Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 181
Chapter Title: Owner of the Empty Throne (2)
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Siegfried stood in the wasteland.
A winter gale swept across the barren land.
Even standing there for a moment made his lips chap and his skin crack.
Did such a harsh land even exist in the world?
No rain poured from the pitch-black sky, but the occasional thunder rumbling in the distance hinted at ominous signs.
'This is from Young Master Jamie's memories.'
A pitch-black army advanced across the empty winter wasteland.
From afar, its scale was impossible to gauge.
But as it drew closer, something far grander than a mountain rumbled forward, shaking the earth.
Around it swarmed countless smaller—but still massive—creatures heading toward the land.
Some resembled beasts, others were skeletons, half-rotted corpses, or knights clad in black armor that scattered shadows.
Siegfried stood with his mouth slightly agape, unable to react.
'What in the world are those...!'
The closer they came, the more he could feel it in his bones.
The power of that colossal army was beyond anything he could fathom.
Even the demon dragon he'd seen three days ago would seem ordinary among them.
Each individual overwhelmed him.
If they existed in the present world, they could have unified the continent.
Myriad undead and beasts possessing transcendent might.
Siegfried recognized the aura emanating from them.
'It's unmistakably Young Master Jamie's black mana.'
That massive undulation belonged to Jamie Welton.
Yet Jamie himself was nowhere to be seen.
'No. He's a reincarnator, so this must be his appearance from before reincarnation...'
Siegfried heightened his mana sight, searching for the figure named Diablo Volpir—Jamie's past-life form.
But he was nowhere to be found.
Of course. In that teeming horde, spotting a human-sized figure was like finding a needle in a desert.
At that moment, the sky flashed brilliantly! Lightning bolts rained down upon the earth.
Krararararang!!
Siegfried flinched and looked up at the sky.
The black clouds parted, and light poured through.
From within descended a heavenly army with pristine white wings, fully armed.
The dazzling halos made it impossible to keep his eyes open.
Even though this wasn't reality, Siegfried couldn't comprehend how to process the scene.
'The army of the gods.'
A massive golden chariot, surrounded by the heavenly host, caught his eye.
Beautiful white horses—Pegasus steeds—pulled the chariot leisurely through the sky.
A man stepped down from the chariot as it halted in midair. His indigo hair flowed long, and he wore an indigo toga.
Though merely a memory, Siegfried struggled just to remain standing in his presence.
"Diablo Volpir!"
The man bellowed.
His voice carried immense power; merely hearing it felt like one's soul might flee the body.
The man continued.
"You filthy vermin. You suffered a crushing defeat once. If you barely survived, you should've crawled into some deep, dark hole and rotted away there. What nerve brings you before me again!"
At his words, the pitch-black army halted.
In stark contrast to the heavenly army's sanctity, an oppressive gloom swelled enormously.
Then, atop the head of a colossal beast, a man appeared.
Siegfried knew at once it was Diablo Volpir.
He was too distant to see clearly, but he had jet-black hair, a purple robe, and gripped a staff radiating powerful mana.
At a glance, he was no ordinary man. Diablo Volpir replied to the god.
"I have."
Purple-black mana erupted around Diablo Volpir.
"Returned to reclaim human dignity from the likes of you."
Zenith laughed at those words.
"Pathetic wretch. No matter how you struggle, humanity's fate is sealed."
"Humanity's fate isn't so trivial that fakes like you can dictate it."
"Hahahaha! How pitiful, Diablo Volpir. You, who once claimed to lead humanity, still yearn for their future even after being abandoned by your own kind! They're trash! Ungrateful vermin! Nothing but pests to be exterminated! And yet you champion them!"
"I understand their position."
Diablo Volpir rose into the air.
The morale rising from the army of darkness swelled massively, beginning to threaten the heavenly host.
Zenith seemed slightly flustered, as if he hadn't anticipated this.
Siegfried swallowed dryly, watching the two forces.
