Chapter 47
“Luminix, I couldn’t save you this time either.”
“…”
It was a terrible curse.
A curse that would change one’s very Race.
Normally, she should have died.
But the power of Luminix, once called the Fairy King, refused death.
But in exchange, Luminix could no longer live the life of a fairy.
The Troll’s Curse, which caused the body to grow uncontrollably.
It grotesquely deformed the body, eventually turning her into a troll.
Deep in the mountains.
A troll reeking of the forest and swamps.
Taking it a step further, a Monster that only continued to grow.
It turned her into a Primordial Troll.
Losing her original body, with only her mind remaining,
She was doomed to be trapped in a transformed body, plagued by an endless appetite for the rest of her life.
“I am sorry.”
“…”
Furthermore, because of its unique regenerative abilities, it was close to immortality.
She had to spend an eternity with her mind perfectly intact, trapped in an uncontrollable body.
Even dying was impossible.
The blood of a Primordial Troll did not permit death.
No matter what form it took, the body would always return to its original state.
Even if the mind could not be maintained, the body would continue its biological functions.
“To think it couldn’t be purified even by building up Divine Power myself… or borrowing another’s Divine Power, or using the power of a Saintess.”
The Crown Prince had done his best to break this curse.
He had made every possible attempt.
He had even gone all out to kill Luminix.
But every time, he was left with the conclusion that it was meaningless.
“If not this time, then next time… definitely next time.”
Luminix, who had endured for a long time believing only the words of the Great Prophet, entered the Crown Prince’s eyes.
A pitiful existence.
The years she had lived with a body cursed by the Troll’s Curse were now longer than the years she had lived as a Fairy.
He wanted to free her from the pain, but he couldn’t find any viable method.
The Crown Prince knew very well how this curse would end in that case.
[Could I not stop it this time either?]
If there was a next time.
If that next time failed, then the next.
If that failed too, then continuously the next.
[I will absolutely not let it fall to ruin as you wish.]
The Crown Prince made that vow.
In his final vision, the gradually growing Luminix came into view.
Because the covenant could not be kept.
The Empire would walk the path of destruction.
“I will not give up.”
The Crown Prince drew his sword with that resolve.
“So this is why I couldn’t view the memories easily.”
That resolve became a memory that I could fully see.
I roughly grasped what the situation was.
I couldn’t be certain, but a conclusion close to conviction settled in my mind.
[But even if I had purified it, I would have seen this mess anyway.]
The Fairy’s Wrath failed to overcome the Troll’s Curse.
Its form was a disaster that recklessly spammed Mystic Power regardless of what happened to the body.
Right now, the range was at least limited to where I was.
In the Crown Prince’s remaining memory, Luminix’s Mystic Power was scattered all over the Empire.
[How do you stop a Fairy that continuously spreads curses regardless of its body breaking down?]
It wouldn’t die even if killed.
It could only be killed by lifting the curse, but no one could lift it.
Then the only method was simply abandoning the Empire.
Should I call it the Tree of Curses?
How was one supposed to stop a Fairy that started spreading curses within the Empire, and inside the Imperial Palace at that?
[A single Executioner really does destroy the Empire.]
Muttering that inwardly, I did not draw my sword.
Because there was no need to use a sword if she couldn’t be killed.
“R-Run… You must run…”
“Can you speak?”
“Y-Your Royal Highness… M-My body is moving on its own… Therefore, you absolutely must run… Take me… somewhere…”
“An Executioner is also someone the Empire ought to embrace, so how could I abandon you?”
I understood Luminix’s feelings.
This situation was forced from the beginning.
Huuu.
After letting out a short breath
Tap.
I lightly kicked off the Ground and matched Luminix’s eye level.
Just a moment ago, she looked like a single shipping container standing upright.
As I came to my senses, she was now the size of about two stacked on top of each other.
[Arveda, Teo, set up a Barrier around here and make sure the people nearby can’t see.]
[Yes!]
[Yep! I, Teo, will follow your command!]
The first thing to do was to make sure no one around could see.
As long as that was done, the situation itself wouldn’t escalate.
