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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 182
The Imperial Palace of the Geysir Empire.
Sitting on the imperial throne, in place of Emperor Caius, was Kaina, covered in fur.
“Thanks to the Demon King dropping off the sacrifices, things have progressed smoothly, Caius.”
“…Yes, Mother.”
“His resurrection is not far off. The resurrection ritual will be held in seven days. Until then, bring more humans to serve as sacrifices.”
“Understood.”
As Caius, who was kneeling, responded, Kaina suddenly traced a question mark in the air with her fur.
“But Melvria is nowhere to be seen.”
“I ordered her to scout the Starn Empire.”
“Heh. There’s no need for scouting. Once He is resurrected, everything will be over. Bring Melvria back.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Good. Then, proceed with your duties.”
At Kaina’s command, Caius stood up with an expressionless face and stepped back.
‘Only seven days left…’
Though he maintained a composed face before Kaina, inside, Caius was becoming increasingly anxious.
Even though countless people had already fallen in the imperial palace, he hadn’t expected the resurrection ritual to be so close.
‘I must inform her.’
He had to let Melvria, who was with his true father, know that the resurrection ritual was almost complete.
With urgency, Caius quickly made his way to his laboratory. After briefly ensuring no one was around, he used the magical crystal orb in the lab to contact Melvria.
“Melvria.”
[…Caius?]
“Yes, it’s me. The situation has become urgent.”
[What’s going on?]
Caius informed her that only seven days remained until the resurrection of the Dragon God.
Melvria, her face turning serious, nodded.
[That’s serious. I’ll inform Father right away.]
“Please do. I’ll also investigate the resurrection ritual further.”
[Alright. Contact me again.]
After ending the communication, Caius headed towards the underground space where the resurrection ritual was taking place.
As he descended floor by floor, the deeper levels of the palace became increasingly tainted with human bloodstains.
The ground was piled with human corpses, stacked like luggage, filling the space.
Some bodies still twitched, as if they were alive, but most lay lifeless.
And those piled corpses were slowly being drawn somewhere.
‘The power of the resurrection magic circle…’
The magic circle was pulling the bodies in, devouring them on its own.
It seemed the ritual was beginning to activate in earnest.
Crack.
Caius stepped forward, crushing corpses with only bone remaining in their lower halves.
Once again, he felt nothing as he trampled over human remains.
‘I’m already a monster.’
Deceived by Kaina, Caius had committed countless massacres to resurrect the Dragon God Ernstine.
Caius felt no hesitation or guilt about stepping on corpses or using human bodies as sacrifices.
‘…Back then, I truly believed he was my father.’
During the fall of the Meier Empire, his father, Ernstine, had suddenly appeared and asked for his cooperation.
He claimed that the Meier bloodline was destined to become dragons, and that Ernstine himself needed to sacrifice imperial citizens to ascend as a dragon.
Those words ensnared Caius, the emperor of the Meier Empire, as if he were under a spell.
‘Was I brainwashed from that moment…?’
From then on, Caius had been trapped in a long deception.
He believed without question that Ernstine must be made into the Dragon God.
He thought it was acceptable to slaughter as many humans as necessary for this purpose, and that the corruption of the Meier bloodline into demon-kind was inevitable.
That belief remained firm until he witnessed Kaylen wield the Six Sword Path and create the Sixfold Sword Doctrine.
Until then, his focus was solely on resurrecting his father, Ernstine, as the Dragon God.
But now, everything had changed.
“I will stop this, no matter what.”
Now that he knew the Dragon God Meier was not his true father, it was time to take revenge on those who had manipulated his life and forced him to live a thousand years as a half-undead.
“This is it…”
Step. Step.
The end of the path, where the corpses were being drawn, led to the underground space at the lowest level of the imperial palace.
A crimson magic circle carved into the ground radiated red light up to the ceiling.
Chiiiik!
As the bodies were absorbed into the magic circle, they instantly ignited and disappeared.
When a corpse vanished, a part of the crimson magic circle twitched and turned golden.
‘That is…’
Caius instinctively sensed a familiar mana from the golden light.
It felt similar to the infinite mana, the power of Infinity.
Whoosh!
Another body burned and vanished, and the golden lines grew slightly thicker.
The magic circle was feeding on the corpses to expand.
‘So that’s why they said it would take a week.’
Watching the corpses slowly descending the stairs, Caius thought.
‘Then, if I interfere with the movement of these bodies, it will take longer. No… if I destroy the corpses myself…’
Caius’s eyes sharpened.
He focused his thoughts on finding the perfect moment to disrupt the resurrection ritual.
