Chapter 372: The Southern Tomb (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 372: The Southern Tomb (6)
Roman Dmitry's statement had crossed the line.
The Emperor of Valhalla spoke in a fierce, low voice. "You have just made a grave mistake."
"Is that so? If you had seen the records from the tomb, you would understand why I am saying this," Roman replied. "Stern Valhalla, the man this empire condemned as a tyrant, was merely a puppet. While that doesn't absolve him of his sins, it does mean there is an entity out there who directly benefits from you ascending the throne."
"Roman Dmitry! What utter nonsense is this?!" he shrieked in fury.
The man standing before him was the hero who had saved Valhalla. The Emperor had intended to treat him as a benefactor, but he absolutely could not tolerate such a blatant accusation.
"I risked my life for Valhalla! Stern Valhalla—no matter what tragic backstory he might have had, I couldn't just stand by and watch his atrocities plunge my people into suffering! Me, the only one who benefited? I lost everything in this rebellion! My soldiers, my people, my wealth. I stepped over mountains of corpses and stained my own hands with blood, enduring endless pain and trials. You, of all people, should know that best. How dare you utter such words!"
Magic rippled around them, forming a soundproof barrier. No one else could hear their conversation.
"And in the first place, this rebellion did not start of my own will. Sanchez came to me and suggested we rise up, and I heard that you were the one who spearheaded that idea, Roman Dmitry. Did you plot to bring down Valhalla from the very beginning? Because otherwise, you couldn't possibly point to me as the mastermind behind all this."
His voice was passionate and heated. Glaring as if ready to devour his opponent alive, the Emperor of Valhalla poured out his grievances.
However, Roman Dmitry remained perfectly calm. After listening to the entire outburst, he replied with unshakable composure.
"I will now tell you the three points that raised my suspicions."
He had pondered over the records of the Valhalla Emperors countless times. Amidst this intricately tangled situation, Roman Dmitry had discovered several glaring anomalies.
"First, as I mentioned earlier, if Stern Valhalla was someone's puppet, and if Cortes Valhalla chose his fourteenth son—a man of no help to Valhalla's future—for some grand design, then even the act of discarding him must have been orchestrated to benefit someone. If so, no matter how much you lost, there is no entity on this continent who benefited more than you, the man who ultimately ascended the throne. Even I, who eliminated an enemy hostile to Dmitry, or the Kronos Empire, which saw one of the continent's two great pillars weakened, cannot compare to your gains."
"That is absurd..."
"Second," Roman cut him off. His overbearing attitude made it clear the Emperor was to shut up and listen until the end.
"The greatest benefit you gained upon ascending the throne is an alliance with Dmitry. Since we overcame the rebellion together, the mastermind behind Stern Valhalla can now put forward a new puppet trusted by Dmitry, rather than keeping a former emperor who was openly hostile to us. This claim is supported by the records of Canellas Valhalla. The Kronos Empire has intervened in Valhalla's history from the very beginning. If their influence persists to this day, this rebellion could simply be a stepping stone for their upcoming continental conquest."
It was still nothing more than a hypothesis—an absurd scenario. But because of his third point, Roman Dmitry judged it to be a highly plausible truth.
"Third is the question regarding the 'beautiful ending' that Valhalla desired. The people of Valhalla all wished for your rebellion to succeed. They wanted you to survive to the end, overthrow the evil Emperor, and ascend the throne. But in reality, that was impossible. When the former emperor aggressively pushed Hernad, some said my actions saved you from the abyss of despair. That is partially true. I did have that intention, but I had genuinely judged that Hernad could not hold out, and I made the harsh decision to abandon you. I figured that if you somehow survived, it would be the ideal outcome, but if you didn't, it couldn't be helped."
Yet, against all odds, the rebel army survived. They defeated the Emperor's forces and marched upon the capital.
"When I checked later, the state of Hernad was even more disastrous than I had imagined. So, a question naturally arose. Is it really possible to hold out like that, clinging to the walls of a fortress whose defenses were already completely depleted, solely through sheer willpower? Could this beautiful, noble story of the rebels surviving by a hair's breadth actually be a pre-written script? Emperor of Valhalla, the realistic story should have ended with your death at Hernad. But since you survived to the end and ascended the throne, these questions are unavoidable."
