Regas Vol 2. Chapter 24

“There are several types of those poisons, aren’t there?”

The butler, driving the carriage, diligently answered lmond’s question about herbs and was unexpectedly taken aback by the question. lmond inquired about a certain poison.

“It induces symptoms of poisoning, hallucinations, and ntal abnormalities, and it is a poison that can kill you imdiately even in small amounts. I heard that there are red flowers and so certain plants that grow in damp places that beco such poisons.”

As the butler spoke, trying to recall, lmond raised his head.

“It’s not those. This poison has a stench like sothing rotten. Moreover, it’s the only poison that works on soone immune to all other poisons.”

lmond quickly closed his mouth realizing that he had misspoken. However, the butler had already turned around, looking puzzled.

“Soone immune to all other poisons? Is there such a person in the world?”

It was an innocent question, but lmond shook his head with a bewildered expression on his face.

“No. There is no such person. I was talking nonsense, so forget about it.”

In lmond’s contemplation, the secret of the royal family that he learned while researching the antidote ca to mind. It was when he discovered a poison similar to the black potion in the early stages of his research. eting the prince only once every few months, he prepared as much information as possible and went to explain about the poison he had found.

With a trembling voice, he earnestly explained that the poison had effects similar to the black potion, so there was a possibility that the antidote might work. However, in a sudden turn of events, the prince drank the poison he had brought as evidence—every last drop, an amount that could kill an ordinary person instantly.

How astonished Ashler and lmond were at that ti. They imdiately tried to give him the antidote right away, but the prince behavior was strange. Despite consuming a lethal dose, he remained perfectly fine. Then, as he stood there for a mont, the prince coldly uttered.

‘This is not poison.’

And then he left without even drinking the antidote. Ashler hurriedly chased after the prince, but lmond couldn’t get up from the floor at that mont.

How could the prince be unhard?

It was only after several more repetitions of such incidents that he found out.

Why the re black potion of the King’s Heart could control the kings. It was because only the black potion could poison the king. That was the weapon, the only weapon, that could overthrow the sacred beings who inherited the power of the dragons. And it was a poison without an antidote.

The King’s Heart had created the poison solely to eliminate one king. Knowing this fact, lmond realized that he was indeed facing dangerous individuals. If he knew the ingredients of the poison, it could be a hint for the antidote. As his thoughts clouded with concerns about the antidote, the voice of the butler was heard.

“Right, I heard a story before. There is a mushroom that grows in hot regions, and when the transparent liquid flowing there solidifies, it becos a poisonous substance.”

“Ah, that. I know about it too. But that’s not what I’m looking for.”

lmond shook his head in dismay, rembering the poison he had discovered just before the war began. It was made from an almost unknown ingredient, and he had hoped that by searching far and wide, he might find a solution despite the lack of an antidote. However, it turned out to be a dead end, leading to much disappointnt.

However, strangely enough, it was then that Karas praised lmond for the first ti, saying “Well done.” It was a complint that seed to pass by casually, but for lmond, it was a mont where all his hardships from the past seed to vanish in an instant. lmond longed to experience such a mont again.

He hoped for the day when he would receive a praised for making a perfect antidote. Since the miracle of Abel’s reincarnation had happened, perhaps that day would co soon. lmond stared straight ahead, where dust was swirling, waiting eagerly to arrive at his destination. For now, it was more urgent to confirm Abel’s safety than to wait for the day of such miracles.

****

Silence flowed in the valley for a long ti. Especially, the enemy king couldn’t bring himself to speak any further. His jaw remained agape as if frozen, refusing to budge. Yet, those around him were in the sa state, so he didn’t feel lonely. The problem was that the person who made everyone like this shalessly continued to throw shock to them.

“I, I am the emperor!”

The crazy man with a fairy-like face now blatantly spouted nonsense towards the enemies. Then, he suddenly approached the fallen bait and asked.

“If you really are Abel, then you’ll recognize , right? C-Can you?”

Of course, there was no way he would recognize him. The bait was also taken aback. Without realizing it, he even glanced back. Of course, among the stunned enemies, there was no one to answer. Only one thing ca to everyone’s mind. As a representative, the king spoke.

“Who on earth is that guy?”

In disbelief, a sigh mixed with a question ca out involuntarily, and a nearby soldier spoke up seriously.

“I can’t even imagine. There’s no way Karas would send such a ridiculous double as a test.... This is clearly mocking Your Majesty and us.”

The king ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ nodded in agreent with his soldier’s opinion and he finally frowned.

“Karas! How dare you see as such a pathetic person... But why did you sent this guy instead, who looks like a beautiful fairy! This is an insult to !”

While the king was angry, Abel knelt in front of the bait and made eye contact. Then he asked so that only the two of them could hear.

“Is your na really Abel?”

Upon looking closely, there seed to be a slight difference of him from himself. They looked very similar, but there were clear differences. Perhaps he was just a look-alike. Abel was relieved that he could dismiss the misconception that he had been reincarnated again. At that mont, he responded.

