Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 157

Creating a Vassal to Build an Empire 159

A Heavy Price

###

Death descended upon the city of Kriva.

Corpses emerged from the collapsed basement.

The soldiers who had entered the basement to capture servants were now dead, their bodies rising above ground, controlled as undead by Barmet’s magic.

“U, Undead···!”

The corpses hunted their former neighbors.

Though their forms remained mostly intact, they were still dead, devoid of memories from their past lives.

All that remained was the command etched into them by their master.

“Block them!”

“Call the guard!”

Fortunately, only a few guards were turned into zombies. Kriva, though small, boasted a population of nearly ten thousand.

It wasn’t at risk of being overrun by zombies alone, but the zombies weren’t the only threat.

– Too bright.

Rumble—

Barmet gestured, summoning clouds to blot out the sun.

The midday sun was obscured, and the city was plunged into a premature twilight.

“Kill! Kill!”

“Our master commands it!”

The vampires, emboldened by the darkness, ravaged the city.

They had consumed the blood of the old god, along with the magic it contained.

They gained magical power rivaling that of Vlad’s direct bloodline in an instant.

Intoxicated by their newfound power, they lost all reason and rampaged through the streets.

“Kyaaaaaaak!”

The number of dead rose rapidly.

HUMANS bitten by vampires struggled, then succumbed and became servants. Those who died before turning into servants became zombies, shambling through the darkness. The initial number of fewer than thirty dead quickly swelled to hundreds.

Ding, ding-ding-ding——

The urgent ringing of bells echoed from the church steeple.

“Enemy attack! It’s the undead!”

The citizens weren’t simply victims.

Even in the darkness and chaos, they resisted.

It had been several years since the Human Empire had brought freedom to its people.

But had the citizens only enjoyed freedom during that time?

They had also learned how to defend it.

“Everyone to your positions!”

The administrator had prepared for emergencies.

He had appointed a deputy and trained them in emergency response protocols.

This was one of the directives issued by the Emperor after the Empire’s founding.

‘Someday, an anomaly will occur within the Empire.’

He hadn’t specified when.

The Emperor had simply ordered his vassals to prepare for the inevitable.

“Ellen! Evacuate the citizens out of the city!”

“Pile anything you can find between the buildings! Create makeshift walls!”

“Buy as much time as possible!”

The introduction of the national conscription system also played a crucial role.

The citizens moved amidst the chaos, aware of their assigned roles.

They evacuated the vulnerable, erected barricades in the streets, and desperately fought back against the undead by setting buildings ablaze to provide light.

The resistance wasn’t enough to defeat the enemy, but it slowed the massacre by hindering their advance.

– Indeed.

Barmet climbed the church steeple and smiled.

– It seems time wasn’t spent in vain.

He reflected on his memories.

What was it like when he fought Lord Ailetrio [Likely a reference to a powerful figure or deity in this world’s lore]?

Were there people who resisted the old god with such fervor?

In his memory, only a handful burned with the will to resist.

Only Lord and a few heroes who followed him.

The rest were merely swept along.

– Is it because they don’t know me, or is it genuine fighting spirit?

He pondered for a moment, then dismissed the thought with a laugh.

– Either way, I like it.

Why had he infiltrated the Empire alone?

He hadn’t necessarily needed to heed the call of his servants.

His brothers and sisters who had heard the call before him had done so.

However, he had answered the faint call and descended upon the city,

simply to experience the struggle.

– Fight. Fight with everything you have.

He despised schemes.

He preferred to fight on the front lines.

He craved the adrenaline of a desperate struggle.

– I shall highly commend your valor.

He spread his arms wide, channeling magic throughout the city.

The citizens clutched their chests as they came into contact with his power.

“Heoheok···!”

“Wh, what’s pulling me—”

A feeling of suffocation, as if something inside was being ripped away.

The power to extract the soul from the body.

Thud···

They resisted with all their might, but it was futile.

The soul was torn from its mortal coil.

– Hahahahahaha!

A whirlwind of souls swirled around Barmet.

