Chapter 233
Chapter: 233
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 233
>Chapter Title: Defense Battle (6)
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[Rift] is a kind of twist created when one space forcibly digs into another.
Thus, when entering the interior of a Rift, one can see fragments of the world, twisted and crisscrossing chaotically in all directions, like shattered stained glass.
Each of those fragments is a point of intersection between the Rift and the world.
So what if one looks at that intersection point from outside the Rift?
If one could precisely grasp the singularity where space interferes from the outside, it wouldn't be entirely impossible to glimpse the Rift beyond the world's fragment.
Just like right now.
[How long has Holy Emperor Daddy been away, and you're already wandering around looking for Rifts on your own? I was so shocked I thought my soul would fly out!]
The blue orb buzzing busily in front of Seongjin's eyes scolded him.
Huh? But aren't you already in a state where your soul has flown out?
[There's a reason His Imperial Majesty Daddy was so worried. How long do we have to keep following you around? From now on, you need to start earning your keep.]
The pink orb sitting quietly on his shoulder reproved him in a mature tone.
Shouldn't you start showing respect to your elders appropriate for your age?
And Seongjin thought blankly.
'But who the hell are you guys? Why are you following me? Do you know me?'
At that, the blue orb burst into giggles, vibrating finely.
[Mores is always like this! No matter how many times we tell him, he conveniently forgets everything except what he needs! How many times has this happened?!]
The pink orb also let out a small sigh, bouncing on his shoulder as if tapping it.
[Mores must be selectively remembering to avoid messing with causality. Enough chatter—let's go see His Imperial Majesty Daddy. That's why we're here, right?]
'......'
Seongjin felt doubt and acceptance at the same time.
Right. Just as they said.
A sense of déjà vu, like this had happened before, rebelled against it, while a thought of "what does it matter?" rose alongside.
In that awkward state, Seongjin began flying amicably through the night sky with the two orbs.
[We're here now! Mores.]
[Right here! Mores.]
The place the two small orbs guided him to was a spot with a small window showing faint scenery.
A rhombus shape floating alone in empty air without any supporting wall or frame—it might be better called a small hole punched into the world than a window.
As he peered into it as if entranced, Seongjin saw the finely fragmented space he remembered from before filling his vision.
'...A Rift.'
[That's right, it's the Rift Holy Emperor Daddy connected to the imperial palace.]
[His Imperial Majesty Daddy has been there all day today.]
[We like seeing Holy Emperor Daddy in trouble, but at this point, we're starting to get worried too.]
[We like seeing His Imperial Majesty Daddy in trouble, but we hate it if it's because of those other guys.]
Ah, right. That's how it was.
Seongjin realized he'd been unconsciously searching for the Holy Emperor's whereabouts all this time.
So many things had happened today.
His soul wouldn't stay put while controlling the ice puppets, weird stray thoughts kept sticking to him, and his body, abused all day, was in no state to call fine anymore.
Normally, he'd have checked multiple times even if it was a stretch, but strangely, there'd been no word from that guy at all.
He was worried something might have happened.
[It's been barely a day since Holy Emperor Daddy left your sight, Mores.]
[If you're going to look for His Imperial Majesty Daddy like that, why did you even leave the imperial capital?]
Shut up, you little demons!
Do you have any idea of the weight of what you've been entrusted to my hands?
I'm not doing this for nothing. If you keep getting on my nerves, the moment I get back to the capital, I'll smash every single chessboard!
[Whoa! Mores is so mean! Stupid Mores!]
While the two orbs shouted in unison and flew around wildly, Seongjin focused all his attention on the scene beyond the window in the Rift.
His vision suddenly shifted this way and that, and before he knew it, a vast volcanic region covered in lava spread out before his eyes.
And there, Seongjin immediately spotted the person he'd been looking for.
'Father!'
The Holy Emperor, wielding a blade of pure white aura, was emitting a distinct white light even through the thick volcanic ash.
Confirming the familiar ritual robes and golden crown, Seongjin lit up and focused on him. The scenery pulled in sharply like a whip crack, bringing the Holy Emperor's figure closer.
-This is ridiculous!
At that moment, the Holy Emperor was in the midst of confronting someone.
