I Became The Tyrant Of A Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 446

Imperial City, New Terra.

Aegis Special Forces Headquarters. Commander’s Office.

“……”

In this barren, narrow room devoid of any decorations, Fernandes sat with his legs crossed on a stiff, simple chair, reviewing documents.

Then, with a bang! The commander’s office door was thrown open roughly, and special forces members swarmed inside.

“Your Highness. We’ve captured the last rat.”

They forcibly dragged in a woman dressed in black and threw her down in front of Fernandes.

“Kuhuk!”

The woman, her arms bound behind her back, groaned and collapsed.

“Mourning clothes, huh…”

Fernandes muttered dryly, observing the woman’s attire.

“‘The Jilted Women,’ was it? There are plenty of other good uniforms, but I don’t know why they insist on wearing only that kind of outfit.”

“……”

“The organization name is strange too. The outfits, the names, is it all Ash’s taste?”

Then, the woman, who had been groaning with her forehead pressed against the floor, slowly raised her eyes.

Through the black veil—the mourning veil—that hung over her face, she grinned.

“I think you’re mistaken, Your Highness Fernandes.”

“……?”

“The creation of the organization, wearing these clothes, and even trying to stop you… it was all our own voluntary actions. It has nothing to do with the current Ash.”

Fernandes tilted his head.

“It has nothing to do with the current Ash… then does it have something to do with the past Ash?”

“To some extent, yes. The Ash we loved passed away when she was twenty-three.”

Fernandes’ eyes flashed with a different light. The woman continued.

“What we loved was the past her. The one we risked our lives to follow was also the past her.”

“Indeed. So that’s why you’re wearing mourning clothes.”

“……”

“Well, I don’t care about your motives.”

Fernandes crossed his legs the other way.

“You did a great job of messing up my plans. Thanks to you, there have been quite a few setbacks. But now that the last members of your organization have been identified… you won’t be able to interfere anymore.”

“I wanted to trouble you a little more, Your Highness, but it’s a shame.”

“You’ve troubled me enough. You’re just like the women who loved my brother. Even the way you cause trouble is identical.”

Fernandes smiled. The woman smiled back.

“I have no intention of living a pathetic life. Just kill me quickly.”

“I won’t kill you.”

The woman looked puzzled. Fernandes smiled faintly.

“You are also a citizen of the Everblack Empire, and a citizen of this New Terra. I will allow you to go to the new world with us.”

“Oh my, how merciful.”

“Of course… if you can endure the torture and confession sessions that our Aegis Special Forces are so proud of.”

The special forces agents standing behind her pulled out dream demon confession drugs from their pockets.

The woman let out a long sigh, then glared at Fernandes.

“I’ll say one last thing. You’re crazy, Your Highness Fernandes.”

“I know.”

Fernandes readily agreed.

“No madness, no reach. There are some realms that cannot be reached without madness.”

“……”

“And that goes for Ash as well.”

Fernandes waved his hand lightly.

“Take her away. Extract all the information, then lock her in prison until the ‘Ark’ sets sail.”

“Understood!”

The woman was dragged outside. The agents also swarmed out with her.

Reina, an elderly female mage who had been watching this scene beside Fernandes, bowed her head to Fernandes.

“I apologize, Your Highness. I was incompetent… it took time to eliminate them.”

“There’s no need to apologize, Lady Reina. Not everything can go according to plan.”

He had expected interference.

There were bound to be setbacks in the schedule in some way. That’s why he had prepared for this so early.

‘The monster will destroy the world in about a year.’

Before that, he had taken over the Imperial City and activated the Ark.

A delay of a few days or months wouldn’t be a problem.

“So, now the shutdown protocol just needs maintenance and magic power replenishment. And the Ark is also nearing completion.”

“That is correct.”

“What else do we need to do, Lady Reina?”

Reina answered immediately.

“Ascend to the throne.”

“……”

Fernandes was momentarily speechless and closed his mouth. Reina spoke once more.

“Didn’t you decide to become the leader who guides the surviving humanity? You are the one who will rule humanity from the final Ark.”

“……”

“You have won the imperial succession battle and taken control of the Imperial City. No one can object if you call yourself Emperor. What are you hesitating for?”

In front of the silent Fernandes, Reina spoke with emphasis once more.

“The king of kings who rules the world… ascend to the throne of the Everblack Empire.”

“…Emperor, huh.”

Fernandes let out a short sigh.

“It’s already been a year since I imprisoned Father in the spirit realm. I deliberately stopped some of Everblack’s functions to prevent him from returning to the real world.”

“No matter how much he is His Majesty, it is impossible to survive in the spirit realm for more than a year without other preparations. By now…”

He would be dead.

Reina swallowed the rest of her words and bowed her head.

“…I apologize. I spoke disrespectfully.”

“Disrespectful? Nonsense. If you call that disrespectful, what does that make me, the one who committed the act of patricide?”

Fernandes smiled bitterly and stood up.

“Yes. It’s something I have to do anyway, it would be ridiculous to hesitate any longer.”

“Then.”

“Prepare for the coronation ceremony.”

Before activating the shutdown protocol.

He could at least provide the people of New Terra with one last festival.

“After the Emperor’s coronation, activate the shutdown protocol by imperial decree. Have all the people of New Terra board the Ark and depart for the spirit realm.”

“Understood. Then I will prepare for the coronation ceremony as well.”

