I Became The Tyrant Of A Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 514

Ash had indeed left the invitation behind and disappeared.

Black Night sat there, dumbfounded, staring at the invitation. The elegant card had neat lettering, inviting her to a party.

‘A party…?’

The unexpected invitation made her break out in a cold sweat.

No, inviting her to a party in the human realm? Was this even a sane idea? Is Ash really crazy?

‘What’s the chance it’s a trap?’

That thought was the first to cross her mind, but Black Night quickly dismissed it.

First of all, Ash had just neutralized the Magic Tower and taken care of another version of herself.

She was planning to cooperate with Ash for a while, so there was no reason to be hostile.

Even if it was a trap, Black Night was confident. She was sure she could easily break through any encirclement with her magic, even in the heart of enemy territory.

Then, if it wasn’t a trap.

‘…Does he really think of me as an ally?’

Remembering Ash’s beaming smile made her feel absurd. The way he had casually handed over the invitation was almost pure madness.

‘If that’s the case, he’s too naive, Ash.’

She would lend him a hand for now since they had to deal with the Demon King, but in the end, she also planned to destroy the human realm. She was just a monster who wanted to watch the human world burn and sink.

And he was letting her into his inner circle so easily….

‘…Anyway, a party.’

Black Night pondered deeply.

Come to think of it, she had never attended a party in her entire life.

Even when she was alive, she had been cooped up in the Magic Tower, doing nothing but tedious research, and after being resurrected as an undead, there were no parties to attend….

The unexpected invitation piqued her interest.

‘…Should I go?’

The human realm was going to be destroyed in the near future anyway.

So, before the world ended, wouldn’t it be fun to go to a party once?

It had been a while since she had abandoned her ascetic life and indulged in smoking, gourmet food, and drinking. One party wouldn’t hurt….

《…Alright!》

Having made up her mind, Black Night jumped up from her seat. And then she realized.

‘…Do I have anything to wear?’

Black Night quickly summoned a mirror to check her whole body and realized several problems.

‘Shoes? Makeup? Is this hair okay?’

Black Night, pressing her throbbing head, took a deep breath and then.

《Second-in-command!》

She shouted, calling for the second-in-command of the Lich Legion, whom she never usually sought out.

《Is there a clothing store nearby that’s still intact?!》

***

After leaving Black Night’s base.

‘Things are going according to plan.’

Thinking this, I strode through the Lake Kingdom towards my next destination.

The place I was heading to was… none other than outside the Lake Kingdom.

It was the outskirts of the Lake Kingdom, outside the castle walls, beyond the ‘dried-up drainage ditch.’

As I walked forward, cutting through the thick darkness with a torch, I soon saw her.

Sitting blankly on a low hill… watching her kingdom quietly, was the fallen princess.

“Nameless.”

As I called out and approached, a look of surprise flashed in Nameless’s hazy eyes as she turned to me.

“…Ash? How did you know I was here?”

“When we parted ways a while ago, I kept an eye on the direction you were moving.”

I had sent scouts to every possible location within the Lake Kingdom that she could have reached in that direction, but I couldn’t find Nameless.

So, I came to a conclusion.

Nameless was outside the Lake Kingdom.

The place where I first met her—right here, on the outskirts of the Lake Kingdom.

I squatted down next to Nameless. Nameless slowly opened her mouth.

“…I’ve been thinking.”

Nameless, who had been wandering around the outside of the Lake Kingdom as if on a pilgrimage, lost in thought, spoke quietly.

“Whether what I’m doing is right, for the sake of the people of this country.”

“What you’re doing is….”

“…Fighting.”

A bitter smile formed on Nameless’s lips.

“Fighting against the darkness that has taken over this Lake Kingdom.”

“……”

“I’ve never wavered before… but recently, I met a young citizen. Like all the other citizens here, they were breathing but not really alive.”

The citizens of the Lake Kingdom.

Most of them were encased in black cocoons, like mummies.

“Neither dead nor alive, having nightmares for the Demon King….”

“Nightmares….”

“The Demon King is looking for something in our citizens’ nightmares. So, everyone who is captured is forced into a nightmare. In this inescapable hell, they can’t even sleep peacefully.”

Nameless lowered her head.

“…If I had given up resisting earlier, as my brother said. If I had begged the Demon King for mercy. Maybe my people could be having peaceful dreams instead of nightmares.”

“……”

“While thinking that… I forcibly extracted the nightmare of that child. And transferred it to myself.”

Nameless smiled sadly.

“Then the child, who had been suffering, finally fell asleep peacefully.”

“……”

“I swallowed the child’s nightmare. And now I realize. My people have been enduring this pain all this time. In so much pain that they can’t even sleep, like this….”

“So.”

I asked urgently.

“Don’t tell me, you’ve decided to have all your people’s nightmares, instead of them?”

“Yes.”

Nameless nodded readily.

“This is the pain that my people have been carrying for the past five hundred years. It’s the fault of our Lake Kingdom royal family.”

“But…!”

