I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 464

“Jupiter Junior.”

The Emperor called out the name in a low voice, and a flustered Junior snapped to attention.

“Yes, y-yes! Your Majesty!”

“I said that the entire magic circle needs to be struck with a certain level of impact. Specifically, what level of impact are we talking about?”

“It seems that at least ten points across the entire magic circle, specifically destroying the points where the mana flows, should do it.”

“Ten points, huh…”

With not much time left before the shutdown protocol activates.

Destroying ten points seemed impossible at first glance, but the Emperor seemed to be seriously considering it, showing no signs of giving up.

“Jupiter Junior. You seem to be a mage that Ash trusts.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“I will go destroy other points of the magic circle, so can I leave this place to you?”

Junior slowly glared at Reina, who stood nearby with her staff planted on the ground.

Subduing Reina, who appeared to protect the magic circle, and then destroying the magic circle… It was an extremely difficult task, but.

Junior answered without hesitation.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Please leave it to me.”

“Thank you. I will trust you.”

The Emperor nodded and, with a flourish of his cloak, headed to the opposite underground passage, and the Imperial Guard hurriedly followed after him.

“…”

“…”

A brief silence filled the empty underground space.

Junior and Reina slowly moved sideways while maintaining eye contact. It was Reina who broke the silence first.

“Why are you trying to stop this, Junior?”

“Why, you ask?”

Junior retorted sharply, dumbfounded.

“It’s to prevent the innocent citizens of the Imperial Capital from being massacred, of course.”

“That’s the strange part.”

Reina chuckled.

“If you’re in a position to seek revenge for the Camila Kingdom, shouldn’t you be letting the shutdown protocol activate?”

“… !”

“The Imperial Army massacred civilians in your country. You are living proof of that. Your body, battered by my and Jupiter’s magic, is proof.”

Junior unconsciously gripped his left arm with his right hand. His left side, with its clear burn scars.

Reina continued to speak harshly.

“The Empire has been massacring civilians all over the world while waging wars of conquest. If it weren’t for Jupiter’s insubordination 15 years ago, they would still be doing it.”

“…”

“If all the civilians in the Imperial Capital were massacred, wouldn’t that be considered karmic retribution?”

It was a fallacy. Nonsensical drivel.

However-

“Let this magic activate. The Empire will receive the punishment it deserves, and the victims of the Camila Kingdom will finally be able to rest in peace.”

The terrible memories of his childhood gripped Junior’s heart.

The raging thunder and storm.

The collapsing temple. The priests falling, splattered with blood…

His lost hometown. His parents, whose bodies were never found.

His siblings, still living with their burned bodies.

And the Imperial citizens, living happily in this Imperial Capital, without any concern for such tragedies…

‘Why?’

Why should they live such different lives, just because they were born in different countries?

‘It’s unfair.’

Deep down, he thought so, and for a moment, Reina’s words sounded sweet.

‘An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. Blood for blood.’

This lump in his chest, this never-ending anger and resentment… If he did as Reina said, it felt like it might disappear, even a little.

‘They need to know the pain I’ve suffered.’

A whisper echoed in his ear. For a moment, Junior almost agreed with Reina.

That’s when it happened.

– But, do not forget. Everything you have experienced.

The voice of Camu, a fellow countryman who died fighting Reina, echoed in his mind.

– Forgive if you want to forgive. Seek revenge if you want to seek revenge. If you can’t choose either, that’s fine too. Keep thinking about it. Until you find the answer you want someday.

Junior stopped.

He gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and took a deep breath-

“…I.”

And finally.

Junior struggled to speak.

“I do not forgive the Empire. But.”

Junior raised his eyes and looked directly at Reina.

“That doesn’t mean I want to take revenge on the Empire either.”

“…”

“I may never forgive the Empire, but that doesn’t mean… I want to repay blood with blood.”

At that moment, the whispers that had been tickling Junior’s ears disappeared.

His vision cleared, and everything became clear. Junior took a deep breath.

A hollow smile appeared on Reina’s lips as she listened quietly.

“You’re weak, Junior.”

“Yes, I am weak!”

Junior tightly gripped his chest with his scarred hand.

“But is that wrong?”

“…”

“I just want to stop. I don’t want revenge, and I don’t need forgiveness…”

It didn’t matter if he was called a coward. It didn’t matter if he was criticized as a weakling.

He just wanted to live with his enemies.

He wanted to live together.

That was all.

“I will just remember. So that what happened is not forgotten, so that everyone knows clearly, so that it is clearly passed on.”

“…”

“I just…”

Junior looked at Reina with pleading eyes.

“I want to break free from the framework of revenge and forgiveness… I just want to talk to you.”

Reina chuckled.

“…Certainly, we made that promise.”

To talk about each other’s stories when they met again. To share how they had lived.

“It seems like it’s not the time for a chat, unfortunately.”

Swish-

Reina, standing with her legs wide apart, began to gather wind at her fingertips.

“You want to stop the shutdown protocol? Then kill me.”

“…”

“That’s the only way, Junior.”

Junior gritted his teeth and thrust his staff – [Lord of Crimson] – forward.

“I will save you and stop the shutdown protocol.”

“With such a wishy-washy mindset that is neither black nor white…”

Whoooosh!

The wind currents swirling around Reina suddenly intensified. Reina smiled fiercely.

“You won’t achieve either, you brat!”

Thwack! Thwack-!

