Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 47

9. A Shocking Encounter

1

Bless, the capital of the Holy Artenia Empire.

Along the main street, a massive carriage, escorted by Holy Knights, made its way through the center of the city. The people packed tightly on both sides of the street couldn’t tear their eyes away from the lavish carriage, adorned with gold leaf and jewels.

Some sneered, others showed anger, but most were filled with curiosity and awe.

“Daddy, is that the new Pope in there?” a child asked, perched on his father’s shoulders, pointing at the ornate carriage.

The middle-aged man nodded.

“Yes, that’s an angel from heaven.”

“Wow, really?”

“Of course! The bishop said that Lord Elkasel sent her to look after us poor people.”

A man with beady eyes nearby snickered.

“Angel, my foot… I heard she’s the hidden daughter of the former Pope.”

“What? You lying scoundrel!” A bald man in front of the beady-eyed man grabbed his collar.

“Kehek! Why, why are you doing this? It’s true!”

“Can’t you shut up? Tell the truth, you’re a spy from Barok, aren’t you?”

The controversy surrounding the new Pope’s identity wasn’t limited to just this spot. Many people along the street were discussing it.

“An angel as the new Pope? Are there even angels these days?”

“To be honest, I wish there were.”

“It’s true! My cousin is a trainee Holy Knight, and he overheard the senior knights talking about it.”

“Really? There’s also a rumor that they brought a princess from another country.”

“That’s ridiculous. Why would they make a princess from another country the Pope?”

“That’s right, do you think just anyone can become Pope?”

Archbishop Constantine, politically cornered, had abruptly introduced the new Pope to the public two weeks prior.

The new Pope made her first appearance in the central square of Bless, known as the ‘Square of Sanctity.’

However, the new Pope didn’t just show her face. She performed a miracle, bestowing blessings upon tens of thousands of people who came to see her.

But because the new Pope was a young and beautiful lady, it caused considerable controversy.

“But is it really true? That she made it rain flowers from the sky?”

At one man’s question, an older man next to him spoke, spitting as he did.

“It’s true. I was in the square at that time.”

“I saw it too. It happened quickly, but flowers definitely fell from the sky.”

“It wasn’t just flowers, it was a blessing. A friend of mine had a serious chronic illness, but he was completely cured after being showered by the flower rain.”

“Come on, that sounds like a lie?”

“Ah, it’s true. I injured my leg in the war ten years ago and was limping, but after that day, I can walk perfectly fine!”

While people were chattering, the young female Pope in the carriage slightly pulled back the red velvet curtain, trying to look outside.

But then, Archbishop Constantine, sitting opposite her, sharply raised his voice.

“Your Holiness!”

“I was just feeling a bit stuffy…”

“That won’t do. I’ve told you countless times that you shouldn’t look at worldly things, haven’t I?”

At Constantine’s words, Veronica III looked dejected and turned away from the window.

“Please remember. Your Holiness is an angel. You have become the ruler of this holy empire by the command of the Lord. It is your mission to purify the world and enlighten the foolish according to God’s will. You don’t need to, and shouldn’t, pay attention to the base and filthy ways of the world.”

“But to enlighten the people, I need to know their lives…”

“We will take care of that. So, Your Holiness, you only need to do as I instruct.”

“…Okay, Grandpa. I mean, Archbishop.”

When the young female Pope nodded reluctantly, a satisfied smile appeared on Constantine’s face.

Comparing her first meeting with him to now, it was like heaven and earth.

Two years ago, Veronica didn’t even know her name, let alone who she was.

Her intelligence was only that of a five or six-year-old child, and she was so curious that she would cause all sorts of accidents if you took your eyes off her even for a moment.

She would use her divine power to bring statues to life and make them rampage, or spread wings of light and fly around the Holy Palace.

‘Ugh! I thought angels were pure beings, but I didn’t expect her to be this much of an imbecile.’

Anyway, since he couldn’t introduce her, a child-like person, as the new Pope, he had been steadily educating her for the past two years.

She was still lacking in many ways, but the education wasn’t entirely in vain, and she was now presentable enough to show to the public.

‘The problem is those rebel bastards in the provinces. They don’t believe what they haven’t seen…’

The miracle performed by the young female Pope had succeeded in drawing the people of Bless to their side.

