Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 140

8. Engaging in Battle

1

North of Bremen.

A group of people stealthily approached the ruined city gate.

It was Reina and about a dozen Undead Knights escorting her.

Having secretly left the main force, they bypassed the zombies and circled around the city to the north.

“Your Holiness, it’s dangerous. It’s not too late to turn back now,” Baroness Bertier, the most senior of the Undead Knights, urged her once again to return.

However, Reina remained unmoved.

“Haven’t I already told you? I will absolutely not return until I recover at least my partner’s body.”

“Haa… I understand your feelings, as I too have lost a fiancé on the battlefield. But if we are discovered by the zombies, we could be surrounded. Do you think His Majesty Luke would want that?”

“Of course, he wouldn’t. But I want to know for sure if he’s alive or not.”

Reina’s stubbornness stemmed from a nightmare she had when she lost consciousness earlier.

The nightmare of Luke being murdered was so vivid, it felt like it had actually happened.

“If you’re afraid, you can go back. I’ll find him even if I have to do it alone.”

At Reina’s resolute stance, Baroness Bertier sighed deeply and looked at Victor.

It was a plea for him to dissuade Her Holiness, but Victor simply shook his head silently.

He had served Reina for a long time and knew her well.

He knew that no one could stop her now.

‘Rather than trying to stop her, it’s better to help her achieve her goal quickly.’

In the end, unable to break Reina’s stubbornness, they entered the city through the ruined north gate.

“It’s quieter than I expected.”

“It must be because all the zombies are gathered in the south.”

There were some straggler zombies, but they didn’t approach, perhaps sensing an instinctive threat from the vast divine power emanating from Reina.

“Which way do we go to get to the Grand Temple?”

“This way. If we go through this alley, we can reach the Grand Temple faster than going through the main road.”

Guided by an Undead Knight who was from Bremen, Reina’s group moved towards the Grand Temple.

Experienced Victor walked at the front, carefully surveying the surroundings.

After crossing several alleys, Reina’s group encountered a group of people coming from the opposite direction.

“Your Holiness?”

“No, who are you…?”

Reina, glancing at the people who had suddenly appeared, looked surprised.

That was because they were living people, not zombies.

Moreover, their armor and attire were identical to those of the Undead Knights.

“Your Holiness, they are the 4th Division of the Undead Knights!” Bertier, recognizing a comrade’s face, exclaimed with a joyful expression.

The 4th Division of the Undead Knights had been sent ahead as an advance party and were thought to have been annihilated, but it seemed there were survivors.

The other Undead Knights, who had been startled and drawn their swords, also relaxed, smiling with relief.

Victor was the same.

“I’m glad you’re safe. Were you hiding somewhere?”

“Yes, Your Holiness. But more importantly, we have urgent information to tell you…”

The commander of the 4th Division, answering Reina’s question, led his men closer, saying they had important information.

‘Strange. Why are their uniforms so clean when they must have struggled so much to avoid the zombies?’

Victor, puzzled by the excessively clean uniforms of the 4th Division Knights, noticed the knights behind the commander subtly reaching for their sword hilts and shouted urgently.

“Everyone, be careful!”

No sooner had Victor’s shout ended than the 4th Division commander and his men drew their swords and charged like lightning.

“Kuaaak!”

“Keok!”

The Undead Knights selected to escort Reina were those who guarded the Pope most closely.

Therefore, they were composed of individuals with excellent skills and quick reflexes, including Sword Masters [a title given to those who have mastered swordsmanship].

However, they were caught off guard by the sudden attack from their comrades, and about half a dozen were struck down.

Among them was Baroness Bertier, a Sword Master.

She managed to dodge by a hair’s breadth, but she staggered back, having been deeply cut in the side.

“What is the meaning of this! Drop your weapons and step back immediately!” Victor roared, but the 4th Division did not retreat; instead, they became indignant.

“Get a grip, Sir Victor! The person you are trying to protect is a fake!”

“Wh-what did you say?”

“Are you deaf? I said she’s a fake Pope! That woman is a witch who drove out the real Pope and is trying to plunge the Holy Empire into chaos by disguising herself as the Pope!”

“You scoundrel! How dare you utter such nonsense!”

The aura on Victor’s sword flared like a flame, matching his rage.

