726. [Side Story] Lake Kingdom (7)
Kugugugugugung…!
“Keuheuk!”
Ariel suddenly opened her eyes.
The entire Lake Kingdom, which had been levitated above the lake by magic, was forced to fall to the bottom of the lake and seems to have lost consciousness from the impact.
Shoot!
The entire Lake Kingdom had already been flooded, and the water from the lake was pouring like a waterfall into the interior of the royal castle, which was finally protected by magic. It was like a flood threatening to end the world.
Outside the large glass window of the royal castle, the water of the lake was overflowing.
The once clear turquoise lake was suddenly mixed with black energy and became a turbid color that was hard to see even in front of me.
I could see people and the remains of buildings swirling around in the turbid water.
Because everyone is cursed with eternal life, even though they are caught up in this disaster, they cannot even die.
People continued to struggle with their limbs like crazy, suffering from the pain of drowning.
《Hahaha.》
And this scenery.
The wise men were watching calmly, as if admiring the fish tank beyond the window at an aquarium.
《This view from under the water is also quite special. This game of destruction will be quite satisfying for the observers as well.》
《It is a worthwhile scene for the three of us mediators to step forward.》
The two wise men said, smiling one after another.
However, the wise man in the middle standing between the two – this ‘demon king’ who had initially possessed Prince Christian – was not smiling at all.
“No, the real destruction play has not even begun.”
The Demon King had already thrown off all disguise as a human old man and chewed and spat out viciously in his original form, like a completely black shadow.
《I will search through all the unconsciousness and all the nightmares of the people of this Lake Kingdom… and find that person.》 《….》 《
The
game of destruction must not end until then.》
Another person who came to help the Demon King The two intermediaries looked at each other and shrugged. ‘Anyway, it’s a different species-‘ while picking up the same sound.
“Why…”
At that time, Ariel, who staggered to her feet, asked the demons.
“Why are you doing this…”
How can you stay sober and calmly ask questions in this situation?
The other mediators, who laughed until their white mouths split, tried to ridicule her, but unexpectedly, the Demon King answered seriously.
《It is because of the original sin committed by your ancestors in the very distant past.》
“What…?”
“You prospered as a magic kingdom. However, I never worried about where this magic came from or who brought this power. No, rather, I turned away.》
The Demon King muttered inorganically.
《Now all you have to do is pay the price.》
“What is that… what…”
Gritting her teeth, Ariel grabbed the water-soaked long sword that was rolling on the floor and pulled it out. It was an ordinary iron sword dropped by a guard lying nearby.
“Even if our predecessors committed sins, that is no reason for our future generations to suffer!”
“okay. Maybe so. But isn’t it because of the sins of your ancestors that you are being destroyed now?》
The Demon King coldly pointed out the truth.
《It’s because of your foolish brother and father.》
“Huh…!”
“Since you have gained eternal life, you must also pay the appropriate price. Now you and your country will forever… rot in a nightmare at the bottom of this lake.》
Clang! Cheonggang…!
The castle’s glass windows, unable to withstand the enormous water pressure, shattered along with the protective magic, and lake water poured into the castle, creating black foam.
Ariel gritted her teeth as she was submerged in the rapidly rising water.
“We will get it back.”
Hearing her voice sparkling with clear will, the Demon King finally looked at Ariel properly.
“Whether you made this country like this because of the sins of my ancestors or the foolishness of Abamama and Brother… it is all the responsibility of the royal family. “I will definitely restore the glory of this country with my own hands.”
Then the Demon King finally smiled.
《So that fake prince? Did you send it away because it was your last hope?》
Ariel realized the abnormality of the situation immediately after the Demon King issued the ‘curse of eternal life’ and immediately ordered Ader to be ‘expelled from the country’.
– You are no longer from the Lake Kingdom…!
There was power in the princess’s words, so Ader was immediately stripped of her qualifications as a citizen of the Lake Kingdom…
and was thus able to escape the two curses that followed.
People in the Lake Kingdom cannot leave the country, and the entire Lake Kingdom sinks beneath the lake.
Ader must have gotten out of the lake safely.
“….”
Ariel herself wasn’t sure.
Why did I send Ader outside at that moment?
There would have been many other options, so why choose a non-citizen who was a slave? A fake who was nothing more than a stand-in for the prince. Did they use their last chance to escape?
What do you expect from him…?
“I dare not prophesy, princess of a ruined kingdom.”
In the swirling whirlpool of black sewage, the bodies of the king and prince, who had lost consciousness, were sucked into the hands of the demon king.
The Demon King placed his hands on the King and Prince’s heads and pulled out the shadows that had been planted within them.
The two people who were possessed by the shadow and destroyed the country will come to their senses the next time they wake up. And when he realizes what he has done, he will despair and go crazy.
The Demon King, who was stroking the heads of the foolish king and prince who had already surrendered to him, eventually turned to face the princess.
Even in this situation, he does not give in, but stands proudly and glares at himself with clear blue-green eyes… That noble gaze.
“Your hope will be broken and weathered and eventually die.”
“That will not happen.”
Ariel spoke with confidence.
“As long as I am the master of my soul.”
《Hehe, well. Let’s keep an eye on it.》
Quaaaaa!
The black lake water that rushed in suddenly filled the interior of the castle and swept away Ariel’s body.
Ariel was swept away by a huge mass of water and thrown outside the castle.
“No great human being could survive this infinite hell of destruction. Everyone surrendered and everyone was corrupted.》
The Demon King said calmly towards the princess’s remnants, which were moving away as if they were being exiled.
《The same will apply to you.》
***
The entire Lake Kingdom sank to the bottom of the lake.
