NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 67
The banquet continued as a man stained the royal castle with the blood of slaughter.
He finally approached the king.
And raised his sharp sword high.
“…For the greater good.”
“W-wait! Are you really going to kill me?! Spare me! Spare me!!”
Feeling the terrifying aura of Regnas, the king dropped from his throne and prostrated himself at his feet, discarding any lingering pride in a humiliating display.
Thud-.
The crown adorned with jewels fell.
It seemed to announce the gruesome end that awaited him.
“Didn’t I appoint you as a knight of the kingdom…! And also made you a member of the royal family! How could you commit such an ungrateful act…?”
“Even as death looms before you, you still cling to your pathetic hypocrisy, Your Majesty.”
The king’s face turned pale with fear.
At that moment, the tip of the sword pierced the king’s heart.
The pain was brief.
Like a guillotine passing judgment on a criminal, it took his life in an instant.
The king, who had ruled tyrannically while squeezing the lifeblood of citizens from the desolate northern border, was assassinated. The assassin was none other than Regnas, the Sword Saint and adopted son of the kingdom.
“…….”
He stared at the corpse of the king, who had choked on his blood, for a long time.
Then he looked at the throne stained with blood.
Was he reminiscing about the past? Or was he anticipating the chaos that was to come?
Finally, having cut off a long-standing malice, the Sword Saint merely let out a heavy sigh of regret.
“…How long will you hide there?”
“Uaaah!!”
Wiping the blood from his face with his sleeve, Regnas turned his head and asked.
There was one sole survivor who miraculously escaped the bloodbath. Regnas made his way toward the hiding spot of that survivor.
The footsteps grew closer.
Then the terrified survivor screamed.
“R-Regnas…!”
“It’s been a while, Prince Erik.”
Regnas faced a handsome man. The sole survivor was none other than Prince Erik, the heir to the kingdom.
In front of Regnas, who was covered in fresh blood like a ghost, Erik completely lost his will to fight. He quickly dropped to the ground, just as his father had done before.
The opponent was a Sword Saint.
Like the Red Dragon of the Empire, he was among the strongest of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States.
Escape was impossible.
Victory was even more impossible.
The blade, dripping with blood, pointed at Erik’s neck. Erik stumbled backward in shock.
“I-I’m sorry about the past…! My childish actions were fueled by jealousy! I was wrong, so please spare me!”
“Only now, on the brink of death, do you seek forgiveness.”
Because of the incompetent king and greedy nobles, the citizens of the kingdom had to constantly endure pain. If he hadn’t had a natural talent for swordsmanship, he would still have been living as a puppet of power.
Having completely severed the chains of tyranny, Regnas looked down upon the one who had carved a terrible scar on his face, filled with indescribable rage.
“Out of respect… I’ll spare you. At least the prince shall be spared.”
“R-really?! Thank you…! Thank you, Regnas!”
The Sword Saint sheathed his sword.
Erik revealed his relief.
But then,
His elation twisted into a pain more humiliating than death.
As the sharp Golden Slash descended, it severed the prince’s handsome face. Witnessing fresh blood pour from his face with the agonizing pain, Erik shrieked and collapsed to the ground.
“U-uaaaah!! My, my face!! Regnas!!”
“Why are you so angry? Didn’t you carve a scar on my face as well, Your Highness? When I first entered the castle, dragged by my mother… you slashed my face with a sharp dagger.”
As Erik exploded with rage, Regnas swept his own scar and replied.
An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.
It was revenge to achieve karmic retribution.
The ruler, who had oppressed countless citizens and exploited their lifeblood, received his punishment. Regnas, gazing at him with a meaningful look, spoke again.
“Go and tell the Valtarian Empire.”
The reason for leaving the sworn enemy alive was simple.
He needed someone to serve as a messenger.
The son of the murdered king… the prince of a fallen country that was destroyed overnight by the Sword Saint would surely draw the attention of all nations, including the Valtarian Empire.
“There was no next time, they say.”
As the Sword Saint withdrew the sword that had mercilessly committed slaughter, he said.