However, the ambitious nobles in the provinces and the minority factions that had been excluded from the core power of the seven branches of the Elkasel Order were the problem.

They took advantage of the fall of the Pope’s authority to launch political offensives or joined hands with local nobles to start rebellions.

Among them, the most troublesome were the Sanctity Faction.

Luther, the head of the faction, had witnessed the Pope’s miracle at the square last time and still spouted such nonsense.

“True salvation cannot be achieved by relying on miracles. It can only be achieved when people can embrace each other.”

He also criticized Constantine as a ‘merchant, not a priest.’ In short, he meant that he was a man who sold God.

It would have been better if they had started a rebellion. They could have just sent Holy Knights to suppress them.

However, instead of starting a rebellion by taking advantage of the empire’s chaos, they were only strengthening their service and dedication to the poor and destitute.

It was said that the number of believers supporting the Sanctity Faction was snowballing, especially among the urban poor.

‘Yes, go ahead and run wild for now. I’ll bury you like Michael, without a trace.’

While Constantine was grinding his teeth about Luther, the young female Pope was dozing off. She was tired from studying the doctrines late into the night.

Watching her, Constantine sighed deeply but left her alone.

Since they would soon arrive at the cathedral for mass, he thought it was better for her to catch some sleep now rather than dozing off there.

Thanks to that, Veronica III was able to have a short nap.

‘Where am I?’

Veronica III was standing in front of a burning palace.

Beyond the palace, people in shabby clothes reached out to her or knelt and begged.

Then, some old men with resolute expressions appeared and surrounded her.

She felt strangely familiar with them, even though she had never seen them before. They felt more familiar than the Archbishop.

As she tilted her head, wondering why, she saw an armored old man pointing somewhere.

A black castle built on a hill.

She ran to the castle in one go, and the huge gate opened wide as if welcoming her.

Veronica III passed through the corridors of the castle, which she had never been to before, and arrived at a large hall.

At the end of the hall, a young man with platinum blonde hair was sitting on a throne.

A person she had never seen before, or perhaps someone she had seen somewhere. Someone who felt very precious.

As Veronica’s heart was pounding, she heard someone’s voice in her head.

– Call him.

‘Who?’

– You belong to me, and I belong to you.

She couldn’t understand what it meant.

While Veronica was confused, the young man approached her. He looked at her with pity, desperately wanting and waiting for something.

Then, another voice echoed in her head.

– Call his name.

‘I don’t know,’

– Just as I know him, you know him too. So, call his name.

A voice that kept urging her.

At that, Veronica worried whether she could, or should, call the other person’s name.

But contrary to her thoughts, her tightly closed lips opened, and his name flowed out softly.

“Luke de Rakan…”

Veronica III, or rather, Reina’s consciousness was still wandering in her dream.

A single tear, filled with longing, trickled down from her heavily closed eyes.

2

Luke, leading the Rakan Knights disguised as mercenaries, left the lord’s castle and boarded a ship in Lamere City.

It was the fastest way to reach the Holy Artenia Empire by disembarking in the Kingdom of Castia, a week away by ship, and then traveling by land.

For this, the fastest ship in the territory was provided.

“Victor, if you find the Princess, contact me immediately. I’ll drop everything and rush over.”

“Understood, I will.”

Luke and his party set sail, seeing off Pavel and the old ministers of the Volga Kingdom.

This ship, newly developed for trade with the Southern Continent, had an additional mast. Moreover, the magic steam engine constantly rotated the paddle wheels on both sides of the ship, making it very fast.

One week later, Luke arrived in the Kingdom of Castia and officially registered with the mercenary guild. He judged that registering as a formal mercenary group would make it easier to conceal their identities and operate.

“But it seems there are a lot of mercenaries around.”

“Indeed. I heard that the Kingdom of Castia was politically stable, but was it not?”

Philip answered Luke’s question.

“I know about that. I heard from the mercenary guild that most of them are going to the Holy Empire.”

The political situation in the Holy Artenia Empire was chaotic due to the rebellion. Naturally, there were many mercenaries being hired to take advantage of this chaos.

“But some of the mercenaries seem to have an unusual aura.”

“Could they be regular knights or mages who have concealed their identities, like us?”

