Chapter 88 : Conclusion

Chapter 88: Conclusion

The cavalry, all mounted on Ailun White Horses, cut across the vast distance in an instant.

Before long, the walls of Rundna City came into view—along with two massive Monstrous Anomalies. Countless Demonic Beasts were leaping up against the ramparts as well.

As befitted a wealthy city, even its outer wall was built high and solid with stone, yet the battle situation looked grim.

‘As expected... that tail is dangerous.’

The tiger-shaped Monstrous Anomaly radiated an overwhelming presence.

When soldiers met its lightning-like gaze, their bodies froze. When their eyes were caught by the dazzling colors of its fur, they lost balance and fell.

But the most dreadful thing was its tail.

Whenever the flaming tail swayed left and right, the warriors who looked upon it screamed as they burned alive.

Perhaps it should be called spontaneous combustion.

Flames burst from within their bodies, gushing out through their noses and mouths, delivering a gruesome death.

The warriors of Rundna were forced into terrible losses, fighting without even being able to open their eyes properly.

And its senses were so keen that—

Even though I had hidden my presence as much as possible while riding forward, it seemed to notice something. It flinched, then fixed its gaze directly upon me.

“I’ll go first.”

I couldn’t let it escape again. I spurred forward immediately.

Hiiiiiing—

This white horse, once one of the beloved steeds of Haarun, surged forward at a ridiculous speed, saturated with my dark-blue Aura.

By applying the essence of the Stage of Body-Sword, I split the air from the horse’s head to both sides. The beast tore through space without taking a single breath.

The tiger jolted in alarm, twisting its body.

Trying to run?

Its movements entered my sight in slow, dragging frames.

Not this time.

“Sorry. Endure it.”

Kwaaaang!

[Acceleration]

[Tempest]

Using the horse’s back already dashing at incredible speed, I unleashed the most powerful charge I could muster.

If not for the Stage of Body-Sword making my weight as light as a feather, the horse’s spine would have snapped. As it was, the steed barely managed to absorb the recoil by collapsing slightly under me.

Even with my body lightened, the backlash must have been tremendous. Truly, this was no ordinary horse—it was a spiritual steed.

Thanks to it, the tiger met me before it could even kick off the ground.

Grrruung!?

Hello.

I swung to sever its throat.

The moment I willed it, my sword was already at the back of its neck.

The realm of Unity of Sword and Self.

When there was no separation between intent and action, movements flowed like water, refined beyond measure.

Sseokeok!

—————!!!

The Monstrous Anomaly’s death cry was so horrific that no collection of vile, fearsome words in the world could ever express it.

My senses, sharpened to the utmost, felt the warriors atop the wall—and even the citizens beyond it—collapse and faint from the shock of that death cry.

But I couldn’t stop now.

Paaaaang!

I burst forth with Aura, kicking the air itself, and accelerated once more.

There were two Monstrous Anomalies I had driven here.

One was the tiger.

The other, a toad with grotesquely swollen cheeks.

To call it a toad was being generous—truthfully, it was a hideous monster that was nothing but an enormous, misshapen head.

Floating in the air despite its massive size.

Its reactions were even slower than the tiger’s.

Jjeojeojeok!

From above its head, I poured Aura down again, diving straight to split its skull in half.

————!!!

Even cut in two, the Monstrous Anomaly managed to vomit out one final death cry before it died.

Its corpses ignited in pure white flames, consumed by Banroa’s energy.

I quickly ripped out its hearts and tossed them into Subspace.

The moment the Monstrous Anomalies were slaughtered, the Demonic Beasts under their command finally regained their senses.

Kkieeeee—!

Kkuaaaaaa—!

Abandoning the wall they had battered with such frenzy, the beasts shrieked horribly and scattered in freight.

Where do you think you’re going?

“Everyone! Charge!”

Rivera’s roar echoed thunderously, and my cavalry, who had rushed here at full speed, hacked into the panicked swarm of beasts.

That’s right.

This was it.

This was what it meant to ride Ailun White Horses.

Ordinary steeds could never withstand a head-on clash with such monsters.

Their spines and legs would break first.

But when an Ailun White Horse, capable of holding Aura, bore an Expert on its back—it was an entirely different story.

