◈ Episode 329. Disaster Level: Claudi (2)
On the walls of Antonium.
The soldiers gaze out over the plain and swallow their sighs. Eventually, the enemies would come. Finally, the Dark Dragon, himself, appears alone to defend the empire once more.
Alone.
An enemy army, standing alone on the plain, charging toward the line.
Even if it was the Dark Dragon.
“Do you really think we have a chance, General?”
“…….”
The onlookers could not hide their concern.
Soon, a faint tremor rose from their toes to their heads.
At the same time, a huge cloud of dust rose from the center of the column.
“Nothing, what’s going on?”
“Damn, I can’t see anything!”
“Lord Nash, you can’t even see it with your telescope?”
“Don’t be so impatient. I’m trying!”
I squeeze harder and harder at my beloved tool, but m vision doesn’t change.
All I can do is clench my fist a little harder and grit my teeth.
At the last moment, everyone witnessed it.
‘In the end, the leaders moved.’
‘What was the conversation that led to the enemy leaders coming out?’
‘If they were firing a combined attack…….’
As I stare at the dirt, an ominous thought occurs to me.
If Hoyeol falls, it will be Antonium’s turn.
How are we supposed to stop an enemy that even the Dark Dragon can’t stop?
It would be better if the dust didn’t clear up like this.
Sussss─
The wind washed away the dust, contrary to the growing anxiety.
It spat out the battlefield scenery it had consumed.
The battlefield that now came into view included all of Antonium.
Even the emperor hadn’t expected what was unfolding.
“……what, kneeling?”
Even Antonium was in disbelief and confusion.
“Why……?”
The scene was unfolding in front of him.
The atmosphere on the battlefield was indescribable.
No wonder no one could talk easily.
No one could understand what was happening.
“……Why the heads of the family?”
Shining silver hair.
Skin as white as ice.
Are you saying that he is kneeling with his head bowed in front of a man who is wearing clothes that are so fancy that it is not strange to call them armor or banquet clothes underneath? The more loyal the loyalists believed and had no doubts about the family heads, the greater the shock was bound to be.
Eventually, the head scratchers concluded.
“……This cannot happen!”
The first thing to move was.
The Maxima family.
It was a golden elite soldier.
Sreung!
They raise sharply refined golden swords.
Ignite Maxima, he is the patriarch of the Maxima Family, who have amassed all the wealth of the continent. It would be unthinkable for him to bend to the will of another.
“Save your lord from the same tricks!”
Yugrik, Kansul, and Acamond.
The loyalty of the other three families was not much different from Maxima’s.
Even if they were stripped of their names and blessings.
It was through their own efforts that they had risen to such power.
It was almost as if the Four Families were at odds.
But.
kudeudeudeug─
Whatever their masters, the Four Families’ avatars had no intention of forgiving their descendants. From the cracks in the earth, the avatars that had emerged from them lifted their bowed heads before Claudi.
Then some frowned.
“……Wait.”
The statue’s appearance is not unfamiliar.
No, more than that, they look familiar.
The first thing they realize is who they are.
They were the twins of the sun and moon, serving the Yugrik family.
“Yugrik……?”
──────
Yugrik’s generous mercy was enough to comfort the wounded. Even if they are the twins of the sun and the moon who were heartbroken after being abandoned by the sky…….
──────
The statue was unmistakably Yugrik.
Yugrik, long dead and buried beneath the manor. When a statue in his likeness stood before them, the twins were confused.
“Surely, it’s the face from the portrait.”
“What?”
“It’s definitely the statue of the ancestor……!”
It didn’t take long for all four families to realize the identity of the statue. Their burning loyalty to rescue the deceived patriarch began to waver.
And so it was.
In one ear, out the other.
The man’s words began to echo in my head.
-“If you have forgotten the subject, let me remind you.”
-“Greet me.”
-“I am your master.”
Assuming the bluster was true…….
“……!”
The sight before him began to make sense. The heads of the Four Families knelt before him, statues in the likeness of the Four Families’ ancestors bowing to him…….
Gulp.
‘No, this is nonsense!’
Shaking his head to clear it, his mind was still in turmoil, but time, which is fair to all, was passing even as they agonized.
“…….”
An ethereal silence hovered over the battlefield.
Soon, all eyes were on one place.
The only one who could break the silence.
Hoyeol.
*
Now stripped of everything by procedure.
The heads of the Four Families could not escape their vassal relationship with Claudi.
So my word is…….
they have no choice but to kneel like this.
See, I didn’t go out on my own for nothing.
‘But the soldiers are not my servants.’
Someone might say, why don’t you just order the heads of the Four Families to stop the troops? I, Lee Hoyeol, would not hesitate to do so.
‘Isn’t that what social life is all about?’
But there’s no way our noble Lord Grandfell would tolerate subcontracting. Even the soldiers’ choice to serve the Four Families was a matter of pride. It is our Grandfell who does not overlook the pride of others as much as his own.
