Adjusting the Difficulty to NORMAL
A dry, crumbly piece of meat crunched between my teeth.
There was not a single drop of juice to speak of. The texture was as dry as if it had been sitting on a shelf for years past its expiration date. Even if I tried to swallow it, it tasted exactly like those convenience-store sausages that had gone past their best-before date. When I chewed it, I couldn't help but click my tongue.
I could hardly say anything to the servant who had brought this—called a “royal meal” on the surface. At least it was food, so I was lucky.
The children who had survived the growth tanks grew at an abnormal rate. They said that by around ten years old they would reach adult size. When I complained, my older sister—soon to be the future tyrant—would laugh and answer, “It’s cute. What could be wrong with that?”
Even as she spoke those words, the sister who looked barely five years old had already developed far past puberty. Her silver hair was neatly pinned up, her red eyes cold, and she radiated the presence of a mature woman.
In contrast, my body looked nothing more than a plain, ordinary five-year-old. Growth retardation was truly severe. I didn’t even know why this was the case.
Outside the window, the grand palace’s lights glittered in the distance. The room I lived in was the dilapidated detached palace, far removed from the imperial core. Occasionally, my half-siblings who passed by would treat me like a ghost or step on me as if I were vermin.
“You really are a useless piece of trash,” my older brother would mutter. Perhaps that was why, even after the tanks, I hadn’t grown properly.
Thanks to the constant whispers, my power was almost nonexistent, and the food I received was this bad.
While I was chewing tasteless food and struggling, the door—usually locked—suddenly opened.
Creak.
My sister Valeria stood there, silver hair elegantly swept back, holding a silver thermos.
“Theo.”
She walked over, opened the lid, and a rich aroma of roasted meat filled the room along with warm steam.
It was a nobleman’s feast, something the common folk would never taste in their lifetime. In my previous life, it was no better than the spicy stir-fried pork from the neighborhood pojangmacha.
“Throw away these defective cubes. Eat this instead.”
She pushed the cube aside and fed me the meat with her fork. I chewed mechanically.
“The cubes are rougher, but at least there’s some flavor. A little salty, though.”
Even as she grumbled, she gently stroked my cheek.
“Just hold on a little longer. It won’t be long now.”
Her smile was warm and doting, nothing like the cold tyrant the future me had been warned about.
I didn’t know when, but perhaps taking the throne would be far better than this pathetic treatment.
* * * * *
Deep beneath the capital, in the Underground 13th District.
Below the colossal metal supports that held up the city, the lawless, polluted slums where the imperial surveillance never reached. Every breath I took carried the stench of soot and blood.
Valeria gazed up at the vast, blood-soaked cultivation tanks with cold eyes.
No warmth toward her younger brother remained in her expression. Only the ruthless ruler was visible.
In the darkness behind her, her loyal subordinate—Deputy Captain Silas—bowed his forehead to the floor. A giant man 2.6 meters tall, yet before her he was like a dog on a leash.
“Report.”
“As ordered, we have completed the arming of the ten-thousand-strong Millionaires. Mass production of the ultra-dense Void Carapace armor has already reached orbit. The output of our main weapon, the Ion Pulsar, surpasses the central army and can easily shred even the empire’s main battle tanks.”
Weapons that absorbed any attack and turned heavy armor into ash in a single touch—the tools created by the future tyrant with absolute knowledge were finally in full production.
Only the deputy captain’s voice echoed through the vast space. Behind him, thousands of soldiers knelt in perfect unison. No one dared make a sound with their master present.
“You’ve done well. From today, your names are the Millionaires.”
“We thank Your Highness for the great honor.”
“The Millionaires must remain loyal to me.”
The deputy captain slammed his forehead hard against the marble floor.
“It is only natural, Your Highness.”
This was no mere oath of allegiance.
Even the high-ranking Scientific Sorcerers of the empire barely acknowledged the existence of the soul. But Valeria had torn apart that very essence using the cosmic knowledge in her mind.
She had altered the very core of a human being.
That was why they were bound to her as worshippers of a god, or as a loving parent and child.
Because of that, the Millionaires would choose death the instant they felt any desire to betray her. A perfect army where betrayal was impossible.
“I will take the throne of the Terra Empire.”
In this world full of imperial family members, my sister Valeria’s succession rights were less than ten. Normally she could never become emperor, but with ability, she was absolute number one. That was why she had always planned to become emperor.
“It shall be as you wish.”
The deputy captain answered quietly.
The Empress of Blood and Iron.
The future tyrant had always planned to become a ruler of iron and blood. The reason was simple.
This world had ignored the child she loved. She was right. The child was not wrong. So the world itself must be wrong and had to be changed.
“Is there any shortage of capital or resources?”
Valeria asked. The deputy captain bowed his head once more, apologizing.
“I apologize, Your Highness. My humble abilities cannot fully resolve it.”
“Understood.”
With that, the conversation ended.
