The Second Day (9) - The Wise King's Forbidden Gaze
No one knows why the king, once praised as a wise and enlightened ruler, lost his mind overnight.
The knights condemned the mages, blaming their foul sorcery, while the mages dismissed it as the delusions of barbaric warriors, sneering arrogantly.
As ugly factional strife spread like poison within the castle walls, the world outside silently crumbled.
With governance paralyzed, trade routes across the continent were severed, and starving monsters began raiding human settlements. The knights, obsessed with the hollow pretext of guarding the throne, refused to venture out, while the mages, who should have dealt with the growing yokai, ignored the people's screams, lost in the frivolity of their research.
Yet the kingdom still seemed intact. The formidable prestige built over centuries was not so easily toppled in a single night. The suffering masses endured, praying for tomorrow's sun and telling themselves life had merely grown a bit harsher.
...But what ultimately hurled that once-glorious kingdom into the abyss of ruin was none other than my own misjudgment—my sin.
One day, by some miracle, the king regained his senses, his eyes sharp with sanity once more. Desperately yearning for someone, he listened as I boldly offered counsel: He must go out to the streets, proclaim the royal family's resilience, and rally the people's hearts.
Pale and haggard though he was, the king silently nodded to my advice. When he emerged into the square, escorted by knights, clad in fresh robes—that was when the curtain rose on all tragedy. The moment his majestic visage reflected in the adoring eyes of thousands of subjects, the king's dormant madness awoke.
With a blood-chilling scream, the king tore into the nearest commoner, ripping them apart mercilessly—with his bare hands, as if some unnatural strength had surged into those slender fingers. The peaceful street turned to pandemonium in an instant, and the flustered knights belatedly tried to restrain him.
But human strength was far too feeble against the deranged king. That day, thousands awaiting his blessing were crushed by his hands, reduced to cold corpses. Blood and entrails from thousands of bodies burst forth, flooding the square's stones like a river.
The mages finally intervened to calm the king, but the dead did not return.
After that blood-soaked atrocity, the empire set foot on a path of irreversible downfall.
If there is one who reads this record, written in blood—engrave my voice into your bones.
Never behold the king's face.
Death is inevitable.
[Kwaaaaaaaaah—!]
A blood-chilling scream echoed as the crowned monster charged at me like a mad beast.
Its speed was so blinding it could pass for a surprise attack. But I'd prepared for the assault long before it even entered.
Snap.
I aimed my forbidden book at the monster. But faster than I could fire the laser, the lantern blocked my path.
Whoosh—!!
Fierce flames roared from the lantern's glass panes, blazing hot enough to scorch retinas. As the intense light scattered, sticky shadows slithered from the floor's darkness like serpents.
Shiiiiek—!
The shadows leaped like predators, binding the monster's limbs. Its momentum-carried body twisted grotesquely in midair, halting abruptly. The thing thrashed its limbs with animalistic groans. The taut shadows screamed with friction, tearing one by one, until the monster finally shredded its bonds and broke free.
Sneer—
But a smile already curled at the shadows' edges. A massive shadow yawned open beneath its feet, waiting.
Crunch!
Nom nom.
The giant shadow swallowed it whole in one gulp. Unpleasant chewing sounds reverberated through the corridor with each heavy jaw movement, and the shadow twitched its lips in satisfaction.
Whir whir—
The lantern buzzed cutely around me, shaking its body as if begging for a pat—Look at me, I'm strong too!
But my eyes weren't on the lantern.
"It'll be out soon."
I murmured softly—just then, the shadow's movements, gleefully munching the monster, froze stiff. It desperately heaved its throat, struggling to swallow its prey.
But it failed.
[Kwaaaaaaaaah—!!]
With an explosive roar, the crowned monster burst from the shadow's innards, shredding the walls. Its vitality defied imagination. The triumphant lantern trembled in shock, glass panes quivering as it sneaked a glance at me. Ignoring the terrified lantern, I poured mana into my forbidden book. Chilly golden energy condensed at the barrel's tip, warping space.
But the laser never fired.
Thwack!
"Let's run!"
Juharin appeared with a whoosh of wind, yanking me onto her broom. As I mounted, the broom accelerated, streaking down the corridor.