‘It’s good to have allies.’
Fearing that I would do the same, I readily accepted the help of the statues and avatars. Besides, I figured the elders of the family would be more effective at reprimanding me.
‘I only have to worry about the patriarchs.’
In fact, it’s hard to take care of them.
Depending on the relationship between military and government, they were forced to kneel due to status abnormality or [submission].
At first glance, their expressions were murderous.
But I’m not the kind of person who avoids people with sharp teeth, I’m the kind of person who wouldn’t mind breaking all of their teeth if I ran into them head-on.
Ttogak─
Therefore, I walked over without delay.
I passed by the soldiers with bewildered looks on their faces and approached one of the kneeling patriarchs. A large man, his armor trimmed in gold, his helm decidedly hollow.
His appearance alone gave away his identity.
‘Mr. Maxima.’
So much for being specific, huh?
I spit out the name I’d seen in the system message earlier.
“Ignite, I will omit the last name that was taken from you.”
I look at it now.
Ignite Maxima.
Why is it so difficult to call someone by their full name?
‘……Wow, you’re really getting into it right from the first word.’
Of course, that didn’t stop him from talking.
I was embarrassed.
I don’t blame him for being ambitious, but declaring war on the Empire at a time like this was hardly an act of pride.
I didn’t mince words.
“The splendor of the past is gone, and only ugliness remains.”
“……!”
“Don’t blame the years, your remorse is your own fault. And I am your master, judging and condemning your faults.”
Magic Tower Topaz Hall.
Pre-qualification before a regular conference.
Always a rat race.
My tongue, used to tormenting adept mages, spits out venom.
“……!”
My shoulders heave, and I realize I’m getting a kick out of it.
Without my permission, the submissive Ignite cannot speak.
I don’t think he’ll even respond, let alone reflect, but…….
‘I’m not a demon, after all.’
A human who believes he can always be reformed.
My head is still full of flowers.
I opened my mouth, if only for the sheer grandeur of it.
“I will give you one last chance to argue your case.”
“……kuhugh.”
Then Ignite took a sharp, deep breath.
Then his head snapped up.
His eyes locked with mine.
*
-“……You must never involve yourself with him, and if you ever see him, never look up.”
For the first time, my father’s words made sense.
Every cell in your body is not listening.
It is trembling with fear.
Silver hair fluttering in the breeze.
A graceful demeanor.
A gaze that looks down upon all things.
Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.
Claudi.
In front of the man who is supposed to be the man.
One last chance to plead his case?
The moment he heard those words.
Ignite was furious.
It wasn’t enough that the ghost of the past had stolen the Jewel of Midas under false pretenses; now he was actually trying to claim it.
But when I met his gaze, my thoughts changed.
‘……Damn it.’
Maybe I’ve made an irreversible mistake.
Ignite was furious.
‘Guys, what are the golden elite doing?’
Damn it.
If there was a mistake to be made, it was trusting men who didn’t even know what was going on.
But Ignite did not avert his gaze.
‘Still, I can’t admit it.’
He ignored the cell’s warning.
Not avoiding his master’s gaze.
He finally spoke.
“Now you’re going to try and pretend to be my master? It’s not even funny! A great family? Claudi, your status is of course on the Arcana Continent. It’s been a long time since you’ve been anything more than a slut in the filthy underworld!”
It was a provocation.
At the same time, it was a warning to himself.
I never gave in to Claudi.
Ignite gathered his strength and continued speaking.
“Look! Except for us, who were the heads of the four families, no one on the battlefield remembers the name Claudi. An immeasurably great family? Do you think it makes sense for such a reputation to be so completely forgotten? Not even the Empire or the Emperor really knows about your family?”
Nobody noticed the change faster than him.
It was Long Shenglac, a strange player on the battlefield.
……What is it?
Lee Hoyeol.
‘Something’ flows out from behind him.
……What is that?
I’m looking at the wrong thing.
Something so black that he rubbed the corners of his eyes.
The question was answered by a system message.
[The capital of the Empire, Antonium, is engulfed in an infinitely deep darkness].
“……!”
Darkness engulfs Antonium.
[The Empire is engulfed in a darkness as deep as it can go].
No, it engulfs the empire.
And yet, the spreading darkness refuses to stop.
In pitch blackness.
Finally, Long Shenglac’s vision flickers.
[The Arcana Continent is engulfed in an infinitely deep darkness].
“……!!!”
*
Suitable magic power, suffocatingly thick.
A voice rings out from the darkness.
Not mine.
“Ignite Maxima.”
“……?”
“From now on, be careful what you say, every word, every syllable.”
“……!”
“Otherwise, I will deny your existence.”
The voice of Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.
“Are you ready to insult my sister with that vulgar mouth?”
[Status abnormality, ‘blackening’ occurs.]