I Obtained the Final Boss' Power

Chapter 72 : Necessary Evil (3)

Necessary Evil (3)

Even after setting foot in the capital, Louis had never once forgotten his original purpose.

He must always control the power that constantly gnawed away at his mind.

And the only place where he might find a clue about that was the Imperial Court.

For smoother conversation, the Emperor led Louis and Klein to a reception room where no one else was present.

Sitting there, Louis began to recount all that had happened so far.

"I received a report from Legion Commander Paulo that the prophesied Hero has died. With the Hero gone, I wondered how you could have possibly defeated the Great Devil."

Without the Hero, the most likely candidate was the one who stood opposite to the Hero.

Considering this, the Emperor asked with a tense expression.

"Are you perhaps the Demon King?"

At that question, Louis sneered inwardly. He was an overwhelmingly more dangerous existence than the Demon King.

In any case, the Emperor had already concluded that Louis possessed a power of an 'evil' disposition, the opposite of the Hero.

Otherwise, defeating the Great Devil would have been absolutely impossible.

In the end, Louis had no choice but to explain his abilities to the Emperor.

He started by saying that although he had great strength, he lost his reason due to its side effects, and that a torture spell was used to control it.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor's eyes widened in shock.

He took a moment to collect his breath and calm himself before he could respond.

"I see. In any case, I'm truly grateful. If you hadn't defeated the Great Devil, by now I...."

Regardless of what Louis was, the fact remained that he had saved the Emperor.

Thus, he expressed his gratitude once again.

"If Orbel's brainwashing was still in effect... I would have soon handed this Empire over to the demonkin with my own hands."

Saying this, the Emperor shuddered.

There was nothing more frightening than dooming the territory he ruled by his own hand.

For saving him from that, there was nothing the Emperor wouldn't do for Louis.

"So what you want is a clue to controlling that strength?"

"For now, I'm managing day by day with this spell."

Louis pointed to the spell carved into the back of Klein's hand.

The spell was originally meant for criminals from the 7th Legion brought in for their crimes.

It was intended to inflict pain, but to this boy, it seemed to be treated as a sedative.

Even as the Emperor clicked his tongue in disbelief, he began to share the information Louis wanted.

"Do you know what the origin of this torture spell is?"

"I heard Headmaster Ferus derived it from some artifact."

"That's right. What you're looking for must be that artifact."

It was the Imperial Court that had ordered the creation of that artifact.

According to the Emperor, the artifact was not originally intended for torture.

Long ago, there existed a monstrous beast that plunged the world into chaos.

It appeared suddenly, burning cities and driving the entire continent to the brink of ruin.

Humans fought to resist the beast, but it was useless.

No magic worked against the beast, and its tough hide could not be cut by any sword.

Even the Great Demons, rulers of the demon realm, had to flee before that beast.

Humans tried to survive by selling their souls to demons, but no demon would help.

As humanity walked the path to extinction, the tide turned with the appearance of Heroes among mankind.

They risked their lives and fought the monster with all their strength.

The Heroes stained their weapons with the beast's blood and their own.

They were the only ones who could wound the beast and, in the end, they brought it down.

But even then, its overwhelming power could not be eradicated.

Slaying it was one thing, but if that power remained in this world, it would eventually bring about a similar disaster.

Therefore, the Heroes tore through space and created a rift leading to another dimension, exiling the beast's strength so that it could never return.

Thus, although they had won victory over the beast, the Heroes were not unscathed.

As soon as the exiling was complete, the Heroes began to die one by one.

The cause was none other than the aftereffects of wounds inflicted by the beast.

Each attack from the beast had been fatal to the Heroes. In truth, even their success in slaying the beast was a miracle.

Ultimately, the Heroes perished from the aftereffects of that day's battle.

Later, they were remembered as great figures, deeply revered by the Holy Nation.

"They are still objects of reverence to this day."

"So that beast, was it the Chaos Dragon?"

"That's correct."

According to the records, the Chaos Dragon was said to have been sealed by some artifact.

The truth and the records might not match perfectly, but the artifact itself seemed to exist.

"Do you really think those Heroes faced the Chaos Dragon with nothing but their own strength? Not at all. They fought the Chaos Dragon using the power of the artifact."

Thus, it was not wrong to say the dragon was sealed by the artifact's power.

The artifact was actually used as the Heroes' weapon.

In fact, without the artifact, there was no way they could have defeated the Chaos Dragon.

"Amazingly, that artifact was created by the Imperial Court of that era. The world was saved thanks to the combination of the artifact's unique power and the Heroes' skills."

"So they didn't fight relying solely on the artifact."

"The artifact's performance changes depending on who wields it. There's no need to elaborate if it's used by a Hero."

It was the artifact's power that cleaved and cut the scales of the Chaos Dragon, which resisted all other strength.

This alone told Louis just how powerful it was. Who wouldn't covet such a weapon?

"But the imperial family of the time judged that the artifact was just as dangerous as the Chaos Dragon's strength itself. So they dismantled all the artifacts so none could fall into anyone's hands."

Of course, they couldn't simply destroy them. Only another artifact could destroy an artifact.

Thus, they crashed artifacts into each other, allowing their destruction.

What would happen if such artifacts, their power raised to the utmost, collided?

Unsurprisingly, the surrounding area was wiped out, so this was done where there was no sign of people.

