He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 74

The flames blazing from her heart, fueled by her unwavering faith, erupted into a massive inferno, incinerating the heretical tree that had been constricting her.

Soon, as if she had become the embodiment of fire itself, the flames coalesced into the shape of her body, and her hair transformed into fiery red strands.

It was the physical manifestation of her faith and the divine revelation bestowed upon her.

“Purify with fire, all enemies of the Empire!”

[‘Stella von Leikshire’ has become your subordinate.]

[Stella von Leikshire has awakened as the ‘Saintess of Flames.’]

Whirr, whirr, whirr-

Even after drawing my Holy Sword once more, she remained engulfed in flames.

My Holy Sword, too, became imbued with the purifying flames.

And for the spirits, the mere presence of that flame proved lethal.

“What, what are you doing! Don’t just stand there gawking, attack at once!”

“Oh, Spirit of Frost, heed my call! Summon a freezing gale to encase everything in ice!”

Immediately, the elders’ spirit magic unleashed a wave of frigid air, instantly freezing everything it touched.

Whirr, whirr, whirr!

But Stella’s flames pushed back against the cold. No, it would be more accurate to say they ‘devoured’ it, consuming the magical energy that comprised the freezing air.

Purification flames, living up to their name. Flames that burned away all evil forces opposing the Empire.

“Ma, madness. This is……”

“Is that all the power you gained from selling your souls?”

“Unbelievable! Why now! Why reveal this power to us only now, Lustral [Likely referring to a deity or higher power]!”

The elders, especially the one who appeared to be the chairman, lamented the god they had once believed in, their voices filled with despair.

They had abandoned their faith and forced their own will upon others, but witnessing the divine power manifested in Stella, they seemed consumed by envy and jealousy.

“Heh, hehehe…… Yes, this was it. This is a trial. A trial to prove that we were not wrong……! Hehehe, hahahaha!”

He, who had begun to concoct pathetic rationalizations, erupted in maniacal laughter.

Even as he did, Stella’s flames began to consume the man-eating trees within this sub-dimension [A pocket dimension or alternate reality].

“Chairman! This is no time to be laughing! The sacred trees……”

“We have to do something!”

As the other elders urgently pressed him, the chairman abruptly stopped laughing.

“Gasp!”

“Kuh-heok!”

But as he unleashed his magic, the elders clutched at their chests in agony.

Then, tree trunks began to erupt from their hearts, twisting and tearing through their flesh.

“We were not wrong. This proves it, my brothers.”

“Ch, Chairman……”

They, who were being devoured by the trees, were having their life force, magic, divine power, and even their very souls sucked away.

All of it flowed towards the chairman. He was also absorbing power from the surrounding man-eating trees that had not yet been consumed by the flames.

“Power overflows! I feel youth coursing through me!”

As he absorbed all that power, the chairman’s appearance underwent a drastic transformation.

The visage of the old man vanished completely. He became strikingly young, his skin smooth and vibrant.

In addition, deer antlers sprouted from his head, his legs morphed into cloven hooves, and his arms appeared to be interwoven with the very essence of trees.

It was a bizarre yet strangely beautiful and undeniably powerful appearance.

“You acted as if you were righteous, but in the end, all you desired was youth?”

“Oh, foolish and pitiful Stella. You always pitied the impoverished. You were never afraid to descend to the lowest levels of the Empire.”

Stella’s flames washed over him. But with a gesture, he summoned trees and rocks to form a barrier, blocking the flames.

The compatibility was overwhelmingly in favor of the flames of purification, but the sheer volume of the spirit magic he wielded surpassed that advantage.

“But Stella, you may not realize this. When the world descends into chaos, the first to betray you will be those you have shown the most grace.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you senile old man.”

Crack, crash!

While the elder chairman was spouting his twisted philosophy, I shattered the wall blocking the flames and slashed at him with my sword.

Similarly, the sword, now imbued with the flames of purification, sliced through his body, and the flames fiercely burned the magic that constituted his being.

“The one who contributes greatly to the chaos of the world dares to utter such words.”

“Kuh-heu-heu-heuk! Emperor……! What is the difference between us……!”

He desperately tried to extinguish the fire consuming his body with water spirit magic, but the flames of purification refused to be quenched so easily.

The chairman suffered immensely until he barely managed to suppress the fire.

“You, too, do not hesitate to kill others to achieve what you want! Do you believe you are righteous? What difference is there between you and a butcher?”

“There is no difference. But I possess something that the butcher does not.”

Clang! Thud, crash!

“Kuh-heu-heu-heuk!”

Tree thorns flew like a hail of arrows, lightning bolts struck the ground, and the earth twisted and buckled.

But I parried and deflected every attack, and then stabbed him once more.

Stab! Whirr, whirr, whirr!

“That is the Imperial Crown. I may be a butcher who has slaughtered thousands, but I am a butcher wearing the Imperial Crown. I have no intention of relinquishing that role.”

“Kuh-heu-heu-heuk!”

“What do you have? Didn’t you abandon the faith that once fueled your actions? Yet now you dare to claim that you and I are no different, truly a hideous excuse from a betrayer.”

Crash!

“Kuaaaagh!”

I slashed him again with all my might.

As the flames of purification began to engulf him once more, he succumbed to madness and fled from the sub-dimension.

I, too, made my way towards the entrance of the sub-dimension, with Stella close behind.

“Stella, burn it all away.”

“Yes, Franz. As you wish.”

“Wa, wait a minute! I was still here!”

In the meantime, Mirror, who had been hiding until now, emerged in a flurry, desperately following behind us.

