The damp air and humid sll.
Within that, consciousness slowly floated to the surface.
Throb─
“……”
Imdiately, a pain ran through his entire body.
There wasn't a single part of him that was intact.
Well, after being beaten for hours, it was to be expected.
The Half King didn't hold back. Her attitude suggested she didn’t care if his entire body was wrecked, as long as his life remained. Though it wasn’t certain, it felt like there was an emotion of venting frustration in her violence.
Was it evidence that she was deeply offended? It would be nice if that were the case.
‘It’s not an easy thing, is it?’
It wasn’t that he lacked resolve. Nor was it a half-hearted decision.
Even taking all that into account, living as Lukas was not an easy task.
It felt like there was a certain malevolence in every situation. Before one problem was resolved, a new one would erge, and while being montarily dazed by that, more difficulties would pile on… It felt like this kind of thing repeated endlessly.
At this point, going mad was only natural. Even the so-called Absolutes would drown if they faced endless trials like this without respite.
“……”
Residue slowly opened his eyes.
And he looked around with an unstable gaze.
An open space ca into view. The surroundings were sheer cliffs, but it wasn’t the top of a mountain or a hill. There were walls here, and a ceiling as well. The uneven surface was glistening as if coated with oil.
Groundwater. In other words, this is underground.
The ground where Residue lay was isolated like an island in a vast ocean. To reach this place from what seed to be the entrance, one would have to walk a very narrow and precarious path. A single misstep would result in a fall into an abyss with no visible bottom.
‘And this is a prison.’
There were no iron bars, but Residue was certain of this thought for two reasons.
The first was the presence of chains that firmly bound his limbs. Looking closely, not only his wrists and ankles but also his knees and elbows were tightly restrained.
It was difficult to even move a finger, let alone escape.
And the second reason.
The other beings present in this space besides Residue.
Two unbelievable figures ca into view.
The Black Knight and the Red Knight.
They stood with their backs to Residue, as if they had turned to statues, and it was impossible to guess how long they had been standing like that.
‘Well, well.’
Using the 4 Knights as guards, was this also the Half King’s order? She did seem to have babbled sothing about imprisoning him.
This was a more thorough response than he had expected.
Even one of the 4 Knights would be an impenetrable defense, but two of them were stationed here. At the sa ti, he felt a sense of annoyance.
Did she not understand the significance of the power held by the 4 Knights?
The Destruction had already begun. Placing them in such a place was an enormous waste of manpower.
There were countless other places where they could be much more effectively utilized. In fact, it would be faster to find a place where they wouldn’t be useful at all.
‘Escape is……’
Clank─
The chains that bound his entire body were firmly secured. It might be difficult to free himself on his own. To properly dismantle them, he would need so ti to focus, but if he showed any signs of that, the knights would imdiately step in to stop him.
“Give up on the thought of escaping.”
Just like this.
It was the Red Knight’s voice.
Her ash-gray hair was visible as she had removed her uniquely shaped helt.
“If you don’t want your barely recovered body to be wrecked again.”
“…Hmm.”
Did she notice that he had woken up without even turning around?
Well. For them, it wouldn’t be a difficult task.
“Ah─ Ah─……”
Residue cleared his throat and slightly nodded his head.
Thanks to the Half King’s rciless assault, his vocal cords, mouth, and even his tongue were in a terrible state, but it seed he could still speak.
“How long was I unconscious?”
There was no answer, so Residue speculated alone.
The body that had been completely bloodied had sowhat recovered, so perhaps he had been unconscious longer than he thought.
Surely, it hasn’t been more than three or four days. That would ss up his plans.
‘…No.'
Residue glanced at the Red Knight's waist and then nodded.
It didn't seem like much ti had passed.
“Why are you here, Red Knight?”
Despite the continued questioning, there was no response. Not even a flicker of reaction.
It was enough to make Residue wonder if he had actually spoken.
