Chapter 325
The three of them crossed through the castle, disguised as magi of the Four Kings' Castle using magic.
As the castle was in a state of great chaos, no one stopped them.
“By the way, where are we going?”
“To the temple of the Four Kings' Castle.”
“The Four Kings' Castle has a temple?”
“Yes, it does.”
It was in the moment that the two wore puzzled expressions.
Chris stopped in his tracks.
“This is it.”
Seeing the ‘temple’, Kashmir and Teren gulped.
It was a grotesque building with countless carvings of suffering humans.
What was even more ominous was the energy felt from within.
“Brother, don't tell me?”
“Yes.”
Chris nodded.
“It is a temple dedicated to the worship of devils.”
* * *
Even in the Magus Empire, devil worship is taboo.
However, it was not forbidden, and the Four Kings' Castle in particular was lenient about devil worship.
So much so that a grand temple honoring devils stood in the middle of the castle.
Kashmir, who had entered first and scouted the inside of the temple, spoke.
“I have taken care of all the magi who were inside. But why did we come here?”
“There’s something we need to get.”
“A relic? But I don't see anything particularly useful?”
Chris shook his head.
“It’s not a relic.”
As the two wore puzzled expressions, Chris headed for the very center of the temple.
“Teren, do you feel the presence of a sealing formation?”
“Yes. They are sealing something beneath this altar. However, it doesn’t seem to be anything particularly great.”
Chris nodded.
“Dispel the sealing formation with your ash-gray demonic energy. I will guide you.”
“Yes, leave it to me!”
Teren, with a triumphant expression as if to show off to Kashmir, dismantled the sealing formation.
And then.
Rumble-rumble-rumble.
The floor opened to both sides, and a large space appeared.
“Wait, this is?”
There were coffins laid out.
A total of twelve sets of skeletal remains were inside.
It seemed as if an immense amount of time had passed since their deaths, but thanks to the sealing formation, they had been preserved without the slightest decay.
Feeling the energy remaining in the skeletons, Kashmir and Teren wore surprised faces.
“Grand Duke, don't tell me, this is?”
“Yes.”
Chris nodded.
“They are the remains of the legends of the Alliance, the Twelve Saints.”
Hundreds of years in the past.
There was a time when the Four Kings' Castle had invaded the Alliance.
At the time, the Alliance, which had not anticipated the war, was in a crisis of being helplessly defeated, but it was the Twelve Saints who had broken the ambition of the Four Kings' Castle.
With only twelve people, the Twelve Saints had faced the great army of the Four Kings' Castle. They sacrificed themselves to the last man, succeeding in slowing the advance of the Four Kings' Castle and buying time for the Alliance to regroup.
“The Four Kings' Castle, to insult the Twelve Saints who stopped them, dragged their remains here and used them as fertilizer for a temple that worships devils. They even set up a sealing formation so they wouldn't decay.”
“…I see. But why these remains?”
“I have a use for them. Pack them up carefully.”
Kashmir and Teren wore puzzled expressions, but they soon followed his instructions.
They moved the remains into an ultra-large subspace storage container they had brought in advance.
“Then, let’s go back.”
“Will we go over the castle walls?”
“No, it’s too dangerous. The magi of the Four Kings' Castle will soon come to their senses. It will be troublesome if we are pursued, so we will use the underground passage.”
“!!”
A giant underground labyrinth existed beneath the Four Kings' Castle.
It was not known when, for what purpose, or by whom it was made, but one thing was certain.
If you set foot inside, you would never come out alive.
‘It's not that there are any particularly dangerous magical beasts, but the moment you step inside, your perception is paralyzed, and you wander endlessly until you waste away and die.’
But in his past life.
There was one person who had broken through the underground labyrinth.
It was Chris.
‘Because I was the best pathfinder in the Alliance.’
For him, it was the safest escape route.
“Let’s go.”
Chris entered the entrance to the underground labyrinth, which he had identified in advance.
As he lit up their vision with a flash of magic, the sight of an endless labyrinth came into view.
“Follow me closely. You must not lose sight of me.”
Kashmir and Teren nodded, their faces tense.
Indeed, as soon as they entered, they felt their perception being paralyzed.
‘It's fine. I’ve already mapped out the entire structure of the labyrinth in my head from my past life. All I have to do is follow it.’
It was a smooth escape.
However, it was after they had traveled about halfway through.
Chris suddenly stopped walking.
“Wait.”
“What is it?”
Chris’s expression hardened.
‘Something doesn't feel right.’
He felt an unidentifiable foreboding from up ahead.
A feeling that he should not go any further.
‘No. There's no way someone is in the underground labyrinth?’
This underground labyrinth was a place that not even the people of the Four Kings' Castle set foot in.
‘But I can't turn back.’
Of all things, the structure of the labyrinth was such that he had to pass through this area to get outside.
‘Let's go, for now.’
He took a careful step forward, but the moment he saw the being that was situated in front of them, Chris’s vision went dark.
A death knight stood there, exuding an aura of death.
The problem was that it was no ordinary death knight.
Kiiiiiaaaaaa.
A horrific demonic energy from Gehenna was flowing from its entire body.
Chris gulped and recalled the identity of the being before him.
‘A Death Knight Lord.’
It was an 8th Demon-rank undead!
A magical beast equivalent to an 8-Star Absolute.
‘Why is a monarch-class monster like that here?’
It was not a being that should be on the mortal plane.
It was a being that reigned as the ruler of monsters in the depths of Gehenna.
‘Was it summoned with necromancy? But summoning an undead of that rank is impossible unless you're Pliton, the Lord of the Four Kings' Castle?’
But he couldn't continue his thoughts any further.
