The Emperor's Death
Dawn broke.
The imperial guards rushed about in a frenzy.
“You lot, check the rear gate! Squad Seven, search the western side of the palace!”
But contrary to the soldiers’ expectations, the three of them had already slipped out of the imperial palace.
Kang Yoonsoo’s injuries were severe, and he couldn’t run properly.
“Iris.”
“What is it?”
“Carry me.”
Yushido immediately scooped him up in his arms.
When Kang Yoonsoo stared at him blankly, Yushido declared with solemn dignity.
“For the sake of my frail beloved, there is nothing I would not do.”
Iris tilted her head.
“Hmm. Yushido, do you love Kang Yoonsoo?”
“I’m still debating whether to overcome my prejudice against same-sex romance.”
“Don’t.”
Once they escaped the palace’s surveillance network, residential districts came into view.
Kang Yoonsoo removed his mask and took out the last healing potion from his backpack, then drank it.
It was meant to be applied to external wounds, but fractures could be healed by ingestion.
‘It’ll take a while for the bones to knit back together.’
Kang Yoonsoo pushed Yushido’s hands away and stood up.
His body creaked, but he could walk.
“Already leaving my embrace?”
Yushido took off his mask and made a regretful face.
His eyes, which had changed from vampire to homunculus, were now their original brown.
Kang Yoonsoo pointed indifferently toward the far end of the alley.
“Your comrades are here.”
Human silhouettes appeared in the dimly shadowed alley.
A man carrying a halberd on his back approached.
A large black tiger tattoo was etched across his cheek.
“Good to see you still alive and kicking, Boss! According to the carrier pigeon you sent, we’re supposed to kill all of them, right?”
“No, Mason. I changed my mind. Don’t kill them. They turned out to be surprisingly entertaining.”
The man called Mason scratched his beard.
“You and your damn whims. Let’s get moving. Everyone’s busy preparing for revenge against the White Lion Clan. How can the leader be absent?”
Mason hurried off.
Contrary to the White Lion Clan’s expectations, it seemed most of the Black Tiger Clan’s forces had survived.
Yushido chuckled and waved.
“I’d love to spend another thrilling night like this with you sometime. See you in the capital later, Kang Yoonsoo.”
Yushido walked into the alley and vanished into the darkness.
Iris squinted against the bright sunlight.
“The day has ended.”
“Yeah.”
It had been a long night.
The two went to a fountain where water flowed and washed the dust from their faces.
Kang Yoonsoo glanced at Iris’s brilliant golden hair.
He took out the human modification tools from his backpack.
“Change your hair to reddish-brown.”
“I like blonde.”
“No.”
Iris made a pitiful face.
Then Kang Yoonsoo spoke quietly.
“I’ll make you something delicious later.”
As was typical for someone suffering from a hangover, Shanette lay in bed, pressing her temples.
“I’m dying.”
“Tsk tsk. That’s why I told you to drink regularly. You have no tolerance, that’s why you’re like this.”
Shanette was too nauseous to argue back.
Henrik clicked his tongue and handed her a glass of cold water.
“Thanks, old man.”
“Don’t mention it. By the way, did someone throw me onto the floor last night? Why does my back hurt so much?”
Henrik rubbed his waist and frowned.
“I don’t remember much from yesterday. Why is it so noisy outside?”
Shanette looked toward the door.
White Lion Clan members were shouting at the top of their lungs or rushing down the hallway.
“The Black Tiger Clan leader we locked in the underground prison—Yushido, was it? He escaped.”
“Really?”
For some reason, Shanette felt uneasy.
She looked around and whispered in a small voice.
“What about Kang Yoonsoo?”
“No idea. Haven’t seen him since morning.”
Shanette swallowed dryly.
“He couldn’t have… right?”
“Don’t jinx it. No matter how much trouble that guy attracts, he wouldn’t go that far, would he?”
Henrik scolded her like an adult.
At that moment, the door burst open.
“Where the hell is Kang Yoonsoo!”
