The Sacred Waters of Imperium Barneis
Kim Hwang-je followed the Leather Artisan into the bathhouse and felt a flicker of surprise.
He had expected an ordinary bath, but it was an open-air one.
Snow-capped mountain ranges stretched high into the distance, reminiscent of the Alps.
A winter forest thick with conifers spread before them, and the sound of cold water flowing between the peaks echoed softly.
At the center stood a glass structure housing a hinoki cypress tub and a marble table.
Above the tub, marble statues of previous emperors were arranged in a circle on the shelves.
“Whoa…”
Ancient Legendary Facility
A private bathhouse created by the Leather Artisan exclusively for the Emperor. It strengthens the Emperor’s body and produces special imperial items. The facility’s scale is linked to the prosperity of the empire and the Emperor it serves. When the empire thrives, it manifests grandly; when the empire weakens, it shrinks.
Ah. So that’s how it works.
Kim Hwang-je pressed against the glass and gazed up at the mountains.
Even though the bathhouse itself was small, after spending so much time at sea, the sight of mountains felt strangely refreshing.
“Your Majesty. After countless ages, the gates of Imperium Barneis have opened once more.”
“It’s been… closed for a long time, then?”
“Indeed. Since the fall of the empire, by my count alone, a thousand years have passed.”
“A thousand years?”
“I have slumbered all this time, waiting for the right moment.”
Suddenly, a tear rolled down the aged artisan’s cheek.
“But look, Your Majesty. Though glory has departed, you have returned to this venerable place!”
“It looks fine to me. This is the best bathhouse I’ve ever seen.”
He hadn’t said it just to comfort the man. This was the place the Leather Artisan had prepared day after day, longing for Kim Hwang-je’s arrival.
A single wooden tub, a marble floor, and display shelves. It was small and simple, yet the warm breeze, the scent of wet cypress, and the gentle steam felt wonderfully refreshing.
“Your Majesty, I am truly ashamed. So many treasures have been lost. I wished to present you with the full splendor of the past…”
“Come on, what kind of treasures belong in a bathhouse? It’s fine. Stop selling yourself short while you’re working. Let’s just get started.”
“…I am deeply moved.”
The Leather Artisan bowed his head.
Kim Hwang-je examined the decorations above the tub.
“All the statues are naked. Did none of the emperors complain about being stripped like that?”
“Your Majesty, nudity represents the Emperor’s purity. Besides, none may enter this place except the reigning Emperor and his personal bath artisan. Ah, of course, the noble Guardian Dragon is an exception.”
“Hehehe! Is that so? Well, yeah~ I’m pure, after all!”
Poyu flapped over and sprawled across a small cradle-like table, swinging his tail while gnawing on gold coins.
What a greedy little dragon!
“Poyu, having fun?”
Kim Hwang-je scooped water from the cypress tub and poured it over him. Poyu giggled and shook himself vigorously.
“……”
Kim Hwang-je’s gaze drifted to the statue standing directly above the table where Poyu lay.
It was a marble figure of the Empress, her long hair flowing as she carried three swords at her waist.
Naked, yet armed… She hadn’t set aside her weapons even in the bath.
What kind of turbulent era had she lived through?
Because she was nude, Kim Hwang-je felt awkward and looked away.
The Leather Artisan spoke.
“The last Emperor fell in battle a thousand years ago while slaying the Sloth Dragon Tartanius, servant of the Demon King Azazel. Since then, the empire has fractured into countless kingdoms.”
“And after that?”
“After that, my clan fell into slumber, awaiting the proper time.”
Kim Hwang-je didn’t know the Sloth Dragon, but he knew of Azazel. The Demon King of the Wastes who had kidnapped Benedict’s children, corrupted them, and spent long years destroying the empire.
So the last Emperor had died fighting his dragon, and the empire had ultimately fallen.
Kim Hwang-je glanced at his necklace, but Benedict remained silent. This was an Emperor-only space, after all.
“Your Majesty, while I prepare, please change. Afterward, you may enter the bath and allow your body to swell…”
“The bath is… a bit…”
No, extremely inconvenient.
“Understood. A robe has also been prepared, so please proceed however you feel most comfortable. Since this is a magical cleansing, there is no need to soak.”
In other words, he could enter naked or wear the robe.
“Hmm, there’s something I need to say… No, later.”
How was he supposed to bring it up?
What would the artisan say when he saw the whirlwind galaxy?
Still, Kim Hwang-je steeled himself.
He donned the robe and stepped onto the cleansing platform.
The floor was inscribed with seven concentric circles of intricate runes, each line connected by magical threads to altars bearing offerings from across the empire.
Though the altars stood empty, they still glowed with residual power.
The Leather Artisan began chanting.
“The Emperor’s sacred body is the Leviathan, and the empire shelters him even as he protects the empire. Glory to the one who rules above all beneath the single holy light!”