And soon, they were sucked into his maw.

The city was destroyed.

Gooooooo···

All that remained in the city was the faint whisper of the wind.

However, the citizens’ resistance had not been in vain.

Thanks to the time they bought, many people escaped the city.

– Come out.

Barmet descended to the ground and waved his hand.

The space he touched fractured, and several old gods emerged.

– You’re late.

– I thought you were dead.

There were six old gods.

Their appearances were as bizarre and unsettling as Barmet’s.

One had the lower body of a horse and the upper body of a monkey; another was a mass of slime; and yet another was a caterpillar with a human face.

– How was it, the human?

The slime communicated through thoughts while undulating its gelatinous form.

– Interesting. A very interesting race.

Barmet answered with a smile.

His lips stretched unnaturally far to the sides, producing a thin, kikiki sound.

– Interesting? You rate them quite highly.

– They have fighting spirit. Unlike the bugs that relied on Ailetrio. This human race has a fighting spirit that doesn’t back down until the moment it’s eaten by me.

The old gods listened intently to Barmet’s assessment and rejoiced.

They, too, were beings who craved struggle as much as Barmet did.

– Aleon’s claim is completely different from that of the elf.

– Didn’t he say that humans are livestock?

– Hmph! Elves were originally livestock too.

Barmet picked up a human head rolling at his feet.

Though dead, the head’s eyes were wide open.

He didn’t know humans intimately, but he recognized the emotions reflected in their eyes.

– If humans are livestock, could they harbor such fighting spirit?

The slime extended a mucus-like tentacle and seized the head.

The head was engulfed by the mucus and dissolved like ice.

– You’re right, they’re an interesting race.

– Right?

– I won’t be bored. Where is the master of these things?

At his companion’s question, Barmet bared his teeth.

– He is mine.

– Yours? Did we ever make a promise?

The other old gods echoed the slime’s challenge.

– The one who catches the prey first is the owner. It’s always been that way.

– Barmet, even if you called us, that doesn’t change anything.

Barmet frowned, his bat-like head contorting in annoyance.

– Damn it. Do as you please.

The old gods scattered.

Originally, they were solitary beings.

They were transcendent entities born alone and living in isolation.

Therefore, it was extremely rare for them to act in concert.

They scattered in all directions to hunt humans.

###

As soon as the old gods began their rampage, the Empire responded swiftly.

The incident in Kriva was reported to the surrounding villages and cities.

The administrators of each region abandoned their residences without hesitation.

They fled before the hungry old gods.

“Don’t take anything!”

“Don’t take any food, clothing, anything! Run away quickly! Run away quickly!”

Barmet arrived in the village by a narrow margin.

If they had hesitated even slightly, a significant number of villages would have suffered the same fate as Kriva.

In this way, the administrators boldly abandoned residences they couldn’t defend and decided to gather resistance forces at a small number of fortified bases to hinder the old gods.

Bang! Bang! Thud!

The city of Kapa was the second resistance Barmet encountered.

“Shoot! Don’t spare the gunpowder, shoot everything!”

Tatatatadang!

Even if they fled with nothing but their bare bodies, they would eventually be caught.

HUMANS need rest and sustenance.

On the other hand, the undead require neither.

So, without resistance, they would inevitably be overtaken.

That was why Kapa was resisting.

“We must buy as much time as possible.”

“We need to tie up the enemy for more than a day to ensure a safe evacuation.”

Boom! Kwakwang!

They gathered vassals and gunpowder.

They amassed everything they could to resist.

They knew Barmet’s route and had prepared accordingly.

– Yes, this is it. This is what I wanted.

Barmet was delighted by the city’s defiance.

Feeling his fighting spirit surge, he unleashed his army.

The number of undead surrounding the city exceeded one hundred thousand.

Several times the number of undead created in Kriva.

– Arise.

How could he summon so many of the dead in such a short time?

His power was immense, and corpses were plentiful.

– Arise! All the dead in this land.

Barmet’s magic permeated the ground.

The earth trembled, and skeletons buried beneath it rose.

