I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 590

I regained consciousness a little while after the fall.

“Your Highness!”

As I fluttered my eyes open, Damian, who was bandaging my head, cried out with delight.

“Your Highness, it’s me, Damian! Can you recognize me?”

“Of course, I recognize you, trigger-happy. Ouch, ouch, ouch…”

“That’s a relief. You were bleeding from your forehead, so I was worried you might be seriously hurt.”

Damian chanted, ‘Heal, heal,’ as he wrapped the bandage around my forehead. Wrap it moderately; my head feels heavy.

With a turban-like bandage on my head, I looked around and asked,

“Where is this? What time is it?”

“It’s the southern plains of Crossroads! About 30 minutes have passed since the fall…!”

“30 minutes…”

I staggered to my feet with Damian’s support.

“What’s the war situation?”

“The Fly King fell, but he broke through the southern wall of Crossroads… and penetrated into the city of Crossroads.”

“What?! Into the city?!”

“Yes. However, after a brief rampage, he’s been still with a barrier activated… Currently, we are on alert and reorganizing our forces.”

I sensed it. Not just me, but everyone must have sensed it.

This moment of calm was merely the silence before the final battle.

As I came out of the Zerónimo [a type of airship], Lucas, looking haggard, saluted me. His usually neat blond hair was a mess.

“My lord.”

“Lucas, are you okay?”

“I’m always fine. Don’t worry about me.”

As always, Lucas was bluffing. And as always, I let it slide.

Around the airship, along with the corpses of the mutated flies, there was also a dead, giant new type of mutated fly that I had never seen before.

When I looked at it, Lucas explained.

“It seems these monsters attacked while we were unconscious. The warriors of the Arian Kingdom who came to rescue us fought bravely, but…”

Lucas trailed off and turned his head. There, the corpses of the Arian Kingdom warriors were laid out side by side.

“When I belatedly regained consciousness, Kuilan had already defeated all the remaining monsters.”

“I see. Where’s Kuilan?”

“He’s over there. However…”

Lucas pursed his lips.

“His condition isn’t good.”

“…”

Kuilan was sitting blankly on a hill not far from the Zerónimo. I cautiously approached him from behind and called his name.

“Kuilan?”

Then, Kuilan turned around. I flinched and shuddered.

Kuilan had transformed into a form similar to his ancestor… the Wolf King Lunared.

His entire body was covered in silver-red fur, and he had become a werewolf himself.

The only things that allowed me to recognize him were the X-shaped scar on his forehead, his unique ponytail, and…

Yoon, whom he was holding in his arms.

Covered in blood, Yoon was breathing faintly with a pale face, and in front of her, Janice was sweating profusely as she treated Yoon.

“Your Highness.”

Janice, who had found me, bowed her head. I approached and asked,

“What’s Princess Yoon’s condition?”

“…We can only pray for a miracle.”

That meant it was realistically difficult. I closed my eyes tightly.

“…”

Kuilan, with his hands transformed like a wolf’s, held Yoon tightly and looked down at her with sad eyes.

I placed my hand on Kuilan’s shoulder and carefully said,

“Kuilan, I’m going to fight the Fly King now. I will defeat that monster by any means.”

“…”

“You can stay here. If you want to take care of Yoon, do so.”

Then, Kuilan slowly shook his head and opened his mouth… and spoke in a human voice.

“No, Captain. You’ll need my strength. I’ll go with you.”

Kuilan slowly laid Yoon down on a blanket on the ground.

“I’m a ridiculously lucky guy… I’ll share half of my luck with you, Yoon.”

Kuilan lightly touched the tip of his elongated, wolf-like nose to Yoon’s nose.

“I’ll try to create my own miracle, so I hope you create your own miracle.”

Kuilan stood up and looked at me.

Behind me, all the heroes who had boarded the Zerónimo were lined up.

Kuilan strode over and joined the ranks. I nodded and looked around at everyone.

“Let’s go.”

After looking at the faces of my comrades, their fatigue as clear as hardened blood, but their eyes fiercely shining.

I said with emphasis,

“It’s time to end this tiresome battle.”

***

Kellybay, Kellyson, and the rest of the airship crew were all left behind.

After ordering them to repair the airship, I returned to Crossroads with only the remaining combat personnel.

I didn’t know if the airship could be reactivated in the remaining battle, but it was better to leave the possibility open.

“Senior!”

As we approached Crossroads, Evangeline, covered in dirt and dust, greeted us. Her pure white armor was a mess, as if she had been caught in the collapse of the wall.

I stopped myself from asking for a damage report. Instead, I changed my question.

“What is the current combat-ready force?”

“Because the formations were completely torn apart by the collapse of the wall, it’s hard to know the exact numbers as we’re reorganizing as best we can… But we have enough to surround the Fly King.”

“What is the Fly King doing now?”

“He called in and absorbed all the flies in the area, and after that, he’s just sitting there… quietly meditating.”

It was a dark night.

The forces surrounding the Fly King were shining spotlights on the enemy commander. Under the lights, the Fly King remained motionless.

‘Why is he just sitting there like that?’

If he had absorbed and recovered the flies of the present world, why isn’t he rampaging more… why?

As I was wondering, Evangeline exclaimed and said,

“And, there was a report from the mages in the lord’s mansion.”

“From the lord’s mansion?”

“Yes. The zombie fly replication operation suddenly started on its own… They said there was no time to do anything about it.”

Surprised, I looked at Lucas.

“Lucas, could it be…”

“Yes.”

Lucas also nodded with a slightly tense expression.

“It seems the White Night replication operation we prepared has been executed.”

Suddenly, I remembered what White Night had said to me in the Fly King’s mental world.