The characteristic of mercenaries is that they are rough and unrestrained.

Since they don’t know when they might die, they live each moment to the fullest.

However, many of the mercenaries seen here did not have such characteristics. They were dressed like mercenaries, but their speech was cautious, and their actions were rather proper.

“They might have their own reasons, like us.”

“Perhaps they are secretly participating under the orders of some high-ranking official.”

In fact, it was not uncommon for knights under command to be disguised as mercenaries and participate in wars.

Some territories, lacking funds, or with the aim of giving their knights combat experience, would disguise their knight orders as mercenary groups and send them to war.

On the other hand, some territories or countries that wanted to get involved in another country’s war but couldn’t due to public attention would also send their regular forces disguised as mercenaries.

‘Whether they’re real or fake, there are quite a few mercenary groups registering here. The situation in the Holy Empire might be more serious than it’s known?’

Thinking it was better to hurry, Luke sent some of his knights to the horse market to buy horses.

“Horses? Don’t we have horses from the territory?”

“I need horses to switch to. I plan to reach the border between Castia and the Holy Empire in four days.”

“T-That’s…”

According to the map, it would take at least a week to reach the border on horseback.

But he was saying he would arrive in four days.

“While you’re at it, buy enough preserved food and water. We’ll have to eat and sleep in the saddle for a while.”

‘We’re dead.’

The Rakan Knights had been quite well-trained by practicing swordsmanship and hunting monsters within the mana field of the territory.

However, at the words of shortening a week’s journey to four days, they could only make a face.

‘You’ve only learned the bad things from going to the army.’

‘Someone stop the lord!’

But unfortunately for them, there was no one who could stop Luke.

Instead, there was someone who encouraged him.

“Lord, is four days enough? If we don’t sleep at all, we could do it in three days.”

His name was Victor.

Thud! Thud!

Fierce hoofbeats echoed on the road near the border.

The source of the sound was Luke’s party.

As Luke had declared, they ate and slept in the saddle, galloping day and night, and they achieved the feat of crossing the Kingdom of Castia in four days.

Their gallop only stopped when they reached the border town between the Kingdom of Castia and the Holy Artenia Empire.

“How about we stay here for the night?” Philip cautiously suggested to Luke, after checking the condition of the knights.

He had not dared to suggest taking a break, understanding the lord’s mind, but it seemed impossible to continue like this.

Luke, who had been preoccupied with how to meet the new Pope, smiled wryly at the sight of the knights covered in dirt.

‘I was too focused on one thing.’

Reproaching himself, he shouted to the knights.

“Alright, I’ll treat you all today, so eat and drink to your heart’s content. We’ll depart after resting until noon tomorrow.”

“Wow! Long live the Lord!”

Seeing the knights cheering with bright faces, Luke said with a serious expression.

“I told you to call me Captain outside the territory, didn’t I? Should I cancel it and just cross the border?”

“H-Huh, sorry. Lord, I mean, Captain.”

Even if it was another country, the news could reach the Emperor’s ears if rumors spread.

That was why Luke had strictly warned the knights to be careful with their words.

The knights, having been warned once, went to find an inn in the village. It also had a pub on the first floor, making it the perfect place to eat and drink to their heart’s content.

“Hahaha! Back when I was…”

“The young lady Yuiran I met before…”

Once they had some alcohol, the knights became talkative. It seemed that both men and women became talkative when they relaxed and felt good.

Luke watched his subordinates, who were busy eating and chatting late into the night, and then went outside the inn.

He glanced at the stars in the night sky and suddenly sighed.

‘I’ve managed to come here, but how am I going to take her away?’

The imperial palace of the Holy Empire would have many renowned guards.

It wouldn’t be easy to even meet Reina with just 30 knights, let alone break through them.

He also couldn’t use the powers of the demon race or black magic. The moment he used black magic, Holy Knights would swarm from all directions.

“Is there no good way?”

It was when Luke was deep in thought. Suddenly, he began to feel a familiar energy from the opposite side of the village.

A dark but not unpleasant, and strangely familiar energy.

‘No way, it can’t be…’

At first, he thought he was mistaken. He thought his senses were confused due to his troubled mind.

However, as he continued to focus, it became clearer and clearer.

Clench!

