Chapter 203
Chapter 203
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 203
Chapter Title: The Emperor's Request
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Seo Woojin stared at the emperor before him with calm, sunken eyes.
A white-haired old man.
Yet, as befitting the ruler of the continent's strongest nation, the emperor exuded an intimidating presence that belied his age.
‘Impressive.’
He had seen him several times already.
Even so, Seo Woojin felt immense pressure from the emperor, from whom he couldn't sense even a scrap of mana.
“I've heard the story.”
The long silence ended as the emperor spoke.
“Is that so?”
Seo Woojin replied indifferently.
The emperor chuckled dryly and continued.
“You defeated the Dark Duke?”
“That hardly matters right now.”
“How dare you...!”
At Seo Woojin's insolent attitude, the guardian knights behind the emperor spat out their fury.
Seo Woojin smirked at the sight of them reaching for their swords.
“Draw those, and you're done for.”
It was no joke.
His eyes held pure sincerity.
“Stand down.”
Had he noticed?
The emperor sternly rebuked his knights.
Snap!
Not a single word of protest as they retreated—the sight drew involuntary admiration.
It made him feel anew just how formidable the emperor was.
“Indeed, that's not the important part.”
With the knights withdrawn, the emperor nodded.
“What is it you desire?”
“I already told you through the Dark Duke.”
“You want us to leave you be.”
“That's all I ask.”
A chilling tension flowed through the air.
The emperor fell silent, while the knights behind him stood ready to charge at any moment.
But Seo Woojin remained composed.
Right now, in this place, there was only one person he needed to watch out for.
The knight with the ability to erase his presence.
‘Where are you?’
Even with Chaos Energy at maximum output and his Divine Dragon Eyes active, he couldn't detect that knight's presence.
If he hadn't known about the existence, he would have thought no one was hiding.
But Seo Woojin was certain.
‘They're definitely here.’
He just hadn't noticed them yet.
Seo Woojin kept his guard up against the ability-wielding knight as he awaited the emperor's response.
The suffocating silence passed.
Finally, the emperor spoke.
“How can I trust your word?”
For a moment, he didn't grasp the question's meaning.
But soon, he recalled what he had told Strain.
‘As long as you don't touch me first, I won't do anything.’
That after defeating the Demon King as they wished, he would return to Earth.
The emperor was asking how he could believe that.
“Want me to put it in writing?”
It was entirely up to the emperor.
No matter how much he promised, if the emperor decided not to trust him, that was that.
“A written oath...”
Seo Woojin had said it sarcastically, but surprisingly, the emperor seemed to take it seriously.
“No need for that, I think.”
He had been wondering what to do if the emperor actually demanded a written oath, but the emperor shook his head.
“I shall trust your word.”
Seo Woojin's sense of emptiness deepened at the emperor's words.
He had expected some outlandish scheme he couldn't have imagined, or a brutal battle of wills amid a tense atmosphere...
‘He accepts it just like that, on my word?’
The emptiness turned to absurdity.
If he was going to accept it this easily, why had he been such a pain all this time?
Seo Woojin furrowed his brow and said nothing, but the emperor pressed on regardless.
“From this moment, all investigations into you will cease. Your connection to the 'Black Existence' will be disregarded, and no suspicions will be harbored. Thus, fulfill your duty solely as a hero.”
In short, they wouldn't bother him anymore, so fight the Demon King well.
It was what he wanted, but the ease of it left him uneasy.
Still, he couldn't refuse, so Seo Woojin bowed his head.
“I trust Your Majesty as well. No need to worry.”
Polite, yet confident.
The emperor looked pleased at Seo Woojin's demeanor.
“Good. Then, as payment for this promise, might you grant one request?”
‘There it is.’
Seo Woojin's lips twisted at the emperor's follow-up.
Of course there would be no unconditional acceptance.
“What is it?”
To avoid hassle and suspicion, he decided to go along with most anything.
“Are you aware that all the academy's heroes will soon depart for Derhan for training?”
He knew from Grand Duke Briana.
When Seo Woojin confirmed, the emperor said it was perfect.
“Will you stop Iyer's invasion there?”
The training trip to Derhan was meant to deter war in the first place.
But the emperor phrasing it this way meant he wanted more than that.
“What method do you desire?”
Seo Woojin asked.
“Use everything at your disposal to hold them off. But do not give Iyer any pretext.”
A hollow laugh escaped him.
Block them perfectly without getting caught.
‘How the hell am I supposed to do that?’
