Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 186

7. The Fall of the Baroque Imperial Family

1

Though he had lost his left arm, Rudolf managed to hurl himself into the time travel device.

He grinned triumphantly within the bottomless vortex of the abyss.

“Heh heh heh! I’ve won! I’ve won!”

Now, he could undo everything.

The divided empire, the lost family.

His enemies, who had cornered him, would now fall without knowing why.

“Hahaha! Just you wait, Luke de Lakan! And Arsen! I’ll repay the humiliation you inflicted upon me… Ugh, ughhh!”

Suddenly, the flow of the abyss accelerated. Rudolf couldn’t withstand the storm-like vortex and lost consciousness.

While unconscious, his body crossed dimensions and landed on a marble plaza in the vastness of space, where countless stars twinkled.

Thud!

“Ugh, where am I…?”

Startled by the impact, Rudolf looked around.

He saw a marble expanse surrounding him. Then, he noticed a strange man standing before him and asked,

“Who are you? And tell me, what year is it in the Holy Calendar?”

The mage, adorned in a gold-threaded robe and holding a golden staff, chuckled at his question.

“This is the rift between dimensions. Time in the lower realm holds little meaning here.”

“Wh-what did you say?”

“More importantly, this is our second meeting. You are as persistent as the one I met before. So much so that the children I was watching couldn’t stop you…”

“What are you talking about! A dimensional rift! Then this isn’t the past?”

Rudolf snapped in annoyance, but the mage continued calmly.

“Of course, this isn’t the past you’re thinking of. However, depending on my decision, you may achieve what you desire, or you may not.”

Rudolf’s eyes twitched at the strange answer.

“Your decision? Do you mean I need your permission? Who are you?”

“Heh heh heh, me? I am called the Watcher.”

“Watcher?”

Rudolf stared at the mage who called himself the Watcher.

For some reason, he didn’t think the man was lying.

‘Then this isn’t the imperial palace from ten years ago? And if he’s the Watcher…’

He recalled a scene from an ancient myth and legend book he had seen in the imperial library and was shocked.

“Elkasel! You’re Elkasel!”

He had felt something mysterious about him from the start.

But to think he was a god! And a chief god at that!

Rudolf gritted his teeth and raised his right arm.

The broken arm had received emergency treatment, and though it still ached, he could move it to some extent.

From the broken sword in his hand, a golden hyper aura extended, aiming at the Watcher, no, the chief god Elkasel’s neck.

“Huh… You’re doing this even though you know who I am?”

“Shut up! Whether you’re a chief god or a demon, it doesn’t matter to me! Either way, I am…”

“Abandoned by both gods and demons, is that it?”

Rudolf couldn’t help but be flustered when he calmly spoke the words he was about to say.

Looking at him, Elkasel continued.

“There’s no need to be so surprised. I told you, you’ve been here once before. You said something similar then.”

“Back then… what was it like back then? Didn’t you allow it?”

Rudolf asked, clinging to a sliver of hope.

“Of course not. With the karma you’ve accumulated, you can never reverse time.”

As Elkasel finished speaking, countless spears appeared around Rudolf, displaying scenes from the past.

There were scenes of him exploiting the people because of the war, and scenes of him massacring innocent civilians to end the Bers incident in the capital [Bers incident: A fictional event, likely a large-scale violent outbreak].

There were also scenes of him trying to summon demons by sacrificing innocent maids to save his children who were dying from a curse, scenes of him digging up the tombs of past emperors, and even scenes of him secretly poisoning the previous emperor in his youth.

Elkasel spoke to Rudolf, who was silently watching his past misdeeds.

“Well? Do you see that you don’t deserve to be granted your wish?”

“Hmph! I never intended to ask for permission in the first place.”

Rudolf retorted and glared at Elkasel with cold eyes.

“I don’t care if you’re a chief god! I’ve always seized what I wanted with my own hands! I’ll do it this time too!”

“Huh, so you’re going to try and kill me?”

“If that’s the only way to gain the power of time!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Rudolf swung his sword at Elkasel with all his might.

Or rather, he tried to.

But for some reason, his body froze mid-swing.