Leviathan. He’d heard that name somewhere before.
Soon the platform was enveloped in majestic light and smoke.
“……”
Why was this so over-the-top?
Wasn’t this just supposed to be a regular scrubbing?
It felt less like a bath platform and more like an altar for human sacrifice.
“I shall serve you to the utmost. Soap Clone Technique!”
Bubble, bubble.
Foam rose from the prepared soap, and the Leather Artisan split into eight copies.
Four clones tended to Poyu while four approached Kim Hwang-je.
They drew forth towels embroidered with beautiful patterns and snapped them together with crisp sounds.
“Now then, Your Majesty, you may disrobe.”
“U-uh…”
Ah, this was embarrassing.
Kim Hwang-je removed his robe.
A swirling wind traced a circle and vanished between his legs.
Even as he watched the white steam of the beautiful bathhouse twist and dissipate, the Leather Artisan remained silent.
“……”
Strangely quiet.
Without a word, the artisan began scrubbing Kim Hwang-je’s body with the towel as he lay there.
Kim Hwang-je felt the satisfying sensation of long-dead skin peeling away, yet the mood remained awkward.
Kim Hwang-je spoke.
“It’s coming back. I made a mistake during construction earlier.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Leather Artisan offered no further comment.
Kim Hwang-je shuddered with dread.
“It really is coming back.”
If the man reacted so calmly, it made Kim Hwang-je sound like he was lying!
“Of course, Your Majesty. Please turn over at your leisure.”
Was he supposed to be grateful?
Should he feel relieved that the artisan hadn’t burst into tears like the others?
Ah.
To accept everything about the person who entrusted their body to you.
So this was the dignity of the Leather Artisan…
Kim Hwang-je suddenly felt guilty for having chased away the fisherman and his subordinates who had come to boil the bathwater.
He surrendered himself to the warmth slowly spreading through him.
Yet a small tear traced down his temple.
“Kyaaah! It tickles~”
Poyu laughed happily beside him, completely oblivious to the mood.
“…This is your hometown, isn’t it, Sister?”
Park Su-ah said to Gemini.
Gemini looked down at the completely ruined Sinal Port.
The only things reminiscent of the past in this village were the yellow sandy beach and the white waves.
“When I was little, I hated the sea. I wanted to live in the forest like Grandmother.”
Gemini’s blue hair fluttered in the sea breeze.
“But after I grew older, I came to love this city. This is where I learned magic and began my adventures. Do you see it?”
“Yes, Sister.”
Where Gemini pointed stood a single burned-out guild hall.
“That was the Adventurers’ Guild where I first set out on an adventure. They used to mark the start of each day with the ringing of bells.”
Because it was built of stone, the frame remained, but the bell that had once hung there was nowhere to be seen.
The once-bustling hall was now filled with crushed monster corpses, burned and shattered into pulp.
It looked as though it had been caught in a tsunami of bodies.
Flies swarmed, and the stench of rot hung heavy in the air.
“……”
Park Su-ah couldn’t find the words.
Gemini scooped up a handful of soil from the ground.
“Of course, almost everyone from this port fled to the royal capital. What remained here was Count Bahu’s fleet. Thanks to Bahu farming here and attacking the orc ships, the capital was able to hold out as long as it did.”
“Bahu… you mean that…”
“Yes. He may look like that now, but he was once the most trustworthy man in this kingdom.”
“What about His Majesty?”
“Huhu…”
Gemini smiled.
“Lord Dave is a glass cannon.”
“Pardon?”
“That’s why we must help him. Now then… let’s purify this place first.”
Gemini snapped her fingers.
Bang-!
Red blood sprayed into the air as heads exploded in the forest.
Dozens of goblins hiding in the undergrowth had their brains boiled and burst.
Park Su-ah swallowed hard.
“His Majesty wants more slaves, but I’ve decided not to leave any monsters here alive.”
Gemini spoke without looking at her.
“Now, let’s return this village to memory. Begin.”
The mages who had followed Gemini drew magic circles on the hill according to her orders.
Standing at the center of the circle, Gemini spoke.
“The ancient divine beast, the phoenix, was reborn in flames. May its blessing descend upon Sinal.”
Gemini chanted the spell she had prepared.
“O phoenix, take away all our regret, sorrow, and resentment. Burn them in light and show us the path to new rebirth.”
She floated the ruby bird she had specially prepared into the air as a catalyst.
Soon, power from the magic circle flowed into the ruby bird, transforming it into a massive phoenix that covered Sinal.
The flames emitted no black smoke.
Instead, they sparkled like countless rubies.
The phoenix did not burn the buildings.
It cleanly incinerated only the filthy grime and corpses clinging to them.
“Ah…”
What remained after the phoenix vanished was a fragrance.
“…We’re starting from the beginning. With courage.”
