Lantern (3)
Lukio began to recall the past.
Brad, standing atop the castle walls, let out a cough.
"Cough, cough...!"
"...Your Highness, are you all right?"
"I'm fine."
He was a king who coughed like this even from a mere cold wind.
Yet his eyes burned with fierce ambition.
"Sir Lukio."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Though I am a frail king who can scarcely wield a sword, someday I wish to grow stronger than any other monarch."
The king's grand aspiration.
Lukio asked,
"Why do you desire such strength?"
Brad's ambition felt far vaster than he'd imagined.
If it were merely to heal his frail body, that would be understandable—but he believed he needed to become far stronger than that.
Brad gazed over his beautiful kingdom and said,
"Only then can I protect this land, don't you think?"
"... ."
Lukio was awestruck.
By how noble and good the lord he served truly was.
"And only then can I protect my friend."
"... ."
He was grateful once more.
That the king would say such things for a mere knight like him.
Brad looked at him with warm eyes.
"...Thank you. The tales of you that spread through the world are full of wonders."
The name of the undefeated knight.
Warriors from kingdoms and empires far and wide had come seeking to test themselves against him upon hearing of his fame.
Yet Lukio had never lost to any of them, earning him the title of the Undefeated Knight.
"For one such as you to display a knighthood stronger than any other, I too must protect you."
The second name by which the world knew Lukio.
He was the Loyal Retainer Lukio.
Not merely a knight by title, but a friend to the king, his shadow, one who would do anything for him alone.
To that extent, Lukio embodied the finest knighthood—one who strove to protect those he once served.
Lukio dropped to one knee and paid his respects.
"Your humble servant Lukio will do everything in his power to make Your Highness strong, and at times, even lay down his life."
"Hahaha, don't lay down your life."
A smile played on Brad's lips.
"Just stay by my side."
On that day, Lukio had thought he wouldn't mind dying for him.
Back then, Lukio had been happy.
Truly, because he had such a fine king at his side.
That was why.
He couldn't understand how the king had betrayed him, selling him off to Gremory.
Was it to save the kingdom?
Or to grow strong himself?
He wanted to confirm it.
Sensing that the king would pursue him to Atlas, Lukio went to meet him.
And they arrived at the Enya Kingdom where he had once lived.
Lukio fell into profound shock.
How...?
The Enya Kingdom, once so beautiful, had become like a kingdom of death.
Its population, nearing 50 million, had dwindled to less than a million.
What Lukio couldn't believe most was that those who had lived in his era were still alive.
"... ."
He realized it then.
The entire Enya Kingdom had been engulfed in demonic energy, reduced to utter ruin.
In exchange, they had gained half-immortality.
Yet Lukio said nothing and followed the Blood King.
Perhaps he had no choice. Maybe His Highness didn't summon Gremory after all.
It was Brad who had summoned Gremory to the kingdom.
Those were the words constantly on the lips of Robus, the legion commander who had tortured and tormented Lukio.
How could he trust a legion commander's words?
He was curious about the truth he didn't know.
Passing through several doors, they finally entered the audience chamber.
Upon entering, Lukio caught the stench and saw mummified, shriveled corpses piled in one corner.
Those are...?
As Lukio sensed something amiss, Brad, seated on a rusted throne, spoke.
"I'm pleased to see you here again."
Lukio paid his respects to the king, dropping to one knee.
Like a child awaiting an answer to a question, he asked,
"What do you think?"
"...Pardon? What do you mean?"
"Of this one you've not seen in so long."
Lukio took in his appearance.
The king had changed into a red robe emblazoned with a dragon.
His frail form was gone without a trace.
He brimmed with vitality, looking even younger than before.
"Not bad, no—quite splendid, wouldn't you say? After all, I've taken a seat among the Five Thrones."
The Five Thrones were akin to the three absolute sovereigns of old.
A collective term for the strongest kings and emperors of the present age.
In truth, Lukio could scarcely believe it.
The current Brad exuded overwhelming power.
And the epithet Blood King felt utterly alien.
Lukio gave his honest assessment.
"Compared to before, Your Highness is so robust it astonishes me. I wonder if even I could last a few exchanges against you now."
"Ha, hahaha, hahahaha!"
Brad burst into a fit of mad laughter, a sound he had never uttered before.
Amid the echoing laughter that went on for a while,
"However."
Lukio cut to the essence.
"You speak of the Five Thrones, but it feels insufficient."
"... ."
The Blood King's expression hardened.
"A strong and noble king must desire his nation's peace, safety, and even happiness. Yet no happiness remains here, and the kingdom has crumbled—so it seems you've ascended to but half a throne."
Brad's face grew fierce.
Lips twitching, he seemed taken aback by the cold evaluation, then nodded.
"True enough. Lukio, a strong king must indeed possess a fine nation as well. For now, that's impossible."
The Blood King clicked his tongue, then smiled faintly.
"Thanks to you, I've found the way—and I'm overjoyed."