He would have accepted it if they had called her a fake apostle or angel. Reina was a princess of the destroyed Volga Kingdom and had no connection to the divine realm.

But a fake Reina!

Victor, who had been following and serving her like a shadow since their reunion, could not accept the 4th Division commander’s words.

“Drop your swords immediately and kneel to beg for forgiveness from Her Holiness! Otherwise, this old man’s sword will not forgive you!”

“Hah! You’re the one who needs to get a grip!”

The 4th Division commander and his men, coldly retorting, charged again.

The Pope’s escorts, more than half of whom were already incapacitated by the surprise attack, could not properly defend against their attacks.

Fortunately, those who were injured rather than killed instantly were able to fight again after being healed by Reina’s divine power.

However, the 4th Division’s skills were not to be underestimated.

Even Sword Master Baroness Bertier, who had rejoined the fight after recovering, struggled to overpower even three of them.

“I can’t believe it! The 4th Division Undead Knights weren’t this strong…”

“Hah! Her Holiness the Pope has made us stronger!”

In reality, it was Beymon who had made the 4th Division stronger.

He used ancient, forbidden mental magic to bewitch and brainwash the captured Undead Knights, while also drawing out their potential.

Artificially drawing out potential could make those under the spell stronger in the short term.

However, it had a serious side effect of drastically shortening their lifespan.

They would die within ten days at the earliest, and a month at the latest.

That was why it was a forbidden technique in ancient magic civilizations.

But Beymon didn’t care.

After all, the Undead Knights were meant to be tools to kill Veronica III.

‘I was planning to sneak out of the city and ambush her, but to run into her here. I’m lucky.’

Beymon, who had been secretly watching the fight from a rooftop near the alley, smiled thinly.

Just as he was thinking that he should block their retreat to prevent them from escaping, the 4th Division commander broke through the desperate resistance of Victor and Bertier and charged at Reina.

“Die, witch!”

“Ah! Your Holiness, please dodge!”

Reina, who was busy healing the injured Undead Knights rather than dodging, was startled to see the sword flying menacingly towards her.

However, being neither a mage nor as agile as a knight, she could do nothing but reflexively flinch.

The 4th Division commander grinned wickedly at the sight.

He was confident that he could personally execute the witch who had dared to mock the real Pope.

However, something happened that neither the 4th Division commander nor Beymon, who was watching, had ever imagined.

2

Whoooom!

Clang—!

“Huk! I-it can’t be!”

Suddenly, a light flashed from the ring Reina was wearing, and the sword that the 4th Division commander had swung with all his might was deflected.

Not only the attacking 4th Division commander and Beymon but also Reina was quite surprised.

Reina quickly realized the reason.

The ring that had just emitted light was the wedding ring she had received from Luke when they made their vows.

‘He was protecting me!’

In fact, the wedding ring had a magic spell cast on it by Luke.

It was designed to activate a powerful shield when Reina felt psychologically threatened.

Beymon also belatedly noticed that a powerful magic was hidden in the ring.

However, he was surprised for a different reason.

‘That ring… it looks familiar somehow.’

Not only that, but for some reason, his heart was pounding violently.

Beymon, or rather, Arsen’s guardian, did not know the reason.

The truth was due to the remnants of memories and emotions left in the body of the Demon King Seymon, which he was using.

The ring that Reina was wearing was the one Seymon had prepared for Katarina about 500 years ago.

“Tch! Is it the witch’s sorcery?”

The 4th Division commander, looking frustrated, tried to swing his sword at Reina again.

However, Bertier attacked him first, pushing him to one side.

“Your Holiness! Don’t hesitate, please escape quickly! Sir Victor! I’ll take care of this, so you escort Her Holiness!”

“Understood!”

Victor nodded at Bertier’s words and hurriedly grabbed Reina’s hand to escape from the alley.

But then, Beymon stepped forward.

He had been watching in hiding, but he couldn’t let the Pope escape, so he revealed himself.

Sssrrrk!

A gray shadow appeared like a ghost, blocking the way, and Victor was startled.

He had not sensed any presence nearby at all.

“Wh-who are you!”

“What does it matter? You’ll be dead soon anyway.”

Before the other’s words could even finish, Victor charged and swung his sword. It was a kind of surprise attack.

Thud!

The sword, aimed quickly and accurately at his neck, bounced off something.

‘No!’

Victor’s eyes widened at the failure of his decisive blow.

