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Chapter 198: The Turncoat (3)
“…….”
“…….”
A heavy silence settled over the courtroom as if prearranged.
Was it because of the shock of Neil Brion’s words?
Not quite.
No one here would be shaken by the curse of a condemned man whose execution had already been decided.
Oscar swallowed unconsciously.
His eyes narrowed into slits.
‘Persuasiveness.’
What mattered wasn’t the content of what he said, but the emotion carried in his voice.
It was a voice that delivered a verdict as if he had seen the inevitable conclusion beforehand—full of conviction.
That powerful persuasiveness momentarily disturbed the hearts of everyone present.
“…Huh, what an odd atmosphere.”
Kudel Redmane cracked a joke for no reason.
Then, leaning back in his chair, he continued,
“A clueless Level-5 has clearly lost his mind in fear of death.”
“Is that what you think?”
Neil Brion smirked.
Restricted by his prison uniform, he craned his neck to look toward the audience.
His upturned gaze swept across them unpleasantly.
“Everything I said is true.”
“…Tch. You're really starting to get on my nerves.”
Just as Kudel began to frown in irritation—
“Enough.”
Emperor Ludwig’s cold voice cut through their tension.
Without even blinking, he addressed Neil Brion directly.
“Why do you think the Empire has already lost? Have you lost your mind like the Red Tower Master claims?”
“Heh. Do you really need to ask?”
Neil Brion straightened his posture and looked up at the Emperor.
Though it was a subordinate position, he gazed at Ludwig with disdain, as if he were already the victor.
“It’s simple. Humanity, as a species, is limited—and pitifully so.”
He chuckled, his shoulders shaking.
“Heavenly Sword Cheon Mujin—he was one of the individuals They most feared. And yet even that centenarian has not broken past the wall of Level 9.”
“……”
Cheon Mujin, proud and dignified, twitched his eyebrows briefly before regaining his composure.
“Then let me ask. Is there anyone in this Empire—anywhere in humanity—who has surpassed the 9th Level?”
“……”
The hall fell silent.
In the Yan Dynasty, the 9th Level was called—Entering the divine.
It meant one had transcended human limits and was ready to become something more.
Unfortunately, in all of human history, knights or mages who reached the 9th Level could be counted on two hands.
According to the records left by the Sage of the Stars, Level 9 was described as:
—A realm only glimpsed when a heaven-blessed genius pours out their life in blood and is favored by fate itself.
In other words, even the greatest of prodigies dared not dream of reaching it.
Oscar Sage had shattered that wall at the age of thirty, earning boundless respect from all magic users regardless of faction.
After a moment of silence, the Emperor finally spoke.
“There’s no duty to inform a criminal. But why do you ask?”
“…Everything.”
“The accused will answer His Majesty’s question properly!”
At the High Judge’s roar, Neil Brion smiled as though he couldn’t contain his delight.
“Beyond the mountain range, there is one who has reached the 9th Level. He is the new Great Emperor.”
Gasps echoed throughout the room.
Not because of the claim that a 9th-Level demon existed, but because of the name he uttered.
“Did you just say ‘new Great Emperor’?”
Ludwig’s eyelid twitched ever so slightly.
That title had carved an unforgettable scar into the Empire.
“…Nonsense. Based on our intelligence, they have no new leader. For the past twenty years, they’ve been tearing themselves apart in civil war.”
“Heh… Hahaha! You’re completely mistaken. No—They deceived you from the start.”
Exhausted from laughing, Neil Brion’s voice turned calm.
“They have been preparing for vengeance over the fall of the last Great Emperor. Meanwhile, what has the Empire done? Grown complacent, drunk on the shallow victory of a single battle. Can you truly say with confidence that today’s Empire is stronger than it was twenty years ago?”
“……”
“More importantly, They are not like us, bound by a finite lifespan. They are an evolved, blessed race that enjoys immortality.”
Neil Brion looked at the humans with pity in his eyes.
“My mind cannot comprehend it. Why do you reject Them? Why continue this hostility? With just a word of allegiance, They would forgive all your sins and grant you Their seed.”
A faint madness flickered in his eyes.
It was the same gaze seen in zealots seeking salvation in Saint Hill.
“Then there would be no more reason to live bound by a limited life—no more fear of death. Absolute peace, which humanity has long sought, would finally come.”
At that moment, a few people’s eyes flickered slightly.
Neil Brion did not miss it.
“Look at yourselves. Are you not those who have achieved much in the Empire? Who among you, standing at the pinnacle, truly wants to die?”
It was a heavy question.
Not a sharp blade, but one spoken in apparent concern—which made it all the more dangerous.
“Your skills, your wealth, your swords and magic… You’ve dedicated decades, perhaps more than a century, to building all of it. And now, because of something as trivial as lifespan, you’re expected to let it all go?”
He sharply turned his head toward the Black Tower.
“Just look at the last war. The Black Tower Master betrayed humanity. Silgrim Fonerth. He couldn’t endure the looming fear of death. He turned his army into corpses and crossed the mountains. And now he lives in luxury, no longer fearing death.”
“……”
“So tell me—who’s next? Surely you’re not naive enough to think there will be no more traitors. The heads of corporations, the Tower Masters, the Sword Masters—they will all die eventually. The only way to escape death is to receive Their grace. Who knows? Some of you may already have.” 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝔠𝔬𝖒
“…Hmph.”
Emperor Ludwig, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.
“So, tell me—have you obtained immortality?”