“Ugh! Wh-what is this…?”

“Tsk! What a pathetic fellow.”

Elkasel, clicking his tongue at Rudolf who was acting the same as in the past, spread his hand wide.

Thud!

An intangible shock struck Rudolf.

The pain of the shock, which felt like all the bones in his body were breaking at once, was something Rudolf had never experienced before.

“Kuaaaak! Ughhh! Ugh…!”

“You haven’t even grasped a speck of the universe’s principles, nor have you reflected on yourself. Yet you thought you could challenge a god with mere force?”

Elkasel sternly rebuked Rudolf and lightly struck the floor with his staff.

Then, Rudolf’s body began to fade.

He wasn’t being annihilated, but rather being summoned back to where he came from.

“With the karma you’ve accumulated, you can never obtain the power of time. So go back! Go and pay the price for your sins!”

“Uwaaaaaa! This can’t be! This can’t be happening!”

Rudolf screamed as if he was wronged.

“How… how did I get all the way here! I can’t go back like this! I can’t go back! Ughhh!”

He was so frustrated and wronged that he couldn’t help but burst into tears.

Elkasel looked dumbfounded.

Not because of Rudolf’s absurd behavior, but because someone else had interfered with his reverse summoning.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“You’re so cold. Even so, you could at least grant him a little bit of his wish…”

Whoosh!

A soft and gentle voice came from behind.

Rudolf’s gaze was fixed on the one who appeared with the light.

A beautiful woman with elven features radiated indescribable nobility, holiness, and benevolence.

‘The Earth Goddess, Beliz!’

Elkasel’s partner and the mother of all things.

Rudolf knew who she was at once.

There was only one being who could exude such an aura in such a place.

In any case, Elkasel showed a displeased expression at her appearance.

“There’s no reason to grant his wish. He’s a terrible person.”

“No matter how terrible he is, no matter how much I hate him, he’s still my child. Considering the will he had to come this far, I want to help him achieve his goal.”

‘Ahhh!’

Rudolf was genuinely moved.

He understood why Beliz was the Earth Goddess, symbolizing benevolence and embrace.

It seemed that even the cold and strict Elkasel couldn’t win against Beliz, as he shook his head and stepped back.

Beliz looked at Rudolf and asked,

“You said you wanted to go to the past? I will grant your wish.”

“Oh! Thank… no, thank you, great mother!”

As Rudolf was shedding tears of emotion, Beliz sang in a beautiful voice and raised both arms.

Then, a brilliant light poured down, and Rudolf’s body was enveloped in the goddess’s blessing, turning into a ray of light and returning to the middle realm.

Elkasel, who had been silently watching the scene, spoke bluntly.

“Do you know? If I had been cold, you would have just done something cruel.”

“Oh my, you have no kind words for the goddess of benevolence.”

Beliz glanced at Elkasel and smiled.

Regardless, Elkasel swung his staff. Then, the celestial bodies that had been stopped began to move, and time began to flow again.

“Anyway, this is the end.”

Beliz asked at his words.

“The arrangement is complete?”

“Yes, our arrangement is now complete.”

The Earth Goddess Beliz looked disappointed at Elkasel’s words.

“I wanted to see the end, but that would be greedy, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, even this much arrangement is something we shouldn’t have done in the first place. Because of it, you and I will have to sleep for 1,000 divine years due to the law of causality.”

The Watcher’s duty was to watch.

However, since they had intervened in the affairs of the middle realm, even they, who were called gods, could not escape the punishment of the law of causality that governed the universe.

“1,000 divine years… that’s 360,000 years in the middle realm’s time.”

“It may be a short time for us, but it will be a very long time for our children.”

Beliz, who had been feeling regretful, soon looked worried.

“We may overcome the storm of death… but I’m worried that the legacy of the demon god will ruin the middle realm that we both nurtured.”

“Of course, there will be chaos and trials. But I believe they will be able to overcome it.”

People of the world thought that the gods, including Elkasel, had created the world, but that was wrong.

The gods, including Elkasel and Beliz, were merely administrators selected by the absolute will that governed all dimensions.

