I Became The Tyrant Of A Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 762

The remaining grace period until Stage 46 wasn’t long.

Even after struggling to clear the previous stages in a rush, all I managed to gain was a few weeks. Though, one could argue that it was precisely because of the struggle that I gained this much time.

I finished repairing the equipment that was under maintenance, and with the newly acquired magic cores, I created new equipment.

I upgraded the overall equipment level of the soldiers. I expanded various defensive artifacts. I conducted training for the soldiers.

I held funerals for the dead, and executed the budget for the living…

Mindlessly, yet diligently, I prepared for the next stage.

And simultaneously, the grand strategy for the true ending was also being prepared.

Dududududu-!

During the break, La Mancha, which had been urgently dispatched to the north, returned to Crossroads.

Hanging from the bottom of La Mancha was a huge black wedge-like object, and it was because of this that the only ship on the front lines had been urgently dispatched.

La Mancha carefully lowered the black wedge onto the eastern plains, and the ship landed next to it. I quickly ran towards it.

“Father!”

The hatch of La Mancha, which had finished landing, opened, and the Emperor, along with his royal knights and mages, poured out.

The Emperor wore a prosthetic leg on his lost leg, an eyepatch on his lost eye, and his lost arm was left with the sleeve flapping.

“Did you have a safe trip?”

As I paid my respects, the Emperor, who had adapted to his prosthetic leg, grumbled as he walked out with a carefree gait.

“To make your father, who is in this state, work, you are a scary son.”

“It was something only Father could do.”

“Tsk… Fine. Anyway, I brought what you asked for.”

The Emperor glanced at the black wedge.

“It’s the main body of Everblack.”

The identity of this black wedge was the condensed form of Everblack, the guardian of humanity.

It was brought here to Crossroads to transplant the Everblack itself that remained in New Terra.

“You brought the walls from New Terra, and now the guardian, next you’ll bring the palace, won’t you?”

“Haha… Thank you, and I’m sorry.”

Of course, if it helps to stop the monsters, I would bring everything, including the palace. But for now, this Everblack is enough.

The mages who came down from the capital together planted the black wedge in the eastern plains, drew magic circles, and deployed some kind of spell… Before long, the wedge transformed into a huge thorny tree and burrowed into the ground.

“As you know, Everblack’s roots reach the spirit realm. Its location in this mortal world doesn’t really matter. The main body in the spirit realm doesn’t change its location.”

The Emperor looked at me intently.

“Yet, you specifically requested to transplant it… There must be a reason, son?”

“Yes, there is.”

Stroking the branches of the thorny tree that were rapidly growing and spreading, I added quietly.

“It’s necessary to reach the true ending I have in mind.”

***

The transplanted Everblack quickly recovered its function, and I accessed the spirit realm for the first time in a while.

“You’re bringing me along?”

The Emperor looked bewildered, but he agreed to my request to accompany me.

“If it’s necessary to protect the empire, how can I refuse? I must lead the way and give my all. Though, it seems I’ve already given my all.”

Then, he proudly flapped his empty sleeve.

This guy… He looks so serious, I can’t tell if he’s joking or holding a grudge…

“Let’s go, Father.”

“Alright.”

There were several reasons why I moved the main body of Everblack.

One of them was to fix the coordinates for entering the spirit realm.

It wasn’t difficult to connect to the spirit realm by synthesizing the branches of Everblack, but that method caused the coordinates to jump around randomly upon entry. In other words, you wouldn’t know where you’d end up in the spirit realm.

However, if you connect through the main body of Everblack in the real world, you can enter by following the Everblack that is rooted in the spirit realm.

This method was the most optimized way to reach my destination – the bottom of Everblack’s roots.

Splash…!

Pushing through the torrent of magical power, the Emperor and I, in our spirit forms, swam down into the spirit realm as if diving.

In the spirit realm, the Emperor’s eyes, arms, and legs were all restored.

I looked at myself, and there wasn’t much difference from before, but instead, a red flame and a black flame were each spinning slowly in my chest.

And above my head, a silver crown-like halo was floating.

“…”

I decided not to think too deeply about it. Let’s just think of it as a power-up and a skin that came with it…

Flying through the sky filled with colorful curtains of light, we swam through the air for a long time and plunged into the depths of the spirit realm.

The branches and roots of Everblack stretched from the end of the sky to the ground of the spirit realm, and the Emperor and I slowly slid down along these roots.

And after a long time, we reached the end of the roots.

Swaaaaa…

The scenery of the spirit realm hadn’t changed at all compared to when I visited before.

The sight of a pure white beach where colorless, transparent seawater was crashing.

“I was imprisoned here for quite a long time.”

The Emperor seemed to have mixed feelings as he returned to the site of the war against the other gods, where he had fought his entire life.

“To think that this place, which I always thought of as a battlefield, could be so peaceful, it’s amazing.”

“…”

I looked towards the sea.

There, four giants stood still like statues, looking down at us.

The guardian gods of the different races, the other gods.

They were the representative deities of the different races, who were currently lending their power to our world-protecting front.

They used to fight to the death with the Emperor, but now they were just staring at us with inorganic gazes.

“So, why did you come here?”

The Emperor, after looking around, asked me.

“What business do you have in this empty space between life and death?”

“This way.”

I led the way under the long, extended thorny branches of Everblack.

And there, where we arrived, she was still there.

At the end of the black thorny branches that were woven 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 simultaneously, burning alive.

Functioning as a living firewood that supplied heat to the thorny tree…

She, the goddess, still had a peaceful face.