Starn Imperial Palace – Grand Conference Room
Kaylen listened to Melvria’s report.
“Only a week left until the Dragon God’s resurrection ritual?”
“Yes. That’s what Caius informed me.”
Hearing this, Kaylen fell into deep thought.
‘There isn’t enough time.’
If the White Demon King hadn’t intervened, they could have faced the Geysir Empire with more preparation.
But because the Demon King had rained humans from the sky, the time until the resurrection of the Dragon God Meier had been drastically shortened.
“Johannes, is the extraction of Eldir’s spirit stones progressing?”
“Yes. Thanks to the successful expansion of the Spirit Realm, even the elves are no longer resisting.”
With Melvria summoning dark spirits and expanding the Spirit Realm, the elves found it difficult to oppose.
Moreover, as they belonged to the Starn Empire, they faced practical constraints that made it hard to defy the emperor’s orders.
“So now, we obtain the Spirit Stone, forge the Wind Sword, and with Violet’s help, create the Water Sword… but we don’t have enough time.”
“The Fire Sword is still in a half-broken state too. It’ll take time to complete it as well.”
“Right. And since Kaina gave it to me, I need to examine it thoroughly. So, practically speaking, the only swords I can use right now are the Holy Sword and the Earth Sword. Of course, I don’t necessarily need divine swords for most enemies, but…”
Kaylen’s Six Swords Path only transformed into the Six Demonic Path when he used their power extensively.
Against weaker opponents, the battle usually ended before the swords even changed, so there was no need to rely on divine swords.
“But the remaining enemies aren’t just any ordinary opponents.”
“Exactly…”
The Dragon God Ernstine, preparing for resurrection.
And the White Demon King, aiding his resurrection ritual.
Even if Kaylen were at his full strength, there was no guarantee of victory against them.
“Father, Caius has informed us about the location where the resurrection ritual will take place.”
At that moment, Melvria, who had been attending the meeting, extended her hand and chanted a dragon incantation.
“In the name of the dragon, I command the mana—manifest.”
A large screen appeared in the conference room, displaying the resurrection magic circle that Caius had seen.
A massive and intricately designed crimson magic circle.
Johannes frowned and activated his magic.
“Copy.”
He perfectly replicated the magic circle’s pattern and, after examining it, nodded.
“This is quite an advanced magic circle. Even I can’t fully understand it at a glance.”
“Oh? Even you?”
“Yeah. But… I think I can tell where to strike to stop it. Emperor, should we launch a surprise attack?”
“A surprise attack?”
“Yeah. Isn’t now the perfect time? Before the Dragon God resurrects? We even have an informant who provided the exact location.”
Kaylen pondered Johannes’ words for a moment before shaking his head.
“Not yet. We can’t attack without the swords.”
“But completing the swords will take time. The Eldir Spirit Stone is only being extracted today, the Fire Sword still needs a lot of work, and the Water Sword is only in its preliminary stage.”
Right now, they only had two usable swords.
But Kaylen fixed his gaze on Johannes and asked,
“So, how long will it take?”
“Hmm…”
“If we mobilize all available manpower—mages, blacksmiths, and have them work around the clock, how long would it take?”
Johannes shivered at the look in Kaylen’s eyes.
That expression…
He had seen it before, back in Emperor Ernstine’s era.
The gaze of someone who demanded the impossible be done in an impossibly short time.
The absolute authority of a ruler.
“Emperor, w-wait a second. I’m undead now, so I can work 24 hours a day. I’ll gladly forge your swords non-stop. But even I have limits.”
“That’s why I plan to mobilize the entire empire’s resources.”
“It’s not just about manpower! The swords that match your Six Swords need to be at the level of divine weapons. You think random smiths can craft that?”
“I know. That’s why I only need the framework.”
“The… framework…?”
Kaylen held up four fingers.
Johannes grimaced at the sight.
No way…
“Four days. Get it done in four days.”
“Hey! Are you insane? How do you expect me to do that in four days?!”
“It doesn’t have to be fully functional. Just create the framework of a divine sword—like the half-finished state of the Fire Sword. Start with the Wind Sword.”
“The framework of the Wind Sword… That might be possible, but it won’t be of much use…”
With the Eldir Spirit Stone, they could barely mimic a divine sword.
But it wouldn’t be effective, especially against strong opponents.
Johannes voiced his doubts, but Kaylen simply pointed upward with his finger.
“I’ll absorb the King of Wind Spirits into the framework.”
What…? No way…
If he meant the King of Wind Spirits, then there was only one possibility—
The Holy King they had seen just days ago.
“Alright. In four days, we strike the Sanctuary.”
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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