Chapter 107
Chapter 107: Make me water (1)
'The Master is nothing but a dopamine addict.'
On Earth, wouldn't he have been the type to spend all day scrolling through stimulating shorts? However, this world was filled with far greater stimulation. War, for instance. Or Labyrinth conquests.
'People are the same.'
For a powerful man who had lived through long ages, what became the freshest stimulus was ultimately people.
"Erik, it is people who walk this land and live. Therefore, it can only be the most entertaining."
Thus, Erik's Master always pursued fun and stimulation.
"The greatest joy of my life was you, Erik."
It was Erik who became the greatest stimulus to such a Riferoze.
Having finished his thoughts, Erik gazed at the throne with a deep smile.
"Your Majesty, General. Why do you sit idly?"
The Imperial Capital Commander who had been scolding Erik, and even the First Prince sitting on the throne, clearly showed signs of confusion.
"This, what is"
Kuuuoong!
As Erik conjured a pillar of light, an immense pressure descended upon the Imperial Palace. It felt as if gravity had intensified tenfold. Yet it was merely aura.
Zzzziang!
The massive magic circle surrounding the Imperial Palace shattered into pieces. Ripples of magical power scattered in all directions.
"What in the world is this!"
"I have done nothing."
First Prince Leonardo rose from his throne with a start. A colossal force began to constrict the entire Imperial Palace.
'My head is already throbbing'
Under the overwhelming pressure, the Prince unconsciously placed a hand to his head. That aura naturally recalled memories from the Labyrinth.
"Your Highness, do not worry. We have the Magic Tower Master of the Imperial Family and the Royal Guard."
The Imperial Capital Commander stepped forward as if to escort the Prince. Seeing the two, Erik opened his mouth.
"I heard that Your Highness the First Prince received teachings from my Master, albeit briefly."
"……Teaching?"
"In learning there is no hierarchy, and all things in this world have order."
"……What do you"
"Though I am young in years, am I not your Elder Brother, Your Highness?"
Erik was deeply displeased. Even if the Labyrinth water hadn't fully drained from him, he felt the First Prince's mindset was fundamentally flawed.
'He gave what should be given as if it were a reward and boasted about it, and now he's full of thoughts of using me without pay.'
The First Prince showed none of the magnanimity that the Emperor, who had given countless gold, possessed. However, even hearing Erik's words, the First Prince seemed to have learned nothing.
"D-Did you just say Elder Brother? How dare you speak such nonsense!!!"
At the sudden madness, the First Prince was at a loss for words. And as if to replace him, the Imperial Capital Commander placed his hand on his sword.
'That disrespectful bastard.'
The General expanded his perception. He too was a strong man with a unique power. He could sense the strength people possessed and judge danger by its magnitude.
'Riferoze cannot come.'
Near the Imperial Information Bureau, a platinum-colored soul shone distinctly. Its size was tremendous. Nearly equal to the Emperor. However, the Magic Tower Master blocking her was equally formidable.
'I can buy enough time.'
Having made his judgment, the General glanced subtly at Leonardo. The First Prince, too, seemed unwilling to let this rudeness pass, as he gave a slight nod to the General.
Sruung!
Thus, the Imperial Capital Commander drew his sword. And then he approached Erik.
'Have these people lost their minds?'
Erik's trapezius twitched. After decades in the Labyrinth, it was understandable that the First Prince's judgment would be clouded. However, the Imperial Capital Commander doing this felt like he was truly crossing a line—and crossing it hard.
'I wonder what the Emperor is thinking.'
Erik's eyes drifted slightly toward the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister with the red beard gave a slight nod while trembling. It meant he was permitted to proceed.
"How dare you be so presumptuous. Riferoze will not come. On what basis do you act with such arrogance—"
"General, did you know something?"
Erik cut off the General's words and asked a question.
"—you bastard!"
The General was greatly angered that his words had been interrupted. Yet Erik continued reciting what he had to say.
"Ten years ago, it was my Master who destroyed Hell."
Hell—a heterogeneous world.
Hell had descended upon human world.
The disputed territories had been corrupted by Hell. It was a terrible land from which, once trapped, there was no escape.
"The reason my Master could destroy Hell back then was—"
Kwaaaang!
With a tremendous sound, the door to the Audience Hall shattered. Scattering fragments were pushed aside as brilliant golden light bloomed. Something beyond comprehension appeared through the gap, and Erik, looking at the General, finished his words.
"—to save me, who was in mortal danger."
And then. A girl wielding a greatsword appeared through the door.
