Nyssa’s eyes narrowed slightly. ”Then give me the right one,” she replied without hesitation.

A faint pause.

Razeal tilted his head just a fraction. ”What can I do for this kingdom?” he said. ”That’s what matters.”

That answer did not satisfy her.

Of course it didn’t. Because it avoided everything she actually wanted to know.

”And yet,” she said, her voice sharpening, ”you expect us to hand over a sovereign nation to someone we know nothing about?” There was no hostility in her tone, but there was no softness either. ”No origin. No allegiance. No intent beyond your own words.”

She shook her head.

”Power alone does not grant legitimacy,” she added.

Razeal looked at her for a moment longer... then exhaled faintly through his nose, almost like he had expected this line of reasoning from the start.

”Legitimacy?” he repeated quietly.

Then he gave a small shake of his head.

”You don’t have that luxury anymore.”

The words were calm. Not harsh. Not raised.

But they landed harder than anything else he had said so far.

They all stiffened as frowned deeply.. Because they all know that.. he wasn’t entirely wrong.

And that was the problem.

Razeal continued, his voice steady. ”You’re not choosing between me and your current rule.” His gaze moved briefly toward the queen, then back to Nyssa. ”You’re choosing between survival... and collapse.”

Grace’s fingers tightened slightly in her lap.

Survival.

Or

Collapse.

Was it truly that simple?

No... it couldn’t be.

But what if it was?

Razeal stepped forward slightly not aggressively, not imposing, but enough to close the distance just a little. The movement drew attention instantly, every pair of eyes sharpening again, every instinct alert... yet none of them moved.

”You asked who I am,” he said, and though his voice did not rise, did not sharpen, something in it settled like a blade placed carefully on a table rather than drawn in haste. It was not louder, not heavier, but more deliberate, as if he had chosen each word before allowing it to exist.

”I’m the only person in this room... who can deal with what’s coming.” The words did not echo, yet they carried. They moved through the chamber, brushed against stone and steel, and then... stopped. Silence followed. Not agreement. Not acceptance. Just silence thick, unmoving, almost oppressive because no one there could immediately deny it.

Ten Great Saints under his command. An origin none of them could trace. A confidence that had not cracked once under pressure. And knowledge clear, unsettling knowledge of a threat they themselves had only begun to understand. Was he stronger than them? Not necessarily not in the absolute sense, not against a Pillar Family of the Empire. But here, in this room, in this moment? Yes. He was better positioned, better prepared, better informed. And that fact however bitter none of them could refute. The realization pressed quietly against their pride, and even Nyssa, who had stood like an iron pillar until now, said nothing. Her gaze remained on him, but her silence was no longer resistance it was calculation.

And then suddenly

Crack!

The sudden, sharp report of wood striking under force broke the stillness like glass shattering as Maeron Thale’s palm had come down hard against the table, the impact ringing through the chamber, pulling every wandering thought back into place.

The old man rose to his feet, slower than Kael would have, less dramatic but there was weight in it, a kind of authority that did not need to shout to be heard. His usual composure was still there, but strained now, stretched thin by the pressure of everything that had been said.

”That is not how this works,” he said, his voice firm, steady but no longer entirely calm. ”You cannot claim a kingdom simply by speaking as asking for it... Because not to us, not to anyone.” His eyes locked onto Razeal’s, unwavering, sharp with a clarity that cut through the confusion lingering in the room.

”No one here has the authority to hand you a crown. Not us. Not the Iron Council. Not even Her Majesty.” His hand remained on the table, fingers slightly curled, the faint tremor in them betraying the strain beneath his controlled tone. ”We do not give rulers. We do not appoint kings by convenience.”

The words struck differently than Kael’s anger or Nyssa’s warning they were not driven by pride, nor by fear, but by structure... by law... by something older than any one of them in that room.

And as he spoke, the others began to settle not into agreement, not yet but into attention. Even the queen, who had been drowning in her own thoughts moments ago, lifted her gaze, drawn back by the weight of Maeron’s voice.

”People make the king,” Maeron continued, each word measured, deliberate, as if laying down foundations rather than arguments. ”Not the other way around.” He straightened fully now, his presence filling the space without needing force.

”If you wish to be recognized as one... then earn it. Go to war. Face what is coming. Defend this land not with promises, not with words but with action. Let the people see you. Let them decide if you are worthy of standing above them.” His gaze sharpened slightly.

”Because if they do not accept you... then no title we give you will matter.” A pause. Then, quieter but no less firm.