The relationship was officially fractured. From the moment he brought up such a sensitive issue directly to the Emperor's face, Roman Dmitry had a firm purpose in mind.
"I didn't start this conversation to hear your honest answer. You wouldn't tell the truth based on mere suspicion unsupported by evidence anyway. Whether it is true or not that you are the mastermind behind the rebellion doesn't matter. I intend to eliminate what I find bothersome right here and now."
*
It was a shocking declaration. Just because of a mere suspicion, he was threatening to kill the Emperor of Valhalla. In this rapidly escalating situation, the Emperor could not simply dismiss the man's words as a bluff.
Roman Dmitry. What kind of person was he?
If he said he would kill, he killed. Judging by his past actions, he was not someone who cared about the lofty status of an emperor. Both the Emperor of Valhalla and Roman Dmitry knew the truth of this moment: Roman had made a threat to intimidate him, but if the Emperor failed to convince him, Roman would truly carry it out.
He had completely flipped the board. By shifting the burden of explanation onto his opponent, Roman Dmitry boldly seized total control of the situation.
Valhalla was an entity that had to be brought to its knees eventually anyway. He had simply chosen the most extreme path to do so. There was no timeline where Roman accepted the Emperor of Valhalla while harboring such bothersome doubts.
Either explain and convince him, or die on this spot. The choice belonged entirely to the Emperor.
Watching Roman Dmitry slowly approach, the Emperor of Valhalla suddenly let out an incredulous laugh.
"Heh, heheheh. Fuck, you're damn quick-witted."
His demeanor completely shifted. The face of a proud, righteous warrior melted away, replaced by a visage twisted with dark greed as he looked at Roman Dmitry.
"How could you reach such a conclusion without a single shred of hard evidence? Roman Dmitry... Let me tell you in advance, our conversation is protected by my magic. It's not just that our voices can't be heard; to anyone watching us right now, we appear to be having a completely different, mundane conversation."
He had taken off his mask. Revealing his true nature, he scratched his head vigorously and sighed in irritation.
"I thought it was a perfect plan, but to think it would be exposed like this... Yes, this is exactly why you've been so bothersome ever since I first heard of you. Eyes that hide all thoughts, and actions that constantly defy expectations. 'We' were certain that you would become an obstacle to our grand plan."
"Let me ask you one thing," Roman said.
"Speak."
"Why did you put Stern Valhalla on the throne? You could have conquered Valhalla without resorting to such a convoluted method."
"A mere human mind could never understand the grand plan. But as a reward for reaching the truth, I will show you something interesting. The truth of Stern Valhalla, and what really happened behind the scenes of the rebellion."
Whoosh!
Mana surged violently. Fragments of memories began to replay directly before Roman Dmitry's eyes.
"Enjoy the show."
*
It was that day. The day Stern Valhalla first became known as a madman.
Stern Valhalla, who had been pretending to sleep, finally caught the culprit who had been placing mutilated animal carcasses by his bedside.
Grab.
"Caught you!"
He felt no resistance. The culprit was a man with a familiar face. Upon closer inspection, it was the servant who usually handled Stern Valhalla's daily chores. Even after being caught red-handed, the servant merely stared blankly with an indifferent expression. He offered no explanation, nor did he show any intention of begging for forgiveness.
Confronted with those dead, emotionless eyes, Stern Valhalla's own eyes instantly flared with madness.
"I'll kill you."
Thud!
He tackled the servant to the ground. Then, he pressed a knife he had prepared beforehand directly against the man's neck.
"Why?! Why are you doing this to me?!" he screamed in sheer desperation. "Did I do something wrong to you? I didn't do anything! I always looked after you! So why are you looking at me with those eyes?!"
This was immediately after he had written the last page of his journal. Stern Valhalla's mind had been gradually eaten away by paranoia. After countless sleepless nights, his sanity had shattered. His head was filled to the brim with murderous intent. Thinking of all the psychological torture he had suffered, he wanted nothing more than to slit the servant's throat right then and there.
"Answer me! Answer me!"
