VOLUME 12: CHAPTER 21

VOLUME 12: CHAPTER 21

"Damn bastards."

Instead of fear, what Emperor Sylvius felt upon hearing the demon's declaration was fury.

He'd already been enraged by the Marcus brat from the Coalition Army, and now, even the demons were belittling his imperial authority.

They dared to come here to the capital on their own and demand they present to them the Sword Saint?

How arrogant!

Lately, the people around him were overstepping their bounds.

Emperor Sylvius growled at his escort knights, "Vice Commander, what are you doing! Go out there and present to me their heads!"

Consumed by pride and rage, Emperor Sylvius decided to retaliate. He couldn't believe that two demons dared enter the imperial capital and threaten him, the so-called Devourer of Lands.

He also did not feel fear, for the Vice Commander of the Imperial Knights was a powerful swordsman capable of going toe-to-toe with an imperial court magician.

No matter the situation, the knights guarding him should be capable of taking care of it.

But to Emperor Sylvius' surprise, the Vice Commander refused to follow his orders.

"My apologies, Your Majesty," said the Vice Commander. "I cannot do that. Our priority is your security. We won't be able to protect you if we go out there to fight against those demons and that fleshy obelisk."

Hearing this, the Emperor finally exploded in anger.

"Even you! You damn knight! You dare defy my orders?!"

In his anger, he threw the goblet on his table at the Vice Commander. The goblet spun around, spilling wine everywhere, as it flew toward its target. It struck the Vice Commander, who did not dodge, right in the face, creating a cut on his cheek. Blood flowed down his chin, dripping to his plate armor.

"I will accept any punishments later," said the Vice Commander in a resolved voice. "I will willingly go to the chopping block once this incident is over, Your Majesty."

The Vice Commander roared, "Knights!"

"Vice Commander!"

"I will take all responsibility! Take His Majesty out of the Coliseum this instant!"

"Yes!"

The knights felt the same sense of loyalty to the Empire. They, too, did not mind being sent to the chopping block if they could ensure the safety of the Emperor.

"What are you doing! Let go of me!"

Seeing that the Emperor was unwilling to escape through the private exit of the VIP room, the knights ended up dragging him by the arms. It was an act that warranted the death sentence, but the knights did it regardless.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," said the Vice Commander, "but we must leave this place immediately."

The Vice Commander had seen the reports of the Silver Palace. Since the description matched exactly what was written in the reports, he was certain the fleshy obelisk was the same thing that sucked away the life of Meredith City and its surrounding regions. Fighting against it and the demons would be too foolish on their part, especially when they had to protect the Emperor.

Thankfully, the fleshy obelisk blocked only the exits available to the public. The exit of the VIP room couldn't be seen from the outside, and it remained open even now.

Under the command of the Vice Commander, Emperor Sylvius was forcefully evacuated out of the Coliseum, leaving behind the thousands of trapped spectators.

***

"Sir, a commotion has occurred in the coliseum."

The Sword Saint was in the middle of breakfast with his men in the banquet hall when he heard the news of the demon's arrival.

His knight reported about the demons' declaration, and the current state of the coliseum.

The Sword Saint put down his cutlery. "And His Majesty?"

Although there were thousands of people trapped in the coliseum, the first thing the Sword Saint asked about was the current status of the Emperor.

"Fortunately, the Vice Commander was with His Majesty when the incident happened," reported the knight. "They've passed through the inner walls of the city. They're now on their way back to the imperial palace as we speak."

"That's a relief. Vice Commander Yvon is as reliable as always."

"Uhmm… Sir? I heard he defied His Majesty's orders… Wouldn't the Vice Commander be executed because of this?"

Considering the Emperor's personality, this was the likely outcome after this incident was over.

Of course, Sword Saint Isaac Segarus wouldn't let his precious subordinate be executed for fulfilling his duty perfectly.

"I'll do something about it. Although His Majesty wouldn't listen to me, it'll be an entirely different matter if the Chief Royal Advisor intervenes."

