The most painful punishment in the world. Burning at the stake.
The heat in the execution ground, which seemed like it could roast O-hwangnyeo alive, instantly fizzled out. The whole place had frozen ruthlessly.
The citizens of the empire who had qualified as jurors couldn’t rise from their seats, but their eyes were wide open.
“…!”
Their shock was very evident on their faces.
It was shocking that such an act occurred in the presence of Hwangje, and it was even more astonishing that someone possessed such a realm of power.
“That’s….”
“Perhaps?”
It was Ezekiel, who recently started to make a name for himself as the Inspector of the Magic Tower. A few recognized him.
Though he had only been living a different life for a short while since becoming the leader of Balance, it was enough for him to be acknowledged by some.
However, the fact that someone like him was doing something like this heightened everyone’s shock. No one could hide their astonishment.
Ilaref, on the other hand, merely opened his eyes slightly.
Thinking back, it made sense.
—Anyone can agree with O-hwangnyeo’s struggling.
It was a statement he made himself, and it was a real condition. Struggling, in the truest sense, meant using every means possible, so it was not surprising.
Thus, Ilaref calmly asked.
“Ezekiel, are you saying you will agree with the struggles of the sinner?”
“I do not agree with the sinner’s struggles.”
“Then what about this action right now?”
“I completely deny that O-hwangnyeo is a sinner.”
“Right now, that statement!”
Ilaref raised his voice.
“I sought to have you agree with the sinner’s struggles, not to find someone to prove the sinner’s innocence. Are you aware that this statement has caused you to turn your back on the imperial family?”
It was a natural trap like an ant hell.
The moment you agree with O-hwangnyeo’s struggles, you also become a condemned man yourself. It was a logic that didn’t require deeper thought.
“…Before that, I have something to ask.”
Ezekiel carefully parted his lips.
“What do you want to ask?”
“What happens if the Emperor loses?”
“…?”
Ilaref’s expression turned to one of confusion at such an absurd question.
It was taken for granted that the Emperor would end the sinner’s life, and no one had ever questioned it.
Strictly speaking, Ilaref did not know the answer.
He had never even imagined the Emperor could lose.
Ilaref quietly turned his gaze toward the Emperor. This was a question that could not be answered unless one were the person involved.
—Such a thing will not happen.
It was the Emperor’s brief reply.
“It will happen.”
But Ezekiel, unwilling to back down, muttered.
“It will happen…? Do you mean to say you are not just struggling but are actually trying to defeat His Majesty the Emperor? Are you speaking of treason?”
Ilaref muttered in a bewildered voice.
“What…!”
At that moment, O-hwangnyeo immediately grabbed Ezekiel’s wrist.
O-hwangnyeo looked at Ezekiel as if to say ‘look at me’, but Ezekiel did not look at O-hwangnyeo.
It was madness. Such a thing should not happen.
Wasn’t this just giving rise to more regrets about his own impending death? This absolutely could not continue.
However, while O-hwangnyeo was troubled over what to say,
“…Treason? I do not deny it.”
Ezekiel murmured.
His voice, infused with mana, was loud enough for the entire crowd to hear. Despite their mouths not freezing shut, everyone was left speechless.
The minds of the empire’s citizens were on the verge of bursting.
Not only was it shocking that O-hwangnyeo was set to be executed, but it was even more shocking that the Emperor had intervened, and now someone even dared to oppose that Emperor.
—I will give you one chance.
The Emperor murmured.
—If you disappear, I will forgive you.
“I acknowledge that I am a traitor.”
But Ezekiel hammered the point home.
The energy radiating from the man was infinitely more powerful than before. When he thought about it, he was dramatically different from the last time they met, so much so that Ilaref instinctively flinched.
Ezekiel continued calmly.
“A traitor should rightly be a condemned man, and a condemned man can make any struggle before the Emperor, can’t he? I see no reason why I should leave this place.”
“Hmm… The words themselves…”
Ilaref hesitated as he looked at the Emperor.
In truth, O-hwangnyeo’s death had been foreseen from the start, but wasn’t Ezekiel the Emperor’s best tool? Even Ilaref could not decipher the Emperor’s true intentions.
