Chapter. 14. One Empire, Three Legends (35)
****
Whiuuuung-
[It’s spectacular. Should we really call it an empire?]
“Even if it’s an empire, it’s…. How can something of this scale be…”
The castle I saw up close was even bigger and grander, and my senses as a magician told me that all the buildings, walls, arches, and spiers surrounding the castle were covered in magic and sorcery on a level I could not even imagine.
The professor was standing in front of the huge moat that separated the capital All Amperia from the imperial castle.
A crack so wide that you can barely see the end.
The professor pulled out an oil lamp attached to the house behind him and threw it straight into the cliff.
Whiuuuuuu-
“…Can’t you hear it hitting the floor?”
[The light has also disappeared. It’s not that it’s gone out, it’s that it disappears from sight as if it’s been sucked in somewhere. This is definitely not an artificial moat or anything. Originally, the castle was built in a place like this. This means that if you can sell that much land, you can build it up that high, and if you only calculate up to the point where the fire disappeared, it will be enough to fit two apartments.]
“A structure like this in the middle of the capital? “Is this the taste of the first emperor?”
From the perspective of someone who is well versed in strategy and tactics, this was an extremely inefficient defensive structure. There is already a great castle wall that is on the verge of collapsing even if hundreds of knights fire Auras at it. In front of the imperial castle, which is not far from the castle wall, there is a cliff like this where even a corpse cannot be recovered if it falls? It might be a castle wall that allows you to retreat and fight if the situation arises.
“Was there a big earthquake?”
[That would be the most reasonable guess.]
No matter how the incident unfolds, the important thing is that a huge crack, like something out of a disaster movie, stands between me and the castle.
In the battle with the prince, his regenerative power was exhausted.
After running around too much, my cartilage and joints are shattered.
In front of me, the muscles that had been squeezed to their limit were broken into strands.
“…It looks like it’s about 400 meters wide. “Can I jump across?”
[In normal times, it would have been possible to do it while standing on your head. As it stands now, if I’m lucky, I could fall in a fairly large parabola and end up hanging on a cliff about 1km below the ground. If you can climb out of there with your arms replaced and regeneration stopped, go for it. I won’t stop you. You can use the sharply broken arm bone as a pickel to climb up.]
“Ummmm…..”
Hearing Hyde’s acidic voice, a suppressed groan came out of the professor’s mouth. The Auror who had just realized disappeared without a trace of where he was hiding, and his body was completely ruined and his regenerative power and stamina were depleted.
It was a shame because the surroundings were strangely quiet. If the knights with their eyes rolled out had rushed in like they did under the castle wall, we would have been stuck in a situation where we would have burned everything and everything to fight.
While I was wandering in a situation where I couldn’t do anything, a cross section of the edge of a cliff came into view through the professor’s keen eyes.
Even if the edges are worn away over time, it is a smooth and straight shape that could never have been that way without human touch.
“…I don’t think they are all natural cliffs at all.”
The professor’s hand traced the tip. A place where inlay is added for simple processing and magical processing. A form magically linked to a house built nearby. If you follow the center of the flow…
“Are we here?”
Come on.
While the professor’s hand was scanning the area between the cliffs where magical power was concentrated, it came into contact with a strangely hollow area. Engravings of complex shapes. About the size of two thumbs.
In an instant, the lion head decoration given to him by the Empress flashed in the professor’s mind.
The decoration fit exactly into the protrusion of the cliff, the groove where magical power was concentrated.
Kuuuuuu-
[oh. Something happened?]
“When I think about it, it’s only natural. If there is a moat, there must be a drawbridge. Everyone who goes in and out of the castle can’t have a wind wizard flying around, right? The emperor can’t just fly around without a hitch. I figured there must be a bridge that would lead me inside somehow. “There is a bridge that will connect these cliffs….”
Cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…
“Uh…. the leg…. go…?”
Kuung…..
Coo… Coo… Coo… Coo… Coo…
Kuguuuuung! That’s it…. Guuuu….
thud.
The professor’s prediction was correct. In response to the empress’s decoration, an enormous amount of magic flowed between the two cliffs, and soon a huge stone bridge was created that even an army could pass through.
“…Hey, I just did it. “At that level, I thought I’d like to try being emperor.”
[me too.]
If a little unexpected. I thought it might be a bridge made of magical power. Could it be that giant stone statues stepped out one after another from between cliffs of unknown depth and created a bridge with their giant hands?
“What on earth is that for?”