The leading Experts ripped the horde apart, the elite warriors following them shredded the remnants, and the common soldiers finished off the beasts that were already broken.

The calamity that had blanketed Rundna City was swept away like fallen leaves.

*         *         *

The gates of Rundna swung open.

Having exterminated the beast horde, we marched straight into the city in triumph.

Rundna was a port city.

It bordered Naelund Lake—the world’s largest, as vast as a sea itself.

Imperial and Gloryland trade ships poured endlessly into this natural harbor.

According to Seah’s report, Rundna earned its fortune through intermediary processing trade.

High-quality silks from Oldland were dyed with Gloryland’s brilliant colors and resold.

In other words...

This was a city overflowing with dyes of every shade.

“Waaaaaaah—!”

“Long live His Highness Grand Duke Ransen!”

“Long live!”

Along with the cheers, vibrant colors were scattered everywhere.

I had never seen such a dazzling victory march before...

Down the vast Central Boulevard.

From the windows and terraces of the three- to five-story buildings lining both sides of the road, citizens leaned out with all their strength, seizing handfuls of dye powder from baskets and scattering them into the air.

“Hurrah!”

“Long live His Highness Grand Duke Ransen!!!”

It scattered.

The colors.

It poured down.

The celebration.

Splashing like water, falling like a shower of snowflakes, it dyed us in a kaleidoscope of hues.

‘The atmosphere’s good.’

The senses of a Swordmaster were endlessly precise.

And now that I had reached the state of Unity of Sword and Self, I could faintly read even the will of people—it was as if torrents of information flooded into me.

In short,

they all liked me.

The citizens thought, ‘How reassuring it is that such a strong man will protect us. We’re fortunate.’ These were the kinds of words they exchanged.

The native warriors of Rundna were equally ecstatic.

Had I simply barged in, they might have held resentment. But that wasn’t what had happened.

They themselves had offered up the head of the Patriarch of the House of Esir to invite me here.

In this moment, everyone was united, baring pure and unclouded joy.

My warriors, too, must have felt it—their faces broke into bright grins, unfitting their usually grim visages.

The dazzling colors bursting across the street and sky were a brilliant testament to the joy we all shared.

A smile tugged at my lips as well.

Look. Over there.

The children are laughing, aren’t they?

Seeing the children of Rundna throw dye powder with radiant smiles melted away all the stress and fatigue I had carried.

I turned my head slightly.

Two younger ones had accompanied me on this expedition.

One of them was Mika Seitous.

This child had stuck right by my side, following closely ever since earlier.

With eyes half-dazed, Mika gazed at the flood of colors pouring from every direction.

From time to time, Mika raised a hand or shoulder to admire the brilliant hues that coated the body.

‘Do you like it?’

I sincerely hoped so.

I hoped Mika liked it.

So that Mika’s heart would broaden.

So that Mika would take the path of a knight more earnestly.

So that Mika would grow stronger than anyone.

So that Mika would rebuild and revive the Ducal House of Seitous.

So that Mika would become stronger than her late elder brother, Roy Seitous, and make him proud....

It felt like my duty. That was why I had brought Mika along on this expedition.

Suddenly, Mika noticed my gaze and locked eyes with me.

The dazed look faded, little by little, until her eyes grew clear.

“Oppa. I want to be strong like you.”

When she suddenly said that, her face...

“Teach me. I’ll become strong.”

—looked exactly like my friend Roy’s.

Even while drenched in colors,

her violet eyes shone with a vivid flame.

*         *         *

The corpses of the Monstrous Anomalies were put on display right in the Central Plaza.

Then wine and meat were distributed.

Gold was poured out to serve every kind of delicacy, feeding both the citizens and the soldiers.

Strictly speaking, this wasn’t sensible behavior.

In Roberland tradition, if an occupying army held a victory feast, poison would be slipped into the food and drink to wipe them all out.

But this time was different.

First, I had already confirmed that the goodwill shown by these people was genuine.

Second, the same food and drink were being shared equally with the citizens and the native warriors.

Third, we kept strict watch in case the remnants of the House of Esir attempted any tricks.

And above all, there was me.

With someone like me present—who alone had the strength to annihilate an entire city—everyone knew that no scheme could possibly succeed.

So the victory banquet began.

My warriors shouted, brimming with excitement.

“We have unified Ailun!”