"Thus, I..."
Diablo Volpir raised his staff skyward.
"Will fight you. For our future—for humanity's future. So die, Zenith."
Darkness exploded.
"Dismember that bastard and bring his limbs before me!"
Zenith commanded, and the heavenly army charged.
Diablo Volpir issued no orders to his army.
He simply unleashed purple-glowing eyes and advanced alone toward the heavenly host.
The army of darkness silently followed their master.
Unrecorded in history.
The prelude to a cataclysmic war from ancient times unfolded before Siegfried's eyes.
Vast light and darkness intertwined, birthing chaos.
The immense chaos was too blinding to stare at directly. Siegfried reached out toward it. He wanted to witness more, to see the war's conclusion.
But as if denying him further, his body was pulled elsewhere.
"This place..."
The world burned.
Twelve lights hovered in the sky, and Diablo Volpir, stained in blood, collapsed upon the scorched earth.
The twelve lights swirled around, encircling him.
-It's over, Diablo Volpir.
A neutral voice, neither male nor female, echoed.
Diablo, sprawled on the ground, laboriously lifted his head. Half his face was caked in blood, yet he still smiled.
"Kukuku. Indeed, it has come to this."
-Don't try any tricks! I told you, you would fall in the end.
Zenith's seething voice mocked him.
Diablo sneered back.
"You, who nearly died by my hand several times, now hide behind the other gods and yap? How pathetic, Zenith. Utterly pathetic."
-You damned—!
-Enough.
As Zenith bristled to retort, the initial voice intervened.
-...Tch.
Evidently lower in the hierarchy, Zenith could only click his tongue.
Diablo didn't let him off.
"You're nothing but Ra's hunting dog. No, even that's too generous—a mere lapdog, perhaps?"
-Shut your mouth!
-Diablo, cease your provocations. Your struggles change nothing.
Blocking Zenith's outburst once more, the voice warned Diablo.
The other gods silently observed.
Diablo braced his hands against the ground, straining to rise.
But having exhausted all his power, his trembling arms gave out, and he collapsed again.
-You fought well. Now, sleep deeply.
The voice soothed him.
Diablo's face twisted in humiliation. To receive pity from his enemies—his hated foes no less—was galling.
The voice spoke again.
-We shall seal you away.
Diablo laughed.
"Even ganging up on me, you couldn't kill just one like me."
His purple eyes brimmed with murderous intent as he glared fiercely at the Twelve Gods.
"Fine. Seal me. But when I awaken once more!"
The black sorcerer grinned more viciously, venting his rage in a warning.
"Your radiant light will turn pitch black, and in despair, you'll beg for the death you can't attain!"
The voice replied.
-...We'll see.
The sealing light from the Twelve Gods enveloped Diablo Volpir.
"No!"
Siegfried instinctively reached to block the light. But being of the real world, he couldn't intervene in a memory.
The light consumed everything, and Siegfried shielded his face with his arms, unable to open his eyes.
And then.
"Elder."
"Ah."
Siegfried returned to reality.
He stared blankly into space for a moment.
The shocking scene had left him so stunned that even back in reality, he couldn't collect his thoughts.
Was what he'd just witnessed truly what had happened?
He looked at Jamie.
Currently, a fragile child who couldn't even twitch a finger.
For an instant, the face of Diablo Volpir—black hair, purple eyes—overlapped with that small visage.
"Did you see it?"
"...Was that really the young master?"
There was no doubting it was fabricated memory. What Jamie had shown pulled deep-seated recollections to the surface.
Even a master of mental manipulation couldn't tamper with such profound memories.
'No. With Diablo Volpir's abilities, it might be possible.'
He'd only glimpsed a fragment, but the power displayed had profoundly shocked Siegfried.
Especially that overwhelming might rivaling the Twelve Gods—it was unbelievable for a fellow mage.
To think such a powerhouse had existed.
Facing the Twelve Gods was shocking enough, but Diablo's impression overshadowed them.