These were the corpses of those who had died when the Kingdom of Wallachia [Likely a historical or fictional kingdom] still stood.

They were skeletons that had been buried in the soil for at least hundreds of years.

“Damn it, how many do you have to make to be satisfied?”

But that wasn’t all.

Barmet was an old god of a different caliber than the necromancers of Mycenae [Likely a reference to a place known for necromancy].

He went beyond simply raising bones from the ground and began to corrupt the very forest itself.

Kkieeeeeek—

Animals vomited blood, their bones pierced through their skin, and they died. Their corpses twisted and merged, transforming into grotesque monsters.

A three-headed dog,

A bear with arms sprouting from every limb,

A wasp-sized bird that exploded upon contact.

It was a menagerie of the dead unlike anything seen in Mycenae.

Bang!

A bird that had pecked a soldier’s shoulder with its beak exploded.

“M, my aaaaaarm!”

It would have been better if only his arm had been blown off.

The explosion also released a stream of acid that the bird had been carrying in its body.

“Kuaaaaaaak!”

The priests rushed to his aid, using magic to neutralize the acid.

However, the melted wound resisted healing.

As if rejecting the Father’s magic [Likely referring to a deity or source of divine power].

“Is God really God?”

Eventually, the wound would heal, but for every person healed, three or four more were injured.

The number of priests in the city was insufficient to cope with the casualties.

“Don’t be afraid! His Majesty the Emperor is with us!”

Thud! Bang! Bang!

The fighting spirit of Kapa City remained unbroken.

They knew that the evacuees’ survival depended on their resistance.

They also knew that the vassals fighting alongside them were creations of the Emperor.

“The Empire will not fall!”

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”

Tens of thousands of citizens overcame their fear and fought the dead.

‘Humans are inferior livestock that cannot even use magic.’

Barmet recalled Aleon’s words.

– Nonsense.

A hollow laugh escaped his lips.

– Humans are better than you.

The resistance of Kapa City exceeded Barmet’s expectations.

Despite being outnumbered and outmatched, they fought with unwavering determination.

HUMANS were more valiant than the mortals who had resisted the old gods in the past.

Fear was evident in their eyes, but they refused to yield.

They held their weapons and fought with a clear purpose.

That was precisely the scene Barmet craved.

– This is it.

He channeled his magic with renewed joy.

In response, clouds gathered and darkness descended.

The advance of the corpses accelerated.

“Father!”

The priest of the Public Church called out to the master who had created him.

The same golden light as his master emanated from his body.

For a moment, the darkness receded from the city, and he granted respite to the undead.

“Block them! Don’t let them come in any further!”

“I’ll go!”

The vassals who were not priests blocked the broken gate.

“What is that!”

A giant formed from dozens of corpses.

Its abdomen was swollen as if it would burst, and it vomited continuously.

“Keuheoeoeok!”

The vomit, mixed with gastric acid, flew over ten meters, melting anything it touched.

“K, euk···!”

The body of a vassal struck by the gastric acid began to dissolve.

However, the vassal continued his advance without a sound.

The moment pain registered on his face and his life began to fade.

“You cannot pass this place!”

Ignoring the agony of his melting flesh, he charged towards the giant and swung his sword.

Seogeok!

He cleaved the giant into pieces with a single horizontal slash and threw his dying body into the following horde of undead, hoping to take down at least one more enemy.

“Lord Edar···.”

However, despite their valiant resistance, the tide began to turn.

The priest’s light was pushed back by the encroaching darkness and began to wane.

The vassals were sacrificed one by one, but the number of enemies remained overwhelming.

HUMANS became the dead and joined the ranks of the enemy.

“Don’t back down! Endure even in death!”

Barmet reached out his hand.

As he had done in Kriva, he sought to devour souls.

His forces surged beyond the gate.

The already tense battle was rapidly collapsing.

– This is enough.

He had enjoyed it sufficiently.

Besides, the Empire was vast, offering countless more opponents.

He couldn’t allow the other old gods to steal all the delicious prey.

He was about to end it, thinking that.

