Chapter 109

Now, the events buried deep in the sands of history felt to the King of Specters as if they had happened just moments ago. The vividness of those scenes made it seem as though they were unfolding right before his eyes, and the emotions they stirred refused to cool.

“Despicable seeds of the Empire…”

The King of Specters was once the king of people. He ruled a small, humble country that could barely be called a nation. Every year, he paid tribute to the Empire to maintain peace.

Though the tribute was substantial, his people never complained. The king led by example, living a frugal life, and his subjects admired him for it.

Whenever demons appeared, he was always the first to lead the charge in exterminating them. He even took up his bow alone to fight in the Empire’s wars, earning merit and reducing the tribute.

He was the greatest warrior and a virtuous king.

He considered himself a humble man. His lifelong wish wasn’t the revival of his nation but simply peace and tranquility. He was a virtuous king and a supreme warrior, but he was terrible at calculations. So much so that he couldn’t grasp how grand his wish truly was.

“What did you just say?”

“Exactly what you heard, Your Majesty.”

And before this king, who was poor at calculations, arrived Marquis Nevermore, a man skilled in such matters, as an envoy.

“The Empire is about to wage war, and you demand we hand over food for their provisions?”

“Is your hearing impaired, or do you need me to repeat myself?”

“…Foolish. This isn’t a simple matter. Handing over this amount of food would starve most of my people. Do you think such a quantity is feasible for a small nation like ours?”

The king could sense it. This was the Empire’s way of restraining him. A dirty trick by the Empire, afraid of his military might.

They feared he might start a war, so they sought to cripple him. Without provisions, he couldn’t wage war.

He had no intention of starting a war, but he couldn’t let his people suffer because of such a shallow scheme.

“Go back and tell His Majesty the Emperor. I kneel only for my people. I have no interest in the Empire’s territories, so stop these underhanded tactics.”

“…Didn’t it occur to you that His Majesty might be enraged by those words?”

“Then that would reveal the extent of his character. Let me reiterate, I act solely for my country. I am not a dog loyal to the Empire. I have no interest in the foolish act of war.”

But the king’s words were tantamount to calling the Emperor foolish for seeking to expand his territory through war.

Marquis Nevermore of that time laughed rudely, spat in the palace, and left to deliver the king’s message to the Emperor—in a far more malicious and exaggerated form.

Naturally, the Emperor was enraged and ordered the treacherous band to be executed.

Duke Argos of that time advised that any king would refuse such a demand and that waging war against a tributary state was unreasonable.

However, Count Berze of that time argued that other tributary states were watching and that it was necessary to set an example to maintain discipline.

The narrow-minded Emperor of that era accepted Count Berze’s opinion, and thus, war broke out.

But the shallow calculations of those who wielded pens and scrolls couldn’t overcome the absolute gap in power.

With each arrow he loosed, countless soldiers and warhorses were pierced through the heart, and the arrow returned to the king’s hand without being spent.

Harassing the Empire’s army with a single bow and arrow was no small headache for the Empire. To have their advance halted by just one man.

If Duke Argos had stepped in, it might have been easier, but he was too upright and refused to wield his spear for such an unjust war.

Then, Count Berze came up with a brilliant plan and asked Duke Argos for a few soldiers.

“Are you planning to lead the charge yourself? Even with elite troops, you’d die.”

“…I don’t need elite troops. Just give some old armor to the young boys who manage the knights’ armor and horses.”

“Your words make no sense.”

“You’ll see soon. To defeat a man, you don’t need grand force.”

At dawn the next day, Count Berze stood before the kingdom’s castle walls with young boys in tow.

Hearing that the enemy had arrived, the king rushed to the walls and drew his bow, but in his shock, he shot wide.

“What is this! Bringing such young soldiers to this battlefield!”

“Your Majesty! I am a humble servant of the Empire, bearing the name Berze! Today, I come to beg for peace!”

“Don’t mock me! You trample this land with hooves and boots, yet you speak of peace!”

“The Empire is in dire straits! That’s why His Majesty requested provisions! Even these children dragged to this battlefield prove it!”

“…Speak.”

Count Berze, who had brought the boys originally meant to serve as knights’ attendants, hid his devilish smile and began to weave his serpentine tongue.

“His Majesty was enraged! But he is not so foolish as to act without cause! What His Majesty truly fears is your power!”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“If you offer your head, I will end this war!!!”

It was nonsense that shouldn’t have held any weight.

Yet, seeing the innocent faces of the young soldiers, the king hesitated.

He could have simply ignored them and drawn his bow, but he began to play into the serpent’s tongue.

“…….What can I trust you with?”

He couldn’t bring himself to kill such innocent soldiers.

“I swear on all my honor to end this war!”

“…”

“Remember! No matter how strong you are, you are but one man! If the Emperor sends more troops, how long will the people behind these crumbling walls hold out?”

At the time, the Empire didn’t have the resources to send more troops, but there was no need to reveal that.

No matter how strong he was, there was a limit to what a single arrow could do.

If that were the case, if it were true, then offering his head to resolve this would be a gain.

And Count Berze, seeing through the king’s thoughts, used his serpentine tongue to further unsettle him.

