Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 88

Rachel entered the city of Kiruna.

Tens of thousands followed behind her.

They were Familiars, conscripts, and soldiers of Thurdret.

Although their numbers had significantly decreased because the wounded and those without the will to fight were left at the garrison, more than half of the soldiers followed her.

“Don’t rush! And don’t scatter!”

The city gates were wide open, and no one stood in their way.

In the first place, a darkness had descended where one could not see an inch ahead.

There was no way to stop them, even if tens or hundreds of thousands came.

“Never! Never fall behind alone! You must stay by our side! Stay where you can see the light!”

There were many who emitted light in the darkness.

Including Familiars, conscripts, and those who received holy objects, there were up to 2,000 people.

However, this was the metropolis of Kiruna.

A large city of 800,000 people, claiming to be the capital of Germania.

The light emitted by 2,000 people in such a place was too small.

“Here! Here! People are buried!”

“You’re not going to bite me, are you?”

“Aaaaaah! Don’t come! Don’t come!”

Moreover, the situation in the city was the worst.

It was only natural for fanatics to run wild in the darkness.

An earthquake struck the city just before the light disappeared.

“Fire! Fire!”

“Where? I can’t see!”

People were buried under collapsed buildings, and fires spread.

The acrid smoke covered the city, but the flames were not visible.

The heat was felt, but the fire could not be extinguished because the light could not be seen.

‘It’s more serious than Sodomora.’

At least in Sodomora, it was possible to distinguish between friend and foe.

Even if a building collapsed, one could tell where it had collapsed.

Even if there was a fire, one could tell where it had started.

But here, nothing could be known.

Creak!

Even scaly monsters like lizards.

It would have been better if the dead were wandering around Sodomora.

At least the corpses were in human form.

“Let’s divide the troops, focusing on the Familiars and conscripts. We’ll become torches and move around. That will save more people than moving around together.”

“I’ll go west.”

“We’ll go east.”

“Then I’ll go straight up this road.”

Rachel looked at the main road that started from the gate.

The central road where darkness was laid and nothing could be seen.

At the end of that road was Duke Thurdret’s mansion.

That was the heart of the city, and the main temple was also nearby.

“I want to leave it alone, but it must be related to this darkness.”

She led the group forward.

It was a road that felt long even during the day, but with the darkness, it felt so long that she wondered if there was an end to it.

This was because they were not just walking.

“Tear down the surrounding buildings! To prevent the fire from spreading!”

Extinguishing fires in houses,

“I hear a sound from this way.”

Rescuing people buried in the rubble,

“If they don’t come to their senses, hit them.”

Saving people from the attacks of fanatics, it took time to move forward, and the number of people following her gradually decreased.

Nevertheless, the Familiars, freed slaves, and soldiers of Thurdret, full of energy, reached Duke Thurdret’s mansion with Rachel.

“······.”

It was called a mansion, but in reality, it was no different from a palace.

As they crossed the open main gate, the thick smell of blood assaulted their noses.

“Ugh···.”

“H, here···.”

Those who were injured and collapsed reacted to the light.

Wounds from being stabbed, cut, and bitten by teeth.

Fanatics had run wild even in the mansion.

And the sound of them still rampaging could be heard.

Clang!

Tung—! Tung!

Clang!

The sound came from the hallway.

Rachel quickened her pace.

Corpses were scattered everywhere in the hallway, and blood was pooling.

There were few people alive, regardless of vassals or servants.

“···Who is it?”

A wary voice was heard from the darkness.

Followed by a dying gasp, “Kluk···.”

The commotion stopped.

Squeeze···

Rachel grabbed her iron club and stepped forward.

As the light illuminated the front, the owner of the voice was revealed.

It was Duke Thurdret, Svein.

He stood alone, soaked in blood from head to toe.

“Don’t come.”

The Duke stretched out his hand to block her and raised his other hand to cover his eyes.

He frowned at the glare of the light and slowly lowered his hand.

The Duke’s eyes met Rachel’s eyes.

There was no madness in them.

“A vassal of Edar.”

“Are you safe?”

Rachel asked in a stiff tone.

“Does it look like it?”

An answer mixed with sarcasm, resignation, and various emotions.

She looked at the wounds on the Duke’s body.

His whole body was full of large and small wounds, the most fatal of which was his left arm.

The left arm was torn below the elbow to the point where the bone was exposed.

“······.”

The Duke looked at the corpse lying next to him.

That corpse was Eirik, the Duke’s first… no, second son.

The person who had just argued with the Duke must have been him.

He had fallen into fanaticism, attacked the Duke, and died in defeat.

The Duke’s eyes were indifferent as he looked at his son.

“Svein!”

The Duchess of Thurdret, Yvella, who had been found by the conscripts nearby, shouted.

She shook off the conscripts holding her and ran to the Duke.

And she was shocked to see his appearance as she tried to hug him.

“You···.”

“It’s okay. I can heal this much. I’ll get better if I go to the temple.”

Yvella examined the Duke and asked in a trembling voice.

