He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 113

“Secure the perimeter thoroughly. We don’t know where the demons might appear from.”

“It’s cold, but such a beautiful place. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The soldiers entering Isborg shivered from the unfamiliar cold, yet their eyes were drawn to the beautiful sight of the city adorned with crystals.

“Ugh!”

“It’s a demon! Eliminate it!”

Shush! Shush!

But their admiration didn’t last long.

They were soon on edge because of the demons and fiends who hid and suddenly attacked whenever they had the chance.

It was incredibly annoying, but at least a full-scale siege hadn’t occurred, which was a small mercy.

“We’ve completely secured the palace. However, it seems the enemy is entrenched in the palace’s underground.”

“I figured as much. They must have something they want down there.”

The problem was that the underground passage was narrow, not ideal for pushing in a large force.

It was necessary to take only the elite.

“Take all the Legions, and mix in Rangers and Guards appropriately to descend.”

“…It’s regrettable not to take all the Guards, but that seems to be the best option.”

The Captain of the Guard, seeing that the Guards were being outmatched by the Legions despite their struggles, seemed a bit disheartened.

However, true to his strong character, he soon expressed his resolve.

“Your Majesty, I hesitate to say this, but… it seems that I and my Guards should also undergo that procedure.”

“‘The Emperor’s Legion,’ you mean? You want to become a Legionnaire?”

The Captain of the Guard quietly affirmed my question.

I knew he wasn’t just saying it because he was fascinated by power, so I looked at him with a sense of pity, knowing his deep loyalty.

“Captain of the Guard, becoming a Legionnaire isn’t easy, nor is it entirely a good thing.”

It meant abandoning or blurring one’s entire being, even the purity and dignity of one’s soul, to become an existence solely loyal to the Empire.

That was the implication of becoming a Legionnaire.

“Captain of the Guard, can you and the Guards forsake yourselves to be loyal to the Empire?”

“…”

Surprisingly, the Captain of the Guard didn’t immediately answer that question, which one might easily answer with bravado.

“…Your Majesty, I believed that you were the one who would save the Empire. And I am now convinced that my belief was correct.”

“Is that so? I appreciate your assessment.”

I didn’t often ask people like the Captain of the Guard or the Prime Minister what they thought of me.

Perhaps they thought of me as an eccentric or crazy emperor, but I trusted them because they were trustworthy people.

“However, a new concern has arisen.”

“What is it? Surely you don’t think I might be in danger?”

“No, Your Majesty is now stronger than I am, so I am not merely worried about your safety. However…”

The Captain of the Guard’s eyes, as he continued, were infinitely serious, yet utterly devoted.

“I fear that the Empire, which will further develop under Your Majesty’s reign, will be undefended due to the incompetence of its subjects.”

“…”

Was it because he felt the Guards’ powerlessness after seeing the Legions, or had he been thinking that way even before?

I suspected it was the latter.

“You asked if we could forsake everything to be loyal to the Empire? Yes, I and the Guards are prepared to abandon everything.”

For the Emperor, and for the Empire.

“…I understand. But for now, let’s resolve this matter first. We can try that slowly when we return to the Imperial Palace.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

I said that, looking down at the underground of the Ice Palace, where I had descended in the past, 3,000 years ago.

I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of déjà vu that transcended 3,000 years.

* * *

“Stop them! Dark Warriors!”

“Cast curses! Use destructive black magic!”

The resistance of the fiends was quite fierce as we descended underground.

There were strong superhumans who enhanced their bodies with black magic and wielded dark mana, called Dark Knights or Dark Warriors, and black mages who poured out all sorts of curses and black magic.

Not only that, but demons were summoned from time to time, spewing hellfire and poison.

If we had pushed in the army, we would have suffered terrible damage-

Crack!

“Kuaaak, you, you monster!”

“We exterminate demons for the Empire!”

“Uwaaaagh!”

Snap!

It was all futile for the Legions at the vanguard.

The curses of the demons and black mages were nullified by the Imperial Soul protecting them.

Black magic capable of direct destruction couldn’t even scratch the Legions’ sturdy bodies.

The same went for physical attacks; rather, the Legions tore off the arms of Dark Warriors with their bare hands, spoke the end in chillingly hollow voices, and then snapped the enemies’ necks.

There were 100 of such beings.

They were capable of easily surpassing a hundred men each, even a thousand, so the fiends’ defense line was easily breached.

“Easier than I thought.”

“…Scary, as far as their power goes.”

“Do you want to become like them, Igrid?”

“No, as I said before, their souls have forgotten the freedom of a warrior.”

So I refuse.

Unlike the Captain of the Guard, Igrid stubbornly refused to become a Legionnaire.

Perhaps other Northerners would feel the same.

