<767 – Like a Hero (13)>
The Seonhwang asked, half hoping, “Did my adopted daughter tell you how to summon ‘it’?”
“Unfortunately, young girls of a certain age start distancing themselves from their fathers. I did something a bit awful, like peeking at a diary,” came the nonchalant reply.
“You’re a failing parent. Children won’t open their hearts to parents who can’t respect their private lives. Indeed, you lack the capacity to contain that child.”
Though he verbally cursed the Director for finding ‘it’ through cowardly means, internally, he couldn’t help but gulp as the thought crossed his mind.
The revolutionary and the 100 million ghost army would indeed be no easy feat, even for the Seonhwang; devastating losses are expected. Remembering that even the legendary Warrior Party’s thief, Destroyer, couldn’t withstand them made it all the more daunting.
‘Who knows how many times one could unleash the combat power of a dimensional mobile nuke? Quite burdensome.’
But he would withstand it. The Seonhwang is the protector of humanity. A man walking the path of a seeker to save the Middle Realm from the tyrannical reign of the mad Evil Dragon Omoshiroi plunging it into decay.
Recorded in history as a tyrant, blamed for not understanding the human heart, though perhaps his grand dream of saving the world might not be comprehended by many.
He bears numerous sacrifices and endures the loneliness of the throne and the weight of the crown. Such is the life of an emperor, and the one who keeps leading the Empire and gathering resources, ultimately earning the favor of a god, is indeed the Seonhwang.
– Divine artifacts are items blessed by the gods. No matter how close one’s enhancement comes to divinity, the acceptance comes from the gods. Enhancement is merely another form of sacrifices, offerings to the divine.
He chose enhancement for the sake of saving humanity.
– If the speed at which the Seonhwang exchanges new divine artifacts exceeds the time it takes for the God of Death to utilize the life force he gathers for artifact creation, he can obtain the desired artifacts—all while ensuring that grain supply is never delayed, no matter how harsh the tyranny becomes. That was the plan, right?
The adopted daughter Oknodie realized this.
– Anyway, all the killings occurring on the continent expedite the creation of [Essence of Death] for the God of Death, consequently hastening the opportunity to create divine artifacts despite the shortage of [Essence of Life], right? Naturally, His Majesty’s grand plan would fail!
– I know. That’s precisely why I’ve been suppressing the continent’s wars and forcibly maintaining the Era of Peace. Measures existed against the revolutionary specter as well. But is there a reason I must lose in this gamble?
– Even if you acquire the divine artifacts you desire, the God of Death favors the Dragon Principal, who causes the most deaths in the world! So, I will also hand over a divine artifact to the Principal to kill you, Your Majesty. Thus, this gamble will end in bankruptcy, assured failure!
Despite hearing a warning that echoed like the prophecy of a child who didn’t know where her understanding came from, he sensed the flow of fate behind it.
– Throughout history, it has never been the first time that gods held human fates in their hands and whimsically toyed with them. Oh child of the Foundation, you already know about the beings known as [Apostles] of the gods, don’t you?
– Aha!
– Unconsciously, you have likely already been chosen by some god. To know the fate of others without knowing oneself signifies a divine oracle.
– Wow, so that works like that!
– Ha ha ha. My efforts haven’t been in vain. In the long wait, at the end of the trials, a single god has finally raised their hand for me, making it a worthwhile gamble.
Of course, this was the Seonhwang’s delusion. Even if one god guiding Oknodie existed, whether it would provide a favorable wind to his back remained uncertain.
Yet, at the moment he confidently believed that only a single god among the celestial deities recognized him, the certainty forged over millennia immensely elevated the Seonhwang’s mana saturation.
[Dimensional Mobile Nuclear Weapon]
He had to withstand a second nuclear bomb aimed at him while most of the dimensional barriers lay dormant.
The Seonhwang faced the power of nuclear weapons disconnected in terror by numerous dimensional overlords, devouring the wealth amassed through his knowledge of magic and the Empire’s riches.
[Domain Level 5 - Domain Declaration]
[Dominion Domain]
While he couldn’t occupy an entire world under his domain, Seonhwang’s territory could certainly claim all the land beneath.
An immense domain comparable to the World Domain captured corrupt energies from the air, sharing only the shock with all the land of the Middle Realm.
The surface area of the isles clustered over the sea was small, but the area of land extending from the sea floor was far from minimal.
Dudududu!
Bgrrrrr!
Ku-gugugug!
The ocean floor trembled, and the heat seeping from the cracked surface boiled the sea, creating massive waves that covered the land.
However, total annihilation did not occur. The Seonhwang endured even the second nuclear bomb alone.
Such astonishing resilience surprised even the Director.
“Indeed. As the only human truly dreaming of hunting Evil Dragons, you’ve reached a level I can hardly imagine. Your unwavering growth is genuinely praiseworthy.”