Sssssss···

Magic surged into the city once more, tugging at the souls of the humans.

“How dare you···!”

“Don’t covet the Father’s people! You filthy thing!”

The priests channeled their magic and resisted.

The fading light flickered brightly again.

However, at the same time, their blood flowed backward, and their bodies began to crumble.

“E, eueueue···!”

“Wake up! Clive! Get a grip!”

“Hold on! Don’t become slaves of the dead!”

Many citizens gasped for breath, teetering on the brink of death.

They barely clung to life, preventing their souls from being consumed.

– Humans, huh.

A flicker of interest ignited in Barmet’s eyes.

– Really, they’re an interesting race.

He amplified his magic, exerting even greater force than before.

The vassals, who were human yet not entirely human in his eyes, resisted.

Their souls remained tethered, as if bound by an unseen force.

However, ordinary humans were easily extracted with a mere gesture.

It was only the vassals who held on, sustained by the power of their creator.

– This is the end.

With a single gesture.

Tens of thousands of human souls would be devoured.

Uduk—

At that moment, the undead froze.

– Hmm?

Thud···

And one by one, they began to fall.

Like puppets with severed strings, the magic binding them was broken.

“L, Lord!”

The vampires looked around in confusion, searching for their master.

– This is···.

Barmet was also taken aback.

Darkness receded from behind him.

He opened his eyes wide and slowly turned around.

The sun was rising over the land shrouded in darkness.

Saaaaaaaa——

A radiance flickering like fire.

Barmet beheld an existence beyond the radiance.

It was something that could only be perceived by focusing his mind and refining his soul.

It was a soul whose depth even he, revered as a god, could not comprehend.

“···Edar.”

Barmet spoke aloud, not through telepathy.

His pronunciation was clumsy, unaccustomed to the constraints of a human mouth.

“Lord’s successor···.”

And the human Emperor.

The radiance surged forward silently.

It consumed the darkness like an explosion, spreading golden light.

Barmet felt the light burning his flesh and soul.

This was a sensation that Lord had never been able to inflict upon the old gods.

“H, how?”

The Emperor did not answer his mumbled question.

Instead, he imbued the flickering light with a potent emotion.

– You, Barmet.

The Emperor was consumed by rage.

At the monster who dared to prey upon his people.

He unleashed the light of his soul, demanding a heavy price.

Nothing is eternal.

Barmet shielded himself with his wings.

The light emanating from the Emperor’s soul was too intense.

White steam rose from the skin exposed to the light.

Though it was magic without heat, it burned hotter than any flame.

– Barmet.

A deep voice resonated with the magic of the soul.

– Lord of Struggle. Lord of the Undying.

Barmet trembled at the Emperor’s pronouncements, utterly astonished.

“What···?”

The fact that he trembled.

The fact that the Emperor knew him.

He was surprised by two things.

“How do you know me?”

Barmet asked the Emperor, who was surrounded by a growing, golden radiance.

He felt a pressure as if standing before a waterfall, an intense flow of magic.

“Do you think this person wouldn’t know you?”

His eyes widened.

The thought that reached his mind, the gaze that followed… Barmet clearly remembered who possessed that thought.

“You—”

“Should I say, long time no see?”

A familiar gaze, a familiar flow of magic emanated from beyond the Emperor’s radiance.

“Tiamar.”

Barmet looked at the soul contained in the Emperor’s pendant.

“Did you teach him that?”

“What? Your name?”

Tiamar laughed. “No. I didn’t teach him anything. It would be more accurate to say he taught me.”

She added, “He knows a lot.”

“Hmph.”

Despite her denial, Barmet was certain. Who else would have told him about him? How could a livestock [derogatory term for humans] that hasn’t even lived for decades know him?

Barmet thought so and declared, “No matter what you say, nothing will change.”

“Do you really think so?” she sneered, and the Emperor raised his right hand high.

*Whoosh—*

The light the Emperor emitted soared into the sky, rising like a pillar and then falling in a semicircle in all directions.

