Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: The Undying Fallen
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The land had turned black.
From the throne upon it, a figure cast golden eyes.
“He’s finally been found.”
The one he spoke of was Titeo.
The Weeping Fallen.
This was the land of the Fallen.
Or the Forgotten Continent.
“A disgrace to us all.”
One of the figures standing beside the throne—a beast in form—shouted.
The black-skinned man next to him, with grotesquely long arms, replied.
“He was always a half-baked wretch who received ‘His’ grace. A creature without the will to fight alone can hardly be called a demon.”
That One.
Even the one on the throne trembled at the thought.
“Even so… he was a Fallen.”
“He was the last, and the beginning’s number.”
666. And now it was broken.
“As His prophecy foretold. It is time for us to begin anew.”
“Then…”
“First, bring me the Weeping Fallen.”
Of course.
“And that one he acknowledged.”
The new 666 had to be him.
“Who shall we send?”
“That one. The ‘Undying Fallen.’ He should suffice, don’t you think, ‘Golden Fallen’?”
Golden Fallen.
The number etched on his helmet—555—glowed faintly gold.
“Ah, yes. Him…”
“A mad bastard dying to die. The one who always yammered that Titeo’s sword, which raises the dead, might actually kill him. He’ll go gladly.”
However.
“If he’s disappointed not to die, we’ll kill him ourselves.”
* * *
“You’re really going?”
Philo asked Kallias, his spear tucked under his folded arms.
In a forest beyond the holy land.
Kallias was stroking Vivi, whom he hadn’t seen in ages.
In half a year, Vivi had grown a bit larger and more imposing.
But he looked a little gaunt, which sharpened his features.
Likely because of the Thunder Fang Sword he kept in his mouth, preventing proper meals—or perhaps he wasn’t eating much even when hunting.
Kallias snatched the Thunder Fang Sword from Vivi’s jaws as the wyrmling rubbed against him affectionately, stabbed it into the ground, and force-fed him some food.
Vivi’s eyes flicked to the sword often, but with Kallias holding it, he didn’t seem too anxious.
Only after watching Vivi eat for a good while did Kallias answer Philo.
“Yeah.”
To the Empire.
That much was certain.
It had been the plan all along.
Weakening the Empire before the war was the top priority.
“Why? Even if we’ve gotten stronger, taking on the Empire is suicide.”
Even with Kallias as a master and the Iron Lord in hand, the Empire was too much.
It had over a dozen masters. Its national power was overwhelming.
Even if the Ashen Legion had grown, if the Empire set its mind to killing him, he’d be in grave danger.
‘Luteon left the holy land…’
It was safe to assume his information had spread.
Yet he was still heading to the Empire.
Kallias spread his fingers.
“First, revenge.”
“Revenge?”
“A while back, the Empire attacked the sacred flower fields of Valterus’s Tears—essential for Carpe’s holy water production. Carpe lost its holy water as a result.”
It was a famous incident.
Carpe’s power had plummeted because of it.
“You plan to destroy the Empire’s holy water.”
“Exactly.”
Before the war, eliminate the holy water and its ingredient, Lactus’s Tears.
Carpe couldn’t win against the Empire now, no matter what.
Delaying the war’s start and boosting their odds made it essential.
“You’ve got a death wish.”
“I do it because I can. No forcing you. Run if you want. Tail-shedding’s your specialty.”
“That me from back then is dead. I have power now, and enemies to avenge my kin. Why would I cut and run?”
“I recall you cutting off and selling your tail just days ago.”
“Ehey! That was ages ago! And that’s a different story altogether.”
Half a year had passed since his tail-selling days.
Philo raised his voice in embarrassment as Kallias brought it up.
Vivi growled threateningly in response.
“Damn it, I’m the one who’s been feeding you!”
While Kallias carved wooden swords in the tower, Philo had occasionally fed Vivi.
Yet here the wyrmling was, growling just because he raised his voice at his master. It stung.
“Second, the dragon bones the Empire holds.”
“Dragon bones?”
Dragon bones.
Or hearts and such—the Empire still possessed them. One reason for their strength was claiming more spoils from the Dragon-Horse War than any other nation.
Close to the holy land, they’d taken heavy hits but reaped massive gains too. That was the Empire today.
Kallias needed to absorb the dragon power within those bones.
That was his second reason for going.
“Anyway, I’m heading to the Empire.”
“Do what you want.”
“You coming?”
“Have to, don’t I? Serena and Aldu will follow you anyway.”
