Chapter 359 – 103. Central Great Hall of the White Flower Palace (1)
The roof of the Palace of Flowers. The magic power spreading there was unusual.
The White Flower Palace is the most luxurious and gigantic building in the Empire. So even the rooftop is wide enough to resemble a large playground. Enough to fill the rooftop, there was a lot of demon power everywhere.
So, if we compare this place to memories of a previous life, it is like the center of a nuclear explosion. Demonic power also has a negative effect on the body in the same way as radiation exposure.
No, rather, the magic power is much more dangerous. Because it affects the mind as well as the body.
So, the party was full of nervous expressions ahead of the final entry into the central battle.
I asked Lyles.
“The location of the Central Daejeon must have been the middle floor of the Baekhwagung, right?”
“That’s right. The upper floor above the central palace houses His Majesty’s residence, private office, and dining room. So you have to go down quite a bit from here to reach the central battleground.”
The Central Daejeon is where the emperor meets with court ministers and nobles above the feudal lord to discuss the big and small matters of the empire.
Grius and Chris will be there. And that something that is creating the current demon power.
‘It’s fortunate that we arrived at the Paekhwa Palace without any damage. But is this just the beginning?’
I thought for a moment of the future wisdom my mother had left me. In that possible future, Grius became the host of a huge demon power.
Although the divine power as a priest was not that great.
Rather, because he was a priest who abandoned his divinity and was terribly corrupt, he could only be the best prey for Mahonryeok and Knoia.
‘If Chris’ puppetry is mixed with it. It won’t be easy to cut his throat.’
But I had to do it.
The battle will continue even now. The more the resistance forces lose, the less troops there are to deal with Pedro’s army in the south. I couldn’t take any more time.
The gazes of the knights all turned to me. Even in the center of such a terrible demon power. Their eyes were still alive.
‘If the knights have eyes like that. It must be able to withstand the influence of demon power.’
Now is the moment to throw yourself into the battlefield. And now the party, who had to raid the most dangerous enemy camp with a small number, had to risk their own lives.
There is no retreat for the companions. Unless you defeat Grius. This will be everyone’s grave.
I pulled Siertia out of the scabbard and shouted at the knights.
“It is time to sacrifice our lives. If you sacrifice your life for me, I will sacrifice my life for the Empire and slit the head of Grius.”
They also drew their swords in unison and brought their sword blades to Siertia.
A knight’s oath made by combining six swords at once. I swore in front of the knights.
“The glory of the faithful sword that protects the empire!”
Oath of the Royal Guard Knights. Following my dock, the knights shouted in unison.
“The glory of the faithful sword that protects the empire!”
I could feel their mana rapidly accelerating. And at this moment, Siertia, responding to the will of the six, radiated even more intense divine power.
“And the blessing of the holy sword Siertia. Jedin’s protection will be with the Lords.”
Awe filled their eyes. Cried Lyles.
“Glory to the bravery of the lion that calms the winds of the northern kingdom!”
The rest of the knights followed his words and shouted. A greeting symbolizing the Reinhardt family. Those words surprised me inside.
Royal Guard Knights with loyalty and very high pride. They have a strong rivalry with the White Night Knights.
But at this moment, they were showing the highest level of courtesy that a member of the Reinhardt family could show me as a knight.
It was like an oath of allegiance. They seemed genuinely willing to give their lives for me.
I bowed my head to their sincerity and answered instead. And I told them both.
“Lucia. Rosette. I will ask you too.”
The two nodded without hesitation. The party finally entered the interior of the Baekhwagung.
***
A fierce battle ensued.
The Palace of Flowers was already like a dungeon. A top-level dungeon that has been nested at Kingdom level or higher. It was a demonic realm full of demonic spirits and beasts that were so terrible.
Kyaaaaa
A huge Minotaur swung a giant ax the size of my body. The blade of the ax has strong magical power.
‘It’s already more than an Auror Expert level with that power alone.’