”And also if you will not even give us your name... if you stand here cloaked in mystery, refusing to reveal even the simplest truth of who you are then what right do you have to demand loyalty? To demand faith? A kingdom is not ruled by power alone. It is ruled by identity by trust by something people can stand behind.” His eyes did not leave Razeal’s.

”Tell me... what flag would they raise for you? What name would they shout? Who are they supposed to believe in?”

The question lingered, heavier than any accusation.

Razeal turned his head slightly, looking at him fully now, and for a moment... he said nothing. Not because he had no answer but because, for the first time since entering this chamber, he considered the premise. The man wasn’t wrong.

Not entirely. In fact... he was right in a way that Razeal himself had overlooked. He had approached this from the perspective of power, of outcome, of inevitability but not from the perspective of acceptance. People make the king. The words echoed faintly in his mind. When had he stopped considering that? Or... had he ever considered it at all?

A faint, almost imperceptible shift passed through his expression not doubt, not hesitation... but recognition. So this is the piece I missed. He had been thinking ahead of control, of reshaping but not of the path required to anchor that control into something stable. He could take a kingdom. That was not the issue. But could he make it his in a way that lasted? That was... different.

Maeron, seeing the silence, did not stop. He turned slightly, his gaze shifting toward Nyssa.

”Also.. Lady Veyra,” he said, addressing her directly now, his tone regaining some of its earlier composure, though the intensity remained beneath it, ”Your great ancestor Sir Vermon Veyra Sol did not claim authority by birthright alone. He earned it.” A subtle emphasis.

”He stood when this land was on the brink of collapse. He fought. He bled. He became the reason this kingdom still exists.” The room seemed to grow quieter at the mention of that name, history pressing in like a weight behind the present.

”Only after that... only after he was recognized as worthy... did he choose to pass the crown to House Valen.” Maeron’s gaze returned forward. ”That was not a right he was born with. That was a right he earned.”

”And today,” he continued, his voice lowering slightly, but carrying further because of it, ”we stand in a moment not unlike that one. Our kingdom faces destruction. We lack the strength to defend it.” There was no attempt to hide it now no pride shielding the truth.

”And if someone can... if someone truly has the ability to stand against what is coming... then we do not have the authority to deny that reality.”

”Nor do we have the right to decide, in isolation, who should rule after.” He looked directly at Razeal again. ”If you save this kingdom... if you prove yourself in the eyes of its people... then perhaps the right to rule it will follow. Not because we grant it to you... but because it will no longer be ours to deny.”

”I think Sir Vermon Veyra Sol would agree with me.”

”And we shall have the dignity to serve that person... as honouring the one who is recognised,” Maeron finished, his voice steady again, though the weight behind it had not lessened. His eyes moved across the table, resting briefly on each of the lords, and then on the queen herself not demanding agreement, but asking for acknowledgment.

And it came. Slowly, quietly, but clearly.

There was a shift not loud, not dramatic, but undeniable. A moment ago, they had been arguing from pride, from position, from instinct. Now... they were being forced to look at something far more uncomfortable

Truth.

The kind that does not flatter. The kind that strips away authority and leaves only responsibility behind. Even Grace, who had remained silent through most of it, did not speak but her eyes lowered slightly, and that alone said enough. Recognition. And beneath it... shame.

Nyssa exhaled quietly, the tension that had coiled within her loosening just enough for clarity to return. She understood it now where she had gone wrong.

She had been defending the throne as if it were something to be protected from being taken... when the real question was whether they still had the right to guard it at all. A faint, almost self-critical smile touched her lips for the briefest moment before fading.

”Lord Thale...” she said, inclining her head slightly toward him, ”Thank you.” There was no hesitation in her tone, no resistance just acknowledgment.

Then she turned back toward Razeal, her gaze once again sharp, but no longer hostile.

”You heard him,” she continued, her voice calm, composed, carrying authority without aggression. ”The throne is not something we trade. It is not something we hand over... not even in desperation.” Her eyes held his. ”If you want it... Earn it.”

A pause. Not for effect but because the weight of what she was saying deserved space to settle.

”Whoever has the strength to protect this kingdom... whoever proves themselves worthy of it... has the right to stand above it,” she added, and this time her words were not directed at Razeal alone. They moved across the room, encompassing everyone present. Lords. Queen. Council. It was a statement of principle not negotiation.

One by one, the others nodded. Some slower than others. Some with reluctance. But they understood. This was the line. The only one left.