Found the way because of me?
"If the people and nation won't support me, then I need only grow far stronger than I am now, no? In the end, it was my own lack of strength that caused this."
"... ."
Lukio let out a groan.
Even now, Brad was immensely powerful.
Grow even stronger from here?
Greed too far, no—is that even possible?
As he looked at Brad with wavering eyes, the king descended the steps.
"My longtime friend, more loyal than any knight—called the Undefeated Knight, the Loyal Retainer Lukio."
"... ."
"Through Gremory, I found a way to steal others' power to fill my weakness."
"... ."
"Now that I'm so strong, I need even greater power to fill the required amount. And Lukio—you seem to hold that power."
Only then did Lukio understand.
Looking around, he couldn't contain his horror.
"...No way—have you been devouring their life force to sustain your half-immortality?"
He glanced at the piled mummified corpses.
"To become the Blood King, have you consumed so many of your subjects like this?"
Brad didn't deny it.
"Indeed."
He continued calmly.
"I didn't devour them all. Those who wished to become demons were kept to build a strong kingdom, while those who refused were made examples or eaten."
Lukio's body trembled at the sight of the Blood King speaking so nonchalantly from his own mouth.
In the end, Lukio cried out.
"Forcing anyone—human or not—to become a demon or die is imposing a life they don't want! And slaughtering all who refused?!"
The Blood King replied dryly.
"They were my subjects anyway."
Lukio was stunned.
He was a good king—or so he'd believed.
That was why he'd come to confirm the truth of that day.
"...That day, did Gremory truly invade our kingdom?"
On that day, Lukio had charged at Gremory alone, saying,
Fear not—I will protect His Highness somehow.
He hadn't trembled even before the demon, terror of humanity. All to protect his king.
"...You didn't know? I summoned Gremory."
"Why... why...?"
"Because I knew she'd make me strong if I gave you to her."
"... ."
"Gremory granted me the power to become the Blood King, and for the mere sacrifice of one knight, it was a worthy price."
Tears began to flow from Lukio's eyes.
"How... how could you...?"
The Blood King was cruel.
"Worry not—your family wasn't turned into demons. I let them live eternally within me... ."
He had devoured even Lukio's family.
Lukio denied it.
He couldn't comprehend if this was the good king he knew.
He had suspected to some degree.
That he was gripped by an inferiority complex toward the strong.
But this was far too different from the man he knew.
Tears flowed endlessly from Lukio's eyes.
The king said,
"Thank you. Because you returned, I can now claim a true seat among the Five Thrones."
Not even a word of apology for what he'd done.
Lukio gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Kwaaaak—
He was thinking something he shouldn't.
I'll kill him, then myself.
Wouldn't that be better?
For a king who ruined his own nation with his hands and sought only his own strength.
And for himself, who had served such a man without realizing it.
But Lukio faltered.
He gripped the hilt but couldn't draw it.
No, he couldn't.
"...Unfortunately, you cannot kill me."
Lukio had lived his entire life for the Blood King.
The knight's oath to swing his sword only for him.
The most loyal retainer couldn't strike him down.
Yet another truth emerged.
"It's true you're a loyal retainer—but something made you that way."
What the Blood King drew forth was a small orb swirling with trapped black energy.
Black Mage Lily's Brainwashing Orb.
A gift from the great black mage Lily to Brad long ago.
"From the moment we first met."
Brad had recognized Lukio's innate talent and raised him thoroughly as his dog.
He wasn't merely a trained dog.
He was bred to love and cherish his master, willing to do anything for him.
Umjil—
"Ugh, uuuugh... uuuuuugh...!"
Even his loyalty had been forged by the king's hand.
Lukio realized that even that conversation atop the walls long ago was an act to deepen the brainwashing.
Gripping the sword hilt, he screamed.
Everything crumbled.
The Blood King reached out and said,
"Lukio."
To the man who had lived his life for him.
"I desire your death."
Die for me.
Blood-red energy extended from him toward Lukio.
The moment it touched his body, smoke rose from Lukio.
Chiiiik—
Lukio's world collapsed.
A hollow laugh escaped his lips.
The king he'd devoted his life to was ordering him to die.
Then, a massive roar began to echo.
Perfect Trinity.
10% additional attack power infused.
Strongest Single Shot Creator shines.
Double damage applied.
Kuwhaaaaaaaang—!
The castle gate tore open as a single arrow screamed through the air with tremendous force.
It shattered the orb in Brad's hand and struck him dead center.
Crashclang—!
"Kuhahahak!?"
Black Mage Lily's Brainwashing Orb has been destroyed.
The castle gate swung open, and a man strode in. Lukio's eyes shook as he saw him.
Lukio knew it too.
Breaking through here alone was no easy feat.
As if to prove it, the man's body was covered in blood.
Drenched in gore, he looked at Lukio.
The king Lukio had served his entire life had said to him,
I desire your death.
Die for me.
But this man said something different.
"Lukio, I want you to live."