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376. Lena Ep – The Emperor

“Go, oh God.”

The people of Oberg believed the divine had descended.

As I looked at the palace amidst the ear-splitting explosions, a massive figure stood tall. Astroth gazed down at the bewildered citizens in his eternal city, Oberg.

Built by Leonel, and born by Leisia, this city held the blood of those imperial descendants, which he had nurtured for thousands of years.

The Duke declared with a newfound fervor.

– Oberg! This beautiful city shall become my sustenance!

As those words fell, black moss began to bloom all across Oberg.

Spreading like mold spores, it was none other than the Death Row Inmate’s blanket. Once the land was sufficiently tinted, the Duke raised his arm to grasp the sky.

He intended to bring down the sun early and summon the Scarlet Moon. At that moment, Astroth’s body quivered.

Count Hermann Forte was viciously hacking away at his legs.

“Who got caught?!”

“Cut it off!”

Moreover, the church members, nobles, knights, and soldiers were all united in rushing toward him.

Astroth grimaced, his countenance distorting with displeasure. However, that was only for a moment, as he whispered benevolently.

– Such a number of meddling kids. Leisia, look. They are all descendants of you and your brother.

“Yikes! Let me go!”

– I’m not that different. I’ve lived on the blood of your descendants… Well then, let’s do what should’ve been done in the past. Ah! But before that.

Astroth tore a chunk from the collapsed castle ceiling. Before catching Leonel, he planned to obliterate the one who had long tormented him first.

That was none other than Marquis Benard Tatian.

The Marquis had already fled far away. Surrounded by the crowd and feeling quite secure, he looked back at Astroth with curiosity.

What a detestable man.

Astroth hurled what he held. The boulder shattered in his grip and poured down like rain upon the Marquis and his soldiers. The Marquis seemed to have anticipated that, calling out with a relaxed tone.

“Irène!”

Unfortunately, she simply did not move.

*

– “Do you know that the Marquis killed Toton Tatian? Ah, you were pretending not to know.”

This was the remark made by Prince Lean de Yeriel, who was staying at the mansion as a guest.

He handed over two letters with a sigh, and Irène, left powerless, read them. Only then was she able to bid farewell to her long-held unrequited love.

/ Dear Count Gustave Peter. First, I must apologize. Your daughter I met before was certainly beautiful and virtuous… (Skipping) …however, I have someone in my heart, so any further encounters would only bring us pain. I wish for a wonderful gentleman to appear before Lady Ksenia. Sincerely, Toton Tatian. /

/ I feel embarrassed to say this, but as you have asked repeatedly, I must tell you. She is not a noble lady. Her status is flawed, but she is pure as a knight. I would appreciate it if you kept this a secret from my father. /

It was not unrequited love. Irène read the unsent love letters countless times.

Until the scent left that paper and her loyalty to Marquis Benard Tatian frayed to tatters.

Irène watched as the rock hurtled toward her.

She glanced at the Marquis calling out to her, and thankfully, he bore no resemblance to his son.

“…This is.”

Had she read something in her gaze? The Marquis’s brows furrowed.

Irène stomped the ground, and in that fleeting moment, a shower of rocks burst down.

Rocks stained with blood in an instant.

Embracing her rage, the dishonored female knight turned and drew her sword. To fight desperately until death rather than to end it herself.

Toton!

I love you.

I dared to love you.

Another flicker of flame added to the battle.

*

“Do something! Going like this is just heading to our deaths!”

“Eh, I-I know…!”

My name is Lera Ainar!

I’m the long-named warrior with the ‘e’ sound… but this isn’t the time for self-introductions.

The Evil God has descended.

Of course, he came to capture us, but he was a monster beyond imagination, making for a tough battle. Honestly, I was starting to think it was a mistake to show up.

He was giant, after all.

The pale gray form soared high into the sky, its goat-like bent legs were about the only thing we could attempt to attack.

So, the knights and soldiers rushed toward his legs, but the Evil God didn’t even allow that.

Instead of fur, scales adorned his goat-like legs, blocking the piercing of our blades. One hand held a princess captive, and with the other, he swept across the ground.

His movements were eerily relaxed.

Yet, how swiftly that eagle claw moved, stirring up a cloud of blood ahead of him. Thanks to Count Hermann Forte wielding the white Oblivion Blade, we somehow hadn’t been annihilated.

It was surprising that our formation hadn’t collapsed. Anyone would be scared enough to flee.

[ Achievement: King 6/6 – Leo’s [Inspiration Boost] ability is granted. time(1y) ]

“Let go! My sister…”

“I can’t let go! Lean! Pay attention! If you get caught too, it’ll be the end.”

Meanwhile, problems were arising on our side. The girl caught in the Evil God’s hand claimed to be his sister, causing Prince Lean to have a fit.

Who could stop the noble prince’s outburst ─ I thought, but Sir Reb intervened. He unceremoniously wrapped his arms around the prince’s neck.

Phew.

Thank goodness for that. I redirected my attention back to the Evil God. Of course, a solution still seemed out of reach.

“Ray. What do we do? It seems useless at this point.”

“…Yeah. Lady Leah, do you have any good ideas? You have your staff and bronze chalice, right?”

A staff? A bronze chalice? What are those?

Lady Leah lowered her head, as if in trouble.

“The staff is useless right now, and I have no idea how to use the chalice. Even if I infuse it with divine power, it just consumes it. I’m sorry.”

