novelraw Chapter 124
Chapter 124
Ch.124 Even the Empire Must Be Nervous
The King and Davinus headed toward the Seal Stone cave.
Having entered this cave many times before, they knew it well.
The King raised Altarion’s Staff and spoke.
“If you hold me back, I won’t let it go.”
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty.”
The King glanced sideways at Davinus, who stood with unshakable confidence.
He remembered Davinus had held him back last time—yet still acted so arrogantly.
‘Well, fine. He’s competent, after all.’
“Stay close and follow me.”
With that, the King and the Cardinal vanished instantly.
As they entered the cave…
—Kaboom!
The entrance collapsed.
“Water Pool!”
Responding to the King’s command, the staff glowed blue at its tip, tearing open a vast pocket dimension that flooded the cave with immense quantities of water—intended to wash away the poison before it could spread through the air.
“W-wait, Your Majesty! Isn’t the water getting too deep?!”
Davinus panicked as the water suddenly filled the enormous cavern.
“Don’t worry. There’s a barrier.”
When the water reached his shoes, the King muttered,
“Barrier.”
A transparent film instantly formed, halting the water’s rise as it quickly filled the space behind it.
Seeing the cave completely flooded, the King pulled the Trident of the Sea God from his spatial bag with one hand and gave it a light shake.
Instantly, all the water vanished—as if it had never existed, not leaving a single drop behind.
“I’ll use full power from the start so those pests won’t bother us. So keep up.”
With those words, the King disappeared.
—Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed from ahead.
—Kraaang!
The cave trembled slightly, dust and stone fragments raining from the ceiling.
Davinus watched, heart pounding.
‘Finally… the Seal Stone…!’
The Cardinal sprinted forward with trembling anticipation.
When he emerged from the tunnel, he found a mountain of colorful golem debris—and
“Haha! Is this all you’ve got?!”
The King stood triumphant, having just pushed back four male and one female guardian constructs.
—Skrk!
One guardian’s waist split open, cleanly halved by the King’s blade.
“Blink!”
Altarion’s Staff in his left hand flashed—and his form vanished.
—Swish!
He reappeared behind the female guardian.
Her neck severed by his sword…
“Dark Fog!”
Black mist filled the air, crackling like lightning within storm clouds.
“Soulless beings! Pitiful wretches denied the embrace of the gods! Vanish!”
—Krrzzzt!
Crimson lightning flashed around the dark fog.
—Ssszzzt!
As the fog lifted, only charred, unrecognizable husks remained.
“Heh heh… Success at last.”
The King grinned coldly.
“Davinus, follow me.”
***
As soon as Davinus appeared, we went to meet Auros—to learn Selena’s hidden Gift.
But the King immediately summoned water and washed away the poison I’d prepared.
How did he know? Unless he’d tested it, he couldn’t have known the poison was vulnerable to water.
Honestly, I was shocked—but I kept my face blank, knowing any sign of alarm would unsettle the party.
I glanced at Auros, the golden dragon, who stared intently at the vision Icira had conjured.
His wrinkled brow furrowed deeply.
“This… is quite a troublesome Gift.”
He pressed his forehead wearily.
“What kind of Gift is it?”
His unusual reaction told me it wasn’t ordinary.
“The Gift this woman possesses is Regression—the power to return to the past upon death.”
What? Regression? That’s usually the protagonist’s cheat ability!
Why would Selena have the very power I, the one destined to oppose the God of Death, should possess?
But one thing was certain…
Watching the King of the Dead effortlessly dismantle the guardians on screen, I realized:
With that power—and the ability to rewind time upon death—the world’s destruction would’ve been inevitable.
This confirmed my earlier hypothesis.
Regression truly was an absurdly overpowered ability.
Now I finally understood why we’d failed to capture him last time.
Even with Levi’s Dagger, ‘Equality,’ and strong allies like Nekhuf and Mia—I saw clearly why we couldn’t win.
He must’ve died and rewound time repeatedly.
So… what now?
While I was lost in thought…
“Brother? The guardians are all down… can we really afford to be this relaxed?”
Nekhuf’s voice snapped me back.
Everyone stared at me with tense, worried eyes—fear and anxiety tangled together.
Regardless, my voice came out nonchalant.
“Hmm… with Regression, can we really stop him even if we go?”
Nekhuf shot up from his seat.
“Brother, what are you saying? Just because he has some Regression ability, you’re already giving up?”
“It’s not ‘just some ability’—it’s broken.”
I knew it was ironic—saying this while wielding ‘Equality,’ the ultimate cheat weapon—but the power to avoid death by rewinding time was undeniably game-breaking.
Regression introduced too many variables.
