Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 753

In the history of Bariel, there have been a few instances where beings called gods have appeared before humans. Though rare, they were clearly recorded. The credibility of these records varies from person to person, but the Bariel Empire officially acknowledges them. The first was during the founding war— A record of thirty-five sentences detailing how the first emperor, after resolving the chaos of Gaia [the world], and declaring respect for other races including dragons, met a god and received a blessing. The second was during the reign of the 5th Emperor— A record stating that the Emperor met a beautiful woman in the backyard of the garden one night and fell in love. Later, the woman said, ‘I am actually a fragment of a god, and I will disappear without a trace as I came.’ According to this, the Emperor loved the woman so much that he offered sacrifices on the altar and prayed day and night. Moved by the Emperor’s sincerity, the god appeared in person and said, ‘It is inevitable that I must take back my fragment from you, but instead, I will give you a blessing to fill the void.’ Afterward, the woman disappeared, and in time, the Emperor married an Empress and had children. He was the 6th Emperor who lived for hundreds of years and ushered in the golden age of the Bariel Empire, and there are three hundred and eighty-nine sentences recorded about this. There were five more sentences recorded about the god directly descending and meeting the Bariel Emperor, but the Bariel Imperial Palace hesitated to directly mention them, as there were many different interpretations. Thump. Thump-thump. Jin tried to ignore his wildly beating heart and focused his mind. He was certain. He knew that every path he had walked would be etched in history, but he believed that the page that would be most noted in later generations would be this very moment. “…All mages of the main force, join Sir Ian.” The Emperor’s voice trembled involuntarily. It was a natural reaction for a mere human, as the shadow of a god, the Undergod, was directly revealing itself and growing in size. Even the oldest of the old, Tweller, was speechless and stood as if time had stopped. If not for Aileen’s voice awakening him, he too would have been frozen for a while, unable to accept the flow of time. “All mages, support Minister Ian!” “Go! Hurry, hurry!” “Ah! Yes! Understood!” “Go, let’s go! Hurry!” “Your Majesty, my apologies!” As the Emperor’s command was delivered, the mages, jolted back to their senses, flew toward Ian. At this point, they couldn’t afford to worry about King Toallun’s invisible attacks. They had to remove all barriers and focus on erasing the shadow. Golden trails followed the mages’ flight paths. “Also, quickly gather the magic swordsmen from the walls! They will support the magic division!” …Doom! Doom! Doom! The drumbeat, which had been faltering and off-beat, soon regained its stability. It was the signal for the magic swordsmen’s return. “Minister Tweller.” “…….” “Minister Tweller!” “…Ah, yes, Your Majesty.” “While the mages and magic swordsmen are moving to the front, what should the Imperial Army do?” “The Imperial Army-” Tweller looked up at the Undergod and muttered. There was no way. It was futile to order humans, with human bodies and weapons, to attack a god. “It would be best to order them to keep their distance.” “I permit it. But they must not leave the capital.” The consequences of moving away from the battlefield were unpredictable. And more than anything… “Sir Ian-!” Jin shouted, clenching his fists with both hands, causing his vassals to flinch. It was the first time they had seen the Emperor raise his voice so loudly with an emotion other than anger. It was proof of how serious the current situation was. Jin’s shout was like a signal that shattered their unrealistic perceptions. “You must! You must come back alive! I believe in you!” That he would not die, and that he would be able to safely erase the shadow of the god. Jin’s hands trembled as he shouted. How powerless and miserable humans were in the face of a transcendent being, it was as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water on him to awaken him. Zhiiiing! Zhiiiing! Everyone’s heart was beating loudly. It was like the sound of footsteps approaching with tension and fear. The mages activated their magic without even breathing properly, watching only Ian’s back. What kind of expression Ian was making now, and what kind of determination was flowing from his eyes, none of the mages could see. Only— “…This is quite a sight.” Only Kumasha, smiling, was facing Ian. The child, aided by the shadow, brushed off his clothes and slowly stood up. He seemed to be staggering slightly, as if one of his legs was broken, but he acted as if it was not a problem. “Ian Verosian. What should you do? Shall I give you time to pray to the god? But you know it too.” The god is kind yet cruel, not a being that moves according to the standards of mere humans. If he were to intervene, he would have done so long ago, without distorting space-time and sacrificing countless lives, wouldn’t he? That is what a god is. Omnipotent yet not omnipotent. “No.” Ian took a breath and drew the Idgal sword. Shwaaak! “It’s not that the god doesn’t need to intervene. It’s something I can handle on my own.” “That’s ridiculous.” “Ah, I didn’t tell you to laugh, so it’s okay.” “You look tired. You should save your breath.” Hale noticed that Ian’s breathing was a bit rough. It wasn’t from fear. Could it be from using the