617. [Side Story] Last festival (7)
“A hundred years ago. Your ancestor, your great-grandfather, asked Grand Duke Dusk-Bringer to do it. We need a force that will never lose.”
The emperor opened his mouth slowly.
“So the Grand Duke integrated all the magic and sorcery of the time, curses and taboos, and even his own dragon blood… and made the Glory Knights, the Imperial Guard, into an immortal army.”
I shrugged. Grand Duke Dusk Bringer…?
“So for the past hundred years, the Glory Knights have protected the emperor and the empire. Since then, the knights have been constantly replaced, and even the Archduke of Bringer stepped down from his position as leader, but the curse and forbidden arts have been passed down from generation to generation.”
I thought of the bandages with magical texts wrapped around Hecate’s body.
Are those old bandages… curses and forbidden arts?
“The knights selected as the Glory Knights die once right after being appointed. You have to die once to never die again.”
“Killed…?”
“okay. And by forcibly ‘fixing’ them by putting a curse on the body and soul of the dead. No matter how terrible the wound is, the body recovers its form at this time, and the soul does not leave and remains in the body.”
The emperor continued as I listened to the story with my mouth open.
“but. Although the body is revived, the soul is shattered. Sooner or later, the end comes. That’s why we continue to find successors and replace generations.”
“….”
“And the current generation of 5 Glory Knights I played very rough.”
The emperor laughed bitterly.
“Which battlefield have I been on?”
“…He fought against the gods in the spirit world.”
“okay.”
no way.
As if confirming my guess, the emperor nodded.
“The Glory Knights were also with us in that battle.”
“…!”
“I fought directly with the gods of different races at the bottom of the spirit world. No matter how talented the Glory Knights are, they are not transcendentalists. Even so, the five of them died and resurrected endlessly, clashing swords with the gods, so they were consumed in an instant.”
The emperor gently closed his eyes as if recalling that time.
“The current leader, Hecate, was ruined because of that. He’s one of the greatest sword geniuses in the history of the empire, but it’s another thing to wear out his soul.”
“….”
“I already reached the limit of my operation two years ago, and I should have retired a long time ago. In fact, two years ago, the most talented of the academy cadets at the time graduated early and left them on standby as successors.”
I was startled. no way.
“The successor candidate is Evangeline…?!”
“okay. Evangeline Cross, the daughter of the Margrave of Cross. She was also a candidate for Glory Nights.”
I gritted my teeth. Is that why this episode’s Evangeline graduated earlier than in the original game…!
“But at the last moment Hecate refused.”
The emperor leaned back against the chair.
“When he heard that the knight selected as his successor was 16 years old, he begged me. He said he would try to hold out as long as possible.”
“…”
“And… an accident happened.”
“An accident?”
“It’s Fernandez.”
ah.
I opened my mouth small at the name of my second brother, whom I hadn’t heard in a long time. Come to think of it, around that time…
“He tricked me into a ruse and cut off Everblack’s connection while me and the Glory Knights entered the spirit realm.”
“oh my god.”
This damn second brother, this is how it goes?
I remembered the time when I met the emperor in the spirit world.
At that time, it was not only the emperor who was imprisoned in the spirit world, but also the Royal Knights.
“Having disconnected from Everblack, I lost the light of the lighthouse and never returned to the present. The same goes for Glory Nights. We were scattered and the knights drifted beneath the depths of the spirit realm.”
“…”
“I managed to rescue them long after I returned to reality… but it was already too late. Those five people have already been ruined as much as they could be destroyed. In addition, because of being exposed to the spirit world for too long, even curses and forbidden arts have been damaged. Now I won’t even be able to pass on the curse to my successor.”
The emperor let out a light sigh.
“Fortunately, the battle with Lee Shin stopped, so… I gave my pitiful knights a place to fall and die. That is this crossroad.”
“…”
“Hecate made a request after reading the proclamation you sent. Finally, I want to go to the festival. There are people I want to see before I die.”
So…
I wore a dress I hadn’t worn in my life and even childish red Mary Jane shoes.
Dressed up to the fullest, he came to visit his old classmates.
“They are the shadow of the Empire. Cursed, never to see the sun again, never to love and be loved like a normal person. They are pitiful and pitiful people who have completely burned their lives for the sake of the empire and the emperor.”
The Emperor slowly rose from his chair.
“What does Jim want from you, entrusting them to you?”
I looked up at my father, overwhelmed.
“Isn’t it obvious? As an emperor, there is only one thing a father can give to his son.”
With his face buried in dark shadows with his back to the afternoon sunlight of the city where the festival had arrived…
the emperor growled like a beast.
“It’s just an ordeal.”
“…!”
“Son. you said before He said he would kill monsters and save people. And Jim asked you. What is the definition of the person you want to protect?”
The question and answer exchanged between the emperor and the imperial palace in New Terra came to mind.
“And you answered that question by founding the World Defense Front. All beings who are trying to communicate and understand each other are the ones you are trying to save.”
In the shadows, the Emperor’s jet-black eyes radiated… a dull golden light.