Seo Woojin nearly asked, but he shut his mouth upon meeting the emperor's eyes.
‘He's not joking.’
The emperor's gaze was more solemn than ever.
Seo Woojin replayed the emperor's words.
Everything at your disposal.
‘...So that's what he means.’
His expression turned icy as he grasped the implication.
“If I grant this request, you promise never to touch me again.”
“My word is law.”
“And you'll drop all interest in the 'Black Existence' for good?”
The emperor chuckled dryly and nodded at Seo Woojin's question.
“What's that?”
Playing coy.
That reaction confirmed Seo Woojin's suspicions.
“I'll stop Iyer's invasion. Using everything Your Majesty mentioned at my disposal.”
Their gazes clashed.
“That is precisely what I desire.”
* * *
“Why training now of all times?”
Lee Ji-ah grumbled.
The empire's current state was utter chaos.
Major incidents had already erupted several times at the academy, and now war rumors were circulating.
Suddenly calling all heroes for training—it was no wonder she was curious.
“Maybe that's exactly why.”
Gye Soo-ji stroked Lee Ji-ah's head as she replied.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“The atmosphere's been bad lately. Might be better to be elsewhere.”
“I guess?”
The other heroes hadn't been told the training site's location yet.
It was to maintain maximum secrecy.
Only Seo Woojin knew it was Derhan, between the empire and Iyer.
“Mister! Is that really it?”
Lee Ji-ah whipped around to ask Seo Woojin.
“Who knows? Soo-ji's probably right.”
Seo Woojin played dumb and sided with Gye Soo-ji.
“I guess?”
Lee Ji-ah tilted her head.
But seeing them both say so, she seemed convinced.
“...Are you okay?”
Gye Soo-ji approached and asked cautiously.
“Yeah, no big deal.”
“Good to hear...”
As Seo Woojin brushed it off casually, Gye Soo-ji glanced around.
She saw heroes murmuring and glancing their way.
“They do seem wary of me.”
Seo Woojin had killed Seong Yu-ra.
Not a monster, not just anyone.
A hero summoned from Earth alongside them.
Even with justification, many heroes couldn't accept it.
‘Murderer.’
‘Bastard.’
‘Psycho.’
All sorts of insults directed at him reached Seo Woojin's ears.
He tried to ignore them, but his exceptional senses made it impossible.
Seo Woojin gave a bitter smile.
He offered no excuses.
The reason he killed Seong Yu-ra wasn't for some greater good.
All he could do was pretend it didn't faze him.
“Mister! Why the long face? The insults should be for Seong Yu-ra, not you! Hell, who was the one massacring people? The guy who stopped her deserves praise, not backstabbing like this! Got something to say? Say it to his face!”
Lee Ji-ah shouted loud enough for all to hear.
The surroundings fell silent in an instant.
She looked at Seo Woojin.
With a ‘Did I do good?’ expression.
Seo Woojin chuckled and patted her head.
It was touching to have someone stand up for him like this.
“Don't mind them. They don't know anything and just spew crap.”
“Exactly. Ignore them.”
“Agreed.”
It wasn't just Lee Ji-ah and Gye Soo-ji offering comfort.
Fellow heroes he'd spent time with gathered around, chiming in.
“I'm really fine.”
Seo Woojin smiled.
“Then we're good.”
Kang Byung-gyu clapped his shoulder and stepped forward.
‘This mood won't last.’
Soon, no time for insults.
Once in Derhan, they'd act as human shields to halt Iyer's advance.
They wouldn't fight directly, but the battlefield's tension would leave no room for fretting over him.
“Attention, everyone!”
With all heroes assembled in the grand training grounds, Chancellor Yorn took the podium.
The green sword ‘Purna’ at his waist gleamed in the sunlight, lending a mystical air.
It drew all eyes to him.
“You will now depart for training. The objective: complete extermination of the monsters residing there.”
At the mention of monster extermination, the heroes' spirits soared.
Cooped up in the academy, hunting only knights' handouts—they'd grown bored.
“The monsters this time are highly intelligent and numerous. But with your skills, you'll handle them easily.”
Yorn surveyed the 98 lined-up heroes.
They all looked confident.
Even excited at the chance to fight monsters.
Confirming it, Yorn continued.
“Our destination today is Zarba Plains.”
The unfamiliar name made the heroes tilt their heads.
They'd expected the Demon Realm again. Wrong.
“Where's that?”
Someone asked.
Yorn grinned brightly.
“In Derhan, the kingdom right next to the empire.”
The heroes' faces stiffened.