After that, we unleashed the flames of purification upon the cursed forest, consuming the darkness that had swallowed the lives of countless innocent people.

It was time to purify the Order.

* * *

“Kill the betrayers!”

“Those who sold their souls to the heretics!”

“For the Archbishop!”

Father Thomas, following Emperor Franz’s orders, rallied the resistance forces within the city.

They had remained silent under the chilling oppression, but the number of people who answered the call to arms as resistance fighters was far greater than expected.

Especially those who had lost loved ones to the Council faction were filled with an even greater rage.

“Take weapons from my weapon shop, everyone!”

“We must raid the armory first!”

“If there are no weapons, I will fight with a club!”

They, fueled by their unwavering religious zeal, readily embraced the task of punishing those deemed betrayers, and the citizen army armed themselves in an instant.

They swiftly eliminated the Order’s soldiers guarding the streets and immediately stormed the temple.

“The rioters are coming!”

“For the Elder Council!”

“Stop them! Where are the elders!”

When they attacked the temple, the Council faction launched a fierce counterattack.

The resistance army, led by Father Thomas, initially gained ground, but since the majority were ordinary citizens lacking formal combat training, their advance was soon halted.

Some of the Order’s paladins who had joined their ranks fought valiantly, but they alone were not enough to turn the tide.

“Kuh, is this a failure…….”

Father Thomas, too, sustained injuries while fighting with a mace.

He remained uncertain whether the emperor, who had infiltrated the interior, had succeeded or failed.

He could only pray for their safety and hope that at least Archbishop Stella had been rescued, but-

“Kyaaaaaagh!”

“……?”

But then, piercing screams echoed from within the temple.

Soon, the horrifying screams and the surge of chaos caused the battle between the resistance army and the Council faction to be temporarily suspended.

“Geu-woooo…… Life…… I need more life……!”

“Wh, what is it!”

“……Chairman?”

And then, the members of the Council faction were struck with horror at the sight of the hideous being that emerged.

A grotesque figure, a twisted amalgamation of human, beast, and tree.

Originally, it possessed a certain beauty, but it had been hideously warped after being repeatedly burned by the flames of purification.

Thud!

“Offer me your life!”

“Ah, ahhh……!”

Thud- Squeeeeeze-

Soon, he seized a victim with his arm, now composed of gnarled tree trunks, and plunged it into the victim’s head and heart, draining their life energy.

“How hideous, show your ugly face to your followers.”

Slash!

“Kuaaaagh!”

I severed his arm once more.

Sap splattered from the severed limb, and the flames of the Holy Sword swiftly spread, engulfing his body once again.

He had resisted with spirit magic several times thus far, but before my divine power could be exhausted, his ability to cast spirit magic began to wane.

“Not enough! Power! Divine power! My faithful followers! Offer me your power!”

“Kya, kyaaaaagh!”

“Sa, save me!”

Soon, everyone around him found themselves ensnared by tree trunks that rapidly sprouted from beneath their feet.

He was attempting to absorb the life force from all those entangled in the trunks, but…….

“The flames of purification will protect you.”

Hwaaaaaaa-

Stella, appearing amidst the flames, incinerated all the tree trunks that surrounded them.

Strangely, the flames of purification did not harm the innocent, those who were not enemies of the Empire.

“Eu, euaaaagh! M, my body is burning!”

“……Sinner, may you purify your defiled soul.”

However, some, those who were truly corrupted, were consumed by the flames without mercy.

Everyone, citizens and soldiers of the Order alike, could only tremble at the overwhelming display of salvation and punishment that unfolded before their eyes.

The Saintess of Protection and Mercy had returned, reborn as the Saintess of Purification and Punishment.

“Keo-heok, my, my followers…….”

“Get lost, monster!”

“Is that the true nature of the heretic…… What is merciful power indeed.”

“If I had known it would come to this, I would never have followed you!”

The elder chairman, unable to absorb life force due to Stella’s intervention, rapidly withered.

Without me launching another attack, he was unable to extinguish the flames that had already taken hold, and he writhed in agony, reverting to a wrinkled old man.

Not only that, but he was rapidly transforming into a mummy.

“I…… wanted to save all people…….”

“Perhaps you did once. But now, I only see a pseudo-religious leader who has succumbed to delusion.”

“Eu, hehe…… Emperor……. If someone like you had appeared sooner…… I, too…….”

The elder chairman’s last words trailed off into nothingness.

The flames of purification completely consumed him, leaving behind only a handful of ashes that had incinerated even his bones.

Nothing would remain to commemorate his spirit, and there would be no one left to remember him.

“Listen, people of the Empire. Franz, the rightful ruler of the Empire, speaks.”

I, who had witnessed the elder chairman’s demise, raised my Holy Sword and shouted.

At the same time, Stella, transformed into living flames, danced around the Holy Sword like a fiery angel bestowing her blessing upon me.

“Those who are not enemies of the Empire, no longer point your swords at the people of the Empire. Our enemies are the heretics and betrayers who seek to divide us and destroy the Empire. I ask you. Are you betrayers?”

The eyes of the soldiers, priests, and paladins of the Council faction who had opposed the resistance army wavered.

In the end, they soon cast aside their weapons.

Some knelt down and began to offer prayers of repentance.

“Those who walk the path of purification, I, Franz Ludwig von Rosenkrantz, who have received the revelations of the five Imperial Guardian Gods, command you to punish the enemies of the Empire with me.”

Whirr, whirr, whirr-

Simultaneously with those words, the Holy Sword blazed anew with the flames of purification.

“Let us show them the purification of fire.”

It was the declaration of a burning holy war.