21st Century Archmage - Chapter 197

“M-My liege!”

“My liege!!!!”

After parting with Sylphiria at the Dimensional Valley, I was teleported to the Middle Realm, and one moment later, Bebeto suddenly appeared next to me. The completely healed Bebeto went wild with happiness upon seeing me.

Then, we flew back to Nerman, and we finally reached the Nerman Castle’s covert, a place I never thought I would be able to return to again.

‘Sylphiria…’

My passionate kiss with Sylphiria was still vivid in my mind. The emotion in the eyes of my knights as they cried out and ran to me brought me back to reality.

“I’m so relieved, my liege.” said Derval, greeting me ardently, as if he had been waiting on pins and needles for my return.

“How long has it been since I left?”

I had no idea how long I spent in the Dimensional Valley. It was already well known that the passage of time differed between the Spirit and Middle Realms.

“It has been exactly half a month.”

‘Half a month?’

Quite a bit more time passed than I expected. After departing from Nerman, it took me 5 days to travel to the Laviter Imperial Capital with the Kesmire Kingdom’s knights, so I had spent about 10 days of time in the Dimensional Valley.

“Has something happened in the Laviter Empire?”

I immediately jumped to the most important point, certain that Altakas wouldn’t sit around twiddling his thumbs after I left.

“About that…” Derval’s face hardened. “I will tell you after we go inside. Terrible things are happening on the Continent.”

Even if he didn’t say anything, I could feel it. Nerman’s knights and soldiers were all unusually tense. Altakas had definitely caused a mess.

“Immediately announce an emergency order to all troops and convene the important knights.”

“As you command!”

Even if we clashed again, I had no confidence I could win. However, I couldn’t just wait around to be knocked down.

‘Altakas… just you wait… Arghhhh!’

My heart raged with the desire to rip apart the heart of the Black Magic Swordsman of Destruction who had killed my faithful beastmen subordinates.

* * *

“My liege… Where are Sir Hasifor and the other knights…?”

Conscious of the uneasy atmosphere, Derval cautiously asked about Hasifor’s wellbeing while following me to the office.

“They… they died.”

Shocked, Derval drew in a sharp breath. He knew better than anyone what the relationship between me and the beastmen was like, so the news impacted him greatly.

‘Dammit…’

When I thought about Hasifor and the others, anger surged within me, and tears threatened to fall. Even now, it felt like all I had to do was call them and they would come running with cries of “Master” on their lips. Just who was I to them that they didn’t run away for their lives? Instead, they suffered such a death like idiots…

“I am sure they were happy.” Derval’s voice had grown tearful. “If I ever have an opportunity to die for you… I am also confident that I could die happy. You are someone who deserves that, and more.”

Derval offered me words of comfort.

“Don’t say something like that… If you die… I also need to die.”

“My liege…”

My heart felt like it was being ripped apart. Only now did I realize how painful saying goodbye was. Until now, no one I loved left me forever through death. But now, I knew what it was like. The death of those who were always as present as the oxygen in the air, who would come by my side if I called, if I wanted to see them, if I wanted to touch them… Now, I could feel with my heart why death was called the greatest farewell.

I bit down hard on my lips. Rather than weep a single drop of tears, I should prepare to avenge them. That was the task before me now.

“It seems the rumors were partly true.”

“The rumors?”

“Yes, there have been widespread rumors that you led Skyknights to attack the Laviter Imperial City and bravely fell in battle.”

We’d caused such havoc at the Imperial City, so it was no wonder that there were rumors.

“Tell me what you were referring to when you said ‘terrible’ earlier.”

“…Black mages have appeared, and they have announced a Dark Empire.”

‘So he wants to openly wage war now, does he?’

There were Kesmire Skyknights who survived and fled, so it was only a matter of time before the news would spread across the Continent anyway.

“Also, one million or so of the people living in the Laviter Imperial City were killed.”

“…!”

The huge number was like cold water on my senses. One million was easy enough to say, but it was no small number. Throughout all of Nerman’s expansive land, we only had 500k citizens now, but twice that number of people had perished.

‘You goddamn fucking son of a bitch.’

He had long since shed his humanity, treading the path of darkness. It was foolish to expect a human’s natural mercy from him.

“It must have caused a mess.”