Without realizing it, he gritted his teeth and moved towards the place where the energy was felt.

He couldn’t believe it, but he felt he couldn’t endure it if he didn’t confirm it.

3

Like a piece of iron drawn to a magnet, Luke headed to the place where the problematic energy was detected and found someone in a deserted open space on the outskirts of the village.

He quickly concealed his presence.

A middle-aged mage wearing a gray robe.

He couldn’t see his face due to the darkness, but after scanning his surroundings, he uttered a grating voice like nails scratching glass.

“Don’t hide like a rat, come out.”

‘Was I found out?’

Luke couldn’t help but be surprised.

He thought he had completely concealed his presence, but how did he notice it?

While Luke was wondering, dozens of mercenaries and mages suddenly appeared from the darkness.

They glared at the middle-aged mage, who was looking at them as if they were stones, with angry eyes.

“Enemy of the Lockhead Magic Tower!”

“Die, you monster!”

The mercenaries and mages, who seemed quite skilled, surrounded the middle-aged mage and launched a relentless attack.

Luke didn’t know, but they were members of the Lockhead Magic Tower.

Two years ago, the leaders of the Lockhead Magic Tower were annihilated, but that didn’t mean the tower had collapsed.

Rather, the former masters and elders who had retired from the front lines appeared, and the tower was revived spectacularly. As the Magic Tower War intensified, they actively attacked the magic towers belonging to the Magic Federation.

However, this counterattack brought about tremendous disaster.

Arsen, who was behind the Veritas Magic Tower, which led the Magic Federation, took action to punish them.

The person sent was this gray-robed mage.

He eliminated the leaders of the Lockhead Magic Tower who were hiding in this border area as soon as he found them.

Then, he received information that the former master of Lockhead was hiding nearby and came here.

In fact, that information was bait thrown by the Lockhead Magic Tower to lure the assassin.

And finally, the mercenaries and war mages of Lockhead rushed in to cut off the assassin’s breath, who had fallen for the bait.

However… their attacks had no effect on the middle-aged mage.

“Kuaaaak!”

“Y-You monster…!”

The magic couldn’t even get close and was all annihilated, and the mercenaries who rushed in with their swords were instantly turned into blood by the whip made of black energy by the middle-aged mage.

The mages, who had hesitated at this, were hit by black magic bullets that flew from the middle-aged mage’s fingertips and fell as cold corpses.

Thus, the fight ended in an instant, and only one person remained.

The war mage, who was still glaring fiercely at the expressionless middle-aged mage, gathered mana in both hands and struck the mana circle in his heart.

Luke, who witnessed the scene, widened his eyes.

‘That’s Suicide magic!’

A magic that causes a massive explosion by causing the mana circle in the heart to go berserk, and it could only be used once in a lifetime.

Because that magic was for self-destruction.

“Kuhaha! I’ll die too, but you’re finished now!”

After speaking, the war mage threw himself at the middle-aged mage.

But just before the magic was activated, the middle-aged mage’s counterattack unfolded.

“Black Bind.”

Whiriririk!

Suddenly, black tendrils sprang from the ground and wrapped around the war mage’s body.

Then, before the mana circle could explode, all of his mana and life force were absorbed by the middle-aged mage.

‘T-This can’t be…!’

While Luke was in shock, the clouds in the night sky parted, and the moonlight of the full moon illuminated the ground.

The face of the middle-aged mage, revealed in the bright and cool moonlight, entered Luke’s eyes.

The wrinkles and small and large scars that proved his long hardships, his lips that had lost their smile were tightly closed, and his eyes, looking down at the world, were bloodshot with sadness and anger.

His appearance was too familiar to Luke.

But what shocked him even more was the magic power sensed from the middle-aged mage’s heart.

That magic power, to which his spirituality was fiercely reacting, was undoubtedly the black circle of the 9th circle of black magic that he had directly constructed in the past.

‘This is impossible! This can’t happen… it shouldn’t happen!’

Luke denied it, but the reality unfolding before his eyes could not be erased.

The middle-aged mage in the gray robe was clearly his past self, the man called the Demon King by the people of the world.

Seymon.

His body, which he thought had long since died and rotted, was standing before him in a form that was like an unwelcome nightmare.

(To be continued in Iron-Blooded Emperor Volume 6)

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