The Emperor’s office was lavishly decorated with gold.
Two people sat before the round table within.
The slightly youthful-looking blond man was a Saint dispatched by the Arcane Temple.
The large, red-haired man seated opposite him—
The unapproachable aura he gave off did not suit his crown. He looked closer to a martial artist than an emperor.
He possessed the dignity of someone who had ascended to become the strongest person on the continent through martial strength alone and established a throne.
The Emperor, having organized the documents before him, spoke.
“Let us end the matter concerning the north here. I will handle the rest.”
“Yes, understood. Thank you for understanding our intentions, Your Majesty.”
“Not at all. How could I always be the one receiving?”
“No. Thank you for extending your generosity.”
“That is enough. Relax.”
The Emperor gave a faint smile.
Such words still made him uncomfortable.
Although he had ruled the continent for nearly fifteen years, his essence was still that of a martial artist.
“Understood. I shall take my leave now.”
It was just as the Saint bowed deeply and rose from his seat.
…!
An unidentified pressure rising from underground swept through the Imperial Palace.
At the same time, the outside became noisy.
“Has it been confirmed?”
“It is on the third basement level!”
“I am going immediately!”
“Yes!”
The Saint blinked at the sudden situation and asked.
“Your Majesty, this is….”
“I do not know. Among those granted access to the Imperial Storehouse, there should be no one capable of causing something like this…. It seems we will need to investigate. Saint, leave carefully.”
“No, Your Majesty. Is there anything I can assist you with?”
“This occurred within the Imperial Palace. How could I ask an outsider for help? That is enough, so leave now.”
“Yes. Understood.”
The Saint bowed once more and left the office.
The Emperor, who had watched him, headed toward a private passage at the rear of the office.
Just as the voices outside had said, he could sense it coming from the third basement level.
***
Sssss….
The red haze surrounding Arden’s body gradually settled.
Then the fluorescent liquid that had covered his entire body flowed into his nose and mouth to heal his internal organs.
GURGLE!
Arden, who had lost consciousness when his breath was cut off for a moment, opened his eyes.
“—!”
He abruptly raised his upper body and caught his breath. As he calmed his constantly pounding heart, he looked around.
“Where is this…?”
Arden looked up at the ceiling and racked his brain to understand the situation.
His memory had cut off after he saw golden light suddenly burst forth.
“If it was golden light… could it be?”
As Arden searched his memory further, he hurriedly reached into his inner pocket. There was only one thing that could have emitted golden light.
“…….”
As expected….
The gold coin he had received from the High Priest had lost its color, unlike before.
It was now faded enough that it would not feel strange to call it a copper coin.
It seemed this gold coin had been used just before the bandit leader’s sword struck him.
“…But why?”
Arden murmured as he looked at the faded gold coin.
He had never heard that it would activate on its own.
But his question did not last long.
A gold coin was not what mattered right now.
The four people left in the forest.
They mattered more.
“…Are they all right?”
The bandit leader had likely joined the battle, but there was no way to know for now.
He had no choice but to spend an hour here.
Arden forcibly suppressed the anxiety creeping up within him and rose.
“That is….”
A massive golden door stood before him.
Numerous torches had also been installed around him, illuminating a huge passage.
“I should open it.”
The instant Arden brought his throbbing palm to the door—
“Stop!”
“Drop your weapon and turn around!”
Several people shouted.
Their voices echoed so loudly that Arden’s head spun for a moment.
Then someone spoke again.
“I will count to three!”
Arden came to his senses at the mention of counting to three and turned around.
Behind him stood dozens of armed soldiers, their spears pointed at him.
Red armor.
A dragon-shaped crest on their chests.
They were Imperial Guards.
But why were they acting like that?
It seemed he should at least ask.
“I am trying to use the Imperial Storehouse….”
It was just as Arden slowly approached them and began to speak.
The armored soldiers all stepped back at once, and one man walked out from the center.
Step. Step.
A crown and clothing that did not suit a martial artist’s body.
It was the Emperor.
Arden had seen him through a portrait printed in a book.
His impression had been so striking that it was impossible to forget.
Besides, who else here could the guards step aside for but the Emperor?
…No one came to Arden’s mind.
As expected.
“Guards, leave.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The guards bowed and withdrew one after another.
The Emperor watched them for a moment before approaching Arden.
Though there was clearly still some distance between them, Arden could feel an immense pressure.