myriad magic? But Ian, as he knew him, wasn’t someone who would lose his strength after using a high-level magic once. Hale put a new cigarette in his mouth and instructed the mages. He thought it might be the last cigarette he would ever smoke. “…Don’t spare your lives in supporting Ian.” “Yes, in this situation, saving it would be a waste.” “Ha, but seriously, what do we do? It’s not a monster, it’s the shadow of a god.” The mages also knew. The shadow of a god was not an opponent they could handle. Unless the god disappeared, it was not something that could be erased. “Maaaaaa!” “Sir Ian! We’re here!” It was then. With Acorella at the lead, mages flew in from outside the palace. Ian focused all his senses behind him, but he did not turn his head. His gaze was fixed on Kumasha. He knew that a moment of carelessness could lead to dire consequences. -Grrr… The Undergod’s breathing became rough. It only looked down at the mages gathering one by one, without showing any movement. Ian immediately understood its intention from that beastly sound. ‘It’s trying to wipe us out.’ The mages and magic swordsmen of Bariel. The pillars supporting the empire and the warriors of the god, it was trying to gather them all in one place to eliminate them. Ian’s hand gripping Idgal was filled with strength. ‘Kumasha said it. If the god had intervened, it would have been over. But doesn’t that apply to the Undergod as well?’ The Undergod, too, could have easily appeared and crushed Ian and the mages. So why did it only appear when Kumasha was in a life-threatening situation? ‘It means it’s not easy. For the Undergod to appear outside of Gaia, it must be an act of taking a risk by sacrificing something.’ This place is the realm of the god. Invading and revealing itself must have been a difficult choice for that thing as well. Then one thing became clear. The Undergod’s weak point was Kumasha. “…Everyone, listen to me carefully.” “Yes, Sir Ian! Just give us the orders!” “The King of Toallun is one of the Undergod’s weak points. You will target him.” Killing Kumasha might have a similar effect to cutting off a part of the shadow. He couldn’t be sure, but for now, that was the only deduction he could make. The mages nodded resolutely. “No matter what, we will kill him, even if it means burning our breath.” “Yes, Sir Ian! We swear on the oath of a mage!” “On the honor of Bariel and our pride!” “We will protect you by killing him!” The mages shouted one by one, as if gathering their spirits. Even while they were doing so, the Undergod was catching its breath, waiting for an opportunity. It meant that not enough mages and magic swordsmen had gathered yet, and it was confident that even if they attacked first, it would not be defeated. “…Everyone, don’t die.” “That’s what we should be saying!” “Sir Ian! Don’t die! Let’s go back together!” Please. The mages wiped their eyes with their sleeves and clenched their mouths tightly. Crying was a waste. They had to gather even this strength to defeat those things and return home. “Wait.” It was then. Acorella took something out of her pocket and flicked her finger. Something unknown was scattered among all the mages. “Everyone, eat this.” “…Isn’t this the old stuff? The untested…” “No, damn it. What else can we do? Carry around syringes?” “It’s better than nothing. You’re the best, Captain.” “Anyone who dies will really die! Sir Ian is no exception!” Taat! Acorella threw a pill to Ian, and Ian caught it without looking and bit into it. With a crunch, the pill burst, and the medicine quickly seeped into his body. Zhiiiing! Zhiiiing! “I’m going first.” “We’ll follow!” For now, before the magic swordsmen arrived, that is, before the shadow moved, attacking first was the best option. As Ian took a step and ran, the mages also flew up, their robes fluttering. “Haaap!” Berrick also slashed at Kumasha with his greatsword, cleaving the ground. But the child, having regained his strength due to the Undergod’s presence, easily evaded the attack with movements that were incomparably faster than before. Shwaaaak! The mages sporadically unleashed magic, trying to defeat Kumasha, but it was not easy. No, it was overwhelming. It was as if they were fighting a ghost; they couldn’t catch him, they couldn’t touch him. Fwoooom! Bang! Kwaang! While the commotion was happening below, Ian increased his altitude to meet the shadow of the god at eye level. Its head seemed to touch the sky. An overwhelming sense of pressure, as if the sky would tear and the world would collapse, overflowed. -You, who could not do anything even in the form of Ian Verosian, what will you do in that form? “Shut up. The abyss was your world, but this is the world of the god.” So, I can win. So, I can kill you. Then, Ian engraved the words that Berrick had been repeating like a mantra in his heart. That you don’t lose until you die. That if you believe you can win, you can win. Zhiiiing! Zhiiiing! 「God’s Palm」. The palm of the god. It was a magic that was activated with a clone during the Luswena War, but this time it was alone. If he used the clone magic and it didn’t work, it was certain that all his strength would be depleted this time. He absolutely could not lose consciousness now. If he did, everything would be over. Kugugugung-! Kugung! A huge golden palm descended from the sky. It was aimed at the Undergod’s head. Like a meteor, it was trying to calmly and gently crush it. The Undergod calmly looked up at the brilliant golden palm, then raised its hand and grabbed it. “……!” And then, very gently— It crushed the God’s Palm.