A single type 2 dungeon boss level. And if it had been made into a nest, there were enough monsters to be evaluated as type 1, like ordinary subordinate monsters.
“I will deal with you!”
One of the High Knights, a knight by the name of Tomasi, stepped in front of me.
Kaka kakak-
Thomas’ sword collided with the great axe. And aiming for that gap, Lyles’ sword shone.
Soon, the Minotaur’s head was blown off.
“Ugh… Ugh…”
And his breathing was quite rapid.
He had already cut dozens of Minotaur-class monsters. So no matter how high the night was, the consumption of stamina was bound to be high.
‘Although Aura has very strong cutting power. That’s how extreme it consumes my stamina.’
I also helped them swing their swords together.
Most of the monsters were handled by the knights. For me who had to personally kill Grius in the Central War. They took care of me to arrange my physical strength.
‘If it weren’t for them. Even if I was at the 6th tier, I wouldn’t have any mana left.’
The High Knights risked their lives with all their heart. They did not spare their bodies to protect me.
There were also High Knights who were seriously injured in doing so. Siertia’s divine power barely stopped the excessive bleeding. Over time, they won’t survive.
I told them
“I’m going down to the central battle now.”
The knights nodded their heads with difficulty. Baekhwagung is a huge 10-story building. And the central battle is on the 5th floor. The party is now on the 6th floor. So it was close to the central war.
Thanks to the efforts of the knights, we have come this far safely. Both Rosette and Lucia conserved their strength as much as possible.
However, now that the central war has come to a close. Your body instinctively feels it.
‘It must be a dangerous place down here.’
Siertia’s blessing enveloped the party again. As they entered this place, they sparingly used the divine power of Siertia.
So, now is the last blessing. The knights’ physical strength was partially restored. Lyles shouted on their behalf.
“Now I will send you three to Grius. Never mind us, just focus on decapitating Grius!”
The group descended the stairs. And beyond the wall full of demons, they finally entered the central battle.
The place where envoys from all over Island meet the emperor. However, there were no ministers or lords of the empire there.
Only the guards and witches who have already turned into mahons. And those monsters were more powerful than those the party encountered upstairs.
Kyaaaaa
The Witchbeasts recognized the party and immediately attacked. Another knight was attacked by a monster.
“Sir Tyler!”
“We are fine. It is now! To that throne…”
At his words, I looked over there.
Although it is a very wide central battle. At the end, the emperor’s throne was visible.
At that moment, Lyles’ expression as he turned to the throne hardened. The emotion that entered his eyes was, surprisingly, fear.
A knight who gave himself up for the empire without fear of even death. However, a presence that made even him instinctively feel fear was sitting on the throne.
“Is the author really Grius?”
At his words, I also looked at the throne more closely. Like Lyles said. There was already something that could not be called a person sitting there.
And a young man with cold eyes standing next to the throne. The man met my eyes.
It was Chris, the leader of the pursuit team.
Aaaaa-
In the meantime, Lyles cut off the demonic beasts that rushed in. I stopped for a moment of fear. High night too. And he cried out with all his might.
“I will open the road again! Go! The author… Will only be able to deal with Julian! Defeat the author for the sake of the empire!”
“We have to send Yulian-sama to the throne! Open the way everyone!”
The knights slashed the beasts in unison. At the same time, Rosette also shouted.
“I will help these people!”
Rosette cast a spell in the gap between the fallen monsters.
Kwa Kwa Kwa Kwa Kwa Kwa Kwa-
With a huge explosion, the barrier made up of countless demonic beasts opened temporarily. The knights and Lucia defeated the monster in the gap and opened a perfect path.
Cried Lucia.
“Now!”
My body jumped out faster than that cry.
***
I finally stood before the throne.
Meet Grius again. He had already become a different being from a human being.
Although his face resembled the Grius I saw earlier. Other than that fleeting impression, he had nothing in common with Grius.
