Chapter 187
Chapter 187
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 187
Chapter Title: Namshar Empire
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“Hold on a second.”
Arthur reined in Britanniker.
Keda, who had been leading the way, pulled his horse to a halt and turned back.
“What is it?”
“I’d heard that the light of the Namshar Empire had faded, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.”
“Hmm.”
Keda looked around.
The overcast weather, as if rain might pour down at any moment since dawn, had persisted all day.
It wasn’t just the cloudy skies—there was a bizarre energy permeating the entire empire.
That gloom carried a sinister edge, adding to the oppressive atmosphere.
“It seems even worse than when I was here.”
“We haven’t seen a soul in the two territories we’ve passed through. Where did they all go?”
“By protocol, when trouble hits a territory, people move to neighboring ones. In a crisis like this affecting all territories, they’d converge on the capital.”
“The capital should be fine, right?”
“Artisan would’ve left at least minimal forces to defend it. Still, I wonder who’s behind all this.”
“Could it be internal strife here too?”
“Unlikely. Unlike the Oscar Empire, Namshar has been under Artisan’s iron-fisted rule for so long that rebellion is impossible.”
“So it’s the work of an outsider...”
Suddenly, Arthur recalled the shaman’s words from Munar Mountain.
-The great plan has begun!
And the border guards they’d dealt with had all shouted ‘For the day of glory!’ as they died.
It dawned on him that all of this might be unfolding under Artisan’s direction.
If so, that bastard was no better than a devil—clearly one of the Demon King’s familiars.
After all, sacrificing innocent lives for the Demon King’s resurrection proved it.
The truth would reveal itself once they reached Kyapur Castle.
Arthur scanned the despair-ridden surroundings once more before telling Keda,
“We should hurry.”
At dusk.
Arthur and Keda stopped on a hill overlooking the vast plains, gazing at Kyapur Castle in the distance.
Refugee columns streamed toward the castle from every direction.
The empire’s people were all gathering there.
As Keda had said, Kyapur Castle wasn’t burning, and soldiers lined the walls.
Soon, the gates swung wide open, knights emerging to welcome the refugees.
They let everyone through without any special checks.
“Slipping in won’t be hard.”
“Looks that way.”
Keda and Arthur descended, donning tattered robes and blending into the refugee line.
With hoods pulled low, they looked the part perfectly.
As expected, they entered Kyapur Castle without issue and mingled with the crowd, surveying the scene.
The soldiers merely herded the refugees into the training grounds and focused on perimeter defense outside.
‘What’s going on?’
Arthur had expected someone to step up and manage the situation, but no one did.
Exhausted from long treks, the people collapsed in relief upon entering the castle, tension melting away.
Arthur whispered to Keda.
“Doesn’t something feel off?”
“They’re not paying any attention.”
“With this many refugees, it’s basically an emergency. No one in charge has even shown up.”
“Something’s definitely up.”
Keda’s face hardened.
The Namshar Empire reacted swiftly to crises caused by environmental disasters.
By his knowledge, spotters should’ve reported refugees immediately, launching investigations and countermeasures.
Yet there was no sign of it anywhere.
“I’ll check it out.”
As Keda prepared to use spirit magic, Arthur grabbed his arm.
“Let’s head there first.”
“Understood.”
As Keda started to rise, Arthur shook his head.
“I’ll go alone—just tell me where.”
“We don’t know what traps might be there. It’s too dangerous. Let me guide you.”
“No, you scout this place. If something we don’t know is happening here that threatens these people’s lives...”
“I’ll stop it somehow.”
“If it’s too much, run. I’ll follow once I’m done.”
“Got it.”
Keda nodded gravely.
Arthur slipped away from the soldiers’ sight and darted into a building like lightning.
Keda glanced at the door he’d entered, then unleashed spirit magic to assess the situation.
***
‘This is really weird.’
Arthur encountered no one descending into the underground.
Castle basements were typically for the lord’s rest or prisons, always guarded. Especially in a royal castle.
Yet not a soldier, not even an ant, was in sight.
It was so deathly quiet that his own footsteps—muffled as he tried—grated on his ears.
It felt like walking an empty tunnel.
According to the shaman, Artisan’s secret lair lay beneath Kyapur Castle.
A place where children’s souls were sealed—he’d likely store his prized possessions there.
If he found proof that bastard was a Demon King’s familiar!
His suspicions would be confirmed.
Unlike before, he could now plan concretely and rally the Oscar Empire’s forces under a clear banner.
That would make unification smoother and faster.
‘I have to find it.’
Arthur proceeded, keeping distance from the wall-mounted torches.
After a long walk.
A black door appeared ahead.
It bore an engraving of a griffon-like monster head with long horns on both sides.
‘This is it.’
He instantly knew it hid Artisan’s secrets.
