Ch.140140. The Day (2)

For the Emperor, the current situation was filled with utterly incomprehensible things.

This outing had been like a welcome rain during his tedious seclusion, and he had come to enjoy this imperial gladiatorial match in his own way.

In reality, the match was entertaining even for someone like him, who stood at a level approaching transcendence.

Though he frowned slightly at the intermission show, the combat itself was quite enjoyable.

While high-level fights had their own appeal, there was something particularly satisfying about watching weaker opponents fighting for their lives.

Anyway, as he was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, the highlight finally arrived, and he was staring at the Colosseum arena with a hint of anticipation when…

Suddenly, the two gladiators scheduled to compete burst into his viewing chamber, and what’s more, their attire appeared somehow ominous.

Despite undoubtedly wearing shackles that should have sealed their magical power, these two were effortlessly using aura and cutting down his guards with ease.

The warrior in red armor seemed to be at the level of an intermediate aura awakener, but considering how he was pushing back four of his guards, his skill rivaled that of an advanced level.

His equipment was practically covered in that rare and powerful material called orichalcum, and his skill was perfect—the result of dedicating over 16 hours a day to training.

His guards were blessed by the gods, transcending humanity in both body and mind, enhanced by various drugs made from ground-up humans, and yet…

The red warrior handled his two axes—not particularly long ones—as if possessed, smoothly deflecting or parrying the spear thrusts and sword strikes of the guards.

Moreover, the black warrior appeared dozens of times stronger than the red one.

Despite eight—eight!—guards rushing at him, the warrior armed with black armor and a greatsword cut them down with remarkable ease.

His movements and footwork appeared as light as if he were taking a stroll, but the results they brought could only be described as horrific.

The greatsword, wrapped in an aura that seemed to absorb light, cut down the guards with each swing, moving with what looked to the Emperor’s eyes like less effort than cutting through butter.

Thus, the Emperor, who had been careless as usual, only summoned blue lightning by borrowing the power of the god Jupiterius after all his guards had fallen to the ground.

The Emperor was considered the strongest in the Empire largely because he could borrow the power of the god Jupiterius.

Firepower equivalent to spamming 5LV magic. Dramatically enhanced physical abilities. And “divine immortality” that could never be broken except in extremely rare cases.

His abilities proved why he was said to rival Grade 0, and he possessed five divine artifacts inherited from the apostle of the supreme god Jupiterius.

In other words, since he couldn’t die anyway, he decided to take a hit and then counterattack, regardless of the sword strike—

Clang!

The Emperor’s head flew into the air.

Though decapitated with a single strike, his head spinning through the air, the Emperor maintained clear consciousness and didn’t hesitate.

He reached out his hand to unleash Jupiterius’s lightning manifested through divine power… but??

At that moment, the Emperor felt something wrong with his body.

He, who should have been immortal unless faced with a higher-dimensional and spiritual death, found that his body, his flesh, his senses, his divine power wouldn’t respond to “merely” being decapitated.

Though the Emperor found himself in a situation impossible to understand by his common sense… he suddenly noticed his collapsing body through his gradually blurring vision.

“…Huh?”

It was a dumbfounded voice unbecoming of the strongest emperor who had reigned for 200 years, but regardless, the Emperor could finally face the predicament he was in.

Yes, he was now dying.

The Emperor couldn’t understand this situation.

‘I’m… dying?’

He was an immortal blessed to never face death, an ageless and deathless being who could use the power of the supreme god Jupiterius, a being who transcended humanity.

Born to rule over the worthless and primitive humans existing in this world, he was having his head cut off and dying by the sword of some mere slave nobody.

Finding it completely unreasonable, the Emperor was inwardly seething with indignation.

Still, the Emperor harbored a faint hope that at least his soul would go to the supreme god Jupiterius, allowing him some form of revenge…

But even that hope was meaningless in the face of the reality that his soul was slowly disintegrating.

It was disappearing.

His knowledge, his daily life, his accumulated achievements, his memories.

All the information existing in his soul, and the soul itself, was being eroded and scattered by some black energy.

By the time he noticed this, the Emperor’s soul was already half-disintegrated and vanishing, and he could feel his consciousness itself being lost.

As the very soul capable of thought decomposed, the Emperor, the Emperor…

There was nothing there.

Only emptiness existed.

※ ※ ※

At the same time, outside the capital.

More precisely, at a small volcano called Pompeii, located in the northwestern outskirts of the capital.

Here stood a mountain fortress, known as Fort Pompeii, built to defend against invasions targeting the capital.

This fortress, constructed with concrete using volcanic ash, was armed with magical yet universally usable flamethrowers that utilized the volcano’s heat.

It could also shoot beams of boiling volcanic heat, and inside, some giant multi-headed dragon was sealed, among other features.

It was a facility more than adequate as the final fortress for protecting the capital, but…

This fortress had recently fallen to a group of red-cloaked magicians who had invaded it.

These magicians instantly enveloped the entire fortress with some barrier before invading, and two legions couldn’t possibly defeat more than 20 high-ranking magicians.

As a result, the red-cloaked magicians easily occupied the fortress, and afterward… these magicians began “some work” using the captured legion prisoners.

They twisted and distorted the entire fortress’s shape, changing it into some specific form—even those without magical knowledge could tell something was happening.

Of course, the legion soldiers tried to resist the magicians with all their might.

“AAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!!”

…Until the first day, that is.

After one legionnaire who attempted sabotage was “spread out” and hung on a pole, the prisoners abandoned all resistance and tried to finish the work as quickly as possible.

Thanks to this, soon after the renovation of Fort Pompeii was completed, the soldiers stationed there were finally freed from their fear of death as they had wished.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!”

“Ha, hahahahaha!!!! Th-then why have we been until now!?!!”

They had learned the truth of the world, the truth of the pantheon, and became “enlightened,” cooperating actively.

Anyway, under the full cooperation of many people, a secret ritual was being conducted at Fort Pompeii.

On the big day, the second day of the festival.

After the leader of the magicians—Lisa Raeldotir—confirmed that everything was proceeding as planned.

The magical ritual, which gathered energy by depleting the very ley lines of Pompeii Volcano, performed by no less than 20 high-ranking magicians and 241 mid-ranking magicians, finally came to fruition.

As a result of the magical ritual, a massive red hemispherical barrier enveloped the entire capital, completely isolating it from the outside world.

A massive barrier, red and mottled, with what looked like protruding blood vessels, giving the impression of being inside some living organism.

The vampires and high priests, the Red Dragon Ben Gaitenpang and Lunifer and their disciples, the Ma-Duke followers from the Magic Academy, and Lisa Raeldotir—all of them.

This barrier, activated with everyone’s full power, was a type of “sanctification.”

It was originally a magic used to partially infiltrate a god’s domain into reality, but it was used to create a desired environment within a closed space while simultaneously isolating the space itself.

As a result, the capital’s barrier now “completely” isolated the inside from the outside, affecting not just the physical realm but magical concepts as well.

To put it metaphorically, the interior was now considered a kind of third dimension, inaccessible from the outside, with all forms of connection severed.

Of course, since divine territories remained, communication between the gods trapped inside and their followers wasn’t cut off, and more precisely, spiritual connections weren’t severed but rather existed without functioning.

This meant that gods outside could observe the interior with divine sight, and the barrier could certainly be broken by gods trapped inside, but…

Here’s the problem.

Would Ma-Duke really have been unaware of this?