Then the native warriors of Rundna cried out:

“Long live Conqueror Ransen!”

And the entire citizenry chanted together:

“Long live His Highness Conqueror Ransen!”

Right. Since I had slain Haarun, they now counted me among the new Five Kings.

I understood that much.

But...

‘...Why Conqueror?’

A lump rose in my throat.

Wasn’t Conqueror supposed to mean ruling through brute force?

I had tried so hard to lead gently....

It was a title I could hardly accept, yet it resounded everywhere. For now, I endured it.

I had to go along with the mood.

After eating and drinking enough, I sought out a seat beside Seah and dropped down.

“Seah.”

“Mm?”

“What do you think the Emperor is plotting?”

It was a sudden question, but Seah would understand.

The sudden surge of Demonic Beasts.

The appearance of strange new monsters—the Monstrous Anomalies—never seen before.

The only variable that could explain this was the Emperor.

Everyone could see that the Anomalies were tied to the cult, and the only cultist powerful enough to wield such influence—as far as we knew—was the Emperor.

As expected, Seah gave her answer as if it were obvious.

“An artificial Wave. That must be what he’s aiming for.”

Her thoughts aligned with mine.

“If such a Wave were to sweep across all of Norberju?”

“At the current rate of beast proliferation, and factoring in the Anomalies... half of Norberju would be annihilated.”

Her prediction was even bleaker than mine.

“...If we intervened, saving as many cities as possible?”

“Then about one-third would still be annihilated.”

Too many. Far too many.

For one-third of all Norberju to be annihilated meant that nearly seven cities would vanish from the world.

Millions of people would die.

Even children—hundreds of thousands of them—would perish.

Seah glanced at me cautiously and added,

“It can’t be helped. If we assume even more Monstrous Anomalies appear than now, we’ll need far more powerful knights. At the very least, ones on Uncle Burson’s level in Magical Armor.”

Burson was a Swordmaster, a Low-grade Expert by the standards of the ancients.

Aside from me, he was the only such knight we had.

With her characteristic detached gaze, Seah declared,

“So it can’t be helped. At least one has to stay behind to guard our domain. Even if we went to rescue others, only one could move out. There’s a limit to how much territory we can save.”

She was right.

I couldn’t possibly save all of Norberju alone.

“So… what you’re saying is, we need more warriors on Burson’s level, right?”

“Yes. But as of now, there’s no way....”

“Then we’ll make them. Knights like that.”

“Huh?”

“We’ll just create them.”

“Create...?”

For once, rare uncertainty flickered in Seah’s eyes.

So I gave her a hint.

“Dracium.”

“Ah!”

Dracium—an ancient elixir found deep underground.

It wasn’t merely said to increase Aura, but to awaken the very ‘potential’ of its user.

With that, even Varen or Katrina could be raised to Swordmaster.

Seah’s lips parted slightly.

I confirmed it, as if to strike the final blow.

“We have plenty right now, don’t we?”

Dracium formed after roughly ten thousand years, once its seed had been planted in the earth.

And that seed?

A century ago, a renowned scholar revealed the truth after studying hundreds of intermediate samples in the process of transforming into Dracium.

“The heart of an Abnormal Monster.”

In other words, the heart of a Monstrous Anomaly.

That was the seed.

Plant such a heart, and ten thousand years later, Dracium would be born.

And right now, I had seven such hearts.

And then—

How perfectly everything aligned....

Flap.

I opened the Book of Fate.

The [Exploration] page.

Since entering Rundna, something new had been nagging at me.

I summoned one of the native soldiers and asked,

“Soldier! Over there—there’s an island, right?”

“Eh? Y-Yes, Your Highness the Grand Duke!”

“Anything unusual there?”

“There are ruins from the Age of Magic on that island!”

See? Just as I thought.

Smiling faintly, I showed the Book of Fate to Seah.

On the [Exploration] page, Monstrous Anomalies were marked by red dots.

Then what did this red rectangle marked on that island mean?

It looked exactly like a door....

“I’ll be back.”

Could it be a passage for time travel?

That was my hypothesis.

If not? Then so be it.

But for some reason, I had a powerful hunch.

Today, the day I unified Ailun—

I would once again set out for ten thousand years in the past.

To plant the seeds of Dracium in advance.

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