“Please calm down, Pascho!”
Chris barely managed to restrain Pascho, who was gripping his chakram.
Henrik asked with a blank stare.
“What’s going on?”
“What’s going on? The guard who was watching Yushido testified. That bastard Kang Yoonsoo knocked him out and entered the underground prison!”
Henrik closed his eyes tightly.
Then he clenched his fists and shot up from his seat.
“That damn unlucky bastard!”
“Calm down, old man!”
Pascho and Henrik raised their voices in agitation.
“I asked where that Kang Yoonsoo is! Stop hiding him and tell me!”
“Hell if I know where he is! I want to carve him up with my chisel!”
It looked like a full-blown brawl was about to break out.
Chris forcibly pulled Pascho away.
Amanda approached and spoke.
“I’m sorry. Everyone’s losing their minds because of this sudden emergency. We’ll call you to the first-floor hall later. Let’s talk calmly then.”
The clan members left the room.
Henrik sighed with a thoroughly annoyed expression.
“Traveling with that guy means there’s never a quiet day.”
“Well, it’s only been a day or two, right? By the way, where’s Iris?”
“No idea. Haven’t seen her since morning either.”
Just then, a sound came from the window.
Knock knock.
Someone was tapping on the window.
It was Kang Yoonsoo.
“…Isn’t this the fourth floor?”
Kang Yoonsoo was standing on the windowsill.
He moved his lips.
‘Come out.’
“How? Are you telling us to jump from the fourth floor like idiots?”
Kang Yoonsoo pointed at the curtains.
Henrik grumbled as he tore down the curtains and made an improvised rope.
“Now we’re even escaping the mansion. Why does it feel like all we do in the capital is commit crimes?”
“I thought you’d refuse while complaining, but you’re making it surprisingly obediently?”
“If we stay here, those clan members won’t leave us alone. They already look down on continentals. When the mood turns ugly, running is the answer.”
Shanette and Henrik quietly descended into the mansion’s backyard using the makeshift rope.
Kang Yoonsoo stepped on several windowsills and landed on the ground.
He staggered for a moment but quickly regained his balance.
“Let me ask you something. Why did you let Yushido go?”
“There was a reason.”
“Then at least don’t get caught!”
“They’ll all find out eventually anyway.”
Henrik silently drew his chisel.
Only after Shanette stopped him did he reluctantly put it away.
“I was about to turn you into a statue, but I’ll hold back.”
“I don’t want to become a statue.”
For some reason, Kang Yoonsoo spoke as if he had already experienced being a statue before.
“Good morning, everyone.”
“Iris?”
Shanette looked puzzled.
So Iris had gone with Kang Yoonsoo?
“Where did you go during the night?”
Kang Yoonsoo briefly summarized the events of the past half-day.
“A walk.”
Shanette’s eyes narrowed.
“Just the two of you?”
“Yushido was with us.”
She hid her relief and let out a silent sigh inside.
Iris smiled brightly.
“Yushido said he loves Kang Yoonsoo.”
“…Kang Yoonsoo?”
“What are you thinking?”
Kang Yoonsoo left the mansion and headed up the hill.
Following behind him, Shanette asked.
“Where are we going next?”
Just as Kang Yoonsoo was about to speak, a familiar voice came from across the way.
“Where are you going in such a hurry?”
Han Sehyun was sitting on the hill with a reed stalk in his mouth.
Kang Yoonsoo said indifferently.
“I have to complete a legendary quest.”
“Is that so?”
But Han Sehyun remained seated.
He stroked a blade of grass with his bare hand.
Just that was enough to slice the thin grass into pieces.
“If you want to pass, answer my question.”
“What is it.”
“Yushido. Why did you let him go?”
“I said I’d make you emperor. I never said I’d deal with the Black Tiger Clan.”
Han Sehyun looked at him with a strange gaze.
“You must have known what kind of relationship I have with Yushido. Honestly, it’s not easy to forgive you for releasing him. Do you really intend to make me emperor? Or are you just using that as an excuse to take advantage of me?”
