Episode 248
“It is an honor to see in person the adversary of God that I have only heard of in words.”
The conversation proceeded amicably.
Park Hyun-ah acted in a way that was not typical of her.
Emperor Lambert also did not show off his authority and praised Park Hyeon-ah.
“Speak comfortably. I heard you’re not that stiff. Am I mistaken?” “I know that Drasen helped you when you were wandering the battlefield alone. Let’s call it a courtesy to your benefactor.” “Oh no, I told you to help me without anyone knowing. Looks like the information got out.”
Emperor Lambert had a rather stern expression on his face.
Park Hyun-ah has been known as the enemy of God for a long time and has been at war with Gatren.
It is a top secret and confidential information that no one who helped her knows about.
Even if she is a party concerned, there is no way that Park Hyun-ah would know about this.
Just when it seemed clear that the secret had been leaked, Park Hyun-ah snickered.
“It’s not that it was your fault, it’s just that we were too quick-witted.”
Emperor Lambert seemed to like this attitude, which could easily be seen as arrogant, and laughed heartily.
“Hahahaha! I see! That’s right. You might have already known.” “Actually, I didn’t know from the beginning, I just realized it relatively recently.” “I did… However, this is also a misunderstanding. The only reason I ordered you to help was for the sake of our Dracaen Empire. You have no reason to be so grateful. So don’t go out of your way to be polite.” “I’m the type that values results. But… If that’s what you want, feel free to talk.”
As Park Hyun-ah continued speaking, she naturally returned to her usual, noisy self.
Emperor Lambert nodded at that.
“Personally, I like that arrogant attitude better. After all, the story we have to share from now on is bound to be heavy.”
“I like it.”
At that moment, Park Hyun-ah’s eyes looked down and shone sharply.
He realized that the Emperor wanted to get straight to the point.
“So, why did you invite us here?” “As you might have guessed, it’s because of Gatren.”
“Why Gatren?”
“A letter has arrived from Gatren. He says that if you are not handed over, the continent will be annihilated.”
Park Hyun-ah narrowed her eyebrows and immersed herself in her hometown.
Even though it was just one sentence, there were so many parts that needed tackling.
“First of all, it’s funny that we asked Dracaen to hand us over, but let’s move on. It’s true that Dracaen was helping us behind the scenes. We might misunderstand that we belong here. But what? The destruction of the continent? Do you want us to believe such absurd words?”
Destroying the continent.
Not only is it impossible, but even if it were possible, why would anyone do such a thing?
Gatren is also an empire that already has more than enough.
There is no reason to create the worst possible scenario, such as the destruction of the world.
“First, let’s correct the misunderstanding. Gatren knows exactly our relationship. Dracen is an ally to some extent. He can’t force you.” “Then why is he telling us to hand us over to him?” “Second. We need to talk about the destruction of the continent, and our investigation shows that Gatren’s words are not lies.” “Gatren actually has the power to destroy the continent?” “Yes. It’s closer to mutual destruction than destruction. The continent is still in danger.” “So to summarize, this is what it is.”
Park Hyun-ah sighed deeply and continued speaking.
“Gatren has a self-destruct switch that will destroy the continent. If you don’t want to see that switch pressed, you should just hand us over?”
“That’s correct.”
“But why? What would Gatren gain by self-destructing? After all, it is a gigantic empire that divides the continent in two.” “Because Gatren is desperate. It’s because of your continuous efforts.”
“It’s become desperate?”
“On the surface, Gatren still looks large, but if you look closely, it’s completely different. It’s rotting from the inside. What you’ve done has unknowingly eaten away at Gatren’s insides.” “Ah… so that’s what happened.”
Park Hyun-ah quickly grasped the situation.
In fact, it was something I had guessed and half intended to happen before.
The Deusis Church, the foundation of Gatren.
And the foundation of the Deusis doctrine is the Demon Tribe.
The Deusis religion will survive only if the Demons exist.
‘Originally, Gatren planned to deal with the demons to maximize Deusis’ power and then take over the continent in one breath.’
If we win the war against the Demons, the power of the Deusis Cult will cover the entire continent.
The rest is simple.
If only a few of the remaining powerful nations had joined forces with the Demons and carried out a witch hunt, they would have been able to take over the continent in an instant.
‘But the plan was doomed from the start.’
Even though the Demon King was destroyed, the Demon Clan still remained and even a peace treaty was signed.
The doctrine of the Deusis doctrine, which claimed that demons were evils that could not coexist, was shaken to its roots.
After that, the chase (war) continued inside Gatren.
Death of the cardinals.
National power and religious power continued to be consumed.
As the power naturally weakened, the evil deeds and truths that had been hidden for so long were gradually revealed.
Then, it becomes a vicious cycle where the public sentiment towards the Deusis Church and Gatren gets worse.
“I don’t intend to blame you now. We Dracaen were also involved in this. No one knew that Gatren was hiding such power.” “Gatren is also funny. This is practically reaping what he sowed. All we did was expose the already rotten insides.” “Hahaha! You could see it that way. In any case, the important thing is that Gatren is cornered. He’s okay for now, but he realized that there’s no future if things continue this way.” “So he threatened? Putting the entire continent on the line?”
“exactly.”
“What evidence should we have to believe that? What, are there bombs planted all over the continent?”
“Similar.”
“huh…?”
Park Hyun-ah blinked in embarrassment for a moment.
“You planted bombs all over the continent?” “To be exact, you planted divine powers in them.”
“Divine power…”
“I thought that divine power was the power that protected humanity from the demons, but in fact, it was a deadly poison.”
The Pope’s subsequent explanation was as follows:
First, I spread out a map showing the temples of the Deusis cult within the continent.
Looking at it this way, the shrines are just irregularly spread out, but if you draw a line centered around the double main shrine, the story changes.