Because.
“You shouldn’t look down on your Master.”
It would end with me.
BOOM!
I grabbed the skin of Luminix’s forehead and slammed her straight into the Ground.
It had been a while since I evacuated Rowena far away with a hand gesture.
There was no one who would be harmed even if she went on a rampage now.
Along with a large dust cloud, I could see the back of Luminix’s head as her face was smashed into the floor.
To the point where the expression “hideously festering” fit perfectly.
A scalp that looked like bizarre, wriggling intestines came into view.
She had endured this level of pain, waiting for the covenant to be fulfilled.
And at the very end, it ultimately wasn’t fulfilled. It was understandable that she was furious.
“I understand, but you shouldn’t destroy the Empire.”
The reason the Empire would fall was very simple.
It was that the Imperial Citizens were annihilated.
With the land turning into a death zone, who could live and continue their daily lives?
[The place the remaining Imperial Citizens would go… is Maselin? Don’t tell me?]
Is that how it connects?
It swallows the Empire in a rather horrific way.
[A Transmigrator would know even this, yet she still makes this choice, huh.]
She has the setting of a Transmigrator who knows the original work.
She turns a blind eye to the Empire’s ruin.
As I was on the receiving end, a sense of displeasure rose up.
“Rowena, continue the Purification. I’m fine, so don’t worry about me.”
The message said the target of the wrath was limited to me.
Therefore, the Purification had to continue.
The method wasn’t particularly difficult either.
Since Luminix wouldn’t die anyway, I would use the full power of Sol Bellos to suppress Luminix.
Meanwhile, Rowena would completely purify Luminix’s curse.
“Your Royal Highness! This Humble Woman will help Your Royal Highness…”
“Don’t come!”
I won’t accept backup.
, starting with Pavan, then Arveda, and the two whose names I hadn’t been introduced to yet.
No one should interfere in the current situation.
[If they do and end up getting cursed, things will get even more complicated.]
The reason I could withstand Luminix’s curse right now was because of Rowena’s Divine Power.
Her Divine Power seeped into me, allowing me to endure the Fairy’s Wrath.
Rowena and I weren’t affected by the curse, but the others would be.
[If that happens, there will be too many variables.]
That was why I refused reinforcements.
RUMBLE.
I could feel Luminix struggling desperately to escape my power.
Gurgle.
I could see the earth rotting away with an ominous sound the moment it touched Luminix.
This was the biggest cause that destroyed the Empire.
The Ground they stood on was turning into a death zone.
No one could live on dead land.
“Kieeeugh.”
A sound like boiling phlegm leaked from Luminix’s mouth.
She was thrashing about, wanting to escape somehow.
“Kheureuh!”
It was useless, so she was only making sounds like this.
Ssssh.
But perhaps she still hadn’t given up.
While smashed into the floor, Luminix deployed her Mystic Power.
The suddenly bright sky temporarily darkened.
An aurora spread out like silk beneath it.
Swaaaaa!
The starlight falling from the aurora turned into rain and plummeted downward at high speed.
The Mystic Power itself became spears and poured entirely onto me.
Realizing she couldn’t do anything to me with the complex method of casting curses.
She made the choice to simply push me away with power against power.
And that method was the one I welcomed the most.
“Thank you.”
Power against power.
Ignorantly and violently.
Only a matter of who wins with higher firepower.
That was my specialty.
Fwoosh.
If Luminix had temporarily turned the world into night.
The power of Bellos could change the world into bright daylight.
The Sun rises.
A Sun that would burn all curses.
The Sun, which would melt even wrath and place the world beneath it, swallowed the night Luminix had created.
Sizzle!
“Kuaaaaagh!”
Luminix’s scream could be heard.
A sound like screaming with one’s face buried in a pillow.
In between those sounds, the smell of burning flesh entered my nose.
There were no obstacles whatsoever in the process of subjugating Luminix.
Even though Luminix had been forced to run wild.
Excluding that itself, it was too easy to endure.
[But for this to be easy, it means the Saintess ultimately had to be fully recruited to the Empire’s side.]
