novelraw Chapter 64 : The Name of the Empire (2)
Chapter 64 : The Name of the Empire (2)
Chapter 64: The Name of the Empire (2)
After finishing our conversation.
Leon handed over the power without hesitation. Perhaps because it wasn’t a realm he had forged through his own achievements? The omnipotence I felt within me was unpleasant. It was better to pass it on quickly.
Paaaat-!!
A flash filled the room. A ray of light so strong it felt like my eyesight might burn away.
With this, the Empire’s power became Irena’s.
“Ha-ha.”
It was then.
“Hahahahahat!!”
Irena burst into mad laughter. The sound was so loud it made my eardrums buzz.
It wasn’t strange. Belgarion’s power far surpassed that of a knight. That omnipotence must have been flooding every inch of her body.
Wasn’t pleasure erupting endlessly in her mind?
‘Simply possessing that power now allowed the Emperor to stand against Ira.’
Ira—who no longer existed in this world—was a powerhouse who could take on three knights at once.
Belgarion’s power was equal to that Ira.
‘Compared to a god’s power, it was nothing. But for an emperor who had never trained in martial arts, it must be an entirely new experience.’
Her entire view of the world must have changed. Every breath. Every movement of her hands and feet must have felt unfamiliar. In a good way.
Irena looked down at her hand with eyes filled with ecstatic joy.
Soon she spoke.
“Thou, I do not forget grace. I have received a grace for which even offering all of myself would be insufficient. If there is something thou desirest, speak.”
Irena, who had once offered to procure both the elixir and the God’s Blood. Now that she had reclaimed Belgarion’s power she could no longer grant such things, but—
She would have gladly granted even a difficult request.
‘Even if it were an international request.’
“For now, I’ll put it on hold. Nothing comes to mind at the moment. I’ll speak later.”
I said. It was a wise answer. Human desires change depending on the situation. If I had nothing I wanted right now, then it was right to ask later.
“Good. That much is not difficult. Then I wish to give one reward, not as Emperor, but as Irena. Wilt thou accept it?”
“If it’s something good for me.”
“To thee, I grant special permission to address me informally. All subjects of the Empire bow their heads to me. But thou art an exception.”
“…….”
My face stiffened coldly. But Irena’s face did not change in the slightest. Had she plated her face with iron? It was shamelessness of the highest degree.
Irena’s benefits did not end there. From the right to visit the Imperial Palace at any time, to saying she wanted to gift me a treasured sword.
A series of privileges no individual should ever be allowed.
I listened half-heartedly. None of it mattered to me. Even if they were wrapped in dazzling words, they didn’t tempt me.
“Do visit the palace sometime. I wish to treat thee to a grand feast.”
Food?
My ears perked up. It was food prepared by the palace’s chefs. Since only specially chosen people cooked there, the taste would be exceptional.
At my reaction, Irena chuckled softly.
The privileges I received were of such high value that any noble would drool over them.
And not just one, but several. Too excessive to grant to a mere individual.
Yet I had shown no reaction to any of them, but perked up only at food. She couldn’t help but laugh.
“I have kept thee too long. I must return now. I have been away from the Empire for far too long. There must be a mountain of tasks piled up.”
Irena spoke with a weary expression. Her emotional expression had become strangely varied. Had she come to see me as someone she could trust?
It felt as though she had taken off the mask she’d worn all this time.
Whether she did or didn’t, I didn’t care. Whether she wore a mask meant nothing to me.
I simply nodded indifferently.
Thus Irena left.
I quietly closed my eyes. To fall asleep.
After passing the power to Irena, a wave of weakness washed over my entire body.
My overly sharpened senses had returned to how they were before.
‘It seems the Empire’s power was too much for me. I can feel my body is exhausted.’
I hadn’t even swung a sword. I hadn’t circulated any inner strength.
Just opening my eyes and looking at the world had been tiring.
‘Those who reach the realm of ascension see a world different from ordinary people.’
It was true. Merely remaining conscious allowed me to feel countless sensations.
I surrendered myself to the drowsiness rushing in. Thanks to the heavy fatigue, I fell asleep quickly.
The next day.
Rahan and Lenel came to see me. To check on my condition.
They were seriously worried about me.
It was a puzzling reaction. I had heard a physician had already diagnosed me. I had confirmed nothing was wrong with my body. Why all the fuss?
‘Did they not hear it from the physician?’