The administrators initially decorated their assigned dimension beautifully and abundantly, but after that, they were in a position to watch without interfering.

It was like parents letting their children become independent when they grew up.

The demon god rebelled against this.

He wanted to interfere with everything in all dimensions and control them according to his will.

What resulted from this was the primordial war, the Great War of Gods and Demons.

That war had ended a long time ago, but the dark legacy left by the demon god remained in various places, causing problems.

In the middle realm as well, there had been chaos in the past due to its aftermath, and this was vaguely passed down to people in the name of mythology.

“I hope they can overcome it as you say. And I hope that the children who will follow us will appear…”

“They are already appearing. We will surely meet them again when we wake up.”

Chuckling, Elkasel and Beliz, who were smiling at each other, slowly began to turn into light and disappear.

2

The world was spinning as if caught in a vortex.

Even in the dizzying situation, Rudolf’s mouth was stretched wide.

“Hahaha! I’m going! I’m going to the past to change my fate!”

He would go back to the past and achieve what he desired!

And for the great mother Beliz, he would build the grandest temple in the world!

As Rudolf was making this vow, the dizzying vortex stopped, and a blue planet appeared before his eyes.

‘Is this the middle realm where I lived?’

As he descended through the atmosphere, the Rodisia continent appeared, and soon after, the imperial capital Nemesis came into view.

‘Heh heh heh, have I finally arrived in the past?’

His eyes suddenly widened as he thought he had arrived at the imperial palace from ten years ago.