The lantern and my trailing forbidden books chased desperately, afraid to lose me.
"Eek! Where're you grabbing?!"
"Not the time to nitpick. The other mages?"
"All dead!"
Straddling the broom, I gripped her slim waist tight with one hand to stay put. My other hand, clutching the book, stretched toward the monster hot on our tail.
"You're shaking the aim. Drive safe."
"Slow down here and we're caught!"
"Doesn't matter. I'll blast it before it reaches us."
"What?!"
She whipped her head around, face stunned.
"That's a yokai! At minimum, disaster-class! Our magic can't touch it!"
I frowned at her necromancer-like pessimism.
"Eyes front! We'll crash and die at this speed."
"Forget that—figure out how to shake it!"
Juharin clearly didn't have the full picture. I explained calmly.
"Take it down, and we can escape."
"I said we can't! I signaled outside—we just hold out till rescue!"
Rescue? Coming for us?
As I opened my mouth to question her, someone beat me to it.
"Rescue? Kikikik, you think those fat-ass high-rank mages will budge for greenhorns like you? Kkekeke."
It was the necromancer, bound in the lantern's shadow, tagging along.
"Hah, what would a lowly scum like you know? If the bureau doesn't send rescue and I get so much as a scratch, it'll be war."
She scowled at the necromancer poking its head from the shadow's grip.
"War, eh... Yeah, that arrogant glare. Blood of the Joo family. So you're the heir born with the Heavenly Eye? Kkekekeke, lucky me! Getting a noble bitch like you as a road buddy!"
"Spare me the filthy nonsense."
"Kihihit! Now I get the source of your baseless confidence—and it puts me at ease. Knowing it's all meaningless!!"
The necromancer's eyes bulged, frothing madly.
"This is a past recreated by the grimoire! A severed world—no outside interference, no intrusion possible! You'll never leave. Just die! Kyahahahaha!!"
Juharin's eyes shook wildly at his words.
"A grimoire? You had a dangerous one that could create a space recreating the past?!"
"Kihihit! Mistake was thinking this was just some barrier! The moment you entered, you were dead meat!!!"
"No way that's... "
Stunned by the necromancer's ravings, Juharin lost focus, deep in thought.
And then—a massive wall slammed toward us.
Boom—!
Luckily, the broom veered automatically, avoiding instant death. But our path was blocked. And the monster raged behind us.
"Kahaha! The castle wants you dead quick—moving walls to cut your escape!"
Even now, the necromancer yammered loudly.
Total crisis.
"Whatdo wedo whatdo wedo?"
"Snap out of it."
I dismounted first. Shoving the panicking, muttering Juharin behind me, I faced the monster charging madly.
[Kwaaaaaaaaah—!] The gap closed in seconds.
Better end it before it reaches us.
I leveled the forbidden book horizontally at the onrushing death.
"Load."
Vrrrrm—
Pages flipped wildly at my command, devouring ambient mana. Golden particles spewed from the spine, condensing into a dense orb at the barrel.
Vrrrm—
Glowing pure gold, the book trembled eagerly. Like a feral beast itching to unleash its destructive fury, it vibrated pleasurably in my grip.
No reason to hesitate.
"Fire."
The world flashed white.
Kabooooom—!
The massive beam of light filled the corridor, engulfing the monster entirely.
"Kyaa...! That light—is it holy magic?!"
Juharin behind me had snapped out of it.
Her dazed face gaped, small lips parted, at the surreal sight.
"Impossible... Directly damaging a yokai?!"
She fell silent, speechless. Pity—no more of her lovely voice. Instead, grating, repulsive noise rose.
"Lies!!! No way!! You, of all people, taking on a calamity-class yokai?! Don't make me laugh!"
The shadow-bound necromancer wailed like it was vomiting blood—as if its last bastion had crumbled.
Ignoring the screams, I eyed the beam's smoky trail's end.
The direct-hit monster lay smashed against a distant wall. Its rag-doll body, covered in horrific burns, propped itself on trembling arms and slowly raised its head. The instant our gazes met.
I saw it.
A unfamiliar emotion frost over the monster's murky, reasonless eyes.
Unmistakable fear.