Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 015
Chapter Title: Necropolis
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The next day at noon.
The road leading to the fortress on the outskirts of Suwon, now occupied by Lee Jung-woo, was packed with an unprecedented media circus.
Dozens of relay vans emblazoned with broadcast logos lined up in formation, while every reporter and NewTuber in the country swarmed in, creating a sea of people.
Even with police and military forming multiple layers of control lines, they looked precarious, as if they might collapse at any moment.
Right then, a single black armored SUV leisurely approached the center of all the noise.
It was Go Se-gu's car—the one he'd been driving in his beat-up old van just yesterday.
The vehicle had been provided by a consortium of broadcasters desperate to snag exclusive rights to his stream.
The door opened, revealing Go Se-gu decked out in an expensive bulletproof vest and state-of-the-art comms gear.
He was no longer some third-rate wreck-diving NewTuber.
Like it or not, he'd become the most spotlighted figure at the heart of this crisis.
"Go Se-gu! How are you feeling right now?!"
"What message do you have?!"
Dozens of mics and cameras surged toward him.
Go Se-gu paused for a moment, then opened his mouth with the grim expression he'd rehearsed all night.
His voice carried a forced gravity, stripped of its former flippancy.
"Today, as a broadcaster, I've come to verify the truth. Keep your eyes wide open and watch what I see."
With that, he pushed past the crowd blocking him and strode alone toward the massive walls.
As his helmet-mounted first-person camera went live, domestic concurrent viewers spiked past one million, hurtling toward two.
When he reached the gates, they began to creak open with a grinding screech—as if they'd been waiting just for him.
Beyond lay only pitch-black darkness; nothing was visible.
Go Se-gu swallowed hard and took his first step into the void.
As his figure vanished completely into the dark, the gates boomed shut once more.
Perfect isolation.
Viewers now watched breathlessly as his camera captured nothing but blackness.
Moments later, as his eyes adjusted, the lens revealed a new landscape unfolding.
And with it, that same polite yet chilling voice from yesterday echoed in his ear.
Sometime without him noticing, yesterday's vampire stood beside him, a smile on her face.
Her tone held the same impeccable formality and arrogance as before.
"Welcome to the heart of Necropolis, His Majesty's capital—and the imperial palace."
Necropolis. The imperial palace.
"The capital's called Necropolis, folks... and this is the imperial palace. Holy shit."
His words sent the global chat exploding.
Ignoring the outside world's clamor, the vampire led Go Se-gu down a well-paved road of black marble.
His camera was overwhelmed by the spine-chilling orderliness that greeted them upon entry.
This was no ruin.
Gothic spires thrust grotesquely yet majestically toward the sky.
Order and efficiency ruled the city, not chaos and destruction.
Ghouls lined the streets, instinctively devouring construction debris and buried organics to tidy up,
all silently overseen from on high by liches who looked sharp as tacks.
"Look over there."
The vampire pointed to a vast empty lot—the old apartment complex's central plaza.
Now, it was a massive magic testing ground.
A group of liches traced intricate patterns in the air, birthing a pitch-black orb at the center that sucked in all light.
"Damn! At Earth's mana density, stabilizing the darkness singularity spell is impossible! Report to Lord Belial—we need to tweak the energy conversion formula!"
As one lich shouted in frustration, elsewhere a massive tyrant—looking freshly equipped—donned mana-amplifying gauntlets and punched a pile of building rubble.
BOOM!
The deafening roar and the debris pulverized to dust were captured vividly on camera.
"Not bad, but still unstable. Far from the Lord's standards."
That was the vampire's low assessment from beside him.
Dozens of death knights stood motionless at the plaza's edge, observing it all.
They weren't mere guards—they looked like overseers gauging new magic and gear, collecting real-world data.
"Once testing's done, that equipment goes to them."
Go Se-gu swallowed hard at the vampire's explanation.
Those monster knights wielding such weapons outside...
The mere thought was horrifying.
They turned off the main road toward the Citizen Welfare and Grievance Department, slipping into a narrow alley.
Only then did Go Se-gu glimpse the city's side, not just its front.
And he froze, breath catching.
A sight hidden from the central avenue.
On one side yawned a massive ramp leading to the old apartment complex's underground parking.
The stench of rotting meat and damp mold assaulted his nose,
and from the darkness beyond came faint, gruesome chewing sounds like beasts gnawing something.
"Urk...!"
Go Se-gu gagged involuntarily, pinching his nose.
The chat filled with confusion at his sudden reaction.
As he unwittingly swung the camera that way, the vampire stepped in front, warning softly.
"That's the dorm for bottom-tier workers like ghouls—and storage for rag golems. For a frail mortal... the 'dinner scene' wouldn't be pleasant. Best look away."
Her voice remained indifferent.
"Ugly things belong out of sight. It suits the city's aesthetics. The Lord has exacting tastes."
