Eyeless Overseer (2)
"Stop, Warrior Chief!!!"
The Guard Captain cried out in horror and hurled himself forward to block the Warrior Chief.
But it was too late.
The Warrior Chief's feet had turned to sand.
Once he was in that state, no one could catch up to him in speed.
The world seemed to slow down in the Guard Captain's eyes.
Beyond his uselessly flailing arms, he saw the Warrior Chief's face, veins bulging with rage.
Fueled by fury at the prince who had killed his daughter, the man had raised his curved sword high to bring it slashing down.
The blade would soon cleave through the prince's flesh.
And when it did, the Sun God's Wrath would activate.
The Sun God's Wrath was an automatic defense mechanism engraved into the emperor's children by the Sun God himself.
No one from the imperial bloodline could die.
A blaze of solar light would erupt from Prince Marwan's heart, shielding him and obliterating everything around.
Is that your goal, Warrior Chief? Even if he couldn't kill Marwan, it made sense if the aim was to thin his forces and inflict damage. After all, the villa was currently packed with elite warriors, including the Guard Captain's men.
By then, the Warrior Chief had closed in right up to Marwan.
The Guard Captain squeezed his eyes shut in helpless frustration.
At the same moment, the Warrior Chief's curved sword began its descent.
But.
The Warrior Chief's curved sword.
At the very last instant.
Veered off course.
The blade of rage failed to strike Prince Marwan, slicing through empty air instead.
It was the Warrior Chief's own wrist that had twisted it aside.
Was it because Marwan himself had bestowed this sword upon him?
Because the prince had elevated him from slavery to Warrior Chief?
Because he'd allowed the Warrior Chief's daughter—nearly sold off to a brothel—to be appointed as a scribe?
The Warrior Chief was bewildered.
Hadn't all those debts been repaid the moment his daughter was murdered?
Shwick—!
In the next instant, the Guard Captain—who had lunged to protect the prince—grabbed the Warrior Chief by the scruff of the neck and slammed him into the floor.
Bam!!!!
"Warrior Chief!! I hereby sentence you to execution for high treason, right here and now!!!"
The Guard Captain bellowed, severing every tendon to render him immobile.
The Warrior Chief was soon fully bound and offered no resistance.
Prince Marwan remained silent amid the chaos, showing not even a flicker of surprise.
He stayed just as composed when a soldier burst in moments later with his report.
Bang—!
The conference room door flew open.
"Y-Your Highness...!!"
A soldier kicked the door wide and rushed in, his face drained of color.
The scene inside this secret chamber was chaotic enough to behold, but the report he carried seemed no less shocking.
"You fool! How dare a wretch like you set foot in here?!"
The Chief Official roared in fury, but the soldier didn't leave—instead, he threw himself flat on the floor.
"S-Something's happened in Lord Alkamus's chambers... utter pandemonium...!"
Alkamus was the necromancer Prince Marwan had recruited for the Demon King Tower subjugation plan.
He was the very reason this mess had unfolded in the first place—the Warrior Chief's suggestion to split the forces had set it all off.
The Guard Captain whipped his head around at the name.
"What happened?"
"Screams have been echoing nonstop from the basement. Patrol soldiers went in to check... but no one's come out... not a single one...!"
"You barge in here for that? Commit seppuku this instant."
"Y-Yes, as you command... but..."
The soldier trembled violently as he forced the words out.
"If this lowly one dies... there won't be a single soldier left to guard this villa..."
The Warrior Chief, Guard Captain, and Chief Official stared in utter confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
"Everyone who entered Lord Alkamus's room... I'm the only one who didn't..."
At Marwan's command, everyone except the Chief Official headed to Alkamus's location.
Yet for some reason, the bound Warrior Chief was made to come along.
On the way, they confirmed the soldier's words were true.
Corridors. Gardens. Stairwells. Doorways.
Not a single soldier remained in the villa.
*
The villa's basement, chilled with an eerie aura.
Before Necromancer Alkamus's chambers.
Creeeak—
The iron door swung open, unleashing a wave of blood stench and putrid decay.
"Crunch. Rip. Slurp."
In the center of the room.
An elderly man with wild white hair crouched on the floor, greedily tearing into something.
They were the child slaves the Warrior Chief had provided, along with the elite soldiers guarding the villa.
The corpses lay piled high across the floor.
Everyone witnessed the gruesome sight.
"Urk..."
The Guard Captain recoiled in horror, drawing his weapon and bellowing.