“Yes. The Emperor who declared the Dark Empire said he would kill all who did not submit. I believe large-scale war will soon break out.”

‘He’ll really kill them.’

I had met him personally. It was impossible to predict what he would do with the body he gained after being locked in the darkness for 200 years.

‘He’s a meticulous one. He knows how to bide his time and knows exactly what to do.’

I didn’t know how long he’d played the Laviter Emperor before announcing the Dark Empire. Considering that he drew zero suspicion even while acting as the emperor of the nation, he was truly one impressive bastard. There were priests residing in the Imperial City, as well as many mages who could detect black magic, but he calmly continued to play Emperor. In order to impede a holy war from the temples, he successfully pulled off a chilling scheme to pick fault with the temples and kill the cardinals and high-ranking priests in one fell swoop. Adding to that, his skill in turning the Tower Masters and knights into soldiers of darkness showed he was a truly terrifying person.

“Seeing as the Shining Magic Tower and the Temple of the Evil God Kerma, organizations that have operated in secret up until now, have joined in the declaration of the Dark Empire, I believe this has been in the works for a considerable amount of time.”

The smart Derval realized that Altakas had planned this for a long time.

“He is not the Emperor. His true name is the Black Magic Swordsman of Destruction, Altakas—an 8th Circle black magic swordsman who announced the Dark Empire in the Haildrian Empire 200 years ago but was ultimately made to flee.”

“A-An 8th Circle black magic swordsman?!”

Derval’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. Of course he was shocked. At the 7th Circle, I was powerful enough to be called invincible, so he had to know what the 8th Circle was like.

“That is shocking. We knew he was a black mage, but not that he was an 8th Circle black magic swordsman…”

“I very nearly died. In fact… I was unable to block a single sword from him.”

“M-My liege…”

Derval treated me almost like a god. When he heard how utterly and pathetically I was defeated, he was rendered speechless. Even now, thinking about that moment made me shiver.

‘The density of his mana, his range, and even his aura… In all aspects, I’m not his match.’

My sword and mana could dominate the area around me at will, but his sword was on a different level. His single-minded aura was perfectly fixated on killing the opponent, and his mana was incredibly dense, showing that he had reached or even exceeded the Grand Blade Master level. All other technicalities, like swordsmanship skill, were rendered meaningless in the face of sheer power.

Normally, once your sword reached a certain point in the speed and precision it could demonstrate in eliminating the opponent, any further improvements were minimal. The issue afterwards was the density and amount of mana imbued in one’s sword. Like how I jumped to Grand Master level the moment I ascended to the 7th Circle, the 8th Circle mana in his sword had showed me yet a new world, an insurmountable gap so enormous that I was unable to take a single hit.

“When will the knights arrive?”

“They should be heading over around now. An emergency alert was already active before you arrived, my liege, so everyone has been on constant standby.”

Unlike other kingdoms or territories, my knights knew how to think for themselves and make their own decisions. Despite being an administrative knight, Derval had a particularly outstanding talent for strategy and military affairs.

“But my liege, if Hadveria, no, the black magic swordsman named Altakas, is so strong, how should we set up a countermeasure? Up until now, Nerman has overcome its crises by depending almost entirely on your pivotal influence, but now…”

Having quickly sounded out the situation, Derval asked me how we should defend.

“That is my worry as well. If I could just ascend to the 8th Circle, it would be worth a shot, but rising to such a level is no easy matter.”

“…Should we ask for support from the magic towers?”

“The Tower Masters who disappeared have already been turned to half-liches by Altakas’ hand.”

“Ah…!”

Poor Derval was getting surprised a lot today.

“I don’t think anyone can stop him. All of Laviter’s key knights have been turned into Death Knights, and even the wyverns have become Death Wyverns. Adding the soldiers and the demon beasts and monsters controlled by black magic…”

“…”

At my explanation, Derval’s mouth parted into an “O” and he looked to be on the verge of passing out. However, I could not give him solace. This was the cold, hard reality. All we could do now was to find the best method to survive.

‘Regular knights are no match for Death Knights. For those already lifeless creatures, there is no such thing as death, only obliteration.’

The same went for the Death Wyverns. They could fly without a care even after getting shot by multiple Blessed Spears. The advantages of our improved spears would have no effect. 