Using her own abilities, Valeria had already accomplished countless things in the shadows of the empire. The army, all the bizarre technologies, and the capital—all were hers.
Her divine knowledge and the body strengthened over fifty-one years without ever dying provided enough foundation.
The preparations for the coup were proceeding steadily.
* * * * *
Even in the life of a bottom-tier noble and a meal of neighborhood bento, time still passed. The disgusted gazes of my half-siblings had become a familiar routine.
Someone might say this was hopeless, but I had one thing I believed in: my sister would somehow fix this pathetic situation.
I asked for nothing big. I simply wanted to live like a proper royal. Being born at the top of a world already doomed to destruction without ever tasting the sweetness of power felt too unfair.
After ten years inside the tanks, I turned fifteen.
And that day finally came.
Early in the morning the door opened.
My sister arrived wearing the usual elegant dress. Instead she wore a cool power armor that merged black and crimson, fully armed from chin to toe. The weight of the heavy metal did not hinder her movements in the slightest.
“It’s finally happening.”
I asked without showing emotion.
“Now it’s moving?”
She kissed my forehead lightly. Her eyes still held that infinite tenderness.
“Yes. It’s time to clean up the trash.”
She stroked my cheek and whispered, “Stay inside this room today and don’t come out. Understand?”
“I understand. Don’t overdo it.”
I thought her reply was insufficient, but her face curved into a bright smile that made her brows furrow. She left the room without a backward glance, and the heavy alloy door closed firmly behind her.
I had no knowledge left, but a sliver of memory about the future remained. In that memory, the event had been at least fifty years away.
But it had arrived fifteen years early. In the original story I had allied with countless noble forces, yet now it seemed my sister was moving with only her personal soldiers.
That difference was because of the knowledge I had abandoned. Still, I felt it was better than the hellish future I knew.
Sitting quietly on the sofa, I finally heard the signal that the operation had begun.
Boom.
An earth-shaking explosion roared from the far heart of the palace. The floor vibrated with heavy, deep tremors.
“It’s started.”
The noise did not stop. The constant vibration made me frown and stand up.
I tried to call a servant to ask what was happening outside, but there was no response.
Click.
Even when I tried the manual release, the door refused to open. It was completely sealed. The imperial control system had been fully disabled.
I had no idea what was happening outside.
Just as I was starting to feel tense, a heavy, dull thud sounded from inside. The door, which had been tightly shut, was forced open, and a massive shadow filled my entire field of vision.
A brutish giant 2.6 meters tall. Covered in layered power armor that reeked of thick blood, his red visor glowed ominously.
At that moment I wondered if something had gone wrong, but he knelt quietly before me and spoke.
“Your Highness. Deputy Captain Silas of the Personal Guard.”
My sister’s soldiers. Only then could I relax my tense shoulders.
“The situation will be resolved soon. May I stay here in the meantime?”
“Fine.”
It was safer with just me here.
After I agreed, he returned to the door, operated the panel, and the door sealed shut once more.
Examining him closely, the entire suit was covered in soot and thick, viscous blood. Traces of the explosion were everywhere, yet the absurdly sturdy power armor showed not the slightest crack.
Watching him whose armor vibrated with the scent of blood, I asked dryly, “How long will this take?”
He was silent for a moment as if thinking, then answered slowly.
“The initial operation was planned for twenty-four hours, but the resistance is unexpectedly fierce and is delaying things. We’ll probably need to wait about two days.”
Two days? Was the coup really ending in just two days? How much had my sister prepared to be able to field such an army?
With no knowledge left, I couldn’t even guess.
“Okay. Got it. Thanks.”
I would not be able to see my siblings today, but I felt no guilt. After all, the imperial family were all trash. Lunatics who partied while the empire collapsed around them.
“As you command.”
He answered quietly. I ignored his gaze and turned to flop back onto the soft sofa.
* * * * *
The path to the Sun’s Throne, the heart of the palace, was already soaked in a thick river of blood.
The bodies of tens of thousands of former emperor loyalist nobles and arrogant side-line royals had been laid out like a carpet on the floor. At the end of that hell, Valeria sat wearily, gripping the neck of the old emperor. The imperial crown had rolled to the floor.
“You dare!”
The old emperor’s face was twisted with rage. But Valeria’s red eyes showed no reaction whatsoever.
“An incompetent old man who doesn’t even deserve the throne of emperor. Die.”
Her words to her own biological parents were unnervingly dry.
Crunch.
The old ruler’s throat snapped instantly as her grip tightened. She casually tossed the corpse down the stairs like rubbish.
Finally, Valeria climbed onto the blood-soaked throne of the emperor.
The moment she sat, tens of thousands of Millionaires—including the deputy captain—knelt in unison.
“Clean up the remaining forces and restore the palace to its perfect state.”
Valeria’s cool voice resonated heavily through the blood-scented palace.
“I don’t want to show my brother this messy sight.”