It was because something that should never have been in the imperial palace was visible. It was the dome created two years ago when they were restoring the time travel device ruins. ‘H-how did this happen? Surely, the dome was built after the underground ruins collapsed…’ Rudolf couldn’t understand. Regardless, his body, already transformed into light by the goddess’s power, began to be pulled somewhere. As he looked to see where he was being pulled, he couldn’t help but be shocked. In the ruined imperial palace garden, Luke and he were fiercely exchanging blows. “This is the end, Rudolf!” Luke, with his Clock Up Sword deployed, charged forward and swung the holy sword Belliont. At the same time, Rudolf was sucked into his past self as if merging with it. His mind blank with disbelief, the gentle voice of the goddess echoed in his ears like a reverberation. “I wanted to grant you a little of your wish.” “You said you wanted to go to the past? I will grant your wish.” The great goddess did not break her promise. She had clearly sent him to the past. It was just that it was only a few minutes earlier that was the problem. “Uwaaaah! You tricked me, Beliz!” Seeing Belliont slowly flying towards him, Rudolf let out a cry of despair. Clang— Thud! The same sound he had heard once before struck his eardrums. But the result was completely different from the past. Back then, he had desperately reacted in a split second and only lost his left arm, but this time, blinded by frustration and anger, Luke’s blade pierced his heart cleanly. Kuurrrung— Bang! “Your Majesty!” Rudolf, his heart pierced by Luke’s attack, was sent flying through the dome to where the time travel device was located. Count Luff, shocked, rushed towards him, but soon met his fate at the hands of Gregory’s sword. The other imperial guards who rushed to protect him met the same end. “Your Majesty! Please come to your senses, Your Majesty!” “Cough—! I… was tricked…” Red blood gushed out like a fountain from the cracks in his shattered armor. Bang! Thump! Just as Rudolf, who had lost so much energy that he couldn’t even move a finger, was about to say something, Karen destroyed the time travel device with her flame magic. The black, gaping space-time passage also closed. ‘Ah, it’s over, it’s over…’ He had never imagined such an end. In Rudolf’s hollow, dying eyes, he saw Luke approaching. “Protect His Majesty!” “Slay the traitor Luke de Lacan!” The last remaining imperial knights desperately charged at Luke and the special forces gathered around him. But for a last stand, their resistance was too weak. Luke was too strong, and Rudolf’s defeat had instilled deep frustration in the hearts of the imperial guards. “I won, Rudolf.” “Y-you… won… Cough! No.” Before completely losing consciousness, Rudolf mustered his last strength to lash out at Luke. “Damn… the gods… chose… you…” Rudolf’s words, seemingly denying Luke’s victory, made the special forces members, including Karen, frown. But Luke himself readily acknowledged his words. “Yes, as you say, I may have been chosen by the gods to be the victor.” Being able to be reborn as the descendant of his enemy 500 years later and come this far was possible not because of his own abilities, but because of the help of a transcendent being. But… “But you know, being chosen by the gods is also an ability. It means you didn’t have enough of a cause.” “Cause… Karma…” Rudolf recalled Elkasel’s words. That with the karma he had accumulated, he could not obtain the power of time. Did Luke de Lacan have that much karma? Rudolf’s thoughts stopped there. It was no longer possible to maintain the thread of consciousness. However, before the thread of consciousness was completely severed, he had something to do, so he mustered his last strength and tore off the golden necklace he was wearing around his neck. Hanging from the golden necklace was the emperor’s jade seal in the shape of a dragon. The jade seal, carved from a red ruby, was something that should never be taken by an invader. It was not just an object symbolizing the authority of the empire’s ruler, but it also had a hidden secret. A very dangerous secret at that. ‘It’s your victory, Luke de Lacan. But you won’t be able to enjoy the joy of victory.’ With a bitter smile, Rudolf slammed the jade seal onto the ground. Shwack! At that moment, with a sharp sound, Rudolf’s head was cleanly severed. Luke, who had been suspicious of his last action, had rushed forward. It was truly a futile death for a hero who had dominated an era, but Luke’s expression was not good. He had failed to prevent the jade seal from breaking by a hair’s breadth. “T-this…!” “What is it, Your Majesty?” Hwang Bo-sung picked up Rudolf’s severed head, looking puzzled. Even though he had succeeded in avenging his family’s long-standing grudge, his expression was too serious. Instead of the shocked Luke, Karen and Erewin hurriedly shouted. “Everyone, run away!” “The entire imperial palace is going to be blown away!” The moment the jade seal broke, Luke and the others sensed it. A mana wave, like a drop of water falling on a calm surface, had occurred. The mana wave was weak, but it was not something to be taken lightly. Like dominoes falling, a huge surge of mana was about to occur throughout the imperial palace. Grand Duke Gregory and the knights of the special forces had not yet sensed the magical energy. However, Luke’s serious expression and the increasingly strong instinctive sense of danger made them move their bodies. “Karen! Fire a signal flare! We need to inform the other special forces members who are luring the imperial palace guard knights!” “Yes, Dad!” Whoosh— Bang! Bang! Bang! The signal flares she fired colored the sky in various hues. Near the main gate of the imperial palace, Jo Mimi and her group were still fighting the Iron Guard and Silver Guard, and Princess Ja-hye, Scarlett, and Shirley were also fighting enemies while roaming the imperial palace. They were fighting very well against the numerically superior guard knights, and they discovered the signal flares that Karen had fired. “Baron Shirley, a signal flare has been launched!” “What color is it?” Shirley, who had not seen the signal because she was dealing with the Gigants [large, powerful war machines] of the guard knights, asked, and a rider from the special forces answered through the transmission device. “Green, and then three red ones.” “What? Three red ones? What the heck is going on?” As previously notified, green meant the operation was successful, yellow meant a request for support, and red meant a full retreat. And three in a row meant to act as urgently as possible. “The operation was successful, but is there a reason to run away urgently?” “I don’t know. Maybe we were lucky to destroy the ruins, but we’re being pushed back by Rudolf…” Kwakwakwakwang—! The moment the special forces rider made his guess, a nearby imperial palace building collapsed. Following that, the ground cracked as if there had been an earthquake, and everything visible began to collapse. “W-what, what is this!” “I don’t know what it is, but it seems like this is why we’re supposed to run away?” The earthquake was very violent. Not only people but even Gigants were rolling down the cracked ground. Moreover, the ground did not just crack; it caved in like an abyss or even flipped over. And that wasn’t the end of it. Tars and gases were rising from various places, and explosions and flames were erupting everywhere. “Good heavens, it’s a complete hell!” “Don’t hesitate, run quickly!” Shirley and her subordinates, terrified, ran and ran. Unlike the special forces who were running away in a hurry after seeing the signal, the guard knights, officials, and servants of the Nemesis Imperial Palace were bewildered and didn’t know what to do. “Kyaaak! Save me!” “What is this sudden disaster… Kuaaak!” “Could it be the work of the intruders?” The culprits, Luke and his group, and the special forces managed to escape the imperial palace by a hair’s breadth. But they couldn’t rest easy. The flames and collapse were spreading not only to the imperial palace but also to the surrounding government offices and noble residential areas. Jo Mimi, who had joined them while escaping, asked Luke, panting. “Haa…! Your Majesty, what on earth is going on?” “Rudolf made a last-ditch effort before he died.” At his answer, her eyes narrowed sharply. “So, he went down with the ship?” “That’s right. He blew up the imperial palace just before he died.” “That crazy…!” She was so surprised that she almost blurted out a curse instead of the elegant words she usually used. As a princess of the Song Empire, she had learned that the people were the foundation of governance. If she had been present during the Song Empire civil war, she would never have allowed Jo Won-gyun to set fire to the Taehwa Palace. At that time, she had been traveling in the borderlands for months to find medicine to cure the emperor’s illness. “It’s a crazy thing to do, but from Rudolf’s point of view, it was something he could do. Because the Baroque imperial family has long been inciting their subjects with the idea that there can be no future for the continent without their country.” Luke knew well that the successive emperors and their cronies had been arrogant, claiming to be the strongest nation on the continent for a long time. Therefore, they would never have been able to accept the Baroque Empire being conquered by rebellion or foreign invasion. Especially, they would not have been able to accept the imperial palace, where the core assets of the empire were gathered, being handed over to the conquerors and becoming a source of pride. “But isn’t that too far-fetched of a thought?” At her rebuttal, Luke shook his head firmly. “I’m sure it’s right.” The Baroque Empire was a country founded by a rebellion in the old Lybia Kingdom. Whether it was the founder, Carnot de Baroque, or his descendants, they must have worried that what their dynasty had done would later be repeated by someone else. The imperial palace being trampled and the tombs being looted, and so on. They must have thought that it would be better to blow it up with the enemy rather than that. “Goodness, even so…!” If you add up the guard knights, guards, and male and female servants who were guarding the imperial palace, there would be at least 10,000 people. And most of them would have died in this explosion. To her, who had a horrified look on her face, Luke replied as if it was nothing. “Rudolf is the kind of person who can do such outrageous things without batting an eye. If we hadn’t killed him this time, he would have been a problem for a long time.” If that madman had gone to the past, what would have happened?