“Nerman will be alright. As long as you are here, my liege, Nerman will never be wiped out by someone’s hand, no matter who.”

Everything that I had explained about Altakas seemed to have gone into one ear and out the next, because Derval’s eyes of absolute trust were shining at me. I wished that were true. I didn’t want to lose anyone else I loved.

‘If only Master were here at a time like this.’

Normally, I never even wanted to think about Master Bumdalf, but at this moment, the only person who could stop Altakas was my eccentric master.

“Sigh…”

But unfortunately, that was realistically impossible. Until I ascended to the 8th Circle and gained a clue about dimensional teleportation, returning to Earth was a pie in the sky. Moreover, it was highly unlikely that Master would abandon the pleasures of civilization to come here. 

Of course, considering his flip-flopping mental state, there was a 1 in a 10 million chance that he would show up in front of me.

* * *

“Hah… Hah… good grief, my old bones.”

On the plains that made up the border between the Gaetz Principality and the Havis Kingdom, an old man wearing a peculiar mage robe that didn’t exist on the Continent and had a splendid white beard was sitting on the ground, catching his breath.

“Dammit! To think I’d happen to forget the coordinates.”

Before, such an occurrence would be unthinkable, but after living in another dimension for the past 100 years, the old mage had forgotten the coordinates. Actually, he sort of remembered them, but not the precise digits. And as someone who valued his body dearly, Aidal did not engage in reckless activities. The petty Aidal had never forgotten how much he suffered from getting baited and tricked by the mages of the Golden Magic Tower in the past. The former Aidal would have arrived already by opening two gates and teleporting, but now, he could only grumble in regret. When it came to magic, numbers had to be exact, and that exactness was closely linked to one’s life, so even the great and mighty Aidal did not dare to attempt a warp without precise coordinates, which led to his current state.

“How many days has it been? Even flying with Auto Fly is boring now.”

After confirming that his disciple Kang Hyuk was the Lord of Nerman, he immediately set off from the Pakinch Kingdom to Nerman.

“Let’s stay strong for a little longer. Then, I’ll be able to meet that rascal Hyuk.”

He was 99% sure that the Lord of Nerman, Kyre, was Kang Hyuk, but Aidal was mistrustful of others by nature. In order to check that remaining 1%, he dragged along his old body for several consecutive days of flight.

“If only I could ride a wyvern, I wouldn’t have to rough it out like this.”

He had a very un-archmage-like fear of wyverns. He could ride a plane one way or another, but somehow, his limbs would shake nonstop the moment he clambered onto a wyvern’s back, so he was just brute forcing it.

“When I get the time, I should develop a flying carpet. I didn’t bother to make one on Earth because there were planes.”

Aidal, who had flown all this way with Auto Fly, a spell that automatically supplied itself with mana and continued in the designated direction, thought of the magic carpet that had appeared in the Arabian Nights cartoon, Aladdin.

“Huhu. They say the castle in Nerman is truly great. If it’s been made by dwarves, it should be fairly decent to live in.”

On Earth, Aidal had lived a life of peak luxury. He was already starting to miss his fluffy bed and wide range of amenities. And he was sure that his disciple Kang Hyuk had created a castle fitted to some degree with such Earth conveniences.

Because his disciple Kang Hyuk had as much propensity to live his life in comfort as his master, Aidal.

* * *

* * *

“Lord Kyre…”

I didn’t forget that one of the reasons why I was able to return alive was this woman, who always prayed for me.

“I wanted to see you…”

“Me too… I truly, truly missed you.”

We were in Lady Neran’s temple, but because she and I were both confident before God, we were able to hug each other in the temple.

‘She’s grown thinner.’

Just how much had she prayed after I left? She was wasting away. There was no doubt that I was to blame for causing her discomfort.

“I heard that black mages and priests of Kerma have appeared. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Pulling away from my embrace, Aramis carefully inspected my body.

“Thanks to your concern, I’m completely fine.”

“I am relieved to hear that.”

After seeing that I was healthy, she gave me a small smile. I gently pulled her into my arms again.

“Like the sun and moon, light and darkness, good and evil, all are things created by the Great God,” she murmured. “Do not hate evil for being evil. It exists in order for good to exist, and it is through evil that the people realize their noble worth and the value of love.”