“Yes, yes. I am Abel. But are you the prince?”

When the bait asked with suspicious eyes, Abel nodded vigorously.

“Yes. I am the prince. We used to go to the Dragon Forest together every day. And before you died, you even gave a gift. I still have it.”

Abel asked in a low voice, confirming that his green eyes, similar to his own, were shaking in confusion.

“Do you rember what you gave ?”

“Uh, that, um...”

Abel asked softly, noticing the similar green eyes like his own shaking in confusion.

“Karas, you bastard! Sending such an absurd person as the emperor! This cowardly, vile, despicable...”

“Shut up, baldy, be quiet!”

It was a small voice, but it was enough to silence the king. However, Abel, who had spoken it himself, also froze in shock. Even though he was the enemy king, it was shocking to be insulted like this. He was about to faint from the shock of his own wickedness. But he hid his trembling hand behind his back and pointed at Karas with his chin.

“Don’t insult my loyal soldier, the Commander-in-Chief!”

His heart trembled even more. It felt like Karas would kill him before the enemies, calling him a soldier. Fortunately, the enemy king in front of him reacted first.

“Commander what?”

“Commander-in-Chief!”

“...What?”

“Commander-in-Chief!!”

The king now had only one thing to say.

“Where on earth did that crazy guy co from.”

If he hadn’t looked as beautiful as a fairy, he would have shot him dead himself. However, the crazy fairy’s ranting continued.

“Bu-baldy! eting the real emperor like , you must be the one who’s scared, re-really scared! Otherwise, you wouldn’t be standing there like a coward, uh, doing, well, doing nothing and just standing like that!”

Abel’s provocation made the king visibly angry. Honestly, the word “baldy” angered him more than the word “coward.” He imdiately raised his hand and ordered the archers to shoot their arrows.

Swish – Swish –

Several arrows flew towards Abel and the bait. However, Abel was faster. Sensing the king’s command, he grabbed the bait’s arm, pulling him towards the edge of the cliff. The arrows narrowly missed the two and fell to the ground.

And then, as he tried to shoot his bow again, Abel hid behind the protruding part of the cliff with the bait. It wasn’t a place that completely covered their bodies, but it was enough to barely dodge the arrows. The bait, confused, tried to follow Abel’s lead but struggled to look towards the enemy’s side. Unaware of this, Abel openly called the king a baldy. After calling him twice, the third ti was easy.

“Baldy! Hahaha, was that all you had? The trap to catch was just a few arrows?”

The king was furious and gritted his teeth, but he still had so reason left. However, Abel’s next provocation was enough to make even a sane person lose their composure.

“If your hair is that bad, you should just go bald!”

The enemy king’s face turned red with anger. He raised his hand to trigger the real trap that was prepared to eliminate Karas. Just as he was about to send the signal to the waiting soldiers, soone suddenly stopped him from behind.

“That’s not possible!”

When the king turned his head, the person wearing a deep hood firmly added.

“What needs to be eliminated is Karas. Do you know how difficult it was for us to secure this position? We won’t have this opportunity again. We must seize this chance.”

The king stared at him with narrowed eyes. The one who was called the King’s Heart. The betrayers of the emperor who worked harder than anyone else to help the enemies from behind. However, he never liked receiving their help. It was rely an alliance because their goals were the sa. Naturally, there was no reason for them to interfere. The king spat out coldly towards him.

“Then you should have created a more perfect opportunity. Isn’t it that Karas is mocking us like this because the bait you brought is not very convincing?”

The figure in the hood hesitated, appearing sowhat flustered, but soon responded in a gentle tone, as if trying to appease the king’s mood.

“I can proudly claim that the bait I brought is flawless. However, Karas is a very cautious person, so he suspects it and sent another person as a test for the trap. You must not fall for his sche.”

“So, is there a way?”

In response to the king’s question, the hooded man twisted one corner of his mouth.

“We should do as planned. The only one who can lure Karas to move into the valley is the Regas. We just need to make the bait appear in a dangerous situation. If Karas doesn’t move, it ans the bait should be killed instantly.”

The king doubted whether the plan that had failed once would work this ti, but the two hooded n believed without a doubt that Karas would move.

“The Regas always works.”

“But how can we make him move when he’s hiding so well and dodging the arrows?”

Upon hearing this, the hooded n chuckled as if it was very easy.

“Pull the chain.”

Only then did the king and the others rember that they had attached a chain to the bait’s foot. And it was indeed really easy. They pulled the chain and dragged the bait back to the center of the valley. No, they didn’t stop there, they kept pulling it towards their side.

Then, the startled Abel revealed himself from the hiding place and tried to strike the chain attached to the bait being dragged with a stone in his hand. The enemy king laughed loudly at his appearance and shouted to Karas for the last ti.

“Karas! Your chance is over! If you don’t move, then Abel will be mine to take! I bet it will be joyful to listen to his nonsense and laugh! Hahaha!”

