‘I should have saved him back then.’
The Emperor was regretting his decisions.
‘Even if I would have lost the Empire, I should have saved him.’
Though he could preserve his army by abandoning Sungchul, that was all that it achieved.
In the enthusing siege, his citizens and soldiers, as precious to him as his own soul, were whittled away and lost.
And as a result, the Empire was wasting away.
And the Emperor was just about to attempt a last ditch gamble.
With his nation and its people as the price.
Ahmuge watched the Emperor’s suffering from above as she spoke.
“I’ve heard rumors that after you fell in battle, the Emperor began to act strangely and caused his most important backers, the military, to turn from him. I guess it was all true.”
She sounded sad.
She had been a part of his faction at one point and had watched from his side during the time the Emperor was the most regal and emperor-like.
But now, he had not a shred of his glorious image left in him.
Next to the heart of the Ancient God, he looked like nothing more than a powerless and abandoned, lonely middle aged man.
“Sire, all the preparations are complete.
His strategists could be heard from afar.
“Knights and Generals who are to transform into Evil Gods are in position and are awaiting your orders.”
“The remnants of the fleet have completed their preparations for a sortie.”
The Emperor remained squatting as he turned only his head towards the magician and asked in an exhausted tone.
“Is the heart ready to be set to rampage?”
To this the Magician gave an audible gulp before answering.
“It should be ready in theory. But the Magicians who are to contain the heart are reporting that symptom.”
“They can hear the voice of the Ancient God?”
The Emperor’s eyes were opened wide.
The Magician nodded as he watched the Emperor with fear in his eyes.
The Emperor waved irritably.
“The Ancient God has died long ago. Are the Imperial Mages so weak to succumb to hallucinations? Order them to stand their ground and await my order!”
Although the Emperor had ordered with a rather dignified voice, Sungchul could tell.
Even the Emperor who should be leading by example was crumbling from within.
He couldn’t be left alone like this.
“It seems I have come here right on time.”
Though Sungchul was someone far from being described by the word ‘fortunate’, he felt that he was quite fortunate in this moment.
Sungchul spoke to the void before jumping off the terrace.
He felt layers upon layers of protective or detection magic activate.
“Intruder detected!’
“They’re coming from above!”
There was a sharp shouting from mages who detected him.
Guards who had been standing guard by the heart all pulled out their weapons and dashed to their Emperor’s side.
Everyone present looked up with apprehension.
And everyone could see.
The appearance of a man wearing a heavily worn out coat, descending upon them as if sent by god.
Boom.
The man, Sungchul, landed right in front of the Emperor who was still crouched.
The Emperor’s guards were about to run towards Sungchul, but they froze once they recognized who he was.
The Emperor who had been looking at nothing in silence slowly looked up.
And there, he found a face he had been so desperately wanting to see.
“How undignified, William.”
Sungchul said to him.
*
26
26 years ago. Summoning Palace.
What was taking place there was not too different from what was going on in the present.
Huge crowds of Summoned were brought here suddenly and met gruesome deaths on the cold stone floors of this world.
Plenty of people couldn’t withstand the shock and lost their minds.
For them who lived in a place where tomorrow was essentially guaranteed, this place was quite the literal hell.
But a very small percentage of Summoned adapted quickly to this extreme environment.
Especially those who had not a shred of hope or chance in the home world found it easier to accept their fate in this world and even actively make something of this second life they were given.
Sungchul was one of these people.
It was in Summoning Palace that Sungchul came to realize that he was more competent and helpful to others than he had realized before.
He always stood at the forefront of every battle, and did his best to save anyone that he could.
There was nothing he wanted in return. He simply wanted to save for the sake of it, and perhaps even hear a word of gratitude here and there.
But even he became close with someone there. It was a young woman who had shouted for them to band together and cooperate, even in the terrifying first days of being Summoned when no one knew what to think or do.
Sungchul was brought to her side and team by strings of fate, and for the first time, experienced something akin to love.
That is, until that one event.
Pacman rule.
It was an event where the Summoned are considered victorious if a certain number of Summoned are killed, or, by some miracle, the Summoned manages to kill the monster.
The woman Sungchul was relying on was trampled by a monster with 12 horse hooves and killed that day.
Sungchul had survived the battle somehow, but he was closer to a dead man in the aftermath.
The one who extended a hand towards Sungchul was William Quinton Marlboro. The man who would later become Emperor.
“How undignified.”
Sungchul had stopped even trying to eat and was awaiting his death when William spoke to him.
Sungchul looked up at William with hollow eyes.
Dozens of years later, it was a similar circumstance, though their roles were reversed.
The one speaking while standing was not William, but Sungchul, and the one squatting on the floor with hollow soul-less eyes staring off into nothing was William.
Sungchul recalled the conversations from long ago and recited it back to him.
Back then, William had told him this.
“There’s a saying in England.”
He waited for Sungchul to slowly turn his head to look at him before speaking loudly.
“Even without music, those with hope shall dance.”
Sungchul intentionally recreated that moment in their life.
“There’s a saying in Korea.”
The Emperor… No, William’s eyes opened ever so slightly. This moment of Déjà vu gave him a new kind of shock, as well as relive the first memory of his meeting of a life-long friend.
“…It sucks to watch your cousin buy land.”
In that moment, Sungchul knew that he messed up.
And his intuition became certainty when followed by Bertelgia’s strong shaking.
‘What are you doing?! After you built up the moment like that!’
