CHAPTER 088
The moment the circular stone gate closed, the flapping wings of a soaring hawk froze in the sky.
The hatching movements of a baby bird in its oak tree nest halted, and the cry of the white horse Cassius, mourning its vanished master, was no longer heard.
Four knights stood around the stone gate like statues, their swords drawn.
Half of the Ether River, which flowed toward the human world, appeared frozen, as if time had stopped.
As the elf had said, the clock in the human world had stopped for five days.
“Do you think the emperor will succeed?”
“Well, it's uncertain. There hasn't been a hero in mythology who succeeded.”
Hearing his master Esperal's response, Barrel's face darkened.
Barrel, barely three hundred years old, equivalent to seventeen in elf years, had not lived through the horrific events that occurred millennia ago, but he knew them well.
The adventure of the hero Musatr, who imprisoned the Great Demon King in the underground world after rebelling against the ancient gods, was a mandatory subject in elf schools and a well-known story among all beings in the mythological world.
The Great Demon King of the underground world, Ubyseut's rebellion.
Once one of the three great ancient gods, Ubyseut had broken an oath sworn upon the Ether River and was cast into the underground world. He was the youngest sibling of the First Ancient God, Zenitus, and the Second God, Oshertez.
Though it wasn't entirely clear how Ubyseut, destined to be food for the creatures of the underground world, became their king, he led them in a grand rebellion against the gods.
Monsters, breaking through the sealed barriers, wreaked havoc and conquered the world.
Ubyseut’s target was the human world. He knew well that if the human world, which protected the temples, fell, the existence of the ancient gods would vanish as well.
Cornered, the ancient gods began searching for a hero in the human world who could fight for them...
The human hero they chose was Musatr, the youngest son of the last chief of Helterd and the first king of the Helterd Kingdom.
“Couldn't the mythological beings and the ancient gods join forces to fight?”
“How do the Great Demon King Ubyseut and the monsters gain their power? That was in the last test…”
Raising an eyebrow at his pupil's question, Esperal prompted Barrel, who replied hesitantly.
“That’s… the monsters of the underground world gain power by consuming human fear, doubt, and hatred.”
“Exactly. That’s why the Great Demon King wants to conquer the human world first. He plans to acquire immense power from human souls and then break through the Ether River's barrier to attack the mythological world.”
Barrel's sky-blue eyes widened as he looked down at the Ether River.
“Since the ancient gods crossed the Ether River, the elves have been responsible for the barrier. Master, you have protected it brilliantly so far.”
“We elves, who were never the idols of humans, weren’t greatly affected when humans stopped believing in the ancient gods.”
“If all the elves helped you and we focused our efforts to prevent them from breaking through the stone gate, couldn’t we succeed?”
Esperal gazed into Barrel's hopeful eyes with a faint smile.
“That was a possibility until yesterday. But now everything has changed.”
Barrel, puzzled, gasped in realization and whispered.
“Arabelle, the light of the Lumen Savior…”
“Do you understand now? The Great Demon King, having absorbed the light of Ermiore and Arabelle, the brightest souls of the Lumen Savior, is unbeatable for the elves. We…”
Barrel knew what his master meant even without him saying it.
As beings that lived off natural energy, elves were inherently protectors of animals, the Lumen Savior. They could not attack them.
If the Great Demon King absorbed all the light of the Lumen Savior, the elves' power would be ineffective against him.
This was the main reason Arabelle had tried to make Emperor Maxwell leave.
Having almost completely absorbed Princess Ermiore’s light, if the Great Demon King obtained Arabelle’s light as well, not only could he break the sealed barrier, but he could also neutralize the only mythical warrior capable of facing him: the elves.
It was the beginning of the realization of the curse placed upon the Helterd Empire by the Goddess of Nature for annihilating the Lumen Savior race.
However, the goddess who cursed the empire and turned the emperor into a monster to bring its downfall could not have imagined that the entire world would sink in this manner.
“Then, Emperor Maxwell is…”
“He is our only hope.”
Esperal’s bitter smile lingered as he looked at the stone gate.
Ironically, the survival of both the human and mythological worlds depended on Emperor Maxwell.
An emperor who could never be called virtuous or moral, who used and betrayed people without remorse, the despised bloodline of Helterd by the ancient gods, held the fate of the world in his hands.
“But no matter how strong the emperor is, he is still human. He can't defeat the Great Demon King in the underground world, can he?”
“That’s why the ancient gods, who despise the Helterd bloodline, gave him Musatr’s sword.”
“That is…?”
Seeing Barrel’s wide eyes of confusion, Esperal began to explain.
