Chapter 349: The Tin Knight and the Kingdom of the Underground (14)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 349: The Tin Knight and the Kingdom of the Underground (14)
It was an utterly bizarre situation.
A voice from the surface had suddenly been heard, despite being told that the underground and the surface were completely cut off from each other.
And then there was the act of holding the life of the underground’s second-in-command, the prime minister, in one’s hand to threaten the great king.
From a logical, common-sense perspective, none of it should have been possible.
However, if the perpetrator was the Witch of the East, such inconsistencies were but a trivial matter.
For she was the one who stood at the very pinnacle of all necromancers in this age.
The problem was that her opponent was an equally formidable figure.
Despite the Witch of the East’s threat, the King of the Underground, far from showing fear or anger, twisted his lips into a smirk as if he found the whole thing amusing.
“So, your disciple is precious to you after all, eh? Seeing you intervene in such a rush.”
Does my warning sound amusing to you?
“Not amusing, but pathetic.”
What?
“Forcing open a path sealed by those heavenly bastards and trying to speak through the crack must be quite an ordeal. You truly are struggling.”
…You bastard.
In an instant, a dense killing intent erupted from the skull.
It was an aura so potent it sent a chill down the spines of everyone present—the generals who were already enraged by the insult to their king, the other denizens of the underground, and even the humans from the surface.
It was more than a simple threat; it became a tangible danger that lunged at the king.
Ssssshk!
The air around the king turned black, and the ground where he stood melted away as if it were rotting.
Crack! Crunch!
Ominous sounds echoed from all over the body of the king, who was clad in a loose robe, and his limbs twisted like broken branches.
As if grabbed by the collar by an unseen hand, the king’s body was lifted into the air.
As if channeling the Witch of the East’s will, the skull’s eye sockets scattered a fiery aura as it spoke in a grim voice.
Do you think a pathetic obstacle like this can guarantee the safety of you maggots?
“Hoh, impressive. The method is different, but it’s enough to remind me of the old queen.”
But even in such a state, the king’s face showed no particular emotion.
He seemed like a man incapable of feeling pain.
Snap!
The crisp sound of a finger snap echoed.
And in the next moment, the King of the Underground was standing on the ground, perfectly unharmed.
The expression ‘as if time had been rewound’ didn’t quite fit.
It was more like skipping a few pages in a comic book to get to the desired scene.
From the moment the king was attacked until he landed safely back on the ground, the underground generals watched without the slightest reaction. Their stillness conveyed their absolute trust in their king.
The king spoke, his words directed at the Witch of the East, who must have been wearing a displeased expression on the distant surface beyond the skull.
“Yes, this is the fundamental nature of the relationship between the surface and us. These humans who came here are, after all, people of a new era. They cannot be the same as you, who lived through the age of the old wars.”
“However,” the king added.
“It seems even your hatred has been weathered away by the vastness of time, Nesarose. My old nemesis, who knows the Age of Ashes. Even if it was to save your disciple, the moment you attempted to ‘negotiate’ with a hated enemy, you showed your hand.”
…….
The Witch of the East did not answer.
But silence can sometimes say more than any words.
As if confirming the unspoken answer, the king nodded and said, “Let me hear the prime minister’s voice. If you intend to negotiate, you should at least confirm the hostage’s safety, shouldn’t you?”
After a moment of silence.
A different voice than before emerged from the skull.
My apologies, Your Majesty. My incompetence has caused you trouble.
“I’m glad you’re not spouting nonsense like ‘abandon me’ or ‘don’t worry about the hostage’.”
My crime of failing to properly carry out your command is great enough. How could I trouble Your Majesty’s heart with such wicked words?
“As long as you know.”
After cutting the conversation short, the King of the Underground turned his gaze to the Tin Knight’s party.
“Fine. I will send you back.”
“……”
Dorothea’s conflicted expression seemed to reveal the complex turmoil in her heart.
It was a relief to have escaped the crisis where they were nearly surrounded by the full force of the underground and forced into a desperate battle, but when she thought of what the Witch of the East must have felt, having to negotiate with the forces of the underground, who were no different from mortal enemies, she couldn’t feel entirely at ease.
This was especially true because she had to deliver the story of ‘him’, who was clearly a significant person to the Witch of the East.
There had been twists and turns, but once the negotiations were concluded, things moved quickly.
“The Witch of the East has already pierced through and is maintaining the path with her own power. But this path is extremely unstable, so we could be thrown off course during the journey. Obstacles or debris between spaces could also block the way. Rather than crossing one by one, it’s safer to build a large ship and travel all at once.”
So said Franka, the Alchemist.