Sword Saint Isaac Segarus grabbed his sword.

"Get me my armor from my room," said Isaac. "And tell the officers to gather the imperial knights. We're going to the coliseum."

Now that the Emperor had been successfully evacuated from the coliseum, he decided to gather the army and save the trapped civilians.

"Yes, Commander!"

The knight immediately went out and ran to the Sword Saint's room to get his armor. At the same time, the knights around them who heard the conversation started preparing for the upcoming battle.

The sound of chairs moving, metal clanking, and footsteps started filling the banquet hall.

Isaac gripped his sword tightly.

He muttered, "Those damn demons. They're demanding to see me? Very well, I'll grant them their request."

Sword Saint Isaac prided himself as the Sword of the Emperor.

Now that Master Harris was dead, he was the strongest man in the entire Empire. If he didn't show up in the coliseum, his reputation would surely plummet, and the Imperial Knights Order would start losing the support of the imperial citizens. He couldn't afford that to happen no matter what.

While the Sword Saint busily gathered and organized the imperial knights, several explosions were heard outside. A wave of mana rippled throughout the banquet hall, followed by the sound of another explosion.

Sword Saint Isaac ran outside and saw smoke rising to the sky.

RUMBLE!

Another explosion was heard, this one several times louder than before. It carried a shockwave that lightly shook not only Sword Saint Isaac's body, but also the ground he stood on. The smoke rising to the sky grew thicker.

From this distance, he saw several flashes of light fall down from the sky.

The residential district must be filled with panic-stricken people by now. They must be running and screaming, while running toward their houses.

One of his men ran to him and said, "Sir! We received reports just now!"

The man huffed and added, "The Fourth Tower of Mages has made contact with the demons in the coliseum!"

Hearing this, the Sword Saint finally understood what was going on. Those flashes of light and the ripples of mana probably came from the elite mages of the Fourth Tower.

Now that he'd thought of it, Master Haldor's personality wouldn't let him pass by the opportunity to meet those demons directly.

That man was an eccentric maniac who would do anything to further the progress of his researches. He was so strange and creepy that even Sword Saint Isaac purposely avoided him whenever they met.

Still, although the Master of the Fourth Tower was an oddball, he was more reliable than anyone else in terms of combat power.

Now that the Fourth Tower got involved, this incident would end sooner.

"What are the knights doing! Make haste! We can't lose to the Fourth Tower!"

"Yes, Commander!"

After the preparations were done, the knights of the Imperial Order, under the lead of Sword Saint Isaac Segarus, rushed toward the coliseum.

The streets were mostly empty by now, as the citizens had already evacuated to their homes in the Residential District.

As they neared their destination, they could feel the ripples of mana grow thicker. They could also now hear the sounds of an ongoing battle.

"What… is this?"

The knights of the Imperial Order felt cold sweat flow down their spines upon seeing the massive fissures on the ground.

Were they the sources of the violent quakes before?

The fissures were so deep you couldn't see their depth, and they were so long they probably spanned over a hundred meters.

Just this alone wouldn't faze the knights like this.

But the problem was this: there were dozens of similar fissures scattered throughout the city. And near these fissures were innumerable crushed and mutilated corpses of imperial soldiers.

It looked as though a colossal sword hundreds of meters in length came down the sky and slashed at the imperial capital several times, slaughtering the imperial soldiers by the hundreds with each strike.

The scent of blood and flesh was so thick that even the battle-hardened imperial knights almost vomited on the ground.

"The coliseum…."

Finally, the imperial knights reached the coliseum.

Everyone halted in their tracks by what they saw.

"What…"

"Oh, Gods…."

The coliseum had been destroyed completely, and only a fleshy obelisk spanning more than twenty meters in size stood at the center of it. Underneath the rubbles, the mangled bodies of the spectators who failed to escape were seen.