It felt as though his entire body were being cut to pieces.
It was on another level from the bandit leader.
“My apologies. I had not intended for this to happen.”
The Emperor, standing before Arden, immediately reined in his pressure.
“Is that better?”
“Yes.”
“That is a relief. Are you Arden, by any chance?”
“How did you…?”
“I manage the Imperial Storehouse myself. I select the recipients and distribute the gold coins.”
“Ah. Is that so…?”
As Arden blinked, the Emperor continued.
“But… were you fighting? You do not look to be in very good condition.”
“Yes, I was fighting.”
“Then I understand the pressure from earlier.”
“Pressure…?”
“Do you not remember? Well, there are people like that sometimes. I hear that those whose bodies do not agree with spatial jumps lose consciousness at first.”
“Ah….”
“And speak comfortably. Even watching you makes me feel as though I cannot breathe. It is not as though I enjoy this sort of atmosphere, either.”
“Yes.”
Arden nodded.
The Emperor, looking at him, asked.
“Who were you fighting?”
“I was fighting the leader of the Red Hawk Bandit Gang… I was fighting him.”
“I see… I had been considering sending Imperial Knights soon, but I was a little late. My apologies.”
The Emperor said this while stroking his chin. Then he raised his head and looked at Arden again.
“But there must have been a difference in ability. Did you have time to use the gold coin?”
“No. I was constantly being pushed back. His Sword Aura even fell over my head.”
“Ah, so that is why the gold coin activated. It judges for itself when its holder is in danger. In any case, enough small talk. We should return quickly first. Am I wrong?”
“You are right. They are probably still fighting.”
“You will need something to defeat that bastard.”
Arden nodded.
Then the Emperor opened the door and spoke.
“Follow me. We will go at once.”
“Yes.”
Arden followed the Emperor into the storehouse.
True to its name, all kinds of weapons, armor, and artifacts were scattered around. There were even enough to trip over.
“Before you choose, let me ask one thing. Can you use that power again?”
“I do not know. I think I might be able to… but I am not certain.”
It seemed to activate when he had the will to accomplish something, to protect something.
That did not mean he had confirmed that it would definitely activate as long as he had the will.
There had not been many times when he had drawn even upon his vitality.
There could be additional conditions.
“I see. This is more troublesome than I expected.”
The Emperor muttered as he glanced through the storehouse.
“Nothing here will do. It would be better to go farther down. Follow me. We will go at once.”
“Farther down? Then….”
“Yes. Consider it an investment. You seem worth watching. There are more than one or two things I like about you.”
The Emperor grinned and walked deeper inside.
Though Arden was puzzled, he followed.
At the end of the storehouse, Arden had expected to find a dead-end wall…
But there was another door.
Unlike the one outside, it was black.
When the Emperor struck it forcefully, it opened with a rumble.
“Come carefully.”
After speaking briefly, the Emperor entered the stairway, where there was not a single light.
Arden also expanded his senses and took a step forward.
They descended for a long time. Then, as though they had reached the end, the Emperor stopped.
Arden stopped two steps above him and looked at him.
“This is it. The sixth basement level. I did not properly manage the north either, so I will open this place.”
“The sixth level?”
“Yes. No one has come here since I became Emperor.”
For some reason, it seemed that he had grinned.
“I decided what I would give you as we came down, so learn only how to use it and leave. You need to hurry.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“That is enough.”
The Emperor answered as he opened the door.
“You may look around.”
Arden nodded, blinked several times to adjust to the light, and looked around.
It was a pure white room, with display stands set up within it.
There were exactly ten of them.
A sword releasing a crimson haze.
A spear dripping with acidic poison.
Black armor emitting such vile demonic energy that it was difficult to breathe.
An unidentified wooden staff with a blue glow.
And so on…….
Everything there was enough to make cold sweat run down his back.
But the Emperor walked straight past them as though he had no interest in them.
“This seems to be the best one.”
At last, he pointed to the display stand at the very end.
Arden blankly looked at what was on that display stand.
***
“Your Majesty.”
“Has the Saint still not left?”
The Emperor returned to his office and saw the Saint seated in a chair.
“My apologies. However, I remained because I have one question to ask.”
“What is it?”
“What kind of person was the one underground?”
“Someone worth placing expectations on after a long time.”
“…….”
“Why do you ask?”
