Chapter 97
－Emperas Kingdom: The King's Perspective－
"What's going on?!"
No one dares answer me.
Even though I, the king, am asking!
Should I kill every last one of them?
Every last one of them is a useless incompetent.
Ah, how infuriating.
What's going on?
The Forest King should be either dead or weakened.
And yet now, of all times... Why now?
Everything should have fallen into my hands any moment now.
...Damn it!
"Excuse me."
The Chief Magician kneels before me.
A fortunate man who gained powers superior to those of ordinary people through my power.
And yet this useless traitor...
His trembling voice and the words he speaks only deepen my irritation.
"Are you saying repairing the crack is impossible?"
"...Yes. I tried several times, but every attempt failed."
"..."
"It seems the magicians who worked on the repairs have lost all their memories and magic."
"And what happened to those magicians?"
"...They're in their rooms, being monitored."
"Kill them. I have no use for such things."
"...But, Your Majesty—"
"Go kill them already!"
I give the order to the nearby knights.
The knights hesitate for a moment, but soon spring into action.
The Chief Magician seems about to say something, but I won't let him waste any more time.
Any scum who can't act immediately deserves to die here.
"Resolve this at once. That's an order!"
"...As you command."
I glare hatefully at the Chief Magician as he leaves the room.
If he fails again, perhaps I'll use him to strengthen the magic stone.
But what is the cause?
I've strengthened magic stones many times before, so how could it suddenly become impossible...?
Tch, how infuriating.
They really are all useless.
I repeatedly pound the armrest of my chair.
My irritation won't subside.
The magic-stone barrier is useless?
The crack won't mend?
There's no way such a thing could happen.
I've overlooked something. You incompetent magicians.
But that lightning back then—it dared threaten me... Once I find out who did it, they'll regret it!
Something I overlooked.
Could this incident possibly have come from another country?
Could they be using the forest as camouflage for something...?
No, every country is full of weaklings.
No one could possibly stand against my mighty nation.
...But an investigation is necessary.
Should I have the Second Order of Knights investigate?
...
It's been a long time since I last came here.
The slaves lined up before me.
Tormenting slaves is the best way to vent my irritation.
I've done just about everything over the past several hundred years and was growing bored, but it's time to store some power in my sword again.
You never know when I might need it.
Even so, every one of these slaves is an ugly thing.
Just looking at those ears on their heads is enough to disgust me.
I'll make them useful to this world, if only a little.
The reddish-black glow of the demonic sword as I draw it from its scabbard is truly beautiful.
A demonic sword I found in an ancient ruin.
What a luxury for them—to become fuel for the supreme sword, a blade infused with power from magic stones and repeatedly fed the blood of sacrifices.
A smile escapes me at the sight of the slave's stiffened face.
The sword comes crashing down in one swift stroke.
"Whoa!"
Pain shoots through my arm.
What happened?
When I look over, the sword is enveloped in white light.
Someone runs toward me, calling out to me, and restrains my arm.
As I glare through the pain, I see one of the magicians casting healing magic on my arm.
When I look at my arm, blood is dripping from it.
The pain is fading, but...
I'm bleeding?
I have layers upon layers of barriers around me.
My blood...
What happened?
Power into the sword... a sacrifice... What happened?
I look at the sword.
The white light has already vanished, and the sword lies on the ground.
I stagger to my feet and pick up the sword.
My once-beautiful sword, which had glowed reddish-black, is now a murky black, its blade battered beyond recognition...
And some inexplicable white substance is wrapped around it.
What happened?
What happened?
I slam the sword against the ground.
A sharp crack sounds, and part of the blade breaks off.
The demonic sword I found alongside the magic stone.
I poured sacrifices into it and nurtured it into the strongest sword in this world.
It was a sword fit for my hand.
What happened?