I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 407

The floating sensation subsided.

As my hazy mind cleared, I opened my eyes.

Swish, swish…

What unfolded before me was a vast beach.

White sands and the colorless, transparent seawater washing ashore…

Looking up at the sky, a curtain of colorful lights was spread out. Was this an aurora?

While I was mesmerized by the spectacle of light, the surging waves soaked my shoes.

I mumbled blankly.

“Is this… the other side of the shore?”

Is this the spirit realm…?

As I took in the clearly alien scenery, I suddenly recalled the situation just before I came here.

“Salome…!”

I called out urgently, but Salome, of course, didn’t answer. The surroundings were empty, and I was the only one on the desolate shore.

Salome sent me to the spirit realm and remained in the mortal world.

I chuckled in disbelief. A monster, risking her life for me.

How much debt is my life, my banner, carrying as it moves forward?

“……”

I clenched my fist tightly and then slowly released it.

I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again.

But if I can meet her again… I thought that instead of hitting her, I would want to properly greet her.

I thought that I would definitely want to return her thanks.

I started walking along the beach.

I didn’t know where to go or what to do in this unidentified space.

But as I saw the scenery in the distance, I had a gut feeling that I should go there.

“That is….”

At the end of this shore—a black thorn tree.

The branches of Everblack were stretching down from the sky to the ground.

***

I walked silently along the vast beach.

My footprints were left long on the white sand where the transparent seawater came and went.

I finally arrived at my destination, which had seemed like it would never be reached. I stopped in front of where the black thorn tree’s branches were hanging down.

“Why is this tree here…?”

The national tree and guardian tree of the Everblack Empire.

Always the black thorn tree—the Everblack.

A magical lighthouse that only the four ‘Guardians’ of the Empire can use.

The fact that this tree is here, could it be….

“Have you come?”

Then, a low voice was heard.

I had somewhat expected it, but I didn’t think he would actually be here. I smiled wryly and looked towards the direction of the voice.

“You’re always wandering around strange places and causing trouble, but I didn’t think you’d come all the way to this spirit realm.”

A man was sitting on a simple chair on the beach.

A human who seemed to have been made by a god not of dirt, but of gold.

The absolute ruler of the mortal world, who did not lose his dignity and majesty even in this spirit realm.

With golden eyes gleaming through his disheveled black hair—

“……Father.”

The Emperor of the Everblack Empire.

Traha ‘Peacemaker’ Everblack was there.

“Even if this place is not the mortal world, but the spirit realm located between life and death, I am still the Emperor, Ash.”

The Emperor clicked his tongue.

“You should call me ‘Your Majesty,’ not ‘Father.’”

“……”

“Well, I guess you never properly followed such formalities anyway.”

The Emperor, who was grumbling like an old man even in this spirit realm, gestured with his chin.

“Anyway, what brings you here? This is a place where even I can’t find my way without the guidance of Everblack. And it doesn’t seem like you came here with Everblack’s guidance….”

“……”

“Could it be that you got lost and drifted here?”

I hesitated and then nodded.

The Emperor laughed, “Ha ha,” and then snapped his fingers. Snap!

Then, the branches scattered on the shore intertwined with each other and created a small chair. The Emperor placed the chair in front of him.

“Sit down. You must be tired from your long journey.”

I didn’t refuse and sat in front of him. I carefully observed his expression and asked.

“Aren’t you going to scold me more?”

“Getting lost and wandering is a privilege of the young. You should wander as much as you can when you’re young, so you don’t suffer as much later.”

The Emperor leaned back in his chair and smiled wryly.

“Even so, wandering all the way into the spirit realm is a bit much.”

“……What exactly is this place?”

I looked around and asked.

A place where auroras shone down from the sky and transparent waves constantly ebbed and flowed.

What exactly is this spirit realm…?

“This place is not for the living. Nor is it a place for the dead… If I had to say, it’s a gap between life and death.”

“A gap between life and death…?”

“If the living or the dead are here, the boundaries become blurred, and eventually, they drift away beyond the waves. In the end, those who remain here are….”

The Emperor gestured towards the beach with his chin.

“Those who have transcended life and death and attained divinity. Or those who have surpassed the standards of the soul.”

“……!”

Looking in that direction, I saw four huge figures slowly approaching over the sea, cutting through the water.

Thump…! Thump…!

Four giants of overwhelming size were approaching, emitting clear hostility. Just looking at them was enough to make one feel overwhelmed, but the Emperor was still calm.

“A battlefield for the spirits who, even after death, fight for their own races or countries. That is this place, the spirit realm.”

I remembered the explanation I had heard from the Emperor at the Guardian Council held in the Imperial Capital. I stammered and asked.

“Then, are those… the Other Gods?”

The Emperor nodded.

“That’s right. They are the progenitor gods and guardian gods of the other races.”

The huge figures each had different appearances.

Some were short and sturdy, others had long ears and limbs, some were covered in fur, and others had streamlined, fish-like lower bodies….