“…Forgive my rudeness, Your Majesty. Could that person perhaps have been a Demonic Human?”
“A Demonic Human?”
“Yes.”
The Saint’s face was quite serious as he nodded.
The Emperor slowly returned to his seat before opening his mouth.
“No. Why would you say such a thing?”
“As that pressure subsided, I sensed a faint trace of malevolent energy.”
“Are you certain?”
The Emperor asked again with an emotionless expression.
“Yes. When I received my blessing, a detection ability was engraved into my body. I am certain. Within that malevolent energy, I sensed the vengeful souls of hundreds.”
“I understand for now.”
“Your Majesty.”
“Huu… Fine. Saint, I will leave that matter to you. Wait a moment. I will provide his personal information. However, you must investigate quietly. Do not inform even the Temple.”
“Of course. Thank you for trusting me. I will begin the investigation with only my closest aides.”
The Saint bowed deeply and touched the small cross hanging around his neck.
It was unfortunate that he could not discuss it with the Temple, but it could not be helped.
It had occurred within the Imperial Palace.
The Imperial Palace was the only place untouched by the Temple’s influence.
Matters that occurred in the Imperial Palace were handled by the Imperial Palace… that was the basic rule.
Therefore, the Saint, who had been granted authority by the Emperor, had to investigate alone.
***
“Fuck….”
Kane panted heavily.
He could not receive Dylan and Derek’s help in this fight.
It was all because of the Black Mage who had died earlier.
That bastard had been vicious until the very end.
He had unleashed every kind of magic before firing a signal flare into the air.
After that, nearly fifty bandits had arrived, leaving Dylan to fight alone at the entrance of the forest.
SLASH!
STAB!
CRUNCH!
Blades stretching toward Dylan cut his limbs.
A spear pierced his chest.
Every time, Berua’s Rapid Healing treated his wounds as though turning back time.
“Gaaaaaah!”
Rapid Healing was a technique that placed a great burden on both of them, so they never used it.
But given the situation, they had no choice.
“Grrrgh….”
Dylan had half lost his mind as he held them back.
He only made sure that his limbs were not severed.
Even when his holy armor was dented and crushed….
Even when his bones were ground into powder, he did not stop.
When the pain exceeded his limit, he briefly lost consciousness, but Derek supported him whenever that happened.
“Gaaaaaah!”
A balance barely maintained.
It would have been impossible if Dylan had not sacrificed his own body.
Kane, who was fighting Kyle, knew that as well.
“This is driving me insane. Seriously. Where the hell did Arden go?”
That was why Kane had to fight Kyle alone.
Kyle, who slowly approached, said,
“This is more enjoyable than I expected. How are you reacting at all?”
“I do not know, bastard. Stop playing around and come at me properly.”
Kane had realized it long ago.
That monster before him was playing with him.
‘He is deliberately avoiding my vital points. There is no way I would not notice.’
Of course, his current state made it obvious as well.
The tendons in his wrist had been severed. Blood flowed from his torn forehead and covered his left eye. His Divine Power was nearly depleted, and it was difficult even to hold his sword.
He instinctively turned his body and thrust his sword, but he had not landed a single effective blow.
Yet he was still alive rather than dead. What else could that mean?
That was when it happened.
“That is enough. There is something I want to show you. I will cut off only your limbs and take you with me.”
“Fuck, what are you going to show me?”
Kane spat out a bloody phlegm and snapped at him.
Kyle grinned as though amused and jerked his chin.
It was toward where the three were fighting dozens of bandits.
“Death.”
“Crazy bastard.”
Kane frowned and charged at him again.
“I will take one arm first.”
Kyle said this as he watched Kane kick off the ground.
SLASH!
With a light sweep of his sword, dozens of lines rushed toward Kane.
“Damn it.”
Kane sensed that even his arm would be cut off and closed his eyes.
CRAAAAASH!
With the explosion, a hot wind wrapped around his entire body.
Yet even after time passed, he felt no pain.
Wondering what had happened, he opened his eyes….
“I’m back.”
Arden, somehow changed, stood before him.
Kane’s legs gave out for a moment. He gave a faint smile and spoke.
“You bastard. Why only now…….”
Thud.
But he could not finish his sentence and collapsed face-down onto the ground.
“Rest now.”
Arden spoke once to Kane, who lay collapsed, then began the unfinished battle.