Chapter 461

Fernandez was sitting on the throne.

The throne, along with the thorn tree, was frozen white and transparent.

"...The time has come."

Fernandez, with his eyes closed, muttered to himself.

At the same time,

Sssss...

The throne, which had been frozen white for years, began to slowly melt.

The black thorn tree that wrapped around the throne also regained its vitality, as if spring had returned.

Since it was Fernandez who had originally frozen Everblack with magic, now that the time had come to restart Everblack in earnest, he began to thaw it.

"The ember has always been kept alive."

Koo-goo-goo-goo-goo-!

The thorn tree, regaining its stolen warmth, began to grow rapidly, as if reclaiming the years it had been frozen.

"...The plan is in its final stage. The Final Ark will soon be complete."

Fernandez lifted his eyes and looked ahead.

"Are you coming to stop me, Ash?"

Fernandez's dark red eyes gently smiled.

"Good. This finale is not a bad conclusion to our long and twisted fate."

The black thorn tree continued to grow endlessly.

Within the enveloping Everblack, Fernandez whispered softly.

"Come quickly, brother, my patience is not that deep."

***

Riding the Kraken, I rushed through the center of the Imperial Capital.

The giant monster, destroying everything from the sidewalk blocks to fountains and statues, the beautiful decorations of the Imperial Capital, charged forward.

At first, my companions watched with a look of pity, but after a while, they seemed to adapt, staring blankly at the marble fragments flying in all directions.

"This is the fifth fountain destroyed... Is this okay, Commander? They all look very expensive."

"It's okay. Fountains can be rebuilt."

"Wow! The Imperial Founding Monument is split in two!"

"Won't it be okay? There must be an original stored somewhere..."

"Gasps, the statue of the first Emperor of the Empire is shattered! Wasn't that one of the top attractions of the Imperial Capital?!"

"..."

It'll be okay, probably.

It's a national emergency right now, right? If we're not careful, everyone in the city could die.

My ancestors would surely be forgiving for just destroying a statue. Definitely!

"We must block them!"

"Stop the intruders-!"

"Don't let them reach the Imperial Palace!"

The Imperial soldiers tried their best to stop the Kraken, but...

"Aaaah!"

"Dodge, dodge! We can't stop that!"

"Contact the Imperial Palace-"

As the massive body of this monster surged forward, they couldn't overcome their fear and hurriedly dodged.

Maybe the veterans of our Southern Front could, but it's not easy for ordinary humans to confront such a terrifying monster.

Anyway, our advance was very smooth.

Soon, the Thorn Tree Palace was getting closer. If this continues, we'll arrive soon...

Koo-goo-goo-goo-goo-!

That's when it happened.

From the distant Imperial Palace, a terrifying rumbling sound was heard. My companions and I were all startled and looked in that direction.

Kwa-gwa-gwang-!

The ancient towers collapsed.

The Imperial Palace of the Everblack Empire, which had never been invaded since its founding, just kept expanding endlessly, was now collapsing.

The dark, pointed towers fell one after another, emitting clouds of smoke and dust.

And at the same time,

Crack, crack, crack!

It grew.

From underground, thick and massive black thorn tree stems began to shoot up wildly.

Knowing well what that tree was, I exclaimed in confusion.

"Everblack?!"

The guardian tree of humanity, Everblack.

The entire palace was swept away, devoured by the immensely swollen Everblack. The tree proliferated strangely, extending its pointed stems in all directions.

"...This is insane."

Seeing this, I muttered in disbelief.

"It's literally become the Thorn Tree Palace..."

"Is that tree okay, Commander?! It's kind of scary!"

Kuilan stammered, his face pale.

"I feel an energy similar to my tribe's cursed maple tree. But there's something more... inorganic about it..."

"You have a good sense, Kuilan. Right. That tree is of the same kind as the maple tree of your race."

The difference being, it's a chimera tree created by combining the guardian trees of various races.

And... the person who has now taken over that tree is trying to wield its immense power to kill his own kind.