“Then I will ask you one more time here.”
“…”
“Even if the being you want to talk to and understand harbors an evil that cannot be washed away, would you still embrace it? Are you going to embrace and protect even such an opponent?”
I was frozen and couldn’t move.
“The Glory Nights are loyal patriots who love their country so much that they gave their all. But what is the difference between being a patriot of an empire and being an enemy of an enemy country?”
“…”
“From the founding of the country until now, the Glory Knights have been the swords that have been swung without going against the orders of the emperor even once. How many innocent lives have those blades cut off?”
The Emperor continued to pour out.
“These Glory Knights are the shadows created by the Grand Duke of Bringer whom you respect. The Grand Duke is a pitiful and sad being, but the darkness she embraces is as thick as the years she has lived. Can you not turn a blind eye to even the ugly side of the Grand Duke?”
“….”
“And I am also the greatest villain in the world. Just because I was kind to you and arranged everything for you- wouldn’t you consider me a good person?”
The emperor vomited up the sins he had committed.
“Jim framed innocent citizens and turned them into the dew of the execution ground. And I burned the corpse and soul and used it as firewood for my country. In addition, I directly crushed many neighboring countries into myself. How much innocent blood was shed and countless tears were shed in the process?”
“…”
“I will embrace all the darkness I have created and die. Because Jim wants to make you a flawless emperor. I will clean up everything that can be cleaned with my already soiled hands. however!”
The emperor slowly leaned towards me. An irresistible power emanated from his two eyes that had come closer.
“The darkness of the world is deep.”
“…!”
“It is always deeper than you grasp than you imagine.”
The emperor spread his arms left and right.
“Where can the shadow of the Empire be the Glory Knights? All knights, all wizards, all soldiers, all bureaucrats, servants and patriots stand on this blood-stained, guilty land.”
“….”
“Look at your people you love. Look at the loyal warriors who are willing to die for you, gathered from all over the world. Are they as innocent and innocent as they are?”
I gritted my teeth.
“Even if there are people like that, even they would be willing to put blood on their hands to save you. Everyone is willing to take on the darkness to defend your cause.”
“…”
“But beauty is just a cause after all. Regardless of the reason, if the perspective is slightly different, all human beings are putting their toes into the abyss of evil one step at a time.”
The Emperor roared quietly.
“Truly, truly – would you embrace that as well? Can you truly bear the darkness of this world with all that malice?”
“….”
“Do you really have the courage to embrace and embrace all of this? my pure son In the end, what kind of king do you want to become in this seething abyss of evil called ‘the world’?”
A moment of silence passed.
After I managed to catch my breath, I finally asked.
“Abama Mama… Why are you putting this ordeal on me?”
“Strictly speaking, this is not my ordeal.”
The emperor laughed.
“This is the trial you chose. I just woke it up.”
“…!”
“After pursuing the infinite goodness, you are the one who is walking into the Sura-do. I’m just trying to offer you a suitable compromise in exchange for your precarious innocence.”
whispered the emperor.
“Didn’t you tell me? I’m trying to make you emperor of the empire.”
“…”
“Now that you are commanding the front line protecting the world, you can wield such a sham flag. But after that? How long can you wield the ideal of embracing the whole world like that?”
Looking at me with trembling eyes, the emperor proposed his own ‘negotiation point’.
“Cut the world.”
“…!”
“You don’t have to try to embrace everything. Embrace just the right amount of malice for your world and your people.”
The emperor slowly lowered his body and tilted his head to the side. At last, a human-like expression permeated his mythical face bathed in sunlight.
“That is the answer I want.”
“What if you can’t?”
“Don’t you know?”
The emperor smiled and nodded toward the south.
“No matter what ideals you have, there is only one end to the overzealous kings.”
At the southern end of it
there must be an ancient kingdom sunk beneath the Black Lake.
The Emperor laughed, baring his molars, and whispered in a humorous tone.
“It’s just drowning.”
I clenched my fists. The emperor walked past me and slowly left the office.
“I will watch, Bonheter. How are you going to embrace and deal with the darkness of your people?”
“….”
“The choice you will seize at the end of this ordeal. And the result too.”
Kik- Kung.
The door opened and closed, and I bit my lip in the office where I was left alone.
The darkness that Hecate embraced. The darkness embraced by Dusk Bringer and the darkness embraced by the emperor.
And…
the countless other people belonging to this frontline… the darkness each of them embraced.
If I really want to be king. If you want to become the owner of the flag that guides them. You must not look away.
But – how far?
Do I have the capacity to embrace and melt away all that darkness?
‘To think that he was thinking about the royal road ahead of the black dragon subjugation…’
But, however.
Know.
Even if I don’t find the right answer, even if I make a clumsy and clumsy conclusion…
I shouldn’t stop thinking about this.
Because I know from past experience. That this kind of agony and agony will eventually lead to the way to protect humanity.
Whether it’s my humanity or the humanity of everyone here on the front lines.
Because it is my role to be troubled until the end because I am still a person.