“Kuhuhu! A surprise attack out of the blue… a seemingly honest old man is acting quite cowardly.”

Thinking that he should get rid of the annoying one first, Beymon created a Dark Bullet in his right hand.

Victor was horrified by the clear dark magic.

“A, a black mage!”

“You’re foolish to only realize my identity now. Die!”

Beymon, with a sinister smile, shot the black bullet he had created in his right hand towards him.

Fwoom— Bang!

“Kuaak!”

The power of the black bullet was tremendous.

It shattered Victor’s sword, which was imbued with aura, and sent his body flying about 10 meters.

“Ugh…”

“Sir Victor!”

Reina, startled, tried to run to Victor.

However, she couldn’t because Beymon blocked her way.

“Kukuku. Where do you think you’re going?”

Reina glared at Beymon, who was blocking her way, and asked.

“Are you the black mage who caused the zombie outbreak? Why on earth did you do this?”

“It doesn’t matter. Just die, Veronica III.”

Beymon did not forget that Reina was wearing a ring with a defensive magic enchantment.

But no matter how powerful a defensive magic was, it would eventually break if it was hit repeatedly.

Creating a Thousand Bullets, he was about to fire them at Reina.

However, just before the dozens, hundreds of black bullets were launched, they suddenly disappeared like a mirage.

‘Huh? Why is this…?’

Confused by the absurd situation, Beymon created a Thousand Bullets again.

But the result was the same.

It was as if his body was refusing to attack Reina.

It was the first time this had ever happened, and he was bewildered.

Suddenly, an attack from behind struck his back.

Swoosh— Bang!

“Keok!”

Beymon’s body staggered from the intense impact.

Beymon, who had not felt the sensation of pain since being awakened by his master, turned his head to look at the one who had attacked him.

‘A kid?’

A small girl, who looked no more than five years old, was glaring at him with her hand outstretched.

“Holy Bullet!”

“Kuk! This brat! Shadow Shield!”

Beymon, blocking the holy light bullet fired by the little girl, immediately launched a counterattack with black magic.

“Black Spear!”

A dark spear made of magic flew like lightning towards the little girl.

Beymon, who was smiling triumphantly, thinking that it was impossible to block or dodge, was soon taken aback.

The little girl had blocked the Black Spear with her small hands.

No, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had simply blocked it.

Swoooosh!

The Black Spear, blocked by the little girl’s hand, lost its form and was absorbed into her body!

‘She absorbed the dark magic? Does that mean this little girl can wield black magic?’

But even more shocking was the fact that the little girl could wield not only black magic but also divine power.

The light bullet that had initially attacked him was clearly made with divine power.

‘Divine power is mostly used for healing or purification. It’s rare to see it used for offensive purposes like that little girl did.’

There were some who could do it.

They were the mages of the Artenian Royal Magic Tower, who studied both theology and magic.

‘Is the little girl a mage from the Artenian Royal Magic Tower? Even so, applying divine power to magic requires at least an 8th circle mage…’ [Circle refers to a level of magical proficiency]

In other words, the little girl was an unbelievable genius who was an 8th circle mage or higher and could wield both divine power and black magic.

“Who are you? Where did you learn such power?”

“…Phoenix Blow!”

Instead of answering, the little girl unleashed fire magic.

This attack magic, where seven giant firebirds attacked in succession, was something he had never seen before.

Even Beymon’s master, the lich Arsen, who was well-versed in both white and black magic, did not know such magic.

‘Tch! Whoever she is, she’s no ordinary person.’

In the Southern Continent, there was something called ‘Rejuvenation’.

It was similar to the ‘Body Change’ phenomenon where the body is reconstructed upon reaching the Sword Sage level, but Rejuvenation meant becoming much younger.

Perhaps this little girl was of that type.

“Interesting, little girl. You’re special, so I’ll have to take you to our master. He’ll surely find you very interesting.”

“To the Lich King Arsen?”

The little girl, who had been silent all along, showed a surprised reaction.

“You know our master?”

“…”

“Hehehe. I’m even more curious about your identity. I must take you to our master.”

Beymon, with a sinister smile, pulled up his dark magic much stronger than before.

Despite the murderous aura, the little girl did not back down at all.

As if she was determined to protect Reina behind her.

