VOLUME 12: CHAPTER 20

VOLUME 12: CHAPTER 20

[Meredith City]

"Chief Muuka, is it fine like this?"

Muuka was walking through the dilapidated hallway of the Maiaka Magic Academy when one of the tormentors serving as his assistant spoke.

"To let those humans go free…."

"It's the will of the Demon Lord," said Muuka simply. "Who are we to dare question the will of the one who rules over all demons?"

"But—"

"—Enough. Another word, and I'll cut off your head."

Hearing the threat, the tormentor immediately shut its mouth and didn't utter another word.

Muuka thought he'd educated his assistants properly. But to think that one of them would dare openly question the decision of the Demon Lord Barkuvara like this.

Had others heard of it, they could use it to suppress the Red Tower.

Muuka entered a room repurposed as a research laboratory.

Inside the room, numerous researchers from the Red Tower continuously conducted experiments on the humans they'd caught in Meredith City.

The scent of blood, concoctions, and burnt flesh filled the air.

As Muuka strode through the laboratory, the cries of the humans they'd been experimenting on were heard.

"H-Help…."

"Please… just kill me already…."

"I-It's painful… please stop… ughh…"

"N-No, please! Not again…."

"No, no, no!"

Old, young, women, and men. Several dozen live, naked human specimens were lying there, tied on tables. Without remorse, the researchers sliced open their flesh to examine their bodies. They did it while the humans were awake, without any form of anesthesia.

The researchers did not mind even if these humans died. After all, although they freed the students of the Magic Academy, there were still hundreds of humans imprisoned in the dungeons.

Even if they fed some of those humans to the Corrupted Tower, there would still be enough of them left to experiment on.

"Chief Muuka, welcome back."

"Ah, Chief Researcher! You're back!"

Muuka greeted them back with a nod, then went on his way to the deepest part of the room. In there, a naked, muscular man was tied to a steel pillar.

This man was his finest specimen yet. A very sturdy one at that.

"I'm glad I haven't killed you," said Muuka.

He gently caressed the man's chin.

"It's painful, isn't it?"

With a groan, the man looked at Muuka with an unfocused gaze. Blood dripped down his mouth.

"Do you wish to live? Or do you want me to kill you? Whichever of the two you desire, I can grant it to you."

The man was the commander of the city guards of Meredith. Together with his men, he stood his ground and defended the city down to the last man.

He was among the unsung heroes who did not leave the city, as they knew that doing so would allow the demons to pursue the citizens who'd managed to evacuate through the southern gate.

Unfortunately for the commander, the tormentors took an interest in the strength he demonstrated during battle. Instead of killing him, they took him to this laboratory to be experimented on.

Every day, the researchers of the Red Tower dissected the commander's body and then healed it with magic.

An ordinary person would have long died by now, and a weak-willed soldier would have already gone insane from the excruciating pain.

But somehow, the commander managed to retain his sanity throughout the entire ordeal.

Although his vision was unfocused, Muuka could see that the commander could still understand him clearly.

"I'll give you the reprieve you've been longing for. Just answer my question, commander. Where can we find Sword Saint Isaac Segarus?"

All humans have their limits, and the commander finally reached his.

After being tortured for so long by the demons, he wanted to be finally freed from those hellish experiments.

He couldn't die even if he wanted to.

He was also terrified of lying, as he could only imagine what the demons would do to him if he was caught.

He was certain the demons had put a living organism inside his body. Even now, he could feel it wiggling in his stomach. If he lied, this demon before him would know immediately.

The Sword Saint, the Empire – he no longer cared about them at this point.

He was tired.

He wanted to finally rest.

Weakly, he mumbled, "The capital…."

Muuka lightly tilted his head to the side. "Hmm? Not the border to the Republic of Everfrost?

One of the tortured soldiers said the Sword Saint was stationed at the border to the Republic. And Muuka went here to confirm if those words were correct.

The last thing he wanted was to lead the Demon Lord Barkuvara to that place and fail to find the Sword Saint.

"No…." the commander continued to mutter weakly. "The… Emperor prioritizes himself… above all. The Sword Saint… should be… at the capital… by now."

This was what Muuka wanted to hear. As expected, not blindly trusting the words of one human was correct. He was glad he met with the commander.

"The imperial capital."

Muuka broadly smiled.

"I must admit, I'm also curious about what it looks like."

Muuka put a finger on the commander's forehead.

"Hmm… the parasitic worm we've planted inside you confirmed you aren't lying. I always keep my promises, human. Choose. To live or die a quick, painless death. Tell me."

The commander mouthed, "Just… kill me…."

"Very well. A quick, painless death then."

The commander smiled. Finally, he could rest.