It was truly a breathtaking moment.

At that moment, Grand Duke Gregory, who had been listening to the conversation, stepped forward.

“How about we stop the story there? I believe it’s more important to leave the capital quickly right now, don’t you think?”

At his words, Luke nodded.

Then, guided by Gregory, he and his subordinates hurriedly headed to the Elkasel Temple, where the catacombs were located.

3

Getting to the Elkasel Temple was not as easy as they had thought.

Although they were not blocked by the Imperial Army, countless people had gathered on the main streets.

Since a few hours ago, explosions had occurred in various parts of Nemesis, and bizarre monsters had appeared in the sky, causing chaos. Then, just a while ago, the Imperial Palace had suddenly collapsed and was engulfed in a massive fire.

The citizens of the capital, who had witnessed the scene, were terrified and running in all directions.

“Oh, no! It won’t be easy to escape, will it?”

“Indeed, I didn’t expect something like this to happen.”

Luke frowned and replied to Shirley’s troubled question.

His displeasure was not just because the escape had become difficult or because the terrified citizens were blocking the way.

“Damn it! Get out of the way! You’re in the way!”

“Run away quickly! The mad emperor has opened the gate to the demon realm!”

“Demons will crawl out and kill us all!”

In the chaotic situation, a rumor spread by someone fueled the confusion.

What was even more absurd was that there were people looting shops and plundering private homes in this situation.

Among them, quite a few were wearing the uniforms of the Imperial Army.

‘What is this? Has the command and control of the Baroque Imperial Army collapsed?’

Luke was frowning and tilting his head when it happened.