Aramis bore the attitude of embracing all things. She was someone who would walk into Hell without hesitation if someone suffering there called for her.

“The light and good will not stop going where it must because the darkness is intense and evil is strong. And I am someone with many beloved people to protect. Because I am a human and not a god, I will repel the darkness and exterminate evil. I have never forgotten that that is the path I must take.”

“Yes… You are the Champion of Light chosen by the good gods. Do as your heart desires. This inadequate one will bless all that you do.”

Aramis would never reject or belittle my desire. I tightened my grasp around her waist.

‘I am no Champion of Light or anything like that. I’m just an ordinary human who wants to protect all he loves.’

I was no saint, nor was I a noble person by any means. There were things I wanted to do, and to that effect, I simply wanted to do my very best, even now, as my destruction approached.

* * *

“My liege, this incident is severe. We must immediately spur the Bajran Empire and every kingdom on the Continent into forming an allied army and joining the war against the Dark Empire.”

“Yes. If we sit around watching what happens next, we could face annihilation in moments.”

The knights had arrived at my summons. After hearing Derval’s report, they suggested a Continent-wide allied army with shocked expressions.

“When such incidents occurred in the past, the temples stepped forward to declare a holy war, and everyone obeyed their lead. But the temples have not recovered their former functions, so someone else must step forward.”

“We must decide what to do and concentrate our forces as soon as possible. I am sure that their very first target will be Nerman.”

“Death Wyverns… I have never faced them, but from your words, my liege, I think it will take at least four Skyknights to bring one down.”

Sir Shailt, Cedrian, and Ryker, as well as the admin knights, were scrambling to say what was on their minds.

‘An allied army…’

I was tempted by their words. No matter how strong Altakas’ soldiers were, if the kingdoms joined forces, it should at least be possible to stop the onslaught.

“But there’s a problem. It is too much to impose the burden of leadership on our liege. As famous as Nerman and our liege’s name may be, Nerman is a mere territory. For a lord to propose an union with the kingdoms will invite dispute,” said Derval after listening to the knights.

“That could very well be. No matter how urgent the situation, nobles are always sticklers for formalities…”

“My liege, I believe the time to make a decision has come.”

“Yes. My liege, it is time to declare Nerman as a kingdom!”

The knights fixed their burning gazes on me.

‘Declare Nerman as a kingdom…’

This problem had never even occurred to me. Declaring Nerman as a kingdom as if we had nothing better to do when the threat of Altakas was at our throats seemed like foolishness. But it was true that my position had to be equivalent with the kingdoms if we were to form an allied army. Even in this crisis, people would not forget formalities.

‘Haah…’

In my mind, I breathed a sigh I could not outwardly display. This wasn’t how I wanted to become a king. I wanted to declare my glorious paradise while receiving the blessings of all.

“My liege, you must act while you have the pretext. In the current Kallian Continent, no one else is suited to become the core of a united front. There is the Bajran Emperor, but he is still young, and he lacks the power to lead an allied army. Not only is the other empire, Opern, far from here, but they have not personally taken damage, so they cannot take a leading role. In addition, the rest of the kingdoms are only watching to see what happens. In such a time of chaos, you must declare Nerman as a kingdom, my liege. No one will object to you becoming a king. My liege! This is an opportunity given by the heavens!”

Derval, who had advised me to declare sovereignty for a while, looked at me with eyes of blazing loyalty.

“My liege, may you become the King!”

“May you become the King!”

The passionate voices of the knights echoed in the office.

I closed my eyes. A crown gained because I had the pretext sparked no emotions in my heart. I was a terrible liege who had led the beastmen to their deaths, the beastmen who followed me like it was their lifelong goal.

I clenched my teeth.

“That is impossible.”

“My liege!”

“My liege…”

My quiet sentence made the knights call me in dismay.

“If anyone is judging such a crisis based on outer appearances, such people will be no help even if they join our cause. In this situation that is so dire that it may not be enough even if we join all our forces, clinging to empty formalities and vanities is the wrong attitude altogether. We do not need any who must be forced to join. We… will protect Nerman with our own hands.”

I opened my eyes, looking at each of my knights in turn.

“Understood. If that is your will, I, Derval, shall obey with my life.”

“I, Shailt, shall abide by your will.”