Muuka put strength into his index finger and quickly pushed it into the skull of the commander, piercing his head. Blood splattered, and the tied body of the commander limply fell.

***

After interrogating the captured humans, Muuka decided to finally deliver his findings to the Demon Lord Barkuvara.

"Absolute One, it's me, Muuka."

Chief Researcher Muuka found the Demon Lord standing on top of the only intact tower of the Maiaka Magic Academy. From there, he gazed at the city below.

"I've come to deliver my report."

For several minutes, the Demon Lord stood there, unmoving. Although he didn't utter a reply, Muuka knew he heard him.

After some time, the Demon Lord finally turned in his direction. "Did you find the Sword Saint's whereabouts?"

Muuka didn't lift his head. He remained prostrating on the ground as he replied, "Yes, Absolute One. I believe he's currently in the imperial capital."

"The capital…"

The Demon Lord looked at the sky. It was a full moon tonight.

"Muuka, accompany me."

Without waiting for Muuka to utter a response, the Demon Lord Barkuvara cast his spell. He flew to the sky at tremendous speed, taking Muuka along with him.

"I wish to meet the Sword Saint, one of the strongest humans in this continent, immediately."

He planned on ignoring Kreceir City, which they would pass by along the way.

If they continued flying at their current speed, they should be able to reach the imperial capital by morning.

***

[Capital of the Great Empire - Office of the Emperor]

Emperor Sylvius found himself without an appetite recently.

He felt anxious.

For days now, he'd been contemplating whether or not declining the offer of the Coalition Army was the correct decision.

Even the Chief Royal Advisor strongly suggested he accept it. But in the end, the Emperor couldn't bring himself to come under the wing of a mere brat.

Lark Marcus was around the same age as his youngest son. He felt that nothing would be more shameful than coming under a coalition created by someone so young.

Moreover, it was the same king who defeated them in the previous war.

This was one of the few times the Emperor went against the Chief Royal Advisor's advice.

A member of the Silver Palace reported, "Your Majesty, the Coalition Army has just entered the Arnelia Region."

Arnelia, a rocky region that served as the entrance to the White Stream Oasis, was around five days east of here. Entering it meant the Coalition Army stayed true to their promise and left the imperial capital completely.

"Continue monitoring them. Report to me any suspicious movements."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After the man from the Silver Palace left, the Emperor leaned back on his chair and rubbed his brow. His head ached from all the stress and worrying.

He muttered angrily, "They kept meddling with my Empire's affairs, going as far as forming that stupid Coalition. So what if they have the Dragon protecting them? My Empire will not become their lapdog! Those damn, fucking Lukasians!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

Emperor Sylvius even felt infuriated with himself for entertaining the idea of joining the Coalition in the first place.

Unable to contain his pent-up rage, Emperor Sylvius decided to visit the Coliseum. Maybe he would feel better if he watched the slaves and gladiators kill each other.

Emperor Sylvius was greeted by the Coliseum Master the moment he arrived.

Without hesitation, the Coliseum Master knelt and lowered his head, not daring to meet the eyes of the Emperor.

"Ah, E-Emperor! Your Majesty, Emperor Sylvius! What brought your esteemed self to this—"

"—Coliseum Master, do I need a reason to visit?"

"O-Of course not! Everything in the Empire is yours, Your Majesty! Even the very land we stand on right now! Even this Coliseum!"

Emperor Sylvius clicked is tongue.

"What are the matches for today?"

"Today, we have three matches, Your Majesty. Two of them are between slaves, while the remaining one is between the knights of barons."

"Another dispute?"

"Your Majesty is truly wise."

Although the majority of the fights in the coliseum were between slaves, gladiators, and beasts, there were occasions when knights duel each other to death. This commonly occurred whenever nobles had disputes with each other. Afraid of shedding blood themselves, they send their knights to fight in their stead.

"Change it."

"Pardon?"

Emperor Sylvius glared at the Coliseum Master. "Change the contents of today's fight."

"T-Then, what kind of fight should I change it to, Your Majesty?"

For several seconds, Emperor Sylvius pondered on which fight would entertain him the most.

In order for him to be relieved of his pent-up rage, the match needed to be gruesome. If all of the contestants ended up dead, then all the better.

"Make all of the participants in today's matches fight against the Humpback Red Rhino instead."

Once again, the Coliseum Master was reminded of how much of a madman the Emperor was.

A Humpback Red Rhino was a ferocious beast almost as strong as a White Desert Troll. With a size of nearly eight meters, its hide was five inches thick on average, making it impervious to most attacks. And although it looked fat, its body was actually composed of nearly all muscles inside.