No matter how much he shouted, there was no reply. Seeing the servant shaking under his rough grip like a soulless mannequin, Stern Valhalla tightened his hold on the knife.
He would kill him. Before this drove him to death, he would kill this man first. Gritting his teeth, he prepared to plunge the blade in—but then, Stern Valhalla collapsed backward and burst into a screeching sob.
"Aaaaargh! Please, just leave me alone! Please!"
He simply could not bring himself to take a human life.
No matter how much his sanity had crumbled from the torment, he was not cruel enough to harm others. The good deeds that had once earned him the title of the "Angel in White" were not an act or a desperate struggle for survival. Even setting aside his efforts to avoid being seen as a threat by the other successors, Stern Valhalla genuinely liked living a peaceful life where he could get along amicably with people.
He had dreamed that if Zessus Valhalla ascended the throne, he would ask for a small plot of land on a quiet frontier and live a simple life as a farmer.
But now, his life was completely ruined. Looking at the trembling knife in his hand, he felt as if his mind was tearing at the seams.
It was then.
Crunch!
A halberd struck down from directly behind him, cleaving straight into the servant's body.
*
The owner of the weapon was Duke Vieto. Grabbing the blood-splattered Stern Valhalla by the scruff of his neck, the Duke callously dragged him down the hall.
"You're an impressive fellow, though in a completely different sense," Duke Vieto muttered. "With all the effort we put into breaking you, one would expect you to abandon your humanity, yet you refused to cross that line until the very end. That's exactly why you are the perfect fit. A guy like you falls into an irrecoverable state the moment his mind finally shatters."
Stern couldn't understand. Duke Vieto was known as a fiercely loyal subject of the empire. The sight of a man respected and praised by everyone acting like a demonic thug was incredibly jarring.
In that manner, the rebellion began. At Duke Vieto's command, soldiers swarmed throughout the imperial palace and began slaughtering indiscriminately.
"Kill them all. Make sure no one lives to remember today. Not a single soul must be left alive."
It was a one-sided massacre. The imperial palace was painted in blood as countless people were butchered.
Dragged along by Duke Vieto, Stern Valhalla stared at his surroundings with a vacant, hollow expression. It was a disastrous sight. Servants who had been cheerfully chatting with him just days ago lay torn to pieces, and his brothers, who had fiercely vied for the throne, were reduced to cold corpses.
It was a rebellion. A full-scale slaughter had broken out. In Valhalla, of all places, an absurd tragedy that completely defied the sacred system of succession was taking place.
The footsteps stopped. They had arrived at their destination.
Zessus Valhalla was there.
The Crown Prince of Valhalla, a man who had always been resolute and confident, hastily fell to his knees. His face was pale with absolute terror.
"D-Duke Vieto. Please, spare my life. I will never speak of what happened today to anyone. Please, I beg you! If you just spare my life, I will abandon the name of Zessus and live in exile, far away from the imperial family!" he begged desperately. Rubbing his hands together in frantic supplication, the Crown Prince wailed.
It was then that Duke Vieto leaned close to Stern Valhalla's ear, whispering in a cruel, venomous voice.
"That guy is the culprit. He is the one who tormented you. If he disappears, there will be no one left in Valhalla to hurt you. I promise you. Stern Valhalla, hurry up and kill Zessus Valhalla. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him."
The voice was dripping with madness. His head spun wildly. The psychological torture he had experienced. The pooling blood before his eyes. The countless, senseless deaths.
He completely lost his mind.
Stern Valhalla, who had clung to his sanity until the very bitter end, finally snapped under the continuous demonic whispering.
"...Before I die... I will kill him first."
He couldn't remember clearly what happened next. When he finally came to his senses, Stern Valhalla was staring down at the brutally slaughtered corpse of Zessus Valhalla, his own face drenched in his brother's blood.
A twisted sense of peace found its way into his heart. Only now could he breathe.
On that day, the mad tyrant condemned by the world was born.
*
Whoosh.
The scene shifted. As Stern Valhalla's tragic memories receded, another scene began to play before Roman's eyes.
It showed a very familiar sight.
"Report the situation."
It was a pitch-black space. Seated upon a throne of honor, Alexander looked down at two figures in the dark.