On the ground, the imperial knights also saw the corpses of the Fourth Tower mages scattered about. Those who were still alive were groaning, but they were in a state so severe even the highest-grade healing potion might not save them.

"Is… that Master Haldor?"

To their horror, they arrived just in time to witness Master Haldor of the Fourth Tower being strangled to death by one of the fleshy roots of the Corrupted Tower. The Corrupted Tower continuously sucked the life of the Master of the Fourth Tower, making his skinny body shrivel further.

The tower master squirmed as he struggled to break free, but to no avail.

"Master Haldor!" shouted Sword Saint Isaac.

Sword Saint Isaac was aware of the cruelties the Tower Master had been committing in the name of his experiments. And he was aware of the atrocities he'd been committing against innocent citizens. Still, despite all of these, he couldn't let the Tower Master die in the hands of those demons.

The Tower Master was among the Empire's pillars. If he died here, one of the key powers keeping the balance of the Empire would collapse.

"Isaac… h-help me! AAAACKK!"

The root of the Corrupted Tower moved and snapped the neck of Master Haldor, killing him in an instant. Blood dripped down his gaping mouth, his eyes rolled to the back. Another root wrapped around the tower master's body and dismembered his body in half.

The imperial knights stood there in utter disbelief as the entrails and blood of Master Haldor rained down from above.

Muuka, who'd been sitting on top of the Corrupted Tower, spoke to them.

"I planned on sparing the lives of the humans in the coliseum if the Sword Saint showed up on time. I always keep my promises, you see. But look at what these fools did."

Muuka's gaze moved to the scattered corpses of the Fourth Tower mages.

"They attacked us without warning! They even cast wide area spells and ended up killing most of the people in the coliseum! Funny, isn't it? Humans would do anything to achieve their goals even if it means killing their kin."

Muuka laughed. "I understand them, of course. As someone who loves exploring the unknown, I know what it feels like to chase after your goal. No looking back. One vision. One path."

Seeing Muuka's gaze move to him, Sword Saint Isaac felt chills crawl down his spine.

"Human, I heard him call you Isaac. Tell me. Are you the Sword Saint of the Empire?"

For several seconds, Isaac was unable to utter a reply. His instinct was screaming at him to deny it. His instinct told him that he should get out of here, to run away and never look back.

Even Master Haldor died pathetically like this.

That man, who'd been holding sway over the Empire for decades, died begging for his life to be saved.

"Hmm? Not going to answer?" said Muuka.

"I am, so what?"

In the end, Sword Saint revealed his identity to them. He couldn't back down here as thousands of imperial knights relied on him.

"I heard you've been looking for me," said Isaac Segarus. "You want to fight me? Then come down from there, you damn bastard!"

Muuka smiled at him in amusement. "Fight you? No, no. Hahaha! I will probably die if I confront you directly. Even that human who calls himself the tower master is stronger than me, you see. I am not your opponent, human."

Muuka slowly lowered his body and prostrated on top of the Corrupted Tower. With reverence, he spoke to the demon standing next to him.

"Absolute One, I present the Sword Saint of the Empire to you."

The Demon Lord Barkuvara silently stood there, gazing at the Sword Saint below. After a while, his figure vanished then appeared right in front of Sword Saint Isaac Segarus.

Reflexively, Sword Saint Isaac pulled out his sword and slashed at the Demon Lord Barkuvara the moment he appeared before him.

"W-What—!"

But to his surprise, the slash did not even scratch Demon Lord's body.

As the Demon Lord started suppressing the mana leaking out of his body after meeting Headmaster Ephiane, the Sword Saint couldn't feel anything from him at all. But the mere fact that he was unscathed by that attack proved he was no ordinary demon.

"You damn demon!"

"Protect the Commander!"

Naturally, the imperial knights around him moved to protect the Sword Saint. They unsheathed their swords and rushed toward the Demon Lord Barkuvara.

"WAAAITT!"

The Sword Saint tried to stop his men, but it was already too late.

