Chapter 367: The King Who Kills Others, The God Who Kills Himself - 21
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 367: The King Who Kills Others, The God Who Kills Himself - 21
With every one of the Regressor’s battle cries, the Golden Palace trembled. The attacking homunculi unleashed a variety of attacks, trying to breach the Golden Ark, but the moment they entered a certain space, darkness surged and swallowed them whole. All the while, the Golden Ark continued to scrape against the ground, pushing the Golden Palace back as if trying to topple the entire castle.
Perhaps even mythical battles could break out on a whim. Just like now, when a fight had erupted during what was supposed to be a peace negotiation.
I had no desire to get involved over there, but I was interested in the meeting between the Golden Lord and the Witherarch.
“Hilde. Let’s go.”
“Over there? Uh, um. Father. Do we really have to?”
“Yes. We really do.”
At my firm tone, Hilde let out a deep sigh and pushed down on the pedals. The bike accelerated with each pump of her legs.
Humans really are the most convenient power source. They’re quite fast when they use Qi Arts, and best of all, they come with voice recognition and auto-drive.
“Faster! Go!”
“Ngh! I’m! Trying!”
I urged Hilde on with my words while using my mind-reading. As we neared the Golden Palace, the thoughts of those moving within flowed into me.
The Golden Palace was practically the Golden Lord’s own body. Every substance within it transformed and moved according to his will.
Having entered the Golden Palace behind the Golden Ark, the Regressor and Tyr were met with an onslaught from all directions. The floor rose up, the ceiling collapsed, and countless traps flew at them. Assailed by every weapon imaginable, the two were having considerable difficulty fending them off.
Yet amid the chaos, Peru, who had delved into the Golden Palace, pressed ever onward.
The floor and ceiling closed in, attempting to crush Peru between them. The moment she perceived it, her Unique Magic caused the surfaces above and below to crumble. The ceiling collapsed and the floor gave way. Peru might fall, but she wouldn't be crushed.
Sharp springs shot out to tear her apart… but just as they did, their rapidly rusting bodies couldn't withstand their own force and shattered.
A spiked iron ball swung in an arc, about to strike Peru, but its weakened chain snapped, sending it rolling away in the wrong direction.
And that wasn't all. Mirrors placed here and there to stop vampires instantly lost their luster, and sharpened weapons shattered from their thinnest points like glass.
If the Golden Lord’s palace was a product of alchemy, then Peru was its end. Though not overwhelming in power, her ability pulverized the Golden Lord’s every intention as she advanced deeper.
‘…I expected this. The Golden Ark, too, was made by the Golden Lord. If it gets too close, it will be used as raw material….’
There was no point in just damaging the Golden Palace. No matter how much she broke it, the Golden Lord could simply remake it. Still, Peru had chosen to ram it for two reasons.
One was to reach the Golden Lord quickly.
The other was to infiltrate the Golden Palace with the very furnace that powered the Golden Ark.
‘…The Furnace of Wither. The only tool capable of containing my power, which causes all things to decay.’
The Golden Lord bestowed gifts upon the ‘disciples’ who came to him. To help them realize their full potential, he would grant them equipment that allowed them to utilize 200% of their Unique Magic.
That was the Juggernaut. The Golden Lord’s Arcane, a gift for the Primarchs who carried on his progress.
But even the Golden Lord had pondered for a long time when faced with Peru.
Peru’s Unique Magic was a power that brought about the end of matter. What kind of tool could possibly harness a power that negated matter itself? No matter what the Golden Lord created, it would simply crumble at the touch of Peru’s ability.
‘…Back then, there was even talk of killing me.’
One Primarch had argued that Peru’s power, which negated alchemy, was ominous and that it would be better to eliminate the future threat. But the Golden Lord didn't even react to those words, instead continuing to create one thing after another until he could overcome Peru’s power. Day after day.
What the Divine created after much deliberation was the Furnace of Wither. A black box closer to glass than iron, its material and even its structure were impossible to discern.
Since breaking it was irreversible, even Peru couldn't figure out its structure. The only certainty was that as long as there was material inside it to decay, it would never crumble. The Golden Lord’s majesty was great enough to overcome even contradiction.