*
Like a bear desperately yearning to be human, a vampire who had only eaten jelly candy in the dark prison was finally presented with the awaited situation.
The Prophet.
The apostle of the Great War had arrived.
As Edanant entered, Ariel immediately fell to her knees.
“You have come, Prophet!”
“Prophet?”
The vampire, who was expected to harbor a deep desire for revenge in prison, showed a somewhat demure demeanor. Edanant responded as if he didn’t understand.
The arrogance he displayed in the imperial palace was gone.
And the malevolence he had unleashed in paradise was nonexistent as well.
What on earth was going on?
Had she gone insane just from eating jelly candy handed to her by Luinong?
It was only natural to feel such doubts.
“Let me ask you one thing. Where did you get this? The magical equipment that helped you turn the imperial palace into a wreck. Know that if your answer is even a moment late, I will turn you into a honeycomb like last time.”
Edanant pulled out a bracelet made from platinum from his pocket.
It was a sage’s magical equipment.
After defeating the vampire and seizing the magical equipment, Edanant had kept it for himself. He intended to hear the full details once the vampire awakened.
“I w-was in the Chaos Realm…!”
“Aha. Then I need to change my question. What exactly is this Chaos Realm you speak of? I understand there are countless dimensions, including the current world, but… I’ve never heard of a Chaos Realm before.”
Chaos Realm.
That annoying name popped up again.
Edanant frowned and asked Ariel again.
“The Chaos Realm is a dimension swarming with cursed beings banished from the current world. It was during the process of devising ways to completely trample the Empire and the Holy Kingdom that the apostles discovered it.”
“Hmmm….”
A space filled with unidentified creatures armed with sharp metal. It was hardly normal for such monsters to swarm.
Recalling the monsters that had ravaged the city of the Imperial Capital, Edanant adopted a cautious stance.
“You found Bergrisar there?”
“More accurately, it was in a ruin located in the Chaos Realm. It was just sitting there in the middle of nowhere, as if it had been intentionally abandoned.”
“Sounds like you’re just blabbering. Should I turn you into honeycomb right now?”
“I-I swear it’s true! Prophet!”
Why.
Why, oh why.
With each answer from the vampire, new questions bloomed.
The disaster god’s group, including the vampire in front of him, had spent a time completely severed from the current world. Thus, they had no information about the Saintess Party. The fate of the priest-knights, mercilessly slain by the Holy Sword, spoke to that fact.
‘For some reason, the sage left his magical equipment in the Chaos Realm. Are you telling me the apostles, who were there, stumbled upon it…? How does the sage know about the Chaos Realm?’
The captured vampire was undoubtedly speaking the truth.
The Saintess Party must have reached the Chaos Realm discovered by the apostles of the disaster god.
“How do we open a passage to the Chaos Realm?”
“I-I alone can’t do it… I need the help of other apostles.”
A new lead pointed toward the dimension known as the Chaos Realm. If the Saintess and the heroes headed there, there must have been a compelling reason.
They needed to go to the Chaos Realm.
Even just to trace their footsteps.
Brushing aside his complicated thoughts, Edanant decided to postpone the inevitable execution of the vampire who should have been sentenced to death for now.
“Where are the other apostles?”
“I don’t know that either… except for those who were following the advisor, everyone else is scattered.”
Since each worshipped their own gods, the cultist factions lacked cohesion.
It was a mighty ragtag bunch.
Thus, they ultimately faced a crushing defeat at the hands of the Empire and the Holy Kingdom.
“Anyway, got it. Thanks for your honest answers.”
“When will I be able to get out? I’ve only eaten candy thrown by fairies for ten days….”
Ignoring the voice of the vampire pleading while gripping the bars, he continued on his way.
“Then! Please let me suck the blood of a young maiden! If possible, I’d like a girl who just came of age this year.”
“…….”
He focused fully on ignoring the heartfelt plea.
It was a request unworthy of any attention.
He stuffed the jelly candies he had brought into the prisoner’s food. The vampire, who had been locked away in prison, slumped to the ground, exhaling a sigh of despair.