[Now, don’t ask me, who has lived for 25 years, who has lived for 1 year and 6 months.]
“How can you be 1 year and 6 months old?”
[If you roughly mix the time on this side with the time on that side, that’s about it.]
Is it because my body is tired? It seemed like something that went beyond common sense felt even bigger.
Although the exterior is a little worn away by the weather and wind of time, the bridge is well-made without any errors, so there appears to be no problem with its function. On the backs of the golems, who had raised their hands and raised their legs as if in worship, were each carrying fearsome metal weapons such as swords, spears, and axes. If you have the royal family’s seal, you build a bridge like this, but to intruders, it seemed like a type of defense system wielding that fearsome giant soldier.
Kuuuung-!
The bridge was completed, the huge gates of the imperial palace were opened, and the heart of the empire was finally revealed.
Crispy.
The cursed flower was in full bloom with no space to step on, but had dried up like a flower blooming in the desert.
The cursed flower, which was so dry that it was almost carbonized, was crumbling and blowing in the light wind. A gray wind mixed with light purple was blowing inside.
A huge, magical wall that made you feel like it was indeed an empire. The interior of the castle is finally revealed….
“This is… the imperial castle of the empire, where the emperor stays?”
….It was empty.
No, calling it empty would be a bit of an overstatement. There were no decorations, carpets, huge halls or majestic pillars befitting the status of an emperor. It seemed like there was something inside.
A family home smaller than a city but larger than a village, surrounded by the walls of a huge imperial palace.
A dirt road that is shabbier than any city, let alone the capital Ol Amperia. A small but sturdy wooden fence. And, the empire, a place that can be called the heart of that great power. The center of the imperial castle.
A small castle made of stone and wood was emitting a dazzling golden aura at the center of the small city within the castle.
“Be polite. Visitor. “You have set foot on the path traveled by all the masters in the empire’s long history.”
I couldn’t believe my eyes, so I rubbed them several times and thought my eyes were blurry due to lack of stamina. As I was passing by the Giant’s Bridge, a harsh voice reached my ears.
Crash. Just like that. Crash.
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The sound of a knight’s plate mail is now familiar to my ears. The sound of various metals colliding and crunching mixed together.
It was an old knight. What came out of that calm purple storm.
His hair and beard were white and his armor was old and rusty.
A sword in one hand. In his other hand, the old knight came out holding a bunch of worn-out weapons, including an armful of old swords, spears, halberds, shields, and axes.
“My sword… my Auror… I risk all my memories and my life, and only my master. “I have sworn to protect His Majesty the Emperor…!”
Quack!
“Galahad, knight without ancestry. He was the servant and servant of His Majesty the Great. As the last member of the Knights Guard for him and the current leader of the Knights. “I carry out Your Majesty’s final command.”
Kaga River!
Rusty weapons that were once the favorite weapons of different knights are stuck in the ground.
The tip of the knight’s sword, holding his symbol, a large sword now covered in blood and rust, in both hands was pointed at the professor.
“Not one step forward. No one without His command! In the name of the royal knight… I will not let you in.”
Article’s declaration. It was a word and charm towards oneself, tied together with the oath and the aura, and landed on the castle gate and bridge.
The place where the emperor’s power and the witch’s curse are strongest, the imperial palace. The knight who remained alone in the midst of the storm of great power had long since lost his sense of reason, like his fellow knights who had ended their dishonor with his own hands.
his sword. His Auror. The vows he had made into his life and the life he would live in the future were vividly alive and moving his body.
The professor smiled bitterly as he compared his body, which had already reached its limit, with the condensed aura fluttering at the tip of the old guard knight’s sword.
They say there is a mountain beyond the mountain.
After defeating the first prince, who was wielding the power of the emperor, who was no different from the empire itself, the now mad commander of the Guard stands in his way.
“He’s a knight commander… he should have come another way.”
[Should I go back? There is no way that this is the only road leading to the imperial palace. I think you could come in from somewhere else in the same way.]
“no. It’s already too late. “That knight is not at a level where he can be outdone just by running away.”
The professor frowned and put his hand into his subspace pocket at the sight of the old knight fluttering red aura without moving an inch.
There are two things that can be used right away.
One of them. Less risk, better.
What the professor took out was in a small glass bottle. It was a swirling piece of wind.
A valuable, unique consumable item that can only be used once. Even among them, combat consumables that are rumored to be rare.
One of the rewards received from Wuthering Heights. It was really an item that was saved to be used at the very end, during the final great war with Mute.