Kang Yoonsoo spoke briefly.
“A little while ago, I killed Emperor Lanford.”
“…What did you say?”
“Find out later.”
Kang Yoonsoo walked past Han Sehyun.
Han Sehyun turned to look at him and laughed in disbelief.
“You really are a terrifying guy. That makes me even more curious about something.”
“What.”
“Why don’t you try to become emperor yourself?”
“Because I don’t want to.”
“…That’s such a you answer.”
Han Sehyun waved his hand roughly toward the three people below.
“You three can go on your way. I’ll explain things to our clan members. Especially that beautiful lady who’s as lovely as our vice-leader—I hope to see her again sometime.”
Han Sehyun flashed a refreshing smile and walked back toward the mansion.
Henrik approached Kang Yoonsoo with a sour expression.
“Hey, what the hell was that? Did you really kill His Majesty the Emperor?”
“He committed suicide in front of me.”
“He did suffer from severe depression, but suicide? Huh. Such things happen in this world. Wait! Does that mean you went to the imperial palace last night?”
As usual, Kang Yoonsoo didn’t answer.
Even if this was his last life, explaining too much would only waste precious time.
‘In the end, I couldn’t meet the alchemist who created Iris.’
The palace’s security would be even tighter from now on.
Without a surprise attack from a heteromorph like the centaur, there was no way to break in.
Not only sneaking in, but even using disguise magic would likely be caught under strict surveillance.
At this rate, there was no way to make contact with that imperial alchemist.
‘Why did Helkin and Renox appear before me?’
Since he had used the palace’s secret passage, those two knights should not have been able to track him.
It had always been that way in his previous lives.
But why was it different this time?
‘It’s as if someone intentionally prevented me from being in the palace.’
Kang Yoonsoo felt an inexplicable wariness.
Two results had come from the change.
He would be unable to approach the palace for the time being.
He had formed a hostile relationship with Helkin.
‘There’s something in the palace that I don’t know about.’
Kang Yoonsoo unusually clenched his fist tightly.
Change.
He had regressed hundreds of times, yet anomalies kept occurring specifically in his thousandth life.
Why?
‘To resolve these questions, I need to grow. Strong enough that no one can oppose me.’
Not now, but he would return to the capital later.
He would come back strong enough to shatter the palace’s defenses.
‘I’ll have to figure out the identity of the White Shadow then.’
Shanette approached and asked.
“Kang Yoonsoo, I was asking earlier but got interrupted. Where is our next destination?”
“Extinction Desert.”
At that moment, Shanette’s face turned pale.
Henrik began carving something into a nearby tree trunk with his chisel.
“What are you writing?”
“A will. Want to leave a message too?”
“…Don’t make such horrible jokes.”
Watching the two of them, Iris tilted her head.
Henrik stretched as if resigned.
“Well, at least we won’t be bored.”
Lumiere Kizan walked through the flower garden.
He hated every flower in the world.
Therefore, the garden was by no means a pleasant place for him.
“Good morning, Your Highness the Princess.”
Lumiere bowed to the bound princess.
Princess Kiciphran sent him a pitiful look, begging to be released.
But the alchemist spoke something completely unexpected.
“Your Highness, why do people call rejecting fate a pioneering spirit?”
Lumiere removed her upper garment.
Before feeling shame, Kiciphran looked bewildered.
“That is not pioneering spirit, but selfishness. It is utter arrogance for an individual to defy the natural order of the world for their own desires. Those who reject fate and try to fulfill their long-cherished wishes will inevitably bring about collapse.”
Lumiere straightened his finger and stroked her back.
Then black letters appeared.
「6th」
“Therefore, a world that must be destroyed should be destroyed.”
The imperial alchemist erased the writing.
Suddenly, Kiciphran’s breathing grew ragged.
“Haa! Haa! Ha… aa…”
Her skin turned cold.
Lumiere bowed deeply.
“May you have a peaceful fate.”