Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 382

382.

“How dare you stop me! Even Almas is on your side, so you think you have nothing to fear! Are you truly trying to rebel!”

“Judging by your words, Your Majesty knows very well that I have not committed treason.”

“…You! After killing all your siblings…!”

“I didn’t kill anyone.”

“Where do you get the audacity to lie so shamelessly!”

“Rather, I want to ask. Why are you doing this?”

“What?”

“What did Grand Duke Yukarte promise you? Was it worth killing all of Your Majesty’s children for?”

“You!”

The Emperor grabbed Raonhwi Jen by the collar again. Even as he was dragged along by the rough force, Raonhwi Jen’s expression remained unchanged.

“Crown Prince, don’t spout nonsense just because you have a mouth. You are trying to insult me now!”

“I simply asked a reasonable question. And as someone involved in this whole situation, I believe I have the right to an answer.”

“You are arrogant, Crown Prince. I have never granted you such a right!”

“No, Your Majesty must answer. People are not fools, and lies cannot defeat the truth forever. I thought Your Majesty was a person who kept to the proper path. Wasn’t the reason you took in so many Empresses to resolve conflicts peacefully?”

“……”

“I simply cannot understand why Your Majesty is suddenly acting like this. Why have you changed so much? And did you get what you wanted?”

“……Got what I wanted?”

At that moment, the Emperor’s eyes gleamed strangely. Yes, it was a truly bizarre light. Feeling a chill for some reason, I unconsciously rubbed my arm and frowned. I, who cannot feel temperature, felt a chill; something was definitely wrong.

The Emperor was staring intently at Raonhwi Jen with a possessed look. He released one of the hands gripping his collar and touched Raonhwi Jen’s face. Specifically, the part that was injured and bleeding. While Raonhwi Jen was frozen, startled by the sudden touch, the Emperor wiped away his blood with the most affectionate face in the world. Up to that point, I could tolerate it, but the following sight made me frown involuntarily. He licked the blood on his hand with his tongue.

“Not bad. Quite useful magic power. Everyone else was disappointing, but I can have expectations for you.”

“……Your Majesty?”

“What I want… I haven’t gotten it yet. It’s not enough, so it would be good if you could help me. Will you help me?”

“……What……”

As bewilderment settled on Raonhwi Jen’s face, I felt an ominous sensation. When I came to my senses, I had almost reflexively run forward and pushed the Emperor away.

“Good heavens, Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty!”

As the pushed Emperor fell backward, sharp sounds echoed from all directions. It was the sound of the horrified Imperial Guard drawing their swords to check me. The Captain of the Guard was also aiming his sword at me.

Amid the tense atmosphere filling all directions, I only glared at the Emperor, blocking Raonhwi Jen. I could feel Raonhwi Jen, who had been unexpectedly protected, was flustered, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the Emperor. The Emperor couldn’t get up right away from his seated position. Danimel and Second Prince Lee, who had been screaming about assassination attempts and regicides for a while, tried to support him.

“Don’t touch him!”

The quickly delivered warning was not very meaningful. They looked at me as if they were absurd, and instead supported the Emperor even more fussily.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

“How can there be such an impudent person! To dare harm His Majesty’s body……!”

Prince Adris’s words were not finished. It was because the Emperor, who was being helped up, suddenly reached out and grabbed his neck.

“Yo, Your Majesty?”

Prince Adris’s bewilderment and the incident occurred almost simultaneously. Crack, a chilling sound rang out, and blood spurted from the Prince’s back. No, to be precise, the Emperor’s other hand was embedded in his chest near his heart first. That hand pierced the Prince’s chest and came out from behind his back. A dark red mass was visible in his clenched hand. A human heart dripping with red blood.

“Kya…… Kyaaaa!”

Alisa’s scream echoed from behind. Only then did the time that had seemed to stop begin to flow again. Prince Adris didn’t seem to immediately recognize what had happened to him. He wore an expression as if he couldn’t understand for a moment, then blankly looked towards Raonhwi Jen. Soon, the light quickly disappeared from the Prince’s eyes the moment his gaze met with the stiffened Raonhwi Jen. Soon, the Emperor pulled out his hand, and the Prince’s body, pushed away from him, collapsed as it was. Thud! A dull sound rang out as the corpse fell to the floor. But no one looked back at it. Because the Emperor was in the middle of chewing and swallowing the heart in his hand.

Each time the sound of crunching echoed, people’s faces grew paler and paler. No one moved from their spot, nor could they even breathe. Danimel had been sitting on the spot since the moment the Prince was murdered. His face was so shocked that he was completely out of his mind. Looking at his frozen figure like a statue, I couldn’t help but say a word, even though I knew it wouldn’t be of much help.

