Chapter 69
Chapter 69
Chapter 69 Emperor.
Tower's 20th Floor.
The floor is dominated by the residents of Elarion, the world where the Lionheart Empire once existed in the past.
Since conquering the top floors was still a distant task, Emperor Celestia Lionheart, who had been resting while handling accumulated state affairs on her throne, suddenly received a message.
[Do you agree to send power to the Trial of the Testing Floor Hell Difficulty 9th Floor?]
[Yes / No.]
"This is also a first..."
A sudden change that came to her mundane daily life.
Since handling state affairs wasn't particularly enjoyable work, she first thought that the message floating before her eyes might be able to become a new source of vitality.
"...Is something wrong, Your Majesty?"
Irene Valhart, former Hero Chris's master and wife, and also the captain of the Royal Knights order that protects the Emperor, showed doubt at her master's unfamiliar reaction.
"It's nothing much. The Testing Floor Hell Difficulty 9th Floor trial is asking to borrow power."
Celestia spoke as if it was nothing, but Irene couldn't help but be surprised.
"There was a Hell Difficulty in the Testing Floor?! This is the first time I've heard of it..."
"It's my first time too. That's why it's more interesting."
Of course it had to be the first time for both of them.
Han Yeong-min was the first to receive the Testing Floor Hell Difficulty.
"...You're thinking of accepting, Your Majesty."
"Of course. Exploring the unknown is human instinct. It doesn't look particularly dangerous either."
Celestia naturally pressed yes. Then she felt energy draining from her body and heading somewhere.
And when that energy reached its destination, she was sharing information about that place through an avatar materialized in the Testing Floor.
'Ho. Did they implement Elarion?'
Though it was already quite a distant past event, everything there was still vividly remembered.
"Irene. Do you remember? When the Demon King invaded Elarion in the past."
Irene nodded her head.
"Of course, Your Majesty. My dear... no, Hero Chris grew through adventures and eventually caught the Demon King."
She momentarily used their private pet name when they were alone, then hastily corrected herself, but Celestia didn't miss it.
"So you call each other by pet names when I'm not around? Our knight captain has cute sides to her."
"Your Majesty...! You're being mischievous."
Celestia chuckled at that sight and continued the conversation.
"Anyway, it seems the Tower implemented those events as a trial. And it looks like the player plays the role of the Demon King conquering the world, not the Hero's role."
She succeeded in deducing how things had unfolded based on just the immediate fragmentary situation.
It was truly analytical ability befitting the Empire's Emperor.
Irene was horrified at that ridiculous difficulty level.
"Is that even possible...? Implementing Elarion wouldn't be difficult, but for a mere player to conquer that place that even the real Demon King couldn't occupy."
Celestia shrugged her shoulders.
"Well... it seems possible. The audience chamber has already been breached. Since neither you nor Chris are nearby, it looks like only the final stage of conquest remains?"
"Even if it's not 100% implementation of actual Elarion, if even half of it was implemented, that's an impossible ability. It seems like a talent that must be recruited into Lionheart."
She agreed with that thought, but whether that amazing being would come into Lionheart's embrace was uncertain.
"The enlightenment about nothingness is also at the highest master level, and black magic, Spirit Arts... even Dwarven technology? Even the resistance is at monster level. Looking at how they're completely unaffected by the magic circle effects installed in the audience chamber."
"Isn't that just a monster...?"
Looking again, it wasn't talent but a disaster.
Even though Han Yeong-min hadn't yet used Limit-Breaking Skills, transcendent authorities, the Demon God Lotus Armor, or retainer powers, his appearance was enough to be called a monster.
"...We might need to prepare for subjugation rather than recruitment."
It was a joke mixed with some sincerity.
*****
I left the female knight to Chris and headed toward the audience chamber where the Emperor would be.
There were countless magic circles that gave debuffs to intruders and buffs to insiders, but perhaps because my resistance was so high, there was no particular effect.
"Die!"
"For His Majesty the Emperor!"
Knights dressed the same as the female knight at the entrance rushed at me, but they were only transcendent peak level experts.
No matter how much buffs they received, the gap with me was clear.
Especially since my abilities displayed truly overwhelming power in civilian massacres.
"Are you done?"
Their swords simultaneously pierced through my body, but there was only slight pain and no meaningful damage.
Immortality was already beginning regeneration.
"Mon... monster...!"
'I'm used to being called a monster now.'
I crush the skulls of those who had lost their weapons since they had stuck their swords into my body.
Predation devoured the enemies, and part of their enlightenment about Aura and potential seeped into me.
Having killed so many knights, it seemed I could now use Aura too.
"Is this how you do it?"
An energy different from Divine Demon Qi, sparkling like stars, emerged from my fingertips.
Unlike Divine Demon Qi specialized for interpersonal combat, this was power focused on simply drawing out the might of energy.
If I had to rank superiority, Divine Demon Qi would be advantageous against humanoid enemies, but Aura seemed like it would be advantageous against monster-type enemies.
Aura could also be drawn out much longer than Divine Demon Qi. Thinking I had gained a useful ability, I moved my steps and finally arrived at the audience chamber.
"...You've finally come this far. The fact that the Demon King has come this far means everyone in the Empire except me has already knelt before you, right?"