His opponent was a man in ornate armor that seemed unreal, swinging a greatsword with an odd center of gravity.
Not much skill in swordsmanship—he was swinging the weapon flashily with unnecessary flourishes and bizarre form.
-Fuck! What kind of boss mob is this? Even for a hidden quest, what the hell is with this difficulty?!
The man yelled at the Holy Emperor.
Though the voice wasn't actually reaching his ears, for some reason Seongjin could understand the conversation between them perfectly.
Fortunately, unlike inside the Rift, stray thoughts weren't slamming into his head all at once out of temporal order. The sense of time only tangled when one was actually in the Rift.
-Damn it! This make any sense? I'm rank 5 on the entire server for Pangea Chronicle!
As the man ranted, sweating profusely, the Holy Emperor nodded while looking at him.
-Then you have no reason to feel wronged. All those who claimed to be at a higher realm than you have already lost their lives to me.
-What? Even with data accumulation? Fuck! How do you even beat this?!
And then came a clean thrust of a single sword.
-Aaaargh!
The man let out a scream without any resistance and perished on the spot.
In an instant, the volcanic region lost its color to gray, and a large spear floated up beside the fallen man's head.
〚GAME OVER〛
The location where the Holy Emperor stood began to change.
The volcanic region receded, and hundreds, thousands of spaces he'd surely passed through before slid backward like flipping through a bookcase.
The inflamed realms, dimensional realms, and main world realms mixed in a chaotic swirl—it was majestic at first glance.
Especially in the dimensional realms, without exception, the following words floated up.
〚GAME OVER〛
〚GAME OVER〛
〚GAME OVER〛
〚GAME OVER〛
.
.
.
Seongjin's chest tightened for a moment.
What the hell is all that?
All of those until now?
-......!
At that moment, as if sensing Seongjin's gaze, the Holy Emperor startled and turned his head.
Their eyes met directly, and the Holy Emperor smiled with a slightly troubled but clearly pleased expression. His face even seemed more expressive than usual.
-What are you doing here? Hurry back!
He waved his hand dismissively as if to shoo him away, then turned back to the front.
One world receded into the distance, and another stepped right up to him.
This time, the entrance opened to a black hell shrouded in fog.
As a massive monster of indistinct form slowly raised its head from the sea of mist, the Holy Emperor calmly aimed his silver spear at it, waiting as always.
[Those guys all swarmed here at once, but once they're in Holy Emperor Daddy's rules, they have no choice but to move as he leads.]
[Over a long time crossing between Delcross and the Rift, His Imperial Majesty Daddy figured out how to properly exploit the distortions in time.]
As the little ones said, the Holy Emperor looked quite fatigued, but he never seemed like he would lose.
Everything was being appropriately controlled under his rules indefinitely.
-Do whatever you want. If you wish to correct that absurdity, so it shall be.
Suddenly, words he'd heard from the Holy Emperor not long ago came to mind.
And now, Seongjin wanted to reply to him like this.
'Do whatever you want. If it's something you want to protect no matter what, it will all turn out that way.'
And.
'No matter who it is, anyone who disturbs Delcross—I will make them pay the price without fail.'
Seongjin was different from the little ones.
He hated seeing his Holy Emperor father in trouble, he was terribly worried about him, and he utterly despised the bastard making him that way.
Kuuung.
A sudden surge of intense thought waves from Seongjin made the little orbs startle and circle around him frantically.
[He's super mad again! Look at that window shaking!]
[He's gonna tear through the Rift. Wake him up quick!]
By the way, who the fuck is it? Planning to slowly grind Father to death?
Cut it out already. Otherwise, later I'll grind you all to dust and drink you down without leaving a single bone fragment!
[Wow! Sir Sharon!]
[Whoa! Brother Masin!]
Shut up! Don't interrupt!
First, I'll go find out who that bastard is and confirm it with my own eyes...!
He was grinding his teeth when suddenly someone shook him hard.
"...Ha."
Wait. Once I figure out which bastard's doing this, I'll...
"Your Highness."
Shwaaa.
In that instant, he felt the Rift's scenery draining from his mind like an ebbing tide. Along with it, his emotions and memories blurred, and a urgent sense of crisis hit him as if he would lose everything at once.
