A space originally intended for executing the executioner.
The execution takes place calmly, and the crowd simply has to watch. It means there’s no reason for any ruckus.
However, the situation was very different now.
Whoosh!
The Emperor, standing in the center of the space with his arms crossed, released a round wave of energy. In an instant, the swirling dust swept past all the women present.
Whoosh!
The women gathered here were by no means weak. Thanks to the energy they had already gathered, the dust couldn’t even dirty their clothes, merely swirling past them…
But the problem existed elsewhere.
“…”
The Second Princess, the Dragon’s Blood owner.
Hedera briefly touched her temples.
“…The annihilation has officially begun. I just forgot a few Dragon Speeches.”
She said it nonchalantly, but the content was extraordinarily shocking. The First Princess laughed in disbelief.
“You forgot Dragon Speeches?”
“Yeah.”
“The opponent is serious too. They don’t see us as daughters anymore. They definitely want to kill us on this spot.”
The princesses said calmly.
It was a situation that held significant meaning.
The Emperor had raised the princesses with great care because their growth directly translated to the Empire’s power.
Just considering Hedera’s Dragon Speech, if utilized by the Empire, it could annihilate a tremendous number of enemy troops.
But the fact that he made them forget it on purpose…
It essentially meant the Emperor had given up on the princesses.
“We must have forgotten about that man in the same way, right?”
At that, Arcne nodded.
“That’s right. But looking at the current situation, if we just sit still, there will be more things we might forget. He shows no mercy at all.”
Arcne’s voice was three times faster than usual. It showed how urgent she felt.
Understanding!
First, the princesses quickly distanced themselves from the Emperor. The Third Princess, Solana, narrowed her eyebrows and said.
“This was a direct confrontation we chose. Did we make a mistake because we let our emotions cloud our judgment? Should we have gathered elsewhere and combined our memories?”
“Not really. We had to come here anyway.”
It was the usually quiet Fifth Princess, Neo, who spoke.
“I can feel it, albeit faintly. Here lies his heart, still frozen and preserved. We must recall it here.”
She continued with a very serious expression.
“…I’m certain. This energy was frozen by himself, not by someone else. He might have trusted us to remember him, so he wouldn’t disappear.”
“I understand this has to be done here and that it’s urgent. But what exactly are we supposed to remember?”
The First Princess, Ideu, spoke.
Their exchange was somewhat urgent and blunt, but it couldn’t be helped.
Even at this very moment, the Emperor’s strike was repeating.
Whoosh!
The air was quaking. The energy the Emperor unleashed held no physical force, but the issue was in their minds.
Once again, her head felt lighter, as if something important was slipping away. Arcne suddenly recalled the Demon Lord’s words.
─You must also prepare to perish.
The meaning of those words struck her now.
“What should I remember? Anything will do. From appearances to tiny habits… anything at all. Surely….”
Arcne’s words remained unfinished. A transparent trajectory shot forth from the front, striking Arcne in the lower abdomen.
Just like that, Arcne was sent flying helplessly against the execution ground’s wall.
Bam!
The impact was so strong that her eyes rolled back.
But the nearby princesses couldn’t go help Arcne. In fact, if they wanted to help, they shouldn’t waste time on such things here.
Instead, they needed to urgently draw up their memories.
The man’s face.
His height.
The magic he wielded and its color.
Some of his habits.
They started to unfold a colossal spider silk in their minds.
“It was Ice Magic. More vibrant than anyone else.”
Solana said softly.
“He knew how to care for others more than himself.”
Hedera added. No one contradicted them.
“Despite not having their value recognized for years, they never expressed discontent. The only desire they had was to survive. Yet, they never harmed the innocent to do so….”
“…”
As the princesses murmured, the spider silks Arcne had spread began to react to their voices, taking the form of text.
Almost like a story being written on a page.
“They liked Sunweed.”
“It surprisingly felt warm.”
“To be precise, it made you feel warm despite being cold. They had a way of making others feel foolish.”
As they spoke one by one, the princesses began to sink deeper into contemplation than they imagined.
In truth, the reason they had rushed to this point was due to their immense anger. Deep down, there was an unavoidable doubt of whether they could truly bring him back.
Perhaps they might not be able to bring him back.
So shouldn’t avenging the Emperor be enough? Somewhere in their hearts, they had unconsciously begun to compromise. The gap between reality and their ideals was just too great.
“They knew how to yield.”
“They were kind.”
But as they shared their thoughts, the memories began to surface more clearly. They realized it was a memory that couldn’t simply be forgotten. They also understood it was an essential memory for them.
Solana suddenly smiled kindly.
“For me, he’s someone I can’t do without.”
“Same for me.”
“Me too.”
The princesses’ lips formed a smooth curve.
Even in an extremely dire situation, that was the case. For her, he was such a person. Someone who could make them smile in any circumstance.
“…Poor things.”
The Emperor’s voice came just then. Around him, a powerful energy was shimmering like mist.
“Will you still be able to say such things in a moment?”
The entire space vibrated, accompanied by a pressure.
Ugh…!
“They’re not going to give us a chance to speak…!”
The princesses’ stances began to falter one by one. It felt as if they had been thrown into a space with a hundred times the gravity.
As they tried to gather strength, their own power only pressed down further, increasing their pain.
In that moment when they felt they had lost all answers.
Shiver!
Arcne’s spider silk spread out, connecting to each princess’ crown. Very thin, like the threads of a puppet show, and they were barely noticeable.
But the effect was undeniable.
Clatter!
The princesses no longer needed to articulate their thoughts. Every time they thought of the man, the spider silk recorded it, gathering the information from the women present.
“Emperor.”
Arcne, who had somehow returned to the front lines, spoke, her mouth stained with blood.
“No matter how many times you try to obliterate me, I will not give up.”
“You’re the daughter of the Demon Realm, huh? Where did the Demon Lord who treated you like a nanny run off to?”
“…I’m neither the daughter of the Demon Realm nor of the Empire.”
“And then?”
“I’m just a woman of Han-shin.”
Dressed as a goddess, Arcne simply answered, then began gathering the pages of spider silk spread across the sky.
The Emperor scoffed, as if dismissing her.
“That’s hardly enough.”
“It’s sufficient. Because I recalled the most important part.”
Arcne continued without pausing.
It was truly like a remarkable puppet show. Whenever Arcne moved her fingers in the air, the spider silks moved in intricate unison, like finely-tuned gears.
“Huh.”
The Emperor scoffed.
“You recalled something important? Then let me make you forget it again.”
“…”
“No matter what memories you create, oblivion recurs. It cannot be resisted. Isn’t that an obvious truth?”
Whoosh!
At that moment, the Emperor’s overwhelming energy crashed down on Arcne.
The dust floating in the air could not withstand the pressure and was crushed flat, while the wide-eyed princesses quickly formed their best defenses.
‘It’s dangerous…!
Either they forget entirely and become an empty shell,
Or they’re crushed to death.
The Emperor is undeniably the Empire’s greatest force. It’s only natural he can unleash enough power to obliterate this place.
But.
“…Ezekiel.”
Just as Arcne murmured that name.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, all the spider silk that had been spread across the air withdrew.
No, it would be more accurate to say they gathered. They formed the shape of a gigantic book suspended in the air.
Soon.
Rustle…
The rapidly turning pages were easily read by the women’s trained eyesight.
─A life that began at the Palace of Penance.
─Served as the Inspector of the Magic Tower….
Immediately, everyone felt it.
“…”
As if winter were looking down on them from an extraordinarily high place.
Snap!
Something began to take shape.
Even overpowering the Emperor’s might.
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