“Are you going to spend the whole day in admiration? It’s quite bothersome having you hovering above my head all the time.”
The Director expected that due to the rapid mana consumption, the Seonhwang would be utterly exhausted despite his bravado.
But to his surprise, the blood of giants filled the air, surrounding the Seonhwang’s body.
[Vampire Lord]
[Imperial Blood Manipulation – Blood Armor]
A top-spec armor crafted from high-level imperial manufacturing techniques and those in collaboration with the Five Great Magic Towers designed specifically for the Emperor.
It was forged using the giant’s blood infused with massive amounts of mana to sustain a large form while engaging in intense combat.
Even from a distance, the force emanating from it felt unsettling.
“If you made a wrong move, wouldn’t you have to pay the price?”
“Indeed…”
The Director exclaimed, as if finding a long-held question suddenly answered.
“I thought my daughter’s blood manipulation technique was merely the work of the Undead Queen, Professor Sadako, but it appears she actually learned it from you, the Seonhwang, who once reigned over both the surface and the underground as the overlord of the Underworld.”
“You speak as if it’s someone else’s business, Director. I saw the manipulated giants. The reason I taught my adopted daughter the soul fragment technique was to make her naturally develop aversion to evil deeds while enjoying the suffering and screams of others, wasn’t it?”
Both acknowledged their secret teachings directed at Oknodie, admitting one another’s abilities as instructors, despite being enemies.
Yet, while there could be two instructors for a child, a child could only have one papa.
“I’ll make you realize that no human can reside above my head.”
“Seonhwang, humbled by your gracious teachings, I am filled with emotion. Hahaha. Then, I cannot hold back my ‘great gift’ anymore.”
It wasn’t hard for Jezel, who was eavesdropping from a distance, to catch the heartless exchange between the two.
The Director uttered wicked teachings anyone could hear yet couldn’t bear, while Seonhwang delivered orders so powerful they forced the mind to wake up on the verge of collapse.
‘If even the nuclear weapon isn’t considered a great gift, does the Director still possess something even beyond that?!’
Although the Seonhwang had absorbed most of the shock, half of the allied fleet was still decimated by some of the power seeping from the ocean floor.
Many combatants, who received unwanted knowledge and struggled to regain control of their bodies, were swept away by the tsunami, and their injuries worsened.
In this critically unfavorable moment, without buying time, the allied forces would fall helplessly.
Trust rested solely on the Seonhwang.
The Seonhwang, clad in blood armor, was even stronger. Yet, for some reason…
Hearing the Director’s relaxed tone didn’t inspire confidence that the Seonhwang could resolve all his crises.
“Since I brought up my daughter, let me share an intriguing fact.”
“Oknodie has shown defensive behavior without using my gift, leading me to feel great sorrow as her father.”
“So, I tampered with the memories of the maid serving my daughter to provide her with another gift. This gift is called the Blood Violin.”
The Seonhwang’s body seized ‘domination’ functionality, claiming the airspace above the Non-fair Flight Flagship.
With each moment, the Seonhwang’s powers shattered various parts of the Non-fair Flight, bringing it down.
The immense pressure from his domain slowly lowered the Non-fair Flight’s altitude.
However, it was not enough.
All that speed was insufficient to meet the Seonhwang’s desires.
“To manipulate this violin, one must smear the user’s blood to proceed with the servant identification. The recognition can sometimes dull, so one must regularly feed it blood.”
“However, do you know? Even a single drop of blood over time accumulates into a substantial amount.”
The Director’s devious scheme wasn’t fast enough either.
Yet long-standing perseverance yielded results.
“Have you heard the saying that blood carries memories?”
“If the condition for summoning the ‘master’ who ‘slaughtered’ the ‘revolutionary’ in one strike involves breaking a specific taboo, then this idea becomes possible.”
“The thought of peering into taboos through the memories in blood and ‘recreating’ the same situation.”
The Director forcibly opened the taboos, using the memories entwined in Oknodie’s blood.
[Irregular detected.]
[Spoiler Warning!]
[Forbidden Knowledge that was banned from leakage has been opened.]
[Conditions for causality have been fulfilled.]
[Price of the taboo, [Executioner] appears.]
A being within Oknodie’s memories.
A horrifying monster birthed from the actions of veteran players.
A massive, muscular man over 2.3m, possessing devastating strength, wiped out the immense pressure being exerted on the Non-fair Flight.
The owner of that power was known to the Director.
With a bright smile, the Director said, “Welcome, Marine who Specializes in Strength All-in.”
“I’m a Warrior who Specializes in Strength All-in Pattern Recognition.”
“…Huh?”
[Rune of Misfortune]
[50% chance to summon fails.]
The summoned character turned out to be another alternate character of Oknodie.
Long ago, borne from enduring numerous unfair moments to explore events for survival, this meat shield faced everything to race towards the ending.