The people of the Lake Kingdom drowned endlessly, regardless of whether they were citizens or non-citizens. Since I was unable to die, I had to constantly struggle and endure the pain of drowning.
Within a day, let alone a few days, most of the people in the Lake Kingdom went crazy and lost the will to resist.
The Demon King approached them one by one and proposed a contract.
I will give you a comfortable nightmare instead of the hellish reality here. Instead, give that dream to yourself.
The overwhelming majority surrendered. Most people in the Lake Kingdom chose to become biological devices that supplied nightmares to the Demon King rather than the unbearable pain of drowning.
Thus, just a few days after the Lake Kingdom sank, countless human cocoons covered in black shadows began to float throughout the Lake Kingdom.
But even if the vast majority of people are like this.
In the end, there were some who did not accept the devil’s offer and held on.
Ariel was rescued by her nanny and archwitch, Coco, as she endured the endless deaths with steely will.
Coco, a master of teleportation magic, had been holding on by teleporting to a space in the kingdom that had not yet been flooded.
These were the words Ariel uttered as soon as she was rescued by Coco.
“We need to find a way to move and breathe freely in the water, Nanny…!”
Even at this point, Coco couldn’t even cry in front of the princess who didn’t give up and tried to find the next path.
The two then rescued Diran Dahi, the head of the Magic Research Institute, who was imprisoned. In any case, he was one of the royal family’s best wizards.
By repeatedly dying and coming back to life in a submerged laboratory, he developed a device that allows him to breathe underwater.
After wearing this, find those who have not yet surrendered to the Demon King and distribute the equipment.
Traversing the interior of the Lake Kingdom, where strong torrents mixed with evil energy swirled around, the survivors desperately tried to reactivate the barrier outside the Lake Kingdom.
Powering the device, repairing broken parts, dying and dying… It
was one hundred years later that the barrier was finally restarted and the cold water inside the Lake Kingdom began to drain.
***
Shoot….
Black water poured out of the submerged Lake Kingdom, splashing thick droplets.
As the water drained, the Lake Kingdom was revealed to be in a miserable state, covered in sphagnum moss and rotting as it had been submerged in water for over a hundred years.
“….”
On the rooftop of a building located at a high altitude.
Ariel, looking down at this scene, slowly took off the underwater breathing device she was wearing on her head.
“Whoa.”
Her long silver hair, which had not been trimmed for a long time, fell down her back like a waterfall.
“Now you’ve taken a step forward.”
Ariel looked back.
There, survivors who had fought this grueling battle for over a hundred years were standing in a line, watching this monumental scene together with their faces filled with emotion.
Diran Dahi, head of the Magic Research Institute.
Checkpoint Supervisor Baltimore.
Malone, a centurion in the standing army.
Bayanbulak, the royal warehouse cleaner.
Sewerage manager Palayg….
And in addition to the people with the name, there are also non-citizens who fought together without giving in.
Before the destruction, regardless of their status or talent, there were people who did not bow down to the devil and stayed together until the end.
Ariel also did not give up and continued to fight.
“There is still a long way to go.”
Ariel looked back at her comrades who had not broken during this long and arduous fight, her eyes still shining with determination. declared.
“Now let’s find our way to the next level. “We are lifting the curse on the Lake Kingdom.” Afterwards, Ariel
gritted her teeth as she glared at the
huge building in the center of the Lake Kingdom, which was immersed in darkness… the royal castle from which she had been kicked out.
“Eventually, there is a way to defeat the Demon King…!”
But Ariel and the people who fought alongside her did not know.
It would have been more peaceful when the Lake Kingdom was full of water.
***
That night.
After the survivors held a small banquet, rejoicing in their first small success in 100 years.
Time for the exhausted survivors to take off their underwater breathing apparatus for the first time in a long time and lie down comfortably for a good night’s sleep.
“…?!”
Ariel, who was looking down at her homeland covered in sphagnum moss alone and lost in emotion, suddenly felt something eerie and turned back.
Sreung!
The rusty iron sword that I had been wearing since the day of destruction stuck out of its scabbard.
“Who are you?”
Then, a mysterious boy’s voice came out from the darkness.
《Hehe, shouldn’t you have quietly drowned in the water?》
Jump, jump,
and what appeared from the darkness… was a boy with dark blue hair wearing a neat suit.
“It would have been less painful that way.”
And in the boy’s arms was one of the survivors.
He was held helplessly and bleeding from his neck.
The boy then took a taste with his red lips and bit the survivor’s neck mercilessly.
Kwajik! Fresh blood splattered everywhere. The boy swallowed as much blood as he could and licked his lips with his bright red tongue.
“Well, from a vampire’s point of view, vividly moving prey is of course better. Besides, you are eternal, so no matter how much blood you suck, you will not die…》
“What…”
Faced with this unrealistic scene, Ariel, who had doubted whether the current situation was a dream, realized it too late.
Before they knew it, they were surrounded.
thud! thud! thud! thud! thud…!
Evil beings fell from the sky through the darkness and surrounded the survivors.
The black dragon,
the devil, the leader of the guardians,
the
unknown
witch, the
plague lord, the vampire king, the spider queen
, the dream demon’s daughter ,
the ghost
privateer, the slayer of the full moonlight, the goblin
god king –
I remember that everyone has already been exterminated. The monsters of the old era that were sealed inside…
were all resurrected under the hand of the devil and attacked the survivors.
When the water receded, the land was revealed, and the Lake Kingdom became a space where people could breathe and walk…
Monsters that the Demon King had brought back from his nightmares over the past hundred years began to take over various parts of the city.
“Now then, you eternal humans who do not die even if you die.”
Vampire King Celendion grinned and raised his pointed fangs.
“It’s time to be hunted by monsters.”
The real hell has begun.