"Right now, it has engulfed the palace, but later, it will cover the entire city."

The human sacrifice magic circle installed in the underground of the Imperial Capital, the shutdown protocol.

Using this, all the people in the Imperial Capital are melted into spirits, and the immense energy generated from the human sacrifice is fed to Everblack.

The proliferated Everblack will cover the entire city and completely isolate the Imperial Capital from the outside world.

And it will suck in the spirits of the people of the Imperial Capital and send them to the spirit realm.

This is the true nature of 'The Final Ark'.

'To create energy by killing people and preserve their souls with that energy!'

Such an economical massacre plan without any waste, my brother! This crazy bastard!

Whoosh!

The Kraken, with its tentacle legs, surged through the air in a rush.

We quickly reached the Imperial Palace at the end of our relentless advance. But soon, a problem arose.

Bang-!

A massive and transparent magic barrier blocked our way.

From the main gate of the Imperial Palace to the fence, a magical barrier enveloped the perimeter.

Even though the inside of the Imperial Palace was in such a state, this protective magic was performing its role incredibly well.

Growl-!

The Kraken roared fiercely, swinging its tentacle legs wildly.

But no matter how formidable the monster, there were things it couldn't penetrate. The Kraken struck down fiercely with its tentacles, but the barrier didn't budge.

"It seems we can't get in unless they open it from inside."

I grumbled, looking towards the main gate of the Imperial Palace.

Behind the firmly closed gate, soldiers were looking this way with stern faces. I shouted at them.

"Imperial Palace Guard! Open this gate immediately!"

"Prince Ash, we cannot do that...!"

The captain of the guard, who seemed to recognize my face, stepped forward and shouted.

"This is the residence of the supreme ruler of the sole Everblack Empire! There is a strict order not to let anyone in without permission!"

"Whose order? The fake Emperor Fernandez?"

I smirked and pointed at myself with my thumb.

"Hey, captain of the guard! You seem to be unaware, but just like my self-proclaimed Emperor brother, I also have the authority to open this gate. Open it now."

"What are you talking about. The opening and closing of the Imperial Palace's main gate is the exclusive right of the Emperor. You, Prince, do not have that authority..."

"I am the acting authority of the real Emperor, Traha 'Peacemaker' Everblack. He has personally granted me this authority."

I pointed at my own chest with my hand.

"Until His Majesty revokes this authority, I too can use the same authority as His Majesty. Opening this gate is naturally within my discretion."

"...But you can't prove it."

The guard captain, gritting his teeth in thought, glanced at me.

"How can you prove that you are the acting authority of His Majesty?"

"I knew you'd say that, so I brought a certificate."

I remember living in a country of digital certificates. I know well how troublesome it can be without preparing these things in advance.

"Here."

I gestured behind me. My companions carefully brought forward the baggage they were carrying.

It was a large coffin.

"Here's the certificate."

In front of the guards who looked puzzled, I smirked and opened the coffin wide.

And inside the coffin was-

"...?!"

"Gasp!"

The Emperor was lying down.

Lying as if dead, even wearing a sleep mask. He was sleeping comfortably.

Even while being carried around like luggage, he didn't move at all, just soundly asleep. This old man really has some nerves.

True to his life spent guarding the gates the Emperor used, the captain of the guard seemed to recognize the Emperor right away. He immediately knelt on the ground.

"Do you believe me now? His Majesty is currently in a deep sleep, but before that, he transferred his authority to me."

"..."

"Fernandez, who disguised His Majesty's death and took the throne for himself, is the real traitor. Do you understand the situation? Now, will you open the gate?"

"But, but..."

To the still hesitating captain of the guard, I shouted.

"Captain of the guard! Look up and see!"

I pointed with my hand to the inside of the Imperial Palace being consumed by the thorn tree, and to the chaotic city where citizens and soldiers were mixed up.

"Look at the sight of the city you've been protecting all your life crumbling!"

"...!"