A group of looters right in front of them spoke to them.

“What are you looking at? Get lost, you bastards!”

“We’ve already claimed this place, so go somewhere else.”

Luke approached the looters, who were waving their hands, and asked coldly.

“What are you doing, soldiers who are supposed to protect the people?”

The looters replied nonchalantly to his question.

“What do you think we’re doing? We’re collecting our severance pay!”

“We were originally mercenaries. That mad emperor forced us into the regular army.”

“But looking at the situation, the Baroque Empire is over now. Before we can’t even eat the scraps, we have to make a killing and get out…”

Swish!

The last looter’s head flew off.

While the looters were startled, Luke, who had swung his sword, ordered his subordinates.

“Cut them all down.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“W-wait a minute!”

The swords of the special forces fell upon the bewildered looters.

Luke did not stop at just executing the looters; he also comforted the confused citizens and took care of the weak.

Seeing this, Erewin approached with a worried expression.

“Your Majesty, this is not the time to be taking care of them.”

The explosions and earthquakes had stopped, but the fire that had started in the Imperial Palace was still spreading.

Moreover, if the Imperial Army, who had been lured away by sorcery at the beginning of the operation, were to counterattack, the special forces would not be able to properly confront them.

They were small in number, and they were all quite exhausted from fighting the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Palace Knights.

Luke was well aware of this, but he refused Erewin and his subordinates’ advice to quickly leave Genesis.

“I will take at least the people here to a safe place before we leave.”

“Your Majesty, there is no time for that…”

“Time doesn’t matter. If you think about it, this is all because of the fight between me and Rudolf. I can’t just ignore them and leave.”

No dynasty that abandons its people lasts long.

The Baroque Empire, which had enjoyed 500 years of glory, also met its end with the appearance of the tyrant Rudolf.

“The people of Nemesis have been abandoned by Rudolf. I don’t know whose people they will become in the future, but I will not turn a blind eye to those who are suffering before my eyes.”

At Luke’s decision, Gregory, the Undying Legion, and the special forces members could not offer any objections.

Luke’s words were right.

They quickly guided the people to the temple where the catacombs were located.

In an emergency, the temple could not only serve as a good shelter but also as a place to provide relief and treatment.

However, the number of people kept increasing, and there were many elderly and young children mixed in, so the advance was inevitably slow.

To make matters worse, a huge fire tornado appeared behind the procession.

The fire tornado was so huge that the red pillars of fire, as big as houses, reached the sky.

“Kyaaaa!”

“Run away! If you dawdle, you’ll burn to death!”

“Waaah, Mommy!”

The terrified women screamed, and the children cried out for their mothers.

Luke and the special forces members hurriedly stepped forward to evacuate the people and protect the elderly and children who were falling behind.

“Your Majesty, is that also Rudolf’s doing?”

Luke shook his head at Jomi’s question.

“It’s just a natural phenomenon. Although Rudolf’s actions are the cause.”

Fire tornadoes often occurred during major fires such as earthquakes or forest fires.

They were caused by the concentration of dry updrafts created by the fire, and the ignition of flames in that area.

However, the fire tornado that had occurred now was much larger and more destructive than those artificially created by large fires or magic.

Whirr, whirr, whirr!

The fire tornado, which devoured the mansions as they came, grew larger and larger.

“Your Majesty, what should we do?”

At Shirley’s question, Luke stepped forward without hesitation and said.

“What do you mean, what should we do? If we don’t stop that, the people of the capital will all burn to death, even if we don’t.”

Luke first deployed a wide-area shield magic.

It was to protect the people from the debris and fireballs flying ahead of the tornado.

However, the debris and fireballs flying were so numerous and wide-ranging that the shield magic deployed by Luke alone was not enough.

So, Karen, Erewin, and the magicians and sorcerers of the special forces stepped forward.

“Mana, become a wall according to my will! Grand Protect!”

“Eternal Abode! Golden Iron Wall!”

“Water Shower!”

Thanks to everyone stepping forward, they were able to block the debris and fireballs pouring down on the people.

But soon, a crisis struck.

“H-huh! T-this is… !”