"Yes, Erik. Who is the bastard?"
Erik extended a finger.
***
The Imperial Capital Commander was greatly startled.
'How could she simply be allowed through?'
Without support from the Magic Tower Master or any assistance, Riferoze had rushed alone into the Audience Hall. She tilted her head upon seeing the General, who had drawn his sword.
"Erik, was it this bastard?"
“Yes, General. He tried to strike me, and His Highness the First Prince intended to use me like a slave."
"Yet I clearly gave teachings in the Labyrinth……"
Riferoze's eyes shone brilliantly. Her gaze, which had been directed at Leonardo, now shifted to the Imperial Capital Commander.
"Then why did you draw that?"
She tilted her head slightly. The General strengthened his grip on his sword. Immediately.
Suk!
White sword marks were drawn, and the girl wielding the greatsword appeared before the General's eyes. She asked,
"What did my disciple do that you drew your blade against him?"
"Rudeness"
The General couldn't finish his words. The greatsword descended in an instant.
Claang! Clang!
The girl wielding the enormous greatsword brought it down upon the General. The General was helplessly pushed back. The floor of the Audience Hall crumbled and the General sank deeper into the earth.
"Cough."
The General spat blood. Dozens of exchanges occurred in a single second. No, it wasn't an exchange. It was one-sided assault. The General was occupied merely with defending.
"You have the eye to distinguish superior and inferior strength. Yet you drew your sword?"
The General attempted to raise his aura in this brief gap, trying to counter Riferoze. But it was futile.
Kuuong!
A tremendous aura surrounding all directions constricted the General's body.
"Will you be crushed as is?"
It was merely strength and aura. Yet that was will itself.
Keuduk!
The armor warped and the General's body began to crumple. His massive frame twisted grotesquely, and the General trembled without even managing a scream.
"Why do you go this far!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Leonardo stepped forward. It was true the General had crossed a line, but he hadn't done anything to warrant being destroyed this brutally. To crumple someone merely for drawing his sword against his disciple—what manner of thing was this?
"First Prince, silence."
As Riferoze extended her hand, Leonardo was suddenly pushed back to his throne. Fernasia the Duke caught him deftly.
'She's insane.'
Erik, who had caused this situation, was losing his mind. He hadn't intended for things to go this far. So much had changed from the past.
"Haha! Erik, is that all you've got? Tears streaming down your face no less……. I suppose I have no choice. My weak disciple, let this Master help you."
'Back then, you helped me when I was truly on death's door……'
Things were different now. The Master who would only help when begged…… Now actually helps at the mere command 'Do it!'
'Isn't this going a bit too far?'
But the problem was there was no sense of moderation. As Erik pondered whether to stop his Master or not.
"General, speak. What is it that has led you into delusion?"
Riferoze lifted the General. The massive General, about two meters tall, was crumpled in his armor. Erik focused on her words.
'Delusion?'
The Master was willful, but always carried out tremendous acts under the pretext of her monstrous intuition. This felt the same.
"Not touched by black magic, yet how does a strong one like you lose your will and be swayed?"
At her question, Erik tilted his head.
'The General is under mental control……'
The Incubus, the being that had controlled possessors through dreams, came to mind. Erik walked toward his Master across the destroyed Audience Hall. Then he cast a Healing Miracle upon the General. Brilliant golden light restored the crumpled General to his proper form.
"General, is it dreams?"
Erik asked.
"Huu……. You truly are a monster as I've heard. Girl, I offer my first greetings to the peoples of the Empire."
The massive General twisted his body as if bashfully. Then, grasping at his skirt hem, he gave a respectful bow. Clearly, he wore no skirt, yet his actions suggested otherwise.
"Girl, the Director's urging is so difficult, would you mind cooperating?"
Sruung!
The General pointed a sword at his own temple. It was a gesture indicating he would pierce his brain and die if things went wrong.
"Girl, I have but one question. Where is Thomas?"
Erik's gaze turned toward his Master. His Master also looked at Erik. Golden eyes and white eyes paused briefly in the empty air.
'If I kill this one, does the original die too?'
'No, only the General will die if I cut with my sword.'
It was a conversation conveyed through glances. After a brief exchange of eyes, Erik approached the General's body.
"You speak of Thomas of six-fold insignificance?"
"……Insignificance?"
"It means a worthless fellow."
"Yet that worthless fellow is quite necessary to us."
"How about a hostage exchange? A reciprocal exchange with Makia should be worth doing."