It was almost akin to a nuclear test.

"And they broke up even the blueprints used to make the artifacts, scattering them where 'no human hand could reach.'"

Thus, everything related to the Chaos Dragon disappeared from the world: the dragon itself, the Heroes who hunted it, and the artifacts.

All that remained was the reverence for the Heroes and fear of the Chaos Dragon.

"But generations later, the next imperial family tried to create the artifacts again."

Why would they discard such powerful strength?

Wasn't it a waste?

Motivated by such sentiments, the later imperials tried to recreate the artifacts.

"Of course, they couldn't help but fail. How could they possibly remake them when the blueprints were already gone?"

Attempts at artifact creation continued to fail.

Each failure only produced more 'counterfeits' that didn't even come close to matching the originals.

Even if Headmaster Ferus of this age tried, the result was the same.

"Failures were produced one after another, and as failures, they were extremely dangerous."

Unlike the original, which bestowed great power the moment it was grasped, the failures branded the body with a stigma and inflicted terrible pain instantly.

Anyone could see these failures were hazardous and should be disposed of.

But the imperial family of the time had a bright idea upon seeing them.

"They saw that the function which guaranteed anyone would feel pain upon grabbing it was, to them, not a drawback at all. It was Ferus who succeeded in refining that aspect."

When someone grabbed a failed artifact, it would instantly brand their body with a stigma, causing extreme pain.

The imperials searched for some method to utilize the stigma.

The stigma was a type of spell, controllable by human means.

The spell, which was activated randomly upon touching a failed artifact, could be controlled by people.

Thus, the failed artifact was reborn under a new name.

"That's this, isn't it?"

The torture spell. The notorious spell that the 7th Legion couldn't do without was created in this way.

"That's why it's called a failed artifact. The mighty item that once helped subdue the Chaos Dragon is now used for this purpose."

"Then the reason I'm calmed by this torture...."

The artifact was created as a weapon to defeat the Chaos Dragon.

In essence, its existence made it the only weapon capable of being the dragon's weakness.

"Since it was made solely for the Chaos Dragon, it would naturally affect the Chaos Dragon himself."

Hearing this, Louis had another doubt. Was the artifact really powerful enough to defeat the Chaos Dragon?

"If the Chaos Dragon was a great fire, then the artifact was the water that put it out."

"Most people simply misunderstand and think the artifact was just a powerful weapon. Really, defeating the Chaos Dragon was purely a matter of compatibility."

Because of this, the Emperor too harbored doubts about the artifact.

"That's why I'm beginning to think something is off. How did the Imperial Court of the time manage to develop an artifact that happened to be the Chaos Dragon's weakness?"

Developing a weapon to be a monster's weakness was possible.

But the Chaos Dragon's case was odd. The artifact emerged around the same time the Chaos Dragon appeared.

"Moreover, it's strange how they identified its weakness so quickly. There wasn't even any flesh of the Chaos Dragon to serve as a sample."

Nothing could injure the Chaos Dragon until the artifact came along, so how could they have obtained any of its hide or blood?

So, how did they create the artifact?

It was a mystery, since you could never get results like that unless you experimented on the Chaos Dragon herself.

"I've tried to look up records relating to that, but nothing comes up."

This only made the Emperor more suspicious.

Perhaps the imperial family of that time was involved in the Chaos Dragon's appearance.

"And now, someone wielding that beast's power stands before me."

The beast that nearly destroyed the Empire was now speaking with its Emperor.

Amazingly, he even used that power to save the Emperor and defeat the demonkin. It was a strange turn of events indeed.

"Then, if we have the artifact, does that mean this boy can control his mind?"

"As I said before, there are no original artifacts left in the world. The blueprints are gone as well."

The Emperor answered Klein's question with the truth.

"But there's still a way. My son Orbel, when blinded by power, searched for the blueprints."

The Emperor retained his memories from when he was brainwashed.

Thanks to that, he remembered what the Crown Prince had schemed.

He recalled the prince's excitement over receiving a 'gift' from the Great Devil—which turned out to be the blueprint.

"Is this what you're talking about?"

Klein took out a piece of paper from his pocket. It was the blueprint he had obtained through Kaliion and the arena.

"Yes, that's it!"

"If we collect the remaining blueprints, we might be able to control Louis's strength."

"That might not be so simple. The Holy Nation has outright banned collecting those blueprints."

The Holy Nation could never look favorably upon an Emperor who had been the puppet of the Great Devil.

To make matters worse, his own son, the Crown Prince, coveted not just the Great Devil's power but also the artifact.

Feeling threatened, the Holy See proposed a treaty to the Emperor.

"Under the treaty imposed by the Holy Nation, I was forced to dispose of everything related to the demonkin and dark magic. That included all matters concerning the artifact."

They were erasing everything connected to the Crown Prince.

Unable to stand on the moral high ground, the Emperor had no choice but to sign the treaty and return.

"As you said before, you and your squad members all possess power opposed to holiness, don't you?"

Just by looking at Rio and Pram, it was clear.

Because of the treaty proposed by the Holy Nation, the Emperor was in no position to help Louis.

"But don't worry. I'll personally see to it that you get what you want."

"Will you be alright?"

"Of course not."

The Emperor replied with a sardonic laugh.

"Of course I won't be. Helping those with evil power is clearly an evil act. No—"

It was not just evil.

"It is a necessary evil."