“…It’s a monster.”
The moment I saw the old knight’s aura, I thought I could never win without using it.
If Gainax’s auror was majestic, this one is ferocious.
A life so solid and condensed that you don’t want to imagine what on earth you have to hone in on and what kind of life you have to live to become an Auror like that.
The moment he saw the knight’s refined sword, the professor took out his secret weapon, [A Handful of Storms].
….Click!
And then, he vigorously grabbed the small glass bottle in his right hand.
Phew.
A small breeze flowed through the broken pieces of glass.
Guided by that small wind, a piece of wind blew the old knight’s beard. Another piece of dust from the giant golem and the wind that played with it.
The wind swept through the gloomy alleys of the city, winds like the howling of a deep valley, one by one. Gather together with that small wind.
Kufuuuu- Quaaaaaa!
A person who has received permission from the owner of the wind. It began to rush violently around the professor’s right arm.
“They say it’s a handful of storms… It really feels like I’m holding a storm in my fist.”
[Can you handle it? If I wielded that much power in my current state…]
“It will fly away. Elbow if you’re lucky. If you’re unlucky, your entire shoulder blade may be ripped out. But… if that’s not enough, you won’t be able to remove that article from the front door.”
Regenerative power is already low. It may be a small scratch or bruise, but a serious injury such as a blown shoulder cannot be recovered immediately.
A battle that involves dragging items and bodies. His combat power calculated by the professor is the last until this battle. After this, may the emperor’s power remain strong. In the meantime, he had no choice but to hope that his companions would prevent any trouble.
“The important thing is… the problem right in front of us can be solved!”
Knock knock!
The entire storm, pulling up rocks and trees, crashed down on the professor’s fist, which was clenched so hard that his grip was crushed. The whipping wind almost cracked my skin and got me sucked into the storm.
The professor used his last strength to hold his posture.
“…I speak out of courtesy, Knight Galahad! Your Emperor is in serious danger right now. If you don’t get out of there, I will go see him even if I have to forcibly remove him!”
“…A knight just follows orders!”
“As expected, the seeds aren’t even working.”
The professor, who was polite to the knight, lowered his posture as if he was going to hit the floor and pulled his right arm containing the storm back.
Although he has little strength left, it is not his strength to attack the enemy this time.
The remaining power is just for the direction of the storm in your hand.
Nodding-
The left arm is stretched out towards the opponent, as if pulling the string of a bow, and the right arm is stretched to its limit.
As if to counter him, calmly face the sky. An old knight with a refined red aura pointing the tip of his sword upward.
hook-
The sign was that the ash-mixed wind blocked the space between the two people.
The sword strike filled with red aura and the dragon fist wind containing the power of the storm faced each other.
At the end of the mountain, the sword and the storm were so huge that the cliffs shook and the castle protected by magic, blessings, and incantations cracked.
“….King. My king who became emperor… I, Galahad, have finally given my all….”
Quaaaaa!
As the storm raged beyond the walls and into the castle, the old knight’s fiery voice faded away.
and.
“…Cough, wow!”
As a result of all the impact, the man lost his arm and his feet became convulsed.
Quack!
The gate. I crossed the gates of the imperial palace, which remained an unknown space even to the royal family, and headed toward the inner circle.
****
Limping, limping.
Rustle, rustle…. Crisp!
“Shit. “I’ve only just come this far… I can’t do this…”
Purple ash stuck between the congealed blood.
On the road, on the wall, on the roof, and on the old watermill.
A small city hidden in a shell called Hwangseong. The real emperor’s city was old and shabby, and every inch of it was covered in the witch’s curse.
The dried-up cursed flowers crumbled at the slightest touch, and the purple fog clouding my eyes was made up of the ashes of the cursed flowers flying around.
“The power consumption… was more than expected… everything…”
I expected to overcome dozens of Master Knights, but a powerful enemy called 1st Prince Gainax was added.
I tried to save my strength and open the way due to the handful of storms, but the force was much more than expected, so just being caught in the battery caused my shoulder to fall off and my bones and muscles to twist.
As a result.
The professor was climbing the hill of this small, shabby land with nothing.
Of course, there were means of recovery. A mighty power within reach just by stretching out your hand. A force as strong and dangerous as a handful of storms, perhaps even greater than that. His depleted stamina and blurred vision only fueled his thirst.
“Not yet. “I can’t even walk yet…”
dump.