The Emperor seemed both dejected and exuded a transcendent atmosphere.
"You know well. Then wouldn't it be better for you to surrender too? I can spare your life."
She chuckled.
"No. There are values more precious than life. The Empire's Emperor kneels to no one. Even if the opponent is an absolutely undefeatable monster."
She raised her sword.
Her noble will and the domineering power befitting it were carried at the sword's tip.
"Then there's no choice."
I didn't particularly feel like using schemes and tricks against such an opponent.
As courtesy to the Empire's last swordsman and Emperor who didn't give up until the end, I also intended to fight with my best effort.
The Emperor, who accelerated instantaneously, tried to cut my body in half with a single strike of her sword that emitted brilliant starlight.
Her enlightenment about nothingness itself was overwhelmingly superior to the Hero's, but the magic circles installed throughout the audience chamber seemed to pull her physical abilities to their limits.
BANG!
I hastily wrapped Divine Demon Qi around myself for defense, but it broke through and left scratches inside my body.
Originally wounds that should have regenerated quickly, but perhaps because her Aura had an effect that hindered recovery, the wound's healing was a bit slower.
"To have that level of recovery speed even after being hit by Lionheart's Aura... your regenerative power is not ordinary."
But as if even that regenerative power was amazing, she smiled and swung her sword even more fiercely and quickly.
'At minimum, a mature Hamonry level...!'
On top of that, overwhelming physical abilities and countless unknown blessings wrapped around her body.
Even the equipment she wore seemed to be artifacts of Unique grade or higher, so she was an opponent who crushed me in weight class, yet there wasn't that big a difference in skill either.
I had to actively utilize everything I could use.
I cast debuffs with black magic, hindered movement with blood magic and bone magic, and gave even more aggressive commands to the spirits.
'Don't mind me and just attack.'
Since I could quickly regenerate damage dealt by spirits anyway, if both of us took damage together, the opponent would suffer greater losses.
Even while using all those means, my hands and feet didn't rest.
With my current stats, it was difficult to block her sword barehanded, so I took out various weapons from my inventory, used Overdrive, and countered.
[Overdrive's level increases.]
All-Mastery naturally included the Weapon Mastery skills I had handled in the past.
Thanks to blocking an overwhelming expert's attacks with all types of weapons, proficiency was rising steeply.
[Superior All-Mastery's level increases.]
And the more we exchanged blows, her emotions also flowed in through that sword.
Hostility toward the one who destroyed the Empire, anger at herself for failing to protect the Empire, and even joy and pleasure felt while crossing swords with an equal opponent.
Though she was the Empire's Emperor, she seemed unable to give up her essence as a martial artist either.
Being driven to extremes by me, she was rather growing more in that danger.
Beyond maturity to extremity.
Her swordsmanship became more concise and deadly.
The speed of breaking weapons became faster and the sword strikes touching my body only increased.
'Interesting...!'
It had been a long time since I fought an opponent who drew out such sincerity.
I abandon the thought of reducing wounds.
I stop taking out weapons and raise my fist.
I remember Baal's stance.
More wounds appeared on my body, but I don't mind. I only think of avoiding fatal injuries and begin throwing punches at the opponent while giving what I should give.
At first, the damage on my side was greater, but as we exchanged offense and defense, that gap narrowed.
I use every available means to hold the opponent's ankle and land effective hits.
What I could do was far more than what the opponent could do.
The density of effort I had built up so far was different.
Having captured even transcendents' movements in my eyes and melted them into my body, an opponent of the same realm with high specs was not an insurmountable wall.
Then the Demon King's army entered the audience chamber.
"To help the Demon King...!"
"Don't interfere!"
Right now was time for only her and me. I couldn't let anyone interfere.
We begin competing again.
Until one person's breath was cut off, this offense and defense would not end.
An explosive situation where countless wounds were created on each other's bodies through endless offense and defense. What finally collapsed first was the Emperor.
"Ah... I wanted to do a little more..."
She truly showed a regretful expression and could no longer endure, collapsing.
Still, as if the fight until just now had been enjoyable, she was smiling even while dying.
'If we had met in different circumstances, we might have become friends.'
I also enjoyed the fight with her. Enough to be sufficiently regretful that it ended like this.
"You were the best opponent."
It was funny to maintain RP after coming this far. I decided to just treat her normally.
"As expected... you weren't the Demon King. Right, there's no way a Demon King would fight like this. What Demon King would use strategies like a human and tell subordinates not to interfere when they came?"
Having exchanged blows together, she seemed to have vaguely guessed my identity as well.
'You recognize it... that I'm not the Demon King.'
While everyone around made all sorts of unreasonable criticism and slander, the Emperor was acknowledging the truth.
"I'm probably not real either. So... we'll meet again..."
The Emperor's breath was cut off just like that.
But I had a strong intuition that her last words weren't just empty words.
'Are you up there too?'
The number of people I had to meet by going up was increasing one by one.
[Pantheon and some gods are telling you to get in line.]
[Some Demon Kings of Pandemonium are saying they're first.]
Of course, the people to meet weren't only humans.
There were quite a few waiting in line after drawing numbers.