She nodded toward the opposite side.
Right then, Go Se-gu felt a strange vibration rising from underfoot.
With a humming resonance, the ground far ahead split open like massive gates parting.
"Wh... what the hell is that?"
It revealed an immense pit of unknown depth.
Inside, a swirling green river boiled amid faint screams of thousands—millions?—of vengeful spirits.
"That's the Soul Forge. It purifies the souls of our empire's fallen warriors from battle, rebirths them into new legions, and recharges energy. Like a recycling center crossed with a gas station, in human terms."
The vampire explained it all as casually as a tour guide, then walked on.
The pit sealed shut smoothly, as if nothing had happened.
"Enough sightseeing. Time for your destination. Linger too long, and your soul might fuel that forge."
Back on the main road after the alley, another scene unfolded.
On the broad avenue to the main gate, hundreds of steel skeletons practiced sword drills, blades in hand.
Their movements synced without a millimeter's error, bone clashes resounding like grand music.
The vampire called it "entertainment to soothe His Majesty's boredom," but to Go Se-gu, it screamed perfectly controlled army drill.
Flanking the eerie sword-dance formation stood four dullahans, their own heads tucked under their arms like ceremonial guards, silent sentinels.
Go Se-gu gasped involuntarily.
Doubting his eyes, he zoomed the camera unconsciously.
The chill they exuded proved the skeletons' drill was no joke.
Finally, the vampire led him to a building with a sign reading Citizen Welfare and Grievance Department.
The former management office.
There, Go Se-gu doubted his eyes.
Clack, clack.
Dozens of skeleton clerks stared at blank monitors with empty sockets, bony fingers hammering keyboards like machines.
As the chat dissected it keenly, sending chills down his spine amid the mechanical clatter, a sharp voice shattered the quiet.
"You musclehead! I implant a mana circuit with all this effort, and you smash it with one punch? Save that brute strength for somewhere else!"
Go Se-gu's camera swiveled toward the source.
A goblin in oil-stained overalls—Tinker—hovered a wrecked computer tower in midair, yelling hoarsely.
Tinker snapped at the hulking figure nearby, then grumbled to himself while inspecting the computer.
"Tch. Why are these mortal relics such junk? Running solely on this primitive electricity without mana. An insult to my magitech artistry."
Grumbling all the while, he deftly removed parts crushed by Bolg's fist and charred by mana, replacing them with a mana stone etched in strange runes.
Go Se-gu instinctively aimed the camera at Tinker's target of ire.
And swallowed hard at the sight.
A 2-meter-plus behemoth crammed into a too-small desk, fuming: Bolg.
Spotting Go Se-gu, Bolg bellowed.
"KHAHAHA! You there? The mortal daring to be the Lord's first guest!"
As Go Se-gu stumbled back, the guiding vampire explained flatly.
"Lord Bolg, department head of Citizen Welfare—and handler of all complaints in this sector. He embodies the Lord's philosophy: no grievance from His subjects goes ignored, however minor."
For a "benevolent" philosophy, Bolg looked ready to smash any complainer's skull.
Amid millions of viewers' chats cascading like a waterfall down one side of the screen, Go Se-gu captured these bizarre yet comical scenes, shuddering at how far more systematic this mad empire was than he'd imagined.
The chat's frenzy showed no signs of cooling, but the tour pressed on.
About an hour later, the vampire halted.
Before them stood an utterly ordinary apartment building.
Perfectly intact amid the destruction.
Building 103. The emperor's residence.
"This concludes your permitted tour, mortal."
The vampire indicated the lobby door, now reinforced with obsidian and strange runes.
"His Majesty awaits. Time to go."
Go Se-gu swallowed dryly.
An apartment—so unlike his imaginings.
Yet the pressure emanating from within dwarfed any spire he'd seen.
Instead of the elevator, the vampire pressed a hand to the hallway wall.
"The Lord's domain demands the empire's way, not mortal methods."
Her words ended as the wall rippled like living shadow, swallowing them instantly.
Blinking, Go Se-gu realized he stood at the top floor, before a plain front door.
There, the vampire knocked politely.
Knock. Knock.
"My Lord, I've brought the guest."
Moments later, a click.
The modern digital lock disengaged, and the door swung inward.
Beyond: a ordinary living room.
A man in a worn hoodie turned lazily from the sofa, eyeing Go Se-gu.
He lounged, munching chips while watching TV.
Millions watching the broadcast held their collective breath.
Go Se-gu couldn't believe the scene before him.
He'd pictured a mad terrorist awakener commanding undead... or, less likely, a imposing figure on a gem-encrusted bone throne.
But this? Just a normal living room.
Chip bag crumpled on the sofa, trashy drama blaring on TV with over-the-top effects.
The emperor's first words broke the eerie silence.
"Close the door before you come in. Bugs'll get in."
".....Pardon?"