3

‘This is a real problem. This monster is stronger and more dangerous than I imagined, and to run into him here of all places…’

Karen, standing in front of Reina, pretended to be calm, but inwardly she was very perplexed.

She knew the identity of the monster in front of her.

When she and Nanda arrived near Bremen, they heard a tremendous explosion.

Sensing that something was wrong, that something had happened to her father or mother, she looked at Nanda.

Nanda nodded and used his divine speed to arrive in Bremen immediately.

“I have a restriction that prevents me from fighting. Instead, I will share my power with you. You will be able to unleash a little of your original abilities.”

Although it was a little, it was an enormous level for ordinary mages.

Karen was considered the last hope of the world, a genius with incredible abilities.

But this undead monster, a subordinate of the Lich King, was not an opponent that could be handled with a slightly recovered power.

Even in the future timeline that had already disappeared, she had barely managed to destroy this undead monster after a fierce battle.

And that was only possible with the sacrifice of her teacher, Erewin, and her rival, Jegal Soha.

The situation was worse now than it was then.

She had less than half the power she had then, and Erewin and Jegal Soha were not by her side now.

‘But I won’t lose. If I back down here, Mom will be in danger!’

But there was something Karen didn’t know.

The undead monster created by the Lich King Arsen was the body that the Demon King Seymon, her father Luke, had before he was reincarnated.

“Black Bind!”

Shushushuk—! Whiriririk!

The undead monster, or rather, Beymon, launched a black magic attack.

Karen dodged the black plant vines that were trying to wrap around her by using Blink.

Beymon, having seen through her movements, rushed in like a ghost and tried to bind her with ice magic.

“Hehehe. Dark Freezing… Huh!”

Just before Beymon’s magic was completed, Karen, who had emitted a long aura from her fingertips, launched a sharp sword strike at Beymon.

Victor, who was receiving emergency treatment with Reina’s divine power, was shocked to see the swordsmanship Karen had displayed.

‘That, that’s Gold Sword! How can that little child…!’

He had seen Luke training when he was under his command in the past.

That’s why Victor immediately recognized that the swordsmanship the girl had displayed was Gold Sword.

It was the same for Beymon.

However, he wasn’t clearly aware of it.

It was just the memory left in his body, the memory of Seymon falling to Rakan’s sword, that made him feel a strong sense of displeasure.

“Grrr! A kid who even uses swordsmanship?”

“Hmph, I still have things to show you!”

Karen snorted and waved her hands as if writing letters in the air.

But just before she finished, black flames burst out of Beymon’s hand in succession.

“Dark Flame!”

Kwarurung! Kwakwang!

Karen hurriedly moved to avoid the black flames that were flying like cannonballs.

But this was Beymon’s trap.

He had been waiting for Karen to move, preparing a counterattack, and then he suddenly swung his whip, wrapping it around her neck.

“Kyaa—!”

“Little girl!”

Victor screamed in surprise.

But he was still not fully healed from his injuries and could not help.

It was the same for the other guards who were fighting the 4th Undead Legion.

“You’re a very talented little girl. I’ll cut off your breath for now.”

After all, his master was someone who had transcended death.

Even if he dragged the corpse, he could summon the soul that had resided in the corpse and find out what it had done in life and what abilities it had.

“Keok! Keeeuk!”

“Hehehe. Once you’re in my hands, it’s useless to struggle.”

Although he looked like a mage, Beymon’s physical abilities, enhanced by dark magic, were strong enough to tear an ogre apart with his bare hands.

Naturally, strangling a child’s neck was nothing to him.

If Karen hadn’t resisted desperately, she would have already lost her breath.

‘I, I’m done for. I can’t anymore…’

Karen’s body, reaching its limit, began to slump.

“Stop it!”

“No!”

Just as Karen was about to reach her limit, a rock golem suddenly appeared behind Beymon and struck him hard.

Puh-uh-uh-uhk—! Kwakwang! Kwang!

The attack was so strong that Beymon’s body, hit by the golem, flew like a cannonball, crashing through several buildings.

‘Kuk, who the hell…?’

Beymon, who had quickly gotten up, returned to the alley where the fight was taking place.

And he looked for who had moved the rock golem to attack him.

The Pope’s guards were busy fighting the undead members who had become puppets. The old man who had been knocked out by black magic a little while ago was also standing there with a dazed expression, holding a broken sword.

‘Then?’

