/
"Why?" It was a rather severe tone to take while speaking to the ruler of the continent.
“…”
Was it too much of a bother to deal with it? The emperor simply glanced at Digor before closing his eyes. "Did you not understand?"
"There is no way I would understand…!" Digor exclaimed. "The minimum death toll is estimated to be at least four thousand… four thousand!"
Every news they had received from Gulat so far was bad news, so Digor found it hard to accept the emperor’s orders to stand by in the Imperial Palace.
"You usually send me to respond whenever something happens."
"It's the same..."
"Yes?"
"It’s the same this time. If something happens, I'll send you first."
"What does that...” Digor trailed off. Gulat had already been attacked by the demons, and the Capital Defense Guards were currently fighting to stop them.
However, the emperor said that he would send Digor if something were to happen. What did that mean?
"Please enlighten me…" said Gidor.
"Their actions are incomprehensible, so they must be hiding something."
"What do you mean by hiding something?"
"Does it make sense for only a hundred humans to attack such a large city?"
Digor couldn’t answer immediately.
When he heard the news, he thought it was a bad joke or a prank at first.
"Then, Father, are you saying that they have other plans?”
"I’ll tell you one thing—Seo Jun-Ho is not in Gulat."
“…!”
Seo Jun-Ho…
He was the man who destroyed the Radio Tower and General Ceylonso’s murderer.
‘The guy we think is the leader of the humans isn't in Gulat?’
Digor’s head quickly cooled down, and he came back to his senses.
Digor nodded and organized the situation in his head.
"I admit. If he isn’t on the battlefield, then there’s something else going on.”
"In that case, what do you think it is?"
What was the reason behind Seo Jun-Ho staying away from the main unit at the risk of suffering more casualties?
"It is probably because of that human in the underground prison..."
"Correct." The emperor finally opened his eyes. "That is why I didn’t send you over to Gulat. You have to stay here and protect this place."
"But…" Digor seemed confused. "You’re here, Father."
If Digor were asked about who was the strongest in the empire, then it would definitely be the emperor. If Digor were asked about who was the strongest man in the world, then it would also be the emperor.
The emperor was invincible, so why would he need to borrow Digor’s hand?
"I believe I have told you again and again." The emperor's eyes turned to Digor. However, it didn’t feel like he was looking at Digor. He seemed like he was looking somewhere else. "I am the emperor, and I have to keep an eye out on so many things."
“Yes, I know…” It was the truth. It had been a thousand years since the emperor rose to the throne, but Digor had never seen the emperor sleep.
'He has been watching over everything on the continent from that seat…’
He had been watching over the continent through the eyes and ears of the Overminds, and it was his duty as the Emperor of Babella.
"Can you really not make a move once Seo Jun-Ho infiltrates the palace?"
"I cannot make a move,” the emperor said indifferently. "The moment I make a move, God will make a move as well."
“Is God still here?”
“I wasn’t sure…” However, just over a month ago, the emperor felt God’s presence while he was in Ceylonso’s body. "But it seems that the old and persistent specter still hasn’t given up on this world, and I reckon that He is only looking for a chance."
Obviously, His goal was to recover what the emperor had usurped. His presence was the reason why the emperor had never been able to get even a wink of sleep over the past millennium.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
All of a sudden, the magic detectors in the palace simultaneously beeped like cicadas.
"He's here."
"I will make quick work of him."
"Hand…." the emperor raised his hand and said, "Don’t forget to think that you are dancing in the palm of his hand, and move accordingly with that thought in mind.”
“…” Digor bit his lips at the acrimonious assessment.
It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com".
It seemed that the emperor thought more highly of Seo Jun-Ho than Digor.
"I will show you the result."
***
“Be vigilant!"
"Install magic detectors in all entrances, windows, and even in the vents!"
The 11th basement floor to the west of the Imperial Palace was abuzz. The hallway was filled with knights, even though it would usually have only a handful of guards.
Digor crossed his arms and observed. 'There’s no problem. Yes. There's no way that he’s going to be an issue.’
The knights from one of the three most powerful knight orders of the empire were here, and a whopping hundred knights at that.
Digor was also simulating the upcoming battle in his head.
‘What if it was me?’
If he were to stand against these knights and himself, would he be able to rescue the hostage?
Digor shook his head. 'It's impossible. It can’t be done, no matter what.’
Regardless of how powerful Seo Jun-Ho was, he would fail and get caught here today.
Clank, clank, clank!
The sound of chains being dragged across the floor echoed as the knights dragged someone along with them.
“…”
The chained giant wordlessly stared at Digor.
A blade was sticking out of him from between the gap in his restraints. The blade was interrupting his recovery, but the chained giant seemed indifferent.
Digor said, "First of all, congratulations. Your friend has come to see you.”
"…Friend?"