“I’m counting on you.”

Reina gave a sharp salute and left the commander’s office.

“……”

Fernandes slowly rose from his seat and looked out the window.

The streets of New Terra were deserted.

Everyone was confined to their homes, resenting Fernandes for giving such orders.

“An emperor who is hated by all his people, and who massacres them…”

Fernandes smiled bitterly.

“I’ll go down in history as the worst tyrant.”

Slowly taking off his monocle and placing it on the table, Fernandes gazed intently at the panorama of the city he loved with his red eyes.

“…It doesn’t matter.”

His gaunt fist clenched tightly.

“This is the only way for everyone to survive.”

Even if he was not understood by anyone, even if he was covered in any infamy—

In the end, everyone would know.

That the decision of the final king of kings, Emperor Fernandes of Everblack… had preserved humanity.

“You’re going to try to stop me, aren’t you?”

Fernandes muttered softly, looking at the southern sky.

“Let’s settle this, Ash.”

The long-standing feud between the brothers was also coming to an end.

***

The southern end of the world.

Under the Black Lake, the Lake Kingdom.

The deepest part of the 10th District. The Royal Castle.

《……》

Only three Nightmare Legion Commanders remained at the long table in front of the audience chamber.

Third in rank, the Great Mage Baekya.

Second in rank, the Devil Guardian Commander Cromwell.

First in rank, the Black Dragon Knight Bringer.

The three of them didn’t care about the empty seats at the table.

Although they were grouped together as ‘Nightmare Legion Commanders,’ there was a significant difference in status between these three and the other seven.

Whether the other seven legions were annihilated or the entire Lake Kingdom collapsed—it wasn’t a big deal to them.

They were confident that if each of them stepped forward, they could destroy the human world without a trace.

But there was something they all cared about.

《……》

The three of them stared blankly at the empty throne.

The Demon King’s seat was vacant.

The Demon King, who had resurrected them in this world and promised them a chance to take revenge on the human world, had not shown himself for the past few months.

They had been gathering here every day to pay their respects, even though the court meeting had not been convened, but the Demon King still did not face them.

《The King of Kings.》

The Black Dragon Knight Bringer, with his golden eyes gleaming through his disheveled long black hair, spoke in a majestic voice.

《How long will he remain secluded? Has he finally grown tired of this childish game?》

《Let’s wait a little longer.》

The answer came from the Guardian Commander Cromwell.

With her red skin, white hair, and deer horns, she was the Demon King’s direct subordinate and the leader of the demon guardians who protected this royal castle.

《He said that this is the last game, that there will be no more chances, and he continues to… search through people’s nightmares.》

《Hasn’t he already searched every nightmare of the residents here for the past five hundred years? Is there still a nightmare he hasn’t found?》

The Demon King had thoroughly explored the nightmares of the residents of the Lake Kingdom and refined the fear inherent within them.

Monsters that had invaded the human world to destroy it and were defeated.

The fears that were imprinted in the minds, genes, and souls of the residents of the Lake Kingdom, even after being defeated.

The Demon King forcibly extracted those memories and revived them. All of these monsters had been revived through this process.

This process had been carried out for over five hundred years, and most of the monsters that had existed in this world had already been revived.

Yet, the Demon King was still wandering through nightmares, searching for someone he had not yet found.

《…It could be more than five hundred years.》

The last to join the conversation was the Great Mage Baekya.

Both Knight Bringer and Cromwell looked at Baekya with surprised eyes.

A lich with a crown adorned with dangling beads and his face covered by a large talisman.

The Great Mage Baekya had never spoken aloud before.

Moving his lips under the talisman, Baekya continued.

《The King of Kings is a transcendent being. Perhaps, he has been doing this… since even longer ago.》

《Longer ago…? How is that possible?》

《……》

Baekya didn’t say anything more and closed his mouth.

Knight Bringer stared at the throne with weary eyes.

《Anyway, isn’t that just saying there’s no progress? I don’t know how great the monster he’s trying to find is, but it’s frustrating as a subordinate to see the one called the King of Kings wasting his time on a futile task.》

《……》

《If he calls himself the King of Kings, shouldn’t he finish the task that all the kings under him have been waiting for… the task we started together?》

As intense dissatisfaction mixed into Knight Bringer’s voice, Cromwell glared at him.

《Knight Bringer, you… surely you’re not thinking of rebelling against the King of Kings?》

《Why not? If a leader doesn’t do his job, it’s only natural for him to be devoured by a stronger one below him.》

Knight Bringer chuckled.

《The King of Kings, in other words, means that all the subordinates below him are also kings. And those who wear crowns cannot tolerate someone above them.》

《If you really plot treason…!》

Cromwell’s deer horns emitted red magic power. As if she would attack Knight Bringer at any moment.

《I must destroy the human world.》

Knight Bringer stared at the demon without blinking an eye.

《If anyone tries to extinguish the flames of my revenge, I will destroy them. Even if it is the one who resurrected me here.》

Black aura swirled from the Black Dragon’s entire body.

In the precarious situation just before the two Nightmare Legion Commanders clashed—

《Sorry I’m late.》

A relaxed voice suddenly rang out.

《I’m so busy with work, you know. I hope you’ll be understanding.》

As the three Nightmare Legion Commanders turned their heads—

A black shadow was seen sitting on the throne.