His gaze finally turned to Reina.

Reina was already holding the slumped Karen in her arms.

“Hmph, did His Holiness the Pope step in?”

He never thought that the Pope would move a rock golem to attack him.

It was unexpected, but there was no way he could be stopped by just one rock golem.

As Beymon approached with a sneer, he flinched involuntarily at Reina’s gaze.

It wasn’t just because Seymon’s body was refusing to attack.

The atmosphere emanating from Reina’s eyes was unusual.

She, who had been as calm as a vast land just a moment ago, was now in a state where her emotions were boiling over as if a volcano had erupted.

‘P, Princess!’

Victor swallowed hard.

Even he, who had served Reina for a long time, had never seen her this angry.

Reina, who had suppressed Beymon’s momentum with just her gaze, spoke as if shouting.

“How can you try to kill a child without hesitation?”

Beymon snorted at her accusation.

“Hmph, is that a child? If you have eyes, you should be able to tell that she’s no ordinary child?”

“There is no reason for someone to die or be harmed just because they have extraordinary abilities!”

“That’s just your opinion.”

Beymon, with a sneer, activated black magic and summoned the undead.

Since his body was refusing to attack Reina, he was trying to eliminate her indirectly.

Kikikikiki!

Kekekekeke!

The undead he summoned were death knights and liches that Arsen had previously shown in the Southern Continent.

Although they were not enhanced, they were more than enough to wipe out the Pope and his party.

“Kill them!”

At Beymon’s command, the undead moved.

In response, Reina also used her ether abilities to create a number of rock golems to block the death knights and liches.

Kwaang—!

Puhpuhpuk!

The power of the rock golems was stronger than expected.

Beymon, who witnessed the death knights and liches that had rushed towards Reina being hit by fists and crushed, was startled and flew into the air with the remaining undead.

He was planning to pour attacks from above.

“Hmph, they have quite a bit of power…”

Whirring—! Swish!

Just as a fierce wind sound was heard, the death knight next to Beymon was cut in half at the waist.

He and the undead were shocked as a series of wind blades flew at them.

‘This can’t be! How can that woman do such an attack!’

The wind blade that had just split the death knight was almost equivalent to a 9th circle attack magic.

It was unbelievable that the Pope, who was known not to have learned magic, was launching such attacks.

And even if she had learned magic, not everyone was good at fighting.

Those who were timid and shy would avoid fighting or be afraid even if they had learned swordsmanship or magic, and would not be able to use their abilities.

That’s why practical experience was so emphasized.

But Reina, who Beymon knew had never fought before, was now attacking relentlessly.

There was no trace of timidity or shyness in her now.

‘It’s like looking at an angry lioness.’

Although rare, there were cases where ordinary women had rushed at beasts or monsters with their bare hands and chased them away.

The common thing was that they were all trying to save their children.

It wasn’t for nothing that they said that women were weak, but mothers were strong.

‘Is it a maternal instinct unique to women? Did my attacking the little girl stimulate that woman’s maternal instinct?’

Beymon’s guess was relatively accurate.

When he tried to kill Karen.

Reina felt an intense burning sensation in her heart at the same time as she felt anxious. Even though it was the first time she had seen the child, she felt a very close feeling towards Karen.

And her own child, whom she had seen in a dream before, the child who was burning to death in the light and crying out to be saved, overlapped with Karen’s appearance.

That was the reason why Reina was able to fight bravely.

‘Anyway, this is a mess. I can’t attack this woman…’

His body was still refusing to directly attack Reina.

The only good thing was that there were the undead he had summoned.

Although a few had been destroyed when he didn’t know Reina’s power properly, he could still turn the tide if he reorganized the remaining ones.

Whirring—!

“Hmph! Do you think I’ll be hit by the same attack twice!”

Beymon and the undead easily avoided the wind blades that Reina had manifested with ether.

Reina continued to attack, chasing after them, but unlike the first time, none of them hit.

It was because of the difference in experience.

No matter how strong she was, there was no way that Reina, who had no practical experience, could easily defeat Beymon and the undead, who were veterans.

“Although powerful, the Pope’s attacks are simple. Let’s cut off her breath in one go!”

Kieeeek—!

The liches and death knights, who had received the order, descended and began to move chaotically around Reina.

Victor tried to join the fight with his broken sword, but he couldn’t because the brainwashed undead member was blocking his way.