“What about Harald? What happened to Harald?”

When the Duke shook his head, she sat down and sobbed.

Rachel realized that Harald was dead and that Yvella was sad because of it.

Not because she was sad to see the corpse of her son in front of her.

‘Strange.’

Rachel guessed.

That Yvella’s first son had killed the second son.

She tilted her head because she couldn’t guess the reason.

A situation where the older brother kills the younger brother, and the mother is indifferent to the older brother’s death.

Could such a family exist?

‘They’re really strange people.’

That’s why they tried to kill Edar for being a bastard.

Rachel stood there blankly because she couldn’t sympathize with Yvella’s feelings.

Then she raised her head and glared.

“Why did you come?”

She said in a sharp voice.

“Did you come to see this mess?”

Rachel frowned and looked down at her.

Her makeup was ruined by crying, and she looked like a clown.

But unlike a clown, she didn’t laugh and revealed her hatred.

“If you hadn’t come, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“If you hadn’t committed sins, we wouldn’t have come.”

“Sin? What sin?”

“Do I have to say it? You know it too.”

Yvella stood up and pointed at Rachel.

“Serving the Elven Prince? Selling slaves? Serving Horvid? Is that a sin? Then where is there a human being in this world who hasn’t sinned!”

The soldiers of Thurdret who followed her behind Rachel flinched.

Most of them were knights, that is, from noble families.

There was not a single nobleman who did not serve other races, sell slaves, or serve Horvid.

Yvella sneered at the reaction.

“Look at that! Everyone is like that. Do you think they don’t know that we brought glory to the city by offering sacrifices to other races? When those guys are in the same position as us, will they act differently from us? No! Never! Humans are all rotten!”

She protested as if spitting blood.

“Tell me! There isn’t a single clean human being on this land! So why did you come! Just because you’re human? Then just conquer! Kill them all, harvest only the slaves, and get out to the Great Plains! Don’t preach such ridiculous morality!”

“Yvella. Yvella Thurdret.”

Wince.

Yvella flinched at Rachel’s call.

In an instant, Rachel’s voice calling Yvella changed.

In a solemn, weighty, and resonating voice.

“Humans make mistakes. They make big and small mistakes, and there are many times when mistakes cannot be undone. But even so, humans can be fixed.”

The light emanating from Rachel’s body grew brighter and brighter.

The light became so bright that it illuminated the entire hallway alone.

Yvella covered her face with the light and trembled.

Because what was visible beyond the light was not Rachel.

Because a giant was standing in front of her.

“You can’t go back to when you didn’t commit sins. But it is also human to realize mistakes and correct them.”

The human beyond the light glared at Yvella.

“But there are also those who are human but not human.”

That’s you.

Edar, wearing Rachel’s mask, pointed at Yvella.

“Even when the day comes when humanity finds freedom, you will be like that. Because you didn’t know, because you didn’t know this day would come. You will make excuses and not admit your sins.”

In those days, it was natural.

Rather, her actions were the justice that suited the times.

Also, she would only make excuses that everyone else did it.

“You are not human. You are livestock.”

Edar slowly walked up to the two and declared.

“You are not worth living under the light. Because you are darkness. Because you are a dirty race that cannot tolerate light. So.”

He raised his iron club.

“Ah, no···!”

Yvella stepped back.

“This can’t be happening! Do something! Hurry!”

She sensed her end and grabbed the Duke’s sleeve.

The Duke looked at her and clenched the hand holding the sword.

However, the strength in his hand loosened on its own, and he dropped the sword.

Because his body, like the power he had, had exhausted its strength.

“······.”

The resistance that had been boiling for a while subsided with him.

He bit his lip and lowered his head.

“Damn it.”

Duke Thurdret, Svein, only left those words.

The iron club struck the two.

Wince.

The vassals of Thurdret turned their heads.

The end of a family whose power once reached the throne of Germania.

Because it was a truly futile sight, they bowed their heads and closed their eyes.

Drip··· Drip···

The blood on the iron club fell to the floor.

Rachel’s eyes, looking at the blood, softened.

The light that enveloped her body also faded, so Edar must have returned.

Everyone let out a long breath.

Because they were freed from the pressure that the existence had caused.

Swish swish swish···

As the light faded, darkness rushed in again from the end of the hallway.

But soon, the darkness had to run away again.

Because a new light fell from outside the window.

“Father···.”

Rachel, who had found her voice after Edar left, murmured.

Everyone turned their heads and looked at the tallest spire in the city outside the window.

Light emanated from the top of the spire, chasing away the darkness of the city.

“Light··· Light defeats darkness···.”

One person knelt down and prayed with both hands together.

Then, one by one, the people next to him also knelt down.

Did their faith reach the spire?

The light became even stronger.

“Source of all blessings··· My Father.”

The freed slave was moved by the light and shed tears.

Everyone knew that the golden light was taking on a human form.

The being who had just delivered punishment in front of them.

The Iron Man was emitting the light of his soul from there.

The darkness of the world melted away.