Gritting his teeth, the professor climbed with difficulty through the quiet city where cursed flowers bloomed and dried repeatedly.
Just, just… just.
And finally, the top of the hill that seemed to go on forever. A house on a hill overlooking this secret city, village-like, surrounded by the walls of the imperial palace.
The moment he encountered a shabby wooden door and a lion-shaped doorknob, the professor fell, leaned against the door, and knocked on the doorknob.
….Kik-Iik-
Fluffy.
The door opened with an unpleasant friction sound. It is a space so simple that it feels too shabby and odd to be the place where the emperor stays.
“Raise your head. “Please reveal your family name and name.”
there. Even though it looks like a bandit’s mountain vegetable, that one chair emits a dazzling light befitting the emperor of an empire.
Like a fantasy, he was there.
Emperor of the Empire.
The root of all this.
The father, teacher, and executioner of all the people of the empire.
“I am Agdan IX. In the name of Kalesiax Til Agdan. A person who dared to come to the emperor’s residence. “I want to see his face.”
Old and decrepit, but with a clear and deep voice.
The power in that voice, the power that made the professor unconsciously raise his battered body and kneel down, was clearly the power of the emperor who controls this empire.
Looking at the emperor, who was old and thin but had magnificent bones, clearly reminded me of what he must have looked like in his prime. Like the 1st Prince, Gainax. No, he must have looked stronger and more determined than that.
“I worked hard to get to this point. What a strange relationship. You were a saint, a warrior, a wizard, a knight, and a mercenary. “The reason I came here has nothing to do with anything else.”
Sweet.
The emperor’s withered hand grasps the splendid scepter. The moment the drowsy eyes opened, the brilliance contained in those golden eyes looked directly into the professor’s eyes.
“Yes, neither the imperial grandson nor the nobleman. I will hand over the throne to you. If you say you can do that. “What can we do?”
Hwaaaaaaaaaaa!
As if to prove that the words were not false, golden rays gathered in an instant and sank low. It was as if waiting for a command, waiting for the emperor’s scepter to touch my head and wrap itself around my body like a cloak.
The professor looked at the emperor’s eyes for a long time without feeling any emotion. He opened his dry lips and spoke the answer.
“…I refuse.”
“Rejection… the right to life and death of this vast land and all its subjects. The power to go beyond that and wield that life itself as my own… I will refuse it?”
“…I apologize, but I prefer a free wanderer to a chained god.”
“God. He is a chained god… Huh, heh heh. Hahahahahaha!!”
The emperor’s eyes widened at the fundamental insult of refusing the throne in front of the emperor, his tightly closed mouth opened, and a loud laugh came out.
The laughter grew louder and louder, spreading throughout the village and the entire castle. The professor who was lying down in front of him had no choice but to gasp and cover his ears from the huge wave of power.
‘This… the emperor!’
The emperor himself, without a doubt. At first, I thought it might be fake when I saw its unsightly appearance, but in the aftermath of that power just now, those doubts were blown away without a trace.
“That… It’s really something I haven’t heard in a long time. A god, a redeemed god…yes.”
Sigh!
The emperor stopped laughing, raised his scepter and struck the floor.
In the blink of an eye, it was transformed from an old and shabby castle into a majestic audience hall fit for an emperor.
“I want to ask you something… I’m here.”
“question. What he wants to gain by daring to treat the emperor alone is to satisfy his curiosity. Yes… I can see it. I have a lot of questions. However, you are only given one chance.”
“One… do you mean?”
“okay. One deep answer that is not yes or no, but includes the story behind it and its roots. So you will have to choose carefully. “Right now, three questions are swirling inside you.”
‘….three? I?’
The emperor’s words made my head ache, but I couldn’t even figure out what the three questions that came to mind were.
[How does the emperor know something I don’t know? Isn’t that a pure scammer?]
‘….Probably not. The author is the emperor, and this is the imperial palace, the heart of the empire. A place where the power of the empire swings strongest. It probably means that as long as I keep my feet on this, even I can’t escape its power.’
The emperor’s transparent eyes seemed to read my mind. Let’s not be shaken. If you want to read it, read it. The important thing is the question. At this moment, the necessary knowledge to put an end to the events roiling the empire. One missing piece of the puzzle.
“…Witch. Why is a witch wielding power that is only granted to the emperor?”
One out of three. At the question finally chosen, a smile appeared on the emotionless emperor’s lips once again.
“….You’re so foolish.”
And then, his mouth opened.
****
fantasy,