"Girl, I lack such authority"
Erik's body had already drawn close to the General. Erik's eyes were not looking at the General, but at a certain woman. Something resembling a Succubus.
"If you draw closer like that, it will be difficult"
Tek!
Erik's hand grasped the General's chin. The General's body shuddered at this. It was the reaction of the Incubus who had stolen the General's body.
"Don't think of stealing this sword with your power."
The blade dug into the General's temple. Blood trickled down. Erik nonchalantly wiped the blood from the Incubus's cheek.
"Ah, girl"
And then,
Huung!
Without hesitation, he drew out [Fragment of the Moon] and brought it down upon the General's head.
Zzzziang!
Something surrounding the General shattered. With a tremendous sound, the General's body collapsed to the floor.
***
"Your Highness!!!"
The Royal Guard arrived a step too late. They were greatly startled upon seeing the destroyed Audience Hall and the General lying unconscious with his armor in pieces.
"Stand aside"
The Imperial Magic Tower Master appeared, stroking his long beard. In his hand was a crude staff, which strangely resembled Jang Du-sik's cudgel in design.
"I saw it all."
The Magic Tower Master pointed a finger at Erik and Riferoze. The gesture brought to his lips as if to say 'be quiet.'
'The fellow who did the double-armed tattoo work for Du-sik.'
Erik examined the Magic Tower Master's face carefully. The reclusive old man used his long whiskers like extended feelers. Something about that being the foundation of Warmage……
"Under the influence of dreams, you say. And a member of the Imperial Family no less? Unbelievable"
The Magic Tower Master waved his hand and the General's body floated up. At last, Riferoze, who had maintained silence, could not help herself and approached the Magic Tower Master.
"Old man, are you still sulking"
"Tsk."
The Imperial Magic Tower Master clicked his tongue and disappeared with the General.
"……That petty old man."
Erik approached the grumbling Riferoze.
'A Master my Master would call old man.'
Those who had lived for centuries were uniformly eccentric. However, understanding their actions was an extremely important matter for Erik.
"What happened outside?"
"Looked around the Information Bureau a bit, went to the old man's house, and heard various things."
Seeing his Master candidly recite that she had conducted a background investigation, Erik squeezed his eyes shut. He naturally changed the subject.
"How did Your Majesty know what even the Emperor did not recognize?"
"The General's energy had changed. His judgment and behavioral principles subtly shifted. Also, his soul felt strangely different."
This too was observation. Afterwards, Riferoze added that she remembered having crossed swords with him once in the past.
'The body remembers what the mind forgets, as they say……'
All of Riferoze's words were invariably extreme. Yet at this point, all of them felt like truth. Looking at Leonardo, who flinched in his throne, it truly seemed so.
'She brings storms with her.'
Fernasia the Prime Minister, Erik's father, gravely observed all these events. Now that the situation was assessed, proper cleanup was necessary.
"His Majesty the Emperor wished for the First Prince to awaken on his own."
The Prime Minister approached Riferoze and Erik. In other words, a request to forgive the First Prince.
"Not all people understand the pleasure of discerning intent as His Majesty does, do they?"
"That is what your child hoped for."
"Huuu. If His Majesty says so, there is nothing to be done."
The Prime Minister smiled, observing Erik's reaction toward the Emperor.
'Truly a loyal subject!'
Though the fellow was a bit extreme, wasn't he someone capable of even binding Riferoze to the Empire?
'Riferoze remaining in the Empire is more valuable than countless gold.'
Therefore, the Prime Minister even mentioned the compensation the Emperor had originally said to give Erik. He added that more could be given if necessary.
"Once the situation is settled, His Highness the First Prince will distribute it himself."
Having concluded the discussion of compensation, the Prime Minister bowed respectfully to Riferoze.
"It has been long since we met."
"Yes, I remember the last time I entrusted your daughter's education to you. Has she fared well in your absence?"
"Thanks to learning well from Erik, Erica lives her days as a member of the Imperial Guard, striving for the people's livelihood."
"Then bring her to see my face once in a while, will you?"
"That is, well"
Word came that Imperial Guard Erica had gone to investigate the Lupen River along with the Information Bureau. Hearing the explanation, Erik posed a question.
"Didn't that transform into the Styx River?"
"With no answers forthcoming, we sent a large-scale investigation party."
Erik tilted his head.
"Is there something to understand about the descent of demons?"
"We thought so too until now, but"
Hearing the Prime Minister's explanation, Erik grabbed the back of his neck. Demons had descended. But they had descended as a river.
"Exactly, how does one deal with a demon that has descended as nature itself?"