I understood without touching the Kraken.
‘Their role is to deal with the Demon Race, after all.’
I understood that the Sword Saint didn’t show up for the Kraken Raid claiming to deal with the Demon Race.
‘The Sword Saint belongs to the Empire and I really don’t like it, but the Demon Race is just as troublesome.’
I understood that the Demon race’s space is appearing all over the world.
‘With the Kraken’s avatars popping up everywhere, there’s no guarantee the Demon Race won’t do the same.’
This is also something unavoidable.
“But.”
Kwahk!
“I don’t understand why they aren’t coming to deal with the Demon Beasts that have emerged.”
“……”
In the capital of the Empire, Imperidium.
I look at the Eight Swords while stepping on the debris of the palace that was once filled with gold.
The golden palace, which was the pride of the empire and located in the center of the capital, collapsed overnight.
The cause, of course, is me.
“Calm down, teacher. We still don’t quite understand…”
“If you don’t understand, I’ll make you understand.”
I spin the White Guardian around.
Birang Brennis, the Cloud Envoy standing at the forefront among the swords, bows and stands in my way.
Birang Brennis is the younger brother of Birang Brennis, the Cloud Envoy who attends the Academy.
“Oh dear! Please wait a moment, Teacher! Are you planning to kill all these innocent subjects too?”
“I’ve already evacuated everyone outside the palace except for the Eight Swords.”
In other words, the only ones who will face my hammer are the Eight Swords.
‘…By the way, they’re still trying to be clever.’
The swords in front of me now.
The Cloud Envoy, the Wind Envoy, and even the Blood Fight Lord.
They are all part of the Eight Swords belonging to the Spirit Lord.
The Wind Envoy siblings were originally allied with the Spirit Lord Arne Partia, and the Blood Fight Lord was with the Magic Lord but switched to the Spirit Lord after her downfall.
It seems they cunningly anticipated that anger would come crashing down on only a specific faction.
The Blood Fight Lord glares at me with an unhappy expression, arms crossed, while Birang steps forward, pushing Biron aside.
“Calm down. Nothing will change by doing this.”
“Where are Duke Huangyeol and Nea?”
“The two of them are busy moving even at this very moment. We rushed here upon hearing the news of the Empire being attacked.”
“Rushed, you say? Where to?”
“We were dealing with the Demon Beasts. Please return and stay focused on your original purpose.”
“But I saw the Demon Beasts just hanging around.”
“We were taking care of the Demon Beasts within the Empire.”
Is that how it is?
“Aren’t the Demon Beasts outside the Empire still considered Demon Beasts?”
“They are the most important to the Empire…”
“Although it must be important. To the Empire, it’s a special case.”
The users, I, and the kingdoms within the continent will take care of the Kraken and Scorpio.
The Empire promised to deal with the Demon Race.
But now to say they can’t handle the Demon Beasts outside the Empire isn’t acceptable.
“Demon Beasts outside the Empire are still Demon Beasts. So quit whining and catch them.”
“The demon beasts outside are still demon beasts. So, please quit your complaints and catch one.”
“It’s an imperial command. We must protect the Empire.”
“That’s right. No matter how strong you think you are, it would be troublesome if you break down the castle like this.”
Kaaang!
The Blood Fight Lord, who had been silently glaring, approaches while cracking his knuckles.
His name is Kazar Lornbte.
He is one of the Eight Swords that attacked the Angel Guild and is equal in strength to Birang.
“There were orders from Duke Huangyeol and His Majesty the Emperor. How can an outsider act so arrogantly?”
“What about the Spirit Lord? Didn’t he say anything?”
“…Just to follow the command.”
No matter how strong the Spirit Lord’s power is, he is still just a Duke.
In reality, he has no choice but to follow the command of Duke Huangyeol, who wields power equal to that of the Emperor.
‘The justification will lie with them.’
The purpose and significance of the Eight Swords are to protect the Empire.
That’s the truth.
“So, you see?”
“Return… huh?”
Kwahh!!!
He brings down the hammer onto the earth.
The ground shakes, and the already crumbling castle turns to dust and disappears.
“Y-you dare!”
The Blood Fight Lord charges in with a fierce momentum.
Before his fist could reach me, the hammer embedded in the ground struck him like lightning.
The Blood Fight Lord vanished into the starry night sky.
Hmm.
“That’s a home run.”
“…Are you really planning to betray the Empire?”
“I wasn’t that close with them anyway. This is rather sudden.”
“…In that case, I cannot give up either.”
“That’s right! Sister! I will join too!”
The Cloud Envoy draws his sword, and the Spirit Envoy takes out several talismans while staying on guard.
They eyed my hammer cautiously but pulled out something else instead.
“Kraang.”
I flinched.
A pure white something thudded down, causing Birang’s pupil to shake violently.
“Sister?”
“T-the dragon…”
“That hatchling over there?”
In front of Birang stood Sre, intently licking her right arm.
Even though she had been healed completely, she still seemed unfamiliar with it, not even casting a glance at Birang as her tongue continued its work.
“It’s merely a hatchling. It’s not even an adult, so there’s nothing to worry about…”
“Y-yeah. Just a hatchling…”
“Kreung.”
“…!”
Tat!
“S-sister? Why are you stepping back…”
“…Now that I think about it, I haven’t dealt with all the points Reina sent me. I need to take care of that.”
“You can’t just leave that… Sister!”
“She’s gone.”
Now only Biron stands in my way.