Then their fussiness made sense.
I spoke.
“My body is fine. The physician told me himself. Didn’t you hear?”
“Of course I heard. But that’s not what I want to talk about.”
“What do you mean?”
“……Are you really okay?”
Rahan blinked as he muttered.
“It makes no sense. How can a human accept the World Tree’s Blessing and still be fine?”
Lenel also widened her eyes in surprise. Like a rabbit.
“Leon, we High Elves can control the World Tree’s Blessing. I only realized it after receiving the power from you. That’s why it’s even stranger.”
Rahan examined my body closely. His movements were childishly restless.
“Humans can’t control the Blessing. You must have accepted all of it at once.”
“Ah.”
Only then did I understand.
Let’s take an example.
All living beings have a limit to how much power they can contain. Martial artists called this their vessel.
The vessel was the boundary of a person’s limits. Exceeding that limit could lead to death.
‘The deviation of martial artists is a similar example. Strength beyond one’s level can kill.’
And the World Tree’s Blessing was powerful enough to burst my vessel entirely.
High Elves, on the other hand, could accept the power gradually, since their origin itself came from the World Tree.
“I accepted only a speck of its power. That’s how I know. This power is too immense. Even a Dragon wouldn’t be able to endure all of it. Their body would probably collapse instantly.”
Rahan said, eyes sparkling as though he had witnessed something mystical. Was my survival that mysterious?
“To be honest, dying would be normal. But you lived. You accomplished the impossible. So I want to ask.”
A strange glimmer flickered in Rahan’s eyes.
“Are you… the son of a god?”
I chuckled. The son of a god? Absurd.
But I understood. From Rahan’s perspective, I was a benefactor. Once in the back alleys of the Empire, and once in Aurel.
A benefactor who had created turning points in his life.
He was ten this year, if I remembered correctly.
He already looked at me with eyes full of admiration.
And now, seeing me stand unharmed after receiving the might of a god…
Wouldn’t I look like a divine messenger? Or an incarnation?
It was a thought possible only because he was a child.
‘Though the truth is nothing like that.’
After accepting the World Tree’s power, I had awakened fragments of all creation. Because of that, I also understood why I remained unharmed.
‘It’s better to tell him the truth.’
I wanted to avoid strange misunderstandings.
I opened my mouth to speak—
“……!!”
A fierce headache crashed over me. A pain so severe I couldn’t even scream. My vision flickered white.
At the same time I realized it.
The laws of the world had erased my enlightenment.
‘My memories of all creation vanished. Was it because I passed the power to Rahan?’
In a way, it was natural. It was power never meant to be mine. A temporary elevation of realm could happen, but nothing permanent.
‘The memories of all creation must be the same.’
The only memories remaining in me were those of the World Tree itself—memories not of all creation, but of what the World Tree had personally experienced.
All knowledge except for that memory disappeared.
One might have felt emptiness. Humans were creatures who regretted losing what they once held.
All the more so when it was the power of a god. The emptiness should have been beyond words. But I was not like that.
‘I can feel it. That power that briefly reached the throne of a god.’
Instead, I felt excitement.
‘The memories engraved in my soul have vanished, but my body still remembers the martial comprehension of that time.’
Which meant that someday, I had a chance to reach that realm again.
The probability would be low. But it was a realm I could never have reached even in death. The fact that the possibility existed was what mattered.
Joy spread across my face.
My dream was to become Elphrel’s greatest warrior. To surpass my father and take the king’s seat.
But inwardly, I had always harbored unease. Could I really attain such martial mastery with my talent?
No—could I even reach the level of a high-rank warrior?
Physically, I already rivaled high-rank warriors. But my skill was not.
If I assessed myself realistically, there were countless intermediate warriors with technique far superior to mine.
And that was not something that would change even after decades.
Right now, thanks to my youth, my growth was steep. But as time passed, that growth would slow.
And at some point, I would reach a wall.
‘Most martial artists of the Martial Alliance walk that path, they said.’
Among them, only those who shattered the wall became peerless masters. But would a peerless master be called that for nothing?
Even one person out of a million breaking through was considered a lot. Would I be among that million?
‘Impossible.’
I had lived as a third-rate ronin. I might have dreamed, but I never denied reality.
‘But now, I have a goal.’
Not a vague one, but a goal I had once reached.
I sprang to my feet. Rahan and Lenel looked at me in surprise.
