Midnight in Valentine (6)

“…Indeed.”

The Emperor, who had been silently looking at me, opened his mouth.

“That’s a good story.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

I decided to take a strong stance.

It was already crystal clear that whether I was kicked out of here or finished the conversation amicably, the result of this private audience wouldn’t bring me any good outcomes.

If that was the case, I thought I might gain more by aggressively pressing him.

‘…The former me wouldn’t have even thought of such a bold approach.’

Looking daggers at the Emperor, I thought to myself.

‘I can’t give up on Oscar. Until I find that guy, I absolutely won’t go back.’

“Perhaps, do you not want Oscar to be found?”

“…”

The Emperor silently looked down at me from his seat. Even though the height difference was considerable while seated, the feeling of being ‘looked down upon’ was something I had never experienced so strongly except with the Emperor.

“…Let me ask you in return, Princess Evangeline.”

The Emperor finally spoke. His attitude was quite different from the cordial tone he had been trying to maintain until now.

‘So this is his true nature.’

A human embodiment of the phrase “supreme above all,” whose voice tone alone seemed to crush everyone except himself.

“Why do you think I don’t want to find him?”

“…I believe I’ve already expressed my thoughts sufficiently.”

But he chose the wrong opponent.

Compared to the guilt that once arose from within and weighed me down, this was nothing.

“As a foreigner, I have no right to criticize Your Majesty’s governance.”

“…”

“But if you won’t search for the missing Oscar… at least don’t stop me from finding him.”

I said to the Emperor.

The Emperor, who seemed somewhat surprised by my unwavering attitude, soon nodded and said.

“Let me change the question.”

“…?”

“Why are you saying Oscar is missing?”

“…What do you mean by that?”

I couldn’t understand the Emperor’s sudden nonsense. Didn’t Yuriana clearly say he was missing?

“Oscar’s whereabouts are secured by none other than myself. He is safe.”

“…I don’t quite understand.”

With the succession of statements from the Emperor that defied common sense, my mind suddenly became tangled in complexity. I slowly shook my head. His face suddenly seemed incredibly distorted.

“I mean exactly what I said. He’s not actually missing. Yuriana is just making assumptions on her own.”

“What are you saying now?!!”

I stood up abruptly and shouted.

“Don’t move.”

The Emperor said quietly.

At the same time, a cold blade was pointed at the nape of my neck.

“…”

“Oscar crossed the line. That’s why I’ve separated him from Yuriana, that’s all.”

Having said that, the Emperor waved his hand in the air as if shooing away a fly.

“Just that. I have nothing more to say to an outsider like you.”

The blade pressed against my neck, slightly pressing into the skin covering my neck.

“…Can you handle the consequences?”

I asked him.

“This behavior goes beyond simple disrespect. You must be quite confident?”

“Of course, I am confident.”

The Emperor nodded and smiled coldly.

“Confident that I won’t lose in a war.”

“…!”

-Thwack!!

At the same time, my left arm reflexively moved to grab the heavy sword that was trying to dig into the nape of my neck.

My left arm, which was about to push away with force, began to creak slowly from the shoulder.

‘What, weight…!’

My eyes couldn’t help but widen. Could it be arm strength comparable to that of a combat prosthetic?

Continuing this contest of strength would be suicidal. I deeply lowered my body as if kneeling in place. The giant sword that sharply brushed past the top of my head made an eerie sound of wind.

From the kneeling position, I pulled one foot back and swung it around widely.

The attacker’s body, caught by my leg, collapsed greatly, and at the same time, I drove my fist into the middle of his torso.

I didn’t hold back. Judging from the previous strength contest, the opponent was quite skilled.

-Thud…!

My small, thin fist, driven deep into thick skin, sent him flying to the opposite side.

Seeing the attacker flying past just beside the table, the Emperor spoke with a face that showed no sign of being disturbed.

“If it had been Raymond Scabbard who came here, I might have been a bit concerned.”

The Emperor shook his head and smiled.

“But the 2nd seat of the Kingdom’s Seven Swords makes for a fair match.”

“…You seem quite confident.”

I muttered quietly.

“Perhaps it’s because you rose to a high position at too young an age,”

The Emperor chuckled and spoke again.

“Let me tell you boldly. You are a frog in a well. If I were to speak of Raymond Scabbard, I’ve only seen one warrior of his caliber in my lifetime… but knights of your level, I’ve seen enough to count on both hands.”

At the Emperor’s words, I silently bit my lips.

“And, two of them are present here right now.”

As if the Emperor’s words were a signal, the large figure that had been sent flying by my fist slowly rose.

“Let me introduce first. The Right General of the Valentine Empire’s Imperial Guard, ‘The Butcher Barry’.”

A massive figure, appearing three times the size of the seated Emperor.

It was hard to believe that such a huge man had been sent flying by my frail fist. The man with an imposing physique roared while swinging the giant swords in both hands.

“Guooooooo!!!!”

“…He seems more like a thug than a knight.”

“I don’t particularly like formalities and empty displays.”

The Emperor shrugged.

“As long as they have skill and loyalty, I hire people without discrimination.”

-Kwaaang!!!

Simultaneously, the Butcher Barry stomped the ground.

With a flash step that seemed almost like teleportation, I reflexively raised my left arm and crossed my arms in an X.

-Screeeech!!!!

Two swords were brought down vertically.

Under the tremendous force that was closer to wielding a blunt weapon than a blade, my knees creaked and screamed.

