Emperor Has Returned

Upon unexpectedly encountering Camille, the Hugin knights appeared to have panicked. Camille on the other hand immediately pulled out her sword at seeing her foes.

Sina quickly grabbed hold of Camille who was about to pounce.

“Camille, please wait. It’s not the time for us to be fighting each other.”

“Do you really mean that after everything you’ve seen so far, Sina? This whole situation is clearly their doing. Look at the facts. They can command the undeads, and their connection to the god of death…..”

“If that’s the case, they wouldn’t have any reason to run. Plus, you’ve heard what the residents have been saying. The Hugin knights helped them. And please don’t forget that it was the White crow knights that were planning to kill the residents in the city in the first place.”

But even so, Camille couldn’t drop her glare nor her suspicion.

Then, in the corner of her eyes, she saw several Paladins being escorted out by Hugin knights.

The severe injuries made it hard to recognise at brief but she had no doubt that they were Paladins of the White crow order. Upon seeing Camille, they gave pleasant smiles.

“Camille kyung! You’re alive.”

“Everyone…….what’s going on? Did they help you get out?”

“It’s a bit complicated but yes. When you have zombies and undeads all around you, they look quite friendly in comparison.”

Camille had no choice but to lower her sword grumpily. Seeing this, the Hugin knights gradually lowered their guard.

As her animosity subsided, one of the knights came up to Sina.

“Sorry that we’ve had to meet in this situation. I would like to think that you’re also agreeing that it’s not the time to be fighting one another…. Your name is……..?”

“Sina. Sina Solbein.”

Camille snorted and didn’t reply. Sina opened her mouth for her.”

“This is Camille Castorea. The vice commander of the White crow Paladin order. You are?”

The knight seemed to have been surprised at hearing ‘vice commander of the White crow knights’, but also relieved at the same time.

“My name is Oppert. I’m not a member of the Hugin knights, but rather an associate. Over here is the vice commander of the Hugin knights, Anna…….I mean, Anya nim. She’s temporarily taken charge of the order but her condition isn’t too well.”

In the direction where Oppert pointed, a woman stood while staring into the ground with lifeless eyes.

Camille’s eyes narrowed.

Even amongst the White crow knights, Anya was well known.

“I know it wouldn’t be at all unusual if we started to fight this very moment, but as commanders of both sides are currently missing, maybe it’s for the best if we put aside our grudges temporarily. I would think the way you’re going about this situation isn’t too different to ours. Alleviating the situation and figuring out how to fix the problem…….is the number one priority no?”

“………Yeah.”

Camille agreed to his words but it didn’t mean she trusted him completely. She was sure the Hugin knights were somehow involved in putting the city under siege with undeads. Oppert seemed to have noticed this from looking at her eyes.

“Yes. I understand that you’re still suspicious of us. I won’t say that this situation is not connected to us, but please know that we did not anticipate, plan or wanted this to have happened.”

“I suppose you don’t have a plan to fix this then.”

Camille looked on with contempt. Oppert bitterly smiled and shook his head.

“Our knights are doing their best to solve this situation on their own. Our very best soldiers stayed inside the city to mend the affairs. They’ll kill the God of death Nigrato before he completely returns back to this world.”

Oppert turned his head and looked towards the inflated cloud of darkness. Sina again gazed towards the spot where the small fire had previously crackled in the darkness. Right now, there was no sign of anything there. Only darkness.

*****

With his giant hand, Nigrato squeezed Juan like a rag. But after seeing no blood nor flesh spurt out, he was left confused.

Upon looking into his hand, a red eyed Juan was keeping apart his fingers.

Juan faintly smiled upon making eye contact.

“Nigrato.”

Immediately, flames erupted from within Nigrato’s hand. Nigrato stepped back at seeing his hand turn into white dust from the fire.

Then, from the darkness, skeletons appeared with dangling sounds. The skeletons rushed towards where Nigrato’s hand used to be, recreating another hand.

[How dare you. A mere heretic trying to impersonate the emperor!]

Nigrato screamed as if he really meant it. Juan didn’t even feel the need to respond. A being that has the traits of Ethan, Lars, and many more deceased. It seemed complicated to think about it but actually, it was really simple.

It was a god.

And with just that notion, Juan’s eyes calmed and coldly settled. The several emotions running through his body all seemed to calm upon meeting Nigrato. Only one emotion remained.

A murderous intent.

Nothing more to think, nothing more to measure. Only the intent to murder was left inside Juan.

Juan lit Taltere’s blood and ran at Nigrato. Nigrato swung his newly formed arm at Juan. But his movements were slow and dull.

In a flash, Juan used Taltere’s dagger to pierce the joints on its arms, then twisted it. The bones fell onto the floor shattering like pottery.

But, before its arm even it the floor, new skeletons were appearing from the ground.

Again, tens of skeletons flocked to the area where Nigrato’s arm had been, creating an even bigger and deformed arm.

[You dare show your knife against the emperor’s spear?]

Juan made several more attempts at attacking Nigrato, cutting away at his body but made no progress. Even worse, a skeleton multiple times bigger than before was what he was left with.

Hundreds of skulls, thousands of rib cage bones all combining to join its limbs to its body. It looked like a giant building.

The hundreds of skulls simultaneously shouted with its mouth wide open.

[Blasphemous! Don’t think you’ll be forgiven for your treacherous sins because you are a child!]

