Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: -22
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: White Silver Demon King
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Over two hundred thousand soldiers surrounded the Holy Land.
A massive cave and the crudely built stone towers erected around it.
The opposing Northern warriors numbered only about thirty thousand at most.
Yet the standoff had already dragged on for over a month.
It was because of the monsters among the Northern warriors—those who possessed special powers.
Humans who had taken on the forms of monsters.
They called them "Those who Received the Gods."
'Is this a god?'
Carlos Grand Duke.
With his massive frame and the heavy hand that had inherited divine power, he prodded the corpse laid out in the command tent.
The mages who saw it cried out in alarm.
"D-don't get close, Your Grace."
"It's emanating a powerful black magic aura. It could break through the mana barrier at any moment."
Carlos Grand Duke paid them no mind.
His body was akin to a sanctuary.
No black magic aura could ever invade him.
"It's emanating a powerful black magic aura. It could break through the mana barrier at any moment."
Carlos Grand Duke paid them no mind.
His body was akin to a sanctuary.
"Hm."
The corpse was deformed.
Its flesh had swollen, entrails burst forth, twisting into an unrecognizable shape.
Bubbles erupted from its skin.
Each time, some unknown gas-like substance spewed out.
The most astonishing part was the blood.
The blood was white.
The mages had erected a mana barrier to contain it, but the aura seeping from the corpse's entire body was even corroding the barrier.
"Hm."
The corpse was deformed.
To think it was even trying to invade the "sanctuary" surrounding him.
It was a terrifying power.
'A killing field that can even slay Sword Masters.'
The corpse was a Sword Master under the Grand Duke's command.
He had infiltrated the Holy Land covertly and ended up like this.
A Sword Master, said to have reached the pinnacle of physical prowess, hadn't lasted even ten minutes.
An ordinary person would die the moment they entered.
Even with the ability called a "walking sanctuary," it seemed he couldn't hold out for long.
Killing Field.
It was akin to a dragon's absolute magic.
Just as described in ancient texts.
'There's a dragon inside that Holy Land.'
Suspicion had turned to certainty.
Those Northerners with special constitutions entered that killing field and gained power.
However, it was said that none had ever reached the depths of the Holy Land to confirm the dragon's existence.
The deeper they went, the more physical mutations and power they gained, but at the cost of drastically shortened lifespans.
Carlos Grand Duke had no interest in those who received gods.
The only thing he wanted was the dragon called a god.
The legendary mystery that had vanished lay within.
His heart pounded.
He was on the verge of intoxication from this intense sensation unlike any he'd felt in war.
Claim that dragon, and the world would be at his feet.
One empire wouldn't satisfy him.
All the groundwork for that had been laid.
Now, confirmation of the Holy Land was complete.
All that remained was conquest.
"Your Grace, Lord Thebeus has come to see you."
"......Thebeus?"
Thebeus. His foolish third son.
He'd stationed him at the rear, yet the boy couldn't wait and had come.
Carlos scowled as he spoke.
"Let him in."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Thebeus flung open the tent flap and strode in.
Approaching with quick steps, Thebeus spoke urgently, his face tense.
"Father."
"This is a battlefield, not a place for my little......"
"Reinhardt is in the North."
Reinhardt.
Why was that name coming from Thebeus's mouth?
The crown prince was supposed to stay holed up in the palace, doing nothing, as always.
Once the Northern campaign ended, the crown prince would become his puppet.
But the North? Of all places.
As if that wasn't all, Thebeus continued.
"He's with Sir Croft. He's clearly come sniffing around with ulterior motives."
"And you just stood by and watched?"
"Th-that's......"
Thebeus bit his lip.
He couldn't bring himself to say he'd been overwhelmed by Reinhardt and frozen in inaction.
By the time he'd come to his senses, the carriage had vanished at tremendous speed.
He'd tried to pursue, but without a guide, he couldn't find them.
Thebeus dropped to one knee.
"Give me a chance. I will find him, no matter what."
Carlos stroked his chin.
At this timing, Reinhardt leaves the palace and comes to the North.
With the sleeping lion, Croft.
'What for?'
Had he caught on to something?
It was too far for a mad crown prince's stroll.
He didn't know why Croft was with Reinhardt, but it was clear they'd come to the North suspecting something about the events unfolding here.
And with Croft there, it made sense that Thebeus hadn't been able to capture Reinhardt.
However, the timing was far too coincidental.
Right before the assault on the Holy Land.
'Reacting to the shadow purge?'
To conquer the Holy Land and claim the dragon, he'd first rooted out the internal spies.
To prevent the imperial side from learning of the process of claiming the dragon—or what the dragon even was.
He'd even considered the possibility that the emperor, sensing something amiss, had sent Croft.
'The incompetent emperor, bloated on peace, has made a move?'
Incompetent emperor.
Carlos viewed Deus, the Guardian of Peace, as incompetent.
He was blind to the monsters lurking beneath the peace.
Because of Deus, the empire was degenerating.
If time passed like this, the empire would lose its past glory and strength, eventually conquered by other nations.