“Not a bad deal for them either.”
Hurting the Empire was welcome news for the continent’s minorities and small nations.
Especially dwarves and elves.
Both races had many captured by the Empire—sold or treated like livestock.
“Saving our kin on the side? Can’t complain!”
Aldu appeared, hefting a massive hammer over his shoulder.
“We’re comrades now, right?”
Kallias smirked at the dwarf’s grin, yellow teeth flashing.
“Weakening the Empire is what we all want. And rescuing captive elves? I’ve no reason to refuse.”
Thud.
Serena, perched in a tree, landed lightly and spoke.
“But… the Empire’s holy water fields are the utmost secret. Small nations and minorities have exhausted themselves trying to find it, but no one ever has. It’ll take time.”
Or they might never find it.
Centuries of Empire history.
The Lactus’s Tears fields had always been shrouded in mystery.
No one knew.
“Rumor has it only the Emperor and the Saintess know its location.”
“Really? The Emperor, maybe, but the Saintess? She’s newly appointed.”
“That’s how much he trusts her. Her prowess is legendary.”
The Empire’s Saintess.
A woman who single-handedly toppled a small nation’s castle in one night.
They said her spear outshone even the Empire’s Spears.
Kallias’s eyes narrowed.
‘She’s another variable.’
Normally, the Empire’s Saintess took time to appear.
After the main quest triggered, an orphan on the Empire’s fringes would rise as Saintess.
A hidden NPC emerging when players weakened the Empire.
‘But she’s existed for years already.’
Because of her, the North and Carpe’s capital had fallen ahead of schedule.
Perhaps she was the cause of these variables.
It made sense.
But her power was well-known even to Aldu and the others.
The current Saintess was likely far stronger than Kallias.
Outstripping the Empire’s Spears, she might even match Agatodo’s tower lord.
Orville herself.
‘Better avoid her for now.’
Reuyiwa had patched his mentality’s weakness thanks to Orville, but Kallias had been a master for only half a year.
His barrier-breaking mentality still fell short against time-tempered transcendents.
So, step by step.
“We approach with caution.”
“Where to?”
“The Empire’s lungs.”
Boltan, called the Empire’s lungs!
“Whoa, that crowded place?”
“The city of pleasures, I hear.”
“Yep.”
The Empire’s lungs.
A hub of every vice imaginable.
Like Trista in Carpe, but dozens of times larger.
“Why there of all places? Colosseum, gambling, masked balls, auctions—security’s ironclad.”
Better than the imperial palace, sure, but top five tightest in the Empire.
Caution, he’d said just now—yet Boltan? Philo opened his mouth to retort.
“Boltan’s Colosseum. Beneath it.”
“Hm?”
“Lactus’s Tears.”
The secret known only to the Emperor and Saintess in this world.
Kallias knew the centuries-old imperial secret.
Because.
Part of it was his own creation.
“Then let’s move.”
* * *
Some frontier.
Chunks of flesh buried in a pit.
Torn every which way and charred, they twitched.
Above them.
Caw—
A crow circled the sky before landing at the pit’s edge.
Its eyes were oddly red.
No ordinary crow.
-You know you won’t die anyway, so why not regenerate? Get up, you fool. Rise and heed His command!
As if to prove it, the crow suddenly spoke, barking at the flesh in the pit.
The chunks went still, as if uninterested.
The crow sighed and continued.
-One who might kill you has appeared.
Twitch.
-He’s been acknowledged by the Weeping Fallen. The one who became a sword himself. You said the corpse-raiser might actually kill you.
That was when.
Sssrrrr.
The flesh pieces swiftly gathered, merging.
A gruesome sight—the crow retched involuntarily.
Weak stomach.
[Is it true? Titeo himself?]
-Yes. After a millennium, he’s found an heir today. 600. Undying Fallen. Golden command is issued to you.
The Weeping Fallen.
Him, and the one he acknowledged.
-Bring them both before the Golden One. He’s quite interested in him.
Sshk.
The crow’s eyes shifted.
Back to an ordinary bird’s aura.
600. The Undying Fallen suddenly seized the crow’s neck.
Caw! Caw—!
He shoved it into his mouth, crunching it whole, and climbed from the pit.
[Can I die this time?]
Who knew.
He’d long forgotten when he stopped being able to.
[Where’s the Empire, though?]
Gazing at the distant sky, the Undying Fallen spotted a massive bird soaring across it.
[Not a bird. A wyrmling.]
But he lost interest and trudged into the forest.