Dwarves, Elves, Werebeasts, Mermaids.

They were the guardian gods of the races known as the four major other races.

“When their races were driven to the brink of extinction in the mortal world, and their respective guardian trees were uprooted, they invaded this place to retaliate.”

The Emperor glanced at the thorn tree behind him.

“To destroy Everblack, the guardian tree of humanity.”

“……”

“Well, then. Shall I prepare for today’s battle?”

As he spoke, the Emperor stood up and drew the long sword from his waist.

This was the Other God Front.

One of the Empire’s four major fronts, where the Emperor himself wielded his sword and fought against the Other Gods.

‘Huh?’

But despite saying it so coolly and standing up, the Emperor didn’t seem to be in good condition. His posture was unsteady, and his legs were wobbly.

“Are you alright? You don’t look so good.”

“Hmm… I can’t hide my age.”

The Emperor, who had been patting his lower back with his fist, confessed sheepishly.

“……Actually, right after I entered this place, Fernandes severed the connection with Everblack.”

“Huh?”

Not Fernandes again?

“I knew he was ambitious, but I didn’t think he would turn against me like this.”

“……”

“Thanks to that, the passage between the mortal world and the spirit realm was cut off, and I was stranded here, unable to return.”

The Emperor was calmly reciting the story of how he had been betrayed by his second son.

“Since the flow of time is different here than in the mortal world, I can’t know exactly how much time has passed outside, or how much time I’ve spent here….”

“……”

“As long as I am a living being, the longer I stay in this spirit realm, the more damage I take. And since I’m fighting every day… I won’t deny that I’m worn out. I might not last long.”

The Emperor chuckled.

“But even so, this is my fight. This is my front that I must continue as long as I have breath.”

“……”

“Once I start clashing swords with them, this place will soon be devastated. You should leave now.”

The Emperor, who was walking towards the beach, turned to look at me.

“If you have any last questions, ask them. In fact, since you drifted here, there’s only one question you should be asking.”

“……”

What do I want to ask?

There were more than one or two things I was curious about regarding the Emperor. But if I had to ask just one question, as the Emperor said, it would be….

“Your Majesty.”

…This is it.

“Who am I?”

The Emperor smiled at my question.

“Even if you’re busy, shouldn’t you at least look in a mirror?”

“……”

“You are Ash. Ash ‘Bonehater’ Everblack. My troublemaking youngest son.”

I asked again in a trembling voice.

“Is it… certain that I am Your Majesty’s son, Ash?”

Then, just like in the Imperial Capital, the Emperor scanned me with his shining golden eyes.

“Even so, would I not recognize my own son? My eyes do not deceive me. You are undoubtedly my son.”

That’s what he said.

“Now go. This is not a place where the living should stay for long.”

Thump…! Thump…! Thump…!

The Other Gods were already right in front of us. The Emperor pointed his sword at them and said.

“Remember this, my prodigal son. If you have the will to find your path, there is a path everywhere, and it leads everywhere.”

“……”

“So, wander as much as you like. The path will surely be at the end of it.”

Thwack!

The Emperor kicked off the ground and soared into the air towards the beach. The four Other Gods raised their weapons towards the Emperor.

Light exploded, and the sea evaporated.

Leaving behind the scene of a mythical battle, I turned my body.

The trunk of the black thorn tree was hanging down not far away.

My intuition guided me. I moved my feet towards it.

***

She was there.

At the end of the black thorn tree branches, which were intertwined like a net.

At the end, she was hanging, her whole body bound.

Blood was constantly flowing from the places where she was pierced by thorns, and the blood that flowed down ignited flames on her body.

Bleeding from her wounds. And at the same time, burning alive.

Her face was serene.

“……”

The mythical battle taking place on that beach was a surreal scene, but the sight of this woman in front of me was just as surreal.

She gave me a soft smile as I opened my mouth in bewilderment.

“It’s been a while, Ash… or rather. Is this the first time we’ve met in this ‘cycle’?”

It was a voice I had never heard before, a face I had never seen before.

But for some reason, it felt familiar.

I blurted out without realizing it.

“……Mother?”

Ash’s mother, Dustia.

Because she was a woman who looked just like her.

Then, the woman hanging there laughed heartily.

“Hehe, Dustia does resemble me. That’s because she is my descendant… just like you are, Ash.”

Goosebumps rose all over my body.

I was suffocated by an unknown tremor. I asked, trembling.

“Who… are you?”

“It’s embarrassing for me to say it myself, but I have quite a few nicknames.”

The woman, while feeling awkward, listed her nicknames.

“The Thief of Flames, the First Witch, the Thorn Tree Prisoner, the Angel of Ashes, the Returning Regret….”

They were all titles I couldn’t understand.

When she noticed that I had no idea what she was talking about, the woman felt embarrassed and told me her next title.

“Those are all names I was called in the past, and people in the world these days call me, undeservedly….”

And that was,

A name I couldn’t help but know well.

“……‘Goddess.’”