The great millennium empire's history would vanish into obscurity because of Deus.
That had to be prevented, didn't it?
His plan to make the empire even greater was racing toward its conclusion.
Yet.
A piece on his carefully laid board was moving on its own?
"Thebeus."
"Yes, Your Grace."
"Capture him. But do not kill him."
Thebeus's mouth stretched to his ears.
A chance to make up for his mistake had come.
The perfect opportunity to return to the front lines and earn merit.
Reinhardt. The bastard was a godsend.
Even if he'd suffered humiliation, he could pay it back.
"As long as I don't kill him?"
"You can chop off an ankle or two to keep him from running."
"Understood, Your Grace."
"Go with Patrick and Crowe. The two of them should be more than enough to handle Croft."
"Ah......! Thank you. I will bring him back for certain!"
Patrick and Crowe were among the top five Sword Masters under the Grand Duke.
Even prime Croft would struggle against them.
Even with variables, taking those two would make capture inevitable.
The Holy Land assault might be delayed by their absence, but that only underscored the urgency of capturing Reinhardt.
Thebeus clenched his fist until it hurt.
An opportunity that would never come again.
'Wait for me, Reinhardt.'
***
The people of the North read the wind and scents to find their way.
It was something they knew instinctively, without needing instruction.
Following the lead of the two children, he set the carriage's direction and moved.
The grief of losing their mother was intense, but the children recognized that we were the ones who saved them.
"......We've arrived, Your Highness."
Edis said.
The place they finally reached was a half-ruined cathedral.
An entrance leading to the cathedral's underground. A man stood atop it.
A warrior gripping a massive halberd.
But his body was strangely deformed.
His arms and legs bulged with unnaturally swollen muscles, covered in beast-like fur.
"Pagan!"
"Pagan!"
The two children who climbed down from the carriage rushed to the man, knelt, and bowed deeply.
As if in a sacred ritual.
Watching them, Edis explained.
"It means 'Those who Received the Gods.'"
I knew what that signified.
The most exceptional among the Northern warriors.
They were called Pagans.
Those who Received the Gods. Every one of them monsters with grotesque physical mutations.
The Northern people revered them. Treated them like true gods.
But a Pagan's lifespan was extremely short.
They said one couldn't live more than a year after receiving the god.
The reason the North hadn't been conquered for so long was the existence of these powerful Pagans.
The North had been protected by their sacrifices, trading lifespan for godlike power beyond imagination.
"Are you surprised?"
"I heard they don't live long. Hasn't that one been there quite a while?"
Years had passed since his granddaughter rampaged.
If he'd been guarding that place continuously, it meant several more years since receiving the god.
That exceeded the average Pagan lifespan.
Edis nodded.
"They say he's one of the Pagans with an unusually unique constitution. He's also an old friend of mine."
Edis then approached the Pagan, arms spread wide.
With the expression of someone reuniting with a dear friend.
The Pagan likewise opened his arms in welcome.
But what shocked me wasn't the Pagan's grotesque appearance.
[Radiation exposure level has exceeded the limit.]
[Suppressed by unauthorized nanomachine, but treatment is impossible at current stage.]
[Entering defense mode.]
To protect the body from any potential influx of radiation, Zero entered defense mode.
The nanomachines began surrounding me like a wall.
'Radiation?'
I suddenly recalled where I'd heard that word.
It was a term from my previous world.
The ultimate weapon that reduced a brilliant civilization to ruins in a mere ten minutes.
The substance that weapon unleashed was radiation.
The true name of the devil that exterminated humanity.
Why was this Pagan exposed to radiation?
'Zero. What happens if I'm exposed to radiation?'
[Radiation exposure symptoms vary widely.]
[Radiation destroys human DNA structure, causing mutations. Even low levels induce cancer, hair loss, leukemia, tissue necrosis, and turns blood white—it's a lethal weapon to all lifeforms.]
[But worry not. I, nanomachine 'Zero,' was created to save humanity from radiation exposure. As long as I'm active, radiation cannot harm the master's body.]
Mutations, huh.
So the Pagan's grotesque body was the result of radiation.
And Zero vowed firmly to protect me from such radiation.
'Only warriors chosen to enter the Holy Land become Pagans. There's a dragon in the Holy Land. The dragon emits radiation......'
Then what exactly was the dragon?
I had no choice but to ponder it seriously.
Following Edis and the Pagan, I opened the door and descended underground.
A vast underground cavern.
All my worries vanished the moment I saw the ice pillar in the center.
"This is my granddaughter, Your Highness."
Edis said in a heavy tone.
A woman trapped at the center of the ice pillar.
White face, white skin.
A Caucasian rare even on the continent.
She was the one Edis had forcibly frozen due to mana rampage.
All I knew was that his granddaughter died and Edis stepped down as tower master.
I had no interest in who she was or what she did.
Yet for some reason, this woman's face looked familiar.
An existence that blew away my thoughts of the dragon in an instant.
'......The White Silver Demon King.'
It was the name of the seventh feat achieved by Hero Malfiel.
The End of [White Silver Demon King]
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