Chapter 318
Lena was staring blankly at Chris.
Endlessly.
With a poignancy that made watching Chris's heart ache.
In other words.
Like the look she had given him before she met her death in his previous life.
‘...Why is she looking at me like that?’
Chris had a look of incomprehension on his face.
This was only the second time Lena had met him in this life.
In fact, the first time they met, she had been under the control of the Four Kings' Castle's puppeteer, Märchen, so it couldn't even be called a proper meeting.
“…Is there something you want to say?”
Chris deliberately replied coldly to hide the turmoil in his heart.
But Lena did something incomprehensible again.
Without a word, she began to approach him.
“What are you doing? Stop.”
Did she not hear him?
She continued to approach, staring blankly at him.
Step, with every sound, the distance between them closed.
Finally, at a distance where he could reach out and touch her.
Lena opened her mouth.
“…I've found you. Finally.”
“…What?”
“Hehe.”
Lena smiled.
Brightly.
Just like in her previous life.
But Chris, who had spent a long time with her, knew.
That was the smile Lena made when she was desperately holding back tears.
“…You?”
But suddenly, an anomaly occurred.
Faaaaah!
Her body was engulfed in a gust of darkness. She was about to disappear.
“Wait!!”
He urgently grabbed her hand, but it was no use.
In the final moment, their eyes met.
Lena still had a bright smile on her face.
Lena reached her hand toward Chris's face.
The moment her touch reached his cheek, drip, a single tear fell from her eye.
“Goodbye.”
Fwaaat!
Chris stared blankly at the spot where she had disappeared.
“…Lena?”
* * *
At that moment, high in the sky.
A distant blue sky, so high that the entire continent could be seen at a glance.
In that place, closer to the stars than anywhere else in this world, an otherworldly being was floating.
A handsome man with a neat impression, wearing a gentleman's suit.
It was the Magus Chancellor.
The Magus Chancellor was sitting on a carpet, smoking a long pipe, looking as if he were waiting for someone.
Indeed, before long, a group appeared.
[…What is the meaning of this? This place, the 'End of the World', is not a place permitted to you.]
A humanoid being dressed in pure white, with a circular halo on its head.
It was a Celestial.
And judging by the brilliance of its halo, a highest-ranking Celestial.
It wasn't just one.
Srrr.
The surrounding space distorted, and countless Celestials began to appear.
Even at a glance, their numbers exceeded a thousand.
[Quite a crowd you've gathered. Am I that scary?]
The Magus Chancellor spoke playfully, but the Celestials did not answer.
They just exuded a stiff, hard momentum.
They were wary of the Magus Chancellor.
[…Please state your business for coming here. I repeat, this place is not permitted to you.]
[Aah. I have something to say to your Celestial Realm.]
[…What is it?]
[You crossed the line, didn't you?]
[!!]
The Magus Chancellor smiled sweetly.
At the same time, a whoosh of cold energy spread through the area, and the Celestials' faces turned pale.
They were overwhelmed.
[…Don't tell me you're talking about Christian?]
[Aah, yes.]
The Magus Chancellor looked up at the sky.
His gaze was directed toward the Great Stars of the 4th Circle and above, beyond the distant blue sky.
[It's not the promised time yet. I know your Celestial Realm is in a hurry, but you have to play fair, right?]
Did they understand the Magus Chancellor's words?
The sky vibrated for a moment.
The Magus Chancellor shrugged.
[…Have you said all you need to say? Please return at once.]
[Ah, I've said it all, but.]
The Magus Chancellor knocked the ash from his pipe and muttered indifferently.
[Since you broke the rules, I'm going to give you a warning.]
[…What?]
[You guys, no more, no less, exactly half of you will die.]
[!!]
The Celestials' faces hardened.
[How dare a mere human!!]
[To us, the servants of the Constellation!]
The high-ranking Celestials in the back shouted in anger. But the highest-ranking Celestial standing at the front showed an unexpected reaction.
[Everyone, retreat at once!]
[…What? We must show that lawless bastard the authority of the Celestial Realm...!]
[That person is not someone we can face!! Return at once!]
The Magus Chancellor raised his hand.
[Too late.]
Darkness covered the world.
Hell descended.
***
[Aigoo, my back. Is it because I'm getting old? Things like this are just a bother. No fun.]
In the empty air around the yawning Magus Chancellor, blurry masses were floating.
Like heavily torn and broken debris.
They were the fragments of souls scattered as the Celestials were annihilated.
Among the one thousand Celestials, not a single one had survived.
[…Ah, right. I was only supposed to kill half, but I killed them all. Well, does it matter? Yawn.]
The Magus Chancellor stretched on his carpet and then looked down at the mortal plane.
Across a vast distance, the figure of a single being came into his sight.
It was Christian.
“He's safe. What a relief.”
The Magus Chancellor twisted the corner of his mouth.
“Well, it doesn't really matter if Christian dies now. No, rather, for His Majesty the Demon Emperor's plan, is it better if Christian dies now? Since we and the Dark Heaven ultimately have the same goal.”
An astounding story.
Dark Heaven referred to the Celestial Realm and Gehenna.
In other words, if what the Magus Chancellor said was true, it meant that the Demon Emperor, the Celestial Realm, and even Gehenna all desired the same goal.
“But for things to turn out that way is, as expected, no fun. I have a rebellious spirit, so I hate the obvious. I've even tried it once before.”
I've even tried it once before.
Words whose meaning could not be understood.
“So, Christian. Please, do your best. I'm looking forward to it.”
The Magus Chancellor let out a chuckle and rose from his spot. He was about to leave.
But in the final moment.
The Magus Chancellor looked not toward Chris, but somewhere else.
A certain 'person' at the location of the Dark Demonic House.
It was Marie.
The Magus Chancellor twisted the corner of his mouth and said.