I guessed that for the Golden Lord, the process of trial and error was an enjoyable contemplation and another source of inspiration. For the Golden Lord who needed nothing, it was his only form of stimulation.
But even if it was simple contemplation… for someone, it was a precious gift.
‘…Golden Lord.’
The Golden Palace changed its structure again. As if realizing that a barrage of attacks was not enough to handle Peru, it now attacked her in a different way.
The floor vanished. Peru stumbled and fell into the corridor below. Where she was about to land, sharp iron spears jutted out.
Even Peru couldn't do anything against an attack like this. However, she hadn't come empty-handed. She pulled a pure white orb from her pocket and crushed it.
A Wind Orb, given to her by the Regressor. A storm raged, pushing Peru’s body away. Unable to gauge its strength, she slammed her back against a wall, but it was better than being impaled on the spikes. Having barely escaped, Peru scattered the power of Wither and walked deeper.
[Difficult.]
Just then, a voice echoed through the corridor. Peru looked in the direction of the voice and spoke.
“…Golden Lord.”
[Functions are needed to deal with the mercenary. But with you here, they cannot function properly. It is crude, but it seems I have no choice but to bring down the entire Golden Palace.]
He was prepared to turn the Golden Palace into Peru’s tomb if necessary. But Peru had anticipated as much. While her ability was a silver bullet against alchemy, she herself was a fragile human. If the Golden Lord used every means at his disposal to kill her, she stood no chance.
Still, Peru had come here. To protect her country… yes, but that wasn't the only reason. Clutching the Furnace of Wither, she walked down the endlessly stretching corridor and pleaded with the Golden Lord.
“…Are we not enough for you?”
A Primarch could speak with the Golden Lord. Their Spiritual Worlds were rooted in him, making the Primarchs the only ones who could truly communicate with the Golden Lord, who now existed only as a Spiritual World.
Peru’s words reached the Golden Lord’s Spiritual World. The Spiritual World responded to her words.
[What do you mean?]
“…We revere you. Though this is not the Golden Empire, in the Fallen Dominion, your power and majesty are common knowledge. But… was the Fallen Dominion so lacking that you could not remain with us?”
Despite the sorrow in Peru’s words, the Golden Lord answered dryly.
[I never commanded you to revere me. You are the ones who entered my Golden Empire and lived here as you pleased, and you are the ones who took my property without my permission and sold it off.]
“…It was to survive.”
[And so I am killing you now.]
It was a logic that transcended life and death, one that only a god could wield. Peru swallowed for a moment before speaking.
“…Though we may have scavenged what you left behind, we were always grateful to you, my lord.”
[I did not wish for it.]
“…And no one dared to falsely call themselves king in your name.”
[That is only natural.]
“…We were your people.”
[I did not see it that way. My only nation is the Golden Empire.]
The closer she got, the clearer the Golden Lord’s voice became.
Peru’s power to decay matter became a probe to find the Golden Lord. It was the same principle as the Golden Ark. Since the Golden Lord’s power also emanated from his relics, Peru could follow her ability to find him.
Whether she intended it or not, she instinctively drew closer to the golden bell, continuing to speak.
“…We can offer you nothing, my lord. For you are whole in your alchemy. You have reached a higher state than any other. All we can do is revere and follow you.”
But this wasn't to set up a surprise attack. For Peru, the desire to ask him was far greater than the desire to attack him.
“…To us, you were a ruler, a teacher, and a god. That is how we saw you… Was that still not enough for us to be your people?”
Despite Peru’s heartfelt plea, the Golden Lord’s reply was cold.
[That is nothing more than your own selfish belief. I am a man of the Golden Empire, and I have only one King. I am not a king, but a lord. A being who merely looks after the land my King left behind.]
A king needs people. People to farm for them, work for them, and die for them. Only then can one truly be a king.
That is why a king cherishes his people. Because they are necessary.
But he, who had died and become a Divine, needed nothing. Having killed even himself, he could cast everything else aside without a second thought. Even if it was a nation.