No, wait, hold on!
"Your Highness!"
Gasp.
He snapped his eyes open to see a knight looking down at him worriedly.
"...Sir Masin?"
"Yes, Your Highness. It's me. Why are you covered in cold sweat like that?"
"......?"
...Uh, no idea?
Feels like I had a dream or something.
Seongjin slowly exhaled the breath he'd been holding and looked around.
The place he lay was a dark, shabby civilian house. A single torch hung near the entrance instead of candles.
Throb.
Looking at the torch brought a slight pain to his eyes. Just as the Demon King had said, his eyesight wasn't in great shape.
"Lie down a bit longer, Your Highness. Treatment's still ongoing. Heh heh."
Right beside him, Sir Sharon was holding Seongjin's hand and infusing holy power. Judging by those black pupils, it was the usual Sir Sharon.
No wonder his body felt lighter than before.
"How's the canyon fortress?"
Seongjin asked as he slowly sat up.
Well, the fact that Masin and the others were here meant they'd had enough leeway to pull out from the canyon fortress.
"It's holding. Thanks to the Glacier Trolls you placed in front of the ice wall, they couldn't charge in easily. They probably think the Glacier Trolls could move again at any time."
Ah, right. Just in case, he'd ostentatiously lined up Ice Puppets Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5 at the fortress entrance.
The ice puppets had done their job well.
"We ventured out from the fortress and had a small skirmish with the Lycanslopes, but the Glacier Trolls didn't charge again."
"I see."
"Yes. Not long after, reinforcements arrived. Sir Sebastian sent a good number of troops with the Wolf Knight Order. So in the afternoon, we handed over to them and came here."
Seongjin nodded.
"But where is this?"
"A civilian house near the front lines. The owner has evacuated elsewhere. All the territory's forces are currently facing off against the Lycanslopes who crossed the ice wall."
For a moment, Seongjin was at a loss for words and stared blankly at Masin.
They hadn't evacuated the unconscious prince—who couldn't contribute to the battle—to the rear, but kept him at the front lines?
Catching the meaning of that gaze, Masin answered awkwardly.
"Ah, we figured Your Highness would want to move the Bingus right away once you woke up, so we were waiting. Everyone in the group is ready to head to the front lines now."
"......"
"The front lines aren't exactly optimistic. We'll probably need Your Highness's help."
You thought I'd be raring to go, so you prepared to head out early?
Seongjin felt a sharp stab of conscience in his chest.
Sir Masin. I really feel sorry toward you.
Following his guidance out of the house, an unexpected sight awaited Seongjin.
"...What is this?"
He'd designated them to follow in groups before passing out, but the ice puppets had come on their own. All four towered standby near the house.
But the ice puppets were all wearing the Zigsmunt family crest like cloaks!
Given how massive the ice puppets were, even the largest crest looked like a tiny cape barely covering their backs.
It somehow made them look like ranks of knights, giving quite a majestic air.
On top of that, their chests were painted black.
Two crossed swords, encircled by a sun.
A bit crooked and crude, but it was unmistakably the emblem of the Main God and symbol of Delcross.
"Haha, what do you think of my handiwork, Your Highness?"
Sir Valery, who had just finished painting the emblem on Ice Puppet No. 7's chest, grinned cheerfully. He'd tied ropes around the ice puppets' necks and somehow managed to paint the emblems while swinging like a pendulum.
"Appearances matter a lot in all things, after all."
As he said, the soldiers looking up at the ice puppets had noticeably less anxiety on their faces.
"Now they can truly be accepted as the Main God's soldiers in name and reality."
Masin, saying that, had a relaxed expression too. He'd always recoiled at anything impure, but this one emblem seemed to reassure him.
Seongjin reflected deeply.
'I lectured Sisley so much on the importance of agitation and fabrication, yet I overlooked this crucial detail.'
In his haste to hurry and help the ice wall garrison, he'd forgotten an important lesson.
'To scam, you have to fool your own side first!'
[...You don't seriously think that's the lesson, do you?]
The Demon King bastard, who had kept silent until then, finally couldn't hold back and scolded Seongjin.