Making the participants fight that monster without preparation and necessary weapons was basically telling them to die.

Still, the Coliseum Master knew to never question the Emperor's commands.

"I shall do so right away."

After making the absurd demand, the Emperor went to the VIP room of the coliseum. Here, he would be able to watch the match to his heart's content without being bothered by others.

After half an hour of preparation, the match soon started.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Esteemed guests and nobles! I wish to announce the changes in today's matches!"

The voice of the Coliseum Master echoed through the coliseum with the help of a voice artifact.

"Today, we are graced by His Majesty's presence! And as a show of gratitude to His Majesty, today shall be a battle against a ferocious beast!"

The crowd cheered. The gladiators at the arena trembled upon hearing this. From their current position, they could hear the growling of a beast at the arena's entrance.

"A Humpback Red Rhino!"

On cue, a steel door rose, and a furious rhino with numerous scars on its skin emerged. Its red horn had been cut off, but that didn't make it less dangerous to the gladiators. With each step of the beast, the gladiators could feel the ground quake.

"The rules are simple! Kill or be killed! Gladiators, do your best to survive this battle!"

The crowd were ecstatic.

Although they knew that those men would die today, they looked forward to the upcoming bloodshed.

In a way, these bloody battles in the coliseum were among the reasons why the Empire had a relatively low crime rate. It served as an outlet for the citizens to indulge in their inner desires for carnage. It also reinforced social order by showing everyone what would happen to those who'd lost the favor of those in authority or their masters.

"Now, let the battle begin!"

As though it understood the words of the Coliseum Master, the rhino charged toward the gladiators. First, it targeted the slave wielding an axe. Unable to dodge, the slave was struck by the rhino's frontal attack, sending him flying toward the wall, crushing his torso in a single blow.

The rhino roared. It stomped its foot, snorted, and charged toward the other gladiators.

The Coliseum Master gleefully announced to everyone the bloodbath in the arena.

"And another one is sent flying!"

"Oh, oh! What a mess! The rhino is stomping on the knight of Baron Moel!"

"Annndd the knight of Baron Yuel used this opening to stab his sword at the rhino's neck!"

"But as expected! The knight's sword couldn't even pierce the thick hide of the beast!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, the hide of a Humpback Red Rhino is at least five inches thick! And I believe that this one we are seeing has a seven inches thick armor covering its entire body!"

"Now, let's see how the gladiators are going to deal with this beast!"

"Oh, aha! Another one is sent flying!"

"And this time, eh? W-What?—"

The Coliseum Master's excited voice suddenly stopped. Noticing this, the audience looked in his direction, then at the place the Coliseum Master was staring at.

Surprisingly, the Coliseum Master wasn't looking at the arena but at the sky.

Two figures were seen hovering there, right above the arena.

"What's… that?"

The startled voice of the Coliseum Master was heard by everyone. Even Emperor Sylvius started looking at the place where the Coliseum Master was looking at.

One of the unknown figures spoke.

"Greetings, citizens of the Imperial Capital!"

A voice filled with mana was heard throughout the entire arena. It was so loud it was heard even by those outside the Coliseum. It seemed that one of the creatures hovering above was using a similar yet more advanced voice-amplifying artifact.

The spectators murmured to each other. At the same time, the royal guards and royal knights moved to where the Emperor was located. The guards in charge of the coliseum's security also came out in droves.

Muuka spread his arms wide and said, "Rejoice! For the one who rules above all has personally come to you in person!"

One of the guards shouted, "You! Who are you!"

Muuka frowned. From his fingertips, a thin beam of mana shot out and struck the head of the guard, killing him instantly.

"How rude. Do not disrupt me."

Seeing him kill the guard, the audiences filling the seats were horrified. They hurriedly stood up, vacated their seats, and ran toward the exit.

"Kyaaa!"

"H-He kill the guard!"

"M-Murderer!"

"It's dangerous here! Everyone, get out!"

Muuka activated the artifact which previously belonged to the Lord of the Corrupted Land.

From above, a twenty-meter large tower started manifesting itself. Once it reached the ground and sucked the land's life force, it would give birth to a Corrupted Tower.

"We are looking for someone!" said Muuka. "Sword Saint Isaac Segarus! Present him to us!"

Emperor Sylvius frowned. According to one of the knights next to him, those hovering above the arena were probably demons.

He did not expect the name of the Sword Saint to come out of the demon's mouth.

"One hour! If you do not present him to us by then—

From the Corrupted Tower, sinister mana continuously oozed out. The flesh covering it squirmed. Tentacles grew from the feet of the tower and started shooting toward the arena's exits, blocking the audiences' escape paths.

"—I'll slaughter everyone in this place."