“Ugh, I can’t breathe!”

As the huge fire tornado approached, a scorching heat wave swept over them.

However, what made Luke’s group even more difficult than the high heat was the fact that they could not breathe.

This was because the fire tornado was fiercely sucking up the oxygen in the atmosphere.

So, regardless of their magic or sorcery skills, those with weaker stamina collapsed first.

“Ah! Master!”

“Get a hold of yourself, Princess!”

When Erewin and Jomi collapsed, Karen and the warriors of the Song Empire hurriedly supported them and retreated.

After watching them retreat to a safe place, Luke turned his gaze to the fire tornado.

‘Ugh, is it impossible to subdue this monster even with my magic?’

He had unleashed his magic to the maximum and used water magic, but it had only weakened its power for a moment and could not extinguish the fire tornado.

It had already grown too large to be stopped by human power.

Frankly, even if they talked about 8th circle or 9th circle, or Sword Emperor, humans were powerless in the face of the power of nature.

No matter how strong a magician or knight was, they could not stand against a tsunami or a typhoon.

But he did not give up.

‘If you think about it, that disaster was caused by human desire and obsession. It was started by humans, so it can be ended by human hands!’

With that conviction, Luke re-summoned the Avenger from subspace, which he had recovered while retreating from the Imperial Palace earlier, and boarded it.

Boarding the Avenger, he gritted his teeth and gathered his magic power.

Kiiiiiiing!

The ether globe, converted into a mana circle, accelerated fiercely, amplifying the Avenger’s core engine.

Kwaaaaaaaang!

The people, startled by the roar of the core engine that seemed about to explode, covered their ears and stepped back.

They saw the Avenger, holding a giant sword, rushing towards the fire tornado.

“Dad!”

Whether he heard Karen’s pleading cry or not, Luke raised his giant sword high.

As if to say not to worry.

“Alright, let’s give it our all!”

Luke, who had already released his magic power to the maximum, also unleashed the power of the demon race.

“Build Up!”

As soon as he unleashed the power of the demon race to enhance his physical abilities, he unleashed his gold aura to the maximum.

And he imbued the magic that had already reached the manifestation stage into the tip of the giant sword where the latter half of the Gold Sword technique was unfolding.

“Here I go, Cyclone Rage… no, Hurricane Rage!”

A new magic-sword unity technique created by instantly combining the power of the demon race with storm magic and a storm-like swordsmanship technique.

Having realized that he could not subdue the fire tornado with water magic, Luke was planning to smash the fire tornado with a head-on confrontation.

Whoosh!

The moment Luke activated the technique with all his might, a huge wind, no, a golden whirlwind, arose around the Avenger.

With a golden whirlwind containing a fierce energy, Luke collided with the terrifying fire tornado.

Kwarurururung!

“Uwaaaah!”

“W-what is it!”

With a thunderous roar that seemed to tear the sky and earth apart, a dazzling light flashed everywhere.

While most people were surprised and cowered on the ground, Grand Duke Gregory, Hwangbo Seong, and Karen clearly saw it.

The golden whirlwind created by the strongest Rune Knight split the pillar of fire that had soared as if to burn the sky and flew up.

“Dad!”

“Oh, Your Majesty!”

The Avenger, which had created the golden whirlwind, floated into the sky and then dropped down.

Thud!

As soon as the Avenger, whose armor was half-melted by the high heat, landed, the hatch fell off along with the chest plate.

Luke, soaked in sweat and exhausted, crawled out with white steam rising from him.

Karen, who had rushed to check on her father’s condition, injected divine power and shouted angrily.

“Why did you do such a reckless thing!”

“Because there was no other way. It ended well, so isn’t that good enough?”

Despite Luke’s nonchalant reply, Karen did not let go of her anger.

If his move had not worked, he could have been devoured by the fire tornado.

It was that dangerous.

“I’m going to tell Mom.”

“You little cheater… !”

Watching the bickering father and daughter, Grand Duke Gregory had a faint smile on his face.

The crisis that had struck in a situation that was thought to be over was safely ended by the superhuman loved by God and the saintess chosen by God.