Chapter 143
－Emperas Kingdom: King's Perspective－
I drank wine, but it did nothing to lift my spirits.
I looked at the arm I had lost.
Why did I have to suffer this?
When would the expedition return?
Would they find a replacement for the magic stone?
No. One would be found.
I sought it, so the Three Gods-sama would surely grant me one.
There was no need to fear.
Fear?
I, fear?!
I smashed the glass before me against the wall.
The two women some distance away screamed, but even that only irritated me.
When I glared at them, they shrank in on themselves and trembled.
I was the strongest being in this world.
I was someone to be feared and revered.
What did I have to fear? I was the king of this world!
I kicked the desk before me.
It struck a nearby chair with a loud crash.
"I have nothing to fear!"
My irritation kept growing.
It was absolutely not fear or anxiety!
It was irritation that the people around me could not carry out my orders.
Fear did not exist within me!
"Wine!"
The woman beside me immediately left the room to fetch wine.
Why hadn't it been prepared?!
Where was the maid?
Damn it! Useless!
I turned my gaze toward the other woman in the room.
"I'm bored. Do something to entertain me."
"Er..."
"Do it quickly!"
"Y-yes."
She began to dance, but... what was that?
That wasn't a dance!
"Can't you even perform a single dance properly?!"
"Even though you possess my noble blood, why can't you do a single useful thing?!"
I threw a nearby book at her.
It struck her with a dull thud, and she collapsed.
"Your Majesty, forgive me. Please forgive me."
"Shut up!"
When I approached the woman who had fallen, I saw her trembling, perhaps from fear.
Despite bearing my blood, you turned out to be useless. Is there any value in letting you live?
After I had you bear a child, you went and gave birth to a boy of all things.
...Trash.
I pulled out the knife I had concealed.
I don't need trash.
Seeing her eyes wide with terror and blood spilling from her mouth made me feel a little better.
As my laughter echoed through the room, it turned pure white.
I closed my eyes against the glare, but my body trembled with fear and I collapsed onto the floor.
I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die.
I didn't know how much time had passed.
My body wouldn't stop trembling, and the desk I clutched rattled.
I let my gaze wander around the room.
I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared.
Why was no one beside me at a time like this?
Where were my knights?!
Every last one of them!
I placed a hand on the floor and tried to stand, but froze when I saw the hand in my field of vision.
...What was this?
What had happened to my hand?
Why was it like this...? What...?
The hand that had once been firm had darkened, become etched with wrinkles, and turned into something ugly, little more than skin and bone.
As I struggled to accept the reality before me, I heard someone knock, followed by the sound of the door opening.
A monster stood there.
What was this thing? How had such a thing been allowed to enter my room?
What were the guards doing...? What?
What was this monster?!
I heard the door open again.
I saw my knights entering the room.
They had finally come. I would have to punish them later.
Hurry and kill that monster.
"A senior mage..."
What?
This monster?
That couldn't be... The magic stone had shattered?
Impossible. That magic stone had been bestowed upon me by the Three Gods-sama.
I wouldn't accept this. No. Impossible. No, no.
This creature was lying.
What were they doing? Kill that monster quickly!
I am the king... acknowledged by God... acknowledged by God... the one and only king.
The face of the monster called a senior mage, lying on the floor.
A face so grotesquely ruined I could hardly bear to look at it.
I am different. I am one who was acknowledged. So... I am different.
I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared.
I... cannot die. I... am the king of the world...
I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared.
I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I can't die... I don't want to die!
God, please!
My wife stood before me.
I knew those eyes. They were eyes that hated me.
Why... even a slave... nn... could... hurt me...
I am... the king... of the world...