Then, he ordered the archers to shoot the arrows again, this ti aiming at the fairy attached to the bait.

“Shoot that crazy guy who claims to be the emperor!”

Swish―

The arrow flew quickly and hit Abel’s arm accurately.

Thud.

Abel gripped his arm tightly as he sank to the ground, but he clenched his teeth to suppress any groans. But after a mont of grimacing, he instead laughed and shouted at the king.

“As expected, baldy, your only weapon is arrows!”

“No, that, that guy! Shoot more arrows quickly....”

Just as the heated king was about to give another command, the soldier next to him firmly grabbed his arm.

“Your Majesty, over there....”

The king turned his eyes away, forgetting his anger at the tense voice of his subordinate.

Karas moved at the entrance of the opposite valley. Slowly. Walking into the valley. At so point, even the chain that was pulling the bait stopped, and everyone stared at Karas. Abel, enduring the pain, belatedly realized the situation while waiting for the enemy’s reaction. Then, forgetting his wound, he stood up in surprise, trying to stop him. But he had already co quite a way into the valley.

“No! If you co in any further...”

Abel’s startled cry couldn’t co out. Another unfamiliar sound began to be heard.

Thud, rumble―

It seed like the thunderous noise was emanating from all over the valley. The sound grew louder and louder, and Abel finally realized its source. Slowly, he lifted his head to look up. On both sides of the valley’s cliffs, dark shadows crowded in as if to overflow, revealing people preparing to drop massive rocks towering over a person’s height.

“Karas, farewell.”

With the king’s final farewell, Abel began to run towards Karas to stop him. At the sa ti, hundreds of rocks rolled down the cliffs.

Thud.

The sound of thunder echoed, followed by the trembling ground. The horses of Ashler’s group, who were running at full speed, were startled and lifted their front legs, neighing. It took them a while to calm the horses down and realize what had startled them. Ashler, in particular, frowned and stared straight ahead. The place where the sound ca from was clearly the Crimson Valley.

“I wonder if sothing has happened to His Majesty?”

Soone’s worried question was heard, but Ashler just stared straight ahead and remained silent. For so reason, the valley that was stained with blood four years ago ca to mind.

It seed like the dust wouldn’t settle for a while. Rocks piled up to more than double the height of a person. The heap of stones covering the entire valley indicated one thing, whoever was inside there was undoubtedly dead.

“Quite a grand tomb for Karas.”

The king, who had stepped back to avoid the falling rocks, looked at the person standing next to him and reluctantly greeted him with a smile on his lips.

“Go and report. This operation was successful.”

Then, the attendant who took off his hood and revealed his face smiled and bowed his head.

“Everyone will be pleased. I will go and deliver the news without forgetting the help you provided in this mission.”

Picking words that the enemy king wanted to hear and adding praise, the king let out a smile.

“It’s fortunate that the King’s Heart is not in my country. To be glad that their ruler is dead.”

However, the attendant seed indifferent and even t the king’s gaze with a smile. The king, no longer wanting to see him, waved his hand dismissively.

“Go on then. You must be eager to share the good news fast.”

Just as he wished, the attendant quickly bid farewell and rode off, swiftly leaving the valley. When the sound of his horse’s hooves could no longer be heard, the soldiers who had finished their work on the cliff gathered in front of the king. Their faces were filled with excitent, perhaps due to their victory. The king, too, in a voice that showed signs of exhaustion from the rare victory, shouted loudly.

“Now! Since the emperor who stained the continent with blood has died, we can reclaim our country...”

Thud. Thud.

Is the pile of rocks still collapsing? The sound that irritated the king’s ears continued. However, nothing could stop this joyful mont. He tried to continue speaking, but now the problem was his soldiers who had to listen to him.

Their gaze was directed elsewhere, not at him. Moreover, they all had wide eyes and astonished faces. The king turned his head, wondering what they were looking at. And he, too, displayed the sa reaction as his soldiers. The sound of the rocks moving started again.

Thud! Thududuk.

It sounded like the sound of rocks collapsing, but it was the complete opposite situation from before. The rocks were rising one by one towards the sky. At first, they were small ones, but soon even massive ones as big as a person floated up effortlessly. All the rocks that had covered the entire valley.

Like rain pouring from the earth towards the sky, the stones rose slowly. Those watching could do nothing but doubt their own eyes, stunned by the spectacle. How could such a thing happen in this world? Without a word or any reaction, their eyes followed the stones ascending towards the sky.

So, none of them noticed. Finally, the ground was revealed. They only realized when the ascending stones halted in mid-air. On that sa ground, there were survivors buried under the falling rocks. And there were two of them.

Gasp.

A very faint sound of soone gasping broke the silent stillness. Then ca the sound of footsteps tapping against the ground. Karas appeared remarkably unscathed except for a slight cut on his forehead. He hoisted the limp Abel over his shoulder and spat out harshly.

“D*mn it, I’m bleeding.”

Continues in Regas Volu 3