“I might go crazy if I listen to any more of this.”

Being scolded by the world’s most impious, most disturbing being.

His head was aching, thinking about how to face this being that didn’t seem to die even when he’d cut him many times.

There were arms reaching for him from the ground. If not for the emperor’s flame, Juan would have not made it to this point.

Juan went through the cards that he could play.

Grunvalde’s cloak was no use in this thick darkness. Taltere’s blood was reaching its end. Physical attacks did not have any effect. The only thing going for him was that his flame seemed to somewhat work against him.

‘But how long would it take for me to burn the entire thing down…….’

Juan tried to estimate the amount of undeads and skeletons that Nigrato may be able to summon and his mana pool.

He was certain that his blood would run out before he could burn the entire thing to ash. The flame Juan used, consumed mana to sustain. He didn’t have enough left.

[Under the emperor’s name, you will face judgement for iron and blood!]

Then Nigrato started to move.

Nigrato’s right shoulder smashed into the ground and started to pull something out. The ground started to shake and buildings collapsed while this happened.

What Nigrato pulled out was a giant weapon made from white bones that stretched tens of metres. Even though it was shaped like a sword, Juan didn’t see it as such.

[With this holy sword that was bestowed upon me by the voice and agent of the emperor, The Pope, I will cut off your head. I’ll give you one last chance to repent in front of this glorious opportunity! Give up your head willingly!]

“He’s gotten more idiotic after being devoured by the God of death…….That or his mindset was like this from the start…..”

As Nigrato unleashed a strike with his sword, Juan opened his eyes wide and did his best to avoid it.

Nigrato’s sword whiskered past where Juan’s throat had just been.

Juan couldn’t but help admit it. Nigrato was moving exactly like Ethan. With that massive body and that giant weapon.

[For the emperor!]

He wasn’t as fast as Ethan, but his size and the fact that he was greatly flexible due to the voidance of flesh, Juan was quickly put on the backfoot.

Juan did his best to avoid his attacks but he didn’t last long. Eventually, Nigrato’s sword caught up with Juan.

“Kueek……….!”

A heavy shock swept through Juan’s body. Made from bones, while the sword wasn’t sharp it still delivered such an impact that it wouldn’t have been strange to see Juan explode into pieces.

Before it collided, Juan managed to bring about his flames to mitigate as much of the power of the impact as possible. But even so, Juan’s body lifelessly flew into the air, hurdling before rolling to a stop.

From the ground, countless hands tried to grab onto his body.

“Get lost!”

The hands around Juan all erupted in flames.

Juan realised that his current self was much weaker than normal.

It was down to the internal injuries he got from voicing the emperor’s voice, and his excess mana usage that was now close to depleting.

[That fire isn’t there for someone like you to use. The pinnacle disrespect.]

Nigrato lifted his empty left hand. His hand started to jitter before something dark fell down through the gaps in his hand made from hundreds of bones.

From the dark mud like material, something was seemingly flowing out.

Skin, flesh covered in blood. The recognisable flesh melted before slapping onto Nigrato’s bones.

It was truly, a revolting, disgusting sight that would have made anyone freeze to their spot.

The remade flesh meshed together, covereing Nigrato’s bones, similar to a glove being worn over a hand.

Nigrato shortened the gap with Juan as if he was getting ready to go again.

Juan didn’t make it easy to approach him, but now Nigrato’s body didn’t turn to dust upon going into contact with Juan’s flames.

‘Able to resist against the flames….’

The things used to make Nigrato’s hand were human parts. The corpses were pale and obviously had no life in them.

Nigrato’s hand suddenly came upon him. The heavy pieces of flesh were softer than bones but Juan wasn’t intending to see if he could burn it all. He didn’t have many choices left. Also, Juan needed to think about the possibility of needing to escape.

But he couldn leave Lars like this.

Juan mustered the last bit of Taltere’s blood, revitalising himself.

In a flash, Nigrato’s hand came at him. Like a mousetrap, just as he was about to be crushed, Juan disappeared leaving behind a small mist of himself in his place.

But after using blink, before he could even get a good foothold of the ground, Nigrato slammed his sword onto the spot.

Juan again used blink.

Although it may have looked as if Nigrato was wildly stabbing, his was being deadly precise. Something toxic was released into the air by the corpses, which hurt Juan’s ability to freely breath. Sweat began to prop on his back.

‘One more time.’

Nigrato swung his sword again at Juan after following his whereabouts. From a distance, Juan finally realised the destination that he needed to go. He casted blink for the final time.

Then, his sight suddenly turned white.

Kwa-Jjjiick!

Juan flinched at feeling something pass through his abdominals. Upon noticing the air around Juan change, realising the possible danger, sharp bones sprouted outwards from Nigrato’s entire body.

The speed in which blink allowed him to move, saved everywhere else but his stomach, thigh and left shoulder.

“However…..”

Juan grinned.

“It’s too late.”

Nigrato’s body flinched. Now hanging on, Juan wasn’t going to let go of Ethan’s sword.

Ethan’s sword that was pierced right through Nigrato’s chest.

It was strange why Nigrato hadn’t already pulled out the sword from his chest.

While it was a possibility, Juan guessed that Nigrato had no choice but to leave it there. A non removable splinter stuck in his body.

Then suddenly.

[Juan. I mean, my emperor.]