The Vanished Emperors
“A few weeks ago, Heo Ung went to a place we suspected might house the cult.”
Heo Ung—close friend of the Sword Emperor Son Sobaek, and bearer of the moniker Blade Emperor. The two of them had been living on the Western Continent rather than in the Murim, and Dimerof had asked the Blade Emperor to conduct a search.
“And then we lost all contact with him.”
Afterward Son Sobaek set out to find his friend, only for contact with the Sword Emperor himself to vanish as well. It was almost unheard of for both the Sword Emperor and the Blade Emperor to go silent at the same time. To be precise, there were occasions when both fell out of touch simultaneously—after a drinking contest, or when they sparred with particular ferocity. But never before had they gone silent while carrying out a mission like this.
“I was going to wait until tomorrow, and if there was still no word, send Levi… but you showed up just in time.”
Dimerof pointed to Levi Belman standing beside him—the one known as the Emperor’s Sword.
“Whoa, Levi. You’ve gotten a lot stronger, huh?”
“You flatter me.”
At Doha’s praise, Levi shook his head with an expressionless face. There was still the realm of Grand Master above him; claiming he had grown stronger was a stretch.
“Hey, when I get back, how about a spar—”
“No.”
Before Doha could even finish, Levi shook his head vigorously. It was clearly an invitation to spar, and he would rather die than accept. In the past he had sparred with the Absolute One as if it were real combat and ended up unconscious for an entire week.
“Come on, you only improve by fighting strong people.”
“You’re right about that. But the Absolute One isn’t merely ‘strong,’ so I must decline.”
He would rather fight the Demon King this very instant. Sparring the Absolute One would leave him bedridden for days.
“You’ll look into it for us, right?”
“Alright. I’m curious myself.”
If the cult truly held the Sword Emperor and Blade Emperor captive, they needed to stop it at once. Those two alone could hold off several duke-class demons with ease. And yet both had gone silent.
Flutter.
“This is the last place we had contact.”
“Got it.”
After studying the map, Doha left the room with Canteas.
Whoosh.
Tap.
“Hmm.”
After searching the surroundings, Doha lightly settled atop a swaying tree. He had first visited the place where the Blade Emperor vanished, then the spot where the Sword Emperor disappeared afterward. Yet nowhere remained any trace.
I’m certain. They weren’t killed—they were taken.
From checking multiple locations, the odds that the Sword Emperor and Blade Emperor still lived were high. After all, if the intent had been to kill them, the surroundings would surely have been devastated. Even if the scene had been cleaned as thoroughly as possible, some small traces should remain. But no matter how hard he searched, he found no signs of battle.
Just who was it?
Who could have abducted the Sword Emperor and Blade Emperor? Without even fighting, they had simply taken them away.
If they abducted them and brought them this way, this would be the fastest route.
The place he currently stood was the predicted transit area.
Crunch.
Rustle-rustle.
“Aigoo, that bastard Canteas…”
Standing high in the tree, Doha looked down at the ground and clicked his tongue in irritation. Hundreds of skeletons were rampaging through the area, tearing it apart.
“There might still be traces, and he’s going around messing everything up like that…”
Whoosh.
“Doha.”
“Hey, you bastard.”
As Canteas flew over, Doha barked at him.
“Why all of a sudden…?”
Canteas flinched under Doha’s glare. He had just returned from checking other areas—why the sudden anger?
“You’re no amateur. What the hell is that?”
“What is?”
“Those skeletons. Get rid of them already. Don’t mess up the scene.”
“?”
Canteas turned and tilted his head in confusion. What skeletons was he talking about out of nowhere? He had been several kilometers away and only just arrived.
“What is that?”
“Didn’t you summon them?”
At Canteas’s words, Doha tilted his own head.
“No. I’m not an idiot—I wouldn’t summon them like that.”
“Then those skeletons are…”
“I didn’t summon them.”
“…”
When Canteas shook his head, Doha narrowed his eyes. One or two skeletons wandering around would not be strange; they sometimes appeared even near cities. But the ones on the ground numbered in the hundreds—a situation that could never occur naturally.
“Looks like there’s a black mage around here?”
And a considerably skilled one at that. These were not ordinary skeletons—they were enhanced. That was why he had assumed they were Canteas’s summons. Reaching that level was impossible with ordinary skill.
“Track where those skeletons came from.”
If they were not Canteas’s summons, then those things were currently tearing up the area to erase traces. Which meant they were connected to the two who had vanished.
“Got it.”
Zwaang.
As Canteas moved his staff, purple smoke began rising around the skeletons that were ripping through the earth.
Ssssss.
“That way.”
“Let’s go.”
Bang!
Whoosh!
As Doha shot forward, Canteas followed at high speed.
“Whoa, what the hell is all this?”
Having traveled nearly fifty kilometers, Doha let out a hollow laugh as he looked at the writhing mass of undead. He had not spread out his qi sense to check, but at a rough glance there easily seemed to be over a hundred million of them.
“Canteas. This doesn’t seem like a black mage after all.”
“…”
“Looks like there’s another lich around.”
It would be hard for a mere black mage to create an undead legion of this scale. A grand mage might manage it, but there was only one such person on the Western Continent.
“But I don’t see the summoner… Canteas.”
Tap.
While speaking, Doha poked the blankly staring Canteas. He had gone quiet after seeing the undead legion—why?
“Huh? Did you call me?”
“What are you staring at blankly?”
“I was looking for the lich who summoned those things.”
