Ch.284The End. (2)

# Chapter 284: The End. (2)

I was truly bewildered by Riel’s sudden emission of psionic waves.

‘Did she just say “honey”?’

Moreover, where did that usual idiotic way of speaking go? She was speaking in a perfectly normal manner.

It was truly a shocking sight, but…

-“H-how can a mere machine possess psionic abilities… Wait, this psionic wave, could it be?!”

The Former Emperor showed dramatic confusion at both the words coming from Riel(?) and the psionic waves she was emitting.

Despite the darkness making it difficult to see clearly, except for the external lights of the Orbital Defense Command,

I could see his body trembling noticeably.

And seeing that, I realized that this was perhaps the first time I’d seen him flustered since becoming aware of his existence.

No, come to think of it, even in the recorded footage from when he reigned as Emperor, I had never seen him ‘flustered.’

It was fair to say this was a sight I was witnessing for the first time ever.

‘So that bastard still has the emotion of confusion left in him.’

And right after that.

-Whoosh! Flare!!

“?!”

When I saw the blue flames suddenly appearing in front of Riel(?), who was making her coat flutter with telekinesis,

‘Is this bastard seriously trying to burn Riel right now?’

Such thoughts came to mind, and I was about to gather my emotions that were on the verge of being consumed by emptiness and despair, ready to curse him out.

But…

-“How… how is this possible…?”

As those flames took on a humanoid form and the Former Emperor spoke in a voice filled with astonishment,

I realized that this wasn’t some kind of samadhi fire that the Former Emperor had conjured to burn Riel(?).

It was a kind of spiritual body—the Former Emperor’s own mind materialized through psionic abilities.

-“I-impossible, how could you…!”

And the Former Emperor who appeared like that kept staring at Riel(?) in front of him, seemingly unable to continue speaking.

Just as I was about to wonder why that butcher was acting like that,

“Isn’t it obvious? With our son-in-law and daughter’s lives in danger, how could I not step forward?”

When she referred to me as “son-in-law,” I realized who was currently occupying Riel’s body.

After all, if there was someone who could make the Former Emperor this flustered, it could only be her.

The “Empress” of the Holy Seveli Empire, who was reportedly deceased not long after the start of “this game.”

And while I was coming to this realization…

-“What do you mean by that, my dear?”

The Former Emperor’s spirit form displayed an expression that seemed to embody bewilderment itself.

-“Are you saying that all my actions, driven by my desire for revenge for you, were meaningless?!”

And then he started questioning the Empress, or rather Riel, about whether all his actions had been in vain.

Perhaps because he was speaking with genuine indignation, from my perspective, it felt like my sense of disbelief was ascending to the heavens.

Similarly, the Empress also sighed deeply at the Former Emperor’s behavior…

“My dear husband… didn’t you acknowledge that your very existence causes significant problems in this world?”

Addressing the Former Emperor’s spirit form, which looked quite ferocious, like a demon king from an old cartoon,

“Are you ignoring our agreement and acting like this?”

She began to question him in return, while still in Riel’s body.

“What did you promise me?”

-“…”

“Back then, to minimize problems, didn’t you swear to me that you would live as a single personality—as a resident of this world?”

-“That’s…”

“You said you would live ordinarily, as a common person, didn’t you?”

Listening to their conversation, I learned what promise the Former Emperor had made to the Empress.

‘He promised to live as an NPC, but he just went back on it.’

And regardless of my thoughts, their conversation—or more accurately, the Empress’s one-sided barrage of facts—continued against the Former Emperor.

“The more you act out like this, isn’t our world breaking apart?”

-“T-that is…”

Under the Empress’s attack of pure facts(?), the Former Emperor had lost all his usual confidence.

He could only stammer in response to the Empress’s words.

But that didn’t last long.

The Former Emperor’s spirit form seemed to embody the emotion of anger.

The form, like a burning blue flame, was half-consumed by red rage, transforming into a ominous and massive purple flame giant.

Then, facing the Empress who was barely a third of his size, he spewed out words filled with indignation and anger.

-“I, no, I! I just couldn’t contain my anger then! How could I bear your death!”

“You should have endured it.”

-“And although it was a promise, it was based on the assumption that you wouldn’t leave me and die!”

The Former Emperor’s spirit form, which had been filled with rage, seemed to have developed bipolar disorder.

Instantly shrinking in size, and simultaneously changing the color of the flames to a much duller and more depressing hue than the original blue,

He continued speaking to the Empress in front of him, in a voice immersed in sadness.

-“It was based on the assumption that you, that you would be with me forever…”

At the Former Emperor’s dejected appearance, I had to feel a truly sensational emotion.

‘Is this really the same Former Emperor who was the embodiment of pride itself?’

And while I was thinking that, the Empress also sighed deeply at his appearance…

Eventually, she turned her head toward me and spoke.

“You’ve suffered a lot, getting caught between us…”

“Th-um, no, not at all.”

Unlike that bastard Former Emperor, the Empress had shown herself to be the very embodiment of a person of character.

If I were human, I should rightfully use the most respectful form of address for the Empress.

Unfortunately, perhaps because that appearance was Riel, whom I always bickered with,

I almost spoke informally without realizing it, but I was barely able to correct myself.

And seeing me like that, the Empress smiled gently and then…

“Son-in-law, don’t worry from now on. I will stop that person.”

After leaving those words, she turned her body back toward the Former Emperor’s spirit form.

Right after that.

-Slide… Crash!

“Oh!”

Riel’s body seemed about to fall backward, staggering a few steps before eventually falling backward toward me.

And from Riel’s body, I could see a spirit form similar to the Former Emperor’s flowing out.

However, there was a difference from the Former Emperor.

While the Former Emperor’s spirit form was literally a burning ‘flame’ in human form,

The Empress’s spirit form looked like Artraia had shed her youthful face and grown even more mature.

So while her face was similar, it was more mature,

With horns and tail much larger, thicker, and more magnificent.

…It’s awkward to mention in this situation, but her chest was also larger.

Moreover, while the Former Emperor’s spirit form had various colors chaotically moving around, centered on a blue light,

The Empress’s spirit form had the characteristic of being entirely green from head to toe.

‘Wow…’

And I wasn’t the only one surprised by the Empress’s appearance.

-“H-how is this possible… You couldn’t have used such abilities…!”

The Former Emperor’s spirit form showed great confusion, as if the very existence of the Empress’s spirit form standing before him was incomprehensible.

And hearing the Former Emperor’s words,

The Empress pointed to her head between her massive horns and answered the Former Emperor in a calm tone.

-“Do you remember the crown you gave me, which our son-in-law now possesses?”

-“…”

-“You told me about that crown, which you said was merely a trigger, and the massive energy that would be generated when it met the dimensional split bomb.”

-“…”

-“I arranged for that massive energy to be directed toward that mechanical servant you gifted me.”

-“What…”

-“By placing a strand of my soul inside the servant beforehand, I made it possible for my spirit form to manifest through that massive energy. That’s how this was possible.”

It was a story of how she had reversed the Former Emperor’s plan and made it her own.

Beyond the assessment that our Empress was the Former Emperor’s restraint and final conscience,

I strongly felt that she wasn’t the Former Emperor’s wife for nothing.