Keeeek!

A death knight, who had avoided the attacks of the golems that Reina had created, rushed in and swung his sword.

In the desperate situation, Reina emitted a strong divine power from her whole body.

The death knight, who was directly exposed to the powerful divine power, instantly turned to ashes and crumbled.

But the sword he had swung still had momentum and flew straight at her.

Clang!

“Ah…!”

It was Karen who saved Reina in that moment of crisis.

Karen, who had been in Reina’s arms, regained consciousness and blocked the incoming sword with the aura in her hand.

The deflected death knight’s sword landed next to Victor, who was struggling to fight.

“Use that sword!” Karen yelled.

Victor, already struggling with his broken sword, grabbed the death knight’s sword before Karen could finish speaking and cut down the brainwashed undead soldier.

Having saved Victor, Karen then dismantled and absorbed the black spheres that the liches had launched. She then shot holy bullets at the liches.

‘My power is overflowing more than before. Could it be that Mother is helping me?’ Karen wondered.

Karen’s guess was correct.

Originally, the aether [a mystical energy] she possessed was inherited from Reina when she was born.

Therefore, when she was unconscious in Reina’s arms, she naturally received the aether that flowed into her.

‘It’s not just that my power has increased. It feels like my very existence has stabilized,’ Karen thought.

Originally, Karen was not a being from this space-time.

And the space-time of the future where Karen existed had collapsed due to her intervention.

In the process, Karen was also in danger of disappearing, but she was saved by Nanda.

He had taught her how to protect her body from divine punishment while coming here.

“You must awaken yourself and understand the principles of all things in the universe. Then you can escape the influence of defying absolute will,” Nanda had said.

In other words, she had to become a transcendent being who had realized the realm of God, like Nanda.

However, to do so, she would have to continue ascetic practices for a long time.

For Karen, who was barely maintaining her existence with Nanda’s power, it was virtually impossible, because Nanda had little power and lifespan left.

“Do not worry too much. There is a saying from the past that even if the sky falls, there is a way out. Although you have violated the heavenly principles, would the world not recognize your sincerity in trying to prevent the destruction of the world? Even if the world abandons you, heaven and earth will continue to protect you.”

At first, when she heard those words, she thought he was just saying them to comfort her.

But now she knew.

That there was a father like the sky and a mother like the earth who would protect her even if the world abandoned her.

Even if her parents did not know the circumstances, even if she was born in a completely different space-time, that bond would never be broken.

‘So, I will protect them! I will definitely protect them!’ Karen vowed.

Woo-oong!

As Karen’s will burned strongly, the aether in her body was noticeably activated.

The same was true for Reina.

Resonating with Karen’s aether, her aether also began to react more broadly and actively.

In the process, Reina felt her aether flowing into Karen.

Karen also sensed that flow.

‘Do you need my power to defeat that guy?’ Karen asked silently with her eyes.

In response to Reina’s silent question, Karen nodded and took the hand she offered.

Whoooosh!

And the moment the two held hands, an enormous light burst forth.

‘This, this is… dangerous!’ Beymon thought, sensing the intense flow of aether along with the light, and his heart sank.

Feeling anxiety for the first time, he thought he had to stop the two from cooperating at all costs.

So, he mobilized the liches to unleash a black magic attack, Thousand Bullets.

Kwakwang! Kwang! Pu-pu-pu-pung!

Black magic bullets rained down from all directions like a downpour towards Reina and Karen, and explosions echoed continuously.

However, the two inside the barrier of light created by the resonance of aether were not harmed in the slightest.

Karen, who continued to receive aether from Reina, clenched her fist when it reached a certain amount.

‘Okay, this is enough!’ she thought.

With this much power, she could defeat the monster created by the Lich King.

When Karen was so sure, Beymon felt the greatest sense of crisis in his life.

‘I have to eliminate them, I have to eliminate that kid somehow, or both I and my master could be in danger!’ he thought.

He activated the ultimate annihilation black magic ‘Black Abyss,’ which Arsen had taught him but warned him not to use carelessly.

Intense abyssal darkness rose from Beymon’s left hand.

Along with it, the liches and death knights within a 30-meter radius were crushed and turned to dust.

The dust was sucked into the abyssal darkness like a black hole, and Beymon had activated the ultimate annihilation black magic by drawing out not only his own magic but also all the magic of the undead.