"I think his name is Seo Jun-Ho. He’s your friend, right?"
“…”
Rahmadat lowered his head, seemingly speechless.
“I dare you to rebel tomorrow. We’ll definitely capture him today, so whenever you rebel, we will torture your friend.”
The chained giant in front of Digor was locked up in a prison, not in a research institute.
And the reason was simple—the chained giant couldn’t be controlled.
‘What a monster.’
They had tried the strongest paralytic drugs and barbiturates, but Rahmadat had remained unaffected. Whenever they attempted to do some research on him, he would run wild, so they couldn’t conduct any research on him at all.
'But you have no choice but to be a quiet dog by tomorrow...’
He had sacrificed himself to let his friends escape. In other words, he valued his friends more than himself, so he would have no choice but to obey them if he didn’t want his friend to get hurt.
"Pfft…!" Rahmadat started laughing with his head lowered. His figure trembled as he laughed, and his wounds opened up with each trembling, but he didn’t stop laughing.
"Pffft…! Hahaha, hahaha…!"
Digor smirked at the sight. "Yes. Laugh as much as you can while you can. Things won’t be funny anymore once we’ve captured your friend.”
"Pffft…! Sorry. I just couldn’t help but laugh in joy about how I’m going to be free soon."
"Ha, do you really think that you’ll be free? Do you really think that your friend will succeed?” Digor chuckled and shrugged. He swept his eyes across the knights in the prison. "Is he blind? Can he not see me and these knights?”
"Pffft…! Hahahaha…" Rahmadat was still laughing.
He couldn’t help it; the situation was just that relieving and amusing for him.
“…”
"I’m his friend, but he’s honestly scary, even to me…”
"What?"
"It’s scary how he has consistently done the impossible. He’s the kind of person who would succeed, no matter the adversity,” explained Rahmadat.
“…” Digor remained silent. Just what was up with Rahmadat’s confidence—no, his crazed belief in Seo Jun-Ho that was closer to faith than belief?
Digor’s mood soured. He wordlessly stared at Rahmadat with a frown.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
All of a sudden, the magic detectors were triggered, but they weren’t that noisy.
The surrounding knights were startled.
"What? Is it broken?"
"No." Digor shook his head and said, "Kodone said that the fainter the magic, the lower the volume of the magic detectors."
In other words, it wouldn’t be strange that the magic detectors weren’t that loud if Seo Jun-Ho was currently in stealth and was hiding his magic.
Digor’s eyes scanned the prison. "He's nearby. He’s probably already here."
Digor put his index finger to his lip and looked around warily.
The prison was quickly enveloped with a deafening silence.
Everyone held their breaths and looked around.
‘Now, where are you?’
The prison felt gloomier than usual.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The magic detectors beeped once more!
‘Left to right!’
Digor stretched out his hand and swiped.
Twist!
Space distorted, and everything in the direction where Digor had swiped his hand toward disintegrated into nothingness.
‘Did I miss him?’
He didn’t feel any feedback. However, it seemed that he had scared Seo Jun-Ho enough for him to retreat because the magic detectors went silent.
“…”
The strange confrontation that lasted over half an hour finally ended.
Digor snorted and turned to look at Rahmadat. "What a shame. I think your friend ran away after seeing the level of security here."
"You… you’re a prince of this empire, right?”
"Yes, so what?"
“Pffft…!” Rahmadat’s head was still lowered as his lips curled up. "You're so dense. The empire’s future is bleak.”
"What are you—" Digor started with a frown.
Ruuumble!
However, the prison suddenly trembled, interrupting Digor.
Their surroundings shook, and the floor they were standing on soared into the sky.
"Oh, ohhhhh!"
"A-an earthquake?!”
"Your Highness! Please stay down!"
“No…” Digor shook his head. There was no way an earthquake would push an entire floor upward. Digor turned to look at the floor and yelled, "Below! He's downstairs!"
Immediately afterward, Digor swiped at the floor.
Twist!
The floor twisted and shattered, revealing what was underneath.
‘Ice…?’
The air on the floor beneath them was as cold as a snowfield. No, it looked like there was a huge sheet of ice that was directly taken from a snowfield. Upon seeing it, Digor immediately realized what Seo Jun-Ho was trying to do.
"You... you crazy bastard…!"
Seo Jun-Ho was going to push the entire prison on the 11th basement floor to the ground. It seemed that Seo Jun-Ho was aware that he had no chance of winning if he were to fight them inside the prison.
"Pffft…! Who could have known that you’d be this dumb?!" Rahmadat threw his head back and laughed.
Digor was furious, but he didn’t have the luxury to punish Rahmadat.
‘The ceiling…!’
As the 11th floor flew upward, the ceiling became their enemy’s deadly weapon.
"Argh! My legs…!"
"Use Force to protect yourselves!"
"Don't get crushed…!"