Light fell like snowflakes, small and round, fluttering down. As the light touched the city, the vassals [loyal subjects or warriors] rose to their feet.

Following the vassals, the humans also stood up one by one.

“Oh, oh…!”

“Father, my Lord!”

The magic contained in the light healed their wounds—wounds of the flesh, wounds of the soul, even bringing back the recently dead.

“Am I alive?”

Those whose breath had stopped but whose souls had not yet departed were embraced and caressed by the light, and they exhaled.

“Hah…!”

At the same time, another exclamation erupted. This was not the breath of a human returning to life, but the scream of Barmet’s servants, terrified by the changes in their bodies.

“M-My body… my power…!”

Magic flowed out of the servants’ bodies like steam. Taut skin turned wrinkled, and fangs fell out. Hair turned white, and their backs lost strength and bent forward.

“H, human…?”

It was not just a loss of magic.

“Why am I human…?”

“Turned into a human?”

The same ending as the vampires exposed to the light in Mikena—from vampire to human, returning to their original race, as if a disease had been cured.

“Uh, uh?”

But it wasn’t the end. When they became human, an anomaly occurred.

“Heo, heok!”

The servants clutched their chests and collapsed. Death suddenly claimed them, pulling out their souls.

The souls that sprang from their bodies flew towards Barmet. The moment they received the blood of the old god, their souls were mortgaged, and the time had come to pay the price of power.

*——!*

*—! ——!*

The souls floundered in the air, making a last resistance to avoid being consumed by the old god, but they were swallowed in vain.

*Fsssk…*

Would it be a consolation to them? They were not the only ones who met their end.

The undead horde that had collapsed when the Emperor appeared… When the light that healed human wounds, the light that turned vampires into humans—the light emitted by the god of humans—touched the dead, who were only fragments of souls, they crumbled and scattered in the gently blowing wind.

“Impressive.”

Barmet frankly expressed his admiration. What should he say about this sight? A miracle caused by releasing the magic contained in his soul.

The Emperor revived his people and destroyed his enemies. Nothing remained of Barmet’s forces.

“Indeed, he is worthy to be called the successor of Lord.”

Even though he had lost his pawns, he didn’t feel regret. Rather, he spread his wings wide and stood before the Emperor’s radiance.

“What are you going to do now? Are you going to fight me?”

Instead of answering, the Emperor pointed behind Barmet.

“No. It is not I who will punish you.”

“Not you?”

The empire’s people, their enemies vanquished, surrounded Barmet. The group led by the Emperor and the group that protected the city combined to number eight hundred.

Only a fraction compared to the entire vassal population, but the opponent was only one person.

“Hahahahaha.”

Barmet read the fierce energy directed at him. He scanned the eyes of the vassals, realizing they saw him as prey.

“Hunt me? You guys?”

He pounded his chest with his fist. “Good! Come on! Livestock of humans and elves!”

He spread his wings wide, creating a strong wind that caught dozens of vassals and blew them away.

“Prove your worth! Face me, Barmet, the Lord of Struggle! I will test whether you are needed by God!”

“Kill him!”

“Kill the false god!”

The vassals rushed in, harboring no fear in the face of the old god’s aura, because they were beings who lived longing for affection for their creator.

They risked their lives with the will to annihilate their master’s enemy.

“Hmph!”

Barmet snorted and waved his hand.

*Swish!*

With a single gesture, twenty vassals were torn apart, but not a single one of them died, because the light enveloped them just before their torn bodies hit the ground.

It gathered the scattered blood, reattached the torn flesh, and drove away death.

“Kali!”

Gehard ran between his resurrected brothers and sisters, setting up his spear. No sooner had he done so than the monster’s hand struck him.

*Crack…!*

He had only blocked it, but his bones were crushed.

“Keuk… Go! Quickly!”

Calliope passed by her brother, who was being crushed by the monster’s hand, and plunged into the monster’s arms. In a fleeting moment, she stabbed her blade into the gap that Gehard had created by sacrificing his body.

*Stab!*

A strike that stabbed so deeply that the guard of the sword touched his chin.