“Hmm… Guess we have no choice. Then please grant us plenty of blessings. Lera, let’s go.”

Ray hesitated for a moment, then drew his sword and turned away. I questioned him in disbelief.

“Huh? What are we supposed to do once we get there? The Swordmaster’s just standing there.”

“I’ll create an opening. You attack.”

“What? How do you plan to do that?”

Without answering, Ray walked toward the Evil God. Stomp, stomp.

His back contrasted starkly against the colossal Evil God, making him appear exceedingly small yet stirring something in my heart.

Ray seemed ready to face obliteration. I felt embarrassed for not being as brave.

So, I followed, but the closer I got, the more I felt this was wrong.

The animal smell intensified as I neared.

Even though we hadn’t reached halfway yet, he grew even more gigantic. No matter how much I tilted my head back, my gaze barely reached his abdomen.

I truly didn’t understand why no one was running away.

It had been so terrifying earlier. Could they have been so scared they became paralyzed with fear? And how the heck was I supposed to attack that thing, damn it? It made no sense.

Then it happened.

The Evil God bent down to look at all of us. No, or so I thought, until I made eye contact with him.

– Ah, the next Swordmaster has arrived. Count Forte. This has been fun.

The legs that had been standing still suddenly moved. I thought his massive size would make him immobile, but those hoofed legs moved with the speed of lightning.

“Gack!”

“Uagh!!”

It was an unreal movement. The assumption that something so big would be slow was shattered; he kicked Count Hermann Forte away.

Dozens of people swept away by that kick burst into the air.

[ Due to Duke Astroth’s overwhelming prowess, the duration of [Inspiration Boost] is drastically reduced. ‘27’ seconds left. ]

As the spray of blood hit me, fear began to wash over.

This was terrifying.

That’s impossible to catch.

The Evil God was stepping back to kick again, and in that moment, I tried to pull Ray aside.

The girl held in his hand was turning limp, and in that shrouded moment of despair, a boy appeared.

He seemed to have shaken off the debris from what looked like the central hall of the palace, whistling a long tune. That crisp sound captured everyone’s attention, and…

– Hee-haw!!

He summoned a gigantic black horse.

The Monster, ‘Black Horse Monster,’ crashed into the Evil God, and the heavens came crashing down. I can attest that I watched four people gazing down from the lower sky.

The noble goddess of sacrifice wearing a thorned crown, Boar.

The patient and devoted god, Namer.

The god of judgement with infinitely deep eyes piercing through evil deeds, Binard.

And the god of battle and honor, Lachar, who bore a shield on his shoulder and a sword on his back.

The boy who had come up from the ground quickly leapt onto the back of the Black Horse Monster.

As Duke Astroth became distracted by the four manifestations of the god, I kicked off from the horse and drew the glowing Oblivion Blade to slice at the Duke’s wrist.

“Lean! Minseo is here!”

Reb shouted with all his might. Lean sighed in relief upon seeing his sister safe in Minseo’s arms.

*

= Astroth. It’s been a while.

God Lachar sneered. Astroth, seemingly unaware that his wrist was severed, clasped his hands around his head in frustration.

– Yeah, why are you all here… Ah. The divine has decided to betray us! You filthy…

= No. We merely answered the call of the hero who achieved great accomplishments.

Goddess Boar shook her head.

The deeper the thorns of her crown pierced her head, the more she seemed uncaring.

= That person opened all our four temples. Not even Azra managed to accomplish that.

= Boar, stop explaining. The time of divine punishment has come, Astroth. The rise and fall of all things is inevitable, and your arrogance will meet its end. For this day, the divine has placed three rivers…

[ … ]

While Binard droned on, Namer remained silent. Astroth understood the reason.

– Stop babbling, Binard. Today, I will not die. As I’ve resolved, freed from the restraints, an eternal future awaits me!

Astroth’s retort left even the loquacious Binard at a loss for words.

The reason is that it’s simply impossible to catch someone like Astroth freed from restraints. That’s why even the saint Azra had failed in capturing him.

However, God Lachar chuckled, a smile spreading across his face.

= Today will be different, so let’s see it through. Banun. Come forth.

– I have been waiting. But it seems my reincarnated body is dying.

A doll appeared on Lachar’s shoulder.

Banun Rauno. He pointed to the passage that Minseo had just ascended. There were Sir Barin, Neil, and Sir Wendy climbing through the debris after chasing after Princess Reriana.

They had come with the young Swordmaster (Minseo) and passed through the iron door, witnessing Santian Rauno, who had taken the princess, bleeding and collapsed. Realizing it was not the time for healing, they placed him back down.

God Lachar waved his hand lightly.

= Healed. Go live freely. And… Namer. It’s about time.

[ Understood. ]

The four manifestations joined hands and pressed down on Astroth. The Duke exploded in fury, but they remained dedicated to their purpose.

On the ground, the priests gasped in wonder.

“Ah! He’s getting smaller! He’s shrinking! This is the divine’s grace!”

“Oh! Thank you, oh God… huh?”

Duke Astroth lost the force that had been forcibly extracted. Yet, he still had a body remaining.

Caroman de Tatalia.

The King’s flesh.

Rising with an unpleasant grimace was King Caroman de Tatalia. He uttered a single incantation.

“Empire’s spear.”

The spear carved from the Scarlet Moon sliced through the sky as it fell. One was held in hand while hundreds floated up, targeting the foolish populace.

He was the Emperor who had carried the weight of thousands of years of history, causing all to kneel.