As if doubting whether he had just said sothing or not.
“You should have been working with the Sun God in the snowy plains.”
“……”
This ti, there was a faint reaction from the Red Knight. She hesitated slightly, as if she was about to turn her head. Her slender jawline briefly ca into view before disappearing again.
“I don’t understand. Why have you all submitted to the Half King? Is your faith in your own strength so lacking?”
“You’ve beco unusually talkative since we last t.”
A heavy voice cut in.
It was Lucid, the Black Knight. He, too, had removed his helt, and his appearance was surprisingly intact for soone who was undead.
He looked almost the sa as he did in Lukas’s mories.
“You can’t even begin to imagine what I’ve been through.”
When Residue spoke with a mix of provocation, Lucid turned around. His blood-red eyes focused on him.
Lucid closed the distance with long strides and reached out his hand.
Clack─
And the mask was removed.
Residue’s thoughts were simple. So he had still been wearing the mask.
“……”
A cold face turned toward him, with an expression full of scrutiny. Residue did not shy away and t Lucid's gaze.
Eventually, he spoke.
“…You’ve changed.”
Residue faintly smiled.
Yes. That was the most he could conclude.
No matter how much Lucid had changed, he couldn’t think of Lukas as a different person. They had been apart for too long.
And this place was the Void world.
A place where in just one day, a noble saint could turn into a hideous murderer… No. Wasn’t that true for the Three Thousand Worlds as well?
Residue let out a chuckle.
“…What happened? What exactly did the Beginning Wizard say to you?”
That’s probably what he’s thinking.
It seed like Lucid believed that Lukas had been forcibly brainwashed or suffered so ntal side effects after forcibly inheriting the Beginning Wizard’s position.
He was far off the mark, but there was no need to correct such a misconception.
“Do you share the sa opinion as the Red Knight?”
“……”
“I asked if you're planning to entrust everything to that newborn baby who's not even a month old.”
“If that’s the case, what of it?”
“I’d say you’ve changed much more than I have. And not for the better. The title of Sword Emperor would weep.”
“You still don’t understand Her Majesty. Even after your body has been reduced to that state, you haven’t realized anything.”
Lucid’s voice cald down again.
“It’s not about shirking responsibility. We adopted the most efficient plan. Even though the Red Knight and I joined forces against Her Majesty, we couldn’t even touch the hem of her robe.”
“So, you’re going to do nothing, just bury yourself in this underground place, guarding prisoners?”
“……”
When Lucid didn’t respond, Residue sensed sothing strange.
…The Lucid that Lukas knew was like the embodint of responsibility. In the days when Lukas was immature in many ways, Lucid was the man who was most ideologically complete.
For such a man to simply choose submission and abandon all responsibility just because soone stronger than him appeared?
“You’re hiding sothing.”
“……”
“There’s another purpose. Isn’t there?”
The Red Knight turned her head. She looked at Lucid with an expressionless face.
“There is no such thing. And there’s no need for further conversation. You will remain bound here until everything is over. That is Her Majesty’s will.”
It was an obvious attempt to avoid the conversation. Clearly, they were hiding sothing. In a way, that was a relief. It ant they weren't just idly sitting by, watching the situation unfold.
From Residue's perspective, the worst choice was ‘doing nothing.' So, the fact that they had a plan, whether it was pure or impure, wasn’t entirely bad news.
“Is this to be my grave then? How lonely.”
He muttered as if unaware of the situation, while thinking internally.
He had already planted the seeds in the Half King and had intentionally experienced failure. Since despair hasn't set in, the plan can be considered half successful.
Now, the most important issue:
How to escape from this place?
Before he could delve deeply into that thought,
Soone appeared at the end of the narrow path.
Clang─
The two knights imdiately went into battle stance. The person at the edge raised both hands above their head.
“I am not an enemy.”
It was a voice he recognized.
[What is your purpose for coming?]