‘Send me more’ … or something like that.

Perhaps White Night had noticed that we were preparing more zombie flies and was trying to use this operation.

And in the end, she executed it herself.

“The Fly King is said to have called in and absorbed the flies of the present world. If the replicated White Nights also infiltrated the Fly King during this process…”

I nodded and took Lucas’s words.

“The Fly King and the Magic Emperor… might be fighting inside the collective consciousness.”

I gritted my teeth. This was a measure that even I had hesitated to take.

Would it be a trump card that finds an unexpected breakthrough, or would it be a bad move made in desperation after a reckless attempt?

The result was about to come out.

***

Inside the Fly King’s collective consciousness. In the mental world.

《Aaaaaaa-aaaaaaa!》

White Night let out a sharp scream.

She was a grotesque sight. Her long body had dozens of arms and legs attached haphazardly, and dozens of heads, from pale skeletons to blue-faced zombies, were also attached to various parts of her body.

It was the result of dozens of replicated ‘White Night’ consciousnesses meeting together in this mental world.

These liches were the same entity, so they merged into one, but they refused to fuse with each other.

So, they had transformed into a hideous centipede-like shape – and watching this, the old fly laughed heartily.

《Kikikikik! Kikikikik! How funny, how funny! For someone who uses the grandiose name of Emperor, isn’t that a very ugly sight, Undead!》

The voices of dozens of White Nights overlapped and echoed simultaneously.

《You, a fly, don’t you dare speak so carelessly…!》

《With that appearance, it would be more appropriate to call you an Abomination rather than a Lich, wouldn’t it? Haha, for someone like you to try to take over this Fly King’s body…》

The old fly, clutching his royal scepter, extended it forward and roared.

《It seems I was underestimated!》

Swaaaaaaa!

The floor of the mental world surged, and black waves rose, and immediately after, a towering tsunami covered White Night.

It was a wave made of flies.

It was the consciousness of the flies that the Fly King had newly absorbed in the present world. White Night was helplessly submerged in this vast ocean of flies and sank.

Hundreds of millions of flies began to gnaw at White Night. The old fly chuckled and laughed.

《Drown in the sea of insignificant creatures you underestimated…!》

The old fly was planning to slowly melt and devour the Magic Emperor.

But the next moment.

Swaaaaaaa…

The water level of the sea rapidly decreased.

The old fly, puzzled by the sudden situation, soon realized.

Crack! Crunch! Crack!

She was eating them.

The Magic Emperor.

That lofty, arrogant, and proud undead lich… was indiscriminately chewing and swallowing the flies that covered her.

《How terrible! How disgusting! How miserable! To be borrowing the body of a fly, to be coveting the spirit of a fly!》

Dozens of White Night’s heads shouted at once.

《But – I exist here! In this humiliation! In this insult! In this blasphemy! I truly exist-!》

White Night devoured the wave of flies in an instant, and at the same time.

Crack, crack, crack!

In the real world outside the mental world.

The Fly King’s massive body began to split apart.

The flies that made up the outer skin fell like black snow in all directions, and the fallen flies gathered together again… and began to merge into the form of a human woman.

“W-what is this, oh my god…”

“What on earth is happening…?!”

The human soldiers surrounding the Fly King trembled and stepped back.

Faced with a surreal scene that far exceeded human understanding, the best the soldiers could do was to stand their ground without running away.

《Aaaaaaaa-!》

Finally, another monster that had completely separated from the Fly King and gained substance… the resurrected White Night raised her hand forward and examined her body.

《…Now that I’ve adapted to this appearance, it’s not so bad.》

Her voice had become calm.

《Countless ‘me’s exist simultaneously, but this feeling of being one… I like it.》

White Night, her red compound eyes flashing wickedly, whispered.

《I will finish eating you, fly. I will take your kingship and make it completely mine.》

《…》

The Fly King, having lost its outer skin, had shrunk into a form like a giant cocoon.

White Night, laughing madly, declared towards the Fly King.

《After that, I will burn this world! I will complete the task I failed to finish, and this time, I will achieve my dream of ascension!》

Then, White Night looked around and examined the humans below.

《And then, Ash. You too, and your subordinates, will all be imprisoned in purgatory and suffer for eons, just as I did.》

White Night, letting out a loud laugh, did not hesitate and rushed towards the Fly King. She intended to end the fight in one go.

And, in response to White Night’s rush…

Kiiiiing!

The horn that had grown on the Fly King’s head flashed with a blue light.

《Huh?》

A beat late, White Night realized the opponent’s trick, and a dumbfounded sound escaped her lips.

The Fly King chuckled and whispered.

《This is a technique I stole from humans… It can only be used on ‘allies.’ But since your body is of the same substance as me, it seems I can use it.》

《Wait, no, that doesn’t-》

What the Fly King used was teleportation magic.

As he teleported his opponent to an unspecified location, the Fly King asked, as if he was enjoying it.

《Have you ever been to ‘the other side of the shore,’ Undead?》

《…!》

《It is said that a being born from a nightmare can never return once they step into the spirit world. If you are also a monster… you will be lost and wander there forever.》

Enveloped in blue light and forcibly teleported, White Night screamed.

《Don’t talk nonsense, my origin is…!》

Flash!

A blue magic gate opened, and magic particles spread in all directions – and the next moment, there was no one there.

The Fly King, having simply erased White Night from the present world with teleportation magic, chuckled and looked down.

《Now, the traitor who tried to usurp my empire is gone.》

In the face of a duel that was beyond the perception of transcendent beings, the humans were trembling in fear.

Satisfied, the Fly King looked down at the humans and smiled.

《Now, shall we resume the battle between flies and humans?》