"Argh…! Ah!” The knights who failed to respond in time were sandwiched to death by the ceiling and the floor. The prison finally merged with the 10th basement floor.
The dusty Digor emerged from the rubble and shouted, "You fools! Aim for the bottom, not the top! Break the ice sheet!"
The remaining knights pulled out their weapons and attacked the ice sheet.
At the sight, Rahmadat smirked and said, “Do you seriously think that you can shatter that ice? It seems that you’re not only dense, but you also don’t know how to learn from your mistakes. Have you already forgotten about how you’ve already failed once?”
"What? I failed? What are you—” Digor finally remembered it.
- How dare you! Just who do you think you're trying to touch? Impudent creature.
He finally remembered the girl who seemed to be in her late teenage years but was daring enough to introduce herself as a queen. The ice she had made was incredibly sturdy, and he hadn’t been able to find a way to shatter it.
"No way…"
Was Rahmadat saying that the ice sheet beneath them was made by her?
Cold beaded sweat fell from Digor’s temples.
Perhaps Rahmadat was lying?
However, Digor was suddenly overwhelmed with fear, and his fear quickly turned real.
"Aaargh!"
"Argh!"
The knights started screaming.
The ice beneath their teeth protruded into sharp stalagmites, piercing their feet.
"Y-your Highness!"
"Your Highness, please… please get out of here—Ugh!"
Stalactites and stalagmites made out of ice sandwiched them.
Digor bit his lips.
‘You’re going this far just to save one person?’
Digor closed his eyes.
He agonized for quite a while before eventually snapping his fingers.
Snap!
The only individual he could move with his Torsion was himself. Digor was quickly overwhelmed with a deep sense of defeat after being forced to abandon his knights and teleporting above ground by himself.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it…!” Digor’s eyes turned bloodshot. "Don't you even dare to think of living after what you have done in the heart of the empire…!”
Digor swore to get revenge.
Ruumble!
The western building of the Imperial Palace collapsed.
Seo Jun-Ho had finally pushed the 11th basement floor to above ground.
‘Where is he?’
Digor scanned the thick cloud of dust.
If Seo Jun-Ho and Rahmadat managed to escape, there would be no greater disgrace.
'I can’t let them escape, no matter what.’
Moments later, Digor saw a figure running away with a sack wrapped in darkness.
Digor chased after him, but someone stood in his way.
"Hey, where are you going?"
“…”
It was Seo Jun-Ho.
Digor's face became frighteningly cold as he faced his smiling opponent.
"You look more normal than I thought. Didn't you want to kill me? Come at me."
“…”
Digor raised his hand and stared at Seo Jun-Ho. "You have certainly exceeded my expectations, but you have overestimated yourself."
"… What?" Seo Jun-Ho asked, seemingly confused.
"My father is watching over the entire world, and he is likely listening to me right now."
In other words, they had seen how the Radio Tower had collapsed through the eyes of one of the knights.
"I heard that you destroyed the Radio Tower at the expense of your clone. Were you trying to do the same today?" asked Digor.
“…!” Seo Jun-Ho’s expression turned pale.
Seeing that, Digor shouted at the imperial knights and magicians who were running late.
"Fifty knights pursue Seo Jun-Ho with me. As for the rest… kill him!"
"Yes!"
"No, wait…! I'm Seo Jun-Ho! I said I’m Seo Jun-Ho! Hey, wait! Don't go…!"
The clone desperately cried out, but the enemies stood in his way.
Digor glanced at the clone and saw his desperation.
Then, he looked away and finally led fifty knights to chase Seo Jun-Ho.
“Oh, no…! Don’t go!” The clone exclaimed and thumped on his chest in frustration.
Meanwhile, dozens of imperial knights surrounded him.
"It's a clone, so just kill him,” said the knight captain.
"Yes!"
The knights simultaneously responded and stared at the clone fiercely. The clone in front of them resembled the most powerful demon from beyond the Gate. The demon had just topped the Western Palace as well, so there was no way the imperial knights would look at him kindly.
"Whew..."
The clone finally swept his gaze across the knights.
“…?” The knight captain noticed something strange when he made eye contact with the clone. ‘What’s with his aura? Is that aura supposed to belong to a clone?’
His Majesty himself had told them that Seo Jun-Ho's clone only had a bit more than half of Seo Jun-Ho’s power. So, what the hell was going on? The placid killing intent of the existence in front of them made even the knight captain feel fearful.
‘It’s either we have grossly underestimated the original’s power or…’
Flinch!
The knight captain’s eyes quivered violently upon coming up with an assumption that he didn’t want to believe.
"You… who the hell are you?" he muttered.
The demon smiled gently. “Didn’t I tell you guys earlier?”
Slice!
The heads of the twenty magicians behind the knights flew into the air.
"I'm Seo Jun-Ho."