Episode 156 The Empire's Turmoil (6)
Rumble—!
Crackle!
Dark storm clouds covered the sky, and the barrier surrounding the capital screamed, emitting sparks.
And in the midst of that apocalyptic scenery, Hans, having achieved his initial goal, was slowly gathering his subordinates and preparing to leave.
[Then let's call it a day. I'll be waiting with a joyful heart!]
"Immortal King!"
The undead were disappearing into the darkness, but the humans couldn't act rashly and just gritted their teeth, perhaps because of the two hostages in his hands.
'Actually, the princess wasn't part of the original plan.'
Hans looked at the two members of the imperial family floating in the air next to him, bound by dark magic power.
He had originally targeted only the Crown Prince and attacked at the time he was using the gate.
When he wouldn't have reached the imperial palace after departing from the Jeron Cathedral.
'A high-ranking official with enough value as a hostage. And easy to track, and above all…'
"Mmm—!"
Hans's gaze turned to Crown Prince Simon, who was wriggling like a caterpillar.
He was glaring at the imperial knights, silently pressuring them, even though his body and mouth were restrained.
As if telling them to rescue him quickly.
What an eyesore.
Thwack!
"Gah!"
"Y-Your Highness!"
"Immortal King! What are you doing?!"
The Crown Prince collapsed unconscious with an undignified yelp as a lump of dark magic power struck the back of his head.
The knights started to rage again, but Hans didn't even pay attention to them.
'I didn't like him from the moment I saw him.'
He was an unpleasant person, from his first impression to his actions.
And he had even played a big part in the corruption rampant in the Empire, so he should consider himself lucky that he wasn't killed right away.
'He's still useful.'
He didn't know what would happen to him after he was no longer useful…
His gaze then shifted to Princess Riley.
The beautiful blonde was taking deep breaths, trying to maintain her composure with sharp eyes, even in this situation.
Of course, her heart was beating wildly, and her eyes were shaking restlessly, but she was meticulously controlling herself, to the point where it wasn't easy to notice her agitation at first glance.
'She's not even twenty yet, she's impressive. I happened to pick her up, but there's always a use for someone like her.'
He didn't have any personal feelings towards her, unlike the Crown Prince, so he wasn't planning to hold her for long.
Just as a cameo for a dramatic effect in one episode…
'Huh?'
At that moment, Hans's gaze turned to the side, sensing a subtle dissonance.
He was able to detect it because he had reached a transcendental level and could sense causality, and it was an abnormal situation that shouldn't be possible.
'Isea?'
The center of the anomaly was the awakened one from Earth, just like him.
Her karma was writhing, and her presence was gradually expanding in the heavy air surrounding her.
Her eyes moved calmly.
It was as if she was reading something that appeared before her eyes, but naturally, the space was empty.
But she was becoming stronger with every repetition of that process.
At that point, the situation was clear.
'Come to think of it, Isea has been here for eight years. And she's an Archmage with a noble title in the Empire. She must have already accumulated enough Karma to return. Don't tell me…'
The Karma needed for return was 1 million.
He didn't know how much more she had, but one thing was certain…
She had lost the means to save her life in case of danger.
No, she had cut the lifeline herself.
To use it for something else.
As if she had no intention of escaping anymore.
Her actions didn't last long because the Karma consumption increased as the enhancement level increased.
But her presence was clearly different from before.
'Don't tell me, she's planning to attack? With the princess as a hostage?'
But as if to prove his suspicions, she immediately started to act.
Gooo—
An enormous amount of magic power instantly erupted from her body and concentrated.
It wasn't a phenomenon created by gathering the surrounding mana.
It was already refined for its purpose, bursting out in an instant like a dam releasing water, clearly defying the laws of this world.
'At this level… transcendence? No, not yet.'
And Hans just watched as the miracle unfolded before his eyes.
Calmly analyzing her full power.
The compressed magic power was deployed, arranged regularly and amplified, built a foundation according to the pre-designed plan, and was guided by her will.
The entire process happened in an instant.
"What?!"
"Viscount Pristine?"
The humans around them, who reacted belatedly, showed bewildered expressions.
But Isea didn't react to them.
She just calmly unleashed what she had prepared.
Ziiiing—!
A beam of chilling light, originating from the magic circle that appeared before her, cut through the air with a sharp sound that seemed to tear through space.
It was an unavoidable attack, hitting the target the moment it was fired.
The 'Ice Dragon's Breath', compressed to its limit, tore through the dark magic power barrier that the opponent hastily created and…
Completely engulfed Arch-Lich Dwell and the undead around him.
Crackle!
[Gah! Y-you little…!]
He had hurriedly prepared for it after sensing the magic power concentration a beat late, but it wasn't enough.
His voice was cut off as he allowed the attack, and his frozen body started to crumble, scattering into ice dust.
Along with the undead next to him, who had also become ice statues.
Of course, his essence was with Hans, so he could be resurrected later, but the burden Dwell had to bear from this incident wouldn't be small.
"Haa— Haa—"
Isea's face, which had already been pale, became even paler after the attack, which was abnormally fast for a high-level magic.
"Viscount Isea Pristine!"
"What are you doing?!"
But the others just scolded her with bewildered expressions.
It wasn't for nothing that they weren't doing anything.