When the black magic was completed, he immediately launched it towards Karen.

“Black Abyss!” Beymon shouted.

“Million Impact Spear!” Karen countered, converting all the gathered aether into mana and activating the magic.

When she opened her clenched hand, a spiral silver arrow shot out with a bright glow.

The strongest magic ‘Million Impact Spear,’ which had annihilated Beymon even in the vanished future space-time.

As Karen had believed, the strongest magic completely shattered the abyssal darkness that Beymon had created.

“Th-this can’t be!” Beymon exclaimed, his eyes widened in shock.

But there was something even more shocking than the shattering of the Black Abyss.

The silver arrow, which seemed to be breaking apart while shattering the Black Abyss, had split into hundreds of thousands of pieces and was flying towards him.

“Th-this is impossible… !” Beymon gasped.

Kwaaaaang!

With a roar, a huge light soared into the sky.

The light, as dazzling as the sun and filled with warm energy, swallowed the dark being created by evil desires.

4

Luke, who had slaughtered all the enemies who had attacked him and his knights and was tending to the wounded, sensed that the countless zombies that had poured out of the city were heading south, where the Holy Empire army was stationed.

‘So, the many zombies hadn’t disappeared after all,’ Luke thought.

The number of zombies was so large that Reina and the Holy Empire army could be in danger.

Just as Luke was about to hurry, Hwangbo Seong approached and reported.

“My lord, the cleanup is complete,” Hwangbo Seong said.

“Then we’ll leave immediately,” Luke replied.

He was about to activate the Mass Fly magic when he gathered his subordinates.

Suddenly, a black magic attack flew secretly towards him.

It was so stealthy that an ordinary knight or mage would never have sensed it, and even Luke only sensed it when it was close.

‘Huh? Is that a Secret Black Spear?’ Luke wondered.

While Luke was making a puzzled expression at the familiar black magic, his subordinates shouted in surprise.

“Y-Your Majesty!” one of them yelled.

“Be careful!” another warned.

The royal knights were shocked, but Luke was not one to be defeated by such an attack.

Puh-ung!

He easily deployed a defensive magic to block the Secret Black Spear and looked at the one who had attacked him.

On top of a building far away, barely visible to the naked eye, stood a figure wearing a gray robe.

‘A black mage? Were there others besides Dark Moon here?’ Luke wondered.

He had some doubts for a moment, but soon found the answer.

The Secret Black Spear that the guy had just used was a sniping black magic recorded in an ancient black magic book that he had obtained during the Seymon era 500 years ago.

The only ones who knew about it were himself, the black mages of Dark Moon, and Arsen, who was believed to have stolen the secrets, and the remnants of the Veritas Magic Tower, his descendants.

‘Now it’s becoming clear. Who is behind this zombie situation, and who is supporting Constantine,’ Luke realized.

Luke smiled wryly at the evidence that had appeared before him.

However, instead of capturing him, he chose to kill him. He couldn’t waste time.

What was more important to him now was Reina’s safety.

“Dark Bullet!” Luke shouted.

The black bullet that Luke shot pierced the black mage’s heart faster than a ray of light.

“Keok!” the mage gasped, falling.

With the guy falling, Luke tried to activate the Mass Fly magic again.

However, the situation did not go as he had planned.

Ssee-aek! Shwee-aek!

The remnants of the Veritas Magic Tower, who appeared like moles from all over the place, were launching black magic at Luke.

Some of them, realizing that their attacks against Luke were ineffective, openly focused their attacks on Hwangbo Seong or the royal knights.

Luke, who had blocked the continuous attacks with defensive magic, gritted his teeth.

‘Those rat-like things dare to bother me!’ he thought.

At this rate, he would only be held back.

Luke, judging that it would be faster to eliminate them completely even if it took some time, said to Hwangbo Seong.

“I’ll cast a shield magic, so you and the royal knights go south immediately and help the Holy Empire army. I’ll go and beat those rats.”

“Be careful, my lord. It seems like they have something up their sleeves,” Hwangbo Seong warned.

“Yes, it seems so,” Luke replied.

Luke, who had activated Blink magic in succession, first approached the closest one and cut off his head with his sword.

Since he was going to be delayed a little anyway, he intended to kill them all except for one to use as a witness.