Perhaps that is why gods are so cruel. Realizing she had been abandoned, Peru swallowed the tears welling in her eyes and asked her god.
“…Are we not included in that land?”
The Golden Lord considered for a moment before answering.
[Correct.]
Peru’s steps faltered. She lowered her head, chewing on her despair, and set down the Furnace of Wither she had been carrying.
Decaying matter accelerates the decay of other matter. The furnace, which had been fed countless pieces of alchemic steel to power the Golden Ark, was now a dense concentration of Peru’s power.
‘…The power of Wither, collected over so many years… Will this be enough?’
The black box she had never been able to dismantle or empty, for breaking it was irreversible. Peru took a red orb from her pocket and placed it on top.
A Volcanic Tear, a stone excavated from a volcano and condensed with heat through a special process. It was a treasure that sold for a high price even in the Fallen Dominion, where alchemical inflation was rampant. Peru had saved it for an emergency, and now she infused it with her mana.
The orb shattered, and crimson lava flowed over the furnace. The burning liquid fire spread across the furnace, greedily devouring its shell. The furnace itself glowed red before it, too, could no longer withstand the heat and began to melt.
Plink. A single drop of lava that had penetrated the deepest bored a hole in the furnace. In that instant, the ominous power that had been sealed for years pushed through the weakened seal and burst out.
It wasn't that the power of Wither didn't work on the furnace. It was simply that the furnace’s special structure had prevented it from making contact.
But the moment the lava melted the furnace, the seal was broken. The power Peru had gathered for years flowed out, swallowing even the seal that had contained it.
‘…Even if it’s not enough. This is all I can do.’
It was no longer mere dust. It was a mass of calamity, more like a flowing liquid. It didn't even touch the floor. The moment it made contact, it disintegrated the floor and cascaded downward like a waterfall.
The scattering calamity was even more destructive. As it fell, it grew in volume, transforming everything it touched into the same state as itself. The power of Wither rapidly expanded its influence, staining the Golden Palace.
“…Hah, hah.”
Even though it flowed downward with gravity, just being near it was enough to turn Peru’s hands and feet black. Her breathing grew ragged. She hadn't even touched it directly, but the aftereffects alone were wrecking her body and organs.
[Impressive. To think you would resist to the very end.]
Peru gasped out a reply.
“…For… the Fallen Dominion.”
[However, you have forgotten one thing.]
Even as the poison consumed the Golden Palace, the Golden Lord spoke as if it were nothing.
[That I was the one who made that furnace.]
The power of Wither, which had been boring through the floor as if to create an abyss, stopped at a certain point. It was blocked as if by a wall.
Coughing in pain, Peru belatedly realized the situation.
The place she was standing on was made of the exact same material as the furnace she had brought.
[I have already done this once when creating the Golden Ark. What has been done once can be done twice. The first time is always the hardest.]
“…Ah.”
This place, no, the entire Golden Palace was a seal meant to trap her and her power. Peru thought she was infiltrating, but even that was a part of the Golden Lord’s plan.
As despair washed over Peru, the Golden Lord explained kindly, as if teaching a student.
[There is a countermeasure to your power. The problem was the mercenaries you brought with you. The weapons meant to kill the mercenaries are useless against your power, and the measures meant to counter you are destroyed by the mercenaries. To solve that problem, I needed to separate you.]
“…So, the fortress…”
[Your mercenary was dangerous. Caution was necessary.]
Was it because her spirit was broken, or had she simply reached her physical limit? Peru could hold on no longer and collapsed. As she gasped for air, the Golden Lord’s cold voice reached her ears.
[It was impressive. But this is the end. If the Fallen Dominion is so precious to you, then disappear along with it.]
Peru had no moves left. She didn't even have the strength to use her Unique Magic. With wide eyes, she watched the ceiling draw closer.
The ceiling, moving at the Golden Lord’s will, would collide with the floor. It didn't care what obstacles were in its way.
Peru would be erased from the world, leaving behind nothing but a smear of flesh and blood, not even a corpse. Perhaps it was a fate that had been decided the moment she was abandoned by her god.
Just as death drew near.