“Magic circle…?”
“It’s not just a magic circle. It’s a magic circle the size of a continent.”
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The magic circle created along the Great Hall covers almost one third of the continent.
When looking at only the human area, it covered about half of it.
“Once it’s activated, at least half of the humans will be within range.”
“exactly.”
“So. What happens when the magic circle is activated?” “All those with divine powers go berserk.”
“Runaway…?”
“It’s like becoming a madman. You could say it’s like being a kind of undead.”
Park Hyun-ah was speechless.
Divine power, the power that protects humanity.
That creates a state similar to undead.
No, even if that were possible, what kind of group is Gatren that would think of doing that to half the continent?
“In Gatren, they call it this. Imperial Devotion.” “What a neat name…”
It’s easy to see why this magic is called ‘Imperial Devotion’.
This is because the magic circle was designed to be activated not only throughout the territory of the Gatren Empire, but also primarily in pro-Gatren countries.
“Gatren has more people with divine power than any other nation. If they activate that, it’s no different from all their citizens going mad, so why are they doing that?” “So isn’t that what you call devotion to the Empire?”
“You crazy kids.”
“There’s still something really important left.” “What’s left…?”
Park Hyun-ah asked back with a tired expression.
What could be more important than the possibility that 20% of humanity could go crazy in an instant?
“All those who have become mad become Gatren’s army. Not only do they have physical abilities far superior to those of ordinary humans, they also do not know fear. The strongest army is born.”
“Ugh…”
“If that magic is activated, it will virtually mean the destruction of the continent.”
Sacrificing all of one’s own citizens.
With no more hope left, Gatren will do whatever it takes to conquer the continent.
And their conquest of the continent will most likely succeed.
Because they would have an army larger and stronger than all the armies on the continent combined.
“I don’t know what will be left on this land after the war ends. It seems that Gatren wanted to take over the continent at all costs.” “You really are an incredible fool…” “In any case, the Empire’s devotion is their last resort. That is why they are attempting to threaten us under the guise of negotiation. It is to prevent them from using that last resort.” “So we have no choice but to follow?” “I have no intention of forcing you.” “I have no choice but to do it. If we don’t, the continent will be destroyed…”
With a few bargaining chips, he held out the nuclear bomb switch that would wipe out the continent.
And then he said.
If you don’t want to see me pressing this button, come and give your life.
What more can one do here but die?
“By any chance. Is it possible to stop that magic?”
At that time, Choi Hyun-seok, who had been just listening to the story, joined in for the first time.
The emperor shook his head at that question.
“Unfortunately, that’s impossible. I haven’t fully grasped the magic yet, and above all, I don’t have enough time.”
“If it’s time?”
“We need to attack and destroy the main temples of the continent at the same time, but that is physically impossible. If we show an attitude of attacking the temples half-heartedly, the enemy may activate the magic circle first.”
“ah…”
To put it metaphorically, it’s like this.
To prevent a nuclear bomb from exploding, the power switch must be turned off completely.
To do this, we need to cut off power supplies spread across the continent.
It is physically impossible.
If you make a hasty move to cut off the power, it’s over if the enemy presses the switch before the power is completely turned off.
“As I have said many times, we have no intention of forcing you. If you are willing to fight like you are now, we would be grateful.”
Park Hyeon-ah laughed at the emperor’s words.
“You don’t have to worry about your image so much. I understand. If only the two of us die, we can protect the continent cleanly. Honestly, I can only hope so.” “Well, I think you’re misunderstanding. I’m being sincere.”
“Are you serious?”
“The peace you can gain by sacrificing yourself is temporary.”
Emperor Lambert continued with a serious expression.
“They still have that bomb switch. If we hand you over, what will they ask for next? Influence from neighboring countries? Dissolution of alliances? If we hand you over one by one, they will eventually ask for it.”
The emperor’s eyes were filled with confidence, as if he was looking at a future that had already been decided.
“Give us our empire.”
He chuckled and waved his hands.
“When such a future is clearly visible, is there any need to force unnecessary sacrifices on you?” “If we do not do so, the continent may perish immediately, not in the future?” “That is not wrong. However, we are the Dracaen Empire.”
The emperor continued, leaning back in his chair.
“Even if the continent collapses, we will be the last nation left on this continent. If we survive, we will rise again, and if we fall, the continent will end.”
It was crazy.
It is no different from saying that the Dracaen Empire is humanity itself.
But the emperor was calm, as if he was speaking of something so obvious as common sense.
“Although the damage will be great, I honestly believe that we will find a way out before humanity is destroyed.” “The Emperor is so peaceful.” “That’s the nature of the Emperor. If I worry about every little thing, I won’t be able to live my life.”
It’s such a trivial thing that it could lead to the destruction of the empire, or even the continent.
Even if it was a joke or a bluff, I thought he had a lot of guts.
‘Just looking at his expression, it seems like he’s sincere.’
Seeing his calm and composed expression the whole time, I even thought that maybe it was real.
“I won’t ask for an answer right away. Gatren gave me time. Three days. Give me an answer within that time. Whether you are going to die or not.”
Park Hyun-ah shook her head.
“Just tell me now. It’s not like anything will change just because you give it time.”
I have already talked with Choi Hyun-seok and our opinions are now aligned.
There is no need to wait three days.
No, from now on time is gold.
We need to make a decision now and move quickly.
“What’s the big deal? Let’s just die once.”
Even so, these two are warriors.
The villain is holding humanity hostage and threatening them, so we cannot run away like a coward.
However, being helpless against a villain is far from the duty of a warrior.
“But it won’t go the way they want.”
So I’ll risk my life for whatever they want.
And I will destroy it completely.
As it always has been.
“You defeat the villains like a hero.”