Biron hesitates for a moment, gripping the talisman with a serious expression as he approaches.
And he says,
“…Please, take it easy.”
“Mm.”
Clang!!
■
Since the appearance of the Corrupted Spirit King, countless cracks in space have appeared throughout the world.
Most of them simply opened without any particular signs, but some were causing bizarre phenomena, such as demon beasts popping out.
A strange phenomenon is occurring.
The problem is that the Empire, which should be the first to address such anomalies, is doing nothing.
Eventually, unable to stand by any longer, I came to have a serious conversation myself…
Sssss…
“They’ve already made their escape.”
Duke Huangyeol and his faction disappeared from the capital, leaving only the untouched swords of the other forces behind.
While the castle can be restored even if it turns to dust, lives cannot be revived.
After treating the severely injured Biron, I left him carelessly outside the castle.
He’ll take care of himself if I just leave him like that.
“Do they really think hiding will keep them safe?”
It’s not entirely wrong to think that way.
If I were just one of the strong powers in a cooperative relationship, I would have negotiated while holding the citizens of the Empire’s lifelines, but I cannot do that.
The problem lies with Duke Huangyeol; the citizens of the Empire, living in ignorance, are not the problem.
Even if negotiations fail, I have no intention of killing people indiscriminately.
So.
“Let’s see what they’re so afraid of.”
Let’s create something to do from now on.
After activating the fourth state, I spread holiness and searched the castle’s underground.
The surface seemed to have nothing left to extract, but the underground was different.
“There’s something here.”
I could feel the enormous cavity underground since earlier.
And a very familiar energy.
As I dug through the shattered debris, a magical stone-operated elevator appeared.
Riding the purple elevator, the doors slid shut with a swish, and we descended into the depths.
It was so deep that even after descending for almost 5 minutes, we still hadn’t arrived.
After about 10 minutes of going down…
Boom!
Whishhhh!
The door opened, revealing a long corridor mixed in black and gray.
Up close, it was unmistakable.
“A Demon Race.”
An intermediate-level demon with spatial abilities is sleeping over there.
Well, calling it sleeping is a bit weird; its condition is slightly off, but it’s breathing without any reaction.
It probably won’t move unless disturbed in a special way.
“…A Demon Race.”
Yeah. A Demon Race.
Like the Celestial Race, it’s one of the most horrifying and repugnant races to me.
If I see them, they must be dealt with without fail.
Normally, I would have summoned a spear and attacked immediately, but…
“There’s no need to do them any favors.”
This place is the heart of the Empire, a critically important area.
The stake of that demon living in this important area belongs entirely to the Empire, so it’s not something I need to worry about.
I open a space.
As the space opens, the deep underground twists, and in an instant, demon beasts pour out.
Opening a space recklessly against a demon who handles dimensions is practically a death wish.
“Lasty.”
Shwaaaa!!!
Blood streams poured out from the opened space and invaded the bodies of the demon beasts.
This place’s demon beasts possess deep resistance with their magic, yet strangely enough, they have the physical form of ordinary monsters.
“Most monsters are made of blood and flesh, and…”
The monster is made of blood and flesh.
Perhaps this is also an experiment subject.
If the Magic Lord experimented through the spirit, this time it’s experimenting on a monster.
Of course, the power that Lasty can use in her prestige state has its limits, but “experiment subject” is something very familiar to her.
Crack?
Krululul…
Kwawack!!
The demon beasts resisting the blood soon become calm and kneel.
I walk between the demon beasts lined up with the lamb’s heat.
‘Now that I think about it, that’s quite annoying.’
Looking closely at these experiment subjects, aren’t they made by the empire after all?
I clearly told them not to experiment, yet they’re fumbling around and can’t even control the demon beasts they made, scattering them all over the place…
“You have no conscience, do you?”
“……”
“Just because you act like that doesn’t mean it’ll go unnoticed.”
Standing quietly next to the door, there’s a woman using invisibility magic.
As I stretch out my spear, sre… as the magic dissipates, a woman in a researcher outfit appears, raising her hands.
“I have no intent to attack, so please put away your weapon.”
“Are you the one in charge?”
“I am Reina Pol Er, the head of the first magical research division. Please stop the reckless destruction. Additionally, I kindly ask you to refrain from opening spaces in front of vácŭum.”
“Why should I?”
“To prevent unnecessary sacrifices.”
“Sacrifices?”
“The space does not only open here. Once a space begins to open, it will bring countless changes, and even innocent subjects of the empire will suffer.”
“……”
A threat, taking the lives of others.
To threaten the life of someone completely unrelated to me.
To insist I protect a resident of an “enemy kingdom,” not even a friend, family, or neighbor, but someone from an opposing kingdom.
‘Especially someone affiliated with that enemy kingdom.’
It’s a bit amusing that the person I should threaten has turned out to be the opposite, but for Lily, who doesn’t want sacrifices, it’s quite a plausible threat.
After all, I’ve actually experienced something like this a few times in the past.
“Do you know where Duke Huangyeol is?”
“The swords don’t even know information about the master.”
“I see.”
But.
Wooong!
…!
“That’s outdated.”
The space opens.
Not just one, but dozens open.
Wooong! Wooong! Wooong!
Kiick?!
Kwaaack!!
Kaaahhhhhh!
Kooooro!!
Ten times more demon beasts burst forth, and the demon beasts controlled by blood let out horrendous roars all at once.
“Then let me know when you remember.”
“What…”
The blood demon beasts charged toward her.
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