“Even if I can’t save my kingdom with my own hands, I want to embrace at least the nightmares that all my people are having….”

I stammered and barely managed to ask.

“Then what will happen to you?”

“For now, I’m okay. I can handle it.”

Nameless wiped under her tired eyes with her hand.

“…It’s just that I can’t sleep anymore.”

Ah.

So that was it.

I finally realized. I finally understood.

The moment she crammed all the nightmares of this city, this country, into her small body. The moment she took on that pain.

Nameless was finally becoming the final boss—the ‘Lake Princess Who Cannot Sleep.’

“……”

I still don’t know how to save this woman.

So.

“Nameless.”

Today, let’s at least give her what I’ve prepared.

“Actually, I came to invite you today.”

“Invite?”

“Yes. As the rightful successor and representative of the Lake Kingdom… wouldn’t you like to attend the party celebrating the new alliance with the World Guardian Front?”

Along with the invitation, I handed her the pieces of the princess’s soul that I had collected.

“…A party?”

Nameless laughed hollowly as she took the invitation.

“A party. What a nostalgic word.”

Nameless slowly, with clumsy hands, broke the seal of the invitation and unfolded it, reading the contents.

At the same time, the pieces of her soul that I had collected shone brightly and seeped into her body.

“…Whether it’s because you gathered my soul, or because of this invitation.”

Nameless, having read the short invitation, neatly folded it and put it in her pocket.

“I remember… the look of my kingdom’s party hall from a long time ago.”

“What were the parties in your country like?”

“They were incredibly extravagant.”

Nameless closed her eyes and reminisced about the past.

“The crystal chandeliers were illuminated by dazzling magical lights….”

The submerged city was plunged into complete darkness,

“The entire royal palace was filled with the music of the orchestra and singing.”

With no living beings moving, only silence descended.

“People held hands, laughed, and danced.”

Those who were neither dead nor alive were trapped in black cocoons, having nightmares.

“I, dressed up in makeup and a dress, made a grand entrance in the middle of the party hall.”

Wearing tattered robes and holding a rusty iron sword.

We were sitting on a sand dune on the outskirts of the city.

“When people bowed to me all at once, I would say.”

Nameless whispered, recalling the distant past, in a voice that seemed to fade away.

“There is no need to be formal with me, everyone. Please, enjoy the party….”

“……”

I, who had been silently listening, chuckled and nudged Nameless’s side with my elbow.

“Did you get asked to dance a lot?”

“I did all my life. It’s a bit much to say it myself, but I was quite popular.”

“Was there anyone you liked among them?”

“Back then, I was also a young person in my prime. Of course, I was interested in dating. But….”

Nameless closed her eyes tightly.

“I can’t even remember the face or name of the person I liked. Too much time has passed.”

“……”

“It’s all like a dream….”

Silence fell.

Hmm hmm! I cleared my throat and gestured with my chin towards the invitation in Nameless’s hand.

“It won’t be as extravagant as the parties in your kingdom. But the party in our city will be quite fun.”

“…But, Ash. My people are suffering. How can I enjoy a party in this situation?”

“It’s also for your people. This isn’t just a simple party.”

I explained to Nameless about the White Night Raid operation, ‘Operation Surprise Party.’

Nameless opened her mouth slightly after hearing the entire plan.

“You’ve come up with such an absurd plan, Ash.”

“Haha. Isn’t it all about taking down the enemy commander by any means necessary?”

“That’s certainly true. I can’t miss out on something like that.”

Nameless, who had been pondering for a moment, looked straight at me.

“I want to participate. However….”

“However?”

Nameless, who was hesitating, said awkwardly.

“I don’t have any attire to wear to the party.”

I smiled brightly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll prepare it for you.”

“I don’t have a crown, a dress, shoes, nothing.”

“We’ll take care of everything from makeup to beauty. So that you won’t be ashamed as the representative of the Lake Kingdom.”

I stood up and bowed deeply to Nameless.

“As the third prince of the Everblack Empire, the lord of Crossroads, and the commander-in-chief of the World Guardian Front, Ash ‘Bonehater’ Everblack requests.”

I winked at Nameless.

“Please grace us with your presence at the party I have prepared. Lady of the Lake.”

Then, Nameless hurriedly stood up and bowed back, a little awkwardly.

“If it’s alright with you, even though I’ve long forgotten my name, dignity, and manners. As the successor and representative of the Lake Kingdom, I will gladly accept your invitation.”

Immediately after, a faint smile appeared on Nameless’s face as she slowly straightened her body.

“Thank you, Ash. I will wait for the day of the party with a joyful heart.”

Was it my imagination?

Her haggard complexion, the darkness that had been cast over her limbs and under her eyes….

With that smile, it felt like it had faded away a little.

***

And a few days later.

It was early evening, when a defense battle would normally be taking place.

The party hall of the elegantly decorated Hotel Crossroads.

Into this battlefield called a party hall, heroes dressed in suits and dresses instead of armor began to enter.

Stage 25.

To face the enemy mage, who was impossible to defeat in a head-on battle.