“……Leon?”
“Rahan, let’s talk later. Something urgent came up.”
“Urgent? What is it?”
“I have to train.”
“……What?”
“I must train immediately. I’ve found a clue to becoming stronger. A hint to surpass my limits!”
My eyes burned fiercely. Madness glazed my gaze.
Rahan flinched at that look.
“……You do know the physician told you to rest, right?”
“Of course. But training is more important.”
I didn’t know how long the body would retain its enlightenment.
I had to train as much as possible while my body still remembered.
Leaving only those words behind, I stepped out of the room.
Rahan watched my retreating back blankly.
Well…… my body did look fine, but……
“Sssup……”
Rahan tilted his head and muttered.
“It should be fine. He survived after accepting the power of a god. How could mere training kill him?”
Rahan brushed it off casually.
“Keuhk-!!”
Underneath the Prison Forest Ground.
An old man crawled up from the earth.
“Damn it all!!”
Bang-!!
He slammed the ground with his fist. His arm was thin like a withered branch. Anyone watching might have worried his wrist would snap.
“Leon, Leooon!!”
But anyone who knew his true identity would not dare open their mouth.
For the old man was none other than Ira, one of the Demon King’s Seven Apostles.
“To think! Not only did he kill me, he left me in this state!!”
Ira had died once. Killed by none other than the hateful son of Zeke.
It was humiliating. To be brought down not even by Zeke himself, but by his son.
If the other Seven Apostles saw him, they would burst into laughter.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Once the Demon King’s seal is undone, my strength will recover soon enough.”
Ira muttered, exhaling breaths filled with excitement. He looked like a madman.
Then—
“After taking the army, I wondered why you didn’t report back…… so this is the miserable state you were in.”
A woman appeared before Ira.
“……Superbia.”
“Ira, why have you become such an unsightly mess?”
“……Once the Demon King is revived, injuries of this level will heal easily.”
“That much is obvious. But that’s not why I came.”
Ira suddenly felt a chill. As though he had become prey caught in a predator’s gaze.
Feeling his knees weaken, he looked at Superbia with trembling eyes.
“Superbia.”
“Don’t call my name with that filthy mouth.”
Superbia rebuked coldly. A murderous glint shimmered in her frosty eyes.
“You dared waste the army we gathered for more than a decade. And on top of that, you fell in disgrace, unbefitting of the title of a Seven Apostle. Ira, answer me. Do I have any reason to let you live?”
“…….”
Ira’s face turned pale. He knew full well how foolish his actions had been.
“I entrusted you with an army. And this is the result. Do you have anything to say?”
Her killing intent shot toward him. It was a voice he wouldn’t dare go against.
Ira trembled in terror. He sensed his end approaching.
“……Ira. As a fellow Apostle, I didn’t want it to come to this. But now I have no choice.”
“W-wait……!”
Crunch-!
In that instant, Superbia bit off Ira’s face.
“Aaargh-!!”
The sensation of flesh being torn. Ira screamed as he felt around his missing eye socket.
“J-just give me one more chance! This time, I will surely succeed……!”
“With what means?”
Her cold gaze pierced into him. Her eyes were viscous and chilling.
“You’ve become so weak that even common Demon Beasts could devour you. How could you possibly be of any use to us?”
“…….”
Ira could not respond. His mouth only opened and closed soundlessly.
He understood. He was useless now. Worse, he had hindered the Demon King’s resurrection.
“I see…… So this is the only way I can still be of use……”
Ira muttered, resignation in his voice.
Then he looked at Superbia and said,
“I am sorry. May my power aid in the Demon King’s revival.”
“…….”
Without a word, Superbia devoured Ira.
A ghastly sound echoed through the chamber. Anyone passing by would have been terrified.
After fully absorbing him, Superbia spoke.
“Help? How would this paltry power help anything?”
Tch.
She clicked her tongue.
“To think the Prison Forest Ground has cracked……. Who caused this?”
Thanks to that, she could enter this place…… but the question remained.
‘One thing is certain—a monster intervened. The Prison Forest Ground was a place even we, the Seven Apostles, could not tamper with. For it to crack, something monumental must have happened.’
Fortunately, she had succeeded in securing Ira.
Since she had absorbed his power, she would eventually be able to see his memories.
‘Whoever it is—if they can threaten the Grand Plan, I will eliminate them.’
Superbia’s eyes glimmered dangerously.