“…”
Jealousy seeping from Canteas’s eyes, Doha shut his mouth. Originally Canteas could summon an undead legion of that size as easily as breathing. But what about now? Even if he returned to his main body for a while, he could not summon undead in the hundreds of millions. Low-level undead were fine, but he could not create a legion that included enhanced skeletons, dullahan, or death knights. That was why Canteas was in a foul mood.
“Doha, over there.”
Watching the writhing undead legion, Canteas pointed to an undead far off holding a staff. As the staff-wielding undead appeared, the surrounding summons parted left and right.
“But… something’s off?”
Watching carefully, Canteas tilted his head. Judging by the aura, that one was definitely a lich, yet strangely it lacked any intelligence. Of course talking about intelligence for an undead was absurd, but a lich was at least a master-level being. That was why their presence felt completely different from ordinary summons. Yet that one gave off a feeling similar to the other undead.
“First, let’s thin out the undead numbers.”
“Wait.”
Grab.
As Doha was about to move, Canteas reached out and caught his arm.
“I’ll fight.”
“…You sure?”
It was not that he looked down on Canteas, but objectively the lich in the distance was stronger. The undead spread around could be handled by the Heavenly Demon, but facing the lich would be a bit of a stretch for him. That was why Doha had intended to move himself.
“You go look for the Sword Emperor and Blade Emperor. I’ll handle the fight.”
“Sigh.”
In the end Doha sighed and shook his head.
“If it gets dangerous, call me.”
“Don’t worry.”
Grip.
Shimmer.
As Canteas adjusted his grip on the staff, a golden crown formed above his head, and a black coat adorned with lavish golden decorations began to clothe his body.
Saaaaah.
As he called forth his original power, an immense deathly aura began to spread around him.
Clank.
“Hey, Heo Ung.”
Son Sobaek, bound in chains, called out to the Blade Emperor bound opposite him.
“I know you’ve come to, so open your eyes already?”
“…Can’t you just pretend not to notice?”
At the Sword Emperor’s words, the Blade Emperor slowly opened his eyes. Come on—a friend should at least pretend not to notice.
“For someone called the Blade Emperor, you’re really good at this—falling for seduction and all.”
“Th-that was a mistake, I tell you!”
The Blade Emperor shouted, embarrassed. He was a victim too!
“Falling for seduction and ending up captured like this.”
“You’re captured too, you know!”
“That’s only because you were being controlled and I couldn’t attack.”
“…”
At the Sword Emperor’s words, the Blade Emperor turned his head slightly. Just as he said, the Sword Emperor being captured was entirely his fault.
“I’m sorry.”
“Huh? Is the sun rising in the west? You, apologizing?”
When the Blade Emperor apologized, the Sword Emperor was startled. No matter how many mistakes he made, this guy always pretended nothing happened—why was he apologizing first this time?
“If my life is in danger, I’ll abandon you and survive alone. Just apologizing in advance.”
“Tsk tsk, of course. You bastard.”
Rumble!
While the two were having their pointless conversation, a massive iron door began to open.
Click. Click.
“Mmm~ Looks like you’re doing well enough to chat.”
Leading a trail of fragrant smoke, a beautifully formed woman entered.
Tap.
Screech.
Approaching the Blade Emperor closely, she scratched Heo Ung’s chest with her fingernail.
Trickle.
Though it was just a fingernail scratch, a wound like a sword cut appeared on the Blade Emperor’s chest.
Lick.
“Mmm, delicious.”
“…You bewitching creature.”
Watching her lick the blood from her fingernail, the Blade Emperor furrowed his brow. The woman before him was no human. She was the succubus demon Simelisa.
“Don’t say mean things.”
Swoosh.
Simelisa brought her finger to the Blade Emperor’s lips.
“I’ll definitely rip you to shreds and kill you.”
“Hmm~ Strange. Why has my binding already come undone?”
Sss.
Simelisa began caressing the Blade Emperor’s cheek. As expected of the Blade Emperor, was it? She had gone to quite some trouble to seize his mind with seduction, yet he had already come to.
“Heh heh, you’re loving this, aren’t you?”
“Shut up, you!”
Watching the scene, the Sword Emperor chided him, and the Blade Emperor snapped back in embarrassment. What was there to love about this?! Every time the succubus touched him, goosebumps rose all over his body.
“Ahh… so it was because of the Sword Emperor.”
She narrowed her eyes and looked at the Sword Emperor. She had wondered how the Blade Emperor escaped the seduction so quickly—it was because of the Sword Emperor. With his friend right in front of him, he had come to his senses.
“Just being together is enough to snap him out of it… I’m jealous of that friendship~?”
Swoosh.
Zzzzzz.
An even denser aura began pouring from Simelisa’s body.
“Heo Ung. Be careful.”
Sensing the unusual aura, the Sword Emperor’s expression hardened as he warned. Her aura, which had been playful until a moment ago, now felt dangerous. She was probably intending to firmly bind the Blade Emperor’s mind.
“I only need the Blade Emperor.”
“…Just why are you so obsessed with that friend of mine?”
“That’s none of your business, is it?”
Rustle.
The succubus’s hands began caressing the Blade Emperor’s body.
“Kill that guy right now and stay with me.”
Her eyes curved into crescents.
“Dying by your friend’s hand…”
Crunch.
“How does it…”
Crunch.
“feel…”
Crunch.
“?”
As she spoke, Simelisa furrowed her brow and turned her head. What was this crunching sound that had been coming since earlier?!
“Hey hey, don’t mind me—keep doing what you were doing.”
The presence in the corner. Eating snacks while watching, Doha waved a hand at the succubus.