And it couldn’t just be any Divine Power.
The Saintess had to be entirely affiliated with the Empire, just like now.
[Was this impossible before? Was it because Mirne would have always become the only Saintess?]
Had the Crown Prince not attempted this?
Various questions arose, but I decided not to think too deeply about it.
Anyway, when the memories naturally returned again like just now.
I could just find out then.
[Is the Emperor like this too?]
How long had I been pressuring Luminix like that?
Rustle.
Finally, a meaningful change occurred in Luminix’s body.
It was as if she were molting.
Luminix’s previously festering and rotting skin turned stark white and peeled off.
“KUAAAAAAAGH!!!”
Milky-white flesh began to reveal itself underneath.
I could also feel her physique gradually shrinking.
Originally, she was so large that, naturally, my hand couldn’t cover the back of her neck.
Every time I blinked, I felt the back of her neck gradually fitting into my hand.
Luminix was shrinking at an incredibly fast pace in real-time.
And at the same time.
[ Luminix’s curse has been completely purified. ]
[ Fate changes. ]
[ The Worldline changes. ]
[ A great achievement has succeeded, never once failing. ]
[ 33 points are granted for using the “Convenient 제국 Status window”. ]
[ The Existing Status window evolves, and the Convenient Status window is integrated. ]
[ The Fairy Kingdom will be displayed on the “제국 Map”. Later, you will be able to visit the Fairy Kingdom. ]
[ As a reward, “Fairy Tale” is granted. ]
A flurry of messages indicating the situation was perfectly resolved appeared.
But right now, rather than paying attention to them, that is not the case.
“Luminix, are you alright?”
“…”
Caring for the endlessly shrunken Luminix came first.
Luminix, who had been the size of two shipping containers stacked vertically.
She had now shrunk to the size of a palm.
“Do you not even have the strength to speak?”
I could see Luminix with her eyes closed, barely letting out ragged breaths.
It would be too much to wake her up and talk to her right now.
For the time being, it seemed Rowena would have to stick close and take charge of caring for her.
[ One of Five Covenants has been resolved.]
[ Annihilation Chance decreases by 10%. ]
[ Current Empire Annihilation Chance: 40% ]
[ The Empire may not be annihilated within 5 years. ]
“Ha.”
The subsequent message stated that the Chance of Annihilation had dropped.
It finally went below 50%, so I felt inexplicably relieved.
[But is it 10% per Executioner?]
Come to think of it, calling it 10% was actually ambiguous.
Should I call it a potential 100%?
Just looking at Luminix right now, if she had really gone all out.
She would have turned the entire Empire into a death zone.
The other Executioners would likely do even more, not less.
[I’ve taken a load off my mind for now.]
The covenants were what I initially wondered how to deal with.
After resolving one, I got the hang of it to some extent.
[I’ll handle the others quickly too.]
Since I had dealt with Luminix for now.
The next thing to do was.
[It is finding the Dragon’s Name, is it.]
It was Arveda’s turn.
+++++++
Time flowed quickly, and a week passed after resolving Luminix’s curse.
No major events occurred during that time.
Luminix was still fast asleep.
The Empire was continuing to lay down railways even at that moment.
[I also need to talk to the Executioner who seems to be a Dwarf; there’s too much to handle.]
Still, since I had some breathing room now
The moment I thought about properly meeting them
[ '북부대전사' has been identified. ]
[ He contacted Mirne. ]
[ He immediately felt a liking for Mirne. ]
“Ha.”
A message that amused me popped up.
It was about 5 days ago that Mirne ended her imprisonment in the Empire.
I thought she would go straight back to Maselin after being released and stay quietly cooped up.
To think she would immediately take an interest in the Imperial North again.
If it were like before, I would have been at a loss on how to handle it.
But now, I had somewhat gotten the hang of even this.
Because.
“Teo.”
“Yes! Your Royal Highness! Your Royal Highness’s Staff #1, Teo! I am perfectly ready to carry out your command!”
“At ease.”
“Thank you!”
There was already an excellent precedent right in front of my eyes.
I will put your Male Lead to good use as my excellent Official.