“However, it’s true that your strength is undeniably impressive. If I leave you as a future threat, it’s clear you would grow into a warrior greater than Lord Raymond.”

The Emperor narrowed his eyes.

“So, I must cut the sprout here and now.”

“…Are you willing to risk war with the Kingdom…!”

I said, slowly bending my screaming knees.

Perhaps feeling the sensation of his sword gradually digging in, the knight named Barry smiled eerily.

At that very moment, his strength weakened slightly as if adjusting his grip on the sword.

In that instant, I quickly pulled my right arm back and then threw an uppercut.

Through the end of my fist, I felt a heavy sensation. The exact same spot where I had driven my fist earlier.

“Kuhek…!”

Barry’s body bent into an L-shape, and his body floated into the air.

Over my left fist that had naturally pulled back, I wrapped a thick aura.

The opponent was completely defenseless. Right in the middle of his empty body, I was about to drive a straight punch…

-Tang!!!

A quiet gunshot rang out.

“Keuheuk…!”

And a beat later, feeling the pain running through my thigh, I gritted my teeth and fell to my knees.

“Didn’t I say, two of them?”

The Emperor said.

“Zepharos of the Iron Bullet. In the Imperial Guard, he serves as the Rear General.”

I quickly raised my head and looked in the direction from which the bullet had come.

“It’s useless. Zepharos’s bullets bend in midair.”

The Emperor shook his head.

“Changing trajectory with bullets infused with aura, he’s a marksman who never misses a target once aimed.”

The Emperor said with blank, unfocused eyes.

‘…Huh?’

Only then could I notice something strange about the Emperor.

Unfocused eyes and stiffly creaking movements. A flat voice with no inflection.

‘Is he being controlled?’

Only then did I feel the sense of discomfort that had been enveloping the entire room.

It wasn’t just the Emperor. Both the Butcher Barry and Zepharos were also being controlled by something.

‘Why didn’t I notice it?’

I muttered inwardly, carefully touching the spot where Zepharos’s bullet had pierced through.

I quickly concentrated mana to seal the wound and avoided major bleeding, but there was still a stinging pain.

“…You catch on quite quickly. If I had just a little more time, I could have completely taken over your mind.”

“Who…?”

At the sudden sound of a woman’s voice, I quickly raised my head.

The source of the voice was the Emperor.

A woman’s voice was flowing from the Emperor’s mouth.

“That Zepharos, to think he’d regain his senses in that instant and aim for the thigh instead of the heart. Did he deliberately inflict a serious injury to try to break the brainwashing effect?”

It was extremely awkward to hear such a coquettish voice coming from the Emperor with his dignified appearance.

“As expected, brainwashing knights of that type is difficult. I’ll have to dispose of him later.”

With a deeply furrowed brow, I said.

“You, what kind of bitch are you?”

“You should know well, shouldn’t you?”

The voice answered that way, and then suddenly laughed, “Ahaha.”

“Ah, you don’t know my ‘original’ voice. Yet we’ve faced each other many times on the battlefield.”

“…What?”

“My name is Aslaksha. I am the commander of the 2nd Corps of the Demon King’s Army, and among the Four Heavenly Kings, I am known as ‘The Sage’.”

At the words flowing through the Emperor’s mouth, I widened my eyes as if struck on the head.

“You’re lying.”

I murmured blankly.

“You’re dead. I, I killed you.”

“That was merely my avatar.”

The Emperor shook his head. No, Aslaksha who had taken over his body shook his head.

“My main body is still in the East Continent. The countless ‘me’ you saw on the battlefield in the West Continent were all just avatars I created.”

Aslaksha, who had taken over the Emperor’s body, shrugged with awkward, creaking movements.

“Well, even though I sent avatars, they were premium products designed to exert nearly 100% of my abilities. Anything less wouldn’t have been helpful in the conquest of the West Continent.”

“…You bitch.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

I muttered blankly, half losing my sanity. Aslaksha spoke in a coquettish voice mixed with laughter.

“Oh, yes. There’s something I want to tell you.”

“…”

“The Emperor said it earlier, didn’t he? That there are four people in the Empire as strong as you.”

Aslaksha said.

“At first, I thought it was a bluff, but it turned out to be true. All four of them are excellent individuals who, in at least one aspect, would not fall behind you at your prime.”

When I didn’t respond, Aslaksha laughed gleefully, “Kyareureu.”

“So, about the other two who aren’t here…”

In a mocking tone, Aslaksha said quietly.

“Where do you think they are now?”

“You fucking bitch──!”

-Kwaaang!!!

Into my body, which was lunging forward having lost all reason, a huge fist was driven heavily.

With the sensation of my insides being turned over, I flew through the air and was smashed into the opposite wall.

“Heukuk, keok.”

“I told you, knights as strong as you.”

Looking down at me with amusement as I sat down and dry heaved, Aslaksha laughed coquettishly.

“And what I said earlier is true, Evangeline. If we obviously let a powerful individual like you live, you’ll undoubtedly become a hindrance during our Demon King Army’s second conquest.”

In my blurry consciousness, Aslaksha said quietly.

“So, I must cut the sprout here.”

My body, which wasn’t responding properly, dropped down.

As I stood with my feet on the ground, half-collapsing, Aslaksha sat behind Barry who was slowly approaching me, and spoke through the Emperor’s mouth.

“Evangeline Failondia. You won’t be able to leave this place alive.”