Flash.
As if reacting to the presence of Chris’s party, the Death Knight Lord unleashed a jet-black gleam from its eyes.
“Get back!!”
He shouted urgently, but it was too late.
A ghastly energy of death covered the surroundings.
‘The Veil of Life and Death!’
It was the Death Knight Lord's Domain of Dominion.
It was a terrifying Domain of Dominion that, when one was cut by its sword, would instantly bestow death upon the opponent.
Fwaat!
The Death Knight Lord’s form disappeared.
‘I can't see it.’
It was too late to react after seeing it.
Chris moved his sword according to his intuition.
Kaaaaang!
Fortunately, he blocked it, but the attack was not over.
In an instant, more than ten sword strikes followed.
Each and every one was a crisis that decided life and death.
‘First, I have to create an opening.’
Chris gritted his teeth and deployed his Domain of Dominion with all his might.
At the authority of the Dark Demonic Energy which completely dominated the surroundings, the Death Knight Lord’s movements paused for an instant, and Chris shouted urgently.
“Lord Kashmir!”
“Understood!”
Kwaaaaaang!
A powerful energy of destruction struck its mark, and the Death Knight Lord was pushed back.
But it didn't seem to have taken much damage.
Chris urgently retreated and aimed his sword at the Death Knight Lord.
‘Damn it, why is a monster like that in a place like this?’
But then, something strange happened.
The Death Knight Lord suddenly stopped moving.
‘…What?’
Chris frowned and remained on guard, but it still didn't show any movement.
‘…Don't tell me, does it only react when you approach it? Like a guardian protecting something?’
It seemed so!
From the looks of it, it seemed to be trying to block them from passing to the other side.
‘What's over there? Did the Lord of the Four Kings' Castle hide something?’
Chris frowned.
In any case, it was a predicament.
‘Breaking through head-on is impossible. It’s not a being I can defeat with strength.’
Currently, Chris’s power was in a state where it could rival a decent 8-Star.
But he was still lacking compared to a proper 8-Star.
Without various tricks, facing an 8-Star head-on was impossible for him.
In particular, the matchup was not good.
‘Because that thing has an absolute advantage against beings weaker than itself.’
It was thanks to its overpowered Domain of Dominion, the ‘Veil of Life and Death’.
‘But turning back and leaving is also impossible now.’
The magi of the Four Kings' Castle would have recovered from their confusion by now.
The high-ranking magi who had left the castle after hearing of the incident would be returning, so it was impossible to escape.
‘And I can't use a spatial teleportation relic, either.’
It was due to the spatial characteristics of the Four Kings' Castle. The phase of the subspace was distorted, so any and all spatial teleportation was impossible near the Four Kings' Castle.
‘Damn it. What do I do?’
It was as he was contemplating.
Suddenly, a voice was heard.
[Ahem, it seems you need some help.]
“!!”
Chris and the others, startled, turned their gazes.
‘Who?’
Surprisingly, it was a little girl with silver hair and a face as pretty as a princess from a fairy tale.
Looking to be about eight years old?
So, she looked to be around the same age as Nordian after he reverted to his youth.
“…Who are you?”
Chris asked tensely, aiming his sword.
He hadn't noticed her at all until she had approached his side.
She was clearly no ordinary being.
[Me? Do you ask for Our name?]
The little girl tilted her head.
[Our noble name is Elang.]
“…I'm not asking for your name, I'm asking for your identity.”
[Hmm, don't tell me you do not recognize Us? How disappointing. Watch.]
In that moment.
The little girl extended her hand.
As if she were holding a sword, it was a thrusting motion.
It was a simple motion, neither grand nor elaborate, but the moment he saw the imaginary line extending from the little girl’s small hand, Chris froze stiff.
It was a perfect line.
The ultimate form of a line, so beautiful it could not be surpassed.
He had seen countless sword styles, but the only one who could execute such a perfect line was Evan, in his past life, during his peak.
‘Don't tell me…?’
Chris gulped.
At this point in time, there was only one being on the entire continent who could execute a sword of this level.
The little girl placed both hands on her hips, ahem, and said in a triumphant voice.
[That's right, for We are the great Demon King of Silver Snow, the First Sword of the Magus Empire. You may pay your respects.]
* * *
The Demon King of Silver Snow.
She was the ruler of the Eastern Magus Nation, where this Four Kings' Castle was located.
She was known to possess the most righteous character among the Demon Kings and was always at odds with the Four Kings' Castle.
There were many other descriptions that defined her, but the most famous was this:
The First Sword of the Magus Empire.
A person who reached the Mid 9-Star level with a single sword.
Now that the Sword Emperor, who was the strongest knight of the Alliance, had passed away, she was a great being who could rightfully be called the one and only 'Greatest Sword Under Heaven'.
‘I never actually met her in my past life.’
Chris wore a surprised expression.
The Hero’s party had thought the Demon King of Silver Snow could become their ally and had tried to find her, but she never revealed herself until the end of the Age of Ruin.
“…We greet Your Great Majesty, the Demon King.”
[Yes, ahem. It feels good to receive such a polite greeting after so long. I was beginning to think I would meet my end like this, without meeting anyone.]
Her words were heavy with meaning.
“If I may, could I ask why you are in such a state, in this place?”
Chris got straight to the point.
“Have you been captured by those bastards from the Four Kings' Castle?”
[!!]
The Demon King of Silver Snow fell silent.
It was an affirmation.
‘I knew it.’
In his past life, there had been many stories about the whereabouts of the Demon King of Silver Snow, whose trail had gone cold.
The most likely theory was that she had been eliminated at the hands of the Four Kings' Castle due to her righteous personality.