“……I told you not to touch him.”

Why doesn’t my ominous premonition ever fail? And why doesn’t anyone listen to my warnings! If he had even pretended to avoid it, he would have created a little gap, and then I could have helped. I know it’s his own fault, but I couldn’t help but feel bitter.

“Keuheu.”

After a while, the Emperor, who had completely swallowed one heart, began to stagger. For some reason, his speed was noticeably slower, making him seem like a zombie moving. With his mouth covered in blood, his two eyes, which he raised, had long been consumed by madness.

“Still not enough. Still not enough.”

The Emperor, muttering to himself, was more like a doll being manipulated by something than a person. And perhaps the fuel that was driving it was now almost exhausted. It could be because he revealed his true identity, or it could be because he acted in a way that deviated from the path of humans. In any case, it was clear that the Emperor’s role was over. It seemed that his movements had suddenly become sluggish because of that. Suddenly, black water filled the Emperor’s two eyes and flowed down in streams. Not only from his eyes, but also from his nose, ears, and mouth, a black, ink-like liquid was flowing out. A pungent stench that seemed to pierce the nose was felt from within it.

“El, that……”

I slowly nodded at Sibelius, who was speaking with a stiff face.

“Everyone, get out of here.”

At those words, Sibelius quickly took Alisa and Asel and stepped back. Only then did the others seem to barely come to their senses and slowly began to distance themselves from the Emperor. Raonhwi Jen was the only one standing there without any reaction.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince. ……Your Highness?”

He didn’t respond even to the Captain of the Guard’s call. Pale white, he couldn’t take his eyes off the Emperor who was spewing black water. All his brothers had died overnight, and he had even seen his father brutally kill his younger brother before his eyes, so there was no way his mind could be intact. Reluctantly, I lightly slapped his cheek. Only then did his gaze become clear.

“Can you hear me?”

“Ah……”

“Can you do a teleportation spell? I’ll buy you time, so run away as far as you can.”

“His Majesty the Emperor……”

“No. That person is not the Emperor.”

Raonhwi Jen turned to look at me with a blank face at my firm reply.

“He wasn’t the Emperor from the beginning. It doesn’t seem like he was simply mind-controlled. It seems like the owner of the body has completely changed.”

“What……”

“It means your father, the real Emperor, is already dead. That’s something else wearing his shell.”

Raonhwi Jen’s eyes widened. He understood the meaning, but he didn’t know how to react. Staring at his face, which was still blank as if he couldn’t grasp reality, I grabbed his shoulders tightly.

“Get a grip. You are now the only surviving member of the Imperial Family. If even you die, the Carter’s Imperial Family will be over.”

“……!”

It wasn’t just Raonhwi Jen who gasped at those words. The Captain of the Guard was also hardening his face as if he had realized it anew. Raonhwi Jen looked back at the Emperor (who used to be) and then at his brother’s body on the floor. His face slowly contorted as he looked at the figure soaked in blood, having lost its warmth.

At that moment, an ominous energy was suddenly felt nearby. That energy was being directed precisely at Raonhwi Jen. I almost reflexively created a barrier. Kwaaaang! My face involuntarily frowned at the heavy energy that collided in that instant. It was such tremendous pressure that my arm maintaining the barrier felt numb.

“El!”

Sibelius shouted in panic. I raised my other hand to show that I was okay, and his sigh of relief followed. Meanwhile, Raonhwi Jen, who had been staring at the water barrier erected in front of him with a stiff face, slowly lowered his gaze and groaned. It was because he had only then realized that his hand was stopped in front of his chest. If I had been even a little late, he would have had his heart taken this time.

“Step back.”

Fortunately, the warning worked this time for sure. As Raonhwi Jen awkwardly backed away, the Captain of the Guard hurriedly led him to his side. They soon joined Sibelius and the rest of the group. Meanwhile, I continued to maintain the barrier and stared at the Emperor standing beyond it. His face was the Emperor’s, but he looked older than the original him. No, or so I thought, but in the next moment, he transformed into an even younger appearance. His form was changing from moment to moment, almost every second, and as time passed, it felt like he was gradually changing into a completely different appearance. The navy blue eyes were also gradually changing color. It was like a process of crushing the existing form and adding a new form. In any case, his identity was clear.

“Karian.”

At the same time as I called out his name, his eyes completely turned red. Keukeukeuk, he let out a gloomy laughter that sounded like he was scratching the inside of his throat.

“It’s you again.”

A different voice than before flowed out from his opened mouth. I don’t know if it’s originally his voice, but it would be similar since he would have implemented it as closely as possible.

“Elquines.”