“You have quite an interesting thing, human,” Barmet said, not budging even though the blade was stuck in his neck. He spoke naturally. “That sword, whose soul is it made of?”

“…”

She didn’t answer and tried to pull out the sword and retreat, but Barmet waved his hand faster than she could react.

*Thud!*

There was no time to dodge. She flew to the fortress wall and crashed into it, and the wall shook greatly.

“Next! Anyone else!”

“Don’t be arrogant!”

“You monster!”

The vassals who surrounded the monster from all sides continued their attacks. Even though he showed overwhelming martial prowess, they did not hesitate.

Even in the moment when Calliope was attacked, they stabbed their blades at the monster.

*Clang—!*

But most of the attacks were useless. They stabbed the seemingly soft skin, but it sounded like hitting steel.

“It’s useless. Weaklings.”

Barmet gathered his breath as he looked at the vassals rushing at him and exhaled slowly.

*Whoosh!*

Fire spewed from the bat’s mouth, a flame reminiscent of a dragon’s breath that melted the vassals in a semicircle.

“Kueeeuk!”

More than seventy vassals were engulfed in flames. Armor melted, flesh melted and flowed down onto the dry ground.

“Father…!”

But death did not come to them. In the moment of facing death, light dwelled within them.

“Arise.”

At the same time as the flesh was melting in the fire, the flesh was healed by the light.

“You are the punishment I have forged. Fire cannot harm you.”

The light could not even erase the pain of burning flesh. However, pain was not an obstacle to the vassals’ loyalty.

Pain was proof that their loyalty was heading in the right direction. They rejoiced, feeling the protection of their master even in the fire.

“As long as Father is with us…”

“Death cannot take us!”

The vassals shouted and approached even as they melted.

Barmet widened his eyes in surprise.

“Heo…”

It was like an ant colony fighting a large insect. The insect lightly moved to shake off the ants, but more ants than it shook off clung to the insect and burrowed between its shells.

“It’s useless!”

Barmet grabbed the vassals clinging to his back, threw them away, and trampled on them.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

The vassals, who were trampled on three times, were buried in the hollowed-out ground and could not be recognized. Barmet confirmed that the Emperor’s light did not linger in the ground.

“I see.”

The vassals were different from him.

They were not beings who would never die.

*Look, can you feel life under here now?*

“You are different from me.”

Death was only far away because of the Emperor’s protection. It wasn’t that death wouldn’t come.

“I do not die.”

On the other hand, Barmet really didn’t die. The fact that he didn’t die was the basis of his confidence.

Why should he stay far away and plot? Why should he run away from a fight because he was at a disadvantage?

Because death itself did not come.

*Swish—*

Mersephone’s sword cut off his neck. It was a sword whose blade flickered with blue flames.

“I told you. It’s useless.”

Barmet said, grabbing the burning blade and pulling it out. As the blade came out, the cleanly cut wound healed cleanly.

“For something like that, your recovery is slow, monster.”

Gehard stabbed Barmet’s back with Nuadil.

“Is that so? Does it look like that? Fake human.”

His wings fluttered and knocked away the two vassals.

“Were you aiming for a war of attrition?”

As Gehard said, his recovery was slowing down. The scratches that had healed as soon as they appeared were gradually accumulating. It was proof that the magic he possessed was being depleted.

“The successor of Lord, you’re doing something ignorant.”

He laughed, because as he said, he didn’t die. Even if his body turned to dust, he didn’t die. The only problem was when his body would be reconstructed.

His recovery was slowing down, but he wasn’t dying.

Was there a reason why Lord had sealed him?

*Clang!*

*Thud——*

After hours of engagement, Barmet fell to the ground with his limbs severed. His recovery had stopped, and his severed legs, arms, and wings did not grow back.

“Oh, I guess I was too early to be active.”

The damage was great as much time was spent to get to this point. The name of the old god was not in vain. He was originally an immortal being.

“Human. Successor of Lord.”

That’s why Barmet didn’t erase his smile even in defeat.