"Emperor Maxwell, like the Great Demon King who absorbed Princess Ermiore's light, was freed from the curse by receiving Arabelle's light. And not just any light, but the greatest light the Lumen Savior possesses—the light of love. It is the light most needed by the monsters, yet the one they most dread. They must endure unbearable pain when they come into contact with the light, despite needing to absorb it to grow stronger."
Moreover, Maxwell carries the bloodline of the first emperor of the Helterd Empire, who received the love light of the hero Musatr and Princess Ermiore during the era when the ancient gods’ power was at its peak.
A human, yet blessed by the ancient gods and bestowed with the love of the Lumen Savior.
Realizing that Emperor Maxwell was their only hope, the ancient gods presented him with the hidden sword of Musatr.
If he could save Arabelle before all of her soul's light was extinguished, the Great Demon King would not gain the power to break through the barrier.
If Maxwell could hang the net woven from the hair of the ancient gods at the stone gate, the Great Demon King would be trapped in the underground world forever.
"If Maxwell is defeated by the Great Demon King…"
"There will be nothing left to stop the Great Demon King after he absorbs Maxwell's soul."
Esperal said, casting a shadow over Arabelle's head as she lay as if asleep on the soft flowerbed he had created.
"That’s why the Great Demon King will allow the emperor to pass through the nine gates to reach Arabelle. With each victory over the monsters guarding the gates, Maxwell will grow stronger. If the Great Demon King defeats him at the last gate and absorbs his soul, it will grant him immense energy."
Standing next to his master, Barrel swallowed dryly, looking down at Arabelle’s pale face.
***
He expected to fall into an endless abyss.
He had no doubt that the screams of evil spirits would burst his eardrums.
He anticipated the pain of burning flesh and melting bones.
The underground world where the souls of the guilty fell, only to become food for the monsters.
Before becoming food, they had to endure unbearable torment.
The more the souls suffered, the more delectable they became for the monsters.
Recalling the stories he had heard about the underground world as a child, he tensed his muscles in a combat stance.
He expected to fall into an unknown depth as soon as he stepped through the open stone gate, but to his surprise, he felt solid stairs beneath his feet.
It was a staircase about the height of the third floor of the palace.
As he descended the steps, following the dim light coming from below, nothing happened.
No sharp spikes suddenly emerged from the stairs, no monsters with bared fangs appeared from the spiral walls, and no flames poured from the ceiling.
It was absurdly painless, without even a scratch on his body.
Emperor Maxwell stepped off the last stair and stood on the damp ground.
His red eyes, still alert, scanned the dark surroundings sharply.
"Grrrr…"
The silence of the cave-like interior was broken by none other than Caligo, who had followed him.
The sickly boy's form had vanished, replaced by a white leopard baring its fangs.
Though much smaller than the black panther the emperor had transformed into, it was still a beast.
A far cry from the slight boy's figure, it exuded a swift and sensitive air.
"So this is your true form."
Looking down at the transformed Caligo, the emperor spoke dryly, and Caligo growled.
"In human form, I wouldn’t be able to take a few steps without collapsing. There’s no other way if I want to see Princess Ermiore."
"Whether you're human or monster, it doesn’t matter to me as long as you don’t get in my way."
"Just remember, I'm not helping you because I want to. Don’t run away with your tail between your legs."
Caligo retorted sulkily to the emperor's words.
Without another word, the emperor pulled a small pouch from his coat.
'When you set foot on the ground of the underground world, scatter the powder from the pouch. It will guide you.'
As he scattered the powder on the ground, the surface it covered began to glow softly.
As the darkness receded and more became visible, the emperor's jaw tightened for a moment.
The walls on both sides were made of piled bones, and what he thought was damp ground was soaked with absorbed blood.
It was odd that the stench of decaying bodies was not overwhelming.
At that moment,
"Are you wondering why the foul smell isn't assaulting your nose?"
A clear voice came from the darkness ahead.
Maxwell quickly drew his sword and stood with his legs spread in a fan shape.
Beside him, Caligo extended his front paws, pushing back to prepare to spring forward.
The sound of light footsteps grew closer.
A dark silhouette stopped in front of the dim light cast by the powder on the ground.
"I'm very sensitive to smells, you see. Despite my appearance, I love the scent of peonies and hyacinths."
As the hand of the dark silhouette opened, the surroundings suddenly brightened as if it were daytime.
Squinting to adjust to the sudden light, the emperor frowned.
When his eyes adapted, he saw a young woman.
She opened her mouth, more beautiful than the goddess of beauty Selitear from the ancient mythological picture books.
"Welcome to my world, 27th Emperor of the Helterd Empire, Maxwell de Fonte August."
Comments
Post a Comment