Just being called by name sent shivers down my spine. The Emperor, no, Karian, stared at me with glistening eyes. The corners of his mouth gradually began to rise, and that continued past his cheeks to the sides of his eyes. It was a bizarre sight that would only appear in horror movies. As the onlookers made faces of disgust, I also clenched my fist tightly.

‘Can I handle him alone?’

The arm that had absorbed the impact was still numb. He hadn’t even awakened as an Evil God, but he was already close to an Upper God in power. Killing him would be difficult for now, and I wasn’t even sure if I could properly subdue him. I could handle him alone, but there were people I had to protect, so there were many things I had to be mindful of.

Fortunately, Karian was currently wearing a human body. No matter how strong he had become, his physical abilities would not be as good as when he was a demon, so he wouldn’t be able to act rashly in front of me. After thinking that far, I became curious as to why Karian had entered the Emperor’s body. If his purpose was to procure sacrifices, it would have been enough to control his mind like he did with Serpis. But the fact that he bothered to enter directly meant that there was a reason to do so. Perhaps something was wrong with his original body, or he couldn’t use it anymore. That was being shown clearly by his current state.

“Keueueu!”

“……!”

Suddenly, he bent over and vomited black water again. The face that had seemed to be forming a certain shape for a moment collapsed as it was, becoming a monstrous mess. It seemed that the human body was not properly handling his soul. Even in that situation, the fact that he wasn’t returning to his original body only led to one conclusion. It was because he couldn’t even if he wanted to.

“Keuheuk, the ones that are easy to seize are all terribly weak. Damn Demon God’s Geas [a magical restriction or binding oath]! If it weren’t for that……!”

Karian ground his teeth and muttered after suffering for a while. It was the moment when my guess turned into certainty. His original body had the Demon God’s Geas on it, and since there was no way to undo it, he decided to take over someone else’s body. The reason why he couldn’t completely abandon his body was perhaps because he hadn’t gathered enough of the desired power yet. If the structure was such that sacrifices were only effective if there was a body, then there was a possibility.

“Just a little more now. Just a little more!”

Karian looked around with frantic eyes. Was it because of the pain, or was it because of his impatience? He seemed to have forgotten the situation he was in.

“I need the blood of a young human. The blood of a very special and young human……!”

He repeated the same words as if chanting a spell, and at some point, he fixed his gaze on one place. It was where the group was gathered. The space teleportation magic was being unfolded with Crown Prince Raonhwi Jen as the center.

“That’s a magician, that’s a spiritist…… and that’s…… ah, yes. Was it said that he was mixed with a unicorn.”

Karian slowly examined each person as if he was rummaging through the Emperor’s memories. He didn’t even pay attention to the Imperial Guard knights or Serium, who didn’t meet the conditions for sacrifice. From Raonhwi Jen to Alisa, and finally to Asel, an intense joy bloomed in his gaze. It was an expression that made it impossible not to recognize that he had set his target.

“This is good! The unicorn blood that humans possess!”

‘What’s so good about it?’

As he tried to jump out, I quickly erected a water barrier in front of him. Karian blinked his hideously twisted eyes and turned to look at me. As if only then recognizing my existence again, an unpleasant expression filled his face. At the same time, a strong pressure poured in.

“Don’t interfere with me, Elquines!”

“Keuk!”

This time, his attack reached faster than I could defend. With the feeling of my neck being strangled, I was pushed quite far away in an instant. I felt the sensation of hitting a wall, and after that, I was crushed by tremendous weight, making it difficult to move for a while. It was fortunate that I quickly protected my body, otherwise I might have been reverse summoned. It was such tremendous pressure. As I clicked my tongue, I heard the group calling from afar.

“El!”

“El-nim!”

“I’m okay, so hurry up and go!”

Even while quickly replying, the energy pressing down on me was increasing. Of course, I wasn’t just standing still either, so I immediately raised water and trapped him. He, who had become like a fish trapped in a tank, struggled to get out, but that was all. Perhaps because it was a human body, he didn’t seem to be able to breathe properly. It didn’t take long for the body that had been wriggling for a while to droop down. He didn’t seem dead, but it was clear that he had lost consciousness. But strangely, the pressure pressing down on me still didn’t disappear. As I was about to examine the situation, a scene suddenly caught my eye. It was the scene of Danimel approaching the place where the magic circle was being activated. I felt an energy similar to Karian’s from him, who seemed to have a slightly dazed expression. An invisible string was connected between them.

“Sibel! Behind you!”

The group was looking at me, so they hadn’t realized his presence yet. I shouted loudly, and Sibelius was startled and turned around, recognizing Danimel’s presence, who was approaching right in front of him.