“I swear on the Empire’s dignity and future! If you but lower the hand that draws the bow, we will never invade this land again!”

“…….”

The king’s daughter, advisors, and people all dismissed it as worthless talk.

But because he loved them so dearly, the king’s dilemma only deepened.

If he could save such precious people with just one hand, wouldn’t that be the best outcome?

After all, Count Berze had staked not only his honor but also the Empire’s dignity and future. Who would dare deceive with such stakes?

He naively thought so and opened the gates, stamping the peace treaty with his seal.

And he offered the hands that held the bow and drew the string. Even as his hands were severed, he didn’t flinch and tried to leave.

“Wouldn’t it be a pity to leave like this, Your Majesty.”

“….What do you mean?”

Then, countless Imperial soldiers surrounded the king. He resisted desperately but was eventually captured.

“What is this! Did you not swear an oath! That if I offered my hands, you would end the war!”

He was naive. That was his greatest flaw and mistake as a king.

Count Berze laughed at him, bound like livestock in chains, and replied.

“Foolish king. Let me give you one last lesson.”

The count trampled the king’s head, mocking his foolishness.

“An oath is made between equals. The right to demand accountability comes from power.”

The king had foolishly cast that aside.

“….And, Your Majesty. I have prepared a game for you.”

Count Berze hung the king on the Empire’s castle walls. He attached a special device to his eyes so he couldn’t close them.

Thus began the festival that would become the origin of the Empire’s hunting games.

The places the king had cherished were stained with blood. The Empire’s merciless soldiers killed unarmed civilians, slaughtered children in grotesque ways, and violated pregnant women and nuns.

The streets of the kingdom were ankle-deep in blood.

The king screamed. He begged them to stop until his voice broke. His miscalculation had led to this hellscape. His foolishness in sympathizing with the enemy had brought about this tragedy.

The king felt like he was going mad. No, he did go mad. He cursed his foolish self for trusting the Empire.

And the moment that hurt the most was when the young boys he had pitied laughed as they stabbed and killed the kingdom’s people.

When he saw them killing a girl more foolish than themselves and taking her head for money, the king concluded. The Empire was an evil that should not exist.

“Emperor of the Empire!!! Your foolish descendants will bring ruin to the Empire by meddling with what they shouldn’t!!!!!!”

“Despicable Nevermore! Your treacherous descendants will die by the hands of those they love!!!!!!”

“Beastly Berze! Those who bear the name Berze will never live in peace and will die in agony!!!!”

“Cowardly Argos, who turns a blind eye! Your descendants will always desire what they cannot attain!!!”

“Disgusting people of the Empire! Your descendants will be swept away by calamity and die like pigs!!!!!!!”

He cursed the Empire. His curses poured out until his voice gave out, a sight so horrifying that even the Empire’s knights felt fear.

Yet, Count Berze paid no heed to his curses.

Instead, he ordered the king to be buried alive with the mutilated bodies of his people. He felt not an ounce of guilt for his promises or the massacre.

And so, the king was buried alive with the mutilated bodies of his people.

Even without hands, the Empire’s knights feared him and used sorcery to seal the burial site tightly.

But before they left, Duke Argos quietly approached and cast a healing spell over the pit.

The high-level spell meant to restore lost body parts instead gave birth to a monster.

The mutilated bodies of the people and the king, who had lost both hands, began to merge into one, as did their resentment and hatred.

“Your Majesty. Some may call you foolish, but I will not. How can believing be wrong? So… you were right, and we were wrong.”

And Duke Argos of that time knew better than anyone how that spell would work.

“Whenever this seal breaks, destroy the Empire. End this vile cycle of history. This weak spear-bearer is but a bystander who can’t even do that. I deserve the curse.”

He knelt before the king with proper etiquette and returned to the Empire. And he never set foot in the Imperial Palace again until his death.

Years later, the Demon King came to the ruins of the fallen kingdom, cut through the sorcery circle, and showed light to the king, who had been burning with ancient rage.

Though centuries had passed, the king had not forgotten. The king had not died. The king’s rage had not faded.

He had become the King of Specters, destined to take the future promised by Count Berze.

The Demon King, who approached the King of Specters, smiled brightly and extended his hand.

The King of Specters could sense it. This man was strong. And more insane than himself.

“All the pain you endured was because of the Empire.”

It was the unerring truth.

“Shall we destroy those despicable beings together?”

He was a light that should not be grasped.

But the King of Specters took his hand.

Because the Empire was a darkness that should not exist.

“Wretched Empire! A band of thieves no different from demons! Come! Face my arrows!!!”

The king forged the bones of his people stored within him into arrows and drew them on his bowstring.

To unleash the resentment of his people. So their hands could pierce the hearts of the Empire’s people. So they could take their revenge, he drew the bowstring.

“Lightning of the Empire! Wisdom of the Empire! Show me your skills! Repeat the history you’ve wrought! Kill me! Kill this nation! Again! This time, I’ll struggle to the end!!!”

The pain of his nation was his pain.

The rage he wielded was the rage of his nation.

The nation was him, and he was the nation.

“If you cannot do that!!! I will take the future of the Empire you promised that day!!!!!!”

And now, the king had the power and the right to destroy the Empire.