"Are you trying to protect the form of the Empire, or its essence? Which is it?"

"I, I..."

"If you truly are a soldier of this country! If you have pride in having protected the Imperial Capital, the Imperial Palace, and the Emperor! Then what you must protect should be clear!"

The captain of the guard, closing his mouth and bowing his head, received another shout from me.

"Answer! What is it that you truly need to do?"

"To protect the Empire."

"Then open the gate. Join in protecting the Empire."

I nodded heavily.

"This is the last chance."

The hesitation did not last long.

The captain of the guard clenched his eyes shut and operated the opening mechanism of the gate. Soon, the barrier flickered and turned off, and the thick iron doors of the main gate began to slowly open.

'Fortunately.'

I sighed with relief inwardly.

Actually, Metallic, who had infiltrated as a double agent, was waiting near the main gate. If necessary, he would have annihilated the guard and opened the gate from the inside.

But there was no need to take lives that didn't need to be lost. That's why I persuaded them with words to open the gate.

Koo-goo-goo!

As soon as the gate opened, Metallic and the remnants of the 1st Legion, who were lying in ambush behind the guard building, poured out.

The faces of the guards turned to shock. They seemed to have just realized they had narrowly escaped death.

"Please come in, Your Highness."

The remnants of the 1st Legion, along with the hesitant Imperial Palace Guard, greeted us. I controlled the Kraken as gently as possible and entered through the main gate.

Metallic, with a worried look, glanced towards the Imperial Palace. The thorn tree was still growing relentlessly towards the sky.

"...What now, Your Highness?"

"Everyone has their part to play."

I quickly gave the order.

"My companions and I will enter the Imperial Palace and stop Fernandez. Captain Metallic, you and the 1st Legion are to rescue those imprisoned in the Imperial Palace dungeon and also search for and rescue Lark."

"...Thank you."

Metallic bowed deeply. Originally, Metallic and the 1st Legion were almost like Lark's personal guard, so they must have been waiting for this order.

Then, I directed the guards looking at me with dazed faces.

"Imperial Palace Guard! You are mobilized to stop the shutdown protocol."

"We will move as you command, but... exactly how should we stop it?"

The captain of the guard asked hesitantly.

I curled one corner of my mouth and grinned.

"There's obviously only one plan to stop the shutdown protocol, right?"

I had prepared a counter-protocol.

That was,

"Introducing the Shut-up Protocol!"

I shouted, raising my hand high and then,

"Activate-!"

I brought it down sharply.

Towards the cheek of my father, who was sleeping soundly in the coffin next to me, wearing a sleep mask and snoring loudly!

Swoosh-!

With a satisfying sound, the Emperor's face turned sideways sharply.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Metallic and the 1st Legion, the captain of the guard and the Imperial Palace Guard, all my companions, and even the Kraken.

Everyone looked at me with their mouths agape, their eyes filled with astonishment.

Then,

"...?"

The Emperor slowly opened his eyes.

Seemingly unable to comprehend the situation, even as he removed his sleep mask, the Emperor looked confused.

He gently touched the cheek he had just been slapped on.

"...Huh?"

I looked at him, still groggy from sleep, and smiled broadly.

The Emperor had definitely said this.

- Until I reclaim the authority, you are no less than the Emperor of this nation. Use that authority to protect this empire.

So.

In terms of authority, I am the Emperor now.

And father?

He's someone who lent me his authority and hasn't reclaimed it yet, so, for the moment, he's in a 'state of having no authority' at all.

"As the acting authority of the Emperor, with the Emperor's authority, I command His Majesty!"

In other words.

Even if he's the Emperor, right now, he has to follow my orders.

I pointed my finger at my father and shouted.

"Save your country!"

You thought you could just hand over the acting authority and sleep soundly?

What nonsense! You're the biggest cheat key here! I'll use that to the fullest!

My father, who had been looking at me in disbelief, slowly said.

"Crazy bastard."

Immediately after, a deep smile appeared on the Emperor's lips.

"That's my son."