“You beat me today, but how many times can you do that?”

He said, looking at each of the vassals who surrounded him.

“It’s a shame, it’s really a shame. To end the beginning so easily.”

Because he had spent nearly ten thousand years in the abyss, the fighting spirit that surged within him did not subside easily. He felt sorry even if there was a second or third time.

“Idiot. Do you think there will be a next time?”

At that time, Tiamar sent a thought.

“You guys are still arrogant, even though you’re stupid.”

The good mood he had managed to achieve sank at her ridicule.

“Shut up, loser. You’re the one who needs to understand your place.”

“I already understand? You’re the one who doesn’t understand.”

“What?”

“They say regret always comes too late. You’re too late, because you missed the chance to escape.”

Barmet was about to utter profanity, but he suddenly raised his head.

*Step, step…*

The Emperor stood before the old god. He had hidden the radiance that had shone so brightly. The only thing visible now was a tall human.

Of course, it was a meaningless distinction because Barmet could see souls. The soul he possessed shone so brightly.

“Barmet.”

“Edar, was it? Is that your name?”

He stopped talking as he was about to continue, because there was a change in the Emperor’s soul that he was looking at.

“B, armet…”

Another soul was visible. He was one of the old gods that Barmet had called. His thoughts came from within the Emperor, not anywhere else.

“Escape—”

The composure disappeared from Barmet’s face. Horror took its place, and fear took the place left by horror.

“What…”

The thought that had warned him was cut off, leaving behind an echo like a scream just before it was silenced, because the Emperor’s soul was pulling in the old god’s soul to absorb it.

The soul of the old god, an existence on par with Barmet, had been swallowed.

“No way…”

It wasn’t a seal. The soul had really been eaten. How could he not know what that meant?

“What, what…! What have you done!”

He twisted his body violently and screamed, because it was something he couldn’t believe, something he couldn’t even imagine.

“Did you devour him? How? How could you do that!”

“Because he is the existence Father was waiting for,” Tiamar said. Her thoughts were filled with laughter—a laugh full of joy, not ridicule, and dripping with affection.

“Father said, ‘Nothing is eternal.'”

“You’re done too, you moron.”

The Emperor took a step forward the moment he was about to shout not to be ridiculous.

*Step…*

“Heo, heoeoeok!”

Barmet bounced off and turned in the opposite direction. He stretched out his two arms, which were belatedly growing little by little, and grabbed the floor.

*Ggggeugeugeug…*

Two blunt hands because his recovery was slow. How much time would it take for his body to recover? The magic he possessed was depleted, so he had no time to recover.

“N, no…”

Originally, it wouldn’t have mattered, because he didn’t die. Even if they burned him and melted him, he would have reconstructed his body somewhere.

*Step, step…*

“Don’t come!”

“Barmet.”

The Emperor followed him and called his name. Only then did Barmet realize why he had trembled when the Emperor first called him.

He must have instinctively realized that the Emperor was an existence that could kill him.

“Don’t come… Don’t come!”

He swam across the floor, trying to escape by flapping, but the more he did, the more he was pulled, because the Emperor’s soul, standing right behind him, was calling.

His soul answered the call and was pulled against his will. His body was moving forward, but his soul was moving backward. The Emperor was pulling his soul.

“I’ll do anything! You can enslave me! So please! M, me…!”

The composure and arrogance he had shown just a moment ago were gone. There was only a monster who had succumbed, crying like a child.

The Emperor stood before him.

“Even a single human is more precious to me than you.”

Edar’s face without radiance, his two eyes filled with disgust and anger.

“I will devour you. You will become a lamp within me to atone for your sins, until the day the enemy of mankind disappears.”

Edar’s hand touched the monster’s head. The monster resisted, but the soul did not resist. It flowed quietly into the infinite vessel like flowing water.

*Thud…*

The body of the transcendent being, once called the old god, collapsed and crumbled with the wind, soon disappearing without a trace.

“How does it feel to devour a god, Edar?”

“Didn’t I say?”

Edar replied, “Unpleasant.”