“My case is different. I must spread Their greatness and save more humans, so—”
“No. They simply saw no reason to give someone like you Their seed.”
“…!”
Neil Brion’s face twisted like a kicked can.
But the Emperor continued, unfazed.
“Demons don’t hand out their seeds to just anyone. They only recruit those they believe will be useful. Am I wrong?”
“……”
“If it were possible for them to distribute seeds to all humans, the Empire would’ve fallen twenty years ago.”
That was true.
Sharing a seed wasn’t easy for the demons either.
Because increasing their vassals also meant weakening their original strength to some extent.
“Knowing that it was impossible, didn’t they conduct those vile experiments in Saint Hill?”
“……”
“Absolute peace. If the peace you speak of comes at the cost of slaughtering all those below a certain threshold of humanity, then I gladly reject it.”
“……No matter what nonsense you spout, this is the unstoppable tide of the times.”
“The tide of the times? That kind of thing can simply be broken.”
Arrogant words, to be sure.
But when spoken by the Emperor of the Empire, the meaning changes entirely.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
The ruler of this vast continent.
The sole sun who governs 7 billion people.
Ludwig von Calderan looked down at Neil Brion with indifferent eyes and said,
“You conniving liar with a silver tongue, do not underestimate humanity.”
“……”
Neil Brion, biting his lips and glaring at the Emperor, gave a final warning.
“Think what you will. It doesn't matter. You don’t have much time left anyway. Once the new Emperor finishes his awakening, the clock hands that have been still for twenty years will start ticking again. And when that day comes, the world will know who truly rules this continent.”
The moment he finished speaking, Neil Brion’s body suddenly swelled.
The mages and knights reacted instantly, pouring out their mana without hesitation.
“Stop him!”
“Protect His Majesty!”
“Cover his body with mana!”
Dozens of layers of magic enveloped Neil Brion’s body in an instant.
BOOM!
A massive explosion shook the entire courtroom.
“Hmm.”
“Tch.”
Heavy murmurs echoed from all around.
No one had been caught in the explosion, but no one could be relieved either.
Neil Brion’s words had been far too cunning.
Oscar clicked his tongue lightly.
‘Even if no one defects right away, the seeds of mistrust have already been planted.’
The continent’s magic towers constantly kept each other in check.
The same could be said of the Five Sword Clans.
Neil Brion was dead, but those left behind would have to solve the riddle he had thrown.
“This court is now adjourned. What happened here today must not be spoken of outside these walls.”
The Emperor wore his usual expressionless face, but his tone that day sounded particularly weary.
* * *
Oscar returned to his quarters with Fran.
There was no reason to remain there any longer.
“Everyone looked busy.”
“They would be.”
The entire royal palace was probably on high alert.
Neil Brion’s revelation in the courtroom had been that shocking.
“A new Demon Emperor… could that guy have been telling the truth?”
“……We don’t know.”
“Back in the Academy, we learned that the demons fell into civil war after the war ended.”
That was the common assumption.
When a faction loses its leader, it usually collapses, and civil war breaks out as others vie for power.
Indeed, when the Demon Emperor died, the demons had withdrawn all their forces.
It was as if they had acknowledged their defeat and retreated beyond the Red Mountains.
‘The Imperial family assumed they did so to preserve strength for civil war.’
Oscar hadn’t questioned that interpretation either when reading history books.
Even when planning “The Night of Purge,” thousands of simulations had only produced two outcomes:
‘One, a reckless charge by enraged demons after losing their Emperor. Two, a tactical retreat in preparation for a civil war.’
So the Empire had assumed the retreat was due to internal conflict.
No doubt they had conducted dozens of explorations beyond the mountains during that time.
‘And since they found nothing suspicious, they concluded the demons were indeed at war with each other.’
But today’s revelation from Neil Brion challenged all of that.
The civil war among the demons was a ruse.
They had spent twenty years sharpening their blades in silence.
“Maybe he was just throwing curses in desperation before dying? I mean, a new Great Demon Emperor? That’s insane.”
“……Not entirely.”
The demon army had plenty of powerful individuals even without an Emperor.
One duke and four counts came to mind immediately.
‘Each of them was already at or above 8th level at the time.’
The duke in particular had reached the very edge of the 8th level.
Without the combined forces of the royal army, seven magic towers, and five sword clans, the "Night of Purge" wouldn’t have even been possible.
“So the demons really chose a new Emperor? Then it must be the duke, right?”
“Hmm.”
Oscar didn’t think the duke was likely.
Unless there had been a massive shift in personality, he wasn’t someone who would take on such a role.
“If he had tried to take the throne, there would've been civil war for sure.”
“Why?”
“From what I’ve read, at least three of the counts utterly hated him.”
“Then if there’s no civil war, a new Emperor shouldn't have been chosen, right?”
“There’s one possibility.”
Oscar narrowed his eyes.
“If a widely recognized successor had already existed when the Emperor died, then it’s possible.”
“……They stayed quiet for twenty years to give that successor time to grow?”
“That much, I can’t say.”
Oscar unconsciously looked northward out the window.
‘A new Demon Emperor… why would he reveal his existence through someone like Neil Brion?’
No matter how much he pondered, there was no answer.
Maybe this kind of questioning was itself a human way of thinking.
Demons probably wouldn’t care whether humans knew of their presence or not.
‘……Level 6.’
The realm he had reached in just one year suddenly felt so small.
Oscar clenched his fist without realizing it and shut his mouth tight.
He was still far too weak to survive in this world.
[Translator - Night]
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