Gemini gripped her staff tightly as she gazed at her hometown.
“We’ve arrived. Let’s go.”
The Blind-Eyed Hunter said.
He pointed toward a convoy of containers approaching from afar.
Trucks were streaming in along the magical road Gemini had prepared in advance.
“Yes, servant of His Majesty.”
Guided by the Hunter, Gemini headed toward the cave where the Emperor’s subordinates were scheduled to enter.
Beyond the tunnel lay a snowy country—no, an autumn kingdom.
“Strange. How come the autumn leaves still haven’t fallen here?”
The lead knight spoke into his radio.
They had passed through a snowy landscape and entered a massive cave, yet inside was a forest where the autumn foliage had not yet fallen.
“GPS isn’t working either?”
“Cell phones aren’t getting much signal.”
“Is this a military zone?”
“I heard that Kim Hwang-je guy received this land as his own.”
“Wow, then he’s basically a king, isn’t he?”
“Jealous. I want to awaken too!”
“Ah, don’t talk so loud over the radio.”
This was a massive construction project worth over 800 billion won.
Dozens of dump trucks alone were hauling materials.
On top of that, containers were lined up, ready to pass through the tunnel.
“From the tunnel entrance, there was white cloth hanging, and the inside looks weird too.”
“White cloth?”
“Didn’t you see it?”
“I did. That was cloth? I thought it was just construction plastic.”
“Well, our job is just moving cargo, so let’s not worry about it.”
In truth, they had merely hung cloth made from Kim Hwang-je’s sacred fragments over some random mountain.
They were now heading toward Sinal Port.
“The road is weird too. It’s all stone pavement.”
“Looks like it was just built.”
It really had been.
Gemini had created the road with magic.
“Alright, there’s no warehouse here, so let’s just unload the materials first.”
“Whoa, look at that equipment. The Hunter seems serious about this. What kind of gear is that?”
“I’ve never seen an excavator that big before! Did Korea even have something like that?”
The Celestial Fork Crane was a three-story-tall machine.
As it demolished an old building, the truck drivers’ eyes widened.
“Alright, everything’s unloaded, so let’s hand it over to the site foreman and head out!”
An enormous quantity of materials and trucks dumped their cargo in one corner and departed.
Kim Hwang-je had not hired separate workers for this massive construction project.
Once they left, he moved the citizens who had been hiding in the forest to the construction site.
They donned hard hats and leather armor before being deployed to the site.
There were plenty of people in the royal capital ready to work, and the kingdom would run on the food they earned.
Foreman Park Jo-woon addressed the gathered laborers.
“Everyone! This project will turn this port into a natural fortress in a short time. His Majesty will pay you four fairy coins per day along with meals!”
“Four coins! Four coins!”
They had already carried out thorough construction work in the royal capital.
Moreover, they would receive four fairy coins a day!
That amounted to 120 coins a month—an unimaginable sum.
“Four coins! Four coins!”
“Alright, alright, settle down. I’ll show you how it’s done, so follow my lead!”
Park Jo-woon first demonstrated how to install the barriers.
The barriers were once soundproof walls used along Seoul’s outer expressways.
Back then, they had merely been tools to block noise.
But after the monster flood, thick steel plates had been inserted between heavy H-beams so they could be quickly assembled in the field.
In addition, they had procured portable generators that ran on oil.
“So this is the oil our Emperor is selling? My god, our country’s become an oil-producing nation now!”
Park Jo-woon poured the oil into the generator and pressed the button.
The generator hummed smoothly and belched smoke.
Once electricity flowed, the searchlights and red warning lights on the barriers lit up brightly.
“Huh?”
Kim Hwang-je stared in surprise at the alarm window.
Your Majesty, where did you acquire such a peculiar substance?
This oil is exceptionally potent.
Electricity generated from this oil comes with a special bonus!
The walls of Sinal Port now carry Hangma Electricity.
“Why is the electricity demon-subduing?”
Kim Hwang-je tilted his head at the message.
“Don’t tell me it’s because of the oil?”
Was it because gold coins had gone into the oil barrels?
Kim Hwang-je scratched his head.
“Boss? Is there a problem?”
Seo Jun-seo asked from beside him.
“Did the oil run out?”
“Yes. We sold all of it this afternoon. They took it after inspection, saying they would set the price afterward.”
This afternoon, Lost had come and installed additional oil refining facilities on the FPSO.
Thanks to that, some of the crude oil had been refined and sent to Sinal, while the rest had been taken away for inspection.
No one could have imagined that the oil would change the properties of the electricity…
“Well, if it’s Hangma Electricity, that’s a good thing, right? Nothing bad about it.”
Kim Hwang-je decided to think positively.
“Anyway, let’s focus on stopping the wave first!”
The dark clouds of the rift were slowly approaching the royal capital!