"You mad old bastard!! What the hell have you done to our warriors?!"
Alkamus grinned ear-to-ear, black blood dripping from his lips.
"Hee hee hee. I merely followed orders..."
"Well done, Alkamus."
As everyone recoiled in shock, the third prince stepped forward to praise the necromancer.
"To triumph over all my elites? You truly live up to the rumors of a legendary black mage."
"Kekeke. Your Highness has arrived."
Alkamus dangled a severed soldier's arm, slick with gore.
The Guard Captain bellowed to intervene, but Prince Marwan gripped his shoulder.
Alkamus continued.
"As expected of a wise ruler. It must have been hard to slaughter your cherished subordinates with the Sun God's Wrath yourself!!"
Everyone blinked in bewilderment at the words.
"Haha. Alkamus, you're right—I might just be a saintly king. Even after I beheaded his daughter, the Warrior Chief couldn't bring himself to kill me."
The Guard Captain, listening in, found the exchange utterly baffling.
But one fact pierced through.
Prince Marwan deliberately tried to trigger the Sun God's Wrath.
Even so, he couldn't fathom why the prince—a madman though he might be—would sacrifice all his elite soldiers.
Marwan nodded toward Alkamus, who spoke up.
"Shall I finish them off for you? Kekeke..."
"No issue now that the Warrior Chief's subdued, right?"
"I'm deeply grateful for lightening my load..."
The Guard Captain's face turned ashen.
The Warrior Chief, sensing what was coming, murmured.
"To serve Your Highness even in death... it's the greatest honor for a slave like me."
No one knew when it had started. His loyalty to Marwan had burrowed into his bones, beyond measure.
But Marwan ignored the Warrior Chief's final words, eyes fixed on Alkamus.
"Alkamus! Begin!"
"Kekekeke! As you command, Your Highness!"
Alkamus scattered green mana across the floor.
Cracklerattle! Kwash—! As the mana seeped in, the corpses—freshly devoured by the necromancer—began to twitch and rise. Green glows ignited in the mangled flesh of the fallen elites.
"Your Highness! Why are you doing this?! I can still be of use to you! We must subjugate the Demon King Tower together...!"
Marwan replied innocently.
"Of course! Just as you say—you'll subjugate the Demon King Tower with me from inside."
The Guard Captain paled, uncomprehending.
"Kekekeke! Devour him alive!"
At Alkamus's command, the undead horde lunged at the Guard Captain en masse. All escape was cut off.
"Stay back, you filth!!"
The Guard Captain swung his sword with desperate fury.
By now, the bound Warrior Chief was already swarmed by undead.
Clang—! Slaaash—! The Guard Captain severed necks and shredded flesh. But the pain-immune corpses clutched at his ankles.
"Gaaahhh!!!"
Tears of blood streamed down as he screamed. When his sword arm hung in tatters, Alkamus's shadow loomed behind him. A black-green mana tendril lanced from the necromancer's fingertips, piercing the Guard Captain's back and impaling his heart.
"Guhk...!"
Spitting black blood, the Guard Captain glared at Prince Marwan with eyes full of resentment before his head lolled lifelessly.
Every soul in the room breathed their last, save Marwan and Alkamus. The necromancer cackled grotesquely, arms spread wide.
"Now, Your Highness—the time for harvest!"
Green mist rose from the dozens of elite corpses strewn about, including the freshly slain Guard Captain and Warrior Chief. It was the essence of their lifelong martial prowess.
Alkamus swept his hands, condensing the energy into a massive orb in midair.
"Feast upon it!!"
The colossal mass of power poured into Prince Marwan's mouth like a waterfall.
"Aaaaaahhhh!!!"
Marwan groaned in agony, ecstasy gleaming in his eyes.
*
Quite some time passed.
Finally, heaving ragged breaths, Prince Marwan lifted his head. His eyes burned with a sharpness beyond compare.
The air around him rippled with an overwhelming aura he could no longer suppress.
He had absorbed all his soldiers' prowess, reborn as a superhuman.
"With this power, it's possible."
Marwan clenched and unclenched his fist, smirking in satisfaction.
He craved the throne.
For that, he needed his own martial might.
The Sahad Empire's emperor could claim the title of Sun God because he alone had reached the Demon King Tower 100F Golden Vault—and among those who arrived, he was the only one to open the massive golden chest whose contents no one else had seen.
"We'll march on the Demon King Tower as is, Alkamus."