To the Sword Saint's horror, several blades of mana flew out from the Demon Lord Barkuvara's direction and struck the imperial knights. Each strike cleaved dozens of bodies, leaving behind deep fissures on the ground, similar to the ones they'd seen before reaching the coliseum.

There was no scream, no death throes.

The imperial knights, who prided themselves as the best in the continent, were slaughtered almost instantly by the demon.

"N-No… what…"

Sword Saint Isaac's entire body trembled.

This was absurd.

How could someone this powerful be allowed to exist in this world?

He slaughtered all of those knights, who the Sword Saint shared stories and meals with for decades, without even batting an eye. And he did it effortlessly at that.

There was no change in the demon's expression, as though the ones he killed were nothing but insignificant ants.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!"

In the end, fear turned into rage, and the Sword Saint lost all reasoning.

Turning his fear into fury was the only way he could stop himself from fleeing this place and going insane.

"YOUUUU!"

Forgoing all forms of defense, Sword Saint Isaac unleashed powerful strikes at the Demon Lord Barkuvara one after another. His sword sharpened by mana to the utmost limit, each of the strikes were powerful enough to cut even the Lord Knight's body.

"YOUUUU!"

The slashes left small cuts on the Demon Lord's body.

"DIEE! DIEEE! DIEEEE!"

Along with his screams, torrential slashes were released at the Demon Lord ceaselessly.

A dozen strikes.

A hundred.

And when it was nearing a thousand, the slashes finally stopped.

"Huff… Huff…."

Panting, Sword Saint Isaac looked at the Demon Lord Barkuvara before him. With a single hand, he was gripping the Sword Saint's sword. Sword Saint Isaac tried moving it, but the sword wouldn't budge at all.

"Let go…"

Sword Saint Isaac put more strength into it, but he still couldn't pull back his sword.

"I SAID LET G—!"

The Sword Saint couldn't finish his words, as his head was severed from his body by an invisible blade. His headless corpse fell down to the ground, limp and lifeless.

Silence descended.

With the help of the root of the Corrupted Tower, Muuka went down and approached the Demon Lord Barkuvara.

Muuka couldn't understand why the Demon Lord spared the Headmaster, who was clearly weaker, but killed the Sword Saint.

Judging by the strength the Sword Saint showed, he could probably kill several fire giants on his own. His sword was so sharp it left cuts even on the body of the Immortal Demon. Of course, even a human as powerful as him was rendered helpless before an absolute existence like the Demon Lord.

"The human seems to be not in your liking, Absolute One."

The Demon Lord didn't utter a reply.

Quickly, the cuts on his body started closing. He looked at the Corrupted Tower, then at the ruined buildings.

"The Corrupted Tower will be giving birth soon," said the Demon Lord Barkuvara.

After sucking enough life force, the Corrupted Tower would give birth to thousands of flesh eaters.

"It is as you say, Absolute One."

The Demon Lord pierced his chest with his hand. Slowly, he took a fist-size clump of mana out.

"The humans have stopped progressing after the Cataclysm," said the Demon Lord. "How disappointing."

The clumps of mana slowly expanded, and after several minutes, it assumed a humanoid shape. It was a duplicate of the Demon Lord created by using a fragment of his soul, the same duplicate he'd sent to the White Mist Tundra of the Demon Realm.

"I will leave you here," said the Demon Lord.

The duplicate lowered his head. Naked, he was the spitting image of the Demon Lord Barkuvara.

"Protect the Corrupted Tower," the Demon Lord Barkuvara said to his duplicate. "Until it gives birth to a High Demon capable of protecting the flesh eaters, do not leave this place."

Slowly, the Demon Lord Barkuvara's body flew up.

"Muuka."

"Absolute One."

"We're leaving the Empire."

Were they going back to the Demon Realm? Or were they going to the other countries to find people included in the continental rankings?

Muuka did not know, and he did not dare ask this question. To show his fealty, he simply followed.

"Yes, Absolute One."