Arthur carefully scanned the surroundings before touching it.
Wary of magic barriers, he moved with utmost caution.
Seeing no reaction, he gripped the handle and pulled.
“...!”
Pushing yielded the same—immovable as a wall.
Arthur glanced around and smashed a fist into the door.
Boom!
A thunderous crash, but not even a scratch.
Then, black aura rose from the door.
Like a barrier activating against his attack.
The sight only fueled Arthur’s desire to enter.
Suddenly, a sinister, evil energy gripped his heart.
“Ugh.”
Agonizing pain surged, mana boiling beyond his control.
At the same time, Tyrant’s power activated.
Golden and blood-red auras shimmered around him like heat haze. A blinding light followed, Nigras materializing.
Nigras extended a hand toward the door.
The heart-gripping pain vanished like a lie.
-Are you alright?
“Urgh...”
Arthur grimaced in response.
“Almost had me. What was that just now?”
-Darkness’s power. You were caught in it.
“I see.”
This solidified his suspicions about Artisan.
Arthur drew his dagger from his back and asked Nigras,
“Can you infuse it with power?”
-Of course.
“Then let’s open this door.”
Arthur channeled mana into the dagger, golden aura coiling around it.
Nigras became light, merging into the blade.
It shone bright enough to illuminate the dark basement.
“Let’s end it in one go.”
Arthur swung the dagger at the door with full force.
Whoosh—
A white aura blade shot forth, slamming into the door.
Boom!
The explosion pierced the black aura wall effortlessly, shattering the door.
Inside was a space half the size of an office.
A massive, pitch-black chair dominated it, flanked by candelabras on altar-like stands.
Five in total.
Two extinguished, three burning fiercely.
‘What’s this?’
Arthur approached the candelabras tensely.
Each bore inscribed names.
[Joshua, Shaman...]
“This!”
The unlit ones had names of those he’d killed.
Before the ‘Shaman’ candelabra sat a skull, reeking of foul blood.
Inside floated dark red blood and a yellow paper talisman.
Evil energy emanated from it.
Likely tied to the children’s soul seal.
Even if broken, better to destroy it thoroughly.
“Nigras.”
-What is it?
As Nigras reappeared, Arthur explained the sealed children’s souls.
“Cleanse it completely.”
-Understood.
Nigras placed a hand on the skull.
It glowed brilliantly for a while, then skull and all vanished like ash.
-The children’s souls are safe.
As Nigras faded, Arthur stared at the candelabras.
By current evidence, Artisan seemed the Demon King, Joshua and Shaman his familiars—along with the remaining three.
But too amateurish for a Demon King.
Though Nigras helped breach the door, no true Demon King would leave their sanctum so exposed.
More likely familiars.
That fit the Karnura continent scenes too.
“If familiars...”
The Namshar crisis seemed Artisan’s doing, not outsiders’.
There had to be a reason for gathering people here.
Knowing he was a familiar, Arthur couldn’t let innocents die.
As he searched every corner.
Among the three lit candelabras, the one inscribed ‘Tamyusha’ flared impossibly bright.
The flame writhed alive-like, swelling into a massive blaze.
It morphed into the door’s monster engraving.
-Who dares!
A chilling voice didn’t echo in his ears—it resounded in his mind.
Arthur stayed calm.
“Who are you?”
-Hmph, that repulsive aura... You’re from the Holy Kingdom.
He sensed it detected Nigras’s power. Stronger than previous foes.
“I asked who you are.”
-I am Tamyusha, familiar of the great guardian Collepton, one of the five serving the mighty Demon King.
“Artisan?”
-How dare you compare Lord Collepton to that wretch!
Tamyusha raged, flames roaring like a furnace, blasting searing heat.
‘What?’
Tamyusha was Artisan’s familiar, yet denied Artisan was one.
Meaning Artisan was controlled by this Collepton—where was he...!
Lightning flashed in Arthur’s mind.
Tangled threads unraveled, clarifying the situation.
A Demon King familiar had possessed Artisan—or sealed his soul like the children.
Same for Emperor Ruan and Altros.
But could familiars not recognize each other?
‘I definitely felt darkness’s power...’
Artisan was distant, but Ruan and Altros didn’t add up.
The Demon King’s resurrection maybe?
They shared his power, linked through him.
Without revival, they wouldn’t sense each other.
Or one wasn’t a familiar.
He’d confirmed Altros’s dark power.
Then Emperor Ruan?
‘What the hell are you!’
As Arthur’s face twisted.
Flames spread wildly, Tamyusha’s ecstatic cry booming in his head.
-The day of glory has dawned!
“...!”
Arthur’s eyes flashed as Parsia’s urgent voice rang in his ear.
-Escape now!
Nigras’s voice resonated in his mind next.
-Darkness’s power is surging!