“It’s been a while.”

I paid my respects.

“Goddess.”

“Hehe. It hasn’t been that long by my standards, but yes. It’s been a while, Ash.”

The goddess turned her head and smiled slightly as she looked at the Emperor who had followed me.

“And Traha too.”

I turned to look at the Emperor. I thought he would also pay his respects to the goddess.

“…”

But the Emperor didn’t show any reaction, and coldly looked around this space where the thorny branches and roots that had come down from the sky ended.

I was a little puzzled and asked.

“Father? Aren’t you going to greet the goddess?”

“…What are you talking about since a while ago?”

The Emperor frowned and stared straight at me.

“There’s nothing here.”

“…?!”

I quickly turned back around.

The burning woman was definitely there. With a slightly sadder smile.

“Can’t you see the goddess, Father?”

“What are you talking about, Ash?”

“Are you saying you can’t see the woman burning in the void over there?”

“I can’t see any fire, nor any woman.”

The Emperor shook his head slightly.

“I only see an empty and cold void.”

***

After the Emperor left the space.

I stood alone in front of the goddess and asked carefully.

“Why can’t Father see you?”

“Hehe. Ash. It’s the opposite.”

The burning woman smiled bitterly.

“No one in the world can observe me. I am a ‘non-existent being’. Because I was imprisoned under those conditions. So, no one can find or touch me. You are special.”

“Then, why am I…?”

“I told you before. Dustia is my descendant. And you, who inherited Dustia’s blood, are also the same.”

I recalled my mother Dustia, and the curse of the one-person transmission bloodline inheritance that was passed down to me from her.

“The curse of regression… Then, could it be that…?”

“Yes. It started with me. The curse I received in exchange for fulfilling a wish in the distant past… It has been passed down through generations.”

The goddess looked apologetic.

“Because of that curse, all of my descendants have faced difficult fates. I’m truly sorry about that.”

“…”

“But after all the tangled threads of fate, you were born, and you came to see me, who has been forgotten by everyone… It might be selfish, but I’m a little happy.”

I had a question and asked carefully.

“I think you were communicating with Aither… How did you talk to that guy?”

“That child also made the same choice as me. That’s why we could connect with each other.”

Aither also made the same choice as the goddess?

I wanted to ask more, but the goddess seemed unwilling to talk about Aither.

“You should hear about Aither from Aither. I don’t think I can speak carelessly about that child’s decision.”

“…”

“But I’ll tell you anything else. Now you are fully qualified to do so.”

The goddess smiled benevolently.

“What worries do you have that brought you to me today, my distant descendant?”

I took a small breath and looked straight up at the goddess.

“Will you tell me your story, Goddess?”

The reason why she was imprisoned here in this form, which I couldn’t hear last time.

– In exchange for giving fire to humanity. And in exchange for sustaining that fire. She decided to receive the punishment of burning her own body forever.

The reason why this world is in its current state.

The goddess was strongly involved in it.

I was certain that the existence of the goddess was the last puzzle I could get my hands on.

The goddess tilted her head slightly to the side.

“I don’t mind, but it’s going to be a long and boring story? Aren’t you very busy?”

“It’s necessary, and more than anything…”

I smiled slyly and sat comfortably in front of the goddess.

“What could be more enjoyable than a grandchild listening to their grandmother’s story?”

The goddess’s eyes curved as she smiled in the flames.

“You little rascal, you’re so cute…”

And the goddess slowly opened her mouth and began to tell her story.

A story about a thief who stole the fire of magic and brought it to the world of humans in the distant past…

***

After hearing the whole story, I left the bottom of Everblack’s roots.

The Emperor was standing on the beach, talking to the other gods. Seeing them, who were fighting to the death last time, talking so peacefully made me feel strange.

“Are you done with your business, Ash?”

“Yes.”

“Good, then let’s go back. It seems like quite a long time has passed.”

The Emperor, after saying goodbye to the other gods, took the lead and soared into the air along the thorny branches.

The suffocating torrent of magical power lashed at us like a whip, shaking our path, but Everblack guided us, and we safely ascended towards reality following the lighthouse’s instructions.

And while returning to reality.

“…Ash.”

“Yes.”

“Was there really a goddess there?”

“Yes, there was.”

The Emperor, after hesitating for a moment, asked carefully.

“Is Dustia involved in this as well?”

“…”

I nodded slightly.

“Yes.”

“I see, so that’s how it is…”

The Emperor, after hesitating and swallowing his words, let out a long breath.

“Ash. I wasn’t a good husband.”

“…”

“But I want to be a decent father.”

I chuckled.

“You’re already a good enough father.”

“…”

The Emperor glanced back at me with his unfathomable eyes.

The next moment, his face aged instantly, and one eye was covered with an eyepatch. One of his strong arms and one of his legs disappeared, turning into an empty sleeve and a prosthetic leg.

Swaaaaa…!

We had left the spirit realm and returned to reality.

As soon as we returned next to Everblack, the troops who were waiting immediately knelt and greeted the Emperor.

“Long live the great Emperor! We pay our respects to the supreme ruler of the Empire!”

“We congratulate you on your safe return, Your Majesty!”

The Emperor lightly nodded and accepted the salute.

“Alright. How many days were we in there?”

“It has been a week, Your Majesty!”

I, who was supporting the Emperor as he walked, was startled. A week had passed already?

Lukas, who was waiting with the other knights, nodded heavily at me.

“…The next monster army’s invasion will begin soon, my lord.”

“What about the things I instructed you to do?”