Sungchul let out a fake cough as he tried to buy himself some time to think of a different saying to use as a replacement. But nothing in particular came to mind.
‘I should have read more books in school.’
While Sungchul was struggling to find the right words, a subtle smile spread across William’s face.
It didn’t matter what the message of the saying was. The important thing was what feeling Sungchul was trying to get across.
Sungchul watched life return to William’s previously empty eyes and reached out with his hands.
The two powerful men gripped each other’s hands.
Sungchul raised the Emperor back to his feet by controlling his strength.
“You survived.”
The Emperor finally opened his mouth. His voice was heavily weighed down by a mix of both joy and guilt.
Sungchul felt an awkward grin spread across his face as he replied in his calm tone.
“I found out I survived when I woke up.”
Emperor felt his nose sting as he closed his eyes.
And everyone who saw this moment felt a strong premonition that something was about to happen.
That an unbelievable, unprecedented event will take place that might go down in history.
And soon, everyone’s premonition soon came to pass.
The Emperor kneeled.
To the man who used to follow him, who was once cast out and called the Enemy of the World.
“I am sorry.”
The Emperor said honestly.
He who let go of all pretenses and appearances sounded frail and strained.
“That I couldn’t save you.”
Sungchul reached out and grabbed his arm to force him to stand instead of grabbing him by the hand.
“There’s nothing to apologize for. All you’ve done is make the decision that would best serve the Empire and its people.”
Sungchul said as he looked the Emperor in his eyes.
And from up close, the Emperor could see.
The man squatting in the corner of the Summoning Palace he had met all those years ago had long since surpassed him and have already arrived at a place that he himself couldn’t fathom attempting to reach.
It was not simply a question of might.
At least that’s what it felt like.
“Just make me one promise.”
Sungchul turned slightly to look past the Emperor to glare at the heart of the Ancient God that was beating subtly.
And the moment he looked at it, Sunghul felt something like a voice of hallucination echo in his mind.
[Food…hunger…always…together…]
[End of the world…that is the will of God…]
But the voice scattered like the wave hitting a sea wall. It did not continue.
‘Is it its lingering regrets? How persistant.’
Sungchul thought to himself before erasing what he heard from his mind.
It wasn’t strong enough to affect Sungchul.
For he who had survived the maze of dreams woven by the God of Chaos himself, Sungchul was no longer someone a mere Ancient God could influence any longer.
Sungchul continued to speak while glaring at the Heart of the Ancient God.
“Stop relying on this heretical thing.”
“…But!”
The emperor’s eyes shook greatly.
Without the Heart of the Ancient God, La Grange would be conquered and wiped out by the Barbarians within the day.
“But in return, I shall make one promise with you.”
Sungchul turned away from the heart of the Ancient God and looked up.
Although there was nothing but stone and brick walls above them, Sungchul’s gaze lay beyond them.
“In one week, I shall bring reinforcements to relieve La Grange.”
“Reinforcements?”
Sungchul nodded at the Emperor’s surprise.
Although it wasn’t much, the Emperor felt a large degree of trust from Sungchul in him.
But the Emperor’s face soon looked grim.
‘This will not be easy.’
The Emperor already knew
He was aware that among the retreated Coalition forces, there was something terrible taking place.
In Sungchul’s absence, the Wandering King was rising as the most likely candidate and receiving support to become the One King by the other warlords.
But it was Sungchul’s promise.
He does not make promises lightly.
“It’s one week. Within one week, I shall unify the coalition forces in the east and return to La Grange.”
Sungchul declared before turning around.
Beyond the worn out coat, a comforting calm voice could be heard.
“Now, the Miasma of death will not be the only thing you can expect approaching from the east.”
Sungchul walked forth.
The Emperor’s guards who had been watching with abated breath, without orders from the Emperor, moved out of the way to allow Sungchul through.
The Emperor watched Sungchul walk forward before calling to him.
“Sungchul Kim.”
Sungchul paused.
The Emperor grasped at his heart.
‘I must tell him the truth.’
What happened the last night before the fall of the Holy Kingdom of Rutheginea.
The terrible plans Kromgard had shared with him.
The Emperor wanted to reveal the truth.
But the moment he did, the Cross of the Covenant in his heart would incinerate him to death.
The Emperor was stuck at a crossroads.
So many thoughts crossed his minds as Sungchul turned to the side and awaited the Emperor to say what he wanted to say.
The Emperor squeezed his eyes shut.
He felt strength leave his body, but he forced himself to remain standing.
After a pause, the Emperor finally opened his mouth and spoke with no energy.
“…Take care of yourself.”
Sungchul nodded before using Fly to rise up to the terrace that he had come from.
‘In the end, I couldn’t tell him.’
Once Sungchul was out of sight, the Emperor’s body staggered.
The Emperor’s guards quickly ran to support the Emperor.
Intense burning shame and guilt was making him turn pale.
Just what was he so afraid of?
Death? No, that wasn’t it. It was similar, but it wasn’t it.
The Emperor thought about it while held up by his men.
And soon, he discovered a bitter truth.
What he was afraid most was the loss of the crown.
Before he knew it, he had become no different from any other ruling elites that he had once hated so deeply.
As he was stewing in his self-loathing and disgust, Emperor William Quinton Marlboro could hear some voice.
[Did you think that you can use a God like me as a tool? As a mere worthless human?]
A disgusting and sticky dark voice that seemed to be crawling out of the abyss.
The hallucinations of the Ancient God’s voice that the Magicians were reporting was ringing directly inside of the Emperor’s mind.