The hostages were the two most likely candidates for the throne, and the hostage-taker was the Immortal King.
They didn't know what might happen if they offended him.
They could only hope that the Immortal King would keep his word and wait for the future.
"…I have no other intention. It's just… there's an unfinished match."
"Now is not the time for…"
One of the knights under the Crown Prince shouted angrily, but she didn't answer and just turned her gaze to Hans.
"I apologize if you were offended, Immortal King. I'm not the type to just take it."
She spoke calmly, her expression not apologetic at all.
It seemed like she had also grasped Hans's personality and judged that he wouldn't harm the hostages just because of this.
'But why? Meaningless anger? He didn't seem that reckless.'
She was right, but was there a need for him to act like that?
Hans observed her curiously…
And then he realized that Isea's gaze wasn't on him, but slightly to the side.
Towards Fifth Princess Riley.
And he could feel… the princess's wildly beating heart and rough breathing gradually calming down.
'Huh, don't tell me. Was it for the Fifth Princess?'
He finally understood why she had done such a reckless thing.
And as he thought,
Isea was looking directly into Princess Riley's eyes.
Her blue-green eyes, which were trembling subtly despite her calm facade, gradually calmed down as time passed, and she just waited without saying a word.
'…Wait.'
Isea's attack, which turned the Immortal King's subordinates to dust in front of Riley, who was a hostage.
It wasn't just an act of anger.
It was an expression of her conviction and a signal to Riley.
Isea had told Riley everything after they became close over a long time.
About the existence of unique skills and Karma points, and about the fact that she had to return someday.
The intelligent Riley even helped her accumulate Karma points more easily…
And she helped her become stronger faster by thinking about the skill's versatility together.
Even though she knew it would hasten their parting, she believed that Isea wouldn't leave her without a word.
'Wait!'
Thanks to their time together, Princess Riley also knew about Isea's level and the limits of her abilities.
…She did, until now.
By unleashing an attack that far surpassed what Riley knew of her, Isea had shown her resolve and instilled conviction in her.
That she had no way out now.
I will rescue you no matter what, and I will never stop.
Even if the opponent is the Immortal King, the despair of this world.
So trust me and wait.
Don't give up or despair.
'Until I find you!'
And Princess Riley, who was intelligent, immediately understood Isea's intentions.
Her eyes, which had been calmly maintaining composure, welled up with tears, and her throat tightened, but she swallowed it, gritted her teeth, and just nodded quietly.
Her heart, which had been beating wildly with fear, was now beating calmly, as usual.
[Hehehe— Interesting. Well, it's fine. This could also be considered entertainment. I'm actually happy to have discovered another interesting individual.]
Hans, who had been watching the silent exchange between them, simply wrapped things up and floated towards the torn gap in the barrier with the hostages, preparing to leave.
He had been delayed by the supporting character's ad-lib, but it was time to really leave.
He had already stored the remaining undead in his subspace, so all he had to do was take the two hostages and he could leave freely.
…Of course, he couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling that he shouldn't leave like this.
'Tsk, this feels like I've become a bad guy.'
No, it wasn't just a feeling, objectively and subjectively, he was the bad guy.
A typical villain, deserving of all the curses in the world.
…The problem was that it was him.
And so, the Immortal King disappeared from Jeron with the two imperial hostages.
Leaving behind a scene of melodrama.
____________________
~♪
Click! Click!
The sound of mouse clicks echoed through the room where cheerful music was playing.
"Oh? Finally."
I, who had finished exercising in the home gym and was checking the latest news on the internet, discovered a very interesting piece of information.
-New) Auterica Dimension.
Information about a new dimension— officially posted on the Korean branch site after being disclosed through the World Returnee Association.
'Let's see, two returnees have been confirmed so far. And… there's not much information.'
The information briefly summarizing the dimension was already something he knew.
It seemed like the information provider, who was residing in the Republic, had actively cooperated with the association, as it had a strong eastern feel.
'It seems like they escaped in a hurry after the Immortal King appeared and the madness incident occurred.'
It emphasized that the current situation was chaotic and that caution was advised, along with a short sentence that the Demon King had descended and started to invade the world.
"Hmm…"
I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, having confirmed all the information.
'It's interesting to see it from the perspective of someone involved. I wonder how long it'll take for the latest information to be updated.'
Since the information was officially posted, it meant that it had gone through various cross-checks after at least two returnees were discovered.
It meant that it was outdated information, considering the time difference between dimensions.
Still, he couldn't help but be interested in seeing his actions evaluated from the perspective of other Earthlings.
'Oh, it's already time to patrol. There aren't many causing big trouble these days, but I still need to check periodically… Ah, right.'
He hesitated for a moment as he was about to transform into Hans using "Individual Projection".
The fact that information about Auterica was starting to be known meant that the possibility of information about the Immortal King being revealed on Earth also increased.
Not many would think they were the same person, but you never knew.
'…He's already known as Hahoe Mask on Earth, so should I change the mask he uses in Auterica? It's broken anyway.'
Or it wouldn't be bad to wear a proper Hahoe mask only on Earth and just wear the broken pieces as a fashion item in Auterica.
He kind of liked the half-mask feel.
'Well, I'll think about it slowly.'
It was a very trivial concern.
Compared to the political situation in the Azeria Empire, which was starting to fall into chaos because of his actions.