Grace remained still, her hands resting lightly in her lap, her gaze lowered not out of submission, but out of something far more personal. This is because of me, she thought, the realization settling heavier than anything spoken aloud.

Because I am not enough. Her fingers tightened slightly against the fabric of her dress, the faint tremor betraying what her expression refused to show. Two years. Only two years on the throne and already the kingdom stood at the edge of collapse. Her father had been strong. A ruler others followed without question. And her? She had inherited the crown... but not the weight it required to hold it steady. Shame pressed against her chest, quiet but relentless. If I were stronger... would any of this be happening?

Razeal watched them.

All of them.

And for the first time since entering this chamber, something in his expression shifted not outwardly, not enough for most to notice but internally. He could see it now. The change. Just moments ago, this room had been divided each of them clinging to their own perspective, their own reactions.

Now... they were aligned. Not in agreement with him. But in agreement with each other. And that made them... stronger. More dangerous, in a way that had nothing to do with power.

All that... from a few words? His gaze drifted briefly toward Maeron from the corner of his eye.

Interesting. He hadn’t expected that. The old man hadn’t raised his voice mich hadn’t asserted dominance he had simply... redirected them. Reframed the situation. And it had worked. Efficient Clean and Effective. Razeal almost appreciated it.

Nyssa then lifted her head then, her eyes meeting his directly this time. There was no hesitation in her gaze now only a quiet firmness, shaped by the discussion that had just unfolded.

”You understand what this council represents... don’t you?” she asked. Her voice was steady not cold, not warm, but grounded. It carried the weight of someone trying desperately to stand where they were meant to stand, even if they weren’t sure they could hold it.

”We are not asking for your help,” she continued, and there was something important in that distinction. ”Nor are we forcing you. This was never your war to begin with.” A slight pause. ”But if you choose to stand in it... if you choose to fight... and if you save this kingdom...” Her eyes held his. ”Then you will be recognised. And respected. I will make sure of that.”

Nyssa stepped forward slightly, her gaze sharpening again not in opposition, but in intent. This was the real question. The one that mattered more than anything said before.

”You need to understand what you are stepping into,” she said, her tone quieter now, but far more serious.

”Ten Great Saints... even combined with everything this kingdom has... may still not be enough.” The name lingered unspoken for a moment before she said it plainly.

”The Rock Family.” A breath. ”We are prepared to die for this land. That is not bravado. That is reality.” Her eyes did not leave his. ”So I will ask you clearly.” No decoration. No pretense. ”Will you still fight? For a kingdom that is not yours... against an enemy you have no obligation to face... knowing full well what it could cost you?”

The room held its breath.

This this was the moment.

Not the earlier confrontation. Not the demand for the throne.

This.

Because here... there was nothing to gain.

Only risk.

Only danger.

Only consequence.

Nyssa watched him closely, every instinct sharpened. Now we see who you really are. If he was bluffing... if he was here to intimidate, to posture, to take advantage this was where it would break. This was where he would step back. Withdraw. Disengage. The others watched just as closely. Kael’s eyes narrowed, his posture tense, ready to catch even the smallest flicker of hesitation. Maeron observed in silence, weighing. Halvek barely moved, but his attention was fixed. Even Grace especially Grace.. was watching him now, waiting.

Razeal didn’t speak immediately.

He looked at Nyssa.

Then at the queen.

Then at the others.

And then he just smiled.

Not wide. Not mocking. Just... a simple, genuine shift at the corner of his lips, as if something had finally aligned in a way that made sense to him.

”I understand,” he said, giving a small nod, as though confirming something internally rather than responding outwardly. ”So... leave it to me.”

That was it.

No speech. No declaration. No reassurance.

Just that.

And somehow... it unsettled them more than anything else.

Eyebrows lifted. Expressions tightened. Kael blinked once, clearly not expecting that response. Nyssa’s gaze sharpened further, searching his face for something anything that might contradict what he had just said. No hesitation? No calculation? There was none. No flicker of doubt. No sign of deception. Either he was extraordinarily skilled at hiding it... or he meant it.

And then there was something else.

No fear.

Not even a trace.

If anything...

Was that... anticipation?

Excitement?

The thought didn’t sit well.

But it lingered.

And whether they liked it or not...

They had no choice but to take him at his word.

”Did you mean it?” Nyssa asked, the question coming quieter this time, stripped of the sharp edge it had carried before, yet heavier for it. It wasn’t suspicion anymore not entirely. It was something closer to confirmation... or perhaps a final test.

——