Black wings growing from his back, and leather like a crocodile. And creepy-looking scales sprouting all over the body.
Although he wears the emperor’s crown, which symbolizes the empire, on his head. A number of eyes sprouted from the forehead under the crown, shining jet-black pupils.
That figure was more like a being from another world than an emperor of an empire. Right before I get my memory back. The ominous aura that he had when he was drowning in the swamp of huge demon power spread from him.
‘The pressure of this magical power. It’s the first time I’ve felt it.’
I think I know why Lyles felt fear when he met eyes with Grius, no, this monster who was once Grius.
Maybe if I hadn’t awakened as a Demon Dragon. It would have been impossible to meet Grius head-on like this.
A sense of heterogeneity, as if no one exists in the world. The change of the one who was once the real power of the empire gave a very unpleasant and goosebumps feeling.
“How is it? The new Emperor of the Empire.”
And Chris, who was standing next to the throne, spoke to me. I answered right away.
“It looks filthy and hideous. Didn’t your master, Duke Pedro, change into an ugly figure like that Grius?”
When I said that back, Chris laughed happily.
“Haha. His Highness Pedro is not even comparable to such an insignificant person. He is by no means so weak that he loses himself just because he implanted the Mahon Stone into his body.”
Then she spoke again with cold eyes.
“Well, even if you say this, this doll was made with great care. Although the appearance is ugly, the performance is quite usable. Hmmm?”
And before he could even finish his words, I swung Siertia and fired a sword strike.
Kakakakakang-
However, my sword strike was blocked in the air with an intense metallic sound. Chris said with a laugh.
“This. He also has a quick temper. All adjustments to this doll have not yet been completed. You came when I needed a little more time. It’s a bit difficult, so why don’t you stop swinging the sword?”
I was silent. In the meantime, Chris continued.
“And isn’t it the moment of honor to have an audience with the first emperor of the new empire? Although he is my puppet, the one sitting on the throne is Grius, and this is the current emperor. Haha! So, as a citizen of the Empire, shouldn’t you be polite first?”
“Well. However, I don’t have the slightest desire to have the Witchbeast as my lord.”
Although I answered leisurely. I didn’t relax inwardly.
‘Did that Grius create the shield that blocked the sword attack a moment ago?’
After the intense demon power was condensed, he blocked the sword loaded with an aura casually. He also had a feeling that he would be a difficult opponent.
I kept hiding the truth and said it.
“And get that filthy old Grius off the throne quickly. That’s no place for a corrupt cardinal or something.”
“I’m sorry to say that. The author of Grius said that he had a very good compatibility with demon power. He may have been the one who was destroying the Ramir Empire himself in the first place, but once he planted the Mahon Stone, he absorbed the power of chaos very well.”
After hearing his words, I guessed the situation.
Magic power. The source of Knoia’s power is nothingness and chaos. Everything that Grius did as the real ruler of the empire was chaos itself.
It seems that his body was very suitable for the demon power, more precisely, the power of Knoia to use as a host.
‘And the one who is doing it on a bigger scale is Duke Pedro.’
Chris made that Grius into a puppet. Behind him is Duke Pedro.
And unlike Grius, who seems to have already lost his self. Duke Pedro worships Knoia with his own will. He could not compare with such a lousy man.
‘Of course, the current Grius. You can say he’s Chris, not Grius.’
Puppeteer Chris. If it was the Grius controlled by Duke Pedro’s right-hand man. The demonic beast in front of him was far more dangerous.
‘I have to deal with it quickly.’
Although I wanted to get more information about Knoia. Right now, that Grius was absorbing the demonic spirit energy that filled the Palace of Flowers.
‘Then start with that Chris.’
Instinctively, Siertia moved to find the person she had to kill first.
Kakakang-
However, there was someone blocking Siertia. He was familiar He was the easel tier of the Chusaldae.
Blocking my sword, Izeltier said.
“Hmm? He’s the first to strike a sword. It’s a strangely familiar swordsmanship.”