“She's doing well. That's a relief. There isn't much time left, so I hope she spends her remaining time as happily as possible.”
Once again, words whose meaning was unclear.
With those as his final words, the Magus Chancellor's figure disappeared.
Silence descended.
***
“Long live His Highness the Hero!!”
“Hooray!!!”
Cheers echoed throughout the imperial capital.
They were voices praising Chris, who had eliminated the devil that had descended upon the Imperial Palace.
“To think the Crown Prince had made a pact with a devil.”
“If it weren't for His Highness the Hero, everything would have been over.”
“They say that thanks to His Highness the Hero taking action in advance, the casualties were not severe.”
As the people said, fortunately, the loss of life was not great.
This was thanks to activating the defensive line in advance through Ranya.
The casualties were limited to the second prince's faction, which had been intimidating the Crown Prince, and the emperor in the main hall.
Thanks to that, the people all shouted in one voice.
“We must make His Highness the Hero-Prince our Emperor!!”
“Yes, that's right!! There is no one who can become emperor other than His Highness the Hero-Prince!”
Of course, Chris had no intention of becoming emperor.
‘Am I crazy? Why would I go through all that trouble? Having done it once is more than enough.’
From his own experience, the job of an emperor was a crappy one where you only suffered to death and had no time to enjoy yourself. He had absolutely no intention of doing it.
‘Having someone else do it while I reap the benefits from behind is the best.’
The third prince asked, his mouth wide open.
“Are you really handing the throne over to me? Really?”
“Yes, yes.”
“You absolutely can't go back on your word. Wahahaha! From now on, I am the emperor! The emperor!!”
A look of someone whose eyes were blinded by greed.
Chris let out a snort.
‘How foolish. Enjoy it while you can. Before long, you'll be shitting blood.’
The continent would soon be plunged into a vortex of chaos.
Wealth and glory, my ass. That guy was now guaranteed to suffer like a dog until he died.
In fact, in his previous life, after becoming emperor, the third prince, Lauren, had died after endless suffering, without a moment to enjoy his power.
-If I'm ever born again, I'll die before I become some emperor...!
He had even left such last words.
“In return, there's a condition. Ah, you're my slave, so you know refusal is not an option, right?”
“…What do you desire?”
“Raise an army and march toward the Four Kings' Castle.”
“!!”
The third prince's complexion changed.
“Absolutely not! If I do that, the damage to my empire will be immense!!”
Such a greedy person.
A look of someone trying to thoroughly protect the empire that had become his treasure chest.
“Don't worry. I'm not telling you to actually wage war. I just need you to draw their attention.”
“But what if the Four Kings' Castle bastards really do something crazy?”
“They won't be able to. Because the Four Kings' Castle will soon kneel before our Dark Demonic House.”
The third prince had a look of disbelief on his face.
He, too, knew well the power of the Four Kings' Castle.
“What nonsense? There's no way the Dark Demonic House has such power.”
“It's possible. Because I am here.”
“!!”
He was serious.
‘I have to deal a fatal blow to the Four Kings' Castle in this war.’
Completely subjugating them was impossible.
But the plan was to inflict a critical wound so they couldn't get back up easily.
“And, change the mind of the Karn Empire's Honored One, the Spear Saint.”
“!!”
The third prince had a troubled look on his face.
“But the Spear Saint is one who has committed a great crime against our imperial family.”
“It was a false charge.”
“…E-even so, the Spear Saint will not be easily swayed. H-he might even harbor ill feelings toward the imperial family because of what happened in the past.”
The third prince had a look of reluctance about bringing the Spear Saint back.
Because the power of the 9-Star superhuman, the Spear Saint, was more than enough to be a threat to the imperial family.
Of course, Chris had no intention of listening to such pathetic thoughts.
“Hey. It seems you've forgotten. Who are you?”
The third prince answered hesitantly.
“…I am the noble person who will become the great emperor of the Great Karn Empire.”
“Exactly. Don't you see this?”
The third prince wasn't just bound by his soul.
Chris held a document in his hand and fluttered it.
It was the evidence that the third prince was a devil worshiper.
Of course, it was all fabricated by Chris, but as long as this evidence existed, Chris could send the third prince to the stake at any time.
‘Uwaaah. Why did I get caught by a devil like this. To think they praise a guy like this as the Hero! Everyone must be blind.’
The third prince swallowed his tears.
“Who did you say you were?”
“…I-I am your slave.”
“Good, so let's do a good job, okay?”
“Y-yes, understood.”
“Your voice is too quiet.”
“I will do a good job!!”
After the commotion, Chris spoke.
“There's one more thing you have to do.”
“Again? What is it?!”
“…Why are you raising your voice? Your face is full of dissatisfaction. You don't want to? I wonder what the stake in the Karn Empire looks like.”
The third prince, who had tried to timidly rebel, immediately recoiled and stammered.
“N-no. I-it was... a shout of loyalty, to show I will work hard! Loyalty! Loyalty! Loyalty!”
“Tsk. Come in.”
Creeak, the door opened and an unexpected person appeared.
It was Ruina.
“Isn't that the head of the Deer Merchant Group? Why so suddenly? And why are you dressed like that?”
The third prince tilted his head.
Ruina's appearance was different from usual.
Instead of the comfortable, practical clothes she always wore, she was in a neat suit, and her expression was also stiff and hardened.
“She didn't come today as the head of the Deer Merchant Group.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look at the necklace she's wearing.”
Ruina was wearing a gray ornament around her neck, where a crescent moon and the sun intersected.
It was a famous crest.
“Why that crest?”
A thought came to mind, and the third prince's eyes widened.
“Don't tell me, you are?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Ruina bowed her head slightly.
“The last heir of the lost kingdom greets the new emperor of the empire.”