She mixed minerals from the underground with her own golden catalyst to create a massive ship large enough to carry hundreds of people at once.
“Since we’re forcing our way through an unstable space, it will put a massive strain on the passengers’ bodies. Please leave protecting the people to me.”
So said Gale, the Enchantress.
She cast enchantments on each person from the surface to protect their bodies and bestowed various spells on the ship that would be useful for the voyage.
“I will destroy everything that blocks our path.”
So said Algind, the Wizard.
Perhaps thanks to the ‘path’ forcibly opened by the Witch of the East, she seemed to have regained her strength.
“…I guess I’ll have to handle guiding the way and powering the ship.”
The role of Dorothea, the Necromancer, was also decided.
She would use her master’s presence as a beacon to guide the ship and prevent it from going astray, while simultaneously serving as the engine to propel it forward.
The King of the Underground and his people silently watched the women cooperate smoothly to prepare for their return.
They did not hinder Dorothea’s party, but they did not help either.
The King of the Underground merely remained silent, his characteristically inscrutable black eyes seeming to ponder something.
Most of the surface dwellers kept their distance, seemingly wary of the underground forces, but there were a few exceptions.
“King of the Underground. I heard that you created our ancestor, Geisel von Lennart. If that’s true… why did you release Lord Geisel to the surface?”
In response to Adelaide’s question, the King of the Underground gazed intently at her golden hair and violet eyes before speaking.
“It was curiosity.”
“Pardon?”
“I was curious whether a person of the underground, who knew nothing of its grudges, could truly get along with the people of the surface.”
Perhaps because it was an unexpected answer, Adelaide blinked.
She felt fortunate to have asked the question away from the other members of the Lennart bloodline.
The king spoke calmly to her.
“The conclusion was failure. As long as the influence of the heavens remains on the surface, as long as the heavens can interfere with the surface, there is no path to coexistence, with or without the old grudges. Geisel, that child’s end, proves it.”
“No. Our ancestor did not fail.”
As if considerate of the king who had witnessed the suffering of his ‘child’, Adelaide nevertheless refuted his words in a firm tone.
The king tilted his head.
“He had to suffer a tragic separation from his beloved. Driven solely by the desire to clear up the misunderstanding, he endured without fading away, even at the risk of becoming a vengeful spirit, but thanks to his foolish descendants, even that pain and perseverance came to naught. And you still say it wasn’t a failure?”
“Yes.”
Adelaide.
The current head of the Lennart family.
The descendant of the Lion Duke, the girl from the bloodline created by the King of the Underground, declared.
“—Because I will fulfill his wish. As a descendant who has inherited the name Lennart.”
In that case, Geisel’s life was no failure, Adelaide proclaimed, her voice ringing out.
The King of the Underground did not answer.
The lion bowed her head once, then moved away from the king.
The next to approach the king was Sophia.
“I heard that you created ‘God’.”
“Why? Does it sound like absurd nonsense?”
“As a scholar, it would be a lie to say I have no questions.”
“As a scholar, not a believer. In that case, I suppose I must answer.”
The king’s eyes took on a look as if recalling a distant age.
“In the old age. A time when there was no distinction between the heavens, the surface, and the underground. The world was utterly chaotic. Everyone insisted they were right, everyone rejected the thoughts of others and pushed their own order. Because there were as many orders as there were intelligent beings, the world was endlessly disorderly.”
“And you tried to change that?”
“Yes. I desired an impartial god. Not a being who was kind to some and strict to others, but a god who would judge all things according to rules and laws.”
“Coming from an imperfect being, it seems it would be far from perfect, wouldn’t it?”
A faint, self-deprecating emotion touched the king’s lips.
“True, I succeeded in creating a being with enough power to be called a ‘god.’ But it was not the god of reason and iron will that I had envisioned. It was, rather… closer to an innocent child who knew nothing. It was a clear failure, but at the same time, I thought it wasn’t so bad. A sculpture can be no more than what the sculptor intended, but a child can sometimes surpass its parents. Even if it was an immature god, if its nature was that of a child, I thought it might one day become a greater god than I had ever imagined.”
“So that innocent, young god was stolen by the king of the heavens.”
The king conceded.
“The god who would stand above all intelligent beings and protect them with the fence of order is gone. Only a convenient slave remains, one who serves the heavens’ convenience with a narrow-minded worldview and distorted knowledge.”
“Thank you for your answer. Thanks to you, what I must do has become much clearer.”
“What are you plotting?”
“I’m thinking of rescuing a child from domestic abuse.”
“Hoh, our goals align. We dream of something similar.”
Sophia smiled brightly.
“I’m not so sure about being lumped in with someone who shouted to his people about taking a child as a spoil of war.”
“……”