“I, Cedrian, shall forever be your shadow.”

“I, Janice, am always prepared to die for you and Nerman.”

These knights of mine who always took my side did not implore me to change my mind.

“Haah… What a beautiful scene. But how in the world do you intend on defeating that 8th Circle black magic swordsman guy? If he wanted to, he could fly over this very moment with warp magic and cast one 8th Circle spell to knock down the castle walls.”

Unlike the other knights, Ryker did not utter words of loyalty. He was different than usual, almost… like he had shed the fabrication he’d worn all this time, revealing his true form. He phrased his words jokingly, but the air around him was anything but a joke.

“The obstinate liege forgoes the easy path, choosing to walk the hard path instead, and his knights follow him unconditionally. Hahaha. It makes me jealous every time I see it. I’m really not sure if there are any knights like you guys in our empire.”

With a gentle expression, Ryker spoke of his ‘empire’.

“Wh-What are you saying, Sir Ryker? Why are you so disrespectful all of a sudden?” rebuked Sir Cedrian, a stout adherer of chivalry.

“I’ll stop now. From this moment forth, the Ryker who was a vassal of Nerman will cast away his knight peerage and return to his original place.”

“Ah…!”

“S-Sir Ryker…”

The expressions of all the knights darkened at Ryker’s bombshell. He wanted to give up on being a knight in the middle of such a crisis.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

I, of course, had a principle of not clinging to someone who wanted to go. I relayed my gratitude for his work so far with a completely unaffected expression.

“You’re really too much. To betray our liege in such a moment of crisis when he has given us so much… I’ve revised my opinion of you, Ryker…”

Janice, a close companion of Ryker, glared at him, biting her lips. She seemed greatly shocked.

“Well, with things the way they are, one of me isn’t going to be much help, no? It would be better for the territory for me to step out here so you can appoint a more amazing knight.”

Ryker spoke without a hint of guilty conscience. Others would have been angry, but there were no ripples in my heart.

“I have learned a lot up until now. I do not doubt that Nerman will surmount this crisis and develop even more in the future. Count Kyre de Nerman, I truly admire you.”

With that, Ryker bent into a crisp bow, the courteous movement indistinguishable from any palace mannerism.

From start to finish, he was one incomprehensible man. Even with Blade Master skills, he was the Mercenary Guildmaster of a rural territory, yet despite being a mercenary, his ability to control a wyvern was more outstanding than any who had received an elite education, and though his mouth constantly claimed he was in pursuit of women and alcohol, his actions said otherwise. He definitely had some kind of secret.

“Janice, don’t look at me like that. When I reclaim my position, I’ll call you right away, so don’t look at any other men, you hear?”

Even in this situation, Ryker had the guts to wink at Janice and joke around.

“Lord Kyre, know this.” Ryker stood up and stared at me, his expression turning serious. “This Continent will not permit Nerman, no, the Lord, to bear this burden alone. I… will make sure of that.”

After saying those meaningful words, Ryker went on to say, “Well then, until we meet again, I wish you all good health.”

Blindsided by this completely unanticipated turn of events, the knights could only watch Ryker in stunned speechlessness.

“See you later, Ryker.”

“Yes, Lord Kyre. When we see each other next time, I will visit you in a more formal capacity.”

Ryker grinned and bowed, then confidently opened the office door and left.

‘I’ll see him soon, I’m sure.’

I could tell that Ryker was not leaving because he truly disliked me and Nerman. There were circumstances he couldn’t tell us about. And from what I could infer from his words, it was possible he was leaving to recover his other identity I didn’t know about.

Creaaak, thud.

He left, the door thudding behind him, cutting off all the gazes that had been following his back.

“Haha, hahahahaha.”

I suddenly burst out in laughter. It felt like the suffocating feeling was dispersed, like the shattering of a glass window. What Ryker showed me with his dashing action was that you didn’t have to do something if you didn’t want to, and you could just leave if you wanted to. There was no need for complicated thoughts. Life was already short and busy just doing the things I wanted to do. I just had to keep running without stopping.

“Now then, let us begin the real planning for facing Altakas and the bastards who call themselves part of the Dark Empire.”

The knights stared at me, their mouths agape at my unaffected attitude. I simply smiled at them. 

This moment marked another new beginning.

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