They value the Kalibal faith very much, and perhaps becoming a Legionnaire is difficult unless one has a stronger Imperial identity than a Northern one.

“Well, I was just asking. More importantly, we’re almost at the Crystal Garden.”

The deepest part of Isborg’s underground.

It was originally where the Frostfire Brazier was located.

Now, it would be occupied by demons who had seized the place.

“Beyond here… I feel a powerful force. It’s not the power of demons.”

“That power must be what the demons wanted. We don’t have time to dawdle.”

Deciding not to give them any more time, I opened the door to the Crystal Garden.

I wondered if attacks would pour out, but the demons inside were more composed than I expected, simply forming ranks on one side.

“So you’ve come, human emperor. It’s already too late!”

And the giant demon Gaimodeus, standing on their side, shouted.

I smirked and mocked him.

“Saying that just means it’s not too late. More importantly…”

Even as I said that, my gaze was drawn to a sight that stood out too much in one part of the Crystal Garden.

In that place where crystals bloomed everywhere, inside a very large crystal.

A familiar figure was sleeping.

“Kalibal… he really was here.”

Why did he put himself to eternal rest inside a crystal?

Was it because he was injured fighting the nemesis? No, there were no visible wounds on his body sleeping inside.

Rather, even in his old age, a robust physique could be seen.

But even more eye-catching than that was…

“Hatsgar?”

Hatsgar was in front of that crystal.

And he was receiving the energy emanating from that crystal.

Hatsgar, who seemed to have received all of that energy, turned to us.

Showing hostility towards us with a surprisingly vacant expression.

“Hehehehe… Did you see? We have already obtained Kalibal’s power, human.”

“…Using Hatsgar?”

“That’s right! Uahahahahahaha!”

The demon’s mad laughter.

A laughter full of certainty of victory, and to mock us, filled the Crystal Garden.

“Hatsgar is already our puppet. And he has obtained the power of the god Kalibal! With this, the power of darkness has become even stronger! Human Emperor! This is your defeat!”

I felt anger at his declaration.

Hatsgar.

A traitor to the Empire, but one who was for the Empire.

Because he was there, we were able to come here. To prevent the demons’ plot.

Because he was there, the North was able to harmonize again.

The Empire needed people like him.

I should have protected him.

“Hatsgar!”

That’s why I shouted.

“Can you hear me!”

“It’s useless! Your words will not reach him! Hatsgar, to them-”

“I heard you, Emperor.”

“… !”

Slash!

“… !”

At that moment, Gaimodeus’s head flew into the sky.

It was cut off by the axe wielded by Hatsgar.

I, and the Imperial soldiers who followed me, were bewildered, but the fiends, whose leader had died, were even more flustered.

Slash, Chwazazazazak! Shukaak!

But almost as soon as they did, the aura scattering from Hatsgar’s axe began to slaughter them all.

Speeds that were hard to follow with the eye, auras of overwhelming destructive power.

Demons and fiends, none of them could survive that violence.

It didn’t take more than a few minutes for them to be cleaned up.

“It’s over. They were insignificant.”

“Hatsgar, no… you are not Hatsgar.”

After simply cleaning them up, I discerned his true identity to him, who was speaking quietly.

“Kalibal. Is that you?”

“Oh, you recognize me right away? It’s been a long time, Franz. Igrid was here too.”

“…I’d like you to tell me what happened first.”

Why are you sleeping here in Isborg?

What are you trying to do after waking up again?

There were too many things to ask.

“It’s hard to tell you that right now, Emperor.”

“Why?”

“This state I’m in is unstable. I’m suppressing it for now… but soon my mind will pass over to this person named Hatsgar. He’s possessed by a demon.”

Hatsgar, or rather Kalibal, spoke in a voice that a benevolent god would use, as if speaking about a pitiful person.

“Give him rest. After that, I will give you what I have arranged here.”

“Kalibal…”

“Please, don’t fail, Franz. No, Emperor of the Empire. I’ll be waiting. I hope your soul is as strong as that child’s.”

That child? Who are you talking about?

I didn’t know, but what to do from now on was clear.

Because Hatsgar’s eyes, where Kalibal resided, were dyed red.

“E, Emperor… I, I am…”

“Hatsgar.”

He became unstable.

“K, Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

His power exploded, and soon he seemed to threaten everyone.

“Everyone, get out of here.”

“Your Majesty! But…”

“Captain of the Guard, this is my fight.”

“…Understood. Please, please win, Your Majesty.”

Perhaps it was because he saw my burning eyes, the Captain of the Guard soon bowed his head and withdrew his troops.

In that shining crystal garden, I faced my former adversary.

“I will free you from your pain, Hatsgar.”

I promise in the name of the Emperor.

At that moment, he and I clashed.