Reina shot wind bullets from her fingertips. Junior countered by creating wind to neutralize them.

Kugugung! Kugugugung…!

The underground space vibrated violently, and a cloud of dust poured down like a waterfall.

As if it were a predetermined fate.

The life-or-death battle between the two mages had finally begun.

***

“…No.”

The Emperor stopped in his tracks as he headed underground.

With so little time remaining, it was absurd to try and destroy the magic circle by going through the entire underground of the Imperial Capital.

No matter how much the Emperor’s personal power had reached the level of divine might, there was a limit to the physical force he could exert.

It was impossible to destroy the magic circle spread throughout the Imperial Capital’s underground in one blow.

Then, by process of elimination… he had to borrow the power of others.

“…”

Having made his decision, the Emperor changed his course. The Imperial Guard followed him, sweating profusely, as he flew up the stairs back to the surface.

Reaching the surface, the Emperor raised his head and quickly surveyed his surroundings.

“If Reina is here now… does that mean the Alcatraz is nearby?”

It was the Emperor himself who had granted the Magic Corps the right to use the Imperial flagship, the Alcatraz.

The Emperor raised the back of his hand towards the distant sky and declared.

“Come! My ship!”

A bright blue pattern glowed on the back of the Emperor’s hand.

The soldiers of the Imperial Guard were bewildered, but soon their mouths dropped open.

The Alcatraz, which had been circling and waiting in the sky, was forced to land as if it had been forcibly captured.

“It is my flagship, so naturally, summoning it is also according to my will.”

The Emperor clenched his fist, and the hatch of the landed Alcatraz opened roughly. The soldiers of the Magic Corps inside were terrified and didn’t know what to do.

Looking at them, the Emperor spoke to the Imperial Guard.

“What are you doing, Guards?”

“Y-yes?”

“Drag them out and arrest them. Immediately.”

“Ah, yes!”

After clearing out the Magic Corps from the airship, the Emperor boarded the Alcatraz alone.

Thwack…!

Although it was an airship that usually required three or more people to control, the Emperor, without anyone else on board, sat alone in the captain’s seat and controlled the airship with his will alone, soaring into the sky.

The Imperial Guard on the ground and the Magic Corps soldiers they had captured watched the Alcatraz disappear into the distance with their mouths agape.

Whoooooosh-!

Floating the airship in the very center of the Imperial Capital’s sky.

The Emperor spoke into the Alcatraz’s microphone, and using his own abilities to amplify his voice – he shouted, making it echo throughout the entire Imperial Capital.

“I announce!”

The Emperor’s voice was clear and filled with his unique power. The voice spread widely, not only throughout the Imperial Capital but also to the surrounding areas.

Everyone looked up at the sky.

The Imperial Capital Defense Forces and the Imperial Army, who were bickering with their weapons drawn at each other in front of the Imperial Capital’s south gate, and the people of the World Protection Front as well.

Jeronimo and the Imperial Air Fleet, who were still engaged in a chase in the airspace.

The citizens who were clamoring on the outskirts to escape the Imperial Capital. The citizens who believed in the eternal life promised by Fernandes and were living their daily lives in their homes.

When the voice of the Emperor, who was thought to be dead, was heard in the air, everyone stopped moving and looked up at once.

“I am Traha ‘Peacemaker’ Everblack! The true and only Emperor of this Empire!”

“Your Majesty…?!”

“He wasn’t dead?”

“Then why did Prince Fernandes…”

The citizens murmured in surprise. The Emperor continued.

“I apologize for being absent for so long and not fulfilling my duties as Emperor.”

The citizens were even more surprised and collectively held their breath.

That Emperor Traha was apologizing?

It was more surprising than the fact that the Emperor, who was thought to be dead, had returned alive.

“As an Emperor who has abandoned his country, I am ashamed, but in the face of this unprecedented crisis, I would like to ask one thing of you.”

The Emperor did not hide anything.

“The magic circle that Fernandes installed is ready to activate. If this magic activates, all living things in the Imperial Capital will die.”

“…?!”

Silent screams spread in all directions.

The panicked people tried to run out of the Imperial Capital, vying to be the first to escape.

However, the Emperor’s voice that followed was louder and clearer.

“My citizens! If you wish to live, fight back!”

“…!”

“The eternal life that others give is a lie! The only ones who deserve to survive are those who fight to protect their own lives!”

The voice of the Emperor, who had ruled the largest country in the world, had the power to make people pay attention and follow him.

The Emperor shouted repeatedly.

“Fight!”

“Destroy the magic circle underground!”

“This is an order from the Emperor, and at the same time… a request.”

The Emperor’s request.

The citizens’ eyes widened at the words they were hearing for the first time in their lives.

“Protect New Terra, my citizens!”

The citizens who had been rushing to escape to the outskirts of the Imperial Capital through back alleys turned back.

The citizens who had been sitting peacefully in their homes also rushed out of their houses.

“Fight… to protect yourselves!”

Underground.

The soldiers of the Magic Corps and the Aegis Special Forces members who were guarding each important point of the magic circle looked at each other with blank expressions.

Whoaaaaaa-!

From the surface to the underground, citizens were rushing down with terrifying momentum.

Weapons fell from the soldiers’ hands one by one. One of the Special Forces members muttered in a daze.

“…This is cheating, Your Majesty.”

Bang! Crack-!

Throughout the underground of the Imperial Capital, the shutdown protocol’s magic circles began to be destroyed simultaneously by the hands of the citizens.