“I have sothing to say to the man bound over there.”
[State your business clearly.]
“I have no intention of doing that.”
As the black and red auras began to rise from the two knights, the voice ca again.
“I have the Half King's permission.”
[…Permission from Her Majesty?]
“Yes.”
As she spoke, she pulled sothing out from her bosom.
It was an ornate folding fan, and the two knights were visibly surprised upon seeing it.
[The Twelve Zodiac Fan…]
[It belongs to Her Majesty.]
“Is this sufficient proof?”
[…….]
The two knights relaxed their battle stance. They returned to their original positions and stood still like statues.
Residue quietly observed the entire scene.
The visitor.
No, the one who ca to see him, stepped onto the precarious path and walked across it.
Finally, she reached him, a masked face standing close.
“It's been a while.”
“……”
The Tar, the proxy of the beast.
She was soone whose intentions were hard to guess.
This woman had a natural talent for hiding her true thoughts. So much so that even Residue's insight, which could see through the 4 Knights and the Twelve Void Lords, couldn’t penetrate her.
As he remained silent, she spoke again.
“You've taken off your mask.”
“Not because I wanted to.”
Clang─
He showed the chains binding his arms as he responded, and the Tar nodded.
“Then it’s only polite that I show my real face as well.”
“What?”
Before Residue could say anything, the Tar removed her mask.
“……”
Upon seeing her revealed face, Residue was at a loss for words.
It was a face he recognized.
The face from Lukas's mories, the first disciple he acknowledged.
The woman with hair as fresh as greenery was looking at him with a calm expression.
‘Beniang Argento…'
No.
The presence he felt was much stronger.
Residue narrowed his eyes.
‘or Should I say the Seven Fanged Dragon?’
*
The Half King sitting on the throne blinked her eyes.
“What did you just say?”
[That is…]
“No, never mind. I suppose I didn’t mishear.”
The Exile quietly lowered his head.
The Half King rested her chin on her hand, deeply pondering sothing, and muttered.
“A ssenger has co…”
[Yes. They introduced themselves as a ssenger from the Three Thousand Worlds. The na they gave was ‘Iris.']
“Hmm.”
A visit from a ssenger of the Three Thousand Worlds was one of the expected scenarios. Nothing surprising about that.
Yet, the reason the Half King felt troubled was.
“What about the other ssenger?”
There were not one, but two ssengers.
[…They introduced themselves as a ssenger from Destruction.]
“A ssenger of Destruction.”
The Half King recalled the monster she had killed with her own hands.
Sensing the Half King's thoughts, the Exile spoke.
[It looked completely different from the assailants we’ve seen before. It was dressed in clothing, and it didn’t have a grotesque appearance. Most importantly… it was rational.]
“……”
[In other words, it was soone we could communicate with. They said they ca to deliver a warning… Their intentions are unclear, Your Majesty. I believe it may be dangerous to et with them.]
“Let them in.”
[…As you command.]
The Exile hesitated for a mont before bowing his head.
“I am an apostle.”
A calm voice echoed.
The Exile, who had just lifted his head, turned around.
There stood a man.
“It’s not a ssenger, but an Apostle.”
[What… How did you get in here…?]
“I thought it would be a long wait, so I took the liberty of entering despite the rudeness.”
The man murmured in a composed tone and then slowly began to walk forward.
[……]
Just as a strange light flickered in the Exile's Occult Hand, the Half King raised one hand to stop him. At the king's command, the Exile had no choice but to restrain his aura.
The Half King looked at the man with an intrigued gaze.
“I've never t you before.”
The man bowed politely, then glanced at the Half King and looked around, as if searching for soone. However, when he couldn’t find who he was looking for, he turned his gaze back to the Half King.
“It seems you are the representative of the Void world.”
“And who are you?”
“I am the Apostle of Destruction. Hmm.”
The man paused briefly before adding,
“You can call Frey.”
****
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