Kwakwang! Pu-eo-ung!

Sseogeok! Sseogeogeok!

As soon as Luke decided to act, a third of the black mages were swept away by attack magic and turned to ashes, or their bodies were split into two or three pieces.

Then the survivors began to retreat while maintaining their distance.

‘Huh, are they trying to lure me?’ Luke wondered.

He wouldn’t fall for a lure, but if he didn’t follow them here, they would come back and attack him again.

So, Luke decided to fall for the trap.

Since he was prepared, he was confident that he could avoid or destroy any trap.

The remnants of the Veritas Magic Tower, who were fleeing, stopped at an open space near the western wall of Bremen.

“Is that where you guys have decided to make my grave?” Luke sneered as he approached them.

The moment Luke approached them, a magic circle hidden in the ground activated, and a sub-space like a vortex appeared.

He had expected it to some extent, but Luke frowned at the sub-space that was exerting tremendous gravitational force.

“Tsk, was it a reverse summoning circle?” Luke muttered.

A magic circle that reversed the summoning circle that summoned demons from the demon realm, sending the target to the demon realm instead.

It seemed to be a trump card prepared in case they could not handle it with the explosion of the Great Temple.

“Kuaaaaa!” Luke yelled as his body was swallowed by the sub-space in an instant.

The remnants of the Veritas Magic Tower burst into laughter.

“Hehehe. It’s a success!” one of them cackled.

“Beymon’s plan worked perfectly,” another added.

“But who is that guy? We expected Grand Duke Gregory to come, but a completely different guy got caught?” one of them wondered.

“Who cares,” another replied.

The expressions of those who were chatting happily soon turned pale.

Luke, who they thought would be playing tag with demons in the demon realm, had torn through the sub-space and escaped.

“N-no way… !” one of the black mages exclaimed, their eyes widened as if they had seen a ghost. It was completely incomprehensible according to their common sense.

“Tsk, I’ve used this reverse summoning circle before. Against Rudolf’s dogs,” Luke said.

Luke had used the reverse summoning circle several times, such as when dealing with the royal guards led by Curian.

That was why he was able to quickly grasp and interpret the structure of the reverse summoning circle installed by the Veritas remnants.

“D-damn it! Run away!” one of them yelled.

“We can’t fight that guy!” another added.

The remnants of the Veritas Magic Tower, realizing that they were no match for him, hurriedly tried to escape with teleportation magic.

However, Luke was one step faster.

“Cyclone Rage!” Luke shouted.

“P-please save me… Kuaaaaak!” one of them screamed as the swordsmanship of the latter part of the Gold Sword that Luke unleashed instantly scattered the remnants into minced meat.

Only one person remained.

It was the one that Luke had left as a witness, but unfortunately, it was useless.

“Hiiik! Hweeeeek!” the black mage screamed, clutching his head, having gone insane after seeing his colleagues literally ‘disintegrate.’

Luke, who had quietly dealt with the guy who was useless as a witness with his sword, flew to the north gate instead of the south.

While dealing with the remnants of the Veritas Magic Tower, he had sensed an ominous energy from the north.

If it was nothing, he would have just ignored it, but the problem was that he felt aether.

As far as he knew, the only ones who could handle aether on the continent were Reina and the missing Karen.

In the current situation, it was highly likely to be Reina.

“She’s really impossible. Even though I told her to wait, she doesn’t listen at all!” Luke muttered.

Anyway, he had to hurry.

He also felt an ominous black magic energy along with the aether.

Moreover, the owner of this energy was someone Luke knew.

He had briefly fought him in the Kingdom of Castia while participating in the civil war of the Holy Empire a few years ago.

‘It’s dangerous! No matter how much power Reina has, she can’t defeat that monster…’ Luke thought.

Kwaaaaang!

Suddenly, a huge roar and a flash of light erupted from the distance.

Luke, startled, stopped in mid-air.

“What’s going on? What on earth happened?” Luke wondered, his heart sinking.

Luke quickly gathered his magic power and increased his speed.

As he was flying in a hurry, he saw something staggering and flying towards him from the opposite direction.

‘That’s!’ Luke thought.

His face was half-crushed, but he could clearly recognize it.

It was his own body, which he had lost with his death 500 years ago, and which had been reborn as a monster by Arsen, skipping through time.

It was the Demon King Seymon’s!