However, he couldn’t just ask the Emperor.
But already, an intangible energy began to emanate from the Emperor. That alone made Ilaref feel like he might be crushed.
No choice. Resistance is futile.
Ezekiel had just chosen a somewhat difficult way of committing suicide. The Emperor’s energy didn’t entertain the notion of defeat whatsoever.
‘Your Majesty the Emperor, what on earth are you thinking? Are you really going to kill him?’
For the first time, Ilaref felt confused.
Should he try to ensure Ezekiel could somehow leave this place? Or was His Majesty simply intending to kill him?
While he was contemplating that,
“…May I have a moment to speak?”
There was an interjecting voice.
The voice owner was O-hwangnyeo, looking as desperate as if she had never faced death before.
“Please grant me mercy. The Emperor of the Empire, please show the last mercy towards the sinner and quietly proceed with the execution by resolving all situations so that I cannot make any struggles.”
“Nonsense, I have already….”
“Enough!”
O-hwangnyeo shouted, drowning out Ezekiel’s voice.
Her voice was filled with so much anger, and the emotions written all over her face were clearly visible. Fear and concern.
She was afraid of something right now.
“The failure of the Jeolmajjang plan is my fault… so please don’t get involved.”
“I already acknowledged my treason. There’s no escape.”
Ezekiel’s steady voice brought a hint of despair to O-hwangnyeo’s face, but the man became even more composed.
It was then that the Emperor’s voice struck like lightning.
—If you vanish, I will forget.
A reaction that suggested the words of an insignificant ant had no impact whatsoever. O-hwangnyeo seemed to gain immense courage from that statement.
“…I will fully repent for all my sins. The contents included in the Jeolmajjang are all lies, and I intended to deceive the innocent citizens of the Empire for personal gain. It is a grave crime.”
“Suddenly, you acknowledge your guilt now?”
Ilaref asked calmly.
Then O-hwangnyeo felt a seething frustration rising deep within her, but nonetheless, she nodded vigorously, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.
“I also acknowledge that insulting His Majesty the Emperor is an unforgivable crime. So please, just grant me one final mercy.”
“What kind of mercy do you want?”
“…Take this person away from here at once! I’ll do anything! I can really do whatever you say!”
O-hwangnyeo pointed her index finger at Ezekiel. Was it truly possible to be this desperate? Her plea was so poignant.
But Ilaref remained silent.
The Emperor had no additional words.
Reluctantly, O-hwangnyeo began to push Ezekiel away with her frail hands.
“Go… hurry….”
But there was no way that delicate hand, which had been trapped for days, could push Ezekiel away. The man remained anchored in place, while O-hwangnyeo’s feet were dragged along repeatedly.
“My death was predetermined the moment I devised the Jeolmajjang. It was my fault for failing, and there’s absolutely no reason for you to die… so why are you doing this? Just go…!”
The crowd held their breath, watching the situation unfold.
What would happen next?
“…When you say you will forgive me if I disappear, is that true?”
At that moment, Ezekiel spoke, his gaze fixed on the helmet resembling the head of the Emperor’s herald.
—Yes.
Hope flickered on O-hwangnyeo’s face. She didn’t want to see Ezekiel die before her eyes. Couldn’t they just let him go like this?
She urged Ezekiel once more.
“Go… hurry….”
But the next moment.
Before O-hwangnyeo could even react, in a split second.
KwaKwaKwaKwaKwa—!
Countless ice spears formed in midair and surged toward the Emperor all at once.
KwaKwaKwaKwa—!
The archers released a volley of arrows almost comparable to this magnitude. Amidst the astonishment of Ilaref, the crowd, and O-hwangnyeo…
PasaSss—
The fog lifted, revealing the Emperor unharmed, puffing out steam.
Ezekiel spoke nonchalantly as if the attack had not been intended to harm.
“Unnecessary.”
At this moment, Ezekiel definitely committed treason.
It meant he could no longer escape this place.
Goooooo—
In an instant, the air shifted.
Within the Emperor’s helmet, two glowing eyes began to shine.
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