Frankly, aside from Auros, if the rest of us fought the King of the Dead as I remembered him from the game, it wouldn’t be difficult at all.
Statistically, our party should overpower him easily.
But with Regression?
What if he used hundreds—or thousands—of retries to create a favorable outcome?
Our strategies, habits, even formations could be exposed.
Sure, I’d be safe in the Arbiter’s Armor—but what about the others?
I scanned my party members one by one.
Losing any of them would be devastating.
Nekhuf, Icira, Mia—
None are easily replaceable, and each carries irreplaceable responsibilities.
Nekhuf has Nephert.
Icira has Aria.
Mia is royal blood among the High Elves—their last line of leadership.
Rushing into battle against Roy unprepared would only guarantee our loss.
“Ugh… this is complicated.”
Frustrated by this absurd Gift, I ran my hands wildly through my hair.
“Sage…”
Ignoring Mia, I kept my eyes fixed on the King of the Dead.
‘How do you beat Regression?’
Only now did I understand why Roy hadn’t destroyed the Seal Stones earlier.
He’d retreated because dying inside meant nothing—he could always rewind.
Now, Roy—wearing Selena’s face—approached the massive red crystal with arrogant confidence, smirking cruelly.
I just wanted to punch that smirk off his face.
“Tch! Then Hyung, you stay—we’ll go without you!”
Nekhuf, unable to endure it, stood abruptly.
I spoke coldly.
“Sit down.”
“Brother!”
His voice rose.
I turned to face him.
Though his face was hidden by his blindfold, his gritted teeth showed his fury.
After a tense silence, I sighed.
“Icira, don’t let anyone go there without my permission.”
She glanced at Nekhuf and replied,
“Well… I’ll do that.”
“Are you really just going to sit here? Let him shatter the Seal Stone?”
“One is fine. We don’t need to rush. It’s not too late to fight after we find a way to counter him.”
“Until when? Once all Seal Stones break, the world ends, right?”
The destruction of all Seal Stones meant game over.
“But losing one is acceptable.”
Even in the original game, we only stopped him when four were broken and one remained.
The King now stood before the Seal Stone.
He thrust his sword into the crimson crystal…
Blood-red light exploded—then quickly faded.
—Heh heh… My adversary… Let’s end this farce.
On screen, Selena pointed her sword at me.
Damn it… only one left.
If he attacks the next Seal Stone in this state, what then?
The poison in every dungeon is the same—vulnerable to water.
If he uses the same method… the next Seal Stone will fall just as easily.
—Teleport.
The King vanished using Altarion’s Staff.
“Icira, where did he go?”
If he’s heading to the next Seal Stone—should I move now?
Or… what should I do?
Fighting blindly will, at best, only push him back.
After all, he has infinite chances.
Is there any sealing method?
Sealing didn’t exist in the game—but this world is different. Maybe it’s possible here.
“Lord Auros… is there any way to seal the King of the Dead?”
“If we subdue him and extract him from his host’s body, sealing might be possible… but while he’s in a physical vessel, it’s unlikely.”
‘So it’s impossible while he has a body? Damn it… what am I supposed to do?’
“Apologies for interrupting, Lord—but it seems the King of the Dead isn’t heading to the next Seal Stone.”
An unexpected statement.
“What? Then where did he go?”
Icira just shrugged.
“I don’t know.”
***
The King of the Dead, Roy, having shattered the Seal Stone, returned to the ruins of the ancient capital.
“Your Majesty, shouldn’t we quickly destroy the remaining Seal Stones?”
Davinus urged, but the King showed him his palm.
“Heh heh… The god’s curse is stronger than I expected.”
Seeing the King’s hand turned violet, Davinus paled—but the King spoke dismissively.
“It’s nothing. It’ll return to normal in a few days. But I’m not sure I can break another Seal Stone in this state.”
“However… if the adversary prepares something else…”
The adversary had delayed him with unexpected poison.
Davinus frowned, displeased at the idea of giving the enemy more time.
“Don’t worry. My army is already marching on the Imperial Capital. Once the city and the Papal See fall, there’s no need to laboriously shatter Seal Stones to open the gates of hell.”
“We must summon Him as soon as possible.”
“I know. It is my sacred duty to bring Him—He who dwells at the deepest abyss of hell.”
The King tucked Altarion’s Staff into his spatial bag and continued,
“And soon, my forces will begin their assault on the Imperial Capital. It won’t hurt to see what tricks the adversary has prepared.”
“Heh heh… With so many liches and death knights, it should be quite a spectacle.”
“Even if the capital’s walls are impregnable—with an army of that scale… even the Empire must be nervous.”
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