Yet the current Jamie was not Diablo Volpir. He was so frail by comparison it felt unfair.
Whether "frail" suited a grand mage who'd reached 7th Class was debatable, but Siegfried was deeply disappointed in his present power.
'I don't know when it was, but it was an era overflowing with terrifyingly strong beings.'
Setting aside the heavenly army, Diablo's forces of darkness.
Every single one was a monster on par with or surpassing him.
He half-suspected it was all a dream.
"It wasn't a dream."
Jamie read Siegfried's expression and spoke.
"66,666 years before I was born, this actually happened on this land."
"66,666 years...?"
"An unfathomably distant past. Even the Mythic Age known in today's world is treated as mere myth."
Jamie forcibly propped himself up.
"Young master!"
"I-I'm fine."
While Siegfried was lost in the memories, he'd used holy power and black mana to make his body somewhat movable.
Though leaning against a thick pillow on the wall was the extent of it.
"Hoo."
Jamie exhaled briefly and continued.
"It's the memory of an era when humanity had fallen into slavery under the Twelve Gods."
"Humans were slaves?"
"Not 'were.' Humans are still slaves to the Twelve Gods. They've built and toppled civilizations multiple times, refining humanity to their tastes."
"What do you... There are humans like me who don't follow any god."
"But you know of their existence. That alone nourishes their divinity. Modern humans are designed that way."
It was a shocking revelation.
Siegfried couldn't believe it, but the boy before him was the sole human who'd opposed the Twelve Gods in his past life.
"They exist to pursue eternity in this world. Humans are mere slaves—or livestock—to fulfill that purpose."
"Such... But don't the Twelve Gods bestow many blessings upon their faithful followers?"
"Humans feed their livestock too."
It felt like a hammer blow to the head.
As Siegfried fell silent, Jamie pressed on.
"Above all, humanity is already under surveillance."
"...By the church orders?"
"Not wrong, per se. Humans distrust each other, reporting sins to their gods as mutual checks. But I mean surveillance by force."
"Surveillance by force?"
"Dragons. Priests of the Dragon God Brahman. That race was created solely to monitor humans."
Jamie gazed at Siegfried with purple-tinged eyes.
"They hold humanity's leash. The problem is, I have no knowledge of the blank period right after my sealing until the current civilization arose on the continent."
"You mean the world from 10,000 years ago?"
"Yes. Apparently, there's a restriction. The moment I try to uncover it, I'm detected by the keywords the Twelve Gods planted, and dragons intervene."
"Is that true?"
At that instant, Simon Count appeared, piercing the soundproofing spell.
His eyes trembled as he stared at Jamie and asked again.
"I asked if that's true."
It was information for Simon anyway.
Jamie nodded.
"Humans live fenced in by the vast continent, under dragon surveillance. They're too weak to notice the transcendent race watching them."
Some great nations were surely already secretly dealing with dragons.
Dealing in name only—unilateral transactions.
But since it wasn't public, he omitted that.
Jamie looked at Simon.
His clenched fists trembled as he bowed his head, then he began to laugh.
"Kukuku. Kuhuhuhu!"
It wasn't like the usual Simon.
He laughed grotesquely several times, then fixed Jamie with wide eyes.
"As expected. Our suspicions were correct."
"...Our suspicions?"
Siegfried squinted at Simon, who grinned back gleefully.
"Elder Siegfried. I apologize for not approaching you earlier, deeming you unready to believe. But now, it doesn't matter."
He turned to Jamie.
"Jamie Welton."
"Speak."
"I have people to introduce you to."
"...Introduce?"
"Yes. Those who wish to make humans the true masters of this absurd world. I am one of them, but not all."
Humans who had already glimpsed the world's truth?
"And... We've been watching you for a long time."
"Me?"
With utmost conviction, he pointed at Jamie.
"The being who appeared to save humanity. That's you, Jamie Welton."